Chapter Two

Some weeks had passed since Draco's chance meeting with the Muggle girl, and the cold frost of Winter was beginning to melt fully into Spring. He had often wandered past the Girl's School on the other side of Bath in the hope of running into Cordelia again, but with no luck. In fact, for an entire week his timing had been so wrong that he had not seen a single schoolgirl. He enjoyed laughing a little at the absurdity of the younger girls pleated kilts and crisp white shirts tied with green velvet ribbon. He thought that Cordelia, as an older pupil, was lucky to have the advantage of wearing a suit over the ugly skirts warn by the little ones.

He had, of course, not mentioned Cordelia to anyone, especially not his mother. He could only imagine the reaction she might have had to his attraction to a Muggle, no matter how pretty she was. He had a small shred of hope that perhaps with time Narcissa would become less prejudiced, though with every passing day his hope became dimmer and dimmer as she fell further and further into the darkness of the town house. It had been so long since the heavy tapestry curtains had been drawn that dust was gathering on the windowpanes.

It was a Wednesday afternoon in March when Draco finally caught a glimpse of Cordelia again. He saw her making her way up one of the steep hills that was so common in the city, her canvas rucksack on her back and her shiny hair bouncing as always. The street was empty but for the two of them, but sounds of girls shrieking gleefully could be heard from the nearby school playground. He ran a little to catch up with her, his hand kept carefully in his pocket to ensure that his wand didn't slip out and give anything away.

"Cordelia!" He called after her, when he realised that she was walking at a much faster pace than he could catch up with. She turned around suddenly, a rosy colour brightening her cheeks.

"Draco!" she smiled warmly back at him, "I was wondering when I would be seeing you again."

"I was going to ask you the same question," said Draco, "I've walked by a few times looking out for you, but you mustn't have been here."

"More than a few by my count, blondie," she laughed happily, "I've seen you almost every day waiting on that bench."

"How?" Draco replied, confused. The absurd idea suddenly occurred to him that she might be a Witch with an invisibility cloak. Perhaps she was from the Ministry, sent to spy on him? Maybe she was a test, a cruel trick played by his mother to test his family loyalty.

"I take French in that classroom up there!" she pointed to a large window at the top of the dull red-brick building which housed her school, "You don't half know how to draw attention to yourself!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Draco responded incredulously.

"Your shocking white hair and general black attire isn't exactly subtle, is it?" Cordelia pointed to his clothes, he had to admit that although he was wearing clothing acceptable in the Muggle world, black jeans with a black jumper and a black wool overcoat, he was not exactly blending in, "But I suppose that's how all you boarding school types dress is it?"

"Boarding school types?" Draco asked, curious as to how she knew he had gone to a boarding school, the idea that she was a Ministry Witch flashed into his mind once more.

"Well, yes, you know, polished voice, good posture, well groomed," she eyed him up and down in a manner that made him extremely uncomfortable, "Not to mention the fact that I have never seen you around here before."

"Touché," Draco smiled, desperate to change the subject away from schooling, "Can I carry you bag for you? Where are you going?"

"Chivalrous too," Cordelia raised an eye-brow, "Definitely public school! I'm just walking to my car," she pointed to a rust-red car which looked as though he might be about to fall apart. She handed her bag to him nonetheless, and he carried it up the hill to her car, which looked no better close up.

"Why aren't you still in school?" Draco checked his watch, to see that the clock had just struck three.

"I'm 'off-games'," Cordelia grinned broadly at him, "It was hockey this afternoon so I've feigned illness so that I can go home early."

Draco had no idea what hockey was, but assumed that it must be some kind of sport. The idea of skiving sport was so absurd to him as a Quidditch lover that he almost questioned his interest in the Muggle, but she smiled at him and he was instantly intrigued once more.

"Oh right. Have you a lot of Homework to do?"

"Not much. My subjects are mostly coursework so I've finished a lot of my work for the year."

Cordelia had now begun to speak a language which Draco did not understand in the slightest, but just laughed a little. The two of them were just standing beside her car, both drivers side and passenger door open.

"Why are you not at school might be a more pertinent question," Cordelia asked him with a hint of suspicion in her voice.

Draco stuttered for a moment, he wasn't entirely sure what his state of education was at the moment, "I, er, dropped out at the end of my sixth year," he said awkwardly, "School didn't quite fit in with what was going on at the time."

"A public school drop-out! Interesting, I bet Eton was not impressed," she laughed a hearty laugh which sounded far to big to have emerged from such a small creature, "I'm joking, I know you weren't at Eton, and who cares about dropping out? I would have done had my dad given me the choice."

"Are you free to get a drink with me?" Draco blurted out suddenly, seeing Cordelia's face widen as he did so.

"Maybe not a drink," she replied in a blunt manner, "But you're welcome to come back to mine for a cup of tea if you'd like? It's not far from here."

Draco felt unable to refuse her invitation for tea, and so gladly got into her car. He had never been in a car before, so it was a new experience for him. His initial reaction was to feel physically repulsed by its general state of disrepair, but he was so keen to please Cordelia that he kept his mouth firmly shut for much of the journey to her house, only responding with the appropriate laugh or smile when she spoke. The left the city, but Draco could only tell by the general colour outside the car windows, as for the entire journey his eyes were fixed firmly on the cars interior to reduce the sense of fear that he felt from travelling in this tin can of doom.

"Here we are," Cordelia said as the pulled to a stop outside a small cottage in a country village. Draco didn't recognise it himself, as despite having lived in the area for a long time, he had rarely explored the Muggle villages.

Cordelia's village was small and picturesque, with a pub on one side of the square, and a church on the other. In the centre of the square was a statue of two people, which Draco could see only from behind, but he assumed that they were notable Muggle villagers as he had seen in a number of towns around the country.

"What's that?" he pointed to the statue of the people.

"Just a war memorial," Cordelia gave him a quizzical sideways glance, "Strange boy," she muttered under her breath.

They made their way down her garden path which was bordered by low box hedges and led to a heavy wooden door, which looked out of place on such a tiny cottage. She opened the door to reveal a charming, cosy interior. The floors were of dark wood, and covered with red Persian rugs which had become slightly tattered at the edges. In the hallway was a large Grandfather clock which was chiming out of tune, and an end table with a vase of flowers and several photos, including one of a very beautiful woman, who Draco assumed to be Cordelia's mother.

"She was very beautiful," Draco said to Cordelia, picking up the photo frame. He looked incredibly out of place in the hallway, as his pale skin and long thin frame looked as though it had been stretched, and his head was close to touching the ceiling.

"Thanks," Cordelia replied quietly, taking the photo from him and replacing it on the table, leading him through to the kitchen, which was as low ceilinged as the rest of the house, but had open windows which looked out over her garden and the church yard beyond.

"Sit down and I'll put the kettle on," Cordelia said to Draco, showing him to one of her wooden kitchen chairs which surrounded a heavy farmhouse table. He imagined that this might be the sort of place that the Weasleys would inhabit, but was suddenly much less disgusted by it upon encountering it for himself. Though he had loved the lavishness of Malfoy Manner, he was enjoyed the homely feeling of the Acheson family's cottage.

"I've suddenly had a thought, Draco," said Cordelia as she poured a strong cup of tea into a mug and handed it to him, "I spent the whole way home rambling on about myself, but I've realised I know almost nothing about you! What's your last name? Do you have any siblings? What do your parents do?"

Draco was reluctant to give away too much personal information, but he felt that his last name and a few other details couldn't do too much harm, "Malfoy," he said, "That's my last name. No brothers or sisters. My parents never really worked."

"Ah," Cordelia shot him a knowing glance, "The Malfoy family, from old money. Parents married late in life and gave birth to the prodigal son?"

"Something like that," Draco said, taking a sip of tea to avoid saying much more, "And what about you?" he asked, "You told me all about school but nothing about family."

"Well, it's changed a bit, since, you know…" Cordelia trailed off a little before drinking some tea to regain her voice, "Dads a builder, of sorts, I mean he manages sites and runs a firm and things. Then I've got a little brother, Finn, he's just turned twelve, but he doesn't live at home anymore because he goes away to school, like you did."

"Where does he go?" Draco asked, pretending to sound as though he knew what he was talking about.

"Blackfriar's," Cordelia replied, "It's in Norfolk, though why Dad chose it I have no idea. Apparently he was put down at birthday but its all-boys so I couldn't go. That's why I ended up at the High School- you know I think I'm telling you far too much about myself. I need to keep some of the mystery alive, something you seem to have a gift for."

She eyed him curiously, placing her mug down on the counter, "I've finished my tea, how about a walk?"

Draco finished his mug in one gulp, instantly regretting it as the hot liquid burned his throat. He looked out of the window and saw the surrounding countryside was thick with wet mud from the recent rain. Eying his newly polished black leather loafers, Draco excused himself to the bathroom and pulled out his wand.

"Impervius!" he muttered under his breath so as to create a nice, waterproof layer around his shoes. Emerging from the bathroom he grinned at the Muggle girl, "Shall we go then?"

Cordelia opened her back door, which led into the garden, at the bottom of which was a small gate which led into the church yard. There was a wooden dog house beside the gate; Draco wondered where the dog itself was. The two of them wandered between the graves in the church yard, Draco occasionally spotting the names of Wizarding families and wondering if it was the same as those that he had known. Occasionally his hand would brush against Cordelia's, almost holding it, and then move away so that she could not feel his clammy palms.

They reached the front of the pretty church, which had large stained glass windows. From this angle, they could still see the war memorial of the square, though in the dusk that was settling in Draco could still not fully make out the figures of the couple. He and Cordelia continued to chatter about abstract concepts, Draco often leading the topic away whenever it approached anything too close to what might reveal his total lack of knowledge of the Muggle world.

"Of course Baba uses to bring us cakes on Sundays," Cordelia was saying, Draco had paid little attention to the strain of conversation, they had emerged into the main square, where there were a few people lingering, "But she passed away last year in the strangest way just after – Potter!"

Draco's attention was suddenly grabbed as she exclaimed the name so loudly. His hand dived into his pocket on instinct. He hadn't seen Harry Potter since last May, since the downfall of Voldemort and the Great Harry Potter's rise to even greater fame. Anger boiled under his skin, which he tried not to let flood to his face. Across the square, a young, black-haired man turned his head towards them, but just as he did so, Draco was knocked off his feet.

"What the bloody hell is going on here!?" he shouted angrily, looking around to see that he had in fact been knocked over by a large, brown, shaggy dog which was now licking his face. The black-haired man bore no facial resemblance to Harry Potter and continued to walk in the opposite direction.

"Draco, this is my dog, Potter," Cordelia smiled at him, "He must have got out somehow! You naughty boy!" She rubbed the dog's head and he barked proudly.

"I found him on the other side of Baba's house," a new voice spoke from behind Draco's head as he stood up and dusted himself off, immensely grateful for his impervius charm. He turned to see a tall, brown-haired boy of around their age who had a broad grin and a lightly stubbled beard. He was wearing a large green waxed jacket and willies which were covered in thick brown mud.

"Thanks James," Cordelia smiled, as James put a hand around her waist, "Draco, this is my boyfriend, James."

"Nice to meet you," Draco mumbled, his entire body filled with more emotions than he had ever experienced in his life. Anger, confusion, excitement and deeper than them all, jealousy, swelled up inside him as he watched James hug Cordelia, "I really should get going. My mother is expecting me."

"Best run home to Mummy then," James joked with Draco, who simpered at him.

"See you around, Cordelia," Draco said, taking off in the other direction from her house. As he walked away he could hear muffled insults coming from the brutish mouth of James. His head was pounding, his back hurt from his fall and his sweaty hand was still clamped tightly in his hand as he disapparated back to his house in Bath with a large 'pop'.


In a small house on the other side of the country, a young man walked through the front door to a room of eager eyes. He removed his coat and sat down in a comfy armchair beside his best friend.

"News on the house?" Ron asked Harry.

"It's looking better, certainly," Harry Potter replied, "But that wasn't the most interesting thing I saw in Godric's Hollow."

"Not another giant snake?" Ron joked, "Ow! Okay, sorry Hermione," he said, rubbing his thigh where his girlfriend had just punched him hard.

"No, much weirder," said Harry, "I think I saw Draco Malfoy with a Muggle girl."

"No?" Ginny gasped, "Are you sure it was him?"

"Well it was either him, or we've got a problem with Polyjuice," Harry responded, "I reckon we should check it out."


I hope you have enjoyed the second chapter of this story! Sorry that this one is a little longer than the last, but I just really wanted to capture all of these moments! Please review!

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