A/N: How are ya'll likin' this so far? YAY! Goody, goody! I've been listening to Copland for the past hour. I don't think I'll have them officially together at the end of this.... I think I'll make him pay for every inch he takes until the VERY end of this story. That and my second obsession (coughsiriuscough) has to let his hormones run wild a bit.

Hang on folks! This is going to be a strange ride!


Chapter Thirteen


Christmas was coming. Astra had Draco move with her to the girls dorm because she didn't want to deprive the boys with no sleep. It was the holidays and she liked to spend them with her best friends and her sister, even IF she was attached to a boy who could run for Head Priest of the wizarding Klu Klux Klan.

On Christmas morning, Astra woke up to see Avalon opening her presents. "Astra! You got a present from Mrs. Weasley again!" Avalon shuffled through the gifts and held up one with her name on it. "It looks like I have one as well..."

Hermione woke up as did Nevaeh. "What's going on?" Nevaeh asked groggily.

"Presents!"

Draco grumbled and turned over while pulling his pillow over his head. "Stop talking... can't you tell someone is trying to sleep!"

"Oh hush. Nevaeh... while sleeping beauty here is sleeping... could you bring my presents over here?" Astra asked.

"Yeah, sure!" Nevaeh beamed.

Nevaeh and Avalon brought Astra's presents to the foot of her bed and Astra opened them one by one. She indeed received a famous Weasley sweater from Mrs. Weasley. It was maroon with a large pink A on the front. She got a No Need For Tenchi manga from Avalon. She got a scrapbook of pictures from their previous five years from Nevaeh. Her mother had sent her some money and a CD.

She beamed as she put on her Weasley sweater and a pair of jeans. Avalon showed everyone her own Weasley sweater. It was blue with a yellow V on it. "I wonder where she gets all of that yarn! She makes those sweaters for her own kids, how can she make them for Harry and us as well?"

"She's just thanking us for letting Ron and Ginny stay over for a little while." Astra said. "Either that... or she's just an incredibly nice woman."

"Or an incredibly dumpy woman who's too stupid to listen to reason and stop having kids!" growled Draco into his pillow. He had finally taken the pillow off of his head. "I thought I asked you people to keep it quiet!"

"More like ordered." grimaced Astra.

Hermione opened her own gifts as Lavender and Parvati were waking up. "Oh yes... I forgot about today being Christmas." Lavender yawned.

The door opened and Ron poked his head in as did Ginny and Harry. "Hullo! May we three come join you?" said Ginny with a grin.

"We two kings..." Harry sang.

"And queen.." Ginny interrupted.

"Be stealin' the food!" Astra finished.

Ron came in with his mince pies wearing his own Weasley sweater. "Does anyone want any?" He smiled pleasantly.

"Not before breakfast, Ron..." sighed Hermione.

"Your loss..." Ron said as he put some mince pie into his mouth.

"His gain, actually.... around his middle!" growled Draco again. He sat up in Astra's bed, looking like he hadn't slept a wink during the last two nights.

"Oh hush up, Malformed. No one wants to listen to you complain." Astra growled back at him. "Besides.... you've got some presents!" Astra threw Draco's presents at him on the bed.

Draco opened one gift and sighed. "Dear mother... whatever shall I do without you." He had received a box of fudge.

Astra practically slobbered at the sight of it. She LOVED fudge. Draco noticed her watching him eat and raised an eyebrow. "Do you want any?"

"Um... n-no... that'll be fine... I just so happen to like fudge. I don't want to deprive you of your present." Astra said as quickly as she could.

Draco sat staring at her for a full minute. Suddenly, he took out two squares and handed them to Astra. Astra stared at him. "Yer actually giving me this?"

"Take it before I change my mind."

Astra took the blocks of fudge and ate them readily. They were delicious! She enjoyed every bite of the chocolate as it disappeared.

"Did I witness this? Draco was being kind!" Ron said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Good lord, I think I'm going to faint! Someone catch me!"

"Ah, shut up!" Draco growled.

While everyone else went down to breakfast, Astra had to wait for Draco to dress before she could go. She had on the sweater over a shirt and wore her jeans. Draco had on a green sweater his mother had bought him and a pair of faded blue jeans that were rather tight looking.

"Who would wear jeans that tight!" Astra said as she shook her head as she looked at his rear.

"One who has a demanding girlfriend, halvsie." Draco slapped Astra's rear and started running.

Astra ran after him and caught up with him inside the Great Hall. There were a few people at the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables, but hardly any people were at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

Astra mussed up Draco's hair as she put him in a headlock. "Noogie! Noogie!" Draco grabbed her around her waist and started working his fingers. "ACK! Stop that! That t-t-tickles! ACK!" Astra gasped out in laughter.

Astra had long ago lt go of Draco's head and trying to loosen his grip on her waist. "Let me go! Ah ha ha ha! Let me go, or I'm gonna kill you, Malformed!"

Harry turned around and saw Draco tickling Astra to the brink of tears. "Oh what would I give to have Colin here right now." he said with an amused smile on his face.

Harry suddenly noticed Pansy stalking over to Astra and Draco. "Let go of my Draco, you harlot!" she growled as she grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him over to the Slytherin table. Astra had no choice except to follow.

"Oh Draco... I just LOVE those jeans! Are these the ones I gave you?" Pansy said as she pulled Draco's arms around her. Astra felt sick watching this.

"Yes, they are, Pansy." Draco said as Pansy an a hand through his hair.

Pansy rose up on her toes and kissed Draco on his lips. "I love you, Draco." she mumbled against his lips. "Merry Christmas."

Astra wasn't sure just how to read the look on Draco's face. He looked thoroughly annoyed and yet, he didn't mind her kissing him. Infact, after a minute, he closed his eyes and pulled Pansy closer to him.

Astra rolled her eyes and glanced other places other than what was in front of her. She was in no mood to watch this. She sat down and picked up a plate. She might as well let him have breakfast with his friends. He had let her drag him over to the Gryffindor table numerous times.

She started eating her eggs when Pansy started leading Draco away from the table, toward the door. Astra picked up her plate and fork and followed as far behind as she could. She waved good-bye to Harry and Nevaeh as she walked out the door.

"I have a nice Christmas present for you, Draco dear." Pansy said seductively. She didn't seem to notice that Astra was following behind them.

Pansy led Draco to an empty classroom and opened it. "Pansy... we haven't even had breakfast... can't this wait?" Draco sighed.

"Never! Not with my Draco dear!" Pansy smiled impishly at him.

Since the door was barely five feet from the corner they had turned, Astra hid behind the wall. Astra rolled her eyes at the conversation at hand. "Good lord... the woman's worse than a goat." she whispered to herself as she put some eggs into her mouth.

The door closed Astra could hear them inside now. "Pansy! OW! That hurt! Can't we do this another time?"

"What's the matter, Draco? You never objected before." Pansy said in that seductive voice of hers.

"Partly because I'm hungry."

"It's that Gryffindor girl, isn't it."

Astra stabbed her fork into a sausage and bit into it. Pansy had brought her up. Astra tried not to listen. She didn't want to listen to Draco and Pansy make-out through that wall. The very idea made her sick.

"Don't start up on that Knight girl again! It has nothing to do with her! I'm hungry, that's all!" Draco growled.

"Then, why don't I appease that appetite."

Astra's eyes grew wide at Pansy's last statement. She covered her ears and tried to think of something else. She felt her cheeks burning like the sun.

Something hit the wall right at Astra's head. It stunned her for a second, making her hands drop. Draco's voice rang out from behind her head.

"Pansy.... not now..." He sounded somewhat frightened, but thoroughly annoyed. His breath coming in gasps as if he had just ran a race around the room. Astra suspected he had.

"But Draco.... you'll enjoy yourself and it's Christmas! A time for your loved ones! Now stop running away from me and sit still."

Astra had had enough. She suspected the worst and promptly hid herself in the closet beside her. Hopefully, she wouldn't hear anything through it.

Eating in the closet wasn't as bad as she had originally thought it would be. She ate her sausage, bacon and her biscuit in the span of five minutes. Astra started to feel that force that bound her to Draco. She felt it all around her as she gravitated toward the wall and was almost plastered to it.

Astra thought she heard a low moan from the wall, but she dismissed it as a ghoul. She thought she heard a chain rattle. She shook her head of any crude thoughts and started singing.

"I don't wanna cry! Momo ichi do! Ai ishi demoii!..." It was one of her favorite songs from her hacker friend.

"Who was that! Who was that singing!" she distinctly heard Pansy say.

Draco didn't answer. She heard some shuffling around. Astra began singing again. Another song. This time, from Utena. "This rose is our destiny... hinki sagare...."

"There it is again! ARGH! Did she follow us!"

"Kimiwo kimiwo a ishi teru... kokonode mitsune de iru.... kimiwo kimiwo shiinjiteru...sanui ino...."

"Damn it! I'm going to kill her! She's trying to sabotage my time with you!" Pansy growled.

"It may just be a ghost, Pansy."

"How many ghosts do you know to sing in JAPANESE!?"

"Aside from Japanese ghosts?" Astra heard herself say at the same time with Draco. She laughed silently at the coincidence. "Besides... how to do you know it was her."

"She's been hanging all over you for the past two weeks! I didn't think you could stoop any lower!" Pansy growled.

"She has NOT been hanging all over me! If anyone has been, it's YOU, Pansy!"

There was silence for a full minute. Pansy sounded like she was crying. "Are you saying that I'm annoying you?! After all we've done together!"

Draco didn't say anything. Astra figured that he was too stunned at his own words to say anything. "I... don't know..." He finally said. "I'm leaving...." He said quietly.

Astra felt the pressure against her come harder and then go away as he moved closer. The closet door opened and a dark figure stood before Astra. The figure stepped inside the closet and sat down next to Astra.

Draco leaned his head against the wall and sighed. "I can't believe I said that to her."

"I don't think she can either." Astra said in an amused voice.

Draco moved his head to see her in the near darkness. His cold gray eyes shone through the lack of light. "You wouldn't want to..."

"Come near me and I kill you, Malformed." Astra said with a smirk. "But if you want to talk... that's fine with me."

"Yeah... I can do that..." Draco said nodding his head.

"DRACO! DRACO! WHERE ARE YOU, MY LOVE!" Pansy's voice rang out.

Draco curled up closer to Astra, shying away from the door. "If she finds me in here with you, she'll kill me!" Draco said. "Why did I agree to go out with her in the first place? She's annoying as hell!"

"Because yer a perv who can't help but take a girls advances and play with them?" Astra said. "That's a joke, Draco."

"That's funny... It certainly didn't sound like it." Draco said snidely.

"What was she doing to you in there, or was it just as bad as I had thought." Astra said.

"She was trying to make me try on a pair of jeans." Draco smirked. "She likes to put me in tight jeans."

"I noticed." Astra stood up and listened. "I think she's gone. Do you want to go back to Gryffindor tower and I'll make you breakfast?"

"You can cook?" He asked with an amused grin on his face.

"Yes... I can cook... so hush up, or you ain't gettin' any food!" Astra said gruffly as she grabbed his arm and dragged him to Gryffindor tower.

After Astra made breakfast, Draco stared at it and poked it with his fork. "Is this supposed to be edible?" He asked.

"YES!" Astra blushed. She knew she wasn't a very good cook, but she didn't want to be made fun of, either.

"What is it?"

"It's scrambled eggs and bacon." Astra said quickly. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"It looks like dog food." Draco said. He poked the bacon with his fork again. It started to crawl away. "And it's still alive!"

"Aw, hush up and stab it! It'll die eventually!"