Cafe

Chapter 1

The last person you would expect to see thriving in Muggle London would be Draco Malfoy. But there he was sitting in a cafe drinking coffee with a smile on his face as he read the paper. He had learned to love London, mostly because he couldn't stand the thought of living in the wizarding world after he had graduated from Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry 5 years ago. He had tried for the first year after he was done with school, but he didn't have anything left there when his mother died: nothing and no one. 

Of course, he still had all of that pureblood money that he was raised on. He was the only heir to the Malfoy fortune, but he moved into the muggle part of London and had learned to love it there. 

He worked at the cafe that he was sitting in, well, he owned it. He bought it two years ago after going there every day and befriending the old woman that owned it. Her name was Margret, and she was being pushed by a major company who wanted to buy it from her, and she was more than happy to sell it to Draco so that it could stay as it had always been. The old woman still worked in the shop, and Draco even helped out from time to time. It was the place he felt most comfortable. 

Draco loved the fact that no one asked him about his past and why he never talked about his family. He loved that they accepted the fact that this seemingly rich kid just bought a cafe for the heck of it. He loved the patrons and had learned most of the regulars' names. He felt safe in that cafe, and he smiled to himself as he thought of how proud his mother would have been that he had moved on from the horrors that they had been through.

"Draco dear," Margret called from over the counter, and Draco looked up from the paper he was reading, "Could you help me back here for a little while? Jenny just called in and said she was sick and couldn't come in, and no one else was due to work today."

Draco folded his paper and stood up, and smiled at her. She was like his new mother, and at that moment, he thought that he would do anything for this woman. "Of course," Draco went behind the counter and washed his hands before taking a place behind the register and taking people's orders. The afternoon went smoothly at the cafe, and Draco was happy to have helped, though it had been the busiest days in a while, and Draco was quite tired when he made it to his flat a couple of blocks away. 

Hermione Granger was living a life completely opposite of Draco. She was thriving in the wizarding community and was, in fact, a leading figure these days. She worked endlessly at the Ministry, and it consumed her life. She focused all of her attention on making sure that every man, woman, and creature were created equal in these new times of peace. She frequented the Burrow to see the Weasleys and dropped by Harry and Ginny's house every once in a while as well. It was recently taking more and more persuading from her friends to get her to go anywhere other than her office. She was in the middle of creating a new law, and it had completely taken over her life. Other than that, though, she loved her life and still gave thanks for being a witch every day. It made her who she was, and she loved her life. 

"Mione," Ron was looking at his girlfriend impatiently that night. She had worked late into the night for the third day in a row, and Ron was getting tired of spending no time with the woman he loved. 

"Sorry Ron, I just got caught up in work. I hardly realized the time." He was standing in her office. Again. She knew that it must have been late for him to come to get her. 

"Please just come home. We were supposed to be at the Burrow hours ago. I went there by myself, and everyone has already left. You know George had big news for us, and you've missed it."

Hermione looked wide-eyed at Ron. Was it really Friday already. She had been so busy trying to get this latest law passed she hadn't realized the entire week that had gone by. George was giving a big announcement tonight, and she had promised Ron that she wouldn't be late. Now she had gone and missed it altogether. 

"Ron," She didn't have the words that were strong enough to apologize to him, "I..." 

"Nevermind, please just come home." Ron helped her up, and Hermione tried to smile at him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew she needed to spend more time with her family. She spent a significant amount of time, but she knew they planned most things around her to be involved, and when she could easily leave work at a reasonable hour and make it to something truly important, she usually missed it. There were no excuses, and she felt awful. 

They arrived home, and Hermione went into their bedroom and got changed into her pajamas. She wasn't tired at all. She had been working extensive hours, but she still couldn't sleep. The nightmares kept her awake most nights, and she figured tonight would be no different. She went to the other room and sat down at her desk, and started to write. It was the only thing that helped. In truth, it is why she worked so many hours. It kept her mind off the nightmares, not that anyone knew that. She was sure Ron just thought she was forgetful, or maybe she didn't care. But she did. She cared about this family more than anything.

"Hermione," Ron stood behind her. Tears rolling down his face, bag in hand. He couldn't do this anymore. He knew she needed to work on herself and figure everything out. He loved her too much to keep going through the motions. Hermione didn't want to turn around. He hadn't called her that for a long time, and she figured something bad would happen. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and turned to look at him. The tears were instant when she saw that he was crying as well. She had pushed him away. 

"I...I need to take some time so that you can figure out everything. You work so much. We don't spend any real-time together. You don't sleep anymore. I can't keep going like this," 

"Ron," Hermione stood up. She didn't blame him. She knew that they loved one another and that they would do anything for one another. Maybe he was right. They couldn't keep going like this. 

"I am sorry," Ron pulled her into a hug, and she started to really cry. This was all her fault. 

"Ron. I am the one that should be sorry. You have only ever been there for me, and I have not been giving you my 100 percent the last couple of months, and I...I should be the one that is sorry." Ron nodded and started to head out the door. He had already owled Harry and was going to stay with them for a while while he looked for a place. 

"Ron, you shouldn't have to leave your home. I'll go." 

"Hermione, you feel safe here, and I am not going to take that away from you. Just promise me you will try and sleep."

"I promise..." She felt herself welling up again, and she knew she was going to lose it any second.

"And can you do one more thing for me?"

"Anything Ron," 

"George. He is getting married to Angelina, and you have to be there. You can't miss it."

Hermione felt the tears start to fall down her face. That must have been the big news that he had wanted to share with everyone. "I promise I'll be there."

"I set the invitation on the counter. Hermione, if you aren't there...I...I don't know if this will work out." 

Hermione took a breath, and all she could manage was a nod. With that, Ron left, and Hermione sunk onto the floor. Maybe she was tired after all.