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Courage to Find the Strength

Chapter 12

Draco and Hermione kept it to some heavy necking because neither would admit to being nervous whenever someone walked by. At one point, they leapt off each other like two repelling magnets when the witch with the snack cart came down the aisle, then laughed like idiots at their foolishness.

As the train neared its destination, Draco growled low in her ear, "What is it you do to me, Granger? Why am I so damn attracted to you?"

Hermione sat back, tracing the line of his chin with a finger and regarded him closely. "It's strange, isn't it? That two people who hated each other so much could feel so very different now."

"Who said I stopped hating you?" he teased and received a smack on his arm for his efforts.

"You know you don't hate me just like I don't hate you anymore. Tell me, Draco, are you sure you wouldn't have rather gone home to Malfoy Manor for the Holidays?" She tried to ask the question lightly, but she was really very earnest.

"Hell no! What do I have that's back there?"

"Well, your mom for one. Don't you miss her?"

He was silent a moment and a shadow fell over his eyes. "Yes, but I can't change things. It's my father's fault I can't see her, and I'm not going to let him pressure me into any more decisions."

Hermione felt a stab of anxiety. "You mean you haven't decided yet on becoming a Death Eater."

Malfoy again ran a hand through his hair and turned to gaze out the window. Hermione left him to his thoughts, no longer wanting to intrude. As the train rolled to a stop, he looked over at her and smiled.

"Come on," he grabbed her hand as he rose, "let's go explore the world of your bloody muggles."

Hermione led Draco up to an ordinary-looking couple on the train platform. When they caught sight of her, they rushed over and loaded her with hugs and kisses.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like to introduce you to the boy I said I would be bringing home for Christmas. This is Draco Malfoy. Draco, these are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

Hermione's mother gasped in shock and covered her mouth with her glove. Her father's expression begged for this to be some kind of mistake, but after a moment, he extended his hand.

Draco looked at the proffered sign of greeting like he might catch leprosy or something equally terrible. He'd known this moment was coming, but nothing prepared him for the task of actually touching a muggle, let alone in friendship. He tried to keep the rising panic and disgust off his face and managed a sickly looking smile as he took the hand. He even had to close his eyes to fight the sudden nausea, but the warm clasp that held his was much different from whatever silly expectations he'd had. When he opened his eyes, the unsure, but friendly gaze that met his seemed to give him a surprising jolt of courage much like Hermione's presence did.

"So, Malfoy, is it?" Mr. Granger began. "We've, um, heard quite a bit about you over the years."

"Yes, dear, I'm sorry we're a little surprised to see you with our Hermione. You see, we were under the impression that.well, that you two," Mrs. Granger didn't know how to proceed.

"That we're friends now, Mom?" Hermione finished, watching the exchange with barely contained apprehension. She jabbed Draco in the side to respond.

"It's. very. nice. to. meet. both. of. you." Draco managed, still having a difficult time dealing.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, too, son." Hermione's father responded. Hermione felt Draco flinch at the word "son."

"Well, let's get out of the cold, shall we? Dad, where'd you park the car?"

"You mean we have to drive?" Draco incredulously asked. "In a car?!"

Hermione laughed nervously as her parents regarded the youth with strange uncertainty. She leaned in and whispered, "Remember we're among NORMAL people now. We can't use our powers here, or we'll get in trouble with the Minister of Magic."

"Great," he sullenly replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and following the trio to the parking lot.

However less than enthused he was about the bumpy car ride on the drive back, Draco was suitably impressed by the comfort of the Granger home. It could compare in no way to Malfoy Manor, but it was cozy, clean, and he was given a large, generously furnished bedroom in which to stay. He'd just figured out the remote for the small TV in his room when Hermione knocked and entered.

"Television," he said as if she'd never seen one before.

"Yes, it is," she laughed in response. "Are you hungry? Mom's fixed us a light lunch if you're interested."

"Um, what are we having?" he asked cautiously.

"Draco, muggles eat the same, well, almost the same, foods we do. It's not going to make you sick. You really DON'T know anything about the normal world, do you?"

"I was raised that the less I knew about your kind, the better."

Hermione's face darkened at the "your kind" remark. "Well, we're just going to have to change that opinion of yours. Come on!"

Downstairs at the kitchen table as they were finishing off the end of their noon meal, Mrs. Granger asked, "So, Hermione, what do you have planned for the rest of today?"

"I thought I'd take Draco around town a bit, possibly show him some of the sights."

"That sounds lovely, dear. Just try and be back by dinner."

So, the two headed out and explored the area, taking in all the sights and sounds of the Holiday season. Each day after was the same. They would wake up early, grab some breakfast, venture out to discover some new Holiday celebration or explore an old ruin or battlefield, and return in time for dinner. Afterwards, they would seek out some of the nightlife or a firework show. It couldn't compare to any magical fireworks display, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. Hermione took him to the mall, and like a typical male, he was interested for all of five seconds before getting bored and wanting to do something else. She took him to the movies and observed with great relish as he jumped at the frightening moments or laughed at the comical ones. She took him to some local music concerts where he professed a love of hard rock, but she caught him secretly enjoying some easy jazz on the headphones in the music shop. They would end the day, late at night, curled up watching old black and white movies or sitcoms and just relaxing in each other's company.

On the night of Christmas Eve, after a furious day of last minute shopping, Hermione and Draco finally plopped down on the sofa having just wrapped the last present and laid it under the tree. Hermione snuggled closer as Draco wrapped an arm around her. "Are you having fun, Malfoy?"

Draco was quiet a moment, but whispering into the mass of curls resting on his shoulder. "Yes, surprisingly."

"You didn't think you would?" she asked just as softly.

He laughed. "I didn't know what to expect. This whole world you've shown me is so different from the world I knew."

"Like how?"

"Well, for one, the female singers here don't wear many clothes, and the way they dance, umm, I thought that was only arranged in certain, umm, establishments."

That sent Hermione into a fit of giggles. Hearing her laugh made him smile.

"What else?"

"I guess what I've noticed most is how much culture muggles really have. I mean, I was taught they were little more than savages, but there's really a lot going on. And the level of technology is amazing! Do you realize Hermione that with those computer things, or whatever they're called, muggles might actually be able to do some things better than wizards could."

There was true amazement tinged with a slight sense of fear in his voice. The thought that muggles might be superior in ANY way was a new and terrifying one to Draco. In order to wrench his mind from this overwhelming idea, he flipped on the TV.

"Oh, Draco! Not "A Christmas Carol" again! Find something else!" Hermione moaned, momentarily forgetting the topic of conversation even though it was something she longed to discuss with the previously pompous and somewhat still arrogant young wizard.

Hermione got up to make them some cocoa while Draco sighed, but obdiently continued to surf through the channels. Suddenly a news report caught his eye, and he flipped back to the station. A man in a suit behind a long desk was showing clips of some kind of meeting he called a "summit" that was attended by the so-called leaders of the muggle world. The tone of the conversation wasn't really all that exciting, but what grabbed his attention was the strange glyph that symbolized the subject of the talks. It was a black trefoil with a small solid circle in the middle of the blades on a bright yellow background. He'd seen the symbol as part of the project the Dark Lord was having the Death Eaters work on. Unfortunately, the incident with Hermione in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor happened before he'd learned the true meaning of what he'd assumed was just a magical glyph. He turned up the broadcast up to listen more.

Hermione set the steaming mugs of hot chocolate in front of them and sat down again next to Draco. "What are you watching?" She thought it odd he was watching the news. Until tonight, he'd shown no interest in the political goings-on of the muggle world. It was still part of his wizarding superiority complex, she supposed.

"What's radiation?" he asked. The question completely threw her off guard.

"Why on earth are you asking me that?"

"Just wondering." However, the concerned look on his face told her he was more than just curious.

"It's bad news, a byproduct of nuclear energy."

"Hmm," he said like he understood her answer, which wasn't the case at all, but he didn't want to appear ignorant.

"Why are you asking about radiation?" Hermione pushed.

"Just saw a news clip is all. Seems like pretty powerful stuff."

"Yeah, it is, but you don't want to go messing around with it. As an energy source, it's wonderful, very safe and efficient. As a weapon, well, its powerful is devastating."

Draco let it drop before she became too interested in his curiosity, but he made a mental note to find out what he could about the powers of the "radiation" glyph before the growing knot in his stomach became anything more.