Disclaimer- As much as I wished, I do not own Harry Potter. Unfortunately they belong to the creative genius, JK Rowling.

Chapter 1- I'm Back

Hermione Granger sighed as she stepped out of the coffee shop. Taking a deep breath, she took in the fresh air. It was good to be back in London. Turning to her left, she bumped into something hard and solid. An arm went around her waist to keep her steady. She let out a gasp as she felt her iced coffee soak through her clothes. "Watch it" a voice drawled.

Hermione paled as she recognized that voice. Her arms shot out in front of her, pushing away the person that held her so close. Looking up, brown eyes met cold gray ones. "Malfoy" she hissed.

Draco Malfoy glared at the brunette standing in front of him. "Granger" He looked her up and down, ignoring the tugs that pulled at his heart. "Back in London, I see. What a shame." He sneered.

Hermione took out her wand, cleaning herself up. "What's the real shame is that I have to see your face again. I figured I'd run into you sooner or later, but a girl could be hopeful." She said nonchalantly.

Draco clenched his fists. "If you didn't want to see my face again, you should have never come back."

"You can't keep me away from my home, Malfoy"

"I'm not keeping you away from anything, Granger. As I recall, you were the one who left on your own accord."

"Well, now I'm back" Hermione snapped before apparating away.

Draco glared at the spot she previously occupied. He growled, slamming is fist onto the wall next to him.

Hermione landed right in front of Flourish and Blotts. Entering the store, she felt two arms wrap around her, nearly knocking her over. "Hermione!"

She untangled herself from the blond. "Hello, Madeline"

"Are you excited?" Madeline squealed.

Hermione looked all around her, at the many shelves of books. She smiled, feeling at home. "Yes, yeas I am."

Madeline shoved a quill and a piece of parchment under her nose. "Here you are. Your lawyer has looked it through and he finds it satisfactory. All you have to do is sign.

Hermione took the quill and parchment from, walking over to the counter. She happily signed her name next to X at the bottom of the page, no hesitation. She handed it back to Madeline. "Thank you" she whispered

"No darling, thank you. Now that this store is out of my hands, I can permanently move to Paris with my fiancé. I know you'll take great care of this place. Better than I ever could. I'll go now; I do have a portkey to catch. Au revoir." The blonde waved, heading out the door.

Hermione took another look around her. Giving a little twirl, she let out a small squeal. Sighing in content, she ran her fingers across the binds of the books in front of her. "Hey" a deep voice said behind her. She grinned and turned around. "Harry!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the man standing in front of her.

Harry Potter chuckled. "So, is it official?"

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "It's official. I'm the new owner of Flourish and Blotts. Oh Harry, I have so many plans for this place. I want to change the color of the walls, something lighter, more colorful. I should also add more lighting, so this place isn't so gloomy. I want to make it more inviting. Oh and I want to add a muggle section full of muggle books and literature, and –"

Harry wrapped his arms around her shoulders, cutting her off. "It's good to have you back, Mione."

Hermione smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's good to be back"

"Come on, we have to celebrate."

Hermione took a bite of her ice cream. Harry lifted her wrist, taking a bite of his own. "Hey!" she exclaimed "You have your own!"

Harry pouted "But yours is so good too!'

"Harry, you can get two flavors in one cone. We've been through this before."

"Hermione?"

She whirled around at the sound of her name. "Blaise!"

The Italian man ran towards her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "It is you! You're back!"

"I am!"

"How long have you been here? Better question yet, how long are you here for?"

"I've been back for a few days, and I'm staying permanently."

"That's great!" Blaise exclaimed "Have you seen Draco yet?" He asked ignoring Harry's wild shaking of his head.

"Yeah, I ran into him this morning." Hermione replied, and Harry's head snapped towards her.

"And?" both boys asked at the same time.

Hermione sighed "And…it was bitter"

"He hasn't been the same since you left." Blaise whispered

"I had my reasons for leaving"

"Which were? Hermione, you know you can tell me."

Hermione looked nervously at Harry, who just nodded his head encouragingly for her to go on. Harry took her hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"It's okay to tell him."

Hermione took a deep breath "There's someone I want you to meet Blaise."

"Marie!" Draco called angrily

A short raven-haired woman hurriedly entered his office. "Y-yes, Mr. Malfoy?" she stammered

He slammed the manila folder he was holding onto his desk. "This is not the file I asked for!"

"I am so sorry, Mr. Malfoy. I'll go get you the right one."

"No! You're fired! Stupid girl, you couldn't even get me the right file. Pack you're things in leave. I never want to see you in my building again!"

"Y-yes, Mr. Malfoy." She quickly turned around, almost running into Pansy Parkinson. "I am so sorry, Miss Parkinson"

Pansy looked at the small frightened woman in front of her. "It's alright, Marie." She felt sorry for the poor girl. "What's that, Draco, the third, maybe fourth assistant you've fired this week alone?"

"It's not my fault they're incompetent."

"Aren't you being a bit harsh on them?"

"I have no time for mistakes. What are you doing her anyways, Pansy?"

"I wanted to visit my best friend, who seems to have no time for me or any other of his friends anymore." Pansy scoffed.

"I'm working right now, as you can see."

"Take a break. You work too much."

"I have too much to do here"

"It's you're company, Draco. I'm sure you can take a break anytime you please."

"Pansy…"

"You've locked yourself up in this place ever since Hermione left!"

Draco sighed, rubbing the ridge of his nose. "She's back, you know."

"I know, she's been back for a few days. Come on, Draco, have lunch with us, spend some quality time with you're best friend."

"Us?" Draco asked. He looked down, finally noticing the blond little girl, peeking from behind Pansy's legs. His features softened. He's always secretly had a soft spot for children. He walked around his desk, and knelt in front of Pansy. "Who's this?"

"I'm watching her while my friend takes care of some business. This is Ara. Ara, sweet pea, say hi my friend, Mr. Malfoy." Pansy bent down and gently nudged her forward.

"Hello" She said shyly, tightening her hold on her favorite pink stuffed elephant. She looked at the man in front of her, and gray eyes, met with similarly gray ones.

Please, please, please review. I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks for reading, and hopefully you continue to read!