A/N I needed to put in a "bridge" chapter. I hope it isn't too boring.
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Two weeks later, Hermione helped Breezy as the small elf readied Lucia's things for the trip to America. Breezy was nearly humming with excitement to be accompanying the Malfoys on their trip, as she'd never traveled outside England before.
"Breezy is happy that Master and Mistress is allowing her to come to America," the elf burbled joyfully. "Breezy cannot wait to meet American elves."
"Perhaps an American male elf?" Hermione teased gently.
The adolescent elf blushed as much as it was possible for a grey-skinned creature to blush. "Oh, yes, Mistress Hermione," she admitted shyly. "Breezy is just the right age to be finding a mate!"
Hermione had never given thought before to how house elves went about their personal relationships, but she smiled to herself to know that adolescent elves were little different from adolescent humans in this regard.
"Well, I certainly hope you meet a handsome, eligible elf while we're in America, then," Hermione told her. "Any elf would be lucky to have you."
"Master Lucius said that when I find a suitable mate that he will agree to have his loyalty transferred to him and that he'll be his new butler," Breezy informed her. "Breezy cannot wait until this happens."
"Well!" Hermione said noncommittally. "That sounds very nice."
"Whats sounds very nice?" Lucius was standing in the dooway.
"Oh, it was just a bit of girl talk between me and Breezy," Hermione told him. "Nothing worth mentioning.
"I see," Lucius acknowledged with an amused grin. All business once more, he asked, "Are you about through in here? Your parents will be arriving soon for the ride to the airport."
"Yes, everything is ready to go," she assured him.
Kenneth and Jane Granger were accompanying the Malfoys to the United States on holiday. They would be spending the first month visiting various points along the Eastern Seaboard while Lucius and Hermione enjoyed an extended period of private time at their home in Salem. The Grangers would return to Salem in due course to spend a bit of time with their granddaughter before returning to England.
Taking his hand, she added, "I hope you don't mind taking a muggle commercial flight."
"It should be an...interesting...experience," he allowed. "And I agree with you that traveling by airplane is probably best considering how young Lucia is. I understand your misgivings about taking her to America by overseas apparition or flooing."
"And the five of us should be quite comfortable, considering that you bought up all the seats in first class for that flight," Hermione pointed out. "And it's better that Breezy will floo over and will be waiting for us when we get there. I don't think I could disillusion her well enough to pass her off as a two year old human child."
Lucius had come quite a long way in overcoming his anti-muggle attitudes in the time they'd been together, but Hermione recognized it was far too soon to expect him to have to deal with being confined in such close quarters with hundreds of muggles for the several hours it would take to fly the Atlantic. The fact that he was willing to step on a muggle airplane at all spoke volumes for the progress he'd already made.
A short time later, the group was pulling up at Heathrow Airport in Lucius' limousine. They'd left their luggage full size, so that they'd not look out of the ordinary when they arrived at the baggage handling area.
As he stepped out of the limousine at the airport, Lucius looked every bit a wealthy muggle arisocrat in his black Savile Row suit with Stan Shunpike placing several pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage on the pavement next to him. As he stood waiting for his in-laws to check their baggage, he noticed with great satisfaction that several passing muggle women gave him the once-over and overheard one woman commenting to another about gorgeous his hair was, which he'd chosen to wear loose that day.
Hermione had thoroughly briefed Lucius on what would happen at the airport, so he was not surprised when baggage handlers immediately appeared to whisk their luggage away and was able to properly give the information for the baggage claim tag.
Lucius was, however, thoroughly irritated about the bottleneck created by having to go through the security checkpoint.
"This is most inefficient," he complained. "Magic could accomplish this goal far more quickly with a simple wave of a wand and get people to their planes much faster. "
"I agree that it's annoying," Hermione said in a low voice. "But it's necessary to ensure that everyone on board remains safe." Pointing at a security officer running a hand-held electronic wand down the side of one passenger, she said, "And that electronic wand pretty much does the same job as if they used a magical wand, anyway. Plus, the archway you walk through and the conveyor you place your bags on also helps the process along. The only way you could make it any faster would be to add more machines and more officers."
"I see your point," Lucius grumbled. "So be it, then."
"It's nearly our turn," Hermione said. "It won't be much longer now."
The group walked through the security arch without incident less than five minutes later. Lucius and Hermione has disillusioned their wands as a precaution in case the security officers had decided to check them more closely.
As they reached the gate for their flight, they heard their flight being announced over the intercom: "British Airways Flight 309 to Boston is now loading at Gate 51."
"Just in time, I see," Lucius muttered. "We might have missed the flight had we been delayed any longer.
The haughty wizard looked around the large jet's well-appointed first class cabin in grudging approval as he boarded a few moments later. A smiling young muggle woman in uniform stood by the entrance to his left, clipboard in hand.
"May I have your name, sir?" the flight attendant chirped eagerly.
"Lucius Malfoy," the wizard said briefly favoring the attractive young woman with a brief smile.
"Ah, yes, Mr Malfoy," she said, checking his name off the list. So this was the high roller who'd bought up all the first class seats for a small party of five, she thought to herself as she continued to smile compulsively up at the handsome older man.
The wattage in her smile dimmed considerably when she turned to see Hermione boarding the plane with Lucia in her arms. Because of Lucia's obvious resemblance to her father, the young flight attendant correctly guessed Hermione's relationship to Lucius.
"Your name? she asked Hermione, now all business once more."Hermione Granger-Malfoy," she replied with the emphasis on Malfoy. She was by now well used to the reactions Lucius got from women wherever they went, but it never ceased to be irritating. She'd discussed this once with Narcissa, who had assured her that after a few years, she'd not even notice it any longer.
"Why don't you take the window seat, Lucius," Hermione offered as he joined him, "You get a much better view that way and I've seen it so many times that it's not a big deal for me any longer."
"Thank you, I will," he said, as he eased himself into the wide, comfortable seat. As Hermione fussed with Lucia, Lucius gazed out the window to see all manner of jet aircraft parked along the tarmac as far as he could see.
"I didn't realize that muggles had so many different kinds of aircraft," he remarked to Hermione in a low voice. "They've had them for about one hundred years, am I correct?"
"1903," Hermione replied. "Close enough to a century."
"Is this the first time you've flown, Lucius," Kenneth Granger called from across the aisle.
"Across the ocean, yes," he replied. "I have, however, traveled by ocean liner a few times."
Jane Granger sighed. "I've always wanted to take a transatlantic cruise."
"I think you would find it most enjoyable," Lucius said. "I've traveled on the Queen Elizabeth II a few times with Narcissa when Draco was a toddler." After a pause, he added, "Perhaps we can do it another time when Lucia is older."
At that moment the flight attendant came to stand in front of the group, between the two rows. "Welcome to British Airways Flight 309," the young woman said. "I'm Marcy, and I'll be your hostess for the flight to Boston's Logan Airport. We will be departing shortly, so I would ask everyone to fasten their seat belts and to make sure that their seats are in the upright position for takeoff."
After the group had complied, with Lucius carefully watching as Hermione did hers, the flight attendant went over the safety procedures, something that Hermione and her parents had heard many times before.
Lucius was exhilarated a few minutes later when the plane took its turn on the runway, as he felt the heavy vibrations of the engines powering up. The plane rapidly gained speed as it rumbled down the runway and finally took flight with a slight bump as the wheels left the ground. As the large jet quickly gained altitude, Lucius looked down at the ground below as buildings and cars grew increasingly Lilliputian in scale.
"Magnificent," he murmured to Hermione. "I would love to learn how to fly one of these airplanes."
If it had been any other man, Hermione would have laughed, but she knew Lucius had the drive and money to make this desire a reality. "I'm sure you'd be a wonderful pilot."
Once they reached cruising altitude, Lucius asked, "So, how long will it take to reach Boston?"
"It should be about seven hours or so," Hermione guessed. "I remember when I flew with my parents to New York one year, it was about that long."
"I know how I'd like to pass the time," Lucius growled seductively in her ear. "But I don't imagine your parents would enjoy the show."
Hermione blushed, giving him a sly grin. "Just you wait until we get to Salem, Lucius Malfoy," she warned. "You'll be out of that suit so fast, you won't know what hit you."
"I'll hold you to that," he murmured, leaning over to give her a kiss. "But that doesn't solve the problem of how we spend the time now. I don't think that looking at clouds for the next seven hours will be sufficient entertainment." After a pause, he said, "I suppose I could read awhile."
"And I brought a travel muggle chess set if you and Dad want to play," she told him. "Or you could watch a movie. I'm going to work on the outline for my first book, I think, while Mum takes Lucia for awhile."
In the end, Lucius ended up reading for a couple of hours, which made him sleepy. "I think I'm going to take a nap," he told Hermione after the flight attendant had served them a meal. "If I'm lucky, I won't wake until we're ready to land.:
Hermione gave him a kiss, as he reclined his chair to nap. "See you in Boston!"
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Thanks to all my readers for still hanging in there!
Next chapter; Yet to be named.