Disclaimer: I own nothing. All hail the Queen!

Caffeine and Confidence

Every day she came in and sat at the same table by the window. She would take out a large stack of books from her book bag and arrange them around her laptop on the table. By the time her laptop was connected to the internet he would be there with her usual, a plain cappuccino with a drizzle of honey. She would say, "Thanks, Ronald," and he would think, "You can just call me Ron." But his words would get caught as soon as he looked into those warm brown eyes and he would nod and return to his place behind the counter. His friend Harry would then give him a hard time for losing his nerve and Ron would blush and bumble around for a few minutes before he got his bearings back.

Today, though, Ron was busy with other customers when she walked in, so Harry brought the drink.

"Oh, where's Ronald today?" she asked.

"He's busy. Hey, it's Hermione, right?" She nodded. "Law, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm in my last semester of law school."

"That's funny. Ron's also interested in law. Well, the other side of it."

"Crime?" Hermione raised her eyebrows.

He laughed. "No. Not that side. I meant he's attending the police academy."

"Oh? And what about you? Do you do anything besides work at the coffee shop?"

"I'm in the academy, too. But I'm mostly there because Ron convinced me. He's really passionate about it, you know?"

Hermione nodded.

"Well, I'll leave you to your studies." Harry laid her bill down and went back behind the counter.

"What was that, mate?" Ron asked when Harry returned.

Harry held up his hands. "No need to get defensive, Ron. I decided to talk to her myself since you're never gonna get up the nerve."

"What did you say?"

"Not much, but you owe me for her drink."

"What?"

"I paid for her drink and left your number on the bottom of the receipt."

"Why did you do that? Now she's going to call expecting you."

"And it will be you on the other end."

"What do I say to her?"

"Anything you want. Just don't be a ponce."

Ron sighed and went to wipe down a recently vacated table. He glanced over to the table by the window where Hermione was buried in a large book. He watched for a moment before returning to his work.

12.2: Muggle!AU

WC: 400

Also written for the HP D&D Challenge