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 ten: Moving in
"Harry can you pass the salad please?" Harry obeyed and smiled as he handed the large bowl to Hermione over the table. Hugo and Lily had finished their dinner earlier and were now on the sofa in the living room watching the muggle television Hermione had insisted on having. Ron had not objected, though Hermione had regretted her decision as now all Ron wanted to do was to investigate all the documentary channels. He was captivated my the history that the muggles lived through. A silence fell before Hermione took the plunge, "Harry I was wondering ... would you be interested in working at the café for a few months or so?"
Harry and Ron shared a confused glance over the table before looking over at Hermione. "Why are you asking Hermione? Aren't Malfoy, Mona and Shirley enough?"
Hermione snorted, fiddling with her food. She had slowly lost her appetite. "Well seeing as Malfoy has not shown up for over a week and Mona had told me she is going to help Marjorie move into a small cottage down South, I am a little under-staffed"
Harry looked at the young woman with whom he had trusted since he was eleven-years-old. He knew it must have been hard for her to admit that piece of information. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm not so sure Hermione. It is such a long way to go every day, and we all know I suck at apparition, so I would have to travel via muggle transportation. It's too much to travel to and from each day, hun"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "well then why not move up into one of the apartments? I still need to interview a few more people for a sous-chef position and just some other people to help out around the place, but until then, I need you Harry Potter and it is not like you are doing anything major with your time during the day anyway" Harry had to admit, she had the most valid point he had heard in a while. He licked his lips and nodded. "I will honestly think about it"
"Alright, but try and not to think too long, Harry, because I need an answer by the end of next week at the latest" Harry gave her a warm smile before returning his attention to his dinner.
~00000~
Astoria Malfoy was fuming. She had not heard a word from her son in the month he had been at Hogwart's and she was starting to get ugly with her temper. Lucius on the other hand, was smug and controlling as though he knew that Draco would have escaped, as if all of this would have happened. The chase was on. She would find her pitiful excuse of a husband and make him pay for what he did to the Malfoy line that she had struggled to carry on. Lucius had replaced Narcissa in the dungeons beneath the Manor. He felt she needed to learn her lesson for betraying the family, and although he could not pinpoint her as the culprit, he knew of no one else who would have set his disobedient brat of a son escape from the dungeons. "I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE JUST SITTING BACK AND SIPPING YOUR WINE LIKE YOU'RE SOME SORT OF GOD, WHILST YOUR SON, MY HUSBAND, IS RUNNING AROUND LOOSE OUT THERE!"
Lucius chuckled as the young blonde woman rattled from her mouth as she paced a trench into the parlour. "Must you pace, it makes it hard to concentrate when you are all worked up like this?"
Astoria whirled towards him, cool blue eyes narrowed with fury, "what a ridiculous thing to say! I have every right to be this agitated! Was this part of the plan, Lucius? To make it easy for him to run away? Well? Was it?"
Lucius stood up and crossed the distance between them before stroking his forefinger down his cheek and breathing huskily so that she felt a warm breeze lick the upper part of her breasts. "You would have made a fine bride for myself. My son does not know how lucky he was to have someone as beautiful as you"
The flattery itself was enough to make her blush slightly. His talented hand ran down her neck and massaged the weak point she had at the nape of her throat. She crooned into the touch and shook her head, stepping away. "No, Lucius we cannot do this. What about your wife? Your son?" deep down she knew that neither of them cared about Narcissa or Draco, except that they needed to be taught a lesson.
"Both are dead to me"
"Metaphorically" Astoria snapped harshly.
Lucius let out a deep, cold chuckle. "Soon to be true, little one"
Astoria did not move, or even breathe too hard as Lucius circled her until he was pressing his body up against her back. Her lithe figure was sleek and felt petite and vulnerable against his chest. He was hungry for her. The soft scent of her hair filled his nostrils. He hummed in delight and began fingering the soft honey-blonde locks. "Why could I have not met you when I was this young?"
Astoria crooned into the fingers combing through her hair. "Lucius-" she gasped as her head was pulled back and hot lips descended upon her throat. She moaned as he caressed her skin with his fiery lips. "Lucius stop! We cannot do this!" she wrenched herself free from his manipulative older man. She eyed him up and down and shook her head. "You are a man of sixty odd years or so ... there is no way-"
He grabbed her flaring arms and pinned them down to her sides. "Astoria we are made for each other. So what if I am older. What should that matter? There are many ways to remain immortal"
Astoria turned to him her blue eyes flashing with an incredulous look. She was scared, he could smell it rippling forth from her pores. His voice rumbled in a low growl at the back of his throat. She scoffed at him. "So what? Are you looking to be the next Dark Lord?"
His dark look trailed further down to her stomach and his breath rattled through his teeth like a hiss. "Not me. Your next son"
~00000
Hermione was certain Harry would not let her down. She had picked Lily up earlier that morning so that she could spend Ron's day off with her uncle and Hugo. However the longer Hermione waited the more her nerves riled up. "Where is he?" she huffed as the grey clouds rolled in over-head. She wanted to be at the café for the afternoon rush of people coming in for a hot cup of tea out of the rain. She cast 'Tempus' and sighed heavily. 12:07pm. Where the hell was Harry? Sighing once again she tilted her head to the darkening clouds overhead and began making her way to the bus stop where she could catch a bus to Drury Lane.
Harry, on the other hand, had been pacing up and down the corridor leading to Hermione's office. Where was she? She had told him to meet her at 11.45am. It was not like her to be late. His muscles tensed up a little as the old habit of predicting something horrible happening to her flashed through his mind. He shook his head. She was a mother and a wife. She had a son to care for. He didn't mind waiting. His stomach rumbled for the fifth time that half hour and he realised just how much he missed eating breakfast in the morning. Hoping Hermione would not mind he slipped into the kitchen and set about making himself a strong cup of tea. He searched through the many dishes laid out for the day but thought better than to touch them. Hermione would kill him if she ran out of food. He sighed, feeling fed-up and not knowing what to do. That is, until he caught sight of the cake mixture laying unopened on the counter. An idea clicked in his head. He could always bake a small cake to eat. It would be a nice present for Hermione to come back to after a stressful morning of whatever she did at this early hour. He hummed to himself as he went around the kitchen looking for the necessary utensils for making the cake. He found said items with ease and was soon covering himself with flour and wishing his boys' and little girl were with him to laugh, and play around and lick the bowl.
Draco Malfoy hated sleeping in past midday. He groaned as he stirred awake and checked the broken alarm clock from over the side of his bed. He had thrown a fit as soon as Potter had left the last week and had not left his room since. He knew Hermione would kill him, turf him out on the streets. She was not cold hearted but the deal was he would work for her and get twenty percent of his pay-check and she would keep the rest as payment for him staying in the apartment. All the other tenants could afford it. He could not. Wiping a hand down his face he decided that he should have a shower. He felt grimy and he was not surprised as he walked through his apartment as if in a trance, looking around at the destruction he caused. He would clean it up after his shower, he decided. Once in the bathroom he stripped in a lethargic manner and ran the hot water until steam filled the room. He slid into the cubicle and ducked his head underneath the spray. His skin hissed and flushed pink with the heat but it woke him up dramatically. He realised, as he was towelling himself off, that he had no food in the kitchen. He would have to sneak something from the kitchen downstairs. Hermione would freak when she found out but hopefully he could replace it by then. Smiling, he brushed his teeth and went into his bedroom for a change of clothes. Feeling clean and satisfied he ran a hand through his silky hair and made a grab for his wand. It was a small risk he had to take, and cleaning spells should not turn up on anyone's monitors. He hoped. Once everything was the way it was supposed to bed he ran an anxious hand through his hair and began making his way downstairs to the kitchens.
As he approached the kitchens in his woollen booties, he heard a soft humming coming from the tiled room. His shoulder's slumped. He did not want to interact with anyone just yet. He was not ready. Rubbing his eyes he pushed the doors open and everything froze. What the HELL was Harry Saint Potter doing in the bloody kitchen at this hour of the day? Of all people to see first, it just HAD to be him! "What are you doing here Potter?" he sneered tiredly, rubbing his eyes and he wondered into the kitchen.
"I'm waiting for Hermione to get here for a meeting" Harry stated matter-of-factly. "And I was about to bake a cake while I wait for her" Draco nodded and began leafing his way through the cupboards. Harry was tempted to ignore the blonde but the constant rumble of said man's stomach grabbed Harry's attention. "Would you ... like some?"
Draco suspiciously craned his neck to get a better view of the mixture in the bowl. "Sludge? No thanks"
Harry could not stifle his laugh. "It's cake mixture. Once it's baked it'll look and taste better" Draco would have retorted if he'd had the energy, but could not muster the strength to do so, so he merely shrugged indifferently. He slumped against once of the counters that were not stacked high with pre-made food and watched Harry through narrowed eyes as he expertly went about the kitchen making the simple chocolate cake. He had to admit he was surprised, especially when the warm, inviting aroma of chocolate surfed through the air and met his nose.
Harry took the cake out when the timer bleeped, sliced it neatly and placed two slices on a pair of matching plates before sliding one across the counter, cautiously, in Draco's direction. "There you go. Enjoy."
Draco cocked an eyebrow but drew the plate closer to himself before stabbing it half-heartedly with a fork and popping the small chunk into his mouth. It was like blissful and melted lovingly in his mouth. He moaned. "Potter-"
"Harry"
Draco frowned. "What?"
Harry flushed, "if you're going to moan my name I'd rather it be my given name" Harry leant against the counter behind him, eating his own cake, "go on then. Moan my name" Draco flushed bright red and Harry snickered and ducked as the blonde hurled a spoon at his head. When Harry peered up over the counter he saw Draco doubled over with a red face, choking on silent bouts of laughter. "What are you laughing at?" Harry grinned.
Draco wiped tears of mirth from his eyes and shrugged, straightening up. "It's been a while since I've laughed like that"
Harry noticed the far-away look in Draco's eyes and decided to seize the opportunity and apologize for the other week. "Mal-Draco ... I'm sorry. For last week. I don't know what I was thinking"
Draco inclined his head somewhat stiffly, "it's fine, Pot-Harry," he strained to get the brunette's name out of his mouth. "The cake is great ... thanks"
Harry smiled. Draco Malfoy had just apologised to him. This was a very memorable day. "You're welcome, Draco"
"HAROLD JAMES POTTER WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?" Both men jumped as they whirled around to see a very damp and very angry Hermione Weasley.
Harry regained his composure first, although he looked like a kid who had gotten caught stealing from the cookie jar. "Oh er ... Hi Hermione, I see you finally found me then"
Brown eyes narrowed. "Is that supposed to be funny, Harry?" Hermione snarled aggressively. Harry shrank slightly from his long-time friend. She sighed and rubbed at her temples. "Never mind, be in my office in fifteen minutes"
As soon as she had left Draco and Harry looked at one another and exhaled with relief. Draco straightened up and cleared his throat. "Thanks for the ... cake, Potter, I'll see you around"
The blonde missed the crest-fallen look on the brunette's face. "Oh. We're back to last names again? And here I was thinking I had made a descent apology"
Draco turned back just as Harry was wiping his hands on a dish-towel. His heart skipped a beat as his tall ex-nemesis made for the swinging kitchen doors. He sighed inwardly and licked his lips. "Thank you ... Harry" Harry stopped in the doorway, turned back and gave the most innocent smile Draco had ever seen in his life.
In Hermione's office, said brunette was sitting behind her desk, finally dried off and scanning through a few papers. Harry took a seat opposite her and waited for her to commence the 'meeting' as she had called it the night before. "So according to what is left of my current working staff at present, they do not mind having another tenant upstairs. However I have not discussed this with Malfoy but it appears as though you two can go a substantial amount of time without killing each other, so I just pray he will be okay with the arrangement. As for the lodgings, you will have the same deal as everyone else. The rent is due at the end of each month and that will be taken out of your pay-check each week, only twenty-five percent so you can build up something to live on until the business starts making a little more money. As for your belongings you are free to floo them over or two deliver them by muggle transport of just shrink it all into a small suitcase"
Harry nodded and really enjoyed the sound of living and working with Hermione. "It sound's great, but what about Lily?"
Hermione nibbled on her lower lip, "she can stay with Ron and I until you get properly settled. She's a very well-behaved girl so I do not see the problem with her staying here on weekends to start with"
"Only weekends?" Harry's stomach lurched, "but she's my daughter, I won't get to see her with that arrangement"
Hermione gave him an are-you-kidding look. "Harry, if she stays with me you will see her everyday. You can drop her off at school, pick her up. And I'm sure the other's will not mind when she stay's more than two nights a week. It is only to start off with, I'm sure you will both be fine"
Harry nodded. He had no other choice. Sighing he ran a hand through his hair effectively making it messier. "Okay. Thanks 'Mione. So when can I move in?"
"Tonight"
~00000~
Draco awoke late that evening as the sound of loud footsteps woke him up from the corridor outside his apartment. He groaned and pressed the pillow harder over his ears but was unable to drown the noise out. Feeling agitated but the disturbance he climbed out of bed and went to look out of his bedroom window. He saw a dark stranger leaning down through the heavy downpour at the back-seat passenger of a taxi-cab. Frowning the car disappeared and soon the footsteps were heard outside his door along with a low rumbling of suitcase wheels. He rolled his eyes. Another person to make peace with in the early morning rush of before-work coffees. He rubbed his eyes, feeling restless and climbed back out of bed. "I'm too old for this" he murmured as he slumped at his desk. He felt rebellious as he picked up a pen, a sheet of paper, and began penning a letter.
Dear Scorp,
I cannot tell you where I am or what I am currently doing right now, I just want you to know that I am safe and well and amongst people we can trust. I promise you Scorpius. When the time is safer you can come and visit. Hope everything is going well at Hogwart's.
All my love,
Dad xox
Feeling relieved, Draco drew out his wand and summoned the small pouch of floo-powder he managed to swipe from Hermione. He drew out a pinch and, taking the letter in his free hand, he moved into the living room. Throwing the powder into the fireplace he quickly placed the letter amongst the flickering green flames before they vanished, letter and all. It was reckless and he knew it, but he had to let his son know that he was safe. It would help them both sleep at night.
Licking his lips he turned off all the lights manually, a habit he was quickly becoming accustomed to, before slipping into the warm darkness within his bedclothes. As he drifted off to sleep he could not help but wonder who the new tenant was and how it would effect his current life-style.
A/N: Well there is chapter ten, I apologise for the late update but I have had problems at college and with my health but either way I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Reviews are welcome!