Draco knew Hermione wouldn't be able to relax around him until she could regain her sense of control so when they reached the castle he decided to give her some time to herself. He told them he wanted to shower and catch up on some of the homework he'd missed before dinner. After nodding goodbye to Potter and giving Hermione a friendly smile he made his way towards their common room.

On the way he pondered how he was going to carry out the devious plan he'd come up with that morning. It was almost Christmas so surely there was a way of shopping. He just had to find someone to tell him how it was done here. He had almost made it to the Head's portrait when a girl with long blonde hair wearing a dreamy expression, a Ravenclaw tie and... radishes?... in her ears came skipping around the corner. Perfect, he thought, I'll ask her.

"Excuse me!" he called out and the girl looked up and smiled serenely.

"Certainly," she replied, "What am I excusing you for?" Draco was a bit taken back by the fact that she seemed absolutely serious.

"Um... I was hoping you could help me with something." Her eyebrows raised in what he supposed was the closest she came to looking shocked. Why does everyone keep looking at me like that? He thought a bit grumpily. Her eyebrows lowered and the dreamy look returned, along with a thoughtful smile.

"Well, I can certainly try. But I supposed it depends a great deal on what you need help with. I can get rid of the nargles in your head if that's what you're worried about but I'm afraid I can't do anything about the garden gnome problem in the great pyramids. So why don't you tell me what you need help with and then I'll let you know if I can help you."

Draco decided he liked this girl. Granted she was a bit odd, but her logic was infallible. Never offer your assistance until you know what you are getting yourself into. It was a very Slytherin tactic and he thoroughly approved.

"Well, I need to buy a present and I was wondering how that's done around here."

"Oh, I can definitely help you with that." she said happily, "Follow me." She turned on her heel heading back the way she'd come. "Who's the present for?" she asked after a moment of walking in silence.

"Hermione Granger."

"Oh, are you two finally together?" she said with a smile, "I've been waiting forever for you to figure that out."

He definitely liked this girl. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked, "I hit my head a few days ago and my memory is a little off."

"Ah," she said with a nod, "that explains a lot."

Before he could question her about that statement she continued. "I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood. We know each other but we haven't really had the chance to talk much. Probably because you're in Slytherin, or I suppose it could be because of that whole Death Eater thing." she shrugged blithely. What on earth is a Death Eater? "Actually, it's probably a mixture of both."

He opened his mouth to ask when she stopped suddenly and he was distracted by the wild happenings through the doorway she had stopped in front of. Owls were swooping around in all directions. Some carrying packages, some carrying letters. There was a mountainous collection of what looked like catalogs along the far wall and a small sign that read, 'Order Forms' hung above a tall stack of parchment.

Owls, he thought with a laugh, and I thought Hermione was speaking metaphorically.

"Here we are." Luna said brightly, "All you have to do is pick what you would like from one of those catalogs and then send your order form out with an owl. The package will usually arrive in a few hours."

He looked at the massive amount of catalogs with a bit of trepidation. "I don't have to look through all of those to find what I want do I?"

"Oh heavens no!" she replied with a smile, "that would take forever. You just think of what you want and the table sorts them for you, only giving you the catalogs that apply to your request."

Well that sounded easy enough. "How do you pay for things?" he asked and cursed himself for not thinking of that sooner. He didn't have any money on him. Come to think of it he didn't even know where he kept his money or how much of it he had.

"Well normal people... and me, have to include payment with their order," she began and his face fell, "but unusual cases, like yours, don't require up front payment. You just have to press your family crest-" she indicated the ring on his right hand, "-into the order form and they'll take care of it at the bank."

"But how will I know how much I can spend?" he asked "What if I overdraw my account?"

Her bemused smile confused him. He thought it was a perfectly logical question.

"You really did hit your head didn't you?" she said, "The Malfoys are one of the most wealthy wizarding families in the country. Second only to the house of Black... or is it the house of Potter now since Harry is the only heir?... I can never keep that straight... Anyhow," she continued airily, "I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry about overdrawing your account. You could buy a few of everything available in this room and still be able to afford two... or possibly three national monuments."

She had that serious tone again and Draco really didn't think she was joking. Well that's good to know.

"Well, I'd better be off," Luna said abruptly, "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye out for riffle wargs in the library. Daddy says they're very common this time of year." She straightened and began gliding towards the door, "See you sometime in the future." she called as she disappeared through the entryway.

"Thank you!" Draco called after her as she turned the corner. He stared at the empty doorway for a moment and shook his head. That is one very odd girl.

Looking over at the pile of catalogs, he knew he wouldn't be doing his real Christmas shopping yet. He had to think of the perfect present, and now that money was not an issue he was looking forward to a little extravagance. Today he would just be buying a small early gift.

Very small, he thought with a devilish grin, and green, I think. Yes, definitely green. Thoroughly pleased with himself, he pictured what he wanted to buy and set about looking through the catalogs that floated out of the pile.

XXX

Hermione sank further into the bubbles and wished she could just stay here forever. She had grabbed her well worn copy of the Count of Monte Cristo and escaped to the prefect's bathroom as soon as Draco had left them, but even Edmond Dantes couldn't save her this time. Draco Malfoy was overriding every other thought she tried to have and it was maddening.

She had given up trying to fight it about an hour ago and now was just concentrating on damage control. I can't will away my attraction to him, so I'm just going to have to try and contain it to that. She could get over losing an object of desire. She would not get over losing him if she let herself actually start to care about him.

So I won't, she thought determinedly, I'll let my hormones run wild and have all the crazy fantasies about him they want, but I'll keep my heart out of it.

She finally came to terms with her attraction to him and now that she'd made a plan to deal with it, she felt like she had a little bit of control back. That made it much easier to contemplate the coming weeks with him.

XXX

After placing his order, Draco returned to his room to shower and change for dinner. He was just finishing buttoning his shirt as he walked into the common room and Hermione emerged from her bedroom. She smiled shyly and walked over to meet him.

A tantalizing scent of crisp apples and cinnamon came from her freshly washed hair as she grew near and he wanted to press his face into the wild mass of curls and inhale deeply. However, thinking this would assuredly unsettle her, he reigned in his desire and offered his arm playfully. "May I escort you to dinner, Miss Granger?"

The relaxed, amused smile she graced him with was well worth his efforts. "Certainly, Mr. Malfoy." she said with a laugh and placed her arm in his.

And so it was that Draco Malfoy walked into the great hall with Hermione Granger on his arm.

XXX

Hermione knew she should feel ridiculous letting Draco escort her into the room as if she were a princess but she didn't. She felt wonderful.

The attraction she felt for him was still there but his playful manner had put her at ease. Without the heated intensity coming off of him she could breathe and enjoy his company. And to her amazement she really did.

He found his literary memory had not been affected by the fall and they talked all the way to dinner about books they'd both read. She was surprised by the number of favorites they had in common.

"Edmond Dantes would most definitely have been a Slytherin," he said emphatically in response to the debate they were having, "That was the single most masterful example of scheming in history. Besides," he waggled his eyebrows at her, "he got the girl. Slytherins always get the girl."

She laughed at the absurdity of Draco Malfoy waggling his eyebrows. "Keep dreaming, Malfoy." She said and he pulled her just a bit closer before leaning in and responding softly, "Oh, I intend to."

So much for breathing, she thought and dragged her gaze away from his. She concentrated on finding a spot to sit and as her eyes scanned the room Luna Lovegood caught her eye and waved. Then with a smile and a gesture towards Draco, gave her a thumbs up.

Oh Merlin, she thought with a blush. She hadn't really considered what it would look like to the other students, her walking into the room hanging onto Draco. Thankfully, she finally spotted Harry and pulled Draco along to sit down next to him. Still reeling from the fact that the rest of the people in the room now thought she and Draco were a couple she was completely unprepared for his sudden question.

"What's a Death Eater?"

XXX

Seeing Luna had reminded Draco of her earlier statement and it began troubling him. That was something he knew he really should know. So as he sat down at the table next to Potter he asked, "What's a Death Eater?"

Hermione went deathly still and he wondered if he'd made a mistake. She seemed almost petrified and ultimately it was Potter who responded warily.

"Why do you ask?"

"It was something Luna said earlier when she was helping me Christmas shop-" The look on Potter's face went from wary to incredulous at the mention of Luna.

"You went Christmas shopping with Luna Lovegood?!" he practically shouted.

Draco took his shock for a slight against Luna and anger pushed away his earlier question.

"Now look here, Potter." he said a bit menacingly, "I realize she's a bit odd but she's a very sweet girl and I won't have you insulting her."

XXX

Draco Malfoy went Christmas shopping with Luna Lovegood and is now defending her character to Harry Potter. The world had gone completely mad.

Harry burst out laughing and Hermione knew she had to step in as Draco looked ready to bludgeon him with something. "He's not insulting her. Luna's actually a good friend of ours," she said quickly, "I think he was just surprised that you knew her... or Christmas shopped." She finished lamely.

His anger seemed to cool when he turned to her. "Why wouldn't I Christmas shop?"

Good one, Hermione, she thought self depreciatingly, How are you going to get out of that? Luckily, Harry had composed himself enough to save her.

"I think she meant that you were still Christmas shopping," he jumped in, "It's a bit last minute and with your tendency to plot we figured you'd have been done by now."

She knew Draco didn't entirely buy it but thankfully, he seemed willing to be placated.

"Well," he drawled with a smile, "let's just say I've recently discovered someone to add to my nice list."

Her heart flipped a little. "You were shopping for me?"

"Yes, although I will admit that the one I bought today was more a present to myself." His smile turned positively wicked. The smile muddled her brain for a moment and then his words sank in.

"Wait.. the one you bought today?"

"Oh, I'm not even close to being done with you, Angel."

She was saved from having to reply by the appearance of dinner. Thankfully, Draco seemed to have forgotten the question that had started this whole surreal conversation, and both boys began piling food on their plates. She followed suit and began to eat slowly. He's buying me Christmas presents. She started to think maybe she needed to revise her plan. It might actually be easier to fight the attraction than the way her heart was starting to melt.