He had suggested a good time to meet. When she entered the coffee shop she saw that, for once, there wasn't a line fifteen people long and there were open seats everywhere, she sighed in near ecstasy. The mystery man offering insanely low rent was already making a wonderful first impression and she hadn't even officially met him yet. Assuming he was competent and not a Neanderthal when they did meet, then the only thing – save for the house and room being offered – that she would need to inspect was how the man took his caffeine.

Hermione couldn't quite decide how she wanted her daily dose of liquid sanity herself. Tea was always a good option, and a chai latte sounded delicious, but fuck she could really use something with espresso. Lots and lots of espresso. How much was it for an additional shot? Perhaps she'd even add two.

"It's a tough decision isn't it?"

She turned to her right, finding a tall blond – Christ, his hair was nearly white – slice of suave standing a polite distance away from her, also eying the menu with some trepidation.

"It is," she agreed solemnly, "But it would be easier if I could choose between tea and black lava."

He hummed in agreement, drawing in a deep breath and releasing it slowly as his eyes continue to rake over the options available. "I have trouble with that one myself," he admitted. "Usually I base my decision on how the last twenty-four hours have panned out. Decent day – Tea, been as busy as this place is at eight AM - Black lava."

She snorted softly. "Lava for me then. Pity, in a way. Chai sounded good."

His appreciative moan was in no way inappropriate, but her physical reaction to it certainly was. Christ.

"Chai sounds really good," he said, meeting her gaze with bright eyes. "And my week's finally started to turn around, so no lava for me. Ladies first."oi

She pinkened slightly at his honest courtesy, moving up to the counter and ordering her venti peppermint mocha, two shots, two Splenda, with whip – because Hermione wasn't an animal for crying out loud – and handed the barista her card. The sweet girl, a college student, she guessed, asked for her name.

"Granger," she said out of habit. Not that she was in the mood to deal with her first name being butchered today anyway. She just wanted her drink, which would be deliciously rich and dark and oversaturated with espresso.

"Hermione?"

She glanced at Mr. Suave and blinked.

"Um…Yes?" she answered. "Sorry. Have we met?"

Mr. Suave grinned and seemed to brighten exponentially.

"Well, that's sort of what we're here for," he said cheekily, holding out his hand. "Draco Malfoy."

Her eyes widened in shock, though she wasn't displeased, quite the contrary. Trying to keep from making a complete fool of herself, she shook his hand and smiled in return.

"Well, that was unintentionally efficient," she said. "Nice to officially meet you, Draco."

He surprised her by bringing the back of her hand to his – soft – lips briefly before releasing her. "The pleasure is all mine," he assured. "I do hope you'll like the room. It would be a dream to live with another sane human being addicted to caffeine."

She grinned at him. "You mentioned two other roommates over the phone. They survive without a daily dose of liquid sanity?"

He gave a mock shudder that didn't look particularly forced. "They'll drink anything, really, is the problem. 'It all tastes the same', they say. Sometimes the barbarians will even substitute coffee with a Coke."

She gasped, finding herself both horrified and playful. "How do you stand it?" She asked quietly.

He sighed dramatically. "It's a futile effort, but I try to at least keep good tea and coffee around so that even if they don't make it correctly, at least they're drinking something decent."

She chuckled and he ended up doing the same, but they were interrupted from further bantering when her order was called at the bar. That's when she realized they were still technically in the line and he hadn't ordered yet.

The previously sweet barista was suddenly full of poorly concealed contempt and when Hermione saw the longing in her eyes for Draco she understood why.

Easy honey, she thought to herself, if I go home with him it's to get a tour and nothing else. Sadly…

She parted with Draco long enough to collect her drink while he supposedly ordered his chai. The little lounge space in the corner that was usually full busy college students cranking out papers or giggling teenage girls was blissfully empty, and thus Hermione settled herself into one of the squishy chairs happily.

When Draco rejoined her, an amused smile on his face when he saw how cozy she'd gotten in his absence, he had his drink with him. She narrowed her eyes at it, noticing the lack of ice in the clear cup with interest as he sat down across from her.

"Chai?" She inquired.

He raised a brow and nodded, taking a sip from his straw.

"No ice?"

Another nod.

Hm. "How much chai?"

He stopped drinking long enough to say, "Six pumps," before sticking the straw back in his mouth. His drink was already a third of the way gone.

She smiled at him. "You pass."

He almost choked on a laugh, setting his drink on the little table between them. "Do I? You'll be glad to know you passed as well," he told her, glancing briefly at her drink.

She sipped it. Espresso had been a good choice.

"Now the real test," he continued, leaning back and grinning at her, "Is how many pumps you usually put in your chai."

She sat a little straighter, preening. "Eight, sometimes more," she answered innocently.

He stared at her with a mixture of concern and respect. "Are you human?"

She shrugged. "I'm at least thirty-percent caffeine on a regular basis. Does that make me not human?"

He grinned again and her body had another one of those inappropriate reactions. "We can be not human together while Blaise and Abraxas judge us and drink their improperly brewed tea."

She remembered, quite suddenly, that they had met here for a reason.

"Would they have anything to do with the rent being insanely low?" She asked, trying to keep her voice light and teasing.

He shrugged and said, "To be honest, I posted that ad hoping for someone to help balance out the dynamic, y'know? I mean, I don't particularly need the money, but I figured if I could find a sane human being willing to put up with their shite beverage decisions, then it was worth a shot."

She tilted her head at him, smiling in a confused sort of way. "You…put a room up for rent to try and find a new friend?" She clarified, trying not to let her amusement run away with her.

Draco's pale cheeks tinted slightly. "I suppose that's what it boils down to, isn't it?"

"Basically," she replied, sipping her mocha to prevent herself from giggling at the absurdity of this situation.

"Would you like to come and see it?" He offered. "It's not terribly far and I think the others are gone for the day. You can follow me there."

She accepted his invitation and, after a few more moments of light, playful conversation, they parted ways, each heading to their respective vehicle.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief once she was safely inside her car and out from under the influence of Mr. Suave. She adored him – truly – but if he was beautiful and charming, then surely his other roommates couldn't possibly be as disarming, right?

She crossed her fingers and tapped them on her steering wheel thrice for good luck. There were only so many unnaturally lovely men she could live with without risking her sanity.