"I told you, if you can ride a broom you could ride a horse!" Draco exclaimed as they dismounted the magnificent thoroughbreds at the paddocks of The Manor. He flicked his wand and the tack removed itself from the equines and floated to the appropriate storage spaces. Another wave of the wand opened each horse stall and the animals clopped gracefully to their homes.

"Yeah, well, I still think the ride on a broom is much smoother," Épiphanie retorted. She swung on the gate. "What's down there?" she asked, pointing to a barn a few yards away that looked to be neglected.

"It's the carriage house. I have a vague memory of sleigh rides when I was very small, but we never really had much use for carriages and the like, so I suppose it's just abandoned." Draco shrugged.

"Aw, that's just sad!" she remarked, hopping down from the gate and moving towards the building. "A carriage ride seems much more romantic of an adventure, don't you think?"

"I thought we were meant to be going on a picnic!" Draco caught up to her as she hopped easily over the ivy-covered gate.

"Alohamora!" she said. The lock that held the wide doors disengaged. "So does a romp in the hayloft," she winked, waving her hands. The doors slid apart quite smoothly, despite the rusted appearance of their hardware.

The space was long and dark, and cobwebs veiled the timbers where here and there a rat scuttled across the space and a few barn owls swooped out, clearly annoyed at having their dark and comfortable quarters so unceremoniously disturbed. Large stalls lined either side of a long passage with a floor of flagstone. There were parked majestic coaches that looked to be made for royalty, in black and silver with ornate trimmings, and bearing the Malfoy coat of arms. There were also two sleighs, a cabriolet, and two landau carriages sitting under a layer of dust among the stalls. At the end of the space, obstructing the doors on the opposite end of the barn, there was a large object shrouded in cloth.

"What's that?" asked Épiphanie. "It looks a little low and small to be a coach."

"I don't know. Lumos!" Draco lit his wand. Épiphanie did the same, and they moved closer to the strange article.

Épiphanie began to laugh when they found themselves within a few feet of the shrouded item.

"You have got to be kidding me! You didn't know this was here!"

"What? What's so funny? You know what that is?" Draco looked at her strangely.

"Go ahead, look!" she laughed, pointing at the shroud. Draco huffed and waved his wand. The cloth was whisked away, and his mouth dropped open.

"An automobile?" he exclaimed, dumbstruck. "What on earth would that be doing in here?" Draco moved cautiously towards the vintage vehicle.

"Somebody had a see-cret!" Épiphanie sang, skipping up to the car and lightly trailing her fingers over the elegantly curved fenders. "Ooh! MG!" She gasped. "Draco, this is a 1954 TF 1500! These cars are collector's items! It's gorgeous!"

"I—a car! A car, at Malfoy Manor! It—it just doesn't make sense!"

"Well, let's see if there's registration papers." She leaned over the open cockpit and reached into the glove box. "Ah! Here we are!" She held her lit wand close to the weathered and fragile paper. "MG TF 1500…registered to one Abraxas Malfoy…purchased July 1954…"

"1954? That was the year that Lucius was born! Why would Grandfather purchase an automobile? He absolutely despised anything muggle!" Draco stood staring at the car in astonishment.

"I wonder if it runs!" Épiphanie slipped behind the wheel, caressing it lovingly. "Keys! Where are the keys!" she searched the cabin of the vehicle. "Accio car keys!" The tiny car keys zoomed from a hook beside the closed doors behind the car, and she caught them in her gloved hands. She inserted one into the ignition, pressed down the clutch and turned the key. There was a whine and sputter before the engine roared to life. "Yass!" she exclaimed, revving the engine.

Draco leapt back in alarm as dust swirled into the air. "Épiphanie! What are you doing?"

"C'mon! Get in! Let's see what she can do!" she grinned.

"It's a car!"

"Yeah, I know it's a car. I do have a driver's license you know." She put the car in gear and tapped the gas. The vehicle leapt forward about a foot.

"Is it safe?" he asked, nervously approaching the car.

"Draco, you have taken two trans-Atlantic flights on an airplane that you'd never before ridden, traveled on the Underground and have taken plenty of London taxis in the last two years. Get in or I'm leaving you!"

Finally, Draco slid nervously into the passenger seat. He gave her an anxious look as she stepped on the gas and drove the car out of the barn. She pointed her wand and the gate swung open. They drove through and then along the lane that ran to the front of the house. When they reached the gates of Malfoy Manor, she pointed her wand again and picked up speed as the classic green sports car landed on the main road. She laughed as the wind whipped her hair and the needle of the speedometer continued to move past higher numbers.

Draco gripped the door and anything else he could put his hands on as she shifted gears with ease.

"Wow! Driving right side is easier than I thought!" she exclaimed.

"What? I thought you said you had a license!"

"I do—in America. Our cars are oriented on the left." She pointed to where he sat. "How long would it take to drive to Grimmauld Place? Harry would love this!"

"I don't know! I've never driven anywhere! Épiphanie, please, could we go a little slower—and return to the Manor?" Draco pushed his hair out of his face, only to find strands of the platinum tresses blowing back across his countenance as soon as he turned.

"Big baby!" she teased, and turned the car back in the direction from which they came. When they returned to Malfoy Manor, she parked the car in front of the house. "That was awesome! I've never driven a vintage European car before! And you had no idea that your grandfather had it?"

"None at all. I—I just don't get it. This is the man who raised Lucius! Why would he have such a significant muggle artefact? But—hmm…"

"What?"

"Well, he also purchased Antares Hall right about the same time, though he never lived there. No one lived there before me."

"A secret car...and a secret house…sounds like there's a secret lover somewhere." Épiphanie shrugged and cast a knowing look his way. "I'm just saying." Draco was thoughtful for a moment. She placed a hand on his thigh. "Does it really matter? So your grandfather had a secret passion for a muggle, or muggle things—or both. He's dead and gone. You're free to do what you like, including have a picnic with the half-blood daughter of the blood-traitor Minister of Magic." She grinned.

Whatever questions Draco had had about his grandfather's muggle artefacts disappeared as he enjoyed a leisurely picnic beneath an ancient weeping willow beside a pond not far from the trail they had ridden earlier. He lay on the ground with his head in Épiphanie's lap, staring through the curtain of leaves that reached out to brush the surface of the water.

"You, my beloved, are a most amazing witch. You are the most amazing woman that I have ever met. You are so beautiful, enchanting, and powerful! Dean was right to put you in his mural. More lovely than Aphrodite, and brighter than Mnemosyne you are. The gods themselves must have blessed your birth." He reached up and caressed her face.

"Waxing poetic again. That means you want something from me," she said.

"I only wish to proclaim my unyielding devotion to my immortal beloved."

"Is this about the portrait?"

"Well, you keep putting it off."

"It's not me, actually. Dean and I haven't been able to come to a time that suits both our schedules. We can only do it at his place or Antares Hall, which also complicates matters. Anyway, I don't understand why you need my portrait to hang in Malfoy Manor. It seems a bit much, don't you think? A simple photo for your bedside table would do." She picked a dandelion and blew on its clock, sending the tiny pappi floating out into the air.

"Because you deserve to be there—in some way."

She rolled her eyes. "So, we're back on that again."

"It's been a lovely day, my sweet. We've had a delightful al fresco meal, and an unexpected adventure. Even the dragonflies have come to bask in their goddess' presence. I won't speak of it again." He reached into the picnic hamper and withdrew a large green apple, offering it up to her. She took a bite, juice dripping down her chin. He sat up and licked the sweet nectar from her skin, lingering for a kiss. "I do recall something about a romp."

"Can we take the car to London?" she grinned as she allowed him to urge her backwards until she was lying on the blanket.

"Perhaps," he said between kisses. "But right now, the only thing I want to take is you, my beloved." He began to unbutton her blouse.

"Mmmm!" she purred. "Well, let's see how you handle these dangerous curves." She wrapped her arms around him. "First lesson, getting the engine started!"