Granger's Café

Pairing: Draco/Harry.

Disclaimer: Hermione decides that the drama in the wizarding world is growing too much. She decides to open up a café in the muggle world, so as to enjoy simplicity during the day. Little does she know that one of the applicants for a job there, will cause a whole new circle of drama for her. And how exactly will her little café benefit Harry and Draco's lives, and how will it banish the drama from both worlds they live in? You know what they say, about Granger's café; her food is like magic, that's what they say, because it keeps all your problems and troubles at bay.

Chapter five: A New Day

Pale grey light filtered in through the thin, wispy curtains shielding the glass of the window pane from the dust motes that swirled in large clouds around Draco's stuffy, new 'home' if he could call it that. It hit Draco's red eyes like a stinging slap. He winced and squeezed his eyes even tighter to try and rid the intruding light that was forcing him out of his restless slumber. He whined pathetically and buried himself further into his tight ball of tangled sheets. He had not slept well that night. He doubted be slept properly at all. He ran a hand through his hair and clutched the once silky strands tightly. He whimpered. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be anywhere other than here. He wanted to at least be with someone, anyone, who he knew, enemy or otherwise. He sniffled in his drowsy state. This really was not his day. A bird let out a shrill chirp nearby at, as if on queue, the house sprang to life; doors were opened and banged shut, water ran as some people had showers, people chattered away, some signed out as they went to work, some played music in their bedroom, and other's went to into the dining area for breakfast. Draco growled. "Why can't they shut the fuck up?" he had just shuffled into a semi-comfortable position in the centre of his mattress when a rapping of knuckles was heard at his door. "What?"

"Daniel? It's Lisa. I didn't know if you wanted a wake-up call or not so I came up to check and see if you were alright?"

Draco sighed. He really was not in the mood to talk to anyone today. "I'm coming" he had to force himself out of the rough enclosure of his bed before dragging his leaden body over to the bedroom door. Twisting the knob, he poked his head around the small gap between the door and the door-frame, his dark eyes with heavy black circles beneath them, to look down at Lisa. The previous evening he had not gotten a proper look at her but now that he was vaguely more awake, he was able to see that she was no anything special. Merely average in any case. She was well-built and fresh-face with bight rosy cheeks, she had sleek rectangular glasses perched on her nose, freckles, deep brown eyes, short, thin black lashes, and dyed black hair pulled up into two pony tails on either side of her head. "Yes?" he asked darkly, stating clearly that he did not want to be disturbed. Her cherry glossed lips faltered slightly at the corners.

"Oh ... I wanted to see if you needed anything today?"

Draco closed his eyes and counted to ten in his head before opening his eyes again. "I don't really know. I don't think so. I guess ... what do I do with those forms you gave me last night? For the jobs? How do I send them off?"

Her bright smiled returned, "oh well if you have no money to pay for the stamps, I can always pay for them for you this once, and send them off later?"

Draco was about to protest about him not being a charity case, but he held his tongue and swallowed the retort. He nodded stiffly. "If it is not too much trouble"

She shook her head, beaming, "No, don't be silly, it's no trouble at all"

Draco nodded. He stepped back so as to close the bedroom door lightly in her face when a sudden thought struck him. He stunk. He had no clothes. He had no money to BUY new clothes. He sighed. "Um ... Lisa? W-where would I be able to get some clean clothes. I don't have any money to buy any new ones" the panic was evident in his voice, "a-and I'd like to have a shower ... where are they?"

Lisa giggled. "Well the showers are down this corridor and to the left. It's the very last door. As for the clothes, we have some spare ones so ... I can bring you up some clothes that may fit you. They'll be a bit worn, but compared to those clothes you came in to us last night, they'll be a miracle"

Draco nodded. "Um ... yeah thank you I guess" she smiled brightly at him and when she did not move, he rolled his eyes, took a step back and closed the door abruptly in Lisa's face. Turning to his room, he sighed heavily, the weight of an unknown world and hidden existence weighing down on his shoulders. He needed a shower.

He assumed that there were towels already in the wash room, so he cautiously opened the door and poked his head out. As far as he could tell, it was silent. No one else was stirring on this floor. Feeling a tiny burst of reckless confidence he ventured out of his room, on tip-toe so as not to alert anyone to his presence. He knew he was being silly, but he could not help himself. All of a sudden he was a child again, roaming the Hogwart's corridors after hours in hope to alert a professor to another student's late night wondering's. The thrill made his chest ache and his stomach lurch violently.

He reached the bathroom and glanced around. Smooth white tiles, cool pale blue walls, frosted glass separating seven shower cubicles that had small china square moulds for the people to stand in, a row or four china baths embedded within a large, tiled cubicle on the opposite walls. There were several toilet cubicles and sinks cramped into the remaining space. Draco sighed. It would have to do. He eyed the four baths and decided to run one. He had a vague idea of how to go about it. There were small bottles on the sides but Draco could only frown at them. He rubbed his eyes, held out his hand and decided to aimlessly command the bottle he needed. "Accio bubble bath" the large lime green bottle flew into his hand. He looked momentarily stunned before smiling. He decided not to use his magic unless absolutely necessary. He did not want his magical signature on this shabby excuse for a homeless shelter, he did not want his father to find him, least of all here. He frowned at his own thoughts. Shaking his head he thrust the plug into the plug-hole and yanked the 'hot' tap around with a rusty groan. The cloud of steam that rose up against his cheeks made him feel a little more relaxed. He squirted the majority of the gooey green liquid into the bottom of the bath and sat on the edge of the tub and watched as the water slowly rise up.

By the time the bath was full the bubbles were a huge swirling mass of frothy foam. Draco smiled and felt relieved to shed out of his grubby remains of clothes. He hesitated before he cautiously lifted a foot and slid it beneath the steamy water. He hissed at the heat and suddenly realised just how cold he had gotten during the night. As a result his muscles were stiff and vibrated with a dull ache. He groaned. That damned device had not heated up over night like he had hoped. He silently cursed it but soon relaxed as he slid further into the hot water until the foam tickle his nose. He closed these eyes and allowed his mind to float away. He needed a moment of peace, a chance to disappear from this thing he was forced to call 'a life'. He closed his eyelids to the dingy bathroom and faded ...

~0000~

Harry jolted awake with an unexpected start Adjusting his eyes to the bright light he pinched the naked bridge of his nose and reached over blindly for his glasses. He turned on his side and felt Lily's small body cuddled up beside him. He smiled sadly and stroked her burning hair out of her sleeping eyes. He stiffled a yawn and carefully slid out of bed, easing himself along the mattress so as not to disturb his daughter. He yawned and stretched as soon as he was outside of the bedroom and had closed the door between himself and his daughter. He sighed. Remus and Sirius were not up yet and he did not want to disturb them. An owl rapped at the window making him jump out of his thoughts. "Shit!" he exclaimed before calming his heartbeat and going over to open the window for the agitated owl. It flew in over his shoulder and settled on the back of the large, plush red sofa. He frowned and removed the letter from the owl's leg and watched as it hooted and swooped out of the window. He stared blankly at the handwriting. It was from Hermione. Frowning deeper he opened the envelope and smoothed out the muggle paper against the back of the sofa.

Harry, Marjorie gave me the keys this morning. Ron is busy taking Hugo to the wizarding Zoo so I was wondering if you would like to help me clear out the café? Marjorie has cleared out all of her things, there is barely anything left. Please come and help? Love Hermione

Harry let a wane smile flicker across his lips. He would help her, he knew she would not ask for help unless she really needed it. He folded the letter and placed it in a random drawer in the small cabinet beside the sofa before yawning, stretching his arms and heading for the bathroom, which was thankfully opposite his own bedroom. The hot spray of the shower jolted his sense awake. As soon as he felt clean he stepped out, wrapped a towel around his waist and quickly brushed his teeth. Once he felt fresh and minty he crossed the hallway to the spare room and tip-toed to the large wardrobe. He quickly removed a T-Shirt and over-shirt, stone-washed blue jeans and converses. He hastily put them on as soon as he located a pair of red and white striped boxers, before grabbing some muggle money and slipped out of the apartment.

He caught the soonest tube to central London and caught a bus until he got to Drury Lane. The journey was long and exhausted him as it allowed his mind to wander freely. He had thought about Ginny, his boys', his daughter, what his next step would be. It had all been so stifling that he was thankful to be let out of the crowded bus and into the muggy late summer air. He drew in a deep breath and began manoeuvring his way through the throng of people to the café Hermione had bought. He came to a stop in front of the building and smiled before entering. There was no tinkle this time. Harry smiled to himself. Marjorie had even taken her little bell? Kind of sweet for someone of her age. "Hermione?" he called out as his eyes scanned the room. Hermione had been right. There was barely any furniture left except for the counter, the basic kitchen appliances and the lights. "Hermione where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom Harry!"

"Oh, okay I'll wait"

"No" she giggled, "I'm digging out the old appliances. I only have the sink to do" Harry nodded to himself and froze in fright at the heavy noise the sink made as it clattered to the ground. "Phew that's heavy. Hey Harry! Can you carry this out back to the skip for me?"

"I have no idea why you think I'm strong, Hermione, but sure I'll give it a go" Harry chuckled along with Hermione as he swooped in beside her, into the spacious girls' bathroom, and lifted the heavy china sink until he was upright enough to shuffle out to 'the back', which consisted of a small garden for couples to sit and munch away on warm summer days. There was a large, bulking yellow skip settled by the door. Harry heaved the sink up and over the rim, wincing slightly as he pulled a small muscle in his shoulder. He quickly returned to where Hermione was wiping her hands on her dusty over-alls. "So what time did you get here this morning?"

"Oh, about ... nine o'clock. Just after Ron and Hugo left. I wanted to get a start on everything. I did not think Marjorie would take this much with her. We only have ovens and the bathrooms. And they need to be modernised that small fraction" Harry nodded. He had seen the mess of toilets and sinks in the skip, there were far from the semi-stylish range let alone anything fancy and decorative. Hermione wiped her forehead. "So how are things with the Uni's?"

Harry shook his head, "I did not have time last night. Lily and I went straight to bed, we both needed the rest"

Hermione nodded in understanding. It would have hit her hard if she were in Harry's position. "I understand, love, but at least you're holding on" licking her lips she hummed in thougt, "have you written to the boys?"

"I'm sure I started a letter last night, however I will rewrite them when I get back from helping you. Oh, by the way are you sending out any forms for like ... waiters and waitresses?"

"Not yet. To tell you the truth, I phone Marjorie about three weeks in advance, the meeting that you came to was only to officially confirm everything. Whether Marjorie made applications and sent the to the job centres is beyond me at the moment"

"Fair enough so my dearest, what would you like me to do?" Hermione grinned and brushed her fringe aside before setting out instructions of how she wanted the café cleared out. Harry was happy to oblige, after-all it kept his mind off of ... other things.

~0000~

Upon returning to his room Draco found a small bundle of clothes that would last him a few days at least. He figured he would not be going out too much anyway. He flipped through the clothes, one hand on his towel, and decided that they would have to do for the time being. He swiped up the pile of forms from his desk and sat down heavily on his mattress. He flipped through them and sighed; plumber assistant, sales assistant, waiter, or ... he stopped dead at the last application form. They needed someone of an 'experienced age'. Well he had that, whatever the experience was. Calm composure? Check, he could be the calmest person ever. The last few weeks were proof of that. Able to follow orders? Had been doing it all his life, he was a professional at being someone else's lapdog. As depressing at it was, he felt he would be fairly perfect for this particular job, whatever a 'waiter' was. He grabbed a small, metal 'quill' and once figuring out how it worked, began filling in the specified details. Once this particular torture was over, Draco placed all the finished forms on the desk and turned to the clothes beside him. He flipped through them and finally settled on a white strap shirt, pale blue over-shirt, a random grey beanie hat and light grey combat trousers. There were some trainers that were a little big for him but he figured he could survive that.

Once dressed her decided to go for a wonder. He did not like the idea of being cooped up in that stale room for too long. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he roamed out into wide open London. He did not know how long he had been walking whilst staring at the pavement but when he looked up he was at the mouth of one of London's large bridges that crossed the Thames, like cuts across a vein of a suicide attempt. Swallowing heavily he put one foot in front of the other and began to cross it, looking sideways from the side walk and into the murky water beneath. It was oddly soothing to his tortured little soul. He wished he had Scorpius with him. That would make him feel stronger. He knew he had to write to his son, tell him everything that had happened and that everything would be okay. "Watch it!" a podgy little woman snapped as she purposefully collided into him. He had no energy to fight back. He was a broken man and simply stared at the retreating back as she cackled down the bridge.

He continued to drag his feet and looking gloomily down at his feet. He decided to worm his way around the back streets. He did not feel like being around people and shops, two things he wanted to avoid until he was half-built up again. Sadly he took a wrong turn into another busy high street. Sighing he decided to turn back and head back for the shelter, his heart saddened at being a humble, vulnerable wreckage. As he walked into the lobby Lisa looked up from her desk and stopped him. "Daniel? Wait!" he forced his robotic feet to stop and turned slowly to look down at her. He had no energy. "A letter came for you. There was no name on it, it just read 'to the blonde on the top floor' I ... assumed it was for you" she held out the heavy looking envelope. Draco recognised the handwriting immediately. It was from his father. Sighing he took it and thanked Lisa before gloomily retreating back to the lone place on earth he could call his own. His room.

The letter glared at him. He could just see his father's cold looming gaze penetrating through his skull. Wincing he ripped the envelope open and flattened the parchment out on his thighs. He stared at the words waiting for them to register.

Brat,

I don't know where you are or how you left but I will find you and I will kill you. In case you were wondering I have disowned you. You are no longer in line for your inheritance. I shall mould Scorpius into the noble Slytherin you never were.

Mr. Malfoy

Draco felt tears run down his cheeks. He was a dead man. A very, very dead man.

A/N: New chapter. Hope you enjoy. R&R