A/N:I'M BACK! Finally! I've been working on a few projects, but I really missed writing Draco, so here's a cute little one that probably won't be too long (Nothing like Hourglass). Happy reading!

September 13, 2008 London, England - The Leaky Cauldron

It was a chilly fall evening, but the fire in the corner kept Draco warm as he watched over the smoky pub. It was mostly regulars tonight, as the crowd they normally got the first of September had already passed.

He looked up as he heard Hannah clumping her way down the stairs slowly. Hannah Longbottom, nee Abbott, had bought the Leaky Cauldron after she and Neville got married. Neville had gone to work at Hogwarts following the war, but Hannah had kept the pub and inn running for the last several years while they were trying to start a family. It wasn't until Hannah had gotten pregnant earlier that year that they'd sought outside help to run the place.

Draco had been looking for work for quite some time when he stumbled upon the ad in the paper. He had been wanting to get him and his son, Scorpius, out on their own for quite some time, but he didn't want to touch Malfoy money to do it. He and Astoria had had their own flat, before Scorpius was born. Astoria had been a sales clerk in a Muggle bookstore, while Draco had begun studying to become a Healer. His training was to be nearly three years, and the position was unpaid, so the couple lived almost exclusively on Astoria's income. What money they lacked at the end of each month was typically provided by her parents, as Lucius and Narcissa didn't much approve of Astoria as a wife for the Malfoy heir.

A few years after they wed, after much discussion, Draco and Astoria had decided to have children. It was risky business, though, as there was a curse that had been passed down through blood, a curse that had made childbirth very hard on Astoria. It took them a while to conceive, and even then, the pregnancy was in danger, and Healers warned the couple the baby might not be carried to term. To everyone's surprise, the baby was carried to term- but at the expense of his mother. Astoria died during childbirth, and part of Draco's heart died with it.

It had been two years since then, and of course the whole of the Wizarding World knew about the Malfoy family's loss. Draco hadn't been able to continue with his Healer training after she passed, and he didn't have an income without her, either, so he and Scorpius had moved back in with Lucius and Narcissa. But he longed for his financial independence, longed for a place to call his own. So he started looking for a job.

He hadn't expected to get the job at the Leaky in the slightest; he'd bullied Neville and Hannah throughout school, had terrorized them seventh year, and fought on the wrong side of a war, against them. But, by some miracle, they were willing to let bygones be bygones. And for that, Draco was extremely grateful, and made sure the couple knew it.

Lucius hadn't been thrilled to hear his son was working for the Longbottoms at a bar, but Narcissa had understood his need to pave his own way. She offered to watch Scorpius in the evenings while Draco worked and he had accepted her offer at once.

"Draco, you've got that blank look on your face again," Hannah said, with a smile as she made her way over to him. "If you don't cheer up, you'll scare away the customers."

"Hannah, since when has my mood ever affected these customers? About half of 'em are more regular than Scorp's bowel movements, which, if my getting up three times a night for the first two years of his life is any indication, is saying something." Draco sighed, but smiled at the woman.

"Still having a hard time with potty training, are you?" She asked, knowingly.

"You've no idea. I'm just glad most of the teething is over." He said, groaning. "Just wait, it won't be too much longer until you and Neville get to experience your own bundle of joy." Draco smirked, leaning on the counter. "How far along are you now, seven months?"

"Eight. Just went for a checkup at Mungo's the other day. I actually came down here to talk to you about that." She said, pulling up a bar stool and perching herself atop it carefully. "Will you be okay to run the bar for about three weeks, right after the baby's born? Neville's worried it'll be too much stress on you, with Scorpius and all."

"Mum watches Scorp of an evening while I work, it shouldn't be too hard to get her to agree to a couple hours more a day. I'll just have to get them both on a schedule." Draco agreed.

"Then I'm glad I asked in advance." Hannah said. "I'd like to start training you to open as well as close. You already do a great job at closing the pub. I even talked to Neville, and he's agreed that if we ask you to open and close, we should pay you more, as well."

"I'll never say no to more money," Draco smiled at her.

"There's a potential for us to hire in another bartender, and we'd like you to be trained as a manager in case that happens." Hannah explained.

"Thank you for the opportunity, Hannah," Draco said, blinking a couple of times. "I'll talk to Mum tonight after work and figure out the details."

"Sounds good," Hannah beamed. "Neville will be glad to hear it. He's been worrying himself sick over it."

"He worries too much," Draco shook his head with a smile. "You two have enough on your plates with Baby Longbottom on the way, you leave the pub to me. I can handle it."

"You're the best, Draco." She smiled, hopping off the bar stool and waddling her way back towards the stairs. "Have a good night, I think I'm headed to bed. Need anything before I go?" She asked.

"Just for you to be careful on those blasted stairs," Draco called.

"Goodnight, Draco," Hannah said, and he could virtually hear her roll her eyes.

Draco turned back to wiping out the glasses, when he heard the bell over the door ring. He looked over to see who had come in, and was shocked to see none other than Hermione Granger walking towards the bar. She wasn't a regular by any stretch of the imagination, especially alone. If she came to the Leaky, it was usually to get to Diagon Alley, or to meet up with some of her friends. But tonight was different, and Draco couldn't place what was off. She sat at the bar and Draco padded over to wait on her.

"Evening, Granger. Anything I can get you?" He asked, politely. It'd been years since their school rivalry and he knew it was childish to hold on to silly grudges. After all, they were both entirely different people now.

"Firewhiskey, please." She said, her voice hoarse, as though she'd been yelling. Or crying. Or both.

"Coming right up," He told her, and scooted away to make her drink. It was a quiet night other than her in the pub, just a few regulars to keep his eye on, so Draco decided to poke the bear as it were, and see what he could find out about Hermione's rare solo appearance in his bar that night. He sat her firewhiskey down in front of her and leaned forward on the bar.

"What brings you here tonight? And alone? Don't you normally have Potter and Weasley with you?" Draco asked, trying to sound genuinely interested and not snobbish.

"Funnily enough, they're the reason I'm here alone." Hermione sniffed, as though holding back tears. She took a sip of her firewhiskey before throwing the entire glass back. "Ron and I had a row, and instead of staying out of it, Harry took his side." She shook her head, scoffing.

"Potter sided with him?" Draco asked, frowning. "Isn't he usually the smarter one of the two? I mean, he's nothing compared to your wit, but I thought he had a bit of brain in there."

Hermione laughed at that. "Yeah, he's usually pretty reasonable. But even Ginny is upset with me." She shook her head.

"Now I'm curious. What the hell did you do?" He asked. She shook her head.

"I told Ron that I was too tired to cook dinner. It ended up being a big fight. I just started my new job at the Ministry, and I'm tired. He's an ass."

"Wait, Harry and Ginny backed him up on that?" Draco ask, standing up a bit straighter.

"Yeah. He left and went to them. I think the story he told was… a bit different than what happened. But I'm not even fighting it. I'm so done with fighting him." She sighed, and a tear fell.

"This isn't the first time then?" Draco deduced.

"No. It's not." She said quietly.

"Are you living together?" he asked.

"Yeah." She said. "It's gotten worse since he moved in, I think. He… I think he expects me to fill in for his mum."

"Oh Merlin, you're kidding me?" He asked, shaking his head. He looked around the bar, noticing it'd cleared out a bit. He made eye contact with the couple of regulars that remained, and then nodded at him that they were good. He normally didn't have an emotional witch at his bar, and they knew that. One old man was hiding a grin, raising his glass to him. Draco shook his head at him, with a smirk.

"So how did you find out that he'd gone to them?" Draco asked.

"He came back home, madder than hell. He has a habit of making himself more upset when he talks about things." She shook her head, looking down at her empty glass. "Can I get another, Malfoy?"

"Absolutely." He said, pulling out the bottle and pouring her another. "So you left?"

"I left." She nodded. "I couldn't handle him. I don't think Ron and I are going to last much longer." She sighed.

Draco leaned closer, looking around to make sure no one overheard. "If you need a room tonight, I want you to know that you're welcome to stay here, free of charge." He murmured, making eye contact with her.

"Free?" She whispered, then shook her head. "I'd want to pay. Thank you, though. I was seriously considering it."

"Neville and Hannah would understand." Draco said seriously. "And if they don't, I'd pay for it."

"You-" Hermione's eyes widened. "You'd pay for it? Why?"

"Because you don't deserve the shit you've been through tonight. You're a good person, Granger. Someone needs to remind you of that, I think." Draco said. Her eyebrows shot up at that.

"You- you mean that?" She whispered. Her eyes lit up and for a moment, she looked so innocent that his heart melted.

"Of course I mean that." He murmured, a small, crooked smile on his face. She was quiet for a few moments, sipping her firewhiskey, before she looked back up at him.

"How's your son? Scorpius is his name, right?" She asked. He smiled wider.

"He's well. Potty training, and obsessed with the word 'no', but well." He chuckled. His hand went to his wedding band- he still wore it, even after two years. He didn't feel right without it. He missed her so much. Hermione must have noticed, because her smiled turned sad.

"Still beating yourself up?" She asked softly. His heart broke at her words. How did she know? He couldn't find the words to respond, and Hermione didn't push any further. She drained her glass, and reached for her purse, pulling out a few galleons and stacking them neatly on the bar. "I'd like to stay tonight."

He nodded, moving away and returning with a key for her room. "I want you to know," He murmured, handing her the key. "If you ever find yourself without a place to go- you can always come here, Hermione."

"Thank you," She said, looking up into his grey eyes. "I'll remember that, Draco."