This is an Alternate Fiction of Draco Malfoy and Cho Chang. Post Hogwarts. R&R!!!
CHAPTER: TWO
"You're a lawyer?" Cho asked surprisingly.

There were at iPenang/i and just had placed their orders. It was quiet and the place was very comfortable. The hard wood floor was in cherrywood, the ambience was smooth and expensive and the place was really, really clean. It wasn't a five-star restaurant he usually dined in but this was an exception. Draco loved the place the moment he stepped inside. The waiter brought their drinks, handing out tea for Cho and for Draco, of course, Cappuccino.

"I don't believe you!" Cho said before Draco could reply.

Draco laughed, "Why is it so bloody hard to believe that I'm a lawyer?"

"Because you don't like one. You look like a bloody movie star or a model of some sort."

Draco laughed a little louder. Of course, Cho would suspect that he was a movie star or a model, he was always well dressed. Gucci or Ferragammo shoes and Armani or Versace suits were his uniforms going to work. His ties were always Italian brand and hardly repeat it. He had never worn anything that was not expensive. Of course, he's a Malfoy after all.

Draco brushed his one-length medium white-like blonde hair, clipped it on his ear and spoke, "So, tell me. What made you live here and what's your real job?" he eyed Cho with curiosity.

"Well, I moved here in America because of my mother. She was terribly ill and no doctor in Europe could help her. We tried a lot of medication, muggles and wizards in fact, but still it wasn't enough. A doctor in London told us that he had found a chance for my mother to become better and that doctor resides in New York. So, that's why my dad decided to move here. She's okay now, actually, but they're living in New York. I moved here because of my studies. Every weekend, I take the train and visit them. So, erm, yeah," she smiled as she put the napkin on her lap.

Draco eyed Cho in amazement. iAfter all these years, she still looks stunning, like she didn't age. She is so cute when she smiles./i He quickly brought his senses up and asked, "At least your mother is fine now. So, tell me. What's your real job?"

"Er... do you really want to know? I'm kind of shy about it," Cho said as the squeezed some lemon into her tea.

iPlease don't tell me you're a hooker./i "Really, I want to know. Since I know you despise lawyers, I'll try not to despise your profession," Draco smiled teasingly.

Cho laughed, "I don't despise lawyers, Draco. I'm quite shock to hear that iyou're/i a lawyer. Anyway, I'm an artist." She quickly avoided his eyes and took a sip of her tea.

"Really," Draco eyebrow arched. "I must see your work, Cho. I am an art collector."

"Well, I haven't done much yet since I just started painting. When I was in New York, I was a writer. I did write a novel, but it came to a point that I lost interest. Writer's block, some say. So, I didn't publish it. Didn't even finish it. Actually, I lost the plot somewhere in my head," both of them laughed and she continued, "then, my friend and I went to this art gallery in New York and I simply fell in love with it. He urged me to study Fine Arts. So, I looked at some colleges and universities and studied painting. I just graduated a couple of months ago."

"Do you have an art gallery somewhere?" he asked as he put some brown sugar in his cappuccino.

"Well, not yet, but I'm getting there. I'm still new at this and still learning about it. I decided to make my pad my temporary art gallery. Oh, I couldn't believe my first customer who bought my painting. He was wonderful and he said that my painting brought him hope. Oh, that was inspiring." She touched her chest and sighed a little.

"Really? So," Draco cleared his throat, "When can I see your paintings? Now you got me interested," smiling sweetly at Cho.

"Are you sure you want to see it?" Cho asked as she poured more tea. Not meeting his eyes for the second time.

"Of course. Any plans tonight?" Draco asked as he took a sip of his Cappuccino.

"No actually, but," Cho looked at him, "Draco?" she asked with sincerity.

"Yes?" Draco looked at her. iThere's something with her voice. Something sweet. /iDraco blushed at that thought. iIs she also sensing it? The aura between us? Could it be.../i

Cho smiled sweetly, "Honey, you have some foam on your nose."

"Oh, where?" Startled, Draco immediately looked for a napkin, but the only napkin on the table was Cho's spare one. Draco's face looked pink as he spoke, "Could you please pass me a napkin? I don't have any here." He didn't want to wipe it off with his hands. That was not an appropriate action in front of a lady, and especially if that lady is Cho.

"Here, I'll help you with it," Cho chuckled as she slowly stood up, took the napkin from her side and carefully wiped off the foam milk on Draco's nose.

Draco's breathing was interrupted as he held his breath the moment Cho's face was fairly close to his. He stared at her, in awe. He noticed how flawless her skin looked, her brown eyes matched her medium-length hair and her lips were full and very, very red. iBloody hell, she's still stunningly beautiful and breath taking!/i

"There. All gone now," Cho said as she sat back and carefully watched Draco's reaction. Draco was still looking at her and Cho felt uneasy. So, Cho smiled at him and continued to sip her tea. Her eyes shifted to the window and watched the people outside.

Draco didn't have a chance to say ithank you/i as he was still traumatized by Cho's gentle performance. Again, no words came out from his mouth, just like the old times when Cho talked to him at Hogwarts. But in no time, the waiter came back with their food and Draco started to talk when the waiter left.

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"Well, here we are! I hope it's clean for you, Draco. I don't get a lot of visitors in a weekday so I don't usually clean. There's a sofa over the corner and you can sit down there. You can put your coat on the coat rack. I'll just get some drinks in the kitchen. What do you want? Coffee, tea, wine?" Cho said as she closed the door and gestured Draco to sit on the deep green colored sofa.

It was already eight in the evening. Cho met Draco at the Metro station and they went to her place. Draco removed his leather jacket and his coat and simply put them on the coat rack near the door. He walked slowly as he surveyed the flat. It was a studio type apartment. A huge studio apartment, to be precise. Hard wood floors, too bright lights, piles of paints on one corner with tons of newspaper on the floor, a green sofa, a black coffee table, a TV, a night lamp on her corner table near the sofa, a lot of blank frames as well as her paintings and a small dining table near the kitchen.

Draco walked towards the sofa as he looked around. "Cho, your flat looks great. Don't even think it's not clean because if you go to my place, you might have a heart attack."

Cho laughed, "Okay then. Any drinks? Food?"

"I just ate a sandwich at work. I'm still full. I'll have wine, if you don't mind. My body needs a bloody break from caffeine."

Cho laughed the second time, "Well, I hope you like white wine because that's the only kind of wine I drink," she said as she took her iPinot Gris/i white wine. It's one of her favorites. She grabbed a couple of wine glass and began to walk to where Draco was.

While Cho was busy in the kitchen, Draco couldn't help himself to look at the picture near Cho's bedside table. It looked like someone he knew but couldn't quite tell. He slowly walked towards the bedside table; picked up the picture frame and the moment he saw the picture, his eyes widen in shock.

It was Harry Potter, along with Cho and Severus Snape.

iWhat's going on here?/i

"Draco?" Cho said as she settled the wine and the glasses on the coffee table. She scanned her flat and saw Draco looking at the picture frame near her bed.

Draco looked up, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop around," he said as he gently placed the picture frame back to where it was.

Cho smiled and walked over where Draco was. "That's okay. That was taken at my graduation," she looked at it and said, "Don't they look cute together?"

Draco's eyed Cho in an odd way. "What do you mean ilook cute together/i? Do you mean that..."

Cho laughed out loud and beckoned Draco to follow her. "Really, Draco," she said as she and Draco sat down at the sofa. "You didn't know about them?" She opened the wine and poured some in the wine glasses.

Draco had heard rumors about Snape quitting Hogwarts when they were at their sixth year. But he didn't believe it. Snape was like an older brother to him, to think he was the only one who knows about his "dark" experience.

Harry, on the other hand, was Cho's boyfriend when they were at Hogwarts. Draco thought that they were married by now. It sickened him every time he thought about that. iBut what's going on here? Harry and Snape despised each other and... what does she mean look cute together? No. It's not... Eww.../i

"Oh, my!" Cho exclaimed. Draco looked at her, surprised. He was so into his thoughts and forgotten where he was. "This might be a shock to you then, Draco. Do you want to know about them?" Cho said as she stopped laughing and had a little seriousness written on her face.

Draco wasn't sure if he wanted to know about Potter and Snape's relationship but he wanted to know why Cho wasn't with Harry anymore. So he nodded. Too stunned to speak as the rumors slowly crawled back into his mind.

Seeing the stunned expression of Draco's face, Cho slowly touched Draco's hand, which was sitting on his thigh and began to speak. "Well, did you know that Harry and I dated?"

"Yeah," he said dryly, trying to control his enthusiasm. Cho's hand is so warm and soft. i Should I touch it?/i He didn't. His feelings of jealousy and hatred he had for Harry, when they were at Hogwarts, suddenly came back to his mind. He remembered that he almost ordered Crabbe and Goyle to beat the living shins out of Harry.

"I think we dated for a year but people didn't know that we'd broken up. There were times I couldn't tell what's wrong with him. So, I got the courage to ask him what was bugging him. When he told me what it was, that's when I found out about him being gay." Cho removed her hands and took her sip of her wine.

"Harry Potter is gay?!" Draco shouted. Cho almost choked her wine because Draco's booming voice startled her. He was quite shocked with his outburst. He looked at Cho and saw her surprised face. He slowly lowered his gaze, and spoke in a whisper, "When? How... how did... this happen? But you were... I mean... I didn't... doesn't make sense..." as he babbled.

Cho chuckled as she gave a glass of wine to Draco. "Its fine, Draco. Anyway, I asked Harry what was wrong with him since he was so distant to me for a couple of weeks before we broke up. We were at Hogsmead that time and buying something for Ron and Hermione's monthly anniversary gift. He told me that he needed to talk to me so we went to Three Broomsticks and he poured his heart out. I mean, he came out of the closet was more like it."

"What was your reaction? When was this?" Draco interrupted her.

"I believe it was near the end of the school year. Yes, it was May that time and we were studying for our bloody N.E.W.T.S., so, yes, it was around that time."

"What did you do? I mean, everybody thought that you and Potter were still going out when you left."

"Oh, Harry asked me not to tell anyone about it. So, we pretended that we were still going out. Now, we're good friends. Best of, actually. I accepted his flaw and I was quite relieved about it. I mean, at least he didn't say that he was in love with another girl, right?" Cho smiled, "We promised to each other that we will be best friends until the end and that's precisely what we're doing. We keep in touch from time to time. He moved to New York because he said he couldn't bear to miss me. Well, that's what he said. He comes here once in a while because of his business trip and I usually see him when I'm at New York. But now, he's at Spain for business reasons."

"But why is Snape with you two? I mean, from what I heard, the reason why he left Hogwarts is because he was accused of something... er, bad. Of course, I defended him since he treated me like his younger brother but... it really doesn't make any sense?"

"What does? Sev being with Harry?" Cho chuckled and patted Draco's shoulder, "I'm sorry to break it to you but ever since Harry graduated Hogwarts, he's been living with Sev. They're married, you know?"

Draco was in pure ecstasy the moment Cho touched his shoulder but his mind was scandalized as he heard the word i'married'/i. "What?" raising his voice again and eyes wide opened, "When? How? Why? Isn't that illegal?" Draco couldn't imagine that Snape was living with Harry for almost a decade now. iHarry Potter and Severus Snape? What the bloody hell is going on around here?!/i

"Calm down, Draco." Cho wondered if Draco opposed homosexuals. "I mean that's the reason why they moved to New York. It's legal there for same sex marriage.[/color]b*/b[color:"D87093"] I was the Maid of Honor, by the way." Cho poured some wine for her and Draco's. iThis is going to be a long day!/i She thought.

"Bugger! I missed my friend's wedding. Why didn't they invite me? When did this happen?"

iOh, that's why he's upset./i Cho smiled at Draco and spoke, "I don't know. Maybe you were still in London that time. They married two years ago. Only a few people came since it was er," Cho smiled, "well, you know -unusual- though Mione and Ron were present. Of course, they can't miss their best friend's wedding. Did you know that Ron and Hermione are having their third baby? I think Ron wants a large family."

"How was the wedding? Was it nice? Who were there?" Draco asked.

"Er, not much people that you know. Most of the guests were friends of theirs after Hogwarts. The only people that you know who were there were Ron's family, Hermione and most of his Gryffindor friends. Some of Sev's friends from his former work were there too." Draco looked at Cho in bewilderment. "Oh no, not Hogwarts," Cho said as she waved her hand, "he worked before as a bartender in a London muggle pub."

"How are the weasel, er, I mean, Weasley and Granger?" Draco said as he meant it. "Do you still talk to them? What about your Hogwarts friends? Still keep in touch?"

"I still talk to them from time to time but I'm much attached to Harry than the others. Since Harry's here and all, you know. And Harry knows how to use muggle devices and my other friends don't even know what a bloody telephone is. Harry and I really can relate to each other," Cho laughed.

Draco looked at Cho and gently took a sip of his wine. He couldn't help to be jealous of Cho's after life at Hogwarts. All he had, as a friend from his former school, was Goyle.

"So, erm, what about you? What was your life after Hogwarts? Do you still hang around with those two burly men? Er, I forgot their names," her eyebrows met as she was pondering what were the names of Draco's friends.

"Don't overuse yourself," Draco nudged Cho gently, "I don't even think you know their names," Draco smiled. "It's Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Well, Vince is living in France. That old bugger's married to a veela. Well, half veela, I think. Though he couldn't comprehend anything French," Draco laughed and Cho did the same. "Greg's a wrestler now and he's seeing Millicent Bullstrode. I don't know if you know her.

Cho shook his head, "No. I'm afraid not. There are only a few people I know on your year. Do you mind if I say something?" Cho looked at him, feeling a bit abashed.

"Nope. What is it?" Draco said with care. But tension were rising from his body. He was caught off guard... again. He wondered what Cho would say.

"You don't sound like the old Draco Malfoy I knew from Hogwarts. In fact, you became a better person," Cho's face reddened. "I think that's good, isn't it?"

Draco smiled. "It is good," he cleared his throat.

"How are your parents? I'm pretty sure they're proud of you and all. I mean, as you said earlier, you're the youngest partner in your firm," Cho said with a smile.

"Uhm, they're okay, I guess. Haven't talked to them in a while," he cleared his throat, but not rudely. Draco was debating if he should tell her what happened to his family life, but he didn't want to talk about it so he decided not to mention it. Hopefully changing the topic, he said, "Where can I see your work?"

Cho took a sip of her wine, disturbed by the sudden switch of the topic. iMaybe something's wrong and he's not ready yet to talk about that. Well, we all know what kind of a father Lucius is./i "Oh that's right," she exclaimed. "I'm sorry if I held you for an hour there. It's just been so long since we've seen each other. I couldn't even believe that I'm talking to you, in a decent conversation," she gently placed her glass on the table. "Hold on, I'll clear up the place," Cho stood up and walked towards where the blank frames were. Draco took a sip of his wine, as he gazed upon Cho.

Draco couldn't help but to stare at Cho intently as she gathered some of her artwork. He couldn't believe that his feelings for her were still in him. Cho's presence gave him a new meaning of life and hope. And the way she talked to him, he never felt at ease with someone you barely know, or at least with anyone.

"Well," Cho grunted as she carefully pulled out one of her work. "This was done two days ago. I was so mad at this certain lady at the Metro. So, that's why it's dark and full of passion, if that makes sense to you."

Draco chuckled as he put his glass beside Cho's glass and walked to look at her painting.

A/N: b*/b - Let's just say it's legal there. I don't know if it's true or not but I saw an episode at iFriends/i where Carol (Ross's ex-wife) wed Susan, so, I'm just assuming it's legal there, mmkay?

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