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Hermione decided to give in to Draco's seduction quite a bit before the moment their lips met. Christmas was quickly approaching, one week away in fact and she was determined to make it a day that neither she nor he would ever forget.

It had been a shock to find out that not only had both she and Draco been accepted to the same Wizarding University but also that they were doomed to share a student house. At first it had been awkward, after all the unpleasantness of the war and their ongoing rivalry through Hogwarts. But all too soon those discomforts turned into an odd sort of companionship and then into a friendship that, though still full of rivalry and quite a bit of warfare, had become dangerously close.

Then it had happened. One night they were both been stuck at home together on "Date Night". Usually either he or she had a date on Saturday night, more often then not they both did. But not that time. As friends they laughed it off as a slow patch; that nobody had caught their interest and they both probably needed a quiet night anyway. They had made dinner together, talked and joked while they ate, then played some cards and later some chess.

Somewhere between the argument over Draco moving a piece while Hermione was getting another drink and the massive bubble fight while washing up their eyes started to meet. Hermione noticed how broad his shoulders were, how his leather pants clung to his strong looking legs, how when he rolled his sleeves up she could see a very pleasing definition of muscles on his arms.

Oh dear and he seemed to be noticing things about her too. His gaze dropped to her small but nicely shaped breasts more then once and even more often to her toned thighs under her simple plaid skirt and she even caught him licking his lips while staring at her mouth.

From that night forward it was on. Draco stopped dating other girls and went well out of his way to sabotage her own sex life. He used every trick and come-on line he had and that arrogant but charming smirk seemed to have moved in for good.

And against Hermione's good judgment, she was falling for it: Hook, line and sinker.

"Granger, what are you doing?" Draco asked from the armchair, not looking up from his book.

"I'm hanging a stocking by the fireplace," she replied incredulously. "It's a Christmas tradition."

"Yes, but I think you might have missed the point." Draco uncurled his masculine form from the chair and strolled to her side.

He grasped the sheer stocking with his long fingers and made a disgusted sound. "This thing won't hold the goodies Santa brings, it's too flimsy." He rubbed the stocking between fingers. "What is this silk?"

"Give it back!" Hermione held out her hand and didn't miss the amused twist of his lips when he carefully handed the stocking back.

He watched quietly as she re-hung the stocking with care. "Look I really think that you need a thicker stocking. It's a Christmas stocking we hang by the chimney not regular girly ones."

"It's my tradition and I'll do what I want," she said, her tone haughty and marched off before he could catch the mischievous glint in her eye.

The next day she had to fight even harder to hold in her giggles when Draco watched in disbelief as she hung yet another silk stocking.

She turned to find herself face to face with the taller pureblood. Her back was against the fireplace bricks and he was close enough so she could feel the heat of his body. She took in some air and tried for an innocent smile.

"Problem?" she managed to squeak.

Draco shook his head slowly and planted one hand one the wall beside her head. "Nope, not as long as you tell me what you're up to."

He was so close. Hermione could feel his breath against her lips. It would be so easy to simply lift up on tiptoes and meet those lips.

It took all her inner strength to summon up the carefree laugh that bubbled out. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. And I really don't appreciate you belittling my Christmas traditions."

He spluttered and stepped back. "Who's belittling?" Draco followed behind as Hermione headed for the bathroom. "I just don't get where you're pulling this bloody tradition from. And don't try pulling that "It's a Muggle thing" ploy again, 'cause I know all about Muggle Christmases and they all use proper winter stockings too."

"It's my tradition and that's that." Hermione walked into the bathroom and turned to face him, her hand on the door.

"So what, you want all the candy and stuff to fall through?" He leaned closer and added in a hushed tone, "are you on another diet?"

With an outraged gasp she slammed the door closed.

"Not that you need to be!" he yelled through the door.

Over the next few days more items materialized over the fireplace and though Draco watched with interest and growing concern for Hermione's sanity he had learned to keep his mouth shut.

To the stockings she added two red and green ribbons, and one abnormally long, wide and sheer white scarf.

~*~

That was it. Draco was going to get to the end of this ridiculous mystery if his life depended on it. Over the months since they had started sharing a house he had grown to respect Hermione's intellect and control a great deal and nobody could be more shocked then he when his feelings turned from respect to desire and something deeper then he ever thought he could feel for a girl.

But this was getting odd and he was seriously starting to think that she was showing cracks in that stringent sanity… Well he would just hammer it back into place. If anyone was going to send her out of her mind it would be him, in bed, possibly with fluffy handcuffs. But that was beside the point.

It was Christmas Eve and he arrived home just as the sun was setting. These afternoon library crams would be the death of him but still he was home and by the smells coming from the kitchen so was Hermione.

"Granger, you in?" He walked through the empty kitchen, pausing only to turn down the stove under the simmering pot. "Granger?" The house was quiet and the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up.

Moving slowly all his senses on alert he entered the living room and stopped dead. All the items Hermione had so carefully placed around the fireplace were gone. After all his bickering and mocking about the pathetic excuse for Christmas stockings the fireplace seemed oddly empty without them.

"Draco!" Hermione shocked voice had him spinning. "I wasn't expecting you home yet."

He looked her up and down and gritted his teeth, tightening the rein on his temper. She was wearing a simple white dressing gown and from the looks of it nothing else. Shit, he knew he shouldn't have mentioned diets. She so did not need to lose weight, in fact she was a bit too slim in his opinion, but still some women took the word to heart. It looked like Hermione had. He wondered who she had been expecting and just what sort of evening he would be interrupting.

"You took you're - bits - off the fireplace. I was just getting used to your new…" He didn't say, insane. "Tradition."

He watched as she smiled and was intrigued by the way her cheeks flushed a pretty pink. "Well the tradition isn't so much about the fireplace as the doorway."

Draco blinked. "Huh?"

But she just smiled and looked up at the archway above her head. Draco looked up and felt his breath catch. It shouldn't be possible for something so small, so simple to make his heart beat so hard. Above her head was a single sprig of Mistletoe.

It took three steps to bring him close enough to touch her and he didn't waste time. One hand grasped her shoulder and the other cupped the back of her neck. The whisper of her name was on his lips as he lowered them to capture hers.

The kiss was perfect, her lips soft and responsive against his and her own moans served only to raise his ardor.

It was a long time later that he pulled back. "But what happened to the stockings?"

Speechless and grinning like a loon, Hermione let her dressing gown drop to her shoulders and open to reveal that she was indeed wearing the stockings which were held up by the delicately tied ribbons. The only thing covering the remainder of her perfectly naked form was the white scarf barely covering her breasts and upper thighs. His mouth watered just looking at her.

Draco lifted Hermione into his arms, one arm beneath her knees the other around her shoulders. "I have to say, Granger. I like this tradition."

"Not worried about the candy falling through?" she teased.

"Who needs candy?"

They were both laughing as he carried her into his room and kicked his door closed behind them.

End