Grace's Time Jump Journey

Chapter 4: School

Grace:

"Thank you guys again for letting us stay here." I tell Charles and Caroline as Draco and I both mount our horses to go to town. Albert and Laura both come out of the house ready for school. "Do you guys want to ride?" 

"Pa?" Laura asks.

"Are you sure it's okay?" He asks us.

"Yeah," I answer dismounting Venus. "I'm still breaking her in, so be careful." I tell Laura as she and Albert mount her. Draco offers me a hand and I mount Jupiter wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my head on his shoulder.

"I love you." He whispers to me clicking Jupiter's reigns. We follow Albert and Laura to town and leave the two horses at the stables paying up front with what we have.

"Well, are you ready for another day of school?" I ask him.

"We're supposed to be on summer break." He tells me, "Yet here we are going to class."

"Just be happy we don't have to have Professor Umbridge or Moody teaching this time." I tell him as he wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my temple.

"I guess this is what we get for time traveling." I kiss his cheek. He smiles a small smile, but it always makes me happy when he smiles. We sit through class and then head outside to lunch. We pick it up from the restaurant and eat quietly on the steps.

"Can't we just go back?" Draco asks.

"Hey Luke, come play ball with us!" One of the boys yells in his direction.

"Go, it'll be fun for you, I'm going to read." I tell him he looks a bit disappointed. "Go." I tell him. "I'm not going anywhere." I assure him pulling out my book. He doesn't say anything else before kissing me softly on the head once and heading to play with the boys, and Laura.

I make my way back to the school and sit on the steps with my book. Draco looks lost playing ball. Laura runs over to me, "Your beau doesn't know much does he?"

"He's not used to sports, he spent more time around adults than kids his age. We only met because I was at the school where we both went, no lunch breaks like this." I tell her.

"What about you?" She asks picking up my book.

"I spent most of my time with the family, we didn't get a chance to leave the house except for shopping."

"Grace," Draco stands over me holding out a hand. I can't help but smile and take his hand. "Help me." I grin and nod.

"What are we playing?"

Albert and Laura take turns trying to  explain the game, another friend interjecting every once in a while. I nod when they finish. I turn to face Draco only to hear Mrs. Olsen's voice coming from the Mercantile. "Willie!" Willie groans and heads over to her.

They talk for a moment and I hear the horses talking and the animals of the town. I close my eyes and listen with a trace of a smile.

"Hey there." Draco says. He wraps his arms around me from behind. "Class is about to start back." I smile ducking my head to hide my blush.

"Grace, come on!" Laura says, "Come on!"

"What do you hear when you do that?" He asks me.

"Everything." I tell him, "The rippling of the creek, the trees billowing in the light wind, the saw mill, the horses, all the animals talking. Everything."

He smiles and takes my hand. We had inside and class continues. After a few more hours class is dismissed. "We're going swimming do you want to come?" Laura offers.

"No thank you though." Laura shrugs and races of with Albert and their friends.

"What do you want to do Grace?" Draco asks me.

"Let's go riding, get used to the town." I tell him. "We'll ride till we're lost."

"Lets not go that long."

"Okay, so until we find out how we got here."

"I could go for that." He agrees. We head to the restaurant and tell Caroline that we're taking the horses. Draco lifts me onto Venus's back before mounting Jupiter. "I'll follow your lead." I nod and click Venus's reins. We head off and Draco stays at my side. I try to figure out where we could be, but nothing looks familiar. We're not even in our home country of course nothing looks familiar Grace. I scold myself.

"We're going to figure this out Grace." Draco promises me. "Let's head back to the Ingalls and wash up." I nod and we head back to the Ingalls house. Laura greets us at the door.

"Grace I saw your dress in the sod house, oh it's so beautiful, Reverend Alden is coming to marry you Sunday."

"Oh, that's great, thank you so much!" I answer. "Thank your mother as well." I tell her as I head to the stream with Draco, she nods and races off.

"I'm excited how about you Miss James?" He asks me, a big smile on his face.

"I'm excited too Mr. Black." I assure him with a smile of my own.