Slytherins, Kisses and Other Disasters
Copyright© 2026 by Caroline Stanton
Chapter 32: A Number Worth Keeping
Draconia Malfoy had spent the better part of seventeen years believing that Muggles were a rather peculiar people. She had been taught that they were hopelessly dependent on machines, incapable of performing the simplest tasks without elaborate equipment, and generally deserving of pity rather than admiration. After three hours in a shopping centre, she had begun to revise that opinion. After meeting Alex, she was revising it considerably faster. Unfortunately, there was one particular Muggle invention that had suddenly become very important to her.
And she hadn’t the faintest idea how it worked.
“Granger?”
Hermione looked up from her lunch.
“Yes?”
Draconia glanced towards the others. Victoria was explaining the finer points of video-game racing to Adrian, while Georgina was arguing that she could probably beat both of them despite never having played. Harry was eating the last of his chips. Draconia leaned slightly closer to Hermione.
“About that ... telephone.”
Hermione smiled.
“Yes?”
“How exactly does one obtain such a device?”
Hermione put down her drink.
“You buy one.”
“Naturally.”
“There’s an electronics shop upstairs.”
Draconia nodded.
“I see.”
A pause followed. Hermione waited. Draconia took a sip of her drink.
“Are they terribly expensive?”
Hermione’s smile widened.
“Some are. Others are quite affordable.”
“Indeed.”
Another pause. Draconia examined her fingernails.
“And would an inexpensive one be sufficient for ordinary communication?”
“Absolutely.”
“Interesting.”
Hermione watched her for a moment. Then said, “Would you like me to help you buy one?” Draconia looked up.
“Oh, I don’t know that it’s necessary.”
“Of course.”
“I merely thought it might be useful to familiarize myself with Muggle technology.”
“Naturally.”
“Purely for educational purposes.”
Hermione nodded solemnly.
“Of course.”
Draconia looked relieved.
“Exactly.”
From across the table, Victoria suddenly spoke.
“DRACO!”
Draconia closed her eyes.
“What, Victoria?”
“Just buy the bloody phone so you can talk to your boyfriend!”
“HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!”
Half the food court turned towards them. Harry nearly choked on his drink. Georgina laughed. Hermione covered her mouth. Draconia stared at Victoria with an expression that promised a particularly unpleasant death. Victoria grinned.
“Not yet, anyway.”
Twenty minutes later, all six were standing inside an electronics shop. Hermione led Draconia towards a display of mobile telephones, each with its own little aerial and keypad. Draconia examined them with the air of a wealthy aristocrat inspecting a collection of dubious second-hand artefacts.
“They are rather small,” she observed.
Hermione smiled. “That is the idea. You can carry one in your pocket.” Draconia picked up a demonstration handset and unfolded it. The little display lit up. She nearly dropped it. “Oh!” Harry grinned. “Careful, Malfoy. It bites.” Draconia gave him a withering look. “Potter, must you?” Victoria laughed. Hermione stepped closer. “Here. Let me show you. This is the keypad. You dial a number and, if there is a signal, you can speak to someone miles away.”
Draconia stared at the little display. “Without magic?”
“Without magic.”
“And it can send written messages?”
“Short ones. They are called text messages, or SMS. You type the letters with the number keys.”
Draconia considered the device in her hand. “Remarkable.”
“And all of that fits inside this little object?”
“Yes.”
“Without magic?”
“Without magic.”
Draconia looked thoughtful.
“Remarkable.”
Victoria grinned.
“Told you Muggles were clever.”
Draconia gave her a look.
“I never said they were incapable of ingenuity.”
Harry raised an eyebrow. Victoria laughed.
“Of course not, Draco.”
Hermione eventually selected a compact Motorola StarTAC, a newly available folding model with a small display and a keypad.
“This should do nicely,” she said.
Draconia examined the price. “Rather a lot for something so small.”
“Mobile telephones are still expensive,” Hermione admitted. “But this one is compact, and it will do what you need.”
“Will it make telephone calls?”
“Yes.”
“Send messages?”
“Yes, on a network that supports them.”
Draconia considered. “Then I see no reason to require anything else.” Georgina leaned towards Victoria. “She wants to talk to Alex.” Victoria nodded. “Obviously.” Draconia turned. “I can hear you.” Georgina grinned. “We know.” The next complication arose at the counter.
“Would you like a SIM card with that?” the shop assistant asked.
“A what?”
Hermione stepped forward.
“Yes, please. A prepaid one.”
The assistant nodded and began explaining the available options. Draconia listened with increasing bewilderment. Credit. Minutes. Text messages. Network coverage. Networks. She understood approximately one word in five. Finally, she leaned towards Hermione.
“Granger.”
“Yes?”
“Is all this strictly necessary?”
Hermione smiled reassuringly.
“Only a little of it. The SIM card gives your phone a number of its own, so other people can contact you.”
Draconia considered.
“So Alex will be able to telephone me?”
“Exactly.”
“And I can telephone him?”
“Yes.”
Draconia nodded.
“Then by all means, purchase the little card.”
Harry turned away to hide his smile. Once the purchase was complete, the group found an empty bench in a quieter part of the shopping centre. Hermione sat beside Draconia and opened the box. Inside were the telephone, a charger and a few small instruction booklets. Draconia watched with considerable interest. “So this is mine now?” Hermione smiled. “Yes.” Draconia flipped open the telephone. It was surprisingly light.
“Quite elegant, in a minimalist sort of way.”
Victoria grinned. “Listen to her. She is already in love with it.”
“I am merely appreciating its design.”
Hermione switched it on. A few symbols appeared on the small display. Draconia stared. “What is it doing?”
“Connecting to the mobile network.”
“Why does it need a network?”
“Because it sends radio signals to telephone masts,” Hermione explained.
Harry laughed. “Hermione, this is going to take all afternoon.” Hermione smiled. “Possibly.” After activating the prepaid SIM, Hermione began the first lesson.
“Right. This is the main display.”
“Yes.”
“You use these buttons to select different functions.”
“Very well.”
Hermione pointed.
“This button opens the calling menu.”
Draconia pressed it. The display changed. She looked impressed.
“And I simply enter a number?”
“Exactly.”
Draconia reached into her handbag. Victoria noticed. Her grin widened.
“Oh, Draco.”
Draconia froze.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Then stop looking at me like that.”
Georgina leaned forward.
“She’s getting out Alex’s number.”
“I AM NOT!”
Draconia paused. Then, with as much dignity as she could muster, removed the carefully folded piece of paper.
“I merely thought it would be useful to test the device.”
Victoria burst out laughing.
“Of course you did!”
Hermione held out her hand.
“May I?”
Draconia hesitated. Then handed her the paper. Hermione unfolded it. Alex was written across the top in neat handwriting, followed by a mobile number. Hermione smiled.
“Right. Let’s save him as a contact.”
Draconia leaned closer.
“A contact?”
“Someone whose number you keep in your phone, so you don’t have to enter it every time.”
“How convenient.”
Hermione opened the telephone directory.
“Name?”
Draconia stared.
“His name is on the paper, Granger.”
Hermione suppressed a smile.
“Yes. I’m asking what you’d like to save him as.”
Draconia considered.
“Alex.”
“Just Alex?”
“Naturally.”
Georgina leaned over Hermione’s shoulder.
“Alex the Handsome.”
Victoria laughed. Draconia’s cheeks turned pink.
“GEORGINA!”
“What?”
“Behave yourself!”
Georgina grinned.
“Alex the Very Handsome?”
Adrian laughed. Harry covered his face. Hermione was struggling not to smile. Draconia folded her arms.
“Alex will suffice.”
Hermione entered the name and number. Then showed Draconia the contact on the screen.
“There. Now he’s saved.”
Draconia looked at the name. Alex. She smiled. Only slightly. But Victoria saw it.
“Now,” Hermione continued, “if you want to call him, you select his name and press this button.”
She pointed to the call key. Draconia nodded.
“And what happens?”
“His phone rings. If he answers, you can speak to him.”
“Immediately?”
“Yes.”
“Even if he’s somewhere else?”
“Yes.”
“How far away?”
“Practically anywhere there’s a suitable network connection.”
Draconia stared.
“Without a fireplace?”
Hermione laughed.
“Without a fireplace.”
“Without Floo powder?”
“Without Floo powder.”
“Without an owl?”
“Without an owl.”
Draconia looked down at the phone.
“Good heavens.”
“Pretty clever, aren’t they?”
Draconia gave him a look.
“Potter, I am perfectly capable of recognising a useful invention.”
“That’s a yes, then.”
Hermione opened the text-message menu.
“And this is how you send a text message.”
Draconia frowned. “A text message?”
“Written words. Like a very short letter.”
Draconia brightened. “Ah. That I understand.”
“Only instead of sending it by owl, you type it with these number keys.”
Hermione demonstrated how to press a key several times to choose a letter. Draconia stared at the tiny buttons. “That looks absurdly fiddly.”
“You get used to it.”
She typed a short demonstration message, then deleted it.
“See? You write what you want, choose the recipient, and press send.”
Draconia considered.
“And Alex would receive it?”
“Yes.”
“Immediately?”
“Usually within seconds.”
Draconia stared.
“Seconds?”
“Seconds.”
Draconia looked at the phone again. Then slowly smiled.
“That is ... rather impressive.”
Victoria leaned towards Georgina.
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