Winter Writer's Duel 2013
Prompt Three- Under the Mistletoe
Mistletoe Masquerade.
Hermione Granger was grumpy when she got home. She'd had a particularly long day at her office, most of which was spent arguing with the rest of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures about the idea that all werewolves should be forced to re-register with the department so that they could be kept track of since there had been some issues recently over in Canada where wolf attacks were being blamed on werewolves and the Ministry in Britain was trying to avoid such issues here.
It had put her in a bad mood, and the idea of having to go the work Christmas party that evening made her want to hex someone. Everyone was going of course, so there was no way she could get out of it and Ginny would be arriving with Harry to pick her up at eight, which was precisely two hours from now. Hermione scowled at her clock before stripping and heading for the shower.
An hour later, Hermione peered at her reflection wanting to wrinkle her nose in disgust with herself. She'd already tried on seven different dresses and was having absolutely no luck in finding something flattering to wear this evening. Everything made her look too fat or too pale, too scrawny or too washed out. It was a nightmare.
Just as she was reaching for the eighth and final formal dress she owned, knowing in her heart that it wouldn't do at all since it was a gaudy shade of orange, something she'd been given as a gift a few years ago from one of her grandparents and had never had the heart to give away, nor the sense of self-loathing to wear, Hermione heard an urgent tapping at her window. Wondering what it could be, she wrapped her dressing gown around herself and went to the window, throwing it wide in surprise when she saw two eagle owls hovering there holding a large box between them.
They immediately swooped inside and dropped the box on her bed, both of them hooting at her a little indignantly before swooping right back out the window as though she had offended them. Shaking her head, Hermione closed the window behind them and walked swiftly across her bedroom to see what she'd been sent. Such a large parcel was unusual but as Hermione came across it she felt her curiosity pique.
It was a white clothing box with an expensive wizarding brand scrawled across it. Excitedly lifting the lid, Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat. Inside was the most beautiful gown she'd ever laid eyes on, and given that she had been working at the Ministry for almost seven years, surrounded by people who dressed exquisitely, that was saying something.
The gown was backless, with an elegant sweet heart halter-neck and full princess skirt. It was a rich shade of black, decorated with intricate flower-design lacework over the bodice that emphasised her hourglass figure and modest breasts. Slipping it on, Hermione gasped as the silk lining caressing her skin. Included in the box were a pair of graceful black heels, and a black and white lace eye-mask decorated with an emerald green feather, keeping with the masquerade theme of the evening.
When she looked in the mirror, Hermione felt feminie and beautiful in an exotic sort of way, for the first time feeling as though tonight she would be one of the women that was stared at enviously by others. She styled her hair in a simple, elegant side pony-tail, leaving her curls long and sleek to hang down over her shoulder.
Searching through the box this marvellous gift had come in, Hermione found a note. It was written in unfamiliar, loopy handwriting.
Just in case.
Was all it said. It wasn't signed by anyone, and Hermione felt her curiosity pique even further. Who would possibly know exactly her size and style so well as to purchase this for her, and yet not take the credit for it. The only person that familiar with her body was Ron, but she and Ron hadn't worked out and so Hermione doubted he would send her such a gift. Besides, he'd gone on to marry a lovely young woman named Scarlett.
Ginny and Harry surely wouldn't give her such a gift without claiming the credit, and Hermione didn't really have anyone else in her life that would give her such an expensive and delightful gift.
"Hermione are you ready? We need to be on our way" Ginny Weasley's voice called from her living room.
"Ok, I'm on my way now" Hermione called back to her, noticing suddenly that there was more to her parcel as she pulled out a little clutch purse that matched her dress perfectly. Tucking her money, some lip gloss and her wand inside it, Hermione left her bedroom.
"Oh my!" Ginny gasped when she caught sight of Hermione "You look absolutely stunning Hermione!"
"Thank you, you look beautiful as well Ginny" Hermione complimented her best friend. Harry was too busy staring at her with his mouth open in surprise to compliment her.
"Should we be on our way then? We're going to be late" Hermione said uncomfortably when both of her friends kept on staring at her.
"Oh, yes, yes we should" Harry said, finally regaining his sense "You look beautiful 'Mione."
Moving towards the couple, Hermione clasped Harry's arm and let him apparate her to Ministry. The room was beautifully decorated, and almost immediately a masked waiter in a tuxedo approached them, offering them champagne and firewhiskey. Hermione held her champagne loosely, looking around at the sea of people already at the party. She felt a little uncomfortable in her fancy gown, but soon forgot about her nervousness as she was drawn into conversation with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Scarlett, Neville and Seamus.
Two hours later, Hermione was on her way back from the lavatory when she stopped in a doorway, scanning the crowd for her friends or colleagues and hoping to get hold of another drink. She was so caught up in her search that she did not notice the way she was perfectly situated under a large bush of mistletoe. She also didn't notice the man in black dress robes complimented by silver and a mask that hid his identity very well indeed, who happened to have been standing by the door, waiting for her return.
Hermione was startled when she felt someone's cool fingers grip her hand in a gentle yet firm grip.
"I was hoping I'd catch you under the mistletoe tonight" a rich, deep voice murmured in her ear "I waited here for you, just in case."
Before Hermione was entirely aware of what was happening, and before she could get a look at the man speaking to her, she found herself begin turned and then pulled against a firm masculine body. Cool fingers caressed the bare skin of her back deliciously and before she could even think to protest, silky soft lips met hers.
At first Hermione was too shocked to respond to the warm lips that moved against hers so skilfully, but after a moment she came to her senses, and knowing it was wrong but feeling strangely intoxicated and spontaneous, Hermione kissed him back hungrily. She felt him smirk against her lips as she responded and breathed in his warm, crisp scent of pine needles and freshly mown grass. When his tongue swept against the seam of her lips in askance, Hermione slowly let them part, allowing him entrance. With her eyes closed tightly, Hermione felt her stomach swooping with excitement and pleasure as his tongue dipped in to stroke hers tenderly. He tasted like a strange combination of spearmint toothpaste and whiskey.
Her heart began to race as his cool hands pressed her body intimately against his, making Hermione forget about everything but the way he was making her feel with the most incredibly intoxicating kiss she had ever been given. She forgot all about the fact that she was in the middle of a staff Christmas ball, and that she had no idea who she was snogging. Instead Hermione completely surrendering to the way this mystery man was sweeping her completely off her feet. Her hands came up to tangle in silky soft hair and she almost didn't notice the little whimper of pleasure he elicited from her, a sound he swallowed hungrily as he kissed her in such a way that made her feel as though he hungered to devour her body and soul and claim her completely as his for all of time.
She didn't even know who she was snogging, all Hermione knew was that she had never been kissed this way before and that she never wanted to stop snogging this man. The feel of his hard warm body pressed against hers made her long for something more than such an intoxicating kiss. Hermione lost track of time as she snogged the sinfully skilled stranger beneath the mistletoe, forgetting about everything else but how it felt to be kissed and touched again.
Ever so slowly, he began to pull back, kissing her lips for a few moments more, before resting his forehead gently against hers.
Hermione's eyes fluttered open slowly and she felt as though she was coming out of a trance. Slowly she became aware of the giggling and chatter around them, and of the way his cool fingers gripped her lower back firmly. Her body was moulded against his form in a way that she ought to be embarrassed about but Hermione didn't really care at that moment. Slowly she lifted her gaze to meet his through the confines of their masks. Grey eyes darkened with lust met hers and Hermione felt herself smiling dreamily, feeling lighter than air in his embrace.
"You have no idea how long I've waited to do that" he murmured to her, voice low and husky with desire, causing Hermione's body to react to him even more than it already had.
"No one has ever kissed me like that" Hermione whispered back to him, bringing her finger down to trace the shape of his soft lips lightly. He smirked at her words and Hermione slowly leant away from him, trying to see who it was that had snogged her so hungrily. Before she could, one of his hands trailed all the way up her back until his arm could hold her captive against his chest and he lowered his lips to hers a second time.
Hermione forgot all about trying to find out who he was as she was once again swept up in the intoxicating magic of his kiss and when they came up for air she knew she was breathing hard with feeling.
"Who are you?" Hermione breathed to him trying to get her thoughts back in order after he'd scrambled them so completely. He smirked again, reminding Hermione of someone though she couldn't put her finger on whom.
"I'll give you three guesses Granger" the stranger replied and Hermione slowly pulled out of his embrace, though not completely since he kept his hands on her lower back possessively, seeming to enjoy the fell of her skin beneath his finger since he kept trailing them there lightly.
His mask completely hid his identity. She couldn't even see any of his hair, only his eyes, which were dancing with lust and amusement as she tried to figure out who he was. His low, husky voice was echoing inside her mind and some niggling thought kept trying to form, trying to fill the rest of her snog addled brain with the information pertaining to his identity.
"I honestly have no idea, though you clearly know me" Hermione told him apologetically, earning herself another highly familiar smirk.
"I'm glad you decided to wear the dress Granger" he said to her and a very familiar voice. Staring into his eyes and looking at his smirk with his low, cruel-edged voice resonating through her mind, Hermione felt her blood run cold so painfully that she might have stuck ice shards into them less invasively.
"Malfoy?" Hermione demanded, attempting to pull out of his embrace and finding herself suddenly trapped.
"I should've known you'd get the answer right on the first go" he told her, looking amused by her surprise and mounting horror.
She had just snogged Draco bloody Malfoy! In front of everyone! Twice! Hermione felt like maybe she was going to scream, a little like she wanted to punch him and a lot like she wanted to snog him all over again.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Get your hands off me!" Hermione hissed, trying to pull away from him unsuccessfully whilst trying to ignore the intoxicating scent of his cologne.
"Is that really what you want Granger?" Malfoy drawled at her, his voice still a little husky from their snogging, while his hands gripped her lower back in such a possessive, intimate hold, pressing her body against the length of his. She was having a hard time keeping her focus on trying to pull away from the man who had once been her school-yard rival, when everything about him was luring her in and making her want to forget all about the reasons she wasn't supposed to have ever snogged him and wasn't supposed to want to do more than snog him again.
"What do you think you're doing snogging me Malfoy?" Hermione hissed at him, realising they were making somewhat of a scene. She slowly stopped fighting to get out of his embrace, though her hands still pressed firmly against his chest as she glared daggers at him.
"What do you expect when you come in here looking like that and standing around beneath the mistletoe Granger?" He asked her sarcastically "Besides, we both know you enjoyed snogging me, and I know you want to do it again."
"Even if I was standing under mistletoe naked, in what world would someone like you ever willingly snog someone like me?" she hissed at him. The smile that crept across his face could only be described as wicked.
"I think you and I had better take a little walk Granger" He told her, his voice soft and husky, his eyes fixed on her half-concealed face.
"Why would I want to go anywhere with you?" she snapped nastily, not trusting herself to leave such a public place and go anywhere more private with Draco Malfoy, and not entirely trusting him either.
"Because I don't want you to faint in here and make a big scene" he told her before using his grip on her body to steer her back through the doors leading to a deserted corridor.
"What are playing at Malfoy?" Hermione demanded of him, trying to get away from him and finding that he had interlaced his fingers with hers on her left hand, while his free hand rested possessively against her back, guiding her along and seeming to keep her hostage at the same time.
"Are you always this demanding?" he asked her sarcastically.
"I am when people who hate me decide it might be fun to snog me in front of the entire Ministry."
"Embarrassed to be seen with me Granger?" he asked her, this time sounding sarcastic as though he believed no one in their right mind would ever be embarrassed to be associated with him.
"More like confused. Why did you snog me Malfoy?" Hermione asked him seriously, giving in to the sensation of his fingers tracing feathery patterns against her skin and letting him walk her backwards towards the wall until he had her pressed against it.
"You were standing under the mistletoe" he replied, seeming to approve of her surrender and not letting go of the hand he was holding.
"You were lying in wait" Hermione accused. Malfoy nodded with a small smile as though she amused him. "Why?"
"I wanted to snog you" he said simply, making her sense of reality tilt dizzily on its axis.
"Why?"
This time he gave a low chuckle "Because I fancy you Granger, and I'm tired of waiting around for you to realise it on your own."
"What are you talking about Malfoy?" Hermione asked him, peering up at him with a frown now.
"You heard me" he replied softly "I fancy you. I have for a while, and it's my New Year's resolution to act on it. I will win your heart Hermione."
Hermione shivered as goose pimples raced across her skin to hear Draco Malfoy use her first name and felt dizzy to have him tell her that he fancied her so much that he'd plotted to snog her beneath the mistletoe and intended to try courting her. Sudden realisation hit her and she looked down at the outfit she'd been sent today.
"You bought me this outfit" she accused of him, glaring into his eyes at the idea of him thinking he could dress her up like some little doll.
"You had a bad day and I knew that if you didn't have something beautiful to wear you wouldn't come to the ball. Then how would I catch you under the mistletoe?" he grinned at her proudly.
"Why you cunning little…" Hermione breathed. "Have you gone mad? Since when does the most renowned pureblood in Britain fancy the lowly mudblood he tormented at Hogwarts?"
Malfoy shrugged at her "Since the Aurors locked my parents in Azkaban and I was allowed to feel whatever I wanted to feel, for a change."
"And it took you almost seven years to fess up?" Hermione giggled, making her think that she might've had too much champagne if she was giggling about Draco Malfoy fancying her instead of panicking.
"Courage was for you Gryffindors Hermione. Cunning is my forte. Besides, you were too dense to work out that it was me leaving you hot chocolates all these years" he told her.
"You leave those?" she demanded. She had though Ron left them for her while they were dating, and that he'd never stopped. Every morning when she got to work there was always a steaming mug of hot chocolate on her desk with one sugar and five marshmallows in to, thick and creamy and delicious. Those hot chocolates were one of the things that lured her into work every day, even when she was sick. And it had been Malfoy leaving them all this time?
"Aren't you supposed to be the brightest witch of our age? Weasley was never smart enough to even know you like hot chocolate, let alone to leave you one every day" Malfoy drawled. Hermione smacked his arm.
"So, what makes you think that you have a chance at winning my heart Draco Malfoy?" Hermione asked him softly, reverting back to the reason they were alone in a deserted corridor.
"I always get what I want" Malfoy murmured to her, his eyes boring into hers. "And I want you."
"But I'm a know-it-all little mudblood" Hermione whispered his favourite insult from Hogwarts. Malfoy just shrugged as though he didn't care.
"I don't care. I want all of you Hermione. You will be mine" he vowed. Hermione stared at him in shock.
"And if I'm not interested in you that way?" she asked him.
"You will be" he smirked wickedly "You already are."
Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. She was acutely aware of every place his body touched hers and a little embarrassed by how much she liked the feel of being pressed against him but she wasn't about to let him know that.
"This is for you" he whispered, the hand he held to hers traced lightly around her wrist and Hermione gasped to realise he'd just used wandless non-verbal magic to conjure her a white-gold chain link bracelet with a love heart latch.
"You can't keep giving me things" she countered uncomfortably.
"'Tis the season Hermione" he murmured. Hermione stared into his eyes wanting to pull the mask off his face so she could better read his expression and work out if he was really serious about this or if he was just playing with her.
"I don't have anything for you" she admitted, embarrassed now.
"Yes you do" he breathed and Hermione felt herself sigh against his lips when they brushed against hers again. Merlin, everything about him was inebriating, making her forget everything else but the way he could make her feel with just a touch of his lips to hers.
This time when he kissed her it was slow and deliberate. It started a steady burn in her soul and Hermione could just tell that his resolution to win her heart might not be as hard as he imagined. It had been so long since anyone had kissed her so skilfully, and never had she felt so consumed by a single kiss. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and her legs trying to turn to jelly as he pressed her into the wall harder, her hands tunnelling into his hair and cupping his cheeks tenderly. She felt like she could never get enough of him.
From what she knew of Malfoy now, Hermione wondered if she could maybe let go of all the bad blood between them. Could she put their past to rest and let him sweep her off her feet? If she could, would she be able to trust him with her heart?
Pressed up against him in the dimly lit corridor with her heart racing giddily, Hermione knew she wanted to. For the first time in a very long time she wanted to trust someone with her deepest darkest secrets, wanted to give herself over to the feelings he was eliciting. Kissing him slowly in the dark, Hermione wanted to forget all about their past, all about the reasons everyone would throw a hissy fit over the idea of Hermione Granger snogging Draco Malfoy and wanted to completely give in to him. Hermione shivered when she realised that part of her wanted to fall in love with him.
She whimpered as he pulled back from her gently, and she felt as though she was seeing his true smile for the first time. It was wide and open, happy and genuine, and it made her heart stutter. He leant his forehead to hers for a moment, humming contentedly.
"I'm going to make you mine Hermione Granger" he vowed softly as he pulled back from her, completely letting her go. Hermione's body immediately felt the loss of his touch and yearned for more of it.
Before she could sort out the giddy feelings racing through her, he was walking away from her down the deserted corridor.
"Oh and Granger?" he called over his shoulder with a smirk "Happy Christmas."
A/N: To all my loyal followers waiting for the next TtT chapter, my computer has crapped out and tried to die on me, so I'm waiting for it to be fixed. Using my Boyfriend's spare laptop to write this. Written for the Winter Writer's Duel 2013 on another site, but I wanted to share with y'all. I'll try to get another TtT chapter out to y'all real soon, and hopefully update Soft Mysteries, Them Boys and Wild Things soon too.
Please Review!
xx-Kitten.