CHAPTER 5~ A Day at the Amusement Park
"What are you talking about? I brought you here so you could get away from everything going on in England. You have to relax more. This will be the best thing for you," Draco retorted sounding a bit hurt.
"What about Harry? He's been one of my best friends for ten years, and I feel like I'm abandoning him." She looked up into Draco's eyes. They weren't warm as they had been recently; they were as cold as she had remembered them back in Hogwarts.
"Fine," he snapped. "We'll go back so you can keep in touch with Wonder Boy-everyone's favorite wizard." He tore his eyes away from hers and stared out the large window.
"Draco, I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"Of course you are."
She cringed at the sarcasm in his voice, but walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm sure Hedwig can find me if she needs to."
Turning to face her, he whispered, "Do you want to go back?"
"I don't know. I don't like being so far away, but I don't wanna lose you, and it is really nice here."
Draco sighed and looked at the woman who was standing in front of him, and opened his mouth to tell her how he really felt, but only air came out. "We can go back if you want to," he mumbled at last.
"No, I don't to go right now."
"But I thought-"
"Shut up."
He stared at her as if she had gone crazy, but he didn't get much time to react because she pressed her lips to his. It took his mind a second to register what was going on, but when it did, he responded to her. His arm wrapped around her waist and rubbed her back while hers ran through his hair.
Draco broke away from her and whispered, "I thought you didn't want this. I thought you wanted to take things slow."
"I lied."
She pulled him back for another kiss. He pried her lips open with his tongue and began to explore every part of her mouth. She moaned into his mouth and wrapped one of her legs around his.
Hermione pushed Draco's shirt off his shoulders, and it fluttered to the floor behind him. Her hands ran his hands ran all over his toned back and chest. She began to push him back toward the bed. When the back of his knees made contact, he sat on the edge and Hermione straddled his lap.
Draco pushed Hermione's t-shirt over her head, and pushed her down onto the bed. He trailed small kisses down her neck as he untied her bikini top. When it had been discarded, he massaged her breasts with his hands. She moaned his name in pure pleasure, and he crushed his lips to her for another kiss. His hands moved down her body until they reached the waistband of her orange shorts. He ran his fingers along the inside of her shorts as id he wanted to tease her a bit. When she moaned again, he pulled them off her.
Hermione couldn't stand it anymore. She needed him. Since she knew she wouldn't be able to reach all the way down to pull off his bathing suit, she pushed it down with her feet. "Draco, I need you," she whispered.
He pulled off the bottom of her bathing suit. "Are you sure?" he asked. She only nodded in response.
Slowly, he entered her, but stopped when she closed her eyes, pain etched all over her face. "Don't stop," she begged. She wrapped her legs around him and forced him deeper inside her. Once the look of pain had vanished, Draco pulled out and thrust back into her. He moved slowly at first, but sped up as she urged him to go faster.
They were screaming out each other's names in pure ecstasy as Hermione dug her nails into Draco's back. Draco felt himself coming close to his climax, and he knew he couldn't hold on much longer. "Hermione, I'm coming," he panted, thrusting faster and harder. Hermione screamed out as he filled her.
Draco collapsed onto her chest and listened to her rapid heartbeat. They were both breathing heavily, just holding each other close. Hermione was absentmindedly drawing circles on Draco's back as their breathing slowed.
Draco was truly happy as he lay there with Hermione. This was his chance to tell her how he felt, and he knew it. "Hermione?"
"Yes, Draco?"
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before whispering, "I love you."
Her hands stopped moving on his back. He sighed disappointedly and started cursing himself. Finally, he looked up at her. She was smiling as she said, "I love you, too."
He pulled himself off of her and lay beside her, propped up on one elbow. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, and she cuddled closer to his bare chest. Nothing mattered to either of them then. They were just happy to be with the person they loved.
There was a sudden, loud tapping at the window. Draco rolled his eyes and let the owl into the room. "Hedwig!" Hermione said happily as the bird flew over to her and dropped a letter on her lap. She tore the envelope open and unfolded the letter hastily.
Draco sat back down on the bed as Hermione read. Hedwig snapped at him and flew over to sit on the table. He put his arm around her and read over her shoulder.
~Dear Hermione,
I hope all is well with you. I have finally found some time to write to you. I'm sure that you already head about Ron. How are you holding up? It's so boring here without him. I miss him so much. On to happier news, I feel that the war is coming to a close, and I'll be able to see you and Ginny again, which I am very much looking forward to. We are getting closer to Voldemort and I think we will find him soon. That's bad for me though, since I'm the one who's going to have to face him. Sure I've faced him before, but I'm still scared. What if he kills me the first chance he gets? Would he die too? I don't want to think about this, and I don't want you to worry about me. I hope to see you soon.
Love from Harry~
Hermione frowned as she got to the last part of the letter. "Do you think Voldemort will try to kill Harry?" she asked Draco.
"I don't know. When I was younger, I was forced to go to some of the meetings, and he wasn't hesitant to kill anyone, not even the Death Eaters. Don't worry about it though. Potter knows how to protect himself. He proved that while we were still in school."
"I know he did, but times have changed. He has seen so much over the last four years, and I don't know how much more he can handle. He's strong and everything, but he's my best friend. I've already lost Ron. I can't loose Harry too." Silent tears streamed from her eyes as she leaned closer to Draco. "I should right back to him," she mumbled.
She got up and wrapped a bathrobe around her body. Grabbing a pen and a piece of paper out of the desk drawer, she began:
~Dear Harry,
I've been okay. I was with Ron when he died. I miss him terribly and I still can't believe that he's gone.~
"Draco, should I tell him about us?" she asked.
"If you want to. I don't see why not, but he might flip out a little bit." She nodded then went back to writing.
~Draco Malfoy is actually the person that has been helping me most. Now, before you start to go ballistic, he's changed. He's not the same person he was back in Hogwarts. He's really sweet and he actually listens to me. I hope this war ends soon. I can't wait to see you again. Please return safely.
Love, Hermione~
She folded it and placed it neatly into an envelope. After giving Hedwig some food, she sent her off with the letter to Harry. She fell back on the bed and laid her head on Draco's strong chest. He rubbed her back gently and her eyes began to droop a bit. A few more tears slid down her cheeks as she fell asleep in Draco's arms.
~
A few hours later, Hermione woke up. When she didn't see Draco anywhere, she started to panic, but calmed when she heard the T.V. She got up and sat down next to Draco on the couch. He smiled and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Have a nice nap?" he asked.
"Yup," she answered.
"Are you feeling any better?"
She shrugged and said, "A little, maybe."
Draco caressed her cheek with his thumb, and she moved closer to him. She ran her hand over his still bare chest. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever, but in reality was only a few seconds.
"Don't leave me, Draco," she whispered.
"I wouldn't dream of it. I could never leave you," he promised.
"Can we go down to the beach now? The sun's setting and it probably looks really pretty down there. I haven't seen the sunset in so long-since we left Hogwarts, really.
"Sure," Draco agreed. He already had his bathing suit on, and he had to grab a shirt.
Hermione, on the other hand had to put her bathing suit back on again because she had fallen asleep in the bathrobe. She changed quickly and headed outside with Draco.
She was right. The sunset was beautiful. The sky was painted an array of colors from red to yellow to blue to purple to orange. The colors reflected off the calm water and they made the water look almost glassy.
There were few people left on the beach, and most were packing up to leave. Draco and Hermione set up their towels near the water and watched the sun sink out on the horizon.
Once the sun had set and the sky had become dark, Draco pulled Hermione to her feet and walked toward the water. The water was warm and rolled up against their ankles. It had been so long since either of them had been to the beach; they had both forgotten how it felt to have the water wash up against them.
Without warning, Draco dropped Hermione's hand and dove under the waves into deep depths of the ocean. Hermione smiled and dove down after him. She had also forgotten how free she felt swimming under the water.
When Draco surfaced he was surprised that Hermione wasn't where he had left her. He looked all around, but could not find her anywhere. There was a slight tug on his leg, which almost pulled him under, and Hermione surfaced next to him, smiling up into his grey eyes.
Draco splashed her playfully, and she splashed him back in retaliation. They continued to splash water at each other until Hermione's arms got tired, and she threw her arms up in defeat and cried, "I quit! You win! You win!"
"Ha! Ha!" he called out triumphantly. "I always win!"
"You are so immature."
"Not always. I just haven't had fun in-come to think of it, I don't think I was even allowed to have fun when I was younger."
Hermione waded over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck while pressing her lips to his. They continued their passionate embrace, and neither saw the large wave coming toward them. When it hit them it forced them apart. Both washed up onto the sand, laughing uncontrollably. Draco managed to control himself and climbed on top of Hermione with one knee on each side of her, pinning her to the ground. He leaned down and kissed her passionately. They could taste the salt on their lips and mouths as their tongues battled for control. Darkness surrounded them and the stars twinkled above them in the black sky above.
~
The first week passed quickly. Draco would take Hermione out to different restaurants every night. He spent a lot of money even though Hermione insisted that he didn't have to. She said that she wasn't worth that kind of attention, but he paid no heed to her pleadings, and ended up spending more money on her.
Finally, Draco decided that they needed to go somewhere a little more exciting than the beach, and he took her to an amusement park.
When they arrived, Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of the roller coasters and water slides. "Draco," she squeaked, "you didn't have to take me here."
"Yeah, I know that, but I wanted to. The beach was starting to get boring, and I'd figured I'd spice things up a bit. You do like roller-coasters, don't you?"
"Of course I do! They're the greatest rides ever invented!"
It was very early when they arrived. The park wasn't even open yet. Draco didn't want to wait on any long ticket lines, he wanted to be first so they could spend all day on the rides.
They went to the ticket booth and a girl of about twenty-three was selling tickets. She had long, red hair, a few scattered freckles, and bright blue eyes. She smiled at Draco as he approached the window. "How many tickets will you need?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Two," he answered rolling his eyes at her.
She handed him the tickets. "Here you are. That's one hundred dollars even." Draco pulled two fifties out of his wallet and handed them to her. "My name's Jess, by the way. I'll be working in the park later. Maybe I'll see you for lunch or something." She batted her eyes a few times.
"Yeah, right, or maybe I'll eat lunch and hang with my girlfriend without some slut trying to get with me," he replied coldly. Jess looked taken aback as he took the two tickets and put his arm around Hermione's waist as they walked to the gate. "I can't stand people like that," he mumbled under his breath.
"Don't let it get to you. Let's just have a good time."
They walked to the gate and gave their tickets to the ticket-man then headed toward the largest roller coaster in the park. No one was on line since it was so early. Hermione convinced Draco to ride in the first row so they'd get the maximum experience from the ride. As soon as everyone was seated and locked in, the ride jerked to a start, and they were soon headed slowly up the first hill. Hermione looked down in anticipation of the drop. The first had always been her favorite because she liked the feeling of her stomach dropping and the wind blowing across her face.
Draco was also itching with anticipation as they climbed higher and higher. To him, the first drop was almost like going into a steep dive to catch the snitch. Only Quidditch was ten times better.
As they reached the peak, they barely had time to look around before they were sent soaring downward. They both screamed on the way down even though they weren't scared in the slightest bit. Screaming on a roller coaster was part of the excitement. They went around loops and corkscrews, and both were smiling almost manically. As they came out of one of the loops in the middle of the ride, there was a bright flash of light from a camera. At the end of the ride, they both had a lot of energy because a roller coaster will do that to a person. They walked down the many stairs at the end and headed toward the photo booth. They decided to buy the picture since it turned out so good.
"How come it doesn't move?" Draco asked as he stared at it.
"It's a Muggle photo, Draco. They don't move. I thought you knew that. You've been to Muggle places before."
"Yeah, but I never really bothered looking at pictures. I just figured they all moved like they do in our world."
Hermione smiled at his naïveté and shook her head a little. "Let's go on some more rides," she suggested while grabbing his hand and pulling him along.
"I haven't seen you this happy in a while," Draco noted as they waited in line for the log flume.
"Yeah, well I haven't had this much fun in a while. I haven't been to an amusement park in years, and I've forgotten what it was to be a kid long ago."
"That makes two of us," he replied sardonically.
They continued to ride on just about every ride until about two, when they decided that it was time for lunch. Most of the food places had extremely long lines, but they eventually found a place that wasn't so bad.
Draco waited on line to buy the food while Hermione sat down at a table to save it for them. She looked around at the young children, who were walking with their parents. She smiled at their innocence. Nothing really mattered to them at that age. They didn't know of real pain yet.
"Hermione? Hermione Granger?"
Hermione turned around and saw a woman of about her age with red hair and freckles. "Yes? That's me." She studied the woman's face for a while before she cried, "Susan Bones!"
The girl nodded and smiled. She had been in the Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts and became a friend of Hermione's in sixth year. "It's so good to see you again," Susan said and embraced her in a hug. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Oh, I'm here with my boyfriend," Hermione responded with a small smile.
"Ooh who? Where is he," she urged, craning her neck to look around.
"Do you remember Draco Malfoy?" Susan nodded. "Well, he's my boyfriend now and he's over there buying our food."
Susan's eyes widened and she stared at Hermione as if she'd gone crazy. "No. Draco Malfoy? You two hated each other in school? What happened?"
"Well I never really hated him. I've actually liked him since well-along time, and it turns out that he's liked me for a long time as well, and we just did the logical thing."
"But you fought him for seven years!"
Hermione sighed. "I know. But I wish I never had."
Draco slid the tray onto the table and sat down next to Hermione. "Who's this?" he asked.
"You remember Susan Bones from school, don't you?" she replied, picking up a fry and putting in her mouth.
"Yes, of course. It's nice to see you again." He shook her hand. "What brings you all the way out here?"
"I'm visiting my sister. She works here and will be meeting me any minute. Oh there she is."
The girl that Draco remembered as Jess came walking toward them and sat down next to Susan. "You know them?" she asked, eyeing Draco and Hermione.
"Yeah, we went to school together," Susan responded.
"Well he wasn't exactly nice to me," Jess huffed. "He was actually quite rude and called me a slut."
"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. That's just the way she is." Although she was trying to soothe her sister, she glared at Draco.
Draco opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione cut him off. "I wasn't accepted there, so I went to another school in the United States. I wasn't too happy about it at first, but it's a very nice school."
Jess stood to buy food for herself and Susan and left the three of them to talk once again. "You called her a slut?" Susan queried, looking at Draco.
"She was hitting on me with Hermione standing two feet away! What was I supposed to say? I don't like people who wanna get with me just 'cause I look good."
Hermione rolled her eyes and Jess sat back down. She looked closely at Draco then said, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"No, I don't recall seeing you before today."
"Yes, I have definitely seen you somewhere before, or someone who looks like you. What's your last name?"
"It's Malfoy, although I don't like to admit it."
"Are you related to Lucius in any way?" Her eyes visibly lit up.
"He was my father. I was disowned years ago because I refused to be like him. How do you know him?"
"I-I met him l-last time I was in England to-to visit my family," she stuttered and looked away.
"I know. That's when I met him." She brought a fry to her mouth, and a black blemish on her left arm caught Draco's attention.
"What's that?" he asked sharply.
"It's-it's nothing," she said covering her arm.
"What are you talking about? I brought you here so you could get away from everything going on in England. You have to relax more. This will be the best thing for you," Draco retorted sounding a bit hurt.
"What about Harry? He's been one of my best friends for ten years, and I feel like I'm abandoning him." She looked up into Draco's eyes. They weren't warm as they had been recently; they were as cold as she had remembered them back in Hogwarts.
"Fine," he snapped. "We'll go back so you can keep in touch with Wonder Boy-everyone's favorite wizard." He tore his eyes away from hers and stared out the large window.
"Draco, I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"Of course you are."
She cringed at the sarcasm in his voice, but walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm sure Hedwig can find me if she needs to."
Turning to face her, he whispered, "Do you want to go back?"
"I don't know. I don't like being so far away, but I don't wanna lose you, and it is really nice here."
Draco sighed and looked at the woman who was standing in front of him, and opened his mouth to tell her how he really felt, but only air came out. "We can go back if you want to," he mumbled at last.
"No, I don't to go right now."
"But I thought-"
"Shut up."
He stared at her as if she had gone crazy, but he didn't get much time to react because she pressed her lips to his. It took his mind a second to register what was going on, but when it did, he responded to her. His arm wrapped around her waist and rubbed her back while hers ran through his hair.
Draco broke away from her and whispered, "I thought you didn't want this. I thought you wanted to take things slow."
"I lied."
She pulled him back for another kiss. He pried her lips open with his tongue and began to explore every part of her mouth. She moaned into his mouth and wrapped one of her legs around his.
Hermione pushed Draco's shirt off his shoulders, and it fluttered to the floor behind him. Her hands ran his hands ran all over his toned back and chest. She began to push him back toward the bed. When the back of his knees made contact, he sat on the edge and Hermione straddled his lap.
Draco pushed Hermione's t-shirt over her head, and pushed her down onto the bed. He trailed small kisses down her neck as he untied her bikini top. When it had been discarded, he massaged her breasts with his hands. She moaned his name in pure pleasure, and he crushed his lips to her for another kiss. His hands moved down her body until they reached the waistband of her orange shorts. He ran his fingers along the inside of her shorts as id he wanted to tease her a bit. When she moaned again, he pulled them off her.
Hermione couldn't stand it anymore. She needed him. Since she knew she wouldn't be able to reach all the way down to pull off his bathing suit, she pushed it down with her feet. "Draco, I need you," she whispered.
He pulled off the bottom of her bathing suit. "Are you sure?" he asked. She only nodded in response.
Slowly, he entered her, but stopped when she closed her eyes, pain etched all over her face. "Don't stop," she begged. She wrapped her legs around him and forced him deeper inside her. Once the look of pain had vanished, Draco pulled out and thrust back into her. He moved slowly at first, but sped up as she urged him to go faster.
They were screaming out each other's names in pure ecstasy as Hermione dug her nails into Draco's back. Draco felt himself coming close to his climax, and he knew he couldn't hold on much longer. "Hermione, I'm coming," he panted, thrusting faster and harder. Hermione screamed out as he filled her.
Draco collapsed onto her chest and listened to her rapid heartbeat. They were both breathing heavily, just holding each other close. Hermione was absentmindedly drawing circles on Draco's back as their breathing slowed.
Draco was truly happy as he lay there with Hermione. This was his chance to tell her how he felt, and he knew it. "Hermione?"
"Yes, Draco?"
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before whispering, "I love you."
Her hands stopped moving on his back. He sighed disappointedly and started cursing himself. Finally, he looked up at her. She was smiling as she said, "I love you, too."
He pulled himself off of her and lay beside her, propped up on one elbow. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, and she cuddled closer to his bare chest. Nothing mattered to either of them then. They were just happy to be with the person they loved.
There was a sudden, loud tapping at the window. Draco rolled his eyes and let the owl into the room. "Hedwig!" Hermione said happily as the bird flew over to her and dropped a letter on her lap. She tore the envelope open and unfolded the letter hastily.
Draco sat back down on the bed as Hermione read. Hedwig snapped at him and flew over to sit on the table. He put his arm around her and read over her shoulder.
~Dear Hermione,
I hope all is well with you. I have finally found some time to write to you. I'm sure that you already head about Ron. How are you holding up? It's so boring here without him. I miss him so much. On to happier news, I feel that the war is coming to a close, and I'll be able to see you and Ginny again, which I am very much looking forward to. We are getting closer to Voldemort and I think we will find him soon. That's bad for me though, since I'm the one who's going to have to face him. Sure I've faced him before, but I'm still scared. What if he kills me the first chance he gets? Would he die too? I don't want to think about this, and I don't want you to worry about me. I hope to see you soon.
Love from Harry~
Hermione frowned as she got to the last part of the letter. "Do you think Voldemort will try to kill Harry?" she asked Draco.
"I don't know. When I was younger, I was forced to go to some of the meetings, and he wasn't hesitant to kill anyone, not even the Death Eaters. Don't worry about it though. Potter knows how to protect himself. He proved that while we were still in school."
"I know he did, but times have changed. He has seen so much over the last four years, and I don't know how much more he can handle. He's strong and everything, but he's my best friend. I've already lost Ron. I can't loose Harry too." Silent tears streamed from her eyes as she leaned closer to Draco. "I should right back to him," she mumbled.
She got up and wrapped a bathrobe around her body. Grabbing a pen and a piece of paper out of the desk drawer, she began:
~Dear Harry,
I've been okay. I was with Ron when he died. I miss him terribly and I still can't believe that he's gone.~
"Draco, should I tell him about us?" she asked.
"If you want to. I don't see why not, but he might flip out a little bit." She nodded then went back to writing.
~Draco Malfoy is actually the person that has been helping me most. Now, before you start to go ballistic, he's changed. He's not the same person he was back in Hogwarts. He's really sweet and he actually listens to me. I hope this war ends soon. I can't wait to see you again. Please return safely.
Love, Hermione~
She folded it and placed it neatly into an envelope. After giving Hedwig some food, she sent her off with the letter to Harry. She fell back on the bed and laid her head on Draco's strong chest. He rubbed her back gently and her eyes began to droop a bit. A few more tears slid down her cheeks as she fell asleep in Draco's arms.
~
A few hours later, Hermione woke up. When she didn't see Draco anywhere, she started to panic, but calmed when she heard the T.V. She got up and sat down next to Draco on the couch. He smiled and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Have a nice nap?" he asked.
"Yup," she answered.
"Are you feeling any better?"
She shrugged and said, "A little, maybe."
Draco caressed her cheek with his thumb, and she moved closer to him. She ran her hand over his still bare chest. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever, but in reality was only a few seconds.
"Don't leave me, Draco," she whispered.
"I wouldn't dream of it. I could never leave you," he promised.
"Can we go down to the beach now? The sun's setting and it probably looks really pretty down there. I haven't seen the sunset in so long-since we left Hogwarts, really.
"Sure," Draco agreed. He already had his bathing suit on, and he had to grab a shirt.
Hermione, on the other hand had to put her bathing suit back on again because she had fallen asleep in the bathrobe. She changed quickly and headed outside with Draco.
She was right. The sunset was beautiful. The sky was painted an array of colors from red to yellow to blue to purple to orange. The colors reflected off the calm water and they made the water look almost glassy.
There were few people left on the beach, and most were packing up to leave. Draco and Hermione set up their towels near the water and watched the sun sink out on the horizon.
Once the sun had set and the sky had become dark, Draco pulled Hermione to her feet and walked toward the water. The water was warm and rolled up against their ankles. It had been so long since either of them had been to the beach; they had both forgotten how it felt to have the water wash up against them.
Without warning, Draco dropped Hermione's hand and dove under the waves into deep depths of the ocean. Hermione smiled and dove down after him. She had also forgotten how free she felt swimming under the water.
When Draco surfaced he was surprised that Hermione wasn't where he had left her. He looked all around, but could not find her anywhere. There was a slight tug on his leg, which almost pulled him under, and Hermione surfaced next to him, smiling up into his grey eyes.
Draco splashed her playfully, and she splashed him back in retaliation. They continued to splash water at each other until Hermione's arms got tired, and she threw her arms up in defeat and cried, "I quit! You win! You win!"
"Ha! Ha!" he called out triumphantly. "I always win!"
"You are so immature."
"Not always. I just haven't had fun in-come to think of it, I don't think I was even allowed to have fun when I was younger."
Hermione waded over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck while pressing her lips to his. They continued their passionate embrace, and neither saw the large wave coming toward them. When it hit them it forced them apart. Both washed up onto the sand, laughing uncontrollably. Draco managed to control himself and climbed on top of Hermione with one knee on each side of her, pinning her to the ground. He leaned down and kissed her passionately. They could taste the salt on their lips and mouths as their tongues battled for control. Darkness surrounded them and the stars twinkled above them in the black sky above.
~
The first week passed quickly. Draco would take Hermione out to different restaurants every night. He spent a lot of money even though Hermione insisted that he didn't have to. She said that she wasn't worth that kind of attention, but he paid no heed to her pleadings, and ended up spending more money on her.
Finally, Draco decided that they needed to go somewhere a little more exciting than the beach, and he took her to an amusement park.
When they arrived, Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of the roller coasters and water slides. "Draco," she squeaked, "you didn't have to take me here."
"Yeah, I know that, but I wanted to. The beach was starting to get boring, and I'd figured I'd spice things up a bit. You do like roller-coasters, don't you?"
"Of course I do! They're the greatest rides ever invented!"
It was very early when they arrived. The park wasn't even open yet. Draco didn't want to wait on any long ticket lines, he wanted to be first so they could spend all day on the rides.
They went to the ticket booth and a girl of about twenty-three was selling tickets. She had long, red hair, a few scattered freckles, and bright blue eyes. She smiled at Draco as he approached the window. "How many tickets will you need?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Two," he answered rolling his eyes at her.
She handed him the tickets. "Here you are. That's one hundred dollars even." Draco pulled two fifties out of his wallet and handed them to her. "My name's Jess, by the way. I'll be working in the park later. Maybe I'll see you for lunch or something." She batted her eyes a few times.
"Yeah, right, or maybe I'll eat lunch and hang with my girlfriend without some slut trying to get with me," he replied coldly. Jess looked taken aback as he took the two tickets and put his arm around Hermione's waist as they walked to the gate. "I can't stand people like that," he mumbled under his breath.
"Don't let it get to you. Let's just have a good time."
They walked to the gate and gave their tickets to the ticket-man then headed toward the largest roller coaster in the park. No one was on line since it was so early. Hermione convinced Draco to ride in the first row so they'd get the maximum experience from the ride. As soon as everyone was seated and locked in, the ride jerked to a start, and they were soon headed slowly up the first hill. Hermione looked down in anticipation of the drop. The first had always been her favorite because she liked the feeling of her stomach dropping and the wind blowing across her face.
Draco was also itching with anticipation as they climbed higher and higher. To him, the first drop was almost like going into a steep dive to catch the snitch. Only Quidditch was ten times better.
As they reached the peak, they barely had time to look around before they were sent soaring downward. They both screamed on the way down even though they weren't scared in the slightest bit. Screaming on a roller coaster was part of the excitement. They went around loops and corkscrews, and both were smiling almost manically. As they came out of one of the loops in the middle of the ride, there was a bright flash of light from a camera. At the end of the ride, they both had a lot of energy because a roller coaster will do that to a person. They walked down the many stairs at the end and headed toward the photo booth. They decided to buy the picture since it turned out so good.
"How come it doesn't move?" Draco asked as he stared at it.
"It's a Muggle photo, Draco. They don't move. I thought you knew that. You've been to Muggle places before."
"Yeah, but I never really bothered looking at pictures. I just figured they all moved like they do in our world."
Hermione smiled at his naïveté and shook her head a little. "Let's go on some more rides," she suggested while grabbing his hand and pulling him along.
"I haven't seen you this happy in a while," Draco noted as they waited in line for the log flume.
"Yeah, well I haven't had this much fun in a while. I haven't been to an amusement park in years, and I've forgotten what it was to be a kid long ago."
"That makes two of us," he replied sardonically.
They continued to ride on just about every ride until about two, when they decided that it was time for lunch. Most of the food places had extremely long lines, but they eventually found a place that wasn't so bad.
Draco waited on line to buy the food while Hermione sat down at a table to save it for them. She looked around at the young children, who were walking with their parents. She smiled at their innocence. Nothing really mattered to them at that age. They didn't know of real pain yet.
"Hermione? Hermione Granger?"
Hermione turned around and saw a woman of about her age with red hair and freckles. "Yes? That's me." She studied the woman's face for a while before she cried, "Susan Bones!"
The girl nodded and smiled. She had been in the Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts and became a friend of Hermione's in sixth year. "It's so good to see you again," Susan said and embraced her in a hug. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Oh, I'm here with my boyfriend," Hermione responded with a small smile.
"Ooh who? Where is he," she urged, craning her neck to look around.
"Do you remember Draco Malfoy?" Susan nodded. "Well, he's my boyfriend now and he's over there buying our food."
Susan's eyes widened and she stared at Hermione as if she'd gone crazy. "No. Draco Malfoy? You two hated each other in school? What happened?"
"Well I never really hated him. I've actually liked him since well-along time, and it turns out that he's liked me for a long time as well, and we just did the logical thing."
"But you fought him for seven years!"
Hermione sighed. "I know. But I wish I never had."
Draco slid the tray onto the table and sat down next to Hermione. "Who's this?" he asked.
"You remember Susan Bones from school, don't you?" she replied, picking up a fry and putting in her mouth.
"Yes, of course. It's nice to see you again." He shook her hand. "What brings you all the way out here?"
"I'm visiting my sister. She works here and will be meeting me any minute. Oh there she is."
The girl that Draco remembered as Jess came walking toward them and sat down next to Susan. "You know them?" she asked, eyeing Draco and Hermione.
"Yeah, we went to school together," Susan responded.
"Well he wasn't exactly nice to me," Jess huffed. "He was actually quite rude and called me a slut."
"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. That's just the way she is." Although she was trying to soothe her sister, she glared at Draco.
Draco opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione cut him off. "I wasn't accepted there, so I went to another school in the United States. I wasn't too happy about it at first, but it's a very nice school."
Jess stood to buy food for herself and Susan and left the three of them to talk once again. "You called her a slut?" Susan queried, looking at Draco.
"She was hitting on me with Hermione standing two feet away! What was I supposed to say? I don't like people who wanna get with me just 'cause I look good."
Hermione rolled her eyes and Jess sat back down. She looked closely at Draco then said, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"No, I don't recall seeing you before today."
"Yes, I have definitely seen you somewhere before, or someone who looks like you. What's your last name?"
"It's Malfoy, although I don't like to admit it."
"Are you related to Lucius in any way?" Her eyes visibly lit up.
"He was my father. I was disowned years ago because I refused to be like him. How do you know him?"
"I-I met him l-last time I was in England to-to visit my family," she stuttered and looked away.
"I know. That's when I met him." She brought a fry to her mouth, and a black blemish on her left arm caught Draco's attention.
"What's that?" he asked sharply.
"It's-it's nothing," she said covering her arm.