[so, this is my first post, and i hope you like it! uhm, i don't know if i'm supposed to write up here, but whatever. (: i already have the first couple chapters written, and yeah... so, review please! tell me if i need to work on anything!]
disclaimer: i, unfortunately, do not own Harry Potter, the series itself or any of it's inhabitants. i am not claiming to own the series or any of the characters. i am merely using them to improve my writing and creativity. i only own the plot of this story, which i wrote myself. (:
It was Muggle Week at Hogwarts. Students swarmed through the halls, buzzing about with who and where they would be living for the next seven days. Muggle Week was a particularly new event at Hogwarts, and it happened once every year. Purebloods were to live with someone Muggle-born or even someone who was friends with a Muggle to get the full experience of what the non-magic folk were like.
Professor McGonagall had been the one to start up the new annual field trip. She said that it would bring us closer to the Muggles, and maybe even start to understand how tough their lives were without magic. ...Not that they knew it was that tough, for they had nothing to compare it to.
99.8% of the school was looking forward to living in their new homes surrounded with new foods, technologies and people. The other two percent however, were not so excited. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger sat brooding on opposite sides of the Hogwarts Express train compartment, which was on its way to London where Draco would be living with Ms. Granger herself for the next 168 hours.
"This is your entire fault," snapped Hermione. Her brown curly hair was escaping the messy bun atop her head, making her look like a disgruntled Professor McGonagall.
"My fault?" Draco exclaimed. "How could this be my fault? You were the one to set off the first hex!" he said, referring to earlier events.
"You called me a raging, filthy Mudblood!" she exploded. "Tell me, dear sweet Draco, how do you call someone a raging, filthy Mudblood, and not get hexed?" He had no snappy retort for that. She was right of course, but he would never admit it. He turned his stony glare back to the window and watched as the scenery whizzed by. Unwillingly, his thoughts turned to the very fight that had gotten them into this predicament.
"What a git," mumbled Ron. "Who goes around on a broom setting off fireworks at every studying student he can find? I mean really, who was the time for that?" he asked Harry as they sauntered through the Gryffindor common room, ignoring all the stares he was getting from his fellow mates.
Ever since Harry banished He Who Must Not Be Named, he had practically become famous; and rightfully so. Apparently, though, McGonagall saw fit to make them re-do their last year at Hogwarts to make up for the missing time they had spent away whilst saving the wizarding world. Such a Hermione move, Harry had thought.
Hermione. Oh no, no, no, no! Harry stopped dead in his tracks and grabbed Ron's arm, bringing him to a halt, too.
"Where did Hermione say she was going?" Harry asked his best friend.
"To the courtyard...?" Ron was helplessly confused.
"To do what?" Harry prompted. It took a few seconds before Ron gasped in realization and with wide-eyes started to book it to the courtyard, followed closely by Harry. They got there just in time to see Hermione with her headphones in her ears and several different books laid out in front of her, untouched by fireworks. They sighed in relief too soon.
Malfoy swooped down and tossed the fireworks in her direction. She hadn't noticed that the firework had landed in her ink jar, thanks to the fact that her head was deep in a book and her music was blasted loud enough that she couldn't hear anything well enough to care.
Harry and Ron just watched, too shocked to say anything as the explosion went off. Ink and glass shards flew in every direction hitting everyone within a 10 foot radius, including a raging Malfoy. Hermione raised her eyebrows and kept them there as she calmly laid down her book and iPod. She stood gracefully as if nothing had happened. Her eyebrows still raised, she gave him a small smile and pulled out her wand. She waved it around and muttered a few words under her breath in Draco's direction.
He sat hovering in mid-air, anticipating her next move. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then everyone within hearing range started to become aware of a strange whistling sound. In the distance Ron spotted what looked like to be a large black cloud. As it neared, they realised that it wasn't a cloud, but at least three hundred ink bottles settling collectively over Draco like a menacing storm cloud.
With a flick of her wrist, all the bottles tipped over simultaneously sending jets of ebony ink onto Draco's fine-haired head. His jaw dropped and he instantly regretted it. Ink flew into his mouth and down his throat, erasing all other tastes and replacing it with one like spoiled milk.
When all the bottles had been emptied of their contents, he noticed that Granger was walking calmly in the direction of the school. He was so furious that he was completely oblivious to the cheering around him.
"Brilliant," said Ron in admiration. "Just bloody brilliant,"
Close enough to be heard by Granger, he yelled "You raging, filthy little Mudblood!" He raised a shaking hand that had once been a beautiful cream color, but was now masked by the ink.
She turned slowly, her face a mask of calm, not at all surprised by the wand in Malfoy's hands. She raised her own wand in return. He was not at all fooled by the mask that she wore on her face. Years of taunting her had taught him that with a push of the right buttons, she would explode. She was nearing that explosion now.
"Steleus!" He yelled, aiming his wand at the bushy-haired girl before him.
It worked. Hermione started sneezing uncontrollably. Thinking he was about to win the battle, he raised his wand again ready to cast the next hex when she yelled "Locomotor Mortis!" before sneezing again. He cursed violently as his legs snapped together, sending him face first into the ground. He felt a crunch as his nose broke.
Luckily she hadn't used the full body-binding curse or else he would be screwed over. He raised his wand just high enough and whispered the word "Incarcerous," and grinned in self-satisfaction as the girl fell to the ground thanks to the thick ropes that were now twining around her body.
"You little son of a—" she started to say but was interrupted by a tsk-tsk sound that came from behind them. They both twisted awkwardly to get a better look at the speaker and saw Professor Snatch looking down at them bemusedly. Snatch was the man who replaced Snape after the war. He was the new head of Slytherin. It was rather scary how they similar they were.
Yes, Draco thought. Home free. Little Mudblood won't know what hit her. Snatch preformed the counter-curses and grabbed both of them by the backs of their robes and continued to push them into the school. Draco was confused by Snatch's actions. Shouldn't he have already punished Hermione and let him free?
After what seemed like forever, they found themselves sitting in the infirmary. Snatch forced them roughly so they were facing him. He looked both of them straight in the eye and said, "Now you little twerps better listen to me carefully." He growled. "Madame Pomfrey is out on a personal call and we have acquired a substitute for now. He isn't as skilled, but he'll do." He pointed to Draco. "Pomfrey would've gotten your nose straightened out" he pointed to Hermione now. "And the glass out of you in no time. This man will take almost 3 times as long, but you can consider it part of your punishment."
Draco grunted while Hermione say silently looking at her feet. Even now she still wasn't used to being reprimanded by teachers. He raised his hand mockingly, not waiting to be called on. "So what's the other part of our punishment, sir?" He put extra emphasis on the last word. Snatch barely seemed to notice. He was grinning like a fool.
"Hermione, you're Muggle-born, are you not?" asked the professor.
"Yes..." she replied warily, wondering what he was getting at.
He clapped delightedly. "How wondrous! Draco, meet your new Muggle Week partner! You two will be spending the next week with each other!" he told them in his falsely-sweet voice. "In the meantime, maybe the two of you can work out whatever problems you may have." He said the last part in his usual tone before turning and walking out the door laughing quietly.
Granger and Malfoy sat dumfounded on their separate beds for what seemed like years before the substitute care-taker arrived. He was a scrawny little man with glasses three times larger than necessary. His hands shook with old age and his grey hair was combed back to cover the bald patch on his head.
Despite his less then desirable looks, he was a kind man. He got the glass bits that had been embedded in her skin and fixed Draco's nose in a matter of hours. But even after she was all patched up, she couldn't help but feel a horror growing within her. She figured that it probably had to do with the pallor boy sitting mere metres beside her.
Something hit Draco's arm with a dull thud. It was a library book. He looked up to find the thrower and found himself looking into the fine boned face of Hermione Granger.
"You coming are not?" she demanded before turning around. She groaned inwardly. A week with this dope? Yeah, right. Before he had a chance to respond, he stood up quickly earning himself a smack on the head on the top of the metal compartment. Gathering his things was easy. Before they had left, he had made a point of getting everything organized and ready for departure before the train even started moving.
He stepped off the great scarlet train and was surprised to see the station flooded with Muggles and wizards alike. Although, the Muggles didn't know they were Muggles of course. He thanked Merlin for his tall build as he spotted Granger's unkempt bun within the crowd.
He dodged through the people and finally made his way beside her, slightly out of breath.
"Thanks for waiting," he spat sarcastically.
"Darn," she said back just as sarcastic. "And I was so hoping you would get lost."
He grunted. This was going to be torture.
Hermione kicked open her pristine, white wooden door with a flat-clad foot. The door swung open soundlessly and greeted them into her sunny home. The first thing Draco saw was the kitchen. Cupboards, floors and fridge were all white while the walls were painted a tasteful light yellow color. A wide window sat above the sink, allowing the last rays of sunlight to pour in. Over to the left sat a dark wood round table with four matching chairs set around it.
Hermione made an impatient noise and walked into the next room in hopes that he would follow. Soon enough, he did follow her into the living room. A fireplace sat in the corner with rows of Muggle pictures and other sort of knick-knacks. Cream colored couches seemed to blend in with the matching carpet that barely covered the dark hardwood floors. A small coffee table made out of the same wood sat on the very rug.
"What's that?" he asked aloud, gesturing to the strange looking black box in the opposite corner of the fireplace. She sighed heavily.
"That's a television, Malfoy. Surely you've seen one before?"
He shook his head but she didn't see.
None of the other rooms really stood out to him. All he knew was that there were two levels; the bottom level which held the living room, kitchen and a small room what looked to be a library, and the top level which he assumed was meant for bedrooms.
He continued to follow her upstairs past a bathroom and a light grey-purple room which he guessed to be Hermione's. Passing a closed door, she led him into a simple room. It held a double bed with a white comforter that contrasted nicely with the dark wood bed frame. A small bedside table sat beside it, holding a lamp and a few magazines. His favourite part of the room was the window. It showed out over London giving him a good view of the city's nightlife.
She cleared her throat, breaking him out of his reverie. He turned to her with an irritated expression. "Yes?"
"Well, this is your room." She made a vague hand gesture as she stated the obvious. "There are two bathrooms in the house; both of which I showed you. I'm assuming you brought toiletries and such, but if not my dad has some stuff that you could borrow. My parents wanted me to tell you to feel at home at all times, and..." she thought for a while. "That's it, I guess."
He nodded. "Where are your parents, exactly?" He wondered. They obviously didn't know him very well if they trusted him—the Slytherin—with their daughter—the Gryffindor—alone and unaccompanied.
She made a dismissive gesture. This girl was into hand movements, thought Draco. "Out at a dentist's convention in Ireland. Won't be back until your last day, so lucky you! You get to spend as little as possible time with Muggles." She said in a mock-excited tone. "Unless of course you wanted to see some Muggle things..." she trailed off, noticing that her earlier words had been a bit sharp. It wasn't iall/i him, really. Just mostly.
"I wouldn't mind," mumbled Draco quietly. She was shocked. She didn't think it was possible for him to be quiet... at all.
"Oh. Okay, well, uh... We'll go out tomorrow, then," she decided. "Oh, wait, no, I mean—" she started to explain but Malfoy cut her off with a hand gesture.
He half closed his eyes and nodded. "I got it," he told her.
Her face was warm. "Yeah, well... good. See you tomorrow then. Just holler if you need anything," she added before leaving the room. Draco stood there for a good ten minutes before crawling into the stranger's bed. It wasn't a huge house like he was used to, but it was comforting and warm, unlike the Malfoy Manor he was used to, but he like it. He liked it a lot.
He awoke the next morning feeling awake and rejuvenated. He threw on his green Slytherin hoodie and padded down the stairs to find himself watching Hermione dance and sing around the kitchen, preparing what looked like pancakes. He watched her with an amused expression for a solid two minutes before she realised he was there.
She jumped when she spotted him, sending the spoon she was holding clattering to the floor. She bent to retrieve the spoon and he noticed the red iPod sticking out of her hip pocket. Her hair was damp and even from the stairs, he could smell the raspberry scent radiating off of her.
"Hungry?" she asked with her face still red.
"Depends on what we're eating," he countered carefully, stepping closer to the stove and looking down at the skillet. The object that he thought had been pancakes was unidentifiable. He wrinkled his nose the like spoiled brat she knew him to be.
"Crepes?" she said uncertainly, her defences going up again. If he wasn't going to eat it because she had made it, she was going to kick him out in the streets. See how the Muggles like him then.
He made a face. "Blagh," he said. "Crepes,"
"What's wrong with crepes?" she asked, her defences climbing even higher now. Draco knew her to be violent and the fact that she was wielding a wooden spoon like that made him choose his words carefully. Well, as carefully as he could.
"They're gross?" he told her, the end of his sentence going up as if he'd asked a question. She shrugged it off. "Whatever," she said dismissively. "Your loss," She continued to eat her crepes in peace, until Malfoy cleared his throat. His silver eyes flashed down at her as he raised a delicate brow.
"Yes?"
"What exactly am I having for breakfast?"
"I don't know, actually. Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually not a physic."
He groaned as if he were in agony and dropped his head, letting it hang. She saw a silver scar wink at her as he brought his head back up.
"What is available?" he re-worded.
"Food,"
"Dammit, Granger—"
"Dammit yourself, Malfoy. Ask me politely and maybe I'll answer."
He sighed as if it were a huge chore. "Dearest Granger, what can I please have for breakfast?" he asked with exaggerated patience.
A real smile broke out onto her face now because of her success. "Well..." she trailed as she stood up to wash her dishes. As she ran the water she said, "There's toast, or eggs, or porridge, or you could even go out for breakfast before we head on out for our Muggle adventures, if you'd like." She offered kindly.
"Muggle adventures?"
She nodded.
"Well, I guess we could stop by somewhere on the way to wherever you're taking me." He said.
"Great! So go on upstairs and go get changed. I'll be at the door when you're ready."
"Aren't you going to get changed, too?" he asked seriously, scrutinizing her outfit. She was wearing a baggy pink sweater over jean shorts and light blue Keds to top it off.
"Uhm, I am dressed, Malfoy." She told him.
He was still laughing when they got into the car.
"Can you read me what McGonagall wrote down for requirements?" she asked, indicating the parchment sitting between them on the glove box. Draco picked up the sheet and eyed it with distaste.
"It says that to get at least a ninety out of a hundred, you have to take me to meet two or more Muggles, make me cook a meal with help from Muggle tools, do my laundry without magic, make a phone call, take me to a common Muggle hang-out place, do housework, take a form of public transportation and another item of your choice." He threw down the paper forcefully. "What is this bull-?" Hermione cut him off. "No swearing in my car."
He looked at her incredulously. "Seriously, Granger?"
She held her nose high in the air. "Swearing is unnecessary; therefore you are not allowed to do it within my hearing range." Leaning forward but still keeping her eyes on the road, she turned up the radio. Malfoy started as the music seemed to radiate from every angle in the car.
"What the hell?" Before Hermione could yell at him, Draco explained that hell was a place, not a swear.
"Whatever. And it's called a radio. We even have them at Hogwarts, Draco." She explained impatiently.
"Well, yeah, but they don't play music throughout the entire castle!" He was really confused. Hermione just laughed and continued to sing along to her favourite song. Draco watched as she bobbed in her seat and mouthed the words, making it seem as though she were the one who was singing it.
After the song ended, she turned down the radio back to a quiet level so it was just background noise. He thought he saw a small glint of mischief in her eyes, but ignored it. "Get ready to check off an item from the list, Malfoy." Confused, he just sat there quietly.
They were pulling into a parking lot that had a strange building set to the side. It was no taller than 10 feet, and no longer than one of the carriages on the Hogwarts Express. A line of cars waited outside the strange structure, as if they were waiting their turn.
"Did my car look a little dirty to you, Malfoy?" asked Hermione innocently. Draco recalled admiring her '67 light blue Mustang before hopping into it, but he didn't seem to remember it being dirty. Maybe a bit rusty, yes, but not dirty.
"Not that I recall," he said. He tried to sneak a glance out the window and down the side of the car, but he couldn't do so unless he smooshed his face against the window. Hermione giggled quietly with anticipation as the line moved forward.
She pulled up next to a small box and inserted a few coins into the slot through her open window. A ticket was dispensed out a small opening near the bottom. Now that they were closer, he could see that there were a set of miniature traffic lights next to the opening of the tunnel.
Hermione drove the car into the tunnel and gently braked to a stop. It was eerily quiet. Draco was just about to ask her what she was playing at when a loud whoosh interrupted his thoughts. He jumped nearly a foot in the air at the sound of water jets smacking against the car. Hermione could barely drive forward because she was laughing so hard.
The car slid further through the streams of water, and now two blue things were advancing on them. He almost grabbed her arm as the mop-like machines started to spin at a high speed against the metal. Almost. She was laughing so hard now; tears were pouring from her eyes at Draco's terrified and incredulous expression. He didn't know where to look.
Inching forward a little bit further, Draco saw what she was going to do. A black wall was hanging in front of them. Hermione was planning to drive them through the wall!
"Granger!" he yelled as she headed straight for it and—passed through it easily. He swivelled in his seat to get a better look at what had just happened. What he thought to be a wall was just a series of cloth strips made out of the same material as the mops. They had been hung together so close that they gave the illusion of solidity.
She pulled into the parking lot in front of the carwash and just sat there for a good 5 minutes of non-stop laughter and giggles. Finally she regained her composure. She turned to look Draco in the eyes. He was glaring at her silently. Her giggles erupted again. She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward as the laughter got the better of her. "I'm sorry, Draco," she told him between fits. "Your face, though..." she trailed off. "I will never forget that," she said.
"And nor will I, thanks to you, I am now scarred for life." He looked pointedly at her hand which was still placed on his shoulder. She removed it quickly, not realising that she had left it there.
She picked up the abandoned parchment and took a pencil out of her purse. "Other..." she murmured as she filled in the spot. "Took... Draco... To... Car wash... He... liked it." She said as she wrote the words on the paper.
Draco grumbled incoherently. "Still hungry?" she asked.
"After that monstrosity? No way,"
"Aaaalrighty then... Anything you're itching to do?"
"Not necessarily, no." He replied dismissively, looking out the window.
For fear of an awkward silence, she turned the radio back up and closed her eyes. Leaning her head against the seat, she started to think of possible things they could do for today. Today... today... What was today?
"Malfoy,"
He turned to face her, his expression bored.
"Do you know what day it is today?" she asked.
"Saturday," He looked at her as if she were stupid.
She glanced at the clock. 10:18; she had twelve minutes to go home, get changed and drive to the restaurant. She didn't have a Muggle job obviously, because how would she get from Hogwarts to work every day? She was covering for a friend of a friend's. "Son of a-" she started to say but Malfoy cut her off. "Ah, ah, Granger; no swearing in the car." He reminded her with a smug smile. She smacked him on the shoulder before turning onto the highway.
Blazing down the highway with Hermione Granger was a frightening experience. Almost as frightening as the car wash, Draco thought. He had never thought Hermione to be a rule breaker, but when something was at stake, she would do almost anything to keep it safe.
Corners were turned at scary angles, and red lights were ignored as if they were mere colors that decorated the highway. She screeched into the driveway causing Malfoy to slam into the dashboard. "Wait here," she commanded before running into the house. He did as she said with a lingering smirk on his face.
Hermione flew up the stairs two at a time and turned into her tidy room. Unable to admire the mural on the east wall of her bedroom, she ripped off her clothes and threw on her uniform shirt and grabbed a fitted black skirt. She yanked a brush threw her tangled curls only causing them to grow twice in size. Giving up, she piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun. One last glance at herself in the mirror and she was back outside. She could've been at work, ready and on time in a matter of seconds if she had her wand, but this was Muggle week. All wands and magical items were confiscated before departure from Hogwarts. She hopped back into her beloved Mustang and found Draco watching her with a bemused expression.
"You have about 30 seconds to make a decision. You can stay here and entertain yourself for a good five hours, or you can choose to come with me to the restaurant and wait there. If you came to the restaurant, you could fulfill another requirement." She added. "Go,"
"Restaurant," he said simply. She nodded and pulled out of the driveway. Continuing to weave in and out of traffic, Draco took a good look at his hostess. Her curly brown hair was piled atop her head again, and her black uniform contrasted with her pale skin. Not as pale as his, mind you, but pale enough.
"If you're done looking at me, feel free to turn up the radio."
He scoffed. "Why would I want to look at you, Granger?"
"Because I am stunning, obviously." She said, sarcasm dripping off every word.
He laughed out loud. "Funny girl," He turned up the radio anyways. He recognized the song playing. Granger did too, apparently. She gasped in delight and ordered him to turn it up further. He obliged. Little did the members know, Muggle bands played on the radios at school. You didn't hear too much about great singers who were also wizards.
She started swaying in her seat to the rhythm of the music and belted out the lyrics at the top of her lungs.
"I wanted love, I needed love, most of all, most of all.
Someone said true love was dead, but I'm bound to fall, bound to fall, for you.
Oh, what can I do? Yeah, take my badge but my heart remains loving you, baby child."
He decided sing too, but not nearly as loud as Granger. Neither of them were singers, but Draco was a fan of the song as was Hermione. He took the next part to Hermione's surprise.
"Tighten up, on your reins, you're runnin' wild, runnin' wild; it's true."
It was just instruments for the next part so neither of them was singing. Hermione's eyebrows rose to her hairline. She smiled, pleasantly surprised that they were sharing something without bickering or insulting with one another.
Draco returned her smile with a tiny one of his own. He couldn't believe he had done that either, but he had just gotten caught up in the moment. If someone had told him a week ago that he would be singing with Granger in a Muggle car on his way to a Muggle restaurant he would've laughed in their face.
The lyrics started back up and both of them sang the remaining part of the song together.
"Sick for days, so many ways I'm aching' now, I'm aching' now.
'S times like these; I need relief please show me how, oh show me how, to get right. Yes, out of sight.
When I was young, and moving fast, nothing slowed me down, oh slowed me down.
Now I let the others pass; I've come around, oh come around, 'cause I've found..."
The music was slowing down now as they started to get within a two mile radius of the restaurant. The song wasn't over yet, but it was nearing the end. They picked it back up with gusto.
"Livin' just to keep going, going just to be sane, all the while I'm knowin'; such a shame.
I don't need to get steady; I know just how I feel, tellin' you to be ready, my dear."
The last final notes ended as they pulled up in the parking lot in front of the restaurant.
"Well that was fun," said Hermione. Draco nodded in abashed agreement. It had been.
"Emanon?" asked Draco. She smirked as she looked up at the neon sign that depicted the locations name. "It's 'no name' spelled backwards. Tony had a tough time coming up with a name, and that's what it ended up as. Obviously," she added hastily.
Before Granger could walk through the glass doors, the tow-headed boy grabbed her arm. "Hey," he said seriously. "If you ever let it slip that I sang with you in that retched car of yours, I might have to kill you. And just because we sang one Black Keys song does not make us friends." He told her.
Any warm feelings she might've had towards Draco vanished. Instead, they were replaced with years of hatred and exasperation. "Whatever."
Smiling to himself, he walked himself into Emanon and was immediately hit with the smell of delicious food. His mouth watered as her followed the bushy-haired girl through tables and tables of Muggles. He turned his eyes away from the tables and back to Hermione. She pulled out a piece of black fabric from her purse. When she shook it out, he saw that it was actually a skirt. He watched as she slid it up over her jeans. She had an odd sense of fashion, but a fitted skirt over jeans was just bizarre. Draco was just about to say something until she continued to remove her Keds and pulled off her jeans from underneath. Then, taking off her polka-dotted socks, she replaced them with red strappy stilettos. She did all of this behind the bar.
"Was that a strip-tease I just witnessed, Granger?" asked Draco incredulously. It sure looked like one. He was rewarded with a flush from her.
"Don't be sick, Malfoy. That's disgusting." She snapped as she tied on her red apron. Her long, slim legs started to walk off in the opposite direction before she remembered. "Oh, and also, to reach another requirement you need to hang out with at least two Muggles. Follow me."
He watched her legs as they walked and then remembered who he was looking at. This was Granger he reminded himself with a slight shudder.
She brought him to a red booth where two girls sat before him. One had long, red hair that vaguely reminded him of the Weaslette. Her big blue eyes sparked when she caught sight of him. The other had short black hair that hung straight just brushing her collarbone. The dark haired girl eyed him with her emerald eyes while Hermione introduced them. Hermione wasn't really friends with the girls, but she had hung out with them three or four times when she was bored and needed some company. She had met them through an old friend some time ago.
"Christina," she gestured to the dark haired girl, "and Alicia," she indicated the red-head now, "Meet Mal—I mean Draco." She corrected.
"Hello," purred Alicia. She held out a finely manicured hand and he took it in his own. "Nice to meet you,"
"You too," he said somewhat shortly. He released his grasp from hers as quickly as possible without being rude. He was a Malfoy; he was raised to have proper respect for all ladies and strangers no matter how weird. ...With the exception of Granger, of course.
He turned to Christina. Her eyes were rimmed with smoky black eyeliner and her lips were a startling shade of red. She said hello politely and shook his hand as well, but with less sex appeal. He immediately decided that he liked her better despite her excessive makeup.
Hermione cleared her throat and explained, "Draco is staying with me for the next week because his parents are out of town and our school is closed as well. I thought it would be nice for him to meet some new people while he was at it. Since I'm working, I thought he'd be better off with you two, rather than stay at my place for the next couple hours, considering my parents are out. Wouldn't want you to be lonely, would we Draco?" she asked him innocently. If he didn't know her better, he would think that she was being genuine, but he was smarter than that.
He smiled at her but she could see the irritation in his eyes. "No we wouldn't," purred Alicia again as she patted the vinyl beside her. Draco slid uneasily into the booth beside her.
"Draco, can I leave my purse with you for now? You won't have to carry it anywhere." She assured him. He took in her expression. She was serious. She wasn't trying to get him to look like a fool while he carried around a lady's purse. He nodded.
He went to grab for the purse but Hermione bent low and whispered in his ear threateningly. "I know exactly how much money is in my wallet, and I know everything there is in that bag. Is that clear?"
That was the Hermione he knew. He smirked at her. "Promise,"
"Good. Well, you three have fun. Behave," she looked directly at Alicia when she said that.
Malfoy watched as she walked off in the direction of other customers. "So," Christina said. "You and 'Mione go to the same school, eh?"
"Yep," he said.
"So are you guys like, dating?"
"Grange—Hermione? No way. No. We're not even friends," he explained in a slightly disgusted tone. Both of them looked at him as if he had blue hair.
"Then why are you staying at her house alone?" Alicia asked. She had a dumb-sounding voice, like that of a stereotypical cheerleader.
"She told you," he told them. "School's closed, my parents are out of town and don't trust me by myself so I have to stay with her. I was matched up to live with her as a punishment."
Christina looked at him doubtfully. Suddenly Alicia piped up. "Hey. Let's get out of here. A new bar just opened up down the street."
"Yeah!" Christina said. "I hear it's really good,"
"Uhm..." trailed Draco. Hermione was expecting him to stay around Emanon while she finished work, but since when was she the boss of him? Since you threw that firework at her, a small voice said in the back of his head. "Isn't it like, ten in the morning though?"
"That's the cool thing, though." Explained the black-haired girl.
"Yeah, it's for the hard-core partiers who don't think there's enough time in the night to party." Added Alicia.
"Fine," Draco decided he needed some fun if we were going to be spending the next week with Hermione. "But only if one of you carries her purse." He held up the grey messenger bag. Thankfully Christina was the one to grab it. He didn't know if he should trust Alicia just yet. The three of them stood up from the booth and scuttled out of the restaurant without a backwards glance.
Alicia walked up to the side of the sidewalk and raised her hand. A yellow vehicle stopped beside her. It read 'taxi'. Draco wondered what a taxi was as he hopped into the car. It smelled of cigarette smoke and old leather. The driver sat behind a Plexiglas window with a ragged hat perched atop his head.
While Alicia directed the driver to the right location, Malfoy took in the scenery of downtown London. Buildings rose up into the sky everywhere he looked. He had only been in London a few times for trips to certain wizarding shops that weren't in Diagon Alley. The Malfoy Manor was in a secluded part of England, way out in the country. It didn't bother him that he was so disconnected from the world most of the time because of the Floo network his mother had installed long before he was born.
The taxi came to a halt in front of a run-down looking building. He was surprised at the short length of the drive. He expected one of them to pay the man but instead, the red-headed girl leaned through the open window, giving him a clear view down her low-cut shirt. She whispered something in his ear that caused him to smile and flush. She walked away from the taxi and toward Christina and Malfoy. Alicia winked at both of them and they walked towards the growing line of people.
He heard the thumping bass of music coming from within the club. Draco thought it was crazy that he was standing with two Muggles and about to go into a bar at ten in the morning.
None of them said anything to each other as the line slowly inched forwards. He took in the sight of all the scantily clad girls and rough-looking men. Draco stood out like a sore thumb with his pristine white button down shirt and casual black jeans.
The other guys wore leather jackets with ripped jeans and sneakers. Girls like Alicia and Christina fit right in with all the others. While some were dressed in tight denim shorts, others wore micro-minis that just barely covered their butts despite the chilly weather. Almost all of them were wearing some sort of heel.
He spotted a pair of scarlet strappy sandals and was reminded of Granger back at Enamon's.
Finally, they reached the entrance of the bar. The smell of alcohol, smoke and sweat filled Draco's nostrils. The bouncer gave the girls a once over and then removed the velvet rope separating them from the outside world and the rave.
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