Hermione sat on her stool at the coffee shop, just like she would any other day: A journal or a book in hand, her wand tucked in her jacket and no cup of coffee. After all, it was him who had to bring her one every day.
She had gotten there earlier than usual, so today she had the luxury of being able to lose herself in her own thoughts. Her mind went back to when she and Draco had begun.
The war since long had been forgotten, three years had already passed after all. Most of the wizards that had been involved with the Dark Lord had either been executed, were on the run or were imprisoned in Azkaban.
As for the Malfoys, they were no longer the prestigious family they had once been. Now, to wear the Malfoy surname was a disgrace to the wizarding world.
Narcissa Malfoy had a change of heart and began pouring Voldemort's information to the Ministry and the Aurors. For most, this was a sign that she wanted to redeem herself and so she was allowed to keep a life outside of the cells of Azkaban.
Lucius Malfoy on the other hand just barely escaped Azkaban and the Dementor's Kiss. If Narcissa and (to everyone's surprise) Molly Weasley had not spoken on his behalf, Lord Malfoy would have been no more. When people went to ask Molly why she stood up for him all she said was that she saw the pain in Narcissa's eyes as she waited for his sentence when no-one else wanted to vouch for him. Though Lucius was the worst sort of scum she had known, she didn't want any woman to lose her husband.
But the one that seemed to be having the hardest time coping with everything was Draco.
Draco had gotten the worse end of it all. To his fellow Death Eaters, he was a traitor for saving Potter, and it was because of him that the Dark Lord had fallen. To his father, he was a disgrace, and his mother he rarely spoke to. Classmates mocked him for his stupidity. And he was slowly throwing his life away in the cheap pubs of both magical and muggle London.
That would be when Hermione came into the picture for Draco. Her and Ron's relationship had fallen apart ages ago. It wasn't that they didn't have any feelings for each other, because they had, it was just that they had two completely different ideas on what their roles in the relationship should be.
All Hermione had wanted was a steady relationship that would someday blossom into a marriage and eventually children. But Ron had wanted to skip the relationship and go straight to planning a wedding and having children. This was the main reason why he and Lavender Brown made such an amazing couple. Out of two years of relationship, one and a half of that was due to their marriage, already with three little ones and, if Hermione's suspicions were correct, a fourth one was on its way.
Though things weren't good for Hermione, they weren't bad either. She was handling her new job at Hogwarts as the new Arithmancy Professor quite well. She was ecstatic when she had applied and gotten the job with almost no problem at all, seeing as it was practically unheard of to have a professor as young as her. McGonagall had only given her relatively simple tasks to accomplish before the job was given to her, her excuse for not going full on out was that she knew Hermione could handle the harder tasks. Professor McGongall's only worry about her was her patience towards the simpler attributes of being a teacher.
And though Hermione loved teaching at Hogwarts, after some time she grew bored of the monotony of it all. So she went to seek out Headmistress McGonagall (she had finally grown out of the habit of still calling her professor, but she was nowhere near as comfortable yet to start calling her Minerva) to see if there was any possibility she could reside outside of Hogwarts for some time.
McGonagall had explained that since she was still a relatively new teacher at the school she was not required to follow through all of her obligations yet, unless she was scheduled to. So with the agreement that she would only remove herself from school grounds after all her duties had been fulfilled, McGonagall and her came to the agreement that Hermione could come and go as she pleased, and that should she decided to return and reside at the school, her living quarters would be waiting for her as if she had never left.
As such, she rented a flat on the magical side of town and used her just some of her wage to pay rent, seeing as she was a saver of money by nature.
That's when Draco and Hermione once again crossed each other's had just gotten off work and was heading back to her flat. Actually, she could could have apparated straight to her flat after leaving Hogwarts, but she had thought the night was fairly pleasant and went out for a drink at a local coffee shop to perhaps enjoy a book, and if she had enough time, go for a walk afterwards. Though it wasn't until her server had come to ask if she would be needing anything else, since it was closing hour, that she realized that she had dived too deeply into her novel. So with a smile she paid her tab and wrapped her cloak around her as she made her way down a long and secluded (not to mention dark) alley way that just so happened to lead directly to her flat.
Hermione's head was someplace else, and so she didn't hear when footsteps approached her. When she turned the corner and got ready to apparate, a hand came and covered her mouth while an arm wrapped around her waist. Suddenly, she was staring deep into a pair or deep black eyes.
"Well look at what we got here, Scandal, our very own Mudblood-Princess," the man facing her sneered as he pointed his wand at her. "Petrificus Totalus." Hermione turned stiff as a board, her wand dropping to the snow a few inches away from her hand.
"Whatcha wanna do to this one, Frank?" the man referred to as Scandal asked. Frank, the one who spoke before, smirked as he threaded his hands in her hair.
"The same thing we do to all them Mudblood witches," he leered in her ear, and if Hermione could've moved, she would have shivered. "But let's have some fun with this one eh? After all, she was part of that golden trio, as they called it. Had it not been for her and her friends, perhaps we would still be relishing in the Dark Lord's gifts."
"Hey you!" A distinctly male voice shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Me girl's slipped, I was just giving her a hand," Scandal replied smoothly.
"You don't fool me, now go away before I hex you into next year," her saviour threatened, wand pointed at the two men hovering around Hermione, who from her spot focused her eyes as best as she could on the approaching figure.
"Stupefy!" The two men threw their spells at him, but they were easily deflected and a strong counter spell was shot. Both men were then shot back and the figure approached Hermione, who was still petrified.
"Are you alright... Granger?" he asked as he lifted the spell that had been cast upon her. Hermione gasped, apparently she had been holding her breath for some unknown reason.
"The the bloody hell were you thinking Granger? Coming out in the streets alone, and looking like that none the less." Draco shook his head and turned to leave.
"Malfoy!" Hermione called after him once she had regained her footing. He stopped.
"What is it?" he asked, not turning to look at her.
"Thank you... for helping me."
The blonde smirked. "I wasn't actually helping you Granger, I thought I was helping a woman," he said before walking off and leaving her alone once again.
"Insolent git." She huffed before she too turned away and left.
Hermione chuckled softly at her memories. "What, you find me humorous now?" The familiar voice of Draco Malfoy asked.
Hermione laughed. "I've always found you amusing, but never humorous," she informed him and her usual beverage was passed to her.
Draco raised a brow. "Oh really? How so?" he wondered truly intrigued. Hermione shrugged.
"That, Draco, is for me to know and you to figure out," she pointed out with a sip.
"I suppose," Draco nodded. "So tell me Evangeline," he began, and couldn't help but feel that the name felt wrong coming out of his lips. "What brings one of the richest girls in the wizarding world, not to mention the only daughter left from a line far older than the Malfoys and Blacks, to Muggle London of all places? I assumed a woman of your status would only mingle in the most prestigious places Magical London would have to offer." With this comment, the young blonde could not help but look at her legs, but returned his attention, with great effort, to her face
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "I suppose I should be asking you the same question, shouldn't I Malfoy?" she asked with an arched brow and she couldn't help the tingle that ran up her spine at the mention of his last name once more. It made her feel far more in place that she ever felt before. "However, unlike you, I was forced to live and mingle with muggles for most of my life up until after Hogwarts," she explained. "And though I do not like them, I do enjoy being able to walk a few blocks without the Daily Prophet's reporters flashing their camera bulbs at my face." She took a sip of her coffee, then smiled. "A bonus would be that I do not have to associate with unwanted company. Most muggles tend to mind their own business."
Draco raised a brow at her. "Are you implying that-"
"What I am implying is that I very much enjoy my privacy," Hermione said, picking up her book and standing to leave. "Good day to you, Mr. Malfoy." She nodded to him before turning around.
He grabbed her arm. "I did not mean to offend you in any way," he explained, and Hermione knew that for him that was as close to an apology as she would ever get. She smiled warmly at him and removed his hand from her arm gently.
"I knew that, but it has gotten quite late and I should get going," she explained. "Besides, I wouldn't want your father to think that I've stolen you once again."
At this, he scoffed. "I am a grown man, and my father must learn to understand that. If he cannot, I am not to blame for my own misconduct." Draco smirked, a smirk that sent a shiver throughout Hermione's body, giving her goosebumps. That was the smirk she had come to know and love, because it wasn't the signature Slytherin smirk he had worn through their school years, or the infamous Malfoy smirk he had inherited from his father. No, this was his smirk.
"Are you cold?" he asked when he saw her flush and noticed the goosebumps creep about her flesh.
"What?" Hermione snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, no." She shook her head. "The breeze is just a bit harsher at this angle, but I'm not cold."
Draco frowned. " Do you not have a coat?" he inquired. How foolish of her to come unprepared, he thought. "Or proper robes for that matter?" he asked once he caught sight of her outfit, one that he very much enjoyed on her, but was pretty sure wasn't very warm... Especially not with that top.
Evangeline rolled her. "My robes are in my purse, thank you. I just didn't want to hang them on my stool and risk some ignorant fool stepping on it again."
"That does seem to make sense," he nodded and watched her say a silent spell and from her small bag pull out a long deep grey robe and allowed her to help herself in it.
"Now Mr. Malfoy, there is one thing I would like to ask you," Hermione smiled.
Intrigued by this, he looked at her and arched a blonde brow. "And what would that be?" he stepped closer to the door, and to her.
"Why are you always pursuing me?" she asked as she swung her bag over her shoulder. "One would think the great Slytherin Prince would not know when to take a hint of a girl that was not interested."
"If you weren't interested, you wouldn't still be frequenting this spot now would you?" he inquired, holding the door open for her so they could step out into the chilly streets.
"I saw no reason for me to stop my daily activities just to avoid you," she stated as she stepped out, Draco now beside her as they walked.
"Then why did you stop ordering your usual beverage and allow me to slide one over the table towards you continuously for nearly three months?"
"I needed to find a good use for you, didn't I?" she grinned.
"My, you truly are a Slytherin, aren't you?" he shook his head and chuckled. Hermione frowned and was about to protest. "With that book you always carry one would think you were a Ravenclaw. But to manipulate a man to fit a need, as simple as it may be, and then to say you are not interested?" he chuckled once more. "Yes, indeed very Slytherin like if you ask me."
At this, Hermione smirked. "Who said I'm not interested?" she asked as she picked up her walking pace.
Draco blinked and stared at her "Did you not just say back at the Coffee shop that you were not?" Hermione took hold of her wand then.
"Did you not hear me properly, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked with a crooked grin, her head tilted ever so slightly to the side. The look on her face so innocent and so seductive at the same time it took the Slytherin completely by surprise, but did he let it show. Obviously not.
"I heard you perfectly fine." he said, an annoyed look on his face despite the surprise he felt just a second ago. What was this woman playing at?
"Then I suppose you did realize I was speaking in past tense." She grinned at the glimpse or recognition in his face. Before he could say anything else, she winked at him and, with a wave of her wand, apparated away, leaving a now confused and highly annoyed Draco Malfoy in the middle of an empty street in Muggle London.
He scowled at the empty space before him. "Damn that woman!" Grabbing his wand he apparated away.
"Zabini, put on some bloody pants will you." The young, irritated blonde snapped upon reaching his destination: Zabini Manor.
The tall man rolled his eyes, having grown accustomed to the blonde's lack of manners when he was not in the best of moods. Only thing he found awkward was that he hadn't seen his friend in nearly a year, and was now somewhat surprised to not see a certain brunette accompanying him.
Perhaps she is the reason to his foul mood, Zabini thought as he put on a pair of trousers. "What's the fucking problem now, Malfoy?" he asked, taking a seat and watching the woman he had been with only a few minutes ago leave the room with his towel into the restroom. As Draco began to speak, Zabini heard the unmistakable pop of the girl's apparition. He sighed. He had really enjoyed that fuck, and was hoping to get at least one more before they had to call it a day and she had to return home to her husband.
"Would you care to first explain what the –"
"I swear, Draco, that is a topic I would really much rather not explain," he said quickly. "I much rather you explain to me why it is that you barge into my bedroom at this hour in such a sour mood." Zabini sternly changed topics, and though he knew he was surely going to hate the new one, he'd much rather not dwell too much on the first.
"It's the nerve of that woman!" he said after a short pause, having guessed that no matter what he could've said, the Italian would always try to change the subject back to him. And, unfortunately for Draco, topic aversion was Blaise's forte. For while he could avoid the topic for a few moments, the Italian could avoid the conversation for days until he himself brought the conversation to hand.
"I didn't think she, let alone any woman in all of Magical Europe, in their right minds would apparated away from me! Draco Bloody Malfoy!" he vented throwing his hands up in the air. Blaise resisted the urge to laugh at his arrogant yet childish behavior. Obviously he and the brunette had gotten into a heated argument in which, Blaise could already guess, Malfoy crossed the line.
"The Malfoy charm usually works on all women, but it sure is failing me now!" he continued. At this, Blaise felt the need to interrupt his friend.
"Draco, what are you talking about?" He asked. "You've had that bloody woman falling over you for a little over a year, two years if I am not mistaken."
"What the fuck are you talking about, Zabini?" Draco demanded with a frown. "I just met her a few months ago. Don't tell me you're sniffing herbs again."
Blaise looked taken back. Did he really not know what he was talking about, or had he and the Gryffindor Princess finally called it quits to the secret relationship they had once held? With a shrug, he decided on the later. "Never mind, who are we talking about?" he asked.
"That bloody Twinstar woman!" he stated. "She's had me running after her like some sort of lost and needed bitch! It's absurd! I'm a Malfoy for Merlin''s sake! She should be the one fawning over me begging for my attention not the other way around!" At this, Draco slumped down on the Italian's fine leather sofa.
"Twinstar? Draco, are you mad?" Blaise scolded as he went over to stand in front of his blonde friend. "Have you not always told me that you wanted to do away with all this Death Eater business, and that you only tolerated your father mainly because he is your father? But now you go and try to get the attention of the only daughter, and here I am assuming that it's the daughter that they didn't kill, of the only family that ranked higher with Voldemort than both your aunt's and your own!"
"And don't you think I know that?" Draco replied simply, sounding a bit annoyed of having the same conversation, though this time with a different person, again. "Bottom line is that woman meets the criteria of what I want in a woman. Though, in the end, all I might end up wanting is a good fuck, but I'm pretty sure it will all be worth it." he finished.
The tall Italian frowned. "What happened to Mudblood Granger? Get tired of her already?" he asked and then worried a bit. The last time he had made the mistake of calling her that, the blonde had almost Sectumsempra his dick off, and that was something he didn't want to happen right now, seeing as there was no brunette to save his ass this time.
"Why the fuck would I even talk to the bitch in the first place? Like you said, she's a Mudblood. Her dirty self would leave a stench on my cloaks and I would have to burn them just to clean them," He pointed out in utter disgust.
The black man stayed silent for a moment as he took in everything his best mate had just said. Had he been wrong about them the last time they had spoken? No, that was highly improbable, taking into consideration the way he had jumped up to defend her from both his and Pansy's comments. But what could have led the two of them to drift apart? From what he had gathered in the few shot hours that he spoke to the young couple, he had come to the conclusion that both seemed to be very much in love. Much to his surprise, though at the end he had wished both the former Gryffindor and his Slytherin best mate his best wishes.
"Fuck Malfoy, it was a joke. Seeing as you were always bitching about how the girl got on your nerves I thought you just had a case of sexual tension for her," he shrugged casually, brushing it aside. Right then, he needed answers, not a fight. "Forget I even mentioned It."
"Don't be making that kind of bloody joke, Zabini. I almost lost the lunch I had at that comment," Draco warned his friend, and then proceeded to lean forward to rest his hands on his knees.
"Don't worry mate, as I said it was a joke," Blaise lied, but he sounded so sure and the blonde was not looking at him, that even if he noticed, he made no comment about it. "So you were saying that the Twinstar girl was getting on your nerves?" He urged, faking some interest in hearing about the new woman Malfoy seemed to be after.
"Yes!" The blonde proclaimed, retaking the subject. "She's had me trying to charm her for the last three months and just a few short hours ago she begins playing mind games with me!" At this he stood and began to once again pace across the small carpet angrily. "She was cynical enough to admit that she had been playing games with me all this time!"
For nearly two full hours, the tall black Italian man listened to his pale friend vent about the cursed woman that had been playing him. All the while Blaise couldn't help but feel that this woman sounded a lot like the brunette that had –perhaps- once captured the blonde's heart.
"So you mean to tell me that even though you just wasted two hours of my time cursing the bloody woman to hell and back, you still intend on going to visit her tomorrow at the café?"Blaise asked, sounding utterly confused at first (if you must know, for Blaise rarely got confused. Quite the contrary really. Much like Granger, the Italian enjoyed being the one to confuse people).
Draco sighed, ran his hand down his face and let out a frustrated groan. "I don't know!"he said slumping down (for the fifth time) on the sofa.
Blaise shook his head and patted the pale man on the shoulder. "I pity you, mate," he said, shaking his head. Draco's head snapped to the side.
"And why exactly, dare I ask, do you pity me?" he demanded. Zabini shrugged coolly.
"I rather not tell you, than tell you and risk you hexing my dick off," the Italian explained.
Draco made a reach for his wand. "What if I just hex them off now, you tell me while I decide what to do with them and then perhaps I might take pity on you and reattach them to your body?" He asked a dangerous look on his face. And for once Blaise did not know if his friend was bluffing or not. And since he enjoyed using that particular organ, he decided not to take any chances and assume it might not be just a bluff.
"I was merely referring to the fact that you have no idea whatsoever on what it is that you should do, when you could simply ask your best mate here to solve the issue for you," Blaise lied again.
Draco remained silent for a long minute before speaking again, wand now forgotten once again. "Though I know you are lying Zabini, I will forgive you because, unfortunately, you are correct, and I decided to take upon your offer," he said calmly as he stood up and made his way to the fireplace.
"Does that mean I get too keep my dick attached to my person?" Blaise asked, only half joking.
"Of course. I will not be the one hexing it off," Draco replied, the cynical Malfoy smirk plastered upon his face. "Though I make no promises for the Twinstar woman. She might not take lightly to seeing you there on the coffee shop tomorrow at ten past three a clock, with a cup of Decaffeinated American Espresso Coffee for her as you explain to her why I didn't wish to make it and you interrogate her."
Before Blaise could say anything in protest, Draco had already grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and called out his destination (Malfoy Manor), thus leaving the grumbling Italian alone is his room.
Way to go Zabini, you truly are a genius, he thought bitterly as he went back to his bed and flopped onto it face down. Though this does mean that you get to meet the new mystery woman that Malfoy is after…..
Blaise stood, feeling like a complete idiot as he did so, in the middle of the café Malfoy had told him to be at. A cup of the drink he had bought for her in one hand while the other was tucked in his pocket. "Damn you, Malfoy. You didn't even describe the bloody woman to me!" He muttered angrily. This earned him a few looks from the muggles in the establishment.
It was half past three when he decided give up, since a girl at the back of the place had caught his eyes. A smirk plastered on his face, Blaise made his way over to her. Tall, blonde, nice legs and apparently a nice bosom, he thought. Just my type of woman. Might make a good shag to make up for all the time I already lost in this place.
Making his way toward her, he sat himself on the stool next to her and shoved the drink in her direction (after using a quick heating charm on it of course) in a hopeful attempt to draw her attention from the book she was reading. He was about to speak when the words that flew out her mouth made him groan and blink in surprise.
"Took you long enough Malfoy, I thought you weren't going to come anymore after the –" Her gaze met his and she froze mid sentence, eyes wide.
"Granger?" he asked. "What the bloody fuck are you doing here?" Hermione didn't know is she should feel terrified out of her mind or relieved. What the fuck had she gotten herself into now?