I spent the next two weeks in a state of depression. Even working two jobs, I had no hope of keeping up with bills and student loans. I couldn't pay for the new semester which meant I would have to put my degree on hold for who knew how long. I couldn't believe things had gotten to this point! I cursed myself for not paying attention to opportunities I had in high school. Scholarships would have taken me a long way through my Master's program, but I hadn't had the foresight to understand that and apply myself. I was more concerned with simply making it through in one piece.

Rain was pounding down onto the store when I clocked into the coffee shop at 4:45 am and everything was dark and ominous. The place seemed smaller than it had when I started there 8 months ago. The lights were off and the wooden chairs were stacked upside down on the tables. The bakery was empty and all was quiet, no electronics buzzing and humming in the background. I sighed, the sound enormous in the silence and echoing slightly in the room. My footsteps had the same effect as I made my way slowly to the front desk to turn on the coffee machines and the register. I went to the back room to flip on the lights and grab the breakfast sandwiches out of the freezer and open the bagel packages. I brought them to the front and stocked the bins before grabbing my apron to start on the baked goods. It was relaxing to work alone in the mornings like this. It gave me a break from the chaos that was everyday life and allowed me to focus solely on the task at hand without interruption or worry. It had been my ritual since I was promoted to shift manager. Most of the other workers dreaded the opening shift but I reveled in the freedom that hour before I unlocked the doors for the general public granted me. It was a wondrous thing to watch the shop come alive every morning under my hands and it gave me an odd sort of satisfaction when I left in the afternoons to see the supplies in need of restocking. The Magician's Café wasn't the most popular coffee shop, but it held a rustic, homey appeal that kept customers coming. Students came to have a hot drink while they studied and the neighborhood residence loved to support the college kids who worked the shop. In the mornings, there was nothing but rushing patrons all with someplace to be and appointments and jobs to get to. In the afternoons, friends met one another and reminisced, laughing loudly over steaming cups of chai lattes or espressos. The evenings were quieter, more subdued with the bubble of hushed conversation in the chairs next to the lit fireplace or at the tables over a friendly game of scrabble. It was my favorite place to be, no matter what time of day.

After setting the chairs upright by their respective tables and washing everything down, I pulled a fresh batch of blueberry scones from the oven and set to making myself my morning cuppa to enjoy while they cooled. I walked to unlock the front doors and stopped short when I saw a figure standing in the downpour through the large window. The figure, a man in a light, knee-length navy pea coat, the collar turned up against the wind and rain with black slacks underneath, had shockingly blond hair. He was trim and tall and when my eyes caught his I was startled. It was Draco Malfoy. He smirked, one side of his lips curling up higher than the other in a way that made it the most alluring thing I had ever seen, even if his soaking hair shattered the illusion of his magnificence. I gulped as I unlocked and opened the door to let him in. He stepped through the thresh hold and glanced around in rapt fascination, his wet shoes and coat leaving a puddle of dirty water on the floor beneath him.

"I've never been to a real café before so when I found out you worked here, I simply couldn't resist the experience," he said as he inspected the dark brick walls and hardwood floor.

"How did you find out I worked here and what do you want?" I asked, frowning at him. I had hoped to never have to see him again after my embarrassment at his hands.

He must have sensed my blackening mood because he looked me in the eyes, the intensity of his gaze boring into me as if to expose every fiber of my being for his thorough examination. "I needed to speak with you," was all he said.

I wanted to be defensive. I didn't want to talk with him about anything. What I wanted to do was throw him out of my shop and into the pouring rain, but instead I sighed. He had made the effort to come to me in bad weather and that at least deserved a hot drink.

"Come on then. Let me make you something and we can chat. The morning rush won't start for another hour at least."

"One tall, white chocolate turtle mocha with almond milk, extra whip, and two shots of espresso," I said as I set Draco's drink on the table. Someone had a sweet tooth and extravagant taste, but that didn't exactly surprise me. I slid into the seat across from him. "You do realize that this is the most annoying drink anyone could ever order, don't you?"

He had the decency to look taken aback. "Really? It sounds so simple though."

"It sounds like a magic potion."

"Well, this is the Magician's Café, isn't it?"

I laughed a little at that which made him smile. "I suppose it is."

We sat in awkward silence for a time, Draco sipping his coffee while I fiddled with my name tag. He seemed nervous to broach whatever subject he'd come to discuss which was a bit out of character from what I'd seen of him. Draco was the insanely self-assured and confident type and I'm sure he would have no problems talking to someone about any number of tricky topics with ease and tact.

"About the other week," he began, "I didn't mean to call you out so harshly. In the moment, it seemed like the only way to get my point across and reflecting on that, I can see now that it was not the most appropriate way of handling your situation."

I stared at him and without thinking said, "No shit."

He winced slightly. "I sincerely apologize if I have caused you any distress or embarrassment by my actions."

I sighed and looked down at my hands. "Look… I don't think your intentions were wrong. You were trying to be nice, even if you went about it the wrong way." He nodded and opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off and continued. "But, calling me out like that in front of everyone was embarrassing and rude. You made a scene and I don't appreciate personal information like that being handled less than delicately the way you did."

That wasn't quite all. I had never really cared who knew about my non-existent sex life, but there was something about the situation and Draco's reaction that made something under my skin burn with shame. The way he had looked at me, right before he pulled his fingers out of my arse I might add, was one of incrimination. It was almost like disgust came after the realization and that's what made me upset. Having worked that out, I took a deep breath. There really wasn't anything to lose. "Plus, I was really offended by the way you left me. Would it really be so bad to fuck a virgin?"

At that moment, the chime above the door jingled. We both looked over to see a woman in a long leopard print skirt and a black coat hurrying inside the store. I forced a smile and stood up to move behind the counter to take her order. I took a few extra seconds while making her coffee (medium, regular with a splash of whole milk and five sugars), to calm my shaking hands. There was no possible way I wanted an answer to the question I had just asked Draco and I felt foolish for opening my big mouth and causing unnecessary trouble for both of us. I thanked the woman for stopping by and she gave me her change as a tip. Too soon I found myself without an excuse for not returning to the table to finish the awkward but unavoidable conversation.

I had barely seated myself before Draco started upon me angrily. "I never said there was anything wrong with you being a virgin, but surely you can see why it might be problematic for me given my line of work. I didn't want you to have regrets about your first time being without emotion and affection and end up hating yourself for it."

Something inside me snapped at his excuse and I found my anger boiling inside my veins. "Oh, so now you're protecting my purity? What do you think you are, some sort of knight in shining armor? I wasn't a damned damsel in distress, I didn't need your rescuing!"

My statements only served to make him angrier. "You were naïve about the entire situation and I didn't want you reading into anything and becoming attached to me."

"I knew exactly what I was getting myself into! And that doesn't sound like you were trying to help me, it sounds you just wanted to protect yourself. Like hell would I get attached to an arse like you!"

He sighed heavily and hung his head in his hands as I crossed mine against my chest to keep from making wild gestures. "Just… with what I do, sex means nothing. There's no feelings, no emotions for the other person, only some primal objectification. We use each other for other people's benefit; people we don't even know, people who are as emotionless about us as we are about each other. I didn't want you losing something besides your virginity through that. That is to say, even though I sincerely wanted to fuck you senseless, I owed it to you to allow you to have something a little more meaningful than just a good buggering. That's all I meant to do."

I sat there, shocked. I hadn't expected that kind of response and his words touched me. I had a feeling it had more to do with something in his past than he was letting on, but it struck me just the same. To be plain, I hadn't thought about my actions besides knowing porn meant sex. I hadn't stopped to consider what that might do to me or how it might make me feel afterwards. Draco had been worried about my wellbeing and protected me the only way he knew how to at that moment; by rejecting me completely. That method had hurt me, but it had essentially ensured that I wouldn't try shooting porn again until I no longer had what I thought he had considered to be an unattractive affliction. A rush of gratitude went through me and I chuckled as the angry air between us dissipated.

"You could have just said that."

He looked up at me and smiled a bit sadly. "I didn't know how to say it at the time, I'm sorry." We sat there for a while longer in silence. "Man, this is shit," he said, getting up suddenly and going to the door.

"Wai-" I stammered, but he was already outside, the door banging shut behind him. I sat there, stunned. What the hell had just happened?

I felt bad leaving Harry sitting there like that, but I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to clear my head and calm down. My reasons sounded like excuses to my own ear and I felt stupid saying them out loud but Harry seemed to understand their meaning. I was surprised he'd even decided to listen to me, although his spitfire nature didn't hesitate to contradict me and convey his disbelief and hurt. I wasn't used to people saying anything against me, usually my charm took care of everything and my general sexual nature was a bit hard to ignore, yet he had ignored it or hadn't even been aware of it and he certainly had no qualms about calling me out for my idiotic behavior. This irritated and intrigued me in equal measures. There was something about his innocent nature that made me want to protect him and make him come apart. The intensity of those feelings scared me to no end and I knew I couldn't be around him. And yet… I couldn't leave him alone.

That's how I found myself shivering in the chill morning air outside The Magician's Café once again a few days later. I breathed into my hands, which were covered by designer leather gloves that were specifically engineered to look elegant and be useless against the cold. My ears and nose were red and freezing because I hadn't found a scarf that went well with my shirt and hats ruined my perfectly sculpted hair so I never wore them. I made it a point to always look my best and today especially I wanted to look immaculate. I took deep breaths which burned my lungs because of the temperature and when I released them, a stream of steam escaped my lips. I never felt nervous. I had left that emotion behind years ago, but now I felt a churning in my stomach that felt somewhere between the cliché butterflies or nausea.

I didn't know how I would approach Harry. I peered at him through the large front window. He was wearing the same apron donned a few days before when I had come in, and he was rushing about behind the front counter, taking orders and then running off to the machine to fulfill them or reaching into the bakery display to grab a pastry or a scone. Everything seemed hectic but he looked at peace and happy. He was a smooth-running machine, facing everyone with a brilliant smile and a 'good morning'. He laughed at something an older patron said and I felt a tightening in my chest. The man had to be 40 at least, but he was tall and had a good physic. He leaned onto the counter and spoke again as he handed him a bill, this time making Harry blush a deep shade of scarlet, the color reaching the tips of his ear and crawling down his slender neck. I felt the rage boil inside me and it gave me the courage I needed to step through the door. The bell above me chimed, announcing my arrival and Harry looked away from the man and glanced at the door before going completely still. The man turned around to look at what had spooked him and I felt a bit of confidence at having successfully interrupted his flirtations. I held my head high and put on my best smirk as I made my way to the counter. Harry said nothing as he watched me approach, but the older man raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge. Despite my earlier burst of confidence, I took another deep breath before sticking out my hand to Harry, who stared at it before looking back up to my face in obvious confusion.

"Hello, my name is Draco Malfoy and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," I said. I tried to smile brilliantly but it came off rather shy.

Harry smiled and took my hand. "The pleasure is all mine, Draco. I'm Harry." He looked me up and down and smirked and I felt my skin tingle. It was the kind of smirk that would have gotten any man into a number of compromising positions with him and he wasn't even aware of his appeal. "You look like the kind of guy who wants something special. How about a tall white chocolate turtle mocha with almond milk, extra whip, and two shots of espresso? That sound fancy enough for your taste?"

I laughed. "Actually, I'd like to try something new, something a little easier to craft. But I've never been here before and I'm not sure what to order. Care to give any suggestions?" I had felt a bit bad after he told me that my usual drink was a pain to make, so I planned on getting something simpler. The trouble was, I knew nothing about coffee.

Harry seemed to realize and softened, saying "How about a caramel macchiato with almond milk? It has espresso and while it's usually pretty strong and not sweet, the shot of caramel gives it good flavor, especially when combined with a splash of sweetened almond milk."

I hesitated. I was never good about trying new things, especially when it ruined my routines, but I trusted Harry. He did do this for a living after all. "Why not? That sounds good."

He smiled and rang me up. The older gentleman had gone to sit at a table, leaving Harry alone for now. When Harry gave me my receipt, I handed him a small piece of folded paper. He took it and, after giving him another smile, I took my coffee and was gone.