When Ends Meet

Full Summary: Draco Malfoy has always had a hard life, never expected. When his wife dies after a two year marriage, he finally comes to realize he needs to move on, but is moving on to someone who looks exactly like his wife really moving on? The twisted part; is that no one else can see her.

Genre: Romance/Mystery/Angst

Pairing: Draco/Hermione, Draco/OC

Era: Post-Hogwarts

Warnings: Deathly Hallows Spoilers

Author's Notes: Slightly based on the movie, 'Just like Heaven.'

Chapter 1: Girl of Your Dreams

They sat in his office, clean. Mother and Father were on the upper level of the Manor. The two men sat there talking, having nothing better do.

"The girl of your dreams is out there somewhere; you just have to find her."

"Easy for you to say, you're engaged."

"It took me four years for me to even find a girl like her, but I'm happy."

"Maybe I will one day."

"You still can't be pining over your ex-wife can you?" His friend asked.

"How can I? She's dead."

"You make it seem like you don't care at all anymore."

"Why should I? She's been gone for two years now; I'll have to get over her some time or another."

"Draco?"

"Just don't, Ryan. Please, I prefer to be alone right now."

His friend bid Draco a silent goodbye and left the house. Draco had never had an easy life. He went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for seven years and he couldn't remember a time he felt more miserable. During his seventh and final year, the war happened, the final battle between the Dark side and Light side. Brutal, forced to take sides, blood had been shed. Many of his close friends had died, leaving him to pick up all the pieces in his life. Then he met her, a couple of months after leaving Hogwarts. She was different, completed him in ways he couldn't have imagined. He'd changed because of her without even knowing, and he was happy.

But then that one night changed everything. They'd been having a silent dinner, just them for company. His parents had visited him a little while before. It was late and his wife was heading out so she could drop off some papers from her work to her boss. Draco persisted, telling her she could just drop it off in the morning. But she insisted. Later on that night, Draco was worried. His wife hadn't been home in three hours. A knock was heard at the door.

"Are you Mister Malfoy?" A man stood at the door, Draco could tell he was what muggles called them a police officer.

"Yes," Draco answered hesitantly.

"I'm afraid, sir that your wife was in terrible car accident and she didn't make it. I'm sorry sir."

It was a major blow to his heart, to find out his wife was dead. She wasn't going to be in his life anymore. They would never be able to relax in each others arms, have late dinners enjoying each other's company. Never have children, it was a terrible feeling. He learned a little while later that his wife had been hit by a drunk driver. Draco wanted to kill the man that killed his wife, but then heard his wife's voice in his head. "Don't do it Draco, you'll be nothing more than a murderer." And she was right, and he couldn't bare the thought of killing another human being with what happened in the war.

The funeral was a month later, Draco finally accepting what had happened to his wife. He hardly went to work, nor ate. He didn't have the energy nor need to do anything anymore. His best friend Ryan Goldstein, he'd met when he started to date her. Ryan had helped Draco immensely, knowing how he felt.

Two years had passed since then and Draco wanted to move on. He knew his wife would want that for him. He didn't want to mope around the house, but what could he possibly do? His wife wasn't coming back. A wife he loved very much.

After retiring from another's day work, Draco decided to walk around for a bit before retiring home. He moved back in the Malfoy Manor five months after his wife's death, deciding he couldn't handle being alone in their home he'd shared with his wife for two years. He passed a lot of shops he'd never noticed, and then one shop caught his eye for no particular reason. It was a plain old coffee shop; there were no fancy designs, and extravagant décor.

He walked into the shop, taking in the warm feeling he felt once inside. It was winter, bitter and frozen. Pulling off his scarf and gloves he walked towards the counter, deciding to order something. Waitresses busted around the shop delivering people their orders while the customers sat by the cozy fire and read newspapers and talked pleasantly.

Draco had never seen any of those shops near his work before, he'd always had apparated to the Manor straight from work, but an impulse decision told him to walk instead.

"Hi sir, how may I take your order?" The cashier asked him when he approached the counter.

"I'll take a small coffee, black please." Draco said.

"No problem sir, if you'll find a place to sit your waitress will deliver your order in a minute."

Draco walked over to a seat near the window, furthest away from the fire. He noticed a newspaper on top of the table near him, and decided he had nothing better to do then read. He noticed immediately that it was the Daily Prophet, a wizarding newspaper. He was sure that this coffee shop was a muggle shop, or maybe he'd have paid any attention within the last two years.

Entranced with his reading, he hadn't noticed the waitress had brought his coffee. "Your coffee sir," the woman said. "That'll be two sickles please." Her voice was distinct fully familiar and he wondered where he heard it before. He looked up, a women stood in her early twenties, curly brown hair pulled back into a messy bun. He reached into his pocket for the two sickles and an extra knut to give to the waitress as a tip. "Thank you sir, enjoy your coffee." The woman said once more, before retreating and delivering more coffee to other customers than had just come into the shop.

Draco was sure he knew her, must have recognized her from somewhere. Maybe he'd known her from school? How was that possible? He hadn't many friends there, and he remembered everyone from that school. He made everyone there practically miserable. On some days he wished he could go back and change everything but that would be asking for too much. He drank his coffee silently, and continued to read the Daily Prophet.

Once a week Draco would find himself back at the shop, after work. Maybe he was hoping to see that waitress again. He didn't know why, but he felt as if he knew her, at least to know her name. By now the cashier knew his order and different waitress would deliver his coffee. This time it was her, the one he wanted to see at least of hoping to remember. He saw the name tag, 'Hermione.' He only remembered one Hermione in his entire life, Hermione Granger. The muggle-born witch he teased in school. Before she was about to walk away, this time he grabbed her arm lightly. "Granger?"

She stared shocked at him for a moment before squeezing her arm out of his grip. She began to walk away again, not wanting to talk to him. "Wait, Granger!" She wasn't listening. He wondered why Granger was working at a little old coffee shop, as a waitress and not working at the ministry like everyone else. He could admit he never hated her, and he wasn't as prejudiced like everyone had thought. She was in a manner of speaking, different.

Ryan thought the idea funny, when Draco told him the story. "It's funny mate."

"Seriously Ryan, I don't get what's so funny."

"It's fate."

"Fate?" Draco asked him confused. What did fate have to do with anything?

"It's fate that you're seeing her again after all this time. You never know, she could possibly be the girl of your dreams mate."

"Granger, impossible," Draco said. Though he didn't actually think the idea was that absurd. He just didn't want to let his friend know that he might, just might consider it.

"I'm just saying mate, but you never know. Anything could happen."

Author's Notes: Another story, another chapter. I'm going for a different approach with this story so I hope you like it. In this story both Malfoy's parents are alive still so there will be more of them later on. Hope you enjoy it! They'll be more information on Draco's wife later on, as well.

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