"Well, here goes nothing…" thought Draco as he prepared himself to start his new job. It wasn't the job of his dreams, but it was all he could get. All he could do was hope that he wouldn't run into anyone he knew, but chances of that were slim since he was placed right in the heart of Diagon Alley. He was sure to run into someone he knew.
Draco arrived at the Ice Cream Parlour at 11am, just in time for the lunch rush. He had already done several days of training so he knew the basics. The first few hours on the job went well. No one recognized him since they were all too busy with their young children or rushing to get back to work. His luck would soon run out, however.
Near the end of Draco's shift, he heard the door ring once more as is opened and three familiar people walked in. "Shit! Not them…" he whispered under his breath. He avoided eye contact and hoped that his uniform would prevent them from recognizing him. All was going well in Draco's eyes until he handed them their ice cream cones.
"Bloody Hell… Harry, Hermione look who it is! It's Malfoy!" Ron said while laughing in a taunting manner.
"Malfoy? Hah, who would've ever pictured Malfoy in a place like this? It has got to be a joke!" Harry told Ron and Hermione.
"Come on, mate, haven't you heard? The Malfoys were being run out of town. No one with half a brain would ever hire them. Not with Voldemort gone. I heard his parents kicked him out too", said Ron.
"Shut it, Weasel! You don't know anything, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut unless you want to be eating slugs again", Draco retorted.
Ron smirked. "Oh really, Malfoy? I don't think you're in any position to be threatening me. Wouldn't want to be homeless again, would you?"
Draco was about to respond, but before he could he found his face covered in strawberry ice cream. Without thinking, he shouted "Wait till my father hears about this!" to which Ron responded, "If only you had a father to tell."
Hermione was beginning to feel uncomfortable and although she hated Draco Malfoy as much as the others, she felt that this treatment was unfair after everything Draco had been through. "Ronald, don't you think you're being a bit… I don't know… harsh? He's already had a difficult life these past five years."
Draco was shocked. Why was Hermione, the mudblood whom he tormented throughout their school years, defending him? Did she really think it was going to help? She should have just kept her big mouth shut. He could hear Ron chastising Hermione for defending him while he felt his world spinning. Finally he shouted out, "I don't need your help, you stupid little mudblood! Now get out! All of you! I never want to see you here again."
Ron and Harry simply laughed as they turned to leave. They had no plans of coming back unless it meant they could torment Malfoy some more. Hermione just stood there staring at Draco. She couldn't believe that Draco would turn down her help in a situation like this. Any other time she'd understand, but not now. For some reason that she couldn't understand it had hurt her. She had been called a mudblood many times before but this was different. Here Hermione was, trying to offer Draco help in a time of need and still he persisted to let his pride get in the way. She soon closed her eyes and sighed.
Ron called out to Hermione, noticing that she was still standing there. "'Mione… are you coming? We have stuff we need to do, remember?"
"Yes Ronald… I know", Hermione said quietly, "See you around Malfoy?" Draco simply stared back without an answer as the Golden Trio left.
