For Hermione

[ferretface_git]

Over a year in Darrow, and Draco continued to resolutely avoid settling down, in any real way. He'd learned to exist on meager Muggle funds, subsidizing his lifestyle with magic, when possible. It perhaps wasn't the most moral of choices, but Draco had never particularly cared for those types of rules. He wasn't stealing money, but if he could magic a solution to problems for which Muggles might've only had their money to save them, he certainly wasn't going to hold back.

However, there was still one problem he'd yet to solve: Boredom.

It was a constant, creeping pit in his chest, this feeling of listless uselessness. This life without purpose or identity. He didn't even have any real rivalries anymore. He didn't even have any hatred to pour his energy into.

It was pathetic. It needed to stop.

That afternoon, he found himself at the Lamplight. Once, Granger was a bitter enemy, but on the island, she'd become a voice of reason. A person to speak to, when he needed advice. And the sad truth was, in this place, he didn't have anyone else to turn to.

Comments

[cleverness]

Ever since the strange disappearance of the Darrow natives for a few days, Hermione had redoubled her efforts to pull together the magic school she'd proposed to a number of her peers and closest friends. Even though she spent the majority of her time at the Lamplight, it wasn't with the same level of attentiveness as before. Bundled warmly in a soft jumper and scarves wrapped loosely over her shoulders, Hermione sat near the back of the shop with a few different sets of sheets — a floor plan for the buildings she was to construct, a checklist of materials, and names of people she had or was planning to contact to join in the effort.

When the poltergeist warned Hermione of a customer's entrance with a small, almost melodic squeak, she glanced up and stood next to the counter. Coincidentally, the man who stepped inside was one of the names high on her list of people to speak with.

"Mister Malfoy. Can I help you with something?" Hermione asked with a small smile, curious to know what had brought Malfoy to her doorstep.

[ferretface_git]

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Draco admitted, a rather unusually candid reply.

Removing his gloves, he stuffed them into the pockets of his wool coat, once quite posh but purchased second-hand. He took a looping, indirect route around the shop, scanning shelves of impeccable stock and organization. He'd have expected nothing less, from her.

"I'm in need of employment. Or at the very least, something to pass the bloody time. I'm going out of my mind with boredom, in this place, though you seem to have settled in, like a regular native. I thought you might be the one to ask."

[cleverness]

Hermione watched as Malfoy circled around the shop, glancing at the shelves, though he was polite enough not to pick up or move things around. Glancing over at the street, Hermione waved her wand with a small flick, turning the sign on the door so that it read that they were momentarily closed. She wouldn't turn away a customer in a pinch if they happened by, but something about Malfoy's tone made her feel that there was a lengthier conversation that they needed to have.

"I would hardly call myself as settled as a regular native, but I have enough to occupy myself with, yes," Hermione began, clearing her throat as she began to Summon a tea set, one that she brought out in the case of visitors who needed extra attention. "But I'll be honest, if passing the time is your desire, the work that's done at this shop may not always be the most interesting. It's retail, after all. Mostly helping customers find what they're looking for. That said, I am starting up enough venture that I'd been meaning to reach out to you about. A school."

A tap of her wand brought water to a boil. "Tea?" Hermione asked, glancing up to meet Malfoy's gaze.

[ferretface_git]

"No, no, I wouldn't want to work here," he said immediately, his nose wrinkling with distaste. It was a nice enough shop, he couldn't deny that, but being cooped up dealing with customers day in and day out... Well, it certainly wouldn't have been a proper fit, with Draco's rather thorny personality.

"What? Oh, yes, tea's fine," he said distractedly, "What kind of school?"

[cleverness]

"You might be surprised at how busy it can get when you're trying to help customers who are familiar with a different type of magic entirely," Hermione said with a slight raise of her before, though she didn't linger on the thought for too long. Honestly, with how often Ron worked at the shop now, it was probably better for everyone that Malfoy wasn't offering to work there in earnest.

The intellectual challenge was one that she thought Malfoy would appreciate, though.

"Anyway," Hermione said, laying out the tea set and being the tea with a quick trap of her wand, "the school is meant to be a place to gather teachers and students of topics not normally covered in Darrow's public school system. There will be a heavy emphasis on magic, especially at the beginning given where my network is, but I'm not going to turn down other people who may want to use the facilities to teach other nonstandard subject areas."

[ferretface_git]

"And you, what? You want me to be an instructor?" Draco said, doing nothing to hide his shock. They weren't enemies anymore, but they weren't friends, either, and he certainly hadn't thought she had much trust in him.

"Unless you're implying I ought to be a student," he smirked. "I believe I've had my fill of that."

[cleverness]

"I was considering it," Hermione said, raising a brow. She couldn't read Malfoy's expression easily — couldn't tell if it was rooted in some sort of strange gratitude, or if he was being as derisive and dismissive as he ever was in their school years. Something about the fact that he'd come to her looking for a job made her want to believe the former, but trying to reconcile the boy she knew with the man she was speaking civilly with still jarred, at times.

"I would also point out that both of us still have a lot to learn in a place like Darrow. Would still have a lot to learn back home. But yes, I had been thinking of asking you to be an instructor at the school. We all know that you're more than a competent wizard, and many people could benefit from your expertise."

[ferretface_git]

"Yes, I'm sure there are many wonderfully interesting things we could be learning from these people," Draco said, his tone almost comically leaden with sarcasm, to the point that it was clear he was teasing her, in his way.

"Any expertise in particular? In case you've forgotten, I haven't actually lived in our world in over half a decade."

[cleverness]

Hermione rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her reaction. She didn't doubt that Malfoy was trying to goad something out of her — though what exactly, she wasn't sure. He'd been mystifying her a lot as of late, his intentions never quite clear, though he also never carried quite the same level of disdain around her as he had in their early school years.

She nudged Malfoy's cup of tea forward, then narrowed her eyes in thought. "Potions was the first subject which came to mind. And if you're afraid of having lost your touch, I can certainly help to test your skills. I've been practicing for all this time, after all. I could even teach you some of the latest potions that have been devised in the past few years." Her lips curved into a grin.

[ferretface_git]

Honestly, even after all that had happened, while on the island, he loathed to accept help from her, or anyone, for that matter. Still, he knew he would need a bit of practice, after so many years letting his skills go to waste.

"Let's just hope I don't embarrass myself," he said, rolling his eyes. It was quite a big step for him to even acknowledge that he might not excel at something-- Even more revolutionary was the admission that he might care what she thought of him. He always had, of course, but he'd have kissed that oaf, Hagrid, before admitting it. And we're not talking about a chaste, closed-mouthed kiss, either. Tongues and all.

[cleverness]

"All the more reason to keep you in practice, so that the risk of you embarrassing yourself is minimal," Hermione pointed out, her expression quite serious for a moment. No matter how lightly Malfoy was trying to pass off the moment, admitting that he might need Hermione's guidance helped indicate just how much time he'd spent away from magic. Back home, Hermione didn't think that Malfoy would ever turn to her in such a way.

"I have no doubt that even if you are out of practice, you'll pick the skill back up quickly. Potions is a great deal about precision, after all. Precision, creativity, and a lot of rote memorization. You should be fine," she said. "Provided the job interests you. You might have to deal with students you don't particularly respect or enjoy."

[ferretface_git]

"I deal with people I don't particularly respect or enjoy everyday, so, it shouldn't be much of a change," he said, a wry smile curling his lips.

As much as he'd loath to admit it, he understood her concern. It was a great show of trust, that she even thought he'd be qualified to deal with students, without infecting them with his Death Eater rhetoric.

[cleverness]

"And it would seem like I've managed to work my way out of one of those groups, at least," Hermione remarked, smirking faintly as she sat straight again. In a strange way, it was gratifying to be a source of trust now in spite of their rocky background. Hermione wasn't sure if Ron or Harry would ever share quite that level of sentiment, but to Hermione, after the war, there had been nothing quite as important as making sure differences could be set aside and the path towards peace paved well.

"I still have a long way to go before the school is likely to open. If you're feeling open to administrative work, I could use help in figure out how to organize all of this, finding spaces that work for the subjects that we teach, reaching out to other potential professors. But if you only want to teach the course itself, I'd also understand."

[ferretface_git]

"I'm not sure I'm the administrative type," Draco drawled. He did take a certain pleasure in dolling out orders to subordinates, but that wasn't likely what she'd had in mind.

"I suppose I can keep an eye out for interested parties. I do know of at least one potential student."

[cleverness]

It wasn't too surprising to hear that Malfoy had made at least one friend of magical background in Darrow, although Hermione couldn't even begin to guess at what kind of person that might be. Someone capable, Hermione thought. Maybe someone who wasn't eager to blend in and assimilate with all of non-magical society.

Maybe she was many too many assumptions based on the Malfoy she knew from home.

"Oh? Care to tell me more about this person?" Hermione asked, leaning forward in interest.

[ferretface_git]

"Agatha Prenderghast. I think you might have met her. Or your other half has, at least," Draco said, arching a brow, "She's young. Twelve, thirteen, I don't know, but she has a great deal of power, but she's still learning how to control it."

A great deal of very dangerous power, but they both had plenty of experience with that.