CHAPTER FOURTY TWO: Yuletide Tomfoolery Pt. 3

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In less than fifteen minutes, both the muggleborn and the pureblood sat smiling at the kitchen table, each with a hefty helping of chocolate chip pancakes. The peanut butter sandwiches had long since been discarded and forgotten and Draco's attention was now on his glass of orange juice.

"What is this? It's good," he asked as he daintily sipped his glass.

"Orange juice," Hermione said simply, her eyes on the newspaper open beside her.

"Cor; you can juice an orange? What else can you juice?" Hermione laughed.

"Just about anything; fruit mostly, but some people do carrots and stuff like that. You sure are easily impressed, Ace. Not even Arthur Weasley was amazed by juice." Draco turned slightly pink and shrugged.

"I always thought it was just pumpkins and cranberries," he said with a slightly embarrassed smile. Hermione looked up at him just as the doorbell rang.

"Thisbe," she said and pushed her chair back. Draco did the same and quickly made his way though the entry room, getting to the door before Hermione could even leave the kitchen. He waited a moment for her to catch up, then opened the redwood slab.

"Hey, I- oh," Thisbe said as she realized who was standing in front of her, then immediately blushed and looked toward the ground. Draco's lips curled into his handsome trademark smirk. **Even attached I have an effect on women, ** he thought, then stepped aside and looked toward Hermione, who shrugged and stepped in to assist in the awkward moment.

"Hey!" she said and scurried over to meet her friend. Thisbe seemed to snap out of her trance and broke out in a bright smile.

"Hey!" she returned and pretended to kiss each of Hermione's cheeks in greeting.

"Hey, do you want some breakfast? I made pancakes," Hermione asked and Thisbe looked excited.

"That would be great, Mione! My mum still thinks that fruitcake should be the only thing consumed before noon on Christmas," she said and both girls laughed as Thisbe slipped off her shoes. She seemed to be ignoring Draco entirely as she continued to chatter about her morning and walked toward the kitchen. Hermione looked up at Draco.

"Fruitcake?" he asked, ignoring Thisbe's obvious attraction entirely. Hermione laughed.

"Yes, she is," she said and gave him a quick peck on the lips before taking his hand and following Thisbe into the kitchen.

The trio chattered over their pancakes and, because Thisbe continuously asked him questions, Draco quickly warmed up and began to feel less awkward.

"Thiz, are any of the guys here?" Hermione asked as she took care of their dishes.

"No, actually. Gwen went to another one of those concert things, Sean and Derek went to their grandmother's; last I knew they were planning on scaring Artremis to death with those damn greased saucers, and Tino is on holiday with Tish and Lindy; Paris, I think." Draco looked a bit lost, but kept to himself. Hermione turned to him.

"Artremis is Sean and Derek's uncle, but he's six; adopted and adorable. Lindy is Tish's sister," she said, then turned back to Thisbe. "I thought greasing the saucers was a great idea; fastest sled ride I've ever taken. And why did Tish take him to Paris? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Hermione said, laughing and Thisbe joined in.

"I thought so, but she had the money and no one in their right mind would want to stay alone with Lindy. God I hate rich people," Thisbe said and Draco looked quickly to Hermione, who laughed and shook her head at him. There was a brief pause before Hermione cut in again.

"Let's go upstairs," she suggested and moved toward the doorway. Thisbe stood and smirked.

"Gee, Mione... feeling extra kinky this morning, are we?" she teased and Draco snorted. Hermione's mouth dropped open for a moment, then she smiled.

"God Draco, I never thought only twenty minutes with you could produce such quality results," she said and he laughed.

"I've brought my time down from half an hour," he commented, then smirked. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Mia. If Thisbe's willing, I sure as hell am." Now Thisbe snickered and Hermione's mouth dropped again, then she slapped him upside the head. "Hey!" he exclaimed, then shook a scolding finger at her. "Now, now, Mia. Didn't we have a talk about that already?"

"Well you REALLY deserved it that time. I can't believe you guys! You're already conspiring against me and it's not even noon yet!"

"Sorry, Mione," Thisbe broke in, "...but you're just way too fun to offend."

"I agree," Draco voiced with a smirk. Hermione just glared at them for a minute, then started laughing.

"Alright, come on then," she said and turned to walk through the door, toward the stairwell. Draco turned to Thisbe with a smirk and she blushed, which caused him to drop it and follow his girlfriend. He did not particularly like the fact that her best friend had taken to him this way, and was determined to ignore it.

* * * * * * * * * *

"H-Hey Mione; how long are you guys staying?" Thisbe asked nervously as she threw a dart toward the wall mounted board. Hermione, who was teaching Draco to play pool, looked to her boyfriend, who wasn't much help and just stood looking clueless.

"Um, we're leaving tonight. Why?"

"Good. There's something I think I should tell you." Hermione turned to her and Thisbe took a deep breath. "Zane is back."

Hermione stopped everything she had been doing; she didn't even breathe. Closing her eyes as if in pain, the hostess leaned on the table for support. Draco, confused and speechless, looked on worriedly.

"And Reif?" she asked, unmoving.

"He's supposed to be here by summer. I'm sorry, Mione, I couldn't do anything," Thisbe apologized and Draco moved around the table to Hermione, sensing that something was very wrong.

"Mia?" he said as he came up beside her and Hermione turned to embrace him without a word. Draco held her close and looked to Thisbe for some sort of explanation, but the dark haired girl simply shook her head. Hermione remained silent and tearless, simply holding Draco close to her. No matter what the problem, being in his arms made everything seem better. Suddenly, a car door slammed. Then another. All three teens looked at each other. Thisbe stood from the large armchair she had been seated in and walked to the window.

"It's your parents," she said and Hermione groaned.

"Oh no; the dishes. You guys stay up here, I'll attempt some sort of explanation," Hermione said and gave Draco a peck before hurrying downstairs. As soon as the door shut behind her, Thisbe advanced on Draco. He had been watching Hermione leave and jumped when he turned to see Thisbe just inches away.

"I have some questions for you, my friend," she said demandingly, poking a finger at his chest. Draco was a bit surprised; not only was she intimidating, but she wasn't afraid of him. He would have smiled, had she not seemed so angry. "Firstly, where in God's name is your damn school? Mione won't tell me and it's bugging me to hell," she said, looking not to be messed with, her face less than three inches from his.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, there," he said, holding her arms to keep her in place as he took a step back from her. "If Mia won't tell you, then I don't think it would be a good decision on my part to say. There's obviously a reason, although I don't know what it is (A/N: LIAR!), and I do not want her mad at me."

"Fair enough," she agreed, crossing her arms as Draco released his grip on them. "Tell me who Henry and Rob are, then."

"You mean Harry and Ron? That I can do. Ron Weasley: red head with a bad temper, easily ticked off, hates me with a passion; pastimes include eating, sleeping, and talking with his mouth full. Has had the hotts for Mia for god knows how long, insanely jealous and overprotective, but loyal and trustworthy as long as the secret can be passed through Harry.

"Harry Potter: black-hair, thick glasses, and a not-so-happy home life. Enjoys getting into trouble and having Mia help him out of it, is more accepting to me, although I don't think he likes me much, also jealous and overprotective, adored by every woman to cross his path, referees the fights between Mia and Ron. Now it's my turn. Who the hell are Zane and Reif and what did they do to her?" he demanded, pointing toward the door. Thisbe, who had been listening and nodding, sighed and looked away.

"That is not my story to tell. She'll tell you, though, I know she will, just give her a minute. They're not good guys, I'll tell you that much," Thisbe said, sounding sorry. Draco nodded.

"I figured," he said as the door swung open to reveal Hermione, looking a bit ragged, but all together better than she had before leaving.

"We're lucky; they're unloading groceries in the garage. That gives us a few minutes to think of what to do. Ace, I hate to say it, but I think magic is the only way out of this. I can't let them see that you were here when they weren't or they'll kick your ass."

"Alright, so what do you propose we do?" he agreed, but a confused Thisbe cut in.

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about?" she asked and Draco turned to her fearfully.

"Damn. Mia, what do we do about her?"

"I guess we have to tell her, there's no other way... or at least not that I can fathom at the moment," Hermione said and he nodded.

"Will you people stop talking about me like I'm not here and tell me what the fuck is going on?" Thisbe demanded.

"Tisk, tisk, such language. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Draco teased.

"No, I don't swing that way," Thisbe said and smirked arrogantly for a moment, then went back to looking frazzled and confused. "Mione!"

"I'm a witch, Thisbe," she said simply and Thisbe laughed.

"Yes, Mione, that seems to be popular belief... especially when you've had three screwdrivers and are trying to do your homework... but come on, tell me what you're not supposed to tell me."

"No, Thisbe, listen to me. I. Am. A. Witch. You know, black cats and pointy hats, flying on a broom, potion brewing, wand waving, and all that other fun stuff we do." Thisbe's smile dropped and she turned to Draco.

"You...?" He raised his hand.

"Wizard," he said and smiled at her reaction.

"I don't believe you; there's no way..." she said, crossing her arms, and Draco rolled his eyes.

"So we'll prove it if we must. Shoes, Mia. Dead giveaway," he said, still looking at Thisbe.

"Damn, you're right," she said and searched around for her wand. "Ace, please tell me you have your wand. I left mine in the kitchen; it was on the table after... the peanut butter incident and I didn't want to arouse suspicion by picking it up before we came upstairs."

"Sure, love," he said and pulled his wand from his large jean pocket, watching Thisbe's eyes grow wide. She really had thought that they were joking. Draco lifted the enchanted stick and gave it a flick, causing Hermione's wand to fly into his palm. "Here you are, my dear," he said, handing it to her. She smiled and took it. "Coats and shoes," he reminded her.

"Right," she agreed and gave her own wand a flick. Instantaneously, all of their discarded clothing piled into the room.

"That was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Why did you never tell me?" Thisbe asked, eyes on the coats, and Draco spoke up before Hermione could answer.

"I just met you," he said, smirking, and Thisbe glared at him quickly and turned to her friend.

"I'm not allowed. Dumbledore is going to be less than happy when he hears about this," she said and the dark haired girl looked hurt, but understanding.

"Who's Dumbledore?"

"Headmaster of our school, he..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, ladies, but I would rather spend now keeping your father tattoo-less than chatting about Hogwarts, interesting as it is," Draco said, sounding impatient.

"Sorry Ace, you're right. Alright, we can't just leave, because Thiz wouldn't just come over here if no one were home, apparating her to Hogwarts is absurd," Hermione began, listing off possible plans.

"Why can't I just take her home, then come back and get you?" Draco asked but Hermione shook her head.

"There are too many people in her house... think the Weasleys times two. It would be a miracle if no one saw. We can't risk more people knowing about us," she said and Draco nodded.

"So if we can't take her anywhere, your parents are going to find her one way or another, then they'll know that you were here..." Draco said and Hermione nodded.

"Then they'll ask how I got here and know I had to have apparated. They know the only way other than that or a broom is the train, and I don't think they'll believe me if I say that's how I got here. A broom would take hours... they'll know someone else came with me," she said, running a hand through her hair.

"Can't you say a teacher dropped you off or something?" asked her boyfriend, trying to be helpful, but she shook her head.

"That could work, but then they'd expect someone to come and pick me up. We are totally screwed; this is a disaster. The only way is to just tell them." Hermione sighed. For the first time since the plans began to be fabricated, Thisbe spoke.

"At least I'm here, Mione. I can vouch for you that nothing happened, and you can back it up with a 'Sean, Derek, and Tino are over here all the time'."

"Thanks Thiz, I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"Bob, did you leave the peanut butter open again?!" called the annoyed voice of Eliza Granger from downstairs. Hermione looked at Draco and they both laughed slightly.

"What is this whole peanut butter thing, anyway?" Thisbe asked and Draco turned to her.

"I'm allergic," he said and Thisbe just stared.

"And how is that funny?"

"Because I didn't know and she gave me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." He pointed accusingly at Hermione, who looked guilty.

"Mione!" Thisbe exclaimed and Hermione threw up her hands in defense.

"I didn't know either!" she swore, "And I saved him from the big bad condiment monster, so don't yell at me!"

"Hey, you know what's ironic? The first thing we said was 'good thing Thiz wasn't here or we would have been screwed' and here we are telling her the whole story," Draco pointed out and Hermione laughed.

"Sorry to have been a bother, but I think we may want to go talk to your parents sometime soon," Thisbe said and Hermione nodded.

"Let me go first, I'll come get you guys in a few minutes," she said and, like the last time, gave Draco a tiny kiss on the lips before leaving. Draco turned to Thisbe and shook his head.

"This can not turn out good."

* * * * * * * * * *

Neither Thisbe nor Draco spoke as they waited for Hermione to return. Draco paced the length of the pool table and Thisbe resumed her darts. He was just about to mutter something about her taking so long when Hermione burst through the door.

"I think Voldemort and Hitler's love child just became pope," she said, sounding disbelieving. Draco and Thisbe looked worriedly at each other.

"What? Wait, who's Hitler/Voldemort?" Draco and Thisbe asked respectively.

"Very bad man; we'll tell you later," they answered each other. Hermione looked a little scared.

"Never do that again, please," she all but begged and Draco shuddered a bit.

"Wow, bad memories," he said, shaking his head. Thisbe looked to him with a curious quirk of her brow.

"I was cold, so I went to the nurse and she gave me a potion so I could read her mind," Hermione answered, planning to drop it and tell them about her parents, but Draco resumed his speaking.

"Then she kept reading my mind and saying everything I did," he continued and Hermione approached him. Draco let her slide in beside him and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Was there a reason for this? Did she give you the wrong one or something?" Thisbe asked and they both shook their heads.

"She was being harmed by the potions master and needed me to tell the headmaster," Hermione said and Draco spoke up, sounding curious.

"Hey, Mia... do you think it was Pomfrey all along? I mean, like she might have said something about you being outside and that's why he told us off, then with me alone in Hogsmeade, Pomfrey might have said that you shouldn't be alone so soon after getting out and he went to find out for her if you were alright," Draco thought out loud and Hermione pondered his theory.

"But what about all those times when we were together?" she asked.

"Well, Dumbledore did send him to tell us something each time... well, except that time he thought we were shagging in the great hall; that time he just wanted to make sure that if he wasn't getting any, no one was," he joked and squeezed her to him. Hermione sighed.

"You have no idea how much I hope you're right, Ace," she said and he kissed her head.

"Me too, love," he agreed. Thisbe, who had been piecing together bits and pieces of information, decided not to ask.

"Mione, what did your parents say?" she asked instead and Hermione looked happily shocked again.

"You won't believe this, Thiz, but they sound happy! They want me to bring you downstairs," she said, the last sentence directed at her boyfriend.

"Wow, maybe Hitler's love child DID become pope. Wouldn't that be the start of the Apocalypse?" Thisbe asked, sounding serious and surprised.

"Start praying, because I swear that's what happened," she said.

"Mione! Are you coming?" called her father up the stairs.

"Yes, Daddy!" she called back, then spoke softly. "We better go before they get suspicious."

"Speaking of suspicious; I'm assuming the great hall is your cafeteria, correct?" Thisbe asked and Hermione nodded, but Draco looked confused. "So?" she asked expectantly. "WERE you shagging in the great hall?" Both Draco and Hermione looked appalled.

"No!" they said in unison.

"We weren't even planning on it; it was a big misunderstanding," Draco added and Hermione nodded.

"And only someone deranged in our situation would do it there when they have private quarters," she pointed out, but Thisbe didn't look convinced.

"Are you SURE?" she teased.

"Well, yeah, I think I would remember that," Draco said, still looking surprised. Hermione smirked suggestively.

"I KNOW I would remember that," she said and Thisbe laughed.

"We should go downstairs," she suggested and Hermione pulled away from Draco.

"Right," she said, taking his hand and leading him to the door.

* * * * * * * * * *

As Hermione rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, her parents met in the entry room; Mrs. Granger from the kitchen and Mr. Granger from the living room. Both muggles wore bright and welcoming smiles. Hermione walked toward them, smiling proudly as she pulled a nervous Draco behind her. Thisbe followed silently, hands clasped behind her back, a smirk on her face. She was here to enjoy the show. Despite what Hermione had said, it was obvious that she didn't think the Grangers would let them off that easily. Hermione opened her mouth to speak an introduction, but her mother beat her to it.

"Hello dear! You must be Draco, then. Mione's told us so much about you," said Mrs. Granger and her husband looked a bit confused.

"No she hasn't, she's barely told us any- oof," he began, but was cut off by a poke in the ribs from his wife. Draco fought back a laugh as he looked carefully at the two people in front of him.

Hermione's hair had obviously been inherited from her mother, but their figures differed greatly. While Hermione was thin, curvy, and fairly voluptuous, Mrs. Granger was lanky, broad, and held hardly any womanly curves.

"Bob," she hissed at her husband, then smiled at Draco again. Mr. Granger's body type was almost more feminine than his wife's. He too was thin, but with narrow shoulders and no muscle mass to speak of. **No wonder Mia's so fragile looking, ** he thought, but kept his smile.

"Right. How are you, then, my boy?" Mr. Granger said, turning and patting Draco's back, leading him toward the living room.

"Fine, sir," Draco stammered, trying to remain polite and professional while at the same time going crazy with nerves. He shot Hermione a pleading look, but she smiled sympathetically and followed it with an innocent waggle of her fingers. Draco's eyes grew a little wide as he saw she would be no help, and let himself be lead away.

"Good, good. You like rugby?" Hermione heard her father say from the other room and giggled, realizing that Draco probably had no idea what rugby even was.

"Mother!" she said, "How could you let Daddy just take him away? He'll be scarred for life when he gets out of there, assuming he lives." She giggled.

"You didn't seem to be attempting to stop him either, Mione," Thisbe said, still grinning like a Cheshire cat. Hermione glared.

"Thisbe! You're supposed to be helping me!" Mrs. Granger laughed.

"Well, she's right, dear. Draco did seem terrified, but I think I remember someone smirking and silently waving goodbye," she said, waving herself and giggling like a school girl.

"Mum!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Mione. Your father promised to return him to you untouched. He'll be fine... now, why don't we let the boys have their game and busy ourselves in the kitchen?" she suggested and Thisbe rolled her eyes.

"Yes, like good little housewives," she said sarcastically and Mrs. Granger laughed.

"Unless, of course, you'd RATHER watch rugby with those two?" she suggested, knowing it would not earn Thisbe the will to jump up and sprint into the living room. Hermione giggled.

"Which, assuming Draco likes it anywhere near as much as he likes Quidditch, could be life threatening," Hermione added and her mother gasped.

"Hermione! I can't believe you said 'Quidditch' in front of Thisbe! Now you have to..." she said and made a swishing motion with her hand.

"Mother! I am not going to obliviate her! She already knows anyway, we told her upstairs," Hermione said in surprised outrage.

"You WHAT? How could you! All these years, we've been so careful!" Her mother sounded very upset and Hermione was clueless as to why.

"Mum, it's just Thisbe. She won't tell anyone, will you Thiz?"

"No, of course not! You can do the oblivi... thing if you want, although I have no idea what it is," she offered, not wanting to see any of the Grangers this upset.

"See? It's alright, Mother; she's not the first muggle to know. In light of recent events, I happen to KNOW that, although he may be disappointed, Dumbledore will not be angry."

"Who told her? It was HIM wasn't it?!" Mrs. Granger accused.

"No! Do not blame this on Draco, he's totally innocent!" she said, then thought, **Well, at least in this conversation, ** complete with a mental smirk. "We were talking about school, being very vague, and got onto the subject of detention and I said something along the lines of 'Dumbledore may be the greatest wizard to walk the earth, but he has such uncreative detentions'. It was all my fault." Mrs. Granger was staring blankly at her daughter and Hermione was nervous. "Mum?" She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in and blinked before shaking her head and readjusting her smile.

"Oh, well, let's go, then. Come, girls," she said and moved toward the kitchen. Hermione peeked into the living room to see her father chattering away, using hand gestures, while sitting in his favorite chair and Draco on the sofa, staring wide eyed at the television as if it were the new broom in the Quidditch shop window. She giggled slightly, forgetting all about her mother's strange behavior.

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. A/N: And again, more Christmas coming up! I don't know how many chapters of Christmas there are, but it's quite a few. Christmas is a very important day, after all! Seattle took like, four or five chapters, so you can imagine, lol!

PRF:

Heather: Lol, we all just a lovin it!

Starry Skies: Well, now you know three... who will the next one be? Hehe, that rhymes! Anyway, lots of surprises in store for the next chapter! Woohoo!

BuffySummers168: Yes, I would imagine so... lol. I don't' think I'd ever eat it again...

JoeBob1379: Haha, go get a pbj sandwich before you start drooling on the keyboard, girl! Lol. Well, now you know three... only one mystery guest left? Weasleys, huh? Think Ron's gonna mysteriously appear for the third time? We'll see... lol

Malfoy: Lol. I LOVE R+J. My most recent literary purchase was, if you can believe it, 'The collective works of William Shakespeare" Lol. And three visitors were revealed in this chapter, who will the final one be?

xxSleepyGirlxx: You flatter me!

Erilyn Rose: Lol. Yep, I liked it too. Thanks for being such a loyal fan, man! You've read all of my fics, haven't you? And you keep updated! Wow! You rule!

Gwyn: Snape's pretty much out of the picture for a while. He may return in the sequel, but I'm not quite sure yet. About the weekenders: only everyday after school! Love those guys! They always say the funniest things! Lol... I'm surprised anyone even noticed that.

Carla: He wasn't shy, persay... he just didn't say anything. Lol. And he blushed... the tiniest bit... but only because he was slightly embarrassed that another girl would compliment him in such a way in front of his g/f... then he realizes it was a big joke and plays on that. Yeah, sorry.

Kumiko Eharu: Yes! PB! And you will see more! Promise!

MoshiMoshiQueen: We'll see about who he meets... it's gonna be someone, obviously... there's still one guest who hasn't shown up yet!