Prompt

Round Semi Finals 1: OTP Chaining

CHASER 1: An example of personification AND a metaphor—Pairing: Draco/Astoria Player 5, (After Nasim)

Characters/Pairing: Draco Malfoy, Astoria Malfoy (Astoria Greengrass)

Prompts:

3. (object) advent calendar

8. (song) 'Jingle Bell Rock'

11. (setting) a Muggle café

Word Count (-AN): 1360, MSW

Note: If it matters, I do not own Harry Potter in any form, except for the hardback copies of the books that sit on my shelf and they bring me no money.

QLFC Semi-Finals Round 1

She Asked

It was cold, windy, and unnaturally bright as the shopfronts lit up the night with happy displays and twinkling lights. Draco Malfoy found the town to be more than mildly annoying, and he wondered what he had done to deserve the torment he was currently enduring. A rude Muggle shoved into him, pushing between Draco and the side of the street without so much as a "sorry." Draco looked down in concern as his arm pressed into the side of a building, checking to see that the petite figure pressing close to that side was unharmed. She grinned up at him.

In that moment, Draco knew what it was to be trapped in the snowy globes the love of his life had admired earlier that day. He turned toward the building, using his body to guide her away from the swell of traffic, pressing her against the stone wall that had moments earlier added to the offense of the night. He loomed over her smaller form, looking down on her as her face was lit by lights that twinkled like the fairy lanterns that had lit the garden the night of their marriage, protecting her from the world as he swore he always would.

Time stopped and the world froze, just as it always did when she looked at him that way her mouth crooked with the slightest bit of a smirk, eyes dancing with whatever mischief she was plotting—and his wife was always plotting. It was but one of the many things he loved about her.

He brushed a few stray flakes of snow from her cheeks. The darkness of his glove provided a sharp contrast to her pale cheek, making her fragile, breakable like one of the children's toys that had decorated the glass cases of one of the many shops during the course of their trip to "explore the Muggle world" that his darling had "desperately needed" in order to "recover from the strict formality of visiting with the family, Draco Dear."

As they stood there, with the snow swirling around them and her smile showing promise of fun to come later on, the day didn't seem half as grueling as it had moments before. Draco no longer felt tired, aggravated, or frustrated at being forced out to explore the "wild unknown" in the middle of winter. Only she could do that for him.

"I love you," he whispered, his breath frosting, holding the words between them as he leaned his head close to hers, unwilling to give the passing Muggles any more of the display than he was already showing. The moment lingered only a breath more before a shiver had Draco bundling Astoria close to him and ushering her quickly into the nearest building to warm up.

If asked, past Draco, pre-Astoria Draco, would have stated that Christmas was merely a boring Muggle holiday that had no life, no spirit, and thus, no reason to be celebrated. Since his marriage to his spirited wife, Draco had come to realize that his past self-was very ignorant and sometimes "just plain stupid."

The Muggle café that the young couple now found themselves in proved his past self-wrong. Here...here the spirit of the holiday was alive, dancing among gaily dressed Muggles with their bright clothes and brighter packages and singing in time to the peppy upbeat tune that was playing over the speakers, as bells jingled from the necks, hats, antlers, and, in one case, feet of waiters that were all smiles and happy voices. It took Draco's breath away faster than stepping into the cold night wind after they left the toy store.

"Draco. Draco. Draco! Darling!"

Draco looked up, surprised to find himself sitting in a booth staring in adoration as the wind-pinked cheeks of his wife…who was still talking. "I am sorry," Astoria said to a bell-covered waitress. "I think I have kept him out too long. Hot chocolate would be lovely for both of us, please, and could you sprinkle cinnamon on top of one?"

The waitress, a thin, blonde, pale thing dressed in a thick brown sweater with two eyes and a big red nose painted on it, twittered out what must have been meant as a laugh, and winked at Astoria before turning and heading back to the glass counter, dancing a short one-two step with a coworker as she passed him.

"Thank you for today, darling," Astoria said. Her voice came out a soft purr, muffled by the thickness of her scarf and roughened from spending too long in the cold wind. "I have had such a delightful time. And there were so many pretty things! We must come again before Yule to go shopping. I am sure not even your father would object if we bought your mother those sapphire earrings, and they would be so lovely on her. You will bring me again, won't you?"

It might have been phrased as a question, but Draco liked to think he had grown into a smart man—or at least, he was smart enough to know that the question wasn't really a question. "Of, course Astoria. We will check the calendar for a date when we get home and you are correct, Mother would be lovely in those earrings."

The air within the Muggle café was hot and humid with the press and breath of many bodies warming the building, and Draco was soon helping Astoria out of her long coat and scarf, before laying his own to the inside of his side of the booth. The couple waited, contenting themselves with watching the coming and going, listening to the upbeat songs that ran a happy undercurrent to the whispered conversations and the ringing bells. They had known each other long enough not to feel awkward with shared silence and the occasional brush of fingers across the table.

The waitress returned with a flurry of movement and babble that broke the tenderness of the shared moment. Astoria slurped her hot chocolate eagerly as she was always want to do and Draco sipped at his, finding it to be surprisingly good (not that Draco would admit to Astoria, he would never live it down). They said nothing, merely exchanging amused glances with each other as a younger crowd replaced the families that had taken up space when they had arrived.

"Jingle bell, Jingle bell, jingle bell rock," Draco sang, humming a part of the tune under his breath as he helped Astoria into her coat once more, before leading her to the counter to pay the bill. "Mix and a mingle and a jinglin' feet." He sang with stereo, tapping one foot and watching as Astoria browse along the small trinkets the café had for sale along the front counter while they waited in the rather long line.

He all but groaned as her face lit up and her hands reached out to touch an item. Whatever it was, he knew he would not deny her when she asked.

"Can we get this," Astoria asked, excitement bring a flush to her cheeks, as she held up a house shaped box that had the words ADVENT CALENDAR scrawled in bold colorful lettering across the front. "Please, a souvenir of the trip."

Draco rolled his eyes and pretended to think about it, stretching out the silence until they, at last, stepped up to the teller. "Of course, we can, dear," he said with an amused smile, pulling out his wallet.

She squealed in delight as he paid for the calendar and the hot chocolate. "It's got chocolate inside," she marveled as she carefully opened the window labeled "December 1st." "It's sweet!" she stated after swiftly eating the first piece, surprise evident in her voice. She paused only a moment before opening the second little window and grinning in delight at the sweet waiting there. "Do you want to try it, darling?" she offered, holding the chocolate up to him.

Draco was smiling as they stepped out into the cold. "You're all the sweetness I need," he said, pulling her tightly against his side and shaking his head in fond amusement. "Let's go home."