Cursed [Dramione/Beauty & The Beast]

Strange

Draco picked up his backpack and went to explore the rest of the house. He quickly discovered there wasn't much more to see.

Upstairs had two tiny rooms, with the bed filling most of the space in each. The bathroom was even smaller.

Draco jumped into the cramped shower. He sighed as hot water eased the aches from his body. Pulling a tattered towel from his bag, Draco dried off and changed back into his clothes. He swore as he bumped into the sink, cracking his head on the mirrored cabinet above it.

'I can't wait to go home,' Draco muttered.

Thinking of the Manor reminded Draco of the fight two weeks earlier. He cringed as he remembered the pained screams and flashes of deadly spells. He pushed back thoughts of Hermione's limp body in his arms, warm blood seeping through her fingers.

Draco shook his head, trying to dislodge the terrible memories. He wandered back through the two bedrooms, focusing on choosing one. He settled on the smaller room. He thought Hermione might like the view from the other one.

There was no wardrobe in his room, but Draco found sliding drawers under his bed instead. He unpacked his bag, folding the clothes Harry had picked up at a charity shop for him. Hermione fitted into Ginny's clothes, but Draco was too tall for Harry's.

Draco's thoughts turned briefly to Ron, betrayed by his wife as he slept. Draco knew Hermione blamed herself. Harry was working harder than ever, determined to bring the extremists to justice. Draco couldn't bear to ask how the Weasleys were coping.

'Hermione?' Draco was alarmed to find the kitchen empty.

'Here,' she called from the living room.

Hermione was sat on the sofa, a strange, black device on her lap. A radio played quietly in the background.

'What's that?'

'A laptop.'

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, inviting further explanation.

'It's, er, a portable computer.'

'...Uh huh?'

Hermione smiled slightly and gestured for him to sit down next to her. Draco squeezed into the space, sinking into the soft cushions.

'God, how to explain a computer?!' Hermione mused. 'Um...muggles use them for loads of things. You can write essays on here, play games, research things...all sorts, really.'

'Write essays? How?'

'Watch.'

Hermione opened a white screen and started typing. Black letters began to appear.

"Look. I am writing words. So much faster than with a quill!"

'How do you remember which buttons to press?' Draco asked, leaning forward in fascination. 'They're not in any order that make sense?'

'Practice.'

'You know, this is the most you've talked all week,' Draco joked. 'I was starting to think you'd forgotten how!'

Hermione's smile faded and the haunted look returned to her eyes.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you...'

'Not like I could forget.'

They fell into an awkward silence. The laptop whirred quietly on Hermione's knee. She tapped her fingers restlessly against the plastic.

'So...' Draco said, 'what else does that thing do?'

'Oh. Yes. You can search for information on here in seconds, rather than looking through hundreds of books.'