Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all the characters in this but Jess, she is my delicious creation.

Jealousy

Jess' slippers made little slaps on the stone floor as she padded down the hall toward one of the prefect's room, still holding the last of her Christmas presents to distribute. This whole holiday thing is overrated, next year they all get coal. Jess thought to herself, reflecting on the night before she had spent awake wrapping presents and getting wrapping paper cuts. But despite her griping, she could feel the joyous thrill of Christmas morning creeping over her. Coward, can't even take me head on, has to sneak up on me... She sighed to herself and flicked her long black hair out of her face. Damn you happiness. I haven't had enough sleep to be happy.

Shivering slightly in her pajamas, a t-shirt and green plaid pajama pants, she knocked on the door and too easily managed to pull her face into a smile. After some creaking, a disheveled Draco pulled the door open, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Before she could stop it, her heart skipped a beat seeing him; champagne hair tousled from sleep, his silver eyes blinking at her from between his thick lashes, muscled chest naked above his forest green pajama pants.

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He was in forest, chasing someone. Her midnight black hair swayed as she ran ahead of him, seeming to eat the light that came streaming in shafts through the canopy overhead. He was running flat out, chest aching. She was jogging lightly, a light warm-up for a short run. Why couldn't he catch up to her? He slowed down and she grew farther away like she as the one sprinting. He ran faster and faster, but it wasn't enough. He decided he should stop, this was pointless. But he couldn't do it; he wanted to catch her, to see who she was and why he was chasing her in the first place. He was getting close, twenty feet from her. A little longer, ten feet and closing, slowly, agonizingly but surely.

He didn't think his heart could have gone faster, but gaining on her made it. He was smiling like an idiot. Running with her was like turning the handle for an old crank generator. Slow and painfully hard at first, but then you got going and it turned faster and easier. Energy built by every spin of the gears, the tension building faster and faster, until it was about to burst. Only he seemed to be running on happiness, not energy. Every step, pounding into the leaves was a turn of that metal crank inside him, generating immeasurable bliss.

He was getting closer, he could almost touch her. This close he could finally see what she was wearing, a t-shirt and green plaid pajama pants. He reached toward her and her silky obsidian hair slid over his fingers……

Someone was knocking on his door. He groaned and climbed out of bed, the wood in the old bed creaking and sighing with every movement. He got his own room from being a prefect, but he sacrificed new beds that were silent. What was I dreaming? But it was already fading, slipping through his fingers like sand. A few fragments remained, a forest and running. He didn't know why, but it had been important. Oh well, he thought, crossing the cold stone floors to open the door.

Jess stood there, holding a present and smiling like it was Christmas morning. Oh yeah, it's Christmas. Draco thought to himself, realizing he had walked past his own pile of gifts without realizing it. Man, Jess looks so good. Too bad she's a friend; she won't want to risk 'destroying the friendship'.

"Merry Christmas Draco!" Jess held the package out to him. It was wrapped in silver paper with a design of white snowflakes.

"Merry Christmas, come on in." Draco sat on the bed looking at his present wondering what she had gotten him. It was dumb to hope, no one ever knew the right thing to get him, but he had a clear idea what he wanted this to be. Crap, I didn't wrap her present yet. Guess she gets it as is.

"Open it, I just hope you like it. It was really hard to find the right one, but I think I got it perfect." She collapsed onto the floor cross-legged. He frowned. If he wasn't careful, she would see his present before he could give it to her.

He tore the paper away to find a leather-bound book. Turning it over, he saw it was an advanced potion book he had been looking for, exactly what he had wanted. Now he just hoped he was as on target as she had been.

"Jess, this is amazing, where did you find?"

"This obscure little bookshop in a village near my hometown had the only copy I could find. I had my parents mail it here. You really like it? I didn't know if you would…" She looked down at the floor.

"It's better than I could have hoped. Stay here, I have to wrap your present." He jogged to his private bathroom, grabbing a roll of ribbon and scissors on the way. He winked at her, "Turn around." She obeyed and heard the click of the door closing.

"You better not come back out wearing nothing but the ribbon!" She called to him and was answered by a deep, bubbly laugh that made her tingle in a way she loved and hated.

Inside the bathroom, Draco spelled it soundproof and looked down at Jess' present with a scowl. It couldn't compete with her gift, but he could only think of one way to get the ribbon on it, and he would not relish it. It meowed back at him, oblivious to his frustration and hungry. A fluffy, grey-tabby kitten with stunning blue eyes, like Jess' and, sadly, very sharp claws that had been tested on Draco more times than he wanted to think about.

He approached her with the ribbon like a lion tamer and his chair. After a few failed attempts, and genius hit him. Grabbing his wand from where he had discarded it last night, he paralyzed the poor kitten and tied the blue ribbon under her chin. The whole while, those stunning blue eyes were following him. Seeing them, Draco wasn't sure if he wanted to release her, she wanted revenge.

Again he was hit by inspiration. He dumped his clothes out of the hamper and put the frozen feline in there and closed the lid. He unspelled her and carried the now rocking hamper into the next room.

"You can turn around now."

"Are you decent?" He could hear the teasing in her voice. He laughed. He had gotten used to it, considering the whole school thought he was screwing everyone. He had even started playing along, no one believed him when he told them otherwise.

"Never. Now turn around and get your present." He was still laughing and walking toward her slowly with the heaving basket of cuteness. She turned around with one eye squinted closed and looked like she was expecting the worst. Draco kneeled with the basket before her, crossing his toes that she would like it.

Smiling, she slowly opened the hamper, and her face lit up.

"Draco, you shouldn't have! He or a she?" She picked up the kitten and pet her. The kitten was purring and rubbing her head against Jess' chest, nothing like the evil beast that had inflicted so many wounds over the last week. What I wouldn't give to be that cat right now. Draco thought before he could stop himself.

"She is eight weeks old and seems to like you a lot. Did I do okay?" He smiled at her.

"You did better than okay, she is perfect. What should I call her?" Jess was rubbing the kitten's ears. Really want to switch with the cat. He thought a while before answering.

"How about aoi-me-neko? It's Japanese for blue eyed cat." She stopped petting the cat to look over at him.

"I didn't know you spoke Japanese. Aoi-me-neko is perfect." She was looking at him with respect and something other than friendship in her eyes.

"My housekeeper taught me last summer. I had nothing better to do so…" He tried to make it sound casual, hoping he was a good enough actor. He had really begged his mother to hire a Japanese housekeeper so he could learn Japanese. Just after he had learned that Jess' mother was Japanese, he had thought it would give him a leg up on the competition. Oddly, he had started learning the language for itself in no time at all. He had been fascinated and was now learning French and wanted to learn Italian and Latin.

Jess started to say something, but was stopped by a huge yawn, big arm stretch and all.

"Sorry, I got up early this morning and now it is catching up with me." She lied.

"You should go back to sleep, I won't keep you." Stay, don't leave stay with me. We can take a nap together on my bed, please let her stay.

"I won't be able to. Ginny is probably up by now and will show up any time now for a snowball fight or something." She sighed. "And no smart remarks about the Gryffindors, they are perfectly good people. Okay?"

"Fine. You could crash here; I can distract her so you can grab an hour or so." Distract her, have her running circles around the astronomy tower looking for you. It really is Christmas.

"No. Ginny would be mad, I'll just…" She was interrupted again by a yawn. This time Draco joined in, as much as he tried to stop it. She looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"So I stayed up late wrapping presents, I'm fine."

"You're a horrible liar. Go back to bed, I'll spell the door or have Goyle guard it." She started to stand up and almost fell over.

"No, if I go to sleep, you have to also. Get in that bed or I'll tackle you." He scrunched over like he was gonna run at her. She laughed and headed toward the bed. She was almost asleep by the time he got to the other side.

Stopping, he looked down at her with her eyes closed, almost asleep and peaceful. Then she opened an eye and told him to get in or she would tackle him. He climbed in chuckling and she curled up with her head on his chest, asleep instantly. He lay there, waiting for sleep, reveling in the touch of her skin and being close to her.

Then Aoi-me-neko hopped onto the bed and meowed. Draco smiled and let her under the covers, where he curled up next to Draco's hip. It was Christmas, and it was the best one ever.

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Later there will be Ron and Harry, but that will take a while, so I didn't list it. I hope you like Jess; she will have more depth later. Until then you will have to make do with Draco's hot smokin' body. God he is soo hot. Draco haters, he is not perfect, he will do some dumb and evil stuff later. Harry haters, he will also appear later and do some things out of his goody too shoes nature. Things will get ugly. I apologize in advance; my updates will probably be slow. I do not have the whole plot planned out and I have very little free time. I love you all, please review, it helps like chocolate.