Does anyone else watch Teen Wolf? My best friend recommended it to me last week and I'm a bit obsessed. I only have four more episodes of season 2 to watch, which I should probably make last until next summer. Nah, I'll just rewatch a million times between now and then.

Chapter 10
Hermione had lunch set up in the shop downstairs for Harry and herself. He arrived with a smile on his face and kissed his friend's cheek. "The shop is really coming along," he commented.

The walls had been painted a pale blue, and got darker as one moved from the front door to the very back of the shop. Soft, white carpet, charmed to never dirty, covered the floors. The pre-existing shelves were fixed and restained, while six rows of new shelves were installed.

"The furniture will be here in a couple of days," Hermione reported, handing him a sandwich. "All of this has been the easy part. We've been talking to suppliers to actually get books in here. I've already got two lined up, but that's not nearly enough to fill a store. Draco's got a couple of deals in the works though. He's been really involved for an investor."

"And how's that going?" Harry inquired.

"Good," she replied quickly. "We doubled with Astoria and Theo Nott. She's really nice. Do you remember her sister, Daphne? She was in our year."

Harry smiled despite the blush that rose up his neck. "I remember thinking she was really pretty," he admitted.

"Sorry, she's off the market," Hermione teased, elbowing him in the ribs. "She ran away from home after the war. Apparently, she too had a marriage contract that she had no intentions of fulfilling."

Harry put down his food and turned to Hermione with an utmost serious expression on his face. "Are you insinuating that you and Draco Malfoy are planning to run off together?"

Then she laughed. Hermione laughed until she had tears in her eyes and Harry had to steady her to keep from falling off the counter upon which they sat. "Oh God, no," she told him as she attempted to catch her breath. "I couldn't leave now anyway. Not with the shop so close to being ready to open."

"So, why did you tell me that then?" he wondered.

Hermione shrugged and turned back to her food. "Just making conversation, I guess," she mumbled.

Nodding, Harry continued to eat. But a gnawing thought preyed on his mind. "Hermione, why didn't Astoria or Draco consider doing the same thing?" he asked.

"Well, Draco's on probation until he's 25, so fleeing the country is out of the question for him," she stated. "And as for Astoria, she's really close with her parents. Too close to even consider running away like Daphne did."

Harry shook his head in disgust. "What kind of parent forces their child to marry someone?"

"Purebloods."

Harry and Hermione both turned to look toward the now open shop door. Draco closed it behind him and approached the pair cautiously. "Potter," he said, extending his hand to his former schoolyard enemy. When Harry accepted it, Draco let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"What brings you here?" Harry inquired, his tone friendly.

Draco turned to Hermione. "My mother wants to meet you," he told her.

"Just your mother?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded, awaiting a reply from Hermione. "When?" she inquired. "And...why?"

"Because I don't think she fully agrees with an arranged marriage," he replied. "She's just not going to tell my father no on something like this. But she understands that you're important to me, and I intend to keep you in my life. I think she just wants to get to know you."

She looked to Harry, her best friend, to tell her what to do. When he shook his head, she took it to mean that she shouldn't go. As she opened her mouth to reject the request, Harry placed a hand over her lips. "I meant 'no, I'm not telling you what to do,'" he clarified.

"Do you think she'd be okay with not doing it at the Manor?" Hermione asked, her voice small. The mere mention of that place brought back horrific memories. Images of Bellatrix Lestrange, the Dark Lord's right hand woman, tortured her. She held her arm, pressing her thumb against the crudely carved letters that had never healed.

"Yeah, whatever's more comfortable for you," Draco promised, caressing the side of her face. "We'll talk later when I have the details worked out."

Hermione nodded and felt Draco's gentle lips touch her forehead. He bade Harry goodbye and promised once more to call later before he left. "I don't want to meet her," Hermione whispered after the door closed.

Food forgotten, Harry put his arm around her shoulders and held her close. "Then don't go," he said softly. "Malfoy seems understanding enough to let you out of this. I mean, he was there that day, front and center. And he knows better than anyone how his parents think."

"But it's not his parents, only his mother," she pointed out, resting her head on his shoulder. "What if she's not as bad as his father?"

"You know there's only one way to find out."

"Legilimency?" Harry chuckled, but shook his head. "Fine, I'll go," she decided with a huff.

"Good," Harry replied. "Now that that's settled, we need to talk about Ron."

Hermione eyed him suspiciously, wondering if Ron was his motive for coming for lunch. And if he was, hadn't Harry figured out by now that she didn't want to discuss Ron after his numerous blow ups regarding Draco? "Talk about what?" she inquired, her face transforming into a mask of disinterest.

"Look," he said defensively, "I'll be the first to admit that you and Malfoy came as a complete shock. I also don't agree with the way Ron handled finding out. He's never been the type to accept change easily. He just...he misses you, Mione. I know the two of you didn't have the easiest break up, but you were able to be friends with him again after it. I think that's what he wants, to be friends again."

"I'm fine with that," she stated. "But it should have come from Ron, not you."

"Honestly, I think he's afraid of you," Harry joked. "We've seen you with a wand when you're angry. It's never pretty."

"That didn't stop him from shouting at me twice after the paper printed photos of Draco and me together," she argued.

"I'm not saying he was right to do it," Harry countered. "But he's had time to cool off, what with you not speaking to him for weeks. Talk to him, let him apologize, and then decide if he's someone you still want in your life."

Begrudgingly, Hermione agreed. Hopping off of the counter, she began to clean up their finished lunch. She wondered if she would ever have a quiet moment again. One free of confrontations with people who weren't happy with her. Yes, she decided, when her sham of a relationship was Draco was over, things would go back to normal.

"Do you love Malfoy?" Harry asked as he readied himself to leave.

"Yes," she replied without hesitation. She caught herself before she could say anything more. Harry left, and Hermione wondered if perhaps she really meant it.