Finally, I've managed to get another chapter up. I'm really sorry for the wait. My teachers have been throwing projects at us (even when the exams are already over) and I have dance classes three times a week. Well, here it is anyway.
Chapter Three: Tiramisu and Iceland
Hermione glared at Malfoy as she dried her copy of 'Eclipse Thine Heart' with a hair-dryer she had found in the bathroom. He was currently pretending not to notice, reclining lazily on the couch. The rest of the group glanced between the two of them.
"I'm bored," Lavender sighed. "Let's go do something else."
"As long as it doesn't have anything to do with water," Hermione said icily, hurling daggers at Malfoy with her eyes. "Or totally destroying someone's precious belongings."
Malfoy got up, stretched, and walked back to his bedroom. Hermione scowled after him and glared at his retreating back. Then she turned her glare to the rest, who began humming loudly and fastidiously avoiding her gaze. So she turned her fiery stare to the door instead.
"I'm hungry," Dean said. "Let's go get something to eat." Everyone else consented and they stood up.
"What about Malfoy?" Parvati asked.
"Leave him!" Hermione snarled with such uncommon ferocity that everyone backed away slowly and half-ran down the corridor to the lift.
The dining area was light and airy, and the group sat down at a corner table. The area had a mixture of delicious smells - roasted beef, pasta, fried chicken...The aroma made Hermione realise how hungry she was too. It seemed to have the same effect on everyone else, for Neville had already snatched up a menu and Parvati and Lavender were eyeing the buffet table with a tortured look in their eyes. Dean cleared his throat and hollered for a waiter. A house-elf came scurrying up to them immediately.
"Yes, how is I to be helping young masters and mistresses?"
They placed their orders at a rapid-fire pace; mostly because of their hunger and Dean urging them to hurry up so that he could have his sacred tiramisu.
"What's tiramisu?" everyone asked at the same time.
"Heaven in your mouth," Dean answered smoothly.
After they had all finished their main course, Dean practically jumped on the house-elf and half-shouted, "Tiramisu! For everyone!" he added quickly before anyone could object.
"But Dean, I wanted the Triple Mega Ultra Creamy Scrumptious Fudge-Mocha-Vanilla-Chocolate Honey Coated Strawberry Fields Banana Split!" Neville protested.
"But by the time you finished saying that, it would have been Christmas!" Dean replied exasperatedly. "Tiramisu is good, - no, awesome - trust me!"
"What is it in the first place?" Lavender asked, eyebrows raised.
"Hmm...how do you describe it...? It's just, simply put, God's most wondrous creation on the face on living earth. It's an Italian dessert. Think a very light chocolate pudding. Seriously light. Lighter than that. It's as soft and weightless and smooth as whipped cream. Mocha-flavoured whipped cream. Then, there's this rich feeling you get in your mouth. It's light, yet somehow substantial. The espresso coffee in it just beautifies your mouth. And lastly, you taste a hint of liquor, and then a small breath of chocolate, before it's gone. Then you feel like you're floating in the sky, with wispy clouds and dreamy angels...especially the first time you taste it. It leaves a never-forgotten taste in your memory - that's tiramisu. "
Now everyone was staring at him, fearing for his sanity. Drool was beginning to slide slowly out of his mouth. He had a faraway expression on his face.
Just then, the tiramisu arrived. Needless to say, Dean pounced on it, hailed the house-elf - who looked frightened - and began shoveling the dessert into his mouth.
Hermione poked it with her spoon gingerly. It had been served in a glass goblet. It was streaked beige and brown with the mocha, and was sprinkled with shaved chocolate. She took a small, tentative spoonful and froze.
It was exactly like Dean had described. In a few moments, everyone was in heaven. When their glasses were empty, Dean called for more until they had devoured three helpings.
"Dean, I love you," murmured Parvati as she dreamily slid in another spoonful of tiramisu.
The rest all voiced their appreciation and Dean grinned. "Too bad for Malfoy, eh?"
Hermione, drunk with the heavenly taste being evoked in her mouth, being laughing evilly. She had never been so content and relaxed in her life. It had always been study, study, study, sleep, study, study, eat. Now it was vacation, sleep, eat, scowl at Malfoy, sleep, relax, laugh, friends, eat, tiramisu, tiramisu, tiramisu.
The feeling was heightened even more as she suddenly spotted Harry and Ron making their way together to her table.
"Harry! Ron!" she waved them over joyously. "Come have some heaven!"
They pulled up chairs and sat on either side of her. She grabbed Dean's tiramisu from him - amidst loud protests - and shoved it towards Harry. She gave her own to Ron, kissing him on the cheek and laughing.
"What's this?" Harry asked, poking at it like Hermione had done before.
"Tiramisu," she said.
"What's tiramisu?"
"Heaven in your mouth," everyone answered simultaenously.
Needless to say, Dean received many thankful hugs and kisses at the end of dinner.
As they bade goodbye to Harry and Ron, Hermione smirked at the thought of Malfoy up alone in bed, his stomach aching with hunger.
Draco lay alone in bed, his stomach aching with hunger. He had heard the others go out, but hadn't wanted to join them. He got up from bed and walked to the door, intending to head down to get some much needed food. Just then, the door burst open and the rest of his suite members walked in, very happy and very bubbly.
Upon seeing his surprised expression, Hermione smirked and laughed. "Tiramisu," she said in a singsong voice to the others, her mind still somewhere in heaven. They promptly erupted into laughter again.
Draco shook his head and muttered, "Bloody confused Gryffindors." As he walked out the door, he called over his shoulder, "It was nice knowing you when you were sane!"
Later that night, when they were all doing their own thing in the suite, they heard an annoying 'duhn-duhn-duhn' sound, and the voice of the captain rang out of the loudspeaker on the wall as clearly as though he was in the same room as them.
"Students, please note that you will alight at Iceland in three days. You will leave at five-thirty in the morning. Please have all your belongings packed by the day before. An alarm will sound at three-thirty to wake you. Iceland is rather cold, so having warm clothing is essential. It is advisable to bring sturdy shoes or boots, a warm wind and rainproof jacket and trousers, gloves, a ski cap and sunglasses. You will move around in your groups and must remain with them. That is all. Thank you."
Parvati and Lavender started squealing in excitement. Dean looked melancholy.
"They don't have tiramisu in Iceland, do they?" he asked Hermione sadly as she passed. Malfoy, who had been lying half-asleep in a bean bag nearby, glanced at the two of them and frowned at Dean.
"Tiramisu?"
"Heaven in your mouth," Dean and Hermione replied.
They spent the next few days having as much fun as they could on the ship. First, they went to the gym, where everyone tried to bully Neville into doing a backflip. Malfoy finally got fed up and pushed him so that he was bent over the cylindrical equipment aid and forced his legs up and over his head. When Neville emerged, he was red-faced, shocked and furious. Back in the suite, he turned to Hermione for plans for revenge, as she was the closest friend he had in the suite group.
Hermione wasn't exactly Fred or George, but she still managed to come up with a few Malfoy-worthy ideas. Consequently, when Malfoy was taking a nap on the couch, Neville looked at Hermione for encouragement, and crept right up to his side. Dean, Lavender and Parvati had been filled in and were watching on the sidelines, suppressing their laughter. Neville took Malfoy's head in his hands and shook it wildly. Of course, Malfoy woke up immediately and began shouting. Neville kept to the plan and screamed, "Bloody hell! Killer tomatoes from beyond!"
Whereby Dean promptly unearthed two tomatoes from behind his back and threw them at Malfoy's face. They hit him with perfect precision. Malfoy struggled to get up, but Neville jumped onto his chest and yelled in his face, drool flying.
"Hallelujah! Cue confetti!"
Lavender ran up and threw bits of shredded lettuce onto Malfoy. They dropped down and stuck to the remains of tomato on his face. He started spitting and coughing.
"A healthy life, a healthy life, healthy healthy and you'll meet no strife!" Neville screeched, bouncing and slamming against Malfoy's chest.
Parvati stepped up with a can of green peas. She knelt down beside Malfoy and began to force-feed him.
"Here comes the airplane! Shoom shoom shoom!" she cackled madly, stuffing large amounts of peas in Malfoy's mouth. When he finally gathered enough sense to shut it, she shrugged and dumped the rest on his carefully arranged platinum blond hair. It lay there like green gunk, sliding off his hair and into his ears.
Finally, Hermione ran up and bent over the back of the couch.
"Merry Christmas, Emilo Lopez Joaquin Desmond Aluya Shimmy-Shimmy Mesa Boom!"
And then, all doing their 'evil-laughs' insanely, they hauled him out of the couch and surrounded him.
"Tiramisu!"
Malfoy took one look at their faces, twisted up with mad laughter, broke through the circle, threw open the door and fled without a backwards glance.
"Freaking insane Gryffindors!" they heard him yell as he ran down the corridor.
Malfoy didn't reappear for the rest of the day. They assumed he had decided to spend the night over at one of his Slytherin friend's suite, and thought nothing of it. The next day though, they woke up to an unpleasant surprise.
When Hermione opened her eyes, it occured to her that there was something weighing her down. Something sticky. She reached down and felt around, then withdrew her hand immediately with a cry of disgust. Sitting up, she found that her whole body was simply covered with a weird green slime - the kind that they use in game shows. Looking around, she realised that Lavender and Parvati had been targeted too, and were trying in vain to get the guck off themselves. The floor had also been hit - the whole place was covered in the cold, thick liquid. Also, toilet paper had been strung high and low all over the room, so you coudn't even move without a whole long strip of it getting stuck to you.
Hermione waded through the mess and into the boys' room. Neville and Dean had apparently just woken up and were looking horrified. They had also been struck, but Malfoy's bed and the area around it remained oddly clean.
Hermione trudged back to the rec room and found Lavender and Parvati glowering darkly. Neville and Dean had followed her out and were looking murderous. Then, as though by an unspoken signal, all five of them yelled at the same time.
"MALFOY!"
Somewhere farther along the corridor in another suite, Malfoy smirked.
When Malfoy eventually came back to the suite, they had all showered and were starting to clear up the gunk. When the door opened, they whipped around immediately and began shouting.
"Idiot! You braindead Slytherin!"
"Freakish gormless goon!"
"I'm gonna get you, Malfoy!"
"Go to hell, Malfoy!"
But Neville just sighed and said, "Look, let's call a truce, okay? We're already stuck cleaning up this mess. I'm not going to do this again."
"Just get a house-elf in," Malfoy said dismissively. "Don't you people use your brains?"
So they did, Hermione albeit reluctantly, ("The poor house-elves! This is all your fault, Malfoy!") but they still had to evacuate their suite for the day. After hurling a few more curses at Malfoy, they began wandering around until they came to a double-door marked 'Theatre'. They opened it to find a lush auditorium with an enormous stage in the middle, framed with blood red velvet curtains. The seats were like normal cinema ones, though a lot more comfortable. A movie was already in screening. Having nothing better to do, they sat down and watched 'Shrek 2'. After which Dean kept repeating the opening lines to the movie.
"Once upon a time, in a land far, far, away, a king and queen were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. And throughout the land, everyone was happ-"
He was silenced by Parvati, who slapped a hand across his mouth, shaking her head.
"I think the poor old boy's finally gone senile," she stage-whispered to Lavender.
On the last day before Iceland, they visited the indoor badminton courts, where Malfoy blatantly refused to play, and left halfway through the game to look for his friends. Hermione was the only one who actually knew how to play, and taught them all patiently. Unsurprisingly, Lavender and Parvati picked it up quickly, whilst Neville struggled to even hit the simplest shot, panting. Then, Hermione went off looking for Harry and Ron, while Neville went back up to the suite to rest. Lavender and Parvati decided to play a few more games.
She found them at the arcade, where they were taking turns on a life-size motorcycle, playing - and losing - a kind of race and destruction game. They were obviously engrossed in it, and barely heard her wish them good luck in Iceland.
"And I thought Quidditch was bad," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head.
That night, everyone turned in early as they would be waking up even before daybreak and leaving for Iceland soon after. But even after nine hours of sleep, Hermione still felt groggy when she was awoken by what sounded suspiciously like a foghorn issuing from the loudspeakers.
"Up and at 'em, people!" the captain sang, way too preppily for four-thirty at night. "You have to get off the ship by five-thirty. Even if you're in pyjamas and fluffy bunny slippers."
The crack about the slippers certainly got everyone up. After a long, hot shower, Hermione pulled on a few sweaters and jeans and double checked her trunk.
Before they knew it, it was four-thirty and they were walking down from the ship, their trunks being hastily levitated down by the crew and house-elves before any Muggles showed up. From the ship, they were picked up by Land Rovers and driven to a hotel in Reykjavik. It was cold enough so that a light powder of snow was falling. It made Hermione wish she had a tankful of hot chocolate.
They were dropped off at CenterHotel Klöpp, a stylish building with a handsome wooden double-door whereupon an old-fashioned brass doorknob was situated. The name of the hotel was emblazoned over it in large capitalized letters. There were modern glass windows above and on either side of the door, looking out into the street and reflecting the perfect blue sky above. It had an attractive colour scheme; smart brown with greys and calm beige.
They were each assigned a room, and went upstairs to unpack. Hermione's room was simple and modern, with dark green curtains, white walls, leather chairs and plain wooden tables. A small television and phone were placed in a corner of the table. Hermione switched the television on idly. It had cable, but most of the programmes weren't in English.
They were free to do what they liked until nine, so Hermione went off looking for Harry and Ron. But once she stepped out of her room, she bumped in Malfoy. He rolled his eyes and stepped out of her way. She couldn't help noticing how...attractive he looked when he was annoyed, with his hair falling into his eyes. The realisation hit her with the force of a freight train, and she shook her head hastily to get rid of the thought. No, no, no, no, no. He's ugly, ugly, ugly and that's final, she thought firmly.
Malfoy knocked on one of the doors down the corridor, which was thrown open immediately. Malfoy was greeted by an enthusiastic Pansy, who jumped on him and began giggling excitedly.
"Ooh, isn't this fun, Drakie? We're actually in Iceland!" she squealed, then moving her hands up to Malfoy's hair and starting to kiss him passionately. Or rather - slobber and drool over him.
For some reason, Hermione felt annoyed with Pansy. She watched Malfoy half-heartedly return the kiss and felt anger flare up in her. But...why should she? It wasn't her business if Malfoy wanted to snog anyone. She turned away, but she still couldn't help feeling a tiny bit - could it be? - jealous of Pansy. Wait, she had not just thought that. She hated Malfoy - he was an ugly, stuck up bastard. Of course. Certainly.
Ah...ugly? said a nasty little voice in her head. Didn't you say he was attractive? The voice cackled evilly.
Shut up, she thought back fiercely.
Okie.
After half an hour of fruitless searching, Hermione was unable to locate either Harry or Ron, and retired to her room in exhaustion. It was now almost nine. Hermione pulled on her boots, a jacket, gloves and a ski cap, then proceeded downstairs to meet up with the other suite members.
They piled into a large, expanded Land Rover, and began driving along the main road, heading east. She ended up in a left corner seat with malfoy next to her, as for some reason, they were always lagging behind the group. Dean sat on Malfoy's right. The rest were up front. After a long while, they began entering the wild areas, and Hermione began noticing the beautiful scenery.
Snow capped the tops of the enormous craggy brown mountains, and beaches were formed of black sand where the incredibly blue waves gently caressed the shore. Grass spread around them in wide plains, and the cold, fresh air whipped their hair back and touched upon their senses. They all felt that magical, indescribable sense of freedom one gets when one is closest to nature. The feeling that makes you want to jump about and yell in joy.
After awhile, they reached the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull massif. A river of brilliant water cascaded down from the top of the great looming cliff, catching the light and glittering like diamonds.
Then they drove on along a mountain track to reach snow level. A couple of hours later, they reached Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland's fourth largest glacier. They got off and admired the expanse of pure white ice in front of them. Then they were greeted with a surprise.
"Are you having fun?" the captain grinned broadly. He was answered by a resounding 'Yes!' and happy, flushed smiles of their own.
"Well, you're about to have even more!" he pointed behind them, and everyone whirled around and gasped.
There stood a long line of snowmobiles. Instantly, most of the crowd began jumping up and down or cheering in excitement. The snowmobiles were made for two, and they were paired up quickly by hasty-looking crew member. Parvati was with Lavender, Neville with Dean, and that only left...Malfoy. The crew member moved fast and pushed them down onto the snowmobile, belting them in, too busy to notice their shock and horror. Then, he moved off again at a rapid pace to deal with another group.
When everyone was settled, the captain beamed at them.
"No time to waste, it doesn't matter who you're with! We're all friends here! Don't go too far or fast, though! If you want to drive later, just let them know, but let it be for now, you'll get your turn! Oh, but if you don't actually know how to drive it, then I suppose you will have to switch... Alright, let's not dawdle any more...start your engines!"
Malfoy looked startled, but he fumbled for the handles and started it. The snowmobile roared to life, beginning to fly across the glacier. Shrieking, Hermione did the only sensible thing she could think of - wrapping her arms around Malfoy's waist and holding on for dear life. She felt him stiffen, but he didn't remark. The machine streaked across the snow, sending sprays of wet ice flying into their faces. Everything went so fast - every turn, every breath you took was exhilarating. Suddenly, Hermione thought she heard Malfoy laugh. A real laugh, of joy, not in comtempt or insult. It felt...nice to finally see him actually happy.
Just then, they skidded over a slight bump, and the snowmobile was airborne for a second. Hermione let out a small squeal, but it suddenly morphed into full-out giggles. She definitely heard Malfoy laughing along with her.
And at that one moment, she felt completely content and at peace.
After an hour, they were stopped by the crew. Everyone wore faint tranquil smiles. They made their way back to the Land Rover, for the trip back to Reykjavik. On the return journey, they drove by the shore, riding on the smooth black sand with the relaxing sound of the crashing waves coaxing them into a light, dreamless sleep. They stopped at the beautiful, picturesque waterfalls of Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss. The waterfalls were surrounded by fauna. The mist gathered around them as they approached. Seljalandsfoss was falling off a protruding segment of the cliff, and there was ground underneath for them to walk on. Hermione lingered on the grass, eyes half-closed, listening to the rhythmic beating of the water falling into the deep, blue pool. Mist had shrouded her, and she sensed, but could not really make out the person who suddenly got down onto the ground near her. She continued breathing in the scent of nature, completely immersed in it's depths. The person beside her seemed to be doing the same. She wondered who at Hogwarts was as sentimental as her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she glanced to her left. Sensing her gaze, the person turned to look at her too, but neither could yet make the other out. Then, fate played it's cards, and the mist gradually dissipated.
Hermione found herself locked in a gaze with none other than Draco Malfoy.
He seemed equally surprised, but didn't break eye contact. They both found themselves breathing rather louder than necessary. Caught up in the moment, Hermione noticed just how beautiful Malfoy's eyes were. A deep, intense grey, flecked with silver kaleidoscope facets that reflected the light and framed with a ring of raven black.
Just then, the captain called for everyone to get back in the Land Rovers for the remaining trip back, and with the spell broken, they stood up wordlessly and left.
That night, Hermione lay in bed thinking of those eyes.
A / N : This was rather a fun chapter to write. I'm sorry it took so long, I've been so inconceivably busy with school and numerous things that I couldn't even find time to use the computer. Even preteens like me have a life. Blehz. Sorry, though. I wrote this whole chapter today. It's much longer than usual, but I just had so much to say. :) I went researching about Iceland, and found that it's actually very touristy. I hope this satisfies you. I put a lot of work into it, as I originally didn't know a single thing about Iceland. Or about snow, or snowmobiles, and whatever, because I don't have snow in my country. T.T I don't think snowmobiles have belts, but let's just assume they have special ones, because I want a reason for Draco and Hermione to stay still. :) The hotels and places and whatnot are actual, and I tried to describe them as best as I could with my meagre knowledge. :) Let me know if it's good enough!
Explanations -
The Greenland/Iceland dispute: Actually, I am in fact aware that Greenland is colder than Iceland. However, Iceland has a surface temperature of 2 degrees Celsius during November/December - or 28 degrees Fahrenheit. I wouldn't exactly call that warm. I live in a country of 31 degrees Celsius, and I find that really really really cold. Greenland has a temperature of maybe about 0 to -5 degrees C. It varies. However, I think that both countries are considered cold. They certainly don't have a tropical climate. And if you will note, I never said that Iceland was colder than Greenland. I just said it was cold. Cold enough for hot chocolate, anyway. I thought a specific person was rather rude when voicing his/her opinion, but the rest were beautifully polite. Thanks to all! I love you for reviewing! ;) You give me motivation to continue this.
mrs skywalker: Well, yes, I know that normally cruise rooms are small. But then again, this is a ship built specifically for the seventh-years of Hogwarts. Normally a large ship would accomodate about maybe over a thousand people. Two thousand if you like. And the whole seventh grade of Hogwarts has like, what, fifty people at the most? There are only five Gryffindor boys, and four houses, so it should be around that number. Now that I think about it, their rooms are puny. I should have made them freakishly huge. Er...let's just fill up the empty space with tons of recreation. :)
Also, I know about the length. But this idea was also half-derived from a Chinese drama series I was watching. They had this Love Boat that went around the world for six months. Mine's only five. :P Anyway, the longest reality cruise is a month. But this isn't reality. I have faith in Dumbledore. I think he can pull a five-month long cruise off. :)
LiLbLueangeL1223: Thank you so much for all the info:D I will incorporate as much of the magic of Disneyland into this fic. I can't believe you actually wrote all that to help! (shiny eyes) Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
A last thanks again to all the kindred souls who reviewed! You rock!
(P.S. Am listing all the locations you want me to put in. Will try and satisfy everyone.)
(P.P.S. Ehehe, sorry about the long, irrelevant tiramisu crap. It's just...so...pardon the drool.)