The Bookstore

Summary – Harry Potter owns Hermione Granger's favourite bookstore. AU Harmony.

Chapter One – The Encounter

There are many different types of bookstores in the world. You have your bricks-and-mortar bookstore chains, which tend to have overwhelmingly large selections, abnormally high ceilings and a general unwelcoming feeling. There are the non-bookstore retailers that carry books, and normally are of a limited stock, with the staff generally having no knowledge of what categories they have and an overall disdain attitude towards the books section.

Then there are independent bookstores. Generally, they are small, cosy stores that carry a limited range of titles and focus on better-selling titles along with local bestsellers and a selection of books of local interest. In these stores, the staff are always friendly, their knowledge of literature is unrivalled, and they always put the customers first.

As a lifelong bookworm, whenever Hermione Granger managed to find an independent bookstore with any of these qualities, it would turn into her second home. She would spend as much time as she could, outside of her working hours, tucked away in the quietest corner of the store, pouring over one of the books that came highly recommended by the owner of the shop.

However, always the perfectionist, whether it was after a few days, weeks or months, she would inevitably find a flaw in the bookstore somewhere. It has been a number of different things over the years; one store was located too close to the London underground and the entire place rattled every fifteen minutes; another store, she found the owner far too creepy, because he kept coming to check on her every thirty minutes or so with his lopsided smile and yellow teeth; and then there was the most criminal one of all, the store with the alphabetical misfiles, which she would find on a daily basis.

Hermione was still banned from that bookstore.

Hermione was made to believe that the perfect independent bookstore did not exist. Not in London anyway. It wasn't until one soggy Sunday afternoon, when she was running errands on the other side of town for her boss, and was caught without an umbrella, that her theory was tested. After unsuccessfully hailing a taxi, she sprinted into the nearest establishment that was open, and found herself on the threshold of one of the cutest little bookstores she'd seen in years.

The store was filled to the brim with books. There were filled bookcases that lined the walls, there were overrun tables and cabinets that sat in the corners, and there were even stacks of books piled on the floor. To her left, there was a small wooden staircase that led to an upstairs area, where more and more books where layered on top of each other, some sitting precariously, almost as if being held in place by magic. To her right was the front desk, at the foot of which sat more piles of books and behind it stood a handsome young man with wire-rimmed glasses and messy black hair enveloped in paperwork.

When Hermione took that extra step forward into store, looking quite windswept, the man behind the front desk spotted her.

'Good afternoon,' he said cheerfully, putting down his pen.

'Hello,' Hermione said automatically, her eyes were still wandering. 'This is a lovely little bookstore.'

'Thank you,' the man said happily, inclining his head. 'May I ask if there's anything in particular you're looking for today, or did you simply come in to take shelter from the rain?'

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. 'The latter,' she said, not wanting to lie to this man for some reason, 'but, how did you—?'

The man laughed infectiously. 'I only ever get two types of visitors when it's raining,' he said smartly, 'the mailman, who has to come in, and people going past who have forgotten their umbrellas.'

'I happen to love books,' Hermione said defensively, 'would you mind if I looked around?'

'Not at all,' the man said with a nod, picking his pen back up. 'Please, feel free to take your time, or until the weather clears up anyway.'

Hermione gave him a nervous smile and he returned to his paperwork. She hesitated, but not wanting to still be standing there when he looked up again, she moved forwards past the front desk and went up a couple of steps into a back area. There were a couple of tables and chairs about, it looked rather like a reading area, with rows of bookcases and alcoves beyond there, again filled to the brim with books.

She made her way over to the Classics section. She always believed the best way to judge a bookstore, or indeed the owner of a bookstore, was by what Classic authors they had on show. As her eyes began to run down the list of names, she felt a rush of delight flow through her, they were all there: Austen, Dickens, Hemingway, Shakespeare, Tolstoy…

The more Hermione moved around the store, the more she liked what she saw. Eventually she grabbed a random book from a table, found a little alcove near the back of the store and engrossed herself in reading: Endangered Species by Anton Hert.

It was the most perfect afternoon. Time flew by so fast. The store was quiet, peaceful and Hermione went undisturbed. Occasionally she heard soft voices of other customers coming and going, but it was never distracting, and she didn't even realise it had stopped raining, until much later, when soft footsteps approached her position and the owner's face poked around the corner.

'Hello again, sorry,' he said apologetically, at least his smile wasn't lopsided and creepy but rather soft and friendly, 'just thought you'd like to know that it's stopped raining.'

'Oh,' Hermione said, looking briefly up from her book, 'okay, thanks.'

The man smiled, waved and walked away again. After Hermione returned to her book, he did not disturb her again until well after the lights of the store had been turned on and she had progressed quite a way through the book.

'I'm closing up now,' his voice said softly down the row of books towards her.

Hermione sighed. If she could have her way, she would not move from her position until the book in her hands had been finished. However, with the excitement of the story still rushing through her veins when she closed it, she took it with her to the front of the store with the intent on purchasing it.

The owner glanced down at the book on the counter, smiled and then looked back up at Hermione.

'And how many chapters did we get through then?' he asked curiously, a look of amusement spread across his face.

Hermione felt her face grow pink again. 'I'm sorry about that,' she said truthfully. 'I sometimes lose track of time.'

'Not at all,' the owner said, smiling, 'I like to encourage reading in my store. It's why I put in those comfy armchairs. My philosophy is, if you're going to spend money on something, you need to get a taste of whether it's worthwhile or not.'

Hermione smiled. 'That's admirable,' she said brightly, 'and in this case,' she jabbed the book in front of them with her finger, 'I believe it is a very worthwhile purchase.'

The owner raised his eyebrows with a smile, and she held out some money for him to take.

'I'll tell you what,' he said after a pause, observing her carefully, 'I've already reached my expected quota for the day, quite easily I might add, so why don't you take the book for now—'

'Oh, no,' Hermione said, slightly taken aback, 'I couldn't possibly do that.'

'Nonsense,' the owner said amusingly, moving around the desk to join her at the front of it. 'You take it and read the rest of it, please. And then, if you still think it's worth the purchase, you can come back and I will not reject your money.'

He said it so casually that even Hermione half-thought that it might be a trap. However, he handed over the book and was escorting her to the front door, which he opened very gentlemanly-like for her.

'But what if I never come back?' Hermione asked curiously, turning to look at him on the threshold.

The owner smiled. 'It's fine if you chose not to,' he said truthfully, 'the loss of that book is of no importance to me. But I hope you do return, Miss, because I'd very much like to know your name.'

Hermione blinked at him in confusion. She didn't know what to say, so they stood there in silence for a moment instead, until he cleared his throat and Hermione automatically walked to the other side of the door.

'Good evening,' the owner said, inclining his head at her as he closed and locked the door behind her, before pulling the curtains down and disappearing out of sight.