I've had this idea in my head for a few days now and I decided I just had to write it down, and it literally took me about and hour and a half to write this and I'm very happy with it aha. I hope you all like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Escalators and Lifts

After dinner Hermione and Dean led the group into the shopping centre over the road. What would have normally taken five minutes for any normal Muggle took the group 15 minutes, with two busy roads to cross and flashing signs from different shops stopping them in their step it was a major relief when they finally entered the shopping centre.

"Right everyone listen up, we're going to start on the ground floor then take the escalator to the 1st floor and then on to the 2nd floor. We're going to walk through the shops but I must remind you, the law is pretty much the same as back home, if you're caught stealing the police will arrest you." Informed Dean. "The police are Muggle version of an Auror" he explained at seeing the multiple confused expressions on the Slytherin's faces.

"Now we are going to split into three groups, I'll be taking one group, Dean another and Professor Snape will take the third, we will spend a couple of hours in the shopping centre before we leave and head somewhere else, in that time we will enter many stores, ranging from clothing, food, toys, accessories, appliances so you can see the variety. Here you will be able to spend the money that school has supplied for you." Hermione informed as the groups were quickly formed.

"We'll meet here in three hours' time," Professor Snape told Hermione and Dean before turning on the spot and disappearing to the left with his group. Hermione and Dean looked at one another and shrugged, checking their watches they said goodbye and Dean headed off with his own group.

Hermione looked at her group and sighed, how had she managed to end up with Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini in her group? She quickly went over the rules for the next three hours and then led her group into the first shop.

"Debenhams is a large department store that sells everything from perfumes, to clothes, kitchenware to toys. So you'll be able to look around here for a while and see if there is anything you like. There are clothes that you can try on, perfumes to smell and even make up to try. "We'll spend a good twenty minutes in here if we need longer we can always have longer but don't forget we've other shops to go to."

They entered the store and Hermione stayed close to them, the last thing she wanted was to lose any of them, deciding it would be wise to walk them around the store so they knew where everything was located before letting them go. She quickly pointed out, the perfume department, accessories, and ladies clothing.

"Menswear, children and kitchenware are upstairs. So we'll be taking the escalator." She said as they approached the escalator. She was just about to aboard the bottom step when she realised they were no longer behind her. Turning around she frowned as she saw her group of six stood a few feet from the escalator staring at in fear.

"What's the problem?" she asked moving out of the way for other shoppers to go upstairs.

"What's the problem? Are you mental Granger there is no way I'm getting on that death trap?" Spat Draco eyeing the escalator cautiously. Hermione glanced back at the escalator and rolled her eyes.

"Stop being a baby Malfoy it's perfectly safe, it's just moving stairs. It's a similar concept to the moving staircases back at school.

"Granger the steps disappear at the top," hissed Blaise pointing to the top of the escalator."

"Yes and they reappear back at the bottom, it's perfectly safe you won't get sucked in at the top."

Blaise and Draco looked at the rest of the group with raised eyebrows. The other members stared back them in agreement, there was no way they were getting on that. Daphne Greengrass looked at the escalator and back at Hermione.

"How does it work Granger?" startled by the question Hermione looked at the blonde haired girl in her group and stepped forward so she was beside Daphne and turned to the escalators.

"Like I said earlier, it is very similar to the moving staircase back at Hogwarts, but the difference is at Hogwarts the entire staircase moves and the steps stay the same but here it's the opposite way around, the staircase stays in the same place but the steps move. You stand on the bottom step like these people are doing and you stay still on the step until you reach the top and you just step off."

"How do you get back down them? They just seem to be going up?" said Blaise.

"Well these are the up escalators, if you look over there you'll see another set of escalators facing the opposite way, those are the down escalators. So when you are upstairs you stand on the top step and the step descends and when you're at the bottom you just step off."

Draco and Blaise said nothing more but looked at one another silently asking the other what they should do. They listened to what Hermione had said and could easily understand the basic principle of the thing. Stand on a step and it levitates you to the top and you step off but there was one thing that bothered Draco, what if you didn't step off. He voiced the question to Hermione who grinned.

"You just step off automatically, if you don't step off then you just stay where you are and you'll get into people's way. We all ready to go on the escalator?" they nodded their head shakily and followed Hermione as she stood on the first step, Draco took the one behind her and held tightly on to the rails on either side. Looking behind her Hermione smiled comfortingly at the group. They all looked a little nervous but she could see the smallest bit of interest in what they were doing. They could see the entire ground floor as they ascended and she heard a couple of the group members discussing the shoes station in the far corner.

At the top Hermione stepped off the escalator and waited as each member of her group jumped from the step to the floor. When everyone was safely off the escalator she steered them around the first floor pointing out the different sections and the till points.

"Now I'll take you all back down stairs and I'll show you where our meeting point will be and I'll give you all a time you have to follow by." Draco rolled his eyes but chose to stay quiet, a few more minutes and he'd be free to walk around and see what he can buy without Hermione Granger being anywhere around.

Hermione steered them to the down escalator and froze, the escalator was switched off and a board was around the entrance a group of men where down below working on the operating panel. She could hear the group discussing the scenario but Hermione sighed and looked up. Finding the sign she was after she turned to the group.

"Right the escalator is broken so we can't go down it, so I'm going to show you a lift that's another way of getting up and down somewhere."

"What if the up one brakes down?" Draco said pointing to the top of the escalator where people were getting off.

"Well if it breaks down just use the lift. There is obviously something wrong with this one so the shop keepers have stopped it for safety reasons. Seeing as that one over there is still working then there isn't a problem with it."

Hermione steered the group through customers shopping to the area that pointed to the lift. She disliked lifts, hated the feeling of it descending, was always grateful when it reached the bottom and she could step out of it. She was nervous with how the group of Slytherins would react to the motion of the lift. That was her main reason for using the escalator. Cursing the people for turning off the escalator Hermione pushed the down button and waited for it arrive.

"What does the lift do?" Blaise asked, staring at the steel doors.

"It can carry a large amount of people and lift them or lower them to another floor. We'll all get in it and it'll lower us to the ground floor."

"How?"

Gulping Hermione continued to stare at the door, the palms of her hands becoming sweaty. "There's two cables that hold the lift and it moves it up and down when these buttons are pressed."

The door to the lift opens and Hermione steps inside, fearing they'd be left behind the group followed her in but instantly regretted it when the door sealed shut behind them."

Fear clenches in their hearts as they glance around the small box. Blaise looks at Hermione and frowns worried. "Grange what's a matter with you?"

"I don't like lifts, never have. I always fear that one of the cables will snap and we'll plummet to the floor," she tells them knowing that telling them was a bad idea but it was too late. She presses the button with the letter G on it and grips the railing. The lifts jolts and Daphne screams at the notion.

"What!" cries Draco gripping hold of the railing, he feels like he's going to be sick.

"We're going to die!" cried Blaise squeezing his eyes shut.

"Zabini shut up," Hermione snapped vehemently. The lift suddenly comes to a halt and the doors open, the group practically bolt from the lift. Calming her breathing she looks around the group and her heart stops when she watches people begin to descend from the escalator.

"They've fixed the bloody escalator now that we're down!" she snaps.

"I'm never getting in one of those ever again" swears Draco looking back at the lift in fear, the rest of the group agreeing silently.

Hermione handed everyone their money, instructed them to meet at the fragrance counter in 20 minutes time and headed straight to café. She needed to have a sit down. Lifts were bad on a normal day but they were even worse when she had to travel in them with a group of Slytherins.

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