Dramione and the Half Blood Prince.

14. The Truth

Draco and Hermione sat on the Ravenclaw table, sandwiched between one of the Christmas trees and the fire. They had still gone to every meal in the holidays, so no one would go looking for them or wonder where they were. Some of their best convocations had taken place over meal times, mainly because neither of them could interrupt or distract the other through kisses.

"That kid" Hermione pointed to her left; down the table there was a child of about 15 years old. He sat with a CD player in front of him with earphones in. Hermione, of course, knew exactly what it was – but Draco had no idea. She had loved to confuse Draco by making him guess the uses of presents that Muggle-Borns or Half-Bloods had received for Christmas. "What do you think that is?" she smiled as she took another bite from her toast.

Draco looked quizzically between the circular contraption laid on the table and the cables that travelled up to the boy's ears. He paused for a second before pursing his lips and continuing "...Is he writing a book?"

"You what?" Hermione almost choked on her toast "How did you work that out?" she grinned behind the hand she brought to her mouth to cough behind.

"He has wires running from his head to that circle thing?" Draco questioned.

"I'll give you a clue my love, the stuff runs the other way" she winked as she took another bite playfully.

"Okay then... Is it reading him a book?" he knitted his eyebrows together "no that's not possible, books don't read themselves" he shook his head in disbelief.

"You're half there" she smiled at him. "And you can get books read to you, there called audio books."

"Serious?" Draco's jaw relaxed slightly.

"Yeah, well some people record themselves saying the books and it gets transferred onto the disk that is inside the circle on the table. He's probably listening to music though. Like the gramma phone we used for the Yule ball only much smaller and more portable." She smiled, she loved how interested she could make a Malfoy of all people about the most normal of muggle objects. For example, when she had explained the concept of films and T.V, even though he had already seen one in the room of requirement he had grown gradually more and more ecstatic throughout the convocation and ended up dragging Hermione back to their room where a television and boxsets of movies stood in weighting.

"You know Granger, I might – just might though, be starting to like these muggle inventions." He smiled as he drew his eyes away from the CD player and picked up the spoon to his Owl O's again.

"POST!" A Hufflepuff screamed as he sprinted down one the isles between the tables. The hustle and bustle of the hall gained in volume as it had turned out the child was completely right.

Hermione ignored him as she moved her legs so they were crossed across the bench. Much to her surprise however, the Weasleys owl came screeching down towards the table but completely missed judged. Draco's eyes followed the bird as it crashed into the nearest Christmas tree. He choked slightly on his cereal. Hermione was unfazed by the series of events as she got up to grab the letter from the bird's beak, as she removed the article the bird jumped off the branch and flew off.

"Is that bird always like that?" Draco chuckled.

"Yes" Hermione deadpanned, she continued to look down at the letter until she sat down and noticed Draco's face. He was laughing slightly at the idiotic bird, seeing Draco laugh always made her smile. Hermione used her finger to prise open the letter and began to read.

After a few minutes and an increasingly worried look forming on Hermione's face, Draco couldn't not ask any longer "What is it 'Mione?" he blurted out, tension clearly building in him like a coiled spring.