Chapter Thirty
Hermione had decided to go to Venice the muggle way; by aeroplane. She hadn't travelled that way for a long time and she missed it, she missed being able to just sit down for a few hours and read a good book without any distractions.
She was eager to discover the wizarding side of Venice and was really looking forward to meeting up with Aurelia again.
She set of for Newcastle Airport early on Friday morning, she caught a train from Hogsmeade Station at 5am and the train took one hour and ten minutes, during which time Hermione had completed reading her new arithmancy book.
The weather had definitely taken a turn for the worse and the wind and rain battered the windows of the carriage as it wound it's way through the wild panaromic views of the surrounding moors and mountains. By the end of the journey however, the scene outside the windows had changed radically, stunning English landscapes had given way to the bustling sights and sounds of the vibrant and archeologically diverse city of Newcastle.
The rain was still pouring down in a bitter deluge as Hermione stepped off the train. The wind was too violent to use an umbrella so Hermione held her leather overnight bag over the head, but by the time Hermione had manged to hail herself a cab, she was soaking wet from head to toe. The rain seemed to be falling from every direction as the wind whipped it up into a frenzy of icy beads that stung any explosed flesh as they were buffeted against it.
The back of the cab were Hermione had been sitting was saturated with rain water when she got out.
She walked briskly into the airport's main terminal, shivering and dripping. She had two hours to wait after checking in, until her flight took off so Hermione decided to take a wander around the shops.
The first shop she went into had a huge poster hung right inside the entrance.
"Get lost in the magical new novel by a fresh and imaginitive young author. 'A Dragon Can Change it's Spots' by Draco Malfoy, is an eye-opening romantic fantasy set in a mythical land where magic, mystery and deep dark evil are all just a part of every-day life.
The moving and sometimes horrendous confessions of Malfoy's alter ego, will move you to tears and sometimes scare the pants off you, and the world which he has created is both unbelievable and utterly believable at the same time.
If you only buy one new book this season, make it this one! You won't regret it."
Beneath this glowing review was an arty black and white photograph of Draco wearing a plain grey suit and sitting on a black leather chair.
Hermione stood staring at the advertisement for some time, her eyes searching the photograph, pointlessly she thought about how strange it had become for her to view a non-moving photograph. She looked into the motionless eyes and was reminded of her nightmare. She picked up a copy of Draco's "novel", and without even thinking, she took it to the till and paid for it.
Soon she was boarding the plane and after the safety drill Hermione took the book out of the plastic bag, she sat with it in her lap, and during the uneventful two and three quarter hour flight she had read the book from cover to cover once more.
As she left the Marco Polo airport in Venice she noticed a rotund man holding out a cardboard notice, "Professor Hermyonie Granger" it said in a barely legible mis-spelled scrawl. Hermione walked over to him.
"Professor Granger?" The man asked in a surprisingly deep voice for such a little man.
"Yes, that's me," Hermione answered.
"This way to your car."