A/N: This little drabble ties in with Devil's Advocate is my Christmas present to everyone who has been reading Devil's Advocate and is gifted to Starrnobella who came up with the beautiful heart wrenching prompt: Snow; Misery; Marshmallow; "Are you with me because I remind you of him?"; "Everything reminds me of him."
Merry Christmas to you all xx
Christmas at Nott Manor
Hermione pulled her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, shuddering slightly as she stared out of the window in the library at the falling snow.
Feeling his presence behind her, she turned her head slightly, acknowledging him without taking her eyes off the falling flakes.
"How long have you been standing there, so full of misery, Hermione?" he asked; she tried to distinguish the emotion in his tone.
Concern? Or pity?
"Falling snow makes me think of hot chocolate, toasted marshmallows and open fires. Or at least it used to. Now it just makes me think of the words of a muggle carol: 'earth as hard as iron, water like a stone. Snow had fallen, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long ago'."
Theo stepped towards her, hesitating before placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you here with me because I remind you of him?" he asked, a tension in his voice that caused her heart to clench.
"Everything reminds me of him," she replied, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "But no," she told him, turning and cupping his cheek.
He closed his eyes leaning into her touch.
"I am here because you need me as much as I need you."