That day had been weird for the both of them, him more than hers had. What do you say to the person that you had spent 6 years of your life hating?

Draco had walked into the low-key pub, just because he was almost positive that he had no chance of running into someone he knew there. True, it was filthy to the point that it was sickening. True, some suspicious characters were always there. But it was the only place that he could let his guard down.

Especially since he was on the run.

Draco took a seat, and roamed his eyes around, but being careful to avoid anyone else's eyes, until someone was ready too serve him.

He didn't know how he was surviving, only staying in a certain place for a couple of days then hurriedly leaving. He wasn't going to lie, he was almost dead broke, which was a very first for him. Why did Dumbledore have to be so cheap?

"The sooner I get back to Hogwarts, the better," was the thought that usually occupied his head these days.

"May I take your order, sir?" said a voise, breaking through his thoughts.

"Umm yes, may I have a cup of lemon tea?" he decided to go for something plain.

"No, I'm sorry, you can't," the waitress replied.

"What do you mean, I..." he said, looking up at the waitress, but that is what stopped him.

Of all the faces he expected to see, he never would have guessed he would see Hermione Grangers.

"I mean you can't have any lemon tea because I just sold it all to the party of goblin sitting over there," Hermione said, pointing.

"Granger?" Draco said, not even paying attention to the last thing she said.

Lemon tea or any other kind of tea where the farthest things from his mind.

"Yes?" She had a vague and clouded look in her eyes, and that could have only meant one thing. She was being controlled.

"Expeios Imperios" he thought.

The clouded look behind her eyes immediately went away, and she gasped. "Malfoy?" she whispered, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could have asked you the same damn thing, Granger. Why the hell are you here?"

"That is none of your business, you goddamned, nosy..."

"Hermione!" a deep masculine voise rang out.

"Oh no," she whispered. The clouded look behind her eyes returned once more, even though she was still staring at Draco.

"Yes, sir?" she said, turning around.

The voise made itself known, and Draco's facial features hardened. He would have thought it was a much older man, but it was only a young guy, probably only a few years older than he was.

He had shoulder length jet-black hair, which made him look deathly pale. But those features seemed to help his aura greatly. He was tall, maybe 6'4, and stood straight, which made him look even larger, and everything about him screamed he was in control.

He crossed the space between he and Hermione quickly and leaned down and whispered into her ear, although loud enough for Draco to hear, "Get your lazy ass back to work, now. There are other customers to be served." Then right for everyone to see, he squeezed her bum, hard enough o make her flinch.

But she didn't say anything, except, "Yes, sir."

She turned back to Draco, "Is that all for you, then?"

It took every bit of Draco's being not to get up and chase down that guy, because he hated guys like that. Not because he cared that it was Hermione...never because of that.

But he couldn't stop himself from saying, "Granger, listen to me, you know the woods just outside the pub? Meet me there in two hours. Do you understand? Fight it for one second and listen to Me."

She stared at him hard for a few seconds, and if he would have blinked he would have missed it, gave him the slightest of nods. She walked away, and left him to think why she worked there of all places, and what he planned to say to her on 2 hrs time...no, 1 hr. 56 mins.

But it's not like he cared.
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