Hi anon, absolutely! I reckon that’s a pretty common trope in fic nowadays. I’ve decided to include journalist!Draco as well, in case you’re interested:
He Whose Hand and Eye Are Gentle by khalulu (2017, G, 5k)
Draco reads poems and sometimes writes them. Harry receives poems and sometimes reads them. Rutherford delivers poems via the scenic route.
i just want your extra time and your.... by @bonesliketambourines (2020, E, 9k)
Ron should know better than to speak Latin in a magical library. If he’d just left well enough alone, instead of trying to badger Malfoy for the details of his newest novel, Harry wouldn’t have to listen to all of this chatter about how bloody decent Malfoy is, and he wouldn’t be dealing with all of these...feelings.
coffee & communication: a (slow) romance by @softlystarstruck (2022, E, 11k)
Nearly a decade after the war, Draco has made a life for himself in Muggle London, writing romance novels and hanging out with his cat.
Dream by the Fire by GallifreyisBurning (2020, M, 11k)
When Draco Malfoy resurfaces in England after eight years abroad—tattooed, pierced, and wanting to take over a corner of Harry's coffee shop to work on a writing project—Harry can't help but be intrigued.
Write the Way Out by carpemermaid (2017, E, 14k)
When Draco finally gets his first real assignment as a reporter for the Daily Prophet, he didn’t imagine that he would be given the Potter beat.
100 Beats per Minute by @oknowkiss (2022, E, 14k)
When Draco left the Magical World behind at nineteen, he didn't expect the cusp of thirty would find him comfortable and secure, with a stable life and a successful career as a sex columnist.
Romance, in Quartet by @potteresque-ire (2014, E, 14k)
Draco Malfoy, the writer of WWN's The Romance Hour, found solace in his quill as his son Scorpius battled cancer.
Reading Malfoy by Femme (2013, M, 15k)
After thirteen years of hiding himself away in Muggle London, Draco Malfoy shows up again in the wizarding world--with a wickedly amusing memoir in hand. Harry doesn't want to read it. Really. He doesn't.
Sourdough by @academicdisasterfic (2021, M, 17k)
Draco writes romance novels and doesn't leave his apartment much. Harry bakes bread and sells it to Draco. Draco is quite weird. Harry might like that.
Sparks from the Fox’s Tail by khalulu (2013, T, 17k)
Draco is frustrated with his career as a travel writer, when a mini-tirade from Mrs Weasley and an encounter with the portrait of an intrepid great-great-great-aunt lead him to Finland to study wandless magic.
Gossip Boys by mypetelephant (2012, E, 24k)
Confiscated Dark objects have been disappearing from the Ministry, and journalist Harry Potter is on the case. Unfortunately, he has to drag along Draco Malfoy, gossip columnist extraordinaire, whose subject of choice is everyone's favorite desultory hero.
If We Were Honest by @daisymondays (2018, E, 26k)
Two years ago, Draco and Harry had a whirlwind secret romance that ended in heart-break. Since then Draco's written a best-selling novel based on their relationship, but with one key difference—the characters get a happily ever after.
The Boy and the Sleeping Prince by phoenixacid and @writcraft (2014, E, 26k)
Harry is miserable and tired of being an Auror, coasting through life until he’s forced to make some changes. Spurred on by his passion for drawing and working with best-selling author Draco Malfoy, Harry develops a charm which gives children a magical, interactive reading experience.
Written Proof by @m0srael (2021, E, 34k)
Draco's move home to Wiltshire after more than a decade is anything but easy. He's given up an illustrious career in journalism to pursue poetry, his mother's health is declining, and it seems that the War isn't quite as 'in the past' as Draco assumed.
All Roads by @korlaena and Saulaie (2019, M, 36k)
Draco hates his job at the Prophet. He hates it even more when he’s assigned to write an article on Harry Potter, who left the country three years ago after their falling out.
Picking Up Pieces by @tessacrowley (2017, E, 44k)
Fifteen years after the War, Draco is a social recluse and award winning author. Harry is an auror who works too hard, ensuring his old war wounds never heal.
Antonym of Silence by @xx-thedarklord-xx (2021, M, 45k)
No witnesses, no sign of a break-in, wards intact and a missing person. Just what happened to Draco Malfoy? Was he even still alive? All Harry's got to go off of is a wrecked house, a silent painting, and a journal full of private emotions.
Had To Be You by @lettersbyelise (2018, E, 59k)
Draco Malfoy is possibly the last person Harry expects to find at the wheel of a Muggle car, on a beautiful summer day on the road to London.
Who we are in the shadows by @quicksilvermaid (2019, E, 99k)
What happens when you’re forced to become the very thing you despise? Ex-Auror Harry Potter, tossed out of the Ministry for something he had no control over, has been looking for a way back to his former life.
Turn by Saras_Girl (2013, E, 306k)
One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.
Draco befriends stray animals in his back garden, unknowing that one of them is actually an animagus.
This was so cute and sweet and gave me a toothache. Ending came waaaaaaaaaaay too soon and I wished this would never end, I enjoyed this a lot. Something about Draco befriending all the animals and magical creatures is close to my heart
Harry really enjoyed his work at the muggle coffee shop in London that he'd started working at the year after the war. Work was simple, predictable, and no one's life was hanging in the balance.
He liked it so much that he was still working there three years later when the bell over the door tingled and Draco Malfoy walked in. Harry barely had time to compose his face into a look of innocent, naivete before Malfoy's gaze caught his. "Good morning," he said, a touch too enthusiastically. "Welcome to Grounds, what can we do you for?" he winced, "do for you, that is?"
Malfoy blinked at him before saying, "Potter?" as though he absolutely couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Uhh," Harry said, thinking as quickly as he could and playing stupid, "No, my name is Barry," he said, pointing to his name tag which did, in fact, say Barry.
"Barry?" Malfoy asked, eye brows raising so high that they disappeared beneath his blond fringe.
"Yep," he said, popping the 'p' like an absolute idiot. "Barry Porter."
"Barry Porter?" he asked incredulously, and his disbelief was a bit merited, Harry could admit that, but he'd needed a name that he'd recognize if someone said it. "Are you shitting me?"
"Hey," Matilda said, stepping up next to Harry and pointing a manicured finger at Malfoy, "Are you harassing my employee?"
"No!" Malfoy said quickly.
She raised an imperious eyebrow at him, "I heard you cursing."
He shook his head, "Sorry-"
"He's alright," Harry inserted. "He seemed to think that I was someone he knew."
(Read more below the cut)
Malfoy's eyes skittered over Harry's face again, lingering where the scar was supposed to be. But Harry knew he wouldn't find any trace of it. Muggle concealer was a marvelous thing. "I-" he started before breaking off, shaking his head. "Sorry."
Matilda seemed mollified, nodding once and taking a step back, "If he gives you any trouble, you call me over," she said to Harry, glaring at Malfoy as she stepped away.
"So," Harry said, "Err. What can I get you?"
Malfoy stared at him for several, endless seconds and Harry felt his scalp prickling. "It's strange," he said. Then, "Could I please have an oatmilk latte with cinnamon?"
Harry tried not to audibly breathe a sigh of relief, "Yes. Oatmilk latte with cinnamon," he recited. "What size?"
"Large, please."
"Right," Harry said, ringing it into the register, "£3.64."
Malfoy opened his wallet and handed him a fiver, "Keep the change," he said absently.
"Cheers," Harry said, dropping it into the cup before moving to make Malfoy's latte. He handed it over and the other man left without another word.
Harry stared at his retreating form, watching him through the window as he set off to wherever he was going. He sighed in relief, glad that it was over.
---------------
He should have known that nothing was ever as it seemed when it came to Draco Malfoy. The man returned the next day, and the day after that, and probably the following two days even though Harry was off, and then again on Sunday.
"Good morning, Barry," Malfoy said, as he did every day. "Did you have a good day off?"
"Err," Harry replied, already ringing in Malfoy's oatmilk latte with cinnamon. "Yeah, bit dull but," he trailed off and shrugged. "Are you off today, too?" he asked, looking at the pair of jeans the other man was wearing with a zip up sweatshirt, his shoulder-length hair hanging down in his face.
"What gave me away?" he asked leaning on the counter. "How appalling I look?"
"I think you look quite nice," Harry said before he could think better of it. "I like your hair like that," he added, "all soft and loose."
Malfoy blushed, his entire face turning bright red, and Harry watched as the flush spread down his neck.
He cleared his throat, "Just the latte today?"
"Oh," Malfoy said, standing up and looking at the case of baked goods, "could I actually have a cinnamon bun, too?"
"Those are my favorites," Harry replied, ringing him up and handing him both the coffee and the baked good.
"See you around, Potter," he said, as he started to the door.
"It's Porter," Harry called after him but the other man merely raised an eyebrow as he pulled the door open and stepped through.
And Harry found himself watching the other man walking away as he always did, but this time a little smile was curling up the corner of his mouth.
---------------------
This continued for nearly six weeks, the give and take, the teasing, and if it had been anyone else Harry would have said that they were flirting.
But it wasn't anyone else, Harry knew who the other man was, and in spite of the fact that he called him Barry most of the time, Harry was fairly certain that Draco knew it was him too.
Still, it took him by surprise one day when he was handing Draco's coffee across the counter and Draco caught his left hand in his own. He flipped his hand over so that the back was facing up and Harry's heart raced at the touch.
Before he could even wrap his mind around it, Draco was rubbing his finger over the back of his hand, "I knew it," he breathed.
And Harry looked down to see that his scar was standing out a few shades lighter than his skin. I must not tell lies. It seemed a bit ironic, really, that those were the words that he was caught telling a lie by. Harry snatched his hand back.
"Why-" Draco started.
Harry panicked, "Matilda," he called. "Could I take my break a little early?"
She appeared from the back, looking between Harry and Draco before nodding, "Go ahead."
He took off his apron and hooked it over the peg on the wall before striding around the counter. "Come on," he said, walking toward the door without looking to see if Draco was following him.
A few steps down the sidewalk Draco caught up, "Where are we going?"
"You tell me," Harry replied, "isn't this the way you always walk?"
Draco huffed, "I just go back to my house."
"I thought you'd be going to work."
"I'm a writer," he replied, "so I am, but-" he broke off, shaking his head. "Wait, that is not important right now. What the actual fuck, Potter?"
"Don't call me that," he snapped.
"What would you rather I call you? Barry?"
Harry exploded, "I'd rather you call me nothing at all!" Draco startled so badly that he dropped his cup, but Harry continued, "I'd rather that you'd never shown up in my life in the first place! I'd rather that you'd just left me the hell alone, so that I could just live a normal, boring life!" he finished, chest heaving.
Draco looked taken aback as he physically drew away from Harry, putting space between him like he was afraid that Harry was going to hurt him. "I'm sorry," he said, voice trembling slightly. "Sorry," he whispered again before he turned and stumbled away down the sidewalk.
Harry watched him go, adrenaline racing through him and making his hands shake. Even after Draco had turned the corner, Harry didn't move, he stood on the sidewalk and waited to feel relief that the other man was gone.
Instead all he felt was a sense of disappointed dread.
--------------------
Draco didn't come in the next morning, or the morning after, or the morning after that and Harry didn't quite know what to do. He'd obviously overreacted out of a place of fear and uncertainty, he had been quite content before Draco came barging in.
But the truth was that he missed him. He missed his humor and the way the tips of his ears flushed when he laughed. He missed the silver eyes that watched his every move as though the way Harry made coffee was something infinitely interesting. He missed his smile, missed the way that he tucked his hair behind his ear when Harry complimented him. Harry missed a thousand things and he wished for another chance, for the opportunity to take his words back.
When Saturday rolled around, Harry decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. He went to the shop, bought an oatmilk latte and then started walking, not entirely sure what he was looking for.
He turned down the street that Draco had run down a few days ago and with a deep breath, he started knocking on doors.
Over the next two hours, Harry knocked on doors and rang doorbells, asking for Draco Malfoy and hoping that the other man hadn't changed his name too. He was just about to give up when he turned around and saw the man in question standing at the bottom of the staircase with grocery bags in his arms.
"I suppose that's why you didn't answer the door," he tried, a feeble attempt a something vaguely humorous.
"What are you doing here?"
Harry held out the latte before realizing that the other man's hands were full. "I came to apologize."
Draco blew out a breath, "Come inside, then," he said, balancing a bag on his hip as he unlocked the door, leaving it open for Harry to walk through behind him.
His flat was small, but tidy and pleasant, and Harry found himself breathing a little easier as he looked around.
Draco reappeared from what must have been the kitchen and gestured to the living room. Harry followed him and offered him the latte.
"So what was your plan?" Draco asked, taking a little sip of the coffee, "How did you find me?"
"Well, you found me, actually," he confessed, sitting in one of the arm chairs across from Draco.
"But you were waiting on my steps?"
He rubbed the back of his neck and couldn't quite meet Draco's eye, "I've been knocking on doors for the past two hours."
"What?" Draco spluttered, "Two hours?" he asked incredulously.
He screwed up his courage and took the plunge, "I'm sorry for what I said to you the last time I saw you."
"For which part?" he asked.
"All of it," Harry said. "I was out of line and there are a million reasons, but they aren't important. What is important is that I hurt you and that I made you feel like I didn't want you around because nothing could be further from the truth."
"Oh?" he asked, voice a little curious in spite of himself.
He nodded. "I've really enjoyed seeing you," he confessed. "You're smart, and funny, and handsome; and for a while I was thinking that under different circumstances, I might have liked to get to know you better."
"Under different circumstances?" he repeated slowly, "Like if I wasn't death eater, for example?"
Harry shook his head, "And then I realized how stupid it was to be wishing for different circumstances, when the circumstances we're in couldn't be further from where we'd begun."
He hummed in affirmation and took another sip of his latte.
"I wanted to ask if you'd give me another chance," Harry said earnestly. "I promise to do my best not to cock it up this time."
"Well, your coffee shop is the only one within a reasonable walking distance," Draco replied, eyes twinkling with mirth.
The ball of worry in Harry's chest unwound a bit, "I wondered if you might like to grab a bite to eat?" he offered.
A slow grin spread across Draco's face, crinkling the corners of his eyes, "I thought you'd never ask."
√ Dramione (Draco x Hermione)
√ Setting: 7 years later
√ 1 chapter
√ My score: ❤❤❤❤ (very nice)
√ Rating: M
√ Language: ***** (close to no mistakes)
Draco's stuck working as a sex-advice columnist after the Ministry impounded both his family's money and Malfoy Manor. He traded on his sex god reputation at Hogwarts in order to get the job, but there are a few small problems: he's a virgin, and he also has no idea what he's talking about. When Hermione Granger arrives at his office, irate at the poor quality of his advice, Draco finds himself blackmailed into letting her instruct him on the proper way to give sex advice. She apparently gets up to some pretty creative sexual practices in her spare time, but she's also an irritating, intrusive know-it-all. Draco should be chomping at the bit to get rid of her, so why is he fantasizing about her all the time?
My notes: I was really dissatisfied in the end, why wouldn't you write the actual exam scene?😩
Draco is frustrated with his career as a travel writer, when a mini-tirade from Mrs Weasley and an encounter with the portrait of an intrepid great-great-great-aunt lead him to Finland to study wandless magic. Harry is – just being contrary and following his sweet-tooth, or taking the subtle route to saving the world?
I absolutely adored this little gem. As a Finn myself I chuckled with Harri and Kauko Lohikäärme, so damn cute. Draco's characterization was amazing, and all the little details won me over with this one.
