I'm still waiting for life to kind of go back to normal.

I don't remember if I mentioned, but my dad's sick. A week back we had to take him to the ER because he couldn't breathe. He spent an entire night there getting oxygen and having medicine and steroids injected into him. Luckily, he came out better, but it's still been really stressful on the rest of the family.

*sigh* I wish life was easier sometimes. That or I just have a stupid amount of money to take care of my family without having to worry about not being able to pay off bills or what will happen to my dad the next week.

But I'm really grateful for all ya'lls support. It really makes my day better seeing your reviews! All the shout outs to my wonderful friend, Mr. Benzedrine, for editing my silly mistakes and laughing at my writing. It feels good to be back writing again.


A few days passed since Granger and Draco's night out. They hadn't quite spoken to each other much, save for the confirmation correspondence to meet at Cattermole's office. Granger was probably busy with work and Draco, well, he was being himself. But, after getting everyone onto the same schedule, they were finally going to sign all the paperwork. It was long overdue, but then again, it was mainly his fault for throwing tantrums after tantrums.

Days crawled on by without having the bossy witch by his side, but when it finally arrived, the silence between the pair was all too familiar. It was as if their bonding at Brixton Pop made no difference!

They sat in the cluttered office, filled with stacks upon stacks of documents. He imagined it looked quite like Granger's studio when company wasn't expected. Draco couldn't begin to comprehend why someone would want to take on a position where their job was read memo after memo of the same paraphrased subject. Then again, if there was no one like Cattermole, Draco wouldn't be sitting in the office, just a few more signatures away from finally able to open up his first legitimate store.

In his head, he apologized and recanted his discourteous thoughts.

At some point, while lost in his musings, he found himself staring at the brunette sitting next to him. Draco didn't realise he'd been looking at the witch, and thankfully, she took no notice.

She sat there, oblivious, staring down at the extra paperwork she'd brought with her and hummed quietly to herself. Her dainty fingers flipped through each page as her brown eyes skimmed the carefully written texts - perhaps to double check her spelling and grammar. Draco wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case.

He noticed Granger wore a Gryffindor (puke) red blouse and a pair of black slacks. Clearly, fashion was still not her strong suit. He bit his tongue and held back a snide comment on her attire. If there was an elective the, figuratively, blind witch should have taken, it was fashion. But then again, her lack of common sense in couture probably wouldn't have made a difference later on in life.

Draco continued to watch her as she kept reading on. Curiosity, for a moment, got the best of him as he stretched his neck in an attempt to make out what was on the paper. He wasn't sure whether it was work related or extracurricular.

Granger shifted, and Draco returned to his previous posture while staring at the brunette. She lifted her heavy stack of archives and crossed her legs, resting the left leg over her right knee. Then, he noticed something - his steely orbs darted from her face down to her long legs to her shoes. He stifled a laugh and cleared his throat.

"What?" she looked up suddenly, giving the wizard a peculiar look.

He debated whether to save her from embarrassment or just have her figure it out on her own. It took him but a moment to make his decision. "I've been to your flat," Draco stated plainly.

Her brows formed a crease on her forehead.

"-Don't do that, you'll get wrinkles," he commented before continuing. "And you own a mirror."

Granger rubbed her brow ridges in an attempt to smooth out her skin. "Yes? How is this relevant?"

"I hope you use it."

"I mean..." she began, hesitating. Okay - clearly she didn't. "S-sometimes?"

Draco glanced down at her shoes once more, hoping Granger would get his hint, and when she didn't catch on, he sighed. "Your shoes don't match."

He watched her as her eyes widened, looking down at her own attire and lifting the hem of her slacks. "Oh, Merlin!" she gasped in a horrid shock. "How did I miss that?" Granger quickly conjured her robe, throwing the piece of fabric over her legs in an attempt to cover her mishap. Her cheeks reddened, embarrassed.

"Why don't you just transfigure it into a matching pair?" he commented in a bored drawl, though he was far from being so.

"No!" Granger hissed. "I don't want to ruin the integrity of the material."

"What?" He looked taken aback. "Never knew you to be so materialistic."

"I am not," the witch huffed back, offended. "They're just both really expensive pairs."

Draco grinned, arching his brows. "Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe that is the definition of being materialistic."

"Oh, shut it. You and your quips." Granger's cheeks reddened further as she readjusted her outfit. Her left leg slipped off the other and she crossed her ankles, tucking her feet under the chair and out of view.

The blonde couldn't help but smile at her reaction.

Granger's minor fiasco was quickly forgotten when Cattermole entered the room. "I do apologise," he started, shaking both parties' hands. "Some other clients held me up longer than intended."

"No need for apologies," the witch smiled. "You're doing us quite the favor seeing us again."

Draco gave a terse nod in agreement.

"Just doing my job," the older man chuckled, pulling out a long parchment. "Now, shall we begin?"


"All those signing took longer than I expected." Malfoy stretched his arms and fingers above his head as they left Cattermole's office. His eyes darted over to the large clock mounted on a wall not too far from them. "Blimey, we were there for nearly two hours!"

Hermione hummed in agreement, though she wasn't entirely paying attention. She organized the signed copies, making sure they were all in order and alphabetized before placing them into a manilla folder. The witch had asked for all the documents to be duplicated so she would have her own files on hand.

"Are you busy?" She glanced up towards the wizard. "I've got a few places I want to show you now that we have everything signed and out of the way."

Her shoes weren't far from her mind, and every time they moved a single inch, Hermione would make sure to readjust her outfit so they didn't look too out of place.

"Not until the evening." The blonde looked at the clock once more. "Though, given on how fast we've been moving today, I'm almost afraid to say we wouldn't have time to look around."

"Oh, quiet you. It only took as long as it did because I wanted to make sure everything was accounted for. You'll thank me in the future." She tugged at her slacks, smoothing out the wrinkles. "It won't take but a fraction of your time."

"If you insist."

The pair Apparated to Diagon Alley, not far from the Leaky Cauldron. From there, they could see the corner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Children of all ages were running in and out of the store. Screams of laughter could be heard all down the narrow street.

The strip wasn't too busy this time of year - at least, not in comparison to the start of the term at Hogwarts or during Christmas time or even All Hallow's Eve, but it was still packed with witches and wizards alike, shopping for whatever goods came to mind.

"I researched a few places," she started, speaking over the dozens of voices. "They're all in Diagon Alley, since I remember you mentioned you wanted to have your first shop opened here." Hermione gestured to the wizard as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. It was clear he was uncomfortable being in such a crowded area. Even Hermione noticed the scowls and glares being shot in their direction. In contrast to the muggle world, just his looks alone made him stand out like an unwanted vermin, and to the wizarding world, that's exactly what he was.

She pursed her lips when he failed to notice her speaking to him. "Ignore them," she demanded, grabbed his wrist, and led him in the direction of the joke shop.

Still, the usually quippy wizard remained silent. Malfoy didn't have to say anything, not that he wanted to; his aura spoke for him.

"Here." Hermione came to a stop in front of an empty store. She glanced back at him as his attention finally snapped onto her then to the shop. "Let's go in." The door was unlocked for them to enter and take a look around. She had spoken to the realtor earlier this morning asking for permission.

Even though Hermione did read up on the details of the store, it was considerably smaller than she expected. There wasn't much one could do with one thousand two hundred square feet, but something was better than nothing.

"It's a bit... compact, don't you think?" Draco was finally back in his element, away from all the judging faces.

"A bit," she agreed. "But, it's better to start small, then work your way up into bigger facilities." Hermione watched as Malfoy surveyed the area; his eyes were narrow and his lips thin in concentration. She couldn't tell at all what was going through his mind.

The store was, obviously, not to the usual Malfoy high-end standards, but these days, one couldn't be too terribly picky.

"How many other shops are we looking at?" He turned to her after the inspection.

"Two," Hermione responded. "They're all along this strip, so we don't have much walking to do."

Once Malfoy was finished with his tour, they stepped back outside. The sun glared brightly down onto the pair, temporarily blinding their eyes. When Hermione was finally able to blink away the black spots from her vision, she noticed there was a disgusted look on the pale wizard's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

The man responded with a simple finger point towards the other side of the street.

Oh.

Hermione gave him an apologetic smile, secretly hoping he wouldn't notice the gaudy red window frames and a freckled animatronic Weasley lifting and setting his top hat every few seconds. The shop was quite literally a couple of feet away from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"So, first you show me a small store..." Malfoy looked over towards Hermione, who shrugged at the accusation. "But you also thought it was acceptable that it is next to the Weasley's place?" As if having something smaller was a blow to his ego. "Let's cross this one off this list."

"But-" Hermione countered, hoping to change his mind before he completely disregarded it. "Think about it like this: there is a lot of foot traffic going this way. The Weasley's store accrues hundreds of customers a day, and because of their success, the surrounding stores have seen their sales go up as well!" The witch pulled out a sheet of paper, ready to show proof. On it were the finances of neighboring shops.

The blonde looked taken aback. "How did you even get these numbers?"

"Don't worry about it - here, look!" Hermione nearly shoved it in his face. "Your sales could be through the roof like theirs! Consider it!"

The wizard snatched the parchment from her hands, taking a quick look, though he remained uninterested. "Fine," he said finally, but Hermione had a feeling he was saying it only to have her back off. "Let's go see the other places before we decide anything."

It was a fair compromise, and with that, the satisfied witch led her partner further into Diagon Alley, though not before hearing, "Who in their right mind would want to stare at that everyday?"

The next store, while it was about twice the size, was still not in the most favorable location. Hermione could tell from the look of Malfoy's terribly masked poker face that he wasn't really vibing with it. In fact, it also wasn't Hermione's top choice, but again, something was better than nothing.

She had made up her mind to tell the stubborn man who decided none of these locations worked for him that he should just set up shop in the streets and see if people would buy his products then.

"I don't think it would be fair to compete with the Quidditch shop next door," Malfoy muttered as they stepped into the empty room.

"Fair point," she agreed, glancing back out the window. "But they sell retail products - mostly jerseys from professional teams and memorabilia. Save from the occasional broomsticks and children's product, they won't be selling what you sell."

Her eyes darted around the dusty store. While the product from the previous establishment were cleared out, some furniture remained, and it could be useful for interior decorating. Having the shop come furnished would saved time and money.

Malfoy's store wasn't going to be the typical Quidditch supply store. Yes, he was going to sell the standard goggles and gloves (though, at a higher quality, Hermione insisted), but his main marketing point was the uniqueness that most of the other Quidditch companies didn't offer. Aside from carefully charmed equipments, they were going to be customized and built for the user - a bespoke store of sort.

"Let's bookmark this one," he said to her, sounding disappointed in her selections so far. "I feel weird about competing with a store that's been around for decades."

Without another word, the two of them left the facility and made way to their last stop.

The final store was across from Gringotts bank. It was the biggest of the three, and in Hermione's opinion, the best place to sell any sort of retail goods. In fact, she was quite surprised to see a store of such optimal placement empty and unused.

"Maybe it's haunted," he said in a slow drawl as they entered.

It was great and grand and just recently emptied out. There wasn't a speck of dust lingering in the vacant room, and a great big chandelier hung from the ceiling. Crystalled jewels glimmered as the sun's rays refracted through.

This location had everything Hermione could have wanted in a store.

The walls were made of rich mahogany panels with matching hardwood. The light was bright and not of those yellowish hue that made people look ill and tired. It was perfect for those who wanted to try on outfits; it made them look more appealing.

There was also a set of stairs, in the back of the store, which led up into a narrow hallway. Two doors were mounted against the walls: one facing outwards towards the front, and the other the opposite.

"This would be perfect for an office," she smiled as they entered the first room. "We could enchant this wall and look out onto the floor. The other, with so much room, would make great storage space."

Malfoy agreed. His spirits seemed to have lifted after the two of them walked back downstairs.

"Can't you picture how your store would look?" Hermione closed her eyes as her imagination painted a vivid scene on what Draco Ascendens would look like. When she opened her eyes, they were met with Malfoy's icy orbs staring at her with an entertained look. "So?" She cleared her throat, ignoring the fact that she just made herself look awfully silly in front of the wizard. "What do you think?"

"Couldn't you have shown me this place first?" he smirked in response, slipping his hands in the pockets of his robe. His tone was approving.

"I could have," Hermione admitted with a nod, "but I was building you up for this one, so you'd be more likely to say yes to it."

"I see you're quite keen on wasting my time."

"Oh, do you have other more important matters to attend?" She stuck her tongue out at him; her words oozed with sarcasm. "I do, greatly, apologize, your Highness." Hermione gave the wizard a half-curtsy.


Draco and Granger were seated at the ground floor of the Leaky Cauldron. Just as he predicted, a few hours passed since their stroll through Diagon and the vacant facilities. The two of them continued to chatter on about the last store. It was, clearly, their favorite.

"The only thing, though," Granger mentioned after taking a sip of her piping hot black tea. "The shop is next to the bank, and it's far bigger than the other two - it's going to cost more to rent." She was giving him a worried look, though he wasn't sure if that was a default expression or not. The witch tend to worry about many things.

"Continue," he said, prepping himself for the bad news. It was always bad news with him. Since when did good things ever happen to Draco? Malfoy was a cursed name nowadays.

The witch hesitated, quickly taking another swig at her beverage. She grimaced as it painfully rolled down her throat. "It's out of your budget." And there it was. Did that mean he had to choose the other two places, then? Why even bother showing him the last location if she knew it was out of his price range?

Draco inhaled, prepping himself for a great, big, depressing sigh before Granger spoke up once more. "But -but, there is something we could do instead."

"What is that?" He sighed anyway.

"I could put down my name and pay a portion of the rent. We're partners anyway, right? It's only fair.."

"The catch?"

Her brows furrowed at his comment, obviously confused. "There is none?"

"Out of goodwill and charity?" he remarked with a lick of scorn.

"A favor for a friend," she mumbled quietly, looking down at her drink.

Draco cleared his throat. Well, shit. Should he apologise? Granger had done so much for him only for him to snap at her, assuming she was treating him as if he was some beggar. Silence hung between them for a moment as he debated with himself, but he couldn't bring himself to apologise, so instead, he said, "Okay."

Her warm brown eyes shot up at him, wide and alert. "Okay?" Granger tried to look serious, but the corner of her lips twitched upwards.

"Okay." He exhaled a quiet laugh, relieved his prior comment didn't weigh heavily on her.

"Okay!" she exclaimed, albeit a bit too loudly as others in the establishment turned their eyes towards them. Immediately, Granger lowered her voice. "I'll get the necessary paperwork from the realtor. I'll sign what needs to be signed and then pass on whatever is necessary for you to inscribe as well."

The witch was almost shaking with excitement. Her feet made quiet pitter patter noises, and he was quite sure her mismatched shoes were out of mind.

"This is amazing!" Granger clapped her hands together, grinning from ear to ear. For a moment, she was emanating excitement all over a body, and then a split second later, a horrified expression stuck onto her face. "Oh! I've got to get going." She looked down onto her wrist watch. "I have dinner with Harry."

They both groaned.

"Why - I know why I'm groaning," Draco looked at the witch with a raised eyebrow. Potter. The man always knew how to ruin a good mood, and he didn't even have to be present to do so! Just the mention of his name... "Why are you groaning?"

Granger sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He noticed it was something she did regularly. "Harry just came back from one of his missions - or whatever it is that Aurors go off to - and he's probably going to try and talk me into apologizing to Ron and mend our friendship. Something like that."

"Ever the peacemaker," he joked.

"More like Harry Potter the Hermione Guilt Tripper," Granger retorted and rolled her eyes.

Draco chuckled at her comment. "Well, try not to buy into his pity party, yes?"

"No promises there."


Hermione nearly kicked off her shoes when she Apparated home. She was reminded of her mismatched attire, no thanks to Malfoy, and her cheeks grew pink at the thought of earlier today.

At least no one else noticed - or so she hoped.

With the help of magic, it didn't take her long to get ready for dinner. Hermione couldn't imagine what female muggles had to go through to dress up. Especially if one had stubborn hair like hers. In fact, even with her skills, often times her hair just didn't want to comply. Who knew DNA could be stronger than magic?

She checked in the mirror one last time just to make sure everything was matching. See, Malfoy, I do use the mirror! Hermione smiled at herself before she Apparated back outside the Leaky Cauldron. She was to return to muggle London for an evening out with her best friend.

There were plenty of methods getting to London, such as using random telephone booths to going through the changing room at Madam Malkin's or even using the loo at the Three Broomsticks. Witches and wizards always found odd ways of getting into London. In the end, Hermione preferred the Leaky. It was the least troublesome since everyone there usually kept to themselves. For a long time after the war, she and the other two often found themselves surrounded by curious crowds, always wanting to know their whereabouts. It was tiresome, and they learned that Leaky was always the most reliable method of transporting themselves out into London. Since then, it just stuck with Hermione; plus, being literally sucked down the toilet wasn't much fun.

Aside from these recent days, it'd actually been a while since Hermione stepped foot into the city proper. She didn't have much reason to visit the muggle world. Everything she needed she could purchase at Diagon or any other nearby wizarding community.

Magic and technology never played nice with each other; it was one of the many wonders of the world. It was always exciting to see what was new in the world, and it never disappointed.

Since her argument with Ron, Hermione spent most of her working hours in muggle London. She never strayed too far from the popular pub situated between a big bookstore and a record store. In fact, there was a small coffee shop not six units away where she spent most of her day. Hermione was there so often, the baristas began to recognize her.

She chose to stay out of her office at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, since she'd rather not get in another riff raff with Ron, let alone see his repulsive freckled face. Even though the redhead grew up with two best friends who were born and raised in the muggle world and had a father who was in love with all things non-magic, the man still wasn't comfortable surrounding himself with things that weren't enchanted. It wasn't a hard concept to grasp...he was just lazy. Typical.

After stepping into an elevator, Hermione found herself in front of a high end restaurant called Fenchurch Restaurant. Her eyes widened as she looked at the decor. The dim white lighting illuminated the area. Oh, I'm definitely not dressed well enough for this... She mentally berated herself. It wasn't like Hermione to be so airheaded; after all, she was known for over-researching, if it was such a thing.

A young woman addressed Hermione as she stepped through the glass double door, which was opened for her by greeters. The witch felt like royalty. "Good evening, and welcome to Skygarden's Fenchurch Restaurant. Do you have a reservation with us tonight?"

"Ah, yes," Hermione muttered, her attention momentarily fixated onto the giant glass windows to her left. She must have been really in her head to have not notice how far the elevators had taken her up. The entire city of London was in her view! How magnificent! "I believe the reservation is under Potter."

The hostess smiled and nodded as she checked her computer. "Give me a moment, please," she said with a faint frown. "The computer is acting up. It's odd; we just bought this, and it's already happened twice tonight. Ah! Okay, here we go." Her manicured finger poked the screen of the monitor as her bright green eyes scanned through the names and tables. "Looks like Mister Potter has already checked in. If you'll follow me, I'll be more than happy to show you the way."

Hermione followed the woman, feeling quite out of place. Everywhere around her, the guests were all dressed in beautiful and formal attires, while she donned a simple beige dress with her hair bundled into a messy (but carefully styled) bun.

She could recognize the back of the man's head anywhere. His black, unkempt hair stuck out every which way, much like hers. Hermione thanked the hostess and walked up to the corner booth, excited to see her best friend. He always told the most entertaining stories, catching Death Eaters who ran away after the war or even just the people he would meet on his travels.

Just as quickly as it came, all her excitement waned away when she caught a glimpse of flaming red hair. Though, thankfully, it didn't belong to Ron, but a person much worse - her other best friend, Ginny. Hermione's heart sank into her stomach and for the second time today, Hermione groaned out loud.

It was an ambush!

The couple in front of her stopped mid-conversation and turned to look at the new arrival. "Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her booth to greet the gloomy witch.

She begrudgingly hugged the redhead and muttered a "hello."

"Oh, don't be such a Debbie Downer. You know you're happy to see me."

Hermione's and Harry's eyes met as Ginny continued to talk, and he gave his friend a pitiable smile and mouthed 'hi Hermione.' Looking at him, Hermione could tell this wasn't his idea.

"So," she slipped off her black overcoat and took a seat across from the couple. "Why are we in such a nice place?"

"Ginny insisted, even though I told her we could just have dinner at home." Harry sighed, exhausted. He must have just come back to London and didn't even have time to relax before the always energetic Ginny yanked him off the couch and forced him to dress up. Though Harry Potter was famous and, not to mention, loaded, he always preferred a regular t-shirt and jeans. He never looked quite right in a suit. She couldn't begin to imagine what he would look like in a tuxedo during his wedding.

Hermione glanced down at the menu. There wasn't a lot of options, which honestly, she preferred it that way. Too many choices made her head spin, and it took even longer for her to decide what she wanted. But the witch still cringed after a brief glance. The prices were way too high.

"Oh, it's not like you don't make enough to easily eat for ten," Ginny scoffed, noting her rigid look.

"Just because I have money doesn't mean I should just spend it however I'd like," Hermione retorted. Most of her hard earned income was stored in her savings account for emergency uses.

A waiter stopped by their table while the two women bickered back and forth about money. It was harmless, really. "Good evening, my name is Seeley, and I will be your server tonight. Can I start you off with anything to drink? Perhaps a nice glass of wine off our drink menu?"

"I think we'll need a few more minutes," Hermione responded. "I haven't had the chance to look." Seeley nodded. "Three glasses of water will suffice for now."

"Of course." The waiter walked off, tended to other customers before disappearing around back.

"So, out with it," Hermione demanded once the waiter was out of sight.

"With what?" Harry turned to his best friend with a quizzical expression.

"Isn't this what the whole get together is for?"

Ginny scoffed, giving Hermione a crooked smile. "You think we're here to talk to you about Ron?"

The waiter returned with three water goblets. "Do we need a few more minutes?" he asked, and the three nodded in succession. With yet another polite nod, the man walked off.

"Why else are we here?" Hermione asked after taking a sip of her chilled beverage. She glanced out towards the window; a sliver of orange still remained from the setting sun, casting a warm hue over the still bustling city. It, truly, was a wondrous view.

"Oh, Ron is a sodding bellend. He can go fu-"

"-Ginny!" Hermione and Harry gasped, quickly interrupting her.

"At least lower your voice," her fiancé followed, taking notice of other patrons' expressions as they heard her crude language. "And that's your brother - and my best man you're speaking ill of."

The freckled woman rolled her eyes. "Exactly why I can talk about him the way I do." She paused to take a drink. "Anyway, we're here to talk about..." Ginny looked around, finally lowering her voice. "You-know-who."

She squinted her eyes, giving her friend a confused look. "Volde...mort?" she asked slowly, unsure how to answer Ginny.

The redhead leaned back into her seat. "Okay, maybe I should have been clearer," she chuckled at her own mistake. What after seemed like an eternity of silence, she nearly shouted, "Draco!"

Hermione, who was taking another sip of her water to pass time, nearly spat it out at the exclamation of his name. "What-" she coughed. "Why are we talking about Malfoy?"

"Look at her, pretending to act all coy." Ginny nudged her fiancée and grinned. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry told me what you did for...Draco...with his house and all." The woman gave the other a dangerous look.

Though she and Ginny had some girl time with Luna, Hermione never once brought up the favor she asked of Harry. "It slipped my mind?" She shrugged, knowing her answer wouldn't satisfy her friend once the cat was finally out of the bag.

Yes, Ginny was her best friend, and yes, Hermione told her most of the things that went on between her and Malfoy, but for some reason, she didn't feel like it was necessary to tell the redhead about their visit to the manor. To Ginny, it was just another evidence to pile into the 'why Hermione and Malfoy should get together' binder. The redhead still remembered (quite vividly) of their kiss all those weeks ago. It was just the one time, too! And it never happened since! Not that they didn't try... Hermione confessed to herself.

The older witch debated, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. Judging by her best friend's miserable expression, he didn't know about the kiss, and Hermione surely didn't want him to find out. Hermione had a nasty feeling the poor wizard had already too much on his plate, and Ginny was probably holding the kiss as leverage to get more information out of her.

Shit. Maybe she should have told Ginny about the house visitation. Why didn't I consider that? The woman could be so spiteful when she wanted to be - even when it was against her own friends.

"Okay," Hermione sighed, taking yet another sip of her half empty goblet. At this point, she was drinking to purposely delay the conversation. Hermione hoped something would happen in the time she finally finished her water, but nothing did. "Okay," she said again. "So, as you know, we -er, Malfoy-"

"-Draco-"

"-Ginny-"

"-What? She needs to get used to it." There was a wide smile plastered on her freckled face.

"Malfoy," Hermione insisted, only to receive an annoyed click of the tongue from Ginny. "Malfoy and I started working together..." She went on to explain her situation and even went into detail with Harry on Malfoy's business plan. The wizard revealed midstory that he knew about the blonde's ventures, of course, no thanks to Ginny.

At least she was able to keep one secret...

Aside from Harry's comment, he maintained a perplexed look, unsure how to respond and quite frankly, unsure why the story was relevant to...well, anything. But, he did get his answer on why Hermione needed to have the house: to lift Malfoy's dampened spirits.

Ginny, on the other hand, was nodding in agreement the entire time.

Hermione still didn't understand why this was all necessary - having her tell her side of the situation at a fancy restaurant, no less. If Ginny was so against Ron's actions and was so interested in the storytelling, wouldn't being together, at either her loft or their house, drinking a glass of wine have been enough?

After Hermione was through with her story, which didn't take long given how talented the witch was at word vomiting, the waiter showed up asking if they were ready once more. Ginny rudely shooed the man away, saying they were waiting for another guest.

When Seeley left, Hermione scowled. "So, Ron is showing up."

"Oh, no, no, none of that-" The bride to be waved her off as if it was nothing.

"Then who?" Hermione was curious.

"Nevermind you who," Ginny smiled. Oh, it was a wicked smile. It was the 'I'm up to no good smile' that Harry and Hermione learned through their years of adventuring together.

Honestly, had she been sorted into Slytherin, Hermione was sure Ginny and Malfoy would have made the best of friends. The pair of them would run the school grounds with the cunning ways. "Say, Hermione, do you remember asking if I could relay the message to the Holyhead Harpies about prototyping the Quidditch gears?"

"Wait a minute-" The brunette witch held out her hands, stopping the conversation from progressing. "We're just going to ignore everything I told you and move on to a new topic? Like that?" The three of them looked at each other, waiting for an answer. Then, Ginny simply said 'yes' and moved on. Hermione sighed. She was mentally exhausted and couldn't keep up with Ginny. The woman was on a whole different level of hyper. "Okay, yes, I do remember. What of it?"

Hermione had relayed the message to Ginny during one of the weeks (Hermione lost track which) when Malfoy decided he wanted to be a shut in and give her the silent treatment. She spent a great amount of time complaining to her best friend, while making wedding preparations, and finally asked for a favor. Of course, with Ginny, it was a 'take a penny, leave a penny' kind of deal, and it was even more so with best friends.

"Well, I spoke to them! And they said they'd love to give it a shot during a live practice or during a preseason game."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Hermione smiled at the news. "I'm sure Malfoy will be pleased to hear that."

"Hm, yes," her friend agreed. "Speaking of the man - I invited him over for dinner tonight."

"What?!" the witch hissed, careful not to raise her voice much. "Why didn't you tell me this before? In fact, why did you invite him out in the first place?"

"I reached out to him before-"

"-When?"

"Doesn't matter, and I figured we could have a get together-" Ginny said with a wink. "And chat over things. Be a bit more buddy-buddy since I'm sure he'll be appearing more in our lives."

Harry finally piped up after being so very uncharacteristically quiet. "What do you mean appearing more in our lives?"

The redhead giggled. "Because he's Hermione's business partner, of course."

"And you, Harry Potter," Hermione gave her friend a cross look. "Why didn't you mention this to me?"

"Erm..." The boy who lived shrunk back into his seat. He could defeat the big bad, but to cross a woman's scorn -well, no man in their right mind had the galls to do that.

Luckily, his fiancée was there to save the day. "Oh, he had a suggestion, for Malfoy, after hearing about his concept." Even though Harry spent days on end working at the Ministry of Magic, or even off on assignment hunting down evildoers, he spent plenty of his free time playing Quidditch with his mates and even sparred against his partner's team.

"Why couldn't you talk to me about it?"

"Aren't you two working together? You ought to keep the communication open," Ginny tsk'd at Hermione, briskly shaking her head.

The witch groaned again. This wasn't how she imagined the evening. "We could have had a meeting of sorts. Why over dinner?"

"A meeting? Are you always all work and no play?" a familiar drawl came from behind her, and she sat up straight, turning the upper half of her body around. Their eyes met for a moment, and Hermione noticed a faint twitch at the corner of his lips before his demeanor settled back into it's default: cool.

"G-good evening," she said ever so politely.

Harry sighed.

"Granger-" Malfoy addressed her, then turned his attention towards the couple. "Thank you for having me, Weasley, Potter." Malfoy was never polite to Harry. It was weird.

Ginny couldn't care less about the awkwardness. "Hope you didn't have too much trouble finding the place."

Hermione scooted further into her booth, giving the newly arrived wizard a place to sit.

"I have experience perusing London," he mentioned, glancing over at the woman next to him. While there was plenty of space between the two, Hermione felt there was much too little space.


The group was about three bottles of wine in.

Tension between the pride of former Gryffindors and the lone Slytherin was nearly gone, though it still lingered in the air here and there. The evening, much to Draco's surprise, went rather well. Snarky comments were thrown back and forth between him and the group, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Weasley was in the middle of telling one of her many stories about her teammates when the waiter brought out their dessert. Draco was ever the sucker for sweets and ordered himself a double chocolate mousse cake. His mouth instantly watered at the sight of the delectable goodness.

As he sank his fork into the brown, fluffy mound, he noticed the redhead nudging Potter, and immediately the war hero cleared his throat, hoping to grab Draco's attention. The blonde arched a brow in curiosity. Draco quickly shoved a piece of the cake into his mouth before Potter spoke. At least he got a little bit of a taste.

"I spoke to Ginny about your business, and an idea came to me," Potter spoke slowly as he fumbled his fork around with the lemon meringue. "Do you remember when I received my first broom?"

The blonde blinked. "Of course," he said with a sour tone. "All the first years were envious of the special boy, Harry Potter." He remembered snatching the package away after Potter and Weasel made an attempt to escape the Great Hall. He also remembered being quite awfully peeved (or maybe jealous) that Potter was the exception to the first year rule of not being allowed a broomstick. Draco definitely remembered Potter playing on the Quidditch team just a few months after school starting. He paused a moment. "What of it?"

"Cleansweep and Nimbus brand brooms dominate the market," the spectacled man said. "Why not bring a new competitor in? Make it better and faster - cater it to the new generation."

He had considered it before Potter brought it up. The thought of bringing in a new mount made him wary, given that both previous models have such a long history behind being the best in the market. "I don't have a lot of knowledge in broom design," he admitted. "Though I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to pick up." Draco did have the second highest scoring marks in school. Did he ever mention that?

"Harry knows a lot about brooms, other than just riding and playing with it," Granger commented innocently as she sipped on her wine. Her cheeks were rosy from the alcohol.

"Quite the shocker for Weaselette, I suppose," quipped Draco.

Weasley chortled, careful not to spit out her dessert. "Yes, well, I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind lending you a hand."


"Thank you for dinner tonight," Malfoy said as they stepped out into the cold evening.

Hermione shuddered as she bundled her peacoat tightly around her. There were still a few muggles about, so muttering a spell to warm herself up was out of the question. Huddling close to her friends would have to do for now.

The blonde wizard had insisted on paying for the check. It seemed that he was wanting to show off his knowledge of muggle currency, but Harry was quicker and snagged the bill when it arrived.

"Can't believe I'm saying this," Malfoy muttered with a sigh. A big puff of condensation appeared before floating off. "I appreciate the two of you helping us out with the Holyhead Harpies and, I guess, broom work."

Ginny smiled. What was she up to now? "Don't you worry about that. But there is something you could do to repay us."

The older witch shot her friend a menacing glare, but Ginny ignored her.

"Harry and I are getting married in two months, and last I was told, Hermione was still without a date." The bride to be wrapped her arms around her fiancè's, hugging him tightly. "It would be such a shame for a pretty woman like her to go alone, wouldn't it?"

There must have been a number of different reasons why her cheeks were suddenly burning: alcohol, the cold air, or how about Ginny's scheming comment? Hermione was beyond embarrassed, and her hissing at her best friend to stop did nothing to slow down her assault.

"I'm sure Hermione would love it if you were her date. Why don't you come join us in our festivities? It would be a huge favor; I know Malfoys don't like keeping tabs, and this one would clear the air between us." The redhead's grin grew wider and wider as she spoke, reminding Hermione of the Cheshire cat.

"I, uh," Malfoy exhaled a laugh, unsure how to respond. "We can discuss that later." He locked eyes with Hermione. Were his cheeks pink, too?

The four of them chattered for a moment longer before parting ways. Ginny and Harry rounded the corner and soon disappeared with a pop, leaving Hermione and Malfoy standing in front of the restaurant's door alone.

"You could have told me you were coming out tonight," Hermione mentioned, shuddering as a cold breeze kissed her skin.

He smirked. "Seeing your expression was worth it, though."

The witch couldn't help but smile in return, glancing down at her shoes as she adjusted her weight. Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed her right shoe was slightly off colored from the other, only to realize it was merely a shadow, creating a darker hue.

Malfoy cleared his throat, grabbing her attention. "I'll walk you home?"

"Yeah... that'd be nice."


A/N: So, starting now, at the end of every chapter, I'm going to give the definition of the vocabulary used in the chapter title since most of them are derived from business terms. This way, you guys understand where I'm coming from and why the titles are the way they are. :D IT'LL BE FUN, I PROMISE. THIS IS TOTALLY NOT A HERMIONE THING.

Debt and Equity: The sum of liabilities and capital. This should always be equal to total assets.

This term works for this chapter because there are favors owed by Hermione and Draco (debt). This, to equal the total asset (Ginny and Harry's favors), Hermione and Draco must return said favor (equity), ie: being each other's dates for the wedding!


pgoodrichboggs - Haha, I get the feeling. I definitely get like that when I get in the groove of things. xD

matkatry - Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy it.

tmtcltb - Haha! Thanks! It was a lot of fun writing chapter 15! It really showed how little Draco knew about the muggle world and how much he was willing to learn from Hermione.

zoesheppard - I'm glad you enjoyed their time in muggle land XD

Mistress DragonFlame - Ha! I wouldn't be surprised. We'll call it a tip.

Sam Wallflower - Haha, it's okay. I totally forgot some of the details, and I wrote it! XD I definitely had to go back and reread things. I really need to go back to the WB Studio! They added the forbidden forest and I feel like it's a must see.

Riam - Aw, thanks a lot! I had to reread it 'cause I didn't remember a lot of the details that I'd written into the story. XD Your memory is better than mine!

givingthisatry - I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! It was fun writing Draco, in what zoesheppard called, Muggle Land.

Guest (Sept 19) - I don't usually respond to guest reviews, but I will for yours 'cause I was worried the chapter was too long! Haha.