Title : A "Quiet" Christmas
Author: slytheringurrl
Rating: PT
Original Couple: Pepper Potts/Tony StarkSummary: Narcissa has decided to vacation in the Caribbean, leaving her daughter-in-law to plan the Annual Malfoy Enterprises Christmas Ball. All Hermione wanted was to spend Christmas with her husband, but now, she is burdened with planning a bash.
Word Count: 2,558
Disclaimer: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Bloomsbury Publishing, et cetera, this work is intended to be transformative commentary on the original. No profit is being made from this work.
Warnings: Fluff, Clichés
Author's Note: This is my first time writing for the Remix, so I apologize in advance if I have made any mistakes! I would hope that my betas and I caught all the grammar edits, but if there are any mistakes, please forgive me! This is cliché, I know, but I had a hard time writing this in 5 days! Lastly, I'd like to thank the mods for giving me this opportunity and answering ALL of my questions and thanks to Stefanie for taking the time to beta!
DRACO AND HERMIONE MALFOY
REQUEST YOUR PRESENCE AT MALFOY ENTERPRISE'S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BENEFIT BALL
ON DECEMBER TWENTY-SECOND TWO THOUSAND FIVE
SIX O'CLOCK TO MIDNIGHT
AT MALFOY MANOR WILTSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM
RSVP BY DECEMBER 5, 2005
It's the season of joy, but I'm hating every moment of it.Hermione Granger stood on the balcony and looked out into the lush gardens of Malfoy Manor. This year, she was in charge of the Christmas Ball that her husband's company, Malfoy Enterprises, hosted every year.
In the past years, Narcissa had taken control over all the actions surrounding the ball, but this year, Narcissa was looking forward to spending the Yuletide season away in the Caribbean with her sister. Nobody else wanted to plan the gala of the year, so poor Hermione was stuck with the dreadful job.
A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and she glanced back, surprised.
When she saw her gorgeous husband, she smiled and gave him a hug.
"Oh, it's just you!"
"Yeah, it's just me."
"Does everything look alright so far?"
"You're doing a great job, love. The ball should be wonderful."
Draco was honestly surprised. His wife was certainly doing a great job. After all, she was never one for party planning. She planned schedules and agendas, but parties? Never! Although, I do feel guilty. All I've been doing is messing around with my potions, he mused. She's done a great job to make this a great ball, and I haven't even lifted a finger.
"Are you sure about that, Draco? I really want this to be absolutely perfect. I'm not sure if I am going to be able to outshine what Narcissa has done in the past. All I wanted this year was for this to be a quiet Christmas, just you and me, Draco," she sighed. "This has just been so intense. I just can't wait for this to be over."
"Don't worry, love. The ball will be a success."
Part 2
Hermione hated buying gowns, wearing gowns, and, most of all, she hated wearing gowns. She enjoyed looking pretty and wearing comfortable dresses, but wearing these ball gowns was just a bloody pain in the arse. She always had trouble picking out the dress that was The Dress.
"Now, Mrs. Malfoy, thisdress just looks simply stunning on you," crooned the saleslady at the local Ralph Lauren store in Muggle London.
Hermione glanced at Ginny Potter, who was also buying a dress for the ball.
"Gin? Does it really look good?"
"It looks perfect on you, 'Mione. You have to buy it!"
"Ok, please pack it up."
After walking out with their purchases, Hermione was still having doubts on her simple dress. "Are you sure it was fine, Gin?"
"Yes, 'Mione! You looked stunning in it."
As she walked through the doors of her home, she could hear the ricocheting of spells and loud noises. Of course, Draco's experimenting with his potions.
She walked down into Draco's workshop, and entered the spell-proofed room.
"Draco! Is it reallynecessary to make all this noise? I already have a headache because of all this tension surrounding the ball. Please keep it down!"
"I'm sorry, love. How are the preparations going?"
"Absolutely awful! I feel rushed and I haven't had any time to think, let alone spend any time not worrying about the ball!"
"It's going to be fine. You've gotten almost everything done, right?"
"Yes, but I'm so worried. What if I don't meet people's expectations?"
Draco couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing. "You, Miss Perfectionist, are worried about not meeting people's expectations? Everything looks perfect so far, love! It's all going to turn out well."
"If you say so…"
Part 3
Hermione woke up on December 23 feeling panicked. Today was theday.
Thank God she had decided to hire a party-planning group, Burke Premiere Events, to execute most of the hard labour. Of course, she was still in charge, but it was always good to know that someone was there to do the hard work!
All morning, she rushed around, getting things all ready to go, and by the time noon rolled around, everything was all set inside. All the tables were set up in the south ballroom, and the tablecloths and place settings were picture-perfect. The flower arrangements turned out excellently, and the candles placed all over the room would give the large room a beautiful glow. The north ballroom was going to be used for dancing and it was also decorated. All in all, everything was going flawlessly.
Hermione's only house-elf, Jarvis walked up to her. Jarvis was a paid elf who had touched Hermione's heart when she first met him.
"Mrs. Malfoy, all heating charms have been casted on the gardens."
She could only smile widely. Excellent! Another thing that is unspoiled!"Thanks for letting me know, Jarvis."
Draco walked out onto the lawns, excited to see what exactly his wonderful wife had done. When he sauntered through the garden, he saw that benches were placed around the various floral landscaping that had been done the previous summer under his mother's shrewd eye.
When he saw Hermione, he strolled over to her and stood next to her as she observed her plans being executed.
"You did a fantastic job, love! You don't have to worry at all!"
She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him. "I'm eager to hear what everyone thinks about it! But, I just can't wait for when this is all done."
He nodded in agreement, and soon left her to continue on her work.
Around 4:00 in the evening, everything was finally finished, and now, all Hermione had to do was get dressed. She was just absolutely delighted with the arrangements and now, she was sure that people would be pleased. Or so she hoped.
She stepped into the Manor's floo, called out "Malfoy Residence" in a loud voice, and then stepped out of the fireplace into her family room.
Hermione dragged the gown out of her closet, and pulled it over her head. The black cashmere-blend gown featured a single hand-beaded shoulder strap. She slipped on a bracelet that was a gift from Draco, long before they were married. It was a simple bangle, with small, almost minuscule, diamonds encrusted into it.
"You look simply ravishing, darling!"
She spun around to see Draco, casually leaning against the doorway, still in a pair of casual pants and a t-shirt.
"Draco! Why haven't you gotten dressed yet? We only have two hours left!"
"Yeah, we still have twohours. That's plenty of time. Stop worrying, gorgeous."
"Just get dressed, please," Hermione countered wearily.
"Calm down, woman!" He walked towards his closet and added, "See, I'm getting dressed."
He reached for a custom-made suit, and held it up for Hermione to see.
"Good enough, my dear wife?"
"It's excellent."
Part 4
Before anyone knew it, it was six o'clock, and it was officially the start of the Annual Christmas Ball.
"Oh, Hermione! Everything looks fabulous! You did such a wonderful job!"
Hermione blushed and thanked Pansy Nott. "Thank you so much, Pansy. That really means a lot coming from you."
As the time drew closer to quarter to seven, people were mulling around, chatting with friends, and enjoying the hors d'oeuvres and sipping on champagne or punch.
"Hermione," two voices chorused, and she twisted her head to see her best friends, Harry and Ron, walking towards her with huge smiles on their faces.
They both gave Hermione a hug and they all just caught up quickly.
"'Mione, this is just so wonderful," Harry commented. "The ballrooms look amazing, and Ginny fell in love with the gardens."
"Yeah, it is great," Ron chimed in, with his mouth full of pita bread and hummus.
"Thanks! I was worried that it wouldn't turn out as great as Narcissa's amazing planning, but I think I did a pretty good job!"
"That you definitely did, 'Mione."
As the socializing slowly came to a close, many people had congratulated Hermione on a job well done. Soon, dinner would start.
While everyone ate, Draco stood up to speak on behalf of his company.
"Hello, everyone," he started off. "I hope that you've enjoyed your evening so far. I just want to say a few words, and then you can all go on to socializing. I just wanted to thank my wonderful wife and Burke Premiere Events for putting everything together and organizing this lovely evening. Thanks to everyone for attending the ball. As usual, all proceeds will be going to St. Mungo's. Thanks again for attending, and enjoy the rest of your night!"
After dinner, the guests all scattered to dance or to tour the gardens.
On the dance floor, Draco held his wife close to him, and they gently swayed to the beat of the slow song.
Hermione leaned her head on Draco's chest, and just took in the music and the aura of the whole gala.
"You did so great, darling," Draco praised.
"Thanks. It all really did come together at the end."
"Yeah, it did. And now, we can celebrate Christmas, in our own way."
Part 5
"I feel so relaxed."
Ginny and Luna smiled at their friend. At last, the ball was over, and Hermione was peaceful, with nothing over her head to drive her crazy.
"You should be feeling relaxed, you've done so much work!" Ginny would never understand why her bushy-haired friend always took everything to the next level. She herself was a causal person who didn't overthink everything. But with Hermione, that was always what she did.
"I'm just ready to spend some quality time alone, just me and Draco. It'll be nice."
Molly had created a huge spread of food. The roast turkey looked delicious, and the Yorkshire pudding sitting on the table was attracting everyone's attention. There was also cranberry sauce and plenty of other foods.
George was making Victoire and Teddy laugh by telling them stupid jokes, and as usual, Draco and Ron were arguing about something. Everyone was talking and it was just such a festive atmosphere.
This is how I want to celebrate Christmas, Hermione thought. This is how we make the holiday ours. Spending time with family and your loved ones makes Christmas special.
Even as the noise got louder, Hermione felt happy.. She was enjoying Molly's delicious food and everyone's friendly banter.. She was delighted to be spending Christmas Eve with her closest friends.
She beamed and watched as everyone interacted and conversed.
The Christmas tree was up, the lights were off, and Molly's cookies were sitting on the coffee table. Hermione was in full Christmas spirit. She was decked out in red and green pajamas, and had a Santa hat propped on top of her head.
This year, she and Draco had decided to spend Christmas Day alone, just them. Yesterday, for Christmas Eve, they had gotten together with all the Weasley's and Potter's and other families. It was fun, but now, they appreciated the quiet.
Draco ambled down the stairs, and gave Hermione a kiss. "Happy Christmas, love!"
"Happy Christmas, Draco," Hermione replied, giving Draco a hug.
"Oohh, cookies! These are delicious," Draco said excitedly as he swiped a chocolate chip cookie off the plate and stuffed it in his mouth.
"They were good," Hermione agreed. "Now, it's present time!"
Hermione grabbed a squishy package that was sitting under the tree. When she unwrapped the package, she found yet another Weasley sweater. This time, the sweater was pink with white horizontal stripes. At this point in time, she didn't even know how many she had.
"Isn't it cute, Draco?"
Draco nodded and opened his own package from the Weasley's. Shockingly he did not find a typical sweater. Instead, there were gloves and a matching scarf. Both looked very soft, and he -surprisingly- liked them.
Hermione and Draco continued to unwrap presents, commenting on each one.
Narcissa had sent Hermione some coral jewelry from the Caribbean and a dress to match. She also gave Draco some books, and things from the Caribbean. Hermione fell in love with the jewelry, and loved the color.
As usual, Harry and Ron both sent gift vouchers to Flourish and Blott's and Ginny enclosed some nice robes for work. Draco had gotten some Firewhiskey, which he was very pleased about.
Draco never knew what to get his wife. She had all sorts of books, and plus, that just wouldn't be romantic. She wasn't a big fan of clothes, and she liked jewelry, but again, that just wasn't something a husband should give his wife. He was looking for a thoughtful gift. One day, as he was looking through some old pictures, he got a brilliant idea.
Hermione started to remove the wrapping on the hard box that he handed her. She just couldn't figure out what Draco would have gotten her. All she saw was a wooden box. When all the paper was gone, she was holding a cherry box in her hand. It fit perfectly in her lap. When she opened it, she saw a book, or specifically, a photo album. As she flipped through the book, she was so moved. The book contained pictures of her and Draco. She saw pictures of them strategizing around a table in the Hogwarts Library, pictures of them at galas, pictures of them during holidays…and so many other memories.
"Good Godric, Draco," Hermione exclaimed. She leaned over and gave Draco a bone-crushing hug. "This is so sweet, I just love it!"
Draco returned the embrace, and whispered, "I'm really thrilled that you like it. But, there's more. Keep looking in the box."
In the box, Hermione found another picture album. This time, however, the pictures were of her and her parents and family, from other Christmases in the past.
"How in the world did you find these, Draco?" Hermione asked, her voice bursting with awe.
"I asked your mum. She gave me a big box, and let me look through them," Draco responded, feeling immensely satisfied that he was able to come up with a thoughtful Christmas gift.
"Oh my God, Draco! This is just such a magnificent gift! I haven't seen some of these pictures in years. I never even thought of asking for them, either! My present for you is just dreadful compared to this."
Draco chuckled. "I'm just really relieved you enjoyed your gift."
"I really do love it!"
Hermione handed Draco's gift over. He ripped apart the wrapping, and saw a signed picture of the Seeker from the Falmouth Falcons.
"Nice, Hermione! I really like it!"
"I'm glad that you like it," Hermione said as she handed him another box.
He opened it and saw Quiddich season tickets to all the matches that his favorite team, the Falcons, played for.
"Thanks! I didforget to order my tickets this season!"
"Yeah. I know. I have one more gift for you, but I think its best you unwrap that one tonight!"
"I can't wait for thatpresent, love!"
Hermione and Draco sat on the couch cuddling while watching Christmas movies. This Christmas was truly our best yet, thought Hermione, as she snuggled into her husband's chest.
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