Symbiosis 10

Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews last chapter! And no, this is not a Draco/Hermoine romance. They're just friends in this story. OK?

Soaked to the skin, Draco sat in the front of the log dumbfounded. He glanced down at his wet clothes. "I'm wet…"

Hermoine giggled. "It's a water ride! What did you expect?"

"I didn't expect to get soaked!" Draco complained as he crawled out of the log onto the solid platform. His shoes squished noisily with each step and he could feel water moving between his toes. A scowl on his pointed face, he shoved his dripping bangs out of his gray eyes. Stupid Granger, dragging him onto a ride like that! What had she been thinking? Did she think it was fun to walk around all day in wet clothes? Worst, he couldn't even use his wand to dry himself! Why, he had been forced to leave his wand at home. His frown deepening, he stomped down the wooden Muggle path that led away from the ride. He could hear the others following him and he paused on the wooden ramp that led back to the busy avenue. Turning, he was surprised to see that most of the others looked relatively dry. His gray eyes narrowed suspiciously as he scrutinized them all. Harry's dark hair was wet in places but it was starting to dry already. He also had a wet patch on the front of his T-shirt. And both of his parents were dry as far as he could tell, as was Lupin. Then his eyes shifted to Hermoine. She was a little wet; bits of her bushy hair weighed down with water. It was very clear that he was the only one dripping. Looking back the way he had come, he could even see the wet footprints he had left on the wooden walkway. His gaze was still locked on Hermoine. "You knew this was going to happen! How come you're not soaked?"

"Because I ducked?" She admitted sheepishly. "But you'll dry off soon enough! It's a really nice day."

Hmmm…. His craft Slytherin mind wrapped itself around the problem and he came up with a solution. A crooked grin appeared on his face and he patted Harry on his shoulder. "Potter, next time you can sit up front!"

"Scared of a little water, are you?" Harry asked as he shoved his wet hair out of his eyes. He was secretly thankful that he hadn't been sitting up in the front or he'd be the one soaked now. His green eyes blazed into Draco's gray ones, challenging him. He still wasn't used to this friendship thing between them. It was just too odd! How could Remus expect him to go and live with the Malfoys? It was crazy! But challenging Draco with words was familiar and brought him back to solid ground.

"Of course I'm not scared of water, Potter!" Draco instantly replied as he accepted the other's challenge. "I'm not a baby!"

Hermoine broke into the space between the two. "Let's go buy a photograph!"

"Photograph?" Lucius blinked at her, his wife by his side.

"There's a camera that takes a picture of the riders as the log goes down the hill! If we hurry, we can get one!" Hermoine hurried away and the others were forced to follow her. She ran over some big bulky box that sat near the exit for the ride. Curious, Draco and his parents crowded near the box. It had a sort of window on the front, except this window was like none they had ever seen before. Words ran across the window and Hermoine poked at certain parts of it with her finger.

"What exactly is that thing?" Draco asked, forgetting for the moment he was dripping.

"It's a computer." Hermoine explained as she fed some of the Muggle paper money into a slot on the thing's side. "It has a touch sensitive screen."

"A computer?" Draco repeated as he gawked at the box. Before he could add anything else, the odd box started to make a loud whirring sound and moments later Hermoine pulled a photograph out of a slot on its side. Crowding closer to her, he saw that indeed it was a photograph of them sitting inside the fake log. To his utter dismay, that drat Muggle camera had caught him open-mouthed in a scream as the boat plummeted down the steep hill. And he didn't exactly like how he gripped the edge of the boat white-knuckled, either. It made him look too much the coward. Then his eyes flickered to the other riders and he smirked at the similar expression on Potter's face. Feeling slightly better, Draco leaned casually against the Muggle computer box, not caring that he was getting it wet.

"See?" Hermoine turned to show Lucius and Narcissa the photograph.

"It's not moving!" Narcissa exclaimed in shock and horror. "It's so unnatural!"

"Oh, our photos don't move." Hermoine quickly explained to the Pureblood witch. "They just catch a single moment of time and freezes it."

Harry wasn't really interested in the photo. He had already taken a glance at it but now he was scanning the nearby area for more rides, anything to distract him from the fact he was expected to go live with the Death Eater. How could Dumbledore do such a thing? Was he getting senile on his old age or didn't he care about him at all? The way he had treated him the last year of school Harry suspected the latter. The old man kept too many secrets from him, had ignored him and that had hurt. Worst, he had forced him to take private lessons from Snape! And if anyone needed a solid drenching on a water ride it was Snape! The man looked like he never washed his hair. How could Dumbledore let someone like that teach kids? Teachers were supposed to set a positive example to the ones they taught. Then his brilliant green eyes spotted another ride and a thin smile broke on his lips. Malfoy would just love it! "Hermoine, look!"

Tucking the photo away where it would be safe, Hermoine followed Harry's pointing finger. A smile broke out on her face. "Let's go!"

Glad to escape the wet water ride, Draco followed the two Gryffindors towards the next ride. But upon spotting it's name he came to a sudden halt. Raging River Rapids. "Don't tell me it's another bloody water ride!"

"Oh, you're already wet!" Hermoine pointed out to the blonde Slytherin. Draco's fine blonde hair was already half dry from the sun and parts of it stuck up a bit instead of laying smoothly like it usually did. Backtracking a bit, she once again gripped his wrist and hauled him into the long line that had formed outside the ride. "Don't worry; you won't get very wet on this one. It doesn't go down a hill."

"So what does it do?" Draco asked, curious. He was beginning to realize he didn't never know what to expect from these Muggle rides. Just when he thought he had it all figured out he didn't. Normally a boat would go down a river but not with Muggles, apparently. They forced boats to go down steep hills! And what in the name of Merlin was that bright yellow monstrosity on the painting for the ride? It looked like some freakish fat donut that Crabbe and Goyle would eat, not a boat!

"Well, this is a rapids ride. The boat is like a big rubber raft filled with air…" Hermoine started to explain as she attempted to describe a rubber raft. Did they even know what rubber was?

"Filled with air?" Draco repeated, shocked yet again. Didn't the Muggles have anything that was normal? Why did they have to make boats filled with air when wooden ones worked just fine? The loud shouting and screams coming from various rides reminded him just where he was and he scowled. Muggles didn't do anything normal, not even a simple thing like a photograph. Their strange images refused to move, but then, one couldn't expect much from Muggles. Still, they seemed to enjoy getting themselves wet on purpose. Why else did the water rides have fountains attached to the sides designed to squirt the riders? Still, he had to grudgingly admit it really hadn't been that bad. Hermoine was right about the weather. He could feel the hot sun beating down on his head and shoulders, drying him naturally. Could it be that the Gryffindors were actually right when they called him a spoiled brat? Was he too used to doing everything fast with magic? A lot of magic was instantaneous. Apparating, transfiguration, hexes…

Besides, when was the last time he had actually spent the day with his parents? Truth was, he couldn't remember. Although he had always looked down at the Weasleys, he had envied them their closeness. Well, sometimes anyway. Of course, in his opinion they just had way too many kids. What was the point of having so many kids? These were modern days after all and birth control potions existed so there was no excuse for having seven kids. Seven! He doubted if they could even take care of three kids properly. Still, it would be nice if he could spend more time with his parents doing fun stuff. He glanced around and noticed that most of the Muggles here were in family groups. So in that regard, were Muggles better than the aloof Purebloods?

And on days he did spend time with his parents, it usually wasn't doing this fun stuff. No, his Father expected the best of him. He had to get the best grades and when he wasn't at school he was expected to study Dark Magic. A slight chill went down his back as he thought of that horrible monstrosity that his father served. He was expected to grow up and be a Death Eater. What he wanted didn't matter. It was like how he was expected to marry a Pureblood girl. That there were very few of said girls or that he was related to most of them didn't matter. So many things didn't matter in his house. It was sad, really. His eyes flickered to Hermoine and he wondered if she could really change the way that his parents thought. He knew in the past that she and Harry had been successful with other endeavors at the school, but surely this was different? The ideas had been pounded into his parents' skulls since they were babies. Was three days really long enough to change their feelings towards Muggles?

The more he thought on the matter, the more he wondered if his parents ever had fun before. He certainly never remembered having any mindless fun with them; not like they were having here at this Muggle park. The rides, he realized, were here for nothing more than entertainment. And people seemed to shriek on the rides not from fear but because it was fun to scream, which was a brand new idea to him. Before, both his parents only were concerned with proper behavior suiting a Pureblood family and that he be seen associating with the right class of people. Others should be looked down upon and ignored. Grades were valued as was the right means of dress. There were so many rules to being a Malfoy that none of them ever got to relax and just be themselves. No wonder his father started to run around with a mask and cloak; it allowed him some freedom to do crazy things. Draco supposed it might have served as a way to relieve built up stress. Wasn't that why he picked on Potter all the time at school? If it weren't for that bit of fun, school would be an absolute bore!

Turning, Draco gazed at his parents. If he didn't know any better, he would say that they both were enjoying themselves! "Father, why don't we have places like this? I know we have Quidditch, but Muggles have sports, too."

"Well," Lucius replied after he had considered the matter for a moment. "I suppose its because large areas are hard to hide. You know that. And most research is aimed at more serious things."

"And what do you consider serious things?" Hermoine asked innocently as she, too, turned to watch his parents. The Gryffindor held her chin up and was thinking up her own list of serious things to bring up. This was her opportunity to impress on them that Muggles were not stupid creatures slated for extinction. Nor were they to be treated as house elves, as slaves to wizards. If she were correct, many of the things she had told the Purebloods had caught them off balance. It was clear they didn't know everything.

"A lot of research is done in the medical field." Lucius stated, knowing that to be a safe issue.

"And what of global warming?" Hermoine asked in a serious tone. "What of the depleting ozone layer and increasing radiation from space? Will everyone die from cancer? What will you do when the polar icecaps melt and the rising ocean levels floods out the country? What of forests disappearing? Without trees there's no oxygen for us to breath. Will we all die from carbon dioxide poisoning? What of pollution? Fresh, drinkable water may become scarce. And last but not least, what if the K2 event happens again? That's when the asteroid fell and landed in Mexico. It killed the dinosaurs. Do you even know what dinosaurs are? Well, it happened once and it could happen again. Anything larger than a rat instantly died as a violent blast circled the planet. We know this to be fact. You can see the bones in museums, you know. But if I were you, I'd start thinking about some of these problems before it's too late."

The Purebloods gaped at her open-mouthed, most of what she had just said sliding over their heads. Draco, being more experienced with her Know-It-All statements, spoke up. "Now what are you pattering on about? What violent blast? When? Where?"

"Oooh, you are so ignorant!" Hermoine huffed. "Well, you'll be sorry when a big rock comes hurtling out of the sky and forms a giant crater!"

"A giant rock? You're getting all worked up over a stupid rock?" Draco rolled his eyes. He would have laughed, too, except he was scared she'd punch him one … again. And then his father would know that he really was a coward. "And here I thought you were smart. I'd say you got hit in the head by a bludger except you don't play Quidditch…"

"Not a little rock, you ferret! A big one, bigger than Hogwarts! Bigger than the entire country, maybe!" Hermoine frowned. It was becoming increasingly clear wizards didn't know any history except for what they taught in History of Magic class, which was almost nothing. They knew nothing of the natural history of the planet. Even the average five-year-old Muggle probably knew more than they did. Worst, they were probably in the best position to actually do something to solve the world's problems. Of course, Muggles would have to cooperate as well. They'd have to start using non-polluting fuels and plant more trees, stop dumping dangerous chemicals into the water. Even pollution dumped on land made its way into the water supply thanks to rain. But if they all worked together, they could actually fix it! The world would be a healthier place for everyone. Too bad everyone couldn't use magic. As far as she knew, it didn't pollute at all. There was solar power, but that might not be a very liable method for those who lived in the northern hemisphere where there was little sun during the long cold winter. Maybe a trip to a natural history museum was in order.

"Are all of those things you mentioned real problems?" Lucius asked, one brow rose. Up until now, he had never heard of them.

"Yes, they are. And unfortunately, there are no easy solutions for them." Hermoine admitted sadly. "The worsening weather patterns around the world are a side affect of global warming. I'm surprised the community doesn't know about this. It's been all over the news…"

"But we don't get your news." Narcissa reminded her. "But surely these problems won't affect us, will it?"

"We all breathe the same air and drink the same water, so yes, it will affect you." Hermoine informed her, feeling slightly sorry for the Pureblood witch. It was a tad unfair to dump such a shocking bit of information in her lap in such a way, but she knew the Muggle scientists were doing all they could. Perhaps if the magical community put themselves to work on the problem as well…

"And may I presume that it was Muggles that created this problem in the first place?" Lucius asked, convinced that it was. It wasn't coincidence that big clouds of dirty smog hung over Muggle cities while the air over a wizard community, such as Hogwarts, was clear.

"Well, yes…" she admitted sheepishly. Then the fire was back in her eyes and she stared at him defiantly. "But it's not their fault! They didn't know any better! And they are trying to fix it."

"Well, I suppose I could mention it to someone at the Ministry…" Lucius stated with a smile. "I think the whole misunderstanding may clear up soon and then I won't have to worry about anything."

That got the attention of all three teenagers. Hermoine exchanged a glance with Harry and noticed that her good friend had apparently a lot on his mind. It almost sounded to her like Lucius somehow got himself off the hook and he wasn't worried about Azkaban anymore. Her gaze shifted to Lupin and the werewolf didn't look surprised, either. Obviously something was going on and like usual, they had been left out! She wanted to grab Harry by the arm and haul him off to a private corner to have a chat, ask him what was bothering him. For it was clear that something was bothering him. He was brooding again in silence, which wasn't a good sign. But they were stuck in the long line for the ride. Glancing towards the front, Hermoine was pleased to see that it was almost time to board the rubber raft. After the ride was over, she was determined to have a heart to heart talk with him.

The line moved forward and then it was time to board the bright yellow craft. The large raft was circular and held eight black seats, each with a tall backrest to lean against. The seats were arranged in a circle with a common round bar in the circle to grip. The six of them easily climbed onto the raft and each took a seat, two seats remaining empty. And like Hermoine had promised Draco, they wouldn't get very wet on this ride. As the raft floated along the narrow channel where one boarded the craft, it grew closer and closer to the man-made river. The river's mouth approached and the water grew rougher. Soon the craft was bouncing up and down on the swells of white water, turning this way and that as it followed the river. As river rides go, it wasn't really all that rough. Mainly the water was just wild enough to make the raft bounce a bit up and down to create some excitement. Then the dark maw of a cave was ahead and the raft entered it. The inside was as dark as night and no one could see anything. Everyone's grip on the handrail increased and someone shrieked as a thin curtain of water brushed against his or her face in the darkness. The sound of the sloshing water was amplified in the inky blackness, the sensation of movement also amplified. Then a round circle of light was ahead and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. A short time later the raft once again entered the narrow channel and everyone exited.

Locking her eyes on Harry, Hermoine gripped him and started to drag him towards a nearby eating-place. It was time for them to have that talk.

To be continued…