The Company of a Good Book

There was nothing that filled the void in his schedule better than a good book. Not that many people took him for the bookish type but he always had one on the go. It was far easier to ignore people if you were able to hold a book open in front of your face. People tended to get the message a bit easier when a hardcover or a paperback was between them. And he found himself on this particular afternoon without a novel to read and void that needed filling. And what better place to catch the newest releases than Flourish and Blott's bookstore - as pact as it was likely to be there wasn't a better shop in all of London.

And so he set off, taking the traditional muggle method of transportation because he wanted the fresh air. He also had a big lunch and apparition never fully agreed with him on a modestly filled stomach.

It was a strange time of day, most people being at work or school and so much of his travel was done in solitude, the way he enjoyed it. Though he had been unsure that he would be able to avoid any awkward public transport chit chat without his book he exited the London Underground unscathed by the words of strangers. He made his way out and down the few blocks between the Leaky Cauldron and the subway station leisurely, watching the muggles as they passed. He was always so interested in their relaxed way of life; no knowledge of magic or any of the previous times their existence almost ended at the hands of an angry dark wizard who wasn't hugged enough as a child.

He made his way quickly through the Leaky Cauldron and through the brick passageway to Diagon Alley where he knew he would find the small book shop. Immediately it was obvious that the street here was far more crowded than the muggle streets. Which is saying something because the muggle sidewalks were still pact with all manner of muggles. So, he maneuvered his way around the crowds where he occasionally peaked into the other shop windows to see if there was anything interesting for sale. Nothing quite caught his eye but he did eventually find his way into Flourish and Blotts.

He entered and walked directly into the fiction section, "Ah, I can feel the void filling already" he said quietly to himself.

Acclimating back into some sort of normality after the war had not been overly difficult for Ginevra. Throughout her life, she had thrived on chaos. Toxic relationships? Check yes. Throwing herself into unnecessary, dangerous situations? Countless checks. It was a miracle she had not died and only one year since she had been bite by a werewolf. Ginevra considered herself lucky, not for still being alive, but for the sole fact that she had been one of the best at potions. The transition phase had not been overly difficult for her, owing to the fact that she had been able to set herself up with a supply of wolfsbane only two months after having to experience what her new “normal” would look like if she slipped up.

Perhaps this realization was what had caused her to assess the choices she was making, not for what it cost her, but for what it could cost others if she continued to everything but her head.

The sense of “normal” she was trying to grasp onto lately revolved solely around incorporating behaviors that would do the opposite of careless, behaviors that would discourage the impulsivity that ran through her veins and hopefully lead to a little more stability in her life. Ginevra had been out of Hogwarts two years at this point. It had been a dream of hers to become a Healer, though she was unsure of if she wanted to stay or move to another country. There was not much keeping Ginevra local. She did not have family and she had neglected to keep in touch with a majority of the friends she had made. While packing her bags, Ginevra had decided that she would finish a degree first and if the desire to escape was still present, she would flee to wherever her heart took her.

In lieu of moving, Ginevra had taken up to frequenting the local bookstore. She often preferred the quiet of smaller stores, but there were seasonal bouts of needing to stop in at Flourish and Blotts for new material. Taking her time down each aisle, she ended up where she always did: the fiction section. Ginevra smiled as she ran her finger down one of the spines from a novel she had recently purchased and continued to read the titles. It took a few minutes before she stepped out of her head and looked around her, only to realize that she was not alone. At first glance, she had brushed off the presence and gone back to her browsing. Momentarily pausing, she realized that there was something familiar in the features.

Walking up behind the male, she cover his eyes with her hands and said, “guess who?” not taking into consideration that if someone had done this to her, she likely would have punched them in the gut with her elbow on reflex.

He was eyeing the cover of a particularly colourful looking novel when suddenly he couldn't see anything anymore. Matt was not accustomed to having his vision taken away from him but there the voice who then spoke was familiar. Preventing that individual from receiving an unwelcome welcome such as a punch or elbow in the gut on reflex. There were few people he could stand during his time at Hogwarts, but Ginevra had always done more than tolerate him.

"Hey Gin!" he said, he turned around and smiled.

He hadn't seen her since their final year at school but that was the case with most of the people he was in the same year with. It was a surprise to see her, but a welcome one for sure. He was about to ask her what she was doing here but then he remembered where he was.

"I was about to ask you what you were doing here but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're here for books." he laughed a little.

He wondered what she'd been up to, more than him most likely, there wasn't a lot of public work for a Lestrange out there. But, he had managed to grab a casual gig at a shop in knockturn alley; not quite as prestigious as Borgin and Burke's but it helped him out. He quietly hoped that the conversation would not steer towards himself. So, he decided to take the initiative and start the discussion about her.

"It's been so long! What have you been up to?" he asked her.

Ginevra had been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. She valued intelligence, learning and discovering the drive behind a person’s action. She was passionate in everything she invested her time in, and that included the small group of people she allowed into her bubble while in school. Perhaps that was apart of her problem, she was not quick to trust and did not invest her time into developing relationships that would last the test of time. Independence, to a point, was a virtue. After awhile, it did nothing but encourage the isolation that was easier than confronting roads not travelled.

This time last year, Ginevra likely would have turned around and remained unseen. It was a test of likeness that she had done the opposite and snuck towards instead of away.

She looked around her at the sleeves and booked and let out a light laugh. “Yes, I would hazard a guess that you are on the right track.” She mused, “I can’t stay away.” As of late, she had been avoiding the textbooks her nose should be buried in and replacing it with the worlds that took her to another place.

What had she been up too? Such a basic question, but ‘trying not to be an impulsive idiot’ or ‘avoiding making more bad life decisions’ seemed a little too real to jump into. She had been lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family. Money had not been a concern for her, though she occasionally thought work could give her an outlet that did not involve searching for what was next.

Realizing she was in her own head for a moment, she pulled herself back to reality and replied, “I started school. Apparently I can’t stay away. Have you been keeping yourself busy?” Is that how people stayed grounded? Responsibly? Obligations? When did Matt’s hair get such a flow to it?

Ah yes, though he had come to learn that not everyone subscribed to their Hogwarts House major stereotype there were some things that couldn't be avoided. The yearn for learning was something that he had found in most Ravenclaws. It wasn't always academic of course, he had known a fifth year prefect that was obsessed with muggle dinosaurs and collected all sorts of literature on the subject.

"Oh, I'm just kicking around." he chuckled. He wasn't about to tell her that he worked in Knockturn Alley that was for sure. Again, not every person reflected their placement but he still found himself more comfortable than others might in places accosted by Dark Wizards. He would never engage with their rhetoric, of course, but the job was there and he needed the money. "I tried an internship at the ministry after graduation but politics had never suited me." he lied.

He ran a quick hand through his hair and put the book he had been holding back on the shelf, no longer interested. "What are you studying? Ancient Ruins? Magical Archeology? Medicine? All of those seemed right up your alley." he remarked.

Referencing a Ravenclaw as a bookworm was as cliché as calling a Slytherin an arse. With that being said, if the shoe fit. She had not told many, but she had been considered for multiple houses during the sorting in her first year, the hat initially having the most difficult time deciding between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Ginevra had passion and cunning behind her stubborn nature and as much as she could be patient, she could raise in a temper when she felt someone had been wronged. Often, if an offence was directed at her, she could care less. If the offence was toward someone she cared for, game over, wands out. Her competitive nature had earned a few admirers and twice as many enemies. It was also that nature that allotted her the determination to be one of the few that could do wandless magic prior to graduation.

Throwing caution to the wind, she smiled sheepishly and said, ”I study all the time. When I come to the bookstore casually, I am looking for more.. smut in my life.” He could judge her all she wanted for her choice in literature, as many in the Wizarding World would if they knew not only had she been indulging in smut, but she often leaned towards the muggle authors. Being raised in Muggle London for a majority of her childhood (during summers, anyway), she felt an extra need to support the people who existed without magic. Her life had been graced with many difficulties, sure. Her life had also been given an easier path in the ability to learn and perform magic in daily tasks that otherwise would have taken hours.

Momentarily gazing at the unconscious movement Matt did, she stopped to wonder if this was a nervous habit or simply a habit that came with allowing hair to grow out into more of a flow. She knew the longer she hair personally got, the more she fiddled with it. Finding that her thoughts drifted to Darren for a moment, with the likeness of how he had also played with his hair when frustrated with her, she let out an unconscious sigh. What would life look like if she had pursued someone like Matt? They had ventured on a date, once. At that time in her life, she was sidetracked and not open to someone who wasn’t her best friend. Currently, she was in a place where considering a broadening in her horizon would have to happen.

”I am going into healing. Eventually I would like to do creature injuries. Something to keep the ol’ adrenaline pumping, you know?” Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t. Ginevra did not know whether he would pick up on the irony of career choices, but was also not sure how much she was invested in other people's opinions on what contributed to the specific speciality. All she was aware of was her need to keep moving, keep doing. The worry that she had was what happened when she slowed down- something that she would not slow to even consider.