Here it is-- the long awaited (or not) chapter nine of New Worlds, New
Views. I want to send a mass thank you to everyone who reviewed-- you guys
are simply awesome. Please, please, pretty please keep reviewing. It means
a lot.
Dedication-- For Kelly who talked with me the entire 3 hr trip back from Worlds of Fun and helped me figure out so much stuff.
Disclaimer-- I am in no way shape or form J.K. Rowling and if I was then I wouldn't be posting my story here. She owns and has trademarks on everything that you recognize. I do not claim to own anything short of the plot at this moment.
~*~Chapter Nine~*~
On the opposite side of the platform, they were met by two Ministry of Magic officials, looking very conspicuous in their green attire.
"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy?" one of them inquired, taking over Hermione's trolley for her. "Right this way."
They led them out into the parking lot where a Ministry car was waiting. Hermione, who had ridden in one of the cars three years ago, enjoyed the quick trip to Heathrow which took a fourth of the time that it usually did.
At the airport, the Ministry officials made sure the baggage was checked and both students were at the correct terminal with their boarding passes and tickets before leaving.
Hermione checked her watch-- 10:15. They had 45 minutes before their flight took off.
"I'm going to go get something to drink before we take off," Hermione said to Draco.
"You can stay here. I'll get it for you." Hermione could tell that he was still feeling incredibly guilty about the incident on the train.
But Draco wasn't the only one feeling the bite of guilt-- Hermione's conscience had been nagging her ever since she left the train. As much as she would deny it, she knew that her words on the platform were false-- the memory had obviously come along with them like a piece of excess baggage. Her actions on the train surprised even herself. Draco hadn't hidden his emotions for the one moment and all she could do was deny that it happened. If she truly believed in what she said would she still be feeling this indecision? Or was there something in her that she had yet to discover? Hermione could no longer pretend that Draco didn't have feelings for her. Now she faced a new question-- Did her mind hold emotions that were invisible to her? Had she wanted, somewhere in her, to kiss Malfoy back? Want the kiss to grow into more kisses? Want something more that short conversations in the hall when the moment was right?
"Hermione?" Draco's voice pulled her out of her muddled thoughts.
"Sorry, I was zoning out. What were you saying?"
"I was asking what you wanted to drink."
"Ohh, any kind of fruit juice would be great."
"Okay, I'll be right back." He departed and Hermione returned to her thoughts, wishing she had a pensieve.
Only a few minutes after Draco left, his seat was reoccupied by a teenage boy about her age with somewhat shaggy black hair and ice blue eyes.
"Hi. I'm Trent," he said, offering Hermione his hand.
"Hermione." She put her hand in his only to be polite and instead of a handshake like she had been expecting, he lifted her hand to his mouth and gently kissed the back of it. He let go, smiling in a way Hermione would identify as want-to-be-suave. Hermione was sure that her smile in return was very brittle.
"Where do you go to school?" Trent asked, staring at her so intensely that Hermione wished she was wearing her school uniform instead of the low- cut contraption that Parvati had her wear.
"It's a very small private school. You've probably never heard of it." Hermione surreptitiously pulled her ballpoint pen out of her bag. A simple, nearly unnoticeable spell would work well.
"I bet your pretty smart, huh?" Trent asked, his hand making steady progress towards Hermione's arm. She flinched at the touch. This, if anything, encouraged Trent and he started stroking her arm as his eyes started a downwards descent from her face.
"Say, what's a pretty girl like yourself doing by yourself?" His gaze had stopped about six inches below her face and his hand was beginning to move in the same direction. Hermione batted the hand away, but it quickly returned, like a moth to a flame. "I know a great pub nearby. What do you say we go there together?"
"I say the only place I would go with you is hell, just so I could see you burn," Hermione said icily, digging in her nails as she knocked his hand away. This enraged Trent and both his hands began to reach out towards Hermione. She gripped her pen and was about to perform a spell when a hand reached out from behind her, grabbing the front of Trent's shirt and throwing him onto the floor. Hermione turned and saw Draco looking completely furious as he advanced on the now cowering boy.
He pulled him up to a standing position.
"You leave her alone." Draco's voice was calm, but venom dripped from every word. "Never treat her like that. Stay the..."
Draco's last words were drown out by the passersby, who surveyed the two boys with unmasked disapproval. Trent looked terrified and the second Draco let go of his shirt, he scurried off into the crowd.
Draco picked up the food from where he dropped it on the chair next to Hermione, wordlessly handed her a strawberry-kiwi Snapple and sat down in his seat.
"Draco..." Hermione started. "Thank you."
"No one deserves to have to take shit like that," Draco said unwrapping an Egg McMuffin. "Even a Mudblood."
There was a moment of silence.
"I never knew you were such a fan of McDonalds," Hermione noted, watching Malfoy consume the breakfast item. "Especially since it's a muggle food-chain."
Draco set down the McMuffin and looked her straight in the eye. "You would discover a lot of things about me if you took a chance to get to know me."
"Get to know you? Malfoy, I took chances that first year. I tried to be nice to you, but did you try to do the same to me? No. I was a Mudblood Gryiffindor and for that you wanted nothing to do with me." Hermione was near hysterics. "I'm sorry Malfoy, but I gave up on giving you chances two weeks into the first year."
Draco looked hurt, and Hermione almost instantly regretted her outburst.
"Draco, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
"Hermione, it's all right. I deserved everything that you just said."
"No you didn't. We were all idiots in our own way those first years. This year you've been so nice and I've had no reason to be mean to you, but I still am."
"What do you say we start over?" A slight smile played on Hermione's lips. Draco held out his hand. "I don't think that we've been introduced. I'm Draco Malfoy."
Hermione took his hand with no misgivings. "Pleased to make your acquaintance Draco. I'm Hermione Granger."
Draco smiled, showing off two rows of pearly-whites. "Can we be friends?" He looked right into her eyes, mesmerizing her with his grey-blue eyes and for a moment Hermione could tell that she wasn't just a Mudblood Gryffindor to him.
"I think that that sounds goods," Hermione said smiling back at him.
"I'm glad to hear it. Drink your juice," he instructed before finishing off his McMuffin.
Hermione complied, then dug her novel out of her bag. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm dying to know how my book ends."
"Don't let me keep you then," Draco said pulling a book out of his bag. I have some reading to do myself."
They passed the next fifteen minutes halfheartedly reading their novels, spending most of the time glancing surreptitiously at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.
"Welcome passengers of Flight 783 which flies nonstop from London, England to New York City, USA," a stewardess said over the loud speaker. "Will all those people with seats in rows 21-30 please come up to the ticket counter. Everyone else please wait until your row number is called. Thank you."
Draco put his book in his bag. "That's us, Hermione. You ready?"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
They walked up to the ticket counter together, presented their travel papers and were allowed on board. After being seated, waiting for the rest of the plane to board and listening to the one hundred and one safety rules, the plane began to take off.
Hermione glanced over at Draco and saw that his face was white and his fingernails were making grooves in the armrests.
"First time flying?" she inquired.
"How can you tell?"
"Don't worry, once we level out it gets better."
By the time the cart came around to serve lunch Draco was back to normal, at least until he saw what the cart was serving. Lunch was an unidentifiable meat, carrot coins that tasted like they had earned frequent flier miles for life and a cookie.
"Is this considered edible?" Draco asked poking the meat with his fork.
"Not really." Hermione had nibbled the meat's edges, gagged down one carrot coin, but completely devoured the cookie. "But the cookie's good."
"I think that Hogwarts skimped on our air tickets," Draco grumbled, nibbling the cookie.
Shortly after the trays were cleared away, the stewardess announced that the in-flight movie, Independence Day, would be starting in five minutes. Both Hermione and Draco handed over the three dollars to rent the headphones.
Just before the movie started, Hermione remembered something.
Draco, what did you say to Trent, right at the very end?" Draco's blue-grey eyes locked with her chocolate colored ones.
"I told him to stay the hell away from my girl."
"Draco, I'm not---"
"I know," Draco said, brushing a stray hair out of her face. "I know you're not, but that's what you're worth to me."
~*~*~*~*~
I hope that you enjoyed that and I am looking forward to what you have to say about it. Please push the little button that sends me a review and I will be eternally grateful. You guys are awesome!!
Kudos!!
lana-la-banana
Dedication-- For Kelly who talked with me the entire 3 hr trip back from Worlds of Fun and helped me figure out so much stuff.
Disclaimer-- I am in no way shape or form J.K. Rowling and if I was then I wouldn't be posting my story here. She owns and has trademarks on everything that you recognize. I do not claim to own anything short of the plot at this moment.
~*~Chapter Nine~*~
On the opposite side of the platform, they were met by two Ministry of Magic officials, looking very conspicuous in their green attire.
"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy?" one of them inquired, taking over Hermione's trolley for her. "Right this way."
They led them out into the parking lot where a Ministry car was waiting. Hermione, who had ridden in one of the cars three years ago, enjoyed the quick trip to Heathrow which took a fourth of the time that it usually did.
At the airport, the Ministry officials made sure the baggage was checked and both students were at the correct terminal with their boarding passes and tickets before leaving.
Hermione checked her watch-- 10:15. They had 45 minutes before their flight took off.
"I'm going to go get something to drink before we take off," Hermione said to Draco.
"You can stay here. I'll get it for you." Hermione could tell that he was still feeling incredibly guilty about the incident on the train.
But Draco wasn't the only one feeling the bite of guilt-- Hermione's conscience had been nagging her ever since she left the train. As much as she would deny it, she knew that her words on the platform were false-- the memory had obviously come along with them like a piece of excess baggage. Her actions on the train surprised even herself. Draco hadn't hidden his emotions for the one moment and all she could do was deny that it happened. If she truly believed in what she said would she still be feeling this indecision? Or was there something in her that she had yet to discover? Hermione could no longer pretend that Draco didn't have feelings for her. Now she faced a new question-- Did her mind hold emotions that were invisible to her? Had she wanted, somewhere in her, to kiss Malfoy back? Want the kiss to grow into more kisses? Want something more that short conversations in the hall when the moment was right?
"Hermione?" Draco's voice pulled her out of her muddled thoughts.
"Sorry, I was zoning out. What were you saying?"
"I was asking what you wanted to drink."
"Ohh, any kind of fruit juice would be great."
"Okay, I'll be right back." He departed and Hermione returned to her thoughts, wishing she had a pensieve.
Only a few minutes after Draco left, his seat was reoccupied by a teenage boy about her age with somewhat shaggy black hair and ice blue eyes.
"Hi. I'm Trent," he said, offering Hermione his hand.
"Hermione." She put her hand in his only to be polite and instead of a handshake like she had been expecting, he lifted her hand to his mouth and gently kissed the back of it. He let go, smiling in a way Hermione would identify as want-to-be-suave. Hermione was sure that her smile in return was very brittle.
"Where do you go to school?" Trent asked, staring at her so intensely that Hermione wished she was wearing her school uniform instead of the low- cut contraption that Parvati had her wear.
"It's a very small private school. You've probably never heard of it." Hermione surreptitiously pulled her ballpoint pen out of her bag. A simple, nearly unnoticeable spell would work well.
"I bet your pretty smart, huh?" Trent asked, his hand making steady progress towards Hermione's arm. She flinched at the touch. This, if anything, encouraged Trent and he started stroking her arm as his eyes started a downwards descent from her face.
"Say, what's a pretty girl like yourself doing by yourself?" His gaze had stopped about six inches below her face and his hand was beginning to move in the same direction. Hermione batted the hand away, but it quickly returned, like a moth to a flame. "I know a great pub nearby. What do you say we go there together?"
"I say the only place I would go with you is hell, just so I could see you burn," Hermione said icily, digging in her nails as she knocked his hand away. This enraged Trent and both his hands began to reach out towards Hermione. She gripped her pen and was about to perform a spell when a hand reached out from behind her, grabbing the front of Trent's shirt and throwing him onto the floor. Hermione turned and saw Draco looking completely furious as he advanced on the now cowering boy.
He pulled him up to a standing position.
"You leave her alone." Draco's voice was calm, but venom dripped from every word. "Never treat her like that. Stay the..."
Draco's last words were drown out by the passersby, who surveyed the two boys with unmasked disapproval. Trent looked terrified and the second Draco let go of his shirt, he scurried off into the crowd.
Draco picked up the food from where he dropped it on the chair next to Hermione, wordlessly handed her a strawberry-kiwi Snapple and sat down in his seat.
"Draco..." Hermione started. "Thank you."
"No one deserves to have to take shit like that," Draco said unwrapping an Egg McMuffin. "Even a Mudblood."
There was a moment of silence.
"I never knew you were such a fan of McDonalds," Hermione noted, watching Malfoy consume the breakfast item. "Especially since it's a muggle food-chain."
Draco set down the McMuffin and looked her straight in the eye. "You would discover a lot of things about me if you took a chance to get to know me."
"Get to know you? Malfoy, I took chances that first year. I tried to be nice to you, but did you try to do the same to me? No. I was a Mudblood Gryiffindor and for that you wanted nothing to do with me." Hermione was near hysterics. "I'm sorry Malfoy, but I gave up on giving you chances two weeks into the first year."
Draco looked hurt, and Hermione almost instantly regretted her outburst.
"Draco, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
"Hermione, it's all right. I deserved everything that you just said."
"No you didn't. We were all idiots in our own way those first years. This year you've been so nice and I've had no reason to be mean to you, but I still am."
"What do you say we start over?" A slight smile played on Hermione's lips. Draco held out his hand. "I don't think that we've been introduced. I'm Draco Malfoy."
Hermione took his hand with no misgivings. "Pleased to make your acquaintance Draco. I'm Hermione Granger."
Draco smiled, showing off two rows of pearly-whites. "Can we be friends?" He looked right into her eyes, mesmerizing her with his grey-blue eyes and for a moment Hermione could tell that she wasn't just a Mudblood Gryffindor to him.
"I think that that sounds goods," Hermione said smiling back at him.
"I'm glad to hear it. Drink your juice," he instructed before finishing off his McMuffin.
Hermione complied, then dug her novel out of her bag. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm dying to know how my book ends."
"Don't let me keep you then," Draco said pulling a book out of his bag. I have some reading to do myself."
They passed the next fifteen minutes halfheartedly reading their novels, spending most of the time glancing surreptitiously at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.
"Welcome passengers of Flight 783 which flies nonstop from London, England to New York City, USA," a stewardess said over the loud speaker. "Will all those people with seats in rows 21-30 please come up to the ticket counter. Everyone else please wait until your row number is called. Thank you."
Draco put his book in his bag. "That's us, Hermione. You ready?"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
They walked up to the ticket counter together, presented their travel papers and were allowed on board. After being seated, waiting for the rest of the plane to board and listening to the one hundred and one safety rules, the plane began to take off.
Hermione glanced over at Draco and saw that his face was white and his fingernails were making grooves in the armrests.
"First time flying?" she inquired.
"How can you tell?"
"Don't worry, once we level out it gets better."
By the time the cart came around to serve lunch Draco was back to normal, at least until he saw what the cart was serving. Lunch was an unidentifiable meat, carrot coins that tasted like they had earned frequent flier miles for life and a cookie.
"Is this considered edible?" Draco asked poking the meat with his fork.
"Not really." Hermione had nibbled the meat's edges, gagged down one carrot coin, but completely devoured the cookie. "But the cookie's good."
"I think that Hogwarts skimped on our air tickets," Draco grumbled, nibbling the cookie.
Shortly after the trays were cleared away, the stewardess announced that the in-flight movie, Independence Day, would be starting in five minutes. Both Hermione and Draco handed over the three dollars to rent the headphones.
Just before the movie started, Hermione remembered something.
Draco, what did you say to Trent, right at the very end?" Draco's blue-grey eyes locked with her chocolate colored ones.
"I told him to stay the hell away from my girl."
"Draco, I'm not---"
"I know," Draco said, brushing a stray hair out of her face. "I know you're not, but that's what you're worth to me."
~*~*~*~*~
I hope that you enjoyed that and I am looking forward to what you have to say about it. Please push the little button that sends me a review and I will be eternally grateful. You guys are awesome!!
Kudos!!
lana-la-banana