multiversallogs | (no subject)

Who: Hermione Granger, Martha Jones
What: Tea and a chat. (And Hermione not realising that this is the Snape-Jones Cottage as opposed to just the Jones Cottage).
Where: Barrackham train station, then the Snape-Jones Cottage
When: day of Hermione's arrival.
Warnings: TBA, probably none.

Hermione had realised on the train that she had no idea what she was getting into- or who, really, she was meeting. It was enough to make her pause before messaging Martha- but what choice did she have, really? There were countless strangers here, and Martha's trustworthiness had been vouched for in the strongest terms. Admittedly, Snape had been the one to tell her that- but after everything which had been revealed to her about him, she had to take his word for it.

Anyway, for someone Snape seemed to hold in such high regard (even telling her to be polite to her- if she hadn't known better, Hermione would have wondered if there was some kind of romantic entanglement or something there, but by merit of who he was the thought wasn't even properly addressed) she seemed inordinately nice. Friendly, even. Cheerful, in fact.

It was probably a little stupid and incautious, but after the day she'd had, the prospect of tea with someone cheerful certainly wasn't unwelcome.

She stood in the train station feeling awkward, dressed in a dark trouser suit and trying to look as if she knew her way around perfectly well, though she took nervous looks at signs and the frown on her face never quite left. The train journey had made her realise how big the city really was, and how many different types of people it housed, not to mention the surprising normality of the city's daily life; there were people in uniforms, people going to work, people with shopping in their arms- and stranger things, too, but she knew enough not to stare too eagerly. And now she was adrift in the middle of it all, endeavouring to seem both harmless and unharmable.

She found herself hoping- rather nervously- that Dr Jones wouldn't be late.

Threaded | Flat

Normally Martha tended to run anywhere between ten and twenty minutes late. It was a habit left over from medical school, and even now as a doctor she couldn't shake it. Her perception of time had been skewed a bit, and because of that, she kept people waiting often. But not today. No, today was about worry for Hermione and making certain that she knew as much as she could about the place when the Lestranges were here. Granted, Martha herself didn't have any information yet, but she didn't want to be responsible for Hermione being out here alone. It was completely irrational, but for the moment it was easier to focus on someone else's safety than her own.

So here she was waiting. While she waited at the train station, Martha had been doing some thinking. In this case thinking meant that she was engaging in a bit of pacing. She was entirely uncertain where to proceed with this, and perhaps she should have told her husband that she was bringing Hermione home. And right now she wasn't at all certain what, if anything Severus had told Hermione other than that she could be trusted.

Seeing the girl, Martha waved, and then quickly she moved through the crowd with a welcoming smile on her face. After two years hoping that Hermione would show up aboard the Barge, Martha had thought that she'd need to wait to go home and met the woman whom she'd so long admired from afar, but now here she was in some of the most odd circumstances available. One hand extended towards Hermione, and she spoke quickly. "Hello. I'm Martha."