The Right Thing To Do

Chapter 5

Hermione had been crossing T's and dotting I's in the ledger book for the past hour. Literally. She was combing through the financials trying to keep busy and trying to have a good reason for not filing books.

Because he came back.

Draco Malfoy was sitting in the lounge area of the fiction section, thumbing through a copy of the first book in a series that Hermione had heard only wonderful things about. She had yet to pick it up herself, but from the twenty minutes that Draco had spent on it, she could guess that it was brilliant.

He had entered the shop while she was at the register with a customer, and proceeded directly to the stacks to her left. She was grateful that he saved her from any awkward waving or chipper "good morning" banter by ignoring her completely, but now she was trying desperately to not notice him there. She could see the top of his head from in between the 4th and 5th shelves, and could see his hands turning pages from in between the shelves below that.

She had tried turning her back to him, so she wouldn't have to wave hello from across the store, or worse - be caught staring. But she soon found that not keeping an eye on him was worse. He could sneak up on her then.

His long fingers turned a page. She sighed. His hair fell into his eyes again and she saw his hand push it back.

"Miss?"

Hermione snapped her eyes to the register. A small elderly woman stood at the counter. How had she snuck up on her?

"Yes? What can I help you with?" Hermione smiled.

"I was hoping you could help me retrieve a Gerby Ganfried novel? I believe it is on a top shelf."

Hermione closed her eyes. Gerby Ganfried was a fiction writer. And fiction books were generally found in the fiction section, to her left. And Cornerstone Books had a charm placed on it to prevent summoning books, to help ward off theft. She pasted on a grin.

Hermione led the way into the fiction section, averting her eyes from the chair in the corner. She conjured a rolling ladder to reach the top shelf that held the "G" authors, and she thanked Merlin that she chose to wear Muggle jeans today instead of a skirt.

"Which Ganfried novel were you thinking of?" Hermione began to climb the ladder.

"Dear, would you mind reading the titles to me?"

Hermione took a breath. She usually loved helping customers, chatting with them about their selections and giving opinions. She would never have found this woman as frustrating if Draco Malfoy wasn't fifteen feet from her, possibly watching her.

"We have Gertrude and Gwen and the Gargantuan Grindylow. And then Yaris, Yeigh, and the Yellow Yarn - "

"Oh, the Yellow Yarn Doll! Oh, what a lovely book!" the old woman said.

"Would you like me to pull it down for you?" Hermione turned over her shoulder to address the woman, but her gaze landed on Draco. He was smiling down at his book, laughing at her. She felt hot.

"Oh, no, dear. I've already read it. Can you read me the other titles?"

Hermione read the rest of the shelf to her. Then she read the first half of the shelf again. Eventually the woman - Beatrice, Hermione soon learned, as she had supplied that information while telling her about her entire childhood - asked her to pull down seven different copies so she could read the backs of them. She charmed the books to hover as she pulled them from the shelf, but Hermione still had to twist to reach the last three, and she could feel her shirt lift from the waistband of her jeans as she reached for each book. She hoped her midriff wasn't showing, and she hoped Draco's attention was refocused on his book.