Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter. But, I do own Abi, Andi,
Cheryl, Bethany, and Mandi. Please don't take them from me!
A/N: Well, after all those reviews, I guess I have to write, don't I? Guess what all! I went to Scotland! Yay! It was screwy, but I loved it all just the same. Well, let's get writing!
Chocolatekisses234: I promise I won't stop.
Sila-chan: Well, I guess your prayers have been answered. A headband is, like, a little thing that covers your ears to keep them warm. No, not like the ones girls wear. A lot of people wear them here in Montana when they go skiing. Ok? Ok. Good.
RussellGrl15: I'm glad you like my perception of Hermione and Draco. Here's more of it.
Oceanguardian: I'm glad you plan to come back and finish it.
Keke: OK!
Elp5089: Ok.
NOYB: love the name...lol. Well, I dunno what'll happen next, to tell you the truth. But if you like it, tell me.
Draco is the man: I'm glad it's such an easy read. Toot-a-loo to you too!
ShortyAlex: *coughs from them choking her* Can't... type... from... lack... of... air...lol. I'll get on it right away.
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The Ski Trip
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Chapter eight
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To the Movies!!!
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(Hermione P.O.V.)
I woke up on my bed, but I hadn't remembered getting there. I just remembered being over at Abi's with Draco and Andi. We had been watching a movie. I had been sitting next to Draco and Abi and Andi had been munching down on popcorn.
"I must've fallen asleep. Maybe I got up and walked home, but was too tired to remember it. Or maybe Draco carried me home...nah. I doubt he'd even do that if I had begged him on my hands and knees. Well, I'll just have to ask him." I said to my self while I stared at the ceiling.
I looked over at the clock and my eyes widened in surprise.
"OMG! I slept in to 11:30! I wanted to go skiing today! Shit. This is what I get for staying up so late. Must have been the jet lag. Yeah. That sounds right." I mumbled to myself as I gathered my things together and made my way to the bathroom for a shower.
Twenty minutes later I came out dressed in some flared jeans and a green knit shirt over a white tank top and went back to my room carrying my stuff, put it in the hamper, did my hair up in two French braids, and went downstairs for some brunch.
I took a peek in Draco's- I MEAN MALFOY! MALFOY, MALFOY, MALFOY! (A/N: lol. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!) -room. He was awake, judging by the fact that his bed was made and his clothes in the laundry basket.
I continued walking to the kitchen, and ran into him on the spiral staircase that led to it. I probably would have fallen over if it hadn't been for the railing and his arms coming up just to make sure I didn't fall.
"I was just coming to wake you up. You slept pretty late. I was starting to think you died in your sleep." He said, dropping his hands from my shoulders when he knew I was balanced.
"Well, I'm here and I'm hungry. Where're my mom and dad?" I asked, emerging in the kitchen and grabbing a box of cereal and a bowl.
"They went skiing. They left me a note to wake you up if you slept past noon. I probably could've slept that late, but once I'm up, I'm up. So what're we going to do today?" He asked me.
I thought about this as I poured my cereal and milk. I sat down on a chair and started eating when I suggested, "How about we see a movie? I could ask Abi and Andi to come. I don't know what's out, but I might be good. Plus, the theater's really cool. It's pretty old, so it gives you the feeling you're there for those old dinner theatre things. Want do you think of that?" I asked. I had started eating and was already half way through my cereal.
"Um...sure...but what's a movie?" He asked. Honestly! He knows nothing of the muggle world!
"Um...well...I don't really want to explain it. But you'll like it. I promise." I said, finishing my cereal.
"Um...ok..." He said. "Well, I'm going to be in the den. Tell me when you call Abi and Andi and get an answer, ok?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure." I said, getting the phone book.
I found the number and dialed it up.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Sigh.
"I am slowly going crazy. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, switch. Crazy going slowly am I. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, switch. I am slow- Oh! Hi Mr. Isen! How are you?"
"Fine...who's this?" He asked me.
"This is Hermione Granger." I answered, looking all around the room.
"You're back?" He asked, almost in disbelief.
"Yes, I'm back. Anna-Bliss and Drew (A/N: What Andi asks everyone to call him. Only Abi, Hermione, and Draco call him Andi.) didn't tell you?" I asked, also in disbelief.
"Well, when I got home from Mrs. Restat's house last night, she was asleep."
"Oh. Ok." I said, spinning myself up in the phone cord.
"Would you like to speak with her?" He asked.
"Yes, please." I said, unwinding from the cord.
"La, de da, de da..." I said, spinning up in the cord again.
"Hello?" came Abi's voice on the phone.
"Hey, girl! I was thinking-" I began, but was interrupted.
"Oh! Not a good sign, Mimi. Thinking can hurt!" She joked.
"Oh! I know! My brain is hurting already!" I followed this up with some moaning. "There's only one way to fix my brain hurting!" I said, moaning again.
"Oh! Mimi! You're right! We should go see a movie! After all, you may die from the pain that this has caused you!" She said. Then she broke out in laughter, as did I.
"Here, let me go ask." She said.
Silence.
Sigh.
"La, de da, de da...A pickle climbed a tree and ate a gum ball...And started singing with Santa Clause...And-"
"My daddy dearest said we could. Wanna bring the thugs?" She interrupted my insane ramblings.
"Why would I wanna do that?!?" I asked, appalled at the thought. "Just kidding! Yea, let's go! By the way, what's playing?" I asked, curious.
"Oh, just The Fellowship of the Ring. Heard of it? Or has your school completely kept you in isolation from the outside world?" She asked.
"Yea, I've heard of it. I've read it too." I said laughing.
"Great! We'll walk to your house at one. It shows at 2:30. We'll have enough time to stop at Subway and get some sandwiches. Then we can either get some pizza at Bogart's or get something at the Red Boxcar. Sound cool?" She asked.
"Yea sounds great! When do you guys get out of school?" I asked.
"At the end of the week. Then my casts come off five days later. Great, huh?" She said, cheerfully.
"Yup! Well, I gotta go. I'll see you in an hour!" I said, hanging up.
I walked into the den to see what Malfoy was doing, and saw him sitting on the couch staring at the fire, lost in thought.
I walked up to him,
Tapped him on the shoulder,
And ducked behind the couch.
"Huh? What? Granger? Where are you?" He asked, getting up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
I had just been tapped on the shoulder by, obviously, Granger. But, I couldn't see her, so I stood up. I looked over the couch to see her laying on her back staring at the ceiling intently.
I looked at her, confused, and looked at the spot on the ceiling to see if it held any interesting points, causing her to look at it. Big mistake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
He looked up at the ceiling. That was just what I had wanted him to do.
I jumped up, grabbed a pillow from the couch, and hit him with it.
He jumped in surprise at the sudden movement and the blow he had taken to the head.
I clutched my pillow as he grabbed another off the couch.
I ran for my life,
And ended up in my room.
I retreated to my bed, where I covered myself with the pillow as much as I could.
He came in,
Grabbed my pillow that was serving as an extremely poor shield,
And hit me to death with his pillow.
Don't get me wrong,
I did hit back.
But the attempt was futile.
We both ended up, exhausted, on the floor.
I suddenly broke out in laughter.
He just stared at me like I had just grown another head, or something.
I clutched my pillow to my stomach as I laughed.
He just watched me, trying not to join in my laughter.
I looked at him as I gradually stopped laughing.
I sighed, trying to gain enough energy to sit up.
He showed no sign of even moving.
"Uh...Malfoy? You there? Anyone home?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.
"Malfoy? Speak to me, man!" I said, getting up and shaking him gently.
"Houston, we have a problem! We have a man down! Get us out of here!" I said into my hand, like I was saying it into a mike.
He suddenly grabbed the pillow I had recently hugged to my chest and hit me right in the head with it.
"Ok! I surrender!" I said, hands up in the 'surrender' position. "We need to be ready to go to a movie by one. Ok?" I said, leaning against my bed.
"Yea. Sure. So, do you want to explain this movie thing, or does it have to be a surprise?" He asked, putting my pillow on my bed.
"Well, I may as well tell you since you shouldn't look too surprised around Abi and Andi. It's a big screen that shows moving pictures put together into one story. So, it would be like watching a picture in a big room with sound. Get it?" I asked, hoping that he would.
"I...guess..." He said uncertainly.
"You don't, do you?" I said, doubtful.
"No. No I don't. But I guess I won't be too surprised, though. Well, you said we have to be ready by one? Well, it's 12:30 now, so we better get ready to go. I need to brush my teeth and eat." He said, standing up and pushing his hair back with his hand.
"Actually, we don't need to eat anything. We're going to stop by Subway on the way there. The movie starts at 2:30, so we'll have an hour and a half to eat, get there, buy tickets and snacks, and get seated. Don't worry about it." I said, also getting up.
I looked in the mirror to see my hair a mess. I took out the braids I had done earlier and redid them. I turned to see Malfoy standing there, watching me.
"What?" I asked, a little exasperated.
"Nothing." He said, shaking his head as he turned and walked out the door.
"Um...ok..." I said, turning back to the mirror and straightening my shirt.
When I was done there, I walked down the hall, down the stairs, and walked across the kitchen to the family room. I jumped over the back side of the couch and plopped down on the cushions. I grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V.
"Let's see...news, news, news, soap, history, soap, cartoon, cartoon, hm...is this Spongebob?" I asked myself, looking at the crab that looked like Mr. Crabs. "Well, I may as well watch this." I said, setting the remote down on the coffee table.
I lay there for a little while, glancing at the clock every once in a while, until it got to be five minutes to one. I then got up, turned off the T.V., walked up the stairs, walked to the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. After that, I walked back down stairs and grabbed my boots. It was, after all, snowing outside.
"Malfoy! You better be ready in a few minutes! They'll be here any minute!" I called up the stairs.
I heard a muffled "OK!" and guessed that he was brushing his teeth.
I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick note to my parents and our aunts saying that we'd gone to a movie and would eat at Bogart's after. I ended it with saying that we'd be back around 7-8:00. I set down the pen and ripped the note off the notepad.
Ding- Dong!
I walked to the door,
Unlocked it,
Opened it,
And let the chilled people standing outside in.
"Hey, guys! Ready for a good movie?" I asked, looking at the two people, shivering slightly.
"Yup! Where's the other thug?" Abi asked, looking into the den to see if he was sitting there.
"He's just upstairs brushing his teeth. He'll be down in a minute. How much does a movie cost?" I asked, making sure I had enough money in my purse.
"Well, since it's a matinee, only $5.00 each. But popcorn and pop'll make it about $10.00 total. Then there's Subway. That'll be about $5.00 each. And Bogart's prices are the same. We'll split it evenly. Sound good?" Andi said, taking off his beanie and gloves.
"Yup, sounds great. Urgh! Where is that Ferret?" I asked no one in particular.
"Ferret? You mean Dra? Or did you get a pet that we don't know about?" Abi asked, curious.
"She means me." Draco said, walking down the stairs, clad in boots, gloves, and a coat.
"Don't ask. So, you guys seen this movie yet? Or is it new to all of us?" I asked, changing the subject from my slip-up to the movie at hand.
Abi and Andi didn't ask about the Ferret thing and we chatted happily all the way to the Subway. When we got there, we all ordered and sat down.
"So, how's school going for you guys?" I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich.
"It's long. And dull. I hate Biology! It's retarded! I want to take Chemistry. But no! My counselor seems to always forget me when I sign up. Everyone else has gotten in that's applied! But not me! Even Abi's gotten into it and passed with flying colors!" Andi's rave was followed up by a gigantic bite taken from his sandwich.
"Maybe you didn't get in because you have yet to pass Biology. You've gotten straight C- in it for the past year and a half. Maybe if you pulled your grades up to B's, or even C's, you'd get in Chemistry. Plus, Mrs. Moore doesn't like you." Abi said matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean she doesn't like me? I'm always nice to her!" Andi said, angry.
"No, you're not. To her face, yes. But behind her back, no. And she knows what goes on around school. She is, after all, a counselor. That's her job." Abi countered, taking another bite of her half-gone sandwich.
"O...oh..." Andi said, looking like Christmas Vacation was cancelled.
"So..."I said uncomfortably. I wasn't used to Andi blowing up after one thing being said. He was kind of reminding me of Ron...
"So, Mimi, Dra, do you guys know each other from anywhere else besides your aunts live together? Do you go to the same school? Because I know you're both British. I can tell by the accent." Abi said, starting up conversation again.
"Um...yea. We go to the same school. Though we're not exactly known for hanging out with each other." I said, hoping they'd just leave it at that.
No such luck.
"Oh, really? Because you seem to be getting along pretty well right now. What's keeping you guys from hanging out all the time?" Andi asked, now done with his sandwich.
"We...just don't hang out with the same people. And our friends don't get along very well." Dra-MALFOY!!! I MEANT MALFOY!!!!!- said, finishing his sandwich, too.
"And why not? You're both pretty bearable. I'm sure both of your friends are pretty bearable, also. What's keeping you guys from being friends?" Abi asked, also finishing her sandwich.
"They just don't want to be friends. And this is one of the first times he's been civil to me all my life. And that's because of a truce we called. That's pretty much why we aren't at each other's throats all the time." I said, taking my last bite and checking my watch. "We'd better get going. It's 1:45 right now. That gives us forty-five minutes to get to the theater, buy tickets and snacks, and get seats. You all ready to go?" I asked, getting up out of my chair.
There was a chorus of "Yup." around the table, and we all got up, threw our trash out, and walked out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
We finished eating our sandwiches and walked out the door. The town was smaller than I thought it was. We could've probably made it to the theater in ten minutes from here if Abi wasn't on crutches.
I'm guessing that the building that says "The Fellowship of the Ring" on it is the one we're going to. That is, after all, the "movie" we're going to see. I'm still a little skeptical about this whole movie thing. I mean, what the hell is a movie? I understand T.V. and home videos, but a movie? Shown in a big theater? Sounds like it isn't very safe. After all, you never know what muggles may do when you get them all together.
After we walked for about twenty minutes, chatting casually about this and that, we crossed the street to the building that I had suspected was the theater.
It was sandwiched between a store and a restaurant. It had a big vertical sign that read "ROMAN" in big, red and white letters. Before the doors, there was a little four foot by four foot box that had a sign reading, "Children 12 and under $5.00, Adults $5.00 matinees or $7.50 evening showings."(A/N: I'm not making this up. This theater really does exist and really does look like that.)
"Money, please." Abi said, holding out her hand to us. I looked at Her- Granger as I took out a little piece of leather holding some muggle money that Aunt Beth had called a wallet. Granger, getting what I was asking, took my wallet and took out a couple of pieces of paper (I still don't see how a little piece of paper could be of value) and handed them over to Abi, along with her fair share.
Abi, who was paying for the tickets, didn't have time to question the favor that Granger just did for me. Andi, however, had to ask.
"What was that all about?" He asked, turning to us.
Granger, who must've expected someone to ask that very question, had an answer to his question.
"He's never been to the States. He's been having some troubles with the money and been asking me for help so much that I already know what he's asking for before he asks it." Granger said as she accepted the ticket Abi had just given her.
"Um...ok..." Andi said. I think he was trying to make himself believe the lie. This, I was glad for.
We walked past the ticket box and through the doors behind it. (A/N: Ok...I've never actually been in the theater, so the inside is totally made up. The only thing I'm even remotely sure of is that there's only one theater. So, if you've been there, please don't yell at me, because I'm just imagining what it'd look like.) I could've sworn we had aparated to the Gryffindor Common Room.
The room was clad in red velvet. The wood paneled floor was covered in a large red rug. The walls were a rich, dark wood covered with red velvet curtains in certain places along the wall. The only windows were on the doors that we came through to get in. There were two couches and two chairs on the right side of the room, all red velvet, and two coffee tables, the same type of wood as the walls and floor. To the right was a bar (the same type of wood as the floor and walls) with a few people standing behind it talking. There was an assortment of candies and drinks behind the counter, and what appeared to be a machine that made that popcorn stuff that Abi and Andi were eating last night. Directly in front of us were a couple doors (of the same wood, yet again) that must've lead to the theater.
We walked up to the bar and Andi ordered some snacks for Abi and himself. They walked across the room to the chairs and two couches and sat down. Then Granger walked up to the counter.
"Um..." She started. "I would like a medium Dr. Pepper, some Sour Jacks, and a medium popcorn." She told the guy standing at the counter.
He got the things she asked for and punched a couple of buttons on a little machine.
"Will that be all, miss?" he asked Granger.
"Um..." She said, turning to me.
"Do you want anything?" She asked.
"Um...I would like a drink. Whatever you're having." I said, hoping what she was having was good.
"Ok. Make that two medium Dr. Peppers." She told the guy. He got another drink and punched another couple of buttons.
"Is that everything?" The guy asked again.
"Yes, that'll be it." She said, getting out her purse.
"That'll be $9.75 please." The guy said.
Granger pulled out some more pieces of paper and a couple of coins (which didn't look of much value, either.) and gave them to the guy.
"And may I please see your ticket?" That guy asked. Her-Granger showed him our tickets and he let us go join Abi and Andi.
We all walked up to the door and went in.
The room was filled with chairs (all clad, yet again, in red). There was only one aisle that lead right down the center of the room. There were about 50 or 60 chairs in the whole room. At the front of the room, and where all the chairs were facing, there were solid pictures playing on the screen. Then said things like, "Thank you for turning off your pagers, beepers, and cell phones." (Whatever that means) and, "Thirsty? Get a drink from our snack bar." The walls were covered with red velvet curtains, and there were little lights along the aisle possibly for when the showing starts (Or maybe the muggles need a little help knowing where the aisle is.)
We all walked right up to the front row so that Abi would be able to get in easily. As it turned out, Abi got the aisle seat, Granger sat next to her, I sat next to Granger, and Andi sat next to me. I still don't know how I ended up next to Granger, but oh well. I doubt we'll be talking during the movie anyway.
We were the only ones in the theater.
Granger checked her watch and said, "It should be starting any minute now."
As she said this, the lights started to dim and the screen started to get moving pictures on it. And the amazing part was that it had sound! It was like real life! Only...not?
As we sat there in the dark room, Andi turned to me.
"You like Mimi, don't you?" he whispered to me so that Abi and Granger couldn't hear.
"What?" I asked, turning to face him, not believing he had just asked me that. "No. I don't." I told him, turning back to the screen.
"Oh. I see." He said. If it'd been any lighter in the room, I would have looked to see if he was smiling. Which he probably was. I don't know why, but I heard a hint of a smile in his voice. Maybe it was because he liked Granger himself. Or maybe he thought I was in denial. Well, whatever it was, he was smiling.
I sat there in silence for the rest of the movie.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
After we sat down, I checked my watch.
"It should be starting any minute now." I said.
The lights started dimming in the same way remember as I said that.
The commercials started it off as always. Abi turned to me and asked me the one question that I thought she'd never ask.
"Do you like Dra?"
"Excuse me?" I asked, not believing my ears.
"I asked you if you like Dra." Abi said plainly.
"Hell no!" I exclaimed as quietly as I could. "I told you he was a jerk last night! Why would I do a 180 in twenty-four hours?" I asked, looking at her as if she was insane, which it was sounding like ti with every word she said.
"Right." She said. She was smiling. I couldn't see it because the screen went darker, but I could hear it in her voice. She was smiling. I just don't know why. Maybe she likes Malfoy. Ew! Gross! How could I even think that she thought that? It must be something else. Besides, it wasn't a 'I'm happy that you don't like him' smile. No, she would have sounded more content. This sounded more...knowing? Maybe she thinks I'm in denial. I don't know. Hey! The movie's starting! Something to get my mind off these confusing thoughts! Yay!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(3-4 hours later)
The lights came back on as the movie ended. I turned to Abi and asked, "You up for some of Bogart's Weirdo Specialty? Or do they still have the recipe? Please, please, please, please, please tell me they still have the recipe!" I said, turning from Abi to Andi and Malfoy, and back again.
"Last I checked, they still had the recipe. But Mandi works there, so I try to steer clear of that place when she's working." Abi said, easing herself up our of the chair.
"Is she working today?" I asked, eager for some of our special pizza.
"Well...I couldn't get a hold of her planner this week, so I don't really know. But I do know that she usually doesn't work more than two or three times a week starting Tuesday, and she already worked Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, so I doubt she'll be there. And if she is, we'll just hope she's not our waitress." Andi said, also getting up.
We all walked out of the theater into the chilly night. It had gotten dark only a couple of minutes ago, judging by the light on the horizon. We made our way to Bogart's, which was only a block or so down on the other side of the street.
As we walked into the warm parlor, we saw that it wasn't very busy at all for a Sunday night at 6:00. People were all probably getting a good night's rest tonight, because most people had work or school (or both) the next day.
The walls in the pizza parlor were covered in pictures of Bogart himself. There was a bar on the right side of the room, some booths lining the left wall, and some tables and chairs in between the two.
"Abi! Andi! How are you two doing tonight?" A short girl with bleached brown hair and freckles said, coming up to the podium that had a stack of menus and a waiting list (which was pretty much empty at the moment).
"Oh, we're fine, Mandi." Abi said stiffly.
"That's great! And who are your charming friends?" She asked in a fake happy voice. She turned to look at Malfoy and I. There was nothing wrong with looking at us, but the wrong thing was that Mandi winked at Malfoy. I shivered slightly at this.
Since no one seemed to want to introduce Malfoy and I, I spoke up.
"What? You don't remember me, Mandi? Because *I* remember *you*!" I said in an extremely preppy way.
"Excuse me? We've met? I don't think so. I would've remembered you." Mandi said to me, but her eyes only flashed to me once before they returned to staring at Malfoy. I shivered once again at this.
"Oh, we met a while back. Say, nine or ten years ago?" I said, trying to trigger a memory.
"Nope. I havn't even the foggiest idea of who you are." Mandi said, now turning to me and fixing her penetrating gaze on me.
"Oh. Well, that's just too bad. We'd like a table for four. And, if it'd be all right, we'll order right now. We'd like the Bogart's Weirdo Specialty, please. Heavy on the cheese. And we'd like a pitcher of Dr. Pepper, also." I told her as she wrote it all down.
"Right this way, please." She said, setting the menus she had grabbed down and leading us to a booth in the far corner.
"Your order will be out shortly." Mandi said curtly to me.
I stuck my tongue out at her back as she walked away.
We sat down in the booth. I ended up by Malfoy again, but he got the aisle seat. Andi was across from me and Abi was across from Malfoy.
"Wow, Mimi! You actually shut her up, got us to a table, and ordered without once giving your name. I'm impressed. You may have some potential for one of my other classes." Andi said to me.
Mandi returned then with a pitcher full of Dr. Pepper and four glasses.
"Enjoy." She said curtly before leaving.
"Well! Who pissed on her pizza this fine evening?" I asked no one in particular.
"I think you did, Granger." Malfoy said out of the blue.
"Who, me? No! I think it may have been the fact that you didn't introduce yourself the minute you saw her." I said as I looked at him. He'd hardly talked all night.
"I think it was Mimi here dismissing her like she wasn't anything but another person, which she isn't. That and the fact that Draco here didn't have any reaction to her shamelessly flirting with him. I think the combination was what got her pissed." Andi said, pouring a glass of Dr. Pepper for himself.
"I think you're right. Man, she hasn't changed a bit. Still short, annoying, and artificial. I thought she might grow out of that!" I said, also pouring myself a drink.
"Well, not everyone changes." Abi said, pouring herself a drink, also.
"We sat there drinking and chatting for about ten to fifteen minutes. By that time we had all gotten a little hungry, so when Mandi came by with our pizza, we all wanted a piece.
There's quite a story behind the Bogart's Weirdo Specialty. (A/N: I made the whole weirdo specialty thing up. Don't try to go to Bogart's and order one, because they don't exist.) In fact, Abi, Andi, and I are the creators of it. And, we were the only one's who were ever brave enough to try it. It has a little bit of everything at the Bogart's Pizza Parlor. They even have pieces of bread sticks and nachos on them. And, the great thing is, it's delicious. (A/N: Again, I just made this up, so I'm not even sure if this'd taste good, so if you try it and don't like it, please don't sue me!) It even has it's own size, large. You can't get it any other size, because if you try it, you'll probably want more than a small or medium.
Good thing Malfoy has never had pizza before, because he'd probably never have tried this pizza otherwise. But, he loved it. I'm totally amazed at this.
We spent the next fifteen to twenty minutes talking and enjoying our pizza. Boy, was I glad we did this tonight. I needed some good Bogart's pizza.
When we were done eating, Mandi returned with our check. We split it evenly and left minutes after we got the receipt.
As we walked out, Andi and I grabbed flashlights out of our jackets. I had figured we'd be out past dark, so I had grabbed a flashlight from under the kitchen sink before we left. I was really glad for it now.
We walked in silence for a while, just savoring the silence. We hadn't shut up at all since the movie, which was almost an hour ago. Then, Malfoy started laughing quietly to himself.
"What're you laughing at?" Andi said, standing still for a second, switching places with me. I had been placed next to Malfoy once again when we came out. Now I was walking next to Abi.
"So...why did you ask me if I like Malfoy back at the theater?" I asked when we had gotten a little ahead of the guys.
"Well, I just thought you two would make a cute couple. But you shot the idea down so fast I wouldn't risk binging up the subject again." Abi said, watching the ground to make sure she wasn't going to set her crutch in a crack.
"How would we make a cute couple?" I asked, confused.
"I dunno. You just look cute together. Plus, last night you two looked so cute together, asleep in each other's arms. And-"
"What do you mean 'asleep in each other's arms'?" I asked, thoroughly confused by now.
"Well, you two fell asleep during the movie. Lord knows how, I mean, Andi was screaming his guts out! But you two still slept soundly. Any way, You must have leant back on his arm at some point in time while Andi and I were gone and not noticed it, because you were resting your head on his shoulder and leaning against his arm. And the best part was, he didn't seem to know what happened, either. He carried you home, you know." Abi said. By this time we had reached the dirt road to our houses.
"Ok. It's official. You're freaking me out!" I told her, casting the flashlight on the ground ahead of us.
"Well, the truth hurts sometimes." Abi said, trying to pick level ground to walk on.
"I don't think that's the truth." I said.
"Believe it." Was all she said. We walked in silence the rest of the way to my house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
Andi dropped back and walked with me.
"So, whatcha laughing about, bro?" He asked me.
"Just at how shallow that girl-Mandi- was at the restaurant. She reminded me of this one girl at school." I told him. She had really reminded me of Pansy. It was almost uncanny.
"Some girl at school got the hotts for you too, Dra?" Andi asked, elbowing me.
"Yea, but she's a real pain in the ass. Her name's Pansy. Boy, is she lame!"
"Yup, I'm already seeing the resemblance." Andi said, smiling to himself.
"You know, I meant what I said back in the movie theater." I told him.
"What? About you and Mimi?" He asked, like it was a surprising news article in the Daily Prophet.
"Yea. I don't like her. And I could tell you didn't believe me then, and I know you don't believe me now. I want to know what made you think I like her." I told him. I wanted to set him straight.
"Well, last night, before Abi and I woke you up, we took a good look at you two, 'asleep in each other's arms' as Abi likes to put it, and thought you would make a pretty cool couple. Plus, I know both of you really well. I mean, *really* well. I mean, if a guy will grunt with me, I know a lot about him pretty quick. Don't ask me why, I just do. You'd make a cool couple, if you'd just give it a shot." He said, looking at the backs of Abi and Granger, about ten yards ahead of us.
"Well, I don't think we're going to give it a shot. Because we can hardly stand each other as it is. I don't think going out will help that at all." I told him, shoving my hands into my coat pockets.
"You seem to be standing each other now. How much harder could it be? I mean she's cool and you're cool. You'd probably like her if you gave her a shot." Andi said.
"We called a truce. Plus, we kind of told our family that we are good friends. So, at home we have to be nice to each other. I don't know how I'm doing it." I said. I was getting tired of this. Why'd I have to bring it up?
"I'm just saying that, should you give it a chance, it'll be great for you. For the both of you." He said.
"Yea? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, we're not going to give it a chance, so could we just drop the subject?" I asked, a little ticked now.
"Yea, sure, pal." He said. A deafening silence followed us all the way home.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
When we arrived at the house, I leant against the garage door and checked my watch. We had about ten minutes until my parents sent out a search party. Perfect.
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys some time this week. Good luck in school. Keep up those grades in Chemistry!" I joked with Abi, just as Andi and Malfoy walked up.
"Again with the Chemistry!" Andi said, grasping the air in front of him and tilting his head up. "Why?" He asked no one in particular.
"We've been over this already!" Abi said, tugging on his coat sleeve. "Come on, Let's go. It's too chilly out to be standing still."
"Ok. We'll go. We'll se you later!" Andi said, turning toward their house.
"Bye!" I said before turning to the key code.
I punched in the numbers and the garage door opened.
We walked into the house and up the stairs, only stopping to tell our families that we were back and were going to bed.
I walked into my room, quickly changed, and collapsed in bed, exhausted.
I fell asleep minutes later.
A/N: Well! That's a long chapter if I ever saw one! Hope you people enjoyed reading! Doncha love my choice of movies? Lol. Well, I'm really tired now. I've gotta go to bed. It's midnight here, and I'm tired. So Good night, and R/R
A/N: Well, after all those reviews, I guess I have to write, don't I? Guess what all! I went to Scotland! Yay! It was screwy, but I loved it all just the same. Well, let's get writing!
Chocolatekisses234: I promise I won't stop.
Sila-chan: Well, I guess your prayers have been answered. A headband is, like, a little thing that covers your ears to keep them warm. No, not like the ones girls wear. A lot of people wear them here in Montana when they go skiing. Ok? Ok. Good.
RussellGrl15: I'm glad you like my perception of Hermione and Draco. Here's more of it.
Oceanguardian: I'm glad you plan to come back and finish it.
Keke: OK!
Elp5089: Ok.
NOYB: love the name...lol. Well, I dunno what'll happen next, to tell you the truth. But if you like it, tell me.
Draco is the man: I'm glad it's such an easy read. Toot-a-loo to you too!
ShortyAlex: *coughs from them choking her* Can't... type... from... lack... of... air...lol. I'll get on it right away.
********************
The Ski Trip
********************
Chapter eight
*********************
To the Movies!!!
*********************
(Hermione P.O.V.)
I woke up on my bed, but I hadn't remembered getting there. I just remembered being over at Abi's with Draco and Andi. We had been watching a movie. I had been sitting next to Draco and Abi and Andi had been munching down on popcorn.
"I must've fallen asleep. Maybe I got up and walked home, but was too tired to remember it. Or maybe Draco carried me home...nah. I doubt he'd even do that if I had begged him on my hands and knees. Well, I'll just have to ask him." I said to my self while I stared at the ceiling.
I looked over at the clock and my eyes widened in surprise.
"OMG! I slept in to 11:30! I wanted to go skiing today! Shit. This is what I get for staying up so late. Must have been the jet lag. Yeah. That sounds right." I mumbled to myself as I gathered my things together and made my way to the bathroom for a shower.
Twenty minutes later I came out dressed in some flared jeans and a green knit shirt over a white tank top and went back to my room carrying my stuff, put it in the hamper, did my hair up in two French braids, and went downstairs for some brunch.
I took a peek in Draco's- I MEAN MALFOY! MALFOY, MALFOY, MALFOY! (A/N: lol. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!) -room. He was awake, judging by the fact that his bed was made and his clothes in the laundry basket.
I continued walking to the kitchen, and ran into him on the spiral staircase that led to it. I probably would have fallen over if it hadn't been for the railing and his arms coming up just to make sure I didn't fall.
"I was just coming to wake you up. You slept pretty late. I was starting to think you died in your sleep." He said, dropping his hands from my shoulders when he knew I was balanced.
"Well, I'm here and I'm hungry. Where're my mom and dad?" I asked, emerging in the kitchen and grabbing a box of cereal and a bowl.
"They went skiing. They left me a note to wake you up if you slept past noon. I probably could've slept that late, but once I'm up, I'm up. So what're we going to do today?" He asked me.
I thought about this as I poured my cereal and milk. I sat down on a chair and started eating when I suggested, "How about we see a movie? I could ask Abi and Andi to come. I don't know what's out, but I might be good. Plus, the theater's really cool. It's pretty old, so it gives you the feeling you're there for those old dinner theatre things. Want do you think of that?" I asked. I had started eating and was already half way through my cereal.
"Um...sure...but what's a movie?" He asked. Honestly! He knows nothing of the muggle world!
"Um...well...I don't really want to explain it. But you'll like it. I promise." I said, finishing my cereal.
"Um...ok..." He said. "Well, I'm going to be in the den. Tell me when you call Abi and Andi and get an answer, ok?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure." I said, getting the phone book.
I found the number and dialed it up.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Sigh.
"I am slowly going crazy. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, switch. Crazy going slowly am I. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, switch. I am slow- Oh! Hi Mr. Isen! How are you?"
"Fine...who's this?" He asked me.
"This is Hermione Granger." I answered, looking all around the room.
"You're back?" He asked, almost in disbelief.
"Yes, I'm back. Anna-Bliss and Drew (A/N: What Andi asks everyone to call him. Only Abi, Hermione, and Draco call him Andi.) didn't tell you?" I asked, also in disbelief.
"Well, when I got home from Mrs. Restat's house last night, she was asleep."
"Oh. Ok." I said, spinning myself up in the phone cord.
"Would you like to speak with her?" He asked.
"Yes, please." I said, unwinding from the cord.
"La, de da, de da..." I said, spinning up in the cord again.
"Hello?" came Abi's voice on the phone.
"Hey, girl! I was thinking-" I began, but was interrupted.
"Oh! Not a good sign, Mimi. Thinking can hurt!" She joked.
"Oh! I know! My brain is hurting already!" I followed this up with some moaning. "There's only one way to fix my brain hurting!" I said, moaning again.
"Oh! Mimi! You're right! We should go see a movie! After all, you may die from the pain that this has caused you!" She said. Then she broke out in laughter, as did I.
"Here, let me go ask." She said.
Silence.
Sigh.
"La, de da, de da...A pickle climbed a tree and ate a gum ball...And started singing with Santa Clause...And-"
"My daddy dearest said we could. Wanna bring the thugs?" She interrupted my insane ramblings.
"Why would I wanna do that?!?" I asked, appalled at the thought. "Just kidding! Yea, let's go! By the way, what's playing?" I asked, curious.
"Oh, just The Fellowship of the Ring. Heard of it? Or has your school completely kept you in isolation from the outside world?" She asked.
"Yea, I've heard of it. I've read it too." I said laughing.
"Great! We'll walk to your house at one. It shows at 2:30. We'll have enough time to stop at Subway and get some sandwiches. Then we can either get some pizza at Bogart's or get something at the Red Boxcar. Sound cool?" She asked.
"Yea sounds great! When do you guys get out of school?" I asked.
"At the end of the week. Then my casts come off five days later. Great, huh?" She said, cheerfully.
"Yup! Well, I gotta go. I'll see you in an hour!" I said, hanging up.
I walked into the den to see what Malfoy was doing, and saw him sitting on the couch staring at the fire, lost in thought.
I walked up to him,
Tapped him on the shoulder,
And ducked behind the couch.
"Huh? What? Granger? Where are you?" He asked, getting up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
I had just been tapped on the shoulder by, obviously, Granger. But, I couldn't see her, so I stood up. I looked over the couch to see her laying on her back staring at the ceiling intently.
I looked at her, confused, and looked at the spot on the ceiling to see if it held any interesting points, causing her to look at it. Big mistake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
He looked up at the ceiling. That was just what I had wanted him to do.
I jumped up, grabbed a pillow from the couch, and hit him with it.
He jumped in surprise at the sudden movement and the blow he had taken to the head.
I clutched my pillow as he grabbed another off the couch.
I ran for my life,
And ended up in my room.
I retreated to my bed, where I covered myself with the pillow as much as I could.
He came in,
Grabbed my pillow that was serving as an extremely poor shield,
And hit me to death with his pillow.
Don't get me wrong,
I did hit back.
But the attempt was futile.
We both ended up, exhausted, on the floor.
I suddenly broke out in laughter.
He just stared at me like I had just grown another head, or something.
I clutched my pillow to my stomach as I laughed.
He just watched me, trying not to join in my laughter.
I looked at him as I gradually stopped laughing.
I sighed, trying to gain enough energy to sit up.
He showed no sign of even moving.
"Uh...Malfoy? You there? Anyone home?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.
"Malfoy? Speak to me, man!" I said, getting up and shaking him gently.
"Houston, we have a problem! We have a man down! Get us out of here!" I said into my hand, like I was saying it into a mike.
He suddenly grabbed the pillow I had recently hugged to my chest and hit me right in the head with it.
"Ok! I surrender!" I said, hands up in the 'surrender' position. "We need to be ready to go to a movie by one. Ok?" I said, leaning against my bed.
"Yea. Sure. So, do you want to explain this movie thing, or does it have to be a surprise?" He asked, putting my pillow on my bed.
"Well, I may as well tell you since you shouldn't look too surprised around Abi and Andi. It's a big screen that shows moving pictures put together into one story. So, it would be like watching a picture in a big room with sound. Get it?" I asked, hoping that he would.
"I...guess..." He said uncertainly.
"You don't, do you?" I said, doubtful.
"No. No I don't. But I guess I won't be too surprised, though. Well, you said we have to be ready by one? Well, it's 12:30 now, so we better get ready to go. I need to brush my teeth and eat." He said, standing up and pushing his hair back with his hand.
"Actually, we don't need to eat anything. We're going to stop by Subway on the way there. The movie starts at 2:30, so we'll have an hour and a half to eat, get there, buy tickets and snacks, and get seated. Don't worry about it." I said, also getting up.
I looked in the mirror to see my hair a mess. I took out the braids I had done earlier and redid them. I turned to see Malfoy standing there, watching me.
"What?" I asked, a little exasperated.
"Nothing." He said, shaking his head as he turned and walked out the door.
"Um...ok..." I said, turning back to the mirror and straightening my shirt.
When I was done there, I walked down the hall, down the stairs, and walked across the kitchen to the family room. I jumped over the back side of the couch and plopped down on the cushions. I grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V.
"Let's see...news, news, news, soap, history, soap, cartoon, cartoon, hm...is this Spongebob?" I asked myself, looking at the crab that looked like Mr. Crabs. "Well, I may as well watch this." I said, setting the remote down on the coffee table.
I lay there for a little while, glancing at the clock every once in a while, until it got to be five minutes to one. I then got up, turned off the T.V., walked up the stairs, walked to the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. After that, I walked back down stairs and grabbed my boots. It was, after all, snowing outside.
"Malfoy! You better be ready in a few minutes! They'll be here any minute!" I called up the stairs.
I heard a muffled "OK!" and guessed that he was brushing his teeth.
I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick note to my parents and our aunts saying that we'd gone to a movie and would eat at Bogart's after. I ended it with saying that we'd be back around 7-8:00. I set down the pen and ripped the note off the notepad.
Ding- Dong!
I walked to the door,
Unlocked it,
Opened it,
And let the chilled people standing outside in.
"Hey, guys! Ready for a good movie?" I asked, looking at the two people, shivering slightly.
"Yup! Where's the other thug?" Abi asked, looking into the den to see if he was sitting there.
"He's just upstairs brushing his teeth. He'll be down in a minute. How much does a movie cost?" I asked, making sure I had enough money in my purse.
"Well, since it's a matinee, only $5.00 each. But popcorn and pop'll make it about $10.00 total. Then there's Subway. That'll be about $5.00 each. And Bogart's prices are the same. We'll split it evenly. Sound good?" Andi said, taking off his beanie and gloves.
"Yup, sounds great. Urgh! Where is that Ferret?" I asked no one in particular.
"Ferret? You mean Dra? Or did you get a pet that we don't know about?" Abi asked, curious.
"She means me." Draco said, walking down the stairs, clad in boots, gloves, and a coat.
"Don't ask. So, you guys seen this movie yet? Or is it new to all of us?" I asked, changing the subject from my slip-up to the movie at hand.
Abi and Andi didn't ask about the Ferret thing and we chatted happily all the way to the Subway. When we got there, we all ordered and sat down.
"So, how's school going for you guys?" I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich.
"It's long. And dull. I hate Biology! It's retarded! I want to take Chemistry. But no! My counselor seems to always forget me when I sign up. Everyone else has gotten in that's applied! But not me! Even Abi's gotten into it and passed with flying colors!" Andi's rave was followed up by a gigantic bite taken from his sandwich.
"Maybe you didn't get in because you have yet to pass Biology. You've gotten straight C- in it for the past year and a half. Maybe if you pulled your grades up to B's, or even C's, you'd get in Chemistry. Plus, Mrs. Moore doesn't like you." Abi said matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean she doesn't like me? I'm always nice to her!" Andi said, angry.
"No, you're not. To her face, yes. But behind her back, no. And she knows what goes on around school. She is, after all, a counselor. That's her job." Abi countered, taking another bite of her half-gone sandwich.
"O...oh..." Andi said, looking like Christmas Vacation was cancelled.
"So..."I said uncomfortably. I wasn't used to Andi blowing up after one thing being said. He was kind of reminding me of Ron...
"So, Mimi, Dra, do you guys know each other from anywhere else besides your aunts live together? Do you go to the same school? Because I know you're both British. I can tell by the accent." Abi said, starting up conversation again.
"Um...yea. We go to the same school. Though we're not exactly known for hanging out with each other." I said, hoping they'd just leave it at that.
No such luck.
"Oh, really? Because you seem to be getting along pretty well right now. What's keeping you guys from hanging out all the time?" Andi asked, now done with his sandwich.
"We...just don't hang out with the same people. And our friends don't get along very well." Dra-MALFOY!!! I MEANT MALFOY!!!!!- said, finishing his sandwich, too.
"And why not? You're both pretty bearable. I'm sure both of your friends are pretty bearable, also. What's keeping you guys from being friends?" Abi asked, also finishing her sandwich.
"They just don't want to be friends. And this is one of the first times he's been civil to me all my life. And that's because of a truce we called. That's pretty much why we aren't at each other's throats all the time." I said, taking my last bite and checking my watch. "We'd better get going. It's 1:45 right now. That gives us forty-five minutes to get to the theater, buy tickets and snacks, and get seats. You all ready to go?" I asked, getting up out of my chair.
There was a chorus of "Yup." around the table, and we all got up, threw our trash out, and walked out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
We finished eating our sandwiches and walked out the door. The town was smaller than I thought it was. We could've probably made it to the theater in ten minutes from here if Abi wasn't on crutches.
I'm guessing that the building that says "The Fellowship of the Ring" on it is the one we're going to. That is, after all, the "movie" we're going to see. I'm still a little skeptical about this whole movie thing. I mean, what the hell is a movie? I understand T.V. and home videos, but a movie? Shown in a big theater? Sounds like it isn't very safe. After all, you never know what muggles may do when you get them all together.
After we walked for about twenty minutes, chatting casually about this and that, we crossed the street to the building that I had suspected was the theater.
It was sandwiched between a store and a restaurant. It had a big vertical sign that read "ROMAN" in big, red and white letters. Before the doors, there was a little four foot by four foot box that had a sign reading, "Children 12 and under $5.00, Adults $5.00 matinees or $7.50 evening showings."(A/N: I'm not making this up. This theater really does exist and really does look like that.)
"Money, please." Abi said, holding out her hand to us. I looked at Her- Granger as I took out a little piece of leather holding some muggle money that Aunt Beth had called a wallet. Granger, getting what I was asking, took my wallet and took out a couple of pieces of paper (I still don't see how a little piece of paper could be of value) and handed them over to Abi, along with her fair share.
Abi, who was paying for the tickets, didn't have time to question the favor that Granger just did for me. Andi, however, had to ask.
"What was that all about?" He asked, turning to us.
Granger, who must've expected someone to ask that very question, had an answer to his question.
"He's never been to the States. He's been having some troubles with the money and been asking me for help so much that I already know what he's asking for before he asks it." Granger said as she accepted the ticket Abi had just given her.
"Um...ok..." Andi said. I think he was trying to make himself believe the lie. This, I was glad for.
We walked past the ticket box and through the doors behind it. (A/N: Ok...I've never actually been in the theater, so the inside is totally made up. The only thing I'm even remotely sure of is that there's only one theater. So, if you've been there, please don't yell at me, because I'm just imagining what it'd look like.) I could've sworn we had aparated to the Gryffindor Common Room.
The room was clad in red velvet. The wood paneled floor was covered in a large red rug. The walls were a rich, dark wood covered with red velvet curtains in certain places along the wall. The only windows were on the doors that we came through to get in. There were two couches and two chairs on the right side of the room, all red velvet, and two coffee tables, the same type of wood as the walls and floor. To the right was a bar (the same type of wood as the floor and walls) with a few people standing behind it talking. There was an assortment of candies and drinks behind the counter, and what appeared to be a machine that made that popcorn stuff that Abi and Andi were eating last night. Directly in front of us were a couple doors (of the same wood, yet again) that must've lead to the theater.
We walked up to the bar and Andi ordered some snacks for Abi and himself. They walked across the room to the chairs and two couches and sat down. Then Granger walked up to the counter.
"Um..." She started. "I would like a medium Dr. Pepper, some Sour Jacks, and a medium popcorn." She told the guy standing at the counter.
He got the things she asked for and punched a couple of buttons on a little machine.
"Will that be all, miss?" he asked Granger.
"Um..." She said, turning to me.
"Do you want anything?" She asked.
"Um...I would like a drink. Whatever you're having." I said, hoping what she was having was good.
"Ok. Make that two medium Dr. Peppers." She told the guy. He got another drink and punched another couple of buttons.
"Is that everything?" The guy asked again.
"Yes, that'll be it." She said, getting out her purse.
"That'll be $9.75 please." The guy said.
Granger pulled out some more pieces of paper and a couple of coins (which didn't look of much value, either.) and gave them to the guy.
"And may I please see your ticket?" That guy asked. Her-Granger showed him our tickets and he let us go join Abi and Andi.
We all walked up to the door and went in.
The room was filled with chairs (all clad, yet again, in red). There was only one aisle that lead right down the center of the room. There were about 50 or 60 chairs in the whole room. At the front of the room, and where all the chairs were facing, there were solid pictures playing on the screen. Then said things like, "Thank you for turning off your pagers, beepers, and cell phones." (Whatever that means) and, "Thirsty? Get a drink from our snack bar." The walls were covered with red velvet curtains, and there were little lights along the aisle possibly for when the showing starts (Or maybe the muggles need a little help knowing where the aisle is.)
We all walked right up to the front row so that Abi would be able to get in easily. As it turned out, Abi got the aisle seat, Granger sat next to her, I sat next to Granger, and Andi sat next to me. I still don't know how I ended up next to Granger, but oh well. I doubt we'll be talking during the movie anyway.
We were the only ones in the theater.
Granger checked her watch and said, "It should be starting any minute now."
As she said this, the lights started to dim and the screen started to get moving pictures on it. And the amazing part was that it had sound! It was like real life! Only...not?
As we sat there in the dark room, Andi turned to me.
"You like Mimi, don't you?" he whispered to me so that Abi and Granger couldn't hear.
"What?" I asked, turning to face him, not believing he had just asked me that. "No. I don't." I told him, turning back to the screen.
"Oh. I see." He said. If it'd been any lighter in the room, I would have looked to see if he was smiling. Which he probably was. I don't know why, but I heard a hint of a smile in his voice. Maybe it was because he liked Granger himself. Or maybe he thought I was in denial. Well, whatever it was, he was smiling.
I sat there in silence for the rest of the movie.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
After we sat down, I checked my watch.
"It should be starting any minute now." I said.
The lights started dimming in the same way remember as I said that.
The commercials started it off as always. Abi turned to me and asked me the one question that I thought she'd never ask.
"Do you like Dra?"
"Excuse me?" I asked, not believing my ears.
"I asked you if you like Dra." Abi said plainly.
"Hell no!" I exclaimed as quietly as I could. "I told you he was a jerk last night! Why would I do a 180 in twenty-four hours?" I asked, looking at her as if she was insane, which it was sounding like ti with every word she said.
"Right." She said. She was smiling. I couldn't see it because the screen went darker, but I could hear it in her voice. She was smiling. I just don't know why. Maybe she likes Malfoy. Ew! Gross! How could I even think that she thought that? It must be something else. Besides, it wasn't a 'I'm happy that you don't like him' smile. No, she would have sounded more content. This sounded more...knowing? Maybe she thinks I'm in denial. I don't know. Hey! The movie's starting! Something to get my mind off these confusing thoughts! Yay!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(3-4 hours later)
The lights came back on as the movie ended. I turned to Abi and asked, "You up for some of Bogart's Weirdo Specialty? Or do they still have the recipe? Please, please, please, please, please tell me they still have the recipe!" I said, turning from Abi to Andi and Malfoy, and back again.
"Last I checked, they still had the recipe. But Mandi works there, so I try to steer clear of that place when she's working." Abi said, easing herself up our of the chair.
"Is she working today?" I asked, eager for some of our special pizza.
"Well...I couldn't get a hold of her planner this week, so I don't really know. But I do know that she usually doesn't work more than two or three times a week starting Tuesday, and she already worked Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, so I doubt she'll be there. And if she is, we'll just hope she's not our waitress." Andi said, also getting up.
We all walked out of the theater into the chilly night. It had gotten dark only a couple of minutes ago, judging by the light on the horizon. We made our way to Bogart's, which was only a block or so down on the other side of the street.
As we walked into the warm parlor, we saw that it wasn't very busy at all for a Sunday night at 6:00. People were all probably getting a good night's rest tonight, because most people had work or school (or both) the next day.
The walls in the pizza parlor were covered in pictures of Bogart himself. There was a bar on the right side of the room, some booths lining the left wall, and some tables and chairs in between the two.
"Abi! Andi! How are you two doing tonight?" A short girl with bleached brown hair and freckles said, coming up to the podium that had a stack of menus and a waiting list (which was pretty much empty at the moment).
"Oh, we're fine, Mandi." Abi said stiffly.
"That's great! And who are your charming friends?" She asked in a fake happy voice. She turned to look at Malfoy and I. There was nothing wrong with looking at us, but the wrong thing was that Mandi winked at Malfoy. I shivered slightly at this.
Since no one seemed to want to introduce Malfoy and I, I spoke up.
"What? You don't remember me, Mandi? Because *I* remember *you*!" I said in an extremely preppy way.
"Excuse me? We've met? I don't think so. I would've remembered you." Mandi said to me, but her eyes only flashed to me once before they returned to staring at Malfoy. I shivered once again at this.
"Oh, we met a while back. Say, nine or ten years ago?" I said, trying to trigger a memory.
"Nope. I havn't even the foggiest idea of who you are." Mandi said, now turning to me and fixing her penetrating gaze on me.
"Oh. Well, that's just too bad. We'd like a table for four. And, if it'd be all right, we'll order right now. We'd like the Bogart's Weirdo Specialty, please. Heavy on the cheese. And we'd like a pitcher of Dr. Pepper, also." I told her as she wrote it all down.
"Right this way, please." She said, setting the menus she had grabbed down and leading us to a booth in the far corner.
"Your order will be out shortly." Mandi said curtly to me.
I stuck my tongue out at her back as she walked away.
We sat down in the booth. I ended up by Malfoy again, but he got the aisle seat. Andi was across from me and Abi was across from Malfoy.
"Wow, Mimi! You actually shut her up, got us to a table, and ordered without once giving your name. I'm impressed. You may have some potential for one of my other classes." Andi said to me.
Mandi returned then with a pitcher full of Dr. Pepper and four glasses.
"Enjoy." She said curtly before leaving.
"Well! Who pissed on her pizza this fine evening?" I asked no one in particular.
"I think you did, Granger." Malfoy said out of the blue.
"Who, me? No! I think it may have been the fact that you didn't introduce yourself the minute you saw her." I said as I looked at him. He'd hardly talked all night.
"I think it was Mimi here dismissing her like she wasn't anything but another person, which she isn't. That and the fact that Draco here didn't have any reaction to her shamelessly flirting with him. I think the combination was what got her pissed." Andi said, pouring a glass of Dr. Pepper for himself.
"I think you're right. Man, she hasn't changed a bit. Still short, annoying, and artificial. I thought she might grow out of that!" I said, also pouring myself a drink.
"Well, not everyone changes." Abi said, pouring herself a drink, also.
"We sat there drinking and chatting for about ten to fifteen minutes. By that time we had all gotten a little hungry, so when Mandi came by with our pizza, we all wanted a piece.
There's quite a story behind the Bogart's Weirdo Specialty. (A/N: I made the whole weirdo specialty thing up. Don't try to go to Bogart's and order one, because they don't exist.) In fact, Abi, Andi, and I are the creators of it. And, we were the only one's who were ever brave enough to try it. It has a little bit of everything at the Bogart's Pizza Parlor. They even have pieces of bread sticks and nachos on them. And, the great thing is, it's delicious. (A/N: Again, I just made this up, so I'm not even sure if this'd taste good, so if you try it and don't like it, please don't sue me!) It even has it's own size, large. You can't get it any other size, because if you try it, you'll probably want more than a small or medium.
Good thing Malfoy has never had pizza before, because he'd probably never have tried this pizza otherwise. But, he loved it. I'm totally amazed at this.
We spent the next fifteen to twenty minutes talking and enjoying our pizza. Boy, was I glad we did this tonight. I needed some good Bogart's pizza.
When we were done eating, Mandi returned with our check. We split it evenly and left minutes after we got the receipt.
As we walked out, Andi and I grabbed flashlights out of our jackets. I had figured we'd be out past dark, so I had grabbed a flashlight from under the kitchen sink before we left. I was really glad for it now.
We walked in silence for a while, just savoring the silence. We hadn't shut up at all since the movie, which was almost an hour ago. Then, Malfoy started laughing quietly to himself.
"What're you laughing at?" Andi said, standing still for a second, switching places with me. I had been placed next to Malfoy once again when we came out. Now I was walking next to Abi.
"So...why did you ask me if I like Malfoy back at the theater?" I asked when we had gotten a little ahead of the guys.
"Well, I just thought you two would make a cute couple. But you shot the idea down so fast I wouldn't risk binging up the subject again." Abi said, watching the ground to make sure she wasn't going to set her crutch in a crack.
"How would we make a cute couple?" I asked, confused.
"I dunno. You just look cute together. Plus, last night you two looked so cute together, asleep in each other's arms. And-"
"What do you mean 'asleep in each other's arms'?" I asked, thoroughly confused by now.
"Well, you two fell asleep during the movie. Lord knows how, I mean, Andi was screaming his guts out! But you two still slept soundly. Any way, You must have leant back on his arm at some point in time while Andi and I were gone and not noticed it, because you were resting your head on his shoulder and leaning against his arm. And the best part was, he didn't seem to know what happened, either. He carried you home, you know." Abi said. By this time we had reached the dirt road to our houses.
"Ok. It's official. You're freaking me out!" I told her, casting the flashlight on the ground ahead of us.
"Well, the truth hurts sometimes." Abi said, trying to pick level ground to walk on.
"I don't think that's the truth." I said.
"Believe it." Was all she said. We walked in silence the rest of the way to my house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
Andi dropped back and walked with me.
"So, whatcha laughing about, bro?" He asked me.
"Just at how shallow that girl-Mandi- was at the restaurant. She reminded me of this one girl at school." I told him. She had really reminded me of Pansy. It was almost uncanny.
"Some girl at school got the hotts for you too, Dra?" Andi asked, elbowing me.
"Yea, but she's a real pain in the ass. Her name's Pansy. Boy, is she lame!"
"Yup, I'm already seeing the resemblance." Andi said, smiling to himself.
"You know, I meant what I said back in the movie theater." I told him.
"What? About you and Mimi?" He asked, like it was a surprising news article in the Daily Prophet.
"Yea. I don't like her. And I could tell you didn't believe me then, and I know you don't believe me now. I want to know what made you think I like her." I told him. I wanted to set him straight.
"Well, last night, before Abi and I woke you up, we took a good look at you two, 'asleep in each other's arms' as Abi likes to put it, and thought you would make a pretty cool couple. Plus, I know both of you really well. I mean, *really* well. I mean, if a guy will grunt with me, I know a lot about him pretty quick. Don't ask me why, I just do. You'd make a cool couple, if you'd just give it a shot." He said, looking at the backs of Abi and Granger, about ten yards ahead of us.
"Well, I don't think we're going to give it a shot. Because we can hardly stand each other as it is. I don't think going out will help that at all." I told him, shoving my hands into my coat pockets.
"You seem to be standing each other now. How much harder could it be? I mean she's cool and you're cool. You'd probably like her if you gave her a shot." Andi said.
"We called a truce. Plus, we kind of told our family that we are good friends. So, at home we have to be nice to each other. I don't know how I'm doing it." I said. I was getting tired of this. Why'd I have to bring it up?
"I'm just saying that, should you give it a chance, it'll be great for you. For the both of you." He said.
"Yea? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, we're not going to give it a chance, so could we just drop the subject?" I asked, a little ticked now.
"Yea, sure, pal." He said. A deafening silence followed us all the way home.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
When we arrived at the house, I leant against the garage door and checked my watch. We had about ten minutes until my parents sent out a search party. Perfect.
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys some time this week. Good luck in school. Keep up those grades in Chemistry!" I joked with Abi, just as Andi and Malfoy walked up.
"Again with the Chemistry!" Andi said, grasping the air in front of him and tilting his head up. "Why?" He asked no one in particular.
"We've been over this already!" Abi said, tugging on his coat sleeve. "Come on, Let's go. It's too chilly out to be standing still."
"Ok. We'll go. We'll se you later!" Andi said, turning toward their house.
"Bye!" I said before turning to the key code.
I punched in the numbers and the garage door opened.
We walked into the house and up the stairs, only stopping to tell our families that we were back and were going to bed.
I walked into my room, quickly changed, and collapsed in bed, exhausted.
I fell asleep minutes later.
A/N: Well! That's a long chapter if I ever saw one! Hope you people enjoyed reading! Doncha love my choice of movies? Lol. Well, I'm really tired now. I've gotta go to bed. It's midnight here, and I'm tired. So Good night, and R/R