Lovelight

Money, Money, Money

Hermione Granger was nothing if not a determined and stubborn woman. She had been determined to give her daughter the best life she could, filled with more happiness and love than she ever would have thought possible. She had been determined to fix up the bookshop and inn that had fallen into her hands to create something she was proud of, even going as far as to invent spells that had helped both establishments. She had been determined to be the best mother, friend, and businesswoman that she could, considering that was what her life would be, even if it wasn't what she had always pictured.

When Maia had told her about her engagement, Hermione became determined to give her the best damned wedding that had ever graced the earth. She had never gotten to take part in the wedding game, the process of finding a perfect white dress and picking the invitations and writing the vows. She had never gotten to experience it, but her daughter was going to, and that meant everything had to be perfect.

She had spent weeks prepping the inn, fixing things in rooms and placing new covers and curtains, making everything as perfect as it could be. They hadn't invited a whole ton of people, but there were enough coming that measures had to be taken to ensure that everything would be pristine and polished. Maia had invited a few school friends and James had invited a few friends and family members, so everything would be quaint; the problem was that quaint was all that the inn could handle.

As it was, Hermione couldn't even promise that her two best friends would be able to have their own rooms. They had received three additional reservations only two weeks earlier, which meant they would be at capacity. The room on the corner that she was planning on giving to Pansy, the spacious one with the large private balcony, had been reserved before she could set it aside. Whoever the prat was that had taken it from her and ruined her plans was already getting on her nerves, and she hadn't even met them yet.

Maia had specifically requested that her aunts be invited to her wedding. She hadn't seen Pansy in years, and it had been quite the time since Luna had visited. Her daughter reasoned that a visit was long overdue, and Hermione had to agree.

The pair had promised that they would be at the apparition point prompt at two, but Hermione knew better than to wait for them. Pansy was notorious for being late, she always had been. So, Hermione had opened all of the windows on the first floor of the bookshop so she could hear whenever they arrived.

Pansy's voice lilted through the air just as Hermione began reshelving the fantasy section for the upteenth time that week. "Oh, Merlin. How much further in these sodding stilettos?"

Luna's light tone followed almost immediately. "Pansy, I doubt that Hermione would have arranged for carriages to pull us from the apparition point to the shop. Did you really think she would have?"

"Yes," she said, apparently dumbfounded by Luna's correct assumption. "Granger knows I don't do walking."

Hermione decided then to exit the shop, appearing in the doorway as she regarded the two women standing near the apparition point. "Well, well, well. Would you look at what the tide washed in?"

"Thank Merlin, Granger," Pansy snarled. "I was beginning to think you would leave me here to lug my bags to my room by myself."

Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed over to the pair, pulling out her wand and muttering the spell to send their luggage to their room. "Firstly, you're not alone, Luna is with you. And secondly, you could just transfigure your heels into more sensible shoes."

"Do you even know me?"

The trio laughed boisterously just as Hermione wrapped her arms around both of their necks and pulled them in for a hug. They were her best friends after all, how could she not hug them after being without them for, what was it, years now?