When Draco Met Hermione

"When Draco Met Hermione"

Chapter One: The Drive

The background was a majestic looking building complete with pillars and ivy sprawling all over the sides and onto the lawn. The Greek revival seemed like an all too perfect background for a couple who was passionately kissing on the lawn.

"I love you," said the petite blond. Her name was Amanda and she was in near tears at the thought that her fabulous boyfriend, Draco Malfoy was leaving for New York City in less than a few minutes.

Draco smiled at the girl, thinking how easy it was for Muggles to fall in love without the help of a love potion. It was as if they were automatically infatuated with the person that would pay attention to them. Amanda was one of those fabulously wealthy girls from a prominent Chicago family, obviously worthy of Draco's wealth and stature in the wizarding world. But he knew it wouldn't last, she would never understand his world. Despite his indifference to the girl, he bent down and hugged her, "I love you."

The couple resumed to kiss when a car pulled up to the curb and a very annoyed brunette witnessed the entire scene.

"AHEM!"

Amanda broke the kiss and blushed as she saw her friend tapping the wheel in obvious annoyance.

"Oh, hi Hermione. Hermione, this is Draco Malfoy." At the mention of his name, Hermione's eyes narrowed a bit and darkened, but she merely nodded her head in his direction. "Drackey, this is Hermione Granger."

Now, Hermione and Amanda had attended the same prep school before Hermione found out she was a witch. She had spent the last seven years at Salem School of Witchcraft, an all girl's school, before she was accepted into the University of Chicago. She was able to attend because aside from her magic classes, she also had a Muggle tutor meet with her everyday after school and the whole summer so that she would be able to pursue a Muggle college education. She and Amanda ended up being roommates their first year, then kept in touch the rest of college. Hermione was moving to New York City in hopes of being a writer. Coincidentally, Amanda's current beau was heading to NYC as well, so Amanda literally begged until Hermione agreed to give him a ride.

Draco studied the brunette in the car. She was driving what he now knew was called an SUV, and from the looks of it, it was an extremely large Escalade. 'Big car for a small girl,' he thought.

"Nice to meet you."

"Do you want to drive the first shift?"

Draco shook his head, "No, you're there already so you can start."

"Well, the trunk's open," said Hermione, who was eyeing the luggage on the curb.

Draco lugged his bags to the trunk and slid into the front seat. Draco rolled down the window and gave Amanda one last kiss.

Amanda sighed and got back on the curb, "Call me."

"I'll call you as soon as I get there."

"Oh! Call me from the road!"

"I'll call you before that!"

"I love you!"

"I love you!"

Hermione watched the display between Amanda and Draco for a few more moments before pressing down hard on the horn.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!

"Sorry," said Hermione as she looked at the stunned couple.

Draco looked a bit annoyed. He looked back at Amanda and blew her a kiss. "I miss you already."

"And I miss you already Drackey!"

"Bye Mandy."

"Bye."

Hermione waved at Amanda and drove towards the exit to the campus. She looked over at Draco and smirked.

"So, how did a wizard with your status end up in a Muggle university?"

Draco looked at Hermione in amazement. "My father is a feeble man; I wanted to experience something new. How did an American like you end up with a bit of a British accent?"

"Well, both my parents are from London, I was suppose to attend Hogwarts until my father found out it was co-educational, and well, he's a bit overprotective, so they wrote to the Headmaster at Salem since they found out from the Hogwarts Headmaster that it was an all girls school. My parents are Muggles; they are very set in their ways."

"Hmph," was all Draco managed to get out.

Hermione continued to talk. "Well, as for this trip, I have it all figured out. It's an eighteen hour trip which breaks down into six shifts of three hours each of alternatively we could break it down by mileage. Now, we COULD Apparate, but the ministry, and my parents insist that if I insist on writing in the Muggle world, I better get more accustomed to acting and living as a Muggle. Now what's your excuse for not Apparating?"

Draco, the whole time Hermione was speaking, was reaching in the back seat where one of his bags was. Hermione watched him stretch to the back, hoping he was at least paying a smidgen of attention to what she was talking about.

"There's a map back there............I marked the places of where we could change shifts if you still want to continue the drive with me......."

Draco plopped back into the front seat with a bag of grapes in his hand. He offered them to Hermione, who politely declined.

"No thanks, I don't like to eat between meals."

Draco shrugged and spit out a seed, not realizing that the window was closed. He grinned and rolled the window down.

"I think I can deal with the long drive. Never really been on one and Apparating makes me a bit lightheaded. Why don't you tell me the story of your life?"

Hermione gave him an incredulous look. "The story of my life?"

"We've got eighteen hours to kill before we hit New York." Draco pushed the seat back and propped his feet up on the dashboard.

"Well, the story of my life isn't even going to get us out of Chicago. I mean, nothing's happened to me yet. That's why i'm going to live as a Muggle and move to New York."

"So something can happen to you?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

Hermione gave Draco a small smile, "I can go into Journalism, hopefully become a reporter. Then eventually I want to go back to the wizarding world and start my own magazine."

"So you want to write about things that happen to other people?"

Hermione looked a bit offended that he had been so patronizing in his tone of voice. "That's one way to look at it."

Draco turned to face Hermione. "Suppose nothing happens to you. Suppose you lived out your whole life and nothing happens; you never meet anybody, you never become anything, and finally you die in one of those New York deaths which nobody notices for a fortnight until the smell drifts into the hallway?"

Hermione cringed at the thought, but she wasn't about to let some snobby prat from England put her off her dreams.

"Amanda mentioned you had a dark side. Shame she knows nothing of your family's previous 'associations' with people who have dark sides."

Draco's smirk melted. He knew Hermione was mentioning the fact that the Malfoys had once heavily supported Voldemort before his defeat in Draco's sixth year. After that, Lucius Malfoy went certifiably crazy and left his wife Narcissa and son Draco to attend to the rest of the Malfoy fortune and businesses. Draco gladly accepted Voldemort's defeat, and promptly fled to America before his father regained his sanity.

Draco's smirk returned after a moment, which was directed at Hermione. "That's what drew her to me."

"Your dark side?" Hermione contained the laugh that wanted to escape from her mouth. 'This is going to be too long of a trip,' she thought.

"Sure," said Draco with renewed confidence. "Why, don't you have a dark side?" Hermione shook her head and continued to concentrate on the road. Draco leaned back into the front seat. "No, you're probably one of those cheerful people who dot their "i's" with little hearts."

That comment definitely struck a cord in the young witch. 'How DARE he think I am a frivolous child!' Hermione took a deep breath.

"I have just as much of a dark side as the next person!" Hermione mentally cursed herself for the pathetic retort.

Draco was not about to be challenged, and he could feel a small one coming on.

"Oh yeah, when I buy a new book, I always read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side."

Hermione shook her head. "That doesn't mean you're deep or anything. Ugh, I mean, yes, basically i'm a happy person........"

"So am I."

".............and I don't see that there's anything wrong with that!"

"Of course not, you're too busy being happy. Do you ever think about death?" Draco stared out the window watching Hermione's reflection on the glass. The girl had clearly never met anyone like him, and from the sour look on her face, she was likely to throw him out of the car while it was moving. This gave Draco more of a reason to piss her off; it was one of the things he was good at.

"Yes," answered Hermione after some time.

"Sure you do a fleeting thought that jumps in and out of the transient of your mind. I spend hours, I spend DAYS........"

"Do you think that makes you a better person?" Hermione could not BELIEVE this guy. One of the riches wizards she had ever met and he was sitting in the front seat of her car soiling their conversation with thoughts of death!

Draco was getting a bit annoyed at miss sunshine in the driver's seat, that and he wanted to be the sole contributor to the conversation.

"Look, when the shit comes down, I'm gonna be prepared and you're not, that's all I'm saying."

"And in the mean time you're going to ruin your life waiting for it."

And with that, there was a long period of silence as Hermione and Draco drove into the evening.