Summary: Draco's boring typical work day turned into an interesting yet quite pleasant one, and it was all because of a cat.

Rated: K

Genre: Fluff

Competition/Challenge Block
Written For: Monthly Challenges for All (Year 6); Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (Season 10)

Quidditch: Wigtown Wanderers - Keeper (A Date)

MC4A: TBA

Word Count: 1,915

Warning Tag: n/a

À la Meowde

It wasn't the best of days for a walk around London, just a typical cool, sleepy, cloudy, drizzly spring morning that Draco stepped out to from the comfort of his flat. Nothing special about it really. The black turtleneck jumper and sleek black slacks kept the bite of cold at bay, but the dusting of mist clung to the carefully styled platinum blond hair that he couldn't avoid.

Glancing at the time on his pocket watch even though he didn't need to be anywhere in a hurry, Draco opted to walk the handful of blocks it was to the bank rather than flag a taxi. Double checking that he had his briefcase in hand, keys, and glasses, he set out on the short journey through the quiet morning chill.

The large bank was within his sight when something quite unexpected crossed his path. Draco had barely finished crossing the street when a streak of white rushed past him and right toward the moving traffic. What looked to be a lead drug behind the animal, and before he had any time to process the situation, he stepped firmly on the lead with his loafer, puttin his weight on it to stop the creature from getting into the street.

At the end of the lead was a large, quite fluffy… cat? It had the whitest fur Draco had ever seen and the greenest, most perturbed look on its face as the cat turned its head to glare right at him for being caught. He could hardly see the emerald harness peeking through all of the fur as he bent down to grab the matching emerald lead. This prompted the feline to tuck its ears back and growl, eyes glinting wildly.

"Easy, kitty."

"Oh my goodness, Loki!" a woman shouted behind Draco. "Thank you so much for catching her, sir!"

Draco made a half turn to greet the cat's owner properly, offering the lead out to her.

He almost went speechless when he met the relief in her hazel eyes. Strawberry blonde hair tendrils brushed against her face as she smiled warmly, lighting up the faint freckles that danced across her nose and cheeks.

"You're welcome," he finally said. "Never thought I'd see a cat on a lead today. Nor have I ever known a cat could get so big and… fluffy."

She accepted the lead and swiftly moved by him to collect the oversized cat in her arms. He watched as she gave the fluffy head a kiss and looked back his way.

"She's a Maine Coon, purebred. They're one of the largest domesticated cats around. Loki here is a retired show cat. My sister was her handler and showed her for two years. Loki won every show she was in until last year when she made runner up," she rattled off until noticing whatever perplexed expression Draco had on in the moment.

"Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Astoria and this—" she held Loki up carefully, "—is Loki."

"Draco," he replied. "Pleasure meeting you."

He reached out to pet Loki, but pulled back when he heard the deep growl again. "I don't think she likes me."

"She's a bit spoiled and quite protective of me," Astoria said, giving Loki a few strokes on her chest. "Or maybe she's upset you caught her while she was running amok.

"We were just out in my front garden until a big dog scared her and, well you know the rest."

She looked sheepish explaining herself then, turning her attention away and back to her cat. "Anyway, I shouldn't keep you. Thank you again for stopping her, Draco. Perhaps we shall meet again. Bye!"

"See you," Draco said, watching her walk back in the direction she'd come.

He wasn't sure why he said that, it was quite unlikely he would ever see her again. London was not small by any means. Letting out a puffy breath, he put Astoria and her massive marshmallow cat out of hismindd and continued to the bank without any other interruptions that morning.

The meeting was typical for a bank; filled with boring talk about finances and budgeting. Draco was glad it was over so he could get back to his flat for a nice cuppa. Unfortunately for him, not even a block from the bank, did it start to rain. Cursing his luck, he covered his head with his briefcase and ducked under an awning nearby. Scanning the street for a cab, he waited for ages for an available one to come by with no luck in sight. Sighing, he glanced in the store window and saw someone with a hot drink.

Thinking it was a tea shop, Draco entered and took a nearby seat so he could peruse the drink menu at the counter. It wasn't long before he felt like someone was watching him, prompting him to move to the order counter to try and discreetly check out the area for the culprit.

"Welcome to À la Meowde!" a familiar voice chirped. Oh! It's you again. Draco, wasn't it?"

Draco blinked back at the girl, puzzled for a brief moment before smiling. He wished he remembered her name.

"Yes, hi," he said. "How is your trickster feline doing?"

Astoria laughed at the comment. "She's well. Judging the world is probably what she is doing. Or sleeping, she is also good at that."

He chuckled, suddenly at a loss for words.

"Is there anything that I can get you?" she asked.

"Uhm…"

It was then did he really notice the menu. It was filled with ice cream flavors as well as milkshakes and even a variety of hot chocolate combinations.

"I actually thought this was a tea shop," he admitted, running his hand through his damp hair. "What would you recommend?"

Astoria thought for a moment, tapping her finger on her freckled cheek. "I think I've got just the thing. I'll bring it to you momentarily."

She left before he could even ask what it was or even pay for it. He decided to go back to the table, still feeling like he was being watched. Draco soon found himself locking eyes with emerald green ones that belonged to the largesst, fluffiest white cat he had ever seen sitting on a cat tree tucked in the corner. He paused, wondering if it was the very same feline from this morning. Surely it wasn't, but how many snowy white cats of that size were there in London?

It was peculiar to see a cat in a shop, but it did make sense considering the name. He decided to ignore the cat and sit down.

Not even a minute had past after taking his seat did he feel something weaving between his legs. Looking down, he saw a ball of white fluff rubbing against his legs. Loki's bright green eyes looked up at him and she made a strange sound that sounded like a bird. He gave the cat a little nudge with his leg to shoo her away.

Which worked briefly until Loki jumped right on top of his table. Draco leaned back into his chair, looking at the marshmallow staring back at him. She meowed and reached out with her paw, and Draco was unsure of what to do. This cat didn't seem to like him at all earlier and now she was all up in his business.

"Fickle feline, aren't you?"

He risked holding a hand out to Loki, who gave him a good sniff before she decided to head butt it. Draco smirked, giving her head a scratch.

"You are as soft as you look."

"Oh, she quite likes you," Astoria said, setting a tray on the table before taking the seat opposite him. "She normally stays in her space or hangs out up on the platforms."

Draco scanned the ceiling, seeing several flat surfaces and ramps all around. Fascinating. Loki meowed and started to rub against his shoulder, purring quite loudly now. He decided to see what Astoria brought him. It smelled amazing, whatever it was.

"Thank you… Astoria, was it?"

She smiled and nodded, offering him a mug and a biscuit. She then collected one for herself and dipped her own biscuit in the drink.

"I hope you like it. It's a raspberry infused hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon and a white chocolate chip biscuit on the side."

Draco raised his brow at that, never hearing of such a combination. "It sounds delicious."

With a cat beside him purring up a storm and nudging against his arm, Draco carefully took a long sip of the sweet beverage, taking in the chocolaty flavor that bled a hint of raspberry at the end.

"Try with the biscuit. It won't disappoint."

Feeling a tad bit like a child, he obliged her and took a piece of biscuit to dip in the drink. It was fantastic.

"You really have a knack for flavor combinations," he complemented.

"Thanks! It's always been a dream of mine to have a shop like this," she said. "Oh! I'll be right back!"

He took another sip of the hot chocolate, giving Loki another quick pet under the chin this time where he felt thevibratinon of her purr. Astoria returned with a small sample size of ice cream, offering it to him to try while she talked about the flavor combination and how she prepared it. He was soon swept away by conversation about what had her open up such a unique shop and learned more about Loki, who was now comfortably laying down next to his arm on the table. He never thought he would like cats, his family being more dog and horses type he explained, but he thinks he rather likes this particular feline.

Astoria only left him once to tend to a customer, it was a slow day due to the weather, naturally. People don't think an ice cream shop also offered hot beverages so passed it up. Their loss, Draco thought, because it meant that he could spend more time with her.

Giving Loki a final pet that ran the length of her back, Draco unfortunately had to go once realizing the time.

"I hate to go, but I have a five o' clock meeting I can't miss, unfortunately," Draco said, gathering his empty mug, spoon, and empty ice cream containers and placing them on the tray. "What do I owe you?"

"Nothing, it's on me" Astoria replied casually, getting up and collecting the tray, winking at him. "I really enjoyed your company. Loki did, too."

She gestured to his side where his once pristine black sweater had a nice layer of white fluff clinging to it courtesy of Loki's affection. Draco laughed and got up, pushing in his chair.

"I did, too. Thank you," he said, giving a nod.

What he didn't expect was for her to lean in and give him a light kiss on his cheek before she went to the counter to deposit the dirty dishes. He smiled and placed his fingers gently over his face.

"I'll be seeing you," she said cheerfully from behind the counter.

"Yes, be seeing you," he replied, collecting his briefcase and heading out the door.

It was bright and sunny out now, the morning haze long since melted away. Draco couldn't help but smile on his walk home, today was one of the best days he's had in a while, and he quite enjoyed the not-date date with Astoria and her cat.