Part 14 : Happy Christmas!

When Draco entered the common room, he almost missed her. She was sitting quietly in an armchair next to the fireplace. The light made her hair seems like flames. Bathed in the light, Willow looked like a fire sprite. And he was the moth going to the flame.

She startled and squealed when he put his cold hands at the back of her neck. He laughed outloud. "Sorry. I couldn't resist." He sat down next to her. "Not going home for Christmas?"

She snorted. "Like I want to see my parents and join their cocktail parties. What about you?"

"Same here. But I'm bored."

She grinned. "Well, there's no Slytherins around. Why don't we get to know each other better." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she blushed. "That didn't sound quite as what I wanted to say and you know it."

"I know, but I like to see you blush." He leant back against the couch. "How about you go first? Go ahead. Ask away."

"Ok. Why don't you like Harry?"

Draco did a double take. "You don't start with the easy one. I guess I don't take rejection too well. The first time we met, I offered him my frienship and he threw it right back at me. How about you tell me what's your dream?"

"I want to be loved."

"That's all?"

"That's all I ask. I've never been loved. Only liked or hated. Why won't you join Voldemort?"

"I don't take orders from anyone. I don't know how my father can stand to work for the freak. I mean, how often do you meet a muggle-born wizard that tells you to kill mudbloods because they aren't worth it? He's totally crazy! Why didn't you throw your wand away and stay a wandless witch?"

"Voldemort."

At one point, Draco ran to his room and came back with a wine bottle and two glasses. He gave one for Willow and kept one for him. The wine helped them relax and be more comfortable around each other. There were no lies between them. For hours, they simply talked about each other, sometimes cutting the other to ask a question or two.

At midnight, they were still in the common room, in front of the fire. Willow was leaning against Draco, her back to him. She snuggled closer and he chuckled. "Do I make a good pillow?"

"Definitly! You're comfortable."

She wiggled back against him and he groaned. "Willow, stop that," he hissed. No matter how much the wine helped him relax, he was now as tense as a board. He was getting quite uncomfortable, espeacially since his pants were getting a bit too tight.

The redhead suddenly kept still when she realised what effect she had on the blond Slytherin. She smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't meant to."

"I know," he whispered in an husky voice. He leant forward and caught her mouth with his.

They stayed on the couch all night, in front of the fire, sleeping in each other's arms.

* * *

Willow groaned when an insistant pounding on the common room door woke her up. She snuggled closer to the warm chest that she was settled on. Her eyes snapped open. She was still on the couch, Draco holding her close to him. She smiled warmly and stroke his cheek. "Wake up, sleepy head," she whispered.

Draco woke up to the feeling of a pair of lips on his. He smirked when he smelled green apples. "Can't have enough of me, I see."

The redhead giggled. "You were snoring loudly and I wanted to shut you up."

"I did not!"

"No, but someone is pummeling the portrait leading inside the common room and since all the Slytherins, except us, are gone home for Christmas, it's either Snape who forgot the password, which I doubt, or Hermione. I'm guessing it's the latter." She slid over him and he stopped her, gripping the back of her head. He gave her one last kiss before allowing her to stand up and walk to the exit.

"Finally!" Hermione exclaimed when the redhead let her in.

"Happy Christmas to you too," Willow said dryly.

"I've been waiting for fifteen minutes!" She put her pile of gifts on the floor next to the fireplace. She raised an eyebrow when she saw a bare chested Draco lounging on the couch. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Willow glared at her, but still managed to blush. "We were sleeping. I never thought you'd be the kind to have your mind in the gutter." She threw a cushion at the blond's head. "Wake up, lazy bones!"

Grumbling, Draco rolled off the couch and pushed his pile of gifts next to Hermione's. He patted the ground beside him and Willow sat down. Still half asleep, he handed a red and gold whrapped gift to the Gryffindor, much to her delight, and a green and silver one to *his* redhead. He received a silver package from her and a black one with smiling figures on it from Hermione. He raised an eyebrow at her, but kept his comment to himself.

Hermione received and encyclopedia from Willow and a golden quill from Draco, with a little extra : further down the box, she discovered a little plastic mouse enchanted to move on its own. She frowned. "You do realize that I'm no longer three years old, right?"

"You dumbass! It's for the great ball of ginger fur you keep in your room."

"Oh! Well, thanks for thinking of Crookshanks."

Willow grinned wildly when she unwhrapped her gifts. She was clearly enjoying herself. She got a book on advanced potions from Hermione and she smirked. "Thanks Mione!"

"How you like that class is still a mystery to me."

The redhead gasped when she opened her gift from Draco. It was a silver ring with a single emerald on it. He took it from her hand and slid it on her right hand ring finger. "If you didn't know how I felt about you, that would have been the biggest hint ever," he said, smiling.

She kissed him lightly then clapped her hands. "Now open yours!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Draco laughed when he saw what the Gryffindor had gotten him. It was a pair of boxer shorts with snakes hissing at him. Willow's present was the best he'd ever have. She had given him a silver pocketwatch with a willow tree engraved inside the lid. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice quivering. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

Hermione groaned. "Get a room!"