Chapter 21


...

"Ahh! Aren't you excited?!" Clare beamed.

"A bit," Malinda admitted. "It'll be fun to see how everyone fares."

Clare linked arms with her and whispered, "Everyone thinks Pansy will apparate first. I think it'll be you."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're scary good at magic, Mal," her friend whispered, careful to not let the Slytherins and other students around them hear. The eligible sixth years were on their way from the last class of the day to their first apparition lesson. The crowd buzzed with energy and nerves. Malinda walked quietly, letting Clare prattle on. She felt tired again, but this time she had no lesson with Snape or Dumbledore to blame. No, this time it was lack of sleep and damn crying to blame.

It was Saturday morning and since the meeting early in the week with Dumbledore, Draco hadn't even looked in her direction. As soon as Dumbledore had dismissed them from his office, Draco was up and walking away, refusing to acknowledge her. The few attempts she made at conversation had been cruelly rebuffed. Four days of being ignored had deflated her spirits. Alarmingly so, actually. Why did she care so much if he spoke to her? He was angry at her, angry at his situation and what was expected of him. Anger she understood and with a temper like his, it would take time to cool off.

But four days of nothing? After what happened over holiday… in the hallway alcove… Malinda frowned. She was becoming too emotionally involved. What if Merlin was tracking her? He clearly had sent her to help win a war, not get a boyfriend.

She felt so stupid.

"What's wrong?" Clare looked worriedly at her, noticing the wet glaze in her eyes. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Malinda blinked and forced a smile. "Nothing at all."

Clare seemed ready to press, but Pansy looked back at them and said loudly, "I wonder who else will be able to apparate with me today."

"Oh will you shut up?" Ron pleaded. "We all know daddy's money got you lessons already. You've only been talking about it for the whole week!"

"At least my father has money. A shame because that hand-me-down cloak is looking extra tacky these days, Weasley."

The Slytherins and even a few of the Ravenclaws laughed. Malinda withdrew from a chuckling Clare, feeling disappointed with her friend. She sometimes forgot that even Clare and Daphne had their pureblood moments.

Ron turned red and scanned the laughing faces. He looked at Malinda, his eyes pausing slightly and taking in her frown, before he was pulled along by Hermoine.

The Great Hall had been cleared for the lesson. Wilkie Twycross stood waiting for them, standing in his plain, business robes. He was thin, a wispy bit of hair clung to his head and she thought back to Harry wondering if the wizard would blow away with a gust of air. Looking at the fellow, she had to wonder the same thing.

"Good morning, students of Hogwarts," he greeted them enthusiastically. "My name is Mr. Twycross and today marks the start of your apparition lessons. The Ministry takes apparition very seriously, especially for those just starting out. There are 3 D's in Apparition to remember: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation. Repeat after me."

"Destination, determination and deliberation," he prompted. Malinda followed the group of students along as they repeated back the dull words.

Twycross motioned them to move, "Good. Keep those in mind as we begin. Everyone spread out, take some space for yourselves, please. Excellent!" He waved his wand and hoops appeared. There was one conjured hoop placed on the ground before each student.

"Destination! You must think of where you want to go. Not just think," he challenged them, "But feel it. Know that is where you are going. Do not doubt it, do not doubt yourselves! Believe!"

Blaise was a few feet away and gave Malinda a sarcastic, "How inspirational."

She grinned. Clearly the wizard was passionate about these lessons. His energy carried throughout the rest of the lesson. Only in the last ten minutes of the scheduled time did he finally say, "With the theory out of the way, let's give it a go. It's very rare to have a student perform a successful apparition on the first day so do not be discouraged. We have weeks of practice to go."

He told them to focus on the destination of being inside the hoop. Silence fell as students stared at their hoops in utter concentration. Malinda looked around, her spirits lifting as she took in the various ways students tried. It was comical how hard everyone was trying.

"Everyone looks constipated," she told Blaise in a hush.

He laughed and Twycross noticed. He waved his wand, moving Blaise's hoop even closer to him. "Concentrate!"

Insulted at the move, Blaise used his foot to push the hoop back into place. Minutes passed and Malinda watched. Whenever Twycross glanced her way, she made sure to pinch her face and glare at the hoop.

About eight minutes later, a few gasps came as Pansy appeared in her hoop.

Well, most of her did anyway. Pansy stood proudly, smirking as Twycross approached with an enthusiastic clapping. "Well done, Ms…?"

"Pansy Parkinson, sir," she replied snootily.

"Ms. Parkinson," Twycross nodded appreciatively. "Very well done! An almost perfect apparition."

Pansy's smile fell slightly. "Almost perfect?"

"My dear, your eyebrows did not make the journey," Twycross told her kindly. "A common occurrence. Let me fetch my bag."

As he stepped away, Pansy stood in horror as people stared at her. She looked quite odd without eyebrows to frame her eyes. Ron bent over in laughter, joined by most of the other students. Ever the loyal friend, Clare rushed over, purposely blocking Pansy from view.

"What are you laughing at Mudblood?"

The laughter died away instantly. Pansy shoved past Clare and approached Hermione. "Just you wait, Granger. Soon you won't be laughing anymore."

"Is that a threat?" Hermione said, standing her ground. She didn't even flinch. Malinda fought a smile. This was the heroine she looked up to!

"Watch what you say," Ron moved to stand in front of Hermione, his wand already out.

In response, Pansy whipped her own wand out and was joined by Millicent, Clare and some other Slytherins. It was almost comical how quickly the two gangs formed and now faced off.

Blaise slowly turned to look at Malinda, his expression carefully calm. With a slight nod, he strode over to take his expected place in the Slytherin group.

Malinda looked over to the side of the Great Hall where an ignorant Twycross continued to dig through his bag. Of course he wasn't paying attention.

"I look forward to the day when you'll know your place," Pansy continued, her wand pointed directly at Ron's chest. "Good thing I won't have to wait long."

Ron turned red. "You're crazy. Lower your wand or else I'll-"

"Or else you'll what?" Pansy laughed.

"What's going on?" Twycross finally had turned around and was approaching the group rapidly. "Put your wands away, immediately!"

"She called Hermione a Mudblood, sir," Ron accused, without lowering his wand.

Pansy put her wand down and pouted, "No, I didn't. They were making fun of me for my eyebrows, sir."

Twycross looked torn but he did flush at the horrid word. "Enough! You are nearly of age, I expect better from our next generation of wizards and witches. Break it up, everyone."

Hardly anyone moved, but wands were put away. Twycross opened a jar of what looked like honey. "This will help the hair grow back in no time Ms. Parkinson. Please stand still- oh!"

Malinda apparated into place, easily taking the jar away from the instructor. "Allow me, sir. Pansy is my dormmate and I'd like to help."

It only took a second for Twycross to recover. He began to clap again, this time almost desperately. "Dear Merlin! I've never had a student apparate so far the first day! Will you turn, Ms... so I can assess you are in one piece?"

"It's Malinda Selwyn, sir," she said and gave a slow turn. All the while, she kept her eyes directly on Pansy who now stood with an ugly flush of red through her neck and face. Millicent was gaping from behind, her mouth open like a fish.

"Stand still, Pansy," Malinda said sweetly. "Don't want to accidentally have hair grow in the wrong places."

Twycross was thrilled. "Fantastic! Most impressive, Ms. Selwyn. Will you tell us how you made the distance?"

Malinda carefully applied the salve to Pansy's brow and she said, "I thought of the three D's sir, per your instruction. My destination was here, determination was to help my dear friend Pansy, and the deliberation was easy. I mean, look at her face! I had to do it."

"Merlin's beard," Twycross nodded. "Excellent, yes, excellent. Hear that students? We must remember the three D's in our future lessons…"

He droned on but Malinda stopped listening. She simply grinned as Pansy glared at her. The girl's fury barely contained as she stood inhumanly still. Malinda dramatically lifted her fingers away and murmured, "All done, my dear friend."

"Keep watching over your shoulder blood traitor," Pansy hissed. "Your time is coming too."

"I'm so scared," Malinda gave Pansy's nose a boop, leaving behind a dot of the salve. "Oopsie."

...


...

The next morning, Malinda woke up and knew that she had slept hard. Her mouth was dry from snoring and she wiped a bit of drool away as she sat up. Blinking, she looked at her watch and was pleased to find it was ten minutes to Sunday breakfast. Just enough time to get ready and head down.

She used her wand to lower the wards around her bed. With things escalating now between herself, Pansy and by extension the other girls, she couldn't be too careful. Thankfully, their beds were empty and Malinda readied in blissful silence. The Common Room was quiet too, a few students lounging around while most either slept or were already at breakfast.

When Malinda entered the Great Hall, she examined the Slytherin table. Where would she sit this morning? It looked like Pansy was already surrounded by the other sixth year girls so if she sat with them, it could send a message that she didn't care about threats. At the same time, she would most likely have to deal with the cold shoulder from everyone. Daphne and Clare would undoubtedly fall in line.

That just sounded exhausting and Malinda was in no mood for teenage political bullshit. So instead she sat down across from Blaise. He looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at her rushed appearance. "Did you even own a brush?"

"Just woke up," she yawned, helping herself to some tea.

"Clearly."

"So what did I miss? I'm assuming Pansy has been bitching to everyone how awful I am to steal her thunder at apparition class and that I must've cheated somehow?"

"Yup."

"And probably complaints that I'm a worthless blood traitor?"

"To put it nicely."

"Ah, sounds like my kind of Sunday morning."

"I'm tempted to ask you to sit somewhere else," Blaise told her. "That would be the wise choice and I can feel Pansy's little eyes burning into my skull now but-"

"But what?"

"But yesterday I watched you apparate across half the Great Hall without trying," Blaise lowered his voice and said, "I like to align myself with powerful allies, especially with uncertain times coming."

"I see," Mal murmured.

The owls began to arrive then. Normally Malinda didn't pay them much attention but today everyone looked up as a massive amount of the winged creatures entered the Great Hall. Too many for a normal Sunday delivery.

"Why are there so many?" Blaise asked quietly. An owl dropped a letter in front of him. Two seconds later, a second owl dropped his usual copy of the Daily Prophet.

The headline made Malinda's stomach drop. In large, bold letters 'DEATH EATERS ESCAPE AGAIN FROM AZKABAN' covered the front page. Below were the moving mugshots of several notable death eaters now on the run. First and largest of course, was none other than Lucious Malfoy.

"Fuck," Malinda immediately turned to look at the teachers' table. "Double fuck."

There were no teachers at the meal. How had she missed it? Next her eyes scanned the Slytherin table for a head of platinum blond hair but-

"He's not here. Left early this morning," Blaise said without looking at her. His eyes quickly read over the handwritten letter.

"Where is-"

"I have to go." Blaise got to his feet and strode away, taking his paper and letter with him. The Great Hall was now filled with noise, the sounds of wood scraping against the stone floor loud as students rose in panic. Some began to run towards the doors, others gathered in groups clearly frightened. Malinda stood, turning to watch the chaos begin to unravel.

She felt eyes on her and slowly looked to the Gryffindor table. Harry Potter stared right at her, his expression not the least bit friendly.

"Silence!" A familiar voice shouted.

Dumbledore entered the Great Hall, Professors Snape, McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick with him. The headmaster's demand was met and the chaos was instantly halted. "Students will calmly follow their heads of houses to their common rooms. A security sweep is being conducted at Hogwarts and you will be released upon completion."

Professor Snape approached the Slytherin table and nodded sharply. He didn't speak but the Slytherins gathered their things. Unlike the other houses who murmured, they remained oddly silent. Well, maybe not so odd considering many of their relatives had just broken out of prison. Malinda noticed many glares and fingers pointed at her housemates.

Yikes.

As Pansy walked by, she slammed her shoulder into Malinda. With a smirk, she continued on her way. But what made Malinda frown was the way Clare and Daphne pointedly avoided her, dutifully walking behind Pansy and Millicent. The heavy sinking of dread filled Malinda as she watched the group of girls go. Two were her friends and though nowhere near perfect, she continually felt disappointed. Perhaps they were beyond help.

Students rose and began to gather, ready to be escorted. Malinda looked to Professor Snape, watching as his eyes looked over their table. He was searching and like her, he didn't find Draco anywhere. Next, he met her gaze and with practiced ease, subtly nodded towards the back of the Great Hall. She followed his movement and understood. Quickly, she backed away from the table and ran while the others looked to the main entrance. Malinda ran past the empty teacher table and used their side exit. Once clear of the Great Hall, she reached into her cloak pocket.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," she said. As ink appeared, she searched and when she didn't find Draco's name, she felt both relief and panic. He had either fled from Hogwarts or retreated to the one place the map couldn't see. Her bet was on the latter.

She sprinted through the hallways, doing her best to avoid professors and stray students. There was a hushed panic in everyone and she barely managed to hide in time when a group of Hufflepuffs came around the corner. By the time she arrived at the Room of Requirement, she was breathing heavily and slid her cloak off, feeling hot and a bit sweaty.

All this time she'd been training for combat magically, but it had been months since she'd been to the gym. Worse, months since she'd gone for a run. It was times like this she missed her Muggle routine.

When she entered the Room of Requirement, she was relieved to find Draco. "There you are," Malinda threw her cloak onto the sofa by the grand firepit. She winced to see how high the flames rose. After a mental plea, a glass of ice cold water appeared in her hand and she drank eagerly.

Draco sat at his desk, staring out a window at the Hogwarts grounds. That was new- his creation of his room had been windowless the first time. The weather was bleak, as usual for this time of year, but the clouds seemed extra gloomy today. His back was to her as she approached. Malinda noted the cane he held across his lap, the distinct snake figurehead at the end watching her.

He didn't seem to hear her. She loudly placed her empty glance on the table. It did the trick. Draco blinked and asked dully, "I assume you heard the news then?"

"Everyone has," she answered carefully, walking to the window. She looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "When did you hear?"

"Mother sent news last night. Owl fucking clawed at the window until I got up," he muttered. Draco didn't look at her, his blue eyes unfocused as he slowly twirled the cane in his hands.

"We knew this was coming."

"You failed to mention when. Again."

"Timeline is different, but the events are generally the same."

"So what's next then, great and powerful seer?" Draco sneered at her. "Will he torture my parents? Maybe he'll wait until I'm home and kill us all in our own home?"

"He won't kill your family," Malinda told him confidently. "He needs your support, your estate and resources. The other families look to yours."

"Yet somehow he drives my mother to betray her family. How? Oh wait, you won't tell me."

"I can't tell you everything," Malinda gritted her teeth. "You know I can't. If we get too off course, then we lose the advantage."

Draco laughed. "Fine, you can't tell me everything but surely you can give more than fucking nothing."

They stared at each other. Considering his words, Malinda tilted her head. "You want to know more, Draco? Alright then. He'll hold meetings in your home, in a room with a great metal chandelier and fireplace like that one… He'll keep prisoners below in a cellar. You know which room I speak of?"

"Yes."

"You'll sit with your parents at a long table and Tommy Boy will request a wand."

"Why?"

"His wand is linked to Harry's. They share the same core and the wands will not work properly against each other."

Draco frowned, "Does Potter know that?"

"Yes. Ollivander told him when the wand chose him."

"But the prophecy says that one will destroy the other. So how-"

"Tom will search for another wand, a more powerful one but until then, he'll need a temporary replacement," Malinda explained. "He's going to take your father's."

"Bullshit."

"Lucious doesn't exactly volunteer it."

Understanding came over Draco's face. He tensed and looked down to the cane. "To take a wizard's wand away… in his own home…"

"And in front of the other Death Eater leadership?" She let out a low whistle. "That's just one example of how Tom will make your mother turn."

"What if I volunteer my wand instead?"

Now she smiled. "What if he says no? What if he takes your father's anyways? Or worse, what if he takes your mother's instead to insult you for even offering? This is the burden of knowledge, Draco. To change something means countless 'what-if' questions. One change could mean a different future entirely. We have to be careful. Besides, it'll be good for your father to lose his wand. It's one of the main reasons he also walks away. It'll look better for his case too that he was forced against his will at times."

"Fuck," Draco swore and stood. "So I have to just wait and watch it happen?!"

"Feel that frustration?" She waved. "Welcome to my life. Anyways, what did the message say?"

"What?"

"The message you received last night. What did it say?"

Draco reached into his pocket and held out a crumpled piece of parchment. Malinda wordlessly summoned it and it floated through the air. It unraveled and smoothed in front of her and she read.

'They're out.'

"That's it?" She didn't hide her disappointment.

"Hoping for the Dark Lord's deep, dark secrets?" He snapped.

Malinda sent the paper back towards him and wiggled her eyebrows. "But I already know his secrets."

Draco visibly paled. "H-How can you joke about this? He's the most powerful wizard-"

"First, he's not the most powerful wizard. That would be Merlin who is closely followed by Dumbledore-"

He snorted. "Right. Dead wizard followed by an ancient one."

"And second," Malinda said seriously. "My life hasn't been easy. I've been through some dark shit that you and your rich privileged ass couldn't even fathom and you know how I'm alive today, with my sanity? Because I laughed while I cried. Because I made jokes of the monsters in my life instead of giving them my fear. So yes, I actually do know Tom's deepest secret and it's why we're going to win the war. And if I want to joke about it with a mate, then I'm going to. Because I can. Because I refuse to be scared of him. I refuse to give him even that victory."

He listened silently, his expression going neutral, betraying the fast thinking behind the facade. Draco took a step forward and asked quietly, "What monsters?"

She blinked. "What?"

"What monsters have you met?" Draco asked again. "What did they do to you?"

Malinda felt her walls go up. "That was a long time ago," she looked out the window. "Another life."

"Tell me."

"No," her tone was harsh. Malinda winced then tried again, this time softer. "No, not yet."

He came to her side and the pair watched a flock of birds fly over the castle. Draco held out the cane for them to examine. "All my life I wanted to be like my father. All my life I thought he was everything and now… Now I'm beginning to realize he's a monster himself."

She didn't say anything. Instead, Malinda watched in surprise as Draco began to cry a bit. A few tears fell from his eyes and he didn't bother to wipe them away. He gave a hoarse laugh. "Did you know he killed Dobby's mother? When she got old and took too long to fetch his cloak, he killed her. Just like that."

"No," Malinda whispered, feeling the urge to cry herself. "No, I didn't know."

"Dobby told me," Draco finally used his sleeve to clean his face. "He stood next to her when it happened. My… father made him get rid of her body. My mother let him bury her on the estate, she kept it a secret. So many secrets."

Malinda tensed. Her eyes watered now, thinking of Dobby and how such a kind creature deserved better. So much better.

"All my life I wanted to be just like him but turns out I didn't even know him. Not the real him at least," Draco turned and walked to the fireplace. Without warning, he tossed the cane into the flames and watched as the wood began to burn. "No more secrets."

Draco stayed by the fire for a while, needing to watch the cane disappear. When the wood had turned to ash, the flames disappeared at his will and Draco pointed his wand at the fireplace. Curious, Malinda went over and found his cooling spell working on the snake figurehead. The metal piece was the only thing left of the cane. He reached in and picked up.

She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Want to ditch it? I know a place."

"No doubt the castle is on lockdown now. We can't exactly just leave."

"Don't have to," she gave a spin and motioned to the room around them. "You're in control of the room. Ask for a place to lose it."

"A place for lost things?"

"Exactly."

He appeared dubious but a few seconds later, Malinda jumped as the room began to transform. His bedroom was gone, replaced by a massive, endless space filled with piles and piles of things. She wondered where in the trove was a certain diadem...

Draco examined their surroundings. "This is where the Vanishing Cabinet is."

"Yup," Malinda confirmed and opened a nearby chest, finding old trinkets. "Also a place where people have hidden things over the years. You won't believe what else is in here. Anyways, throw it."

"What?"

"Just throw it. Get rid of it," she encouraged. "I'll make you feel better."

He held up the snake, turning it slowly. The emerald eyes gleamed, as if asking him to reconsider. It didn't work. With a roar, Draco stretched his arm back and launched the figurehead as hard as he could. It went flying over a massive heap and disappeared. They heard it distantly land and crash. Then it was silent again.

"Feel better?"

"A bit," Draco said, then strode for her, a smirk on his face. "But I know what will make me even better."

"And what's that? Oh-" Malinda braced as he slammed into her, lifting her into his arms as he kissed her. They were moving backwards until they collided into something. She didn't know what, her eyes were closed and hands holding his head as they kissed deeply. Malinda withdrew to breathe and Draco dropped her, moving to cup her ass and ground his hips into her.

She felt his hardness and felt her own arousal stir.

"Wait," she said, angry at herself but knowing it needed to stop. "Wait, not now."

Draco froze, "Why not?"

"Because we have to stop doing this when we're upset or drunk," she paused. "Or both."

He groaned but stepped away. "Were you such a tease with Jones?"

"Really? You want to talk about him right now?"

He frowned, realizing she was right. "Fine, what do you want to do then? Like I said, the castle will be on lockdown. We're stuck in here."

"Well," Malinda smoothed down her skirt, trying to gather herself. Trying to calm the excitement between her legs. Oh yes, she was in this too deep. "We are in the Room of Requirement, we can make it into anything we want."

"My bedroom-"

"Preferably something without a bed!"

"Prude."

She narrowed her eyes. "Or we could go somewhere else entirely."

"You mean apparate to Jamaica? Must be nice to have that kind of power. My rich privileged ass certainly doesn't."

She ignored the jab. "Let's go somewhere else. How about Paris?"

"Voldemort has allies there," Draco shook his head. "He's already planting connections. After England falls, France will be next."

"I wasn't talking about magical Paris."

It took him a moment to realize what she meant. He crossed his arms. "No."

"Have you ever been to Muggle Paris?"

"Fuck no."

"Actually, have you ever been to Muggle London before? Or Muggle anything?"

He simply stared at her as if she was an idiot.

"I'll take that as a no."

Malinda reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Come on, they say it's the city of romance. Let's go on a date."

"Our school is on lockdown because Death Eaters are on the loose and you want to go on a proper date now?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"What if we're seen?"

"I highly doubt that Tom's allies spend their time at Muggle restaurants and tourist spots," she said dryly. "Come on then, ask the room for some Muggle clothes."

He pinched his nose. "We can't just go-"

"Why not? I promise to bring you back in time for dinner."

"We don't have any Muggle money."

"I have some." Malinda withdrew a small bag from her cloak pocket. She reached in and her arm disappeared.

"How-"

"Undetectable extension charm."

"Clever."

"Hermione's idea," Malinda winked.

He rolled his eyes. When her hand came back with a thick wad of bills he raised an eyebrow. "Plan on going shopping?"

"I keep the essentials in here, in case I ever have to make a run for it. You should do the same."

"Perhaps," he shrugged then pointed. "As you requested."

He must've finally relented because a rack of dated Muggle clothes had appeared. The clothes were from a variety of time periods. Malinda's eyes widened as she searched through them, finding what appeared to be a medieval gown.

"Not exactly 1990's fashion," she mumbled and withdrew her wand. "Let's make some adjustments."

...


...

An hour later, Malinda sat with her mouth hidden behind her hands. Her body trembled with laughter.

"Stop laughing."

She tried and failed. "Just relax!"

"They're staring at us."

"Only because you're looking at them as if they're aliens."

"They stared first!"

"Your hair isn't exactly normal for a Muggle, Draco."

"My hair is fucking fine, thank you."

Malinda rolled her eyes and tapped the menus between them. "Forget about them. Help me pick something to eat. It's been years since my French classes in school-"

The waitress arrived. She was pretty, tall and slender like a ballerina. Though a few years older than them, the young woman's eyes lingered on Draco just a tad longer than polite. She spoke rapid French, Malinda only catching the good morning.

"Um," she licked her lips, her mind grasping at verb conjugation and an attempt to reply.

Then Draco responded, his French just as fluid and natural. Malinda's mouth fell open slightly and Draco smirked. The woman nodded and walked away.

"Of course you speak French," Malinda whined.

"Spanish too," Draco said smugly. "I ordered you a tea with milk and two sugars as you like. You're welcome, by the way."

She blushed. "You've been paying attention."

"You spent months sitting next to me and forcing me to eat more bacon than any wizard should in a lifetime. I would have to be blind and mute not to notice eventually."

"Right. Well, after we eat some delicious French pastries and leave a heartbroken waitress behind, what do you want to do?"

"Heartbroken?"

"Draco, she's literally staring at you right now."

Sure enough, he glanced over and found it to be true. The waitress looked away, having the decency to at least be embarrassed. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"So much for paying attention," she teased.

"Shut up. I've already been to the Eiffel Tower. Mother hosted a gala there a couple of years ago."

"Right. How about the Louvre?"

"The what?"

"A famous art museum. Do you like art?"

"I had an art tutor for eight years," Draco replied stoically. "Yes, I like it."

"Wonderful. You can use your snooty art education and tell me which artists are good or not because I don't know shit about it," Malinda beamed.

They ate and went on their way. Malinda led him to the nearest subway station and as they waited on the platform explained, "The train runs under the city. When it arrives, hop on and it'll continue when the doors shut."

"We're going through underground tunnels?" He sounded bewildered. "Why is it so dirty here?"

"Yes, they run throughout the city." Malinda shrugged. "Public transport- Thousands of people ride the subway every hour, it's hard to keep it clean without magic."

When the train burst from the tunnel and its brakes screeched, Draco tensed and moved an inch closer to Malinda. She hid a smile as she took his hand and led them onboard. They settled into seats and his grip on her hand tightened when the train left the station.

"Hey Draco," she whispered sweetly.

"What?" He hissed back.

"How you're feeling right now," she nudged his shoulder. "You know, feeling completely out of your element and like everyone is judging you… That's how Muggleborns feel everyday in the wizarding world. Just something to keep in mind."

He looked away and said nothing.