~ten~

Business was booming at Vinyl Resting Place. It had only been open a mere nine months, and yet the small shop had a steady stream of custom on a daily basis. Draco had found himself to have been nominated for several wizarding business awards. Even his father had to reluctantly admit that his son had secured a very successful income for himself, although he was far from approving of his method.

It was a Saturday afternoon in July and Theodore Nott found himself perched on a seat behind the counter in the shop, flicking through a muggle music magazine with curiosity, as the sound of a new muggle band called Coldplay played quietly in the background. Even though he preferred older muggle music, Draco always made a point of playing more recent findings on weekends in order to attract his younger clientele.

Just then, Draco came into the shop from the doorway at the back that led up to his flat. He was putting on his suit jacket and dusting off the shoulders. "Check you out, Mr Suity-Man," Theo remarked at his friend's unusually smart appearance. "Where are you off to that you so desperately needed me to mind the shop for you this afternoon? Another date with this mystery woman you've been seeing is it?"

"Nope. Just a little business meeting of sorts. Thanks for stepping in at such short notice, Theo."

"Yeah, well, how about this: I promise not to let the shop burn down if you promise to fill me in on your love life, later?"

"Gods, Theo. Sometimes I wonder if you're actually a thirteen-year-old girl in disguise, the way you go on."

"Oh come on, Drakey-poos!" he sang out with a camp wink of his eye, using the nickname that teenage Pansy Parkinson had always used for Draco in school, knowing that he had always found it utterly irritating.

"Dickhead," Draco remarked blankly as he went rummaging behind the counter eventually pulling out his smart, leather briefcase.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with me showing an interest is there?" Theo commented. "You've been seeing her for ages now, so things must be going in the right direction? Just don't know why you need to be so secretive about it."

Draco emerged from behind the counter, looking ready to leave. He sighed and placed the briefcase down on the counter top.

"Things are going well, I guess. We went out to dinner last night and we're going over to the manor together tomorrow for a luncheon with my parents."

"Meeting the parents eh? Can't be bad."

"Well… yes and no. They've already met. Look - I promise I'll fill you in later, but I've got to go, Theo. This meeting is far too important for me to be late and I really want to make a good impression. See you in a bit?" Draco asked as he grabbed his case and made his way upstairs to the floo in his private quarters.

"Yeah, ok. See you later."

Theo had done a few stints of minding the shop for Draco in the last couple of months. Draco had been to check out a business property that had become vacant in Hogsmeade recently and it was looking more and more likely that his music empire was soon to begin expending. Theo naturally assumed that Draco's business venture this afternoon was something to do with that, as he made himself comfortable with a coffee and a slice of Loxey's vanilla sponge from the small cake display in the corner by the refreshments counter.

Loxey would normally have been there to step in, but he had apparently been summoned back to the manor that week to help with more of Narcissa's renovations. The little house elf was in high demand between Draco and his parents, but it made him extremely happy to be so needed and the family made sure that he was amply compensated through his wages.

After a weekend rush of shoppers in the early afternoon, custom had settled down and Theo was wandering around the shop displays, magically rearranging the records with his wand, after they had been moved about by customers as they had flicked through the different collections. He made his way back over to the counter to resume reading the magasine that he had been steadily making his way through earlier.

After a while, the little shop bell above the door tinkled merrily and Theo looked up with surprise to see the vaguely familiar face of Astoria Greengrass approaching. Blaize and Daphne Greengrass had been an item at school, and Theo remembered her being close to her younger sister who could often be seen hanging around back in the Slytherin common room.

Astoria was carrying two very large boutique shopping bags that were draped over the crook of her arm as she carefully tugged at the fingers of her dragon-hide gloves to remove them. Her fancy robes made her look very out of place in the muggle music store.

"Oh. Hello." she remarked with surprise. "You work here do you? I was just passing and thought I'd pop in to finally see the place for myself. Please could you tell Draco that I'm here? My name is Astoria Greengrass".

Theo smirked at the realisation that Astoria had not recognised who he was. Weighing up the situation in his mind, he decided with Slytherin calculation that it might be fruitful to not reveal himself right away.

"Afraid not," Theo replied, jumping down from the counter stool and walking around to meet his unexpected visitor.

"The boss has gone off to some business meeting or other. Asked me to keep an eye on things here for a few hours."

"Oh?" Astoria replied with a puzzled expression. "He never mentioned anything about that last night."

Theo blinked and processed Astoria's comments for a few seconds as she looked around the shop with a look of mild distaste.

"So… you and Draco… are together?"

"Hmm?" she murmured still taking in her surroundings, before eventually coming back to her senses. "Oh! Yes. We've actually been dating for a while now. Draco's father, Lucius, did a bit of matchmaking and we've been getting rather close."

Theo was rather taken aback by this revelation. Draco had certainly been keeping a lot of his cards close to his chest just recently, what with the mystery meeting this afternoon, and now the news that it was the younger Greengrass sister that he was dating on the sly!

"Oh really?" Theo asked with innocent eyes.

"Yes. Although my father wasn't overly keen on the idea at first, especially given this weird little fad business that Draco's got going on at the moment," she said with an indifferent waft of her hand.

Theo frowned momentarily at Astoria's seeming discredit of Draco's hard earned success.

"So… you think all this," he gestured with wide exaggerated arm movements towards the shop's interior, "…is just a fad?"

Astoria laughed with a girlish tinkle "Well, yes! What else could it be? I don't know if you know this, but he suffered the terrible shame of failing healership training at St Mungo's last year."

"Did he really?" Theo asked with fake interest, leaning in towards Astoria conspiratorially.

"Oh yes. It was all kept quite hush-hush. He was bound to want to find a temporary diversion after that, but I mean honestly, muggle music? Draco Malfoy? It's just a whim."

"Well from what I've seen of him as my boss, I think this means much more to him that that."

She laughed again with an incredulous grimace.

"Well I expect you would hope that's true so you can keep your little job. But you see, you only know him as your boss. I know all about his upbringing, and it's only a matter of time before he leaves all this… whatever this is, behind in pursuit of something more fitting to a pureblood heir. Especially if he has a wife and family to support."

Theo nearly choked on his own breath at her words.

"Wife and family?"

"Of course. That was his father's intention with the match in the first place, silly," she explained, whilst effortlessly removing a small compact mirror to check her hair and makeup. "Lucius Malfoy - Draco's father, has managed to persuade my father to have a position open up in our family business for Draco. It will be much more becoming for him than this. If I were you… erm…"

"Theodore." he confirmed, coldly.

"…Theodore," she continued, still not recognising Theo or his name, "I'd start looking for another job. Something with much more… long term potential, perhaps?"

"Sneaky bastards," Theo muttered under his breath with a scowl.

"Hmm?" came Astoria's vague response as she closed her mirror with a snap and slid it away into her handbag.

"Oh, nothing. Just that… he's not going to be back for ages. Perhaps…" Theo trailed off as he looked around at the well-worn but super comfy sofas that were arranged nearby with a smirk.

"...perhaps you'd like to make yourself comfortable here for a while and listen to some of Draco's music?"

Theo waited for the negative response that he was certain would come. He didn't have to wait long as Astoria's eyes glanced icily over the rustic upholstery with an upturned nose.

"Erm… well, that would be… pleasant. But I do think I ought to be getting along now," she hurriedly replied as she began to put her gloves back on again.

"Do make sure that you tell Draco that I called!" she called out as she made her way to the shop's entrance.

"Oh, don't worry sweetheart. I certainly will."

An hour or so later, Draco finally returned via his floo and came bouncing down the stairs and into the rear of the shop. He gave Theo a jovial shove, nearly sending him flying off his stool.

"Well that. Went. Brilliantly!" he announced, making his way over to the sofas in the shop and bouncing down into a seat happily.

Theo came round to join him, sitting in a comfy armchair opposite.

"What did?"

Draco opened his briefcase and took out a thick manuscript and dropped it confidently on the low coffee table in front of them. Theo leaned forwards to take a closer look.

"Powerful Memory Loss & Its Safe & Effective Restoration by Abraxas Malafide?" he read aloud, nonplussed. "I don't get it?"

"That, my friend, is my independent study. You know? The one I began writing during my healership training?"

Theo now picked up the heavy tome and flicked through it, getting a sense of its size. He looked up at Draco with surprise.

"I finished it, Theo! Draco exclaimed with pride. "And that's not the end of it. I've just been to a very successful presentation with a certain Altrixa McConnell and her team from the European Journal of Magi-Medical Research. They've agreed to publish it Theo! They said that the potion that I have patented was flawless in its theoretical basis and that the case I made for its application was very convincing. It could be the breakthrough piece of research this decade! Can you believe it? It could really have a massive impact in the healing field!"

Theo sat in stunned silence looking from the manuscript and back to his friend several times with disbelief.

"Draco, are you seriously telling me, that in the last nine months since you got kicked off your healership course, that not only have you gone through the process of buying a property and setting up a very successful business, but that you've also been continuing your studies by yourself and have patented a healing potion on the side?!"

Draco let out a short laugh down his nose and nodded with a shrug of his shoulders, as if what he had done was the most natural thing in the world.

"Well...yeah." he replied.

Theo blew out a long breath as he continued to process his friend's news. "Morgana's tits, Draco. You're fucking nuts, man!" He placed his friend's manuscript down on the table gently with a shake of his head.

"It was important to me, Theo."

"Clearly. And also important to someone else, huh?" Theo ventured with a knowing glance and raised eyebrows.

Draco eyed him back with an unscrupulous deadpan expression, before relenting with a sigh.

"Alright, alright. Maybe it had a lot to do with her at first…"

"So why keep torturing yourself with this after you said she'd made it perfectly clear to you that she wasn't interested in you at your mum's gala night?"

"Because it isn't just about me is it Theo? I knew I was onto something big with this potion, back when I was still at St Mungo's and living with Flinchley The Micro-manhood. I knew this thing could make a real difference in the field of memory loss and yes, that's a big deal for… Hermione. But Gods, Theo! There have been so many people affected by this from the war, many as a result of being tortured by my own fucking flesh and blood! I couldn't just walk away and leave it!"

Theo let out a low whistle of approval. He hadn't failed to notice the pained expression on his friend's face at having to mention Granger's name or the way his eyes gazed skywards as he said it as though warring some big emotions inside.

"Fuck me," he stated quietly. "I mean, you're mental - doing all this. I don't know how you haven't died of exhaustion! But… I admire you, mate. And … I'm really fucking proud of you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks, Theo. That means a lot to me." Draco replied quietly as they smiled amicably at each other.

Theo blinked suddenly and came to his senses. "But, hang on. I've got some questions for you. Who the fuck is this Malafide wanker that's taking all the credit for your hard work?"

"Isn't it obvious? The paper won't get half the attention that it deserves with my name plastered all over it will it? This way it will be much more likely to be picked up by healers in the field. And one of McConnell's team said that there's a good chance that they could help me to get an apothecary manufacturer on board for the wide scale production of my potion, once final testing is passed. That's less likely to happen with the name 'Malfoy' emblazoned all over it, isn't it?"

"Hmph. If you say so," Theo muttered. "Seems really unfair to me. And anyway man of mystery; next question. You've had a visitor while you were off schmoozing with the medical people."

"Oh?"

"Don't 'Oh' me, you sly snake! You've been knobbing Astoria fucking Greengrass haven't you?"

Draco's eyes widened at Theo's revelation.

"Astoria came here?"

"Yes she fucking well came here. So why have you been keeping that so quiet?"

Draco stood up from the sofa and began collecting the mugs that had accumulated on the coffee table that afternoon, carrying them over to the counter.

"Look, I don't know why, ok? But I guess that I had such a bad time getting over… Granger, that I didn't want to go rushing in and announcing any sort of relationship too quickly. It was father that set us up and I just kind of went along with it to keep him quiet. You know what pureblood parents can be like when it comes to getting their heirs all settled down?"

"And now? Are you still just going along with it, or are you thinking this thing might become serious with her and that you're ready to go all… public then?"

"Well, I wasn't at first. But recently I've been thinking that I want to make a go of things with her. I really like her, Theo. She's a nice girl, and I care about her…"

"Nice in bed?" Theo interrupted, flashing his eyebrows as his friend returned to the sofas.

"Theo!"

"What?! Valid question if you ask me."

"She's… fine… I mean… no, she's good...ARRRGH! Theo! I am NOT having this discussion with you right now! I'm very happy with Astoria. She provided me with a very welcome distraction from a number of trialling aspects of my life back when we first began dating, but now it's more than that."

"You mean, she helped you take your mind off Granger?"

"Yes. At first there was that factor. Is that such a bad thing?"

"No! No. I mean, you were moping around like a love sick puppy for weeks after the whole gala incident. You didn't eat, you hardly drank, you never left the flat or the shop. I honestly thought you were going to starve yourself into oblivion."

"Yes well I was immersing myself in my study. And surely that was a better option than comfort eating and ending up being a fat bastard," Draco replied with a smirk.

"I wouldn't know, mate." Theo answered, sucking his stomach in and puffing out his chest. He mulled over his friend's words.

"So… you're really over Hermione then?"

Draco looked down at the floor, avoiding his friend's careful gaze.

"Yes. I guess I am."

"Are you bollocks." Theo thought to himself.

"And you're really going to carry on this thing with Astoria?" he asked with incredulity.

"Yes, of course. Why, does that surprise you?"

Theo let out a long breath, rubbing his hands over his face as he steeled himself.

"Look Draco, I hate to be the one to tell you, but it looks to me like Astoria's not the harmless little nice girl you think she is."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, this afternoon, she made it quite clear to me that as soon as she gets her claws into you officially, she intends to lead you away from your silly little muggle music hobby," Theo explained, making quotation marks in the air before continuing.

"It sounds like it's all been planned, mate. Daddy Greengrass is going to have you running around after him in his family business as the good little son-in-law, so you can support his daughter and all the blond haired little sprogs that she's planning on popping out for you once you're married."

Draco stared at Theo, his mouth slightly open with shock. He eventually gave a short laugh.

"You're having me on…"

"I'm not! That's what she said! She didn't recognise me and just kept spilling the beans, not realising that as your best friend I was bound to tell you. She thought that I just worked here for you, and went off on one, advising me that I might want to start looking for another job! And she made it perfectly clear that being in here surrounded by all this muggle stuff left her with a very bad taste in her mouth."

Draco shook his head with disbelief.

"You must have misunderstood, Theo. She's known about my line of business all along. There's no way she'd have got involved with me if that's how she felt."

"Yeah? Well she is a Slytherin pureblood after all, not that you'd know now that you've practically become a fucking, chilled out Hufflepuff."

Draco stared at Theo with hard eyes. "I just don't think Astoria would do that, Theo. You must have got the wrong end of the stick. She's been nothing but totally supportive of me."

"I'm sorry mate. I know you like her and you think you've finally found happiness, but it's what she said…"

"You're wrong, Theo. I appreciate you looking out for me, but it doesn't fit. I'm sure I can get this all cleared up at this luncheon tomorrow."

"Yeah. I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it, one way or another." Theo said quietly, looking pointedly into his friend's eyes.

A solemn and awkward silence fell over the pair as they digested the afternoon's events.

"Look, I'm just off upstairs to get changed out of this bloody suit." Draco said as he headed to the back of the shop and through the small door at the rear that led to a narrow staircase to his flat.

"Keep an eye on things for me?"

"No actually, I think I'll put a sign out front saying 'Free Muggle Shit - Help Yourself'," Theo called back.

"Wanker!" came Draco's echoey voice from the stairwell.

"Twathead!" Theo returned loudly just as a group of teenage witches entered the shop. They looked at Theo with wide eyes, before giggling their way into the corner to look at Draco's latest stock. The good natured name calling with his friend was an unspoken signal that despite their awkward disagreement about Astoria, they were still 'good'.

Theo eyed the girls in the corner for a moment before his eyes fell on Draco's manuscript on the table. Once more he lifted the weighty document and flicked the corner of the pages rapidly, raising an eyebrow at the sheer size of the work and let out another low whistle of appreciation at his friend's hard work and commitment.

His mind turned to Granger and her parents. Draco had told him all about what she had done to protect them and had to agree with him that it was an incredible act of selfless bravery. He imagined how thrilled she would be if she learnt what Draco had done in order to rescue her parents and the hundreds of other sufferers from their miserable condition.

He recalled the repeated pained expression that came over his friend's face every time he mentioned her name. It was clear that Draco was most definitely not over Hermione, and he was damned if he was going to let Greengrass and his father's scheming come to fruition.

He looked at the name on the front of the paper and made a huff of disapproval. "Dickhead," he muttered under his breath, before taking out his wand.

Meanwhile, Draco was jogging lightly back down the stairs, having changed out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and a Stone Roses T shirt. He always dressed in this manner when working in the shop or hanging out in his flat, choosing from his growing collection of band T shirts.

As he entered the shop, Theo was just slipping his coat on and getting ready to leave, having heard him making his way downstairs.

"Here you are, numb nuts," he said as he slung the research paper at Draco's chest. "You don't want to go leaving that lying around. You never know what might happen to it."

Draco caught hold of his paper and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, good one Theo," he said as he made his way over to the safe out back, locking it away securely.

"Although, I have got other copies, of course." he said as he came back to his friend.

"Of course. But you can't be too careful. It might end up in the wrong hands." Theo replied with a knowing smile.

Draco nodded. "You off then?"

"Yep. Things to see, people to do."

"I do hope that by 'people' you mean Tracey?" Draco asked.

"Correct." Theo stated, pointedly. "I'm meeting her in The Leaky. Now cough up my wages and I'll be on my way."

Draco smiled and shook his head before pulling out a tin containing a dozen of Loxey's cherry scones from behind the counter.

"Are you sure about this? I'd really feel better if you took an actual wage from me. You've been here all afternoon, after all."

"Shut up Malfoy. The deal was scones and that's what I want, so hand over the goods!"

Draco laughed down his nose and passed the tin to his friend. "Okay, okay. Just don't go eating them all at once, fatty."

"Oi!" Theo complained, rubbing his tummy with a faux-hurt expression. "It's not fat, it's insulation!"

"Whatever." Draco replied. "I'll see you next weekend for some beers?"

"Not if I see you first!"

And with that, Theo headed off to the door, pausing as he reached out for the handle and turning back to Draco.

"I hope things go okay tomorrow. At the manor, I mean."

"Everything will be fine, Theo. Don't worry."

And with the small bell tinkling in the door frame, Theo made his way out into the Diagon Alley, his coat laden with the weight of a heavy manuscript that was rolled up and tucked inside his pocket, as he went on his way.