The bitter sweet aroma of fresh coffee could be smelled the moment you walked past the building. From inside it dulled slightly due to their noses adjusting to it. All around the small Cafe there was chattering. A couple small groups of friends had obviously gathered here due to the warm sense of familiarity it brought. Not only that, but it was a place where you could be yourself and have fun because no one would judge you. Well placed lights made the place bright and cheery. The walls were a cream colour filled with interesting, and colourful paintings.

A bitter taste filled Draco's mouth as he took a sip from the cup in his hand. He could feel the exhaustion from this morning settling and wanted to keep it at bay for as long as possible.

Across from Draco on the other bench sat Harry Potter. His past self would have laughed if someone had told him they'd be living together one day and having pleasant conversations like the one they were having.

They'd been discussing Draco's job choices. It was obvious that a career in the wizarding world was going to be difficult to obtain. There were many that held grudges against the Malfoy's and very few would be willing to hire him due to his death eater status. The few that would accept him would not suit Draco in the slightest. So they'd hesitantly agreed it should be a muggle job. The court had never said anything about where he had to work. So then it was just discussing where and what. Draco had been baffled by the many job availabilities in the muggle world. Harry had explained a lot of them and jotted down the things Draco seemed interested in.

They had also discussed the possibility of what would happen to Draco if Harry gets hurt. Considering this seemed to happen often, it was a rather important topic. Unfortunately for Draco, Harry had more influence in the choice. The end result was that Draco would go to the Weasleys. Which Draco wasn't happy with, but he brooded quietly knowing the alternative would be Azkaban. He'd rather avoid that.

For a moment Draco thought over how he got in this little Cafe in the middle of who knows where. The blind faith he'd put in Potter was rather strange he had to admit. Although that was a topic Draco didn't want to think of at the moment. Instead he thought of his side of the day as Harry chatted on. That included what had happened with Karkaroff and how Harry had basically seen him naked. Then being thrown into the lives of the Weasleys who seemed to have mixed opinions on him. Molly being incredibly kind, had made Draco unsure of himself. Dealing with insults was not an issue, but a lack of arguing made him nervous. What could Molly want from him? It was a long time before Harry returned, and Draco was worried that Harry had forgotten him.

When Harry had finally felt better, or rather been allowed to leave, he immediately went to make sure Draco survived at the Weasleys.

The state Harry had found Draco in had shook Harry to the bone with laughter. Hair products no where to be seen, Draco's hair was a mess. It also looked like it had previously been ruffled in one of the Weasley's head locks. Another thing had been the complete style change. The Weasley hand-me-downs were entirely strange to see on Draco Malfoy of all people. Then to see Molly tending to his every need was a strange picture when you realize their families had been feuding for a while. What really got to Harry though was the pure look of discomfort, and the look that screamed "Help!" when Draco finally noticed Harry there.

Draco glared at the table after the memory reappeared. How dare Potter laugh at him at a time like that? That was one of the strangest experiences of his entire life and Potter was laughing about it. First a hugely traumatic event, and then another.

Shortly after, when Harry stopped laughing, they had left and visited Hermione together to explain what had happened. Hermione had luckily been at home. It was a quick visit. Knowing his friend wasn't best buddies with his housemate, he'd hurried it as best he could and not miss too many details in his explanation. Multiple times Harry had to reassure Hermione that he was alright throughout the story. He had kept the healers wrist bracelet that had recently marked him as a patient. After Hermione understood, she had asked them to stay a while. Politely they had refused Hermione's offer of tea and had raced away.

They'd apparated to a dark alleyway and as they walked into this little Cafe, Harry had explained that the ministry was checking the house for any nasty surprise Karkaroff could have left for them. So for the next three days they would have to stay elsewhere. Harry wasn't sure where yet, but he'd find a place. Going to the Weasleys was an option, but Draco would be uncomfortable there. Hermione only had a couch free at the moment. She'd settled for something cheap and functional. Unfortunately that meant there was only room for one. There was Dean and Seamus, who were out of the country. Neville was in the middle of his apprenticeship for his new job, and Harry didn't want to bother him. As Harry went through the list, he found less and less options.

The ministry had agreed to help him clean Grimmauld place. That was another reason why it would take so long. Cleaning up on their own would take longer though, so Harry had decided they would wait the extra bit. Already, the ministry had told Harry of the many traps and weapons Karkaroff had left everywhere, and that they were in the process of removing them. Harry couldn't help but wonder how many of those were actually his own. They had also expressed their plan of adding more protection wards, and Harry had agreed. Being golden boy had its definite benefits.

"Hello? Hello? Are you listening to me?"

Draco snapped out of the state of thought he had previously been in. Staring at him expectantly, was Harry. A slight frown befell Harry's face for a moment but then it was gone.

"Are you alright?" Harry tried again. His fingers had began to tap the table softly repeatedly. His left eye was twitching slightly. A nervous habit that Draco had noticed about Potter.

Draco replied with a short, "Just fine Potter." it came out sharper than he had meant.

Betraying his unchanging expression, his eyes shone with hurt for a moment. Hair was falling forward as he went to take a sip of his own coffee. For a while Harry refused to look at Malfoy and they lapsed into silence.

The cheery attitude of the coffee shop couldn't reach them or dull the tiredness from all that had happened today. The positive attitude began to disappear shortly after the majority of people had left. Then suddenly the barista was telling them they were closing in ten minutes. Simultaneously the two stood and left.

Once they were in the dark alleyway again, Harry realized their one problem. They didn't have much money. It was all in Gringotts, which was closed, and Draco's money was frozen by the ministry for the time being anyway. That left them with the options of going to a friend's place, finding some other place, or sleeping on the streets.

Seeming to read his mind, or possibly just think logically, Draco asked where they would be staying.

"That's a good question."

The answer baffled Draco into sending a sharp judging look his way. Had Potter not thought of this?

"Normally my first option is the Weasleys, and you're uncomfortable with that option. The ghoul would keep you awake and you'd be complaining for weeks," he explained. Harry smiled seeing Draco's enthusiastic nod of agreement, then continued. "Hermione doesn't have space, Seamus and Dean are out of reach, Neville doesn't have his own place yet, although he's usually happy to share his one couch. His Gran can be nasty in the morning though. That rids me of all my usual options. Any ideas?"

Bringing his hand to his head as if to stimulate his brain, Draco thought of his own options. The manor had been the obvious option, but unfortunately the ministry had told him he couldn't see his mother for a couple months. A lot of his old friends had gone into hiding or just didn't want to be found. People were quick to throw the blame on any and all Slytherins. That left out a lot more options.

Shaking his head with a frown, Draco went down a different thought process. Why were there so few that would take Harry in? He was the golden boy! The chosen one! The saviour... Why was it only friends that Harry suggested? He needed to ask but he didn't know how to broach the subject. He had to try though. "What about your guardians Potter? They'd be willing wouldn't they?"

Suddenly Harry was scratching his neck and looking around. When he finally answered he wouldn't look at Draco, as if he'd crossed a line that wasn't supposed to be crossed. He said, "I don't believe they would be."

Draco had growing shadows under his eyes, and a decrease in brain activity. At this time, to Draco at least, Harry's guardians were the best option for a place to stay. He probably had a king sized bed in his room. Why couldn't they just use that? "Well why not?"

Unfortunately Draco hadn't noticed the nervous reaction he'd received, or gotten the hint from the tone Harry had used. His tuckered out state left him wanting a bed. He didn't care what kind or where.

"I'm not welcome there," Harry briefly explained. "Even if I was, I wouldn't go back."

This only confused Draco more. "Well they have a bed there don't they? A heater? Surely they won't mind you staying a night with a friend?" when Harry snorted in response, he realized they weren't quite friends. They were housemates, but nothing more had really been established.

When Harry had snorted, it wasn't because of them not being friends. He understood that was a joke. He had snorted about the Dursleys letting him stay a night. Let alone with a friend. Knowing the Dursleys better than Malfoy did, he very much didn't want to go back.

"Well I mean not a friend, but they don't know that unless you told them," Draco went to correct, but just made it awkward.

A small smile placed itself on Harry's lips. Although it disappeared far too fast for Draco's taste. "It's alright Malfoy. I mean we will be living together for a year so we may as well become friends. If you think you could handle that of course." Taking a chance, Harry briefly glanced up at Draco. Once he'd seen Draco's small nod, he continued, "The Dursleys don't know about our rivalry but they're still not an option."

Slightly furrowing his eyebrows, Draco was confused. "Well why not? Why are they not an option."

"They hate me. Anyway, we could stay at a muggle shelter for the homeless. They've got beds. They don't smell nice, and they're kind of creepy, but it's a possibility. I used to stay at one nearby." For a while Draco stared waiting for Harry to go into depth about the Dursleys hating him, but he didn't. Harry just continued on about the shelter. "I mean you'll probably complain about that too, but I think it'll be better than the Weasleys for you. So what do you think? The shelter?"

"As long as its not the Weasleys."

"Alright. The shelter it is. I did warn you though. Its not what you'd call ideal."

"Whatever you say Potter. Just get us over here before I die of exhaustion."

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