Saturday after Malfoy found me lost in the forest and escorted me back to the castle, I strolled through Hogsmeade with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hermione and I initiated the trip as we both wanted to visit a bookstore in town. Also, we figured it might be a nice idea to get out of the castle because both Ron and Harry had been quite tense lately. Ron was anxious about the upcoming Quidditch matches and Harry's anger towards Umbridge grew day by day. It was cold and gloomy, the sky covered with thick grey clouds and the air humid. Hermione and I happily strolled through the pretty streets, the boys trotting behind us, as we approached the bookshop. Actually I had still some pages left to read of my latest novel, but I wanted to get replenishment and Hermione intended to purchase probably her tenth book on advanced studies of ancient runes, a subject she was entirely fascinated by. As soon as we entered the cozy store, Harry and Ron dropped onto the first sofa they could spot and stared grimly into the air. Hermione and I exchanged glances.
"Ron, I think I could use some help reaching the books on the higher shelves. Could you come with me please?", she asked him, looking at him expectantly.
"What do you have a wand for?", he replied wearily, but after seeing Hermione's raised eyebrows he stood up immediately and followed her to the non-fiction section.
Harry had his gaze fixed on some random point in the room when I sat down next to him on the sofa. "Will you come help me pick out a new book?", I asked him cautiously.
"I'm not really in the mood, Lola," he replied. "I'm good here. I don't need a babysitter."
"Oh, I'm absolutely not trying to babysit you. In fact, you'd be babysitting me, really." He looked at me confused. "You know, I tend to have a rather hard time deciding for one book only. I'm not the kind of person who should be left unsupervised in a bookstore, or otherwise I'll walk out of here with more books than the four of us can carry. So, you'd be doing me a favour when you could help me pick one." I smiled at him.
Harry grunted a laugh and rolled his eyes, but he stood up and led me to the fiction section.
As I let my gaze wander in awe over the many books on the high shelves in front of me, Harry trotted silently behind me. I reached for a green book, opened it carefully to make sure I don't break the spine, and held it under my nose to inhale the scent. Unlike in the Hogwarts library, of course, these pages smelled fresh and brand new.
Next to me, Harry chuckled. "What are you doing? I have never seen anyone so obsessed with books, not even Hermione," he noted.
"That is because Hermione cares primarily about the knowledge that a book holds. I care about its soul," I answered dreamily, not taking my gaze away from the books in front of me.
From the corner of my eye I saw that Harry looked at me confused, probably wondering if I was crazy.
"You know, everyone, including you, has an escape room. Something to do, somewhere to go when life gets rocky. And for me, its books...their stories. Always has been," I explained. "Most people open a book and see nothing but letters on a page. But for me...I'm not opening a book, I open a door to another world. You can catch a glimpse of another reality while reading."
Harry smiled at me, still with a trace of mockery on his lips. "Well, okay...I get what you mean...I think..."
"What's it for you?", I smirked at him.
"Flying on a broom," he answered immediately.
"Why am I not surprised," I laughed.
Harry let his gaze wander over the books on the shelf in front of us. Each section was labeled with the respective topic: Romance, Historical Novels, Adventure, Thriller and Horror, Children's Novels.
YOU ARE READING
If We Were Enemies
Fanfiction"See, I don't like the knights in shining armour. I like them dark and twisted," I said. "And in most cases, it's the men who need to be saved." We all know Draco Malfoy: toxic, a bully, hated, feared and finally, a Death Eater. But who was he real...
