Draco was super excited when it came time for Hermione's first weekly visit. Well, biweekly perhaps. But they were going to be spending at least one day a week with each other. But he was still excited enough to be singing and dancing, half dressed, while the elves and his mother tried to catch him.
He sang and ducked while they stumbled all to catch him. He was having the time of his life, and was just waiting until Hermione came so he could show her his new broom.
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you will get over here this instant," his mother said in frustration.
He knew that tone of voice, and knew it well. He shut his mouth, even if he still wanted to sing, and walked dejectedly over to where his mother was standing.
She tucked his feet into socks and pulled his robes on properly. "You need to be dressed nicely in order to show Miss Granger how wizards are supposed to act."
Draco took a deep breath and nodded. He didn't like robes. But he knew that his parents were counting on him to show Hermione how to behave. And how to dress. Once she knew the basics, maybe they would let him go back to shorts and such.
The doorbell rang and Draco took off running for the door, his mother following closely behind him muttering to herself. The door had been opened when they got there, and Hermione and her mother had just given Bitsy, one of their elves, their coats.
"Draco," Hermione called. "I can't believe you live here. It's so big."
Mrs. Malfoy smiled at her. "It can be a little big. Especially when it's just the three of us."
"And the elves," Draco reminded his mother.
"I have to ask about those," Mrs. Granger said.
"Draco, why don't you take Miss Granger outside to the gardens. We'll be along shortly."
Draco nodded. "Come on. You can see my new broom."
They hurried outside, nearly tripping over the smooth floors more than once. Draco shed his robes when they were outdoors, leaving it in a pile near the door.
"I was wondering," Hermione said. "Why were you wearing that?"
"Mother said so," Draco rolled his eyes. "She says that it's our job to teach you how to be the best witch ever."
"So all witches wear robes? Do wizards wear them too?" Hermione asked. Her curiosity was piqued, and she wasn't sure she could let something like that go unanswered.
"Father says that wizards should wear robes when they can be trusted not to go running off and getting them messy or torn," Draco recited.
"He sounds smart."
"He is. He's the smartest wizard ever. Even if he says that Dumb-door is the smartest wizard since Merlin."
"Merlin's real?" Hermione was in shock. She'd heard of King Arthur. Everyone had. It was sort of a part of being British. But no one thought he was real.
"Of course he's real," Draco said. "Now come on."
He led her to a shed, where he opened the door. Inside were broomsticks of all shapes and sizes. Most of them were locked up. Only two weren't. They were both about the right size for Hermione or Draco to ride them.
"So you ride these?"
Draco shook his head. "Mother and Father ride the big ones. Father says when I'm big enough he'll teach me how to ride a real broom. But, I'm not big enough. And Mother freaks out when I go more than a few feet off the ground."
"I think my mum would do the same thing," Hermione admitted.
Draco picked up both unlocked brooms and handed one to Hermione before they left the shed. "That one won't go very high, if you're worried."
Hermione relaxed a little. She had been nervous that Draco was going to put her on a broom and then fly her away higher than she was ready for. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea of flying on a stick, but it was a lot less scary when it wasn't going to go very high.
"Are you sure it's safe?" she asked.
"Dobby's waiting if there's trouble," Draco told her. "We aren't going to let anything happen to you."
Hermione took the broom in her hand. She was still nervous, but she guessed that was normal. She had only known about magic for a fortnight. It was natural to be suspicious of something you hadn't known existed.
Draco helped her sit on it, and then it rose gently. They only went up a few inches the first time. They landed, doing this several times. Draco was aware of how scared he had been the first time he had been on a broom. And he'd been excited before they started.
Hermione hadn't known it was a thing. She hadn't grown up with quidditch. She probably had never heard of it, he guessed. And so, she hadn't ever thought about riding on a broom.
"This is actually kind of fun," Hermione said after a few times of just hovering.
"Do you want to try moving?" Draco asked.
Hermione bit her lip, still a little nervous, but nodded. "Just not too fast," she said.
Draco looked at her. "Hermione, these are toy brooms. They don't go fast. Maybe about as fast as you can run."
Hermione looked down at the broom. "I didn't know."
"It's okay. I don't think you have anything like these at your house," Draco said.
"We don't."
They flew for about another half hour before their mothers were at the veranda. Mrs. Malfoy nearly screeched when she found Draco's robe discarded on the stones.
"He wasn't wearing that when we met him at the train station," Mrs. Granger said.
"No. Lucius has ideas about Draco wearing clothes that fit him. And muggle clothes seem to be the best choice for children. Especially with his tendency to get into trouble," Mrs. Malfoy said.
"Mummy, I flew," Hermione cried as she ran up the steps. "Draco has brooms and I flew."
"Actually," Mrs. Malfoy said, "one of those brooms is for you. Draco has one, as do all his friends."
"Not Pansy," Draco muttered.
"Pansy doesn't like flying," Mrs. Malfoy said. "It doesn't mean that her parents haven't at least tried to get her on a broom."
"Who's Pansy?" Hermione asked.
"Pansy Parkinson," Draco mumbled. "Father wants me to be friends with her. But she's mean."
"Oh," Hermione's face lit up with recognition. "She's the girl who wants you to be the prince when you want to be the dragon."
Mrs. Malfoy smiled. "Pansy has ideas about what everyone should do."
"Does this mean she won't like me?" Hermione asked nervously. "Draco says that some of his friends don't like muggles and witches like me who's mum and dad are muggles."
Mrs. Malfoy knelt down. "Hermione, you are a brilliant witch. And she has no reason to dislike you, except that you're friends with Draco now. She's going to be a little jealous."
"Oh." That made sense. "Come on Draco. I'll be the knight and you can be the dragon."
They raced off to play. Their mothers watched them, so aware of the changes that would happen.
A/N: I feel like I have a million and one things to do. And instead of doing them, I'm writing fanfiction. Smart.