Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.
Draco's POV
I wake up earlier than usual today, the sun just barely illuminating my room in a pale pink glow. I'm probably nervous since this is my last trip to Hogwarts. It's doubtful whether or not I'll be able to fall asleep again now, so I get up to shower and brush my teeth. Once I'm dressed I double-check my trunk to make sure I have everything.
I have my uniforms; casual clothes; dress robes; suit, in case no one wears dress robes; cloak; pyjamas; mittens, scarf, and hat; quills; parchment; ink; envelopes; textbooks; books; and my wizarding chessboard. That should be everything. I latch my trunk shut and I'm about to leave my room when I realize that I left my guitar behind.
I rush back and pull it out from under my bed. To fit it in my trunk, I have to shrink it, but it just fits. I place a locking charm on the whole case and leave it by the door for later. Then I pull out my satchel and check to make sure I have my flask, journal, wand, replenishing ink quill, book, and coin purse.
The floorboards creak and I look up to see my mother standing by the door.
"Draco, if you're done packing, we'll have breakfast before we leave," she says.
"Thank you, I'll be down in a minute," I reply. She nods before leaving the room.
I sling my satchel over my shoulder and take one last look around my room. While I've spent the last few months here, I'm glad to finally leave it behind. I pick up my trunk and shut the door behind me.
Once I've left my luggage by the front door, I head to the dining room and join my family at the table. My mother has made scrambled eggs with feta, spinach, and bacon. I scoop some onto an English muffin and carefully cut it into quarters.
"Are you excited to leave for school?" asks my father from across the table.
I pause mid-bite and swallow my food before speaking. "More than I thought I would be."
"That's good. I hope this year will be different for you."
"Thank you." We return to eating our food, but the air has shifted slightly.
Once I've finished my breakfast, I clear my dishes and head to the front foyer. My mother soon joins me at the door while my father comes to see us off.
"Draco," I look up at my father, standing opposite me in the hallway and wringing his hands. He looks back at me, eyes filled with sadness. "I hope you know that I will always love you and your mother."
"I know father, I truly do. I'll visit you as soon as I can." My words shock me. They seemed to just pop into my head. "Don't give up in Azkaban, you'll make it through." Even though Malfoys rarely show affection, I hug my father one last time. To my surprise, he hugs me back, and it feels wonderful. After a moment, we break apart and I join my mother once again. Almost with a sense of doom, we pass the wards of the manor and apparate to King's Cross.
We arrive just outside the station and walk to Platform 9 and 3/4 to access the barrier. Once we make it through, we see the Hogwarts Express waiting in the station. The train appears to have been polished, the red shining brilliantly. Many first-years stare at it in awe and the sight makes me smile. I wish I was that young again; to be able to look at the train and feel that much wonder.
After waving goodbye to my mother, I board the train with my trunk and find my compartment. The Heads have a separate compartment and I go straight there. Even if Granger's there, I don't think I can face my old friends just yet.
I reach the cabin and true enough, Granger is already there. She appears to be using some sort of flat, glowing book, except she's placed it on its side so that it's horizontal. Books are also not as stiff and straight as what she has on her lap. She appears to be pushing little buttons on it, making letters appear on the face of it. It reminds me of a typewriter, but there's something very strange about it. A cord runs from her ear to the book and I wonder if it's some muggle medical device.
"Hello Granger," I say, with a nod in her direction. I try to school my features, but it comes out as more of a grimace.
"Malfoy," she replies, before returning to her work.
We both appear to have reached the same decision to not rile each other up today. I pull out a book to read, glancing up occasionally to try and figure out what she's doing. After one particularly long glance, she catches me staring and laughs.
"That's right, you don't know what this is." There's a glimmer in her eye, one that wasn't there when I saw her last. "This is a laptop. It's a portable computer," she explains as she removes the white nub from her ear. "It's a piece of muggle tech that you can use to complete tasks, like writing, more easily. For example, I'm currently using it to write a story. The buttons on the lower half of the laptop each correspond with a letter, number, or symbol. When you press the keys, they appear on the screen. I guess it's similar to the typewriters in the Ministry."
"What else can you do with it?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me. My face turns a bit red, which, with my skin tone, means that I look like a tomato. She laughs a bit before answering my question.
"Well you can store music in it and play it from the speakers, which work like the Sonorous charm, or from these things," she says as she holds up the white nubs on the cord. "These are called earbuds. Why don't you have a listen?" She holds up one of the 'earbuds' and motions for me to sit next to her. Without thinking about how it might look to other people, I join her. I try putting it in on my own but can't figure out how to make it fit.
"Not like that, tilt it on an angle."
She guides my hands and helps me put it in my ear properly, though it still feels a little uncomfortable. "There you go. It's not the most pleasant feeling but it shouldn't hurt now."
She presses a triangle button on the laptop and a song begins to play. It begins with a guitar and piano, the music having a melancholic tone to it.
"What's the name of this song?" I ask.
"This is Let Her Go by a band called Passenger. You do know what a band is, right?" I can tell she's mocking me now but I choose to ignore the jibe.
Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
She begins to hum along with it, closing her eyes, and swaying her head a little bit to the music. There's a smile on her face that I've never seen before. It's even more relaxed than the one she has around Scarface and Weaselbee.
Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you'll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast
You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you'll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies
It's a beautiful song, and I try to remember as much of it as possible. I'd like to try playing it by ear later.
'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
My foot begins to tap the rhythm, and my fingers begin to mimic chords under the table.
Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
Love comes slow and it goes so fast
Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
'Cause you loved her too much and you dive too deep
She opens her eyes and I notice her looking at me with a slight smirk. I guess she noticed how much I'm enjoying this.
'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
Oh oh oh no
And you let her go
Oh oh oh no
And you let her go
"Do wizards have any way of recording or playing music?" she asks me. Her question surprises me; I would have thought she'd have already read something on the topic. To answer her question properly, I remove the earbud.
"Most purebloods listen to old records on a phonograph. If you want to listen to more modern music, we learn to play it on an instrument and perform it for ourselves. Most of us are pretty skilled at playing music by ear and we rarely use sheet music because of that."
"Wow, we haven't used record players in the mainstream muggle world for a couple of decades now." She thinks about this for a little bit before asking for the earbud. I give it back to her and she goes back to typing on her laptop. We spend the rest of the journey in silence, only talking to the trolley cart lady to order food when she passes by.
Near Hogwarts, Granger recommends we change into our robes so I go to the nearest bathroom while she changes in the cabin with the blinds down.
Author's Note: Please review, your feedback means a lot to me. The songs that Hermione will be playing should all be in this playlist: AS,SE,TMM Playlist on YouTube, the account is Kathryn Deva. I also have the link posted on my profile. Thank you for reading, and have a nice week! Till next time.