Chapter 2 of A Holiday to Remember
Summary: I don't know when I fell in love with her. She was my enemy, yet she was a kind-hearted woman. So when I found out that I was her Secret Santa, I was more than thrilled, even if she probably would never know who I was.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Harry Potter.
Recap of Chapter 1:
"Mr. Malfoy, if you will please pick your paper out of the Sorting Hat," said Professor McGonagall.
The Sorting Hat was to provide a name for each of the students. Each student would get a name for a special reason, Dumbledore had said. I wondered what name I would get. Nobody cared for me and I for them.
I walked to the hat and put my hand into it. I shuffled the papers, and almost magically, I felt a force draw a paper into my hand.
As I sat down, I opened it.
"Hermione Granger," I read in my head.
Chapter 2 of A Holiday to Remember:
December 14th
As I walked back to my dormitory that I shared with Hermione, – yes I call her that in my mind – I couldn't help but feel excited, shocked, as well as a bit nervous about the Secret Santa program.
I was incredibly excited that I was her Secret Santa. She would receive gifts from me, but she would have no clue whom they were from. She would be absolutely squirming with questions. And for once, I'd be able to show her a side of myself she had never seen, and she wouldn't even know that that side was from me, Draco Malfoy.
I was shocked because I never would have guessed that I would be the one to draw Hermione's name out of the hat. But because the Sorting Hat knows all, I have no doubt that it was the one that forced that particular paper into my hand.
I dread seeing the look upon her face when she sees that I am her Secret Santa. I do not want to reveal to Hermione who I am, but if Dumbledore announces that we must, then I guess I will have to. I don't want to see her look of shock and hatred for me. It will be too hard for me, and I will not know what will happen to me if I do.
Pushing all the thoughts that crowded my mind away, I decided to think of what I would buy Hermione for day one of the Secret Santa program. Today was the eleventh of December, and the program would begin on the fourteenth.
Arriving to my tower, I approached the portrait of a young and sweet girl who was five years old. She wore a white wedding dress and held a basket of flowers. I once had a discussion with her and she said that it was her mum and dad's anniversary party. She smiled sweetly and asked me for the password.
"Butterbeer," I said, stepping into the Tower when the portrait opened up.
I grabbed a couple of my books and my cauldron, and headed down to the dungeons for Potions with the Gryffindors.
I walked into the dungeon and was greeted with an almost empty classroom. The couple of Gryffindors who were inside greeted me with a glare, and the Slytherins merely greeted me with a chilly smile. I glared at the Gryffindors and nodded at the Slytherins.
I took a seat in the last row, towards the middle of the class, took out my Potions textbook, and began to read.
I was startled by a couple of voices. I looked up, annoyed, and found the Golden Trio arguing.
"You two are childish!" Hermione hissed.
"So? It's better than being nice to that stupid git!" replied Ron, pushing Harry into a chair that was next to Seamus Finnegan. Ron sat down next to Harry, and Hermione frowned at the two of them before looking up, and catching my eye.
From the 'stupid git,' I realized that the Weasel was talking about me. Looking around me, the class was already filled and there were only a couple of spots left in the classroom.
Granger bit her lips and with a stormy glance at her friends, she put on her "I-am-brave" face and marched towards me.
She sat down in the empty seat and quietly took out her books and placed them on the table, one by one. I coolly glanced at her, realizing that I could observe her and see what she liked. From my observations, I would get a clearer picture as to what to give her for the Secret Santa program.
She raised her brown toffee colored eyes and stared at me. I arrogantly raised my eyebrow back at her and whispered, "What?"
She shrugged and looked away. Professor Snape chose to enter the room at that moment, and as he passed by my table, he glanced at me sitting next to the Mudblood. If he was surprised, he did not mention anything.
Severus Snape was my godfather. Before I was born, my father had appointed him to take care of me in case of any emergency. Uncle Sev – as I liked to call him – had been with me through many tough times. Though it may seem as if he liked to favor me, he truly did care for the good of me.
"Today, we will be making the Calming Draught," sneered Snape, "And does anybody know what this is?"
I looked to my left and saw Hermione's hand immediately shoot up.
Uncle Sev's eyes passed over Hermione's hand, and he drawled out, "Mr. Malfoy? Do you know the answer?" he asked.
Never wanting to miss a chance to make Hermione mad, I said in an equally calm voice, "The Calming Draught calms emotional turmoil."
"Exactly! Ten points to Slytherin," he awarded.
I looked over at Hermione and smirked. Her face was red and she rolled her eyes at me.
"You will be working with the person sitting next to you. All of you have until the end of this class. The ingredients are on the board," he said, gesturing to the chalkboard.
"You may begin."
Hermione scanned the board and commanded me to "get the moonstone, bezoar, and powdered bicorn horn."
I nodded, and walked up to the cupboard to get the items.
While I was there, Potter greeted me with a sneer.
"I know you're up to something," he said.
"Really?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow, "And what do you think I'm up to?" I hissed.
"You're doing something to Hermione, I know it! She used to hate you, but now … all she wants to do is to help you. I'll figure out what it is, and before you know it, you'll wish you had never even met Hermione!" Potter declared.
I smirked, "I am not up to something, Pothead. And even if I were, there'd be no way that you would figure it out. You're much too pathetic and you really are dense," I said, walking back to my table.
Hermione looked up at me and asked, "What were you doing talking to Harry?"
I shrugged, "None of your business," as I handed her the items she had requested.
After adding everything into the Potion, she decided to take notes on how the Potion was doing every few minutes. I began to grow bored. I looked down and realized that Hermione's book bag was next to my leg.
Looking up at her, I saw she was concentrating hard on her notes.
I needed a clue as to what to give Hermione for the Secret Santa program, so I reached deep down into her book bag, and my hand touched something soft. I pulled it out and realized that it was rose petals. They were soft, silky red. I smirked.
Obviously Hermione liked roses. She must've put them in her bag so that all her belongings would smell as sweet.
I put them back inside and pretended as if I, too, were looking intently at the Potion.
"Yes, I'd like a dozen blood red roses, please," I told the cashier who owned the store Scents of Flowers.
"That'll be 7 Galleons," she chirped cheerfully.
Hermione had better be glad and happy at receiving this gift!
Seven galleons were quite a lot for a bunch of stupid flowers.
I handed seven galleons to the witch, and I told her that I'd like the flowers to be delivered to Hogwarts on the fourteenth of December, under the Secret Santa program.
Dumbledore said that he would sort everything out. He had given everybody a pin number and we were to write it onto the card that we had to send out along with the gift. Using this pin number, he'd match up our names with the person we drew out of the hat.
I walked back to Hogwarts, stuffing my hands deep into my pocket. It was really cold, and I wished I had remembered to bring a scarf.
Suddenly, I felt a warm scarf being placed around my neck, and I hurriedly turned around, and found Hermione standing behind me, smiling cheerfully.
"Why the heck did you do that?" I asked her, scowling.
"To hel-" she said, but I cut her off.
"To help me?" I asked. "Don't bother! You have ruined my life enough," I said, throwing the scarf back at her.
"Look here Draco Malfoy," she said, placing her hands on her hips, "I want to help you out of the goodness of my heart. Not because I pity you or because I want something. Not everybody has these kinds of intentions!" she said.
My brain froze.
"Yes I care about other people and yes I care about you, though you may be an arrogant prick who does not deserve my care!" she shouted at me.
"Well, I don't want it, so leave me alone!" I shot back.
"You're useless and hopeless, and as much as I want to do that, I refuse!" she said, stubbornly.
"Why is that?" I asked her, feeling a bit more amused.
She blushed, "I don't remember my way back," she said, trailing off.
I rolled my eyes, "Well, if you're waiting for me to help you, you can just leave."
Hermione stomped her foot, and pouted, "We've worked together since September and I don't understand you! Sometimes you're so nice and other times, you are such a git! Why is it that men are so hard to figure out?" she asked.
"Fine, I'll take you back to Hogwarts, but … stay away from me. I don't want to be seen with you! It doesn't look good for my reputation," I smirked.
Her mouth dropped open in obvious outrage.
"You!" she spluttered.
"Me?" I asked her, feeling amused once again.
"I don't need you!" she screamed, "I'll find somebody else to help me!" she said, storming away.
I felt sad. For some reason, every time Hermione came near me, I would freeze and then I would insult her. I hated doing it, but I couldn't help myself. For one thing, she looked beautiful when she was angry, and another, she was just fun to tease.
I trudged back to Hogwarts alone, feeling warmer. I realized that the scarf she had given me was still around my neck.
I unconsciously took one end of it, and breathed in her sweet vanilla scent.
I wondered how my father would react if he saw me in a Gryffindor scarf.
I dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come, and I trudged back to Hogwarts, feeling slightly disappointed that I had not taken up Hermione's offer.
I sat at my desk, thinking how I should begin my letter to Hermione for the Secret Santa program.
I have three days to write the letter, but the sooner I start on it, the better.
Dear Hermione, I wrote
I'm shocked that I pulled your name out of the Sorting Hat. Out of a million students in Hogwarts, I pulled out yours. I certainly think that these twelve days will be especially fun. Especially since I have the advantage of seeing your face look annoyed as you try to figure out who I am. Gosh, do I love having an advantage over you!
I have no idea as to what to give you, and I am certain that you may not enjoy some of the gifts. So if you do not enjoy the gifts, it certainly is not my fault. It's most likely because you are such a choosy girl. You're probably annoyed at me right now, so I'll end on this note: Happy Christmas – Day One.
From,
Your Secret Santa
I folded up the parchment and put it into an envelope, putting Hermione's name on the front as well as attaching her pin number to the bottom of the envelope.
Hopefully the letter did not make me sound as if I were eager to see her. I tried to put a bit of myself into the letter, to push her buttons and make her feel annoyed.
I headed to Dumbledore's office, and dropped my letter down the chute, which was labeled "Secret Santa Letters".
I walked back to the Heads' Tower, and when I walked inside the Common Room, I was greeted with the sight of Hermione sitting on the couch, looking angry enough to explode.
I approached her cautiously, debating on if I should help her or not.
I gave into my 'soft' side and I sat down next to her on the couch.
She looked up at me, and raised an eyebrow, as if daring me to ask her why she was angry.
"Why are you angry?" I asked, smirking.
She frowned, "Because Harry and Ron are idiots!"
"Tell me something I don't know," I said.
She ignored me and continued ranting to me, "I go into the Gryffindor Tower, and I see them playing chess, and I sit down and they ignore me! I ask why they are ignoring me, and they say it's because I'm hanging out with you too much and they don't want a friend who is acquainted with Draco Malfoy. I, of course, fight back. It's not as if we're friends are we? We are just Head Boy and Head Girl, and we need to discuss the details of the events we plan. They don't believe me, and they just walk away! How dare they do that! I've been friends with them for almost seven years and they just drop me because I've been getting 'chummy' as they said, with you!"
Hermione looked up at me, her eyes bright with tears.
I frowned. She had said that we weren't friends. I had to admit, I felt disappointed.
I didn't know what to do. I was the one who normally made the other girls cry. Now seeing the girl whom I loved, cry … my heart went out for her.
I sighed, "Look, it's not as if Potter and Weasley were great friends these past seven years. Were they with you throughout all the times you needed them?" I asked.
Hermione nodded, "Of course."
"It seems to me as if they only use you for homework help. When they need homework, they run to you. When you want their help, they're always busy playing Quidditch and everything," I said, shrugging awkwardly.
Hermione's mouth opened in outrage, "How dare you! Are you accusing me of not knowing who my real friends are?" she hissed.
"Harry and Ron love me to death, and they certainly do not use me!" she said, "But that's more than you know. It's not as if you have any friends," she huffed, storming into her room.
I leaned back into the couch, feeling offended by what Hermione had just said.
So maybe I had been a bit harsh, saying that her friends did not respect her. But it was true, wasn't it?
During breakfast, Dumbledore waved his hands for our attention.
"Excuse me everybody! Today is the first day of the Secret Santa program, and I would like to thank everybody for participating in this event. All of you students sound excited, so I am not going to take away from your joy and I will let the owls come in and drop off your gifts," he said, smiling.
As soon as Dumbledore sat back down into his seat, the owls came swooping into the Great Hall. There were brown owls, barn owls, snowy owls, tawny owls, and more.
I saw an owl drop off a parcel next to my breakfast, and I opened the letter that had the name "Draco Malfoy" written on it in nice calligraphy writing.
I opened up the letter and read:
Draco Malfoy,
Imagine my surprise when I drew your name out of the hat! I've been observing you, Draco Malfoy, and I have found out some very curious facts about you. Mind you, I am not your secret admirer or stalker, but I am just curious to see what's underneath your mask.
I understand what you go through. I believe that I know more to you than what meets the eye. Everybody sees you as the cruel and mean Draco Malfoy who hates Muggle-borns as well as everybody else "beneath" you. But I am not 'everybody'. I know that you put on a show for everybody else, but deep down you are insecure and struggling to maintain your reputation since your father basically tainted it. I just want you to know that you should not be afraid of your insecurities. After all, if you reveal that side of yourself to a certain somebody, he or she may respect you better.
Hope I didn't scare you with all my talking about yourself. You don't have to know who I am. Just know that you will always have a friend. Happy Christmas Draco Malfoy.
From,
Your Secret Santa
My mouth opened. This person understood me so well and I didn't even know who he or she was! I'm pretty sure that it's a girl though. And she knows about my crush on Hermione!
I opened up the parcel and found a book titled "Revealing Your True Self". I smiled to myself, and looked up, scanning the Great Hall. I hoped to see some eye contact back at me, but I didn't.
However, I did not fail to see Hermione open her gift. She read my letter, and I could she a little bit of steam coming out of her ears. Her cheeks had turned a rosy pink, and her mouth slowly formed into a scowl. Then a snowy owl flew into the Great Hall and dropped the bouquet of roses onto her lap.
Her annoyed expression flew off and a satisfied smile was replaced.
I smiled, glad that she liked my gift.
Now all I had to do was figure out the next eleven days and what to give her.
Author's Note: I've finished Chapter 2! Thanks for all who reviewed. I hope this chapter satisfies all of you. I tried to make Draco seem as if there were two sides of him: a sweet and caring side, but a mean and arrogant one as well.
Please read and review!