Chapter two.

Hermione woke the next morning with dry eyes and a heavy head. Opening her eyes, she glanced at her alarm, 7:30. She had two hours before she had to open for the day. Stretching lazily, her foot connected with a small body. 'Oh, sorry Crooks.'

Sitting up, she stretched her arms above her head, and watching the old cat make his way slowly up the bed, she smiled. Scratching the top of his fuzzy head, Hermione listened to his deep purr. 'Sorry for the rude awakening this morning.' Crookshanks, her beloved cat, head butted her hand softly while quietly meowing.

Knowing she had been forgiven, Hermione began her day. After starting her coffee pot, she entered the bathroom. Using her wand, she turned on the shower and had it heated in seconds. Once the steam filled the small room, she pulled her 'Wicked Witches' shirt over head. Tossing the shirt in the corner, she stepped into the shower and groaned.

She felt her heavy curly hair stick to her shoulders and back. Not caring, she tilted her head back and let the warm water run down her face. Washing away the last of the tear tracks left over from the night before.

An hour later Hermione was apparating into the open floor of the Vanilla Dream. Flicking her wand, she cast a silent 'lumos', flooding the room with light. Walking through the room, that had been painted a mint green, Hermione checked the locks on the front door. After muttering a quick 'humenum revelio', she sighed. All clear.

Walking across the dark floor, Hermione lazily waved her wand, turning on the lights in the dessert displays. She pushed a wayward chair under it's respected table and crossed into the kitchen. Hermione started on her second pot of coffee for that day; pouring into a deep burgundy mug, she added her splash of cream before settling by her book of sweets.

Pulling the thick book towards her, she flipped the closest notebook open, and began making a list of cakes for the tasting scheduled later that day. Cakes, cookies, breads. The Zabini/Parkinson wedding would be the biggest wedding she had baked for. Including the Potter wedding. Both Harry and Gin had opted for a smaller, more intimate affair. Not this young slytherin couple. Hermione had only spoken with Mrs Parkinson once before, when she had been hired. She had no idea what to expect really. Aside from being told it was to be a large event. The matriarch had told her to expect at least 300 guests.

Laughing to herself, Hermione realized she couldn't even think of 100 people she would want at her wedding, much less 300. Once she decided on seven cakes for her sampler, she started pulling down the ingrediants she would need. Flicking her wand once, the record player spun to life in the corner. Pouring a cup of flour into the large bowl before her, Hermione started singing under her breath, 'There's nothing you can do, that can't be done...'

At quarter of two, Hermione stepped back and grinned. On the large table before her, she had set up her sampling station. Her tester cakes were small and simple. But each were carefully frosted with a vanilla, whipped frosting and looked just about perfect. She had made a regular chocolate, a lemon, a white chocolate with raspberry pieces both inside and on top, her personal favorite, vanilla. She even made a lime and coconut, her newest recipe. Surrounding the small cakes were platters of cookies, brownies and even a loaf of her grandmothers monkey bread.

Pushing a hand through her hair, she felt her fingers snag. Looking into a mirror, she took in her floured cheeks, and chocolate stained chin. Laughing, she cleaned her face before grabbing her wand and fixing her hair. Once it lay in soft, brown curls, she pulled the frosting covered apron over her head. After tossing it into a corner hamper, she poured herself a fresh coffee, and sat at the front counter.

Staring out the big picture window, Hermione sighed and sipped her drink. This coming Saturday was the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Wrapping her hands around the steaming mug, Hermione let her mind wander. Every year now, the Ministry threw a rememberance ball in honor of all those who lost their lives during that dark time. Being one part of the golden trio, Hermione knew it was expected of her to be there. And she already had a dress for the event. It was a dark green, floor length gown. Her back would be left bare. The gown would be held up by two bejewled straps, tied behind her neck.

Closing her eyes, Hermione sighed. She just wanted it to be over. The whole thing. She was tired of it. Talking about it. Thinking about it. Waking up at 2 in the morning, screaming because of it. Just as her mind started drifting to her time spent at Malfoy Manor, someone apparated into her shop. Lifting her gaze, the brunette gave a small smile, 'Pansy, hello.'

x-X-x

Draco paced the waiting area of Kingsley Shackelbolts office. Running a hand through his styled blonde hair, he glanced at his watch. His meeting with the Minister was supposed to have started fifteen minutes ago. Cursing under his breath, he dropped into the nearest chair, and began drumming his fingers against his knee incessantly. Maybe Kingsley changed his mind? No. Draco knew that wasn't a thing. The two had become close over the past few years. Despite their different paths, Draco knew his opinion was respected behind that door.

Leaning his head back, Draco knew that the reason he walked as a free man was thanks to Kingsley. And Potter. Saint potter. Closing his eyes, he remembered the two of them approach his family the day after the death of Tom Riddle. Harry demanding to know what he had done during the course of the war. He admitted to all that had been happening in sixth year. Katie Bell, Harrys fellow Gryffindor and friend. How exactly she had come across the necklace that cursed her. How it had come into his possession. Then he told them how Slughorn exactly got the bottle of poisoned mead. How he had been persuaded to give the beverage to Dumbledore. He was surprised when Harry asked what would have happened if he didn't. It was the first conversation Draco and Harry ever had amicably.

At that point what did he have to lose? He knew if any of the Death Eaters were captured, they wouldn't hesitate to tell the Ministry whatever they needed, as long as they didn't get sent to Azkaban. Mine as well just tell it up front. He told them how Voldemort had used Crucio on his mother in front of him until he agreed to torture three muggle girls from a small town in upper London.

'Who have you killed?'

Looking startled, Draco looked at the man he was taught to hate. 'Wh- what?'

'Who have you killed, Malfoy?' Harry asked again.

Jumping when his father started laughing next to him, Draco looked at him. 'Draco? Kill anyone?' Laughing again, Lucius Malfoy stared at his son with empty eyes. 'He wasn't man enough.'

Standing abruptly, Draco tucked his hands into his pockets, and resumed pacing. Apparently Scar-head had been untop of the astronomy tower the night everything fell apart. He had been a witness to the whole thing. He said he knew Draco wouldn't have killed Dumbledore. Potter had swore in court that Draco had been lowering his wand. The thing that Potter doesn't know though, is that he would have. He would have killed the headmaster. Not that he wanted to have been the one to kill the old man. But he had too. His mothers life depended on it. She was locked away in a house with Him and his crazy aunt.

Letting out a breath, Draco relaxed his fisted hands and stretched his neck. He heard the door behind him slam open, followed by an angry voice saying, 'This isn't over, Minister.'

Looking over, Draco watched an angry man exit the office. He watched the recognition take over the mans face, before it folded into a sneer. 'Malfoy.'

Crossing to the open door once the other man left, Draco saw Shackelbolt staring out his rainy window. Softly rapping his knuckles against the door frame, 'Sir?'

Turning, Kingsley gave him a distracted nod, 'Draco, come in.' Sighing, the darkened wizard folded his tall frame behind his desk. Rubbing the back of his bald head, he said, 'sorry for the delay.'

'No problem.' Studying the man across from him, Draco took in his tired face. 'Anything I can do?'

Steepling his fingers, the Minister shook his head. 'I don't think so. Mr Bell is just good at throwing a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way.'

'Mr Bell?'

'William Bell.' Kingsley explained, with a nod towards the door. 'I believe you were in Hogwarts with his sister, Katie?'

Feeling his stomach tighten, he wiped his now sweaty hands down the thighs of his designer slacks. Nodding his head, he met the mans gaze, 'you know I was.'

'You had a new proposal?' The minister asked, changing the subject.

Thankful, Draco nodded. 'Yes, sir.' Passing the file across the desk, Draco spent the following twenty minutes discussing and outlining his hopes for what the safe house could offer to their community.

'Have you looked into startup costs?' Kingsley asked, not looking up from the page he was perusing.

'A bit.' Running a hand through his hair, Draco shrugged. 'I don't really need anything on that front. The ministry released the last of Lucius' assets to me last spring.' Meeting Kingsleys gaze, he smirked. 'I can think of no better way to spend my fathers money.'

Nodding once, the older man stated, 'you would need to find a lot big enough, and make sure all properties are up to both magical, and muggle code.'

'Yes sir.' Draco agreed quickly.

'And something like this is going to require approval from at least half the Wizengamot.'

Groaning, Draco again ran a hand through his hair. 'Isn't there a way to keep this anonymous?'

'We could.' Looking at the boy thoughtfully, he asked, 'why don't you want people to know this was your idea?'

Jerking his shoulder, Draco remained silent.

Picking up the quill before him, Kingsley sighed. Rolling the quill between his hands he studied the desktop. 'Draco.' He began, looking up. 'It's time to let the past go.' When all Draco did was grunt in response, Kingsley continued. 'What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of the communitys response to you as a person?'

'Wait, what?' Raising his hands, he shook his head. 'No. Just the name Malfoy doesn't really inspire warm fuzzy feelings of safety, does it?'

Closing the file, Kingsley began, 'fine. I'll keep your involvement in this quiet. On two conditions.'

'Wait,' Draco interrupted. 'You're giving it a stamp of approval?'

'One.' Kingsley said, raising a single finger. 'Your name is going to be listed under grantsmanship.' When the young man remained silent, he continued. 'And two. You will attend this years rememberance ball.'

'The hell I will!' Draco said leaning forward. 'Sir, with all due respect, no!'

'No?'

'No.'

Kingsley shook his head. 'That's a shame. This is a great idea.' Sliding the file back across the desk, he said, 'you'll let me know if you change your mind?'

'Wh-what?' Draco asked, his brow furrowed. 'That's it?'

Opening his hands, the Minister shrugged. 'That's it.'

'So, it's either your way, or no way?' Draco asked, getting mad.

'That's the great part about being Minister of Magic.' Picking up another file, Kingsley dismissed him. 'Shut the door on your way out, yeah?'

Grabbing his file, Draco stormed out of the office, letting the door slam shut behind him. Standing in the empty reception area, Draco pinched his nose and muttered, 'son of a bitch.' Without thinking, he closed his eyes, and apparated.

Opening his eyes when his feet hit solid ground again, Draco took a deep breath. Taking in the dense forest around him, he tilted his head back and screamed. 'ARGH!' Opening his eyes again, he took in the leaves above him before muttering, 'bloody mental.'

'He seriously wants me to go rub elbows with Potter and co?' He asked the silence with a scoff. Sitting at the base of the nearest tree, he leaned his head back. Thinking about it, he sighed. It'd be worth it though. At least he'd get the sign off on his safe house. All for the cheap price of one evening filled with contempt. He knew no one would actually say anything. Well, Weasley probably would. The git. Draco Malfoy may be alot of things, but dumb wasn't one of them. He knows that they all seem him as a slimy cockroach. With good reason. The Malfoys have undeniably done some shitty things in their time.

Shoving both hands through his hair, he leaned his elbow on bent knees. He's slowly restoring the Malfoy name. Isn't he? He donated all that money to that cause Granger was always on about in school. He and his mother had signed all of the Black fortune into Andromedas name. He was even out helping with the rebuilds after the war. Hell, he went full snitch on the Death Eaters that had escaped after Hogwarts. Not that any of that mattered, he thought wryly.

Glancing at his watch, he stands with a sigh. After casting a quick scorgify on his slacks, he concentrates on the name 'Vanilla Dreams' feeling the familiar pull behind his belly buttom, Draco apparates away.

Blinking his eyes open, Draco looked around and scratched the back of his head. He was in a large brightly lot room. The walls were painted some shade of green, and were nicely paired with a floor of glossy, dark wood. Taking a deep breath, Dracos stomach rumbled. Following the smell of fresh bread and baking cookies, he crossed the room.

Stopping in the doorway, he saw Pansy off to the side talking to a woman with wavy brown hair. Letting his eyes travel down the backside of the shapely woman, Draco smirked. He saw Pansy smile, and heard her companions voice for the first time.

'Your mother wasn't very forthcoming with the details when we spoke. So I made a few different cakes for you to try.' Rubbing at the back of his neck, Draco frowned. Why does he know that voice? 'Is your fiance joining us?'

'Blaise? No, he's stuck at work.' Pansy replied. 'I actually asked Draco Malfoy to accompany me. He should be along shortly.'

'Malfoy?' The woman asked quietly.

'Yeah. Him and Blaise are good friends. That isn't a problem, is it?' Stepping into the room, Draco waved to his friend. 'There you are! I thought you were gonna ditch! He's a famous ditcher,' she told other girl.

When the stranger finally turned to greet him, he felt his stomach tighten. 'Granger.'

x-X-x

'Malfoy.' Clearing her throat, Hermione nodded at him. 'Good to see you again.'

Cocking a brow, the blonde smiled. 'Is it?' Tucking his fingers into the pockets of his trousers, he looked around thoughtfully. 'I didn't expect you to work in a bakery.'

'I own this bakery.' She said with a defiant tilt to her chin.

'Cool.' Crossing to the pair, Draco offered her a smile and nodded at the table to her back. 'Cake is cool.'

Pansy laughed, and shook her head. 'Cake is cool? Puh-lease Draco. Leave the actual talking to me.'

'So I'm just here to eat the cake? I feel so used.' He joked.

Adjusting to the shock of having her old school bully, both of them if she were to be honest, standing in her bakery, Hermione smiled. Holding open her arms, she said, 'welcome to Vanilla Dreams.'

Clapping her hands together, Pansy squealed. 'This is so exciting! The cake is probably my favorite part of weddings. Ours has got to be simply stunning!' Grabbing her friend by the hand, she led them to the table.

'I made a sample of my more popular wedding flavors.' Hermione explained. Pointing to each cake in turn, she told the pair which was which. After holding out two forks she had at the ready, she gave them each a paper for notes.

She had each of the seven cakes sectioned off with a space for comments and questions next to it. Looking at Pansy, she explained, 'this will make it easier to keep track of which you like best.'

Nodding her head, Pansy said, 'they look great, they do! But I'm only tasting two today!' She held up two fingers. 'There's no way I'll be able to taste all these without going into full cake craze.'

'Uh- cake craze?' Hermione asked, glancing at Draco. Unintentionally biting her bottom lip when his silver eyes met her questioning gaze.

'She's trying to lose a few pounds before the wedding.' He said shaking his head. 'I don't know why you can't just spell it out.'

Gasping, Pansy offered him an offended look. 'You don't have to magic everything, Draco. My wedding dress will only be made by hands.' Looking back to Hermione, she missed Dracos eye roll. 'I have a teensy problem with desserts. Once I start, I tend to binge. And eat way too many. And I'm so close!'

'Makes sense to me.' Hermione agreed, grinning.

'So I figure, Draco here loves cake. He's like, obsessed.' She explained, laughing when he flipped her off. 'So he's going to try all seven. Pick his favorite two. Then I'll choose between the finalists.'

'Good plan.' Draco agreed while picking up his fork. 'Can we get this started?' When Hermione nodded, he stuck his fork in the nearest cake. After taking a bite of the German chocolate, Draco closed his eyes. 'Sweet Merlin.' He mumbled around the cake in his mouth. His eyes flew open, and he silently stared at Hermione.

'Er...' Looking at Pansy, who just shrugged back, she asked, 'is everything alright?'

'Yeah.' Nodding his head, Draco grabbed his pen and wrote 'good' next to German chocolate. He continued staring at Hermione while sampling his next cake, pink champagne. Nodding his head again, he wrote: 'okay. Not one I'd personally get. Pleasantly light.'

Raising a brow, Hermione listened to Pansy talk about her wedding, while watching Draco eat her cakes. She watched his tounge sweep across his bottom lip, and her breath hitched when his silver eyes silently met hers. What is happening? She silently asked herself, furrowing her brow. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are sitting in my shop like it's nothing. Why is Malfoy here? I haven't seen him at least two years. Had he always been that tall? What? No. Shaking her head, Hermione tuned back into the conversation around her.

'This one is probably my favorite.' Looking at the cake he was pointing at, Hermione nodded, 'mine too.'

Digging her fork into the cake before her, Pansy let out a breath. Forking the bite to her mouth, she groaned. 'This is amazing. Hermione, this cake is phenomenal.'

Offering the bride-to-be a genuine smile, 'thank you! I've been making that particular cake since I was a little girl with my mum. Which was your other top choice?' She asked Draco, not meeting his steady gaze.

'Probably the lemon.'

'Nope.' Pansy shook her head, before taking another bite. 'This is it. This is the one I want.'

Smiling, Hermione opened her mouth before Draco interrupted her. 'Can I eat this then?' He asked, using his fork to point at the lemon cake.

Laughing, Hermione nodded. 'If you want too.' Looking at the dark haired woman next to her, she shook her head before asking, 'now frosting, butter cream, or whipped?'