Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter series nor it's containing characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot, and any other characters you do not recognize.
A/N: This is something that's been playing around in my head for a while. I finally found the time to write it all out. Tell me what you think!
Summary: "That's a Foot Guard," she answered. Draco made a face. "Muggles have a guard for their feet?" he asked her… Hermione takes Draco on his first trip to the muggle world to meet her parents. Experience embarrassment and a child-like Draco, as he roams around muggle London, and what's this, he needs to talk to the parents… alone.
A Whole New World… Literally!
Aoi Megami
How in Merlin's name did he get there?
He sighed in frustration, as he furrowed his eyebrows—a shade darker than his platinum blonde locks that rested a top his head—in remembrance. Ah yes, he remembers now; her rosy lips, protruding in an innocent (yeah right!) pout, her chocolate eyes twinkling in expectation—he was a dead man walking. His girlfriend of two years had cunningly tricked him into his current position at that very moment, and he was supposed to be the most cunning, sly one of them all! Oh, Salazar Slytherin must be rolling in his grave at his current disposition.
He gave out a defeated sigh, breathed in and calmly breathed out. When he finally took that first huge step to follow his now awaiting girlfriend outside Diagon Alley, he had no doubt that he was going to get out of this one alive.
She gave him an encouraging smile; he couldn't help but smile back, as he noticed her stretched hand in front of him. He took hold of her hand and together, slowly, they walked in waited anticipation on the streets of London.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, in fact, his heart was beating so fast, you could almost clearly visibly see his thumping chest, if you take a much more closer look. He looked around the busy street in earnest, his head darting around in a staccato beat. He practically jumped at the sight of… automobiles?
How on earth can such a contraption move like such? And how on earth can muggles be the one controlling them when they weren't supposed to have magic! He was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, mouth agape as he stared at the zooming objects darting at opposite directions, different colors flashing, making rainbow-like streaks.
He felt a tug at his hand, and he looked down to their intertwined hands. Realizing he had company, he looked up to that amused look his girlfriend is currently sporting. He gave her a glare and allowed her to pull him towards their destination.
As they walked towards, well, wherever they were heading, in all honesty, he had no idea where, he noticed the people dressed in clothes—are they clothes? They were so much different from the clothes he was used to. Though he was sporting the same look as most of the young people he see passed by; they were still bloody weird! He looked down at his own clothes, a plain white (silk, might I add) oxford shirt—with two buttons unfastened up top, thus revealing his black undershirt, and just plain black pants. So why the bloody hell did some of the people they passed by give him such peculiar looks.
"Granger?" his baritone voice rang. The owner of the hand who was currently steering him along, gave him a sideway glance. "Did you give me the wrong attire?" he asked her. He saw her eyes slightly widened in added amusement.
"What do you mean Draco?" she asked him, with that slight hint of enjoyment.
"The muggles," he whispered as he caught a step closer to her. "They're ogling at me," he explained with a worried expression, not really recognizing that playful look on his lover's expression.
"Draco," she stopped walking and turned to give him her full attention, with that smirk—one that can rival a Malfoy's—plastered on her face, she said, "whatever you wear, even an Elf's clothing for Merlin's sake, you always come out looking like a model from a GQ magazine," she bitterly smiled.
"A what?" he asked, but was denied an answer when she pulled him along, continuing towards their destination.
He grumbled but continued following her. They finally stopped in front of… a cave? His head gave a slight tilt as he watched the people unmoving, step in and out of a cave with a hole. They're using, what are those? Are those stairs? They're moving stairs! Completely different from the one at school!
"It's the entrance to the subway," she explained, after seeing that confused look splashed across his face.
"The what?" he turned to her now.
"It's like a train, except faster," she started explaining. "And it mostly travels underground, but at one point it'll travel in the surface, but we'll eventually stop somewhere underground."
"A train?" he stated, and she nodded as she pulled him towards the moving stairs, following the people in front of them. His eyes widened, and his heart gave a panicked jump.
"What on earth are you doing Granger," he halted. She was almost violently swung backwards towards him. She turned to give him a startled, yet confused look.
"I'm not going on that thing," he pointed at the moving stairs.
"It's an escalator, she slightly chuckled. The amused smile on her face disappeared when she noticed the confused looks the passerby's where giving them. She took a step closer to him, their faces almost touching. "It's almost the same as the moving staircase back at school," she whispered.
He frantically shook his head. "Nah uh Hermione!" he said. "That is nothing like the staircase back at school," almost too loudly, thus earning more confused stares. Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Just," she relinquished. "Come on," she tugged at him. He stood firmly in place, still not moving an inch.
"Hey? Outta the way," one man said as he rounded them to head onto the escalators.
"If you're not going," another said. "Move!" the person half-yelled as he passed them.
"Draco, come on," Hermione pleaded as she continued to tug him. He slightly moved hesitantly, a part of him, still trying to pull away and run the opposite direction. They now stood at the top of the escalator. He could clearly see the flat metal, engorging into steps, and slowly descending. He was so caught up in that small process that he was completely unaware of the powerful tug that came from the lithe body of his lover. His eyes widened as he faintly stumbled on the moving stairs, and bumping onto Hermione's back. She in turn, turned to look at him, and she had to quickly look back front due to the sight that greeted her. She tried to stifle that emerging laugh and it came out as a covered cough. Behind her, a frightened Draco, had his arms stretched on both sides, grasping the balustrades, his legs, widely apart, his head tilted down, his bloodshot eyes staring warily at what he was standing on.
They finally reached the bottom, and they stumbled out of it—well, more like, Draco tripped and bumped into Hermione, making them both stumble out ungracefully.
"Bloody hell Granger," he gasped as he tried to catch his breath. "I think I just saw my life flashed before my eyes," he said as he clutched a part of his shirt where his heart is supposedly located at. Hermione rolled her eyes at his dramatic antics.
"That must've been a long life," she mumbled, hinting the rather slow process of the descending escalators, also earning a pointed glare from her boyfriend.
"I have a very exciting life," he countered, also earning another eye roll from the woman before him.
"For someone who can enter a Death Eater's lair as a spy, you sure got scared over something so inconsequential," she retorted. "It's just like the moving staircase at school," she said exasperatedly.
"That!" he pointed at the escalator. "Is nothing like the moving staircase," he said. "The whole staircase moves to different parts of the castle, it doesn't just connect one floor to another, only going up and down," he said, as he tried to catch his breath. "We still have to climb the stairs!" he finished, earning a raised brow from the witch. He did make a point. She dismissed the escalating argument, grabbed his wrist and pulled him away. But he wasn't done yet. "Are muggles always this lazy?" he asked curiously against her tentative ear. "That they need a contraption to go up and down?" he asked with genuine curiosity. Hermione let out a frustrated sigh. "When it's obviously faster to just climb up and down the unmoving stairs?"
"Just leave it be Draco," she said. And he did. Not because she told him to, but because of the sight that greeted him. He could barely make out the red and white train behind the newspaper stand that was blocking him. He made a move to see the unusual design of train, but was suddenly pulled back. He was about to yell words of frustration when he saw the chocolate eyes of the person who hauled him back. "We have to pay for our tickets first Draco," she explained, and he gave her a nod of understanding.
He saw her took out slim pieces of paper and silver coins, recognizing these as muggle money. He looked ahead of the line that they were currently in and frowned. "Where do we purchase our tickets?" he asked her.
"At the front of the line," she answered. He in turn, narrowed his eyes back to the front of the small single filed line. It was just a plain white-washed wall with colored-lighting-boxes. Where were the open windows, the tellers? They took a step forward, just behind the line to give privacy to the person ahead of them. When it was their turn, they faced the colored-lighting-boxes. He stared dubiously at it; there was a small black, mirror frame in the middle. Words and pictures where flashing in it. And Hermione pushed the box like features in the small box. He watches her do this a few times, and when she finally stopped, he watched her put the money in a small rectangular box. In the blink of an eye, that small thing slurped their money away. He gasped in shock.
"Hey," he scolded the contraption. "Did that thing just ate our money?" he turned to look at Hermione, but didn't wait for an answer as he suddenly gave a resounding slap at the black rectangular box.
"Draco," Hermione took hold of his hand. "I just gave it the money so it can give us our tickets," she explained.
"It?" he asked bewildered. "Is the teller inside this thing?" he pointed his free hand at the black mirror, and waved, at the same time, inching his face ever so close to try and see the person inside.
"No," Hermione had once again, had to stifle a laugh, as she grabbed hold of his waving hand. "It's a machine," she said. "Certain machines are programed to have certain jobs," she explained.
"Machines?" he asked her.
"And technology," she added. "The whole muggle population is mostly run by machines and technology," she said.
"You mean to tell me that muggles create these things with a mind of its own?" he said with a petrified voice.
"No," she gave a little laugh. "It's just programmed, that's different," she said. She watched him shake his head in disbelief, as if trying to get the information out of his head. When they finally finished paying for their tickets, they went ahead to the ticket dispenser. "Just do what I do," she told him and went ahead. He watched her place the ticket in a small slot, the small tiny metal doors in front of her swung open and the moment she stepped in, the doors closed, and he watched her grab the ticket protruding at the other side, on a different slot. He followed her step by step, and when he got to the other side and finally got his own ticket back from the dispenser, he felt rather proud of himself due to the achievement and experience. He looked up from the ticket in his hand and gave her awaiting face a smile, as they intertwined their hands once again and walked closer to empty railroad tracks that would soon be occupied by that red and white train.
He nearly yelped and practically jumped an inch high at the swooshing and screeching sound of clunking metal, made by the bullet train that passed. He saw it flash before him, shining majestically as the sun hit its metallic body. It came to a halt in front of the person who was ahead of them in line. He stared in awe amazement as the doors opened without consent.
"Who did that?" he pointed to the now opened doors.
Hermione continued to look at him incredulously. He was like a little boy, being introduced to the grandiose world. "Technology," she simply stated as he pulled him towards the open doors and entering the bullet train. Once they got in, his eyes darted frantically around.
"What is this?" he asked her suddenly. She gave him a confused look. This was really taking it to a whole new level. She knew Draco had never stepped a foot outside the Magic World, but so far, from the looks of things, she's going to have to explain every single thing to him. "This is supposed to be a train," he stated. "Where are the compartments?" he asked her. She stifled a laugh and thought of the right words for her explanation.
"This is a different train," she started, but wasn't sure how to finish, but luckily for her, the voice on the speakers interrupted them.
"What was that?" Draco looked around frantically. "Was she using a Sonorus charm?" he asked bewilderedly.
"Draco," Hermione chuckled. "This is the muggle world," she stated. Draco watched her with wary eyes as she pointed her long index finger above the ceiling. He looked up and saw a round metalling circle, slightly protruding from the ceiling. His brows furrowed as he stared at all the little round holes within the circle itself. "It's called a speaker," she said, but before she could explain any further, they felt the train vibrate.
"What the bloody hell," Draco cursed as he nearly toppled over Hermione. He straightened himself up and before he could ask the first question that came to mind, he felt Hermione tug on his arm and pulled him towards two empty chairs a few feet away from them. He also noticed the confused stares the occupants of the train were giving them. He merely scowled in annoyance, his pale cheeks sporting a bright red tint.
They sat on the two empty chairs, located behind a wide window. He looked up, and across from them a mother and daughter sat. He noticed the mother reading the day's newspaper and the little girl was staring at him rather oddly. The girl's stare was really bothering him. He tried to ignore her, and looked above the little girl's head. His eyes widened. Exactly how fast is this train going? His eyes widened, if possibly, even more at the white streaks and blurred pictures occurring outside the window. They were still underground, that he could tell. Mesmerized by the white streaks, he had a thought if this train is going as fast as he is on a broom.
The scenery outside suddenly changed and he gasped. They were on the surface now. He looked behind him, slightly turning his upper body to look at the scenery at his side of the window. This is the muggle world. Unconsciously, he turned his body even farther, to get a better look, to the point where is kneeling on his legs, both of his hands gripping the back of his seat, and his head slightly touching the window.
Hermione gave him an amused look. She had never seen Draco looked so free, so gentle, so childlike, so curious, and just so open. She laughed at his current position, like a little ten year old kid, on his first train ride.
Draco's eyes darted around. He saw the widescreen advertisement boards, the different cars below, the blimp floating above the city, the tiny people walking the streets with their rather peculiar clothing, he was in complete awe.
"Hermione look," he pointed to the flashing boards. "Look!" he now pointed to the cars.
Hermione's eyes widened. Draco was being rather loud. She looked around the bullet train, and saw all the amused, annoyed, curious faces of the occupants.
"Draco," she pulled him to take a proper seat.
"Look, look!" he pointed outside again. Hermione sighed, her cheeks tinting a bright red. "Wow!" Draco exclaimed. "Look at that castle," he said. "It looks really big," he said.
Castle? Hermione turned and saw where he was pointing at. "That's old Big Ben," she said.
"It's alive?" Draco asked rather loudly, in a perplexed tone. Hermione's jaw dropped and looked around; blushing even more at the stares the people were giving them.
"Lower your voice Draco," she whispered. "And it's not alive," she said.
"How come it has a name then?" he asked.
"Hogwarts has a name," she retorted.
"Would you name a person Hogwarts?" he said.
"Well—" Hermione stuttered, in a complete loss of words.
"Can we go?" he asked her.
"To Big Ben?" she asked, and she received a nod. "I guess so," she answered, earning a bright, excited smile from the usually cold-face of the Malfoy heir. A smile slowly creeps on her face at the sight of his innocent face, and completely ignored the stares given to them, as she continued to watch his face brighten at every new thing he saw.
He finally calmed down, when the train finally descended underground. He sat back properly, and waited patiently for the train to stop. He was rather excited at taking a closer look at the big clock. When he felt the train stop, he practically jumped up from his seat, took hold of Hermione's hand and practically man-handled her out.
"Draco calm down," Hermione said, trying to catch her breath, after climbing the stairs—Draco flat down refused to ride the escalator. He finally stopped and looked at her.
"Which way?" he asked her. Hermione sighed. She took hold of his hand and led the way, with Draco patiently walking a step behind her.
"What is that?" he asked suddenly, after a few minutes of walking. Hermione turned to look at the direction to where he was pointing. On the other side of the street, was a man dressed in silver, his skin, which wasn't covered by the clothes were painted silver. Draco watched him with pure curiosity. He was moving rather stiffly.
"It's a muggle," she answered.
"A muggle?" Draco said. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's a street performer," she said.
"What's he performing?" he asked.
"He's like a robot," she answered.
"A what?" he asked, with his eyes not leaving the rather stiff man.
"A machine that looks like, or in a form of a human being," Hermione shrugged, and pulled him away and back on track. Draco made a mental note to find out more about robots.
As they neared Big Ben, Hermione was violently pulled back by Draco suddenly stopping mid-step.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
"Now what is that?" he asked and pointed. She turned and smiled. They walked closer towards another stiff man, plainly standing at the side, and rather blending in the background.
"That's a Foot Guard," she answered. Draco made a face.
"Muggles have a guard for their feet?" he asked her, making Hermione laugh. She also notices the guard make a face, but it was quickly gone.
"No, it's just what they're called, they're the Queen's guards," she said. "They're supposed to be expressionless all the time," she stated.
"Expressionless?" he asked.
"Yeah," she answered. "Look," she pointed to a group of teenagers making faces in front of another foot guard, a few feet away from them, and he remained stiff and expressionless.
Draco looked back at the guard in front of them. He suddenly noticed the hideous black fluff that settled above his head.
"What is he wearing?" he asked with his eyes at the black hat.
"It's a bearskin hat," she answered. Draco's eyes widened.
"It's not really made of bearskin is it?" he asked horrified.
"Actually," Hermione started. "It is," she said as she pulled him away and towards Big Ben.
When they finally reached the tower, Draco looked up at it in admiration. It was humongous. He just stood there and looked at it, never moving, and his mouth slightly agape.
"Muggles built this?" he asked his girlfriend, his eyes never leaving the tower.
"Yes," she answered with pride.
"Amazing," he said in a whispered tone. Hermione smiled and finally found the moment to break him away from his trance.
"We have to go Draco," she told him. "My parents are waiting," she said. Reluctantly, he allowed her to pull him away from the tower.
"TAXI!" she hailed a yellow automobile heading their way. He looked at her in shock and watched as she opened the door to the yellow moving object on wheels. She turned to look at him. "Come on," she said as she slid inside. He soon followed suit and she reached over his seated form to close the door with a loud thud. He watched her grab a greyish looking belt on the side, and watched in silence as she fastened it over him. He turned to look at her questioningly, and saw her do the same to herself. "For safety," she said as she looked up to him. He watched her talk to the man who was steering the contraption and she gave him an unfamiliar address.
The man in front nodded and sped off. They sat in silence the whole car ride, Hermione watching Draco and Draco still curiously and mesmerizingly staring at the world outside.
They finally reached a small quiet neighborhood. Draco looked at the houses, it couldn't even compare to a Wing at Malfoy Manor. He felt the car stop in front of a small house—well, small to him, but rather big in all actuality.
They hopped out and walked the narrow path, leading to the house. He watched Hermione press a small, light-up button. He heard a slight ring and soon heard shuffling inside the house.
"Open it, open it!" he heard a voice on the other side.
"Hold on!" Draco heard another voice said mixed in with a metal sliding. The door finally swung open, and out came a blur, so fast he barely saw it, as it came crashing onto Hermione.
"Hermione," the figure squealed. "I missed you so!" it exclaimed, engulfing Hermione in a tight hug. The figure then turned its attention towards Draco, who looked torn between hauling the petite girl off of his girlfriend and just letting the little interaction take place. "My, my," she said, her eyes on Draco. "Where have you been hiding him?" she asked Hermione, her eyes still on Draco, watching him appreciatively.
"Tori," Hermione scolded. "Keep your eyes and hands to yourself," she giggled at her friend. "Draco," she turned to him. "This is Victoria," she introduced. "Tori, this is my boyfriend, Draco Malfoy."
"Pleasure," Draco gave a slight bow and extended his hand in greeting. Victoria shook it and just shyly smiled at him. Victoria, Draco's heard a lot about her from Hermione. Victoria's been her best childhood friend, together with another boy named Anthony.
"Boyfriend?" a gruff voice said. "What boyfriend?" a male muggle, who looked to be about their age emerged from the house—the owner of voice who opened the door.
"Hello Anthony," Hermione greeted, who was still wrapped in Victoria's arms.
"Hello love," he greeted charmingly, which earned a scowl from Draco. "I cannot believe you've replaced me," he said with mock hurt.
"What can I say?" Hermione played. "He is much better looking, charming, sexier, and a thousand times richer than you are," she said jokingly.
"Ouch," Anthony exclaimed, finally giving up on their little game.
"It's true though," Victoria said, still looking appreciatively at Draco.
"Tori!" Hermione scolded, earning a giggle from the petite girl.
"Come in," Victoria exclaimed, pulling Hermione into the house. "Your parents have been waiting a while for your arrival," she informed. Hermione went inside the house, followed by Draco. "They're currently out though," she followed up. "They went out for a while," she continued. "Just to go buy something," she finished.
"I need to go to the loo," Hermione said, finally escaping Victoria's grasp. "Please be nice to him," she whispered to Victoria.
"Of course, of course," she said.
"Draco, I just need to use the loo," she turned to look at him. "Will you be alright?" she asked with concern.
"Of course," he answered, as he watched her walk down the hallway, and entering an open door to her left, to which he concluded must be the bathroom.
"This way," he heard Victoria say, pointing to another open door. He entered in after her and Anthony, and saw a tiny living room. "So," she started as she plopped down on an arm chair, and she motioned for him to take a seat at the large sofa. "What are your intentions with our Hermione?" she asked seriously.
"Pardon me?" he asked befuddled.
"You heard her," Anthony joined in after her. He was standing next to Victoria's seating form.
"I apologize, but," Draco started. "I don't think it's any of your business," he said. "But if you must know," he soon followed after. "I love her," he said. "I want to be the person who will make her happy," he said. "And if I must be so bold as to ask you both a favor?"
"What is it?" Victoria asked, after her initial shock.
"I would like to talk to Hermione's parents," he said. "Alone," he followed. "If you could be so kind as to try and distract her," he explained. "You know, get her out of the room?"
Victoria squealed. Anthony stood gawking at him.
"I approve, I approve!" Victoria looked at Anthony, while pointing a finger at Draco. Anthony sighed and nodded in agreement.
"Done," Anthony said. "We'll distract her," he gave a comforting smile. They all stopped their conversation when they heard the bathroom door lock clicked open.
Soon, Hermione stood before them. She gave them a confused look. "What?" she asked, but was devoid of an answer when they heard the front door open.
"We're home," came a feminine voice.
"Are they here?" a masculine one followed after.
"We're here," Hermione answered and went towards the door to greet her parents.
"Hermione, my baby," the older female Granger cooed. Draco got up from his seat and followed Hermione's destination, towards the front door. He saw the Granger family in a tight hug.
"Is this him?" Hermione's mother asked when she took in Draco's appearance. The head Granger looked at him while he still had his daughter in a tight embrace. Draco gulped in nervousness.
"Yes," Hermione stated happily. "Mum, Dad," she started. "Meet Draco Malfoy," she introduced. "Draco," she turned happily to him. "This is my mum and dad, Roger and Anita Granger," she finished.
"It's a pleasure to meet the both of you, finally," Draco said as he gave a slight bow and walked forward to extend a hand in greeting.
"My, how charming," Anita Granger said with a sigh. "Where did you find such a man, my Hermione," she asked with a blush, as she watched her daughter's boyfriend extend his hand in greeting to the patron. Roger and Draco shook hands and all introductions were finished.
Anthony and Victoria took the grocery bags from Anita's hands and shuffled through the items inside. Both gasped dramatically, making the others looked at them questioningly.
"You forgot," Victoria started, but couldn't quiet finish.
"Idiot," Anthony whispered lowly that only Victoria could hear.
"Cheese!" Victoria exclaimed suddenly.
"Cheese?" Anita Granger asked in confusion.
"Yes," Victoria said. "Cheese," she continued. "We cannot absolutely enjoy," she paused and looked into the bag. Her eyes widened and grabbed the perfect item out. "This wine, without cheese," she finished.
"Right," Anthony looked at her with disbelief. "We'll go get the," he rolled his eyes. "Cheese," he finished and started walking towards the closet to grab their coats. He tossed Victoria her coat and headed out before them.
"Hermione, let's go," Victoria started pulling her out the door.
"What?" Hermione said. "But," she started and turned to look at her confused boyfriend.
"He'll be fine," Victoria assured her, before finally closing the door.
"What," Anita started but couldn't quite find the right words to express to what just happened.
"Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger," Draco took their confused attentions away from the closed door. "I would like to speak with you, about something important," he started, and he motioned towards the living room.
Both confused adults entered and sat down on their living room couch, watching the aristocratic young man take a seat on the arm chair.
"What is it?" Roger asked with concern.
"It's about your daughter," Draco started. "If you would give me your blessing," he continued. "I would like to ask her for her hand in marriage."