Only You (Hiatus)

Three

Three weeks later, Hermione was still failing to find anywhere to live. Even house shares were proving difficult to secure, and now the words Ruth had spoken on that first day kept echoing in her mind.
Galway… It’s good for a new start.
Hermione frowned and picked up her bag before heading out to George’s Street Arcade. What did she have to lose?

It didn’t take her long to find the small clothing store just inside the George’s Street entrance to the arcade. It was cute, filled with retro-style clothing, and surprisingly lovely. Hermione stepped inside. The woman at the counter was dealing with a customer, so Hermione wandered around browsing, not really looking at anything in particular, until a comforting voice sounded behind her.
“You’re the lady Ruth sent. Hermione, correct?”
Hermione turned and met the green eyes of a beautiful older woman wearing the warmest smile she had ever seen. Just looking at her calmed Hermione in a bizarre way.

“Come, let’s speak more privately,” the woman said, leading Hermione into a back room furnished with a comfortable couch and armchair, and a small kitchenette in the corner. “Cathy can mind the shop,” she added, noting Hermione’s hesitation.
Hermione realised the previous woman was still helping the customer, meaning Ruth’s mother must have been back here when she first entered. The two women looked so alike.

“She’s my twin sister,” the woman said before Hermione could ask.
Hermione sat in the armchair. “Are you a Legilimens?”
“No, dear,” the woman laughed softly. “I just recognised the confused look cross your eyes.”
Hermione nodded, unsure what to say.
“I apologise, I never introduced myself,” the woman said, offering her hand. “I’m Siobhan. Ruth is my daughter. She didn’t tell me much. I more or less knew as soon as she got home that she’d met someone I was meant to meet, so all I got was your name. I wasn’t trying to pry.”
Hermione smiled slightly. “Pleased to meet you, Siobhan.”
She shook the woman’s hand and immediately felt a tingling sensation. Hermione gasped and pulled back.
“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Siobhan said, glancing at her own hand before looking at Hermione with concern. “Are you alright?”
Hermione nodded, staring at her hand. “Has that ever happened before?”
Siobhan nodded. “Once,” she said quietly, her brow furrowing in thought. Then she looked up. “I’m sure it will all be explained in time.”
She offered her hand again. “If you can bear with it, I would like to see if it allows me to see something.”
Noting Hermione’s hesitation, she added gently, “You can let go at any time, Hermione. I will not hold onto you.”
Hermione nodded and slowly placed her hand in Siobhan’s. As promised, the woman didn’t even close her hand around Hermione’s. She simply left it relaxed as Hermione held on.
The tingling began again, but it wasn’t as bad now that she expected it.
Siobhan closed her eyes and let out a long, deep breath. After a moment, she began to speak, but her voice sounded different, somewhat ethereal, as though it wasn’t Siobhan speaking anymore.
“The west holds what you need most, my child… Silver awaits gold… Your new life is waiting for you… in Seal’s Rock.”
The tingling faded, and Hermione watched as Siobhan’s body visibly tired. The woman opened her eyes and smiled.
“It seems Clíodhna of the Tuath Dé Danann wished to speak with you directly.”
She stood a little shakily and said gently, “I do not know what she said, and you do not have to tell me. But if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer.”
She made a cup of tea for them both and handed one to Hermione.
“Thank you,” Hermione said, watching as Siobhan sat back down.
“I get tired when a member of the Tuath Dé Danann uses me as a conduit,” Siobhan chuckled. “Maybe this is how our phones feel.”
Hermione laughed softly. “I should have made the tea, then.”
Siobhan shook her head. “Nonsense. Now, is there anything you need me to clarify?”
Hermione thought for a moment. “The general message was simple enough, but there is one thing that confused me,” she admitted, earning an encouraging nod. “She mentioned the west, but not a place I’ve heard of before. Seal’s Rock?”
Siobhan nodded with a smile. “If you looked up the towns in Galway, which I suspect you did,” she smiled wider as Hermione nodded, “you would have found it under a different name. Seal’s Rock in Irish is Cloch na Rón. When the English settled here and began changing place names into English, they mistranslated it.”
She laughed softly as Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered, “Typical.”
“Well, they got the Cloch part right, but they thought Rón meant round, so—”
“Roundstone!” Hermione exclaimed in realisation.
Siobhan chuckled and nodded. “Yes. You need to go to Roundstone, Hermione Granger.”

A week later, Hermione found herself driving down the motorway to Galway.
She had considered taking a more scenic route but decided she would make that drive once she was settled in Roundstone. There were too many unanswered questions, and something was waiting for her there. She needed to know what it was.
She had spent the previous week settling her accounts, ensuring everything was arranged for her to stay in the country indefinitely, and taking a few driving lessons. She already had her licence but wanted time to adjust to Irish roads before renting a car and making the four-hour drive to the Roundstone House Hotel, where she would be staying for the week while waiting for the house she was renting to be ready.
It was just after 4:30 p.m. when Hermione parked her small rental car and made her way into the hotel. It was quite lovely, and she paused outside, admiring the little town around her.
The air was fresh, carrying the scent of the Atlantic Ocean, and it filled her with an unexpected sense of peace.
Smiling, Hermione turned and walked through the doors of the hotel.