A/N: Thanks for the love, so far! This chapter is by far my favorite one that I've written for this fic!
….
Thursday, October 11, 2007
am I dong This riGht?
Hermione wrinkled her nose as her phone buzzed and the text message popped up on her screen. The blonde wizard sat across from her in the small coffee shop after their shopping trip with a look of concentration that rivaled the look he had used when measuring potion ingredients in school as he held the mobile phone within his hands.
With a little practice, you'll be a pro. She replied, watching his face light up when the phone buzzed like he'd just been gifted a new Thunderstream Racing Broom. Hopefully, he would learn to control capitalization and spelling sooner than later.
This is mulch faster than an bowl.
"Come again?" Hermione said quirking an eyebrow after reading his latest text message.
Draco's eyebrows knitted together as he stared at the screen. "I didn't type that!" He yelled at the screen as if it were sentient. "I wrote much and owl you bloody stupid… thing."
Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Draco's first experience with auto-correct, though he didn't seem to find it nearly as funny as she did. Once she regained her composure, she thought it wise to see if he remembered anything else beyond texting.
"Do you remember how to place a call?" She asked turning her attention to her blonde companion rather than the screen in front of her.
Just then her phone started ringing and the name Draco Malfoy flashed across the screen. She had contemplated putting his contact name as Arrogant Prat or Insufferable Git, but had ultimately decided against it. She pushed the button to reject his call and felt a bit of pride well up in her chest. She had to give it to him, the man was a fast learner.
"Good. Just remember not to scream into the receiver when you try and talk to me." She said with a good-hearted laugh.
Her phone buzzed again and another text message popped up on the screen.
I won't be the one screaming someone's name, Granger. ;)
"Oh, sweet Circe, get your head out of the gutter for just one moment!" she chided, feeling the warmth swell in her cheeks. Why on earth was he having his effect on her? Six hours ago she'd all but disliked the man and here he was being cheeky of all things.
You're impossible. She replied, picking up her iced coffee and taking a good long sip, trying to calm the heat in her cheeks. ….and not all what I expected. She added for good measure. It was certainly the truth. This was a side to Draco Malfoy she had never seen while they were in school.
"I know." He said aloud with a confident shrug of his shoulders. "I believe that I told you that you shouldn't presume to know me."
"Oh?"
"People change, Granger." Draco couldn't deny the fact that if he looked in a pensieve he wouldn't recognize the twat he was when he was a teenager. He was brainwashed with pureblood ideology and raised under the oppressive thumb of Lucius Malfoy. No, that simply wasn't who he was anymore. Draco had finally managed to wiggle out from under his father's thumb and hadn't looked back since.
"I should go." Hermione said, checking the time.
Draco lifted the cup of espresso to his lips. "What's the hurry, Granger?"
"I, um." She hesitated, though she didn't know why. "I have a date, tonight."
Draco wiggled his eyebrows at her like they were best friends and said in his best impression of Pansy Parkinson, "Ooh, do tell."
Hermione turned her nose up, avoiding his gaze with an annoyed look marring her features. "I think not, Malfoy. I prefer to keep my private life private." She glanced towards the door to the coffee shop. "I'll text you later so we can arrange our next meeting."
Meeting. The way she was it was very clinical and Draco found that he didn't like the way she used that word. They weren't friends and they were barely even colleagues, but they'd had a bit of fun today, hadn't they? She was patient with him as a marveled over every little thing and she'd even managed to quip back and forth with him a few times. She also had a rather dazzling smile when he managed to make her laugh.
Nope. Her smile is normal… not dazzling. Dazzling? What the fuck? He pushed that thought from his brain and simply said "Okay. See you, then," in the most cool, indifferent tone he could manage, though he was a bit disheartened their time together was ending.
She nodded, her features relaxed once more. "See you."
….
How was your date, Granger?
Did you at least wine and dine him before you let him into your home? ;)
You left your crap in my office, you know.
Are you getting these text things?
Granger, are you ignoring me?
Yes.
You can't ignore me forever, Granger.
We have muggle things to do.
It's only been two hours. Sod off, Malfoy.
It's been two and a half hours, thank you very much.
Dennis. Creevey.
Draco though it best at that point to connect the phone to the long string that Granger assured him would keep the phone from running out of battery... whatever that was.
….
Friday, October 12, 2007
Meet me at my house tonight at 6:00, if you're available. Draco had been staring at that one innocuous text message for the past three minutes. It was a Friday night. Why didn't she have plans? She obviously went on a date last night. Thursday was not a normal date night for people who went on dates.
And another thing, what was she planning to do with him at her home on a Friday evening? He couldn't even fathom what sort of thing muggles do if they didn't go out. Or perhaps she was going to take him out somewhere once he arrived.
He furrowed his brow in thought and sent off a reply. What will we be doing?
T.V. and Takeout. The reply came through less than thirty seconds after he had pressed the miniscule send button. T.V. and Takeout. What on earth does that mean?
Draco growled and started typing out a new message. I have no idea what either of those words mean and you know that, Granger.
Consider it payback for the thousand texts you sent asking me about my date.
Draco conceded at that point that he had gone a bit overboard in sending her text messages, but she was the only person he knew with this mobile pone thing and he needed to practice using it… at least that's what he told himself. All he knew how to do was place a call and send a text message, but he didn't dare touch the other buttons until Hermione explained them to him. For all he knew, one press of a button could be dangerous.
He was just about to send her another message when something else from her popped up on the screen. It was a picture of that strange gray box opposite her couch. Why wasn't the picture moving? Wait.
GRANGER, CAN THIS PONE THING TAKE PHOTOS?
Shouting is bad form, Malfoy. And yes, the phone has a built-in camera. The picture is of my television. Dress casual and I'll see you at 6:00.
He hadn't even raised his voice or spoken outloud for that matter… what did she mean by shouting? Draco searched the icon for anything that looked remotely like a camera and hesitantly pressed the button when he saw himself reflected back in the screen. He held it out from himself and flashed a dazzling smile, but nothing happened.
Draco frowned and noticed a large red button near the bottom of the screen. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were pursed with curiosity as he pressed the button. He heard a click and a very unflattering photograph of himself popped up on the screen.
"NO!" He looked around the edges of the picture and pressed the one that looked like a rubbish bin. Relief washed over him when the picture went away and the camera screen came back up.
"So that's how you work…" He muttered to himself as he positioned the phone once again, flashed another dazzling smile, and captured his stationary image.
Through a bit of random clicking within the text message screen, Draco managed to find the method of sending off the picture to Hermione. Which he did… several times. In addition to the picture of himself, he had also managed to send a picture of his favorite quill, the view from outside of his office window, and a hazy picture of Persephone Collins mid-finger wave telling him to get back to work.
Malfoy, stop! I'm trying to work and I won't be able to get anything done if you keep pestering me.
Draco sent her a photograph of him with a raised eyebrow and his classic Malfoy smirk, just for good measure.
Moments later, he received a photograph of the brunette witch with her brows furrowed in annoyance and her wand pointed threateningly at him through the screen. Draco couldn't help but notice there was also a bit of a rosy flush to her cheeks. He was beginning to like seeing that tinge of pink more and more on her cheeks… and it had only been one day.
Salazar's soul. What was wrong with him?
