I've been wanting to write a Christmas story for years and finally this plot came to me. It won't be a long story, just a few chapters, and it will be posted after New Years' but oh well. I hope you enjoy!

Fuck.

That was the one word that kept repeating in Draco's mind as he stood by himself, holding a very watered down spiked punch in one hand, the other shoved deeply into his pocket, trying to hide his discomfort. He watched as people mingled and talked to everyone- everyone except him he supposed. Occasionally, he would catch someone looking at him, either with disgust or surprise written on their face. He knew it had been a bad idea to come to the annual Order Christmas party, but he was a Malfoy goddamnit and Malfoys did not run from their problems.

Unfortunately he had just spotted his.

She looked beautiful, but that wasn't his first observation. Her arm was wrapped around Weasley's waist while his was slung over her shoulder. She gripped his side, smiling up at him happily. She seemed to glow in the light of the room and Draco's heart clenched in reaction. He downed his punch and tried to look anywhere else, but his eyes were constantly drawn to her.

As if she could sense his gaze, she glanced over and their eyes met, locking for longer than appropriate. It might have just been his wishful imagination, but she seemed to look both upset and happy to see him. She turned back to the conversation Weasley was having, but Draco could tell she wasn't as into it as she was before. He decisively stopped looking and went to get another cup of punch, even if it killed him.

"Oh. Hello there." A soft voice floated over to him from across the punch table. He looked up, bracing himself.

"Hello, Luna. How are you?" She smiled in her usual way and drifted over to his side. Draco wondered if she ever did anything heavily. "Happy Christmas." Instead of responding, she looked at him curiously for a minute. Under her excruciating gaze, Draco could feel his collar choking him and sweat dripping down his back. There was something threatening about this completely nonviolent girl, as if one look of hers could give her complete insight into your soul. Finally, she spoke.

"You should work on hiding your emotions." Now it was his turn to stare for a bit.

"Excuse me?"

"I noticed when you first started to stare at Hermione ten minutes ago. And every thought you had flitted across your face, almost as if you were dreaming." Draco wondered for a second if he might be. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." For a minute, Draco could only look at her.

"Luna, I don't think anyone has ever accused me of being an open book before."

"It's the wranklepursts. They make me more observant." And with that she glided away to talk to someone else. Draco stared after her in amusement.

"Draco. I'm surprised you came." She had snuck up on him while he wasn't looking. He tried not to tense his shoulders as he turned around and plastered a fake smile on his face. Up close, she was just as beautiful as ever and it was difficult for him to catch his breath to speak. She simply sparkled.

"I thought I might venture out of my cave for this one event. I heard that it was expected to be a grand spectacle." She smiled, unconvinced. The candles that were floating around them sent shadows dancing across her face and illuminated her unease. Draco stared, mesmerized.

"I'm actually glad you came." He raised an eyebrow. "I've been meaning to talk to you. In private if we could."

A panic gripped him. "Well, actually, I'm quite busy and don't know when I'll be able to get out again." He didn't know when they had become so formal with each other. He hated it. She shook her head and smirked. Draco couldn't decide whether to be worried or turned on.

"Perfect. So we'll meet on the balcony in fifteen minutes?" She always had an annoying knack for completely shocking him. "I'll see you then." With that, she walked away before Ron could notice that she had left in the first place. She slid back into his arms, not even glancing back in Draco's direction.

Fuck.

Twenty minutes later, Draco stepped out onto the balcony that extended from the ballroom. He saw Hermione, her hands gripping the railing, staring off into the distance. Before he let himself think about how simply beautiful she was, Draco quickly walked up to her. He could practically hear her mentally preparing herself, running over whatever speech she was about to give him. She looked about as frazzled as he felt. When she noticed him, she smiled weakly.

"Draco."

"Hermione." She had asked to talk to him, not the other way around. He waited patiently for her to being. Another awkward pause ensued.

"I…Well…Oh! This is so stupid!" He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. He had missed her. "Stop smiling at me like that!"

"Like what?" His grin was infectious though she tried to fight it. He resisted the urge to kiss the lips that framed her gorgeous smile. Draco stepped in closer, causing her to scoot back against the balcony.

"Like you know exactly who I am and precisely what I'm going to say." Merlin, he felt like he knew every single part of her and still nothing about her. And he hoped to spend the rest of his life learning and exploring, if he played his cards right. She struggled with the words, refusing to look at him, but eventually blurted out, "I want to apologize."

Well. That was not what he was expecting.

"I never should have let what happened…happen. It was stupid and irresponsible. We were just lonely and-."

"Don't." Her head snapped up and their eyes met. "I will not have you write off what happened between as a mistake!"

"But that's what it was!"

Anger pulsated through him at an alarming speed. She looked so worried, so desperate to forget. He tried to regain control and stepped closer in. She had nowhere to go. "I don't see it that way, not for a second. And I know you don't either," he touched her arms gently. "Not deep down." She shook her head in protest. Before he could explode, he turned and started to walk away; knowing that yelling at her now would not help him later.

"Promise me you won't tell Ron," she whispered. He stopped in his tracks. He turned around, so many thoughts and arguments running though his head, biting to get out. For a long time he simply stared at her, battling with himself over what to say. Finally, he decided to give it up for the moment.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about our dirty little secret." He made sure the words came out just as harshly as he meant them before quickly walking away to avoid hearing anything else she had to say. But as he slipped through the door back into the party, he could hear her sigh of relief. He closed the door violently and nearly raced to the front to pick up his jacket.

"Be careful, Malfoy." He had to pause. He wasn't a monster. Trying to remain calm and not unleash his anger out on this strange woman, he took a deep breath and spoke.

"Luna, I really don't have time for this."

"Try not to relinquish hope too soon." Again, Draco could only stare after her for what he figured to be the hundredth time that night while she drifted back into the throng of people talking and laughing and having an all-around merry time. Draco looked into the crowd disgusted before apparating back to the manor. He poured himself a drink and collapsed onto the couch, downing the alcohol while trying to think about everything, anything, he disliked about Hermione Granger.

He came up with two things. One: she had an innate ability to piss him off and arouse him all at the same time. And two: she was making it rather hard for him to win her back.

He was so screwed.

Fuck.

As much as Hermione hated to admit it, her encounter with Draco had left her shaken. Even a couple days after the party Ron was still asking if she was feeling okay. It was almost as if she were walking in a dreamlike state, floating from one place to another, not really accomplishing anything. She couldn't wrap her brain around how distraught he had looked when she had said that their…encounter…had been a mistake.

It didn't make any sense. She had given him the easy way out! Why didn't he take her excuse and run with it? Wasn't this what he wanted? He surely couldn't want her, so what was he trying to get? Was he trying to ruin things between her and Ron? Hermione thought back to the old Draco and could see him doing something like that. But not the post-War Draco. Besides, he said he wouldn't tell and Malfoys kept their word; that was something she had learned the hard way.

As she replayed the scene over and over again in her head, she could only come to one logical solution, and that was illogical in every way. There was no way on this planet that Draco Malfoy actually fancied her. She racked her brain for another solution, but none came. Slowly, she drifted off the sleep on the couch, dreaming of strong arms and soft kisses.

Hermione woke with a start, freezing and with a kink in her neck. Her mind quickly skimmed over what she had to do that day and she darted off the couch in a panic, dashing upstairs to get ready. Twenty minutes later she was in Diagon Alley, trying to do some last minute shopping along with the rest of the Wizarding world. The streets were so crowded she had a hard time moving and the lines at the different shops took three times as long as they should have. She had just walked out of the second store when she faintly heard someone calling her name.

"Hermione!" Now that he was closer she could identify his voice.

Oh fuck.

Seeing her across the busy street was like a godsend. All night he had thought of things he could do to slowly work his way back into her life. The party had been a temporary setback but he wasn't going to give up that easily. He'd waited two years for this girl, he certainly wasn't going to waste any more time.

"Hey! Fancy meeting you here." He smiled so brightly Hermione worried his cheeks might start hurting. She tried to fight the overwhelming feeling of joy that sprang up when she saw him, plastering a slight frown on her face, hoping he would get the hint. "Doing some last minute shopping? Me too. May I escort you?" Hermione had a sneaking suspicion he got the hint, but wasn't going to take it.

"Sure. But I don't have too much left so it shouldn't take long."

"Have you seen these lines? Buying a pair of socks would take a long time." She rolled her eyes and bit back a smile, finally taking the arm he had offered earlier. They began to walk towards the next store. "So what's next? A necklace for your mom? Cigars for your father? Dog treats for Weasley?"

"Ron and I decided not to exchange gifts this year. We're trying to save up for the wedding." She shouldn't have said that. God, she should not have said that. A million things began to race through her mind as she tried to seem nonchalant about the whole thing. But the fact of the matter was it wasn't even true. Sitting at the bottom of her closet was a Chudley Cannons poster and a nice watch that had his name engraved on it. Hermione wanted to kick herself for even saying such a lie. But her mind didn't work properly around him and he smelled so nice that she was no longer in control of what she was saying.

Draco had to stop for a second but quickly regained his senses and picked back up the pace. "Wedding?" He tried to sound disinterested but in actuality his palms were sweating and he was sure his voice had just cracked. There seemed to be a rock in his stomach making it a little difficult to breathe. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing is official yet, but it has been talked about." Once. Right after the war. When people were doing crazy things and everyone seemed to be getting married. The subject hadn't really come up again since they had decided to wait but at least she wasn't telling Draco a total lie this time. A tiny bit of pleasure shot through her when she noticed his shock and extreme discomfort.

"Well, then let me be the first one to offer my condolences."

"Thank-. Excuse me?"

"Come on Hermione. You and I both know that the two of you aren't suited for each other."

"I know no such thing." She pulled away from his arm and stared at him defensively. "Ron and I are wonderful together." She tried desperately to convince herself as well as Draco.

He shook his head. "Maybe you were, back at school, when he needed you to do his homework and you needed him to need you. But the war changed you, Hermione. It made you stronger, it made you bolder. You are no longer the mousy bookworm who had more fun in the library than being out with your friends. The new Hermione is beautiful and brilliant and doesn't settle."

She tried to ignore the fact that he had called her beautiful, but it was a very tough word to get over. "I am not settling with Ron! I love him." Why did that suddenly feel like a lie, too?

"The new you deserves someone who is just as passionate and exciting as you are." It was not every day that a man said two breathtaking things to her in one day. But she still raised her chin defiantly.

"What, and the old me didn't deserve that?" Tears of anger and frustration welled up in her eyes. It was hard to hear him say all these wonderful things to her. He smiled sadly at her and brushed away a tear that had escaped.

"The old you didn't think she deserved that. The new you knows better than that." And with that, he walked away, disappearing into the masses before she could even call him back. She stared after him for a while then brushed furiously at the other tears trying to flee. Hermione took a deep breath and charged into the next store on a mission.

As Draco pushed through the crowd, he ignored a voice that continued to call after him until it got closer and closer and he had to turn around. He saw a flash of red hair and tried not to groan. "Hello Mrs. Potter. Can I help you?"

By the time she had reached him, Ginny Potter was panting from the strain of pregnancy. Five long months had taken its toll. She refused to let it stop her, though, and when she saw the young Malfoy, she knew she had to reach him. The look on Hermione's face the night before after Draco had left had been one of pure torture. Ron may have been her brother, but Hermione might as well have been her sister and Ginny just wanted the people she loved to be happy. If Draco Malfoy was the key to that happiness, Ginny sure as hell was going to make sure things were unlocked.

"I just wanted to invite you to the Burrow tonight." It was worth the exertion just for the look on his face. "My family's baking cookies and having a nice dinner with some friends. It's supposed to snow and we always have a snowball fight after the first snowfall. We would love to have you." She had left him speechless. It gave her s tiny pleasure. "I have to run, but I hope to see you tonight." She was gone before he could speak.

Hermione would be there. So would Ron. And the rest of those godforsaken Weasleys. And Hermione.

Of course he was going.