Searching- a Dramione fanfic

Chapter 6- Help Or Harm?

Help or Harm?

Malfoy took another bite of his hamburger.

"These muggles have some weird food." He said chewing it slowly to really get the taste.

I was sitting across from him at a picnic table in a park. We had ordered sandwiches from a vendor on the other side of the park and stopped at this table to eat them.

"Weird good?" I asked.

He swallowed. "I don't know." He said and took another bite.

I watched his face change as he tasted the meat, buns, vegetables, and sauces all at once. For a second I saw him, eleven year old him. Scared and worried and unsure instead of cocky and mean and hateful. When I looked at his twenty-one year old self I saw fear behind his eyes again, but it was different.

"Why weren't you at the cafe?" I asked, taking a bite of my own burger. "I waited forever!"

"I was." He said between bites. "They kicked me out. So I decided to check out a few muggle stores. See if they had anything interesting."

"That reminds me, how did you pay for these?" I held up my burger.

"Muggle money isn't that hard to come by." He said finishing his sandwich.

I looked at him carefully, hoping he would go on.

He glanced at me and laughed at my puzzled face. "No, I didn't steal it!" He said.

I had thought that maybe he'd pulled an Analiza.

"Muggles drop it all over the place." He continued, smiling.

Seeing him smile like this was weird. It wasn't fake and it wasn't a smirk or a sneer like I'd seen so many times. A real smile looked good on his face and sounded pleasant in his voice.

I chewed the rest of my sandwich slowly and watched a small game of football that had broken out behind Malfoy. My eyes followed a preteen boy in a red sweater as he strategically kicked the ball between the feet of his opponets and made a goal between two trees. I tried to ignore the fact that I knew Malfoy was staring at me, but I could feel my self blushing.

I wiped my mouth on my napkin and crinkled up the paper as I tried to avoid his stare.

"So, how are you going to help me?"

He looked around and leaned forward to rest his arms on the table. This close I could smell his cologne. It smelled like mint and cucumbers and musk. I felt suffocated by it.

"I think I might know where your parents are." He whispered.

"Where?!" I shouted.

His eyes got wide and frightened. "Shhh!" He hushed urgently.

"What?" I said frowning and watching him.

He looked around again and then settled his eyes on mine. "I've been doing some digging in the ministry." He said and glanced around again. Then he leaned in closer and said, "Digging that could get me fired or even put in Azkaban for."

I blinked at him and nodded, not sure what else to do. Malfoy had been risking himself for me? I wasn't sure what to think.

"I found a file that mentioned your parents."

"Are they okay?" I asked getting excited. "What did it say?"

"The file says they're fine. They were witnesses to a fight between two wizards and had to be obliviated." He looked around again.

Obliviated? Again? Would it even work to restore their memories now? I swallowed to keep myself from crying. At least they were alright.

"The report says they were in Australia at the time." He continued.