𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲 ⇾ 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘺

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘹

"So this is a Walmart?" Draco asks, looking up at the huge building in front if him.

Phoenix chuckles, "Yes Malfoy, this is a Walmart." She says amused and walks towards the doors, "Well come on then, we haven't got all day!"

Draco breaks from his staring contest with the building and follows Phoenix in the store (not without having a mini freak out with the automatic doors of course).

"Okay let's see, if I were a men's section, where would I be?" Phoenix says, walking past the self-checkouts. "Aha! Here we are!" She sees a whole section of men's clothes lined on the wall, and runs over to it.

"Come on, Malf-" Phoenix turns around, only to see Draco isn't there. "Malfoy?" She says louder, starting to panic, but the feeling doesn't last long because she spots the wizard walking back towards her, but not empty handed.

Phoenix sighs, "Malfoy you can't just walk off like that! You don't know how this world works something could've happ-"

"Calm down, Price." Draco cuts her off, "I just went to get one of those mini car things everyone else has."

"You mean a shopping cart?" Phoenix asks, trying not to punch him.

"Oh so that's what it's called!" Draco grins with realization, causing Phoenix to face palm.

"Whatever let's just find you some clothes before you make me late for school." She says, rummaging through the racks.

"Do I have to wear muggle clothes?" Draco groans.

She stops and looks at him, "Yes, so stop complaining and help me look!" He groans and pushes through different shirts on the racks.

"Oh this is nice!" Phoenix says, holding up a black sweatshirt.

Draco looks at it, "It's not bad."

"Okay now pants!" Phoenix says, causing Draco to groan.

He follows Phoenix to the pants section, and they both start looking. "How about these?" Phoenix picks up the clothing, which happens to be baggy khaki shorts.

"Uh... no." Draco says disgusted, turning his nose up.

Phoenix laughs, "I'm just kidding, I was talking about these." She holds up a pair of black skinny jeans, and Draco looks at them for a second, before nodding his head. Phoenix smiles and puts them over her arm.

"Okay," Phoenix sighs, "Let's find a fitting room."

Draco nods and follows Phoenix to where the fitting rooms are. When they arrive, there's no employee at the desk.

"Great! Now how are we supposed to get in?" Phoenix sighs, "Wait!" She gasps, "Crawl under the door!" She points at one of the empty fitting rooms.

"Oh no I'm not doing that, this floor looks disgusting." Draco shakes his head at her.

"Oh yes you are!" Phoenix smirks. She takes the clothes she was holding for Draco and throws them over the fitting room door. "Ha! Now you have to go in." She says proudly.

Draco grumbles and lays on his back to shimmy under the fitting room. 

"Now do you know how to use a zipper or am I gonna have to do that for you too?"

"Shut up, Price." Draco says annoyed, causing Phoenix to laugh.

A few minutes pass and Phoenix knocks on the fitting room door, "Are you done yet? We still need to find you shoes."

The door unlocks and Draco walls out, with a smug look on his face, and Phoenix looks at him.

"Well, do I look hot or what?" He asks.

Phoenix walks closer and looks up at him, "You know what you looks like?" She asks him, bringing her face closer to his.

Draco looks her in the eyes, occasionally letting them trail down to her parted lips, "What?"

She smiles and brings her lips to his ear.

"A muggle." She whispers.

"Ew piss off!" Draco looks at her in disgust, making Phoenix laugh and walk towards the shoes.

Draco walks to catch up with her, and they make it to the shoe isle.

"So what's your shoe size?" Phoenix asks, and Draco smirks at her.

She looks at him and sees the smug expression on his face, "Ugh not like that, you tosspot!" She punches his arm, but Draco just laughs.

☼ | ☾

After what seemed like forever to Draco (which was only about fifteen minutes), they found him a pair of white sneakers. After a few more jokes from Phoenix ("Are you sure you know how to tie your shoes?", "Is your father gonna hear about this?", "You know rubber ducks come to life and eat you in your sleep."), she pays for Draco's clothes, and they go back to the car.

"Okay," Phoenix sighs, "Time for school."

"Ugh do I really have to go?" Draco whines.

"Yes Malfoy, you have to go." She says, mocking his tone. "It's just the first day. Besides, I'll just say you're a last minute foreign exchange student and you have to have all of your classes with me."

"Oh lucky me." Draco rolls his eyes, earning another punch in the arm.

"But you need to be careful," Phoenix warns, "A lot of girls are obsessed with you, so it's important to keep a low profile. If you draw too much attention, people will start asking questions."

"Ahh wanna keep me all to yourself, do you?" Draco smirks, putting his arm around her.

Phoenix looks him up and down, "Gross." She says, pushing his arm off her, making him laugh. "I'm serious though. If people find out you exist and you're here, it could cause problems."

Draco nods his head, "Okay yeah you're right," He sighs, "I guess I'll be careful."

Phoenix gives him a small nod, appreciative he's not being stubborn for once. She cranks her car and pulls out of the parking lot.

"Price?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how you said different people shift for different things?" Draco asks, and she nods making a left turn.

"Why did you shift?" He asks her.

Phoenix glances at him for a split second from her peripheral vision, and sees him looking at her with a genuine expression. Something she never thought she'd see on Draco Malfoy's face.

She sighs, "Well it's kind of... complicated."

He chuckles, "Price, this whole morning has been complicated."

She rolls her eyes and smiles, "Good point. I guess my main motivation to shift was loneliness." She eases off the gas, slowing down for a red light. "I don't really have any good friends here, so I think I just wanted an escape. So, when I saw other people shifting to Hogwarts, I wanted to see it for myself."

She looks over at him, to see he's looking at her, waiting for her to continue. "It took me six months to shift for the first time. I almost lost hope if I'm being honest, but I finally did it. The first time I woke up at Hogwarts, I wanted to cry, but not because I was sad, but because for the first time in a long time, I felt genuinely happy." She smiled, noticing the light turning green, and continues driving.

"Oh wow." Draco says, "I-I had no idea-"

"Malfoy it's okay, I don't need pity." She laughs lightly, "It's just been a rough year for me. A lot has happened and a lot has changed, but I'm a better person now because of those changes. It made me stronger, as cheesy as it sounds."

Draco wants to ask her what she means, but before he can, she parks the car.

"Yay we're here!" She says sarcastically.

Draco groans, not wanting to be surrounded by muggle teens the whole day.