Pancakes at Dawn.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. My own characters are my own creation and any relation to any persons living or dead is coincidental.
Draco Malfoy needed a break. Desperate to cut loose away from the idiots at the Daily Prophet who liked to follow him with cameras, his best friend Theo ropes him and several work colleagues in for a night out in muggle London. Dramione.
Draco Malfoy sighed running a hand through his silky blonde locks. Another day had gone by without much progress and it was starting to infuriate him. Emerald Potion Supplies was one of the leading potion distributors for the entire wizarding community in Britain and he had worked hard for the past three years to get to where he was today. The company which he co-owned with his best friend and business partner, Theodore Nott was thriving and he was glad of that fact. However, each potion took time to make and as the potions were handmade to ensure quality, the company was struggling to meet demand. They owned a small store in Diagon Alley which focused on general public sale and a large office with a potions laboratory in London which Draco spent most of his time at. With a limited number of staff, there just wasn't enough hours in the day or hands on deck to meet the demand. Draco had thought about hiring several other members of staff but he just didn't have the time to train them adequately for potion making. He already had three potion makers underneath him who were exceptional wizards and two witches and a wizard working in the store in Diagon Alley. They would have to suffice for now.
"Drake, you in here?"
Draco looked up to see Theo enter his office and smiled slightly.
"What are you still doing here?" asked Draco, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was unusual for Theo to still be in the office after closing time. "Shouldn't you have left by now?"
"I came to make sure you were actually going to go home this evening." replied Theo with a raise of his eyebrow as he walked towards Draco's desk, leaning against it. Draco sighed.
"We're falling behind again." He lifted two sheets of paper which were filled with potion lists. "Someone has to keep working on these."
"Bullshit. The business won't explode if you have a night off."
"Nott-"
"Enough. The lads are still downstairs. I say we all need to blow off some steam. How does drinks in the Leaky sound?"
"Awful," said Draco with a grimace. "Crap alcohol and Prophet idiots everywhere trying to shove a camera in my face. I think I'll pass."
"Muggle London it is then." Theo smirked. "Now, I know you need to make yourself pretty-"
"Not as much as you do, Nott-"
"...So go home and get ready. You have an hour and then we'll meet at your place."
"I really don't think we have time for this." Draco said, ever the level headed one. He and Theo made good business partners even though both men were vastly different people. Draco was more business orientated and knew that it required work to keep it running. After the events of the war, he remained as the heir of the Malfoy estate but things were no longer handed to him on a silver platter, no matter the amount of money he could pass over. The Malfoy name no longer had as much power as it once had and Draco had learned to work his way to the top again using his own skill and effort. Theo however wasn't as badly effected after the war and had ploughed his money into the business for the fun of it. He was mostly along for the ride, even if he was very good at potion making.
"It's not negotiable, Drake. You need this. We all need this. We've been working so damn hard this week we deserve a break."
"Fine," Draco huffed, knowing it was no use arguing with him. He had known Theo all his life and he was stubborn as a mule when he got an idea in his head. "My floo will be open."
"Good," Theo span on his heels and wandered out the door, calling back to Draco who remained in his seat. "Make yourself beautiful for me, Malfoy!"
Draco rolled his eyes and stood up, pushing his chair away from him with his legs before heading for the floo in his office, glancing back once at the paperwork on his desk. With a sigh,he picked up the floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. He would just have to come in early tomorrow morning.
Draco was just buttoning up his dark blue shirt when the floo came to life in his living room, signalling Theo's arrival.
"Honey, I'm home!"
Draco rolled his eyes at the sound of his best friends voice and stepped out of his bedroom, coming face to face with Theo.
"Where are the others?" asked Draco, half expecting Theo to have duped him just to get him to leave the office.
"Coming through any second I expect." Theo popped the collar of Draco's shirt with a smirk. "Don't you look dashing!"
Draco smoothed his collar down again, swatting Theo's hands away just as the Floo roared to life, the green flames spitting out a young man with shaggy black hair who was dressed smartly in a blue shirt and dress pants.
"Alright Jack?" asked Draco who was hopping on one foot, slipping the other into one of his more expensive black leather shoes.
Jack Quinn was a half-blood who had worked with Draco and Theo as a potioneer for the past two and a half years. He was brilliant at what he did and was one of Draco's trusted friends. He didn't exactly have many of those these days. After the events of the war, Draco distanced himself from many of the people he had once known as friends. The likes of Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Marcus Flint still believed in the old pureblood ways, Ways which Draco no longer condoned. In fact, two of Draco's best friends were muggle borns and they were two of the nicest men he had ever met and were more than capable of holding their own against pureblood wizards and witches.
"Not bad, Drake. Not bad." grinned Jack, running a hand through his shaggy black hair.
"How are you getting on with that big batch of Dreamless?" asked Draco, knowing that a company in Glasgow had commissioned seven batches of Dreamless Sleep potion which was taking Jack some time to brew.
"Pretty good. The last cauldron was brewed today so I moved on to the -"
"Enough work talk!" Theo snapped interrupting the pair. "This is meant to be a night for unwinding away from the stresses of work. God you pair are boring."
The floo roared to life once more and two men stepped out of the green flames this time, one after the other. The first was a tall, well groomed man with short brown hair and broad shoulders. He had a pair a black rimmed glasses settled on his nose and was dressed in a semi casual grey t-shirt with a pair of black trousers. Even in something so casual, he looked so well dressed and put together. He had some slight stubble forming on his chin, making him appear more rugged than he was. Behind him was a man around the same height with a slightly slimmer build. He had short dark brown hair and looked slightly younger than the first man, Although he was slimmer, his biceps bulged against the material of the checked shirt he wore.
"Finally!" called Nott once the floo had stopped. "You bunch of ladies took your time getting ready."
"Clearly we're not all as naturally beautiful as you, Nott." smirked the first man with a snort.
"Hardly anyone is, Andrew." replied Theo with a chuckle.
Andrew grinned at him and pushed his glasses further up his nose.
"So where are we going anyway?" he asked.
"Muggle London." said Draco. "You know any good places?"
Andrew shook his head.
"What about you, James?" All four men turned to look at the man who had entered the room behind Andrew, who was now leaning against the wall. The man smirked.
"I know just the place."
"No stripclubs!" Andrew shouted his protest at his friend before before he was being dragged towards the door of Draco's apartment.
Draco stumbled out of a pub along the Thames and looked back at Theo who was being escorted out by bouncers.
"Hey! Get your bloody hands off me!"
"Why was this your brilliant idea, James?" Draco asked turning to look at his friend who was laughing, clutching at his sides at the sight of Theo being manhandled.
"Hey, I just wanted to give you guys the experience of a proper London boozer. How was I meant to know that Theo would start a fight with the barman over 'his shit taste in alcohol' and get use all kicked out, the bloody idiot." James chuckled.
"So now what?" asked Jack, looking around to try and figure out where they were.
"How about we head down near the river? There are bound to be some decent bars down there?"
"Why not," sighed Draco. "What else could bloody happen tonight."
Draco stepped inside a particularly lively bar that was packed with people. He glanced around quickly before spotting the bar which was lined with stools. He and James forced their way through the crowd, reaching the bar first.
"Five glasses of your finest whiskey please, love." grinned James at the pretty blonde barmaid.
She smiled back at him, fluttering her eyelashes. "Sure thing."
Jack reached the bar next, tapping Draco on the shoulder.
"Have you seen that group of women over there?" He gestured to the corner of the bar where there were six woman sitting in a large booth, the table filled with jugs and glasses which had obviously contained cocktails. Draco took a good look at them and he was intrigued. There were four brunettes and two blondes and he continued to watch them as he took a gulp of the whiskey James had handed him.
Theo suddenly appeared beside him with a glass of whiskey for himself.
"Pwoar, now we're talking." He grinned staring at the table. "Don't mind if I do."
"Which one?" Andrew asked him.
Theo appeared to think for a moment before smirking. "All six of them."
Draco laughed out loud at that, patting his best friend of the shoulder. "Keep dreaming, Mate. You couldn't handle them all at once. They look like a rowdy bunch."
"Well, I think I could handle at least three of them and now is my chance." said Theo as he drained the last of his glass. "Because three of them are headed our way."
Draco glanced back at the table and sure enough, he noticed that three of the woman had stood up and were headed for the bar where they were standing. Two of the woman were brunette, the first in a blood red dress which rested at mid thigh with thin spaghetti straps. Her hair was long and in ringlets down her back and her hips swayed as she walked. She was flanked by a beautiful blonde woman, slender and a lot more skin showing than the first woman. Her midriff was showing thanks to the black crop top she was wearing and her hair was pulled up into a messy up-do. She look rather lively as she danced her way to the bar, giggling and laughing as the woman behind her twirled her around. The brunette in front of her turned and laughed with her friends. The final woman was also a brunette, slightly taller than the other two. Her long dark hair was straight and her curves were obvious in the tight black pants she was wearing.
Draco's eyes trailed back to the woman at the front. He was fixated on her even from this distance. He watched as she squeezed through crowds, finally making her way to the bar, resting her hands on the bar as she waiting for a bartender to become available.
"Ladies!" All three woman turned to face Theo who was staring at them with a wide grin. "Can I buy you a drink?"
"That would be lovely," smiled the blonde who stepped closer to him. Draco smirked as he watched Theo's eyes trail up and down the blonde's figure.
"And what might your name be beautiful?" asked Theo, taking her hand in his.
"Ashleigh Foster," she responded, giggling as he brought her hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. "What a gentleman."
"It's a pleasure." said Theo. "Now, what can I get you and your friends to drink?"
Draco chuckled to himself and drained the remaining liquid in his glass, turning back to look in the direction of the bar staff.
"I'll have a Strawberry Daiquiri please," he heard Ashleigh say to Theo. "Becks? Mione? What do you two want?"
Draco's head snapped up at that. Did she just say-
He stood up straight and looked across at the brunette who was leaning against the bar, messing with her bracelet on her wrist. He kicked himself for not recognizing her. She was older, more mature but he could see it.
"Granger?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. She looked across at him, her eyes widening as they locked with his, noticing him for the first time. That told him all he needed to know. It was her.
She gasped.
"Malfoy?"
This is a new Dramione story that has been sitting as a plot in my writing journal for months. Today, I finally started writing it. It won't be a super long story but will have a couple of chapters at least. This has not been BETA'd. I'm currently looking for a beta so if you're interested, send me a message! Leave a review and let me know your thoughts.
-Dreamer.