The Road

Who's Drake?

The next morning, Hermione awoke extra early to use the bathroom and kitchen inside. She didn't want to risk an awkward morning confrontation, especially since she was unwanted in his home. Grabbing some breakfast, she walked down to Town Hall. There were little shops here and there, but part of her still wanted to trust Malfoy about only trusting Mary's Book Shop. Abby seemed nice enough, at least.

Presenting herself in a better way, Hermione opted for a summer blouse and kept her old jeans. The way she walked into the shop yesterday made her seem like she belonged in that trailer park just down the road.

The bell knocked against the wall as she waltzed in. Luckily, Abby was already at the register reading the same book from yesterday, "Sycamore Row."

"Oh good morning, Hermione," she greeted, "What brings you here? Staying in Cherrywood For good, I hope."

"No, I'm afraid it's only temporary," she stated calmly, "Listen, Abby, I was wondering, do you need any help around here? See, I'm really good with books and-"

"Enough said, dear. Move that stack of books over there and dust off the covers, you're hired."

"Really?" she exclaimed, "Oh thank you, Abby, I-"

Just then, the bell clanked and an unexpected Draco walked in. But as soon as his eyes landed on Hermione, she saw him mumble inaudibly, "Bloody hell."

"Of all place, Granger. I should have known, I should have bloody guessed it."

She put her hand to her hip and sneered, "What do you want...Drake?"

"Ah, so you've met, Drake!" Abby interrupted their glaring, "Is her car getting fixed?"

"I just ordered the parts," he informed, "I'll have it ready soon."

"Oh and Hermione gave you your package, right?"

Hermione froze and mentally scolded herself. She remembered putting it on the ground and walking over to help him underneath his car. "Yeah, I found it next to my car," he told Hermione and Abby.

Abby looked confused but dropped the notion all together. Moving on, Abby told Drake, "Oh and look who's working here now? Guess you get to see each other everyday now."

"Hm, you stop by a lot?" Hermione asked Drake.

"Well, I-"

"He comes every morning and picks up a newspaper. See, he does it out of habit, when-"

"I better be going now," Drake said all too quickly as he picked up the newspaper, dropped some change on the counter and nearly ran out of that book shop. Soon enough, the mystery at the end of Abby's sentence was left alone as the old woman carried about the shop dusting the covers with her quivering hand. Hermione moved the stack of books to the counter and tried to focus on dusting the covers, but her persistent curiousity always got the better of her. "What did you mean Drac- Drake does this out of habit?" she asked as she followed Abby around the shop.

"Oh well, it was a long time ago," Abby began, "You see, this used to be my book shop until I retired and my daughter took over. Her name was Mary. Oh, she loved the books. Cared for them like they were her own children. I let her rename the shop because Mary - well, to put it simply - she gave the books life."

Abby glanced over her should her and eyed her intently, "And she looks a lot like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The shop officially became hers when she turned 18, and trust me, she was ready for the position. But then Drake came along. Troublemaker, that one. He was a runaway, I didn't believe a single thing he said. Then he met Mary. He came in every single morning, picked up the newspaper and talked to her for as long as he could. And she changed him. Oh they were so in love, it was enough to convince me that he was a better person. And she was able to convince him to learn about the cars from Tony, the mechanic back in those days. And when Tony passed away, he gave the shop to Drake."