"I was hoping to ask you something." Draco said, looking across at Hermione from the sofa in the living room.
"Yes?" Hermione replied, looking down at Crookshanks, still in Draco's arms.
"Since there're no set rules in which house we have to stay in first..." Draco trailed off, and his gaze dropped down to Crookshanks for a second, before he looked at Hermione again. "We'd have to ask first, but I was wondering whether you wanted to stay at mine first." Hermione was quiet for a while, and Draco cleared his throat again, wanting to fill the awkward silence. "I was also wondering, although this would be asking a lot of you as well as the teachers, but I want to stay at yours for longer. Say... Five weeks?" Hermione's head snapped up to his.
"What?" She was speechless for a few seconds. "That only leaves a week at yours!" Draco pulled a face at her.
"I know." He replied. Hermione looked at him, thinking he was going to say more, and was confused when he wasn't.
"But... Why do you want me to stay at yours first, and for less time?" She asked, still bewildered at the request. Draco was silent for a few moments.
"Horrible things have happened inside that house." He said quietly, not looking at Hermione.
"Oh." Hermione whispered, and she tried not to think about what kind of horrible things happened to her inside that house. Then she acknowledged the fact that Draco was being unusually nice to her, and she smiled wobbily down at her lap. He had changed. Hermione looked at his bowed head looking at Crookshanks. "I never knew you were so considerate of me." Draco's head turned up, and he showed a slight smile at Hermione. She was surprised at how easily he did.
"Well, it's not just for you, but for me too. Firstly, there's absolutely nothing to do there. And the main objective of this trip is for the pure-blood to experience the muggle world, right? So it's better to stay longer than three weeks." Draco reasoned, and then looked down at Crookshanks as he sat up. Draco looked at Hermione, gathering the ginger cat in his arms. "Do you want him back?" Hermione nodded. Draco sat onto the seat next to Hermione, and his shoulder brushed against Hermione's as he transferred Crookshanks gently into Hermione's hands. Once said cat was nestled in her hands, he withdrew, his warm fingers sliding over Hermione's. It felt extremely foreign to Hermione. It was weird when Draco was being close to her when he didn't have the intention of teasing her. Once he'd finished, he suddenly looked over at Hermione. She looked back at him, swallowing, and there was a sudden tapping at the window. Hermione's eyes quickly flicked to the window, and saw an owl with a letter in its beak. She tipped Crookshanks onto the sofa, before standing up.
"A letter?" Draco asked from behind her. Hermione didn't reply, and instead opened up the window, letting the owl in, before she gently pulled the letter with a Hogwarts seal out from its beak. Hermione gestured for Draco to come over, and she undid the envelope. They both read it.
'Dear Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy,
We hope you have arrived safely. Hopefully both of you will try to be civil, and get along. This letter is to check the students are well, and a chance for the students to voice any requests, or concerns they may have for the six weeks ahead. You understand you are nearly adults now, so we assume you will do things independently without having to ask things beforehand. Some of you may not have parental guidance at the present moment, but I hope you remember that we already asked parental/carer guidance beforehand, so we presume they trust you to handle things with your partner successfully. Remember, the main focus of this trip is for a 'pure-blood' wizard to experience the muggle world first hand. Treat the trip as such.
Sincerely,
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Head of Trip, Minerva McGonagall.'
Hermione and Draco looked at each other. This letter was perfect timing, as they both had quite of a big request. Hermione immediately carefully ripped a page out of an A4 notepad lying on the table and started to write in her neatest handwriting.
'Dear Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall,
Thank you for the letter. Me and Draco have arrived safely, and are getting on surprisingly well. We both have quite a large request to ask of you, however. Draco would prefer for me to stay in house first, as he supposes there won't be much to do, and has been considerate enough to take in account my feelings of Malfoy Manor. He also would like to stay at mine for longer: Five weeks. Of course, that only leaves a week at his, but Draco would like to use as much of the trip as possible to experience muggle life. As you have said yourself, the main objective for this trip is for the pure-blooded wizard to learn more about muggle ways. Please understand that we will of course take care of the transportation as well as luggage. I hope you understand our request and grant it.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy.
Hermione straightened herself back up, and handed the letter to Draco to give a proof read. After a quick skim, he looked at her and nodded. Hermione folded the letter up, held it up to the owl which opened its beak and clipped the letter in. It looked at Hermione who smiled and stroked it, and then it was off, gliding effortlessly into the cloudy sky. Hermione looked back at Draco, and his arms were folded. Hermione sat back down onto the sofa, lifting Crookshanks up and setting him down on her lap.
"So what do we do now?" Draco asked Hermione, coming over to sit on the sofa.
"Wait." She replied.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the absolutely miniscule chapter and the giant wait. It should really be the other way round! Also, an explanation for the sudden change around. Most of the romance and drama will happen at Hermione's house, so I really want it all to happen before they go to Draco's. Also, I think this is an excellent window for some nice progression, with Hermione's bad memories of Malfoy Manor and all. I love you all so much for reading, it really means a lot. (: