a leaf in a book

[Edmund Grey]

On one of the many walks back from his work, Edmund turned into the book store, not forgetting to clean his boots from the snow outside as he walked in. He was an often enough guest here, including during his school days, thus was a somewhat familiar face. Indicating the second floor with a tip of his head toward one of the employees who glanced his way, he made his way upstairs, lightly running a hand down the row of books as he did so. Right now, he was looking for an updated text concerning healing curses, though he would probably make a few other, lighter purchases. He was, after all, no stranger to reading adventure stories, and sometimes ended up taking a note on more interesting parts of whichever book he was reading.

Browsing the shop was a distraction in itself, so he ended up indecisively drawing a hand around the titles. All of them were concerned with healing, and to him, all of them sounded interesting, but of course, he wasn’t going to buy up the entire section – that was just going to end up looking ridiculous. Instead, he made a mental note not to stay there too late, which was always a struggle, and started picking through the summaries, which was a good idea. Some of the material he knew, so he focused on what was unfamiliar, and thus, new. Whether he'd make a purchase today remained to be seen - if he found what he was looking for or anything of interest.

  

[Millicent Grey]

Finding herself in need of new reading material, Millicent had decided to visit the book store. She had meandered up to the second floor of the shop and was now perusing some of the childrens titles. Selecting a book or two that she would be sure to gift to her children for Christmas, Millie wandered down another aisle.

As she rounded the corner, the last thing she had expected was to see her husbands cousin. Son of blood traitors and had married a muggle himself. Ew. Least the woman died and he had taken a pureblood woman for his second wife. That had not been a much better match since the other lesser Mrs. Grey was close in age to her husband and a foreigner. All sorts of wrong.

"Mister Grey! Fancy seeing you here," she greeted politely, seeing as it would only reflect badly on her to be outright snide.

  

[Edmund Grey]

Just his luck to run into the cousin with sentiments of pureblood idiocy this time. Edmund silently grumbled to himself, but since the woman was polite, he was certain he could do the same. “Mrs. Grey, what an unexpected pleasure,” he greeted, ensuring he didn’t sound like it was quite the opposite. Damn that entire branch of supremacist bigots, anyway. “What brings you by the healers’ texts?”

He and this particular cousin of his didn’t talk much and associate at all, given bad blood between the two family branches, and this was just bad luck they have run into each other at all. Deciding he might as well prepare himself for eventual unpleasantness, he placed the text he was reading before into the basket he was holding and browsed for another. Luckily for him a distraction was at hand, some new texts he could find of use had come out and he busied himself with looking through them, though paying appropriate amount of attention to his cousin. It wouldn’t reflect well on their family overall if they blew up at each other, after all, and he was sure his cousin would keep it in mind when she started in with her snarking. That wasn’t going to wait for long, either, of that he was quite sure.

  

[Millicent Grey]

Millicent was never the dim sort, she knew he was displeased to see her and that only entertained her all the more. "If you bothered to explore more of this floor, you would see that there are children books up here as well. Mostly the classics while the newer stock is downstairs," she explained in a tone that was lightly sprinkled with condescension while somehow managing not to sound so at the same time.

She had hardly ever spoken to the idiot before since he wasn't exactly the sort of company her husband mingled with, thank the heavens. It was really rather sound how wrong the two other Grey brothers opinions on things were. And poor Edmund was infected both by that idiotic Duncan as well as the moronic Alan.

"And you?" She asked, though she supposed his mind was exceedingly too simpe to crawl beyond reading materials beyond his chosen career. "And how is that .. wife .. of yours?"

  

[Edmund Grey]

Mentally, Edmund wrinkled his nose for the oversight, but he didn’t quite want to show that she had a one up on him for now. “Ah, no. You know I tend to be narrow-minded when it comes to my reading choices, though I probably should,” he admitted, recalling that he himself could, in fact, use to browse among the children’s books. “I shall try to avoid passing my narrow-mindedness to my children,” he added drily, hoping it didn’t come across as if he either was making fun of her or of himself. Sometimes not getting along helped rather than hindered and bless her existence, Edmund grudgingly admitted, Millicent Grey was of the former rather than the latter nature.

“Both of us are quite well, thank you for asking,” he answered instead to the question. “What about Jefferson and others?” He was uncertain how many ‘others’ there were by now, which just showed how out of touch they were. Edmund made himself a mental note to send something nice for Christmas and ensure he avoided snarky tone he usually took with that branch of family. He called himself narrow-minded, aye, but in some hopeless cases like his cousins, it was, in fact, otherwise. Of course, showing what he thought of that wouldn’t do, so he merely kept an expression of polite interest on his face as he asked, though no doubt the woman would see right through it.


@Millicent Grey

  

[Millicent Grey]

Millicent made no efforts to hide the small, self-satisfied smile that played at the corners of her lips. "I would hope that your children grow up well," she stated, making it sound like she was agreeing that narrowmindedness of a parent should not be passed to a child. No doubt Edmund would catch what her true meaning was though. Well brought up children knew who was of value in society. Those of pure blood.

As if he cared but Millicent played this game well enough. "My husband fares quite well. As do the children. Two, currently. I have heard that Katharina has given you your first child? A little girl?"

  

[Edmund Grey]

Being raised better, in his opinion, than his cousin, Edmund desisted an eyeroll at her self-satisfied smile, though he was terribly temped to do so. Children’s books being on same level seemed to be a safe conversation, however, so he could stick to those once they got the pleasantries out of the way.

“Indeed, I’ll be certain to mention your opinion to both Christopher and my daughter, once she’s old enough to understand our ways,” was all he said on the topic, though it wasn’t as if he was ever planning on it. He and Katharina neither subscribed to what his darling cousin and her husband – and really, majority of the Grey family – considered to be ‘proper’ pureblood upper-class upbringing, so chances were their children were going to receive those dogmas under the ‘not to do’.

“Oh?” He wasn’t precisely aware, but he thought it was about that much. “I wish well you all, then,” he added sincerely, not at all being facetious at the moment. Far it be from him to wish unhappy times on the others when he got through those, barely, himself. “And yes, indeed she had, as I mentioned before.” Now it was his turn to attempt hiding a self-satisfied smile. “Cassandra and her mother are both quite healthy.” And if that hadn’t made him proud for both, he couldn’t quite think of what it would be, particularly since this time it wouldn’t at all be odd considering he was being asked after them.


@Millicent Grey

  

[Millicent Grey]

He was mocking her, she could tell. Ugh, how she hated this one. "A fine name," she said, a rare compliment. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I shall see you at the next major family function." Thank God those were rare!

  

[Edmund Grey]

Major family functions were something he didn’t relish attending at all, but would do so if only to avoid the inevitable questions of his whereabouts soon after, though he did bow his head in acknowledgement of the woman’s rather unexpected compliment. “Of course. It was a pleasure seeing you, Mrs. Grey.” Not, but he wasn’t about to say so.

His selection of materials in hand, Edmund waited politely for the woman to take her leave before he would do the same. That was one company he would hope to run less into, and he was sure she was of the like mind concerning him.

  

[Millicent Grey]

What? She wasn't totally heinous and maybe this little Cassandra would act right. With one last look and managing to keep her disdain out of it, Millie made her leave. She would have to take more care in where she took her business in the future.