Adaptation

Draco stood at the front door of the antiques shop, his hand on the latch. He fingered the gold handle and took a deep breath as he did so. He looked through the glass of the door panel to the outside Muggle London street. Muggles casually walked by. Perhaps they were busily running errands. Or merely window-shopping. Or meeting a friend at one of the cafes down the street. All these people walking the same path, momentarily intersecting and then going on their merry way. Business as usual, it seemed.

Draco's task, from an outside perspective, was rather menial. He was to catch the bus into town. Simple enough if you were a Muggle. Not so simple if you were not.

Gingerly opening the door, Draco hesitantly walked over the threshold and found himself standing on the street. He tried to act casual but he felt incredibly apprehensive. An elderly lady carrying two shopping bags smiled at Draco as she hobbled on by. Draco gave a slight nod but the gesture was forced. Somewhat taken aback when he realised he must look like a Muggle if a stranger had treated him that way, he felt an odd mixture of disgust, shame and relief. For a moment he stared at the concrete path beneath his feet, pondering what he was doing venturing into the outside world.

He had to get to the music store. Yet he did not want to be 'mingling' out in the Muggle world. He wanted to keep a low profile.

He wore dark jeans and a cream white sweater. He would have preferred a darker colour but alas, Onyxius had no patience for such preferences. It was relatively cool outside; at least he was warm enough. Tucked in one of his jeans pockets was the piece of parchment that contained the address of his destination. In the other pocket, he kept his Muggle money.

Draco strolled down the street and then turned left into a larger street to reach the bus stop Onyxius had told him about. Squinting from the sunlight even though the sky was overcast, Draco scanned the road for any sign of the bus. Cars motored on by but there was no sign of a bus yet. Irritated at having to wait, Draco leant on a nearby lamppost and folded his arms. Number 93, he reminded himself. The last thing he wanted was to catch the wrong route and end up in some unknown county or something.

As the minutes ticked by, the more Draco realized that Muggles either did not notice his presence or did not think of him to be peculiar in any way. He was 'blending in'. It was strange to put on this act, Draco thought. To him the whole adventure was rather unnatural. This was not his natural habitat.

He was not used to London in this way. The exhaust fumes of the traffic, the sounds of cars and conversations, the peculiar shops on the street front. Finally Bus 93 arrived, coming to a steady halt in front of Draco and the other people waiting. He bit his lip and then felt ashamed at being so nervous. He used to be fearless once. And here he was, frightened of a red Muggle bus and its destination.

Draco mumbled his required fare to the bus driver and handed over the correct change. The exchange had gone smoothly and he was surprised that he had been so worried. Choosing a seat in the middle of the bus, he sat down and looked straight ahead. He chose not to pay close attention to what was going on outside as the bus rambled by. Every now and then the bus would stop to drop off or pick up passengers. Draco did not pay much attention to who got on or off. He was too busy thinking about the news Harry had for him. He hoped it wasn't bad news, but knew it probably could be.

Feeling slightly more grim than usual, he wrung his hands a bit and leant back into the seat. He scanned the back of the seat in front of him. It was covered with mindless graffiti and scratches. Preoccupying himself with studying these marks, he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around and gasped loudly, grasping the seat with his left hand as he did so. He froze momentarily and felt not only the colour drain from his face, but part of his courage drain away too.

'Sorry, Malfoy. Didn't mean to startle you,' Hermoine Granger said rather coldly.

'You almost scared me to death,' he snapped bitingly, feeling his unfavourable feelings toward her rise inside him. Reminding himself that he was on the way to meet Harry, and that Hermoine was one of Harry's best friends, he restrained himself and toned down any visible disapproval of the mudblood. 'I-I...what are you doing here?'

'Checking that you'll find your way to HMV. Harry predicted you'd take this bus,' she responded. She had probably been sitting behind Draco for several minutes now, though he had not noticed. Draco looked over the back of his seat and saw she was reading a Muggle magazine of some sort. Her handbag was in her lap.

He did not know what to say next. Guilt started to pulsate through his veins. He looked away so she could not see regret in his eyes, just in case he could not look convincingly indifferent. He felt further frightened of the thought that in some way, ever since the events of the past year, he was to be considered lesser than Harry and his heroic friends. He did not like being pitied or ridiculed. He was a Malfoy, for crying out loud. Surely Hermione looked down on him. And of what of the rest of the wizarding world? He did not want to know at present.

'Potter sent you?' Draco finally managed to ask, still not looking at Hermione.

'Yes,' she replied. 'Just in case you found it difficult. It's unfamiliar all this, isn't it? I mean, for you.'

'Obviously,' he muttered bitterly.

He glanced at her quickly and looked away when he saw that she was staring at him, watching his demeanour and reactions. He thought she looked rather tired but did not ask why. If this was how nervous he got in front of a witch, a mudblood, how would he handle returning back home?

'I don't want your pity.'

The words escaped his mouth so unexpectedly that Draco himself did not realise he had said them out loud until Hermione responded.

'You don't deserve it anyway.'

Clenching his jaw out of sheer embarrassment and frustration, Draco hardened his expression and dared to look at her directly.

She stared back for a long time before breaking the deadlock. The bus lurched to another stop and Hermione got up, stashing her magazine in her handbag.

'Let's go,' she ordered.

Draco got up immediately and followed her off the bus. They were now in a much busier part of the city. He felt a little relieved as he could now be more inconspicuous in these crowded areas. He took a few moments to take a look at the grander buildings of the shopping district and the hustle and bustle of the day.

'Keep up, Malfoy,' Hermione said as she stopped in her tracks so he could catch up.

Biting back a remark, he followed her more closely now. They weaved in and out of the crowds.

When they reached a less busy area of the open mall Hermione stopped again and Draco almost walked into her.

'Dammit,' she muttered under her breath.

'What?' Draco asked. He could see a shop up ahead with a huge sign saying HMV, so he did not understand why they had halted so suddenly.

'Friends of my parents,' she indicated, subtly pointing out a middle aged couple who were now walking towards them. 'Let me do the talking. Don't say or do anything.'

'Yes, mother.'

The couple approached and Hermione grinned at them in greeting.

'Hello Mr and Mrs Stapleton. Nice to see you,' she said cordially.

'Hermione! Haven't seen you in years. You've grown up so much!' the lady gushed.

'And who is this strapping young lad?' her husband asked, nodding at Draco. 'Your boyfriend I assume?'

Hermione looked incredibly flustered all of a sudden.

'Oh no, no! Just a friend,' she explained.

Draco felt repulsed at the thought of being mistaken for the mudblood's boyfriend. But he kept a straight face out of necessity, smiled politely at the couple and was thoroughly relieved when they walked on to where they were originally heading to. He glanced at a large clock tower in the square and realized it was time to meet Harry.

'I don't think Potter will like it if I am late,' he chided. He now took the lead, walking intently to the music store and not checking to see if Hermione was keeping up. It felt good to take charge- it had been awhile.

Draco entered the store. He had no idea what all the plastic square cases displayed everywhere actually housed. Shaking his head at his confusion, he kept walking up one of the aisles and found the person he was looking for.

Harry turned his head and noticed Draco's arrival. Draco observed the Boy Who Lived and felt a pang of harsh reality. They were now standing here man to man, not boy to boy, albeit it in the oddest of places. It was comical in a way to be in a Muggle music store with the wizarding world's most famous hero. Harry was dressed comfortably in jeans, shirt and coat and looked completely unfazed about his surroundings. Draco almost felt jealous at the ease in which Harry adjusted from one world to the next.

'Malfoy.'

'Potter.'

Draco nodded to be especially polite. As much as he hated Harry in the past, the circumstances required a degree of respect. Harry took note of this behaviour and found it interesting to see his ex-nemesis humbled in this way.

Harry looked past Draco at Hermione who was watching the reunion with interest.

'If you'd excuse us, Hermione...Draco and I have things to discuss,' he advised her.

Harry was stern but not unkind in his direction.

'I'll be upstairs in the DVD section if you need me,' she said, leaving the two wizards.

'DVD?' Draco asked.

'Wow, you really must have no clue what's going on around you sometimes,' Harry mused. 'Apologies if you found it strange that I sent Hermione to ensure you arrived here. But the news I have is important.'

'Never mind Granger. I was so out of it I didn't even notice she had gotten on the bus. You'll have to excuse my...disorientation. I'm eager to hear this news, Potter.'

'Follow me, Malfoy,' Harry said, motioning out of the store.

'Where are we going?' Draco asked.

Harry did not answer. Draco did not ask again, but merely followed Harry out of the store.