Chapter 28
After a short drive the group was deposited at the London Eye. While the students were rushed into the long line by Bill and Molly Weasley, Hermione's parents paid for the cars and arranged for them to return in two hours to pick them up again. The students chatted about the sites they'd seen on their drive and asked each other about things that were unfamiliar. Hermione was in her element as she told them about the castle they'd passed, what Big Ben was, and how cars worked. What seemed to surprise those of them that had never seen it before was how not different it all was. The fact that nothing untoward had happened seemed to relax them all enough to really have fun, and they talked excitedly about seeing it all from the top of the large Ferris wheel.
Greg stood near the back of the group and listened to Harry's explanations with half an ear, as he watched Draco watch Hermione. He hadn't really gotten over her himself, but he knew she wasn't interested. It made Greg like her even more when she'd not avoided him, but instead continued to make him feel welcome, while she made it clear they would be nothing more than friends. Also, regardless of what people thought, he didn't feel like he was stepping aside for Draco. He could tell that was where her interests lay, and Greg was in his mind, stepping aside for her.
There was a bit of confusion as each person paid the Grangers for the ride because most of them had never used muggle money. And, even with the lessons they'd had in class, they still felt it was all very confusing. Greg helped Draco and Pansy quietly count out the right number of bills and went to pay for the three of them. Pansy was still too ashamed to look them in the eye, and Draco had flat out refused to approach them.
After a lot of good-natured teasing amongst the large group, each person had paid, and moved to the queue. They were going to have two cars to themselves, as there were thirty of them and each car only held twenty-five people, and they began to form two groups.
The Weasley family took eight spots and, as Ginny wouldn't let go of Harry's hand, there was only space left for six more. Greg laughed out loud when Pansy quickly pulled Millicent into the group of redheads and he saw her move close to Ron. Knowing Draco wouldn't want to spend the next half hour with the Weasley family, or Harry, he moved with his friend into the other group. Greg smiled to himself when he realized that the Grangers would be the parental eye in their car, which meant Hermione would be with him. He glanced over to see Dean, Seamus, Lavender and Luna join the other group and then sought out Hermione in the large group around him.
Greg's gaze fell on Draco first though and he saw him staring under his lashes at Hermione and her mother as they chatted happily in the front of the queue. His friend's pale face was blank, and Greg wondered what was going through his mind.
"You okay?" he asked quietly, so no one around them would hear.
Draco nodded once, and seemed content to end it there. But, then he glanced over at Greg and whispered conspiratorially, "She defended me to her parents earlier."
Greg raised an eyebrow in question and Draco continued, "I don't know why or what she said to them, but she did it. Her mother was even kind of nice to me afterward. And, her father hasn't come near me, but he's stopped looking like he wants to pummel me into the ground."
Greg looked forward again and saw Herb Granger pull his laughing daughter close for a hug. "You think our families will ever be like that?"
Draco shook his head, "Not mine. Mother doesn't really touch anyone all that much. And, the rest of her family…well, I don't know."
"Your cousin Tonks seems like that. Like she'd hug you, I mean. Is her mum like that, too?" Greg asked.
Draco shrugged, "Don't know. I don't really know her. Although, I did see her hug Mother when they reunited a few days before I came back to school. I stayed in my room for most of her visit though, so I don't know."
"So, she told them to lay off?" Greg asked.
"Who?"
"Hermione. She told her parents to leave you alone?"
"Dunno."
They were quiet for a moment before Greg sighed, "You really like her don't you? It'd not just some…"
Draco cut him off with a shake of his head. He didn't answer out loud, but Greg knew the truth of it.
His voice was low and soft, and Greg could hear the awe in it as Draco confessed, "I don't know why. I can't figure out when, even. But, she's gotten to me. I can't explain how, but it's different this time."
"Well, then," Greg began as the queue started to move, "I'll wish you luck, and be there for you in any way I can."
Draco looked over at his friend's earnest, but sad face and knew what it cost him to say those words. A part of him wanted to step back and tell Greg to go for it himself, just to not risk their friendship. However, the greater part of him wanted to see what, if anything, could happen between Hermione and himself. So, he simply nodded his thanks and stepped forward with the rest of the group.
xxxxx
"Just walk around and look out of the dumb windows like the rest of the group," Millicent snarled at Pansy. "Stop trying to hide and just act like everything is normal, stupid!"
"But, she won't stop glaring at me," Pansy whined.
Only five minutes into the ride and Pansy was near tears. Ron had paid no attention to her whatsoever and she and Millicent were the only Slytherin students in the car. Actually, except for Luna, they were the only non-Gryffindors. To make matters worse, Ginny was snuggled up against a window with Harry, paying Pansy no mind, and Molly Weasley had not taken her eyes off of her or Millicent since she'd realized they were in her car.
"Let her stare! It's not like we can do anything from this stupid bubble!" Millicent sighed heavily and moved toward another window. She then rose up on her toes to get a better look and said to no one in particular, "What a waste of money. Muggles are dumb. Is that the castle we rode by on the way here?"
Pansy followed her pointed finger, smiled a little at Millie's attempt to not show her excitement and then nodded. But, Pasy wasn't as interested in the sights of London as she was in the sight of Ron. Turning her head she saw him pointing out some things to Dean and Seamus across the car. She thought of just joining them, it was supposed to be a partially educational trip after all, but before she could take a step, she saw Molly Weasley again out of the corner of her eye.
With a sigh, she turned away from Ron and back toward the window. Millie wasn't aware of her feelings for Ron, and Pansy wasn't ready to talk about it with her. She was upset that Ron's parents hadn't immediately accepted her and she wanted advice on what to do.
"I feel like I've done something wrong with the way she keeps watching us," she said instead.
"Screw her," Millie answered with a snort. Then again on her toes, she added, "Why would anyone ever want to see that far? It's like we can see all the way to Hogwarts from here!"
Giggling a little, Pansy said, "Won't be too much longer and we'll be out of here, Millie."
"Good!" Millie grunted and moved to another window, this one overlooking the water.
"Um, I'm going to go ask Ginny a question, uh, about the assignment, okay? Be right back." Before Millie could answer, Pansy darted past Bill and Fleur Weasley and went over to Harry and Ginny.
"Hey guys," she said as she came up behind them.
Harry turned and nodded his hello, but Ginny pulled away and smiled, "Isn't this great?! You can see everything from here!"
Pansy nodded, but Harry added, "Kind of like flying without a broom."
When Pansy predictably wrinkled her nose at the thought of broom flight, they all laughed. Harry leaned back against the window and crossed his arms across his chest.
"So, what do you think of it, Pansy?"
She shrugged and glanced out of the window. They were a bit higher than the last time she had really looked and she took an involuntary step back. "We're getting kind of high aren't we?"
Ginny wound her arm through Pansy's and laughed, "We're not even halfway, Pans. Wait until you see everything from the top!"
"Oh, uh, yeah," Pansy tried to look like she didn't hate the thought.
"Hey, guys!" Ron said as he joined them. "Isn't this cool? Like flying without a broom!"
Harry and Ginny guffawed and Pansy giggled at his comment. Then, while Harry explained what they were laughing at Luna, Lavender, Seamus, and Dean joined them.
"Well, one thing's for sure, I don't like heights!" Lavender said as she moved closer to Seamus and hung on his arm. She'd spent most of the day hanging on him, in an effort to make Ron, who hadn't noticed, jealous. Seamus didn't seem to notice either as he continued his side conversation with Dean.
Luna looked over at Harry and asked, "So, is this the kind of thing you guys did growing up?"
Harry shook his head, "Not me. Hermione, maybe. Her parents took her to all kinds of places over the summers. I did get to a zoo once when I was younger though."
"Ooh, I wouldn't set foot in one of those places; they're full of stremefees and peedoows," Luna announced with a shudder.
Pansy opened her mouth to ask what those things were, but Ginny stopped her with a quick shake of her head.
"So," Dean asked, as he and Seamus joined the conversation, "after this we go bowling, right?"
"Right," Ginny answered. "I think everyone will love that!"
Dean nodded, "But, I still say we should set it up girls against boys."
"Not again, Dean," Harry answered. "We agreed that drawing names was best."
"How about you, me, Hermione, and Ginny against everyone else?" he tried again.
"I had no idea Gryffindors were so competitive," Millie said as she joined them.
Ron shrugged, but then looked at Dean, "And, what about me?"
"No offense, but Hermione told us how you bowl. I'm not having my average taken down because you can't hit two pins." Dean sniffed.
Lavender sighed, "Oh shut it, Dean. It's not like this counts or anything. It's just for fun, remember?"
Dean huffed, "Well, for some of us it's practice."
Millie tilted her head at him, "You play this all the time, do you?"
"During the summers, yeah. At home, I'm on a league and I have a 215 average," he answered proudly.
Pansy shifted closer to Ron as she asked, "How do you keep up your game all year at school?"
"Well, it was hard at first, but once I knew about the Room of Requirement, it wasn't so tough," he winked at her.
Everyone laughed except Millie who huffed, "What's this room, then? Some kind of dumb Gryffindor hangout?"
"I would think some of you would be more careful about insulting houses, considering the company you currently have!" Molly's voice interrupted them.
Several people jumped at the suddenness and shrillness of her voice, and Pansy moved a step away from Ron.
Ginny put her hands on her hips, imitating Molly's stance, "Mom, she didn't mean it like that."
"Well, it certainly sounded like an insult to me. And, let me tell you, I won't tolera…"
"Mom!" Ron stopped her. "Leave her alone."
"Ronald Weasley I am simply doing what was asked of me. I was told to keep an eye on everyone and make sure there was no trouble from anyone!" She looked from him to Pansy and then Millicent as she spoke. "And, it sounded to me like trouble was just about to…"
Ginny stepped forward, "We were talking about the teams for bowling later, Mom. No one was planning world domination."
Molly's face reddened, "Don't you sass me, young lady!" Then she sneered, "I heard that little Slytherin…"
Pansy's gasp at the hatred behind the name of her house brought Molly's attention to her. "And, you! How you can show your face after what you did last year, I'll nev…"
Pansy's face lost all color, but the twin shouts of, "Mom!" along with Harry's, "Mrs. Weasley!" stopped her tirade.
Harry stepped up as if to speak, but was stopped by Ron's voice, "I can't believe you! You owe Pansy an apology!"
"I owe her what?!" Molly squeaked in her outrage. She had held her tongue for the past couple of hours as people who'd threatened, belittled, taunted, and harassed her family had waltzed into her home as if they belonged there. Then, she'd had to serve them her food and treat them like they deserved anything but her disdain. She had been seething with anger for more than a week at the thought of them being there. The thought that Ginny felt any of them deserved a second chance was beyond Molly's understanding. Then, to find out that her precious Hermione had gotten somehow twisted up with the likes of a Malfoy had set her over the edge. After that she'd simply been waiting for one of them to slip up so she could get rid of every last one of them.
She was so wrapped up in her righteous indignation that it was a few seconds before the quiet around her filtered through. Then the sound of a sniffle brought her attention to Pansy once more. The girl looked like she'd been slapped; her face a glassy white with bright red blotches on her cheeks under her red-rimmed eyes. The mother in her wanted to make the girl in front of her feel better, but the mother who'd fought for her children's lives as the same girl had cowardly tried to get Harry captured was stronger.
Instead, she crossed her arms and huffed, "Well, I am sorry if the truth hurts."
Bill and Arthur had come upon the conversation near the end. Bill stepped into the small group and admonished his mother with a shake of his head, "Mother, I think you and Dad should go make sure Fred and George aren't getting into any trouble over there."
When Arthur took Molly's arm and drew her away from the group, Bill turned to look down at Pansy, "I'm really sorry, Ms. Parkinson. My mother often speaks without thinking."
"No, I'm sure she…" Pansy trailed off miserably. She didn't want to cry in front of everyone, but there was nowhere to go and everyone was staring at her in sympathy. "It's okay."
Ginny huffed, "No, it's not. I'm so sorry, Pans. I talked to her last week and she said she would keep her thoughts to herself!"
"No, Ginny, don't be upset with her. She…well, I…it did happen didn't it?" Pansy sniffled. "I just didn't think about how she'd…"
Ginny's glance at Ron was Pansy's undoing and the tears started to fall.
"Oi! What's with the waterworks, Parkinson?! What do you care what she thinks anyway?" Millicent asked in a low huff.
Pansy sniffled and tried to hold back her tears as she shrugged. But, then Ron reached out and grabbed some napkins from the sidebar and handed them to her. When she looked up to say thank you she saw the sympathy on his face and a sob escaped.
"Aw, stop, okay?" he implored. "She didn't…well, she'll feel bad about it soon and then, she'll…maybe…um, just don't let her get to you, okay?"
Torn between embarrassment and appreciation for his words and actions, she could only think of throwing herself into his arms. But, as that would only add to the horror of the past few minutes, she simply sniffed back her remaining tears and nodded.
"I'll be fine. I'm sorry to mess things up for everyone," she whispered.
"You did not mess up anyzing!" Bill's wife Fleur exclaimed as she stepped forward. She put her slender arm around Pansy's shoulders, "Dere dere, no more crying. Molly often doesn't zink about how vat her vords can do. She only zink about last year and how she feel. Not about leetle girls and zeir fears. Harry, Ronald and Ginevra say you sorry, so you sorry. End of story! Now, stop wiz zhe tears and have your fun today."
Pansy couldn't have said what shocked her out of her state of upset more; the gorgeous woman's looks, accent, or words, but she found herself smiling dazedly at the slender blonde next to her.
"Um, okay," she whispered in awe.
"Good, good," Fleur answered with a brilliant smile.
Bill stepped up and took his wife's hand, "Thank you. Now, how about we leave these kids alone?"
She nodded and stepped away, but not before giving Pansy's hand a light squeeze.
Pansy turned to look at her friends, both old and new, and saw a wide variety of facial expressions. Most of the guys were looking at the floor or out of the windows, as they avoided making eye contact. Ron, Seamus and Dean had actually backed away from them to go stand near the windows. Millie still looked mutinous; Lavender and Luna both looked sorrowful, but it was Ginny's face that startled Pansy enough to make her clear her throat to speak.
"Gin?"
The small grimace on Ginny's face vanished as she looked at Pansy, "Are you okay?"
"I guess," Pansy nodded and shrugged at the same time. "But, why did you look like you swallowed a lemon just then?"
Ginny looked startled for a moment before she let the grimace come back a bit, "Oh, sorry. I just hate the way she says my name with that little snarky accent! Jineeeevrah."
Everyone stood there for a long moment looking at Ginny. Then Pansy let out a little giggle, for some reason, Ginny not liking the way Fleur said her name became the funniest thing she'd heard in a while. And, in a matter of seconds, the others joined her, as they all released the last of the tension they'd been holding in.
xxxxx
The other car was the complete opposite in its level of joviality. Hermione practically bounced around the small car as she moved from group to group, answering questions and sharing her knowledge of her other world. Having her parents with her was a surprise and joy she couldn't, even with her vast vocabulary, have fully explained. The last birthday she had shared with them had been her eleventh. They had not been there, no matter that they'd wanted to be, for her sufferings on the ones that followed. Each year her birthdays had seemed small, painful, tedious, or just plain forgotten with all the angst with which she had lived.
She looked over to see her mother talking to Hannah, Neville, Wayne and Susan, and her father pointing out something to Theo, Parvati, Terry, Cho, Padma, and Michael, and she felt she could finally breathe. For the first time, in longer than she could recall, she was simply happy. There was no fear, no worry, no stress; just a day of joy and celebration.
She was so lost in her thoughts as she stared out over London and walked around the car, that she didn't feel the two people near her until she practically bumped into them.
"Oh! Sorry," she muttered and straightened. Then her lips quirked into a small smile of remembrance of their first day back to school, "It seems we can only meet by bumping into each other."
Greg's low laugh rumbled out, "Yeah, I guess we do."
"Having fun?" she asked them, her eyes sliding quickly over to Draco and then back to Greg.
"Oh yeah!" Greg nodded. "This contraption is actually very cool. It's like we can see the whole world from up here."
Hermione agreed, "When I was younger, my parents brought me here a couple of times, and I remember imagining I could even see Hogwarts from up here."
Then she turned her head and looked up at Draco directly, "Are you, um, enjoying it, too? The ride I mean."
He watched her cheeks grow a bit pink when he looked her in the eye, and smiled crookedly, "I am, Hermione. Thank you. And, I'm very glad to know you like the surprises so far."
Her eyes gleamed as she nodded, glanced up at him and then nervously looked away to Greg, "Oh, I have. I can't believe you all did this for me. I mean, you all planned the party, invited my parents, and now you're in a muggle ride. Wow! This is the best birthday surprise I have had since I was seven and got my horse!"
Greg teased, "Don't forget we've all given up magic for the day, too. We're at your mercy here in all this muggleness."
Her eyes widened as she realized the truth of it and her jaw dropped a bit. Without meaning to she turned to look up at Draco in awe, "You gave up magic for a day for me?"
A look she couldn't understand crossed his face before it was gone so quickly she was sure she'd imagined it. Then he shrugged, "It's not that big a deal. It's just…well it seemed the way to go."
Her voice was soft as she half-smiled, "It is to me."
When his lips quirked into a grin and his eyes seemed to search hers for something, she felt her cheeks grow warm again. Unsure of what to say she glanced away and stammered, "Well, uh, I should, er, see if my parents need anything."
Neither man spoke until she was on the other side of the car. Then Greg turned to look out of the large windows once more as he sighed, "Kind of extra cute when she's all flustered, huh?"
Draco answered, "Yeah," with his eyes still on her. Then he leaned back against the window and looked over at his friend, "You're really okay with me...and her…if it works?"
Greg nodded and glanced over at Draco, "I am. If you're what she wants, that's it then, isn't it? Just be good to her if it happens."
Draco nodded and looked back at Hermione to see her laughing with her mother, Theo and Parvati. Her mother stood next to her and their arms were comfortably around each other's waists. He wondered if she would ever be that at ease with him.
His stomach clenched around that thought and he said without thinking, "I don't want to screw anything up, Greg. Things are finally going along kind of well. I mean, we aren't the best of friends or anything yet, but it's…What if I mess up without meaning to? What if I somehow revert or something? She's so happy. I've never seen her so relaxed, not with me, at least. I don't want to ruin things when she's finally able to talk to me without nearly jumping out of her skin."
"Uh, Draco?" Greg whispered.
But, Draco was lost in his own head and kept talking, relieved in a way to finally get it out, "She's still jumpy, you know? Kind of scared to be around me sometimes. Not that I blame her, I gave her plenty of reason before. But, now…I don't know. I want her to be happy all the time now. It used to make me crazy, her laugh, but now I want to hear it. I just want her to…"
"Draco!" Greg said as he elbowed his friend in the side.
"What?!" Draco asked in shock at the bump and at being pulled from his thoughts.
"I think, Mr. Malfoy," a deep voice interrupted, "your friend is trying to tell you that I am standing behind you."
Draco looked over his shoulder and into the eyes of Hermione's father. He braced himself for the punch he figured was coming, even as he tried to speak.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry, Mr. Granger. I wasn't talking about her behind her back. I mean, I was, but I wasn't being…"
"Hmmm," Herb said as he watched what little color the young man had drain from his face. He had promised Hermione and Jean he would hold his tongue, and he would, mostly. That didn't mean he couldn't get in a little dig. "I was sent to gather everyone, as we will be leaving soon. Mr. Goyle, why don't you join the group?"
Herb wanted to smile at the abject fear he read in Draco's eyes, when he clasped him on the shoulder, pulled him closer, and continued, "Mr. Malfoy and I will be right along." It gave him a small thrill when Draco's Adam's apple bobbed convulsively and his eyes flew to his retreating friend.
From the across the car Herb wanted it to appear that he and Draco were simply having a friendly chat. So, even as he held his smile, he leaned in close to Draco and made sure he had the pale man's full attention before he said softly, "I heard what you said about my daughter. And, I heard what you didn't say. I will tell you this only once. You and that family of yours have hurt her for the last time. I don't care that you know all that evil, dark magic and I don't. We have friends who do. If you so much as make her frown, I promise you, you will live the remainder of your days wishing you hadn't. Are we clear?"
Draco swallowed and nodded, "Yes, sir." But, then he lifted his chin a bit as he looked her father in the eye and added, "I know you have only heard awful things about me and my family and I'm sure most are true. But, I…things change, I've changed. There is no use apologizing for the past and the things I have done to her, as I have done nothing to warrant your forgiveness. But, sir, I…if you heard me before then you know. I have no wish to hurt her. Not anymore."
Herb leaned back and saw several people looking in their direction. He had also seen in those pale eyes what he'd hoped not to see, the young man's honesty. He wasn't ready to let the boy off the hook, but he couldn't bring himself to hold onto his hatred either.
Finally, Herb stepped back and stared into Draco's eyes for a long moment. Then he turned with a sneer and said over his shoulder, "See that you don't!"
Draco nodded at the man's back and risked a glance at the rest of the group. Most were pretending to not have been watching, but a few stared back at him as he slowly moved across the car to join them. Greg, Theo and Parvati all held varying looks of concern. But, it was a set of large, warm, brown eyes that caught and held his. Hermione looked worried, relieved, and slightly hopeful. He smiled a bit when it dawned on him that all those emotions were for him.
His smile seemed to act as a sort of trigger for her though, because as soon as it graced his face, she flushed and turned away. Draco sighed and moved to stand between Greg and Theo as he tried to force himself to relax. He usually didn't have a lot of trouble hiding his emotions, but something about Hermione's father had scared him stiff and he just couldn't make himself breathe properly.
"Alright, I know you are all anxious to get to the next bit of the surprise," Jean Granger said from behind her husband's body. She was as small as her daughter, so Draco couldn't see her, although her voice carried quite clearly as she spoke. "When we get off, I want all of you to get back to the cars immediately. No lollygagging! We have quite the large group and I don't want to be responsible for losing anyone."
Then she stepped to the side and Draco found himself staring once again into the eyes of one of Hermione's parents. This time though, they didn't hold contempt. He didn't know what it was he saw in them, but he felt the knot in his chest loosen when she smiled.
"…and the Weasleys and the rest will meet us there. Okay?"
Everyone around him agreed, and Draco nodded, even though he had no clue what she had said.
"Alrighty, then. Here we go," she called out brightly and turned with a beckoning wave to lead the way to the waiting cars.
xxxxx
Author's Responses: You are all so creative! I sometimes wish I could ask beforehand and then write to your ideas. lol That would make a GREAT story. Hmmm…might have to try that sometime… Anywhooooo, thank you all for reading and reviewing and for all your support!
Rebecca: Thank you, hon! I liked the idea of the "shelf of books" cake, too. :-) And, I love that you liked Draco's reactions and Herb's protectiveness of his daughter. Thank you so much!
stella: Thank you so much, Stella! There are more surprises from him in store for her. :) And, I hope you like them!
Kaswiniana: Thanks! I update every Wednesday and Sunday.