A/N: Heyy guys! I am sosososososooo sorry for the really, ridiculously late update! I've been amazingly busy with school etc, but now that it's the summer holidays, I have much more time to write..
Thank you for the reviews so far! And I'm definitely going to try to finish this story..
Hope you all enjoy this chapter and please please please lemme know what you think! I'd love to know what you think, whether you like it or don't and what you think I could improve on.. Thank you! :)
Chapter 6: Good to bad, to good again?
"Granger! St-stop!" Malfoy screeched as I raced down the winding roads at 100mph, just to make Malfoy scream like a little girl. Admitted I was pretty terrified myself, I mean driving by a cliff with a crazy, blonde wizard who hated my guts and was currently scared shitless was probably not the best idea. But oh, the joy! The look on Malfoy's face was priceless, what wouldn't I do for a camera… I would spend the rest of my life reminiscing this moment while expressing my great amusement at the situation. At least it'd piss Malfoy off.
I sniggered at Malfoy's request, "Really Malfoy, you go faster than this on a simple piece of stick, hanging Merlin knows how many feet up in the sky and you're absolutely fine. Hell, better than fine! Apart from the times, which mind you, is basically every time, Harry beats you to the snitch," I mused.
"SHUT UP ABOUT QUIDDITCH GRANGER AND STOP. I DEMAND YOU TO LET ME OUT. NOW!"
Sure Malfoy. I jammed my leg on the brakes caused the car to come to a halt suddenly and with a great deal of force, enough to throw Malfoy forward towards the windscreen. Definitely enough to cause him to let out another effeminate scream. Well, it was his fault for not wearing a seat belt when I asked him to. Something about being trapped with no escape he'd said, with his pale eyes wide from the apparent absurdity of my suggestion.
"GRANGER! What was that for?! I could have DIED! What if I'd gone through that, that, glass thing onto the road?! Don't EVER do that again, Granger!" Malfoy's mercury eyes were wide again, but this time from terror of death.
"Well Malfoy, I'm not jumping up and down for joy right now, which means you're not dead. If you'd listened to me and worn a seatbelt, you wouldn't have flown out of your seat like that. So quit moaning. Anyway, you were the one who was "demanding" me to let you out. So here you go, I stopped, you may leave." I monotonously retorted in a bored voice, as I leaned across his seated figure and unlocked the car door. I felt like a mother reprimanded her 5 year old son.
Our eyes met, soft chocolate brown on hard steely grey. I stared at him expectantly which he gawked at me sceptically. And let me tell you one thing, Malfoy's did not gawk, they stared, they glared, they glowered, but they just did not gawk.
"Well?" I queried, still staring at the nuisance, now eyebrow raised, arched in question.
"Y-you can't be serious! What am I meant to do?! Don't be stupid! I'm not going anywhere!" Malfoy declared as he slammed the door shut next to him, crossed his arms across his chest and sat facing the road with a small frown gracing his face. I sighed, half out of annoyance, half out of amusement. As the engine sprang back to life, Malfoy elicited another whimper, fear evident on his usually closed-off and unemotional face. It was good to finally see a human side of Malfoy, even if it was only fear.
Hours passed as the winding, country roads of Scotland, hidden under an umbrella of trees with fields as far as the eye could see, slowly turned into wide, police-controlled motorways, with numerous cars flanking us on either side. The soft hum of the car engine eventually lulled Malfoy into a fitful sleep, and the constant driving for hours tired out my limbs one by one. Just as the digital clock on the car flashed to 13:00 and the midday sun shone brightly on our backs, I realised we'd been driving for nearly 5 hours and having missed breakfast in the morning due to our early start, my stomach was rumbling with starving rats jumping up and down causing havoc in there. I figured it was time for a bit of late brunch. And what perfect timing it was, a sign for a small diner just half a mile ahead appeared to my right – just what we need!
"Malfoy! Wake up!" I gently nudged him with one hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel, "Malfoy!"
"Young death eater reporting for duty sir." Malfoy practically yelled as he startled out of sleep, his back straight, hand on forehead, saluting. I burst into hysterics, tears started streaming down my face, Merlin, Malfoy was something else. "Granger?!" Malfoy looked at me in surprise and quickly brought his hand away from his face, his cheeks flaming red with embarrassment. I never thought I'd live to see the day when Draco Malfoy blushed, oh how wonder life is, full of surprises. Momentarily losing concentration from the road due to the hilarity of well… Malfoy, I swerved left unconsciously, causing numerous cars to honk their horns at me. "GRANGER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO KILL ME?!" Again with the shouting.
I smirked, now utterly and completely sobered from my laughing fit, "You know Malfoy, you would laugh to if you heard someone wake up and say, say that!"
'Here comes the laughing fit again,' I thought as laughter bubbled inside me once more.
"Whatever Granger. Why did you wake me up anyway?! I was having a wonderful dream about the many ways I could kill you during this month without anyone knowing," Malfoy's face had contorted into a teasing smile, well smirk, as I desperately tried to stop myself from having another bout of laughter.
"Ooo, as if you could Malfoy, I'd have you pinned on the floor in seconds, muggle style," I flashed him my own teasing grin, causing him to chuckle softly. "But seriously, it's past 1 o'clock, so I was wondering if you wanted to stop for some late brunch, there's a diner coming up."
"What?! Muggle food?! Do you really think I'm going to eat at a bloody… muggle place?!" Teasing to disgust, in one second flat.
Anger bubbled inside me at his prejudice, "You don't want to eat there, then don't. We're going there anyway because I'm hungry. So I'm going to eat and you just sit there grumbling at all the mudblood germs, okay?!" Stupid Malfoy. Just as I was starting to think that we could get along, he'd have to ruin it all with his damned bigotry. Chauvinistic ferret.
"I.. You…" Malfoy stuttered, looking stunned at my sudden antagonism. However, recovering quickly, he sneered back at me, "Whatever Granger, as if I care about what you do."
I gave a sigh of resentment just as we pulled up into the car park in front of 'Mel's Diner'. My stomach rumbled, my mouth watered as I smelt the delicious aroma of freshly cooked confections which filled the surrounding air. If Malfoy could resist this, I would be willing to.. To.. Ride a broom. And everyone knows how much I hate it – it is after all, the one thing which I just can't do.
"C'mon Malfoy, let's go, I'm starved!" I practically skipped as I rushed towards the door. Merlin, I'm so hungry! Malfoy, the ever show-off, jumped out of the open-roofed car, causing any girl in the immediate vicinity to literally swoon, except me. Obviously.
The diner was a cosy yet tasteful one with booths lining one side and walls covered in frames of beautiful landscapes. It was almost packed with only a few tables free of costumers; I led Malfoy to the nearest table and we settled down on either side, facing each other. As soon as I had picked up the menu, a slightly plump, friendly looking woman, who reminded me slightly of Mrs Weasley, came bounding up to us.
"What would you like, my dears? You seem tired, a nice big meal'd do you good!" She was wearing an apron which seemed to be covered in flour with "Mel" on her nametag.
"Hmm.. I think I'll have some pancakes with lemon and sugar, maybe a bit of chocolate syrup with strawberries too.. Oh and a strawberry milkshake, please!" I rattled off, after glancing at the menu, which was full of delectable savouries, which I would have loved to try - but pancakes won for me.
"Good choice, sweet. And your lovely boyfriend, here?" Mel queried, while furiously scribbling down my order in a notebook. Both Malfoy and I gagged at the implication of us being together.
"He's not my boyfriend, and will never be!" I snapped, unintentionally alarming the pleasant lady at my sudden outburst.
"As if I'd ever go for a self-important, know-it-all mudblood like you anyway, Granger." Malfoy scoffed scornfully, before standing up abruptly and strutting away towards the toilets. Every pair of eyes in the diner was staring in our direction; the ones belonging to females followed Malfoy ogling him as he sauntered away.
Mel stared after the arrogant prat with an expression of great confusion on her face and then back at me, as if we'd gone off our rocker. It must have sounded like that to her, a muggle, who wouldn't understand that name calling.
"I think he'll just have the same…" I muttered, causing Mel to give me a slight nod before hurrying into a room, which I assumed to be the kitchen.
I don't know why but Malfoy's words had stung. Mudblood ceased to affect me after the first few times, so I was surprised when what he said caused this sinking feeling in the pit of my tummy, instead of making my blood boil with perpetual hatred. While I was the envy of every girl in the diner, it wasn't like I was actually with Malfoy. My musing was cut short by the clatter of plates being placed on the table in front of me. As I softly thanked Mel for the scrumptious looking food she had presented for us, I realised that Malfoy had yet to return. Excusing myself to find and drag his incompetent ass back, I headed for the toilets. As I neared, the sounds of people moaning became quite evident – some people really do have no shame.
"Malfoy.." I started, only to be greeted by the sight of some blonde bimbo, with obviously fake breasts and a skimpy skirt barely covering her ass pinned up against the wall by none other than his royal ferret. I stiffened at the scene and continued almost monotonously, "Food's here Malfoy, come out.. Whenever... Although never would be a whole lot better." Yes, my words lacked their usual bite, but I just didn't have it in me at the minute. Seeing that had caused a wave of disgust to wash over me, but also, a rush of disappointment to settle within me and maybe even a little tinge of anger to bubble in my chest. I didn't know why I felt the disappointment. The anger, well, Malfoy had left me alone at the table to come and have a snog fest with some random airhead. But still, why should I feel angry?! It was Malfoy, I don't care about what Malfoy does.
"Right, just like you don't care about grades and work." The stupid, annoying, little, nagging voice in my head seemed to think differently.
I spun on my heel and headed back for our, no, my booth with my eyes locked on the black and white tiles of the floor. The food sitting at the table which I'd been craving for to ease my restless stomach now appeared unimportant as my appetite seemed to have vanished as quickly as it had come. Staring detachedly at the meal in front of me, my mind wondered again, only to be pulled unceremoniously back to reality by Malfoy plopping himself elegantly on the seat across from me. That somehow made me furious. I mean plopped elegantly?! You should know that by now Hermione Granger and rational, logical thinking weren't the best of friends.
For some reason, I didn't want Malfoy to know that anything was wrong, so I started to shove my face with pancakes, in a manner which even I have to say was slightly disturbing and highly unladylike. In response to the look of disgust I got from Malfoy, I merely gave a dignified, "What?!", to which Malfoy responded with a slight shake of his head.
"Eat then! It's amazing!" my voice sounded too cheery and high in my ears, enough to make me cringe slightly.
"I said I wouldn't eat here, Granger." Malfoy gave me a weird, slightly creeped out look, but picked up his fork nonetheless and took a tentative sniff of the pancake.
"As much as I would love for it to be, it's not poisoned Malfoy. So stop looking at it as if it's one of Snape's flobberworms and try it. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that the great Draco Malfoy ate a lowly muggle restaurant." What started off as snapping at Malfoy turned into light banter.
He chuckled softly at my teasing, "You better not Granger, I know a lot of terrible hexes."
"I'm sure I could take you, Malfoy." I replied with a small smile, which he returned.
And it wasn't a smirk, or a sneer, or a snigger. But an honest-to-God, genuine smile. Albeit a small one.