Muggles Only

"Hermione," Draco shut the door behind him and walked over to her, "I am thinking, you never got to turn me into a muggle for the weekend, and since neither of us has any essays, perhaps we could do that starting now? No magic?" Draco was hopeful that this would take the stress off her mind. 

"I don't think you would like being a muggle very much," Hermione said, walking toward the bedroom.

"Well, I have never had the opportunity to try it out before. Plus, I am sure there are skills I need to know how to do." 

"What do you mean?" Hermione turned around and stared at him right in the eyes. Her eyes were dull and cloudy, like she was trying to hold back tears. 

"Well, I mean, you are Muggle-born, and I didn't know if you were going to want to live in the wizarding world or a muggle town. I just figured if I knew how to do more muggle things if we ended up there. I would be able to fit in better."

"Oh, Well, if you really want to." She wiped her nose and started back for the couch. "The first thing I am going to teach you is about TV. The good thing about this one is we can watch movies on it, and regular cable." Hermione looked over at Draco, who had joined her on the couch. 

"Movies and cable. Got it." Draco nodded his head, and Hermione laughed. "What?"

"Do you even know what cable is?" She asked him, she was smiling again, and that made Draco happy. He didn't even care that he had no idea what she was talking about. 

"I remember that movies are like stories you watch. You told me that before. I am not sure what cable is, though."

"Well, cable has a lot of shows, which are like short movies that play every week, and if you start one show and watch it every week, it is like a really long movie."

"I see. Cable and movies." Draco smiled. 

"Well, what we are going to start with is a really famous movie, and we will eat popcorn." Hermione smiled and got up. She summoned some popcorn and heated it with her wand; she had to cheat and use magic because there was no microwave. 

"Hey, you're cheating." Draco stood up and walked to Hermione.

"Draco, there is no microwave, and that is how you make popcorn the fastest way. So I had to improvise. I will have to find one, though, so I can show you how to use one. Muggles love them."

-"What do they do?"

"They reheat your food so that you can have your leftovers." 

"I do not know what leftovers are." Draco looked down at the floor; he felt like a real ass.

"It is when you don't eat all your food, and you save it so you can eat it again." Hermione opened the popcorn and put it in a bowl. It smelled delicious, and Draco couldn't wait to try some. 

They sat down, and Hermione put on Titanic. She then put the bowl in Draco's lap because he enjoyed it so much, and Hermione pulled a blanket over her legs. They sat there slightly awkward for a while before Hermione finally settled into the crook of Draco's arm and leaned against his chest. Draco didn't take his eyes off the screen the entire movie, and he couldn't wait to watch another one.

"Hermione, can we watch something else?" He looked down at her only to find her sleeping. He smiled to himself and picked her up carefully before walking her to the bedroom. He laid her down softly and pulled the blankets over her. He watched her sleep for a while before going back out and turning the TV off. He thought of a great idea, but he needed help. 

He walked over to Potter's and knocked on the door. Harry opened it up and had a panic on his face immediately. 

"She is fine, Potter, relax." Malfoy invited himself in and walked into the kitchen. 

"Why are you here Malfoy, it is getting late, you know?" 

"It is only like 6." Draco looked at Harry suspiciously, "I need your help."

"With what?" Harry looked at Malfoy with doubt. 

"Hermione and I are having a no magic weekend, and I don't know how to cook, but she has had a really stressful first couple of weeks, and I thought maybe I cook to make her breakfast, but I don't the first thing about that. Especially if I can't use magic." Draco waited for Harry to laugh, but Ginny came running out of the bedroom with a grin on her face. Draco decided to ignore the fact she was wearing nothing but a robe, and he just smiled slightly back at her. 

"We will, of course, help you, Malfoy." Ginny clapped her hands and pulled him into the kitchen. Harry walked to the fridge like he knew what was coming next. 

"Harry, could you get me the eggs, milk, and bread, please. Malfoy reaches into that tall cabinet and finds the cinnamon, please. I think I might need the bacon to Harry, and perhaps the sausage. Which does she like better, dear?" Ginny looked over at Harry.

"Sausage," Harry said, levitating everything over to Ginny. 

"Perfect! Malfoy the cinnamon." Ginny looked over at Draco and sighed. She then pushed him aside and pulled out what she needed. "You just need to read the label. It will turn out fine. 

"Alright." There was an uneasiness in his voice that the young couple had never heard before. 

"I am going to show you what to do, and then just try and copy me, okay. We are going to make French toast and sausage. The first thing you will do is crack an egg," Ginny demonstrated and then handed one to Malfoy. He was pleased he got it on the first try without getting any shell into the bowl. Ginny gave him an encouraging grin, "Next, put in a small amount of milk; you just have to make sure it isn't too much," She handed the jug to Draco and poured a really small amount, "A little more, and then whisk it," Draco did as he was told and then grabbed the tool Ginny offered up. He stirred it like it was a spoon, and Ginny took it back, showing him the right way to do it; once he nodded, she gave it back, and he finished, "The last step is to put some cinnamon in the mixture, but you want to add only a little, it will go a long way. I am going to show you how much, and if you are nervous about it tomorrow, you can just use a teaspoon from the measuring cup kit you have in your kitchen," 

"Alright. I got that part, now what?"Draco said, taking note of the red powder that Ginny just dumped into the bowl.

"Next, you are going to soak the bread in it and put it in a pan. You need to make sure the heat on the stove is around medium and that you put butter in the pan and let it melt before you put the bread in. First, you want to start the sausage. It will take longer than the French toast," Ginny heated a medium-sized pan and put the sausage in it, and Malfoy took note of how high the heat was. He really wanted to get everything right tomorrow. To show Hermione that he could live in the muggle world if either of them ever wanted to. 

"See how it is starting to brown; that means you need to flip it over and put a lid over it. Once the lid is on, you can start the French toast. It is going to be great. Take the bread and put it into the pan slowly. Now the key is not to check it a bunch of times; wait and be patient. Once you do this a couple of times, you will know how long it is going to take. I think it is good to flip," Ginny said, handing the spatula to Malfoy. He did as she told him, and it was perfect on that side. 

"Now you want to turn the heat down on the sausage while you finish your French toast. You want it to be warm when you serve it, but you don't want it to be overdone." Ginny explained more and more things about the simple meal they were preparing, and Draco was getting worried he wouldn't remember all the steps. The last thing she told him was to squeeze some oranges fresh in the morning for her, and if she stays asleep the entire time, put it on a tray and bring it to her in bed. That is what muggle couples do.