A/N: I had fun writing this, so I decided to go ahead and post it. Hope you enjoy! Review! And thanks for all the reviews so far!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does, and no matter how much I wish it would, this fanfic does not change that.
Chapter Nine
"Draco! Wake up! Draco, it's Christmas morning!" Draco groaned. It felt like seconds ago that he had closed his eyes. He pulled the blankets closer to him, trying to go back to sleep. Suddenly, something hit him in the stomach. And again in the chest. And then again, hard, in the face. He groggily opened his eyes to see one bouncing redhead with a pillow standing a few feet away, giggling. He smiled, waited until she wasn't paying attention, and then whispered "Accio Ginny" under his breath as he pointed his wand at her. She shrieked when she was pulled forward, dropping the pillow. She landed on the bed with and undignified "oomph!" and he pulled her into his arms.
"Happy Christmas, love," he whispered in her ear. She pressed her lips to his for a few moments before climbing off his bed and throwing some muggle clothes at him.
"Change. I'll turn around," She commanded and he grudgingly did as asked. A few moments later, they were downstairs and in the midst of a very busy, very large breakfast. Mrs. Weasley was frantically waving her wand around, pieces of bacon were flying overhead, and people were all clawing at the food laid out on the tables. Draco and Ginny slid unnoticed into the crowd and started loading up their plates.
After breakfast, everyone crowded into the living room. The tree was nothing like Draco had ever seen before; it wasn't polished and professional, it was messy and fun. The ornaments looked homemade, and a few seemed to be charmed to show a slideshow of pictures. There was one for Charlie, one for Bill, one for a young man who Draco assumed was Percy, though this one only had a few photos and was near the back, on for the twins, one for Ron, and one for Ginny. He watched it for a few moments, smiling at the pictures of her when she was little with ruffled up pigtails and pie all over her face or the time she got into her mother's make-up and drew all over herself. He was entranced as he watched the way she was always trying to grow up and play with her brothers, but her mother constantly held her back.
After a few moments, he returned to his seat on the couch and everything settled down. It seemed that the only person who was outwardly uncomfortable with his presence was Potter, who aggravatingly sat himself on the floor at Ginny's feet. Draco gritted his teeth but didn't say anything.
"Alright! Let's open presents!" Arthur Weasley announced. He waved his wand and all the gifts flew to their various receivers. Even Draco had a few, which he was sure his parents had sent by owl, expecting him to be at Hogwarts. He quickly opened a Slytherin sweater, a journal with the Malfoy crest on it, and a new watch. He was surprised to see a small box of chocolates from Pansy, and smirked at the new quills Zabini had given him. There was also a note:
Draco,
Having fun at the Weasley's? Yes, I know your secret. I knew you would go, you love her too much not to! Don't worry, you can tell me all about it when we return back to school. See you then.
Happy Christmas,
Blaise Zabini
Draco chuckled and tucked the gifts away, turning to watch everyone else. Ginny opened up her present from Granger first: two books, of course. One on quidditch and one on music. Her brother had given her a book as well, surprisingly enough, entitled The Art of Dating; How to Break His Heart Before He Breaks Yours. Ginny scowled and hit Ron. Draco narrowed his eyes, relaxing again when she simply tossed the book at Hermione, who shook her head. Ginny received a box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes from the twins, dragon-hide gloves from Charlie, a broom-cleaning kit from Bill, a Gryffindor Scarf with a broom embroidered on it from Potter, and a hand-knitted sweater with a G on it from her parents. Apparently, this was tradition, as everyone in the room had received one. Draco watched her open a Sneakoscope, a small vial of some form of perfume, and a book of beauty spells from the various unknown adults in the room. Draco recognized Lupin, the werewolf who had been the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in their third year, but other than that, they were all strangers. Ginny pulled on the sweater and settled into the cushions.
She laughed at the look of disgust on Granger's face as she opened up the book that Ginny had received from her youngest older brother. Draco smirked when Granger hit the Weasel and chastised him in a low voice.
Eventually, everyone had opened their gifts and were standing up. Ginny thanked everyone and hugged everyone, including Potter. This made Draco's lungs stop working and his heart was beating too fast, but Ginny swiftly pulled away and continued to the others in the room. The look on Potter's face as she walked away made Draco want to curse him into the next month. He was trying to find something, anything to distract him when a small, delicate hand found his.
"Happy Christmas, Draco!" Ginny chirped, pulling him outside where there was less noise and less people. The settled onto a wooden swing of some sort, and Ginny pulled a small wrapped gift out of her pocket. She shyly handed it to him. He took it, happily surprised, and opened it. It was a small gold sphere.
"A snitch?" he watched as she took one of his hands and pressed it against the snitch. It slowly unfolded in his hands, and he saw an inscription:
Ginny X Draco
Happy Christmas Love.
She looked up at him with a small smile and he kissed her gently. He then dug in one of his pockets, finding the small box he had been carrying for about a week. He gave it to her, suddenly frightened of her reaction. She smiled, a bit curious, and carefully opened it. She gasped when she saw the necklace inside. It was a simple silver chain, long but not too long. The charm was of two small dragons intertwined with a heart between them. One dragon was emerald, one was ruby, and the heart was sparkling with diamonds. Tears slipped down her face and she slowly clasped it around her neck. It sat perfectly, right between her breasts. She blushed, and he looked away from the necklace and instead at her beautiful brown eyes. They were shining with tears and she was grinning from ear to ear. She slowly leaned forward and kissed him, and he felt as if his body were being filled with slowly flowing molten lava; hot but not overcome with lust. It was as perfect as ever, and when she pulled away, he felt the emptiness of his lips like a slap across the face. She thanked him softly, telling him goodnight, and walked back to the house. He followed after a few minutes.
"Malfoy, hold up. I wanna talk to you for a minute." Draco turned around warily to see the brother with the ponytail. What was his name? Bill, that was it. He waited for Bill to say something, not sure what to expect.
"Alright. I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I don't like you. For some reason, my little sister does. I don't see it. I can't seem to figure out her way of thinking. Regardless of what I, and everyone else, think, she's decided to spend all her time with you. I'm not going to judge you because of who you are or who your family is. I'm simply going to give you the same warning I gave Dean, Michael, and Harry. You hurt my little sister and you will pay. If you want to break up with her, that's none of my business. Just do it in a civilized, painless manner. If you hurt her, you'll be sorry. We clear?" Draco nodded, confused and borderline angry. Dean? Michael? Potter? Just how many boyfriends had Ginny had over for the holidays? Draco wandered off, ready to sleep so that he didn't have to think about it anymore.
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Ginny walked up to her room, sliding through the crowd unnoticed, and entered to find Hermione waiting for her.
"So, what'd Mal-I mean what did Draco get you for Christmas?" Hermione asked, studying the beaming redhead. Ginny pulled the necklace out from under her shirt.
"He gave me this," she smiled.
"Wow. Impressive," Hermione nodded with approval. Ginny turned to the mirror and examined the necklace. She decided she liked the way it rested just above her breasts, and if she wore a v-neck it would show nicely. She settled in bed and read the book of beauty spells that Tonks had given her until she fell asleep.
"Ginny, wake up! Ginny!" Hermione jostled the sleeping girl until she finally woke up.
"What?" Ginny snapped, never a morning person.
"We're going to Diagon Alley!" Hermione was pulling on clothes and shooting spells at her hair to calm it down. Ginny tumbled out of bed and slowly decided on what to wear. She decided that it had to be a green v-neck shirt, with a black v-cut cami underneath, and jeans. She flipped through her new book and found a spell for flawless make-up and one for perfect curls. She was delighted to find that they worked, before realizing something.
"Hermione, has anyone woken Draco up?" Hermione nodded.
"We tried to get Ron or Harry to wake him up, but I was afraid they would curse him or something. So I asked Charlie to do it. He got Draco up, and they are down in the kitchen waiting on, well, us! So let's go! I can't wait to see everyone! I have gifts for Luna and Neville, and I need new quills for school!" Ginny sighed and walked downstairs. She grabbed a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice. Soon after, they were off, flooing to the Leaky Cauldron.
Please review! Plot ideas are much appreciated!
- Ms. Bells Swan