Harry led them to a side booth. The place was very plain, Malfoy observed. It was not decorated to fit a set theme or time period. Nor was it fancy enough to be seen as high quality. The table was sticky and the seats were worn. A young women came over to the table. She smiled warmly at them.
"I haven't seen you here in a while, Mr. Smith. By the looks of it you have found a nice fella to keep you company," she said with a wink. Potter blushed at her assumption.
"Penny we are just.. erm.. well.. kind of.." Potter stammered.
"It's fine honey, you don't have to explain. What can I get you to drink?" she turned to Draco. He stared at the drinks. He did not know which one to pick. Harry spoke up for him.
"We'll take two of the usual Penny," Harry said. She nodded and walked to the tap. Malfoy stared at Potter for a few seconds. Multiple things ran through his mind.
"Mr. Smith?" Malfoy asked with an arched brow. Potter blushed again. He seemed to do that a lot, Malfoy noted.
"Well, I use a fake last name whenever I come to muggle London. I don't think anyone will recognize me, but I just feel better knowing that they won't associate me to "The Chosen One" or anything else that came with the name," Potter replied in a hush tone. Draco nodded. He glanced at the menu. The muggles have some weird food combinations, Draco thought as he read through the menu. Potter did not even look at it. Instead, he watched Malfoy's reactions to the different meals listed. Penny came over and gave them each a pint of their best beer. Harry asked her for a minute before they order. Harry took a big swig from his drink. Malfoy looked at his with utter disgust. Harry smirked.
"Why don't you just try it," Potter offered. Malfoy sent him a glare before hesitantly bringing the drink to his lips. It was smooth going down but had a firey after taste. It was certainly not as good as butterbeer or firewhiskey. Though, it was better then the other muggle beverages Malfoy had tried. Potter looked at him expectedly. Malfoy just sat there and refused to tell Potter it was not as bad as he thought it would be. Potter sighed at Malfoy' s relunctance. "Do you know what you want?" Potter asked. Malfoy looked disgruntled. He opened the menu again. Potter closed it. Malfoy gave him a questioning look. "If you trust me... I could order for you," he offered. Malfoy looked at Potter. He seemed determined. If the food was like his drink or better he could not see anything wrong with the idea.
"Okay fine, Potter. Just do not order anything..." Malfoy tried to think of the best word to finish his statement. Potter collected the menus and called for Penny.
"Don't worry. I have been here enough to know what is good and what isn't." Potter assured. Malfoy was not fully convinced and it showed. Penny came back over to the table swinging her hips on her way.
"So what will it be for you guys?" she asked sweetly.
"We'll take two baskets of the fried fish and chips," Potter glanced at Malfoy. Malfoy did not show any obvious objections. Penny wrote down the order on the a pad.
"Can I refill your drink?" She offered. Potter nodded. Penny picked up his glass and swayed back to the tap.
"I thought we were only going to have a drink.." Malfoy looked at Potter. He might be over thinking but he had not talked to or seen Potter in years and here they were going to have dinner like it was normal.
"What's the difference? Does it matter?" Potter asked all of a sudden self concious. He just thought he was being nice.
Potter's comments confirmed that Malfoy was just over thinking things. It was just some food and a drink. It is not like it is a date. .Malfoy gasped why had that come in his mind. He was with Potter his sworn enemy from school, the "chosen one" that people fawned over, the wizard who defeated Voldemort. He would never in a million years even think about Malfoy in that light. Was he not with Weasley anyway? Malfoy took a quick swig of his drink. He looked up to see Potter looking at him, maybe concerned.
"Are you alright Malfoy?" he asked. Malfoy just nodded. He tried to hide the blush that came to his face. He was just over thinking things. Penny came back over to the table with two baskets of fried food that smelt delicious.
"Can I refill your drink Mr. ...?" Penny asked.
"Mr. West, please, thank you," Malfoy handed his glass to her. Once she was out of ear shot Potter leaned forward.
"Mr. West?" he asked now raising his brow. Malfoy smirked.
"If you get a fake last name, I deserve one to," he said simply. He took a bite of the chips. They were surprisingly good. Crispy and warm on the outside and on the inside it was mix of flavors, with the dough cooked perfectly.
"Like it?" Potter asked. Malfoy nodded and took another bite. He was glad he agreed to have a drink with Potter. Until that moment he had not realized that he was hungry. They ate silently for a while. Penny came back with "Mr. West's" refill.
"How is Astoria?" Potter asked trying to start the conversation back up. Malfoy nearly choked on the food in his mouth. He took a sip of his drink.
"Pardon," he asked.
"How is Astoria Greengrass. I heard that you two were a thing," Potter repeated. Malfoy face hardened for a second. News did not spread as fast as he thought it did.
"We are not together anymore," He replied. Potter did not want to push Malfoy, but his curiosity was piqued.
"What happened?" he asked. Malfoy blinked, he was going to remain calm.
"Do you really want to know?" he asked in reply. Potter nodded. Malfoy sighed before taking a deep breath. "We were engaged. I was working in the archives and I shared a flat with her. It was going great. She was expecting a boy," Malfoy paused to take a breath. "It was a miscarriage. We tried again but it was only another miscarriage. It was too much for her. We tried to go to counseling but our relationship went down hill. The doctor told us we were not compatible and that we would not be able to have kids together. She called off the marriage. We tried, but we just could not stay together. Too many sad memories." Malfoy finished. He looked down not wanting to see Potter's reaction. Harry felt bad. He had no idea. Just looking at Malfoy he could tell the loss still hurt.
"I am really sorry Malfoy. I had no idea." Potter tried to comfort. Malfoy shrugged him off.
"You can't change things in the past. Anyway what about you and red?" Malfoy changed the subject. Potter blushed. He was not expecting the tables to turn on him.
"We broke up," Potter said. He did not really want to talk about why. Malfoy wanted to know why. He had told Potter something very personal.
"Why?" he asked. Potter's fear came true.
"Erm.. Well, we were interested in different people," he replied. He thought maybe that would be enough information.
"Who?" Malfoy pressed. He genuinely was curious who Potter would have liked more then Weasley. He thought they were happy together.
"Well we both had different tastes in people then the other thought." Potter muttered. Malfoy was going to ask for a better explanation when Penny came over.
She laid the check on the table.
"Can I offer you pie on the house," she winked at Potter. It was obvious to Malfoy that she liked Potter.
"No thank you Penny, not tonight. It's getting let we should be going," Harry said as he paid the bill.
"Okay but if things don't work out with your fella I will always offer you dessert," she wriggled her eyebrows. Potter chuckled.
"I know Penny, and I won't forget." Harry gave her a quick kiss before walking out with Malfoy. The humidity had not lowered. The sun was setting. It was dusky out.
"How come you arn' t dating Penny of you and Ginny broke up. She clearly liked you and she isn't bad to look at." Malfoy asked. Potter blushed.
"Erm.. We are just friends... nothing is there," Potter replied. Malfoy dropped the issue, but he felt like he was missing something.
"Well, um... thanks Potter for the drink, I will probably see you at work some time." Malfoy said before he walked a block before apperating to his flat. Potter nodded in response. He walked the rest of his way home.
When Harry arrived home he found an owl waiting for him. He gave the owl a treat while he read Ron's letter. They had a meeting with Shacklebolt the next morning. Ron said he did not have to convince Hermione to go Saturday that it was the other way. Harry sighed. He did not have a date. He did not want a date either. Ginny meant well but maybe Harry could just enjoy being single for a while.
Harry took a quick shower before he crawled into bed. The day had been nice. Malfoy had surprisingly been pleasent. Harry had been sad to hear about Astoria. As if Draco having his father in Azkaban and mother in and out of Saint Mongol's was not enough. Harry rolled over. He was happy he had avoided telling Malfoy he was Bi. There was no way Malfoy would talk to him again if he knew. Did Harry want Malfoy to talk to him again? Harry grumbled and rolled over again. What he wanted was some sleep.
Draco came home to Misty. Misty was his female cat that he had picked because of her two different eye colors. They were the first thing he noticed about her. One was gray and the other was blue. She was a small white cat with black booties. She jumped off of the sofa and came up to Draco purring.
He bent down and patted her. Once, she had shed most of her hair onto his pants he tended to his owl giving her apple slices. He sat down in his kitchen with a cup of tea. The day had an unexpected evening.
Draco blinked back tears. He had told few people about his and Astoria's reason for splitting. He thought he was beyond the feelings of grief. The first miscarriage was during the 2nd month, but the second had been the day his son should have been born. A silent tear fell onto Draco's cheek. Misty hoped onto his lap sensing his sadness. Draco smiled down at her.
Draco finished his tea before he headed to bed. He was too tired to bother with a shower. He could take one in the morning. Misty followed him into the bedroom and curled up into a ball at the foot of his bed. Draco doubted Potter would actually see him at the ministry again. That is what he fell asleep thinking.