A/N: I've been trying really hard to get back into writing. I've missed it a great deal. This popped into my head and wouldn't let me go until I wrote it. Unbetaed so apologies for the inevitable misspellings and typos. Hope you like it!

Over the last two years, Hermione Granger had fallen into a routine. Every day she went to the same bakery for a muffin and a tea for breakfast. It was on her way to work at the Ministry, the line always moved quickly, and the owners were a mother/daughter duo who always made her smile. Elle did all the baking and Aubrey worked at the cash register. At 8:45 a.m. on the dot Hermione would walk in, she would wait for a minute or two in line, spend a minute or two talking to Aubrey as she rung her out, then Hermione went on her way and arrived at the Ministry by 9 a.m. But one Monday, Hermione Granger found herself standing in front of bakery, stunned. On the door there was a sign that simply read "closed." Closed. Unsure of what to do, Hermione stood on the sidewalk for a few minutes gaping at the sign and trying to figure out what to do.

"You know, there are other places for breakfast," came a voice from behind her.

Hermione turned and, when she saw who was speaking to her, quickly closed her mouth.

"Malfoy," she greeted him, stiffly, shifting her bag on her shoulder.

"Granger," he greeted her, politely. "I know a place nearby."

"That's okay," Hermione replied, her tone the same. "I'll just have a large lunch."

Before he could respond, Hermione turned away and walked quickly down the street. She hadn't seen him since Hogwarts, she realized, when they had both returned to repeat their final year. She had been shocked to see him there and half expected that he would return to his usual bullying ways. But he didn't say a word to her the entire school year. He didn't say a word to anyone really, she remembered. He had merely kept to himself, done all his work, and disappeared immediately after the graduation ceremony. She hadn't seen him or heard anything about him since. Making a mental note to ask Harry if he knew what Malfoy had been up to, she walked into the Ministry. She stepped into the elevator and, looking at her watch, realized she was late to work. The elevator opened on the Auror Department floor and she quickly made her way to the research analyst unit's office and sat down her desk. Noting that she was the only Auror in her unit there, she settled into reading one of the large tomes on dark magic that she had left on her desk. She was so engrossed in her reading, she didn't notice that someone was standing in front of her desk until they threw a piece of paper at her head. Hermione looked up, a little dazed, but her face broke out into a grin when she saw who it was.

"Hi Harry," she said, smiling at her best friend.

"Hey Hermione," Harry replied, returning her smile. "I'm meeting Pansy and Ron for lunch, want to come?"

Hermione involutarily scrunched her nose at hearing Pansy's name. Pansy and Ron had started dating a few months before after meeting at some event. Hermione knew Ron liked the girl but Hermione still wasn't sure about her.

"You can say no," Harry told her, laughing at the face she had made. "I'm already forcing Ginny to come along. Plus it's only noon and I know you prefer to wait until 12:30 p.m. for your lunch."

"I think I'll pass this time," Hermione answered, a bit relieved that Harry had given her an out. "I need to get some more work done. Tell everyone I said hello!"

"Will do," Harry replied, giving her a salute as he walked away from her desk.

Once Harry had gone, Hermione settled back into reading. She stayed there until her stomach began to growl angrily. Looking up from the book at the clock on the wall, she realized it was 2:15 p.m.. Hermione closed the book and grabbed her things. She walked out of the office, stepped into the elevator, and walked out of the Ministry. She paused, however, when she stepped outside of the Ministry, realizing that her favorite lunch place closed at 2. With a frown, she began to walk in the opposite direction that she normally did, pondering where she wanted to go for lunch. Deciding that she still wanted the comfort of eating somewhere she was familiar with, she walked toward the alley that led to Muggle London. With a quick tap on the bricks, she emerged in another alley and began walking toward her favorite sandwich shop. She was stopped on the street corner, watching as the cars whizzed by, when all of a sudden she felt lightheaded. She tried to steady herself on the lamp post but it was just far enough away that when she went to lean on it, she nearly toppled over. In fact, she would have fallen if a strong pair of arms hadn't caught her. Dazed, Hermione allowed the person to pull her to her feet. Realizing her eyes were shut, she forced her eyes open and stared into the silver eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, shaking her a little.

"I'm fine," Hermione said, pulling out of his arms and taking a step back. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," he bit back, angrily. "You look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm fine," Hermione repeated, putting a hand to her head as she swayed. "I just need to grab lunch."

"Idiot," Draco muttered, stepping towards her.

Hermione instinctively moved to take a step back but her step back resulted in her nearly stepping off the curb. Draco grabbed her arms forcefully and pulled her away from the edge of the sidewalk.

"Smartest witch my ass," he growled, earning weird looks from the muggles around them. "I bet you haven't eaten today at all. Come on."

Before Hermione could argue, she found herself being dragged through the crowds. A moment later, she found herself seated at in a booth at the back of a pub, with a scowling Draco across from her. When the waiter came over, Draco barked out an order and sent the waiter scuttling away. Draco then slid out of the booth, walked over to the bar, and returned a moment later with peanuts. He forcefully slid them in front of her.

"Eat," he ordered. "The food will be here shortly."

More than a little stunned, Hermione found herself complying. As she munched on the peanuts, she stared at Draco. He looked the same, she mused. A little older but mostly the same. But he had helped her, she thought. And he was in Muggle London. So maybe something about him was different too.

The waiter returned with two waters, setting them down quickly before fleeing away.

"Here," Draco said, sliding the water to her.

Hermione finished chewing the peanutes she was eating and drank down the water before speaking.

"Thank you," she said, quietly, looking Draco directly in the eyes. "You probably saved my life when you kept me from falling into the street."

"It's nothing," he replied, dismissively.

"No it isn't," Hermione told him, popping another peanut into her mouth. "You have no reason to help me but you did. So thank you."

"Consider us even then," Draco answered, pulling his gaze away from her and looking down at the table.

"Even?" Hermione asked, perplexed.

"A life for a life," he replied, his tone quieter and softer.

Hermione cocked her head and stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Before she could ask him, the waiter brought over their food. Hermione thanked him and gave him a smile as he quickly fled from their table. She looked down and saw that Draco had ordered them both Guinness beef stew. Draco dug into his without a word and Hermione began to eat as well. They sat there in silence for several minutes before Hermione couldn't contain her curiosity anymore.

"What do you mean by that?" Hermione asked, nuding Draco's hand when he didn't immediately answer. "What do you mean by a life for a life?"

"I know what you did," Draco replied, after a minute of silence. "After the war. Potter told me a few weeks back when we were out for drinks."

Hermione felt her jaw drop, trying to process not only that Draco knew what she had done but that Harry had been the one to tell him and that they had gone out for drinks together. She latched onto the easiest bit to process first.

"You and Harry went out for drinks?"

"Against my will," Draco replied, with a half laugh. "I was working with his unit on a case and after we closed it, apparently that called for celebratory drinks."

"What do you do?" Hermione wanted to know, nudging him again.

This time he looked up at her. "I work in the forensics unit. In the laboratory."

Hermione, stunned, simply stared at him for a moment. "You work in the forensics unit?" she repeated. "The forensics unit that uses muggle technology alongside wizarding technology to process evidence."

"That's the one," Draco replied, smirking at her. "Shocked, Granger? We are in a pub in muggle London after all."

"Yes," Hermione answered, honestly. "That's the last place I would have expected you to be. Though I guess running into you here is too."

"Surely you can see why and how my outlook on muggles may have changed," he said, his voice lowering but his eyes staying on hers.

"Of course," Hermione told him, reaching across the table and grabbing his hand. "Of course I can."

Draco looked down at her hand touching his and Hermione pulled back.

"Sorry," she muttered, picking her spoon back up and going back to her stew.

"So you can see what I mean then," Draco said, carefully.

Hermione looked up from her food and saw him staring intently at her.

"When I say, a life for a life." He finished.

"Malfoy," she said with a sigh. "Speaking to the Wizenmagot after the war ended didn't save your life. Your mother saved your life when she helped Harry."

"I was at that hearing, Granger," he reminded her. "You didn't have to say anything at all. But you stood on that stand and you told them that, in spite of everything I had done to you, you believed that I could change. You asked them to give me the opportunity to live my life."

"You were a child," she answered, kindly, resisting the urge to reach back across the table.

"So were you," he countered. "You still chose the right side."

"There was never another side for me to chose," she said, simply. "Nor was there for you. Did I want you to be held accountable for what you did? Absolutely. But going to Azkaban for the rest of your life wouldn't have accomplished that. You just needed a chance."

"And you made sure I got that chance," Draco told her. "A life for a life. Thank you for mine."

Hermione found herself at a loss for words at that and, instead of responding, simply smiled back at him. Draco resumed eating and, after a moment, Hermione did too. They finished their food in companionable silence. When the bill came, Draco insisted on paying and Hermione relented. Together, they slid out of the booth and walked out of the pub. Without a word, they began walking in the direction of the alley that would take them back to Wizarding London.

"Thank you," Hermione said, breaking the silence. "For lunch. And for catching me."

"You're welcome," Draco replied, giving her a small smile.

"So you and Harry spent time together without killing one another?" she asked, with a grin.

Draco's small smile bloomed into a large one. "Just the one time, Granger," he told her. "I wouldn't hold out for more than that. Weasley on the other hand…"

"You've spent time with Ron?!" Hermione exclaimed. "He never mentioned it!"

"Pansy is one of my oldest friends," Draco pointed out. "She forces me to be social and, as of late, being social includes spending time with Weasley. Which is incredibly strange if you ask me."

Hermione laughed out loud. "It is, isn't it?" she said, smiling at him. "I never would have put those two together."

"Neither would I," Draco replied with a shrug. "But they seem happy enough."

"They do, I suppose," Hermione said, thoughtfully.

They continued to chat amiably until they reached the front entrance of the Ministry. Hermione stopped when Draco didn't immediately walk into the building.

"Coming?" Hermione asked, confused.

"I have a training back in Muggle London," Draco replied, sheepishly.

"Why on earth did you come all the way back here then?" Hermione wanted to know.

"I needed the exercise," Draco lied, grinning when Hermione raised an eyebrow at his response.

"Are you going to Pansy's birthday party on Saturday night?" Draco asked, stepping towards Hermione.

"I was going to skip it," Hermione told him, suddenly hyper-aware of how close to her he was.

"You should go," Draco said, casually, his face only a few inches from hers. "We can make fun of the pair of them together."

"I think I'd like that," Hermione replied, leaning in towards Draco.

"Have a good rest of your day at work, Granger," Draco said, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Hermione felt her breath hitch at the contact and stood in front of the Ministry for a few minutes, watching Draco walk away from her. She felt a small smile stretch across her face as she thought about seeing him in a few days. Her thoughts were interrupted by someone calling her name.

"Yes?" she said, turning in the direction of the voice.

"What are you doing?" Hannah Abbott asked her, looking curiously at her Hermione. "It's nearly 4 pm and you're always at your desk until at least 6 pm."

"I'm a bit out of my routine," Hermione replied, smiling to herself.

Hannah gave her a puzzled look but began to walk alongside her as Hermione made her way back to their office. As Hermione sat back down at her desk she found herself smiling again, looking forward to the weekend.

A/N: So there it is! I'm thinking of writing more so if you're interested, let me know! xx