"You lot ready?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Yeah!" they all said together, as they lumbered into the back of the Honda. It had been magically enlarged to accumulate all of the young graduates. Harry took the driver's seat, as Ginny clambered into the middle and Ron bagged the passenger seat. The front had been transformed into what resembled a three seated sofa.
In the back seat was Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Dean Thomas and sitting comfortably by the window was Hermione Granger.
"Let's go!" shouted an over excited Ginny. Harry chuckled to himself and started the car.
Just as he was about to pull away, a knuckle lightly rapped on the window. Everyone looked up in surprise and, as Harry wound down the window, they all gasped in astonishment at the fair haired person looking through the window at them all.
A figure with blond hair stood, half bent, looking embarrassed. He cleared his throat, and everyone realised that they were staring; they turned away, red in the face.
"H-hi, um, I just wanted to know i-if I could maybe, possibly catch a ride." He avoided their eyes; instead he directed his own towards the muddy, weed infested ground. Harry was the first to recover from the shock of this person even attempting to speak to them and so he was the first to answer.
"Why do you want a ride with us?" he asked suspiciously. Draco sighed. He knew he would have to answer this sooner or later, and to be fairly honest, he would rather get it over and done with now.
"My so called 'father' no longer wants anything to do with me, cut me out of his will and disowned me for doing the, as you may call it, greater good." He said it all in a rush, wanting to get it all over quickly.
"You, Draco Malfoy, were doing the 'greater good'!" Lavender blurted out, mocking him.
"Don't sound so shocked." He said defensively. "But yes, i was."
"What, would she damage your ego if she was too shocked Malfoy?" Ron fired, defending his girlfriend.
"Malfoy, but i don't think any of us will feel anything but shock right now seen as you insulted us for years. So what did you do for the 'greater good' then, because i too find it hard to imagine you doing anything against your precious father's orders?" Hermione interrupted.
"I refused to become a stinking, bloody death eater... happy now?" he glared at her.
"Why did you refuse?" Dean asked suspiciously.
"Wouldn't you?" Draco replied.
"Yeah, but your... you," he struggled to find any other word that suited the explanation, "Surely you would want the power, glory and all that crap?" Dean shot back.
"What's that supposed to mean? And of-Corse i want that, i mean doesn't everyone, however I've never wanted to do it through the means of murder and under the palm of the dark lord." This time he looked straight at Harry. "You have to believe me Potter, if i go back there now, he will kill me. He doesn't want a 'traitor' as a son."
"I don't know Malfoy; we are going on a Non- magic road trip, you know as a celebration for graduation." Harry said slowly, running it over in his head.
"Look Potter, I'm desperate enough to ask you, so that should mean something, shouldn't it?" Draco tried.
Harry glanced back at the others. Parvati was the first to nod, only very slightly. Dean gave her a confused look but followed suit, tipping his head up and down, however even slower than Parvati. Ginny gave Harry a sharp look before answering.
"If there is any trouble, I'm blaming you, but fine." She continued to glare him as Hermione gave him a tiny nod of approval before shooting dagger at Draco with her eyes. Ron didn't answer at all, but remained in silent protest, so Harry turned back to Draco.
"Fine, but any trouble and you have us lot to deal with," He paused for a minute before continuing, a small-half smile appeared on his face. "And Ginny has one mean 'bat bogey hex' up her sleeve." He gave her a nudge with his arm. "Well, we should get going, you wanna come or not then?"
"Yeah man, thanks Potter."
"Well get in then." Ginny said impatiently, pointing to the back. Draco opened the door, and after Hermione scooted over, clambered in, slamming the door shut behind him. Harry started the car, and sped off, dangerously swerving down the road.
Hermione arched her back so that she was angled away from Malfoy and opened a book to read. Lavender and Parvati launched themselves into gossip mode, blanking out anyone else in the car. Dean immersed himself and Harry into to the ever exciting talk of the topic of sports. Ginny fiddled with the old fashioned radio, until she found a channel that was playing some songs she liked, and began to hum it quietly to herself, while Ron stared gloomily out of the window, occasionally grunting random threats and swearword aimed at Draco. Draco sighed, settled himself into a comfortable position and thought about the previous events of his dark, dull life.
Of how his dad had battered him until he couldn't stand, while his mother ran from the room, doing nothing to help when he refused to become a death eater. The abuse didn't start there, although nobody at Hogwarts knew anything about these actions of his father. He despised his father, hated him for what he had moulded Draco into throughout his years at Hogwarts, someone of whom Draco didn't want to be. He would have never chosen that if they had of given him the choice. His father had ruined his life, demanding the hateful, snobby attitude, locking away any chance of true friendship. The only true friend he had ever been aloud was Blaise, and only because of whom Blaise had as a father.
He remembered the dread he had felt when the summer holidays rolled around, how his father had beat him when he mentioned liking the brave Gryffindor in front of him, and the order to betray any sign of hope that the two of them would ever become friends, forcing Draco to treat all non purebloods and blood traitors like scum, the dirt he had trodden in. He regretted not standing up to his dad earlier, how different and less complicated life could be without the constant little, red horned devil sat on his broad shoulders, pulling each strings needed to keep him inline and meet his father's expectations.
Hermione heard a sigh come from behind her. She flicked through a page, catching a sneaky glance at the vain boy that sat beside her. From what she could tell, he wasn't in the car. Well, he was physically in the car... she could clearly see that, however she felt that his 'too still' eyes were somewhere else, somewhere dark and uncomfortable. She quickly turned back to the book, letting her own mind wonder.
How weird it was, Draco Malfoy, her sworn enemy, was sat next to her. He wasn't insulting her, wasn't being the self centred git that he normally was, he just sat there. If she was honest, deep down, she hoped he had changed. She hoped he had seen sense, but most of all, she hoped he would accept that this was the side to fight for, that being rich and respected were two different things. That if you want to be respected then you need to put others first, think before you act and only act because it's what is best for everyone, not just his self.
Ginny broke both Hermione and Draco's train of thoughts with a shriek.
"Ahhhh!" she was practically jumping out of her seat. Ron had jerked violently at the sudden noise, and glared at his sister.
"What's wrong?" he grunted. She turned to look at him, with eyes of disbelief.
"I-L-O-V-E-T-H-I-S-S-O-N-G-!-!-!" She exclaimed loudly. Hermione let out a low chuckle and after a minute, she started singing along quietly with Ginny. Draco noticed that she had a very elegant voice, although he would never admit to himself that he had just thought that. Very Soon Lavender and Parvati joined in, poking Dean until he barked out the lyrics, red in the face. Harry didn't last long before letting his voice drift in, and although they sounded out of tune and way too high, they were all at least getting the words right. Ron fought against a smile, but the tune overtook him and he started humming the music under his breath. Draco looked around, he had never seen this before, friends laughing and enjoying the moment together. He wanted to join in, however he knew he wouldn't be accepted within the group of friends.
When the song finished, they were all falling about giggling, none noticed Draco until he gave a low chuckle, of which he thought no one would hear. Parvati turned to look at him, her long, smooth hair falling into her deep brown eyes.
"Something funny Malfoy?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Draco tugged on his collar humorously.
"No, just coughed." He said innocently. Hermione gave a small smile at this answer, but hid her face behind her book so that nobody saw.
"So, where are we heading Harry?" Dean asked lightly, rubbing his hand through him long, flailing hair.
"Um, ask Ginny, she is the one with the map." He turned quickly to Ginny. "Right Gin?" she sensed the panic in his voice.
"Relax Harry, you are always to over dramatic." Harry gave a mocking hurtful face at her, and she rubbed him lightly on the head through his 'already too messy' hair. "You know you love me."
"Yep!" He immediately answered. Ron made sick noises behind him, with a disgruntled 'Oi'.
"Anyway, we are heading up north towards the mountains, going over sea and making a round route, seeing where we end up." She concluded. Lavender gave several ringing laughs.
"So in other words, you haven't got a clue." Ginny gave a nod, before joining in with the laughter.
"Way to go Ginny." Hermione muttered under her breath, before adding a glowing smile to the sea of laughing faces.
"So Malfoy, you hitching a ride with us for the whole four weeks or what?" Dean asked.
"Um, i don't know to be honest." He replied.
"Honest, yeah right." Ron muttered. Draco gave him a tired look.
"I'm hurt Weasley, i really am." He muttered.
"Well, don't expect an apology." Ron said.
"I was using a little thing called sarcasm." Draco fired back, letting a smirk spread across his face. Dean was the first one roaring with laughter at Draco 'come back'. Soon everyone was taking advantage of Ron's red face, laughing along with Dean. Draco smiled at himself.
"You are dead meat Malfoy." Ron said dangerously low.
"Oh... come one Ronald, you really are going to threaten him over a stupid joke?" Hermione inquired, amused.
"Piss off, all of you." He went back into the robotic mood, acting glum and pessimistic.
"Oi." Five mouths said together.
"Don't be a dick, Ron." Lavender said, "This is men't to be fun."
"How can it be fun when we have a ferret in the blaming car."
"He hasn't done anything but make a bloody joke Ron." Harry said quietly.
"Defending him now are you?" Ron gave Harry a glare that could kill.
"Defending him? Since when does anyone defend Malfoy? All I'm saying is that he hasn't done anything wrong... Yet." Harry exclaimed.
"Ron stop being a bloody idiot and stealing all the time we have to have fun, and using it to complain like a spineless git." Everyone stared a Ginny in amazement.
"What?" she asked. "I'm just saying what everyone else was thinking for crying out loud. I just want to have some bloody fun on this trip."
Nobody dared argue with her and even Ron was reduced back to just glares and the occasional murmur of threats.
"Now then Harry, I'm hungry... can we stop for lunch?" Hermione asked, as if nothing had just happened.