Hermione dropped his arm a few feet from the building to throw her hands in the air with an irritated huff.
"Can you believe that man? What a sleazy, airheaded prat!"
She began ticking off her fingers, rather roughly. Though amused, Draco was slightly concerned for her fingertips.
"First, he ignores my attempts to help him cover up his mistake. Then, he completely dismisses the fact that something needs to be done to contain the creatures! And, finally, he chats me up like I'm some little sloozy! The nerve of that man!"
Draco listened to her rant until they made it to the outpost. Before entering Randal's office, he had spoken to the female ranger, Rhonda, about finding appropriate accommodations until the morning. She had told him the wards lowered at the outpost for an apparition point. From there, she showed him a map of the closest town and pointed out a hotel, which, to his dismay, was completely in muggle territory. It couldn't be helped, it seemed. They would just have to sort through the rest in the morning.
Hermione scowled as the wards rippled around them. She had never been in America and, knowing they could not just apparate home due to continental boundaries, she felt out of sorts. She hadn't had the chance to speak to Draco or learn about his plans for the night before now. Truth be told, she was so riled up by the American git that she hadn't actually considered where they would be sleeping.
She opened her mouth to discuss this when Draco held up his hand. She puffed up, blood still boiling from her previous encounter, before taking full notice of him for the first time since leaving the office. His face was twisted in concentration, like he was trying very hard to focus on something she could not see.
The next thing she knew, he grabbed her arm securely in the crook of his. She felt a tug just behind her navel and the undesirable pull of side-along apparition.
A moment later, she stood under a roadway bridge, clutching to Draco's arm as nausea rolled over her. She closed her eyes to fight it.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded, not bothering to look at him just yet.
"Yes...next time, warn me, won't you?"
She peeked up to see a slight frown in place and shook her head, waving a hand dismissively.
"I'm fine. It was just a bit unexpected is all."
She looked around. The bridge offer much coverage for their sudden appearance. Though there were many vehicles on the road beside them, none slowed down enough to notice the couple coming out of the darkness. She peered around, ignoring the rumble of cars above her head.
"Draco, where are we?"
He shrugged.
"Not a clue." He, too, was looking about. His pale eyebrows were pulled together, creating stress lines on his forehead, and his eyes darted from building to building.
Hermione shielded her eyes. Each one seemed to be brighter than the rest.
"Where are we going?" She asked. She recognized a McDonald's and noted that a similar building bore the name Wendy's. There was also two petrol stations and a road leading to a strip of stores, all dark in the windows and closed at this hour.
Draco glanced behind them.
"Rhonda told me of a hotel in this area. I was hoping to get us as close as we could, but I'm not exactly seeing it- no, there it is!"
He pointed to a sign reading Holiday Inn.
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"That's all well and good, but how do you expect us to get rooms at this place? Neither of us were prepared to travel when this happened," she reminded him.
"Forget knuts and galleons, I don't even have any pounds on me to exchange."
Draco smirked. "I am a Malfoy, we always have proper currency on hand."
"What do you mean 'there are no rooms available'?"
The small clerk shrunk away from Draco's harsh tones and he had to remind himself to take a breath.
While he had been to America with his father once or twice over holiday, he never truly enjoyed the place. He found it to be too loud and fast paced, even the places the pureblood families frequented. On top of his distaste, he did not know the area they were in and felt that it was his job to take care of her in an unknown situation.
Logically, he knew the clerk could not help their lack of vacancy. But his nerves could not take much more of this. All he wanted was a hot shower and to lie down in a comfortable bed.
The clerk tapped away on her odd rectangle and looked to the monitor again.
"Oh!" She glanced up quickly.
"We do have one room available, actually. It is a smaller suite with two beds and a full bath." She smiled. "Would that be okay?"
Draco almost groaned. Surely, Hermione would not be comfortable with the idea, but what choice did they have, really?
He glanced down at her by his side. She had gone rigid at the mention of a single room, but did not complain. At least, not out loud. From the look on her face, he could only imagine what was going through her head. Still...
He sighed.
"Yes, that'll be fine."
The clerk typed away then waited patiently as Draco pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed her a card with American currency on it and signed the paper she gave. Finally, she handed him the little card-key.
"Enjoy your stay!" She said brightly as they turned away. Draco cringed.
Author's Note:
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.