Chapter 10

Four years, that was how much time had passed since Ron had last seen Draco. Last held his lithe body against his own. Last kissed those soft, pale pink lips. He would have known all of this without having to come back to this place time year after year in order to celebrate the events that Draco was responsible for. Lots of people tried to say that Harry, Hermione, and he were the reasons that they celebrated this day. He constantly reminded them that Harry Potter and the whole masses that were there that night would probably have been dead if it wasn't for Draco Malfoy. They honored him, even though no one knew where he was. Today was the fourth anniversary of the defeat of Voldemort and they were back at the castle in order to celebrate.

Ron had to give a speech. Every year he gave a speech and, while praising the work that had been done for equality and to ensure that such things never happened again, he always made a point of reminding them about his old lover. The anniversary was a big deal that brought together swarms of wizards and witches all over the United Kingdom to celebrate. They all applauded when Hermione, Harry, and Ron gave their speeches. A moment of silence for the fallen followed Harry's speech, and then there was dancing and feasting. Ron waited until he had a free moment before he disappeared up to the Seventh Floor.

He was probably slowly killing himself by doing this every time he was required to return to the castle. That thought did not stop him from walking past that wall and thinking, "I need to see our Room again." Every room that the Room of Requirement created had its own unique door. The Gryffindor King and Slytherin Prince's room was a simple dark mahogany, but upon closer inspection one would find a "F" and a "W" carved into the side just above the golden door handle. Ron ran his fingers over the initials of their pet names before walking in. He set an alarm on his watch, took off the jacket of his suit and his shoes, and laid down staring up at the ceiling. The pillow he clutched to his chest still smelt of Draco, but he knew that was the Room's doing.

"Frank, you're English," Draco's boss said randomly one day. Draco looked up from where he had been stalking books and nodded at the strange observation. The man leaned against the shelf and handed Draco the books in his cart. Draco had just been levitating them, but his boss obviously wanted to have a conversation about something that had to do with Draco's background. The man continued, "What is the reading climate like in England?"

"It rains a lot," Draco ventured. The man laughed and Draco joined him. Draco clarified. "Reading is a nice activity to participate in when one can't go inside because of the rain. I'd say it's a good climate and that's why Flourish and Blotts has done so well."

"What of Hogsmeade, that is where the students go on their free weekends, correct?" Draco's boss pressed.

"Yes, Third Years and up go to Hogsmeade once every six weeks. At least, they did before my Sixth Year." Draco answered, he shrugged, "I'm sure they've picked that tradition back up."

"What bookstores do they have there?" The man wondered.

Draco paused, thinking if he saw any. "Um, when I was there I don't think they had a bookstore. With the floo network though and Flourish and Blotts taking mail-orders there wasn't necessarily a need. Why do you ask?"

"As you know I have several shops across France," Draco nodded. The man added, "I believe I have the means to have another shop, but I want to go outside of France with this one."

"Why England? Why not Spain or Germany?" Draco wondered.

"I put a lot of thought into the location of new shops, going so far as to train an employee under me that will be able to run the new shop well." The man explained. Draco said nothing, though his heart beat picked up and his mouth opened a little wider. "I hired you four yeas ago, today if I remember correctly." Draco nodded slowly.

"At first, I was just looking for a stalker, but you're a good employee. Whenever someone needs a book they could ask you, and now the regulars seek you out. I thought you earned a promotion, and I put you at the cash-register. You run this shop Frank, almost as a one man team. On the slow days you do run it by yourself, and quite well. You know the books, and you know the finances. You can easily run your own branch. On top of knowing this shop, you know England, you know Hogsmeade. That is why I want you to go to England. If you don't want to, that is okay, but I want you to think it over. Next week, not a moment sooner, next week come tell me your decision."

Draco was approached with the offer on Monday. He knew his boss had planned it like that. Monday he was too shocked by the fact that his boss had that much faith in him to make such an offer to actually think about the repercussions. Tuesday he'd woken up and looked around his little apartment. It was still small, and his pay was still only half of what Ron would have been making as an Auror in training. He had learned how to provide for himself and still get the things he wanted. Taking this promotion would not necessarily ensure a higher pay, but with enough hard work he could start making at least four thousand galleons. On Tuesday Draco was thinking about the offer with his bank account, and it looked like a brilliant idea.

Wednesday, Draco started thinking about the idea with his customers in mind. John still constantly tried to get Draco to let him out, taking the job would mean getting away fro the persistant man. Louise and her friends welcomed him every time he needed to get out of his apartment in risk of going crazy. They had become good friends, and leaving them would be sad. There were other customers that he had come to know. Most were supportive of this opportunity his boss had given him, but they were all sad that their favorite employee was going to be leaving.

Thursday, Draco thought about it with the other employees in mind. They all liked him well enough. After losing the spies that watched his every move, Draco was able to stop acting like an arrogant prick and become a likeable person. The employees that had been there less time then Draco were fearful of what the shop could become without him. The employees that had been there longer knew he could easily shape any new shop into the best franchise. The bank account, the customers, the fellow employees all were in agreement that it was a good opportunity.

Friday, the day that John always came into the shop, Draco started thinking with his past. Draco had never gone with John, or any other man, for that matter. Before Ron he'd been with Pansy Parkinson, but he grew up believing he would be forced into a marriage with the girl. The one time he'd actually lain with Parkinson he'd been thinking of a lot of different things in order to get to the point where he could sleep with her, mainly men. He'd known he was gay for the better part of his life, but Malfoy's were not allowed to be gay. He'd fooled around with other guys, going so far as to sleep with one other before Ron. Ron was his soul-mate, and in the past four years he had no interest in being with anyone else. Sometimes he'd go to a bar and attempt to get drunk enough to be with someone else, but it never worked.

Draco spent most of Saturday reminding himself why he left England in the first place. It was dangerous, the aurors were still chasing Death Eaters. The Death Eaters were probably still looking for him. He still died his hair and had a bit of a beard. More importantly though, he'd left to give Ron a chance to find happiness with someone worthy of him. Going back, he had to wonder, would he be able to stay away? He'd be in Hogsmeade, so technically thinking he'd be going to England was wrong. No, not technically, it was wrong. He'd be in Scotland, and in which case he could just stay out of the other country. He could find anything not available in Hogsmeade in Edingbourgh, or he could go to Cardiff if he absolutely had to. There was no need to ever step foot into England. If he stayed out of England, if he stayed out of Daigon Alley, then he could stay away from Ron.

Sunday disagreed with Saturday's thoughts, and Draco was just proud he was able to wait until the week was nearly over before he started thinking with his other brain. Sunday he dreamed of going into Diagon Alley and checking on the Twins shop. Maybe Ron would be there for a chat with his brothers and Draco could walk inside and see his soul-mate standing there. They'd stare, because they hadn't seen each other in so long, and it would be the only thing they could do at first. Once Ron knew it was him though, his Weasel would take quick, long, powerful steps until he had his Ferret in his arms. He'd pull Draco in for a kiss, that would turn deep in need and built up frustration and unquenchable passion. He'd push Draco against the shelves, and his hands would be everywhere. One of the Twins would clear their throat. Ron would ignore them at first. They'd try again. Ron would pick Draco up. Ron would throw Draco over his shoulder. Ron would step out of the shop and appariate away to his home. He'd not let Draco go until they were in his room, and Ron would keep him in that bed for a week.

Monday he pushed away his selfish desires and thought of the opportunity in terms of money and success for the business at large. His boss approached him when he was stocking books again. He started handing books up from the cart and asked, "Have you thought about my offer?"

"Little else besides current work the whole week, sir." Draco answered with a smile.

His boss returned it, "And, what decision have you come to?"

"It is a remarkable opportunity, and I'm grateful you would offer it to me, sir." Draco began.

His boss narrowed his eyes as he tried to gauge where Draco was going with that, "And?"

"It would be insane for me not to take it," Draco answered.

"Great," his boss praised. Draco beamed. His boss continued, "We have a lot of work to do. The plans are being drawn up, but if I had to ask another employee then I would have had to send it somewhere else. I'm hoping that the new shop will be ready in six-months."

"Six-months," Draco repeated. It was a strange amount of time, a half a year. It really was a lot of time when compared to all the things he had to do in order to be prepared to leave France. A really long time if he thought about the fact he decided to leave England and actually left England with in just a few short hours of each other. On the other hand, when thinking about how fast four years can go an eighth of that would go by in a blink.