Chapter 2
The following weeks were filled with organizing, special ordering, and decorating. The shops were coming along, having been filled with the necessities to make various teas and coffees, plus a variety of seasonal baked treats, enough magic and muggle books to make any book lovers head spin, plus the usual business requirements- a few cash registers, comfortable seating, and personal touches. Hermione hired a tea manager- none other than Luna Lovegood- and a tea attendant, plus two book store employees. She filled her office with comfortable furniture and homey touches, connected the fireplace to the Floo network, and filled her apartment with all of her odds and ends collected over the years. It was just day before the grand opening of her shop- set for October 31st- and she was thrumming with excitement. So much, in fact that she almost missed the solid knock on the door.
“Coming!” She mused over what could possibly be left for delivery and pulled the front door open with force, an apology fresh on her lips. “Sorry about-“
It wasn’t a delivery man greeting her however- it was the bunned back of her best friends head. “Harry?”
He whipped around to face her, having been caught in a conversation with her thus-far elusive neighbors. “Hermione! I didn’t realize you were the new owner!”
She rushed forward and eloped him in a hug. “I tried to call but couldn’t get through!” He gave her a sheepish grin. “Where have you been?”
She pulled him inside and shut the door, leading him to a pair of plush maroon armchairs. He brushed the long, dark whisps of hair from his forehead and tucked them behind his ears, launching into an explanation of his recent travels- including his most recent Weasley partner.
“Charlie?” Hermione couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and was hard pressed to pick her jaw up from the floor. She had a hand pressed between her breasts. “Gods, Harry- I didn’t know he was your type!”
The grin gracing his lips grew larger as he cocked and eyebrow and said, “Neither did I.”
“Charlie‘s actually the reason I’m here- his favorite tattoo shop is next door. I started going there a while back and came in to get my newest-“ He flexed his forearm, covered in heated tattoos as well as the telltale wrap of fresh ink- “And noticed the sellers sign off the door. Imagine my surprise when you’re who opened up!”
Hours later, long after Harry had left, Hermione realized that Harry never did tell her who owned the shop next door.
The grand opening of the shops went as well as possible, and Hermione was well on her way to becoming a staple of the community. Both the book store and tea shop were busy all open hours, and her short Sundays and Mondays off were often spent doing the cleaning, shopping, and washing she missed during the week. On this particular Monday, she had left early, hoping to get a bit of a run in before heading to pickup groceries for the week.
Her plans were stalled though when she ran out the door and straight into a body- a shirtless, muscular body- each inch of the visible bare, tanned back and arms covered in greyscale tattoo work.
A paler hand, equally covered in vibrant tattoos, shot out from the door she was in front of, and Hermione found herself shocked still when it became a body- the lithe, muscular body of none other than Draco Malfoy.
Before she knew it, Draco- covered literally front and back in art work, his white-blonde hair grown out and pulled back into a bun at the back of his head- was hovering over her, as was the man she ran into. He looked vaguely familiar, eyes surrounded by thick framed black glasses, his hair falling well over his shoulders, half pulled up.
Draco’s features contorted into a look of surprise. “Granger?” The tanner man looked over at him, confused, and Hermione was vaguely aware of the fact that Draco Malfoy’s calloused fingers were wrapped around her bicep. He looked at her and spoke, his gravelly voice sending an electric shock straight to her core.
“Hermione Granger?”
She found herself licking her bottom lip and breathily saying, “The one and only.”