Eeylops Owl Emporium was situated between Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and a tiny book store, crammed with books all based around the dark arts. Hermione stood outside and looked up at the windows above, which she guessed was now her home.

"Hello, my name's Hermione Granger, I'm just moving in upstairs." Hermione held out her hand to the nervous Mr Eeylop who took it with shaking fingers. He was a tiny little man, with greying hair in a ring about his head, and dark eyes that darted around the room.

"Very pleased to meet you, Miss Granger." His voice was steady, despite his shaking. "Please, follow me, I'll show you where the stairs to your flat are." Hermione followed him through past the desk in the shop, and through a door to the back room, lined with empty cages and bags of owl pellets. "I will, of course, give you a set of keys so you can open and close the shop to get through. Though I trust you can apparate." At the back of the back room was another door, which lead straight into a set of stairs.

'Up you go then." Mr Eeylop said, giving her gentle push up the first stair. He handed her a key and she thanked him. "If you need anything, just shout."

Well it could have been worse. She thought to herself as she climbed the narrow stone steps up to her room. She could have had an awful person downstairs.

The flat was small. The stairs came out in a sitting room and kitchen, sort of combined into a single room. There was a battered looking sofa in a corner that Hermione swore to replace immediately. An oven over in another corner, with a sink and fridge freezer. "Cosy." She walked on through to find the bedroom.

It was relatively spacious. Though it was currently empty she was sure it would fit a double bed and a dresser in. There was also a large wardrobe built into the wall which was good. The carpet was a plain beige colour, but clean.

There was a final door off from the bedroom, leading to a bathroom. This too was bigger than Hermione had expected, with a bath as well as a cramped shower stall, and, of course, a toilet and sink.

It could have been a lot worse. Hermione apparated back to her home.

"Ok, I found my new home." Samantha Granger jumped.

"Is there no way for you to warn us when you're… landing?" Hermione shook her head. "Well that's great, Hermione." Hermione smiled. "Where is it then?"

"Diagon Alley."

"Oh." Samantha sounded disappointed. Hermione knew what was wrong. Samantha and Graham would be unable to visit her if she was living in a magic environment. She felt bad about it, but this was partly why Hermione had chosen to live there.

"Yeah. So I'm just going to grab some stuff, like my bed." She sprinted upstairs, closely followed by her mum. "If you could just put all the stuff on my bed, I'll just apparate with the bed."

The two of them rushed around the room. Hermione grabbed a pile of books, her purple furry beanbag, and her television, thinking of how empty her living room had been. Samantha piled up clothes, underwear, pyjamas, and shoes. A hairbrush, face towel, bath towel and toothbrush also joined the pile on the bed.

"Please, Hermione. Take your mobile phone." Hermione sighed, and took the huge phone off her bedside table, placing it on the bed. "Is that everything?" Samantha was wringing her hands nervously.

Hermione walked over and hugged her. She was too small, too skinny, she could feel her mother's ribs as she embraced her. "Take care of yourself, mum. And dad too. Say goodbye to him for me." Hermione felt awful for leaving Samantha like this. She'd hardly seen her mother for seven years, and now she was just going with barely an explanation.

"Goodbye mum." She kissed Samantha lightly on the cheek and then she let go of her. "I'll be back to see you soon. I promise." Her mum kissed her on the forehead. Hermione took hold of the bedstead, and was gone.

Samantha sank down onto the floor, and sat, just for a minute, in the empty space, where her daughter had slept.

Hermione spent the next few days collecting various items from around both muggle and magic stores to make her home more personal. As well as her beanbag, she replaced the sofa with a small puffy purple sofa. She painted the walls of the living room, and separated it from the kitchen by painting that a different colour. Hermione bought an interesting set of lime green kitchen utensils from a muggle shop, and topped it off with self mixing bowls and a self pouring kettle she was sure Mr Weasley would not have approved of. She packed her room with her books and stuff from home.

She knew it was awful of her, but only when her parents had been out of the house had she gone back to pick up various other possessions. She knew they'd notice, her room was practically empty now.

"Hey, Felix." Hermione walked through the door to the emporium. Felix Eeylop looked up from his desk. He smiled, having taken a liking to his new tenant.

"Settling in?"

"Yes, I think I'm pretty much there now." She walked over to the desk and leaned over it to talk. "I'm working up quite a debt though. I really need to start looking for a job."

Felix looked at her thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure Flourish and Blotts was looking for staff. That seems like your sort of place." He smiled as he saw Hermione's face light up. He really had taken a liking to this girl. "You know I'd offer you a job here, Hermione. But I did see that post was there and thought of you."

"Oh, Felix, thank you so much." She stood back up and moved towards the back door. "I'll go there tomorrow and find out about it."

The next day Hermione got up earlier than she usually did, and showered, She sat on her bed wrapped in her towel she'd bought from home, and looked through her wardrobe. She'd never been to apply for a job before. She didn't know anyone who ever had or had at least ever spoken about it. She pulled out a pair of black jeans and a light blue jumper.

She put them on and looked in her full length mirror. She thought she looked good, very grown up. Hermione pulled her hair up loosely into a ponytail. She added liner and mascara to her chocolate colour eyes and headed out of the door.

"Hi, I saw the ad in the window… I was told you were looking for staff…" Hermione was walking down the street, trying to decide what to say.

"Granger. I'm starting to worry about this problem you seem to have." Draco Malfoy came up beside her. He was dressed well, as he always was, similar to her, in black jeans and a blue sweater, though his was brighter, matching his ocean blue eyes. He looks quite good… Hermione thought. She knew a year before she'd have kicked herself for even thinking this. But she'd started to realise that even the good boys couldn't be trusted. She hadn't heard a word from Ron since that morning. So why should she go thinking Malfoy would treat her any worse.

It was true, he had associations with the dark arts, and had never been nice to her at school. However, he was the only person from school she'd seen since leaving, and he had been relatively civil to her.

"I know. I'm starting to worry about it myself." She looked up at Draco's face, he looked thoughtful.

"Believe me, Granger. It is completely unnatural for a Malfoy to ask a muggle born for a coffee, but would you like to?" Hermione stopped. Draco walked on a few metres before also stopping and then walking back to stand beside her.

Hermione pulled him to the side of the heaving street. "You, Draco Malfoy, the boy who called me a mudblood, continuously throughout the seven years we were together at Hogwarts, are now asking me, before mentioned mudblood, for a coffee?"

"Um, yes?" Hermione put her head on one side as she pondered the idea.

"Well, I'm on my way somewhere." She told him. He nodded. "So am I."

"Oh, go on then."

Draco pushed open the door of his favourite coffee shop, and held it open for Hermione. He wasn't sure what he was doing, asking this mudblood to coffee, but he'd done it. He didn't regret it either.

"Shall we sit down then, now that we're here?" Hermione sat down at the table nearest the door. He sat down opposite her. She was very pretty. Her light brown hair looked light and shiny, her skin was lightly tanned, and her eyes, well they just seemed to swallow him whenever he looked into them.

Despite what most people thought, Draco Malfoy had very little experience with girls. He'd had sex of course. His father had sworn he'd disown him if he hadn't by the time he was seventeen. He knew it was an odd thing a parent would wish his son to do, but Lucius hadn't been a typical father.

But now Lucius was in Azkaban, and everything was different. Draco had found, the people he had before hated, had grown on him a little over the last year, now that he was allowed to see them clearly, especially this girl.

"So, where are you headed?" He asked her.

"Flourish and Blotts, now my turn. Why are you being so polite to me?" She was quick, he had to admit it. He laughed his coldest laugh.

"I told you, I'm concerned for your health."

"But why, you've never been concerned for my health before." Hermione wasn't going to let him act as if he was still was the git he'd always been. "You've been acting differently, Malfoy. I want to know why."

Draco took a sip of the coffee that had been set down before them by a small grey haired witch. He watched as Hermione stirred in first milk, and then a sugar, followed by another. "I really do not know, Granger." She looked up at him, her eyebrows raised, wishing him to elaborate. "I trust you know that my father has been sent to Azkaban."

"Yes, I was so sorry to hear." Hermione said sarcastically. Draco laughed again, a real laugh. It was quite infectious, Hermione felt her mouth twitching into a smile. He had a beautiful laugh.

"I know you don't care. To be honest I don't care either," He watched as she took a tentative sip of the hot coffee and quickly withdrew.

"So what? Your father goes to prison so you decide to turn in your deatheater…ness, and decide to be nice to us good guys?" At that Draco pulled off his sweater so he was wearing only a white t-shirt. He turned to the side to show his forearm.

"An important factor missing in that theory." He said, seeing her eyes widen.

However it wasn't the blank skin that was widening Hermione's eyes. The muscles beneath the skin were enough to shock any girl she thought.

"I see." Hermione could not quite take her eyes off Draco's arms. He laughed at her, which bought her gaze up.

She blushed. "Impressed?" He asked her.

"Not really. I'm pretty used to it." She grinned at him.

Ah sat back in his chair. "Ah, I forget, the brawn with no brains." He could see he'd accidentally struck a nerve. Hermione recoiled, and seemed to lose the confidence she'd had only a moment before. She looked away from him, down at her lap, and Draco leaned forward again, nearer to her.

"What did I say?" He asked concernedly.

"I have to go now." Hermione said, standing up hurriedly.

Draco got to his feet as well. "But you haven't even finished your coffee."

I like Draco. I read some of these stories and I don't like the way he seems to have suddenly changed, but it's quite hard not to do it to make this work. I'm trying my best though.

Please review

xxx