A/N:

Written for Semi Final of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition

Team: Montrose Magpies

Position: Beater 2 - Write about your member of staff in retirement

Staff Member: Irma Pince

Prompts: 1. (Quote) 'Being alone is better than being with the wrong person.' - L, Death Note; 4. (Restriction) No using the pronoun "I", 11. . .jpg

Gringotts: OC Name: Male – Richmond Cross; OC Name: Female – Caitlyn Davenport; Colour - Crimson Red; Sex and the City: Episode 2 - (word) Supermodel; Sex and the City: Episode 4 - (word) Designer, (word) Royal Blue; Sex and the City: Episode 5 – (word) Modest; Locations: City/Town Names – Three Streams

Reminiscing

She always figured that being alone is better than being with the wrong person. It was a fact that had been instilled in her from a very young age by her mother, who had been stuck in a loveless marriage to her father for some ten years before Irma had been born. Her mother had told her that her parents had wrongly reassured her that love would soon blossom, and she had resented them ever since her wedding day, and that she did not want the same for Irma.

However as time had passed by, Irma could not help but wonder whether her mother had been right. She had never minded the life of solitude, but now that she had retired, it truly hit her just how much of an empty shell her life was.

Her eyes fell on the wilted red roses that still sat on the window sill, where they had been sitting for the last fifty years ever since she had turned down a proposal from Richmond Cross. Irma didn't know why but she could not bring herself to throw away the beautiful flowers, and once they had begun to wilt she had cast a charm on them to preserve them in their half wilted state, and despite their age they had surprisingly sustained their vibrant colour.

Tears pricked her eyes as she thought back to that day, the day that she had rejected Richmond Cross in the cruellest way possible. He had been a lovely man, and they had been the closest friends throughout their education at Hogwarts, and whilst she had always suspected he had a crush on her, Irma had always expected it to fade away in time.

The day he had proposed to her had come out of the blue. A matter of days before she was due to start her new job, he had arrived at her house in his smartest dress robes carrying a bouquet of crimson red roses. Richmond had the biggest grin plastered all over his goofy face with a hint of worry and panic hidden in his eyes. Irma had let him into her house, and promptly conjured a vase of water and placed the roses in it, whilst Richmond had paced frantically up and down the length of her living room.

Irma recalled that she had disappeared into the kitchen to get them both a drink, and when she returned Richmond had been there on bended knee.

She stood there in a stunned silence, which was soon broken by the sound of the two glasses she was holding smashing into a million tiny pieces.

In the kindest way possible, Irma had rejected him, citing the lessons that her mother had instilled in her from a very early age. He had looked like a broken, shell of a man when he had left, and despite his reassurances that nothing would change between them, she had never seen him again.

Years after she had started working at Hogwarts she heard through the grapevine that Richmond was due to marry Cailyn Davenport; upon doing research into her to make sure she was worthy of him, Irma found that Caitlyn had supermodel good looks. A feeling that she would later come to realise as jealousy bubbled under the service as she had narrowed her eyes at the image of the woman.

Ever since retiring from her position as Librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Irma had been thinking more and more about what she had come to consider her greatest regret, and tonight would be the first time she would see him again for over sixty years.

Irma glanced at the time and found that she had been reminiscing for longer than she had thought, and that if she didn't get a move on she would be late for the anniversary party of her closest friends. In all honesty she had been surprised that she had gotten an invite, especially since after starting her job at Hogwarts she had become something of a recluse.

She quickly changed into her designer, royal blue dress robes that were decorated with small, sparkly, silver diamantes. It was the smartest piece of clothing that she owned, and if she was to see Richmond again, she wanted to look her very best.

In next to no time she was ready to leave. Her stomach clenched and felt as though it was tangled up into knots, as her first wave of nerves hit her hard.

Irma looked at her reflection in the small oblong mirror. "You can do this Irma," she told herself sternly, as she tucked a few stray strands of her silver grey hair back into place.

After a quick pep talk, Irma left her modest house on the outskirts of Three Streams, and soon arrived at the anniversary party, which was being held at The Three Broomsticks Inn.

For the first hour, she found herself standing in the corner with her eyes completely fixated on the door hoping and yet dreading to set eyes of Richmond.

Irma recognised his familiar chestnut hair as soon as she saw the top of his head, and her mind went blank. She noticed that he seemed to be searching for someone or something, and before his eyes could settle on her she headed in the direction of the ladies room.

Just as she was about to push the door open, she felt a hand grasp her forearm, "Don't run from me Irma," she heard his deep, husky voice breathe in her ear. "It's been so long, please come and have a drink with me. We've missed out on so many years."

Irma removed her hand away from the door and allowed Richmond to take her by the hand and lead her to a secluded booth at the back of the pub.

After some initial awkwardness, Irma and Richmond were soon talking as though no time at all had passed, and by the end of the night Irma could safely say that she was one hundred percent head over heels in love with Richmond Cross.