A/N: I just want to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who has left me a comment or a review over the last few days. I have taken the time to read each of them over and over again and each time they make me smile.
I do hope you all enjoy this little story. It's Dramione and it's a little fluffy, but that being said, they are not end game in this story. They have broken up and will not be getting back together.
This story was prompted by the ever so lovely articcat621 and was beta read by the also lovely GaeilgeRua. Both of them are amazing writers as well as human beings in general and deserve all the love in the world!
All of the usual disclaimers apply. I don't write for profit and I certainly don't own any of these characters. J. K. Rowling is a wonderful human being for supporting fanfiction and allowing authors to express themselves with the help of her characters and the world she created.
If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.
Title: Mistletoe Reminder
Pairing: Dramione
Rating: K
Summary: Breaking up during the holidays is never easy, but sometimes it takes a kiss under the mistletoe to help a person realize what it is they really wanted.
Mistletoe has been making quite the appearance in these stories and I honestly can't complain. These stories have been turning out beautifully. Enjoy!
Love always,
~starr
Pansy and Hermione walked into the pub decked out in their best ugly Christmas sweater dresses and black lace up boots ready for a good night. It was the annual Hogwarts class of 1997 Christmas Party at the Three Broomsticks. It was a chance for all of the alumni get together and celebrate before they attended the Yule Ball.
The girls were out to have good time for the evening and forget about their broken hearts. Not even two weeks prior, Pansy and Hermione had both gone through their own nasty break-ups. Pansy had finally had it with Ron's childish ways and basically told him goodbye. Hermione, on the other hand, was dumped cruelly by the man she believed she loved.
Draco and Hermione had never been the perfect fit. Everyone around them knew it, but the two of them had a point to prove. They wanted to show everyone that it didn't matter what Hogwarts house you were or who you associated yourself with, there could be long lasting relationships between members of houses that just didn't get along in school. However after three and a half years of dating, Draco decided that Hermione wasn't who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and left, leaving Hermione alone for the foreseeable future.
After a few too many drinks one night at the local pub, Hermione had told Pansy everything about her relationship with Draco and Pansy shared the dish on her relationship with Ron. That evening a new friendship was struck and the two girls were inseparable.
When the invitation for the annual get together came out, they called each other immediately to coordinate their outfits and codewords for when someone got a little to frisky after a few too many drinks. Their plan for the evening was simple and they wanted to have some fun. Especially since they knew their former lovers would be at the party as well. Someone needed to show them that the two of them were better off without the oafs.
Pansy walked straight up to the bar and ordered a pair of shots for herself and Hermione. With a quick toast, the girls downed the shots and ordered another drink before turning to face the party and scan the faces to see what they were working with.
"You take the left side and I'll take the right," Pansy said, lifting the drink to her lips as her eyes slowly began scanning the room. She saw quite a few faces she recognized as well as a few she didn't. It was nice being back at Hogwarts for something outside of academics.
Hermione scanned her side of the pub and froze when her eyes landed on a couple hidden in the back corner of the pub, nuzzled up close to one another. All she could see was the back of a very familiar blond head leaned in close to a head with long flowing blonde hair and her heart sank. She figured that he had already moved on since he was the one to initiate the break-up, but she hoped that she wouldn't have to see him until she had been able to move on herself. Taking a deep breath, she raised her glass to her lips and downed the cool liquid in one swift gulp.
"I'll be right back. I need to use the loo," Hermione mumbled, setting her empty glass down on the bar and walked in the same direction that she had seen the blond hair. Unfortunately for her, she needed to pass the new couple to reach the loo.
"I'll be right here," Pansy called as she continued to sip at her drink and scan the bar. She hadn't seen Ron yet, but she knew he was there somewhere. He always came to these kind of things. It was something he thrived on. To most of the people in this room, he was still known as "Weasley the King" or something like that.
. . . . . . . .
On her return from the loo, Hermione attempted to walk under a small overhang, but got hung up underneath it. She couldn't move forwards and she couldn't return the way she had come. Something was holding her in place and she wasn't sure what.
"What the hell?" she mumbled under her breath as she began to take in her surroundings. When she finally looked above her head, she sighed and hung her head. Magical mistletoe. She should have known that someone would have planted the cursed ornament around the pub hoping to catch people in the most awkward of situations. Her only hope now was that someone she wouldn't mind kissing momentarily would get stuck as well so that they both could be free.
She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned up against the frame of the overhang as she waited for someone to walk her way. Sadly, there was really nothing else that she could do at the exact moment. So she waited, watching a dozen or so people walk straight past her just out of reach of the mistletoe.
That was until a familiar blond head came walking in her general direction. He hadn't seen her standing there when he moved to walk through the overhang. However once he had crossed that threshold, he wasn't going anywhere until someone freed him.
"You've got to be kidding me," Hermione exasperated, shaking her head furiously and tipping her head back against the frame. "Of all the people at this freaking party."
"What the he- Granger?" Draco asked, furrowing his brow as he looked around the room. "What did you do?"
Uncrossing her arms quickly, Hermione stepped forward closing the gap between them and pressed a finger into his shoulder. "I didn't do anything. Someone hung magical mistletoe around the pub. I got caught on my way back from the loo and unluckily for me, you walked too close to the perimeter of the spell," she said, emphasizing a few words by pressing her finger into his shoulder repeatedly. "So before you go putting the blame on me, take a look at your entire surroundings."
Draco sighed, rolling his eyes. He knew she was right. He had been too quick to judge the situation and she was going to make sure that he knew it. That was one of the things she had always been good at. Truth be told, he missed her and if he was being honest with himself, he didn't mind being caught under the mistletoe with her. Although based on her reaction, she would rather be anywhere but here.
He looked around the small overhang and found nothing. Narrowing his gaze at her, Draco opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Hermione pointed towards the roof. He followed her finger with his eyes. "Oh." was all he could say as he tipped his head back down and met her eyes. "Sorry."
"Yeah, me too," Hermione sighed. She took the moment of awkward silence to really look at him. He still looked the same, but at the same time he looked completely different. Maybe he was happier without her in his life, or maybe he was happier with Astoria than he ever was with her. All that mattered now though was that she got the hell out from underneath this mistletoe and back to the bar.
Closing the gap between them, Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed up on her tiptoes, nearing her face to his.
"What are you doing?" Draco asked, pulling away from her slightly.
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Hermione sighed. "I'm trying to get us out of this trap so that it can move somewhere else in the pub and torture another uninformed pair of people. So would you for Salazar's sake just stand still?"
Draco furrowed his brow momentarily. Salazar's sake? That was a new one for the Gryffindor princess. Something or someone had gotten into her and changed her attitude about some things. He mentally questioned what for a few brief seconds before he felt her lips on his.
The kiss was soft and sweet, but it was missing something and before he knew it, Draco felt Hermione pulling away. He had to act quickly if he wanted this kiss to last longer than the few seconds it was going to take to break the curse of the mistletoe. Almost instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him, deepening the kiss as he brought her closer.
Surprised by his actions, Hermione was caught off guard, but allowed herself to be pulled in closely. Maybe she had been mistaken earlier when she thought she saw him with Astoria, but she knew better than to put her faith in that. Allowing the kiss to go on a few more brief seconds, Hermione felt the spell release it's hold on them.
Once it appeared as though the magic had diminished, Hermione pulled away from Draco and took a step into the bar away from the overhang. She wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to get trapped under there again and be forced to kiss someone else.
As she went to walk away without a word, Hermione paused and turned to face him. She took a deep breath and painted a fake smile on her face. Regardless of what emotions she felt bubbling underneath the surface right this second, she needed to remember that their time together was over and that kiss meant nothing more than a means to an end.
"Thanks for freeing me, Malfoy. Enjoy your weekend with Astoria," she said with a sigh. Hermione spun on her heels quickly and walked back into the crowded pub in search of Pansy. She was going to to need quite the stiff drink if she was going to try and figure out what the hell had just happened to her.
Draco watched as she walked away, completely dumbfounded at her sentiments before she disappeared. He wasn't here with Astoria, in fact he hadn't spoken to Astoria since their graduation from Hogwarts. Pushing the thoughts from the forefront of his mind, Draco shook his head as he returned to the party.
. . . . . . . .
When Hermione found Pansy, she looked different. Hermione wasn't sure what was off, but there was something about Pansy's current appearance that didn't match the appearance she remembered before she got trapped. Turning to the bartender, she order a stiff drink before sighing audibly and accidentally bumping her best friend on the shoulder.
"What the he-, Hermione! There you are!" Pansy said excitedly when she turned to face Hermione. "Where have you been?"
Noticing the smudged lipstick around Pansy's lips, Hermione laughed quietly to herself and shook her head. "I got caught by some magical mistletoe by the loo. Who smeared your lipstick?" she asked, a sly smile playing at her lips.
Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes. "I thought I had it fixed…"
Hermione just laughed and shook her head. "Nope. So who was it, Parkinson?" she asked, attempting to look over Pansy's shoulders to see if the responsible party was still near by.
"Not until you tell me who freed you from the mistletoe. I need to know who your knight in an ugly Christmas sweater was," Pansy quipped, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Malfoy," Hermione replied with a straight face. "Now spill."
