A Wonderful Fortuitous Love

38. You and Her

“I’m attracted to the extreme light and the extreme dark. I’m interested in the human condition and what makes people tick. I’m interested in the things people try to hide.”

- Johnny Depp

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“So, have the nerves kicked in yet?” Ophelia asked as they settled into their table at the far back of the small coffee shop.

“For what?”

“The wedding. Not long now.”

“A little,” Draco answered, hoping his voice didn’t betray how nervous he actually felt. He got like this whenever someone mentioned the wedding to him. Sure, he could think and think about it, but thoughts were just thoughts, even if they made him a little anxious. But when people, like his mother, Natalie or Ophelia, tried talking about the marriage to him, Draco found himself shutting it out as best as he could. Speaking about it out loud was what made it real.

Suddenly, she leaned across the table and gingerly covered his hand with hers. At his questioning gaze, she half-smiled. “It’s all right, you know. I’m not my mother or yours.”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at,” he said flatly, thinking maybe she would get the message and leave it. 

“I just wanted a cup of coffee to get to know you better, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable –”

“I’m not uncomfortable,” he said quickly, but she only ignored him.

“– I just thought, seeing how we’re both going through this, maybe you’d want to talk about it.” She leaned back in her seat, shrugged, then signalled for a waitress. “It could make this a whole lot easier for ourselves.”

He watched her, thinking over what she’d said. Could he really talk to her about it? Could he really allow for himself to say what’s on his mind? Would she use it against him and tell her mother?

The waitress came over to their table, not before looking at her watch with a very bored expression, and asked for their orders. In spite of her less than welcoming expression, Ophelia smiled at her like she was an old friend, and Draco supposed maybe she wouldn’t use what he told her against him after all.

As the waitress wrote down whatever it was Ophelia ordered, she did a double take and a look of recognition crossed her face. “Hey, you’re the Hopkins’ kid.”

‘Kid’ was a bit strange coming from her, considering she looked like she was still in Hogwarts.

“I am, yes,” said Ophelia.

“I saw what your mum did for Giant Rights, and I gotta say, it was pretty cool.” She gave her a faint smile and turned to Draco. “What’ll it be?”

“Just coffee. Black,” he said. When she walked away he snorted. “Giant Rights. Potter would love that.”

Ophelia glanced up from the menu she was examining. “Potter? Are you talking about Harry Potter?”

“Sadly.”

“He was the one who gave my mother the idea about the giants.”

“Of course it was,” he muttered, before a truly terrible thought occurred to him. “You’re not friends with him, are you?”

She smiled at the childish question. “He drops around the house occasionally but I don’t know him personally. Seen him, never actually talked. Mum on the other hand… she adores him. She’s always saying how the world needs more Harry Potter’s.”