A/N: Hi. It's July 9th, and fanfiction.net just put up another note about
what's going on. Apparently there's still a week left of it being gone...
*sob* Oh well... it's back to writing for me, so here I go, writing,
writing, writing... *dozes; head snaps back up* Oh, right. "Road trip."
Here we go. Almost over. What I need to do now is finish the day at Disney,
and leading up to the ball and the banquet itself the next day. Adios.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or my socks. Did I mention that I'm not wearing any socks? Just checking.
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It was getting dark.
Ginny Weasley raked her fingers through the crown of her damp red curls. Why hadn't anyone mentioned that they were actually going to go down that waterfall? It had been a real shocker for the sixteen-year-old when the car had stopped right at the top of the fall and she realized that it wasn't going to turn around. Besides screaming bloody murder, Ginny had tried to scramble out of the seat only to be held in by Harry, who shared the car with her, as the drop began and the car took a steep vertical twist. Ginny shuddered. She wasn't good with heights.
A shout of "Gin, c'mon!" broke her free from her thoughts; it was Ron, arm draped around his girlfriend, from several yards up ahead. They had mosied off without her again. She clutched her handbag against her side and jogged to catch up with the three-Ron, Cho, and Harry-as tendrils of her unruly soggy hair fell onto her face and in her line of vision.
They had stumbled on to a place called Frontierland and Draco and Hermione were no where to be seen. It had been hours, and the sun was setting behind the castle they had puzzled over. Ron beckoned to it. "They're probably off snogging in that castle we saw," He sniggered, only to be pinched by Cho. "Ouch," he mumbled, but he did shut up.
BANG.
Everyone jumped. "Ron," said Ginny nervously, "what was that?"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
"I don't know," her brother whispered back.
Harry and Cho had tensed, too, their bodies still and unmoving against the asphalt street. "Cho," Harry said slowly. "Do you think it is. what I think it is?" Cho nodded, fidgeting.
Ginny's head didn't move as her eyes rolled over to meet Harry's. "Uh, Harry?"
"Yes?"
"Do you mind sharing with the Weasleys what you 'think it is'? 'Cause we're about to have a nervous breakdown here."
"Oh. Yes. It sounds like a-" BANG! "-gunshot."
"A gun?" Ron echoed dubiously.
"A gun," said Harry.
There was a silence only broken by a constant "bang."
"Harry what's a-?" Ron began, but he was cut off by Ginny whispering in his ear. Harry and Cho caught words like "Dad" and "experiment" and "last year." Knowing Arthur Weasley's fascination with Muggle objects, it was pretty easy to piece together.
"Do you think someone's being held up?" Cho whispered. BANG. She chewed on her bottom lip and drew closer to Ron. "Do you think so?"
"I don't know," Harry said. The next silence that enveloped the four seemed to suggest that somebody take action; Harry took a tentative step forward, and then jumped back. "Guys, I see someone with a. with a gun." They all gasped, as if not expecting this. BANG.
"What does he look like?" said Ron, shaking Cho off a little. She frowned and turned away, obviously taking it personally. Ron barely took notice.
"It's a girl," Harry replied in a hushed tone. You couldn't miss the note of surprise in his voice.
"Seriously?" Ron asked incredulously. BANG. He blinked hard.
"Why, you don't think a female can be a crook?" Ginny snapped irritably. You would be too if you were wet, tired, and faced with a somewhat dangerous situation.
Ron began sputtering out an undoubtedly weak response when Harry saved him. "No, not a female. A *girl*."
Cho stared. "You mean."
Harry nodded as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "She can't be more than eight-years-old. Pigtails. Pink overalls. Gun in her right hand. Which part does not belong?" BANG. His voice rose sharply to a near squeak. It was almost comical.
"Whom is she pointing it at?" Harry wasn't sure who asked that; everyone's whisper sounded alike and all noises were starting to blur together.
Harry squinted and pushed his glasses up on his nose for a better look. "Little targets? On trees?" BANG.
Someone smacked the back of his head. Harry was getting used to it. "Harry, did you ever think that that might be a game?" Ginny asked. She sounded about ten times calmer than she had five seconds ago.
Harry blinked. "A game?" BANG.
Ginny wordlessly stomped around the hedge that they had crouched behind and closer to where the gunshots could be heard raging from the "game." "Ginny, nooo!" Harry cried dramatically as he leaped-yes, jumped and flew through the air in what seemed like slow motion-after Ginny.
What happened next is fairly simple to explain, but you'd never fully understand it unless you were Ron, Cho, or Ginny watching it happen. Ginny, hearing Harry's cry, turned to face him. Unfortunately, Harry had timed his jump a bit late. He flew the air fine. However, he fell crashing down onto the pavement about a full yard behind of where Ginny had taken her stance. To top it off, a series of "bangs" were heard to fill in the silence of a rather confused Ginny, Cho, and Ron.
Harry finally rolled over on the pavement to stare into the sky. Still, no one spoke. Finally, Harry groaned. "Well," said Ron. He cleared his throat. "A belly-flop onto the asphalt. I'd give that a ten."
"Are you all right, Harry?" Cho asked. She had given up on chewing her lip and was now biting her fingernails. Cho Chang wasn't great with handling nerves, but she tried. Unfortunately, "trying" involved slowly eating away at her body-or lip and nails, at least.
"Just fine," Harry croaked. He made no motion to get up. "I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes."
"Come on up, buddy," said Ron, offering his hand. Harry made two attempts until he finally grasped it and let Ron pull him up. The seventeen-year-old dusted off his hindquarters and shook his head.
Ginny rushed forward to stabilize him. "Harry," she said as she roped his left arm around hers to hold him up. "That was as scary as when you said, 'Put on your seatbelts. I want to try something.' Are you sure you're okay?"
"Peachy," Harry muttered as he stumbled over nothing in particular. "But let's focus on finding Hermione and Draco rather than the slow and painful creaking of every single bone in my body as it tries to find its correct location in the anatomy of my insides."
"Think," said Ginny. "If you were Draco in Disney Land, where would you go?"
"What," Ron scoffed, "if I was the guy whose personal slogan is, 'Legally, it's questionable. Morally, it's disgusting. Personally, I like it.' Hmm, where would I go?"
"And I always thought it was, 'Honest, Officer! The dwarf was on fire when I got here!'" Ginny mused.
"Ha ha," Harry smirked, unamused. "Listen, what about Hermione?"
"Her quote? Seeing that Herm's the little optimist, I'd have to say, 'Yes, but aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?'"
"Shut up, Ron, you-" Ginny stopped suddenly midsentence. Her eyes darted over to Cho.
"What, Gin?" Cho asked, tucking her brochure under her arm.
Ginny only pointed wildly at the brochure. "Is there a map in there?" Cho nodded. "Let me see it!" Cho, confused as hell, handed it over to Ginny who frantically began unfolding it-hey, it's more difficult than it looks-and searching for the map. When she finally found it, her green eyes lit up like a drug addict finally getting his month's supply from that stingy dealer down the street. Ginny jabbed her finger at the map. "Look!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, Gin," Ron smirked, rolling his eyes. "We see that your nail polish has really held up. So what's the big deal?"
"The big deal," said Ginny, too preoccupied to get angry, "is that in Main Street USA-one of these lands here-they have a building that's labeled like so." Once again, she poked at the map. Ron, Harry, and Cho peered closer.
"The Walt Disney Story, Featuring 'Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,'" Ron read aloud. Finally, it dawned on the rest of them. "Aw, Gin, that's such a long shot," Ron said, tearing his eyes away from the map.
Ginny pouted. "Have you got a better idea?" Ron shrugged. "Then let's go."
"I don't feel like schlepping all the way there," Ron got in as a final protest.
"We could-I mean, if it's okay with Harry. We could just apparate there," Cho said meekly. "If it's okay with Harry," she added again quickly.
"No!" Harry was persistent in this reply.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up." And she grabbed onto all of them and apparated.
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The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
That was Draco's personal quote. Draco Adrian Malfoy-Neiman had never particularly liked his family. His father was an evil, unaffectionate lackey and he had heard his mum say perhaps three words in the past month and they were all singing her husband's praises. His cousins Prave and Lanie derived joy from the slow, painful, and often kinky deaths of anyone, really-even their own kind. And as for his uncle Chester? A lawyer. Draco shuddered.
And Draco had tried to be like them for fifteen years. His first complete sentence had been, "Die, you no-good minion of hatred, die!" His pre-school teacher had not appreciated that. She had given him two cookies instead of three at snack time because of it. She woke up with snake hair, รก la Medusa, for the next six months. From then on Draco got four cookies every afternoon.
But somewhere along the line Draco realized that he flinched at deaths, hated the sight of blood, and really had no desire to kill anyone. No, it wasn't that he wanted to be nice or anything-he just did not want to be a Death Eater. When he admitted this in the summer before seventh year, his father had disowned him without a word. That was it. He had moved into an apartment in the magical section of Calais, France*, on the English Channel and had been living there for the past year.
And now, here he was in God-knows-what-land in Disney Land on the West Coast of California trying to find a certain Muggle-born brunette witch. He had been for the last several hours-to no avail-and was growing tired and irritable. Where the hell had she gone? Except for a quick-but excessively expensive-lunch, Draco hadn't stopped searching for Hermione. He must have rounded the park three times. I guess, he thought, sticking his hands in his pockets, she doesn't want to be found.
Jazz music was playing from speakers not so cleverly hidden in not so real tree trunks. He pursed his lips and hummed along to the familiar tune, John Coltrane's, "Impressions." Most children and young adults had a distaste of jazz music or anything that often lacked lyrics-and when jazz music did have words, every other line wasn't "Oh baby, oh baby." But in the Malfoy Manor, things had always been a bit differently. Lucius hadn't permitted Draco to listen to most music that he feared would be "good" and "happy," and Draco had grown to like the trumpet's bellow mingled with the saxophone's rich notes on a cool evening on the porch of the estate. He found it to almost be an escape. And escapes were rarer than a "Hello, how are you today?" in the Manor.
Draco stopped in his path, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. Now what was a train doing in the middle of Disney Land? Draco shrugged. *Might as well get off my feet.* The wooden overhead to the entrance read in western-style letters, "NEW ORLEANS SQUARE."
A short, graying man with dark skin in a strange little outfit tipped his hat and smiled a toothy grin. "Welcome aboard, sir," he said raspily, beckoning towards the train. Draco smiled stiffly and slid into a bench- like seat beside a little girl with pigtails in pink overalls. She looked up at him with big, innocent blue eyes, and then stomped on a beetle and cackled. Draco was disturbed. Her mother, on the other side of the girl, lurched forward as the train started; Draco held onto the railing and the girl seemed unfazed.
"Lucy, dear, won't you hold on? I swear, one of these days you're going to go popping out of the seat and conk your head on the next row."
The churlish little girl, ignoring her mother, turned back to Draco with a malevolent look. "I got to shoot guns," she said cheerfully, and yet sinisterly.
"Oh. All right." Draco's gaze shifted to the ground as they sped by, watching the bushes blur, only to have his attention stolen back by a tug on his trousers.
"And it was fun!" she grinned darkly. "And a boy fell on his face. And I laughed. And then they disappeared, just like that. Mummy told me that-"
"What did you just say?" Draco suddenly wasn't very interested in Disneyland's sculpted shrubbery.
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Just an author's note to let you know how lucky you are-I usually write about halfway down the 4th page of Word for Road trip chapters, but since I've done nothing in this chapter except tell you that it's growing dark, so time's passed (which the first sentence really accomplished on its own), I'm going to continue. Yeah, love me. And show it! (hint: review!)
~*~*
"I said that I shot guns." The little girl was surprised by his enthusiasm in the conversation. Usually she was so good at succeeding at getting on older peoples' nerves. She'd have to work on that.
"No, no," said Draco with a dismissive wave of his hand. "After that."
The girl folded her arms. "Not telling."
"You listen to me, kid, I-"
"LET GO OF MY DAUGHTER!"
The mother leaned forward in her seat and screamed right into Draco's ear. He jolted up, letting go of his *light* grip on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said coolly. "Your daughter just was holding out on me. I mean-"
"Security! SECURITY!" The woman jumped up in her seat. "THERE IS A MAN TOUCHING MY LITTLE GIRL!"
"What?!" Draco shouted. "No! I mean, I didn't! Well, I did, but not in that way! Oh, shit!"
A burly, hairy man about twice Draco's size was pushing his way through the rows of booths hurriedly with an enraged look in his nearly crossed eyes. And, of course, his black shirt read in bold white letters, "SECURITY."
Draco tossed a frantic look down the row, and then out of the side of the train. Wait-was that her? "Hermione! HERMIONE!" He threw his hands up in the air only to have them pinned to his sides as the rough guard reached his side. "Oh, SHIT!" HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" But she was engrossed in posing by a sign that said, "Mickey's Toontown" with an oversized duck in a blue blazer as a standing dog in a green top hat manned the camera. She was only mere yards away, with her back to the train. Draco wondered if he'd be able to graze her hair if he leaned out of the train and stretched his fingers.
"Please," he pleaded with the security guard. "I need to get off!"
"Oh, you are just sick!" the man scowled, tightening his grip to the point where Draco yelped. And Draco wasn't one to normally yelp.
"I didn't mean it like *that*!" he insisted, not even bothering to struggle. "My girlfriend! She's posing for pictures! I didn't know!"
"Oh, God, cover your children's' ears," the guard moaned. "His girlfriend's a porn star, so he alleviates his frustration by molesting children? That's just sick," Draco distinctly heard him mutter to the engineer as he was dragged to the front. He glared as the little girl winked at him and then crushed another beetle.
"My girlfriend is not a porn star," he said indignantly. "She's taking a picture with that costumed guy with the big beak." Actually, that didn't sound much better. "We were going to kiss on the bench outside the Victoria's secret model-I mean, waterfall-when the nuns came with the children and the cross and condemned us to hell and then she ran off and oh crap..." Draco finally decided to simply shut up. It had been one hell of a long day, and talking only seemed to further incriminate him. It was then, in the silence of his tongue and the steel grip on his wrists, that he realized that he had been referring to Hermione as his girlfriend. "Not yet," he vowed to himself. "But I can fix this. Er, once I get out of jail, that is."
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"Thank you," Hermione said as she took her camera back from Goofy. She stopped, listening to the train whizz by, and frowned. She could've sworn she heard her name, but it might've been the jumbo-size blue cherry slushee she had just downed.
Shrugging it off, like she had done unto to all too many things that day, Hermione sat herself down on a park bench (to find that every bench she saw now reminded her of Draco) and, at first, lazily waved the Polaroid picture in the air to let it dry. By the time three minutes had passed, she was jerking it back and forth so hastily that it nearly went flying out of her fingers and into the nearby cotton candy machine. *I guess my frustrations are getting the better of me.*
She looked down into the picture. Her eyes were red, her hair was out of place, and Donald's hand was a little too far down on her back than it should have been. But what made her gasp and jump off of the bench was the blurred figure in the background, on the train, that looked strangely like Draco. And it didn't exactly look like an ideal situation for him, either. "Aw, crap," Hermione sighed, making a small boy passing by take a double- take.** "This just keeps getting better and better."
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*NOW you all see why they said they hadn't yet taken home Draco when they were in France. I win!! lol.
**I told you it wasn't the last time you'd hear that. Did I lie? As we say in Spanish, No. lol. For some reason I love that saying.
A/N: Okay, that was interesting. Small amounts of things that will lead to them finding each other happened this chapter, and if you think this is slow-moving, well, it is. Which brings me to the next order of business.
NEXT CHAPTER. (Hopefully.) They meet up, it actually becomes June 16th (finally, I know), and preparations for the big dance occur. Setting the stage for the grand finale! Woohoo. So next chapter should be much more eventful. (If Draco can get out of jail, that is!) :o) And, I've been stocking up on nun jokes for when Draco tries to appease Hermione's wrath.
And if you want to know more about the upcoming chapters, I suggest you read my review responses below. I always slip a few things. It's a habit I'm not trying to break.
Reviewers! I love you with a passion! I wouldn't bother writing on ff.net if not for your kind words and encouragement, I swear. You guys kick maximum ass. And a special thanks to you all. Whoa, crap! You gave me 34 for the last chapter! That's insane! THANK YOU!
Lady Alanna Salmalin of Conte-Your review made me laugh! Well, your prayers have been answered.
Rina-lol, thanks! Passionate kiss? Hardly! I actually chickened out of writing a descriptive kiss and instead introduced the nuns. Lol. Reading this out of context would be so weird.
Sonya Kapoor-Stop pitying Harry, everyone! His major part is yet to come, and it doesn't involve romance. Your review was so incredibly nice! It made me happy, you know how it is.
Christine-Thanks, it's fine! And thanks for reviewing!
WeasleyGirl-Hey, you write good stories! I'm glad you really enjoyed the chapter, I think it's my best one too. This chapter doesn't measure up, but it does it's job.
Leah-Oh God, I told my mum I didn't care what she rented me at Hollywood Video and she brings me home the Britney Spears movie. what's it called. Crossroads? I actually started writing it before that came out. But I thought my mum knew me, and then she goes and does something like that! Er, sorry. Yeah. I'll probably end up watching it anyway. Damn, you started Spanish classes when you were six? That's young! No, not Hispanic. Just love languages! FCATS are my state's standardized testing thingy. yeah, I live in the USA. We have SATs and PSATs. (I had to take the SATs two years ago. we take 'em in 7th for practice and then 11th for real, though I think either score can count.)
Leah, you're back!-As if I didn't write way too much for your first review. Thanks so much, but I think you got Disney World and Disney Land crossed. Thank you!
Ice-Hello! Thanks!
Mediterranean Queen-Oh my God, lmk when you post it, yes, chapters based on looks can be quite amusing. Interesting idea. I've been to Six Flags Over Georgia (and NO, I don't live in Georgia).
Mirei nochi-Thanks, and it's no prob. Recently I re-discovered about three fics that I had stopped reading and added them to my favs so I'll never ever lose them again. I'm rather irresponsible.
Sila-chan-LOL, thanks! Too funny, your guys' reviews. An odd kiss, I know, but I wanted to satisfy my readers without making a descriptive kiss, so I used humor. Some of my friends (eh hem, guy friends) read some of my work, and they'd mock me endlessly. So I'll probably stick to funny or implied kisses. Thanks, thanks, thanks!
Theslayerinblack-Thanks so much. Man, for a day I was totally jealous of Cassandra Claire. A lot of people told me that we just write differently, and it made sense, so I smiled and wrote some more. Uh, lol. Yeah. Thank you.
Sunflower-chan-Awwww, thanks!! Yeah, kiss. I know you all enjoyed that. Expect more. Oops, was I supposed to say that? Oh well. lol.
Bob lemon-I love that ride. Unfortunately, their romantic reunion will not take place at Disney. Oops, another thing I slipped. *shrugs*
Anne-Sorry, no crazy mood, but next time one catches me I'll sit down and write like crazy. Thanks a lot. Yeah, that's my fav chapter too.
Kalariah-Yeah, doncha hate when that happens in, like, EVERY SINGLE FIC?! Draco and Hermione fics are usually the same thing over and over (they're forced to be head boy/head girl or work together, start calling each other by real names, ponder and try to deny their feelings, friends protest, they overcome and it by the end want to have each others babies and name em stan and jane.). I tried to make it a little more different and realistic, and it means a lot that you noticed.
Chibipixi-Thanks!! And I'm glad you said you'd check Even Heroes, I recently posted the 12th chapter.
Couch-potato-Here tis! Gracias!
Vicci-lol, thanks!
Annieapple-Thank you! Sorry that there wasn't any more, but I bring you this upon a silver tray with a bowl of soup to keep you awake. And I have an H/Hr fic, Even Heroes, that I adore but doesn't get the attention it deserves *glares at the reviewing population* where it actually works. This story screamed for D/Hr though. Y'gotta love D/Hr.
Belladonna Bloom-Wow, that was a scary review. Er, thanks, "friend."
Lazy-I hurried, I hurried! Thanks!
Ava Sterling-Aw, thanks a million times! Some of the nicest words to graze my earlobes. And it's awesome that you read my A/N.
Akasia-Yes, the cursing bug. A habit I would try to quit but I know my own limits and that'd be impossible. Thank you! Thank you! And thank you again!
Nataly Revnlock-Hey, thank you! Glad to re-live some of the best Road trip moments. Hey, that'd make a great epilogue. *hinthint*
The Lady Lillian-The first person to review once the ability came back, I humbly thank you. Yeah, it's really sad, and you may be seeing it again in the story. perhaps the last chapter.
The Lady Lillian, once again-LOL! Hahaha. thanks so incredibly much! And I always love points of originality.
Angel Malfoy-Thanks! (I will.)
Snuffles-LOL!!! Yeah, me and coffee, love us, hate us, but in the end you need us.
Snuffles, again-Thanks, done and done. I'd drink coffe now 'cause you got me craving it but it's nearly 3 a.m. and we don't have decaf in the pantry.
Skysong-Hey, thanks for complimenting my other story too. And yeah, the nun scene was one of my better ideas.
JoeBob1379-You deserve, like, a little golden shrine with your name encrusted in it. That's how much gratitude I have for you for reviewing so much of my other story and then coming and reading this. You are awesome! Everyone, look, it's an awesome reviewer! Ok, ok. I usually don't respond well to advertising, but I read your HG/SS fic and you write very, very well! You're incredibly flattering, and because I'm in such a good mood I'm going to answer your questions. (So if you're reading this, anyone, here's a hell of a lot of insight to future chapters.) There will be more Jason. Ron will know. And Hermione and Draco, well, wait till the dance. :o) Thanks again!
Alexia-and-Tessa-Oh God, my last review before I post. My back is killing me! Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy this fic! Thank youuuuuuuu!
Oh dear God! (I curse, I mock nuns, I say the Lord's name in vain, what can I say?) That was a helluva lotta reviews, and I'm so thankful! We're talkin' Thanksgiving thankful! I'm in pain from hunching over the computer, so I'm off. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys are better than Smallville, Jimmy Eat World, and John Frieda Hair Serum all put together! (lol) I'll be seein' you!
Adios~Escritora
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or my socks. Did I mention that I'm not wearing any socks? Just checking.
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It was getting dark.
Ginny Weasley raked her fingers through the crown of her damp red curls. Why hadn't anyone mentioned that they were actually going to go down that waterfall? It had been a real shocker for the sixteen-year-old when the car had stopped right at the top of the fall and she realized that it wasn't going to turn around. Besides screaming bloody murder, Ginny had tried to scramble out of the seat only to be held in by Harry, who shared the car with her, as the drop began and the car took a steep vertical twist. Ginny shuddered. She wasn't good with heights.
A shout of "Gin, c'mon!" broke her free from her thoughts; it was Ron, arm draped around his girlfriend, from several yards up ahead. They had mosied off without her again. She clutched her handbag against her side and jogged to catch up with the three-Ron, Cho, and Harry-as tendrils of her unruly soggy hair fell onto her face and in her line of vision.
They had stumbled on to a place called Frontierland and Draco and Hermione were no where to be seen. It had been hours, and the sun was setting behind the castle they had puzzled over. Ron beckoned to it. "They're probably off snogging in that castle we saw," He sniggered, only to be pinched by Cho. "Ouch," he mumbled, but he did shut up.
BANG.
Everyone jumped. "Ron," said Ginny nervously, "what was that?"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
"I don't know," her brother whispered back.
Harry and Cho had tensed, too, their bodies still and unmoving against the asphalt street. "Cho," Harry said slowly. "Do you think it is. what I think it is?" Cho nodded, fidgeting.
Ginny's head didn't move as her eyes rolled over to meet Harry's. "Uh, Harry?"
"Yes?"
"Do you mind sharing with the Weasleys what you 'think it is'? 'Cause we're about to have a nervous breakdown here."
"Oh. Yes. It sounds like a-" BANG! "-gunshot."
"A gun?" Ron echoed dubiously.
"A gun," said Harry.
There was a silence only broken by a constant "bang."
"Harry what's a-?" Ron began, but he was cut off by Ginny whispering in his ear. Harry and Cho caught words like "Dad" and "experiment" and "last year." Knowing Arthur Weasley's fascination with Muggle objects, it was pretty easy to piece together.
"Do you think someone's being held up?" Cho whispered. BANG. She chewed on her bottom lip and drew closer to Ron. "Do you think so?"
"I don't know," Harry said. The next silence that enveloped the four seemed to suggest that somebody take action; Harry took a tentative step forward, and then jumped back. "Guys, I see someone with a. with a gun." They all gasped, as if not expecting this. BANG.
"What does he look like?" said Ron, shaking Cho off a little. She frowned and turned away, obviously taking it personally. Ron barely took notice.
"It's a girl," Harry replied in a hushed tone. You couldn't miss the note of surprise in his voice.
"Seriously?" Ron asked incredulously. BANG. He blinked hard.
"Why, you don't think a female can be a crook?" Ginny snapped irritably. You would be too if you were wet, tired, and faced with a somewhat dangerous situation.
Ron began sputtering out an undoubtedly weak response when Harry saved him. "No, not a female. A *girl*."
Cho stared. "You mean."
Harry nodded as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "She can't be more than eight-years-old. Pigtails. Pink overalls. Gun in her right hand. Which part does not belong?" BANG. His voice rose sharply to a near squeak. It was almost comical.
"Whom is she pointing it at?" Harry wasn't sure who asked that; everyone's whisper sounded alike and all noises were starting to blur together.
Harry squinted and pushed his glasses up on his nose for a better look. "Little targets? On trees?" BANG.
Someone smacked the back of his head. Harry was getting used to it. "Harry, did you ever think that that might be a game?" Ginny asked. She sounded about ten times calmer than she had five seconds ago.
Harry blinked. "A game?" BANG.
Ginny wordlessly stomped around the hedge that they had crouched behind and closer to where the gunshots could be heard raging from the "game." "Ginny, nooo!" Harry cried dramatically as he leaped-yes, jumped and flew through the air in what seemed like slow motion-after Ginny.
What happened next is fairly simple to explain, but you'd never fully understand it unless you were Ron, Cho, or Ginny watching it happen. Ginny, hearing Harry's cry, turned to face him. Unfortunately, Harry had timed his jump a bit late. He flew the air fine. However, he fell crashing down onto the pavement about a full yard behind of where Ginny had taken her stance. To top it off, a series of "bangs" were heard to fill in the silence of a rather confused Ginny, Cho, and Ron.
Harry finally rolled over on the pavement to stare into the sky. Still, no one spoke. Finally, Harry groaned. "Well," said Ron. He cleared his throat. "A belly-flop onto the asphalt. I'd give that a ten."
"Are you all right, Harry?" Cho asked. She had given up on chewing her lip and was now biting her fingernails. Cho Chang wasn't great with handling nerves, but she tried. Unfortunately, "trying" involved slowly eating away at her body-or lip and nails, at least.
"Just fine," Harry croaked. He made no motion to get up. "I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes."
"Come on up, buddy," said Ron, offering his hand. Harry made two attempts until he finally grasped it and let Ron pull him up. The seventeen-year-old dusted off his hindquarters and shook his head.
Ginny rushed forward to stabilize him. "Harry," she said as she roped his left arm around hers to hold him up. "That was as scary as when you said, 'Put on your seatbelts. I want to try something.' Are you sure you're okay?"
"Peachy," Harry muttered as he stumbled over nothing in particular. "But let's focus on finding Hermione and Draco rather than the slow and painful creaking of every single bone in my body as it tries to find its correct location in the anatomy of my insides."
"Think," said Ginny. "If you were Draco in Disney Land, where would you go?"
"What," Ron scoffed, "if I was the guy whose personal slogan is, 'Legally, it's questionable. Morally, it's disgusting. Personally, I like it.' Hmm, where would I go?"
"And I always thought it was, 'Honest, Officer! The dwarf was on fire when I got here!'" Ginny mused.
"Ha ha," Harry smirked, unamused. "Listen, what about Hermione?"
"Her quote? Seeing that Herm's the little optimist, I'd have to say, 'Yes, but aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?'"
"Shut up, Ron, you-" Ginny stopped suddenly midsentence. Her eyes darted over to Cho.
"What, Gin?" Cho asked, tucking her brochure under her arm.
Ginny only pointed wildly at the brochure. "Is there a map in there?" Cho nodded. "Let me see it!" Cho, confused as hell, handed it over to Ginny who frantically began unfolding it-hey, it's more difficult than it looks-and searching for the map. When she finally found it, her green eyes lit up like a drug addict finally getting his month's supply from that stingy dealer down the street. Ginny jabbed her finger at the map. "Look!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, Gin," Ron smirked, rolling his eyes. "We see that your nail polish has really held up. So what's the big deal?"
"The big deal," said Ginny, too preoccupied to get angry, "is that in Main Street USA-one of these lands here-they have a building that's labeled like so." Once again, she poked at the map. Ron, Harry, and Cho peered closer.
"The Walt Disney Story, Featuring 'Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,'" Ron read aloud. Finally, it dawned on the rest of them. "Aw, Gin, that's such a long shot," Ron said, tearing his eyes away from the map.
Ginny pouted. "Have you got a better idea?" Ron shrugged. "Then let's go."
"I don't feel like schlepping all the way there," Ron got in as a final protest.
"We could-I mean, if it's okay with Harry. We could just apparate there," Cho said meekly. "If it's okay with Harry," she added again quickly.
"No!" Harry was persistent in this reply.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up." And she grabbed onto all of them and apparated.
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The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
That was Draco's personal quote. Draco Adrian Malfoy-Neiman had never particularly liked his family. His father was an evil, unaffectionate lackey and he had heard his mum say perhaps three words in the past month and they were all singing her husband's praises. His cousins Prave and Lanie derived joy from the slow, painful, and often kinky deaths of anyone, really-even their own kind. And as for his uncle Chester? A lawyer. Draco shuddered.
And Draco had tried to be like them for fifteen years. His first complete sentence had been, "Die, you no-good minion of hatred, die!" His pre-school teacher had not appreciated that. She had given him two cookies instead of three at snack time because of it. She woke up with snake hair, รก la Medusa, for the next six months. From then on Draco got four cookies every afternoon.
But somewhere along the line Draco realized that he flinched at deaths, hated the sight of blood, and really had no desire to kill anyone. No, it wasn't that he wanted to be nice or anything-he just did not want to be a Death Eater. When he admitted this in the summer before seventh year, his father had disowned him without a word. That was it. He had moved into an apartment in the magical section of Calais, France*, on the English Channel and had been living there for the past year.
And now, here he was in God-knows-what-land in Disney Land on the West Coast of California trying to find a certain Muggle-born brunette witch. He had been for the last several hours-to no avail-and was growing tired and irritable. Where the hell had she gone? Except for a quick-but excessively expensive-lunch, Draco hadn't stopped searching for Hermione. He must have rounded the park three times. I guess, he thought, sticking his hands in his pockets, she doesn't want to be found.
Jazz music was playing from speakers not so cleverly hidden in not so real tree trunks. He pursed his lips and hummed along to the familiar tune, John Coltrane's, "Impressions." Most children and young adults had a distaste of jazz music or anything that often lacked lyrics-and when jazz music did have words, every other line wasn't "Oh baby, oh baby." But in the Malfoy Manor, things had always been a bit differently. Lucius hadn't permitted Draco to listen to most music that he feared would be "good" and "happy," and Draco had grown to like the trumpet's bellow mingled with the saxophone's rich notes on a cool evening on the porch of the estate. He found it to almost be an escape. And escapes were rarer than a "Hello, how are you today?" in the Manor.
Draco stopped in his path, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. Now what was a train doing in the middle of Disney Land? Draco shrugged. *Might as well get off my feet.* The wooden overhead to the entrance read in western-style letters, "NEW ORLEANS SQUARE."
A short, graying man with dark skin in a strange little outfit tipped his hat and smiled a toothy grin. "Welcome aboard, sir," he said raspily, beckoning towards the train. Draco smiled stiffly and slid into a bench- like seat beside a little girl with pigtails in pink overalls. She looked up at him with big, innocent blue eyes, and then stomped on a beetle and cackled. Draco was disturbed. Her mother, on the other side of the girl, lurched forward as the train started; Draco held onto the railing and the girl seemed unfazed.
"Lucy, dear, won't you hold on? I swear, one of these days you're going to go popping out of the seat and conk your head on the next row."
The churlish little girl, ignoring her mother, turned back to Draco with a malevolent look. "I got to shoot guns," she said cheerfully, and yet sinisterly.
"Oh. All right." Draco's gaze shifted to the ground as they sped by, watching the bushes blur, only to have his attention stolen back by a tug on his trousers.
"And it was fun!" she grinned darkly. "And a boy fell on his face. And I laughed. And then they disappeared, just like that. Mummy told me that-"
"What did you just say?" Draco suddenly wasn't very interested in Disneyland's sculpted shrubbery.
~*~*
Just an author's note to let you know how lucky you are-I usually write about halfway down the 4th page of Word for Road trip chapters, but since I've done nothing in this chapter except tell you that it's growing dark, so time's passed (which the first sentence really accomplished on its own), I'm going to continue. Yeah, love me. And show it! (hint: review!)
~*~*
"I said that I shot guns." The little girl was surprised by his enthusiasm in the conversation. Usually she was so good at succeeding at getting on older peoples' nerves. She'd have to work on that.
"No, no," said Draco with a dismissive wave of his hand. "After that."
The girl folded her arms. "Not telling."
"You listen to me, kid, I-"
"LET GO OF MY DAUGHTER!"
The mother leaned forward in her seat and screamed right into Draco's ear. He jolted up, letting go of his *light* grip on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said coolly. "Your daughter just was holding out on me. I mean-"
"Security! SECURITY!" The woman jumped up in her seat. "THERE IS A MAN TOUCHING MY LITTLE GIRL!"
"What?!" Draco shouted. "No! I mean, I didn't! Well, I did, but not in that way! Oh, shit!"
A burly, hairy man about twice Draco's size was pushing his way through the rows of booths hurriedly with an enraged look in his nearly crossed eyes. And, of course, his black shirt read in bold white letters, "SECURITY."
Draco tossed a frantic look down the row, and then out of the side of the train. Wait-was that her? "Hermione! HERMIONE!" He threw his hands up in the air only to have them pinned to his sides as the rough guard reached his side. "Oh, SHIT!" HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" But she was engrossed in posing by a sign that said, "Mickey's Toontown" with an oversized duck in a blue blazer as a standing dog in a green top hat manned the camera. She was only mere yards away, with her back to the train. Draco wondered if he'd be able to graze her hair if he leaned out of the train and stretched his fingers.
"Please," he pleaded with the security guard. "I need to get off!"
"Oh, you are just sick!" the man scowled, tightening his grip to the point where Draco yelped. And Draco wasn't one to normally yelp.
"I didn't mean it like *that*!" he insisted, not even bothering to struggle. "My girlfriend! She's posing for pictures! I didn't know!"
"Oh, God, cover your children's' ears," the guard moaned. "His girlfriend's a porn star, so he alleviates his frustration by molesting children? That's just sick," Draco distinctly heard him mutter to the engineer as he was dragged to the front. He glared as the little girl winked at him and then crushed another beetle.
"My girlfriend is not a porn star," he said indignantly. "She's taking a picture with that costumed guy with the big beak." Actually, that didn't sound much better. "We were going to kiss on the bench outside the Victoria's secret model-I mean, waterfall-when the nuns came with the children and the cross and condemned us to hell and then she ran off and oh crap..." Draco finally decided to simply shut up. It had been one hell of a long day, and talking only seemed to further incriminate him. It was then, in the silence of his tongue and the steel grip on his wrists, that he realized that he had been referring to Hermione as his girlfriend. "Not yet," he vowed to himself. "But I can fix this. Er, once I get out of jail, that is."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Thank you," Hermione said as she took her camera back from Goofy. She stopped, listening to the train whizz by, and frowned. She could've sworn she heard her name, but it might've been the jumbo-size blue cherry slushee she had just downed.
Shrugging it off, like she had done unto to all too many things that day, Hermione sat herself down on a park bench (to find that every bench she saw now reminded her of Draco) and, at first, lazily waved the Polaroid picture in the air to let it dry. By the time three minutes had passed, she was jerking it back and forth so hastily that it nearly went flying out of her fingers and into the nearby cotton candy machine. *I guess my frustrations are getting the better of me.*
She looked down into the picture. Her eyes were red, her hair was out of place, and Donald's hand was a little too far down on her back than it should have been. But what made her gasp and jump off of the bench was the blurred figure in the background, on the train, that looked strangely like Draco. And it didn't exactly look like an ideal situation for him, either. "Aw, crap," Hermione sighed, making a small boy passing by take a double- take.** "This just keeps getting better and better."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*NOW you all see why they said they hadn't yet taken home Draco when they were in France. I win!! lol.
**I told you it wasn't the last time you'd hear that. Did I lie? As we say in Spanish, No. lol. For some reason I love that saying.
A/N: Okay, that was interesting. Small amounts of things that will lead to them finding each other happened this chapter, and if you think this is slow-moving, well, it is. Which brings me to the next order of business.
NEXT CHAPTER. (Hopefully.) They meet up, it actually becomes June 16th (finally, I know), and preparations for the big dance occur. Setting the stage for the grand finale! Woohoo. So next chapter should be much more eventful. (If Draco can get out of jail, that is!) :o) And, I've been stocking up on nun jokes for when Draco tries to appease Hermione's wrath.
And if you want to know more about the upcoming chapters, I suggest you read my review responses below. I always slip a few things. It's a habit I'm not trying to break.
Reviewers! I love you with a passion! I wouldn't bother writing on ff.net if not for your kind words and encouragement, I swear. You guys kick maximum ass. And a special thanks to you all. Whoa, crap! You gave me 34 for the last chapter! That's insane! THANK YOU!
Lady Alanna Salmalin of Conte-Your review made me laugh! Well, your prayers have been answered.
Rina-lol, thanks! Passionate kiss? Hardly! I actually chickened out of writing a descriptive kiss and instead introduced the nuns. Lol. Reading this out of context would be so weird.
Sonya Kapoor-Stop pitying Harry, everyone! His major part is yet to come, and it doesn't involve romance. Your review was so incredibly nice! It made me happy, you know how it is.
Christine-Thanks, it's fine! And thanks for reviewing!
WeasleyGirl-Hey, you write good stories! I'm glad you really enjoyed the chapter, I think it's my best one too. This chapter doesn't measure up, but it does it's job.
Leah-Oh God, I told my mum I didn't care what she rented me at Hollywood Video and she brings me home the Britney Spears movie. what's it called. Crossroads? I actually started writing it before that came out. But I thought my mum knew me, and then she goes and does something like that! Er, sorry. Yeah. I'll probably end up watching it anyway. Damn, you started Spanish classes when you were six? That's young! No, not Hispanic. Just love languages! FCATS are my state's standardized testing thingy. yeah, I live in the USA. We have SATs and PSATs. (I had to take the SATs two years ago. we take 'em in 7th for practice and then 11th for real, though I think either score can count.)
Leah, you're back!-As if I didn't write way too much for your first review. Thanks so much, but I think you got Disney World and Disney Land crossed. Thank you!
Ice-Hello! Thanks!
Mediterranean Queen-Oh my God, lmk when you post it, yes, chapters based on looks can be quite amusing. Interesting idea. I've been to Six Flags Over Georgia (and NO, I don't live in Georgia).
Mirei nochi-Thanks, and it's no prob. Recently I re-discovered about three fics that I had stopped reading and added them to my favs so I'll never ever lose them again. I'm rather irresponsible.
Sila-chan-LOL, thanks! Too funny, your guys' reviews. An odd kiss, I know, but I wanted to satisfy my readers without making a descriptive kiss, so I used humor. Some of my friends (eh hem, guy friends) read some of my work, and they'd mock me endlessly. So I'll probably stick to funny or implied kisses. Thanks, thanks, thanks!
Theslayerinblack-Thanks so much. Man, for a day I was totally jealous of Cassandra Claire. A lot of people told me that we just write differently, and it made sense, so I smiled and wrote some more. Uh, lol. Yeah. Thank you.
Sunflower-chan-Awwww, thanks!! Yeah, kiss. I know you all enjoyed that. Expect more. Oops, was I supposed to say that? Oh well. lol.
Bob lemon-I love that ride. Unfortunately, their romantic reunion will not take place at Disney. Oops, another thing I slipped. *shrugs*
Anne-Sorry, no crazy mood, but next time one catches me I'll sit down and write like crazy. Thanks a lot. Yeah, that's my fav chapter too.
Kalariah-Yeah, doncha hate when that happens in, like, EVERY SINGLE FIC?! Draco and Hermione fics are usually the same thing over and over (they're forced to be head boy/head girl or work together, start calling each other by real names, ponder and try to deny their feelings, friends protest, they overcome and it by the end want to have each others babies and name em stan and jane.). I tried to make it a little more different and realistic, and it means a lot that you noticed.
Chibipixi-Thanks!! And I'm glad you said you'd check Even Heroes, I recently posted the 12th chapter.
Couch-potato-Here tis! Gracias!
Vicci-lol, thanks!
Annieapple-Thank you! Sorry that there wasn't any more, but I bring you this upon a silver tray with a bowl of soup to keep you awake. And I have an H/Hr fic, Even Heroes, that I adore but doesn't get the attention it deserves *glares at the reviewing population* where it actually works. This story screamed for D/Hr though. Y'gotta love D/Hr.
Belladonna Bloom-Wow, that was a scary review. Er, thanks, "friend."
Lazy-I hurried, I hurried! Thanks!
Ava Sterling-Aw, thanks a million times! Some of the nicest words to graze my earlobes. And it's awesome that you read my A/N.
Akasia-Yes, the cursing bug. A habit I would try to quit but I know my own limits and that'd be impossible. Thank you! Thank you! And thank you again!
Nataly Revnlock-Hey, thank you! Glad to re-live some of the best Road trip moments. Hey, that'd make a great epilogue. *hinthint*
The Lady Lillian-The first person to review once the ability came back, I humbly thank you. Yeah, it's really sad, and you may be seeing it again in the story. perhaps the last chapter.
The Lady Lillian, once again-LOL! Hahaha. thanks so incredibly much! And I always love points of originality.
Angel Malfoy-Thanks! (I will.)
Snuffles-LOL!!! Yeah, me and coffee, love us, hate us, but in the end you need us.
Snuffles, again-Thanks, done and done. I'd drink coffe now 'cause you got me craving it but it's nearly 3 a.m. and we don't have decaf in the pantry.
Skysong-Hey, thanks for complimenting my other story too. And yeah, the nun scene was one of my better ideas.
JoeBob1379-You deserve, like, a little golden shrine with your name encrusted in it. That's how much gratitude I have for you for reviewing so much of my other story and then coming and reading this. You are awesome! Everyone, look, it's an awesome reviewer! Ok, ok. I usually don't respond well to advertising, but I read your HG/SS fic and you write very, very well! You're incredibly flattering, and because I'm in such a good mood I'm going to answer your questions. (So if you're reading this, anyone, here's a hell of a lot of insight to future chapters.) There will be more Jason. Ron will know. And Hermione and Draco, well, wait till the dance. :o) Thanks again!
Alexia-and-Tessa-Oh God, my last review before I post. My back is killing me! Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy this fic! Thank youuuuuuuu!
Oh dear God! (I curse, I mock nuns, I say the Lord's name in vain, what can I say?) That was a helluva lotta reviews, and I'm so thankful! We're talkin' Thanksgiving thankful! I'm in pain from hunching over the computer, so I'm off. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys are better than Smallville, Jimmy Eat World, and John Frieda Hair Serum all put together! (lol) I'll be seein' you!
Adios~Escritora