Longest chapter so far! Which isn't saying much, since they're just drabbles... Hope you like this one!
Draco arrived outside The Leaky Cauldron exactly on time, where Astoria was waiting for him by the entrance. The cloudy atmosphere was dismal, but she radiated light and beauty. Her dark eyes lit up when she saw him, and she met him halfway down the sidewalk.
She tucked a strand of curled hair behind her ear. "Draco, hi," she beamed.
"Hello Astoria," he said coolly. "It—" he paused to clear his throat. "It's been too long."
She smiled up at him. "It has." They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Draco broke the trance, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck.
"So where, dare I ask, are we going? Hogsmeade?" he asked.
"As much as I love clichés, I had something much different in mind," she said with a smirk decorating her pink lips.
"So going on a date in Hogsmeade is 'cliché' now, is it?"
"Yes. We can go though, if you want. Maybe we'll run into some of your old friends. Hermione Granger perhaps? She's delightful."
Draco shuddered. "No, thank you."
"Right then! Come with me." She looped her arm around his and he walked with her.
He cleared his throat again. "Erm, Astoria."
"Yes?" Her gaze was fixed ahead.
He lowered his voice. "I don't know if you know this or not, but the Wizarding World is that way. Just through The Leaky Cauldron there."
"Har, har. Of course I know that. We're not going there, obviously."
He almost tripped on a crack in the concrete. "Then where are we going?"
"Oh, you're going to hate it, darling," she laughed. He tried not to blush at the pet name, sarcastic or not.
He scoffed good-naturedly. "Did you really ask me on a date only to take me somewhere I hate?"
She shrugged. "You hate everything," she giggled.
"I don't hate you," he said quietly. At that, she blushed furiously. From him, it was a compliment, and she knew it.
"Well, I don't hate you either." They smiled at each other and walked in companionable silence until they came to a stop at a building entrance that was surrounded by lit-up posters.
"Here we are," said Astoria. Before Draco could question their location, she was tugging him through the door. Straight ahead of them was a teenager manning a register for concessions. There were more, larger illuminated posters covering the walls, and the carpet was a tacky mish-mash of colors. Popcorn popped in the background while Muggles lazed about the lobby area.
"Oh dear," Astoria sighed, chewing on a nail. "I think we're a bit overdressed." She was watching the Muggles, who were wearing jeans and T-shirts, while she and Draco were in somewhat formal wear.
"Who cares?" he attempted. "It's just a bunch of Muggles."
She gasped and smacked his arm. "Don't say that!"
"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "I just meant… Err, it doesn't matter. So are you going to tell me what this place is?"
The grin that appeared on her face could have rivaled the beauty of the stars. "A movie theatre!" she squealed. "Muggles have moving pictures just like we do, but they tell stories with sound and everything."
"A Muggle theatre." Draco shook his head. "You never stop surprising me, Greengrass."
"So… you don't mind? You're okay with this?" she asked hopefully.
"Absolutely not. But let's go."
Astoria groaned, but tugged him along to the ticket booth nonetheless. She nervously asked for two tickets and Draco instinctively reached for his wallet. He could have smacked himself in the forehead—he didn't carry Muggle money.
Astoria was already handing the cashier a handful of bills, which was thoroughly embarrassing. "Astoria I— if I had known—"
"Oh, hush," she reprimanded. She must have given the cashier far too much cash than was necessary, as she was handed back almost every bill she paid with.
"Enjoy the movie," the cashier said tonelessly, giving them a dubious look.
"I take it you aren't going to tell me what movie we're seeing," he said as another employee tore their tickets and pointed them down the hall.
"Oh yes, I thought we would see this one called 'Let's Talk About Sex.' I think it's a horror film."
Draco's eyes widened and he spluttered for a moment before Astoria burst into laughter and put a hand on his arm. "I'm only joking. We'll be watching a 'thriller.'"
"Oh," he breathed, visibly relieved. "Well, if I'm not properly thrilled, I'll demand your Muggle money back."
Astoria giggled. "I'll hold you to that. Come on, let's go inside."
The room was a bit darker than he expected; it took his eyes a bit to adjust. Astoria looked overwhelmed at the amount of seats to choose from. "Where should we sit?"
He hummed. "I imagine the best view would be from the middle, but the back rows would be more private…" He trailed off, realizing the implications of what he was saying. "Ahem. Um. So, we can just go—"
Astoria looked up at him fondly. "To the back," she finished for him. Draco was thankful for the low lighting so she couldn't see him blushing once again.
What was she doing to him?
They took their seats and made quiet, idle chatter.
"The unfortunate thing is that I don't think the people in the movie can interact with people on the outside like the ones in our pictures can. I mean, if there's murder in the movie, as the title would suggest, how will we warn them? I think I'll feel guilty."
Draco snickered at that. "I suppose you could just think of it like reading a book?"
"That's true." She prodded at the arm rest between them. "This really is in the way, isn't it?" She gave it an experimental lift and found that it went all the way to the back of their seats. "That's better!" Before Draco could react, she slid closer to him, and the lights dimmed.
It took them both a good bit of time to realize there were clips before the actual movie, but from the look on Astoria's face, she wanted to see nearly every movie from the previews. She was already enthralled with the Muggles' version of moving pictures, and he could tell she would want to watch many, many more.
The actual movie was actually quite interesting. There were some things that they didn't quite understand due to the culture divide, but for the most part they were rather invested.
"So that's a gun," Astoria whispered when one was shown on screen. "Muggles use those to kill each other! I thought they'd be more wand-like…" Draco snorted.
When the plot picked up in intensity and became more suspenseful, Astoria must have been able to sense Draco's tension. He saw her bite her lip as if trying to decide something, and then she inched her hand closer and closer to his until they brushed. They shared a meaningful look, and after a moment she put her hand fully in his and intertwined their fingers.
All they were doing was holding hands, something he had done with Pansy plenty of times, but it had never set off such sparks in his stomach before. He instinctively ran his thumb along her hand, causing her to sigh contentedly and lean into him with her head on her shoulder.
After that, he wouldn't be able to say what happened by the end of the movie; Astoria was the only thing on his mind. Although he paid little attention to the film, he'd be happy to see a hundred of them if Astoria was by his side.
"I liked that, didn't you?" she asked him once they were outside of the theatre.
"Hm? Oh. Yeah."
"Was it thrilling enough for you, Malfoy?"
"Absolutely. But I can still get your money back. I'll go in right now, I don't care." He smiled, she laughed.
"It's a little late to be making a scene, but I appreciate the thought."
"So, how did you get to The Leaky Cauldron?"
"I used the Floo Network, I can just—"
"Nonsense," he said quickly. "We can apparate to your place. And don't worry about getting splinched, I've gotten rather good at apparating." He held out his hand to her.
She smiled and took it. "If I get splinched, you're paying my hospital bill."
"I just told you not to worry about it." They rounded a corner to a secluded area, and before she could protest further, they disappeared with a crack.
The Greengrass Estate was large, though not so much as Malfoy Manor. Nor was it as dark and looming; rather, it had an almost welcoming presence. They walked hand-in-hand up the paved path to her front door, stopping just at the steps.
Astoria took a deep breath. "I had a wonderful time with you tonight, Draco. I'm glad you came with me."
"Yeah. Me too. You might be onto something about the Muggles." Something he never thought he would say.
She breathed a laugh. "I'm glad I could open your mind, if only a little."
He didn't know what to say to that. While his brain was attempting to drum up something charming, she was already leaning up on her tiptoes with a hand on his arm and pressing a light kiss to his cheek, allowing her lips to linger for a few seconds longer than necessary. Not that he minded.
"Good night, Draco."
He watched her go, and he felt the tingle from her lips on his cheek long after he got back home.
Did you like it? Let me know in the reviews! Also point out any errors that I missed. Didn't proof read, shhh!