𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 | 𝙽𝚎𝚠𝚝 𝚂𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛

Chapter 1 | The 'Muggle'

The New York air was infested with gases from factories. It was cooler than usual in the city. She imagined New York as damp and saddening as cities in England. It made no sense now, but at the time she believed it. America was quite a strange place, especially being empowered by men. She preferred London to America. She planned on moving back to London.

She walked the streets of the city with faint caution. She didn't know the city as well as London, but was still careful around strangers. She held a few books in her arms as she made her way to the library. It was only a few blocks away.

As Elizabeth walked past by a bank, overhearing a woman stand and speak to the people about witches infesting the city. That woman is clearly thick in the head. Witches? She thought to herself, pausing for a moment to listen to her speech.

"They've destroyed buildings and homes! Now the streets? We must find them and get rid of them—" Someone bumped into Elizabeth, making her trip on her shoe slightly. Thankfully, she caught herself before falling flat on the ground.

"Sorry, ma'am. I-I do apologize." He says, looking over at Elizabeth. She shakes her head gently. He seemed to avoid eye contact, searching around them for something.

"No, I'm sorry for being in your way, sir." She says, remembering her lessons from her mother. She watched as his eyes travelled all corners of the crowd. Her curiosity seemed to break through. "What are you searching for?"

He looked over at her, his eyes flickering to behind her. "Uh, I'm just looking for my.. pet. Have you seen him?" He asks.

She shook her head. "I don't believe so. I haven't seen any animals." She looked around with him, looking behind her. "If you tell me what he—" She turned back to where she last saw him. He no longer stood in front of her. She shook her head gently.

It wasn't her problem, but a part of her felt bad for not helping him look. Though, it wasn't her issue to stress over at night. She turned back to the bank. A woman in a gray coat seemed to walk past her into the bank with mustard near her lip. She seemed determined to find something. Or someone.

Elizabeth shrugged it off and started making her way to the library once again. For some strange reason, the man stayed in her mind the rest of her walk. His fluffy, caramel hair being pushed to one side. His distracted blue eyes. His small smile in his apology. Everything about him seemed to linger in her mind.

Elizabeth carried Hamlet by William Shakespeare. He was a great poet. Playwright, and actor. He was possibly the greatest writer of his time. His words flowed like rivers. His words were ancient now, yet always beloved by many. On top of it sat Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She finished the book in about two days. Both days were snow days. She wasn't able to get to work due to the snow.

The woman entered the books store. The overwhelming smell of old books and pages that tell beautiful tales of fiction. It was her dream to open a bookshop someday. Have bookshelves stacked with stories and biographies. Seeing people's eyes light from joy, seeing a book they've been hunting for finally in stock.

The door closed behind her, making a bell sound as it opened. The bookshop owner, Mr. Percy, looked up from the newspaper he was reading. He folded it in half, smiling up as he saw the redhead at the entrance. "Miss Babel! I was wondering when you'd come back." He greeted her.

Elizabeth chuckled gently as she made her way to the front desk, where Mr. Percy sat. He was around her age, possibly a little older. He had dark brown hair with strands of gray in them. He's always had gray hair, especially when he was a kid. He looked older than his actual age.

"Morning, Mr. Percy." She places the books on the counter. Mr. Percy grabbed the books and opened them, writing the date next to her name on the sign in card.

"You know, this is the third time this week you came to visit me." He says, smiling over at her, before he turns around and places the two books in a cart. "You look beautiful this morning. Are you seeing anyone special today?" He turns back to her.

Elizabeth blushed gently at his comment. She wore a dark blue dress. It looked quite comfortable on her. She also wore small black heels. Her hair was pulled into a bun, hidden under her hat. A small lilac flower was tangled in her hair.

"Actually, I just decided to dress up a little. It's for no-one specific." She says, playing with her dress slightly.

"Well, I'm assuming you're gonna reread another William Shakespeare book?" Mr. Percy grabbed a book from the cart, pushing it towards her.

She grabbed the book and flipped a few pages. She read the first page before closing it again. "I will gladly read this one. I haven't read it in a long time." Elizabeth signed the book out, smiling up at Mr. Percy.

"Thank you, Mr. Percy." She says, starting to make her way to the front.

He waves at her slightly. "Just call me James, I think we've reached first names, Miss Babel."

The woman turns back to face him. She walked backwards and leaned on the entrance door. "Call me Elizabeth." She opens the door of the bookshop, walking out of the store.

As she walked down the streets of New York, she based an old, empty store. Planks were bordered up the windows and the door was a beautiful black with silver rims. She walked towards the empty building and looked through the planks to see inside. She couldn't see much, but she fell in love with its olden appearance. There were buckets and sheets covering furniture.

She backed away from the window and moved to the door, attempting to open it. Unfortunately, the door was locked, possibly blocked by furniture. The walls were made from bricks and stone. On the second level, it had tall windows. She backed away from the building and admired its beauty.

Elizabeth looked down at her wrist, seeing the time. It was getting late for her to be out. She took one more glance up at the building before continuing her walk back to her apartment. She preferred not to be out so late, it gets a bit rough on the streets.