Modern No-Magic AU Drarry

Chapter Two

Harry punched in a few numbers to the machine and the receipt spilled out. "Here you go."

"Thanks," the customer smiled at Harry, taking the slip of paper with her order number on it.

"It should be ready in just a second, feel free take a seat while you're waiting," he said.

"I look forward to it... Harry," the girl winked before turning around to join her friend at a table.

Blinking, Harry awkwardly stood at the cash register. "Er. Good to hear?"

Sitting down with her back to Harry, the girl chuckled and her friend sent gleeful glances to the confused looking boy.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione shook her head and bent further over her book, angling herself so that she had her back to the new customers.

Shrugging, Harry took the receipt and walked into the back room. "Hey, Ron, I have a hot chocolate that's practically begging for you to make it."

"Who was that?" Ron demanded, a wide grin on his face.

"What? Who?"

Shaking his head, Ron not-so-subtly pointed to the table. "The girl who is definitely crushing on you! Her!"

"What makes you say that?" Harry laughed, bunching his sleeves at his elbows and turning on the large tap.

From the other side of the room, Draco looked closely at the brownies he was cutting but trained an ear on the conversation.

"Mate. If you can't notice that she has feelings for you when it's as obvious as batting her eyelashes at you, you're gonna have serious trouble."

"Riiight," Harry said, running his fingers under the water to test the temperature. "Don't you remember her from school? She's, er, hold on... Vane? Romilda Vane, I think? Yeah, that's it. Her."

Ron squinted. "Was she in our house?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. I don't remember her."

"I think she was one of the, er," Harry scratched the back of his neck, trying not to look embarrassed. "One of the girls who kind of... you know when a few girls kind of... followed me? I guess, um, fancied me?"

Ron snorted. "Fancied 'the Chosen One,'" he mocked.

Draco rolled his eyes heavily, placing each brownie into a container.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry's face burned. He turned around briefly and furrowed his eyebrows as if only just noticing Malfoy. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cutting brownies, you daft scarhead," Malfoy muttered. "It's my job."

"Watch your mouth, Malfoy," Harry glared, not looking very threatening when the sink behind him slowly filled with bubbles that had transferred onto his arms.

"I remind you one of us is holding a knife right now, and the other is currently covered with dish-soap bubbles."

His face slightly red, Harry shook his arms, bunching his too-large sleeves up around his elbows again. Hopefully he wouldn't need to wear Dudley's old clothes for much longer.

When the other two boys were looking away, Draco held his breath as he tried to look anywhere but Harry. But instead of turning back around to his job, he looked. And he instantly regretted it.

A cold gust of wind found its way into the back room and the bell on the door tinkled. 

"Customer," Ron grimaced, before squinting at Draco. "Oi, Malfoy, you look a bit-"

"I'll get it," Draco pushed past them, too quick for Harry to see what Ron was talking about.

Thankfully out and away from those two boys, Draco attempted to reign his face back to neutral. "Hello, how can I-"

"Are you alright, my boy?" the older customer asked.

Surprised, Draco stopped mid sentence. "I- what?"

"Well, you're looking rather pink."

From the corner of his eye, Draco saw Harry look at him curiously. "What can I help you with?" he all but demanded to the old customer, doing his very best to scowl again.

"Well, just a coffee to wake me up a little bit, is what I'm after." she nodded, her bespectacled face looking tiny compared to her frizzy, greying hair that fanned out around her.

Draco waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "...What type of coffee?" he prompted, causing the customer to jump a little.

"Ah, hm. A light strong one, if you please. Yes, that will do." she nodded again.

Draco stared, the seconds stretching in between them. "A... a light strong one?" he repeated.

"Yes, that's the one. Thank you. How much will that be?" she watched him expectantly as he continued to sit in silence confusedly.

"Lady, surely you know that's not a real-"

"I'll take it from here," Harry cut in, sidling past Draco to get to the front.

"Don't touch me," Draco hissed as Harry's hand brushed his back as he went past.

Harry glared. "I didn't! You wish."

"Oh yeah?" Draco took a step forward before halting, furrowing his eyebrows. Wait a second. What were they arguing over?

The two boys squinted warily at each other before the customer coughed, snapping them back to duty.

Furrowing his eyebrows deep in thought, Ron held the clean Chux cloth in one hand and the cleaning spray in the other as he walked out to the customer area and began wiping down tables.

Hermione looked up, looking tiny compared to the big books surrounding her. She watched Ron for a few seconds before speaking. "What is it?"

"Huh?" Ron paid close attention to a dried up stain on the table, splashing it with some more spray before rubbing it again. He looked to the side at Hermione. "What?"

"Your eyebrows are furrowed," Hermione pointed out. "What's wrong?"

Glancing towards the counter, Ron quickly pulled up a chair next to Hermione who shut her book. "Have you noticed anything... I dunno, it's probably nothing."

"What? What's nothing?"

They both turned around, watching as Harry adjusted his glasses, attempting to focus on the cash register. Draco appeared behind him, glaring as he walked past with a fresh box of brownies.

"Nothing," Ron concluded, standing up with a shrug. "I'm just seeing things."

Sighing, Hermione opened her textbook again, shaking her head.