Life after Hogwarts - A Hermione & Draco x Dramione Story

Chapter Two

Draco watched her every now and as she slept, glancing over the top of the book at her sleeping form. She'd gone from curled up in a ball to flat on her stomach, onto her side, and now she laid flat on her back with an arm hanging off the couch while her other arm was perched across her forehead. He wasn't sure what kind of dream she was having, but Merlin help the man who ever had to share a bed with her. The poor schmuck would be black and blue before morning. If flying on a Muggle airplane made someone fall into this type of state, he never wanted to try it. Then again, Harry did mention it was a 12 hour flight. He asked why she didn't just find an international floo, portkey, or just apparate for that matter. Harry said she enjoyed flying on airplanes. Ironic, in Draco's opinion, how she could feel completely comfortable aboard a mental can in the sky with tons of flammable jet fuel beneath them yet not mount a broom. It was baffling.

She was shifting in her sleep again. He glanced at his watch. Hermione had been sleeping for nearly four hours. Setting his book down on the table, Draco collected his plate with the crumbs from his sandwich and his coffee mug and quietly made his way out of the room back towards the kitchen. He set the dishes in the sink and stared out the window towards his narrow back yard. He hung a tire swing out back a few weeks ago to the lone tree that towered over a corner of the yard, and Draco couldn't wait for James to see it. That kid could swing for days on end if you let him. Draco never had such a contraption, or really any kind of toys or things to do outside growing up. Malfoys didn't play in the dirt, according to his father. If he had a knut for every time he heard his father say the phrase "Malfoys didn't...," he'd have an entirely separate fortune.

He sighed. Hermione would be waking soon, and he still had no idea what to say to her. Knowing her, she probably had a thousand questions ready, most of them conjured in between thrashings on the couch. When he and Harry came to terms - it was merely an understanding between men. It wasn't twenty questions with five follow ups and curious looks. The two bumped into one another in the Ministry shortly a year after the war. Harry was leaving an internship meeting for his Auror training, and Draco had walked out of a meeting with Kingsley. Curt nods were exchanged, and it was Harry who spoke first, asking him what he was up to. Draco told him he enrolled in a Muggle university, taking pre-law courses.

"You want to be a muggle lawyer?" Harry said, his shock not at all suppressed.

"Merlin no," Draco replied. "I want to be a wizard lawyer. I would have done an internship with the ministry, but when I thought about it, I decided I really wanted some kind of formal course work. Kingsley suggested the idea."

Harry nodded. "I see."

"I'm trying to uh, change, you see. I thought a Muggle university might...help."

"Draco Malfoy surrounded by Muggles. That's a sight I'd pay to see."

Draco cracked a small grin. "Yes, well, I manage."

"Right," Harry replied. "I was just going to grab some lunch. You can join if you'd like."

"Asking me on a date, Potter?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Glad to see you're still somewhat of a git, Malfoy."

The two of them sat during lunch, eating their sandwiches as the unlikely pair found themselves the topic of gossip. Harry listened to Draco while he talked about school and how his mother was doing. Draco remembered the look of shock on his face when Draco told him about getting his driver's license, and how he laughed when found out he had to take the exam twice. He had to oblivate the examiner and a few other Muggles the first time, after he accidentally went forwards instead of backwards as they pulled out of the parking lot. His car mutilated all sorts of shrubbery in front of the building. Draco initially thought he only needed about a week's work of practice on an old country road, but it turned out that he needed a bit more than that. After practicing all summer, he took the test again, passing it with flying colors.