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I
The kettle was whistling as Hermione was rushing around her flat trying to find the book that she needed for research.
And she couldn’t seem to find it anywhere.
It was maddening but she knew it had to be in her small two floor semi connected house on Albert Road. She could swear that she had put it on the coffee table the previous night before she had dragged herself to bed.
“Have you seen it, darling?” She cooed at the orange furry cat who was lying lazily on the small red cushion that seemed rather worn out. But Crookshanks refused to lie on any other bed or surface and Hermione hadn’t found the heart to throw the old thing out.
Crookshanks only looked at Hermione expectantly in a rather bored manner, and Hermione wished that she could understand what her cat was trying to say. For she was sure that he would definitely know where she had stashed the book away.
Just as she was on her knees, looking for the damn thing, she heard the doorbell ring.
“Coming!”
What she had not expected to see was her childhood bully at her door.
He was as pristine as usual, his postman uniform crisp and neat with his hair slightly longer than she recalled, and Hermione found herself wishing that she wasn’t in her pyjamas and that her hair wasn’t in a messy bun above her head.
“Granger,” he smirked and Hermione found herself scowling.
“Malfoy.”
He held up the clipboard in his hand, “You see, when I saw your name on the list I thought, ‘It can’t be can it?’ but then I found myself thinking how many Hermione Granger’s can there be in this bloody country? So I can’t say this is a surprise.”
“Well, it’s not like there’s a lot of ‘Draco Malfoy’s in this country, is there?” She had a hard time registering the fact that Draco was a postman. And all she could hope for was that he was a temp, and this wasn’t a permanent change.
“I’ve gotta give you that one,” he chuckled gently and Hermione found herself utterly confused. The last time she had seen him was at their graduation and he was still the annoying little prat that he had always been. She looked up at him and she wasn’t sure what her expression was like because Draco held her gaze, with all amusement wiping off his face.
And if Hermione Granger did not know him at all, she would have said that she could see remorse in his eyes.
But this was Draco, and she expected no such thing from him.
“Alright then, Granger. Here’s your package,” he handed her what she guessed was a novel that she had recently ordered online. “And if you sign here–”
Hermione found herself unable to look into his eyes as she signed the empty space beside her name, focusing only on how the ballpoint pen felt among her fingers.
“Done?” She asked timidly, not knowing where her voice had gone.
He smiled softly, “Yeah. I should get going. Nice to see you, Granger. I’ll probably be seeing you around a lot more.”
Hermione furrowed her brows but before she could say anything, Draco simply turned around and strided down the street. Only when he turned to knock on a door two houses away from her was when she stopped staring and closed the door behind her.
It took her a few seconds for her to start breathing again as she leaned against the door.
So maybe Draco was the new postman.
Crookshanks meowed and Hermione was reminded of the time, quickly heading to her bedroom to change before grabbing a bite to eat.
She didn’t think of Draco at all that day.
II
When there was a knock on the door, Hermione scrambled to the door with her makeup half done.
She had completely forgotten that Draco was her postman now and had opened the door expecting to see Mr Hamilton.
Yet, there he was, the platinum blonde that had even sharper features than she recalled.
It wasn’t as though she hadn’t grappled with the thought of Draco now being assigned to her street since their first encounter but with her mind on the latest book that she had ordered Hermione was taken back with the sight of him in front of her.
“Oh– Hey,” she said as she adjusted her cardigan that had slipped off her shoulder in the process.
“Morning, Granger,” he nodded and pulled a book from his bag. It was definitely interesting to see him in the striking red uniform. During school, Draco always seemed to prefer dark greens and black tones for his clothing choices. “Another book, I see. Why am I not surprised?”
His tone was friendly, playful almost and Hermione found herself wondering where the pesky little ferret had disappeared. The concept of Draco Malfoy actually being nice isn't something that you stumbled upon every day.
“What can I say, I’ve always loved books.” She took the clipboard from him and signed her name, all while feeling his eyes on her.
“I know.” Gracefully as he always was, he retrieved the list and stalled for a moment before shaking himself off.
“Right. See you, Granger. And I guess that’ll be soon, since this is the second time I’ve been here this week. Take care.”
“You too, Malfoy.”
This time she couldn’t find it in her to watch him as she proceeded to slam the door shut tight.
III
“You can’t be serious!” Hermione clutched onto the door frame as she laughed, trying to simultaneously recall the last time that she had laughed so hard.
It had been quite a while.
“No, I am. I think Stephen King is way better than Tolstoy.”
“You are simply saying these things to provoke me.”
“Well, tell me if it’s working because I’d love to see you provoked, Granger.” Draco ran his fingers through his hair and Hermione couldn’t help but note how sharply his hair contrasted his uniform.
How delicate his fingers were.
How pretty he looked when he was smiling with no walls put up.
And how he was flirting so shamelessly.
She stopped her train of thought right there. Draco Malfoy? Flirting with her? Something was not right and Draco must have seen it in her face because his walls were back up rather abruptly.
It was quite disappointing that she had let the moment slip away simply due to her overworking brain. She internally cursed at herself for being so stupid.
“See you soon, Granger.” He saluted her and nodded before moving onto his next delivery.
The street seemed extra quiet that morning.
IV
When Hermione opened the door, she already had a thermos filled with coffee for Draco. But to her horror she almost dropped it from the rush of adrenaline that she was experiencing.
A few days prior to the moment, Draco had mentioned that he enjoyed having coffee in the mornings but his early shift had changed that routine of his because he couldn’t find the time. So Hermione had pondered on the idea of making him some coffee as a small gesture ever since.
Would it be overstepping an unspoken boundary?
Would he think she was flirting?
Was she actually flirting?
And that was the main question that she couldn’t seem to find an answer to.
Draco seemed mildly amused by her state of frenzy. “Morning, Granger. See you’re in rather a hassle this morning. What is the matter?”
“I’m not. I mean– I made you coffee,” she said and feebly shook the thermos towards him.
Draco’s eyes seemed to flicker with something that she couldn’t quite identify as he looked at her hand. “Really?”
“Yeah. You mentioned it the other day.” Hermione was sure that she was blushing.
“That’s awfully nice of you.”
It felt like an eternity stretching between them as Hermione handed over the thermos and he took it.
“It’s green,” he was commenting on the colour of the bright aluminium.
“I remember you liking the colour. Back from school,” she added in a rather rushed tone.
He smiled.
She didn’t know what to do.
“Thank you,” he said, and the tone that he said caused her stomach to do the flips.
She knew she was in trouble.
Deep trouble.
V
Even though she would never fully admit it to herself, she found herself ordering more and more books just so she could see Draco.
And she wasn’t complaining.
A girl could never have enough books and it was refreshing to chat to him almost every morning about what she had ordered. He had shared the top of the class with Hermione, and it wasn’t surprising that he was well read, and still enjoyed reading.
And that constantly made Hermione wonder why he was a postman. Draco came from money. A lot of it. His father was one of the most powerful people in the United Kingdom and she still didn’t find herself close enough to him to ask why he was now delivering packages for the Royal Mail?
But she wouldn’t have to ponder for any longer because it was Draco who actually brought up the subject on a bleak Tuesday morning.
“Hermione,” he whispered gently once she had signed the papers. It startled her, hearing her name spill from his lips.
“Yeah?”
“I just want to say that I’m sorry. For being a dick while we were back at school.”
Now that was unexpected. She found herself unable to find the correct words. “There’s no need. We were kids.”
“There is. I was an absolute twat and you never deserved any of it. I’m so, so sorry. And I’ve been trying to clear my name away from my family, trying to start from a brand new spot and I just want to say that seeing you on my morning route was one of the best things that had happened to me ever since.” He averted his eyes, apparently suddenly becoming shy, scratching the back of his head. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling.”
“No– No, that’s fine. Draco–” Hermione heard him suck in his breath when she said his name out loud for the first time. “Draco, I’m also glad that you’re here. Apology accepted.”
“Thank you,” he said and a soft laugh rumbled through his chest. Hermione couldn’t seem to understand why her heart was beating so wildly.
VI
“You ready, Granger?”
The night sky had fallen upon her neighbourhood and she felt prominently beautiful in her blue velvet dress.
“You still insist on calling me ‘Granger’?” She took Draco’s hand that he had offered to help her down her front door steps, and was mesmerised at how handsome he looked in a pair of navy trousers and a simple linen shirt with a leather jacket on. Hermione clutched on to her coat for any extra warmth she could find as they shuffled to his car.
“I don’t see a problem with that,” he grinned, opening the car door for her before she stepped in. His car smelt exactly like him, and it was enough to make her feel dizzy.
“Fine,” she shrugged when Draco was seated in the driver's seat, fixing up his seatbelt. “Then I guess you won’t be expecting me to call you ‘Draco.”
She smirked smugly, proud of the reaction he was giving.
“You are intoxicating, and I am the luckiest man on this planet, blessed to have you as my date, Hermione.”
He smiled sincerely before starting up the engine.
“Wasn’t so hard now, was it, Draco?”
She thought he may have fainted right there and then if he wasn’t driving.