False Pretenses

Chapter 10: Winter Holiday (Part 1)

Written by: ecocolatte

Hermione sat on the couch in her family home drinking a cup of hot chocolate and watched the snow fall. Even though she hated being cold, she loved ice and snow. It was Christmas Eve and she had already received presents from Harry and the Weasleys. Harry bought her a new wand holster with otters engraved in it. Ginny bought her a book of charms for hair with a note that said "use one of these for your hair before you take your Christmas photo with Malfoy." Mrs. Weasley had bought her a scarf and Fred and George sent her some new products from their store. Even Ron sent a small present with a letter attached, but she hadn't opened it yet. She couldn't.

She hadn't heard from Draco all break. Thinking back to their conversation at the train station, she wasn't really sure she would hear from him at all. He acknowledged her feelings but never said if he felt the same way. It was actually kind of an asshole move, but what should she expect from him? If he had in fact said he felt the same way it probably would have surprised her even more.

"Thinking about Draco again?" Jean, her mother, said coming to stand next to her.

"I can't help it, mum." She sad guiltily. She told her parents everything, and was surprised when they were mostly supportive. Her father of course had some reservations, but her mother simply went with it. Her mother reminded her of the story of how her grandparents had met. Hermione's grandfather and grandmother went to the same school and had a similar rivalry to Hermione and Draco, and eventually fell in love.

"Why don't you just write him?"

"Because I don't know where he lives. Besides, I don't want to bother him."

"Are you going to open Ron's present at least?"

Hermione eyed the unopened letter and package on the table. "No." She didn't need a reminder of their fight.

"Oh, another letter came for you this morning," Jean said, handing it to Hermione.

She opened the letter with a smile, recognizing Ginny's handwriting. Along with the letter was a magic photograph of Ginny and Harry together, his arm around her shoulders and her showing off a beautiful silver bracelet.

Dear Hermione,

Merry Christmas! I hope you liked your gift. You'll never believe what happened! Harry asked me to be his girlfriend! It was so romantic and sweet. The two of us were out flying late at night and we stopped above the house and he popped the question and gave me this amazing bracelet. We've already taken our Christmas photo (see attached). Can't wait to see yours~

Love,

Ginny

Christmas morning came and Hermione was up early to prepare a nice breakfast for her parents. There was a knock on the door so she went to answer it.

"Merry Christmas, Hermione! There are for you and your family. We made a few too many biscuits." Her neighbor's son Harvey stood with a plate full of fresh strawberry biscuits. Harvey and she weren't close friends since he was two years older than her, but they were always friendly to each other. He was a first year at Oxford University and well-known as the neighborhood sweetheart.

"Thanks, Harvey. Do you want to come in?" She asked, opening the door.

"Sure. Only for a few minutes though, I've got to get back to help dad make pancakes." He said, stepping in and taking off his coat. He followed her into the kitchen where she was mixing flour for waffles.

Hermione poured him a cup of coffee. "How's everything at Oxford?"

"It's great. So different from high school! I'm loving every minute of it though. What about your boarding school?" Muggles were under the impression that she attended a boarding school in northern England.

"The same as every year I suppose," she said trying to avoid much conversation about it.

"You must have a hoard of schoolboys trying to claim you all the time now."

"Ha! Not really. Not the one I want at least," she admitted.

"He's an idiot then," Harvey said decidedly. "How could he not notice such a beautiful young woman?"

Hermione blushed. "Harvey!"

He held his hands up defensively. "Hey don't worry I'm not flirting. Just stating a fact."

The smell of waffles filled the air and the two sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Hermione always liked cooking, something she got from her mother. She wondered if Draco would like her cooking.

"Alright, I need to head back. It was nice seeing you again, Hermione. You should stop by sometime if you ever want to catch up more," Harvey said before grabbing his coat and leaving.

Hermione and her parents had finished eating breakfast and opening presents when there was another knock on the door.

"I'll get it," she said assuming it was Harvey again. She opened the door and nearly fell backwards in shock.

Draco Malfoy was standing on her doorstep! In muggle London! How did he even know where she lived? He was wearing a long winter coat and sleek black pants underneath. On his feet were expensive-looking boots.

"Surprised to see me?" He said almost mockingly.

"Draco! What are you doing here?"

He rolled his eyes at her like she was a child. "We have to take that stupid Christmas photograph don't we?"

"Who's at the door, Hermione?" Her father asked as they came over. "Hello."

"Mum, dad, this is Draco Malfoy. He's my um…" She looked at him hesitantly. "He's my good friend from Hogwarts."

"Nice to finally meet you, Draco. We've heard…things about you." Jean said shaking his hand. Hermione's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she watched Draco shake hands with both her parents. She was amazed that he was willing to touch muggles willingly.

"Would it be alright if I borrowed Hermione for a little while today?" Draco asked politely.

Her dad looked hesitant but her mom simply smiled at the two of them knowingly. "Go ahead, dear," she said leading her dad back into the house.

Draco looked at Hermione smugly. "Let's go," he said and started to walk away. Damn him and his always leaving before she was ready!

"Hang on!" She yelled, grabbing her winter coat scarf and running out the door after him.

They walked in silence down the main streets of London. Hermione didn't quite know what to say without making things awkward. Instead of saying something that might rile him up accidentally, she looked around at the Christmas decorations that lined the shops and streets. Draco seemed to know where he was going so she followed a few paces behind him. As they passed a jewelry store, Hermione paused to admire the necklaces on display. Although she wasn't much of a jewelry person, she did love to look at it.

Draco's reflection in the glass appeared next to her. "See something you like?" He asked teasingly.

"Not really," she replied shyly.

He tapped her arm and began walking away again. "Come on, I don't have all day you know."

Hermione snapped out of her awkwardness. If this was her only chance to spend some time with Draco over the holidays, she would take it. She jogged up next to him.

"So how has your holiday been?"

"Fine."

"Are you doing anything special for Christmas?"

"Taking this stupid photograph."

Hermione frowned at his curt responses. Even after confessing she really did care about him he was still cold. But that wouldn't stop her! She inched a little closer to him. "So, where exactly are we going?"

"There's a large Christmas tree downtown not too far from here. I figured it would be the kind of place the Weasley girl would expect for a photograph." So that meant he must have been out and about looking for a place for them to take a picture. Somehow the thought of Draco Malfoy wandering around Muggle London to find a Christmas tree made her giggle uncontrollably.

He finally looked down at her and lifted an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she said as she finally got her laughter under control. "It's just…strange seeing you walk around with muggles," she said with a whisper to the last part.

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me. I'll probably need to bathe after I get home."

"Probably," Hermione said sarcastically. She could tell there wasn't any fire behind his insult. "Have you been here before?"

"Not really."

"So…you came here just for me then?" She asked hopefully.

"If you want to look at it that way sure. I need to check up on my pet every once in a while." He said arrogantly. It took her a second to realize that pet was a reference to her. She didn't let it bother her.

They finally came upon the large Christmas tree downtown. It was about thirty feet high and covered in a mix of snow and large red and gold ornaments. Gryffindor colors, she thought with a smirk. It must annoy him. Draco pulled a small camera out from his coat pocket. She recognized it as a wizarding camera, but it would simply look like an old fashioned camera to any muggle.

Without saying anything, he slid an arm around her shoulders and held the camera with his other hand. Their backs were to the tree and he bent down a little bit so that his head didn't block the tree in the background.

Hermione's breath caught at his sudden closeness. They had been close like this before when they were pretending to be a couple, but this time she felt even more nervous than before. She tentatively leaned her face in closer to his.

"Come on, smile and wave." He said sounding a little frustrated, still holding the camera high in his other hand. She almost forgot that magical photographs were more like short videos. She gave a small wave to the camera and then an even smaller nervous smile.

"I think that should satisfy the Weasley girl, don't you?" He said snapping the photo, removing his arm and handing her the camera. "I'll leave it to you to take care of the rest. You can give me the camera back later." She looked at the photograph and immediately disliked her expression in it. It was so obvious she was faking it.

"Okay," she said putting the camera in her purse, knowing not to bother him with another picture. "Thanks, Draco." He nodded at her and began walking back the way they came.

Hermione was a little disappointed that they were returning already. He would probably walk her back and then leave and she wouldn't hear from him the rest of vacation. Typical Malfoy.

They walked in silence next to each other. She wondered if this was what a Christmas date felt like.

"Excuse me sir," one of the shopkeepers advertising jewelry called out to them. Draco looked at her as they stopped. "Would you like to buy this as a present for your girlfriend?" She asked holding out a box containing a gold necklace.

Draco gave her one of his smiles that would make any girl melt, but Hermione could tell it was fake. "No thanks. I have a much better one prepared already." He said and they continued walking without another glance.

"That was a rude way of turning her down," Hermione said after a moment. He has a present for me?

"You've got to be firm with salespeople like that or they'll just keep bothering you," he replied. "They're even worse in Diagon Alley."

"I suppose…so what's this about a present?" She asked. She hadn't thought about giving him a gift, since she assumed they wouldn't even see each other over break.

"I was lying." Her face shot down with disappointment. "But, maybe I could get you something," he said thoughtfully.

"Really?"

"Yeah…something like a collar," he said looking at her with a smirk.

"A collar? You mean like for a dog!" Hermione asked dejectedly. Why was she expecting something else?

"You don't like the idea?"

"I'm not a dog!" She exclaimed as they continued to walk back to her house.

"Could have fooled me."

Along the way they passed a small park. There was a woman and her young son playing with a small brown shepherd dog. The young boy giggled happily as the dog came over and licked his face.

Hermione thought back to Draco's comment earlier. "Do you even like dogs, Draco?"

Draco stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched the dog with the boy. "Dogs are very loyal creatures. It doesn't matter what you look like, or what kind of a person you are. If you take care of a dog, it will love you unconditionally. It's rather a nice thought."

Unconditional love, Hermione thought. She had never really considered the bond between an animal and human like that before. She had always been more of a cat person though…

"Don't get any ideas about unconditional love, Granger." Draco said snidely.

"I wasn't." She said frowning. He could really be so insensitive. Why did she like him again? "Can we sit for a little while before we go back? We walked a long way and I'm tired."

Draco looked around, noticing the bench she was eyeing and sighed. "Alright, just for a little while."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the dog play.

"Can I ask you something serious?" Hermione said, hoping that her question wouldn't ruin the day.

"What is it?"

"When you were at Quidditch practice I overheard some Slytherin girls talking about you…and your plans for me."

He turned to look at her and straightened his collar. "Oh? And what did they say?"

She shifted a bit under his intense gaze. "They said there was no way you really like me. They said that you told Theodore Nott you plan on humiliating me at the end of the year, that it's all just a prank."

"Girls can be such a pain in the ass," Draco grumbled while turning away from her. He crossed his arms and stared intently at the grass.

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to prepare for his answer. "Is that true?"

"How would you feel if it was?"

"Angry."

"And if it wasn't?"

"Confused. Can't you just be honest with me?" She pleaded. She was tired of playing games.

He regarded her for a minute, clearly trying to decide what to say. "I have a plan, Granger. Let's just leave it at that."

Hermione froze at his confession. So the girls were telling the truth. Maybe not the entire truth, but it was bad enough. Whatever his "plan" was for her, that's all it was to him. Merlin, what was she even doing here? Draco didn't care about her, not one bit. Her feelings for him were probably nothing more than an added benefit and some free entertainment.

She felt humiliated, angry, and hurt. But what should she have expected? Certainly nothing more from him.

"Maybe you were right. Maybe my feelings aren't real after all," she said standing up suddenly.

"Granger-"

"You don't have to walk me home, Draco. Have a wonderful Christmas." Hermione turned and quickly walked away from the bench.

"Hermione!" She heard him call after her, but she ignored him. Just like he ruined all things, Draco Malfoy had just ruined her Christmas.