Draco Malfoy's Two Months in Muggle Land

Chapter 3: Week Two of Pastry, Potters and Pensieves

Week Two: Of Pastry, Potters and Pensieves

By the start of his second week in the Muggle world, Draco was well acquainted with the local library. After his initial skepticism about what he could learn from Muggle literature, Draco found that the array of books available to him was astounding. The topics covered were varied, and detailed, allowing him to gain a better understanding of the Muggle world in general. Now that he knew where it was, he spent all of his free time in the library. Heather had even managed to get him his own library card, a few waves of her wand providing them with the necessary paperwork needed to get one. During the days, he would sit at a table in a quiet corner, poring over books about electronics, physics and chemistry. In the evenings, he would indulge in books on Muggle metaphysics and philosophy, sometimes even immersing himself in fiction. Draco had quickly discovered an acute fascination for electronics, wanting to know how the Muggles made things work without the use of magic. He soon found that a lot of it made sense, despite his initial ignorance of all things Muggle. He also enjoyed science, finding chemistry close enough to potions that he was quite good at it. He had always enjoyed potions, not having the problems of his Head of House penalising him, like the other Houses did. He knew that a lot of the praise Snape gave him was due to his father's influence, but despite that fact he knew that he was good at the subject. Muggle chemistry was very similar to its magical counterpart. In some ways it was much inferior, not producing some of the outstanding effects produced by most potions. However, its logic, and the different reactions that could be produced from non-magical elements, was impressive.

On the Tuesday of Draco's second week at Heather's house, he discovered something else he was good at. Cooking. When he came home from the library at five o'clock, he opened the front door and was met with the tantalising aroma of freshly baked scones. Curious, he made his way to the kitchen, where he could hear Heather humming a jaunty tune to herself. Pushing the door open a little and looking through the crack, he watched as she pulled a tray of freshly baked goods out of the oven and placed it on the kitchen table. Pulling off her oven gloves, she went back to whisking some eggs. Draco must have made a noise, for she turned around and looked at him, a smile spreading over her face.

" Draco, you're home! Come in and whisk this for me, will you? I need to check on the pies."

Draco pushed the door open fully, blushing slightly at being caught spying, and went over to where she was standing. When she handed him the jug of raw eggs and a whisk, he stared at it blankly. She quickly noticed, and frowned at him slightly.

" What's wrong?"

" What do I do with this?" he said, holding up the whisk.

" You beat the eggs with it. Have you never used one before?"

" No. At Malfoy Manor, and at Hogwarts, we have house elves to do the cooking."

" You mean you've never cooked?!"

" No. Why would a Malfoy lower himself as far as to do a servant's work?" he said hotly.

" Because you never know when you'll be caught without your elves to do the work for you. Come here, I'll show you."

" But…."

" No buts! You will learn to cook something, even if it's just something simple. You never know when it might come in handy. This is supposed to be a learning experience for you, and this is a vital part of Muggle life. They don't have house elves to do their work, and they don't have magic to help either."