A/N: Title and characters are not my own. Title is stolen from Landon Pigg's song and the characters have been stolen from the fabulous JK Rowling.
This is my first songfic-ish story, so please be gentle with me I am open to the idea of a little sequel. If you agree, I wanna hear about it in a beautiful review! :) ENJOY! (and please R&R)
Every Friday morning, Hermione Granger would stop at the local muggle coffee shop before heading off to her job at the ministry. It was a ritual of hers. She would go in, get her usual, strong black coffee with just a touch of cream, and then she'd sit in the overstuffed armchair in the corner and read. She'd arrive at the coffee shop around 8 o'clock and stay for about an hour, at which time she'd find a nice empty alley to apparate to the Ministry in. Every Friday like clockwork this occurred.
However, Hermione wasn't the only ministry employee that enjoyed that particular coffee shop. Draco Malfoy, who worked with Hermione in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, also visited that coffee shop on a regular basis. He usually sat in the overstuffed armchair near hers. At first, he had done this just to annoy her. But then gradually they started having civil conversations with each other on occasion. Civil lead to friendly, sometimes even flirtatious.
"Morning, Granger," Hermione heard Draco's smooth drawl to her left.
She didn't respond at first, since she was in the middle of a paragraph in her book. When she finished, she looked over at him with a bright smile. "Good morning, Draco."
His eyes caught hers. They were sparkling, just like they always did when she got to an exciting part in whichever book she was reading. He wished he could share in her excitement. That book had to be a much better read than the Daily Prophet he had tucked under his arm.
I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you
I see the paths that eyes wander down
I wanna come too
I think that possibly maybe I'm falling for you
"Hermione?" he asked a few minutes later, as he caught her laughing at something in her book.
She looked up at him after taking a sip of her coffee. "yes?"
"Do you think-"
"That you could borrow this book once I'm done with it?" she cut in.
"How'd you know that I was going to ask that, Granger?" he asked smirking. "I could have been about to ask if you think that Nargles actually exist."
"You always ask to borrow my books, Malfoy. My muggle books fascinate you to no end. ANd you already know that I don't think they exist, so why ask twice?" she countered before turning back to her book. "You can borrow it when I'm done, by the way."
"Thanks, Granger," he said quietly from beside her.
Hermione turned to look at the man beside her. He was too caught up in some story in the Daily Prophet to notice her stares. He had grown into his pointy and pale features quite nicely since school. His grey eyes were no longer cold and filled with hate when they looked at her, quite the opposite. The sunlight shining through the nearby window glinted off his platinum blonde hair that hung a bit into his eyes, and looked so soft. And for the umpteenth time since he started sitting by her, Hermione wonderful just how soft it really was. He smiled so often now, it was hard to imagine a sneer on his face anymore. Of course, he still used his signature smirk when he was trying to be an arse.
"Like something you see, Granger?" he said nonchalantly without looking up from his newspaper.
Hermione turned back to her book, a blush coloring her cheeks. "I- I was just wondering why you never call me Hermione."
He looked up in shock from his newspaper; Hermione turned to face him once more.
"Would you like me to?" he asked.
"Well in school you always called me Granger or Mud-"
"Don't say that word," he cut in sharply.
"Why? You always called me it. I was just stating a fact," he pointed out.
"I don't care. You are no such thing. I'm far more dirty than you anyway," he said, his hand instinctively going to his fading darkmark.
"Dirty minded, maybe," Hermione said, trying to lighten the mood.
A small chuckle escaped from Draco's lips. "You've got me there, Gr-Hermione."
"See? Was that so hard?" she asked teasingly.
"Oh, terribly hard. You have no idea," he said sarcastically.
"No need to be a prat about it," she said as she reached over and lightly swatted his arm.
Suddenly, Draco grabbed her hand and then moved to kneel in front of her. "Hermione, I- I never really apologized for my behavior at Hogwarts. I was taught to hate muggleborns, taught to think they were dirty, and far below my station in life. I was taught muggleborns were ugly and stupid and deserved to die. You were everything that I was supposed to hate. You were a walking contradiction to the ideals I was taught. You aren't ugly, far from it in fact. You aren't stupid. You had the highest marks in our year. I saw you fighting the people who thought you should die, just because you're parents aren't magical. You just confused so much, so I lashed out at you, trying to bring you down to the level I had been taught you were supposed to be at. But you never broke down under my rude comments and hateful names. Infact, you punched me in the face third year, which I totally deserved by the way. I've learned those ideals were rubbish. I think I first realized that when you punched me. You literally knocked some sense into me.
"You're magnificent and wonderful and no one understands me like you do. You finish my sentences, you know how terrible the nightmares really are. You're the only person I can really call a friend at this point in my life. Everyone still thinks I'm a prat, and that I should be locked up in Azkaban with my father. Everyone, that is, but you. You actually took the time to learn more about me. And I thank you for that Hermione. How you ever found it in your heart to forgive me, I have no bloody clue, but I'm sure glad you did. I don't know what I'd do without you, Hermione," he confessed.
The whole time he spoke, he was staring into her eyes, willing her to believe all that he was saying to her. Somewhere in the middle of his speech, tears had started to pour down Hermione's cheeks. Her hands were too busy clasping Draco's to wipe them away.
No one understands me quite like you do
Thru all of the shadowy corners of me
I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I loved so much
All of the while I never knew
"Please just say you forgive me. That's all I want," he said quietly into the silence that had come between them.
Hermione stood, pulling Draco with her. Her tears flowed freely as she wound her arms around the man in front of her and nodded vigorously into his chest. "Oh, Draco. I could you forgive you of murder."
His arms held her tightly as they stood there in the secluded corner of their coffee shop. At last they pulled away from each other, and Draco wiped away the remaining tears that still clung to Hermione's cheeks. He then replaced his fingers with his lips. He peppered sweet kisses over Hermione's cheeks as she stood there, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. His lips then found hers, and Hermione melted into his kiss. His lips were warm and soft, and his unique scent of spices and sun dried cotton filled her senses. Her hands wound their way up into his hair, which was softer than anything she'd ever felt before, as his stayed securely around her waist.
At long last they came up for air and rested their foreheads together, breathing heavily. Hermione's eyes were sparkling with leftover tears and pure joy, and Draco's shined right back at her. "I think I'm falling for you, Draco," Hermione breathed.
"Good, 'cause I think I am too."
I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you
I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine
Now I'm shining too
Because, oh because, I've fallen quite hard over you
"I never really realized why I even went into that coffee shop in the first place," Draco admitted as they rode the elevator down to their department. "But now I know."
"You really, really wanted a cup of coffee?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
"No, it was you," he told her. "It's always been you."
If I didn't know you, I'd rather not know
If I couldn't have you I'd rather be alone
I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I loved so much
All of the while I never knew
I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I loved so much
All of the while I never knew
All of the while, all of the while
It was you
~The End~
