Two

The pub was an unassuming, stone fronted building tucked into a corner of an off-shoot alley, easy to miss if you didn't know where you were going. But inside was a different story. The dining hall was spacious, with tall beamed ceilings and scrubbed wooden floors, and scattered throughout were all manner of tables and chairs. Nothing seemed to match, it was almost as if someone had just found all of it and decided to go with it. The lighting was low and soft, appealing to Hermione as soon as walked in.

She was, of course, the first to arrive, as she almost always was, so she found a table in the back and waited for Harry and Ron.

The pub was ridiculously full, and, looking around, a strange feeling began to settle in her stomach. Something definitely wasn't right, but she couldn't pinpoint what. She simultaneously felt out of place and not, and it was starting to make her uncomfortable. She looked around nervously, wondering if maybe she should get out her wand when it hit her. Everything was Muggle. The trays weren't carrying themselves, the beers were being tapped manually, and there wasn't an outrageously ostentatious robe in sight. She now recalled hearing that the pub was a themed bar, but she never imagined the theme would be... Muggles.

Hermione relaxed as she realized that she fit right in, as she'd never got used to wearing robes outside of Hogwarts. After fretting about her outfit for over an hour before deciding to throw on a nice white blouse and a pair of simple black jeans and call it a day. She'd just begun to settle in and wonder where the server was when she spotted none other than Draco Malfoy, in full Muggle attire at that, heading straight for her table.

"Well, this is a surprise," he greeted, flashing her a disarmingly charming smile "Hello Granger," he added with a bow of his head.

"Hi, Malfoy," she greeted back. She had not seen him since the beginning of the week and almost found herself missing his presence around the Ministry halls.

"May I?" He signaled to the table and she nodded.

"I didn't know you were the pub-going type," he commented, sitting opposite her..

Hermione shook her head, hoping the tiny prick of heat she felt wasn't a blush. "Usually, no. This is actually my first time here. It's... interesting." She grimaced a bit, more than embarrassed at herself.

"Interesting?" he asked with a small cock of the head.

"Well… on the one hand, I'm glad the magical community is taking an interest in Muggle culture, but on the other," she paused and looked around doubtfully. "I'm just not sure if they're making fun of it, or genuinely enjoying it."

"Oh, it's real. I've been here every night since they opened," he assured her..

"Wow," she said, surprised with how impressed she was at the place. "Who would have thought a Muggle themed pub would be so popular with witches and wizards?" she wondered, still looking around.

Malfoy shrugged, but it was a much too confident move to be genuinely causal. "I would."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yes. It's my pub," he smirked, and for a moment she felt like she was back at school.

She narrowed her eyes. "You do not own this place," she challenged, her finger jabbing into the table.

He leaned back in his chair, giving her a confident look as if to say, 'Yes, I damn well do.'

She scoffed and shook her head. "It was your idea to have a Muggle themed pub in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Magical London?"

"I don't know why this is such a surprise, Granger.," he laughed, something light and nearly playful. "I am, after all, the Director of Magical Cooperation within the Department of Muggle Relations. Do we not work in the same floor?" he asked, adding the last bit in sarcastically.

"Ha ha," she deadpanned. "Not since your department apparently needed the entire tenth floor to yourselves and we were relocated to the ninth." She sighed. "My view was so much nicer up there," she complained petulantly.

"Oh yes. Sorry about that, we didn't anticipate such rapid growth. How about I get you a drink? On the house, to make up for your whole half a meter drop in view," he offered with a bright, saccharine smile, his perfect teeth shining out at her.

She crossed her arms and gave an affected sigh, complete with eye roll. "I guess I could let you make up for it." They both laughed and she relaxed, leaning forward on the table. "I'll take whatever you think it's best, you know your pub," she accepted and he stood up.

"Coming up."

Hermione watched him walk away. Who would have thought she'd ever be this friendly with Draco Malfoy? Certainly not her, but as it were, it hadn't taken her long at all to get used to his presence in the Ministry.

They had, at one point, worked on the same floor, crossing paths often in their respective lines of work, and he'd slowly but surely began to grow on her. He was like a fungus that just wouldn't go away. And at first, it irritated her to no end, how he seemed to have easily (and quite conveniently, she used to like to point out) overcome his distaste for her and Muggles alike. However as the months passed she saw that he was genuine in his search for a new path and she found herself not only commending him for it, but admiring him. It didn't help that in his journey through personal growth he'd somehow managed to find a personality she that could actually tolerate. Overall it had taken them some time, but now it seemed as if they'd both moved beyond their mutual dislike for each other and into some semblance of a friendship. In fact, in the last few months, she almost got the idea that he might even be... flirting with her.

She didn't notice, at first, as it was such a preposterous notion that it simply never crossed her mind. But when it became too coincidental to ignore she realized that she wasn't entirely opposed to it. The problem was, she was almost certain that was how Draco Malfoy behaved with everybody, so she was careful not to let her tiny crush get away from herself. After all, she also had Harry to deal with, and that was confusing enough on it's own.

He came back with a grin on his face and two identical, orange drinks. "For you," he said, placing one in front of her. He sat back down, but instead of reclaiming the chair across from her, he opted for the one right next to her, the one much closer.

"Thank you." She pulled the glass closer to her and took a sip. It was strong, but surprisingly sweet. "What is it?"

"I see you also don't frequent Muggle pubs," he joked, taking a drink of his own. "It's called Tequila Sunrise, I figured you'd like it."

She nodded and took another sip. "It's good." They were quiet for a moment, and Hermione couldn't stop her gaze from lingering on him, admiring the way Malfoy could work every outfit on existence, Muggle or wizard.

He smirked, straw between his lips as he took another drink. "So, you didn't come to sit here alone, did you?"

"Oh." For a moment there she had forgotten about her two best friends. "No, I'm waiting for-"

"Potter and Weasley? Don't worry, I'll get out of your hair." He stood up. "Not that it's easy, getting out of hair like yours." He winked and started walking away.

"You can stay," she blurted out and he turned around, cocking his head to the side. She was mortified at her eagerness. "If you want," she added casually, but it didn't help her any. "I'm sure they won't mind."

He seemed to consider it for a moment and then sat back down. "That might be fun." His smile was wicked and exciting and Hermione didn't know if she should roll her eyes or giggle. So she did a ridiculous mix of both.

She hid her embarrassment by taking another drink and the two of them spent another few moments in silence. Draco seemed to be relishing in her awkwardness.

"What's Potter up to these days?" he asked, finally breaking the silence and throwing her a bone. "I've…seen him around. He's always waiting for you." He sounded genuinely interested, and maybe it was the drink starting to take affect, but she heard herself telling way too much of the truth.

"Harry is... in between things, at the moment. He's had a lot of offers, as you can imagine, but none seem quite right for him, not right now, anyway. He's still figuring some things out," she explained, though she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, Malfoy or herself.

"That sounds like a gentle way of saying he's been slacking on his ass for the past two years." He sipped his drink, but held her gaze with intensity.

Hermione blushed and stuttered.

Malfoy put his palm up and shook his head. "Don't say anything, you don't have to explain Potter's behavior for him. I imagine someone like you has enough trouble handling this situation."

She frowned. "Someone like me?"

"Don't play coy, you know what I'm talking about. You're the first person in the Ministry and the last one to leave, everyday. You've probably got a bed down in your office," he teased.

She opened her mouth to protest, but spotted Harry and Ron approaching before she could say anything. Malfoy followed her line of sight, looking over his shoulder, and he turned back to her she gave him a meaningful look, hoping he'd get the hint and stop talking about Harry.

Ron seemed confused as he neared the table and Harry froze just behind him.

"Look who I ran into," she said, giving them a tentative smile as Malfoy stood up and turned to shake both of their hands.

"Potter. Weasley," he greeted.

"Hey," Ron replied still not entirely sure of the situation, but he accepted his hand. Harry, however, just nodded quietly.

Harry was quick to take the empty seat next to Hermione, leaving Ron with no choice but the one across from her. Hermione's first thought was that she hoped Ron wouldn't make a scene, being this close to Malfoy. Her second was that she was sandwiched right between the very two men she'd been battling feelings for. Perfect.

Already anxious and now worried about uncomfortable silences, Hermione rushed to speak. "So, Malfoy was just telling me that he owns this place."

Ron looked over at him, impressed. "Really? I've just said to Harry that my dad would go nutters in a place like this." He leaned forward, completely engaged in the conversation now. "Do you also serve food? Because we took him to a Muggle restaurant for his birthday last year and it was a complete disaster. An entire Obliviation team had to come in to fix the mess."

Draco gave and amicable laugh and nodded."Sure, we serve typical pub food, from two to ten. After that it's only drinks and peanuts. Actually-" He glanced at his watch. "-we're still on time, I can get us something to eat if you'd like. We have this new item that Americans call Jalapeño poppers. Want to try it?" Malfoy offered.

Hermione watched the whole exchange unravel, concerned that at any moment the universe might rip into pieces. Ron and Malfoy being genuinely civil, friendly even, without any threat of violence hanging over them? It was the end of times.

"Yeah, that sounds great," Ron said.

Malfoy stood. "Anything to drink?" he asked.

"Uh," Ron started, looking to Harry to see what he wanted, but Harry could do nothing but stare. "Two beers," Ron said to Malfoy, who nodded. "Thanks, mate."

Ron looked around at his friends as Malfoy disappeared into the crowd of the pub. Hermione looked from him to Harry, who seemed just as shocked as she was.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Harry was the first one able to form words.

"What?" Ron asked, completely unphased."Did you not want a beer?"

"You and Malfoy," Hermione accused. "You were talking. Being nice. You complimented his pub. He offered you food." Hermione couldn't believe Ron was not seeing what they were getting at.

Ron scoffed. "I didn't compliment the pub, I just said my dad would like it."

"You called him 'mate'!" Harry all but shouted, his eyes wide behind his glasses. He looked a bit crazed. Hermione might have had to stifle a laugh had she not been in just as much shock.

Ron looked at her, and then at Harry, then sighed. "He comes to the shop from time to time and we talk a bit," he explained, but they still just stared so he continued. "At first it was weird, but he seemed like he really wanted to make it up for being a git to us all those years, so I felt bad for him." He shrugged. "He's an alright bloke, I guess. Plus, he spends loads of money in the shop so…" He threw a hand up, signalling that he was done and that's all there was do say. His friends exchanged yet another look.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Harry asked.

"And why does Malfoy spend so much money in a joke shop?" Hermione added.

Ron shrugged. "I don't know, he has a lot of money and wants to give something back? I don't mind as long as he continues to be our star costumer."

Harry looked insistently at Ron. He definitely did not seem happy about Malfoy and Ron being on friendly terms, and even though she wasn't exactly surprised, she did think Harry was exaggerating.

Ron exhaled loudly. "I didn't tell you because I remember what you were like when Hermione told us they worked on the same floor and were 'friendly acquaintances' as she put it."

Hermione remembered too. Harry had reversed back to sixth year, behaving extremely paranoid about everything related to Malfoy, and he warned Hermione to stay away from him. Eventually he calmed down, as Hermione knew he would, and just seemed indifferent whenever Hermione mentioned anything about Malfoy.

"Yes, but you behaved the exact same way!" Harry defended.

"I know, I know. But now I see what she was talking about. He just wants people to stop seeing him as the person he was when he was younger. You don't have to like him, but there's no use in hating him, either. Percy's told me about all the things he's done in the Ministry to clean his name and make up for the past." Ron was being really calm about the whole thing and it made Hermione feel proud.

"That's very mature, Ron. And I agree, we can't keep blaming him for the mistakes he made when he was sixteen." She looked at Harry who still seemed apprehensive. Perhaps after spending some time with Malfoy Harry would start to realize that his assumptions about him were unfounded.

"I guess..." He shrugged one shoulder and sagged back on his chair.

"You'll see tonight that he's not as bad as you think. Try to have fun, Harry. That's why we're here." She ruffled his hair playfully and got a smile out of him.

"Besides, it looks like he can get us free food." Ron wiggled his eyebrows and Hermione giggled as Malfoy returned with the two beers, placing one each in front of Harry and Ron.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled, still not convinced of the whole thing.

"Cheers!" Ron toasted, holding up his bottle. The rest mimicked his actions, clinking their glasses together.

"Cheers!" They repeated and each took a sip of their drink.

"The food will be out shortly, I added something else too," Malfoy said. He took big drink from his slowly warming drink and Hermione couldn't help but stare as his tongue ran across his lips when he pulled away.

She shook her head slightly and cleared her throat in an attempt not to be too obvious. "So, Ron said you go to the joke shop regularly." She took another drink from her own glass, subconsciously matching Malfoy's pace. "May I ask why?" She leaned forward on the table.

"Oh," Malfoy considered. "Part of my job is coordinating the teams that inform Muggle parents of their child's magical abilities, and bringing a couple of wizarding toys and jokes really helps to break the ice and makes us appear a lot less threatening, so I always make sure we have plenty in stock."

Hermione nodded, not expecting that answer, although she didn't know what she expected to begin with because the thought of Draco Malfoy buying Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products was absolutely ridiculous. She had to admit, though, it was very clever. She'd always thought wizards had really rudimentary and outdated methods of dealing with Muggles, and she was glad things were starting to change.

"Wow, that's," Ron started, setting his beer down. "I mean that's really great to know that our products are welcoming little kids into the magical world. You should have told us, we can give you a discount for buying wholesale… and for a good cause!"

"Well, we're still in a trial phase, but as soon as we can make it official I'll swing by with the paperwork and we can make a deal?" Malfoy asked, holding a confident hand out for Ron to shake.

"Yeah, sure," Ron agreed, slapping his hand into Malfoy's.. "But you know we won't ask you for the paperwork, so if you want to come by sooner, just do it." Ron took a big gulp of his beer and Malfoy raised his glass in grateful acknowledgement.

They drank quietly and Hermione started feeling the soft lightheadedness of alcohol in her system. It was nice, the four of them getting on like this.

"I, um..." Harry started, adjusting his glasses and getting everyone's attention. Hermione tensed, wondering if the night was about to take a dive. "I read in the Prophet that you're no longer waiting until the kids are eleven to let them know. Is that true?"

Malfoy's eyes lingered on Harry for a second and then he cleared his throat. "Not entirely, but we are assessing each case individually now. Our research has shown that some people need more time to adjust to the idea than others, and some don't even want to accept it at all. So, the sooner those children know why they're different, the better the chance we can change their parent's mind. Sometimes it's easier to let the parents know as soon as the child exhibits signs of magic, instead of obliviating them every couple of months for eleven years."

"That makes sense," Hermione agreed and Malfoy smiled in the slightest. His eyes seemed to bore into whatever person he was talking to, almost singling them out.

"I'm glad you think so. Can I get you another drink?"

She looked down and realized with surprise that her glass was empty. "Oh don't worry, when you finish yours I can get us both another round," she offered.

A waiter walked up then, carrying a plate of fish and chips and another that Hermione guessed were the jalapeño things.

Ron dived in first, stuffing a whole jalapeño in his mouth and groaning in delight. "This is amazing," he mumbled with his mouth full. There was the Ron everyone was used to.

Harry and Hermione both tried it. Harry seemed to enjoy it, although not as much as Ron.

"It's too spicy." She grimaced, and took a sip from Harry's beer.

"Too much of a wimp, Granger?" Malfoy teased. Even though there wasn't much malice in his voice she instinctively sat up straighter and raised her chin.

"Why aren't you eating, then?" She pushed the plate of jalapeño poppers towards him.

"Not my type of food," he answered a little too quickly.

"Too much of a snob, Malfoy?" She smiled, very much pleased with herself, and he smirked. She could see now how much he enjoyed this type of banter, and knowing there wasn't any lingering animosity behind it allowed her to like it, too. It seemed to be one of the only things she enjoyed at work anymore.

Well, that, and seeing Harry at the end of the day.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" asked Harry, gently pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You look a bit flushed."

"She's alright, Potter. It's probably just the alcohol, right?" Malfoy answered before she could, leering at her. Did he know what he was doing to her?

"Yes, probably." She ate a few chips to occupy herself.

"What was she having?" Harry asked, leaning over to peer into her empty glass.

"Tequila Sunrise," Malfoy answered, looking on in amusement.

Harry frowned and sat back. "What's in it?"

Malfoy stretched his arm across the table and towards Harry, offering up his own drink. "I had the same, try it," he insisted.

Harry looked at the drink and then up at Malfoy. He grabbed the straw and slowly took a sip, his eyes never leaving Malfoy's, who watched him curiously.

Hermione stared at the scene in awe, time was moving slower as her eyes drifted from Malfoy to Harry and back again, feeling the atmosphere in the room shift dramatically. It was suddenly heavy, with a feeling of tension that she couldn't quite explain.

She remembered that Ron was there too, and thought that he must be as astonished as she was. But when she forced her eyes to look away from Harry and Malfoy, she found Ron completely focused on devouring the jalapeños without dying.

"It's good," Harry confirmed, his voice slightly strained. "So, it's a Muggle drink, right?"

Malfoy nodded. "Usually associated with witches. Women, that is. But I never understood how a drink could be feminine or masculine." He took his glass back and continued to drink, slowly.

"How did you know that a Muggle themed pub would be this successful?" Harry asked.

"Ron, can you help me with the next round?" Hermione interrupted, standing up and heading towards the bar without waiting for him. She had to remove herself from the situation before she had an outburst.

Ron followed her and reached the bar just as she finished the drink order. "And one more plate of jalapeño poppers," Ron called, catching the man as he left to fix the drinks.

Hermione took a few deep breaths, eyes fixed on the table across the room. Harry and Malfoy were still talking, comfortably so, and she couldn't understand a thing. Harry had just been so appalled at Ron's congenial conversation with the man, and now here he was drinking from his class and carrying on like old pals. She knew they'd urged him to be friendly, but this was taking it a bit too far.

"I think I'm gonna bring my dad here next weekend," Ron said, unaware of her internal conflict. "But just the two of us, it'll be like our father-son thing."

"That's nice," she commented. Harry was smiling at something Malfoy had said.

"And then, after he gets used to this, I can take him to a real Muggle place."

Hermione snapped back to reality. She was being rude to Ron, even if he wasn't noticing. "I think that's best. I can come along if you want, to the Muggle place, I mean. You know, explain everything and help make it easier for him." She was trying her best to sound interested, but Malfoy was over there smirking and she wanted to know what was just said.

"Yeah, thanks. He'll be so happy." They both smiled and then the bartender appeared with their drinks.

"I'll get this one," she said and paid, taking her and Malfoy's drinks.

"I'll wait for the food and take the beers, don't worry," he told her.

When Hermione reached the table, both Harry and Malfoy stopped everything and looked up at her. Now Harry was the one who looked flushed and she guessed it wasn't because of the beer.

"Here." She placed one of the drinks in front of Malfoy. He nodded, his unbelievably blonde hair brushing his forehead and making her lose concentration. She sat down next to Harry again.

"Thanks Granger," Malfoy smiled."So, how is the dull research going?"

"Well, it's-"

"I literally had to carry her to her bed yesterday because she'd spent eight hours in the library without eating or drinking." Harry had interrupted her and told on her. The nerve.

"Hey, now. Wait a minute-" she started, but before she could defend herself, Malfoy spoke.

"Did you? Well, I can honestly say I'm not surprised at all. Sometimes I have to stay after hours in the ministry and she's the only one around, wandering the dark hallways like you lot did at Hogwarts." He looked at both of them for the last part.

"We did not wander the halls at Hogwarts." She shook her head and Harry joined her.

"Please, do you think I'm stupid? You were always out of bed after hours under that invisibility cloak of yours, Potter." They both opened their mouths to protest, but Malfoy held up a hand."I'm not saying that I wouldn't have done the same if I had had one, but it was still unfair to the rest."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, trying to hide their smiles. There was no denying that they had certain privileges thanks to Harry's inheritances.

"See? You know I'm right." He smiled when they didn't protest, then leaned in. "Now, there was something that I always wondered about. Rumor has it that you also had some sort of map that showed you where everyone in the castle was, at all times..." he trailed off when he saw the guilty smiles on their faces.

Malfoy shook his head in disbelief and Harry and Hermione lost it, laughing out loud and leaning into each other. Hermione wiped the corners of her eyes in order to see Malfoy properly. He looked amused at their reaction.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked, showing up with the food and beers.

"Malfoy just found out about the Marauders Map," Harry supplied, still laughing a bit.

"Oh, yeah. My brothers gave it to Harry in our third year," He said as he took his place again, popper already in one hand.

"But before that, it was my father's."

"Wait," Malfoy put his drink down and stared at them incredulously. "Are you telling me that this map has been passed down through generations of Gryffindors and no one else even knew if it was real or not? And you think Slytherin is the selfish house?"

"Yeah, like you and your mates would have shared that with the Hufflepuffs?" Hermione countered.

"We would have at least shared it with other Slytherins. I bet only the Royal Gryffindors know about this conveniently sneaky map."

Ron barked a laugh. "Royal Gryffindors?"

"Of course, anyone close enough to the Golden Trio gets to be a part of the Royal family." Malfoy gave Hermione his best seated curtesy, hand flair and all. Harry snorted.

Ron laughed harder and slammed his hand onto the table, getting everyone's attention. "Hermione, tell him about the time turner."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Malfoy stood, his chair nearly tipping over, and began to walk away, completely done with them.

Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn't control their laughter as they called Malfoy back to the table.

He walked back reluctantly. "You're all ganging up on me. Next time I'm bringing reinforcements. We have our secrets too, even if they don't involve illegal help by the entire wizarding world." He rolled his eyes and sat down, almost, almost pouting.

"A Gryffindor - Slytherin reunion. That'd be interesting. Do you think they'd be up for it?" Harry questioned Malfoy.

"It depends on who you ask. Theo would find it interesting as well, Blaise would hesitate depending on the venue, Pansy wouldn't care as long as there's alcohol involved and Daphne... well, she might need a little convincing. But we can set it up." He leaned back, looking confident. If he was this cocky without his mates, Hermione couldn't imagine what he'd be like with them.

Harry nodded. "Alright then, but we get to bring Neville and Ginny, otherwise is three against five."

"Against?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Do you think we're going to be dueling, Potter?"

Harry looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, no, but..."

Malfoy tapped his chin dramatically. "I don't know who I'd rather beat, you or Granger?"

"Hey," Ron looked offended. "What about me?"

"Don't feel too bad, Weasley. I just get a bigger thrill knowing how upset these two get when they lose." He waved a hand in their direction Hermione's mouth dropped in indignation and Harry simply shook his head profusely.

After that, a very heated discussion ensued, in which Harry and Hermione tried and failed to show that were not sore losers, and Malfoy countered every argument, with the help of a very sorry Ron, who knew first hand what they were like.

The last thing Hermione remembered with perfect clarity was Malfoy bringing her a third Tequila Sunrise.

A/N: Beta work by the lovely Adrenne ( u/6865953/0bscurum)