A/N: HAHA! I think this is a new record. Took me a day to post this! Everyone should be proud of me and review! REVIEW I SAY!

Chapter 12

Delaying the Storm

I gripped Hermione's hand tightly as the plane lifted off. The airport had made me dizzy, the crowds were confusing and this trip was going to make me sick. I could already feel it. However, I put on a brave face for her sake and clutched my wand, out of sight, in my other hand.

"You will be alright, Draco. Just…breathe," she advised. I just looked at her. Breathe? When all that held us in the air was a great big metal tube with immobile wings? I was lucky to still be conscious.

Once we leveled out, I released my hold on her and she settled back, reaching down in her bag to retrieve some book of hers. I lay against the headrest, tilting my head to watch the clouds outside. Despite the crowds of Muggles sitting around me, it was rather soothing. The noise of the engines was at a dull, calming roar and motion of the plane was not at all how I expected it to be. It actually gave me time to think, which was rare in those days. But I wished that I didn't get the free time then. All that was on my mind was the note from my father. The three sentences reverberated in my mind, refusing to let me forget. I hated the silence then. I wanted noise, lots of confusion to keep those thoughts from surfacing anymore.

"Hermione?" I muttered, turning my eyes from the window. She finished reading the sentence she was on before looking over to me.

"You alright?" she asked, seeing my pained expression. I struggled to regain my composure.

"Yes…I'm fine. Just…bored, I suppose. Do you have those…er…" I struggled to remember the word and gave up, pointing to my ears. She smiled and me and nodded, bringing out the headphones with its eternally long wire and round box that held the thin cylinders. I knew one of those cylinders would bring my much needed relief from the heavy silence. I slipped them over my ears like she showed me and held out the box for her to operate. These Muggles and their contraptions. She fiddled with it and then set it back in my lap. The music started to play and I raised a brow. Bach... However, it helped the silence, and that's all I needed it for. I focused on the ups and downs of the notes and pitches. The rests, the pauses that came so easily sometimes and were so abrupt in others helped push other thoughts away. The changing moods of each piece followed a certain pattern and soon I learned the pattern and predicted which note would follow in what order. I made it into a game, forcing my mind into doing something other than think about what should have been left alone.

Halfway through my fifth round of the music, it simply stopped. I narrowed my eyes a little and took the headphones off of my ears. Staring blankly at the machine in my lap, I tried to figure out why it wouldn't play anymore. No matter what buttons I pushed, it remained blank. Frustrated, I looked to Hermione to fix it. She was already staring at me, a questioning look in her eyes. She gently reached over to take the damned machine and flipped it over, revealing a small panel I hadn't noticed before. Opening it, she took two small cylinders from it. Batteries. Ah yes…I could remember those…

"What's wrong, Draco? And don't tell me it's just the plane…" she said as she dug in her bag for new ones.

"What do you mean? I'm fine…" I answered her, looking out the window. I don't know why I didn't tell her about the note before. I didn't want to scare her, I suppose, though that was irrational. Hermione had been afraid for much of her life and most of that fear didn't come from me and my problems. I just wanted to protect her from fear and make her relaxed and happy for a while. For the rest of her life. But it didn't seem to be working out that way.

"Don't lie to me, Draco Malfoy. You never listen to Bach ten times in a row when you're feeling 'fine.'" Damn, I thought, she's outwitted me yet again. I forced out a laugh and gave her the best answer I could think of.

"I'll tell you later…"

She grumbled a response and handed me the contraption back, replacing the cylinder inside with Beethoven. Wonderful…

It took me until we landed to learn his pattern as well. And by then, I was too excited about getting off the plane and starting our honeymoon to worry.