Obviously, all credit and ownership goes to J.K. Rowling.

AN: Hey everyone! This is the third chapter of Train Rides. To be honest, it was difficult to figure out the plot because I did not plan this out at all nor did I write a draft. I just..winged it. However, after I figured out the plot, writing this chapter was a blast. There are no snippets of Ron, Harry, or Ginny- this is purely Draco and Hermione. I plan on keeping this story around 10 to 15 chapters as the plot I decided I will work with is not that complex. There is no dramatic, terrible war going on and this fic was initially meant to be pure humor and romance.

Aside from that, I would like to wish everyone from the U.S. a very late Independence Day and happy Eid al-Fitr to any of my readers who are celebrating eid. Hope y'all had/have a blast. Anyway, please review- I love reading what you guys have to say and any suggestions you want to make. So don't forget to review.

Now, sit back, relax, ignore the grammatical errors and enjoy this chapter :).

Train Rides

Chapter 3

"Malfoy," she screamed, feeling her lungs burn as it battled with the wind.

The blonde made no signs and kept moving away from the train. She took one glance at the train and ran, her feet carrying her toward him as fast as they could. The air hit her face painfully and she grimaced, focusing her eyes on the figure in front of her.

"Malfoy!" she bellowed once again.

He had heard her voice. He turned around quickly, his eyes widening at the curly haired brunette running towards him. His body compelled him to run towards her but he remained stationary, fixed on the spot. He could see the sun cast its rays on her hair, bringing about a spectrum of shades that were not present in regular light. There were hints of auburn, warm brown, gold and even blond. How could he have missed these colors?

Her hair swished gently against the nape of her neck, landing softly on her back as she stopped near him. She put her hands on her knees and peered her eyes upward, breathing in softly.

"Malfoy," she exclaimed, her ragged breaths dancing around his face. "Let's go. You're going to miss the train."

He simply stared at her, his silver eyes in taking the sight of her huffing. She stood up quickly and he was suddenly aware of the little space between them.

"Let's go. Look, I'm going to miss my train and so are you."

"Why do you care if I miss my train?" He found himself questioning, staring at the girl in front of him with interest. "I had planned to get off here."

She opened her mouth, closed it and then opened it again. "No, no you hadn't. In case you did not notice, this is not a regular stop. So quit your whining and let's go."

She gave him a look of irritation and desperation and he found himself compelled to yell back. But she was true, he had planned to get off the blasted train for a few minutes to walk around, stretch his legs. But those five minutes may have been an hour or two judging from the fact that the Hermione Granger came looking for him.

"Okay Granger," he breathed out, fascinated by the way the light shone off her hair and her mask of anger. "Let's go."

Later when he would look back upon this memory, he won't be able to explain why he had grabbed her hand and ran towards the train. The action had surprised both of them but it was not the time to discuss it. As they ran, he was instantly aware of how petite she was. The girl was fast but she struggled to keep up with him with her short legs.

They had come close to the train when the vehicle let out a great ring, its wheels slowly forward. He could hear Granger's sharp intake of breath and her mutterings of "no, no." He picked up his pace and the girl followed him, her heart thudding loud enough for him to hear.

"Hey, wait!" she screamed. "Wait!"

But the train made no indication that it was going to wait. Its wheels turned faster and faster as the distance between them increased. Granger gave his hand one hard tug and suddenly he was behind her, watching the train turn into a speck on the horizon.

Granger finally stopped running, her eyes wide and her cheeks rosy. He was not sure how long they had stood there, silently analyzing what had just happened. But after a while she turned around, shooting him a glare.

"This," she spoke, her eyes filled with anger. "This is all your fault."

He could feel the exasperation radiating off of her but he was angry too. Sure he would have still missed the train but being accused of her missing the train made his blood boil. His nostrils flared and he pointed his wand at her.

"Look here, Granger," he yelled, not aware of the limited distance between them. "I did not tell you to get off the train and follow me. So quit this blame game you are playing."

She paid him no attention. Instead, her eyes lingered at his wand- her mouth forming an "o". She rubbed her temples muttering something along the lines of "shit" and "stupid". He looked at her quizzically, trying to decipher what she was talking about.

"I left my wand," she said after a minute or two.

He blinked, she stared.

"How can someone be so daft that they leave their own wand behind?" He replied finally, kicking the grass that was lining the train tracks. "Merlin Granger, you've had a wand since you were eleven and you still can't keep it with you?"

"I left it along with my luggage because I was looking for you," she shouted, walking towards him. "I left everything and I'm stuck here with you of all the people."

"Oi, don't think I'm all flattered to be here with you okay," he answered as he stepped closer to her. "I don't know who you think you are Granger but-"

"But what," she replied. "What? Are you going to threaten me, Malfoy? Hurt me? Make me pay? Huh?

She had poked his chest with her finger when she uttered the last word and suddenly, he was very aware of the distance between them. Her breath was minty and fresh, washing over him like a cool dip in a pond. But it was her scent that intoxicated him further. She smelled of new books and earl grey tea, his favourite. There was a hint of a flower in there somewhere but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Great, you're ignoring me now," she huffed out, bringing him back to reality. "Look Malfoy, we are stranded in the middle of nowhere. You have a wand and I have my knowledge of the muggle world. If we put two and two together, then we can make to Venice in time.

His eyes were quizzical as he thought about what she said. She was right, no doubt. But, why be surrounded by the insufferable bookworm (who smelled strangely nice and happened to have the most fascinating hair he had ever seen) when he could just apparate or fly there?

"You can't apparate there," she replied as if she could read his mind. "I'm not exactly aware of where we are but we are not in Italy or England, France is my surest guess. So we can only apparate within France and we require special permission from the French ministry if we were to apparate to Venice but that would take too long."

"What about flying?" he shot back. There was no way in hell he would go to Venice with Hermione Granger.

"C'mon Malfoy," she responded. "Look at the weather, it's stormy and windy. How in the world are you going to fly to Venice?"

Again, she was correct. He took one look at her wide, pleading eyes and something stirred in his heart. He tore his eyes away from her and paced back and forth, planting his feet into the ground with each step.

"Malfoy, c'mon," she replied. "We both need each other. For all we know, we may be stuck in muggle France."

"Fine, fine. But if you're going to tag along, you have to listen to my rules. I have the wand. Understand?"

He could sense the protesting and could almost hear the words of anger spill out of her mouth. But she merely gave a long sigh and slumped her shoulders.

"Yes."

She did not know how long they had been walking but it felt like hours. Her feet were aching badly from trying to match up with Malfoy's wide steps. He had suggested that they stay at a motel at night before deciding what to do with their rather peculiar situation the day after. Though she hated to admit it, the bouncing ferret was right.

They had walked up a hill when they saw a small array of houses clustered next to one another. Her heart leapt and excitedly, she took Malfoy's hand and pointed to the blur of brown, grey, and beige in the distance. The blonde had sighed before looking at their intertwined fingers.

She was suddenly aware of their proximity but he held on to her fingers tightly and she hadn't bothered to loosen them. They trudged about till dusk until her legs finally gave up and she buckled down.

"I can't walk anymore," she said, wiggling her toes in the grass. "You go ahead and get us a room in a hotel. I'll wait here."

Malfoy gave her an annoyed glare before settling himself next to her. "I'm not leaving you here Granger. Besides, we've barely walked that much."

"Easy for you to say," she whispered. "You with your inhumanely large manly legs."

Malfoy let out a snort and she narrowed her eyes. "What was that? Me and my manly legs. Gee Granger, I thought I would never see the day where the HERMIONE GRANER would think that my legs were manly. I'm honoured."

"Shut it, Malfoy," Hermione replied before laying down, savoring the feel of fresh grass against her skin. "Can we stay here tonight? Please. We'll go to the town first thing in the morning."

"No, absolutely not. A Malfoy does not lay in the grass, let alone sleep outdoors. Let's go, Granger," he replied, yanking her up.

She cringed when she heard a pop and she edged sideways. Hermione closed her eyes and put her arms forward, waiting for the impact with the ground. But the sharp slap of pain she had been expecting never came. Instead, a strong pair of arms encircled her and pulled her close to its owner.

She peered her eyes open and saw Malfoy's face was a mere inches from her.

Really Hermione? Who else were you expecting? She questioned herself.

"Careful there, Granger," he said, his voice husky. "Next time, I won't be there to catch you."

The next couple of seconds were a blur as he took out a wand and pointed it at her. Her eyes widened. Surely, he wouldn't avada her for falling, would he? A pale blue light streamed from his wand and showered her. He took a step towards her before scooping her up in his arms.

"Weightless spell," he replied to her confused eyes. "So it would be easier to carry you."

"What are you doing?" She screeched, her face covered with confusion.

"Look, Granger," he muttered as he began walking. "Would you rather let me leave you here, near a forest surrounded by who-knows-what, alone? You can't walk, remember?"

"I can try."

"You're too slow,"

He took her silence as acceptance. After a minute or so, she winded one arm around his neck and the other clutched his shirt tightly, closing her eyes as the sound of his rhythmic heartbeat and steady steps lulled her to sleep.

He did not know what possessed him to carry her like that. He would have to investigate the reason later. But as he walked, Draco Malfoy felt suddenly at peace.

He had arrived in the village about an hour after Granger had fallen asleep. His feet were sore and his eyes were hazy. Occasionally, his stomach would let out a groan of protest as he had not eaten anything from last night. His eyes scanned the area. It was around 9 p.m. from what he could deduce that the shops were closed. He doubted they had a fancy, extravagant hotel he had been expecting but any room will do for now. He walked slowly, absorbing the many signs and suddenly grateful that his mum had forced him to learn French when he was younger.

His eyes scanned the area. It was around 9 p.m. from what he could deduce and shops were closed. He doubted they had a fancy, extravagant hotel he had been expecting but any room will do for now. He walked slowly, absorbing the many signs and suddenly grateful that his mum had forced him to learn French when he was younger.

It was a picturesque town, the kind one would see a photograph of in a wizarding postcard. There was a cluster of houses standing next to one another, each one painted a different shade of warm, earthy brown. The windows of such houses were decorated with different flowers, he could spot a group of roses and daisies among them. The streets were lit by lanterns that hung off posts, illuminating the stone pathway.

Oh yes, this was definitely a muggle town. No wizarding place would be illuminated by such difficult means, a simple Lumos Maxima would have lit the entire place without any effort. Somewhere in his mind, he was suddenly grateful he had decided to bring the girl sleeping in his arms, after all, he had no idea how things worked in the muggle world.

Speaking of the girl, she was nowhere near waking up. Her head settled comfortable on his chest and every so often, she would let out a sigh of content. Who knew Hermione Granger, out of all the people, would enjoy sleeping on him?

He smirked, a giddy feeling passing through him about the idea of Granger sleeping with him. Of course, not that he wanted to sleep with Granger.

No, I did not want to be anywhere near the girl, he convinced himself as he looked around.

You did not want to. You do know.

"Shut it," he grumbled. Where was that blasted motel? His eyes scanned the area once more before landing on a small wooden sign with the words 'Au Detour de Mont: Auberge' painted on it.

The detour to the mountain, he thought to himself. How..muggle-like.

He sighed. This will have to do, this was no time to complain. He walked quickly up down the street and up the stairs leading to the entry of the inn. As he stepped in, there was a slight twinkering, as if bells were chiming in the distance.

"Hello," Draco said. "Anyone here?"

He walked to the receptionist's desk and looked around. A man, about 70 years of age, was sleeping soundly on a rocking chair, snoring loudly. He was balding and possessed a great snowy white beard, reminding him of a mix between Dumbledore and Santa.

"Excusez moi" he asked politely, leaning over the desk that served as a barrier between the two.

The man stirred slightly, before shifting to the opposite side.

"Excusez moi," he asked loudly.

The old man nearly fell off the old, wooden rocking chair he was sleeping on and took a few moments to adjust his glasses. His eyes widdened as they landed on Draco who simply raised a pale brow.

"Pardonezz moi," he said, shuffling around. He picked up a large blue notebook which Draco could have sworn was a thousand years old and opened it to a fresh, yellowed page. "Vous souhaitez une chambre, oui?

That would be ideal, you fool. "Oui, merci."

He watched the man jott down something excitedly before glancing at Granger, pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "Cette fille, elle est vostre petite amie je suppose."

Draco's eyes widened. Girlfriend? Granger? Not in a million years. "Quelle? Non non. Elle est pas ma petite amie."

The old man's eyes dilated and his face was filled with anger. "Alors qu'est-ce que tu fais portant une juene fille cette tard dans la nuit? Si vous avez I'intention de faire quelque chose pour elle, je vais appeler la police moi-meme."

Blast it! Why were muggles so nosy? He might have not known a lot about the muggle world but he knew enough to know that the police were not good news. He glanced at the girl and sighed."Elle est ma femme."

He eyed him suspiciously before nudging the blue notebook towards him with a pen tucked in the pages. Draco picked the object up before neatly scrawling his name into the bleak page.

"La chambre est au bout du couloir. Profitez de votre nuit, Monsieur Malfoy."

Draco managed to give a tight smile before handing him 50 galleons from his pocket. The man's eyes wddened as he examined the round objects with wonder.

"Sont ces or?"

He didn't say anything. Instead, Draco walked towards the end of the hallway where a poorly lit room was waiting for him. He opened the door, his breath catching at the site.

Two people, one bed. He'd have to share a bed with Granger.

Wonderful.

French Translations:

Excusez moi= Excuse me.

Pardonezz moi= Pardon me.

Vous souhaitez une chambre, oui= You need a room, right.

Oui, merci= Yes, please.

Cette fille, elle est vostre petite amie je suppos= That girl, she's your girlfriend I assume.

Quelle? Non non. Elle est pas ma petite amie= What? No no. She is not my girlfriend.

Alors qu'est-ce que tu fais portant une juene fille cette tard dans la nuit? Si vous avez I'intention de faire quelque chose pour elle, je vais appeler la police moi-meme= Then what are you doing carrying a sleeping girl at night. I swear if you plan on doing anything to her, I will have to call the police.

Elle est ma femme= She's my wife.

La chambre est au bout du couloir. Profitez de votre nuit, Monsieur Malfoy = The room is at the end of the hallway, Mr. Malfoy.

Sont ces or= Are these real gold?

Please excuse my french as I am not a native speaker. I hope you enjoyed all of this. Don't forget to review!

~Elena