Quick Note: Sorry took too long!!!! Wouldn't happen again if I could help it! Just realized that when internet is taken away from you, you seem to need it more. Gaaaah!!!! Next chapter would be the actual competition… Oooh! I'm so excited!!! Yippeee!!!!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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Chapter 4: The Trip

"Where in Merlin's name is he?" screamed Hermione pacing back and forth in the middle of her living room. She frantically glanced at her grandfather's clock and stomped her foot.

It was already 9:15 am and Draco was nowhere to be found. Hermione tried to contact him in the Malfoy Manor and owl him but still no answer. She was getting worried and was on the verge of tearing her hair out when suddenly, she heard a crash in her fireplace. Hermione rushed to the source of the sound and found Draco sprawled on the floor with 7 big luggages.

"Goodness Malfoy! Where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for ages!" said Hermione in one breath, her hands on her hips.

"I know I'm behind schedule! Live with it! I realized too late that I can't apparate with so many luggages! Merlin knows where the hell I've been!" Draco stood up and straightened his bags.

"What is all these?" questioned Hermione motioning at the bags at Draco's feet. She quickly turned around and walked across the room picking up her stroller and shoulder bag. "It's only two weeks!" Hermione grabbed 3 of Draco's bags which were extremely light for their size, made her way to the fireplace and continued "Well, come on, what are you standing there for? We're going to be late!"

Draco stood rooted at his spot dumbstruck. He didn't know Hermione was such a control freak. "Won't we take the muggle things you ride on, Abs they are called right?"

"Surely Malfoy! Do you really think that we can take a CAB with all these luggage without being late?" Hermione entered the large fireplace and looked straight at Draco. "Well, squeeze in,"

Noticing a protest forming on Draco's mouth, she continued "And don't you 'But Granger' or Mudblood me. There's this place I know, a 5 minute walk from the airport. No one lives there anymore. We could floo there with no problems."

Draco closed his mouth and crammed himself in the fireplace obediently. In moments, he found himself being enveloped in green light, nausea overcoming him. He was swirling and swirling until they reached a ransacked place without any people. Exactly as Hermione described.

"Ewww!" shrieked Draco.

Hermione raised her eyebrows and turned slowly to Draco. The anger in her eyes diminished as she caught sight of him and she suddenly burst out laughing. She transfigured 2 scuttling black rats into bag carts and started stacking Draco's bags into the carts.

"Scared of rats Malfoy?" said Hermione teasingly. "Funny. I could swear ferrets were related to rats in some way!"

She grabbed one of the pushcarts and turned toward the door. Draco, taking the other pushcart that Hermione shoved at him only scowled at her and refused to move. "Get a grip Malfoy, I was only joking!"

Hermione made her way out of the dilapidated apartment and glanced behind her. Draco, terrified of rats was kicking the things away. He practically ran towards the door and quickly closed the door behind him.

Draco and Hermione arrived at the England International Airport 25 minutes before 10 am. They handed in their tickets and took their boarding passes. Draco insisted on sitting by the window reasoning that he needed to see the clouds.

As they waited for their plane to start boarding, Draco took out a book from one of his bags and started reading. Hermione noticed that it was titled Potions for Terminal Illnesses. Pushing it out of her mind, she pulled out her own book and started reading herself.

The trip to Andalucia, Spain was peaceful and quiet. Draco was keeping to himself and Hermione was more than happy he was doing so. She decided they would just discuss the more important parts of the Reality Show when they get to their destination.

All of a sudden, a voice came out from an overhead speaker. "Attention all passengers, since we have one hour more until we reach Andalucia, we would like to conduct a small game to kill some time. For a prize, we are giving 3 of these hand painted shirts. The game is easy, I am going to ask 3 questions, and the first person who gets the right answer for each question will win."

Hermione straightened up in her seat. She was determined to win one of those hand painted t-shirts. It had intricate designs and perfect for the beach.

"Okay, since all of you are tourists visiting Andalucia, tell me 3 things that Andalucia is famous for."

Hermione quickly raised her hands forcing the flight attendant to come near her.

"Granger, I'm surprised! Do you really fancy that cheap t-shirt?" said Draco not looking up from his book.

Hermione slowly lowered her hand and glared at Draco. "You know what, you should really get a life."

"Oh please Granger, I – ,"

"You should really stop calling me Granger you know, how can we pass as a couple if you keep calling me by my family name?" whispered Hermione cutting Draco off. "At least call me by my first name."

Draco lowered his book and glared at Hermione. "How bout you just call me Malfoy and I just call you Granger. It's much more comfortable that way."

"How bout I just call you git or ferret-face," fumed Hermione angrily. "it's no use talking to you, you're so stubborn! Even more than Harry and Ron!"

As Hermione said that, she heard loud clapping and the stewardess congratulating a certain Harry in the airplane. What a weird coincidence! Hermione suddenly heard a giggle that sounded just like Ginny's. She shook her head, she was really losing it. Hermione decided she had to contact her friends soon. It's been a long time since she heard from them! They may be a pain sometimes, but they definitely were a lot better than Draco Malfoy!

"No need to compare me with them," said Draco raising his hand in mock defeat. "at least I'm not a mudblood!"

"Whatever!" Hermione lifted her hand to give Draco a good slap in the face but instinctively voted against it. No need for violence, she thought. After all, there was a lot of time to do that in the next 2 weeks.

The rest of the flight to Andalucia, Spain was without any incident. Draco concentrated on his book and Hermione did the same too.

They met the said Threshold Representatives in the airport and showed them their respective identification cards. In an hour and a half, Draco and Hermione found themselves standing in front of a majestic hotel that had a huge fountain with cherubims and seraphims pushing water out of their mouths.

Hermione then proceeded to the Front Desk of the hotel and said the password as stated in their letter. Draco however, stood rooted near the front doors filled with awe.

In minutes, a bellboy reached for their bags and led Hermione to their room. Hermione had to shout Draco's name for him to get out of his silly trance.

As they reached Room 837, Hermione muttered her thanks to the bellboy and gave him his tip. She quietly closed the door behind her and found Draco sitting quietly at the edge of the bed. Hermione approached the bed and sat down. This day has been really hectic!

Draco and Hermione simultaneously lied down not minding each other, too tired to even think, or eat.

The 2 slept peacefully savoring the softness of their mattress and dreaming wonderful things. Hermione was dreaming she was battling an evil death eater while Draco was dreaming he was an international Quidditch player. Both had smiles on their faces, cuddling their cheeks against their pillows. Little did they know, those dreams would be rudely interrupted in the morning by each other's screams.

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Special thanks to Darkening Sky, Hime Shinidama no Megami and RikkuFinal Fantasy for reviewing. I appreciate it so much.