Le Lune et La Beau

-Chapter One-

In a run down bookshop, in the dustiest aisle of books in a little-old place called Knockturn Alley, a girl with slightly curly brown hair was sitting down, cross-legged with her small button of a nose in a dusty book.

Hermione had wanted to look for old curses, like the one Lord Voldemort had put on Harry, not so long ago. She couldn't find anything in her own spell books that was even remotely similar to Harry's curse.

Lately, Harry had been seen shouting continuous swearwords at the top of his lungs; running around in tight circles and trying to stab people, including his friends...with a shoe. However, it didn't have to be Harry's own shoes, as she had only found out last week...but that was another story.

Hermione had found the curse very hard to crack so had come here, in search of her answers.

Hermione had told Ron to meet her at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, but after waiting nearly an hour and a half for him, she had told Tom the barman, to tell Ron where she'd be.

And so, here she was.

Hermione now had a dusty black book in her lap entitled 'Favourite Curses: from the 13^th Century-15^th Century.' She was slowly leafing through the pages, when in walked a tall orange-headed wizard.

The wizard tripped over his abnormally large feet as he crossed the threshold, swearing "SHIT! Bloody feet!"

"Oi Ron! Come over here!"

"Oh there you are, 'Mione." Having seen her head popping out from the back aisle, Ron walked over to her.

"Man Ron, if you keep swearing like that you'll start sounding like Harry," she laughed.

Ron laughed too as he sat down awkwardly, beside her.

"So where have you been? I waited an hour and a half for you in the Leaky Cauldron, and then another half an hour here. And I still haven't had anything to eat... I was waiting for you." Hermione said stormily.

"Oh, I, um, I was with Alex."

"Oh ok then, so how is -s," she started saying, but he cut her off.

"Oh Alex is great. We've just been to the Muggle movies, it was awesome."

"Really? What did you two watch?"

"Oh, this really funny thing called 'Best Men'. Have you seen it yet? This Muggle-dude gets out of jail and wants to marry his girlfriend and on their wedding day, his best men rob a Muggle bank. It has that Muggle chick in it."

"Uh Ron... what one," Hermione asked sarcastically.

"Um, that one who had a brother who was an alien.... Oh no, that's not it. She had a brother who had a friend that was an alien. I think her name's Drew. Funny name for a girl, don't you think?"

"No Ron."

Ron sighed.

"So ... when are we going to meet this wonderful girlfriend that you don't stop talking about, huh?"

"Yeah.... my Girlfriend. Well, I don't think we could stand both yours and Harry's interrogations, even in the state he's in."

"So...When then?" she asked curiously.

"Soon just not too soon, you know what I mean?"

"Ok. I understand." She saw his worried face and she grinned. "Don't worry!"

Ron, however, still looked uneasy, and he changed the subject.

"So, are you ready for your N.E.W.T year? I mean there must be some room left in that brain of yours!" he joked, trying to suppress the guilt he felt, about what happened last year.

"Oh ha ha," she replied, still leafing through the series of: Favourite Curses.

Hermione had bit back a nasty reply, as it was still a sore topic for Ron. Not that he didn't deserve it, she thought. She remembered it quite well.

Last term, Ron and Harry were getting up to mischief as usual, but they had taken up the horrid habit of smoking. They were always going off without Hermione, not that they didn't ask her to come along and join in. But it wasn't just Harry's acute depression he now had that worried Hermione severely, it was the fact that she had found out that Ron had started smoking Marijuana, with Harry jumping on the band wagon.

He and Harry finally got caught and Ron and Harry were suspended for three weeks. Dumbledore was very disappointed in them.

Harry had come back to school, out of the habit and seemed happier for it. He had been gardening for Mrs Figg and it had taken his mind off the depression he felt towards the world and Sirius.

Ron came back from the suspension with a smug look on his face. He had visited Bill in Egypt. With a bit of interrogation, Hermione Style, she had found out that Ron had met someone in Egypt, called Alex.

Three months later, Ron and Alex were still going out, but on the eve of their three-month anniversary, Ron and Harry had a random drug check.

Harry was clean.

Ron wasn't.

Ron was found with Marijuana in his pockets and in his school trunk.

Ron was expelled the next day.

Hermione and Molly Weasley were both furious. He hadn't finished his exams and he was smoking Marijuana of all things!

Molly kicked him out of the Burrow because she had been very embarrassed. So Ron had moved in with Alex. Ginny had stayed loyal to her favourite brother, and despite her parents' protest's; she moved out of the Burrow and went to live with Ron and Alex.

Ron and Ginny seemed to be keeping a secret from their family and friends, and Hermione was sure it had something to do with Ron's girlfriend.

However, it was none of Hermione's business, as she had repeatedly told herself. I must keep out of others' business if I want them out of mine.

"So Ron," she carried on, "what have you planned to do this year?"

"Oh, I dunno, we were sort of thinking of moving to Hogsmeade, so it would be easier for Gin' at school. I'll probably work with Fred and George in Hogsmeade at their new joke shop. You know that they landed a partnership with Zonkos? It'll be massive; Zonkos was their whole inspiration for the shop, while at school, not to mention Harry's money...great investment that was." Ron sighed.

"Yeah." Hermione stood up and walked over to the counter to pay for her dusty spell books. "That's great; those boys always were the jokers in school and now they're doing really well out of it."

Hermione paid 2 galleons and 5 sickles all up for her books, and she and Ron walked slowly back to the Leaky Cauldron, carrying armfuls of books each, to see if Harry was there yet.

"Hey Ron, what's the time?"

"It's nearly 12:30."

"Well, Harry should be here in half an hour, so, what do you wanna do in the meantime?"

They had just passed Quality Quidditch Supplies and Ron was staring through the windows, passed the new Meteor broomstick in the front display window.

"Um, 'Mione, lets go in here, ok?"

"Alright, but not too long, I need to get some new quills."

"Oh, ok". Ron felt a little sad about that once she had said it. He would definitely miss school, strange, but true.

Ron walked through the doors of Q.Q.S first and walked around to peer at the new broom.

Ron knew that today was Alex's day off at Q.Q.S but he was making sure that he wasn't just 'helping out'. Alex was such a work-a-holic!

Ron quickly scanned his eyes around the room to make sure Alex wasn't there. Seeing that he wasn't, Ron looked at the Meteor some more and envisioned yet again about riding the other brooms. He had already done that last week too, while waiting for Alex.

Hermione amazingly, was staring at the Meteor also. It was an International racing broom and it was very expensive.

He had already taken this broom for a test drive when Alex had brought it home a month ago to just 'check it out'. The Meteor was so fast, and Ron had found that out once he had landed the broom, because his boyfriend had told him his hair looked similar to hedgehogs' needles 'cause it was all standing up on end.

"So, 'Mione, you like the Meteor?"

"Yeah, it's...beautiful! I wouldn't believe me either.... But I would definitely get over my phobia of heights and flying for this broom."

"Wow, that's huge 'Mione!"

"I know...I wonder...."

"What?"

"Whether I could buy it...."

"What?!!!!!" Ron said sounding excited.

"I said...I could buy it!" she laughed sounding more excited than Ron ever had in his whole life.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard what you said but where will you get the money?"

"Well, from my mums Aunt. My Great Aunt Agatha put me in her will a few years ago. I was the only recipient of her estate and since I turn 18 soon and since she passed last year, I have the money and her house in France under my name," she mumbled.

"Wow! Why didn't you tell us?"

"I dunno. It just didn't come up."

"So," he said after getting over the shock of both of his best friends being utterly and totally richer than he was, he carried on, "You're gonna buy it?"

"Mmm," she mumbled, deciding, "Yeah!" By now she was jumping up and down all over the place.

"So..."

"Do you think they'd just let me buy it now? I mean, after I tell them and get out the money from my vault at Gringotts?"

"Oh no, you have to wait for Al-," Ron had nearly slipped and since he had finally realised what Hermione buying a broom from here meant, he was definitely worried, "um - I mean, you should ask them and they'd probably just take out the money from your vault by themselves, anyway."

"Oh ok," she said, looking at Ron curiously.

"Uh, do you want me to come with you?"

"Sure, if you want."

Hermione walked over to the counter with a noticeable skip in her step and she looked extremely excited.

Hermione rang the little bell on the counter and one of the assistants came and said, "Yes, Miss....?"

"Hi. I'm thinking of buying your Meteor broom..."

Ron looked up at the man behind the counter and soon saw that it was Alex's best friend and workmate, Brian.

"Ron! How are you mate?" Brian exclaimed upon seeing him behind Hermione, his new customer.

"Hey, Brian," he responded quietly.

"He's not in today..." Brian said.

"Yeah, I know..."

Hermione turned around to Ron asking, "You know each other?"

"Yeah Ron is Al-," Brian started, but Ron interrupted him, saying "I know his family." Ron clearly didn't want Hermione to find out this way, about Alex.

"Oh ok, um," Hermione said not completely sure.

"So!" Brian said, seeming to have caught on to what Ron had just done, "you want to purchase our baby, huh?" He led her over to the purple couches beside the counter. He sat down.

"Yeah it is a beauty," Hermione gushed as she turned around to look at it. Brian took this quick chance to glare at Ron, a look that said simply, Tell her!

Ron looked at his watch, and saw that it was nearly 1 O'clock. He quickly told Hermione that he was going to find Harry, and with a little nod at Brian meaning, don't tell her, I will, he left. She said bye to him and she continued talking to Brian.

"Brian, how do I go about this?" she said. She sat down on the purple couch opposite Brian's.

"Well, I have to talk to our broom expert, but he's.... it's his day off," he said, looking curiously peed off towards the door.

"Oh ok, I guess I can wait another day," she said sadly, sighing.

"Oh no miss, I'll get him right now," he jumped out of the cushy couch and went towards the big open fire behind the counter. He grabbed some floo powder from the container on the mantel, chucked it into the, now roaring fire, saying "Alex Le Lune."

Hermione was vaguely aware of knowing the name, but she pushed it aside as she was so excited about getting her new broom.

A beautiful man's face appeared in the fire, it said "What Brian? It's my day off; you know my partner hates me going into work when it's my day off..."

"Yes, yes I know, but...huh, we have a customer here, who wants to purchase the Meteor...." Brian explained calmly.

"Oh, wow. Ok I'll be right there!"

And with that his head was gone.

A few seconds later there was a small pop in the back of the shop.

In came the handsome man with the handsome head. He was very tall, with short black curly hair, which reminded Hermione of lamb's wool, and a short black goatee. He was immaculately dressed, in a white shirt and black dress pants.

He walked towards Brian and Hermione who were both on the purple couches. He put his hand out to her and shook her hand.

"I'm Alex Le Lune, I am the Broom Expert here," he said smiling, showing dazzlingly white teeth, and sat down on the couch with Brian.

"I'll leave you two to it," Brian said and left to go and ask the new customers if they needed help.

"And you are?"

"Oh sorry, I'm Hermione Granger," she smiled back.

"The same 'Mione Granger, that's best friends with Ron Weasley?" he said with a small smile pulling at his cracked lips.

"Yes...." She said uncertainly.

"Oh my god, it is great to finally meet you, 'Mione" he leapt off his couch and hugged her, "you don't mind me calling you that?"

"Um, no," she was a bit confused as to the hug.... from a complete stranger, no less.

"But, who are you again?" she asked feeling rude.

"Alex. Alex Le Lune," he repeated.

Ron and Harry walked in right then.

"Uh 'Mione, I found Harry, he was...Alex?" he said, when he saw who she was talking to.

"Ron! What are you doing here, hun?" Alex laughed.

"I could ask you the same thing," Ron said, looking at Hermione and Harry awkwardly.

"Ron, is there something you need to tell us?" Hermione asked, very curiously.

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