Sorry for the late...ish update. It's unbearably hot for me where I live. Not exactly...normal weather. I've just been so lazy, sitting around, sweating my ass off while reading other fanfics. Haha. Well, enjoy as best you can~ Happy reading.
A week at a highly explosive potions lab was nothing compared to the excitement Draco felt about his meeting with Lily later that day. There was something about that woman he just couldn't place his finger on. She was so familiar, yet Draco knew he had never met anyone so interesting; he would have remembered.
The blond conversed lightly with his mother at the breakfast table, discussing events that happened at work or what they each planned to do for the day. He told his mother of his plans to visit Lily. She hadn't commented on it, which was odd. Usually, the elder Malfoy would question him incessantly, hinting at marriage, seeing as he wasn't getting any younger. Draco brushed it off.
Draco finished reading the paper and realized he still had about an hour before meeting with Lily Black. He decided to head over to the residential neighborhood early, perhaps scope around and be familiar with his surroundings. He bid his mother good bye and made his way to The Snitch.
Draco idly wondered if the girl had an unhealthy obsession with Quidditch, or just Seekers for that matter. He shrugged it off as the bookstore came to view; it was open. Lily had said she was free today and it didn't look like she had any employees other than those charmed snitches. The blond opened the door and looked curiously at the counter.
There, the woman was hunched over sipping at a mug, watching as the snitches flitted excitedly above her head. At the sound of the door opening, she placed her mug down and opened her mouth to greet him. When she spotted him, Lily closed her mouth into a small smile.
"It's not time for us to meet yet, is it?" She looked around, trying to find a clock.
Draco shook his head. "No, I was just exploring when I found you were open. I thought you said you were free today. We can reschedule if you're busy," he said, slightly disappointed if the girl was to call off their lunch. To his delight, Lily shook her head, bringing the mug back up to her pink lips.
"I don't run the store on weekends; a friend does. He has an urgent errand to run so I'm covering for now."
Draco was relieved, their plans wouldn't be foiled. He was about to suggest that he came back later if she was busy, but the girl had already conjured a stool against the wall behind her.
She opened her mouth to speak but a distant crash interrupted. Lily motioned for Draco to take the seat as she moved into the back room, to check if everything was in its place, he assumed. Draco took off his cloak, draping it over his knees as he sat on the high stool. Just as he was settled, Lily came back, offering tea. Draco declined politely.
He took the opportunity to take in how the mystery woman was dressed today. She wore her hair in a high ponytail, exposing the nape of her neck at which her magical tattoo chose to rest. The loose ringlets bobbed slightly when she moved, brushing against the dark green, almost black, tank top. White pants covered her thin legs, bunching up at her knees and ankles. It seemed she preferred high topped trainers than high heeled sandals, unlike most woman, but then again, she never seemed like most woman, even from the beginning. Draco approved of her already.
A few minutes into Draco's full observation of the shop, a shout came from the same direction of the crash moments before.
"Hey, Sneak?" A deep male voice sounded.
Lily didn't seem to be bothered by it and opened the door behind her, leading to what looked to be a storage room and a set of steep stone steps. "What?" She responded, turning back to the paper in her hands.
"Where are my keys?" The voice seemed frustrated.
Lily put down the paper, lifting various items from the counter before spotting a ring of keys and a black round object. "Down here," she shouted back. She picked up the ring of keys and placed them next to her mug.
A tall figure came stumbling down the steps, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth as he tugged on his jacket. He had short spiky red hair and a tattoo of a snake around his neck. The snake blinked and continued to curl around the tanned neck. The red hair was nothing like the Weasleys' shade. It was unnaturally red, like it was dyed.
The man shoved the rest of the toast into his mouth and kissed Lily's cheek. He grabbed the keys with a clatter, and took a swig of whatever was in Lily's mug. Apparently, it was not to his tastes and he grimaced, muttering something that sounded like "fuckin' sweet tooth."
Draco heard Lily huff and say in an exasperated tone, "Goodbye, Ryder." The man rounded the corner of the counter and rushed out the door with a shout of, "Bye, Babe!"
Draco heard a scratching sound on the floor and found the dragon, Orion, from the other day, whining at the man. He watched at Lily ushered the dragon back up the stairs before questioning her.
"Boyfriend?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Lily looked confused for a moment before chuckling lowly. "That was Claude Ryder, my landlord and the one who runs the shop on weekends. He lives upstairs. He's not my boyfriend."
"Oh? Why'd he call you babe?" He continued, forcing himself not to believe he was the slightest bit jealous.
The soft melodic laughter came again. "Jealous?" She teased, as if reading Draco's subconscious perfectly.
"Merely curious," he reasoned. "Although, I do wonder why someone who was just friends with a beautiful woman like yourself would call you such a term of endearment if he wasn't somehow romantically involved with you."
Lily smiled brightly, slinging a friendly arm over his shoulders. "He was talking to Orion. He'll be back soon," she joked. "No worries, no one's taking me from your grasps. I couldn't possibly run from such a handsome bloke such as yourself."
Draco looked at her from the corner of his eye, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I should hope not, I'm not seducing you just to be thrown to the side for a bloke who has more love for a dragon than a woman," he played along, smirking at the green-eyed beauty. He reached a hand up and wiped gently at her cheek. Crumbs from the other man's kiss had lingered on her cheek. Steely grey eyes met with brilliant shining emeralds. Lily flushed lightly and muttered a thanks.
A light clearing of throat startled the two, causing Lily to release Draco and move to ring up one of the few customers. After a half-hour of idle chatter and playful flirtations, the man, Ryder came bursting through the door, levitating two large boxes behind him.
"Alright, new shipment from that Muggle company. Go sign for it and then you can go on your little date." Ryder said, walking straight into the storage room.
Lily rolled her eyes and chucked a wad of paper at the back of his head. She grabbed her coat from a hook behind the door and motioned for Draco to walk out before her.
Draco held the door open as Lily pulled on her jacket. She thanked him and walked toward the Muggle standing against a large metal object with wheels. The Muggle held out a board to Lily as she took out a quill and signed.
"How does he not notice that people are levitating items around him? And that you signed with a quill, not one of those Muggle pens?" Draco questioned, allowing the woman to link their arms as they walked down the street.
"Didn't I tell you? I placed a modified Disillusionment Charm around and in my shop so that people who don't know magic exists, can't see it. It works like a charm," she snickered at her own bad pun.
Draco rolled his eyes as they made their way to the restaurant Lily wanted to try. He was surprised with himself at how comfortable he felt with the woman. He hadn't had much contact with many people since the war. Sure he had lovers while in France, but never a true friend. Draco was the only apprentice under his Potions Master so there was no one to work or converse with other than that old man. It was nice being so amicable with someone.
Draco was pulled from his thoughts when Lily stopped in the middle of the street. He looked at her briefly before turning to the side and spotting the door to a restaurant. If going by the way her eyes widened in excitement, it must have been the one she wanted to try. He opened the door and swept his arm in front of him in a dramatic manner.
"My princess, your meal awaits," he smirked.
Lily grinned, curtsying, pulling at the imaginary hems of a skirt. "Thank you, my prince." She laughed, walking to the maitre d' and asking for a table for two.
The two made their way over to a table by the window, Lily bouncing into a booth against the wall as Draco took the cushioned wooden chair across from her.
"So," Draco began. "You know who I am, but I know almost nothing about you."
"What's there to know?" Lily responded, fingering the menu in front of her. A waiter came, took their orders and swiftly came back with a glass of water for them both.
"Everything, I suppose. Your childhood, schooling, hobbies, family. Those sorts of things."
"Hmm, well, how about you ask me questions and I ask to the best of my ability, then I ask you questions? Sound good?" She smiled.
Draco nodded slightly. "Start off small, yeah? Favorite color?"
"Blue, very light blue. Yours?"
"White, it's clean and elegant. Favorite Quidditch team? I'm assuming you like Quidditch what with all the snitches floating around your shop."
Lily laughed. "Don't have one. I do, however, love watching Viktor Krum play. He's brilliant on a broom. I was able to train with him on his off seasons. It's exhilarating. I hadn't flown like that since my school days. You fancy any team out there, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Not so much. Haven't had time to watch any matches lately. Busy with work and what not. So you played for your school team? Durmstrang? Since you know Viktor Krum so well you could personally train with him," he smirked.
"Nope, guess again. I only know Viktor because he was interested in a friend of mine briefly, then asked me to try for our national Quidditch team so we could play against each other. I never got the chance. There were too many things going on after the war. I still train with him on off seasons, to keep up my skills of course. He actually introduced me to Ryder."
"Oh? How does he know your landlord?" Draco raised an eyebrow.
"They're lovers. Ryder lives here on off season, only goes back when Viktor's playing. In a couple months, they'll be back together and Ryder can stop griping to me about how lonely and unwanted he feels," she huffed. She turned to the waiter and thanked him as he set their food in front of them.
"You never told me where you went to school," Draco said, cutting into his lasagna. It was a lovely Italian restaurant. Hopefully, the food would be just as good at the atmosphere.
"You have to guess, but I'll tell you I studied in Europe so none of that Salem Institute business." Lily spoke. She twirled the pasta on her fork before placing it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully, most likely evaluating the quality of the food like Draco had been earlier. Apparently, it was up to her standards as she hummed quietly, then smiling brightly up at him.
"Hogwarts?" He was answered with a nod as the woman took a gulp of water after she accidentally bit into a clove of garlic.
"What house? And year if you don't mind me asking." Draco was curious, perhaps he could recall this woman, knowing exactly where he's seen her before. It would help answer the question as to why she seemed so familiar.
Lily shook her head. "I don't mind. I was in the same year as you. I remember what a colossal git you were in school," she laughed. "You're much different from what I remember, but then again, we've all grown up and things change."
Draco nodded, thinking about the changes he'd made to his personality over the years, especially while in France. "Will you tell me what house you were in?"
"Guess. It's no fun if I just out right tell you. No hints this time. Figure it out from how I am, my personality, traits you can see."
"I hardly know you," he began. "But I'll try. You," he paused thinking. "You keep a dragon in your store, willingly talked to a known ex-death eater, you seem to care very much about your friends, and I remember seeing you with Luna Lovegood at the Ministry." Draco wiped delicately at his mouth. "You're either a Gryffindor or a really stupid Hufflepuff." He looked expectantly at the woman.
Lily smiled brightly. "I'm not a Hufflepuff," she assured him.
"Gryffindor it is. I'm surprised. I never liked the Gryffindors in my year, or any at all for that matter. However, you seem like a decent person." He laughed. "My first friend in a while and it's a Gryffindor."
Lily smirked. "If it's any consolation, I was almost put into Slytherin." They had finished their meals and were now just talking over glasses of water.
"Really? How is that possible?"
"All things are possible, my dear Draco," she smirk widened. "It just happened that I have the traits of a cunning snake as well as a warrior lion." She laughed.
The two paid for their meal and made their way out of the restaurant. "Walk with me," Lily said before Draco could say goodbye. "A walk after a meal is always nice. There's a little park a bit further down the street, we can learn more about each other. I hardly think all you wanted to know was said back there," she gestured to the building they recently exited.
Draco mentally shrugged. What could he lose in taking a walk with the woman? The pair talked on their way to the park, learning different things about each other. Draco found that Lily doesn't like to talk about the war, which was perfectly fine with Draco. He also learned that she didn't particularly like being told what she can or cannot do.
As they sat on a bench, Draco noticed something shimmering lightly on the back of her hand. When asked about it, Lily said, "An incident occurred and it was my punishment." The old scars on her hand faintly read: I must not tell lies. She didn't say much more of the subject so Draco let it drop.
Draco told her about this childhood. There wasn't much to tell. It was content. He told her how he broke his arm when he was 7 because he decided jumping off the banister in his house was a good idea. He told her of the balls and parties he was forced to attend to meet potential brides-to-be.
In turn, Lily told about the abuse she received while living with her relatives. Her parents had died and she was left with Muggles who hated magic and anything to do with it. She didn't reveal too much, but only stated she didn't know about magic until her eleventh birthday. It was depressing, but she said she was grateful for the treatment now, which was a bit strange to be saying. However, Lily said it made her who she was today, able to withstand all types of verbal abuse and some physical. Draco could see she was strong and could easily take care of herself.
After being informed of her relatives, Draco decided not to push about any family she might have now.
After a half hour of talking, Lily decided it was time to go so she led Draco to a nearby apparition point and bid her goodbyes as Draco disapparated.
Draco walked into the Manor with a content quirk on his lips, not quite a smile, but something to show he was satisfied with his day. Lily had basically told him her whole life's story, yet he still didn't know who she was.
That night, Draco marched over to the window sill, conjuring parchment and a quill, then summoning his owl. He wrote to the woman, requesting a weekly get together if it wasn't too much trouble for her. He instructed the owl to wait for her reply.
A few minutes later, the owl came soaring through the window and perched on the arm of the settee Draco was lounging on. Lily had replied with an affirmative response. Draco smiled secretively. It was truly amazing to connect with someone on a personal level once more. Even in school, he hadn't been very close to many. There was Pansy and Blaise, and occasionally Theo, but they were all busy nowadays. Pansy and Blaise are still on their honeymoon in Italy and Draco had no idea where Theo was. He was glad he decided to talk to that intriguing woman the night of the Ministry function. Reluctant to admit, Draco truly needed someone and Lily was someone indeed. She intrigued him yet confused him at the same time, but she was good company so he figured it wasn't important to figure out everything about her now.
At this point, I don't care if it was Harry bloody Potter.