Hermione drops back into her chair, equal parts confused and shocked."Explain."

Malfoy follows suit. "We worked together, and he noticed my incompetence."

Now she's even more confused. "Neville doesn't work in the Auror department."

He shakes his head. "Not normally. But when Bathilda Bagshot's nephew was poisoned - I'm sure you remember the case- Longbottom was tasked with identifying the potion, and its ingredients. I was designated the Liason from the Auror Department and assist him as I'm proficient in potions. He never mentioned it to you?"

"No." She was going to interrogate Neville about this whole situation later. How dare he keep this from her! "And that experience got you on terms good enough for him to tell you to meet me?"

"Evidently. Granger, if you don't want to do this, I understand. Frankly, I'm reaching out to appease Longbottom, as his acquaintance is the only bearable part of lunch at the Ministry. I didn't expect you to agree."

"You eat lunch together?" she asks highly.

He rolls his eyes. "Is that seriously what you're focusing on right now?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "How close are you?"

"As I said; we're acquaintances."

Intentionally vague. "You're friends, aren't you?"

"Some might call it that," he says with a shrug. "Longbottom certainly does."

"I can not believe he never mentioned this to me. You would THINK he would mention that he made amends with his long-time enemy."

"Truthfully, Granger, I was only enemies with Potter. I disliked you and Weaselbee and everyone else in Gryffindor, but-"

"You bullied all of us! You don't think that made you enemies with us?"

He shakes his head slowly. "No. That made me a bully. There was no conflict except the ones I initiated, which I recognize. With Potter, it went both ways."

Her mouth drops open. "It did not go both ways!"

Malfoy ignores her pointed tone. "It did. The conflict stemmed from both sides, although I was responsible for the majority in early years."

She's incredulous now. "What a twisted view of the past. I can not believe you-"

He raised his hand. "Granger, if this arrangement isn't your cup of tea, that is acceptable. Not all Gryffindors can be brave enough to befriend a snake, after all."

She holds back her retort as she recognizes his wording. It's so similar to Ron's whenever they used to fight. "You're trying to goad me into agreeing to this, aren't you?"

"Perhaps."

It finally clicks. "So you genuinely want to do this, then? You want me to teach you?"

"It would be appreciated, yes."

A laugh - high and shrill - escapes her, causing Malfoy to stand up from his chair, barely concealing his anger and… embarrassment? "Thank you for laughing as I lower myself to ask for your help, Granger. I'll be leaving now, and go fu-"

"Wait, wait, I wasn't laughing at you," Hermione gets out mid-giggle. "I just, the situation is absurd, don't you think? You coming to me to ask for help on Muggle society? It's just… not what I would have expected." Ever.

His face returns to normal, meaning she can no longer tell what he's thinking. "We haven't interacted since Hogwarts. There's a lot about me you wouldn't expect."

She raises a brow, intrigued. "Like what?"

"I'll trade you a secret for each lesson." Her mind starts racing. What kind of secrets does he have? What kind of father was Lucius? What was behind the closed-door part of his trial? Where did he disappear to after Hogwarts? She shakes it off before trying to focus.

"So this is supposed to be a multi-lesson arrangement then?"

"I imagine it will take more than one."

She makes up her mind. "Fine." She stands up. "Walk with me."

He looks around, almost nervously. "Where are we going?"

"To order."

They walk over to the counter, an awkward distance between them. "This is a queue. We wait in it to-"

"I know what a queue is, Granger. I'm not an idiot."

"Debatable. We wait here until we get to the counter. They have an electric till, and-"

"Electric?" The confusion on his face makes her want to burst out into another round of giggles.

"Yes, run by electricity. We'll learn about that later. You'll tell them what you want to order, tell them your name, and pay."

He pats his pockets. "I don't have Muggle money-"

"I have some." She opens her purse and digs out a few coins before forcing him to take them. "Each of these equal one pound, which is like our galleon. When she asks you to pay, just hand over as much as she says. Just do as I do," she whispers at him as she steps toward the counter.

"Granger, don't leave me-" Hermione ignores him and continues up to the counter with a smile.

"Back for another?" Lydia, the barista she's begun to consider as a friend, asks her with a twinkle in her eye.

"Yes, I'll be staying a bit longer."

"I don't blame you," she says with a side-eye to Malfoy, before whispering, "A date?"

Hermione shakes her head with a little snort. "An old classmate. He asked for help with some research."

"From that fancy boarding school you went to? 'Mione, girl, he's fit and posh. If you're not interested, I'm asking him for his number."

She was pretty enough to catch his eye, actually resembling the Greengrass girls a fair amount. Still, her blood and obvious lack of magic would prevent that. She would keep him on his toes, though, that's for sure—lot's of spunk.

She chuckles at the thought."He's a bit… odd. I wouldn't recommend it."

Lydia's face morphs into mock sadness, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Swings the other way?'

"Something like that, yeah."

She orders her cappuccino - she really needs to switch to decaf - and heads over to the waiting area to observe Malfoy.

She has never seen him look as timid as he does now. As he awkwardly shuffles to the counter, back rigid and shoulders straight, Hermione casts a quick audite to listen in on the conversation.

"I would like a coffee." His voice rings clearly in her ears.

"What kind?" Lydia asks brightly. She's obviously checking him out, but Malfoy doesn't seem to notice.

"A- normal coffee?"

This is going to be entertaining.

"We have a bunch of different types of coffee drinks. What are you looking for?"

"A normal hot coffee."

Lydia blinks her eyes. She's thrown off by his demeanour. "Hot, okay. Do you want a Lungo? An americano? A macchiato? A mocha? A-"

"Granger told me that the mochas here aren't good."

That little git-

"Oh did she, hm? Well, if chocolate isn't your thing, maybe a flat white? An espresso shot? Maybe a-"

"Can I just get a plain cup of black. Hot. Coffee." his voice is getting more and more exasperated with every word.

"Sure! What kind of beans do you want?"

Malfoy throws his head over to look at Hermione, eyes raging with frustration. She walks over quickly to save him.

"Sorry for his incompetence, Lydia. He's a bit new to the commoner way of life."

She gives a little smirk. "Understandable. What should I get him?"

"A latte macchiato, please. With a pump of vanilla?"

Lydia writes Hermione's name down on the cup. "You got it. This one is on the house, IF you can explain why you don't like our mochas."

Hermione groans. She hoped this wouldn't be brought up. "He wasn't supposed to tell you that. I just find that the chocolate powder doesn't fully break down into the drink, and it leaves a grainy texture on the tongue."

Lydia nods. "I'll let John know."

"It's likely the mixing process. Adding the powder to a separate cup of hot water- maybe less hot than the current temperature the end result- while stirring and then slowly adding the coffee might resolve any issues"

"For an animal rights activist, you sure know enough about coffee to be running this place!" she says impressed. "Seriously, open up your own and I'd gladly come work for you."

That would be a nice change. Not having to worry how many house-elves were being abused every day. Who was she kidding? She'd worry even when she wasn't working in the Being Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. "Maybe once I retire. Thank you again for putting up with him, Lydia. He can be a lot to handle."

She walks backs over to the waiting area, Malfoy stalking after her. "What the hell was that?" he hisses. "Why didn't you tell me about the difference of coffee? What is it with muggles and over-complicating everything?"

She shrugs. "It was a test to see how much you know. Ordering coffee is a basic skill, one that you clearly lack."

"You did it to watch me struggle, didn't you?"

"I was mad at you, and yes I did get a good laugh out of it, but no. I just forgot how complicated it can be if you don't already have a preference." There was definitely a part of her who wanted to see him struggle, even though she wouldn't admit it.

"Fuck you, Granger," he seethes. "Are you going to keep forgetting little details like this?"

"No, I'll review the material we'll cover before. This is a unique situation."

"It better be. Why did you order that for me? This drink sounds disgusting."

"Mmm," she murmurs. "You'll be singing a different tune when you taste it."

They stand in silence until his drink arrives. They manoeuvre through the chatting tables, heading back to their area in the corner of the shop.

As Malfoy sits down, he takes a sip and can barely hide the surprise.

"How is it?"

"Acceptable," he states, licking his lips clear of the foam.

She smiles, proud of her success. "Don't lie, you love it."

"Fine, it's better than what I was expecting."

"I know. Now, whenever you go to a coffee shop in the future, ask for a latte macchiato with a pump of vanilla, and you won't have to go through that ordeal again."

He waves his hand, and a small leather journal and quill pop into the air. Hermione makes a grab for it, anxiously. "Put that away. Muggles don't use quills."

Malfoy moves it out of her reach, absorbing her glares with ease. "I'm trying to write that down. What do muggles use instead of quills?"

"Pens or pencils. Seriously, Malfoy, put that away. It's an oddity."

"Fine. Give me one of those."

She digs through her purse, feeling the cool sensation of something wet against her fingers. Her undetectable extension charm is a blessing in the Muggle world, but she's due to organize the contents again; it's getting messy. She finally and retrieves a pen and places it into his outstretched hand. Her skin brushes his slightly, and Hermione can't help but think at how smooth his hand is. He obviously uses moisturizer- a good quality in any man. She draws her hand back quickly.

"Now, you didn't get to use the money, but we'll cover that in a future lesson. What else do you need to know?"

"Uh… everything?" He doesn't look up from his scribbling. "If today's any indication, I know less than I thought."

"Give me a piece of paper." He rips one out of his journal and passes it over. Hermione quickly jots down a list of topics, before passing it back to him. "We'll be covering all of these. Some might take more than others."

He reads through it, eyes dancing back and forth between the lines. "Fine."

"Fantastic." She sits back in her and gives her cappuccino another sip. "Now, tell me that secret."

"This doesn't even count as a lesson, Granger. I learned nothing except that I like this drink."

She shakes her head. "This was the agreement. I want my secret."

He rolls his eyes. "Fine. Longbottom and I meet for tea every Thursday at his residence."

"What- I am going to KILL him."