(HP Đồng nhân Eng) Seven Years Too Late

Chap 5

By Saturday morning Draco had printed up the signs to be used for the upcoming school fundraiserhe was in charge of, made lists of all the merchants he needed to contact for donations, taughtschool, spring cleaned his house (even though spring seemed eons away given the snow that hadbeen falling since the evening he spent out with Dee), done his laundry, written up his lesson plansfrom now until the end of the school year for his muggle students and gotten supplies andassignments ready for his magical one. He had also made time to fit in a manicure and pedicure.

What he hadn't done was sleep. Not Thursday night or Friday night. How could he when every time he closed his eyes, every time he felt himself falling asleep, he couldn't keep his guard up against thoughts of Harry? 

Now it was Saturday morning. Snow was mounded up against his front door and drifts were piled in his driveway. The few cars that had been parked on the street were unrecognizable because of the snow covering the tops of them and there was not one single thing Draco could do inside his house to keep himself busy. Not unless he started hand stripping wallpaper from his kitchen walls. Draco recognized that giving Potter that much power over him was really beyond pathetic, and he knew it was time to get away from the house when removing wallpaper the muggle way was looking good. 

He bundled up in coat and scarf, went out the back door so he could use his wand secretly tomagic away the snow drift, and slowly made his way down the street. 

It was still early. Only a few people were starting to emerge from their warm cocoons with snow shovels or snowblowers in hand. The sky was an unearthly white-blue, perfectly devoid of clouds. The air, so cold it burned if he inhaled too deeply. 

Even though it wasn't a far walk to his favourite café, just a half mile down to the end of his street and around the corner a ways, he was huffing by the time he made it there.

It was a relief to see a car parked outside on the street. He hadn't entirely been certain the place
would be open, given the snow. Inside, Evan Taggart's little sister, Tabby, was putting coffee in the filter and her smile was rueful as she greeted Draco. 

"It may be just you and me here this morning," the teen girl joked. 

"My mom's never late, but she is this morning." Justine Taggart was Tabby's and Evan's mother and the owner of the cafe.

"Half the town is probably blocked in by snow." Draco unwound the scarf around his head and hung it over the back of one of the stools at the counter. 

He dragged off his coat and shook out his hair, then slipped onto the stool. 

"How's school going?"

Tabby was a senior in high school. She was smart and bright and as shiny as a new galleon. She
made Draco, short of sleep and feeling generally stressed out, feel older than Dumbledore.
Tabby was smiling and nodding. 

"Good. Glad we have a break coming up next week, though."

Draco yawned and smiled apologetically. 

"Been looking at colleges yet?"

"I want to study abroad. My parents, well, my mom mostly, is having a fit about it."

"It's just because they'll miss you," Draco told the girl, remembering back to when his mother had convinced his father not to send him to Durmstrang as she wanted him closer to home.

"They'll get used to the idea, but it doesn't hurt to have some alternatives, as well. You might be the one to change your mind." 

Goodness knows he certainly had. He still couldn't fathom why he'd ever thought he'd be happy working in a stuffy, goblin filled bank when he was so satisfied now working with children.