Sleepy Cat Books
The bell chimed.
Slowly, Cat!Draco looked up. His mind was ... wandering lately.
[Image: A grey cat leans against a table. Implied: Cat!Draco barely musters up the energy to look up.]
It was Theo.
"I've been writing."
Cat!Draco blinked slowly. He knew that. He'd been meaning to respond, but he just kept forgetting lately. "My head—"
He also didn't have much to say.
[Image: A grey cat falls asleep next to an open journal with a pencil posed in its paw. Implied: Cat!Draco's cat!brain is foggy.]
"She hasn't shown?"
Without adding anything, Cat!Draco sniffed and shook his head.
"Accio fire whiskey and two glasses."
They put their feet up on the little coffee table in the back, words slightly slurred and hearts open. After Draco transformed back into human form, they relaxed into the dragon hide couch.
"How's Potions 'n Parchment doing?", he asked.
"Pretty well. Neville helps a lot. We're getting everything sorted, aligning things with the Ministry's legislation. We have a few shipments of the new Wolfsbane potion coming in. Right on schedule."
A long pause.
Draco took a long sip of his drink. "I didn't pull my weight."
Theo sighed. "I appreciate that. At least you finally recognized it."
"You're right, mate. I was a shite friend."
Flushed with drink, Theo said, "Yeah. But some of it wasn't about you. I was freaking out about proposing to Longbottom."
"Congrats, mate! How'd that go?" He smacked Theo on the back so hard that he coughed.
Theo shrugged. "Haven't gotten the courage to yet."
"I know how that feels." Draco finished off his drink.
"I know you do," Theo clipped.
Draco's mouth twisted slightly. "Let's have a gander at the ring."
Theo clutched his breast pocket and revealed a navy, velvet ring box. He opened it to reveal a thick, black tungsten ring with a sharp, diagonal white gold inlay set with diamonds.
Draco let out a low whistle. "That's very ... sexy."
Theo chuckled. "Just like my man."
"Who knew Longbottom and sexy would be in the same sentence? Do you remember him at Hogwarts?"
Theo squinted. "He was adorable then."
"So you just gonna wait?" Theo asked, three drinks in.
Draco slurred. "I don't know how to reach her. She's not home. I sent her an owl with the address. Even gave Potter my card. That was ... difficult." He dropped his tumbler and fell to the ground in a drunken stupor. His Magic now defaulted to his cat!form.
Theo picked up his glass. He'd never seen anything more pitiful than a drunk cat!Draco. Before Theo left, he carried Cat!Draco up to the rooftop, knowing where he kept his hidden catnip and liked to sleep under the warm rays of the sun.
[Image: A grey cat falls next to a bunch of spilled catnip. Implied: Cat!Draco likes his catnip.]
"Maybe she doesn't want me," Cat!Draco mumbled in his sleep. He rolled over and sniffed quietly.
[Image: A black and white cat falls asleep outside on a tarp. Implied: Cat!Draco is drunk again and misses Hermione.]
Things went back to Draco's quiet existence after Theo left and he woke up from his long catnap.
He enchanted the brooms to sweep. He cleaned the tumblers by hand, remembering how Hermione used to do it in her kitchen. All these routines kept his mind from wandering. One paw in front of the other. One task at a time.
It was somewhat helpful, considering the amount of time he spent in his cat!form. Theo tried to convince him otherwise, telling him it wasn't good for his Magical core. But Draco rarely listened.
After the shop closed, he would go back to his flat. Repeat.
Weeks went by. He kept the shop open, waiting by the window. Hoping against hope.
[Image: A white cat falls asleep in the window of a bookshop. Implied: Cat!Draco waits by the shop window for Hermione.]