AN: Hey! I know this is early, but I was pretty sure that you wouldn't mind :)
Hermione woke up with her back toward Draco with him lying in a similar position. Rocko snores softly on the TV screen, but Hermione plugs in her headphones and tunes into the London news instead. The usual fluff about favorite recipes and the best Preschools in town almost lulls her back to sleep. In London, this is the Late, Late Show, and if she is to stick to a routine, she must stay awake even though she usually finds herself passed out on her couch in the early morning with the TV still on.
She accidentally unplugs her headphones before turning off the TV and the sound of the news station jingle jolts Draco awake. Much to her surprise, he does not attack Hermione and merely sighs as she slips off the bed, rustling the curtains and letting in the sunlight in the process.
"Where are we, Granger?"
"Hawaii," she says with her eyebrows raised. Did he have a few too many drinks while she was gone last night?
Rocko springs to life on the screen, squawking at them and making Draco shudder as he pulls the covers over his head.
"Hello, my delightful guests! Today, you are free to spend your time as you wish until you are scheduled for dinner for two at the hotel restaurant. If you wish to have breakfast, simply call the front desk. There's a buffet, but room service has already been paid for by Mr. Zabini. Any questions?"
"Do you come with a mute button?" Draco moaned, rolling out of bed in just his boxers.
I was sleeping next to that? Hermione shuddered in her cotton pajama set with flowers on the sleeves.
He pulled on a pair of jeans and buttoned a shirt over his sculpted body.
Hermione covered her eyes as she turned away as if to maintain his modesty. Since when is he so muscular?
"No, I have no mute button, nor do I need one. I am a highly-trained-"
Draco shut the TV off with a click from the remote before slipping into flip flops. He muttered with his hand on the door and a key in his pocket, "Eat without me. I don't do breakfast. I want to have a look around."
Hermione did not even have time to say that was okay with her before he was gone to who knows where. She turned back on the TV and waited for Rocko to notice that she was watching. "Can you see me, Rocko?"
"Yes, I have a live video feed that is usually on unless you turn off the TV by yourself like Draco just did. There's a girl that comes to feed me twice a day and she can turn it back on for me in case I want to do a bit of spying."
Hermione smiled with her eyes narrowed like the streets of Diagon Alley.
"But don't worry, Hermione. I promise I will not do that to you, only Mr. Zabini. He leads quite an adventurous life."
"I am sure he does," she nodded, maintaining client-confidentiality by not divulging the many places the wealthy man liked to travel.
"Want to hear his secrets?"
"No, thank you," she muttered as she whispered a goodbye and clicked off the TV before changing into a skirt and tee-shirt with sneakers, prepared for anything for she did not know what the day would bring.
Hermione had to wait about a minute for the elevator, but when it came, there was a personal bell hop who pressed the button for her and stood with his hands behind his back, facing the button panel as if to protect her privacy.
"Do you know where a good place would be to see some sea turtles?"
Without turning around, he asked, "See sea turtles?"
"Yes, sorry for the poor word choice on my part."
"No apologies necessary, miss." He nodded, his green hat almost falling off of his large head. "If you want to see turtles, you will want to go up the east coast of Maui and look for some signs. Most beaches will have them. You may even be able to catch a tour bus in a little bit."
"Thank you," she said as she walked out of the elevator and towards the breakfast restaurant.
The hostess recognized her and called her by name with a smile. "This way, Miss Granger. Would you like a table with a view?"
"Um, yes, please."
The black-vested girl clip-clopped in bright green heels to compliment the shocking pink blouse she wore over white capris. "Are you enjoying Maui, Miss Granger?" She placed the menu at Hermione's seat and poured her a glass of apple juice.
"Yes, thank you. Um, how did you know that I drink apple juice with my breakfast and how did you know my name?"
The girl winked, her inch-long eyelashes touching for a split second. "Your travel buddy stopped by. He knew you liked apple juice because you often drink it at work. He thought you would come down here because you would be too kind to make someone bring food all the way up to your penthouse."
"Oh, thank you. I'll take a minute to decide what I want."
The girl laughed with a nod. "He was worried that you would be upset that he did not have your breakfast prepared to be ready when you got here, but he said there were many choices." The girl spun on her heel and went to help the next rich tourist.
Hermione pored over the menu but lost focus in trying to answer her questions about Draco's kindness. By the time the waitress returned with less of a smile on her face, she had been able to choose the vegetarian omelette but was still confused as to why he was being so nice to her when he was still upset about her prying about his past.
The girl, her name was Zelda Hermione found out, brought the omelette out to the table that overlooked a small duck pond with the most colorful ducks Hermione had ever seen. The brunette had decided that his good-humoredness had been a result of a good night's sleep. She was pretty sure that the bed was tempur pedic.
Once Hermione finished the omelette, Zelda returned with a quizzical look on her face. "Miss Granger? May I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"You seem very contemplative... What about?"
"Well," Hermione muttered with a chuckle at her own immaturity at worrying about such trivial things, "he is not usually so nice. Never mean, per se, but we are just coworkers. I didn't expect him to tell you about me in advance or anything. If I knew him better, I would say that it was uncharacteristic, but I do not know him well enough to make that assertion."
Zelda smiled. Her teeth were as white as the sand just past the duck pond. "Will that be all for today?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Your bill has been prepaid. I hope you have a nice day."
"You too," Hermione wished her before waiting for the girl to leave so that she could leave her a ten dollar tip without her seeing it and objecting to the generosity.
She passed a couple raucous families with parents trying to control their children who were flinging bits of bacon at each other, and despite this rowdiness, she remembered her lifetime wish to have a family of her own and tried to ignore thoughts of her failed attempts at a relationship with Ron.
The halls were lined with palm trees and pictures of the beach at different times of day in different lighting-like Monet's haystacks. Hermione mused on this connection as she waited in line for the concierge.
The dapper gentleman started at her presence and smoothed the front of his forest green waist coat. "Miss Granger, what brings you here? I assume everything is alright with Rocko?"
"Yes, thank you." Hermione smiled and sighed at the same time as she used to do when she would see the other parts of the Golden Trio safe in the hospital ward after an adventure. "How are you?"
The man flinched in surprise. "Um, good, thank you..."
"Really? You have such a difficult job, dealing with all of these people all day. Is everything really good?" She figured that if Draco was going to be kind, it would not hurt her to do the same. She smiled at the concierge.
"It does get harrying, but I enjoy it."
"There! That's the answer I was looking for! How great it is to love your work!"
"Miss Granger, is there something I can help you with?"
"Yes: two things. One: how does everyone know my name here?"
"Well, you are one of our wealthiest guests right now, so the whole front desk knows your face."
Hermione scoffed at the assumption that she was wealthy, but continued, "Two: I would like to know of any tour buses that would be able to take me up the east coast."
He nodded fervently, ready to return to his normal job instead of engaging in small talk. She took the brochure he gave her and followed his directions to wait a few minutes outside near the sign for the tour company. He quickly turned away to check something on his computer and waited for her to leave.
The group in front of the Maui Oh My! Tours Company was composed of a couple elderly people already lathering on the sunscreen and a few families in matching printed shirts. She imagined how she would look amonst them in auror robes before she bought a ticket right as the bus arrived. The other travelers had already taken their seats, so she had to pass by their judgmental eyes on the way to the middle ground between the silent parents and their rambunctiousness children who had taken over the last few rows.
The driver's voice rattled over the intercom as they jostled along what would be considered country roads in England, but Hermione made no attempt to understand it, instead losing herself in the green pastures that rolled past with their exotic flowers, enjoying the view more than she had on their initial ride to the hotel when she had been on awkward ground with Draco.
The bus made periodic stops along the coast at markets and stands for sugar cane juice with hidden waterfalls, opening and closing its doors until only Hermione remained.
"Where to, Miss? The driver asked in a Polynesian accent.
"The nearest beach with sea turtles."
"Will do!"
Hermione pressed her cheek against the carpeted walls and settled in for the rest of the ride. The driver woke her with a bell and she awoke, startled until she smiled as she stumbled off into a deserted parking lot. She followed a sand trail to the beach where she found a sea of green where blue would usually be. Standing at the edge for a minute or two, Hermione watched as the waves splashed at the tips of her toes once she took off her shoes. One of the turtles coasted towards her unknowingly, but turned around once one of its flippers hit sand.
To Hermione, turtles were like the house elves of the animal kingdom. She was already drafting acronyms for club names.
Here they were, so magnificent and incredibly interesting, but valued for their shells by poachers and their meat by sick carnivores. It was bad enough that they had multitudes of predators out in the water, but to add humans to the mix? It was no wonder these beautiful creatures were endangered!
She knew not to touch them lest she hurt one, but she ventured into the water where she navigated the depths like a maze with walls that would shock you if you made a wrong turn. The sun played off of the water and turned the green shells gold, into tiny orbs of light as she walked among them. Hermione remembered pictures she had seen of places where the fish lit up in bioluminescence at the touch, but even that could not compare to this color palette that stretched out in front of her.
The bus honked its horn at her once it was time to return, but she barely muttered a hello to the driver before she drifted back to sleep with dreams of the secret turtles, waiting to recount the whole story to Draco over dinner.