A Family Affair

Promptly after supper the following night, Draco found himself at the door to Dumbledore's office. He raised one hand to rap on the door, and jumped a bit when the door opened before he had the chance to knock.

"Ah, Draco! We've been expecting you. Come in, come in," Albus called cheerily.

Draco entered the Headmaster's office, and stopped in the doorway, noting the presence of a bushy-haired girl seated across from Dumbledore. The girl's eyes flitted over Draco, cooly appraising.

"Malfoy," she greeted him in an icily civil tone.

"Don't call me that, Granger" Draco snarled, the tone of his voice a warning - or a threat.

"I beg your pardon?" the Gryffindor girl asked, her eyes widening in shock.

"If you find you must address me at all, call me Draco." It was not an invitation, but a direct order, and Hermione stiffened in response to the tone of command. Turning, she addressed the Dumbledore.

"Honestly, Headmaster, how can I possibly..." Albus raised one hand in a gesture which clearly said 'be still,' and she stopped her heated protest.

"Draco, Miss Granger is here at my request, and while I realize that she has inadvertently offended you, I must ask that you treat her more respectfully."

Draco snorted, reminding both Albus and Hermione very much of Severus Snape. "Inadvertently." The boy shook his head. "To her and her snotty Gryffindor friends there is no greater insult than to call someone 'Malfoy'." He paused. "Then again," he continued, more to himself than anyone, "perhaps they aren't so far off the mark."

Hermione felt her anger fade a bit as she noted pain flashing momentarily across Draco's face before he resolutely cemented his cold, indifferent mask back into place.

"Draco," she said softly, "I'm sorry. Can we start again?"

The boy looked into her eyes for a moment. Deciding that Hermione was neither pitying him nor mocking him, but was genuinely making an effort to be civil, Draco nodded slightly. Closing the door behind him, Draco made his way across the room to take a seat beside Hermione.

"I have asked Miss Granger to tutor you a bit in Muggle Studies. She knows that you are being sent away for your own protection, but of course I have not supplied her with all of the details. I believe this is the safest place for the two of you to meet without having to worry about who might see you together. Well, I will leave you to it. If you require me, Professor McGonagall will know where to find me." The old wizard stood to leave then.

"Headmaster," Draco said. "Thank you."

Dumbledore smiled and patted Draco on the shoulder before continuing on his way.

"Well," Hermione said, turning in her chair to face Draco, "it seems as though we've quite a bit of work ahead of us. First, I need to know how much you know, so I'll know where to begin."

Draco snorted again. "I take it Headmaster Dumbledore didn't tell you how hopeless this is then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know anything about the Muggle world. Nothing."

"I think you will be surprised at how much is the same, or similar, really. Of course, there are basic concepts that you'll need to learn. I remember the first time Ron tried to use a telephone..." Hermione shook her head.

"Oh do give me some credit, Granger. I'm a much quicker study than the Weasel," Draco sneered.

Anger flashed in Hermione's eyes. "I'll thank you not to insult my friends."

Draco sighed. "It's become a habit, I'm afraid."

"I'll overlook it this time, since we really haven't time for quarrelling. All right, let me see then," the girl pulled a sheet of parchment from a stack on the Headmaster's desk. Her eyes scanned the paper for a moment. "This is a list of topics which I think are important..." she stopped short as Draco tugged the paper out of her hand.

His eyes widened as he glanced over the list, which appeared to be comprised of about a hundred topics, subcategorized and sorted in order of importance. Draco swore under his breath. "I'll never learn about all of this," he moaned.

"Some of the items on that list will have to wait until you're in the United States. Muggle money for instance. It would only serve to... make things more difficult if you were to learn about British money and then have to learn about American money. Unfortunately, I cannot teach you about anything 'American', though I intend to learn about it as soon as possible now."

"Granger, could you stop prating and cut to the chase?"

Hermione glared at Draco for a long moment before turning her attention back to the parchment in Draco's hands. "I suppose the best thing would be for you to look over that list and just ask me about the things which you are unfamiliar with."

"I've heard about some of these things... well overheard about them I suppose. I've listened to some of the younger Slytherin's talking about what they've learned in Muggle Studies. Electricity, television, computers -they're obsessed with those."

"Muggle Studies! Oh I feel so stupid!" Hermione exclaimed, slapping her palm against her forehead.

Draco laughed, a genuine laugh. "You? Feel stupid? That must be a first," he said, grinning at her.

Hermione smirked. "It's not so rare as you might think. I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

"Think of what?"

"Muggle Studies. You could look over my old textbooks and then I, and later Professor Lupin and Sirius, could explain anything that isn't clear. I wonder why Dumbledore didn't...."

"He either wanted to torture me, or he wants me to learn to be polite."

Hermione stiffened, a rude retort ready on her lips, but she paused when she saw the expression on Draco's face. He was smiling mischievously at her. Draco Malfoy was teasing her! Hermione giggled.

The two grinned at each other for a moment, like old friends, before Hermione rose from her chair. "I've got to get those books. I'll be right back."

Hermione opened the door to leave, and let out a little squeak. She unexpectedly found herself face to face with Ginny Weasley.

"Oh! I'm sorry Hermione! I didn't mean to startle you. Professor McGonagall asked me to bring these to you." Ginny was carrying the very books Hermione had been on her way to retreive.

Taking the books, Hermione dismissed the younger girl with a quiet "Thank you, Ginny," and turned back to Draco with a puzzled look on her face.

"I don't know what the old man's game is," Draco said to her, "but he plays it well." He took the books from her, cast a couple of charms, and tucked the books under his arm. The books now carried titles related to Quidditch. "Wouldn't do for a Malfoy to be wandering around with Muggle Studies books, now would it?"

The two grinned conspiratorily at one another.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, then, Draco."

"Right. See you then," he said, heading for the door.

"Good night," Hermione called softly.

Draco paused in the doorway, but didn't turn to face her. "Good night, Hermione," he said softly.