(no subject)
Title: Christmas Shopping, Part I
Prompt: 014. Day
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,239
Characters: Hermione Granger, Magenta Comstock, Saffron Comstock
Summary: It's almost time for Christmas at the Comstock estates for the first time after Hogwarts.
Notes/Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling. But quite modified in most cases by their individual writers at Founders or my perception of them.
Hermione curled up on the most comfortable chair in the library, it had taken her several days upon arrival all those months ago to move it to the location with the best light, and opened the book that she had started the previous day. She had hoped to get through the entire thing before she went to bed but she had fallen asleep sometime after midnight and woken up in her bed, in the sleeping clothes that she had grown used to. The first time that had happened she had spent nearly an hour worrying about who had moved her and, more importantly, how they had gotten her changed. Now she just figured that Rostislav had moved her and Magenta the rest. Simply waking her never seemed to be an option they considered.
Completely lost in the book, Hermione did not know that anyone else was in the library until she heard her name being called. And what now? she thought as she uncurled and rose, book in one hand. Normally Magenta would leave her alone for most of the morning unless there was something they had to do and she normally mentioned those things in advance. Then she realized that Magenta was talking to someone else. Better to see who it is before they see me. If it was Lilith then she was going to go hide in her room and pretend to be sick again. She did not have any sort of liking for Magenta's oldest sister, or the second-oldest one either, for that matter. Instead of going towards where she heard Magenta's voice, Hermione slipped off into the shelves. Better safe than sorry had become a sort of motto for her and the part of her that was still very much a Gryffindor argued against it constantly.
"Lilith was saying that you don't trust her alone with your pet anymore," an amused voice was saying. Oh good, not Lilith. "Really, she's just a Mudblood, you could always find another." Ah, Saffron. She had caught a glimpse of the hair through a space in the shelf and only one of Magenta's cousins had hair that bright a red-gold. There was also the use of that term.
Magenta shook her head. "You know that we don't use that term in regards to my pet. But no, Lilith is not allowed near her alone so if you see the two of them together then find a reason to get Hermione away. I don't think that it's possible to replace her, and I'd really rather not. I like my pet as she is."
"It's just because your suitor got you her as one of those gifts a few Christmases ago, isn't it? Bad manners to return a gift when the person can see that it's gone."
"No. He got her for me because he knew that I really wanted her. She has a bit too strong of a will still, but that's part of what makes her who she is."
A year ago the conversation would have turned Hermione's stomach and she would have considered getting out her wand, but after six months at the Comstock estates she had grown as used to them as she was to all of the little nooks of the library. "You treat her better than you have to," Saffron was saying when Hermione began listening again. "Anyone else who has a Muggleborn as a pet - not that there are many and most of them are more servile than yours as they should be - doesn't give them free reign of everything."
"I am different," Magenta reminded her cousin. "I actually like my pet. Even if she isn't where she's supposed to be, this is her favorite spot. Hermione!"
She could have gone to her room, her door was not very far away, but after hearing that from Saffron... "Here I am," Hermione said, stepping out of the aisle with a smile on her face. "I was trying to find another book."
"She's trying to read through our entire library," Saffron remarked. "It doesn't seem right to let someone of such common blood know all of these things."
Hermione's smile bordered on a smirk, she had not been completely broken, that was nigh on impossible. "If I did not read then I'd not know all that I do and my conversations with Mauve would be over far too quickly, now wouldn't they?"
Saffron blinked for a moment before laughing. "I always forget that you're more intelligent than you've any right to be. Tell me, have you gotten to the original works of Shakespeare yet? Because there is-" She trailed off when she saw the look being directed her way by Magenta. "What? This is my way of playing, she needs to keep a sharp mind too or all of the interest will wear off and Mauve doesn't come around near enough to always keep her on her toes."
"Thanks for the concern," Hermione said dryly. "But no, I haven't gotten to those yet. I'm working on the Arthurian accounts right now."
Magenta cleared her throat. "If the two of you are quite done then there is a reason I came looking for Hermione before noon." It still surprised Hermione a little whenever Magenta used her name, but it seemed to be one of those things that happened more and more regularly as her behavior became more "acceptable".
"Sorry Magenta," Hermione apologized. "What is it?"
"We need to go Christmas shopping."
"We?" Hermione did not particularly care for shopping in her own time and it only seemed to be that much more troublesome in this one. It had been slightly humiliating the last time.
"Yes, we, you are allowed to get small gifts for the members of the family as tokens of appreciation."
Tokens of appreciation? She could think of a few things that would suit one or another of Magenta's sisters or cousins, but some of them would be near impossible. Such as Lilith... "Am I allowed to choose whatever I would like?"
"Within reason." Magenta smiled fondly and reached out to stroke Hermione's hair. It was a measure of how long she had been there that Hermione did not even try to pull away.
"Who will be going?" She was fully aware that she did not have much of a say in the manner, if Magenta wanted her to go then she was going to go, but at least this way she would be able to feel properly prepared. Different members of the family required different levels of behavior and such.
"Me of course," Saffron said. "And I don't think that Magenta is going to leave Rostislav alone with all the girls again. Poor boy looked like he was going to faint after the last time."
"The four of us then. Come along, pet, we don't want to be gone all day."
Hermione thought that being gone all day would be a nice change of things - all of the Comstocks were arriving for Christmas day and that meant chances of running into one who did not like her were that much higher than normal. Even shopping was a nice alternative to the idea of turning a corner and coming face to face with Lilith or Noire. "Just let me grab my jacket and scarf."
"And your hat." Magenta removed her hand. "I don't want you to be sick on your first Christmas."
Prompt: 014. Day
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,239
Characters: Hermione Granger, Magenta Comstock, Saffron Comstock
Summary: It's almost time for Christmas at the Comstock estates for the first time after Hogwarts.
Notes/Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling. But quite modified in most cases by their individual writers at Founders or my perception of them.
Hermione curled up on the most comfortable chair in the library, it had taken her several days upon arrival all those months ago to move it to the location with the best light, and opened the book that she had started the previous day. She had hoped to get through the entire thing before she went to bed but she had fallen asleep sometime after midnight and woken up in her bed, in the sleeping clothes that she had grown used to. The first time that had happened she had spent nearly an hour worrying about who had moved her and, more importantly, how they had gotten her changed. Now she just figured that Rostislav had moved her and Magenta the rest. Simply waking her never seemed to be an option they considered.
Completely lost in the book, Hermione did not know that anyone else was in the library until she heard her name being called. And what now? she thought as she uncurled and rose, book in one hand. Normally Magenta would leave her alone for most of the morning unless there was something they had to do and she normally mentioned those things in advance. Then she realized that Magenta was talking to someone else. Better to see who it is before they see me. If it was Lilith then she was going to go hide in her room and pretend to be sick again. She did not have any sort of liking for Magenta's oldest sister, or the second-oldest one either, for that matter. Instead of going towards where she heard Magenta's voice, Hermione slipped off into the shelves. Better safe than sorry had become a sort of motto for her and the part of her that was still very much a Gryffindor argued against it constantly.
"Lilith was saying that you don't trust her alone with your pet anymore," an amused voice was saying. Oh good, not Lilith. "Really, she's just a Mudblood, you could always find another." Ah, Saffron. She had caught a glimpse of the hair through a space in the shelf and only one of Magenta's cousins had hair that bright a red-gold. There was also the use of that term.
Magenta shook her head. "You know that we don't use that term in regards to my pet. But no, Lilith is not allowed near her alone so if you see the two of them together then find a reason to get Hermione away. I don't think that it's possible to replace her, and I'd really rather not. I like my pet as she is."
"It's just because your suitor got you her as one of those gifts a few Christmases ago, isn't it? Bad manners to return a gift when the person can see that it's gone."
"No. He got her for me because he knew that I really wanted her. She has a bit too strong of a will still, but that's part of what makes her who she is."
A year ago the conversation would have turned Hermione's stomach and she would have considered getting out her wand, but after six months at the Comstock estates she had grown as used to them as she was to all of the little nooks of the library. "You treat her better than you have to," Saffron was saying when Hermione began listening again. "Anyone else who has a Muggleborn as a pet - not that there are many and most of them are more servile than yours as they should be - doesn't give them free reign of everything."
"I am different," Magenta reminded her cousin. "I actually like my pet. Even if she isn't where she's supposed to be, this is her favorite spot. Hermione!"
She could have gone to her room, her door was not very far away, but after hearing that from Saffron... "Here I am," Hermione said, stepping out of the aisle with a smile on her face. "I was trying to find another book."
"She's trying to read through our entire library," Saffron remarked. "It doesn't seem right to let someone of such common blood know all of these things."
Hermione's smile bordered on a smirk, she had not been completely broken, that was nigh on impossible. "If I did not read then I'd not know all that I do and my conversations with Mauve would be over far too quickly, now wouldn't they?"
Saffron blinked for a moment before laughing. "I always forget that you're more intelligent than you've any right to be. Tell me, have you gotten to the original works of Shakespeare yet? Because there is-" She trailed off when she saw the look being directed her way by Magenta. "What? This is my way of playing, she needs to keep a sharp mind too or all of the interest will wear off and Mauve doesn't come around near enough to always keep her on her toes."
"Thanks for the concern," Hermione said dryly. "But no, I haven't gotten to those yet. I'm working on the Arthurian accounts right now."
Magenta cleared her throat. "If the two of you are quite done then there is a reason I came looking for Hermione before noon." It still surprised Hermione a little whenever Magenta used her name, but it seemed to be one of those things that happened more and more regularly as her behavior became more "acceptable".
"Sorry Magenta," Hermione apologized. "What is it?"
"We need to go Christmas shopping."
"We?" Hermione did not particularly care for shopping in her own time and it only seemed to be that much more troublesome in this one. It had been slightly humiliating the last time.
"Yes, we, you are allowed to get small gifts for the members of the family as tokens of appreciation."
Tokens of appreciation? She could think of a few things that would suit one or another of Magenta's sisters or cousins, but some of them would be near impossible. Such as Lilith... "Am I allowed to choose whatever I would like?"
"Within reason." Magenta smiled fondly and reached out to stroke Hermione's hair. It was a measure of how long she had been there that Hermione did not even try to pull away.
"Who will be going?" She was fully aware that she did not have much of a say in the manner, if Magenta wanted her to go then she was going to go, but at least this way she would be able to feel properly prepared. Different members of the family required different levels of behavior and such.
"Me of course," Saffron said. "And I don't think that Magenta is going to leave Rostislav alone with all the girls again. Poor boy looked like he was going to faint after the last time."
"The four of us then. Come along, pet, we don't want to be gone all day."
Hermione thought that being gone all day would be a nice change of things - all of the Comstocks were arriving for Christmas day and that meant chances of running into one who did not like her were that much higher than normal. Even shopping was a nice alternative to the idea of turning a corner and coming face to face with Lilith or Noire. "Just let me grab my jacket and scarf."
"And your hat." Magenta removed her hand. "I don't want you to be sick on your first Christmas."