Table for Two
Hermione bemoaned her choice to pop into her favorite corner sandwich shop on a Friday for lunch as she witnessed a steady increase in traffic as noon quickly approached.
She was facing the front door, a wartime habit, her back to the pick-up counter. She watched the bell above the door ring out, overwhelmed by the incessant rush of people. Her sandwich hardly picked over. Just then a vaguely familiar voice from her memory broke her concentration, causing her to cast her glazed eyes upward.
“May I sit here? Everywhere else is full.” A low voice broke through the crowd. She flinched.
She looked up into the face of none other than Draco Malfoy. She had seen him over the years mainly from afar at various charity outings or a run-in at diagon alley here and there. But they very rarely spoke. He was tall, his face filled out and dulled the pointy features from his youth. He had a stubble growing and was wearing fitted dark jeans and a white long sleeved shirt, a coat draped over his forearm. He stood holding a grilled sandwich in hand it’s greasy dressing staining the wrapping, he looked thoroughly uncomfortable, bracing for rejection.
She had a moment of confusion, seeing a person in an unexpected place threw her off kilter. It wasn’t often that ran into a witch or wizard in a muggle establishment let alone a pure blood. A pit of unease dropped into her stomach. But this was not the Malfoy of her youth she reminded herself. He was here managing just fine in a muggle lunch shop…evidence of a turned leaf.
After an awkward beat she stumble out, “Ah sure, yes. Of course..sorry I was having a bit of a moment there.”
He grabbed the collar of his camel pea coat and hanged it on the back of his chair, and then neatly folded his hunter green scarf to sit on top of the seat next to him.
“Thanks. It’s busy, yeah? I am surprised to see you here on their busiest day of the week” she quirked her eyebrow. “…I-I just mean with your aversion to crowds these days.”
“Who told you I avoided crowds?” She asked her defense hackles jutting out.
“Oh, sorry if I was being presumptuous. Weasley has mentioned you don’t go out much any more.” His cheeks tinting.
“Ron?” She responded bewildered. It must have looked like she lost the plot the way her brain was slowly trudging through their interaction.
“Yeah, we’re on the same pick-up quidditch team—“
“—Oh“
“I know, once we took our heads out of our arses we realized that we actually get on alright” the corner of his mouth curled up.
A laughed bubbled out of her at that…”well stranger things have happened” she looked at him pointedly.
“ah yes well thanks again for letting me join you. It’s just this is best eaten fresh. Even using—trying to keep it warm doesn’t do it justice.” He looked at her sheepishly aware he almost referenced a warming charm near muggles.
“It’s nothing really” she replied as the knot in her stomach began to loosen at his vulnerability.
They sat eating in companionable silence for a moment both looking around the crowded shop avoiding eye contact.
“So..pick-up quidditch? How’s that?” She finally broke.
“It’s not bad.” He replied with a shrug. “I was encouraged to leave my flat and interact with the outside world and it fit the bill.” He said with a self depreciating sort of snort. “What does the great Hermione Granger get up to these days?”
“Well I suppose just work mainly”
“Sounds…”
“Boring. I know, but it isn’t so bad. It’s a lot to keep up with and I get to help people. There’s always problems to solve and things move quickly so it takes a lot of focus..and energy. And it pays the bills. So it’s fine…I mean great. It’s great.” She rambled blowing out air after her rant.
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” He asked with a small smile.
“Does is sound that bad?” She asked with a grimace her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“well it wasn’t a glowing review.” He barked with a laugh. “I guess you know what you need to do.” He stared at her intensely.
“Oh what’s that?” She asked with a smirk. Her internal alarm bells jingling. Oh gods, was she flirting with Malfoy, she internally panicked?
“Find something better.” He replied simply. With that he balled up the wrappings for his sandwich, knocked twice on the table. “Until next time, solicitor.” He said as he got up with a genuine smile.
“Yes, until then.” She replied lamely, still befuddled by the encounter. She watched him depart in a daze as he walked out into the bristling cold. It wasn’t until she was packing up her own belongings she realized he forgot his scarf. Wrapping it around her neck she clicked her tongue thinking that perhaps the task of returning it might not be the worst chore to fall into her lap.