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He checked his watch.

6:56.

Four minutes at the most until she got here.

Draco let out a long breath, bouncing on his heels as he did so. His silver eyes glanced around as he waited on the seventh-floor corridor, completely alone in the almost entirely uninhabited school. The snow that had been falling earlier that day had finally ceased its seemingly incessant downpour and the Hogwarts grounds now remained a sparkling white blanket of beauty. Not that he'd ever admit it, but Draco found it to be quite breathtaking.

So there he was, standing patiently on Christmas night, waiting on the one person he could call his friend. The food was prepared, the Room of Requirement was ready, and Draco himself was dressed to perfection. For he was outfitted in only the finest of his dress robes, he was clean shaven, and was so immaculately flawless that he shone.

Yet even though he was what one might call an incredibly attractive sight, he was nervous. Why? He wasn't even sure. This definitely wasn't a date, and Draco definitely didn't think of the girl he was meeting as anything other than just a friend.

He imagined what it would be like to think of her in any other way.

For some reason, this only made him more nervous.

He checked his watch again to distract himself.

6:58.

Two minutes.

He scratched his neck, trying to ease his nerves, the nerves whose existence he didn't understand, the nerves that he wish he didn't have. He just wanted to have an enjoyable Christmas night. Why was he being so weird?

It's the atmosphere, he told himself. Getting dressed up, having a nice dinner; it's all atmospheric. That's why I'm so off.

He knew this was true. And yet he still wasn't any more calmed about it.

7:00.

Looking up from his watch, Draco was met with the sight of Granger as she turned the corner at the end of the corridor. He fought to keep back a smile, not wanting to get too out of character just by seeing that she hadn't stood him up. But this was a hard task, given how she looked.

Simply put, she was magnificent. She wore a brilliant red dress, one that reached to just above her knees, and a small, light pink purse was slung over one arm. The dress had a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves, falling in exactly the right way. Not to mention that it made the Gryffindor look radiant.

Of course, not that Draco noticed this fact.

"Granger," he greeted, giving her a mock bow.

"Malfoy," she laughed, curtsying quite terribly, yet gracefully at the same time. "Don't you clean up well."

He shrugged. "It's not hard to do when you look as amazing as I do on a daily basis already." He sighed in an overly exasperated way, a teasing smirk on his face. "But, I will admit, you don't look too shabby yourself."

Granger smiled. "Oh, you like it?" She gestured to her dress, the smallest of blushes on her cheeks. "It's one of my favorites. I've had it for what feels like forever. But I can't bear to part with it. I love the color more than I can say."

At her gesture, Draco couldn't help but take in her form. There was no denying it: she had a good body. He had never really noticed it before, for he'd never had reason to, but with her looking so tempting in the moonlight, it was hard to not look at her in that way. The dress hugged her curves in a very particular way, a way that was innocent and yet somehow suggestive to the boy. After a moment, he found that he had to tear his gaze away before he could let his mind wander too far.

He didn't want it roaming there.

What's wrong with me?! he chastised himself. What the hell?! Stop it!

"Well," Draco finally said, trying to get his mind back on track, "I'd agree with you on the color if it wasn't a Gryffindor shade. You know how much I hate that house."

Granger rolled her eyes. "Oh, me too. Anyone from that house is insufferable."

"And a know-it-all," Draco joked. Granger scrunched her nose at him and hit him on the shoulder. He just let out a small chuckle, shaking his head.

"Anyways, joking aside," the girl pushed, "how about this dinner, then? If you were so eager to set it all up, can't I finally see it?"

"Hmm," the Slytherin pondered. "That depends."

"Oh?" She quirked an eyebrow. "And what is it dependent on?"

He leaned in slightly, giving her his signature smirk. "On whether or not you are prepared to be blown away."

She tilted her head, giving him an equally intense look. "Well, then, lead on."

He smiled slightly, finally turning away. He paced in front of the currently blank wall, thinking clearly in his mind, "Take me to the room prepared for Christmas night." After three repetitions of the phrase, a small door appeared. It was elegant and sculptured, like the entrance to a highly decorated museum.

He walked to it proudly, grabbing the handle. As he did so, he turned to his guest and gestured for her to enter. "Ladies first."

She scoffed with a twinkle in her eye. "What a gentleman," she said overdramatically, laughing nonetheless.

He raised his eyebrows. "I'm just excited to see your reaction. Is that a sin?"

"It is if you get my hopes up and they come crashing down afterwards."

"They won't," he stated. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she'd be impressed. There wasn't a person on earth who'd be displeased with what he'd set up.

"Sure of yourself, aren't you?" Granger teased as she reached the door, her delicate hand resting on it lightly.

He smirked. "Always." And he opened the door.

Grinning at him as he did so, Granger walked into the room and Draco's ears were immediately filled with the sound of her gasp. That was a good sign.

Following her, Draco closed the door behind him and allowed himself a moment to take in his handy work. Truly, he was impressed with himself for pulling everything off with the short amount of time he'd been given. But he felt that even if he'd been given more, it wouldn't have turned out any better than it now was.

The two students stood at the entrance to a beautiful, endless garden, one that was at least thirty degrees cooler than the halls of Hogwarts. Hundreds of colorful and festive plants dotted their path, twisting around an intricately designed stone trail. Small flowers lined the side of the track, various grasses sprayed around them with care. Large arches made of green and white leaves were scattered about the pathway, making the overall aesthetic all the more pleasing.

Better yet, the room had been enchanted so that snow fell from the ceiling. The entirety of the room was covered in white, the pure, beautiful color that signified winter, Christmas, and new beginnings.

For wasn't their relationship just that: a new beginning?

The snow fell endlessly, creating a true winter wonderland. Granger looked around in awe, the smallest of smiles gracing her face as the flakes gently tumbled into her dark brown locks and long lashes. They interlaced themselves with her hair, creating a sort of dance between the colors.

All of this—the plants, the trail, the snow—Granger noticed. But there was one particular thing that caught her eye: the decorations that Draco had sprinkled about the room.

Streamers. Small, appropriate balloons. A Christmas tree in the exact center of it all. Floating bubbles with suspended snowflakes in their center.

Each one in the same two colors.

"Red and green," Granger whispered, turning to Draco with what could've been tears in her brown eyes. "Everything's red and green."

He nodded and stayed silent.

Granger looked at it all again, biting her bottom lip to keep from becoming overwhelmed. "Is it red and green to represent Christmas or Gryffindor and Slytherin?"

Draco choked down a smile. He'd thought about the question, too. "Both," he replied.

Granger kept her back turned to him but nodded, her hair bouncing as she did so.

Funny, ironic, wasn't it? That Draco had taken such a liking to the two colors after explicitly scoffing his distaste for them at Slughorn's party. But people changed, he supposed. He was a prime example of this.

Draco swallowed and took a tentative step towards her. He was nervous again. "Do…do you like it?"

She whipped around to face him, disbelief evident on her face. "Do I like it?"

He just continued to watch her.

She grinned, letting out a breath of incredulity. "I…I…I love it!" she exclaimed, her arms raising to address all that was around her. "This is the most amazing, most thoughtful, most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me! I…I can't believe you did all of this. This is insane." Her arms dropped and her eyes, which had been surveying the room in complete awe again, returned to his silver gaze. "Thank you. I mean it."

Draco was touched by her sincerity, which he hated to admit to himself. But he smiled, a small countenance that adorned his face ever so lightly.

"You're welcome," he said quietly. "It's the least I could do for the only one I have left."

She smiled at that, but something inside of Draco fell at the words. The only one he had left. The only one he liked. The only one he cared for.

No, his adamant thoughts commanded. No. Not here. Not now. This will not ruin this night. And it's not her. It's not.

Ignoring his thoughts, Draco began to walk through the garden, Granger by his side. She continued to gaze around at everything, dumbfounded at what she saw. It truly was beautiful.

Draco led her through the maze, finally stopping by the red and green Christmas tree in the center of the indoor garden. Next to the tree was a small table with two chairs and a decorative candle. Two plates sat in waiting, each with a spoon, fork, and knife next to them.

Granger laughed when her eyes fell upon them. "You don't let anything fail to exceed my expectations, do you, Malfoy?"

He shrugged, a cocky smirk on his face. "Well, you know me. Always trying to one up you."

She laughed. "I am in no way mad or reluctant to admit that you win this round."

"As I should," he said, nodding proudly.

The two sat and as Draco clapped his hands, their plates were filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread rolls, and the most delicious pumpkin pie imaginable. Granger's eye widened before she shook her head.

"You're amazing and insane," she said. "This looks perfect."

"Because it is," Draco said, not wasting a moment as he grabbed his fork and knife, beginning to cut into his piece of turkey.

The two ate, laughing as they spoke in between bites of the delicacies that lay before them. They grinned, telling jokes, tales, and stories of their lives. They opened up, they shared, they got to know each other.

That night, the girl from Gryffindor and the boy from Slytherin sat and ate dinner together. Christmas dinner. Two people from opposite ends of the world spoke and were friends. The pureblood and the mudblood, in perfect harmony.

"So—" Draco was cut off by his own chuckle. "You-you're actually serious?"

Granger nodded, her hand over her mouth as she chewed, amusement evident in her twinkling eyes. "Mhmm."

Draco shook his head and tutted. "Oh, Granger, as a second year?"

She swallowed and scoffed, eyes rolling in good-natured exasperation. "Oh, come on, you don't remember me being absent from classes for weeks on end?"

"No, I remember it," he admitted. "I just never suspected it was because you'd turned yourself into a human-sized cat in an attempt to find out if I was the heir of Slytherin."

She shrugged. "All for the greater good, I suppose."

Draco took a bite of his pie. "Tell me, were you disappointed when Potter and Weasley told you it wasn't me?"

She thought about this. "Well, I was upset that we'd have to keep looking; after you, we had no guesses on who it could have possibly been. But I think in the long run, even though we despised each other, I was relieved that it wasn't you."

Draco's ears perked up at this. "Really? Why?"

Hermione frowned slightly, twirling her fork through the scrap of turkey on her plate. "I…I don't know. I think I wanted to believe, even then, that there was good in you." She looked up at him. "Before then, I didn't think there was. But knowing that you weren't the one causing all the chaos made me realize that at least you weren't as bad as you could've been."

Draco narrowed his eyes in thought, looking down. He hadn't thought that him not being behind something would somehow impact someone's view of him. What the girl said made sense, but it made him pause and think for a moment. What would she think if she knew of his task? What would she think if he decided to do it? What if he didn't?

"I'm sorry," Granger suddenly said quietly. "I didn't mean to come across as rude."

Draco frowned. "Rude? What are you talking about?"

Her brown eyes flicked to his gaze. "I didn't mean to say that I thought you were devoid of any hope or something. I just meant…you…gave me hope, maybe." She sighed and her eyelashes fluttered as she looked at her plate again. "I don't know."

Draco smiled ever so slightly before he wiped the look from his face. "No, you're totally fine. I didn't interpret it in that way at all. And trust me, I can relate to what you said."

"How?"

He smirked. "Sometimes even I am not sure if there's any good in me."

Granger's lips twitched into something that looked suspiciously like a smile. "Oh? You think you're such a bad boy?"

Draco sneered, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head. "Isn't it obvious?"

Granger laughed, taking a sip of water. "Not even slightly."

He gaped, leaning forward in his chair, completely baffled. "What?!"

Granger nodded. "Oh, please! Being a bad boy is more than being a jerk to everyone!"

The Slytherin glared at her, one eyebrow superiorly cocked. "I don't think so."

"Well," the girl retorted, "I know so."

"Okay, then," Draco said, "enlighten me. What must one do to be a bad boy?"

Granger thought this over. "Well, one must not give a damn about what others think of them."

"Check," Draco stated with a nod.

"One must live life dangerously."

"Check."

"One must have an attitude, but not so terrible that it drives everyone away."

"Hmm….sort of check."

Granger gave him a look at that one but continued on.

"And most importantly, one must be brave. And care about people, but not let it show. Why, I'm not really sure. But bad boys never let anyone see that they care. But they do. And sometimes not letting people see that they give a damn is their downfall, because by the time they want to tell anyone, it's too late and they've been left or deserted or they've hurt someone so badly by their seemingly indifferent persona that it's irreversible."

Draco was shocked into silence. Granger looked at him.

"Please," she said with a small smile, one full of both laughter and sincerity at the same time, "don't be a bad boy, Malfoy. It's really not appealing. It's just…misguided."

Misguided.

That word really hit home.

But he put on a smirk and nodded. "Alright. I can see why that'd be a negative. I don't really want to have a downfall."

Yet a part of him already knew he'd have one. A part of him knew exactly what his downfall would be. And a part of him refused to believe that he was aware of it.

Which, coincidentally, was what fractionally made him a bad boy. At least partially one.

Done with their meal, the two stood from the table and walked along the pathway, taking a different route through the garden. Several times, Granger stopped to admire a section or to smell a particular flower. Draco didn't mind; he was just grateful he had someone to talk to at all. Someone who could have intellectual and interesting conversations with him.

At one point, the two friends reached a glorious frozen fountain, placed directly in front of an intricate stone bench. Rose bushes curved around the fountain, creating a circle so that the haven was cut off from the rest of the garden, the bench placed snugly against the curve of the shrubs. A large arch was positioned over the bench, a sort of umbrella from the falling snow. The small section of the garden was actually quite tiny, a cozy segment hidden away from the greater majority of it all, but it was so lovely that its size seemed to matter not to anyone.

Draco and Granger sat on the bench, staring at the unmoving and tranquil fountain in silence. The ice was pretty in its intricacy; because of its stillness, it was easy to study and appreciate. Each line of frozen water was defined clearly in its place, as if it knew exactly where it was supposed to be. Winter really could be quite astonishing.

Are you going to give it to her yet? a voice in Draco's head pestered. You guys will probably leave soon. Better do it now.

He was right.

Taking a deep breath, Draco opened his mouth to say something, but as she so often seemed to do, Granger beat him to it.

"I have something for you," she blurted out randomly, shuffling around in her small, pink purse for a moment before holding out a package for him. "Please just be careful in unwrapping it."

It was fairly small, about ten inches long and not very thick at all. Draco took it slowly, surprised she'd gotten him anything in general. He looked at her, shock clear in his gaze, but there was no reluctance in his eyes as he held the gift.

The teenage boy unwrapped the present, doing so in the way he'd been instructed and not tearing through it quickly. Once all the wrapping was discarded on the floor, he blinked in surprise.

"You got me…" He surveyed what he held in his hand, turning it over several times to see if he had somehow missed something. "…parchment?"

That's what he was currently holding. A single, though admittedly long, piece of parchment.

"Er, thanks, Granger, I really appreciate it—"

The girl laughed, rolling her eyes as she did so. "No, no, let me explain! Did-did you really think that's all I got you?"

"U-um," he stuttered, confused. "Granger, that's what it looks like to me."

She smiled. "Well, technically it's parchment, but it's special. You see," she explained, "I have a piece of parchment like this one, exactly like it. I enchanted both pieces so that they're connected. Basically, they're charmed so that we can send messages to each other. If you write something on your piece of parchment, it will appear on mine and won't disappear until I write back, and the same is true for when I write to you. I got the idea from the coins I bewitched last year for DA. It worked pretty well then and I think it'll work even better with parchment." She shrugged. "I thought you might want to talk even if I'm not there in person."

Draco was too shocked to even say anything. The silence was filled by Granger, who continued to speak after the smallest of pauses.

"And…" she said as she reached into her bag and pulled out yet another wrapped bundle, "there's one more."

Draco took it, bewilderment on his face. "Another?"

She grinned. "Yeah. This one's not as…cool, but I thought I might as well give it to you anyways. If you don't like it, you don't have to keep it. I just figured I might as well…" she rambled, looking away in embarrassment.

Curiosity peaked, Draco unwrapped the gift in a hurry after setting the parchment next to him carefully.

What was now in his hands was a picture frame. The picture: Granger and him in Potions, sitting at their desk and smiling. He was grinning, watching the girl as she threw her head back, laughing at something he'd said. She sat up, wiping tears of happiness from her eyes, and said something to him that made him roll his grey ones and push her lightly. She just smiled and shook her head at him.

Draco couldn't take his eyes off the picture. It replayed itself, again and again. Still, he watched it. In all of his years, all of the Christmases he'd had, he'd never received anything like this.

A simple picture.

And it blew him away.

He saw Granger surveying him from the corner of his eye. "I…I know you probably wouldn't want anyone to see this picture, so I made it so that you can put a charm on it. You can have it look like there's a different photo to anyone else who sees it. That way you're the only one that sees the actual picture. You just have to set the second picture and no one will see the one of us."

It took Draco a long moment to tear his gaze away from the frame.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "I love it. Both the picture and the parchment. They're great."

Granger gave him a tiny smile. Draco saw it and looked back at the frame in his hands. He didn't care if anyone saw the picture of them. There was no way that he was putting a charm on it so that no one could see the real picture. He loved it the way it was and he didn't care what anyone else would think.

Snapping out of his trance, Draco cleared his throat and turned to the girl next to him. "Well, I have something for you, too."

She blinked. "R-really?"

He nodded, fishing around in the pocket of his dress robes. "Of course."

Finding what he was looking for, Draco pulled out a small gift. "I didn't think you'd be getting me anything," he admitted, "but I got you this nonetheless."

Granger chuckled. "Well, we were both surprised, then."

Taking the package, the girl unwrapped it and her eyes immediately widened. In her palm sat an elaborately crafted charm bracelet, silver and bright in the reflection of the snow. Two tiny charms dangled from opposite sides of it. One was a lion, tossing its mane and opening its jaws in a silent roar of power. It looked up at the two students, then went back to whipping its head around. The second charm was a small, dangling quill scribbling furiously on a tiny, silver piece of parchment. It moved in a hypnotizing way, up and down and up and down.

"Wow," Granger breathed, immediately placing the bracelet on her left wrist and admiring it from several sides. "It's great. Thank you so much."

"And—" Draco laughed. "I also got you one more thing."

Granger smiled. "Funny how it works that way."

Draco handed her the second bundle, one even smaller than the first, not even two inches across in any direction.

She frowned in confusion at first when she opened it to see a miniscule box, but gasped in astonishment when she saw what was on the inside. It was a brilliantly green emerald, perfectly circular and cut so that it looked like it could be a skipping stone. Etched in the exact center, however, was a small, coiled up snake. It looked up at the pair, hissing and showing its fangs as it saw the two pairs of faces staring down at it. It then closed its jaws, proud eyes glinting green as it watched them with superiority in the way it carried itself.

Looking at the girl, Draco was surprised to see tears glinting in her eyes for the second time that night. She tried blinking them away, but they didn't seem to want to go.

"Malfoy," she spoke quietly. "It's beautiful. This…this must have cost a fortune. I can't possibly accept it."

He was shaking his head before she'd gotten five words out. "No, I insist. You have to take them, both the emerald and the charm bracelet."

"But—"

"Granger," he interrupted, silver eyes catching her brown ones. "What I gave you wasn't nearly as thoughtful as what you got me, forget about the cost. This was the best I could get, even though it doesn't have half as much meaning behind it as what you got me. It's the least I could do. Please. Take it."

Granger broke eye contact with him, looking back at the small stone in her hand, and nodded silently. The Slytherin breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God.

But before Draco knew what was happening, the girl had thrown her arms around him, burying her head in his neck. "Thank you," she whispered.

Shocked and not having any clue of what was happening, Draco blinked and looked down at Granger. She was pressed up against him and suddenly, the snowy garden didn't feel as cold. Not sure of what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him in a warm embrace. It felt as if every inch of him was pressed to her as they sat on that stone bench, and for some peculiar reason, it felt right to him.

He was enjoying just sitting there and hugging the only friend he had.

But it all ended before he could really begin to process any of it. Granger pulled back jerkily, seeming to realize what she'd done. Draco's face heated up as the Gryffindor's turned red, and they both looked at their feet. That had been a mistake.

After a moment, they stood silently and began to make their way to the entrance of the Room of Requirement. At first, it was an awkward silence, but it settled into a more comfortable and content one after long. Their awkward moment forgotten—or at least ignored for now—they could just walk and look around them as friends, enjoying the last few minutes of Christmas.

And what a perfect Christmas it had been.

Taking one last look of the garden before exiting the magnificent room, Draco and Granger opened the intricate door and stepped out into the seventh-floor corridor of Hogwarts. Back to normal life. Back to being from Gryffindor and Slytherin, two opposing houses. Back to being red and green, separate and never mixed like they were in the garden. There was no hugging out here in the open, where anyone could catch you.

Draco ignored the tug of disappointment he felt at this.

Granger turned to Draco, looking up at him after a long moment. "Malfoy, thank you so much for the gifts and for tonight. I had an amazing time."

He smiled, a sincere one. "Me too. Thanks for letting me organize it."

She grinned. "I'll never not have faith in you ever again."

He smirked. "Promise?"

Granger winked. "Promise." She took a step away from him, heading off down the corridor. "I'll see you around."

He blinked. "…You too."

As he walked down the hallway heading in the opposite direction of her, he couldn't get the wink out of his mind. He didn't know why. It was just a wink, for Merlin's sake. But it was stuck in his head.

Don't turn around, he urged himself. Don't look at her.

He wanted to.

Don't.

But—

NO.

Draco ignored the voice.

He turned around.

But Granger was already gone.

Author's Note Thing

4688 words. I'm so tired and I want to sleep. Its 5:41am and I didn't sleep at all. Imma sleep now.

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