Bad times are comin' and I reap what I don't sow…I need a dollar, dollar, a dollar is what I need…Cause everything around me is falling down and all I want - is for someone - to help me…Please mister boss man I need this job more than you know.

-Aloe Blacc

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Hermione wondered if she should tell Draco about the bet that was being placed against him.

She thought about it for a few minutes and decided that it was best to keep it to herself.

Sure, knowing that Harry thought he was going to fail probably would motivate him to work harder but he already knew that Harry thought him to be a lost cause. Knowing that Hermione believed he could succeed and had put her money where her mouth was might not be so motivating though. Draco wouldn't want to participate in something that would prove Hermione right at his expense and she wasn't sure who Malfoy hated more; her or Harry.

There was a knock at her office door.

"Come in," called Hermione.

The door opened and Luna walked inside. "Hello Hermione," she greeted cheerily.

"Hello Luna. Have a seat, what can I do for you?" invited Hermione.

Luna set a stack of papers down on her desk. "I have Leo's program summary compiled and just need to have it approved before his release next week."

Hermione sighed, that was going to take her a couple days to go through. She was really hoping to check in on Draco, Blaise and a few others over the weekend.

"Can you bring it to Harry?" she asked. "He's not exactly on my good side at the moment and I think a bit of paperwork might do him some good."

"Yeah, sure. Is everything alright?" inquired Luna.

"Yes, I just found out about his little bet today."

"Oh yes," Luna knew exactly what she was talking about. "The one against Malfoy?"

"Yeah, that one. Why, are there others?" checked Hermione suspiciously.

"Oh, no. So far there's just been the one that I know about."

"Did you bet in it?"

"Who hasn't?" admitted Luna.

"What did you bet?"

"I'm not going to get in trouble for telling you, am I?"

"No, I'm going to let this one go as long as it doesn't happen again."

"Well, I was trying to be optimistic so I put myself down for three months since it was the longest length of time available at the time I bet. But Harry just informed me on the way over that you can place multiple bets all the way up to the end of the program now. So I bet that he would make it nearly the whole year."

"Why nearly?"

"Because I have a feeling he's going to do something to terribly mess up right before he makes it out," Luna honestly replied.

"How is that optimistic Luna?"

"I guess it isn't," she blankly admitted, "But you already bet that he would make it through to the end so that wasn't an option. I was just trying to be creative, I guess."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at Luna. She always had a way of intriguing her with her thought process. "Alright then. So, bring those to Harry…and I would say good luck with the bet but I already know I'm going to win."

Luna laughed, "I hope that you do."

Luna stood up and prepared to leave. As her hand gripped the door handle she paused and turned towards Hermione, "Do you know what I've always thought about Draco?"

"What's that?"

"That he's always been seriously misunderstood… just like me."

"I guess misunderstood is word you could use, although I have my own choice words for him," responded Hermione with a small smile. Luna returned the smile and walked out.

/

Draco was grateful he could just walk everywhere he needed to go in the busy city. He didn't feel very keen about learning how to use the bus system or flagging down a taxi to get where he needed to be. It only took a few blocks before he found the first place on his list that he wanted to apply for.

Draco looked around the busy restaurant and waited for someone to approach him. A young girl, around sixteen smiled at him and said, "Table for one sir?"

Draco saw that her mouth was filled with some odd kind of metal contraption. He tried not to grimace too obviously and forced a small smile. Whatever the device in her mouth was, it looked painful and he was grateful they didn't have barbaric contraptions like that in the wizarding world.

Draco couldn't help but stare at her mouth for another moment, almost pitying the muggle girl.

"Sir," the young girl wondered what he was looking at. Was there something stuck in her braces again?

Thinking back to the script in the information packet Draco recited, "Um…Hi, my name is Draco Malfoy and I'd like to inquire about obtaining a job at your establishment?"

"You want an application you mean?" asked the girl, looking at him like he was weird.

"Uh, y-yeah... I guess so," Draco figured with a shrug of his shoulders. He was uncomfortable, and he felt stupid and out of place talking to the muggle girl looking at him in such a manner. His mood was quickly turning from motivated to sour.

"One second," the girl went behind her podium and found a piece of paper and handed it to him. "If you want, you can fill it out here and then I can get a manager for you."

"No thanks, I'll just bring it by tomorrow," he snapped suddenly.

"Okay then…" the girl give him a hesitant smile and backed away from the seemingly crazy and moody man; but he didn't notice as he quickly turned around and walked out the door, anxious to get away.

"Good luck!" she called after him in her young, bright, and perky tone. It only served to make his mood worse. There was nothing to feel lucky about. He was being forced into muggle slavery at the hands of a self-righteous mudblood.

'Whoever thought it was a smart idea to give a mudblood power is an idiot. What kind of moron thought any good could come from that? Now, here I am, wandering these destitute streets, searching for a job that is clearly beneath me,' Draco thought dramatically as he walked a few blocks in frustration, scuffling his shoes against the sidewalk.

After a short while, he finally calmed down from his fit, and found a few other restaurants on his list he could apply for. He would remember to ask in the way the young girl had phrased it this time, "

"I'd like an application please," he repeated. It must have sounded more muggle because he didn't get any more weird stares and returned back to his flat with ten applications in hand to fill out.

He had almost forgotten to stop at the store and pick up another few boxes of pop tarts. Luckily, he was fairly comfortable handling muggle currency. At least in bill form, he still wasn't sure what each of the coins was worth and found it odd that they were worth far less than the paper money. Regardless, he managed to purchase one box of smore pop-tarts, and two blueberry.

Scanning over the application papers was a daunting process.

School…Should he put Hogwarts?

Former employment…None.

References…Inaccessible to muggles.

Draco groaned in frustration then remembered there was a spot in his packet that instructed him on how to fill out these applications. It gave the name of a fake muggle school, provided references and even gave a list of employers you could place that reflected your skill set. All the contact information led to various phones within the ministry of course and not to actual muggles.

What skills did Draco have that he could use on a muggle job application?

He was good at potions…so he wrote down cooking.

He considered himself to be fairly charming, even Granger had thought so apparently, so he wrote eloquent and friendly.

He was fast, especially in quidditch and so he wrote down fast and efficient.

After twisting out a few more skills, Draco felt satisfied that his applications were appropriately filled out and ready to go for the next day. He toasted a few pop-tarts and went to bed.

/

Thus far, Draco had been washing his one outfit and sauntering around his apartment in nothing more than his underwear and pajamas while they were being washed. He realized that if he were to actually get an interview for one of these jobs, it might help to look presentable. Or at least decent.

Draco felt overwhelmed in the men's boutique he found. Muggle clothing sizes made absolutely no sense to him. Everything he owned was personally tailored.

After browsing around for twenty minutes, looking confused and daft, one of the retailers finally approached him; a tall, slender young man, around his mid-twenties with wavy black hair and a thin line of eyeliner place delicately under his eyes.

"You look lost," he stated with a smile.

"That obvious?"

"Quite. Never shopped here before?" He asked in a kind voice.

"No, not here," Draco waited for the man to say something else but he was watching him attentively as if Draco was supposed to ask something. "Ah…I-I guess, I'm looking for something to wear to an interview."

"Ooooh you have an interview coming up? Exciting!" exclaimed the retailer with a clap of his hands. "What colors did you want to wear?"

"I don't really have a preference. Just want to look decent, really."

"Okay then, don't you worry a fret. I'll take good care of you," the man confidently stated. Then he winked at him.

Draco couldn't recall if he'd ever been winked at before, at least not by a man; and if he had, he'd never paid enough attention to the gesture to notice. But this wink had been unmistakable and caused Draco to shift a bit.

"What's your budget looking like sweetheart?" inquired the retailer.

'Sweetheart?'

"Ah…here." Draco pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to the retailer.

The retailer straightened out the bills and counted them quickly between his hands. "Oh this will do fine," he handed the money back to Draco. "Let me get your measurements, hun."

The man pulled out a measuring tape from his pocket and directed Draco on how to hold himself so that he could be measured. Draco couldn't help but notice how much longer it took him to measure between his legs, after enthusiastically instructing him to 'spread e'm'.

He shrugged it off though, this guy was going to help him get a job and that's what he needed to focus on. If he didn't work, he didn't eat, he wouldn't have a place to live, and he would be sent back to the Wizarding world and forced to face Azkaban and worse: Potter's arrogant, smug face laughing at him in victory.

Draco straightening his shoulders and took the measuring like a man. He didn't even flinch when the retailor 'accidently' brushed his palm across his bottom.

"Okay, wait here," instructed the retailer with another wink.

Draco took a seat on a bench and looked out the window at passersby's while the man acquired a few outfits for him to try on.

"Okay sweetheart, over here."

Draco followed him over to the dressing room. "Try these on and see what you think."

A few tight pants, loose shirts, and belt sizes later Draco came out of the dressing room in a crisp light blue oxford, navy slacks, black dress shoes, a black belt with silver buckle and a blue and silver tie.

"Lookin' sharp!" proclaimed the retailer, "They'd be crazy not to hire you!" He encouraged with a smile. "Do you like it?" He placed his hand on Draco's shoulder and directed him to spin around while he took in the sight of his fresh new outfit, mainly the part of his outfit that formed around his well-shaped ass.

Draco hated to admit that he felt good in the muggle attire that had been assembled for him. It made him feel clean, and confidant. He gave the retailer a suppressed shrug of approval and nodded his head in agreement.

"Don't be shy; it's okay to admit that you look good! And you do look gooood!"

Draco accidently smiled.

"There you go! Perfection! Now, let's get you rung up, shall we?"

After changing back into the outfit he came in, Draco handed the man his pile of cash.

He honestly took the amount needed for the purchase and gave Draco back the remaining change.

"You really shouldn't trust people so much with your money," he pointed out as he placed the change into Draco's hand. "Not everyone is as honest as I am," he suggested, picking up that Draco wasn't quite in his place. "You're not from around here are you?"

"Not really," it was a very odd thing to be so close to home and yet so very far away.

"My name is Charles but my friends all call me Charlie," the retailer extended his hand. Draco was hesitant for a moment but managed to reach out and shake Charlie's hand. It was hard not to notice that they were unbelievable smooth, as if he applied lotion to them religiously. He tried to focus on that, instead of the idea of him actually shaking hands with a muggle.

"I'm going to give you my number. If at any time you want a tour of the city, just give me a call." Charlie printed an extra receipt and wrote his name and number on the back of it, "Hope I hear from you soon."

Another wink.

Draco was pretty sure he'd just been hit on by a man when he left the store that day. But it didn't feel odd; it felt slightly pleasing to know that he was just as attractive to men as he was to women.

'I'm just all kinds of sexy today, I guess.' Draco joked with himself as he walked down the street on his way to drop off his applications.

One of the diners actually asked him if he had time for an impromptu interview.

"Sure, I guess so," replied Draco. What else was he going to do? Go home and eat another bloody pop tart? Draco had discovered that a week of pop tarts was basically the limit for any human being to tolerate.

A short, wide and greasy man, with a scraggily brown mustache, and receding hair line came up to Draco and shook his hand.

"Hello, young man!" he enthusiastically greeted Draco, throwing up his hands as he spoke. He had a strong accent but Draco couldn't place where it was from. "I am called Mr. Everson," the fat man proclaimed. "I work as the manager here at diner. How you say your name son? Drah-coo?"

It didn't matter to Draco that this man was clearly foreign and English was obviously not his first language, his name wasn't that weird or difficult to pronounce. This muggle was clearly a moron.

"It's pronounced Dray-co. Draco," he corrected. Not hard.

"Drak-oo, got it."

'Still Wrong' Was this man a total idiot?

"Follow me over to booth here and let us see if we can find place for you," said Mr. Everson with what he must of thought was a welcoming smile. But Draco could see he was missing one…two…three…four teeth.

Most wizards didn't struggle with things like dental care. Evidently, you could fix nearly anything with magic. These muggles were forced to live with their shortcomings or go to great lengths to conceal them.

Draco suddenly felt very self-conscious about his own hair as he looked at the lack thereof on the man before him. This gel stuff just wasn't the same. It made his hair feel dry and crunchy. Maybe that Charlie guy could suggest something different he could use?

"So it says here you have previous job experience working at soup kitchen? Nice to know you are into the charity and all of this. How long you volunteering there?"

Draco had to think about what he wrote, "Um…for a few years," he guessed.

Charity had never been something his parents had ever made him participate in. He hadn't honestly volunteered for a charity a day in his life. But if saying that he did gave him an edge then sure, he'd worked at a soup kitchen; whatever that was.

"You ever were a waiter before, son?"

Why was he calling him son? He was in no way related to his man, nor did he look it. If he ever grew to look related to this man he was sure he'd never leave his house again.

'Must be a weird muggle thing', he figured. Was he supposed to call him a father in return? Was he being disrespectful by not saying it back?

"Nope Dad, I haven't been," Draco answered with a shake of his head. There was no way he was going to call the stumpy man Father. Only one man in Draco's life was addressed by that title and it would remain that way. Even if it meant the was unable to be hired by this guy.

Apparently, that had been the wrong answer to give.

Mr. Everson was looking at him like he'd something smart-assed or crazy. Draco was confused. English was his first language wasn't it? He knew how to speak without making him-self look like a fool, didn't he? Then why was he being stared at like this?

'Recover, quick', "Uh, but I've always wanted to try. I think I'd be good at it," he lied, keeping the topic on his interview and not on the embarrassing mistake he had just made.

"You know how to walk with tray?"

"Yup," Draco lied.

"You're okay with our tip out system? It is at ten percent. No less."

"How much do you make per hour here?"

"Not much by hour. What you make is whatever you earn in tipping. Then ten percent gets split between busser, bartender and then the host as well."

So basically, if he wasn't good at this job he would be screwed?

But he needed the work. "Yeah that's fine," Draco begrudgingly agreed to the terms.

"Well Draco, you look like pretty nice kid. A little weird, but nice I guess. I have few more questions I usually ask but I get good vibe about you. I am going to talk to my assistant manager and I will give you call in a couple days if we want you. Yes?"

That was it? It was done?

"Okay, I hope to hear from you soon."

"Yes, I hope so too," Mr. Everson gave him another handshake and headed back to his office.

Draco walked himself out of the diner and headed back to his flat for a shower.

Something about Mr. Everson made him feel like he needed one.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Big thank you to everyone who reviewed! Keep reviewing because it makes me happy! A lil' update on my life for those of you who care: I'm being really lazy about my weight loss competition and missed a way in so I don't know how much I'm down if at all. I'll have get back to you on that.

On a positive note, I've been really busy with my music life! I have three different music competitions going on right now. For the first one I made it to the 3rd and final round and that takes place in a week. I'm really nervous about it! I'll be singing Proud Mary, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and One Moment In Time. For the second competition, I made it past the first round. There are two more rounds that take place at music festival and that's in a month. And the last competition, I got first place in the first round. The second takes place at a different music festival and it will be the first festival I've ever performed at so I'm really excited!

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Kestralspace- Draco as a muggle criminal master mind? I admit, he would look sexy in a white and black gangsta suit, ordering people around, counting all his dirty money… But yeah, not in this story! Lol He'll probably do something lowly and degrading like I do for a living. Lol Gosh, that makes me sound like I work a dirty job. Which I don't! Haha!

Gaara's Plaything- Even though you never intended to read this, I'm very glad you did! Thanks for reviewing as well! Your sister has great taste in Fanfiction, I must say. But maybe I'm a little bias? Lol

river of the sand – Yeah, Draco needs to make friends with a chef or figure out how to use his microwave. Silly little wizard eating pop tarts all day. Glad you love it!

Missjennygbaby- It is VERY hard to change your eating habits. I understand that one. You have to find ways to make it convenient or it's hard to commit. Keep trying! I think that Draco's favorite pop tart has to be blueberry because apparently it's my readers' favorite flavor. I personally hate blue berry. I LOVE the smore ones. I'll eat them cold even. Now, when you say football do you mean American football or soccer? Because I think Draco would get pulverized in American football. Hehe. It would be interesting gif Draco met a muggle who knew Hermione and could tell him all her embarrassing childhood stories. Nice idea, thanks for sharing it.

IridescentInTheDark- Yes, I love her feistiness! We'll have to see if she wins the bet! (As if I don't already know ;))

Sapphire1031- Thank you! I'm glad you love the story and my other stories! That's very sweet of you. Also, I know what you mean. I don't like it when people act like Draco doesn't have a brain. I always have viewed him as being incredibly intelligent. I'd like to see just any teenage wizard fix a vanishing cabinet. Psh, they couldn't; but Draco could because he's incredibly smart. He's just a brat about it. :p I was going to make Hermione's reaction a little bigger and call it off but then my muse told me to keep it going because it might make things fun a little later. You'll have to read and see ;)

The Wolf Who Walks Alone – Intense fluff is like eating crunch cotton candy. Ewww… Yeah, every time I see a pop tart I think of Draco Malfoy now Way to go me! I still need to see Dark Shadows! I've seen Hunger Games four times now and I need to stop it. Lol Thank you for thinking I stay true to the characters. I try my best to but sometimes I do manipulate them to my will. As is my power as an authoress. Mwuahaha! I don't Hermione or Draco would be on them getting together. But that's not their choice now is it? Haha! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I'm trying to keep on top of my updates. It helps that I'm really into this story. So far, it's been fun to right and I think that using the song lyrics to inspire chapters keeps me motivated and on track. I might just make that my new signature with future fanfics. We'll have to see. Happy Reading!

Jessica Lauren Brettin- Thank you, my dear!

Divess – Oh yes, we all love Draco's 'charm'. Teehee! Thank you for enjoying my humor. It's nice to know that I'm not the only person in the world who thinks I can be funny sometimes ;)

tezukakuduo – I haven't decided if Draco is going to find out about the bet yet. Still on the fence with that. We'll have to see what my muse says

skyla-lilly – I thank you!

ladida – I was going to have them figure out how to use more muggle contraptions than I did but when I went to my friends for ideas and feedback our minds kept going to dirty places so I just had to stop and make them learn how to use washer/dryers and Thanks for reviewing!

magic-never-dies- I'm glad you like the pace. I'm trying not to go to fast. I'm having fun writing this story so I want to keep it going for a good length. Thanks for the feedback

HermionenDraco368 – There is a lot I can do here, I keep revising my plot line. Luckily I keep adding ideas and haven't scratched away too many. Thanks for the review!

getzdragon– I love updating!