A/N: I do not own HP. This one-shot was written for the practice round of The International Wizarding School Championship.

School: Hogwarts

Theme Christmas

Prompts: Outside the cabin, the wind howled through the trees, while inside, the old woman's fire was nearly out.(Fist Line); "Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress."(Dialogue); Frosty the snowman(song).

Word count: 1326

A very, very special thanks to Bell for editing this story. Blame me if you find any other error that you may encounter. :)

Of Portkeys And Chaperone Cats

Outside the cabin, the wind howled through the trees, while inside, the old woman's fire was nearly out.

Draco stared out of an almost snow covered window and into the darkness outside. He could see some hazy lights on the few porches far away into the distance. Light music floated behind him while the warmth decreased considerably.

Perfect. Just freaking perfect! He was stuck there for another 24 hours till the portkey activates again tomorrow. Brilliant.

So how did our 'oh-so-perfect' pureblood ended up in an old shack on the outskirts of this age old town? Simple. All the freaking fault of two dumb heads! God, why does Hermione even let them do the important things? He will never understand. And that malfunctioned portkey had transported them to god knows where and on a Christmas Eve no less. Hermione had both of their wands and while portkey-ing she splinched them.

Yeah, bloody depressing.

In the reflection of the window he could see the bright yellow eyes of the old lady's black cat, staring back at him, almost preying on him. Or so he thought. It sat at the window sill, leaning against him for the much needed warmth. Draco frowned and almost sneered. And if the cat was supposed to run away in fear, it simply didn't. Draco shoved the familiar away from him. He hated any kind of fur. The cat, obviously, resisted.

A tap on his shoulder or her perfume engulfing him distracted him as he focused on his wife. He brushed off any hairs from his expensive dress. She was wearing a simple green dress that came just below her knees. Her rich chocolate curls pulled up in an updo. A warm smile toyed at her lips as she gazed at him. Her hands clutched behind her as if she were hiding something. Hermione always made this face when she was about to engulf an activity he would always deny. But as every other time he would always let himself fall. Almost all the time. Almost. A fresh memory flashed across.

"Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress." Draco whined. No. Scratch that. Malfoys Do. Not. Whine.

"I will give you two!" She flirted back almost flippantly. "Now wear!" She almost ordered.

He loved when she gets all Hermione Granger on him.

"Would you light the fireplace? It's getting cold in here." She pulled him out of his musings.

Draco smirked back. Maybe this wouldn't be one of those times he would fall.

"Are you getting rusty, Granger?" he asked back, innocently.

Hermione could sense herself failing. But she did not show it.

"Join me at the table when you are done?" But she made no move to return back to the old lady in her small kitchen.

Draco smirked. Maybe it's always going to be a tie.

He waved his hand over to the fire place across the corner beside the decorated Christmas tree. The woods immediately begin to burn brightly.

"You know, you might could have set the tree on fire." She argued simply and left.

The food tasted great. It was these few opportunities where he could taste her dishes. With them both working, she at the ministry and him working at accounting his many estates there was hardly any time she would cook herself. Being tired and all. But that didn't meant she never prepared dinner. But she would always cook using magic.

"I could read a book or two instead." She would point out.

And combined with the food and a bottle of old wine the lady had found in the house, everything was supposed to be merry. Hermione talked like she had known that woman all her life. Draco made slight nods or comments here and there to show he was enjoying. He only payed attention when the old lady asked about how they came together to which they had contrasting opinions on. At last they came up with a quick good lie.

After that, most of his attention was focused on a weird looking black box that the lady had switched 'on', on the tripod near the Christmas tree. It had two straw like sticks sprouting out on the top. The most amazing thing about it was the 'screen', as Hermione had previously called it . It was like the pictures but with sound. Hermione had surely mentioned these muggle objects earlier but he hadn't seen one until just now. After all they had been married for only...what? 2 months?

The expressions on his face when a commercial popped up about an pair of running shoes was so hilarious that even Hermione couldn't contain her giggle and she spluttered against the wine glass. She mumbled a small 'pardon me'. Draco raised his right eyebrow, as if daring her to make fun of him.

The commercial ended and an all-too-familiar song began. Hermione had one of the largest grins Draco had seen. She jumped from her chair and raced across the room to the black box and suddenly the song was blaring high in the small sitting room.

Frosty the Snowman
Was a jolly happy soul

Hermione practically skipped back across the whole space between her and Draco and pulled him up. The blond resisted but no one could handle an over excited Hermione. Not on Christmas Eve. Never.

He was made of snow
But the children know
How he came to life one day

There must have been some magic
In that old silk hat they found

Hermione sang along while swing dancing with Draco.

"Dad and I used to dance to this all the time."

The expression on her face told him that she was in the middle of an old memory. He couldn't help but smile.

Right to the traffic cop
And he only paused a moment
When he heard them holler,

"Stop!" She shouted.

He grinned.

But he waved goodbye
Saying, "Don't you cry
I'll be back again someday"

Hermione clapped as it ended. Looking amused with herself, for a reason Draco didn't know.

Draco caught the cat looking at him again with that preying stare.

He frowned.

"Hey, where is the lady?" He asked.

"Oh, she retired to bed. She goes to sleep by this time, she told me." Hermione informed him lightly, flicking the volume down. Country music was floating through.

Draco nodded absent-mindedly, still frowning at the cat.

"Well, then," he looked at her, clearing his mind from absurd thoughts. "shouldn't we get comfortable too?"

She nodded. With a wave of her hand, all the dishes cleaned and stacked themselves neatly, while Draco handled the main room, transfiguring the couch to be a bit larger. He settled down and Hermione leaned against him, placing her head on his shoulder.

The cat had now settled itself on the arm piece near them, closer to the fire.

Hermione chuckled as he frowned. "It's like that creature is keeping a watch on us." He mumbled.

"You know, this season is about forgiveness." Hermione stated.

Draco looked at her.

"There is something I needed to... umm.. tell you." She continued sheepishly.

"Hermione... out with it. Now."

"Well, you know I might have ...you know... made the portkey myself.."

He jerked . "What?! Why?"

Hermione turned towards him fully. "I did it myself. Me and Ginny came to shop here the day before yesterday. And we overheard this lady being alone for Christmas because her daughter couldn't come home."

She looked down. "Ginny knows about the plan. And... I wanted you to have a surprise evening."

"I am sorry. I might have ruined your-"

Draco effectively cut off her apology with quick kiss.

"I liked this little adventure. You shoul-" However he was, too, cut-off by a very black cat as it jumped on his face!

"Meooow!"

"Oh-Ahhh!"

Let me know what you think? :)