Chimera

Chapter 15

With a sharp crack, Draco and Hermione apparated into her flat.

Hermione immediately dropped his arm and Draco quickly stepped away from her. His foot caught on her trunk. His arms whirl-winded as he tried to keep from falling. Hermione caught him before he fell onto her bed.

"Um, my laptop is just out here," she muttered, half-running out of the room.

Draco followed, curiously examining the photos filling her walls. They were a mixture of moving and still, showing Hermione with her friends and family through the years. He marvelled at all the different ways she had worn her hair, from box-braids to a cloud of curls, and cornrows to bantu knots. 

"Ok, are you ready?" Hermione asked. She clutched her laptop bag to her chest, twisting a narrow braid around her fingers.

Draco looked up from a photo of Hermione and Viktor Krum. Hermione was beaming as they danced, twirling gracefully in and out of the frame. Her periwinkle robes fluttered as they spun.

"Nice photo," Draco said. "Merlin, that is an ugly cat!"

Crookshanks had hopped up onto the sofa and was examining Draco. His eyes, sunk into his squished face, seemed to narrow as he looked the wizard up and down. Crookshanks hissed and swiped a paw in his direction.

"Be nice," Hermione said, pointing a finger at Draco. She turned and waggled it at Crookshanks. "Both of you."

Crookshanks purred and bopped his nose against her finger. Hermione grinned and tickled him behind his orange ears.

"You never give in that easily with me," Draco grumbled as he followed Hermione out of the flat.

"He's cuter," she said over her shoulder.

The corridors were dull grey, and the floor was covered in heavy-duty, industrial blue carpeting. At the end of the hallway, Hermione pressed the button for the lift. She rocked back and forth on her heels as they waited.

Draco stood with his hands in his pockets, their figures reflected eerily in the metal doors. There was a sharp ping and the doors screeched open. They slipped inside, keeping space between them despite the confined quarters. The lift jerked downwards, throwing Draco off-balance. He bumped into Hermione's arm.

"Sorry," he said, righting himself and shuffling further away.

"It's fine."

They both stared at the closed doors. Draco examined the graffiti tags etched into the grimy metal. Hermione stood in silence, her laptop still hugged to her chest.

At long last, the lift jerked open and Hermione almost ran into the foyer. Draco walked out of the main doors and into blazing sunlight. He flinched and grabbed sunglasses out of his pocket. Hermione squinted up at him and grinned.

"Vampire," she teased.

Draco sneered. Hermione's smile faltered. His face seemed even colder with his eyes hidden. She hurried down the street and Draco followed with an easy stroll. After a few minutes, she pushed open the door of a cafe.

"So, er, where do you want to sit?"

Draco hooked his sunglasses over the pocket of his shirt and looked around. The cafe was half-full of muggles, talking over plates of greasy food. He pointed to the cleanest looking table, far from the other customers. Hermione weaved through the cafe to the one he had pointed to, and set up her laptop.

A sullen waiter came over with two laminated menus. Hermione smiled her thanks, while Draco delicately took the sticky menu and dropped it onto the table. The waiter stood nearby, tapping the order-pad with his pen as Draco glanced through the options.

"What do you, um, recommend?" Draco asked Hermione.

"Oh, I was going to have cheesey chips and gravy."

"I'll have that too then?"

"I'll have a can of coke with mine," Hermione told the waiter.

"Yeah, me too," Draco said quickly.

The teenager nodded and slunk away. He soon returned with their drinks and cutlery. Hermione turned to her laptop.

"Ok, so let's start with the 'falling angel' part, which is a reference to Christianity. That's a religion." Hermione looked at Draco expectantly and he shrugged. She sighed. "Right...so, I guess we're starting with 'what is religion?' then..."

The waiter interrupted them when he brought their plates out. Draco prodded at the strange mess of food with his fork. Hermione giggled through a mouthful of chips at his perplexed expression.

"It's good, try it!" She encouraged.

Draco picked up a small chip with his fork, frowning at it. He nibbled a corner, then popped the whole thing into his mouth. Hermione stared at him as he chewed, biting her lip nervously as she waited for his verdict. Draco swallowed.

"It's edible."

Hermione smiled in relief. He gestured with his fork for her to continue teaching, his mouth already full again.

After an hour of google images, diagrams drawn on napkins, and multiple coffees, Draco had a tenuous understanding of religion and evolution. He was a surprisingly adept student, and asked insightful questions.

"I think we should head back," Hermione said, scooping up the pile of serviettes.

She waved down the waiter for the bill and pulled out her purse.

"Oh, let me," Draco protested. His voice faded as he frowned at the money Hermione had in her hand. "What are those?"

Hermione grinned at him and flipped up a 50 pence piece. Draco caught it and examined the seven-sided, silver coin.

"Who's she?"

"You're kidding, right? That's Queen Elizabeth? You know, the ruling monarch of the UK...?" Hermione sighed and stood up to leave. "I'll explain and show you the rest of the muggle money back at the office, come on."

They strolled back to Hermione's flat to drop off her laptop, then returned to the Ministry. Harry found them sat on the floor of the office, with all different notes and coins laid out between them. Draco was peering with interest at the strangely shaped coins and colourful notes. 

"What...just...what?"

"Hey Harry," Hermione smiled up at him from her cross-legged seat on the carpet. "What's up?"

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I was teaching Draco about evolution," she said. "And now he's learning about muggle currency."

Draco nodded in confirmation. He smirked as Harry's jaw dropped slightly.

"What's the matter, Potter?" Draco sneered. "Are we talking about things outside of your realm of understanding?"

Hermione swatted Draco's shoulder, glaring at him. Draco ignored her and lounged back against his desk, matching Harry's stare with his own icy gaze. His lip quirked in a mocking smile.

"I should get back to work," Hermione muttered and gathered up the money.

"Don't stop on my account," Harry said weakly. With a puzzled shake of his head, he turned and walked out.

Hermione continued to clean up and settled back into her chair. With her back turned, she missed Draco's slight frown as she pulled out a file. He sighed and pulled a report down from his desk, continuing to work from his sprawled position on the floor.

Silence fell over the office, broken only by the sound of pages turning and quills scratching. Draco kept stealing glances up at Hermione, watching her bite her lip as she focused on the parchment in front of her. A feeling of frustration bubbled inside his chest towards Harry.