A/N MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone who's reading this, especially those who've reviewed in the past. I hope all of you have a brilliant day, even if you don't celebrate Christmas. As my present to you I've written a really long chapter so I hope you enjoy. See you at the end!
Chapter 27 - Take My Hand
Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Hermione mumbled something in her half sleep, wrapping the blankets tighter around her to block out the drafts. Her ears heard the portrait door click shut but she didn't really hear it at all. "Incendio," someone muttered. She blinked, dazedly, too tired to do much. She blinked again. She knew she was meant to be doing something but couldn't quite put her - she sat bolt up right. "Christmas!" She thought excitedly, swinging her legs out of bed and pulling on some woolly cream slippers and a matching dressing gown, yawned, and went next door to have a shower.
Draco levitated another log into the fire he'd started in the grate, embracing the warmth. It hissed and orange and gold sparks shot in all directions. He heard a click amongst the hissing and looked over his shoulder to see Hermione in nothing but a dressing gown and slippers, slip into the bathroom, no doubt to have a shower. He was fully dressed in black trousers and a black t-shirt. He glanced down at the small pile of presents just waiting to be opened under the Christmas tree. There was a surprisingly large amount, judging by the fact that he wasn't really expecting any this year, except maybe from Hermione, possibly Pansy. He wasn't expecting his parents to bother. For the first year he just didn't see how they would give him anything after what he'd done. They were probably all for Granger. He eyed a red wrapped parcel with slight distaste. He fought back the urge to pick each of them up to examine.
Ten minutes later, Hermione had slipped back out of the bathroom and back into her room, still in her dressing gown. She still hadn't even looked at him. Five minutes after that, she'd emerged in a pair those muggle blue trousers, cheams or whatever and a cream jumper. She looked quite warm. She'd pinned her hair back into a messy bun and, other than looking slightly tired, looked very pretty. The corner of Draco's lips curled upwards slightly. "Merry Christmas," Hermione smiled, walking over to the sofa, which was facing the fireplace since they'd put the tree up. "You too," Draco grinned, without any hint of a smirk. Noticing this, Hermione smiled and sat down. "Do you ever wear anything not black?" Hermione asked. Draco's grin dropped, like a dead weight. Now he came to think about it, the only think he owned which wasn't black were his quidditch robes, his house tie, a dark green hoodie and school shirts. He bit his lip causing Hermione to laugh and shake her head. She too eyed the pile of presents glinting under the pine branches. "Presents?" She asked, hopefully. Draco smirked and said, "After you."
Getting up, Hermione walked over to the tree and took out the first, rather lumpy looking package. Seeing it was addressed to her in neat hand writing, she set the gift aside on her side of the sofa. Draco joined her on the floor and helped sort the presents out into two piles. Draco's pile was inevitably smaller than Hermione's but not by too much. His pile consisted of a box around the size of a shoebox, two slightly smaller boxes of different shapes, a lumpy package that felt like clothing, an envelope with neat, loopy writing which he recognised as his father's, a small box and a long, thin box.
Hermione's pile consisted of a small box, a box the size of a shoebox with another package spellotaped to it, a very oddly wrapped object which was wrapped very badly, a further very odd looking package with even worse wrapping skills, two thinly wrapped packets, three further shoebox sized parcels, the lumpy package which she'd pulled out first and a wrapped ball, around the size of a tennis ball.
The pair of them immediately started shredding the wrapping paper off of the parcels like little children and small noises like gasps and laughs escaped Hermione's mouth every time she opened one. "Who on earth sent you that?" Draco asked, nodding towards the lilac knitted jumper on Hermione's lap. "Mrs Weasley," Hermione smiled cheerfully, "She's given me some homemade mince pies too!" Draco grinned, happy that Hermione still had a parentally figure, after all she'd been through. "Wow, Pansy's worked hard this year," he exclaimed, unwrapping a broom servicing kit. He'd been running low on handle polish lately. He noticed the small box lying around and took off the brown paper, wondering who'd wrap presents to him in brown paper.
After unwrapping the box, he was presented with a small black box with a note pinned to it. He read the note, eyes widening, and cautiously opened the box. Inside was a miniature model of a green dragon. He grinned, laughed a little, and set the dragon in the palm of his hand. It shook its head and roared, breathing harmless fire. Draco chuckled and threw the dragon up into the air. It took off and soared a loop around the room, settling itself on the mantelpiece. Hermione stared. "Who -"
"Nobody in particular," Draco smirked.
Draco grinned broadly at the bundle of presents in his lap. He still had a lumpy package and the long, thin parcel to unwrap, which had an envelope attached bearing Hermione's neat writing. So far, he'd unwrapped the dragon, the broom servicing kit, chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans from Blaise, Droobles Best Blowing Gum and an assortment of pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes from Theo, and a card from his parents. It had read:
"Dear Draco,
Sending Christmas wishes,
Mr and Mrs Malfoy"
It was in his father's writing. His mother would have at least made an effort. He'd scowled and tossed the card away. So he'd had presents from all his friends, from his parents, an unopened one from Hermione and one from him, so who on earth was this lumpy one from. Hermione glanced at the card taped to the parcel and did a double take, staring at the handwriting on the envelope. Draco saw this and asked, "What, you recognise the writing?"
"Yeah," Hermione nodded, suppressing a nervous laugh. He narrowed his eyes and pulled off the envelope, slitting it open, and read the card.
"Dear Malfoy,
I don't know if we're on first name terms but you're not quite but nearly dating my best friend and seeing as you always look dead depressing in black I decided to get you a Christmas present.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
From Ginny"
Draco let out a long, low whistle. Hermione winced, trying to see the card to clarify her doubts. Draco nodded and she winced even further. What did she mean, "Dead depressing"? Hermione watched him, expectantly. Taking a deep breath, he tore off the wrapping paper. Horror, disgust and an odd satisfaction filled his brain at what he was seeing. He let the contents tumble into his lap, appalled. Hermione erupted into fits of laughter. "She's bought me cheamies!" Draco exclaimed in annoyance. Hermione laughed, if possible, even harder. "It's not funny! They're blue and tight and... Why?!" He roared. Hermione took a few breaths to recover herself before choking, "They're called jeans, Draco. Jeans!"
"Cheens?"
"Jeans! With a J!"
"Isn't that your middle name? You're named after some muggle clothing? Really fashionable Hermione," Draco smirked slightly, trying to revert the embarrassment to her. Hermione scowled, her cheeks glowing slightly. "My middle name is Jean," she huffed. Draco smirked. A few moments passed in which Draco simply stared at the item of clothing. "And how does she know my size?" He asked indignantly.
"That's why she was asking how big your arse was," Hermione muttered in awe.
"She what?" Draco retorted, whipping his head round. A part of him was grinning that he still had that charm on girls, a larger part however was screaming "Eugh!" Hermione chuckled.
"Look, I told her... I mean I told her that you were a size 34" and... That's it," Hermione said, fighting for words and biting her lip. Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "Put them on then," she prompted. Draco looked like someone had told him that Christmas was cancelled.
"You can't be serious!" He cried indignantly. Hermione smiled annoyingly and Draco just huffed, stood up and walked towards his dorm grumbling. Hermione smirked.
"What's taking so long?" Hermione called after a long time. It'd been nearly five minutes. "They're... Really... Tight!" Was the reply. Hermione laughed. She heard him mutter, "Engorgio," followed with a sigh or relief. Then a snort of what she assumed was disgust. "Come on!" She called impacietnly. There was a pause.
"Don't laugh," he stated from behind the door.
"I won't," she replied. Pulling the last strands of his self respect together, Draco entered the common room. Hermione didn't laugh, but she did stare.
He didn't look bad. Not bad at all. In fact, they really suited him. Draco's eyes pleaded for her judgment and he sighed in relief when she smiled and said warmly, "They suit you." He walked back over to the sofa and looked down at his last present. "Merlin you've got a lot," Draco said, eyeing Hermione's pile of gifts. She'd received a box of chocolate frogs from Ginny as well as 'Hogwarts A History' Special Edition; a sneakoscope from Harry, how he'd delivered that was still a mystery to her; a beautiful green quill from Pansy; a box of homemade treacle from Hagrid which Hermione eyed warily at first, planning to soften it by the fire before eating it; some Honeydukes white chocolate from Neville; a pair of spectrespecs from Luna as well as a black leather bookmark with a sign she recognised as the deathly hallows imprinted in silver on it and from Fred and George she'd received two pairs of extendable ears and a packet of Peruvian instant darkness powder. She was just opening a small package wrapped in red when Draco snorted in disgust. Hermione eyed him warily. "You realise who that's from don't you," he said venomously. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "It's from him isn't it. Isn't it," he spat. Hermione set the pretty snowflake ornament on the table and said, "Just because Ron bought me a present Draco, doesn't mean you have to go all -"
"Can I just remind you that he hurt you," Draco said angrily.
"Can I just remind you that today is Christmas, Draco! A time of forgiveness."
"You want me to forgive -"
"Just for a day. Or at least forget about it for a day," she pleaded. He shuffled back into the sofa and nodded. Ron had also bought her some fizzing whizzbees, chocoballs, acid pops and sugar quills. Two more presents. The round one and the box from Draco. The round one she soon discovered was to be a pair of scarlet and gold socks hand knitted, it seemed, by the sender - Dobby.
Hermione looked at Draco, wondering who was going to go first. "After you," he smirked, nodding towards the small box in Hermione's hands. She nodded and tore off the silver packaging. What she saw was a black velvet box, about the length of her hand and the width of her forefinger length. With bated breath, she prised the box open and gasped. "Merlin... It's beautiful Draco. I - I love it!" She set aside the box and leapt up, running towards the other sofa and flinging her arms around his neck. Startled, he sat stiffly for a split second then grinned broadly, relieved that he'd chosen well. "I love you," she murmured into his hair, before letting go and returning to gawp at the necklace. Something inside Draco shifted at her words, like a heavy weight rolling over uncomfortably. He still didn't like the word. Love.
Glinting up at her dazzled the many crystals and gemstones creating the beautiful dragonfly attached to a perfectly polished silver chain. She daren't think of how much it'd cost him. She heard Draco getting up and all of a sudden the sofa sank next to her and she turned to look at the pale blonde boy next to her. "Merry Christmas Hermione," he said quietly, gently. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder feeling, for the first time in what felt like an age, peaceful.
Draco shifted. "Now," he began loudly, "Let's see what you've bought me," he said with a a chuckle. Draco, fully expecting a box of chocolates or some half cheep muggle crap, reached down for the long, thin parcel and tore off a strip of gold paper with a strike of his hand. Seeing the polished ebony surface he suddenly felt a lot more serious and his jokey persona dropped. Catching his breath, he slowly pulled off the rest of the paper and let it drift to the floor. He sat, shocked, staring at the world-class broom in his hands, running his fingers down the ebony handle, right down to the finely cut hazel twigs, all trimmed and straightened to perfection. Mesmerised, he turned it over in his hands, letting the broom catch the light from different angles. He held it out in front of him and carefully released it. It hovered, exactly at his mounting height. Gaping at the broom, he stood up and walked around the firebolt, taking in its every detail. He looked Hermione dead in the eye and said, voice full of honesty, "This is the best present I've ever been given." Hermione, who'd been tapping her feet nervously on the floor and drumming her fingers on her knees, beamed, her face lightning up like fairy lights.
Draco set the broom down on the coffee table, still astounded that Hermione had bought him a firebolt. Even his own father hadn't wanted to get him one due to the price and here he was, Christmas Day, a firebolt belonging to him. He also couldn't believe at how much Hermione had in her Gringotts account. If she could afford to spend that much on him then... His face lit up even more... That meant that she really liked him, really trusted him. And that meant a lot. Hermione giggled at the way he gazed longingly at the broom, utterly speechless.
Once he'd regained his voice, he beckoned her to stand in front of him and murmured, "Come here." The corner of Hermione's mouth rose upwards and she obeyed. Draco stood up so he was in front of Hermione and turned her around to face the fireplace. He gently prised open her hand to take the necklace, which was still in her grip, and unclasped it. Hermione scraped at the back of her neck to remove any loose strands which may have fallen from her bun, allowing Draco full access to her neck. He brought the necklace around her front and clasped it at the back. He let his hand linger on her neck and placed the other gently on her shoulder. Feeling Hermione stiffen ever so slightly, he paused but Draco assumed, by her lack of resistance, that she was getting over Ron. He inclined his head towards the exposed area of skin on her neck and tilted his jaw slightly to kiss her. She closed her eyes and Draco wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer to him. She could feel the heat radiating from his body. She tilted her head for Draco to have better access and moaned slightly, which he took as a good sign. He gently began to suck on the exposed skin, grinning at how he made her feel. That was going to leave a mark. Hermione suddenly turned around and kissed him fiercely on the lips, letting her tongue roam the inside of his surprised mouth. He soon adjusted himself to this sudden outburst and kissed her back with just as much passion. She heard him sigh and smiled, happy that she had him to rely on. All of a sudden, she felt his hand under her top and she pulled away, gasping for breath. Draco silently cursed himself and tried not to look to embarrassed.
When they'd both put their presents away, Hermione suddenly remembered something. Opening her wardrobe, she pulled out the parcel she'd taken from her parents house - old house - that day, which read 'Hermione's Christmas Present', and took it into the common room feeling immensely troubled and emotional. "What's that?" Draco asked. "You've got another? Geez..." Hermione shook him off, not sparing any of her attention. "Well? Who's it from?" He asked. Still, no answer. She was honestly very nervous about opening it. Crookshanks leaped up onto the sofa next to Hermione and purred. Hermione blanked him, too. Crookshanks narrowed his eyes slightly. Draco was really confused. Why didn't she just open the stupid thing. Who else did she know who'd give her a present though? I mean... No... Surely not. The present was barely wrapped, just packaged in brown paper as if to cover it up but to be wrapped on a later date. But it never was wrapped because... And Hermione wasn't opening it because... She took a deep breath, and tore the brown paper away.
Her eyes began to fill with tears and it wasn't long before one broke away and tumbled down her face, leaving a salty trail behind. Draco held his breath, feeling very out of place. Should he comfort her or get up and leave her in peace? He decided to shuffle closer to her and tentatively put an arm around her. She smiled in gratitude through muffled sobs and set the present down on the coffee table. She simply stared at it. Draco looked, too. It was a very old looking book, a midnight blue leather cover with gold lettering on the front spelling out the words: 'Cinderella And Other Fairytales'. Even though he'd never heard of the book, didn't see the significance of it, he stayed comforting for Hermione.
"Your parents?" He asked tentatively once she'd settled down. She sniffed and nodded. He nodded in understanding. There were still silent tears rolling down her shiny cheeks, but they had slowed down significantly. He briefly wondered how she'd come by the present but now didn't seem the time to ask. 'Her parents' was a very dodgy topic of conversation these days. He supposed that maybe she'd come across it whilst obliverating them. "So um..." Draco coughed, trying to clear the atmosphere, "What is a Cinderella or a fairytale?" Hermione stopped crying and turned to stare at him. He reddened. This was probably one of the things he should know, that every bloody muggle child knew. "You don't know what a fairytale is?" She asked, aghast, "But... Your childhood! You must've been read fairytales." Draco shook his head. "Well... What about 'Babbitty Rabbitty And Her Crackling Stump?' That's kind of a fairytale. A wizarding fairytale. Like 'The Tale of The Theee Brothers'," she tried to explain. Draco nodded slowly.
"So muggle versions of fantasies and... And fables," he clarified.
"Yes..." Hermione agreed, "But not as grim. I mean the original fairytales were horrifying with blood and death and -" she stopped at the sight of Draco's face and quickly added, "But the adapted versions that children read are much nicer." Draco squinted at her.
"Why did you get a children's book?" He asked, confused.
"Because..." Hermione faltered, "Because this one kind of means something to me, I suppose. I... You see I used to have this copy but it went missing and they were out of print of that exact copy. Stopped selling them I mean. It was my favourite book as a child and I was mortified when I lost it. Mum - Mum and Dad obviously found a copy. Somewhere," she added. He could see she was struggling but she was doing a very good job at keeping it together.
"You and your books," he sighed. Hermione looked outraged.
"You'd be just as sad if someone snapped your broomstick!" Hermione sniped tersely. Draco grinned, surrendering his hands. A smile crept onto Hermione's face.
Hermione screeched, breaking the peaceful silence. Draco sprang away from her but with a seconds realisation, broke into fits of laughter. Standing proudly on Hermione's shoulder, chest puffed out, stood the green dragon. Hermione swatted it away but it just growled and breathed fire at her. She was in half a mind to scream but realised that the fire was utterly harmless. In fact, it felt please try like warm breath. She outstretched her right arm and the dragon strode along it, shuffling here and there. Eyes transfixed on the model, she turned her arm over. The dragon dug it's talons into her arm and walked to position itself so it was upright again. She jolted her arm and the dragon took off indignantly, landing in the blazing fire in front. "Who's it from?" She asked, watching its glinting green eyes through the fire. Draco inhaled stiffly before replying, "You wouldn't understand." Slightly offended, she turned to direct her attention towards him and raised an eyebrow. Draco sat, refusing to say anything. When it became clear to Hermione that he was a better waiter than she was, she said, "Oh come on Draco, I won't tell anyone!"
"Fine," he said after a while. Hermione perked up a bit. "Um," he started hesitantly, "It's from Dobby." Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Let me finish, you'll only have questions if I don't," Draco sighed, "When I was younger, we're talking about... Six years old, I got given my first broom for my birthday." Hermione nodded, trying to see the relevance in this piece of useless information. "My mother was very - how do you put it... Caring, when I was younger. We played games and all that stuff. My favourite one, I remember it being brilliant," he gave a little chuckle, "Was where we'd take my broom into one of the roomier dungeons where mother'd set loose a live miniature dragon model just like this one and I'd have to fly around, trying to catch it. A bit like quidditch I suppose, apart from the fact that the dragon could do many tricks, unlike the snitch. Sometimes it'd take ages, I'd end up having to drive it into a corner. When I'd caught it, mother'd set a larger one loose and I'd had to fly away from it. If it caught me then I'd lost, and I'd grown up to learn that losing meant weakness. Dobby used to stand in the corner, invisible to everyone else because they didn't notice the house elves. I did though. Dobby and I, we understood each other. He was the only one at times that I could talk to."
"The first time I really got to know Dobby, was when I was seven. Father would beat Dobby every day but I'd been accustomed to it. I thought it was normal and had never thought about his feelings. It was only when I was walking through one of the corridors when I heard a sniffling sound. I followed the noise through a tapestry to the servant chamber, where it was dark and dank. I'd no idea why I was down there but some part... Some part of me knew that I needed to see the creature. I found Dobby, battered and bruised, covered in cuts and I sat next to him. Don't tell anyone I've told you this, it'd not be seen as appropriate now but as a child... Anyway I sat down next to the elf and comforted him, took him to the kitchens and got him washed up. I even made his a glass of warm milk. Hey don't laugh! It was the only thing I knew how to make back then and I didn't have a wand! Dobby and I talked. We couldn't talk in front of my parents or anyone else for that matter, but at times he was the only one I could speak to. Father was always at work, mother wouldn't have understood the petit things I was unhappy with. Dobby was there to listen to me so we developed an odd sort of relationship."
"When however I was... Nine I think, yeah nine, mother and I were playing with the dragons and things began to go wrong. One got out of the dungeon. I tried to chase after it, Merlin I remember it so well, through halls and corridors until suddenly father was walking in front of me, oblivious to me, and I flew straight into him. Papers went everywhere and he'd cursed so much. He'd grabbed my wrist and pulled me upstairs, throwing me into my room, where the dragon happened to be sitting. With one strike of his cane, he'd smashed the dragon into pieces and shards of china went everywhere. Another strike and I was on the floor, my back bleeding. Mother was the one to pull him off. He never did care for me that much. She'd taken him out to a pub to calm him down, leaving me bleeding, on my own at nine years old with my favourite dragon on the floor, shattered." There was a long pause in which Hermione sat very still, eyes wide. "Dobby came in and nursed me, just like I'd done to him two years before, making me a mug of steaming coco and a plate of biscuits. He sat next to me on the bed until I'd fallen asleep and when I'd woken the following morning, he, the mug and the plate had gone. It's never ever been spoken of since. Not even mother said anything about it the following day, and I've never played that childhood game since."
Hermione sat, wide eyed and jaw hanging open, shocked. Draco had been friends with Dobby? "And then," Draco started all of a sudden, "Fucking Potter came along and freed Dobby in second year and that left me alone. Alone! Then father got into all his death eater shit, mother started getting weak and I had fuck all to talk to. Don't call me weak or cowardly, but being alone is hell. Pansy was acting like a flirtatious bitch, Blaise was dealing with his own family problems what with his mum and all, Theo and I weren't proper mates at the time and Crabbe and Goyle weren't exactly what you'd call 'smart' or 'able to talk to.' Hermione's eyebrows creased together slightly, sympathetically. She didn't know what to say. She was utterly lost for words. She'd never thought about Harry freeing Dobby from that perspective.
"Come on," she said after a while of silence, getting up and picking up her book. "It's nearly lunch!" She called from in her dorm. She reemerged, book no longer in hand. "Yeah about that..." Draco said, grinning. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, confused. Draco smirked. "I may have sorted lunch out already," he said smugly. Hermione looked at him curiously, smiling. Draco raising his eyebrows at her and she laughed, following him out through the portrait hole. She daren't where he was headed. They weren't going to the great hall, they weren't going out into Hogsmeade, in fact, they were moving up the moving staircase.
They came to a halt opposite a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy on the seventh floor and only then did Hermione realise where they were going. She smiled and turned to face the black wall, which had now turned into a large set of double wooden doors. Draco opened the door and gestured Hermione in first, who grinned and walked in. Her jaw dropped. The floor was covered in a carpet of one centimetre deep snow. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling sending glittering light across the room. At the end of the hall was a blazing fire which emitted enough heat to pleasantly fill the room. Two large Christmas trees stood in the far corners either side of the fireplace, beautifully decorated from head to toe. Warm snow was falling from the ceiling. Large arch windows were set in the walls to the left and right of her filling the room with natural light and in the centre of the table stood a small, circular table upon which stood a candle and a single rose opposite one of the seats. There were two matching chairs opposite each other, one of which Draco pulled out and gestured for Hermione to sit. Hermione bowed her head and took the seat, speechless.
Upon the white linen table cloth, she noticed something else. It was a menu. "Draco wha -" she begun, but Draco simply smirked.
"Please choose from the menu, Hermione," he said politely. Hermione, bewildered, stared at the menu. It was written in very fancy writing. Her eyes traveled to the 'main' section and she traced her finger over the different options until at last coming to a decision. "Chosen?" He asked. She smiled excitedly and nodded. "Okay. Dobby!" Draco called. Startled, Hermione heard a loud cracking sound like a whip and turned her head to see Dobby, dressed in a green jumper, red trousers and a Santa hat.
"Master Draco called, sir," Draco said in his squeaky voice.
"One steak please, Dobby, and you Hermione?" Draco asked smoothly.
"I... Er... Grilled lamb loin please," she stuttered. Draco's expression flickered to slightly shocked for a moment, before regaining his usual smoothness.
"And would you care for a champagne, madam?" Draco asked Hermione, grinning.
"That would be lovely," Hermione laughed.
"And a bottle of champagne Dobby," Draco said to the elf.
"Will that be all, sir and miss?" Dobby asked.
"Yes thank you," Draco said, bowing his head slightly. Dobby vanished with a loud crack. Hermione burst into laughter.
"What?" Draco asked.
"You went through all this effort? Why?" She asked, chuckling.
"It's our first Christmas together," he said simply, "I want you to remember it." Hermione nodded in understanding.
"How did you do it?" She asked after a while.
"Came up here early this morning to set up, make sure everything was in order, called Dobby to help, can't ask too much help 'corse, elves are preparing the Christmas dinner and all." Hermione smiled at him, shocked that he went through all this effort to make a memorable Christmas. Hermione picked up the red rose in front of her and turned it over, entranced. She looked up and Draco, whose cheeks reddened slightly. It seemed really silly, a rose, but it meant something. What with everything going on, death eaters taking over the ministry, her parents, the inevitable war... The rose seemed to knock those things from her mind. Today was Christmas. Today was just for her and Draco, and no one, not even Voldemort, was going to ruin their Christmas.
Dobby returned with lunch moments later with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Unfortunately, he was too short to reach the table and Hermione had to take them from his grasp and set them on it. "Thank you miss," Dobby mumbled whilst Draco sighed.
"That's quite alright Dobby," Hermione said brightly. Draco poured out drinks just as Dobby disapparated. "Thanks," Hermione beamed, taking her glass and chinking it against Draco's. She smiled at the thought of him going to all these extremes to make her day and absentmindedly brought her hand up to her neck to touch her necklace. Draco smiled, happy to see her happy. He was right though, that necklace looked stunning on her.
Lunch came ten minutes later and Hermione was amazed. To say that the food looked great was an understatement. Hermione's lamb loin was garnished with green beans, carrots and potatoes, well cooked and seasoned, and you could just see the juice of Draco's steak sizzling on his plate.
They talked little during their meal, too immersed in the spectacular food to start conversation.
Once Hermione had scraped the last of the food off of her plate, Draco summoned Dobby yet again and said, rather kindly to the elf, "Would you mind getting us some desserts?" Dobby bowed his head so low that the tip of his long nose touched the floor, then clicked his fingers and wavered from sight. "What's for pudding?" Hermione asked - Dobby must've taken away the menu earlier as it was no longer on the table.
"It's a surprise," Draco murmured softly. Hermione sipped some more of her champagne, excited for dessert.
Dobby popped back into sight with two, mouthwatering dishes and gave them to Draco, who set them on the table. He then bowed his head and disapparated with a crack. Upon the plates in front of them was a slab of the tastiest looking chocolate cake Hermione had ever seen. It was placed upon a pool of cream and on top was a layer of chocolate sauce. In the centre of the piece of cake, sunk slightly into the sauce, was a strawberry and a mint leaf. It was beautifully presented. Hermione picked up her shiny silver spoon and took her first bite. Draco waited for her opinion, anxiously. Hermione looked up at him and smiled - or at least tried to smile through her mouthful of cake which made her look quite ridiculous. Draco snorted with laughter which made Hermione's eyes go wide as she tried not to laugh. She quickly swallowed her cake and glared at Draco.
Once they'd finished their pieces of cake, Draco leant across the table and brushed his finger across Hermione's lip. She eyed him bizarrely before he said in a very business like tone, "Had a um, bit of chocolate... Round your mouth." He faltered slightly as Hermione started to laugh. He realised that she looked so damn cute when she was laughing.
A few moments later the laughing had subsided and she took a long, hard look at him. She felt slightly unnerved by the fact that she couldn't read him. "Thanks," he said after a while. She eyed him oddly.
"Why...?" She asked, grinning.
"For putting up with me," he smirked. She rolled her eyes.
"Honestly Draco, where are you going with this?" She asked, seriously hoping that she wasn't about to have to listen to a long speech by Draco about her.
"You've um... You've got another smudge of chocolate on your lip," he began awkwardly. Hermione brushed her lip briskly. "Still there," he smirked. Hermione narrowed her eyes and asked, "where?"
"Left a bit," he said cooly. She moved her finger left. "Other left," he said annoyed.
"There is no such thing as 'other left', Draco," Hermione said exasperatedly.
"Oh whatever," he said heatedly, before leaning across the table again to rub the smear off, but stopped, finger just millimetres away from the corner of her mouth. She looked at him bizarrely again with chocolate brown eyes, looking straight into his gentle grey ones. She froze, instantly feeling lost in his eyes which were mere inches away from her. Neither of them blinked. They sat like that for what felt like an age but was only seconds in reality. Everything stopped in those ten seconds, even the candles seemed to stop flickering. The atmosphere became silent, so calm and peaceful. Draco blinked. "I win," Hermione mumbled quietly.
"What?" Draco asked softly, screwing up his eyes in confusion.
"Staring contest," Hermione replied just as softly. Draco looked even more confused.
"What's a staring contest?" He asked.
"Never mind," she whispered. Just then, he slowly tilted his jaw around and leant in to her, kissing her gently on the lips. It wasn't harsh or rushed yet it was just as passionate as any other kiss they'd shared before. Oblivious to the pair of them, a small green vine crept its way down above them, spreading its green leaves and growing at a remarkable pace. Hermione glanced up to see the mistletoe and smiled, mid kiss. His mouth tasted pleasantly of chocolate.
Minutes later they broke apart, both smiling at each other. "Excuse me sir and miss!" A shrill voice piped from behind them, causing both of them to jump out of their skins and Spring apart from each other. "Dobby is not meaning to scare sir and miss," Dobby apologised.
"Dobby!" Draco cried indignantly.
"Dobby is only wanting to know, sir, if Dobby can take the plates back to the kitchens for cleaning, sir, and if you are finished with your glasses. Dobby is sorry, sir," Dobby appologised profusely.
"It's alright Dobby," Hermione said empathically.
"Is it though?" Draco asked grumpily. Hermione kicked him underneath the table. "Ouch!" Draco grimaced, then looked away at the fierce look in Hermione's eyes. He should've known better than to degrade house elves in the same room as S.P.E.W. manager. "Dobby has to thank sir and miss for his Christmas presents!" Dobby squealed, hugging Hermione then Draco tightly around the midriff. "Dobby is most grateful for the socks, miss, and for the scarf, sir. Dobby is -"
"Dobby," Draco began, instantly silencing the elf. Dobby nodded. Draco pointed between himself and Hermione. Dobby tilted his head to one side, confused. Draco repeated the action again. Dobby scratched his head, confused. "Dobby," Draco hissed, "We were busy!" Draco finally hissed, trying to get Dobby to understand. Dobby's eyes went wide. "Oh master Draco sir - Dobby is very sorry sir, Dobby will not disappoint again sir, Dobby promises sir." And with that he vanished with a crack.
"Now," Draco began, "Where were we?" Their heads inclined again before there was another loud crack. "Dobby is forgetting the plates, sir," Dobby mumbled, before scurrying over and levitating the plates, cutlery, glasses and champagne off the table and into his arms before disappearing again. Draco sighed. "As I said," he began again, "Where were we?" Their lips met again.
They returned to the common room at around two, happy and fully nourished. "You know," Draco began thoughtfully. Hermione looked at him. "I could get used to these," he said, indicating his jeans. She laughed, sitting down next to him on the sofa. he looked over at her, watching her gaze. She was staring, transfixed, into the firelight. Draco saw the orange flames reflect off of her glassy eyes. "Hermione?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. It was only then that he saw the pain and conflict in her eyes, battling with the tears. The pain won and a single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto her robes. "Hermione what's wrong?" He asked. Why was she getting emotional? He'd done everything right, everything! So why was she acting like this. He hated not being able to comfort her. She shook her head and buried her head into the crook of his neck. He wrapped both arms around her and said somewhat awkwardly but softly all the same, "Shh, it's okay."
Very distantly, Draco could just about hear the faint sounds of a Christmas carol being sung by a suit of armour. She sniffed and sat up straight again. He turned to face her, one arm still placed gently on her shoulder. "What's up?" He asked. She sniffed again, but put on a brave, almost emotionless face and looked deep into the flames. She took a deep breath and said, almost solemnly, "This is my first ever Christmas with no... Without Harry or Ron. Or my parents." And all of a sudden he understood. It didn't matter if he'd done everything well. She felt alone. And he... So did he. He nodded, thinking about how his parents had practically abandoned him now, thought of how they'd written his Christmas card - but at least he'd gotten a Christmas card from his parents. At least he had parents. He looked at Hermione, brave as ever, pulling through with her work and duties, sticking up for her beliefs, sacrificing her happiness for the sake of her parents' lives and still putting on a smile. He didn't understand how she did it. "Are they nice?" He asked. She looked at him briefly before nodding.
"Yeah, really good, caring you know. They'd do anything for me pretty much, and I'd do anything for them. We help each other out, you know," she stopped to sniff, "I really miss them. I just hope - I just hope that they're safe." He selfishly wanted to know more, wanted to know more about caring parents. "What did you usually do at Christmas with them?" He asked, interested.
"I'd help mum and dad cook lunch whilst listening to Christmas music - mum liked carols. We'd have a huge turkey with roast potatoes, roast carrots, roast parsnips, peas, stuffing, gravy, Yorkshire puddings and pigs in blankets-"
"You ate a pig in a what?!" Draco asked, horrified.
"They're not actual pigs, silly! They're mini sausages wrapped in bacon!" Hermione laughed. Draco's lips formed an 'o' and he nodded. "Once everything was in the oven we'd sit and do presents. I got a lot of books but I got some of other things too, clothes and stationary mainly. A camera once... Then we'd talk a bit until lunch, eat lunch and then mum'd take out the Christmas cake which she made every year. I love mum's Christmas cake. It was so fruity and had just the right amount of alcohol in it. And after dessert we'd watch a Christmas film. I particularly like 'A Christmas Carol', 'The Gremlins' and 'Home Alone'." Draco didn't understand what any of these things were, but assumed that they were 'films', whatever they were. "In the evening, we'd play a game whilst having a few biscuits and then I'd do a small magic performance, usually with the snow in the back garden -" Draco laughed at this - "And then we'd all go to bed. That's how our Christmases usually went. Sometimes we'd go out or family would come round, in which case I wouldn't do any magic. I didn't go home for Christmas second year, third year, fourth year or fifth year but I did go home last year. I was meant to be going home in fifth year as we were all going to going skiing but..." She thought about saying, 'But Harry had a vision that Arthur Weasley was attacked by Voldemort's pet snake and it turned out that it actually happened in real life so I canceled my skiing plans so I could join the Weasleys to see if they were okay,' but settled with "I decided to meet up with the Weasleys instead." Draco nodded. This idea of Christmas sounded beautiful. Suddenly he felt angry that people in the world had taken something as beautiful as this away from her - but then realised with a stab of guilt that he was one of those people. Not directly, but he was still a death eater. No matter what he said to convince himself otherwise, he was branded one.
"So what is a Cindela or whatever it was?" The head boy asked, trying to clear his head of guilt. Hermione looked at him, confused. "A Cindya?" He tried, "Cinderana?" Still a blank face. "Uh!" He sighed, somewhat annoyed, "That book thing!"
"Ohhh! You mean Cinderella!" Hermione laughed. Draco nodded, relieved. "She's a girl," Hermione said, amused. Draco looked at her, wanting to know more. She stood up, grinning, walking over to her dorm and coming out again with the book. She set it upon her lap and opened the first few pages until she'd reached the first fairytale. "You want me to read it to you?" She asked. He grinned, nodding and settling himself more comfortably into the sofa.
She read to him in a way that caught his attention. She used pauses, depth and different volumes, changing voices for each character and all in all was very clear and good at reading it. Draco seemed entranced, staring at her. She looked so at one with the world, turning the pages as she read, voice somewhat soothing. He was reminded of how his mother used to read to him when he was very little, when the world was so much smaller and simpler. He listened to her, outraged by the way that Cinderella's stepsisters were bullying her. Just because she wasn't from their original family, it seemed. It seemed stupid, bullying someone because of who they are and what background they were brought up in and their parentage and - he blinked. Just because she wasn't a pureblood. He suddenly saw the story from a whole new perspective. He saw the Slytherins, bullying and picking on the girl because of her parents, the evil stepmother turned into Snape, cold and cruel. He suddenly hated himself and everyone else who treated muggleborns differently.
When Hermione got to the part where the fairy godmother appeared, Draco was instantly reminded of Hermione's redhead friend, helping Cinderella through all her chores and work. He bit his lip slightly when Cinderella arrived at the ball, dancing with the prince until midnight. "She could already feel the magic wearing off as she took off home, sprinting past the castle gates and nearly tripping over a step. Quickly, nervous tears streaming down her face, she regained her balance and fled. She suddenly became aware that she only had one shoe on and looked back to see it glinting behind her. The prince was running after her, desperately yelling "Please! Come back!" But she'd already jumped into her golden carriage, horses rearing, and galloped down the lane and out of sight," Hermione read. He listened to how the prince went to every single house, desperately trying to find the owner of the shoe but in vain. At last, he found the beautiful, smart, lower class girl and freed her from her horrible stepsisters and stepmother and together they left to live "happily ever after," she finished, looking up at him from the book, smiling. There was a long pause before Draco finally said, "That was beautiful." Hermione beamed, making Draco smile, genuinely. She was his Cinderella and he was her prince and they were going to win this war and live just as that book had said: "Happily Ever After."
They spent the next hour sitting together and talking about random things, eating sweets and listening to Christmas music. At around four, Hermione took out a green box from her wardrobe and sat it upon the coffee table. She'd picked it up from her house along with a few other things she doubted her parents would need in Australia. "Ever played scrabble?" She asked, to which Draco shook his head whilst pulling on a black and green hoodie.
It turned out that Draco was able to pick up the game very easily and they managed to play a couple of intense games before going down to dinner. "Of course I can have nox! It's a word is it not?" Draco had argued, to which Hermione had said, "Yes but it's not..."
"I let you have telephone and I still don't know what that even is!" Draco'd retorted.
"Okay you can have spells then," she'd sighed. They got up and headed towards the portrait hole, Draco slinging his cloak over his arm as they left.
They walked down to the great hall together, discussing where to sit. They met up with Ginny and Pansy in the entrance hall and were shortly joined by Blaise and Theo, who were emerging from the dungeons. Ginny and Pansy were laughing together - it seemed that Ginny hadn't had to spend Christmas alone after all. "Hey Hermione," Ginny smiled merrily.
"Hey," Pansy chuckled.
"You alright?" Blaise asked.
"Hey Draco, Hermione, Pans, Weaslette," Theo grinned. Ginny half glared at him.
"Hi! Merry Christmas you four!" Hermione exclaimed, grinning.
"Merry Christmas to you too," the other four said happily.
Once they'd all said their 'Merry Christmas's, Pansy said casually, "So what table are we sitting on?" There was a very awkward pause.
"How about Ravenclaw's?" Ginny said after ten seconds of awkwardness.
"Okay," Hermione laughed.
"Sounds cool," Blaise grinned.
"Yeah alright," Draco smirked.
"Why not?" Theo said with a slight smile of relief.
They pushed open the great hall doors and all jaws dropped. The snow fell delicately on all of the decorations, twinkling in the candlelight and the enchanted ceiling was a variety of blues. Carols were sounding from all around but this wasn't the most of it. Ginny and Hermione suddenly found out what Hagrid's Christmas secret was. They stepped into the winter wonderland in awe, golden dishes brimming with food upon the four table. As there was so few students at school, there was only one table besides the staff table. Around the table stood Hagrid's surprise. Eight beautiful reindeers with glossy brown coats were walking around the hall with large, round, staring eyes and heavy antlers set upon their heads. The two Ravenclaws who'd stayed for the holidays were already stroking one of the reindeers in awe, very much immersed.
The six of them walked slowly over to the animals, Hermione's jaw still hanging. Two of the reindeer walked over to them, each making a grunting noise. One of them walked straight up to Blaise and nuzzled his chest to which Theo laughed and Blaise looked somewhere between terrified and in love with the creatures. Slowly he began to tentatively stroke the reindeer back. Hermione laughed and was suddenly nudged by the second reindeer to which she giggled, stroking it between the ears. "This has got to be a hygiene issue, having eight reindeer -" Draco begun but Blaise cut across him saying, "Mate, shut up. They're probably magicked to them to be sterile or whatever." Draco shrugged and he, Pansy, Ginny and Pansy began stroking the reindeers too, pleasantly surprised at the softness of their coats. "Awe they're so cute," Ginny cooed. A third reindeer joined them and nuzzled at Draco's back. "Hello you," he said gently to the reindeer, turning round to stroke him or her, it was hard to tell. Pansy laughed at how affectionate Draco was being towards the animals. "Well done," she said with a grin to Hermione, "He never used to be so affectionate to anything. You must've warmed his heart somehow. I'm telling you, he could be a right arse in the Slytherin common rooms, always acting cold and superior. Whatever you did, thanks." Hermione laughed, "Thanks. And thanks for the quill by the way, it's beautiful."
"No problem," she smirked back.
After a long while of stroking reindeers, the six of them sat at the far end of the table; Theo, Blaise and Pansy sitting on one side of the table whilst Ginny, Hermione and Draco occupied the other. Laid out in front of each place was a Christmas cracker. They all gripped an end of a cracker and pulled. BANG! With a bang as loud as a shotgun the crackers burst and confetti flew everywhere. Inside Pansy's was a fat brown mouse which scurried across the table and down a table leg. Pansy screamed as loud as a banshee and used her wand to send sparks at the mouse, which made it scurry away, out of sight. Everybody laughed at her.
Everybody received a hat and they all put theirs on. Draco read his joke to the table: "Where do sick gnomes go?" There was a murmur of 'I don't knows'. "To the elf centre!" He said. There was a few laughed and then Hermione cleared her throat. "What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck?" A pause. "A Christmas Quacker!" She beamed. A few further laughs.
"No no hear this," Ginny said excitedly, "What do snowmen eat for lunch?" An expectant pause. "Iceburgers!" She exclaimed.
"That's the best one yet," cried out Pansy, "But listen to this: what Christmas carol can be heard in the desert?" Bated silence. "Oh camel ye faithful!" She chortled.
"What's the most popular Christmas wine?" Theo asked. They all looked at him. ""I don't like brussels sprouts!"" He laughed. A couple of people laughed.
"I don't get it," Blaise said, confused.
"Popular Christmas whine, like complaint," Draco tried to explain.
"Oh. I get it now," Blaise said, "Now what's the difference between snowmen and snowgirls?" He asked. Hermione closed her eyes, she'd heard this before. "Snowballs!" He grinned deviously. Everyone laughed slightly.
As the laugher died down, Theo poured himself a glass of butterbeer and raised it, saying "Merry Christmas!" The other five followed suit and they all chinked glasses. Upon setting their glasses back down they all tucked in. The dishes between them were laden with everything from turkey to beef to parsnips to sprouts. Tureens of peas and bowls of roast potatoes were passed around, great boats of gravy, pitchers of pumpkin juice and flagons of butterbeer were spread out across the table and mountains of trimmings were waiting to be dished out.
Once they'd helped themselves to a bit of everything, conversations died down significantly. Before long, the only noises in the hall were the chink of cutlery and glasses, the chewing and swallowing of delicious food and the grunting of the reindeer.
Once the mains were finished, they disappeared and were replaced with dessert. "Mmm," Ginny sighed, "Tried the treacle tart Hermione?" Hermione cut a slice of treacle tart and tried it. She closed her eyes, savouring the taste. Blaise had helped himself to Christmas pudding, which he was telling everyone tasted brilliant. Pansy had a bowl filled to the brim with ice cream and blackberry pie, whereas Theo had a large slab of chocolate fudge cake and was just drizzling chocolate sauce onto it when there was a loud BANG! Theo's elbow jerked, knocking into his glass of butterbeer which toppled over creating a large puddle. "Peeves!" Shrieked Professor McGonagall from the staff table, as Peeves the poltergeist zoomed into the room causing the reindeers to scatter. "Why it's McNervy McGonagall!" Cackled Peeves wickedly, "Ooh animals! What fun!" And with that he zoomed under the table, out the other end and proceeded to send reindeers rearing and, laughing evilly and not looking where he was going, crashed headlong into one of the Christmas trees.
There was a stifled cry of shrieks and panic as the tree started to tilt, gathering speed as it headed towards the ground. Flustered, Peeves flew out of the tree and hid near the ceiling, grinning at the mayhem. "Someone stop it!" Professor Vector cried, clutching a hand to her mouth as the tip of the tree headed for the roaring fire next to it. "ARRESTO MOMENTUM!" Hermione yelled, pointing her wand directly at the falling tree. Instantly its motion slowed down. "Wingardium leviosa!" Hermione said clearly, swishing and flicking her wand. Her eyes suddenly widened at how how heavy the tree was and her back buckled under the strain. "Wingardium Leviosa," Draco said hurriedly, along with Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall and with their strength combined, the tree was slowly lifted back upright and stable again. Hermione bent over double in relief, wiping her forehead, panting. "Peeves!" Yelled Professor McGonagall, livid, "You are not allowed in here! If you'd have the courtesy to leave that would be -" but Lupin had already stuck his wand out under the desk and muttered something and immediately multicoloured sparks were zooming in Peeves' direction. He jumped I'm mid air and took off for the door, blowing raspberries as he went. The door banged shut. "I was handling that, Remus," Professor McGonagall said stiffly. Hermione looked over to see Professor Lupin raise his eyebrows, unconvinced. "Well done for preventing a fire by the way Hermione," said Blaise after a few seconds. Everybody laughed. "Oh and Theo," he added, "You may want to clear up that butterbeer." Theo reddened slightly before flicking his wand at the soaking tablecloth and dried it instantaneously.
After fourths of dessert, the six of them decided to turn in for the evening. "You can come down to our dorms if you want," Pansy said, smiling, "Isn't it lonely being the only one in Gryffindor tower?" Ginny contemplated this before asking, "Are you sure?"
"Course! We've got spare bedding, you can either kip with me in the girls' dorm or we can all kip out in our common room with Blaise and Theo."
"I'm not fused but it'd be great to be with someone," Ginny beamed. Hermione looked away guiltily. "Come on," Draco whispered in her ear as they stood up, ready to go. "Where?" The head girl asked. Draco grinned. "Are we not going up to - ?" she asked but Draco was already shaking his head, smirking.
Once in the entrance hall, the pair of them waved night to Ginny, Pansy, Theo and Blaise (who were all heading down to the dungeons). Once they were out of sight, Draco immediately tugged on Hermione's sleeve and headed towards the oak front doors. "Draco," Hermione began, confused, but Draco was already pushing open the great oak doors and within seconds they were plunged into cold air. Hermione braced the cold and looked at Draco, unsure exactly how to feel. "Where are we going?" She repeated in an annoyed voice.
"Hogsmeade," Draco shrugged, cloak billowing out behind him in the wind. Hermione blanched.
"Draco we're not allowed! If the teachers found out -"
"Oh please, don't pull that crap. How many times did you break the law with Saviour and Sidekick? Let alone break rules," Draco said whilst grinning because he knew he'd won. Hermione fell silent.
"But it's so far away," she muttered. Draco heard her and his grin broadened.
"Exactly," he said, grinning from ear to ear. Hermione gave him a half puzzled, half exasperated look, before realising that she was walking on her own. She turned around and saw Draco standing in the middle of the path, ten feet away from her. Sighing, she turned and walked back to him. "What?" She asked.
"We're not walking," he said simply, playing with her annoyingly.
"What do you mean we're not -" she stopped mid sentence, listening. She could hear a whooshing noise, as if something was gathering speed. Faster and faster until she saw what he meant. "Draco no!" She said firmly. Coming gracefully to a halt beside him was Draco's firebolt, polished and magnificent. "Come on Hermione," he said, pretending to plead with her.
"The last time I rode a broom -"
"Was in first year I know," said Draco, "They also happened to be the school's crap brooms."
"And that is the fastest broom model in the world!"
"I know," he smirked.
"What on earth makes you think I'm going to ride that hu?" She asked heatedly. He placed his hand on the small of her back and she instantly found it hard to say no for a split second - but only a split second. "Absolutely not," she said hotly, taking a step away from him. He tried a different tact. He was going to get her on that broom tonight. "Why?" He asked, coolly. Hermione worked hard in trying to find an answer and when none came, she just looked at him hopelessly. "Okay," said Draco, getting somewhere, "So what are you afraid of?" She thought long and hard.
"Not being in control," she said after a long pause. Then she added, "And falling." Draco burst into laughter to which Hermione slapped him, quite a lot harder than she'd meant. "Ow! What the hell?" He half shouted.
"Sorry," she said, pulling a face. Then, "Look I just... I mean what if you pushed me off and -"
"I'm not going to push you off," Draco said, talking over her.
"Or I slipped and fell," she carried on.
"I won't let that happen," he said, sounding bored.
"Or you get too cocky and crash -"
"Hey!" Draco said outraged, "I definitely won't let that happen! Besides," he added in a calmer tone, "You're a witch. You can stop your fall. Just get on the broom." It seemed like she'd lost. Flinging her arms into the air in surrender, she edged towards the broom. "Wait," he said, mounting the broom, "I just want to try it out." And with that he kicked hard from the ground and sped off like a rocket into the sky. He'd underestimated the sheer speed of which this could fly. He leant forward, gaining speed and height.
Hermione could just see the blur of blue and black streaking across the sky, slowing down by a millisecond to prepare for a loop. He looked so happy up their, free and without stress. She almost envied him. Almost. And then he turned in mid air to face Hermione and pelted like a bullet directly at her. Hermione screamed and dived out of the way but Draco was already pulling smoothly out of his dive to come to a stand still next to her. "You complete arsehole Drack Malfoy!" Hermione screamed, just as Draco turned to face her, laughing. "Oh come on 'Mione, it was only a laugh," he chortled.
"A laugh that could've ended me up in the hospital wing!"
"I am offended that you'd think so low of my flying skills!" He mocked.
"If you think I'm getting on that retched -"
"Drinks on me if you get on the ruddy broom Hermione."
"You think I care about a few galleons?" She asked fuming. Actually she did care. She'd virtually emptied her entire Gringotts vault on him which left her with barely a handful of galleons and with no parents she had no means of getting any more - but she wasn't about to tell him that. The last thing she needed was his pity. "Please?" He practically begged. She looked at him blankly. "Don't you trust me?" He asked innocently. She looked at him, straight into his silver orb like eyes feeling her annoyance and resistance ebb away. "Of course I do," she said, giving in. He smirked and sat further back on his broom, leaving room for Hermione to sit in front of him. "Sit here," he instructed and she tentatively settled herself onto the broom. She wobbled. They hadn't even left the ground yet and she was wobbling. She rebalanced herself. "No I really don't think this is a good idea," she moaned, beginning to dismount but Draco wrapped his arm tightly around her middle and said gently, "Trust me."
Her eleven year old self would have had so much more sense than her present self, but Hermione trusted him. "Are you ready?" He whispered in her ear. Her hands were gripping the handle so hard that her knuckles were white, she was fighting back the urge to let out a violent shiver due to the icy air, her knees were gripping the broom between her legs as if she was going to fall at any moment and she was mounted on the fasted broom in the world. "Yes," she replied.
He kicked off from the ground and they were up. Hermione let out a high pitched scream to which Draco held her tighter and said calmly, "Don't close your eyes."
"I don't think I can -"
"Hermione," he said softly, so she obeyed. She looked around and sighed. It was beautiful. They weren't going too fast but were steadily getting higher and higher away from the snowy grounds. The endless blanket of snow traveled for miles in all directions and the Forbidden Forrest looked like a sea of white dusted blackness. The toy town like greenhouses stood far below and Hagrid's hut was looking warm and inviting form the outskirts of the forest, windows lit. The moonlight reflected off of the ice covered lake, stars glowing the size of pinpricks all around them. She smiled, never having witnessed something so beautiful.
Draco added on a spurt of speed to which Hermione nearly closed her eyes but fought against the urge. She instead looked ahead and saw the tiny toy village of Hogsmeade, shop windows alit and chimneys smoking. Her hands and knees lessened their grip. She sank back into Draco, absorbing his warmth and feeling remarkably safer than she'd anticipated. He wrapped his arms more comfortably around her, tilting the broom slightly. "You enjoying it?" He whispered in her ear, his warm breath making her skin tingle.
"Yeah," she croaked. She didn't have the voice to say it any louder. Draco turned suddenly and Hermione lost all balance, feeling herself slip. She panicked and clutched at Draco but he'd instantly grabbed her and pulled her into him and she quivered, shocked. "Sorry," he murmured. She shook her head, regaining her breath. "You nearly fell," he said, more to himself than anyone else.
"Well done!" Hermione thought to herself. As if she didn't know that! She would have said it but she didn't think she'd have the voice to.
Hermione realised that they were losing height and looked down to see Hogsmeade village below them. They came smoothly into land and Draco put his feet down. She then became very aware that she was still clutching his sleeve, very tightly. She let go, quickly, but then wobbled, feeling very unstable. "You alright?" Draco asked cautiously, giving her his arm for support. She nodded, taking his arm and dismounting the broom, which he took in one hand.
They walked, hand in hand down to The Three Broomsticks, where they decided warm up and get drinks. "What would you like?" Draco asked, swinging the door open. To say it was packed would have been an understatement. Despite the time it was heaving. They pushed through the crowd to get to the back of the room where there was a small table right in the far corner. They sat down. "So?" He asked.
"Hu?" Asked Hermione.
"Drinks," said Draco.
"Oh. Um... A warm butterbeer please," she replied. He nodded, took off his cloak, dumped it in one of the seats and pushed back through the solid wall of people, somehow getting near the front of the line. Hermione sat, slightly sleepy, in the corner of the room, drumming her fingers monotonously on the table.
Six minutes later, Draco was battling back through the crowd with a large, foaming tankard of butterbeer and another large tankard of firewhisky. "Don't go getting drunk on me," Hermione joked, eying the large tankard in front of Draco once he'd placed them down on the table. "You wish," he joked back and raised his tankard. "Merry Christmas," he said, before taking a large gulp. Hermione followed suit, feeling the butterbeer warm her insides rapidly and sighed. "I love Madam Rosmerta's butterbeer," she sighed. Draco smirked. Only she would point out the difference between something as common as butterbeer.
"So, how did you find your broom?" Hermione asked after a few minutes of quiet sipping. Draco tilted his head in mock consideration. "I found it under the tree," he said after a long pause, to which Hermione laughed, spraying the table with butterbeer. Her eyes went wide and she looked away, embarrassed but still giggling. "Pleasant," Draco muttered, grinning and flicking his wand at the mess. "Hermione it's the best present I've ever received. Thanks. Hey look at me!" He said with a trace of annoyance and Hermione looked at him. "I said thank you," he said.
Hermione's jaw dropped in mock surprise. "Draco," she exclaimed, "That must mean an aweful lot, coming from a Mal -"
"Hey yeah alright," he glared, kicking her underneath the table. She kicked him back, smirking. He rolled his eyes. "Childish," she distinctly heard him mutter. She glowered at him and took another gulp of butterbeer. "And the necklace? It's alright right?" He asked.
"It's beautiful, Draco. Thank you too," she said smiling. He nodded, proud and satisfied, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. He wondered, again, why she liked him - but that was a question for another day. Then he wondered why he liked her. How did it start again? Oh yeah - that bloody potions lesson. He wondered if she ever wondered about that lesson - he certainly did. What if he was partnered with Pansy? "Eww," he distinctly thought. But then was it that which had started it or him being her roommate? "Who cares?" He thought and swatted it away like a fly. Hermione looked at him weirdly.
After Madam Rosmerta had cleared their tankards away, Draco grabbed his broom and the two of them stood up to fight their way back to the door. Luckily, the crowd had thinned a little. "Thanks for the drinks," Hermione said once they were out in the quiet street. They could still hear the muffled shouts and voices from inside the inn as they walked but other than that the street was pretty quiet and deserted apart from some late night couples. "I told you I'd pay if you flew," Draco said, grinning at her. Hermione bowed her head, smiling. She then shivered violently as an icy whip of cold air rushed through her. Draco's eyebrows creased in concern. "Want to wear my cloak?" He offered. She shook her head and shivered again, making Draco sigh and take it off, giving it to her. "I said -" she began but Draco cut across.
"I don't care what you said, you're cold. At least admit it next time I ask and stop trying to be so modest. What is it with girls hey?" He asked in an annoyed tone. Hermione put on the cloak, not saying a word. She wasn't going to lie, it was a lot warmer.
"You ready for the ride home?" Draco asked once they'd walked around a bit more. "No, but I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she replied. A grin crept onto Draco's face. He held his broom out and let go so that it hovered at mounting height, and mounted. "Want to steer?" He asked.
"No thank you," Hermione firmly.
"Fine," Draco shrugged and waited for her to mount. She did, rather tentatively but she still did. "Hold tight," he whispered in her ear.
"Why -?" Hermione began to ask when Draco suddenly kicked hard off of the ground and they shot up into the air like a rocket. Screaming, Hermione gripped the broom handle between her legs and clutched it with hands as white as the falling snow. The cloak she was wearing flew out behind her and twisted around her. She would have yelled at him but she seemed to have left her voice back on the ground. Instead all she did was sink back into Draco, rigid with fright. He was laughing uncontrollably but was gripping her rather tight all the same.
They slowed down above the lake enough for Hermione to catch her breath and she turned to look at him, hair flying everywhere and a furious expression planted firmly on her face. Draco looked at her, smirking. A full minute passed before she let go of the broom with one hand and slapped him hard across the face. He breathed in sharply and let go of Hermione with one of his hands to bring it up to his face, but he was grinning all the same. "You evil bastard Draco Malfoy!" She yelled at him, beyond furious.
"Oh come on," he chortled, "It was only -" but she cut across him with another slap, only this time she shook violently on the broom and clutched Draco's arm for support. "You love me really," he smirked slyly. She glared at him.
They landed gently in the snow like a snowflake and Draco dismounted, brushing snow off of his jeans. Hermione just sat stonily on the broom, shuddering. "I'm sorry Hermione," he said as sincerely as he could, noticing that she looked honestly pissed at him. "Come on," Draco sighed when he didn't receive an answer. She dismounted and he took the broom. "She'll come round," he thought. "What the -?!" He began and whirled around. Hermione had just hit him with a large snowball and was grinning maliciously at him. "Now we're even," she said, joining him by his side.
"Hmph," Draco hmphed.
"You know," Hermione began as they walked next to the frozen lake, "I've always wanted to just walk across the lake when it's frozen."
"Ice skating on that would be fun," Draco remarked.
"I've never ice skated," Hermione said quietly. Draco stopped to stare at her.
"You've never been ice skating?" He asked incredulously.
"Should I have?"
"You just seem to be the kind of person who'd be into it."
"I would like to," Hermione said softly. Draco narrowed his eyes, considering things. Then he nodded to himself and swished his wand at his shoes. "How have you never been ice skating?" He muttered, "We ice skated every winter when I was younger." Hermione looked at him, wondering what he'd done to his shoes (which were buried in the snow). "Come on," he added.
"Wait what?" She asked, as Draco aimed an enchantment at her shoes too and she instantly became unstable. "What have you -?" She asked before gripping his shoulder for support and lifting up her shoe - or at least what had been a shoe mere moments ago. A beautiful pair of white ice skates had taken their place, blade glinting in the moonlight. "I can't -" she began, lowering her foot back down.
"Of course you can," Draco smirked, walking her to the bank. He removed her hand from his shoulder, left his broom hovering and took off onto the frozen surface of the lake. "What if it cracks?" Hermione called from the bank.
"Then we run!" He called back. Not very encouraging. After a few twirls and glides he swooped back to Hermione and outstretched his hand. "Take my hand," he said softly. She cautiously took it. "Right out of your comfort zone tonight aren't you Hermione," he grinned, stepping back and taking her with him.
"No... I don't think I can do this," she mumbled.
"Course you can," he said confidently.
"Don't let go."
"Merlin Hermione what do you take me for?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
They began to glide, slowly at first with Hermione clinging onto him with every step. "Draco I really don't like this," she moaned.
"Oh come on Hermione it's just moving your skates like this," he instructed, leading her further out onto the lake. Hermione copied him, moving her skates in a diagonal fashion.
Minutes later she was growing slightly more confident in what she was doing. She tried to look like she was more capable than she really was, and ended up saying with delight, "Draco I think I've got it!" And she let go of him, gliding a metre, two metres... Draco watched her, unconvinced and smirking. She leant forward and then back to regain balance, back, back and... THUD! She was on the ice. Draco broke into fits of laughter, crying with mirth. Hermione looked up and glared at him before a smile teetered onto her face and she laughed too, massaging her backside where she'd landed. "You see," Draco chortled, "As a pro like me, I don't fall." Hermione tried to get up but kept slipping around causing Draco to bend over in laughter. And then he lost balance and face planted the ice. Hermione choked through her laughter at this, shouting, "'As a pro!'" Draco tried to glower but ended up smirking instead.
They both got up, Hermione somewhat clumsily, and glided over to each other. She stumbled slightly and Draco grasped her under the arm, steadying her. "Alright?" He asked.
"Of course," she responded, holding his hand again. They set off again, swooping in and out, in time with each other all the time. Draco raised the hand gripping Hermione's and allowed her to attempt a twirl. It sort of went well, although she did stumble at the end and Draco had to put his hand on her back to steady her. She smiled at him. "Thanks," she said.
The snow fell around them as they skated, their skates creating swirls and figures of eights in it. "Ready to let go?" He asked. She nodded and smirked at him before letting go. She concentrated on her feet, thinking "Left right left right..." Until she had built a steady rhythm. She picked up pace, confident, until she was cocky enough to attempt a pirouette, which went successfully. Draco whooped from somewhere to her left and she smiled, turning to skate over to him.
He thought she looked like an angel, swooping and twirling as freely as a bird. She suited this look, without the stress of her life and work overload on her shoulders. He clapped as she pirouetted, frankly surprised that she'd picked it up so well - but then he was her instructor. He saw her gliding towards him and swooped over to her, stretching out a hand for her to take. She took it and pulled him along with her, spinning them around and around in circles, both laughing. Draco brought them to a halt and said, "What time is it?" She glanced down at the watch on her wrist.
"Eleven fifty nine," she replied. He smirked and brought his arms around her back. She hooked her's around his neck and rested her forehead against his. The clock in the bell tower started to chime.
One.
"Merry Christmas Draco," she murmured.
Two.
"Merry Christmas Hermione," he murmured back.
Three. A heartbeat.
Four. Draco leant in and captured her lips with his.
Five. The kissed softly, her fingers entwining with his blonde hair
Six. He ran his index finger along her jaw and under her chin.
Seven. His hands dropped to her hips, slowly kissing her.
Eight. They drew closer to each other, Hermione pulling him into her.
Nine. Hermione gripped his platinum hair whilst he slipped a finger into one of the belt loops of Hermione's jeans.
Ten. They carried on, hardly hearing the chimes of the bell.
Eleven. Nearly over. The end of their first Christmas. Maybe the end of their last Christmas.
Twelve. The end. They pulled apart, gently, staring into each other's eyes. A heartbeat and then the silence was broken. He took her by the hand and looked into her hazel eyes before softly, softly but clearly, "I love you."
Although she already knew it, it meant more than she previously imagined when he said it aloud. She hugged him tightly, clamped her eyes shut and said, "I love you too!" He smiled and embraced her body heat, shocked that he'd admitted it out loud. It felt like a weight off his chest, knowing she knew at last. "I love you so much," he breathed.
A/N I hope this wasn't too cheesy, I thought it was alright. Merry Christmas guys and a Happy New Year! See you in two Tuesdays time.