Author's notes: Hey guys! I'm so glad you all like the story so far, because I'm really having a lot of fun writing it.

Chapter 4

London, England. December 2007

That very weekend, Hermione decided to pay Blaise Zabini a visit.

She apparated to the street near his and Luna's flat, nodding hello to the doorman who was always a little too friendly to her liking.

When she knocked, Blaise opened the door and stepped back to let her in. "Hey, Hermione," he said. "What a surprise to see you here. Luna's out if you're looking for her."

"I came for you actually," she said.

He raised an eyebrow at her, inquisitive. When she didn't respond, he gestured for her to take a seat at the couch while he went for the kitchen to make tea.

Hermione sat on the multicolored couch on their parlor. She rarely left Brighton, much less go to London to visit her friends. That's why every time she visits Blaise and Luna's flat, where the decor changed all the time, she was always fascinated by it.

The walls were stark white, and the floor was of dark mahogany. The furniture, however, were explosions of colors that mostly worked together. Their teal and orange pillows were tossed delicately on top of a splatter-paint designed couch. Mint green vases sat on top of lime green stands, and shelves were a neon pink.

Hermione was observing the green and blue coffee table when Blaise came back with a tray of steaming water, tea strainers, and tea leaves.

'This is fancy," Hermione commented. "You don't use normal tea bags?"

Blaise shook his head with a laugh. He sat on the purple and yellow armchair to her right. "They taste funny. These are better." He made a show of scooping the tea leaves from the container labeled 'Assam' and put them on a white pouch - the filter. He then slowly sank it through his steaming mug.

Hermione snickered. "Are you some kind of tea elitist?"

A mocking shocked gasp came from his lips. "Elitist? I prefer the term 'connoisseur,'" he said.

"Right," she said with a laugh. She copied what he was doing, choosing her favorite tea instead - earl grey.

"Why are you here, Hermione?" Blaise asked.

She took a sip of her tea. Blaise was right - it does taste better than those processed teas she drank. "I came here to talk about Draco Malfoy."

Hermione carefully watched her friend's face, looking for any sign of panic, but he only raised an eyebrow at her. "Draco? How strange, Hermione. Why are you suddenly interested in him?"

She had no idea why the heat was rushing to her cheeks. "Interested? I'm not interested." Blaise's smirk irked her, but she continued. "He just - he came by the shop last Thursday."

His face infuriatingly gave nothing away. "Go on," he urged her.

"He didn't know it was my shop. When he saw me, the first thing that he said was, 'Bloody hell, Zabini!'"

He surprised her by laughing. "What? He ends up in your shop and he blames me? Typical Draco."

Hermione frowned. So far, whatever Blaise was saying wasn't making any sense, and he must have seen her confusion.

"I'm Draco's lawyer," he explained. "He gets expelled, I'm to blame. He almost exposes himself as a wizard, I'm to blame. His date ends up badly, I'm to blame."

"That sounds like a toxic relationship," Hermione commented.

Blaise looked at his nails as he leaned back. "It's not really - I'm the best lawyer in the wizarding and muggle world. Draco knows that. That's just how he is."

"I bet you're humble as well," Hermione mumbled.

"That's what you came here for? To ask me why Draco said my name when he came in to your shop?"

"Don't get smart with me Blaise. Why would Malfoy end up in my library, anyway? Of all the places - I'm so far away!"

"I'm his lawyer and friend, not his babysitter. We could always ask Draco why he came to your shop...?"

"No," Hermione exclaimed. "Don't do that, Merlin please."

"Was he hostile to you in any way?" She noted the concern etched in his features.

"No, he wasn't, not really. Not the way he was before, back in Hogwarts. He was a little on edge, a little rattled."

Hermione tried to recall her previous encounter with Malfoy. Sure, he caused up a storm in her shop, and he wasn't the friendliest customer either, but the encounter wasn't as awful as she thought it would be. In fact, it was her fault that their meeting turned sour. She didn't know what to expect of him, and she had assumed the worst.

She relayed to Blaise the story of how she manage to insult her old schoolmate in her very own library.

He shook his head as he laughed. "Bloody hell, Hermione, you're something else."

"It's not my fault," she grumbled. "He was so defensive -"

"It comes from past experiences, Hermy," Blaise said softly. "Have you ever considered what the the new world is like to people like Draco? I managed to get out of it before it all turned bad, but he was caught in the middle. He's a man suffering the consequences of his mistakes when he was a boy."

Hermione thought this over in her head. She's never really thought about Malfoy after the war. The only time he crossed her mind was when she read about his parents' consecutive deaths in the paper, and that was just shortly after the war.

.

The crack of an apparition spell interrupted the silence. Luna fluttered in her home, pleased that Hermione came to visit.

"You're here!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend. Today's choice of earrings were frozen strawberries. "This is a pleasant surprise."

Luna gave Blaise a chaste kiss on the lips, but he leaned into it, prolonging it for more than what was intended. She giggled as she pushed him away.

"You're staying for dinner," she told Hermione. "I'm cooking."

Hermione followed Luna to the kitchen, watching her friend as she took the groceries out of the paper bag she was carrying.

"What brings here, Hermione?"

"Well, uhm-"

"Draco came to her shop last Thursday," Blaise interrupted her. "Hermione managed to insult him during the short time he was there."

"Drakie? Oh dear, what's he gotten into this time?"

"Nothing awful, really. Just a bad case of Herrmione."

Hermione swatted his arm as he guffawed.

"I miss Drakie," Luna mussed. "Maybe we should have him for dinner again sometime?"

"Er," Blaise said, walking over to his girlfriend, "I think he's busy with Uni." He wrapped his arms around and smelled her hair.

Hermione looked away and busied herself with chopping the carrots Luna set out.

"Exactly," she heard Luna exclaim. "I bet he's barely getting any nutrition. That boy doesn't know how to cook without magic."

Hermione mulled over Luna's words. Without magic?

"Where is he studying? And what exactly?"

Hermione didn't miss the look Luna and Blaise shared. They seemed to be arguing but then Blaise said, "Draco likes to keep his life private. Er -"

"It's just that people have been so mean to him, Hermy," Luna said. "Sometimes people would go to his flat, terrorize him for a month. A month! As much a possible, he wants his location hidden."

"But," Hermione said, horrified. "It's been almost a decade! How could people still hate him that much?"

"Some of these people were families and friends of those murdered by Death Eaters. Their hate runs deep," Blaise said sadly.

"That's awful," Hermione said, thinking back to what she had assumed of Malfoy. That's why he was so defensive, why he was quick to berate himself. Because that's what the world has been doing.

.

She stayed for dinner, chatting idly with her friends and their flat with mismatched furniture. Once she got home, she promptly camped in her bathroom - Luna's stew didn't sit well in her stomach. Blaise ate it like it was the most delicious meal in the entire world.

Author's notes: We see more of Draco in the next chapter, don't worry!

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