A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters/locations related to the franchise. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling. I hope you enjoy the only thing I do own...the plot. Also M rating for language and possible sexually explicit scenes (really just wanted to be safe with the rating).
"Here, put on the safety belt." Draco had to ease his breathing when she reached around him and grabbed a thick grey band and slid it across his chest. She then clicked the metal end into another piece of plastic. "When it's time to get out you push this button here, and the belt will release. Until then, if something bad happens it will keep you in the car."
"Why can't we just take brooms?" He asked, trying to keep the fear from coating his voice. "Or apparate?" He held on to a small handle on his door, when the car began to move.
Hermione's smile never wavered from her face, even when the car began to weave in and out of traffic. "Because Malfoy, the speakers cannot be shrunk or we risk shorting out the circuitry. The fact your mother wants to attempt using muggle technology in a place so steeped in magic like Malfoy sodding Manor is ludicrous to begin with, but I will not have her blaming me for it not working. So, we are going to bring them to your bloody house the Muggle way." She was still smiling, occasionally glancing at him as they drove down the road.
"Please keep your eyes on the path," Draco gritted, his arms were clinging to the handles for dear life, the grip so tight his forearm muscles were flexing underneath the skin.
"Don't tell me you are afraid of riding in a car when you fly around on broomsticks all the time." She scoffed, before taking-in Draco's opinion-an excessively sharp turn.
"Brooms are safer," He managed after he caught his breath.
"How exactly?"
"If that person wanted to come into your section of the path right now where would you go?" He demanded, "On a broom I could go up, down, slightly up and to the right, slightly down and to the left. You can just go into that building." He released the edge of the door long enough to wave his hand, before clamping back down on the handle like his life depended on it.
"Did you know that the majority of wizarding deaths are in direct relation with a broom accident?" Hermione pulled off to a large section of pavement before stopping the car.
"That can't be true." Draco pushed the button and the strap that had him locked in place released and slid back into a hole on the side of the car. He watched Hermione open her door before mimicking her actions. He stood still for a second, getting his bearings, while she brushed her hair-which had officially escaped its scrunchie-out of her face.
"It is," She began wrapping her hair back up, not stopping her lecture as she pulled the strands up into a high ponytail, "Number one is broom accidents, two is potions malfunctions, and three is magical diseases." She named off each one with a raised finger. Draco snorted before gazing up at the large building before them. "Of course these numbers have been slightly skewed due to the recent war, but the fact remains, brooms are deadly." She began walking forward, only to notice that Draco was not following her. She glanced back at him with a cocked eyebrow and curious gaze.
"Any tips," he asked, his voice wavering slightly on the edge.
"Tips?"
"Yeah, tips…so I don't look like a bloody fool." Hermione smiled at him, she stepped back towards him, standing so close she was a mere fingers breadth away before tapping his robe with her finger.
"Leave this in the car."
Draco raised his eyebrows at her before his fingers reached up to his clasp, "Alright, Granger." He carefully folded his robe before setting it gently on the leather seat. He then stood up and looked at her. He was standing there in a pair of black slacks, and a grey button up shirt. She was eyeing him carefully, seemingly satisfied with his appearance she bounced towards the building, glancing back every few steps to make sure he was still following her, and like an obedient dog…he was.
Despite the chill in the city air, the store was a comfortable temperature on the inside, and Draco could not locate a single fireplace. He kept glancing at the walls trying to find one, until Hermione gave him a questioning look. Feeling every bit the outsider he was he turned to her and whispered, "How is it so warm in here?" Hermione chuckled quietly before pointing to a small rectangle with metallic slats in it.
"They use electricity to heat and cool their buildings. The warm air flows out of these vents, and fills the room. They can set it to a certain temperature, and the air fluctuates to maintain that temperature, sort of like a stasis charm." Draco nodded, moving to stand under one of the 'vents'. She waited patiently as he stood there until a gust of hot air hit his head. Smiling like a young child he glanced back at her, before his ears turned pink in embarrassment.
"Sorry," he mumbled, moving to stand back next to her.
"Don't be, you are loads better than Mr. Weasley. I love that man to death, but he does not have a filter when it comes to muggle inventions." Draco nodded, as they moved towards a section of the store labeled 'Electronics'.
A young man who was slouching so much that he looked crooked was standing behind a counter. He had a bored expression plastered on his tan face, and his brown hair hung down in his eyes. "Can I help you," He said in a bored voice, his eyes not leaving the magazine he flipped through lazily.
"Yes, actually."
The man looked up from his magazine at the sound of her voice, "Hermione? Hermione Granger?" The man's face lit up in awe before he ran around the counter and scooped her up in a big hug. Hermione returned it with enthusiasm, which caused Draco's brow to furrow.
"Jonathan, it's been ages. What have you been doing?" She asked, patting his back before pulling away.
The muggle man named Jonathan held her at arm's length before moving his head from side to side, "The usual, working to put myself through University." He rubbed the back of his shaggy brown hair, before looking back at her. "What about you? I heard you graduated from that prestigious private school, and that your mom and dad moved to Australia. I had assumed you went with them."
Hermione ducked her head for a second before looking back at Jonathan with a big smile. "No, uh-I decided to stay here." Jonathan nodded before pulling her into another large hug. Draco gave the man a closer inspection on the second hug. He was broad around the shoulders, but shorter than Draco, with a more rounded face. His hair was relatively well kept, but fell in his eyes repeatedly, the man seemed to be shaking his head every few moments to launch the fringe to the side. He was wearing a pair of faded denim jeans, and a grey t-shirt with a name tag on it.
"God, it's so good to see you. I thought that, after what happened…" He paused for a second, shaking his head, "never mind. So, what can I help you with today?" He trailed off for a second eyeing her.
"Oh, right…we were looking for a nice stereo system. Preferably one that can be used for a large banquet." The young man looked up, eyeing both Draco and Hermione carefully before a small look of disappointment flashed across his face.
"Congratulations, mate." The young man said relatively happily, before turning to Hermione.
"Oh, it's not what you think-we're not," She sighed for a second before smiling, "What do you suggest Jonathan? It's for a work function." The other man visibly relaxed at this news, giving Hermione a charming smile, which made Draco scowl. If anyone asked him, he would have said he was not feeling jealousy towards this muggle…he just thought it was unprofessional to flirt with someone while at work.
Still the green beast crawled over his skin as he purposely pushed himself slightly between the two. Hermione glanced at him, before touching his arm and nudging him so they were standing more side by side. All the while Jonathan's eyes never left the stereos.
"The best speakers we have are the Krell LAT-2000s. Of course, they are rather expensive. For a disk deck, I would suggest the Krell SACD player, which is also…pretty expensive." The muggle rubbed the back of his head, motioning towards the weird machines.
"Money's no object." Draco responded immediately, not even really realizing the words left his mouth. As a Malfoy, he was used to expressing the abundance of galleons his vaults held. And of course he felt the need to impress Hermione, to provide her with something she wanted. When he realized what he had said, he began to get anxious. He didn't have muggle money. Luckily, Hermione smiled and nodded her assent before asking her friend to show them to the stereos.
Once they were done and cashed out, Hermione handing the cashier a small plastic rectangle that seemed to work as muggle money, the young man shook Draco's hand roughly before turning back to Hermione. "See you around?" She nodded, giving him another hug before pushing the trolley with the stereo system back towards her car.
"Well, he wants to get into your knickers." Draco huffed once he had loaded the heavy equipment into her storage compartment. Hermione rolled her eyes before climbing into the drivers' seat.
"He does not." She started the car, eyeing Draco until he remembered to put his safety belt on.
"Yes, he does." Hermione's mouth twisted slightly before she turned the car onto the highway.
"Even if that's true," She smiled, an amused lilt to her voice, "it won't happen. He is just too…brunette for me." She gave him a small smile, showing her teeth. In response to his dumbfounded staring, and uninterrupted silence she leaned forward and turned up the car's stereo, drowning out Draco's possible questions.
He raised his eyebrows at her, but let his snarky comment about weasel hair fade to the back of his mind as the sound of rhythmic drumming filled the small car. Granger pulled off of the freeway and onto a smaller road that began to twist into the countryside. Draco has never heard this song before, which didn't surprise him as it was clearly muggle. But Granger, she seemed to know it just fine, and she nodded along and tapped her hand on the steering wheel to the beat of the drums. She looked like she was keeping something locked inside, and then finally like she could not take it anymore she started to sing.
In a horribly off key rendition of the song, she belted as if she had forgotten he was in the car. Draco's eyebrows launched themselves into his hairline as he gazed at her, perhaps looking for the dying cat that was stuck in her throat. Still she sang, as if nothing in the world mattered at that moment than the melody of the song, and the lyrics that twisted in the air. Draco carefully tapped the window next to him to ensure himself of the strength of the pane glass, before turning back to her and watching.
Even though the noise escaping her throat could have left him deaf, he couldn't look away or plug his ears. In that moment, with her hair tied in a messy ponytail, and her mouth open as she tried to hit the high notes, he had never thought she looked prettier. She happily sang out every lyric as if she were performing to an imaginary audience, and all Draco could do was stare.
Eventually, the song ended and Granger gasped for breaths, her face flushed on the last sustained note and she grinned like a madwoman. "I love that song," She panted. She leaned back in her seat as a slower song came over the radio. She glanced at Draco, who was still staring at her, and nibbled her lip.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have-Ron has told me my singing is awful, but I couldn't help it." She glanced at him nervously before clenching the steering wheel. Draco took a moment to look out over the country roads, enjoying the greens of rolling hills, and the beautiful blue sky as it met the end of the horizon. It had been a long time since he had just appreciated the landscape of the British countryside, and found a small smile grace his face.
"He's not wrong about your singing." Draco began, the smile leaking into the tone of his voice, "But you should still sing anyway. It makes you happy." He didn't look back at her, but saw her surprised face in the reflection of the glass. She shook her head for a second before turning back to the road.
"What about you, Malfoy?" He turned back to her, staring at her profile as she twisted her wrists to bring the car around a sharper turn, "What makes you happy?"
You.
He was able to stop the wolf's response from rushing from his mouth and instead he shrugged. "I'm a simple man, Granger. I like simple things. Flying, potions, and a good apple tart."
She burst out laughing for a moment, the sound drowning out the slower song, which was beautiful but couldn't compare, "I remember you stuffing your face with apple tarts in the Great Hall."
"You do?" Draco watched her cheeks flush, realizing what she had let slip. She coughed, before nibbling on her lip again.
"Yeah, it was the only time you didn't look like a proper pureblood." She said, turning to look at him. The flush was still there, looking more apparent. "You looked human."
The silence that filled the car stayed that way for the remaining hour and a half of the car ride. It wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, more reflective. The fact that he knew she used to watch him in school was a revelation. He wondered how often she had snuck glances at him, and a deeper part of him wondered if she had participated in giggling gossip about him.
For her part, Granger just nodded along with the radio, occasionally changing the station when static became too much. She would sneak a couple glances at him, but would look back at the road quickly each time.
Draco was partially relieved and partially regretful when they finally pulled up to the familiar dark iron gates of Malfoy manor.
A/N 2: Hello everyone, I hope you have had a wonderful first few weeks of Spring. Here is another chapter for you, as always your comments are not required but always welcome!