Angels in Bookshelves

There was something overly strange about carollers but what was stranger still were random groups of singers that turned up in Diagon Alley singing Muggle songs. Rafael didn’t know why he was there and he knew he could ill afford to be but he was all the same. It was just a day out of Scotland he supposed. He’d browsed the shops, determined not to buy anything, and had had survived the whole affair with a full sack of coins. What he’d also found that there were a lot of places that needed someone to take a job. Rafael was incredibly close to going down into Knockturn Alley to that bar ‘Satan’s’ and applying for a job but he thought better of it in the end. He stuck to the lighter part of London and took up a part-time job in Flourish and Blott’s.

Now that was three weeks ago. Rafael had flourished in his position and now knew the shop as well as he knew the back of his hand. He was helping people find every book they needed and he had a lot more money to hand than he had before. More was going home to Mynah and everyone seemed to be balancing out. The boys weren’t nearly as rowdy at school as they had been and Mynah was getting everyone to bed at night without a problem. The only mishaps seemed to be revolving around Raina and her problems at school. Rafael was clocking out early today and catching a bus over to the estate so he could have a word. He wasn’t angry; he just wanted to know what was going on. Mynah had described it as ‘inexplicable’ but Rafael doubted his littlest sister was capable of anything inexplicable.

The bell above the door rang and Rafael looked up, not entirely prepared for the person who walked in through the door.

Mira always had liked second hand books shops. Their smell was almost indescribable. While it seemed nearly foul to some it was just history to her. Mira sometimes felt like she was now connected to all of those previous owners. But Flourish and Blotts was different. The books were new and unused. Just paper and ink. No story. No personality. It just wasn't the same. But Mira was desperate. She had murdered her old herbology book viciously after a long night of studying. While it had been satisfying at the time she was now faced with the problem of coming to class each day without a book like the other students.

Mira had spent the whole day searching around both Diagon and Knockturn Ally in bookshops to find a replacement copy and this store was the only one left. She had always held a particular distaste for Flourish and Blotts, if only because she yearned to not be like every other Hogwarts student who came through the doors. Mira entered the shop and a little bell made a soft dinging sound to signal the workers that she had entered. She stepped in. She wore muggle clothing (her garmet of choice). A light yellow sun dress covered by a gray sweater to protect her from the chilly wind outside.

"Hello" Mira said with a smile to the boy standing behind the counter. "You work here right? Can you help me find something. I am in a hurry"

(I'm sorry it's so short)


The quill in Rafael’s hand suddenly fell slack and he looked up, gobsmacked by what he saw. He watched, mesmerised, as the girl looked around the bookshop. Rafael felt a smile tug at his lips and he put his quill in the ink well by the top left corner of the parchment he’d been scrawling on. Rafael wiped his hands on the dark pair of work slacks that Mynah had bought him and he waited for the girl to ask him for the assistance he knew she’d probably need. When she did, Rafael plastered a willing smile onto his face and walked out from behind the desk, holding up his hand to the woman who had lugged over an armful of school books for the terrors underneath both elbows.

“What do you need?” Rafael asked curiously before running his hand through the front of his rather floppy hair. He smirked a little, unable to keep the grin away, and looked around the shop, wondering what she could possibly need. “Are you looking for a new school book? Or perhaps...something more advanced?” He gestured to two different aisles before pointing to the upper levels. “We also have some fiction...if that’s what you’d prefer?”

Mira truly smiled for the first time in weeks the second she heard his voice. Not just a little smile, where the corners of your mouth barely rise and it doesn't reach your eyes. A real smile where you could see all of her perfect, pearly white teeth. It wasn't often that Mira would honor someone with a smile like this. She preferred to keep her face a flattering neutral.. Plus lately she didn't have much to smile about. Elijah's recent rejection had hit her hard and she had been even more closed off than usual. It was wrong that a boy.. much less one of the likes of Elijah.. Should be able to rip and tear at her heart like he did.

Elijah was suddenly a confusing person. And that was something he had never been before. After Alice's death she had always been able to tell somewhat what he was thinking. She understood his motives and feelings (as hers were sometimes the same). Their on/off relationship was sometimes painful but understandable. Their mutual need to be connected to the dead Alice was what kept them coming back. But now something had changed. He had acquired a woman that would replace her. Chase Moor was no Alice. Mira could see that, but apparently Elijah couldn't.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Angry for sure. He belonged with Alice, or herself as a second choice. The Andersons and the Krums were literally bread for each other. But she was also sad underneath all of that anger. It was kind of like Alice was being forgotten.

All she wanted was forget the whole thing.

As the smile slipped from her face (before it was there for an unnatural amount of time) Mira was comforted by the thought that this boy had no idea who she was. He wouldn't know about her sister and pity her. He wouldn't know her coldness of heart and inability to truly love. "School book. Herbology. My old one disappeared." Her mind flashed back to the ripped pages across the dormitory. "I'm in sixth year." A pause. "Slythirin".

It would be a long time until he could take his break now. Rafael had been tossing the idea around in his head before the girl had come in and now he was wondering whether or not he should have let someone else help her out. He knew that the layabout interns that had nothing better to do with their time would be no help to the girl, though. It wasn’t as if they were there so their family could have their next meal like Rafael was. They were just there because they had to be and that was what got Rafael’s blood boiling the most – the fact that they didn’t have to or need to be there but they were, some even on the payroll. Rafael did more than all of them combined yet he was struggling to pull funds. Oh, how he loathed them.

Shaking his head, Rafael focused his gaze back on the girl. He plastered a smile on his face and nodded when she supplied him with the knowledge he needed. The added extra was unneeded but nice to hear all the same. Rafael nodded again and smirked at the blonde. “Seventh year, Gryffindor.” He replied before motioning for her to follow him. Rafael turned on his heel and walked down between two parallel bookshelves. He took a left and glanced over to make sure she was behind him before swinging right and entering the Herbology section. Rafael was amazed by this area of the shop every time he went there – it even smelt like dirt.

“Well,” Rafael announced, turning around to look at her. “This is it and there seem to be a lot of them. Is there a specific book you needed or just N.E.W.T entry?”

He was hot for a Gryffindor. Generally Mira had the same 'Gryffindors are egg-heads' mentality that she shared with the other Slythirins. But so far this boy didn't seem as cocky, stupid, and annoying as the rest of his house. "You say with such a superior air" Mira said lifting her chest and chin as if she was mocking him, even though he looked nothing like that. The twinkle in her eyes and smile however showed she was joking.

Mira followed Rafael to the Herbology section like an obedient puppy. It was a big store and she knew she would be totally lost if it wasn't for her helpful guide. The section smelled like dirt. It reminded her of the greenhouses of Hogwarts, something that wasn't welcome. Herbology was without a question her least favorite class and she didn't want to feel like she was there when she was out of school. But even though she hated Herbology so much Mira couldn't deny the calming nature of the Earthy smell.

"N.E.W.T" Mira said with a delicate smile. She was proud of being a N.E.W.T entry student. It meant she was almost done with Hogwarts. Then she could start her life beyond school. Get a job.. Have a family.. That idea scared but exited her at the same time.

ooc: the ironic part is Mira is a Herbologist when she gets out of school xD

At the quip, Rafael gave a shy, lopsided smile. He swallowed and ran his fingers through his hair. Something about Slytherins had always unhinged him. A lot of them seemed genuinely friendly now but there were a lot of hidden messages under their barbed wit and Rafael had been told enough to know it was probably best not to trust them. Something about this one was so open though, so innocent and so...broken. Rafael couldn’t put his finger on it but there was a lot of pain beyond the twinkle in her irises. He daren’t ask though, for fear of offending her. His position at the bookshop was precarious enough, even without offending a customer. He just needed to put the attraction he so clearly (and understandably) felt for her to one side, sell her the book and get on with his day. He just needed to make it through today, and then he had two days off. It would be utter bliss for two days - until Jaret and Nikolai broke a window.

“Sorry,” Rafael stuttered in response to her statement. He tugged on a lock of his hair and pulled his shirt down before lifting his head, pushing his glasses further up his nose and beginning to scan the shelves. It didn’t take long for Rafael to find the book and he tore it from the shelf. He flipped it over in his hands and opened it up, thumbing through it and taking out any reference cards that had been slotted between the pages. Rafael smiled brightly and held the book out to her. “One N.E.W.T entry Herbology book. Good luck with your exams...Miss?”

Perhaps Rafael was being too forward. He hadn’t exactly been luck in love before and he was having a hard job tying down a steady income without a partner coming into the picture. This girl was clearly very lovely but he knew it wasn’t wise to ‘go for it’. But then again, how did he know that? Surely taking a chance, especially on someone like her...would come out in his favour?