Nitwit

Hermione and Draco boarded the Knight Bus about an hour later. The took seats toward the front, though the rest of the bus was empty.

"Not many passangers today, eh, Stan?" asked Hermione.

"Din'choo hear the news?" said Stan. "Hey, Ernie, they didn't hear the news!"

"Why? What's going on?"

"That's just it, see, nobody knows. The Ministry has gone and shut down any public building. Diagon Alley is closed. Only certain people are being allowed in the Ministry. St. Mungo's is high security. It's all a big mystery!" said Stan.

"Well, it's about time!" said Draco irritably. "They have Death Eaters running about all over the place, infiltrating every single Wizarding establishment that is of any importance at all. There are spies carefully placed at the Ministry! St. Mungo's? Hah! Death Eaters fake or induce an illness to get in there and get rid of someone they're afraid will talk."

"How d'you know that?" asked Stan.

"It doesn't take a genius."

"So where are you going, anyway?"

"We need to stop by 4 Privet Drive in Surry to pick up a friend. Then The Burrow at Ottery St. Catchpole, if you don't mind. After that we don't know yet."

"That's up to you, doesn't bother us any," said Ernie.

Hermione and Draco retreated to the back where they could discuss things a bit more privately. Draco stared out the window.

'What do I know about Hermione Granger?' he thought to himself. 'She's good at memorization. She doesn't get along with her family very well. She isn't very good at hiding her feelings. She tore up her OWL results. That means that she isn't planning to go back to Hogwarts or she wasn't pleased with her results. She is the top witch in the grade. She is friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She is Muggle born.'

Considering that he had spent a good portion of his time trying to think up ways to make her miserable, he knew very little facts about her. The bus stopped and opened the doors. A tall man whom Hermione had never seen before came on. As he boarded a feeling of solemnity filled the bus and Draco and Hermione became hushed. The feeling where you have been quiet by choice, but then are afraid to make noise. Hermione moved closer to Draco and felt the presence of the blonde next to her.

It wasn't a sexual attraction, but there was an aura around him that made her feel more at ease. The bus continued on the bumpy journey. Hermione lowered her head and fell asleep on Draco's shoulder.

When Draco noticed that she was asleep he lowered her head to his lap. His shoulder was bony, more so after going a couple of weeks on mostly scraps. He tilted his head back and tried to rest. The stranger up front seemed very interested in what he was doing.

A quarter of an hour later the bus rolled to a stop and picked up a rather moody Harry Potter. He glanced around for his friend.

First he saw Draco Malfoy.

Then he saw Draco Malfoy with his best friend that happened to be a girl in his lap. This did not go over well.

"What are you doing with her, ferret?" he growled, advancing toward the blonde former-ferret. Draco looked up calmly.

"She brought me along. Bus rides make her sleep. She fell asleep. I'm protecting her precious head," replied Draco in an equally malicious I-Hate-You tone.

"Give her to me!" Harry sat down and Draco layed Hermione gingerly on Harry. Hermione stirred and whimpered a bit before coming into half-consciousness. She looked at the two boys and layed back down on Draco. Harry glowered a bit at this.

Another twenty minutes and they were in Ottery St. Catchpole. Ron came on.

First he saw Harry Potter. Then he saw Draco Malfoy. Then he saw Draco Malfoy with Hermione Granger in his lap.

"Why do you have her? If she's sleeping give her to Harry or me," he growled in an I-Hate-You tone.

"We tried that," said Harry in a Stupid-Ferret tone.

"She prefers me!" said Draco in an I'm-hotter-than-thou-and-she-knows-it tone.

Hermione woke up. She sat up and still leaned in on Draco. Harry and Ron waited for an explanation as she rubbed sleep from her eyes.

"It's kind of complicated," she said. "He's with me. He's bunking with me. You two will leave him alone."

Harry and Ron stared at her, dumbfounded.

"That's not right! This is a trio adventure. He is not part of the trio!" exclaimed Ron.

"This is my prophecy to fulfill. Who says he can come along."

"He stays and I stay or we both leave. He has nowhere else to go and I've decided people can change," said Hermione. There was no room for argument.

"Bloody git...stealing my potential girlfriend...get the nerves...never would have thought...off her rocker-" mumbled Ron angrily.

"Bloody git...imposing on my hopes...if I can't bring Ginny...better not try anything...Draco-ellina-" mumbled Harry in an equally angry tone.

Hermione looked rather pleased with herself.

The Knight Bus rolled to a stop at Godric's Hollow. There were two weeks before Bill and Fleur's wedding. Harry needed some closure so he had decided to come here. The other three stood up but Harry shook his head.

"I can't do it, not yet. Let's go camping!" he said spontaneously.

"Camping?" said Hermione, very confused.

"Camping?" asked Draco, doubly confused.

"Not camping," groaned Ron, who was not at all confused and dreaded mosquito bites.

"Stan? We can't stop here, it'd leave me with misery and angst if I come here before the wedding. Do you know of any good camping grounds?"

"Camping grounds? Er, yeah, well, there is one."

"Take us there. No, wait. Drop us off at a Muggle mall so we can buy some camping gear."

"Nearest one is about twenty minutes away!" announced Stan. "Sit back and relax, this could get hairy!" Then Stan laughed at his own stupid pun.

Nobody else laughed.

So they all sat together, a bit uneasy. Draco sat near the window, next to Hermione. Harry and Ron hovered between the other window and Hermione.

"Hermione?" whispered Draco. "He doesn't seriously mean camping does he?"

"I think he does!" she whispered back.

"No."

"Yeah."

"Crap."

"Probably."

Harry and Ron leaned in, trying to hear the whispered conversation.

"Stop it you nosy gits!" said Hermione. She whacked both Ron and Harry. Draco looked triumphant. Those whacks hurt.

He would know. Damned if he would ever whistle again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The camping store was not all that bad. Harry had to calmly explain things to Ron, while Hermione did the exact same thing with Draco. They bought a huge mess of camping gear. In a moment of genius, Draco charged it to Bellatrix. Ha! That would serve her right!

They re-boarded the Knight Bus.

They drove to a camping ground.

They set up camp.

Now what?