"Mal-"
"What can I get for you, miss?" I said, cutting across her as she nearly revealed my identity. Thank God neither Theresa nor anyone else in the shop was really paying attention to us.
She continued to look confused as I glared at her, hoping she wouldn't say anything stupid or life risking.
The gods managed to smile upon me in that moment, because she just hesitantly ordered a mocha latte and stared at me.
I got her drink started, and grabbed a pen and tore a piece of paper off a pad and scribbled down,
Granger, meet me at the Bianca Restaurant tomorrow night at 7. I'll answer your questions. Do not blow my cover or tell anyone I'm here until then, got it?
I handed it to her along with her coffee, she glanced at it, then nodded, heading out the door, as I sagged against the Cappuccino machine.
I lay sprawled in my bed that night, contemplating the events of earlier that day. Granger was here, someone who could possibly blow my careful cover right out of the water. Of course the bliss that I was experiencing couldn't last too long. Granger's appearance had shocked me back to reality. There was still a war going on, wizards, witches, and muggles were still perishing every day.
I was still bereft of a plan of what to do for school. I needed to go back to Hogwarts, but didn't want to compromise my safety or expose myself to any Death Eaters that may be lingering around. I hoped every day that they weren't searching the towns around the one that contained the targeted family. I cursed my inability to apparate, hiding out would have been much simpler if I could.
First and foremost, I had to deal with the problem on hand. Someone who could expose me, blow my cover, and reveal my true life was here. She could easily tell someone I was here, she owed me nothing. We were enemies, and I wouldn't be too surprised if she hadn't owled Potty or the Weasel yet. Despite this, I still hoped that she hadn't. There was nowhere else I could go, short of continuing to run.
I needed her to keep my secret, that was all. My situation had come down to depending on Granger to keep me safe by keeping my location a secret? I was doomed.
I went through the motions of the next day completely distracted. I nearly walked out of the house with my shirt on backwards, don't remember talking to anyone, and the entirety of my shift was a blur. I caught Meena giving me a concerned look as I almost gave a customer an empty cup, so I tried to smile reassuringly at her. Her increased concern told me that I had failed to placate her.
For the first time since I started to work there, I was glad when my shift was over. I had spent all my time worrying about meeting with Granger.
I swung by home to change into slightly more formal clothes, and then left for the restaurant.
I arrived fifteen minutes early, just enough time to wring my hands together and remind myself that I had to do this.
Granger arrived soon after I did, and I idly noticed that her hair was shorter and she still looked confused. She sat down across from me and we quietly ordered our drinks. We were silent until the server came back with our drinks and took our meal orders, both not knowing where to start.
After he had left, we both managed to simultaneously blurt out "Why are you here?" and then scowl at each other. I tilted my head at Granger indicating to her that she should go first.
"Well I take summer course at the local university, since my parents live in this town. That doesn't answer what you're doing here Mal-"
"Granger, do not blow my cover, so stop saying my name. Call me Drake if you must. Now what is it going to take for you to not tell anyone. Unless you've already told someone?"
She shook her head in response. "You didn't answer my question."
I scowled and looked away from her, at the cheery chicken decorations adorning the family-friendly restaurant, fiddling with the straw in my drink.
"Mal-"
"Granger. I will personally make sure you can never speak again if you ever try to say my name again. God, I'm hiding, okay! I'm hiding from the war, and my parents, and the Dark Lord, and no one knows I'm here so I'd like to keep it that way." I finished, incensed, but managing to keep my voice low enough that we didn't look like we were arguing.
We were silent again as the cheery server brought us our entrées, and we quietly started eating.
"Why would you take courses in the summer, anyways?" I asked, still scowling.
Granger frowned at me. "Just because I go to Hogwarts, doesn't mean I have to give up any form of muggle education as well," she replied, whispering the word muggle.
I snorted. "Only you would willingly learn twice what you have to."
She rolled her eyes, and we continued consuming our dinners. It was actually nice to have a change of pace, though I'd prefer it if Granger wasn't there. Mrs. Flynn's home cooking was superb, but it was nice to have something different for a change.
As I ruminated on my cuisine, I could see in my peripheral vision, Granger periodically flicking her eyes up to stare at me for moments. I pretended not to notice, because I didn't want to know what was chewing at her ass. I figured if she wanted to tell me, she would.
I wasn't wrong. After a few more periodic stares, she cleared her throat. Then she did again, until I looked up.
"Er-… Drake, are you going back to school?"
I sighed internally, then shrugged.
She frowned, as if my response had been wholly confusing.
"Well are you?" She pressed.
I glared at her a bit. "I don't know if you're unaware, Granger but hiding usually requires staying hidden, or the whole thing is moot."
She seemed to think on that a moment. I took her momentary silence as an opportunity to keep eating. Cut me some slack, I'd just finished a pretty long shift.
"Why are you hiding and not at your home?"
Her questions were getting never ending by this point.
"Let's just say I'm not really wanted at home, Granger, and leave it at that."
"Stop calling me by my last name, it's far too suspicious for two people dining together." She snapped, glancing around at the dinner rush around us.
I gave her a look of disbelief, "Uh, no, Granger. Let's just not do this again."
She glared at me for once, "Fine by me."
"And Granger," Her glare turned more heated. "Hermione," I stressed, giving her a pointed look, "Do not mention-"
"I'm not going to tell anyone you're here, for godssakes. Give me some credit, why would I?" she said this as more of a challenge than a question, but I refused to rise to it and give any more information than I had to.
The next day, I was back to my normal routine. I was much more calm about the whole situation. I didn't really trust Granger not to spill, but I didn't really have a choice in the matter anymore.
I wondered if it was maybe time to move onto a new town, so if Granger did tell someone and they came looking for me, at least I'd be less easy to find.
At the same time, there could be the same or even worse danger in another town, not to mention that to get to another town, I'd either have to suspiciously walk on foot, or take a train. If there turned out to be someone I know, or a Death Eater on that train, I'd be even more screwed than I already am.
In the end, I decided to stay put for now. Yes, Granger was a set back from my plan, but so far, she didn't seem like much of a threat, so I suppose the best thing to do would be to wait and see what happened. Hopefully she'd be able to keep her big mouth shut.
After my shift that evening I trudged back home. I was beyond tired, not only from the gruelling shift, but also the strain all my stress was putting on me. Granger's reappearance into my life had strengthened my paranoia again and I was back to periodically glancing over my shoulder and around my surroundings. I hated being so out in the open, but hiding in plain sight was the best strategy I had.
I entered my room from the walk out door, then went to the main part of the house for a snack and to say hi to Mrs. Flynn. The old lady was quickly growing on me.
As I grabbed an apple from the kitchen, I heard Mrs. Flynn call out to me from the sitting room.
I entered the room and nearly dropped the apple from my hands, because for the second time in a week, I was flabbergasted by the presence of none other than Hermione Granger.
