As luck would have it | {aurora & daisy}
( @hookumiisms )
Standing on the well-worn cobblestones of Diagon Alley, Aurora felt at ease. She could still remember the excitement that welled up in her stomach each year when a new supply list came by owl from Hogwarts and her mother would bring her here to make the rounds. Each trip meant new subjects to learn in her classes, and new quills, ink, parchment, and all the very best new books to help her master them. Of all the supplies, the books had always been her favorite. Standing in front of Flourish and Blotts, she felt that child-like excitement again. This was perhaps the one place that could momentarily abate the growing anxiety that sat heavily on the brunette’s shoulders as the situation in London grew gradually more dire. For a moment, the trace of a wistful smile curved her lips.
If she were here for pleasure, that smile might’ve grown, the warmth of sentimentality actually reaching her eyes. There had been many trips through these streets to this very storefront in years past, always with the intention of finding a new and even more obscure book to add to her collection--more knowledge for her to consume. Aurora had never left without the satisfaction of a heavier load, but today held the promise of a heavier weight than usual upon her departure, and she was hesitant to make the move.
Drawing in a breath, she staved off her inner anxiety long enough to enter, listening to the bright, brassy bells clamoring overhead. The smell of ink on fragile pages struck her so heavily that she closed her eyes, simply breathing it in for a moment. There really was nothing more satisfying. It allowed her to drop her guard; but only just. She was here with a mission in mind, and where wandering gaze and thumbing through dusty tomes usually followed her entrance, Aurora instead moved straight away toward the shopkeeper’s desk, looking curiously around for someone she’d been promised to meet here.
When finally a young redheaded witch appeared, Aurora smiled as kind a smile as she could muster, given the way her palms were beginning to slicken with hastening dread. “Good afternoon,” she started, swallowing to re-moisten the suddenly very dry back of her throat. “I’m looking for a... uh, a certain book. I was wondering if you might have it, perhaps behind the counter?” Why hadn’t they come up with a code word? Aurora had never seen this witch before. The only way she could be certain she was even talking to the right person was the fact that only one employee manned the shop at this specific time on this specific day, but even then, she was nervous to divulge any more information. One really couldn’t be too cautious these days.
