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Pandora Lovegood, born Pandora Malfoy, had spent a lot of her time at Hogwarts quietly taking money out of her family vault and slipping it into a private vault. The goblins asked no questions, they never did. If you had the key and the permission, you were free to do as you wish. That small fortune, which really wasn't that much off the top of the Malfoy fortune, was what had allowed her to open a fortune telling shop in the heart of Hogsmeade.
Lily wasn't from a poor family, but that didn't mean her family where rich either. Besides, between Petunia and her father, there wasn't much love left for her in her family. The last thing she wanted to do was ask them for money. So she'd worked hard, and maybe her mum had helped out a little, to get enough money for the small corner shop in the centre of Hogsmeade. The flat above the shop became her home, and she at last had a place of her own. Up until getting the shop she had been living in a shared flat with Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas.
The fortune telling shop hadn't always been Pandora's plan. Especially not in Hogsmeade. Her original plan had been a piercing shop somewhere in muggle Scotland. Maybe combine it with a tattoo shop, possibly even a fortune telling shop. Pandora didn't like being seer, but well, it made sense to stick in the wizarding world. There would come a day her brother would have children, and while the Malfoy family weren't physically abusive, they certainly weren't the sort of family you wanted. Besides, magic was beautiful and she didn't want to leave it behind.
Lily hadn't chosen the shop for it's position in town, nor the nearby shops, she had chosen it for the price and the flat. She was intrigued in fortune telling, but she didn't really like the idea of visiting the shop next to her growing bookshop. She had books for sale in one half of her shop, and a library in the other. It was her dream shop, and the windows wrapping around half the walls brought in the perfect amount of light.
The doorbell to Lily's bookshop jingled. She'd not even opened that long ago, she'd only just got back to the desk at the back of her shop after flipping the sign. Admittedly she had walked through her shop slowly, but she hadn't expected anyone for a few hours.
"Woah," she heard a familiar voice say as the person stepped into her shop. Lily couldn't help but smile. She'd put in a lot of work to make her shop a beautiful and comfortable space. The person stepped into view, and Lily's heart fluttered a little. She'd recognise Pandora anywhere. They hadn't been close in school, hell they'd hardly talked, but they had a similar friend group. Pandora was friends with Dorcas, and Dorcas was dating Marlene, and Marlene had been one of Lily's dorm-mates.
"Hi," Lily greeted, smiling at her.
"You've really outdone yourself with this shop Lily," Pandora said, spinning around to take it in. Lily beamed at her as she stopped facing her again.
"Thanks Pandora, the library is to your left, and the bookshop to your right," she said. Pandora nodded. The areas did blend together a little, but Lily had made the library bookshelves a light wood and the shop shelves a dark wood. Each library book clearly stated it was not for sale.
"This is amazing," she said, turning to the shop half. "You could add like a flower stall or something."
"I don't think it'd fit," Lily said. Pandora shrugged.
"Maybe your other next door neighbour will be a florist," Pandora suggested.
"Maybe," she agreed. "What's the focus on flowers?" Pandora slipped out of the shelves and smiled at her.
"They're pretty, and books and flowers go together," she said. Lily smiled back at her, and watched as she flipped the book upside down to read it. Lily had gotten used to it, Pandora found it easier to read upside down, she didn't understand it but she was used to it.
"I suppose they do," Lily said.
"Make it easier to flirt with you too," Pandora muttered.
"What?" she asked. Pandora looked up and grinned at her.
"Aren't you aware?" she asked. "I've been trying to flirt since Hogwarts."
"You have?" Lily asked.
"Ask Dorcas, she'll confirm it. Admittedly she always told me I was awful at it," Pandora said. "By the way I'm getting this book." Lily nodded at her and watched as she went back to looking through the shelves. She wasn't sure what to make of it. Pandora hadn't been Lily's gay awakening, but Lily had gotten a crush on her back in Hogwarts.
It was hard not to. Pandora was beautiful, and kind, and a little secretive. She was nerdy and creative. Lily had once watched Pandora punch a blood purist, and then punch a sexist right after. There weren't many times Pandora had gotten violent, but when she did there was usually a pretty good reason.And it was oddly pretty attractive.
"Do you wanna go on a date?" Lily asked loudly and suddenly.
"Yeah," Pandora said, appearing at the desk. "When?"
"When's your lunch break?" she asked.
"I'm free from 12 to 1 today," she said. "Fancy a meal at the Hogs Head, or the Three Broomsticks?"
"Pub date? You didn't strike me as the type," Lily said.
"The cafe is closed today, we'll have to make do," Pandora said.
"I'll see you at noon then," she said grinning.
"I'll find some flowers somewhere," she promised. "But for now, I'm going to keep looking for some books." Lily nodded and watched her disappear back into the shelves.