Epeolatry - ✔️

Six

"Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge,
and the longer you are on earth
The more experience you are sure to get."
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The day after the tournament, it snowed. The white powder fell from the sky with a vengeance, and it piled up along the streets of Diagon Alley. Though Epeolatry was open, there wasn't a single patron to be seen. Even Margarete had failed to show her face that day. Many of the shops in Diagon Alley were empty, and the streets that were usually packed were close to deserted.

These days were the calmest that ever came to the small bookshop, and that was why Athene loved them. The young bookstore owner would always take advantage of this time to do the things that needed to be done, or procrastinate and read a new book.

On this particularly snowy day, Athene found herself doing the latter. She had curled up on a blue beanbag chair hidden behind the counter with one of the new books on dragons. The young girl had no plans of moving for the entire day for anything that wasn't necessary, and her strategy had been quite successful.

Athene had just gotten to the chapter about dragon tamers themselves when the little bell above the door chimed. The girl had to hold back a groan as she slammed her book shut and stood from her comfortable position. She couldn't imagine anyone braving the storm outside for something as simple as a book, and most people who were looking for something went to Flourish and Blotts instead of Epeolatry.

The man that now roamed the aisles of books was quite a mystery. He had a knitted hat covering his head, a grey trenchcoat hid his physic, and a red scarf was wrapped snug around his kneck. All in all, Athene didn't recognize him as one of her usuals.

"Hi, welcome to Epeolatry," the young woman moved so that she could get a better look at his face, though her movements weren't helpful, "Is there something that I can help you find?"

Her question seemed to stir him from his thoughts as he unwrapped his scarf and removed his hat, "Athene?"

"Charlie? Whatever are you doing here?" Athene relaxed ever so slightly at the sight of her old schoolmate.

"I didn't know that you owned the bookstore," Charlie smiled down at Athene as he was nearly a foot taller than her. The man stared at her for a second longer before looking at the shelves again, "My co-worker's great-grandmother told me that I could find what I was looking for here."

"And what are you looking for, Mr. Weasley?" Athene couldn't help but admire Charlie. He was, simply put, beautiful. His hair grazed his shoulders, and it was a lighter shade of red than it had been the day before. His eyes meticulously scanned the shelves for something that Athene could probably find in seconds.

"I'm looking for a particular book," Charlie rubbed the back of his neck, "and it's been rather hard to find. Bathsheba, the great-grandmother of my co-worker, informed me that you had just gotten a shipment of dragonlore, and I was hoping that, maybe, you would have the book that I've been looking for."

"Dragonlore, you say?" Athene smiled and turned towards the shelves that contained her newest additions, "I would have thought that you'd have known all that there is to know about dragons."

"So, you've been keeping an eye on me, hmm?" Athene's cheeks immediately grew warm, and she shrugged.

"What is the title that you're looking for?" Athene didn't see the smile that grew on his face or the twinkle in his eye as she was too busy trying to hide her embarrassment.

"It's called Dragons and Their Dens," the pair stopped in front of a rather tall bookshelf, and Athene skimmed the titles, "It's the less famous book written by Newt Scamander."

Athene's finger briefly touched the spine of each book before she shook her head, "I'm afraid that I don't have it, Mr. Weasley, though I can take a look in the catalog to see if I could order it in for you."

Charlie nodded his head like an eager child and followed Athene back to her desk. The catalog was a thick book that the young bookshop owner stored under her desk. She didn't enjoy lugging the thing around, but it was a necessary evil. There were thousands of books listed in the catalog; from Animal Ghosts of Britain by Mopsy Fleabert to Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, the catalog had it all.

Athene was hopeful that she would find the book that Charlie so desperately needed somewhere within the pages, and when she turned to the section containing Newt Scamander's works, a smile grew on her face.

"Here it is," Athene pushed the catalog over so that Charlie could see it, "I can order it for you now if you'd like."

"Thank you very much, Athene," the girl's heart fluttered when Charlie sent her a grateful smile, "I couldn't have found it without you."

"Oh," Athene was sure that her face was the same shade as his hair, "Don't mention it."

"So he just came in here?" Athene had closed the store at dusk and had since retired to her living space with Enya, "For a book?"

"As I said before," Athene reached for another handful of popcorn while she spoke, "he came in here looking for a particular book on dragons, and then he left."

The two were casually watching a film on Athene's muggle television. It had been a gift from one of her muggle-born friends after graduation. Alison, the only muggle-born that Enya could tolerate, would periodically send the duo movies to watch during their free time, and today was one of those days.

"Now I know where your aunt's from," Enya gestured to the screen as popcorn fell from her open mouth. "You know, there are some startling similarities between the two."

"She's not the Wicked Witch of the West," Athene scolded, but her eyes followed the woman dressed in black as she flew through the sky, "She doesn't terrorize little girls because they stole her shoes."

"Yeah," Enya glared at the television, "She terrorizes them just for fun."

Athene knew that Enya was right; she had seen the damage that her aunt had done to both Enya and the other girls in her Slytherin friend group. Apart of her wanted to believe that it was just a mask that Rita had and that there was a portion of her that felt bad for trashing innocent lives. But Athene had lived with her aunt long enough to know the truth.

The two remained silent as Dorothy fought off the Witch and returned Oz to its original glory. Though Athene's eyes watched the screen with interest, her mind couldn't fight the foreboding feeling that had settled in her chest. She couldn't help but think of the truth that possibly lay behind Rita Skeeter's works.

Author's Note:
Hey guys! Here's Chapter six, and they've finally met outside of Hogwarts... Please vote or comment!

Question of the Chapter
Which Harry Potter movie/book is your favorite?