Treasure Trail
Merlin, he wishes he’d been sober when Hermione had come over.
Which isn’t to say that he regrets saying that he would wait.
No, he just hadn’t seen her all week.
Last night was his chance to talk to her but he’d squandered it with stupid words. She hadn’t stayed for very long and he hadn’t gotten to really drink her in like he had become comfortable doing. He’d returned to the furtive glances of a few months earlier. The familiarity he had worked towards dissipated.
When he gets into work, he is grateful to have the independent bookstore day plans to keep him busy. It had taken him all week and a fair amount of reminding from Laura, but he had finally settled on a theme and a promotion.
A treasure hunt that starts and ends at the bookstore. Touring the nearby neighbourhood and working in tandem with other independently owned businesses on the block. He’d gotten the idea from walking around the city with Granger and seeing all of the hidden beauty he wouldn’t have found by himself.
Now he just has to make sure it comes together in time.
The plan is to put together a bunch of clues that lead them back to the bookstore and whomever has all of the right answers wins a shopping spree.
Of course, Laura had loved it, but she had also insisted that he create a smaller child friendly version. He’d decided he would have to consult Levi on what prize would be good.
As the weather gets nicer, more and more people have been stopping in the store as they walk by and Draco finds himself glad for it.
A couple of months ago he’d have been annoyed to put down his own book and help a customer find a book with a green cover.
“I think there might be a person on the cover too. Or an animal,” the middle aged woman shares, sounding more and more confused.
A person or an animal.
“Do you know what it is about? What genre?” He asks, thumbing through the store catalogue in his mind.
“My friend said it was romantic. But I think someone dies,” she says, obviously guessing.
Draco nods and makes his way around the counter, heading for the mysteries.
He pulls down The Green Bell.
It doesn’t have a green cover, but it does have green in the title and there is a picture of a woman standing beside a wolf.
“Might this be it?” He asks.
The woman practically squeals.
“Oh! Yes, that is the one! I suppose I forgot what colour it was.” She titters and takes the book from him.
He checks her out and she promises to write down the title of the next book her reading group selects.
Noting the sale, he decides to work on the treasure trail. The first clue should point to a specific book in the store. Then the title of the book can point to the next store that has the second clue.
Let their patrons take a crack at finding a book with very little to go on.
He’ll have to pick something well-known. A bestseller.
Or else it’ll never get off the ground.
Glancing at the list of shops, he thinks about which one would make a good starting point. Probably not Oleg’s pub, Irish food and drink might distract people from the hunt. Perhaps the floral shop around the corner. The owner, an older woman, had come in to compliment Draco on his floral themed window design.
For a second he thinks about using the new nonfiction bestseller Reefer Madness to point to the floral shop but decides against it.
The older woman, Flo, would probably object.
Wandering the display of the Sunday Times best sellers, he doesn’t really find anything that would point towards a floral shop.
Perhaps he could make it a cookbook.
Draco dismisses that idea quickly.
He wants to come up with something brilliant. Something that Laura and Hermione will think is brilliant. Mostly Hermione.
He gives up on best sellers, heading for the fiction stacks.
“Draco?” a voice calls from the desk and he peeks out to find Hermione standing half in the door between the two shops.
“Hullo,” he greets pleasantly. He can do this. He can wait. And he can be normal while he does it. Probably. Maybe. Has he ever said hullo before?
Winding back to the counter, he puts his hands in his trouser pockets to refrain from reaching for her. Kissing her.
Merlin, he misses kissing her.
“Laura filled me in on the treasure trail. Thought I’d see if you wanted help. I've just left Levi off at school and figured I’d come in early,” she is smiling just as she always had. Easily.
Good.
He’s determined not to make this difficult for her.
“I’m just trying to figure out the hints now. I’ve already got the other businesses in mind.”
“And you’ve asked them to participate?”
Draco purses his lips.
He hadn’t exactly gotten there yet. While his social skills in the muggle world are markedly improved from five months ago, he still doesn’t enjoy the process of talking to near perfect strangers.
Hermione chuckles and he lifts a hand to cover his own grin.
“It would be much easier if I could just owl them,” he laments.
“We could go together, after this side closes. Laura will be in today to cover the other side. Plus, I know a lot of the locals. I can introduce you.”
He wonders how hard this is for her. To see him.
Draco won’t put a gift into a horse’s mouth. Or however that phrase goes.
“That would be great,” he says softly.
She could leave now. They have nothing else to talk about really.
Draco can’t hide his smile when she sits down in his chair and picks up a pen.
“Have you got a name for this treasure hunt promotion yet?” She asks.
He leans against the counter and shakes his head.
And then they spend an hour working on the event, pausing only to help customers.
Draco has a feeling Hermione won’t ask Laura to pay her for the afternoon.
It is a really good feeling.
She is choosing to spend time with him, even if it is connected to work.
“Do you think Levi should be allowed to participate? After all, he knows this store like the back of his very small hand,” Hermione asks him as they put the finishing touches on the smaller, but no less engaging children’s treasure trail. It remains within the confines of the store and allows all of the children a prize at the end.
Draco isn’t sure how he feels about that premise but he figures there is no harm in letting everyone feel like they have succeeded.
“Well there is certainly no chance of me telling your son no,” Draco says.
Hermione looks pleased with his response.
When closing time arrives, Draco is relieved more than anything else.
He’d managed to keep his wits about him all the while thinking about how much he wanted to kiss her.
“Ready?” She asks, buttoning her deep blue cardigan and tossing her curls behind her.
“As I’ll ever be,” he replies, feigning fear of the socialisation they are about to embark on.
He earns her laughter once more.
They start at the floral shop, which Draco is grateful for, given that the older woman flirts with him at length and then agrees to participate.
Hermione drags him from place to place, doing the majority of the talking while still making sure that he makes the actual ask.
After that, they go to a bakery named Just a Slice. Draco has seen it before but he’d never made the time to stop in.
“Hello Hermione!” A perky blonde greets from the table.
“Hi Paige! This is my friend, Draco. He works with me at Turning,” Hermione greets back.
“Hello Draco, I’ve seen you walking past. Never seen you in though. No sweet tooth?” She asks.
“Enormous one actually,” he smirks, giving a sly grin to Hermione. “Though I don’t have any self control. I’d be two stone heavier if I let myself indulge in what I am sure are delectable desserts.”
She smiles, but shakes her head, turning for the display case.
Returning with a chocolate cupcake with bright pink frosting on it.
“On the house. Hopefully it’ll make you a convert,” she offers it to Draco.
He takes it, knowing how rude it would be to decline.
“We actually came to ask you if you wanted to participate in a promotion with the bookstore. We’ve been around to several of the other shops and they have all agreed to at least hiding a hint for us.”
“What sort of promotion?”
Draco lets Hermione explain this time, too busy licking the buttercream off of the cupcake.
He wasn’t lying. He’s had a sweet tooth since he was a kid. Chocolate most of all.
Now that he has an income, he’ll definitely be coming in to Just a Slice to taste the array of things they sell.
Though he is certain he won’t be able to limit himself to just a slice of anything.
“What a fun idea. Absolutely, we’d love to join in. I’d love to make some little book biscuits and maybe a classic character cake you could serve at the store afterwards. Oh, have you guys read Chocolat? I read it a few months ago. It would be so perfect to use as a hint!” Paige squeals.
Draco nods, smiling.
Both women give a soft chuckle.
“You’ve got a bit of chocolate in your teeth,” Paige points out.
He covers his mouth and tries to feel for it.
“On the left side,” Hermione grins.
He manages to get it and thanks them, only mildly embarrassed.
“The cupcake was exquisite,” he compliments truthfully.
“Thanks. You struck me as a chocolate guy,” Paige replies.
She’s pretty, with short cropped hair dyed almost cotton candy pink and freckles across her face.
Were Draco looking, he’d definitely see her.
But Hermione is the only person he sees.
“We’ll be in touch about advertising closer to the end of the week. Thank you, Paige,” Hermione says, drawing their conversation to a close.
“Wait, let me put some truffles in a box for Levi,” Paige turns away again.
“See, that wasn’t so bad. We are all set. And you got a free cupcake out of it,” Hermione says to him.
He has to admit, having her with him has made things much easier. And much more difficult.
The entire night he’d had a hard time resisting reaching out to touch her.
“Have a great night,” Paige hands Hermione a small pink box tied with a blue ribbon.
“Levi will be so excited,” Hermione gushes, tucking them into her bag.
They make their way out of the bakery and Draco offers to walk her home. After all, they are only a couple of blocks away.
She looks at him for a long moment, pulling her lower lip in between her teeth.
“Or not,” he takes back his offer, hoping he hasn’t crossed a line.
“I just think we should keep things work related. Besides, it’s only a couple blocks. I’ll be alright.”
“Right.”
Her brow crinkles and Draco wishes he’d said something else.
Mostly, things hadn’t been awkward.
But now it feels like both of them want to do something different from what they are doing.
He promised he’d respect her need for time.
“Text me when you get home, will you?” He asks.
“Sure, Draco. Good night,” she steps towards him quickly and gives him a very brief hug.
He squeezes back and makes sure to let her go as soon as she pulls away.
Otherwise he’d have stood there all night with her in his arms.
The smell of honey and brown sugar filling his nose.
As she walks off, Draco watches her, standing on the corner of the street with his hands in his trouser pockets.
When she gets about twenty yards down the pavement he turns in the direction of his own flat.
He misses her turning back and looking after him, her eyes full of longing.
The program comes together flawlessly.
Nearly fifty people participate and many more take advantage of the coupons and deals worked out with other businesses.
Nancy and Greg, an older couple Draco has seen in the store before, win the hunt and return from the Irish pub only tipsy, with the final clue in hand.
Draco’s friends had shown up for the hunt, though he was sure they wouldn’t make it back to the bookstore. He imagined Blaise would ply Pansy and Theo with drinks until they forgot the purpose of their muggle outing.
He doesn’t mind.
He, Granger, and Levi had hung around the shop all day.
While all of the children had left with the prize of a new children’s book appropriate for their age, Levi had been the first to discover the book dragon nesting in the reading nook of the children’s section.
Of course that was probably because he had no qualms about climbing on top of the counter to see the entire store from what he called “a better angle.”
Draco felt like a different person from his school days.
He chatted merrily with patrons and even made recommendations for places in the area.
Each person was genuinely kind and everyone was in good spirits.
The last gathering of such size had been a dinner with Voldemort and it had been distinctly bad tempered.
“I can’t believe you pulled it off,” Hermione laughs, helping him hand out prizes for second and third place.
He’d objected until she reminded him that the partnering businesses would appreciate the marketing of their products.
Second place was a gift certificate for the floral shop and third was a box of biscuits.
Paige had come through with frankly adorable little biscuits shaped like hardcover books. She’d written titles of classics on them and even done some sort of art for the covers.
Hermione assured Draco that she hadn’t done it by magic.
“Such little faith,” he says without thinking.
She stalls a bit, looking at him with a touch of guilt.
“Apologies. I meant it as a joke,” he says hurriedly.
Levi chooses that moment to come for another biscuit.
When Hermione spots his hand reaching for the plate she scolds him gently.
“Leave a few for the other children, please, Levi.”
His hand withdraws, but he doesn’t abandon his quest.
“There are plenty left, right Draco?” He asks.
For the second time in two minutes Draco fears Hermione’s response.
“One,” she says, crossly.
Draco is relieved he doesn’t have to say anything.
He hadn’t been lying last week when he’d said that he would find it difficult to say no to Levi.
Would he be able to say no to his own children? It was an affliction both his parents had had when Draco was a boy.
Perhaps Granger could be the disciplinarian. She’s clearly got a deft hand at it.
Draco needs to get it through his skull that he and Granger won’t be having children together.
Levi shouldn't have to grow up without any siblings. It had been miserable for Draco.
He wonders if Hermione felt the same.
Perhaps it was different in the muggle world.
There are certainly more children. Draco had only had the sons of other noble houses to befriend.
Watching Levi race off to rejoin the swarm of children playing some sort of chasing game, Draco doubts he will ever want for friends.
Siblings are different from friends though, his mind supplies.
“Sorry about that. Cheeky boy,” Hermione shakes her head.
He just lifts the corners of his mouth into a small smile and turns for the register, behind on marking down sales in the book.
“Pansy just texted to say she and the boys are still at Oleg’s. We should join them for a drink after closing,” Hermione comes to stand closer to him, handing him a stack of receipts with hastily written titles on them.
“I’m pretty tired. All this socialisation,” he replies.
He’d just seen his friends the weekend before, trying to stick with their scheduled meetups.
They’d understand why he doesn’t want to spend more time sitting beside the woman he loves while she treats him as little more than a coworker.
Keeping things work related was fine.
Since the night they’d solicited the other businesses, Draco has kept things very work related.
Too work related.
He’d intended to be her friend.
It was extraordinarily hard. Impossible and irritating and draining.
“Oh,” she chirps, stepping back. “Right. I was impressed with your patience today. Even when that woman tried to ask you where the film section was.”
“Twice.”
She laughs.
He relaxes.
Closing comes sooner than expected and Draco decides that he needs to buck up and get through a drink at a pub with Granger. He informs her thus and she seems to move with more energy as they say goodbye to the last of their patrons and clean the store from the revelry.
Levi is passed out in her arms when they turn off the lights and pull the door shut.
“He’s out like a light. I’m just going to drop him off at his grandparents. I’ll be along in a few,” she whisper-yells.
He tells her he’ll order her a draft and watches as she disappears in a crack of apparition.
Hermione Granger drinking with the Slytherins. He’d have been an idiot to pass up the spectacle it is sure to be.
He walks to Oleg’s pub in just a few short minutes and finds his three best friends smashed in the corner, all shouting over each other.
“I was trying to get my tie!” Blaise shouts.
“Why are you lying?” Pansy is asking over and over again.
Theo is taking a more mature approach. “Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.”
“What the bloody hell is going on here?” He asks, cutting them all off.
Theo is the last to go quiet, turning his lalalaing into a jaunty tune.
“Blaise is trying to convince Pansy that he walked in on her changing in fourth year because he was looking for his tie,” Theo summarises, glee in his eyes.
“And I’m fucking Helga Hufflepuff!” Pansy scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
Draco sits down next to Pansy in the booth and levels Blaise with a stare.
“Shall I set the record straight then?” He asks his friends.
Blaise’s glare hardens into something almost violent but all it does is make Draco’s smile grow.
“Oh please,” Pansy purrs.
“I will turn you back into a ferret,” Blaise threatens.
Why he thought that would ever work as a threat, Draco isn’t sure.
“We overheard you and Milicent talking about sneaking out over the holiday break and shopping for muggle lingerie. Blaise couldn’t resist taking a peak,” Draco leans back in the booth and shrugs.
“I knew it! You dirty liar,” Pansy says, pointing cheekily at Blaise. “Liked what you saw, didn’t you?”
Blaise is blushing but he nods. “Loved what I saw.”
“How did the hunt go over?” Theo asks, pushing his and his friends playing card for the hunt across the table.
“Exactly as planned. Granger will be along in a minute, she was just dropping off her son.”
His friends all share a look.
“Granger?” Blaise asks. “What happened to Hermione?” he asks, imitating him saying her name.
Draco ignores him, flagging down a waitress and ordering a whiskey.
Luckily he is saved from more needling about his feelings for a certain witch when she arrives.
“Hi everyone, thanks for inviting me,” Hermione says, sliding into a chair at the end of the table.
“The Golden Girl of the war graces us with her presence,” Blaise says.
Draco could punch his best mate.
“Always nice to meet a fan,” Hermione quips.
Draco relaxes.
They make reintroductions as if they hadn’t been on opposite sides of a bloodthirsty war and order a fresh round of drinks.
“Speaking of fourth year,” Blaise says, a twinkle that Draco knows to be cautious of. “Remember how moon eyed Draco was over Krum at the Yule Ball?”
Murder. He’s going to murder his best mate.
“Oh really? Harry and Ron had crushes as well. I could get something signed for you. We still write every once in a while,” Hermione teases.
Draco tries to smile, but he’s sure that it doesn’t reach his eyes.
He’d stared at Krum during the Yule Ball, sure. But only when he was dancing with her.
“Do you really? Is he single?” Pansy asks, for which he is grateful.
It is an excellent distraction.
Perhaps he’ll gift her the Manor when he is allowed to take possession of it again.
“Last we spoke,” Hermione nods, sipping on her beer none the wiser.
“You’ve been holding out on me! I watch your kid like four times a week and what do I get in return? Not a date with broom thighs Viktor Krum!” Pansy throws her hands up faking exasperation.
Hermione laughs and assures her that she will set them up on a date soon.
“You looked proper fit at the Yule Ball,” Theo says to Hermione, joining Blaise on Draco’s kill list.
She blushes softly and Draco focuses on the whiskey in front of him.
“Thank you.”
“I seem to recall Draco saying something about you when you entered the hall on Viktor's arm,” Blaise adds.
Draco wouldn’t even need magic to kill Blaise.
She doesn’t ask what he said.
Probably assumes it was an insult.
Something about how an ugly duckling can’t shed its feathers so easily.
He thinks about leaving it in the air, awkward and painful.
“Seem to recall, Blaise? You remember what I said. Go ahead, tell her,” he says.
Everyone at the table shifts uncomfortably, most of all Hermione.
Draco had made the wrong decision regarding almost everything in his life. He said hateful things he thought he was supposed to say.
But when he saw her that night, he’d forgotten what he was supposed to say.
“Merlin, have mercy on me,” Blaise mutters. “That’s what he said.”
Draco looks at Hermione and waits for her to look away.
Their gazes hold and he tries not to look ashamed.
Because he isn't. He is glad he’d said that all those years ago.
“It was a good dress,” she says shyly.
“It wasn’t just the dress, Granger,” Draco says, finishing his drink.
“Remember Cedric’s dress robes? Salazar they were fucking gorgeous. Such a shame,” Theo cuts in, making them all laugh in awkward discomfort.
Pansy manages to turn the conversation to something less serious but Draco keeps looking at Hermione.
She looks straight back, and then says, “I don’t think I’ll keep you waiting for very long.”
Then she gives him her bright, kind, full smile. The one that makes the corners of her eyes crinkle and the line in her forehead to deepen.
His heart seems to freeze in his chest.
Draco may not have participated in the treasure trail, but he does feel like he’s won a prize.