Patronus Problems

Summary: Draco had been trying to get his patronus right, but he doesn't have a happy memory. Due to lack of one, he gets a job at a yogurt parlor, gets into mischief, and much more including Hermione in a lot of it. In the end, will his patronus charm finally work? T for cursing. AU. A tad OOC.


He tried, and kept getting it wrong each time. He let his hand fall to his side again, before chanting it aloud once more.

"Expecto Patronum!"

His fiery dragon flew through the air, lifting its wings faintly before disappearing. He groaned.

"Damnit."

He had been trying to cast this charm for over three hours, but nothing strange and powerful had happened. He knew now that his patronus was a dragon, its slivery wings lifting in the air, trying to attack. Nothing like that had happened however, and it made him furious.

Yes, he was in his seventh and last year of Hogwarts, and hadn't tried in his past years to get the Patronus charm right. His colleagues thoroughly got it, and he watched as Pansy's flew over his head. Blaise's was a bit of a resemblance to Pansy's.

Though Draco however, was WAY different from them. His was a dragon for Merlin's sake. In the book he took from the library, Charms and Spells: an Expert's Guide, it said that when he had searched underneath the special category of patronuses, it had his labeled as number one.

He distinctly remembered how his fourth year teacher saying, that when conjuring a patronus, you need to have a happy memory to make it work. But the problem was…

He didn't have one.

Throughout his seventeen years of living had not one good thing come out of it. Being a Malfoy had its advantages but nothing was happy about being one. Especially if your parents were labeled as criminals and sent to Azkaban right after the war.

So he dropped his wand onto the desk by him, and lay down onto his plush bed, covered in green satin. He stared at the ceiling, and waited for his acquaintances to come back. Pansy and Blaise had gone off from London to get away from everything, and since he had been completely alone, he decided that staying with some new people wouldn't be as bad.

He heard the door open and creak loudly from his room. He looked at his door, and heard soft footfalls on the ground below him. Instantly, his stomach growled. He was hungry, and one of them was back.

He jumped off his bed, and ran out the door to jump a few steps down the rickety stairs. After he had got off the last step had a voice come from the side of him.

"I'm back Malfoy-even though I have a suspicion you know already from your entrance." A dainty voice had said so low he could hardly hear. A smirk had lifted on his features, and he walked—more like swaggered—into the kitchen where he found the round of bushy and smooth curls covering her face.

"Granger." He spoke in a monotone voice, turning to see her put a round looking tool onto the stove. "What..?"

"It's a pot Malfoy. You know, if you could have taken muggle studies, you wouldn't be in much of a predicament about asking what things are here. After all, this is Grimmauld Place. You should know by now." She said without taking a glance or looking at him, but paying attention to the pot and the box she held in her hand.

He scoffed, "Muggle Studies? Please. Could you imagine a Malfoy taking muggle studies?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well your godfather did. I'm sure you know why."

The reply he had gotten from her pummeled him in his heart as he heard of his godfather again. That really was the only person he could rely on when he needed help the most during their sixth year, but now he was gone. He turned her around and gave her a hard glare. Her face stayed grave.

"Don't bring him up, Granger. Please don't EVER bring him up again." He all but growled with his face really close to hers. She lifted up an cheap tennis shoe, and brought it down on his foot, and his eyes widened.

She pushed him away from her, and then turned back around to leave Draco alone to hold his foot in pain.

::::

That night had been complete silence. On the table surrounded them with new and handmade dishes that Hermione made herself. She and Draco's roommates (known as Harry and Ron) would be coming back from Auror training soon…well she hoped they would have been home by now since it was 7:30, and their time was to get home at 7:25.

She looked over at Draco who had been picking his food for the past five minutes, and she accidently dropped her fork. From the disruption, Draco looked up, and their eyes met. A flash of hurt went through his grey orbs as he remembered what had occurred only a few hours ago, and he looked back down, taking his fork into the tender meat, and putting it into his mouth.

"Look…" Hermione started, still not turning away from his fast-eating form. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did earlier. It was childish of me, but on the other hand, you had come right up onto me—"

"For the record Granger, I did that because you brought up a bad memory and well…I honestly didn't want to hear any more about it." Draco interrupted after swallowing his food. Hermione sighed, and grabbed her forgotten fork on her plate and slowly chewed, hoping that they would get past this eerie silence. Suddenly she had choked on her piece of meat as he asked her a question she thought she would never hear coming out of his mouth.

"How's your new job going?"

She took a large gulp of water and realized that he had been staring at her while she choked on her food. The nerve of him! She thought, but replied all the same.

"It's alright, I guess. Cindy, my boss, can be grouchy and tell me what to do when it's not my shift in the first place, but I still do it to not lose another job." He nodded, and she took another swallow of potatoes. "What about you? When are you ever going to get out of this house and do something? Like I don't know… get a job like I am?" this time he choked on his food, and coughed.

After being able to breathe again, he looked up at her to see a small smile grazing her face. "Well I was maybe thinking along the lines of doing something muggle-ish. Like you…only not making people greasy food."

She chuckled as did he, and she smiled as she thought of him working as a muggle. How outrageous would it be if his boss told him what to do, and then he would hex him saying, "I am a Malfoy!" and then his boss only scoffed? Oh the irony!

She thought about it a bit. Maybe since she worked down at the small Yogurt parlor, he could too. That would give her some revenge…and or make his hair a complete mess. How much she wanted to do that. It would hurt his reputation as the wonderful Slytherin 'Sex God', but he would still make her laugh. A smirk played on her lips.

"Malfoy, how about you work where I am? I'm sure Cindy has a place open for you somewhere. Like making sure no one touches a button or something." Or something better.

He looked up in thought and rubbed his chin. Maybe working in the same place as Granger wouldn't be as bad. She could teach me the basics if I want to rid of things in the wizarding world like memories of the forgotten. You know… be normal. He thought, and he stared at her before nodding.

She squealed in delight, and picked up her dish and glass, taking it to the sink. She could've easily not have made dinner or taken her dishes to the sink, but instead of disturbing the house elves that lived there still, she did as a muggle would do. Smart girl.

::::

The next morning she got up, and stretched her arms over her head. She looked over at her digital alarm to see it was 9:30 AM, about time for her to work. She stifled a yawn, and got up, lifting her nightshirt over her head. She pulled her work shirt from her clothes rack, and slid it on, grabbing her nametag and stitching it on. On it read 'HERMIONE GRANGER' in big bold letters, and she then grabbed a thing of jeans before going to the loo.

What she got as a morning alarm wasn't what she expected.

Right outside of the bathroom, she had seen a faint crack open and available for Draco's room. A large blue light had been lighting up every time, and she'd hear a groan of frustration, and then a whisper of whatever he was saying.

Usually she would let him be, but she just couldn't. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she gently let her fingers glide over his door slowly before opening to crack to where you could see her eye in the door.

She almost gasped as she saw Draco in his night pants, with no shirt on, and him raking his hand through his unruly blonde tendrils. He held his wand in his hand, and looked down at a book that sat on a nightstand.

He seemed distracted when she had moved away, but the door creaked.

His head turned to the door, in shock and anger as someone had been spying on him. But once he had poked his head through the door, the intruder was gone, nowhere in sight.

::::

Later that morning had things gotten better. Hermione's boss Cindy had told her she could take a few hours off of her shift had been taken from Mark, who had finally shown up for work. She giggled and thought about how Cindy said she would fire him after this. "Oh well Mark…" Hermione murmured to herself, and grabbed her brush, pulling through the tangles and curly hair.

She stopped as she heard Draco coming down the stairs. She sat still in her uniform, putting down the brush, and looking straight at where he would be coming down.

As he passed by the corner, she waved and he looked to jump out of his own skin.

"Holy shit, Granger! Don't you learn to say something before scaring someone?" Draco yelled, holding his fast beating heart.

She giggled, and cocked an eyebrow. "Why so scared eh, Malfoy? I didn't say a word." She smirked. He rolled his eyes and walked the rest of the way towards her. He snapped his fingers, and a small House Elf popped next to him.

"Get me some toast and a few eggs." And the small elf bowed, and disapparated away into the kitchen. Hermione glared at him, and he shrugged as the house elf popped back in a few minutes later with his food. He muttered a 'thanks', and the elf bowed before leaving.

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, and wondered if he had been doing that while she was gone at work. Did he use them like that every day?

"Malfoy! That was quite rude! The kitchen isn't far away!" Hermione scolded, exhaling a huff, and looking away from him. Draco looked over at her, and put down his tray of breakfast. He clapped his hands together, and sighed merrily.

"So….when do I start?" This startled her. Was he talking about his job he was going to get? Was he serious about working at the yogurt parlor? He eyed her clothing. Yup. He was definitely talking about her job.

"Umm…well Cindy had told me that she would meet me at 1:30. That's when I go. Maybe we could go together at around twelve thirty-ish. So we have an hour of her time, and she has a decision and not just a quick yes or no." she explained, and he smirked. She had been caught babbling…again.

"Oh do shut up Malfoy. By the way, did you happen to see the boys come home last night?" she asked, pointing to no bags left on the floor or any trace of them being there. Draco shrugged, and he told her he went to his room around 8 and they still hadn't been home.

Strange.

::::

"Come on, Malfoy! We agreed to this! Let's get moving!" Hermione yelled up to the stairs, where Draco had been for the last thirty minutes. He probably was gelling his hair to grab a nice looking girl while he was there or something, and she rolled her eyes as she heard the rustling of clothes.

"If you don't hurry up, I'm leaving you!" Hermione screamed again, and headed out the front door right as Draco leaped off the last few steps.

He opened the door after her, and found her sitting in her automobile. It looked decent for Hermione's taste, but she put the key into the ignition, and he went to the other side, wondering what it did.

She saw his curious look, and pushed her foot onto the pedal, and he instantly stiffened as they slowly drove down the street.

"Oh come on, Malfoy. It's just a car." Hermione told him, steering the wheel to the left, making him hold onto the seat. After all, he had only gotten to use his new broomstick that he got last year once in his life, and that wasn't a pleasant experience. He still has thorns no man should have thorns! Bloody bushes. (LOL XD)

She rolled her eyes, and kept driving though he was breathing very slowly and shallow even if they were going 25 miles per hour.

::::

"We're here Malfoy. Get out before you hurt your hand more." Hermione put her hands on her hips, and he opened the door before retreating from the car. He slammed the door, and rubbed his sore hand from grabbing the seat too much. Hermione giggled. Draco groaned.

"Why couldn't we apparate here? It would've been so much easier to do instead of using this, " he pointed to the car in disgust, "thing."

Hermione widened her eyes as a few passing muggles had come down the street, looking at them peculiarly about the subject. She laughed nervously at their confused faces. After they had left, she glared at Draco, and grabbed his wrist, taking him to another direction.

"You don't just say that out loud, Malfoy! You do realize that we could get in serious trouble for violating ministry rules?!" she screeched in a low whisper, and he shrugged, taking his wrist from her tight hold.

"Let's just go…wait, why did you stop?" he asked as he saw her stop in front of the shop. Was this where she worked?

"Malfoy…." She rolled her eyes, and opened the door, Draco immediately following her inside. Hermione lifted off her thin jacket from her shoulders, and hung it on a nearby coat racket. Supposedly it was for the workers.

"Cindy! I'm here a bit early!" Hermione yelled into the kitchen, and a small girl around the size of Hermione had walked out.

"Oh hullo Hermione. Why are you here so early?" This girl wasn't Cindy, but her assistant instead. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and azure eyes, much like Ron's were. She looked a bit shy by looking back at Draco and then Hermione again.

"Hi Karissa. So… how's Mark doing on the job so far today?" Hermione asked, ignoring the constant reminder that she was there for Draco to get an interview and show-off for him to get a job there. Karissa scoffed and stared at the boy who had been behind Karissa, working with a mop.

"He's been trying to make a move all day with me. Clearly, he didn't get the hint when I knee'd him." She smiled. Draco felt uncomfortable, and cleared his throat. Karissa and Hermione turned around and looked at him. Hermione's lips formed into a shape of an 'o'.

"I'm terribly sorry for not saying earlier, but this is one of my..." she paused. "Friends… and he here was wondering if he could get a job here using one of the shifts. He's been at home lodging all the time." She giggled as did Karissa. Karissa stopped giggling, and looked straight at Hermione.

"You could have said something earlier! We have to see what Cindy says about it. But I totally approve!" Karissa squealed. "Whelp…gotta go. I think Marko-Polo needs help." And with that, she skipped away.

Hermione finally turned to Draco, who had his arms crossed, and with a furious look on his face. "Now please explain when Cindy had left. I thought you said she'd be here!"

She shrugged. "I thought so too. Maybe she went out to lunch or something. Maybe we should…" but before she could finish her sentence, the bell on the door had rung. Cindy was back.

"Oh Hermione! Fancy seeing you here!" Cindy replied with an obvious fake smile, and completely passed by both of them, leaving Draco to leave his fists clenched. As Cindy had got around to the other side, Draco got a look at her.

She had thin straight red hair, going down directly to the middle of her chest, where a bit of cleavage was showing. Her eyes were the color of green, and she wore nothing but a clip in her hair.

She noticed Draco, and flirtatiously looked at him. "Well hello there… and who's this dashing young man here?" she asked, never taking her eyes off of him.

"Umm...well this is my friend, and he was wondering if he could..."

"HAVE A JOB? Of course! We have two things available! Wait hold on." And she put her hand up before yelling for Mark.

Mark came in, and stood up nice and high. "You're fired." Cindy drawled, and the smile that lit up Mark's face before disappeared. Hermione snorted, and he glared at her, before grabbing his coat off the coat rack, throwing hers on the ground on purpose before slamming the door open furiously.

This time, Hermione laughed out loud, and Draco was precautious to see if her boss was mad about it. Nope.

When he stared at Cindy, all she was doing was looking at him, batting her eyelashes at him, and giggling slightly. Draco shook his head when she wasn't looking, and saw Hermione's battered jacket on the floor, and went to pick it up. He gently put it back up on the coat racket and realized that people were staring at him.

He got creeped out by the stares, and looked at Cindy.

"So… which shifts are available?"

::::

"You did absolutely brilliant today, Malfoy!" Hermione smiled at him, as she saw him get his uniform from Cindy's hands. She had left her hands on top of his, before leaving both of them. It was night now, and he looked incredibly tired from all the work.

Hermione extended her hand in front of him, and he looked at it. "You shake it to show your one of us now. You're officially a worker at the yogurt parlor!" and he took her hand proudly. A shock went through his body from the feel of her hand in his, and he pulled away.

Karissa burst in, out of breath, her blonde hair piled in one of the hairnets. "So… he's one of us now?" she asked, still panting for breath, when he spoke finally in front of her.

"Why can't you ask the one who you're talking about?" he asked, winking at her playfully. Karissa basically swooned from his voice, and walked out the door into the kitchen.

He worked as a maker, a person just like Hermione was. Since it was just his first day, he got the basics from Hermione herself, who had very handy skills with the blending machine. He got to serve a few customers while Hermione was by his side the whole time. He was happy. And I guess you could say that she was too.

Well, for the night.

::::

When they got home, there still was no sign of Harry or Ron anywhere. They hadn't been home in the last two to three days, and Hermione looked worried. Draco left up to the stairs, and plopped down on his bed, wondering how he had gotten a muggle job so fast. Was it only because of his looks, or did he have to go through something beforehand? He would ask Hermione later. Tonight, he needed sleep.

::::

The next morning, he woke with a smile on his face. Today was the first day of his shift without any help. He had hoped that he would do well so that he could keep his job (even though the boss clearly fancied him.)

Though working with Hermione was fine for now, he still had memories over the few months he started to live with them. Unfortunately, nothing worked.

Soon enough had Hermione became a reasonable person, and exchanged a truce with him so that they could at least not call each other names or hex each other until they were down on the ground. Harry and Ron told her it was the wrong thing to do at first, but she told them that she knew what she was doing, and they finally agreed with her after three times of arguing about it.

He looked down at his watch read 8:45, and his wand had sat next to him on the many momentous mornings. He picked it up, and closed his eyes. He knew the spell, but he just couldn't find a happy memory or a spark to start his patronus. With nothing to mind, he whispered shallow,

"Expecto Patronum."

::::

Hermione woke up around thirty minutes later than him and she had got up to get some coffee. This was her usual routine knowing that she may need her shower and a coffee to brighten her mood if she was in a bad one. But before she could make it one step down the stairs, she heard and saw it again. The blue light from underneath his door. Hermione rolled her eyes as she trudged over to the door, and looked into his keyhole. There he stood in glory, this time with a shirt on, the uniform one, and his pants sitting on his bed. He stood in clad boxers!

A blush stained her cheeks as she looked back up to his backside and a book and wand in hand again. This was the second time she saw him doing this. But why was he doing it?

She backed away from the door in order for him not to get angry, when she felt her phone vibrate. *SHE HAS A PHONE SINCE THIS IS An AU STORY! NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION…*

She took it out and looked at it to see it was not just a text from Karissa but she was way behind on schedule. And so was Draco. So being really quiet, she gently knocked on the door, and the light from his room disappeared.

Opening his door as if nothing happened, a small smile appeared on his lips at the sight of her. She looked the same just like she did the day before, but instead had a light brown eye shadow on her eyes. Wonder why…?

A blush fell on Hermione's cheeks. "R-ready to go?" she squeaked, cursing herself mentally for acting childish. He nodded quietly, and walked out the door, leaving his wand underneath his bed along with the book for the patronus charm.

As he grabbed his coat from the table next to him, he felt his nerves shaking. He still hadn't gotten the patronus charm down because of not having a happy memory. He groaned silently, hoping Hermione hadn't heard him, and slammed the door while walking behind Hermione.

::::

It had been a week after, and he got the hang of it. At first it was a bit off-the-chart with Cindy being flirty with him, and the help he was getting from Hermione. It was good, except he hadn't found his happy memory yet. Nothing had come to mind, and it frustrated him. But this was a Saturday, normal as usual, but everything was much different than all the other days he was there.

::::

He walked into the parlor, and was surprised at the outcome of people that had shown up this time. If he were to count, there was maybe around double the customers there were the days before! He heard a groan of frustration, and a yell of, "I'm trying!" He looked over.

When he looked at the line that had around five people along with a little girl, Karissa had been behind the counter taking orders. That was her shift for today, and he saw Hermione wave at her stressed face. Karissa only waved back momentarily until she started to argue with thirty-odd year old man wanting a vanilla yogurt.

"Let's get back there before Karissa explodes more than she already has." Hermione whispered, putting her thin jacket onto the rack again, and Draco did the same.

He walked through the door, and saw that no one was accompanying the machine at all. And it was only eleven o' clock in the morning! Why had all these people been there?

Just as he was about to ask Hermione a question, Cindy walked out with a smile on her face. Her hair was in a high ponytail, and she didn't look like she even worked a day in her life.

Draco's eyes widened. Hermione's mouth gaped like a fish.

"Erm…Cindy? What's with the get-up?" Hermione asked, putting on a fake smile. Cindy chuckled sarcastically seeing it.

"It's for the critic that's going to be here in a few hours. Since he was dashingly handsome if I say so myself, I was hoping to…" a smirk lifted on her face, "grab his attention."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Cindy walked away in her high heels, and Draco then turned to her.

"What the hell just happened?"

Hermione looked at him as if he was dumb, and then pushed the button to start up the machine. He looked over at Karissa, who had finally got ahold of the customers, except for the one that had gone out the door in anger.

He looked back at Hermione, who had been opening a bag of cups, and he got to work.

::::

Umm… I would like a chocolate frozen yogurt with sprinkles please!" the little girl mumbled loud enough for Karissa to hear. She typed in the order, and pulled it out to add it to the other orders.

Draco yanked it off, and told Hermione, who brought out the cup. Draco took the cup, and pushed it under the machine. He pulled the lever, and filled it to the rim. Trying to find the sprinkles, he stared at some different colored candy. He put them on.

"Here. A chocolate yogurt with sprinklers!" he said, handing her the ice cream, but she put it back onto the table. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Those are gummies. And it's sprinkles... not sprinklers." She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for his reply. She's like a mini Granger! He thought, and scoffed, stuffing it back into her hands.

"It's fine. Take the gummies off. I didn't know, okay? It's my first time on the job." He whispered harshly, mostly talking to himself, but the little girl had heard him. After glancing at Hermione once and Karissa, he heard sniffling. He looked back at the girl whose eyes were filling with tears. The woman next to her had seen this and wrapped her child into her arms. The woman gave him a haughty glare.

"Learn some manners, young man! You should be ashamed of yourself! Talking to my daughter like that! She's only six!" she spat at him, and he was taken aback. He had never heard of a muggle talk to him like that, and he felt violated. He stared back at her, and to the little girl, who was sniffling.

He sighed, but didn't pay attention to the woman again; he only took the chocolate yogurt gently from her tiny grasp, and went back to the machine.

He plucked off the gummies, and dumped them into the bin, finding new colored candies next to the gummies. They were much smaller, and looked to be miniature wands. He could remember that.

He picked up the spoon, and poured them on top of the yogurt. Making sure that he was right, he took it back, and saw the girl's eyes brighten and twinkle with delight. He had sure done it right.

"Thank you Mister…" she looked at his name tag on his shirt, "Dry-co."

He heard Hermione snort, and he turned to her. She had a small smile on her face, and he heard the doorbell signaling their dismissal. He smirked, and walked slowly to Hermione, meeting her in the middle. "Never see the day where someone would get upset with the almighty charming Malfoy." She spoke sarcastically. He rolled his eyes, but nonetheless agreed with her.

He saw her in a different light now, and that scared him. But it also made him feel warm inside. Spending all this time with Granger must've got to his head or...

It was just the feeling of being happy.

::::

At the end of the day, he was about to ask if Hermione was okay with leaving, when he heard shouting and screaming.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't find out your scheme, Cindy?" that was Hermione's voice.

"Oh shut up Hermione. It's not like you wouldn't find something to do about it." Cindy sounded bored.

"But that was the problem! I was in there, working my arse off…" Draco gasped silently at this, "And here you are dressed like a pixie! The critic wasn't even real!"

"Oh, yes he was." He heard panting, and a large exhale. He instantly knew Hermione was about to lecture.

"Listen to me Cindy. Even though I may be just a worker, and you're just my boss, but I have never… and I mean this… met someone so shallow and lazy in my life. Never would I take up the responsibilities of being a boss of three hard-lifting workers, and take advantage to be lazy for a day! I don't care what you have to say to me or Karissa for that matter... She was working hard too! Hell, Mal-Draco was working hard!"

Hearing his name come out of her lips made him jump out of his skin. It felt strange to hear her out of all people say that. Then he heard her again.

"Why would you put up the sign so early?" she asked. So that's why there were so many people.

"It was to attract attention!" Cindy whined. She sounded like a two year old in Draco's mind.

"To what? Men?! Well it sure as hell was working for you Cindy!" Hermione screamed, and he heard the sound of something breaking, a scream, and then nothing. Complete silence.

A few seconds passed by, and a sound went through his ears. He looked down at the doorknob to see it jiggling, and moved instantly to the door in the front, grabbing his coat, and pretending he didn't hear a word.

Hermione paced out grabbing her jacket, and muttering a 'goodbye' to Karissa, and walking out past Draco.

::::

"What the hell was that all about?" Draco demanded as they set foot into the house. Hermione turned with her hand on her hips.

"First of all Draco Malfoy… I'm not in the mood. Piss off." She spat at him, and made her way up the stairs when he grabbed her wrist.

"There's no need to talk to me like that, Granger!" she yanked her arm out of his grasp. And he called her name again.

"Granger."

No response and more walking.

"Granger!"

Still no response.

"HERMIONE!"

She finally stopped at the midway of the stairs, and turned to him. He couldn't find words to say, and she was about to turn to keep going when he spoke.

"Look… I know what happened between you and Cindy today, and I'm sorry. I knew something was off about her. She is just a ditz that is desperate for someone," and she murmured, "You got that right,", and he inhaled a breath.

"This whole week has been… I can't find words to describe. It has been better than all the days I spent in this blessed place with you all. It's great; don't get me wrong about the job, but I don't think I need that anymore.

Ever since I signed up for the job, I have been trying constantly to find a happy memory for the patronus charm. I know I shouldn't have kept it from you, but I had wanted to get it down for so long. Unfortunately, I haven't found one yet… until I took the job with you."

She gasped, but he kept going, "You see, spending all this time with you has sort of helped. Every time I'm around you now, I feel like I'm…" he trailed off. Hermione had gone down a few steps until she was at the last one. "Happy." He breathed. A smile grew on Hermione's face.

"I'm glad it has." She replied, the smile never leaving her face. He smirked.

"But you see… I need something more than just happy in my life. No job or company can keep me happy for long." He walked to her, getting in front of her until she had to look up at him.

"And that is what, exactly?" Hermione whispered, closing her eyes as he leaned in. As his lips slid over hers, fireworks had flown in his stomach. No answer was given that night but only one simple kiss that would change their lives forever.

_DHR_DHR_DHR_DHR_DHR

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The dragon lifted its wings into the air, and roared loud blue faint fire coming out of its mouth, making the small otter crouch behind a nearby bush. The otter drifted away, and the dragon did as well.

"You succeeded, Draco. You did it." Hermione whispered into his ear. Draco only smiled.


And that's it. So I would like to explain some things first.

ONE: I know you all are confused. Like, 'Wait, Draco's a seventh year, and Hermione has a job? Well this is a summer job, but it is a bit chilly in London. Sometimes often, but other times it can be breezy.

TWO: Karissa is and always will be the name for an extra character. Since that was going to be my original name when I was to be born, I kept It for 'my other name', since I loved it so much.

THREE: WHERE THE HELL IS HARRY AND RON? Yea… I got confused there too. Sorry about that. But they had been taking a two-week long auror practice run and didn't tell Hermione or Draco about it. I was just lazy to not put that into the story.

FOUR: Please do not send hate reviews because I made it too OOC, or even AU, there are notes for a reason! If you have a problem with my writing, PM me instead of sending it out so everyone can see it. Thanks!

FIVE: I did not add another worker into the story after Mark had left because Draco took his place. Cindy was just being a dolt for opening shop too early that one day.

Thank you for all your lovely reviews!

-Kyra