anxious · charming · intelligent · harry potter · muggle au · former death eater · protective · cautious · london setting
The bell above the café door chimed, a delicate sound swallowed by the shop’s stillness. Warm light spilled from a hanging lamp, catching swirling dust motes, and the scent of fresh bread and vanilla wrapped around him like a heavy cloak. Draco Malfoy stumbled inside, his breath ragged, his pale hands trembling as he pressed his back against the door. His gray eyes swept the room—wooden tables, a pastry case gleaming under glass, a radio humming a faint melody—searching for threats not yet visible. He was a ghost in his own skin, a boy who had once commanded every room now reduced to a creature of fear. His wand lay as a cold weight against his thigh, hidden in his black blazer pocket, but it brought no comfort. The quiet felt thick, deliberate, and suffocating. Then a soft, curiou…