Had some great views for Chapter 1 :) Thanks for reading, I'd love some reviews for feedback!
Chapter Two: The Meeting
The nightmares didn't stop by Friday. Neither did the anxiety. But her parents still hadn't brought anything up.
Hermione Apparated to King's Cross Station at 12:49 with her heart nearly thumping out of her chest. She was wearing Muggle clothes and it was the first time in a year that she was worried about what she looked like. What ifs were running through her head at an alarming pace. What if he hadn't received the owl? What if he'd changed his mind? What if someone had recognised him as a Death Eater and sought revenge? What if the letter had been a coping mechanism for her recovering mind and it hadn't actually existed in the first place?
Incredibly, at 12:59. She saw a blond head gliding towards her. She was sure that her heart stopped. She tried to make her stance more attractive - standing slightly against the pillar with amazing posture.
The smile that he was clearly fighting spread across his face. "Granger," he greeted amicably.
Hermione didn't even know what to say but an insane grin broke out involuntarily and she threw her arms around him. He reciprocated the hug. Amidst the chaos of King's Cross Station, Hermione breathed in the scent of Draco Malfoy after a year of stress, destruction, and horror. The hug was a beat longer than a friend greeting a friend.
"Coffee?" she suggested.
"How about a beer?" he replied.
She chuckled. "Sounds good." Although, in the Muggle world, they were not allowed to drink, they found that the back alley bar they wandered into served them each a pint without any trouble. It was probably due to the facts that the bartender was too old to notice and that she and Draco both looked well beyond their years from the stress and grief from the war.
They didn't speak to each other until they found a table in the back and sat down across from each other; although they did stand quite close at the bar as they waited for their drinks. Their arms barely touched, but Hermione could feel the heat of his body through his button up shirt. Every nerve of her was alive and aware.
Once tucked away into their dark table, pints in hand, Hermione said, "It's good to see you, In fact, it's amazing to see you. I have to say; your letter was a huge surprise." She sipped her beer, torn between the idea of wanting to finish it quickly to stave her nerves and nursing it to keep her wits about her. She decided on the former.
"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," he said, drinking a large mouthful of beer. It appeared he'd made the same drinking decision as she had.
She was taken aback. "Sorry? For what?"
"Mostly for what happened with Bellatrix," he said.
A chill went through her and she subconsciously tugged at the sleeve hiding the Mudblood carved tortuously into her arm by Bellatrix Lestrange. She looked down and drank half of her drink in one go. She didn't want to meet his eyes.
"I tried to do everything I could to get you out of there," he continued. "I didn't confirm it was Potter...I told my father it was best if you were all let go because that would keep us safer...nothing worked. And then I heard your screams…" He trailed off as she willed tears to stop filling her eyes. Why did he have to bring this up? His voice sounded filled with regret as he said, "It took everything I had not to go and fight her myself. But I was a coward and was trying to protect any more shit from hitting my family."
"What's done is done, Draco," she replied after taking a deep breath to steady herself. "It's not anyone's fault except hers, and she's dead. You have no need to apologise. Protecting your family is not cowardice."
"And then the Room of Requirement," he continued his apology. "I know I didn't cause that fire, but it was absolutely not according to plan. Ever since I saw you in Malfoy Manor, I'd been daydreaming about plans to help you and Potter whenever I managed to run into you again. Very clearly, that backfired and I ended up doing quite the opposite." He paused to consume some beer. "After the final battle, I fled with my family. The Dark Lord had contracted me to kill Dumbledore in the first place to punish my father, and I obviously could not refuse the task. Once my mother and Snape made an Unbreakable Vow so that Snape would kill Dumbledore if...when...I couldn't complete the task, our top priority became protecting the family, so we did that at any cost, really."
He caught her eye and held eye contact. "But it's unlikely they'll forgive my father once again for being a Death Eater and my mother will stay with him, and rumour has it that underaged Death Eaters will be pardoned. I can't stay in hiding forever, not if I have a chance at having a normal life. My parents are working on new identities and a place to live, but if I don't have to worry about that, I don't want to. I don't want to hide in the shadow of their choices anymore."
His gaze was so intense that Hermione had to look away. He was clearly very sorry and clearly very determined. "That's admirable," was all she could think of to say. "Personally, I'd like to move past the last year as quickly as possible and focus on picking up the pieces of who I think Hermione wants to be."
"And who might that be?" Draco said with a wry smile, raising his drink to his lips. It was clear that he was trying to lighten conversation.
"Well for now it's someone living with her parents, knitting and reading," she replied. "But in a bit, I will need a job. I'm not sure as of yet how our not attending Hogwarts this past year will affect us-"
"Me neither," he interjected.
"But If they don't make us repeat the year, then I'd imagine it's off to the Ministry for me. Need to be in a position to make sure that a situation like this never happens again."
"Big dreamer Granger," he joked. "I do wonder whether McGonagall will make us go back to Hogwarts to finish. We haven't taken our NEWTs or anything."
"She'd be more likely to let me off," Hermione teased. "Considering I helped to stop the Dark Lord rising all year."
"Yes well, if she makes me go back, I'll be fighting to have you there as well," he quipped.
Hermione's heart skipped a beat at that remark, and she quickly finished her beer. "Another one?" she asked, her voice a bit too high.
"Absolutely," he said, holding up his empty glass towards her. Their hands touched as she took it from him. "I want to make this afternoon last as long as possible."
She went to get them another round and grasped the edge of the bar to steady herself. The tension between them was building, clearly, and she wasn't sure which direction this afternoon would go. She wasn't sure the direction she wanted it to go. It was more wonderful to see him than she had thought it would be. Despite everything that had happened this past year, the energy between them hadn't dissipated.
When she returned to the table, drinks in hand, he was leaning back in his chair, his hands casually folded in his lap, his legs out and ankles crossed. It looked like, subtly, he'd moved his chair a little bit around the table towards hers. His casual pose didn't change as she handed him his drink. "I've been thinking on trying the Muggle world on for size for a while," he mused.
Hermione nearly spat out her drink. "Excuse me?"
"Well, the Wizarding world hasn't worked out for me so well as of late," he replied. "I've had to do a lot of mental unconditioning thanks to Father, and I think it might help my psyche if I spent some time doing the opposite of what I've been supposed to do all my life." He looked at her pointedly.
She chose to ignore the suggestion in that stare. "I can't see you living with Muggles."
"Oh I think I'd be great," he countered. "I could go to University, or get a job at an office, or host a television show."
"You'd be great at that last one," she agreed. "So charming."
He grinned at her as he downed his beer. He eyed hers. "C'mon, catch up Granger."
She resigned herself to the fact that she was going to get drunk. "I can't remember the last time I smiled this much," she admitted.
That made him smirk. "That drink'd better be back when I return." He got up to return to the bar. Hermione wasn't going to argue with him. Her brain was already fuzzy and she was enjoying it. It was time to finally relax. Maybe she wouldn't have nightmares tonight. She watched as he stood at the bar with such a casual attitude that you wouldn't think he had just been through months of traumatic shit. He sauntered back towards the table and Hermione tried to make it look like she hadn't just been staring at him. She felt the redness rising to her cheeks.
"I've been looking at flats," he said as he set down a glass in front of her. If he'd noticed her staring he didn't make any indication. "Father's tried to stop me from popping out, and I can't very well tell him I'm looking to move to Muggle London."
"Wow, so you're serious about this Mugglefication," she half-joked.
"Aren't you tempted to do the same thing?" he wondered. "Especially because you had no trouble in a Muggle life before you found out you were a witch. Don't you correlate being a Muggle with being untroubled?"
"It's true that I feel like the last seven years have aged me very quickly and quite considerably," she conceded. "But that's also solidified who I am. I know what I can do; I'm confident, and I'm the best damn problem solver out there. Plus, my Muggle years weren't that carefree."
Draco gave her a look that said do tell.
"Come on Draco," tipsy Hermione pressed. "You were the first one at Hogwarts to make fun of my hair, but you definitely weren't the first in my life. Although, I must admit, you were the first to add Mudblood to the mix."
She couldn't read the look on his face, then. It was a bit twisted; fighting between brushing over the comment and showing remorse.
"Besides," she continued, to get over the awkwardness and keep the conversation a bit lighter, "as a witch I'm one of the top three most famous living people in the world right now."
His twisted face turned into a chuckle. "Can't argue with that, Ms Granger." He held his glass up to clink hers. "I for one am glad we've gotten past the shit."
"It's nice to relax," she sighed.
"Have you been hounded by any press?"
"I haven't really popped my head out of my hiding place, and no one seems to know where my parents live," she said thankfully. "I'm assuming as soon as I hit Diagon Alley it will all come my way."
"Potter's been in the Prophet plenty."
"Has he?" Hermione was surprised. "I honestly haven't had contact with him at all."
"Doesn't seem like he's giving up too much information, but they're mentioning him plenty. Although I'd assume most people are still partying at this point - partying that's been in the making for decades."
"Should we go check it out?" Hermione asked, halfway through her third pint. She was feeling giddy and daring and carefree. She was feeling like she wanted something truly fun to do. When was the last time she had actual fun? She was grinning at Draco, wondering what it would be like to go somewhere social with him. Somewhere where they needed to be undercover.
"I don't want to be spotted," he said tentatively.
"Then we'll go in disguise!"
He laughed. "Hell, why not."
