The Makings of an Auror

The Makings of an Auror

Chapter 04

***

Draco awoke to the fierce wind outside, banging against the glass windows. He grumbled and tried to roll over and get back to sleep, but the wind was too noisy to be ignored. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up in bed, despite his aching head. Glancing briefly around the room, he noticed Hermione wasn't there. There was, however, a note on her bed. He ambled over, and picked it up. It was very short.

Went to pool. Be back later.

***

Hermione set her towel down at the edge of the large, indoor pool. The candles lining the room were reflected in the water, giving the room a glowing look. She dove into the water, letting the warmth of the water wash away her stress. She swam back to the edge and turned on one of the numerous taps, and the swimming pool filled with purple foam and bubbles. Hermione closed her eyes and let herself to slip into her thoughts.

"Hey." Hermione choked on a fresh wave of purple foam, and she immediately opened her eyes.

Oh, Draco," she said calmly, clutching her throat. "What are you doing here?" She hated to admit it but he looked awfully good in those swim trunks.

"I came to swim, what's it look like?" He threw his towel across the room and dove an immaculate and flawless dive. "Thank God for heated, indoor pools," he said, as he surfaced for air. "I see you turned on the bubbles. They'd look much better if they were green."

"I see you're back to your usual snooty self, and I can't decide if that's a good thing or not."

"Snooty self? That wouldn't be a compliment now would it?"

"I should think not," Hermione scoffed. "I'm not the one going around getting drunk, ruining dinners, and kissing people now am I?"

"Well I'm not the one eating dinner--wait...did you just say kissing people?" Hermione's face went white and she started backing up.

"Kissing? I meant dissing, sorry."

"Hermione--"

"Forget it!"

"Why won't you--"

"I said forget it!"

"But you said kiss--"

"Alright! Last night when you were drunk, I was taking you back to the hotel and you kissed me." Hermione said this all very quickly, and when she had finished, Draco was ashen-faced.

"I did WHAT?" he shrieked.

"You heard me."

"Why...how...what did you do?"

"I dumped coffee down the back of your shirt," she mumbled quietly.

"Which explains the blister I have now right?"

"Uhh, oops. But...you kissed me!"

"I'm not too thrilled with the fact I did it myself you know," Draco replied bitterly. "Besides, it was just a kiss."

"Just a kiss?" Hermione shrieked. "A kiss is a sign of affection shown between two people who fancy each other!"

"I'm aware of the definition Granger." They stood in silence for a few minutes, the steady drip of water strangely magnified in the room.

"I hate to interrupt, this was getting so interesting, but might I point out all of your bubbles are gone?" Hermione and Draco both looked up at the source of the voice. Clad in a silk bathrobe, Aubrey was standing near the back of the room.

"Aubrey?"

"Hey Draco! Hermone..."

"It's Hermione," she automatically corrected.

"Whatever. Isn't this quaint." Aubrey's dark eyes glittered maliciously. "A little lover's spat."

"This is not a lover's spat," Draco hissed. "Stay out of it."

"Well if it's not a lover's spat..." Aubrey reached for the tie on her robe, and she untied it and let it fall to her feet. She was dressed in a scanty and very-revealing bikini. Perhaps this was what she had wanted, because she was eyeing Draco's expression with great satisfaction. Hermione felt fully clothed in her one-piece swimsuit.

"We were sort of busy here," Hermione pointed out, folding her arms. Aubrey slipped into the pool and waded over to them.

"I see no business of yours that can't be tended to later. Come on Draco, let's go for a swim."

"I'm perfectly happy standing right here, thanks."

"You're so dull! Come on. Have a little adventure!" Draco was about to reply that he'd seen Voldemort twice, nearly gotten killed five times, and gone on plenty of adventures, but he thought better of it.

"You two can stay here if you like, but I've had enough of this ridiculous quarrel," Hermione declared, getting out of the water and grabbing her towel. Draco watched Hermione leave with a scornful face, and Aubrey waved happily. The door shut with a click.

"My God she's annoying, isn't she?" Aubrey commented, sighing and sitting on the edge of the pool.

"Sure," Draco replied, not really listening.

"So Draco, how old are you?" Aubrey asked.

"And why would you want to know?"

"Oh, no reason," Aubrey replied carefully. "Just curious."

"Fine. I'm turning eighteen in a month."

"Eighteen? Mm..."

"And you?"

"I'm twenty-two."

"Twenty-two?" Draco choked.

"And don't you dare say I'm old. I'm wonderfully young, and have my entire life ahead of me," Aubrey said. "So is that Hermone-freak your girlfriend or something?"

"Ha. That's funny. First of all, her name is Hermione. Second of all...well, she's not my girlfriend."

"And do you want her to be?"

"That's funny too. You should consider a job as a comedian." Draco sighed, closing his eyes. "No, I don't want her to be my girlfriend." Aubrey looked thoughtful for a moment before sliding back into the pool.

"I see. Well that means you're not taken right?" she said slowly, coming up closer to him and placing both of her hands on his shoulders.

"Taken?" Draco replied blankly.

"You know...are you available?"

"Available? You're acting as if I'm a lot for sale. No, I'm not available for two reasons. One, I don't want you getting any perverted ideas. Two, I don't want to be available."

"Every guy has something they want. It's deep down," Aubrey said smartly, poking him in-between his ribs. Draco sighed a defeated sigh.

"Alright you got me," he said, his voice low. "I do have this deep desire I'm just begging for it to come true."

"Aha! I knew it! What is it?"

"I want you to go away."

"You're so rude," Aubrey scowled, faking a look of disappointment.

"One of my many gifts. Now would you be a doll and leave?"

"Fine be that way," she said haughtily.

"Don't worry, I plan to." Aubrey looked like she was about to leave but she gave in.

"Come on!" she pleaded. "Let's go do something! It's terribly boring here at this Auror place. Too many serious people around. You don't want to be a serious person do you?"

"I find that a life of seriousness and solitude wouldn't be too bad, but I've got such a sharp-witted tongue that it would be a pity to go silent."

***

Hermione stomped up to the hotel room, not even bothering to dry herself with a Drying Charm. Why that good for nothing...she's just a slut with no brains, Hermione thought bitterly to herself. She set down her towel and was about to go change out of her swimsuit when she gasped.

"My book! I must have left it downstairs!" She took the lift and hurried down to the pool area. She pushed open the door and was about to grab her book when she stopped dead. Aubrey had Draco pinned against the side of the pool and she was kissing him passionately, her legs wrapped around his waist. Hermione furiously grabbed her book and spun around, making sure to slam the pool door very, very hard.

"Hermione?" Draco asked, his voice muffled through Aubrey's lips. He pushed her hard off of him, which was difficult because she had succeeded in clinging to him effectively. He jumped out of the pool and didn't even bother to pick up his towel. Aubrey cursed under her breath.

"Hermione!" Draco shouted, banging on the hotel door. She had locked him out, and him being who he was, he had forgotten the card key. "Hermione!" he repeated. "Dammit..." He slumped to the floor, his head in his knees. If only she knew WHY I was kissing Aubrey. Sighing, Draco stood up for one last go.

"Listen to me. You have to let me in, we can't keep it like this forever," he said. "Let me explain to you why I was kissing Aubrey, and you'll see what I mean." There was a silence and then a soft click. Draco turned the handle and the door slowly opened. Hermione was sitting on her bed, her book open on her lap. She had changed out of her swimsuit to her pajamas. She didn't look up when he entered.

"Hermione. Look at me," Draco said firmly. She slowly raised her head, but she kept her gaze fixed on the wall behind him. "I wasn't intentionally kissing Aubrey. Have you ever heard of the Imperio curse?" he said sarcastically. "She used it on me, alright? And sure, I tried fighting it. I fought like hell against that curse. But when you came in, she was distracted and she forgot about the curse. That gave me a chance to try and get your attention." Hermione wasn't saying anything. She just sat with a blank look on her face. "Why are you mad at me? Even if I was intentionally kissing Aubrey, it wouldn't be any right of yours to get upset." He saw her throat constrict.

"I just don't think it's fair for you to accuse me of being a git, when I went out to dinner with Jonathan, while you're down in the lobby snogging Aubrey!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I just told you that I wasn't kissing her intentionally. And besides, we were in the pool, not the lobby." Hermione folded her arms and glared. "What?" he exclaimed. "I'm not perfect like Potter you know! I can't fight the Imperio curse! Ok? Get it into your head and keep it there Hermione, because I'm not telling you again what happened down there." Draco went quiet, his chest heaving with emotion. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but only a small choking noise came out. Draco slumped down onto his bed and sat there quietly, his gaze fixed on the carpeting.

"Draco..."

"What? Are you going to insult me again?" he replied bitterly.

"I was just going to say sorry." Hermione bit her lip and closed her book, drawing her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry for getting mad." Draco lifted his head up but he didn't look at her.

"Why were you mad in the first place?" he asked quietly. Hermione didn't respond. "Why would you have a reason to get mad?"

"I...well...a reason...I don't know, it was just strange seeing you kissing Aubrey."

"Strange?"

"Yeah. It made me--."

"Jealous?" Draco offered.

"No you git, it made me want to be sick."

"Ha. I see now. So no jealousy was involved eh?"

"Shut up," she grinned. She averted her gaze and stared at her lap.

"What? Still mad?"

"Well, no, not really. I'm just thinking."

"About--." But Draco was interrupted by a knock on the hotel door. With a confused glance at Hermione, he walked over and cracked the door open. Hermione leaned across her bed to get a look at who was outside.

"--right in here--," she heard Draco say. He opened the door all the way.

"Jonathan!" Hermione said, wishing she had changed into some clothes, instead of her pale blue pajamas.

"Hey. Just wanted to check in on you, see if Draco here had fully recovered." He had on a long sleeved shirt and casual muggle jeans. It was the first time she had seen him out of robes. He even wore them to dinner the night before.

"Yeah, he's fine. But I have a question..."

"Go for it."

"How'd you find the room number?"

"Being a teacher does have its advantages," Jonathan said, with a wink. He held out her registration form, and beneath her name, she saw that in her own handwriting, she had written out the room number.

"Oh of course," she replied, handing him the parchment. "Thank you for checking in on us."

"No problem," Jonathan replied, with a wave of his hand. He glanced at Draco, who glared slightly. "I promise not to tell anyone else about Mr. Malfoy's escapade at the bar." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. I have one more question before you leave," Hermione said.

"Alright, but you're only entitled to one," he grinned.

"You're not angry about last night are you?" Jonathan looked taken aback.

"No! Of course not! It reminds me of this time when I was...oh, sixteen I believe, and I drank way too much butterbeer

"Butterbeer isn't an alcoholic beverage though," Hermione said.

"It is if you add the alcohol," Jonathan replied with a grimace. "Anyway, I'd better go. I've got lots of things to do to prepare for Monday's lesson."

"Thanks for dropping by," Hermione said again, standing up and poking Draco painfully on the back.

"Yes, and thank you for not mentioning...you know," Draco said.

"Not a problem. See you on Monday then!" And with that, he walked out the door. Draco closed the door gratefully behind him.

"Honestly," he said bitterly. "I just don't get what you see in him." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I don't see anything...I mean, not that he doesn't have the good manners, or looks, but--." She stopped, because Draco was shaking with silent laughter.

"Geez, you take everything so seriously," he smirked. She smiled slightly.

"Yes, I suppose I do." She sat back down on her bed, grabbing one of her pillows and holding it close to her. "But it's just the way I am, and you're just going to have to deal with it." Draco shrugged and sat down next to her.

"I've been dealing with it for...wait, it's only been three days. A very eventful three days."

"You're right. I can't imagine this going on for two months," she replied thoughtfully, snuggling closer to her pillow. "We'd better hope things will slow down, otherwise it would be major overload."

"We'll get breaks, perhaps a Halloween break or something," Draco said. "We should be back at Hogwarts in time for the Christmas Holidays."

"And we'll be certified Aurors!" Hermione said excitedly. But her face fell. "Nobody will know about it though, will they? Dumbledore will probably tell us not to say anything."

"Yeah, it figures all right. But at least we'll know the truth. And you'll eventually tell Potter and Weasley," he finished bitterly.

"And why do you say that?" Hermione replied defensively. "I don't tell them everything you know."

"I guess not," Draco replied. Hermione moved her pillow away to look at him properly.

"Now I have a question for you." He looked up to gaze at her. "What...well, I don't exactly know how to say this, but...what's going to happen when we get back to Hogwarts?" She finished looking skeptical.

"Classes, feasts, homework--"

"Draco," Hermione said warningly.

"What?" he replied, throwing his hands up. "You asked, I answered."

"I'm talking about...not us, as in...us, you know, but us on speaking terms." Draco was very quiet when she said this. He finally spoke.

"Well," he said slowly. "I think we shouldn't be very...public, if you know what I mean."

"Public?" she asked uncertainly.

"As in talking to each other in front of other people without yelling hurtful things," he explained. Hermione nodded.

"I suppose it's for the best," she sighed.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked. Hermione shifted uncomfortably.

"No, not really. Well, I don't know." Hermione went quiet, thinking of Harry and Ron again. "Maybe I'm just worried of what Harry and Ron will think."

"Hey," Draco said, leaning over and nudging her with his shoulder. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks." Hermione looked up thoughtfully at him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, giving him a small smile.

"I'm always right, so perk up Hermione," he grinned.

***

The weekend was very uneventful from then on, which was probably a good thing too, as the next week would be filled with training exercises. The week began with a seminar, which explained a few of the regular routines, procedures, and other essential things they would need to do before each lesson. After that, they went through a series of classes similar to those at Hogwarts, only slightly more advanced. For example: in Care of Magical Creatures, instead of learning about Flobberworms, they worked with Dragons. And for Transfiguration, they worked on Animagi forms, though the majority of the students failed.

"You cannot expect to get this the first time," their teacher had told them.

The week ended, and Hermione remembered Ms. Burton telling her to meet her in classroom F.

"I need to go talk to Ms. Burton remember?" she had told Draco. He seemed reluctant, but he eventually gave in. Hermione walked over to the classroom and opened the door. It was a small room, with only a few tables set up. She nervously sat down at one of them, her hands in her lap.

"There you are," somebody said. Hermione spun around. Ms. Burton was standing in the doorway, a clipboard in her hand. "I'm glad you came." She walked over and sat down next to Hermione, taking a quill and inkbottle out of her book bag.

"What exactly did you want to talk to me about?" Hermione asked carefully, folding her arms and leaning back.

"Ms. Granger, I have a few questions to ask you."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Are you in love with anyone at the moment?" Ms. Burton asked carefully. Hermione, completely thrown off by this statement, sat there, her mouth open in shock. But she quickly closed it.

"Well...umm, yes," she responded, her face ashen.

"I see," Ms. Burton said thoughtfully, writing something down on her clipboard. She set her quill inside her inkbottle and leaned back in her chair. "Does this person have any connections to Salazar Slytherin?"

"Salazar Slytherin?" Hermione repeated blankly. "Umm, not that I know of."

"So there's no obvious connections? I assume he's back at Hogwarts..."

"Yes, he is."

"And is he in Slytherin?"

"No."

"Okay," Ms. Burton said slowly.

"I don't really understand what these questions are all about," Hermione said.

"Well...there's this old legend...but of course it's not true, it's just a silly fairy-tale."

"What is it about?" Hermione asked.

"It's rumored to be, that whoever falls in love with the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin would have special yet strangely powerful magic. Together, Slytherin's descendant and his love would take over the world, hand-in-hand, using their special abilities."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me."

"When I did Cruciatus, you were not harmed by it. I believe you even had a vision, didn't you."

"Yes, I did."

"Then that sums it up. There is no counter curse against the Cruciatus Curse, and the only way you could have blocked it was by some strange and unexplained force. It was Slytherin's heir that was protecting you."

"Slytherin's heir protected...me?"

"Yes."

"How will I know if it's the heir?"

"You will know when you have truly found that you are in love. The heir might not even know he protected you. You two are already making preparations for the future without even consciously noticing it."

"But I don't want to take over the world!" Hermione protested.

"That part of the legend is rumored. Of course this could all just be a misunderstanding. You might not be the heir's true love after all. You'll just have to see."

***

"What did she say?" Draco asked, after the meeting. Hermione bit her lip.

"Just a bunch of rubbish, going on and on. It wasn't really important."

"Okay...but what did she say?"

"Something about a legend. But it was all a hoax." Hermione didn't know why, she just didn't feel like telling Draco. Draco...he couldn't be the heir of Slytherin, could he? Of course not! I would never, ever fall in love with him, nooo chance.

"Whatever you say," Draco mumbled.

Three weeks passed by, bringing them into the end of October. They would be given Halloween off as a treat, but that didn't exempt them from homework.

"It's going to be Halloween already," Draco commented, picking up his books and standing up from his desk.

"Things are going by a lot quicker now, thanks to the continuous work." Hermione followed Draco out of the classroom and across the grounds.

"Ha! Continuous work? I've been waiting for a day off since God knows when," Draco replied, walking past the guard at the guard at the entrance of the training grounds. "And besides, you've been working non-stop, I've labeled you as a haphazard when you're studying, because you're likely to explode if you're disturbed."

"I do not!" Hermione protested, holding her head high. "It's just important to keep up the work, otherwise--"

"Otherwise you'll get bad grades and you'll fail!" Draco finished for her, in a high voice. "I know, I know. All I was saying, is that this is going to be an extra long weekend, because today is Wednesday, right?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded. "Then we'll have tomorrow, that's Thursday, then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday."

"Yes, and your point is...what exactly?" she asked.

"We should go do something. It is Halloween after all."

"That sounds fine, but what do you have in mind? We're constantly eating out, so that's not any special, and we've already had a go at the pool, and that had bad results."

"Well," he started. "I don't have much in mind yet, but do you know of any large cities nearby?"

"Large cities?" Hermione said thoughtfully. "There must be something nearby. I'll ask the service counter when we get back to the hotel. He might know of something nearby. If we do find a city though, what do you have in mind? Movie theaters, theme parks--"

"Hermione, I really don't have a clue of what you are talking about."

"Oh my gosh that's right! You've never been to any of those! We'll do movies tonight!" she said excitedly.

"Ok, you're starting to--" he began.

"Scare you?" Hermione laughed.

"No dimwit, you're starting to sound mental."

"I'm not mental," she protested. "Movies are muggle things."

"Muggles?" Draco replied, a blank look on his face. "Movies? Ok, you're really confusing me now."

"Trust me, you'll see what I mean in a bit," Hermione replied. She gazed off, looking at the cloudy sky, which was expectant to bring more snow. Over the period of three weeks, they had received twelve inches, and every tree, every building, and every sidewalk was covered in a blanket of white glittery flakes. The sky was a dark grey, the sun concealed by a cluster of ominous clouds. All the birds had left the area, due to the snow. Hermione hugged her coat tighter to herself, but the cold air still stung her fingertips and her nose.

"I hate to interrupt your profound thinking, but we've been standing in front of the hotel for nearly five minutes." Hermione's head snapped up, and she looked wildly around herself.

"Oh yes, that's right," she said, stepping inside the hotel gratefully, glad to give her ears and nose a chance to defrost. The hotel was warm and toasty, lit by many fires and candles. Elegantly dressed people crowded it, and they chattered happily. Hermione smiled as a group of young children ran by, chasing after a girl on a runaway broomstick, which hovered only so many feet off the ground, so that her toes were grazing the floor. She spotted the service desk.

"There! The service desk is right over there," she said pointing in the direction of the counter.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Draco said quickly. "Is this the guy who was going on and on about 'ze card key, 'ze dinner 'all, ze--"

"Ok Draco, that's enough," Hermione replied. She cautiously approached the service counter, with Draco sulking behind her. "Excuse me, I have a question," she said. A short, bald man spun around.

"What iz 'ze question?" he asked, in his thick French accent. Hermione heard Draco make a noise of impatience behind her, and mutter something about 'ze stupid man'. She rolled her eyes.

"Excuse my friend, he's a bit daft today." She turned around and glared at him, and he raised his hands in a 'what-am-I-doing-wrong' manner. "I was wondering. Are there any large muggle cities nearby?"

"Why yes, there iz a city tha's just fifteen minutes away from 'ere. You can take one of our carragees out fer five sickles."

"What do you think Draco?"

"Whatever pleazeez you, m'dear," Draco said, imitating the man.. Hermione scowled.

"That'd be great," Hermione said, taking out five sickles form her purse and handing them to the man. He took them and placed them in his pocket, and then he wrote out a ticket and handed it to her. She quickly grabbed Draco by the upper arm and steered him away, as he was now waving mockingly at the man. She led him to the lift and they stepped on, Hermione pressing the thirtieth floor button.

"Why do you need to terrorize the poor guy?" she asked. Draco shrugged, leaning against the wall.

"It's fun to impersonate people, you should try it sometime," he grinned.

"Oh I can impersonate someone," she said. She took careful note of his stance, and then she too leaned against the wall. She crossed her arms, and then her ankles, and then she held her chin high. "See?" she grinned.

"I do not look like that," he scowled. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her chin, tilting it downward and more to the side. "Perhaps if you did this," he began, grabbing both of her arms and repositioning them, leaving her mouth open in shock. "There, now you look a little like me." He walked back over and leaned against the opposite wall. Hermione stood stock-still, her mouth still open. He caught sight of her gaze.

"What, now are you trying to impersonate a fish-out-of-water? Because you're doing a good job."

"Oh, no, not really," she said, as the lift's marble doors opened with a ding, revealing the top floor. Hermione walked past Draco and he followed. She took out the card key and slid it through the slot. The door opened and Hermione stepped inside, nearly closing the door itself on Draco.

"Watch it," he mumbled, closing the door behind him. Hermione was about to wander into her closet, when she stopped dead, dropping her purse and jacket involuntarily.

"What is it?" Draco asked, dropping his things on her bed. But he caught sight of a small, ripped piece of parchment that had been pinned to the wall.

I'm watching you.

***

"Hermione, you're overreacting," Draco said. She emerged from the closets wearing a low, red V-necked sweater and casual jeans.

"I'm not overreacting! You're so casual about everything! We need to take this note someplace and see if we can get the writer revealed!" she said frantically. "Somebody has been watching us!"

"I'm watching you now," Draco replied. Hermione's mouth went open in shock.

"Why do you have to make a joke about everything?! This could be serious!"

"Yes, I agree with you on one thing, it could be serious: a serious prank. It was probably just a bunch of students looking to cook up something interesting to spread around. They may be older than us, but look at Aubrey and Lambert! They're only three or four years older, and they've still got those teenage years in them, so maybe somebody like them did it."

"But I want to check, just to make sure!" she protested. "Maybe it's a hint, a warning!"

"All right!" Draco responded, throwing his hands up. "Do whatever pleases you."

"Thank you," Hermione said, grabbing her purse and jacket. She was about to walk out the door when she stopped. "Are you coming or not?"

"What, you mean you're still going?" Draco asked in disbelief. "Knowing you, you'd normally be sulking on your bed, trying to figure out whatever it is that's bothering you."

"Well today's an exception," Hermione said sweetly, giving him an annoying smile. "Look, I'll understand if you'd rather not go, but whatever floats your boat is fine with me." She watched him, as he sat quietly for a minute. But then he stood up and grabbed his jacket and wallet.

"Ok, I'll go, but these movies had better be as good as you say they are."

They went down into the lobby and handed the man at the counter their ticket. Then, he led Draco and Hermione to a small area outside, where there were four carriages.

"'ey Joe!" the man yelled. A very tall, skinny man came out from behind one of the horses. "I've got two of 'em 'ere who'd like a ride." The man, apparently named Joe, waved to Hermione, and she awkwardly waved back.

"I'll take em wherever they'd like to go," he said, in an accent similar to his friends, but not as thick.

"They'll be 'eaded to Brussels, the muggle town jus' fi'teen minutes from 'ere," the service counter man informed him, and 'Joe' nodded knowingly.

"Just step right up here, yes, there ya go miss, and we'll be along in jus' five minutes. Still gotta hook me horses up." He disappeared behind them, and Hermione stepped up into the carriage. The interior was done in purple silk, and the seats were cushiony. Draco followed Hermione and sat down across from her.

"Must be an ideal snogging place," Draco commented, noticing that in a few places, the silk was torn.

"This is going to be a lot of fun," Hermione assured him, trying to get the topic off of snogging. She didn't want him getting any crazy ideas.

"Alrighty, I just finished hooking up the horses. Ready to go now, are ye?"

"Yes, we'd like to get moving before it gets any later," Hermione said quickly. Something about Joe made her uneasy. Maybe it was just his appearance. The carriage moved forward with a jolt, which sent Hermione flying into Draco's lap. Draco looked down at her calmly.

"You seem to have this tendency to go flying into people don't you?" he said. Hermione looked up and her face was beet red.

"Very funny," she replied bitterly, as he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up. She sat back down on the seat and kept her gaze fixed on the scenery outside. They had left the city already, and were traveling through a long stretch of road that went right through a huge field of hills. The sky outside was getting darker and darker, and she even saw lightning flash in the distance. She poked her head out of the window.

'How soon until we get there?" she yelled.

"Fifteen minutes as I told ye before. By the way, where do ye want me to drop ye off at?" he yelled.

"The theater!" Hermione yelled back. "Do you know where it is?"

"Go there all the time, of course I know where it is." Hermione brought her head back inside but kept her gaze on the window. Draco folded his arms and began tapping his foot against the carriage wall. Hermione noticed this and stretched her legs out, stopping his foot with her own. He looked up at her and she met his gaze.

"Bee in your bonnet?" she asked sweetly, and somewhat annoyingly.

"Not really," he replied, pulling his foot out from under hers. "I was just thinking, as usual." Hermione nodded slowly, and then drew her legs back in, looking out of the window again. Draco took this time as an advantage to look at her closely. She looked fairly healthy, but there was something about her that made her different from the girl she was, back in third year, when he had dipped her hair in ink. Of course she had matured, he thought glancing at her figure. Her hair was still brown and bushy, her eyes chocolate brown, her smile radiant and glowing. Even when he had hated her, (not that he felt any different now, he added mentally) he had still thought her to be beautiful, in her own strange way. But the thing that was different about her was something emotionally, not physically. Perhaps it was just because she was dating Potter. Or perhaps it was because of the training. Whatever it was, he just couldn't put a finger on it. Somehow, Hermione felt his gaze and she slowly looked at him.

"What is it? Is my hair messed up or something?" she asked, patting her hair down self-consciously.

"Nope, nothing's wrong," Draco replied softly. Hermione gave him a confused look before resuming her intent gaze on the scenery outside.

"It's beautiful isn't it," she said, tilting her head to the side to look at it in a different perspective. "The snow, the sunset, the air--"

"Before you get all profound on me," Draco interrupted, causing her to glare at him. "Let me just point out that we're nearly there." He leaned over and pointed to the horizon. Large buildings were lined against the sky in an orderly manner, making them look like glowing matchboxes. Hermione even spotted a few cars, which were traveling across the many streets. Joe spoke from outside, almost as if he had heard their conversation.

"Here we are now!" They passed a large estate, with a mansion twice the size of the Great Hall; with it's neatly trimmed and pruned flowerbeds. Then they passed a section of small suburban homes, all the windows illuminated by the glowing lights inside; some of them even had televisions in the living room. Others had computers. After this, they got into the outskirts of the city, which was fairly nice, except they passed a few burly-looking men, who watched them carefully as they rode by. Finally, they reached dead center in the middle of the city. Joe parked the carriage right next to a fire hydrant in front of the theater.

"Here ye are, watch your step, and enjoy Brussels. When ye decide to come back, you'll find me right over there," Joe said, pointing to a very mature looking bar, "and I'll take ye home."

"Thank you very much," Hermione replied, beginning to step down from the carriage but wobbling along the way. Draco's hand shot out involuntarily, and she grabbed it gratefully, stepping down onto the ground, straightening her jacket. Draco hopped down and closed the door with a click.

"Alright, here's the theater, and we can go inside now," Hermione said quickly, wrapping her jacket tighter around herself. Draco went first, walking in through the marble doors. Hermione followed, but she nearly walked into Draco. He had stopped right in front of the doors, his mouth open. "Draco?" she asked. "Hey!" She tapped him on his shoulder and he looked down at her. "What's the matter?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," he replied, moving forward a bit so she could completely get inside the building. Hermione removed her jacket and shook the snowflakes out of it. She walked over to a wall where they had a display of posters, scanning the titles. Draco came over, his head tilted towards the ceiling, gazing at the different things to see.

"Which one do you want to see?" Hermione asked, running her hand through her wet hair.

"Which one? I don't understand--"

"Each one of these posters describes a little about each movie. Just...pick one that looks interesting," she explained. Draco walked a few more inches down the wall. He stopped.

"This one looks good," he grinned. Hermione glanced at the poster and made a choking noise.

"Anything but that one."

"Why?"

"Draco. It's a movie about female life guards, with fake hair, fake nails, fake--"

"Breasts?" Draco offered. Hermione glared.

"99.9% of the time, yes. Now just pick a different poster."

"All right, fine," Draco scowled. He stopped again in front of a different one. "Hey, what about this one?"

"That probably wouldn't be too bad," Hermione responded. It looked like a good adventure film, maybe even with a bit of romance and drama and mystery. Definitely good for a first time. She glanced at the rating. "Rated R?" she wondered aloud.

"R?" Draco scratched his head.

"It means the movie is for a mature audience, normally at or over the age of seventeen."

"Ooh!" Draco's eyes got bigger. "Yeah let's do that one." Hermione walked past Draco, taking out her purse and walking up to the ticket counter.

"Could we have two tickets please for the showing at seven o'clock?" she asked. The woman behind the counter typed something on her computer and then handed her the tickets. Hermione snapped open her purse and was about to hand the woman the money, but she accidentally dropped it and her money spilled out onto the counter.

"Oh I'm sorry about that," she mumbled, trying to gather the money together. The woman picked up one of her coins and stared at it curiously.

"What's this?" Hermione's head jerked up, and she caught sight of what was in the woman's hand. Her eyes grew wide.

"Nothing!" she said quickly, grabbing it out of her hand. She had picked up one of her galleons, which was roughly the size of a muggle car's hubcap. "Some candy they've just come out with. Huge isn't it?" Hermione nervously shoved the money into the woman's hand, took the tickets, and firmly took Draco by the arm, steering him backwards. She let his arm go once they had put a bit of a distance between the woman at the counter and themselves. Draco just grinned.

"You overreact too much, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Yeah, and I believe his name is Draco," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Cut the sarcasm and let's get into the theater to get good seats. Actually, maybe we should get snacks. You want popcorn?"

"What?"

"Nevermind. I'll go get some snacks, you stay here." Draco planned on watching Hermione, but the crowd engulfed her and he couldn't see her anymore. Sighing, he sat down on one of the benches nearby, putting his face in his hands. Damn muggles have to make everything so complicated, he thought to himself. Electricity, movies, cars: when would they finally be smart enough to realize that a completely different world is right in front of their eyes?

"Draco!" somebody shouted. He lifted his face out of his hands and looked up. Hermione was standing in front of him, looking oddly radiant, due to the lights in back of her. "Come on, let's get some good seats," she said, handing him a large bag of slimy, buttery popcorn. He stared at it for a minute.

"You know, this stuff looks familiar," Draco said thoughtfully. "It looks like something my mum rubs on her face every morning."

"Oh please, stop being so sarcastic. Like I said before, let's go get some seats."

"Seats? What seats?" He followed her down a long hall with many large doors. "Uhh, Hermione?" he asked, as he heard the bass of one of the movies make the walls tremble. "What exactly are these things supposed to do?"

"Trust me, I think you'll love it." She glanced down at the tickets and then at one of the doors. "Ahh, right here." She pushed it open, and Draco followed. The room was dark, lit only by a few lights along the stadium-seating isles. Hermione picked the middle row and sat down. Draco copied her actions. He picked up one of the popcorn kernels and chewed on it thoughtfully.

"Draco stop," Hermione said. "You don't eat those." She instead pointed to the fluffy popcorn itself. Draco flung the kernel at a woman in front of him, and it landed in her hair. Hermione fought very hard not to laugh. She watched as he picked some popcorn up and stuff it into his mouth. He looked skeptical for a minute, before he began to eat more.

"I guess it's good then?" she asked, with a small laugh.

"It's ok," Draco said unconvincingly, shoving more popcorn into his mouth.

"And that has to be the biggest understatement of the year." Hermione checked her watch and then leaned back in her chair. The theater was as silent as a library.

"Umm, Hermione?" Draco whispered. "I hate to break this 'moment-of-silentness' stuff, but what exactly are we waiting for?" He was looking up at the black screen, and then at the people in back of him. "Are they waiting too?"

"We're waiting for the movie to start. It's 6:57, so it should start within three minutes, but you never can tell exactly when it'll start, sometimes they're a little late."

"Who's late?"

"The people, or muggles, who put the roll of film on so we can watch the movie. Imagine pictures in the wizarding world; they move right?"

"Yeeeah," Draco said slowly, clearly not seeing where this conversation was going.

"Well, muggle movies are pictures that move, only with sound. Do you understand?"

"Well, I still don't get the whole film thing, but--" He was cut off when a loud crunching noise went through the theater. The screen went white, and all of a sudden, the film started playing. Draco threw his popcorn in the air when it first started, making the people in front scowl and move down a couple of seats. "Bloody hell..." Hermione practically choked on her own popcorn at his faces and his statements. He did this throughout the entire movie, making comments whenever somebody did something stupid, laughing louder than anyone else at the comical parts, and he even sat through an entire passionate love-making scene Hermione was too embarrassed to watch, so she peeked at him frequently through her fingers (the noise was proof enough to tell that the characters in the movie were still at it). After many heart-fluttering, tear-jerking, and scream-suppressing scenes, the movie ended. Draco left the theater in a daze, and twice he needed Hermione to stand him upright.

"Well. What did you make of it?" Hermione asked, one hand still on his arm, in case he decided to walk diagonally again. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a small laugh came out. "I take it that's good?"

"It was much better than I thought it would be," he replied, after a few more minutes. "It was...fantastic actually."

Hermione grinned. "Good. There are plenty more movies out there to see, you'll have a blast trying to watch them all." She sighed, getting out her jacket again. "I think this is plenty for tonight."

"What?"

"We should get going. It is--," she began, checking her watch, "approximately 9:30. Given the fact that we have homework, and the rest of the weekend to do things like this, we should probably get back to the hotel."

"Yes, I suppose you right. Most of the time you are, ya know," he pointed out, prodding her in the back, a gesture for her to begin moving.

"Aww, how sweet," Hermione teased, pulling her jacket and gloves on and pushing the heavy marble doors open. Draco stepped outside first, the snow crunching beneath his heavy black shoes. He shielded his eyes from a flurry of snowflakes that had just descended from the sky, and he looked wildly around.

"Uhh, Hermione...where's the carriage?" he asked slowly. Hermione appeared beside him, holding her purse in front of her face, blocking the snowflakes out as well.

"Oh great," she muttered. "Joe?"

"Check the bar, maybe he's there," Draco suggested.

"But the carriage," Hermione said weakly.

"Come on, we're not helping the situation any by freezing to death, so let's move." She obediently walked across the street, Draco following, and into the bar. The air was thick with smoke, and she coughed violently when they entered. She glanced around the bar, squinting her stinging eyes against the smoke, looking for any sign of Joe.

"Aha, there he is," Draco said. They walked over to the other side of the bar to the carriage driver. He had six empty brandy glasses in front of him, and he was downing a seventh.

"Mr. Joe," Hermione said furiously. He turned to look at her and his eyes crossed.

"Hello mum! What are you doing here?" he asked stupidly.

"I am not your mum!" she practically shouted, but Draco stopped her by placing a gloved hand on her shoulder. Then he seized the carriage driver by his shirt collar and yanked him off of his stool, holding him a few inches off the ground.

"Where is the carriage," Draco asked slowly. Joe appeared to be thinking very hard, but the only response he came up was something about more brandy. Draco tried to ignore the woman dancing in front of him, who was casting him flirty looks. He dropped Joe to the floor, wiping his hands on his trousers.

"He's too drunk, he probably didn't do anything with it. But that only leaves the possibility that it was stolen. But who would steal a carriage?" he asked in disbelief. Hermione shrugged and sank down onto one of the bar chairs.

"We'll have to find some other way to get home then," she replied, sighing. "But what other way is there? We can't rent a taxi cab, because they wouldn't be able to drive us directly into the town, and I don't want to risk looking strange, when we ask the driver to drop us off in the middle of a field."

"The Knight Bus?" Draco suggested. "Or broomsticks. But those are awfully slow--."

"Hermione?" someone asked. She spun around in the direction of the speaker. Draco turned to look too, and cursed under his breath.

"Jonathan," she replied weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"The chap must be a stalker Hermione, he turns up wherever you go," Draco muttered. Hermione elbowed him in the stomach, and Draco shrugged, a scowl on his face.

"I just dropped by for a drink. Fancy seeing you...erm, here," Jonathan said, indicating the scantily dressed waitresses in revealing maid suits.

"Oh!" Hermione stuttered, turning a brilliant shade of pink. "We--I mean, Draco and I--just got back from the theaters. When we got out, though, our carriage was missing, and our driver..." she paused, looking at the crumpled Joe on the floor, "erm, he's temporarily inactive. We don't have any way to get back to the hotel."

Jonathan dismissed this statement with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry, I brought my car. I'll give you a lift, I'm heading that way anyway." Hermione's eyes must have bugged out, because he laughed. "I am muggle born after all."

"Oh, are you sure it wouldn't inconvenience you in any way?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Hermione. The man just said he could give us a lift. Would he have offered, if he was disinclined?" Draco pointed out. This earned him another elbow in the stomach, and he went respectively silent.

"No, it's no trouble at all. But what, may I ask, will become of your driver?" Jonathan asked, nudging the limp Joe with his boot.

"He's a drunken git, it's his fault, and it's his problem, so we're just not going to worry about it," Draco said sternly.

"All right, if you say so," Jonathan said, with a small laugh. He drank the rest of his beverage and set it down with a clink. "Best be on our way then, it's getting late, and colder." Hermione and Draco followed him out of the bar. "I've parked it just down here," Jonathan yelled over the traffic. "Go ahead and get in." Hermione climbed into the front seat, forcing Draco to take the back (he wasn't very happy about this). Jonathan took a seat in the front and closed the door quickly.

"Thank you so much," Hermione said sweetly. "It's so good of you to do this for us."

"As I said before, it's really no inconvenience to me. I was just about to head out when--." He was interrupted when Draco coughed abruptly and intentionally. "Yes, best be off." He turned on the ignition. The car stalled for a few seconds, before firing completely up.

"I loved our last lesson," Hermione said politely, taking her gloves off and holding her hands up against the heater. "The one about the Death Eaters."

"I had a hunch you'd enjoy it. It's half the reason I wrote it up," Jonathan replied. Hermione turned pink and looked at her lap.

"That was nice of you."

"You know you've been thanking me an awful lot," Jonathan replied, a small smile on his face. Hermione smiled back. He looked absolutely charming in the dim light, his dirty blonde hair catching the light on the dashboard and giving him a glowing look. His dark brown eyes shone warmly at her, and before she had a chance to gaze at him any longer, he turned away. Draco noticed Hermione's intent concentration on the 'Lambert-git', and he rolled his eyes, folding his arms. Her voice echoed in his head. Are you saying I fancy him? Good God Draco, the man must be at least twenty-one. And he's a teacher. I'd be stupid to fall in love with a teacher. And besides, I have Harry don't I?

"Yes, I suppose you do have Potter," he said quietly, but harshly. Hermione turned to look at him.

"Did you say anything Draco?" she asked.

"Nope, not a word."

***

"Thank you, once again, and again and again, for dropping us off," Hermione said thankfully. "Is there any way we can repay you?" Jonathan just smiled.

"You've already repaid me with your smile. Now hurry up and get inside before you freeze to death. Go on!" He waved his hand dismissingly at Draco and Hermione, and they turned to leave, but not before Hermione waved goodbye. They heard Jonathan pull away and drive off.

"He is such a good person," Hermione said dreamily. Draco remained silent, which was a good thing too, otherwise he'd probably have spat something out such as 'Don't forget to send me a wedding invitation, or What will Potty say?'. Hermione noticed his silence and she put her hands on her hips. "You've been silent the whole drive home, Draco Malfoy. Now, would you tell me what's wrong?" Draco didn't reply, he just kept walking. "Draco!" Hermione pleaded. He stopped abruptly.

"What?" he said harshly. Hermione looked taken aback.

"Umm...nothing, I changed my mind." She didn't say anything else, not even when they were in the lift, or at the door to their hotel room. Draco unlocked the door and entered, falling onto his bed and closing his eyes. Hermione went

into her closet, changing into her light blue pajamas. When she came out, she was already dressed for bed.

"Going down early?" Draco asked quietly.

"Maybe. I'll probably just read for a bit and then tuck in. What about you?"

"Same here," he replied tonelessly. Hermione pulled the sheets down so she could climb in. She was about to adjust her pillows, when she caught sight of a parchment. She pulled it out from underneath the pillows.

"Harry..." she said quietly. Draco lifted his head off of the mattress.

"Did you say Harry?"

"No, why would I say Harry?"

"No reason."

"Ok."

They were silent for the next couple of minutes, Hermione turning the pages of her book quietly. Draco remained laying on his bed, his eyes closed, one arm draped across his face, shielding his eyes from the light of her candle. When he spoke, it was muffled.

"Hermione?"

She stopped reading and looked up. "Yes?"

"What do you think of Lambert?"

The question was so unexpected; all she could do was think for a minute.

"Think of him as...what exactly?"

"As a human being."

"Well," she began. She found that it was hard to put it into words. "I think he's very sweet, and kind, and caring. He's considerate, thoughtful, easy to get along with--."

"Ok, I get the picture," Draco grumbled.

"Listen, don't get mad at me for answering truthfully," she retorted. "You're just jealous."

"I am not jealous, Ms. Granger," Draco said slyly.

"Ms. Granger?" she echoed. "Ms. Granger? That just sounded...so...weird." Draco burst out laughing, clutching his side as he gasped for air. Hermione began to laugh a little, but then she ended up on the floor with Draco, laughing too, her head resting on his chest.

"I...really have no idea that was so funny," Draco said, after a painful breath of air, making his lungs feel like they were about to explode.

"I was laughing because you were laughing," Hermione said breathlessly, her cheeks pink. "It's just the way you said Granger...you sounded like Snape being run through a dry cleaner."

"Snape and a dry cleaner? There's a good mental image." He suddenly realized how close she was to him, and he began to grow shifty. She felt him move under her head.

"What is it?" she asked. But she too saw how close she was to him. She stood up, her cheeks still pink, though not from the laughing anymore.

"Well I'm going to get into bed, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Hermione said, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

"Yeah, you're probably right...again." She scrambled underneath the covers, blowing her candle out after making sure Draco made it to his bed.

"Goodnight," she muttered absentmindedly, not really paying attention to whom she was speaking. Draco paused.

"Night."