Chapter 1
Art: @mariamarcoss
All Hermione wanted was to come to the book bar, read her book, sip her tea and not worry about the stresses of her adult life. Clearly that had been too much to ask from the universe today. She wanted one day free of thinking on what her next step should be.
She did not want to think about her current situation in their friend circle. The latest awkward episode the next time she visited the Burrow. Ron had agreed that their breakup had been amicable. After four years of trying and exceptionally failing to reinvent their friendship into a romantic one, Hermione was at her wit’s end. Ron had agreed it was for the best, yet every time she had gone to Sunday dinner since, he sulked in his seat while staring at her, moving his food around the plate like someone had kicked his dog.
It had become so unbearably awkward she had foregone the last few Sunday dinners since, opting instead for take out from the muggle Thai place down the street from her apartment. There was something peaceful and serene about sharing pad-thai with Crookshanks while reading.
Hermione also did not want to think about work, the Ministry’s incessant desire to make everything in the wizarding world harder. Its metaphorical fingers tightly wrapped around pureblood tradition, refusing to let go despite it being proven time and time again to be detrimental to the wizarding community. She was drowning in red tape over the measures she was trying to pass for Elf rights, as well as the current situation involving unicorn blood harvesting taking place in the outskirts of wizarding England, (a loophole involving less than one gram quantities). Then there were also the giants who were still forced to hide in the shadows rather than face society as a whole. The initiatives she was trying to pass for impoverished wizarding communities around England. The well off families always boasted about wanting to support causes, but she had found if big names were not behind said initiatives all that voiced support had no actual financial back up.
Shacklebolt entertained her efforts as far as the public eye extended, beyond Ministry doors however it was less “anything for our heroes” and more, “that’s a great thought Ms. Granger, let’s have a meeting to discuss” followed by his office door closing. Those meetings continued to be pushed off, or cut short almost every single time. Even when she was given the time to present her findings, and supporting points it all boiled down to, “I’ll bring it up to the Wizengamot.” Where it drowned in a sea of boisterous outbursts of disagreeing opinions. She found it hard not to take their inability to look beyond their own noses as a personal failure or lack of professional ability on her part, when they failed to help her affect change.
Another blow to her professional pride, was one Draco Malfoy and the family’s incessant need to be involved in all things Ministry. Two days ago, when Shacklebolt walked into her office with “great news!” Hermione had not expected it to be, “The Malfoy Trust has decided to fund your….”
He stopped to look at his paper, “Healing Brew Initiative,” he finished. Looking back up at her, the smile on his face looked like he’d provided her with another Order of Merlin, or the cure for world hunger.
She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as he continued, “The Lady Malfoy heard of your initiative to provide St. Mungos with those hard to find potions and rare ingredients for their community outreach programs. She would like to be of immediate assistance to your cause!” His tone indicated there would be no denying Lady Malfoy’s request. What he failed to mention however, this assistance would entail working closely with Draco Malfoy, the CFO and heir to the Malfoy Trust.
Sure it was great to have such a huge financial asset like the Malfoy vaults at her disposal, but at what cost and to what end? Despite her aid in Draco’s trial ten years prior, she maintained herself at arm’s distance where the Malfoy family and heir was concerned. A history she chose to move past every day, but only after burying it deep, not working through it. A mind healer one day would make thousands of galleons off that. Maybe if she was lucky, it wouldn’t be Draco Malfoy bothering with such a small thing, perhaps they’d send a representative, Salazar she only hoped.
So yes, professionally frustrated and personally exasperated by all of the above, Hermione wanted one day, to ignore all adult responsibility and rejoice in just being lost in a story.
So, this morning she had woken up, determined to have a day to tackle the long list of books she wanted to read but never made time for. She also felt inspired to write, had been for some time, but as aforementioned, time was precious and her days of time-turning were long behind her. She pet Crookshanks on her way to the bathroom and got ready. Wanting to make every second of her day of respite count she quickly packed her laptop, her ipad, a few books and headed to her favorite reading bar.
As she had walked through the French door entrance of Tonk’s Tome Tavern, she was welcomed by the smell of butterbeer, tea, and coffee mixed with fresh parchment and ancient books, an odd mix which immediately had her feeling comforted. The quiet chatter of people discussing the latest releases, or stories in general, there was no place like it.
Being here always made her aware of that empty feeling in her heart, yearning for a place that should but didn’t exist, a home yet undiscovered. A hole Hermione dedicated her adult life to fill, with work advocating on causes that would benefit others, guiding her friends and being whatever resource they needed to move forward with their goals. However, places like Tonk’s, This was as close to home as Hermione had ever had, for a place she’d never known in her adult life.
“Mione!” Tonk’s call bringing her back to the present, “your booth is ready for you!” She pointed her head towards the coffee bar where a cozy velvety Gryffindor red booth was tucked away in the corner. A cup of steaming earl gray on the table top, accompanied by what Hermione knew to be a freshly baked blueberry scone. The wards at the reading bar always let Tonks know when Hermione was near, and it was this minute gesture that evoked immense feelings in Hermione, warming her heart.
Tonks had customized the bar to the comforts of all bookish clientele. It was open seven days a week, day and night time. The walls were decorated with floor to ceiling shelves, books as high as the eye could see, reading nooks interlaced in between them. The room charmed to be much bigger than it appeared to be from the outside. Properly employed elves, to Hermione’s delight, came and went about assisting customers, finding and recommending books and literary works as needed. Quills and books floated about coming and going from the shelves.
Whether it was rain or shine outside, inside the bookstore the ambience was always perfect. When it was cold and rainy, the bar would provide a breezy, sunny, blue cloudless sky for its readers emulating a beautiful spring day. On winter snowy days, its multiple fireplaces crackled to life warming the space. The aroma of warm hot toddies and fresh snickerdoodles wafting in the air, reading booths would be transfigured into giant bean bags further adding to the cozy atmosphere.
Once seated in her booth, she basked in the sweet aroma of bergamot and lemon from the earl gray tea taking a sip, not too hot nor cold, the perfect temperature. The scone melting in buttery and savory goodness on her tongue, the tartness of the blueberries enhancing the flavor. Her booth was located in the best corner of the store providing an entire perfect view of the enchanted ceiling reminiscing the sky above. It was also flanked by two floor to ceiling glass windows, which were charmed to adjust the amount of natural light at all times.
Moxy, the elf in charge of the actual bar greeted her, “Hello Mistress Granger, wonderful to see you today!” She was a shorter elf than average, with tiny droopy elf ears, her hair decorated today with two high pigtails with bows that had book decals on them. She was wearing a shirt that her small stature turned into a dress. Hermione had gotten it for her last Christmas, it read “Elfin’ around with my books!” Hermione had charmed an elf on it surrounded by books below the saying, Moxy had loved it very much.
“Hi Moxy! It's very nice to see you! I hope today has not been too busy!” she replied to the cheerful elf, graciously adding, “thank you very much for my tea and scone, they were amazing” as she bowed her head slightly, the elf much like Tonks, always ensured Hermione was satisfied.
Moxy clenched her little fists and shook them with happiness, “Very well Mistress, please do let me know if that changes. Also, some of the new releases you were looking for are available. Would you like me to gather them for you?” she asked.
“No thank you Moxy, I think for now I am going to read for a while and then later I’ll go in search of them and see what else I can find,” she replied, Moxy smiled again and left.
Hermione proceeded to pull her book out and settled into her latest story, a science fiction by Martha Wells, All Systems Red . A series about a sentient robot security unit desperately trying to find itself amidst a sea of human life saving challenges and corporate turmoil. Highly informative and comical, Hermione loved to get lost in the technology of it all.
After what felt like minutes but had actually been hours, she finished her book and, noticing the stiffness in her body, decided it was time to peruse the aisles for her books and stretch her legs. On her way she ran into Tonks doing inventory in one of the aisles, “Hey bookworm!” She greeted Hermione with a winking smile on her face, and cat ears she wasn’t sure weren't real.
Every day she was able to spend with Tonks was a gift. She almost died at the Battle of Hogwarts at the hand of her very own aunt had Lupin not stepped in at the last second and deflected the killing curse.
After the war they had grown close, Tonks approached her with the idea of the reading bar, and Hermione latched on, the project helping both of them focus on the future and moving on from the hell they had just survived. It was Tonk's bar that Hermione got the idea from to travel for a year, a way to sample the world surrounding them so she could bring it back, and help cultivate a space immersed with life beyond wizarding England. Through the trials and hardships of creating something new, Hermione and Tonks forged a valuable friendship and relationship with each other. Tonks was the closest thing to a sister Hermione had ever known.
She loved the days she would come and see Tonk’s newest fashion trends. Looking at her hair today was like looking at a kaleidoscope of colors, from root to tip Tonk’s hair was silver but at different angles colors would peek through. Pinks, blues, reds and oranges, greens and yellows that would be highlighted with the different movements of her curls or shine with the sun.
“I just put away a new delivery of muggle releases! You should check them out!” Tonks told her, gesturing towards Hermione’s favorite sections, fantasy and science fiction.
Tonks had a vast selection of both magical and muggle books alike, another reason Hermione loved the space. She could get lost in these shelves for hours looking for the next story she could fall in love with. The next research book that would help push forward one of her many initiatives.
As she walked through, she found some research books on potion making, Libatius Borages’ Advanced Potion Making and ZD Grubbly-Planks’ Advanced Potions Research: Uncharted Brews . Satisfied with her “homework” selections Hermione moved over to her favorite corner, muggle fantasy and science fiction.
Being immersed in the wizarding world, some fantasy books made Hermione giggle, the way they saw magic was indeed comical at times. Yet it was always fascinating to see the different creative ways they imagined magic systems. Reading muggle fantasy was both for pleasure and research, who knew what ideas could be adapted to the actual wizarding world.
Walking down the aisles, her fingers lightly touching the book spines, she was pleased to find releases she was looking for like A Shadow Crown , and Bookshop and Bonedust , both filled with magic of another kind. Her books floating neatly behind her as she continued looking, when she spotted high above her a must have sci-fi release, Nona The Ninth , a space opera with necromancers. She stepped back to get a better look and accio it to her when she bumped rather abruptly into someone she hadn’t noticed behind her.
“Oh Merlin, I’m so sorry” she apologized quickly as she turned around, to come face to face with none other than Draco bloody Malfoy himself. She froze in her tracks, eyes wide, her books following her movements collided with them both. Making matters much more awkward with a raucous commotion as the books hit the ground. She was immediately rattled, this could not be worse , she thought, yet life had a funny way of proving her wrong. As she bent over to pick up her books, so did he, their foreheads harshly bumping against each other.
“Oh gods!-""-Aagh” they both exclaimed, rising and wincing from the impact.
“I’m so sorry Malfoy” she said, quickly rearranging her books with her wand while rubbing her forehead. They were not scheduled to meet officially at the Ministry until Wednesday next week to iron out the details of the trust’s involvement with Hermione’s initiative. She had been dreading seeing him then, yet here he stood, in one of her favorite places on earth. She couldn’t quite decipher if this would make her anxiety better, or worse.
Worse, definitely worse, universe one, Hermione zero.
“Granger? Are you ok?” his eyes focused on her, “are your books ok?” he asked, with a soft charming smile in her direction while rubbing his own forehead.
Since when is his smile charming?!
“Yes, yes I am, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there! I didn’t mean to!” she continued apologizing, wiping her suddenly sweaty hands on her jeans, she knew her face was reddening if the warmth she was feeling all over was any indication.
Draco Malfoy certainly had changed, he still had the same deep blue eyes from childhood, but age had done him good, so good. His silver hair was a bit longer than she remembered but cut to enhance his handsome features, the longer pieces framed highlighting high cheekbones, before being tucked behind his ears.
At what point she began to think of Malfoy as handsome was news to her. Yet she couldn’t stop staring at his strong jawline with a meticulously trimmed silver beard. His chest was muscular with wide set shoulders under a charcoal gray wool sweater, biceps taking up all the room available in the sleeves. Being this close she couldn’t help but smell him, fresh sandalwood, with subtle undertones of leather, musk and spice. If she had to guess perhaps maybe some lavender as well.
She immediately snapped back to reality and out of what she could only have guessed looked like a desperate woman ogling. As she suddenly realized those strong arms were coming at her. He placed his hands on both of her shoulders, hands that looked, so big and, manly, compared to the last time she had seen them, seen him.
Who is this man and what did he do with skinny lean Draco Malfoy?
“Granger, are you here with us?” he asked jokingly, the smirk on his face looked out of place in the face of the Draco Malfoy she remembered. It was hard to reconcile the very tall, and muscular man before her with the thin, tormented boy from ten years prior. But then, they had been kids forced to fight a war they had no business being in. The price of winning came at a high cost for all of them, with no side left unscathed. After all it was said and done, awards given out and trials concluded, Hermione had taken off, a year to run. Traveling the world for research, but also trying to forget all she had seen, and done.
Once she returned to London, she finished her seventh year at Hogwarts with outstanding N.E.W.T.s and focused on her ministry career, trying desperately to ignore all things death eaters, Golden Trio and Voldemort alike. She focused twice as hard to avoid anything involving the Malfoys or their movements as well. During those early years, thoughts of them usually ended with her covered in sweat, hands shaking, as she was pulled back to a hard floor, her burning throat raw from screams that went unheard, Bellatrix on top of her carving her skin and soul for a lifetime.
She nodded her head coming back to the present, “Malfoy! Yes yes, I am thank you,” suddenly aware of how little she worried about her appearance that morning. She had on her favorite oldest Gryffindor hoodie, a faded red, the lion somehow missing a paw despite her best efforts to restore. She touched the crown of her head, aware of all the stray curls out of her messy bun. Quickly tucking them behind her ears, she asked him, “Hi-hey-, how are you? I’m sorry, I didn’t know you came to Tonk’s.”
“I try to visit from time to time, it's a really marvelous place” he replied as he looked around admiring the bar, then placed his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. Part of her wanted them back around her, she dismissed the thought immediately, clearly she was touched-starved, that’s all .
“Oh! That’s nice! That’s good! That’s great!” she exclaimed, her inner voice screaming what was happening, inside her head. When did she forget how to have a conversation?
Draco smiled, making Hermione's face and chest warm yet again, she had never noticed before, but even through his neatly trimmed beard, she could tell he only had one dimple.
Why was this something she noticed now? Wow it was suddenly very hot in here .
“Yes, you know Malfoy’s and the family business”, he said with a laugh, “but yes, I like to come help her when I can, and the perks” he pointed at her stack of books grabbing his own, “sorry, I get free books.”
Hermione smiled, “Ha! Yes, that is a highly sought after perk!” God knew she had begged Tonks to let her pay all of these years, yet time and time again whether she hid the galleons at the front desk, mailed them anonymously, Tonks always returned them.
“Well, I hope I didn’t disrupt your day too much! I am sorry again, have a good day!” She turned to walk away, this time ensuring her books were properly going in the right direction.
She hoped she could make a clean getaway, pretend this moment never happened, it was bad enough that they had to meet professionally in a few days, that was already going to be awkward but this little fiasco was probably going to make it ten times worse.
“No worries Granger, you too!” he called after her.
She thought, A few more steps. .
Perhaps the meeting wouldn’t be with Malfoy, perhaps it’d be with another associate at the trust, which would make everything a little bit easier. Hopefully it was just a coincidence that he was back in London at this particular time.
“Oh Granger!” he called her again, making her stop in her tracks, shutting her eyes in shocked disappointment before turning around with a soft smile on her face, “yes?”
With what should have been an illegal one dimpled smirk he looked at her and said, “I’m also back in London, to see you, Wednesday. Half past ten in the morning right?”
Hermione nodded in return, “Oh! Of course!” she feigned ignorance, “You will be the Malfoy Trust contact for the St. Mungo's initiative?
“Yes, I am,” he answered as he continued to look at her with those blue eyes she found disarming.
What is happening to me? Clearly she needed to invest in more vibrators, all of them.
“Great, then yes! Half past ten, at the Ministry, second floor in the office of Community Welfare and Advancement,” she answered.
He raised one eyebrow, continuing to smile at her, “I look forward to it,” before waving goodbye and leaving the aisle.
Hermione stood there for a moment, frazzled by the encounter and the way she was feeling. The book she was looking for almost forgotten, she accio’dNona the Ninth as she walked by it, adding it to her floating pile as she continued in the direction of her booth, shaking her head.
What in Merlin’s name is going on?