Chapter 2: The Shop
Hermione finally had some peace and quiet. Sitting at her usual back table in the little coffee shop she so often visited, she felt very much at home. She lounged in the comfy chair, reading the Daily Prophet, outwardly content and relaxed. But the peace was shattered as she felt a hand shove her feet off of the extra chair at her table.
Hermione, thinking it was just another idiot boy who was trying to hit on her, closed her eyes, slowly set down her paper, and sighed, a twinge of annoyance in her voice.
"I'm trying to read here, so if you don't mind, please leave. Now." she waited for the unwanted visitor to leave, but - to her surprise- they stayed and replied instead.
"Oh, getting a little feisty now, aren't we Granger?" Hermione took in a sharp breath of air, and her eyes opened. The sickeningly familiar rich-boy drawl belonged to none other than the last person she wanted to see that moment in time, Draco Malfoy.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she spat venemously. His steady gray eyes met hers with a vengeance only he could muster.
"That's none of your business mudblood," he snapped in reply.
"Well, you're the one who just sat down at my table, now aren't you, you ferret? So I believe that it ismy business." she quickly replied, in the same drawl that Draco had used just seconds before.
Draco's POV
Granger? What was she doing here? Shouldn't she be at home with her filthy muggle parents playing some idiotic muggle game? Why was she here of all places? He came here regularly and never once had he seen her. This was even his table. He would have been furious. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure why he wasn't fuming now. But, without giving it another throuht, he strolled over to Granger's table, threw her feet off of the table opposite her, and sat down in their place.
He watched her curiously as she took a deep breath, not even looking at him once before closing her eyes. She looked different... Draco hadn't seen Granger since last year, and something seemed to have changed about her. As he looked at her blank face he noticed how her now wavy hair fell perfectly down her neck, and draped over one eye, and how her eyes were curtained by long, dark lashes. The sun shining into the shop through the window made her look almost . . . Ugh! He couldn't be thinking about a Mudblood that way! Was he really about to call her... beautiful? Gross! he really needed to stop, his father would totally kill him if he ever said anything like that!
"I'm trying to read here. So, if you don't mind, please leave. Now!" she hissed, not bothering to open her eyes to see to whom she was speaking. Draco couldn't think of anything to say, so he sat there in silence, waiting for her to look at him. After what seemed like forever, she opened her wide, brown eyes, and doubled back in shock. Draco gave her a lopsided smirk.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she said, disgust tainting her voice.
"That's none of your business, mudblood," he growled in an angry reply. She lifted her chin defiantly, and crossed her dainty arms.
"Well, you're the one that sat down at my table, now aren't you ferret? So I believe that it is my business." she snarled. Draco rolled his eyes.
"The question is, why is a mudblood like you here? This is a coffee shop for wizards." he jeered, sitting back in his recliner and setting his shoes on the table. Anger flashed across her face and Granger stood sharply, looking Draco straight in the eyes.
"You're just jealous that a mudblood like me is ten times better at spells than you are!" she shreiked, and just like that, she was gone. Draco had to admit, it was a pretty dramatic exit. Even he couldn't disapperate so quickly.
Hermione's POV
"I'm going to kill him." Hermione muttered as she entered her house. The door slammed with a deafening crack, and she recoiled, waiting for her mother to come lecture her on door slamming.
"Hermione?" Mrs. Granger's panicked voice shouted from upstairs. Hermione winced. Here it comes... she thought. She heard feet stomping down the stairs, and cringed, waiting for her mother to come screaming into the hallway. "Hermione Jeanne Granger !" Margery rounded the corner, hands on her hips. "You know better than that!" she gave her daughter a stern look, and Hermione smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry Mum. I'm just a little upset." she bit her lip.
"What's the matter darling?" her mother's harsh gaze suddenly melted into a soft, sympathetic expression.
"Nothing.I just ran into an old schoolmate." Hermione mumbled. Her mother followed her into the living room, and the two flopped onto the couch.
"Who? Not Harry or Ron, I suppose?" Mrs. Granger's brow furrowed with curiosity.
"No. Someone you don't know..." Hermione paused, unwilling to say the dreaded name . "Draco Malfoy." she choked the words out.
"Oh, no, you haven't really mentioned him. Who is he?" her mother continued to press her with annoying questions. Hermione felt a twinge of guilt as she realized how bitchy she sounded in her head.
"He's just a bully." she rolled her eyes and shrugged, as if to say 'but hes no big deal.'. "Well, I had better go make sure my trunk is all packed up." Hermione excused herself, even though she and her mum both knew very well that she'd had her trunk packed since the beginning of the summer. She pushed past her surprised mother, and trudged upstairs.
With a tiresome moan, Hermione threw herself onto her bed. She heard the springs groan under her weight. If Malfoy was still proud enough to show his face in Hogwarts, despite the fact that he almost destroyed it, then it was going to be a long year.