Draco had visited exactly thirty small towns in two days, and he had yet to locate Sadie.

His reasoning for finding her was that he desperately needed a job if he hoped to do well by his family, nobody in the wizarding world was likely to hire him, and Sadie was the only employer in the muggle world he had ever met. He would not have known where else to start with his job search.

And so there he was, traipsing through yet another identical Main Street, hoping desperately to catch a glimpse of that familiar café. But no such luck.

"What's wrong, m'boy?" an elderly man asked him, as Draco kicked a rock and muttered a curse under his breath.

"I'm looking for an old friend," Draco answered tersely. "Not having much luck."

"Perhaps I can help," the man offered. "What's their name?"

Draco hated intrusive people who felt the need to force their help upon unsuspecting strangers, but then he was also desperate. "Sadie. She runs a coffee shop. I just forget which town it's in. I've been travelling around, looking for her."

"You've been travelling town to town in search of a girl? Sounds like someone's a bit lovesick."

Draco laugh was much more bitter than the man had expected. "Something like that."

"Well, I have a cousin Sadie the next town over who runs a café, but she's a bit old for you." The man shrugged. "I'm sorry I can't help you."

"No, wait. What's she like? Sassy?"

The man chuckled. "She's more venomous than a rattlesnake. Lovely woman, though. Kind. She sees things that other people don't."

"What's this town called?"

Sadie was training a new barista when Hermione walked in, visiting for the third time since she had arrived four days prior.

"If you keep visiting like this, I'm going to start thinking you want your old job back," Sadie teased from behind the counter.

"No, thank you," Hermione laughed. "I have made enough decaf cappuccinos to last a lifetime."

Sadie smiled, preparing a cup of tea for Hermione and passing it to her. "So what brings you by here?"

"Oh, just not much to do. I've already finished all my work assignments for the week, and there isn't much to do in this town."

"Don't I know it," Sadie said. "I take it you've already wandered around the shops?"

"About four times."

"See anything interesting?"

"Not particularly. I visited the used book store, which is always nice." Hermione fell silent.

"Do you miss him?" Sadie asked.

"Who?"

The two women's eyes met briefly before Hermione felt too uncomfortable not to look away.

"You tell me," Sadie said softly.

Hermione forced out a laugh. "I'm fine as I am. I assume you were referring to Ron, as he is my husband and I am faithful to him. While it is definitely strange not to be with him, this will be good for us. I'm certain of it."

Sadie just stared at her.

"I know what you're doing," Hermione said. "You're trying to push me toward Draco again. But it isn't happening. Draco and I have gone our separate ways. I'm here, and he's at his manor. We lead separate lives now."

"Okay," Sadie said. "I'll leave it be. I just think you're making a mistake in completely giving up on Draco. He's a good person, despite it all. And he-"

"He nothing," Hermione snapped. "Sadie, don't. Yes, I had some feelings for Draco, but that's finished. I'm not with him. I'm with Ron."

Sadie sighed, pushed her chair back, and stood up. "Fine. Do what you want."

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, outraged.

"I don't waste my time with lost causes," Sadie told her, "and I have a café to run."

"Fine," Hermione said, also standing. "I'll see you later."

Sadie watched Hermione as she walked out the café and down the street. It was true, Sadie thought, that she had been a bit harsh. It just hurt her to see someone she cared about throw her life away.

That is, after all, was what Hermione was doing. She wasn't happy with Ron. She was with him because she knew divorce would be messy, because she didn't want to hurt Ron, and because she knew it would make things uncomfortable for all their friends. Hermione was with Ron because it was the right thing for everyone else even though it wasn't the right thing for her. She was so stubborn in her selflessness that it was downright selfish.

Sadie grabbed a cloth and took to wiping down the tables, which had somehow become unbelievably dirty during her talk with Hermione. She then filled her time doing small jobs around the café, assisting the new employee, and chatting with customers.

She was in the office, preparing paperwork for taxes, when the new girl, Natalie, interrupted her. "Sadie?"

"What is it, Natalie?"

"There's a man here who says he wants his job back."

Sadie's curiosity was instantly aroused. "Describe him."

"Um, well, very posh accent. Extremely pale. Blonde. He has this air of… Well, I don't really know how to describe it…"

"Arrogance?"

"Yeah. That."

Sadie shook her head and followed Natalie back to the counter. Lo and behold, there stood Draco Malfoy.

"Follow me," Sadie said to him, leading them to a table.

"Not even a hello?" he asked.

"Why are you here?"

Draco glared at her for a second before responding. "No need to be rude, Sadie. I need my job back. Nobody in the wizarding world is about to hire me and I require a proper income."

"I thought your family was old money. Doesn't your bank account just refill automatically once you get down to one million galleons?"

"Not when you've entirely depleted the supply trying to buy back your good name," he grimaced.

Sadie snickered. "Sounds rough."

"I've struggled a lot less than an incredible amount of people," Draco said quietly. "This doesn't mean I haven't struggled at all."

Sadie stared at him for a second before speaking. She was weighing her options, and trying to decide what would be best for Draco and Hermione. Trying to decide if it was her place to get involved.

"So when can you start?"