AN: There's a lot of exclamation points in this chapter... Must be because I'm very happy because my friend Mia finally updated her story and because I got my PotC poster in the mail on Wednesday so now my wall is covered with Johnny Depp... It's my new Happy Place...
*~* Evanescent Enchantment *~*
*~*~* Chapter Twelve: Are We There Yet? *~*~*
After Draco and Hermione returned to the Granger household from the only ice cream parlor open at 2 AM, the went straight to bed... Whether they went to bed together or separately is for you to find out later... maybe, maybe not.
When Draco woke up the next morning, he glanced at Hermione's clock, which read 11 AM, he got up and dressed quickly and noticed that Hermione had already gotten up, but he couldn't hear any signs of life from the first floor.
Walking sleepily down the stairs into the family room, he saw Crookshanks curled up in front of a dying fire. Hungrily wandering into the kitchen, he was greeted by a covered plate and a note sitting on the table.
Picking up the note, he read, 'Draco, I went to the mall and didn't want to wake you up. I'll be back by noon. These pancakes are for you. They should still be warm. Don't worry... they're not poisoned! See you later! Love, Mione'
Yawning, he lifted the cover on the plate, revealing a stack of pancakes drenched in maple syrup with a piece of butter on top. After he had finished eating breakfast, he sat in the family room and thought about how different his life would have been had he not turned his back on his father.
About twenty minutes later, Hermione entered the house carrying seven shopping bags.
"Do you always go shopping this much?" Draco inquired sarcastically.
"Yes, but only when I have money. I used Christmas money and bet money," she answered honestly.
"How'd you get your Christmas money already?" he asked jealously.
"My Grandparents always send my money early," she explained.
"Oh... I wish my grandparents gave me money," he muttered, 'green with envy'.
"Why... What do they usually give you?" Hermione interrogated.
"The most they've ever given me, besides an asshole for a father and a part-time bitch for a mother, are stupid 'family heirlooms' that don't mean jack shit to me, but that's only if I'm lucky."
"They give you family heirlooms for Christmas? God, I thought my grandparents were cheap," she sighed. "After I put this stuff away, you want to go?"
"Yeah. Want some help?"
"Sure. If you want to," Hermione said gratefully as the couple climbed the stairs to her room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
About half an hour later, Hermione and Draco were pulling on heavy jackets, hats, gloves and scarves.
"Draco... With all this stuff you're making me put on, you make it seem like we're walking to your house," Hermione complained.
"Well, we do have to walk a little ways. No cabby will drive up through my neighborhood. They're too scared. One of them was viciously attacked and another was brutally murdered, so none of them willingly take chances."
"Oh... Wow..." was Hermione's only response.
"Well... We should go," Draco implied.
"Yeah... I'm starting to overheat," she joked.
As the two walked down the street, Hermione tried, with no success, to find out why they had to go to his house. Draco would not reveal what he was getting for Hermione.
"Hermione, give it up, I'm not going to tell you!" Draco exclaimed with a devious grin as they got into a taxi.
"If you do, I'll tell you what I'm giving you for Christmas!" she begged.
"My answer isn't changing, baby!" Draco said, laughing.
"Fine!" Hermione pouted.
As the cab pulled to a stop at the foot of Willowgrove St., Draco paid the driver and helped Hermione out of the car.
"So where to from here?" she questioned, scanning the area with her hazel eyes.
"There's a shortcut through the woods... I don't know if you want to take it though. Eitherway, we have to go uphill."
"Great! A hill in these shoes?" Hermione exclaimed, indicating her heeled 'army' boots. "You never said anything about hills, Draco!"
"Well why would you wear heels when I told you we would have to walk?" Draco argued playfully.
"Well, I wouldn't have worn them if someone would've informed me tha we are to be hiking to your house!" she argued back.
"Ugh... Why do women have to be such complainers!" he groaned as he followed a trail into the woods.
Hermione stood and watched him disappear amongst the trees, then called, "Draco, you're not just gonna leave me here, are you? Draco?... Men!" and finally ran in after him.
As she passed a small cluster of tightly packed trees, something grabbed her from behind.
After she shrieked, a man's voice said, "Mione, it's only me!"
"You big jerk! You scarred the shit out of me!" she said, hitting him with her purse.
"Ow!" Draco yelped as the purse came in contact with his head. "Alright, alright. Let's go," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her deeper into the woods.
"So, how far through here are you dragging me?" Hermione asked.
"Until we get to my house, which is on the other side," Draco replied.
Hermione groaned in disgust and mummbled something, which Draco thought was "some shortcut", which in turn prompted a laugh from him.
As they were trudging through the snow covered ground, Draco warned Hermione about the numerous hot springs in the vicinity and how she should just follow in his footsteps.
"Okay, but I'll be fine, Draco," she defended herself.
After walking for a little while longer, Draco decided to sit down and rest on a log that had very little snow on it. As they rested and talked about their plans for the rest of vacation and what was going to happen at school for the rest of the year until exams started.
When Draco got up, he nudged Hermione's purse, which slid down the snowy banks and skidded to a stop against a couple boulders twenty feet away.
"Sorry. I'll get it," he said quickly.
"No, it's alright. I got it," Hermione said.
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yeah.." she replied, walking carefully down to where her purse had fallen. She hastily grabbed her bag, showed Draco that she was capable of walking twenty feet to recover her purse, then started back up the small hill.
"Woah," she quipped as she took her next step. The snow, which was as hard as a rock, began to crack beneath her weight. "Draco!"
"Hermione, don't move! You're on a hot spring!"
"Oh, well that's just great! What am I supposed to do now?" she said worriedly.
"Toss me your purse and slowly walk up here," he informed her as she threw her bag to him, which he dropped onto the ground. "Alright... walk very slow."
As she began to cautiously make her way up to her boyfriend, the snow cracked even more. She was getting closer to him, but when she was about eight feet away from him, the snow could hold her weight no longer.
With a loud cracking sound, she fell through the broken layer of icy snow and fell into the infinately hot water.
Draco struggled to free her from the hot spring, and when he had successfully pulled her out, her face slowly turned to a bluish hue.
"Oh my gosh, Mione, I'm so sorry," he said as he removed her cloak, extra sweater and hat and gloves, replacing them with his own. "Why did I let you go get the purse? I can be so stupid sometimes!"
"Draco... It's not your fault. You're going to get so sick... Look at you! You have a t-shirt on. You're going to freeze to death!" she complained.
"I don't care if I get sick as long as you don't," he said as he helped her along the path up to a clearing.
They turned left at the clearing and within five minutes emerged into a large backyard full of many varieties of flowers and shrubs...
"Welcome to Malfoy Manor!" Draco said, trying to sound cheery.
He tried to get in the back door, but it was locked, and the bell didn't work. Walking fast around to the frint of the house with Hermione, he decided to try his luck with the front door. It too, was locked, so he banged on the door loudly and a small house elf opened the door and let Draco and Hermione in.
"Mione, I should never have made you come here. At least I shouldn't have made you go through the woods," he repeatedly apologized.
"Draco, don't worry about it. I'm fine. Besides, I want my present!" she said, trying to mask her pain. Hypothermia was beginning to kick in, causing searing pain through her limbs.
*~* Evanescent Enchantment *~*
*~*~* Chapter Twelve: Are We There Yet? *~*~*
After Draco and Hermione returned to the Granger household from the only ice cream parlor open at 2 AM, the went straight to bed... Whether they went to bed together or separately is for you to find out later... maybe, maybe not.
When Draco woke up the next morning, he glanced at Hermione's clock, which read 11 AM, he got up and dressed quickly and noticed that Hermione had already gotten up, but he couldn't hear any signs of life from the first floor.
Walking sleepily down the stairs into the family room, he saw Crookshanks curled up in front of a dying fire. Hungrily wandering into the kitchen, he was greeted by a covered plate and a note sitting on the table.
Picking up the note, he read, 'Draco, I went to the mall and didn't want to wake you up. I'll be back by noon. These pancakes are for you. They should still be warm. Don't worry... they're not poisoned! See you later! Love, Mione'
Yawning, he lifted the cover on the plate, revealing a stack of pancakes drenched in maple syrup with a piece of butter on top. After he had finished eating breakfast, he sat in the family room and thought about how different his life would have been had he not turned his back on his father.
About twenty minutes later, Hermione entered the house carrying seven shopping bags.
"Do you always go shopping this much?" Draco inquired sarcastically.
"Yes, but only when I have money. I used Christmas money and bet money," she answered honestly.
"How'd you get your Christmas money already?" he asked jealously.
"My Grandparents always send my money early," she explained.
"Oh... I wish my grandparents gave me money," he muttered, 'green with envy'.
"Why... What do they usually give you?" Hermione interrogated.
"The most they've ever given me, besides an asshole for a father and a part-time bitch for a mother, are stupid 'family heirlooms' that don't mean jack shit to me, but that's only if I'm lucky."
"They give you family heirlooms for Christmas? God, I thought my grandparents were cheap," she sighed. "After I put this stuff away, you want to go?"
"Yeah. Want some help?"
"Sure. If you want to," Hermione said gratefully as the couple climbed the stairs to her room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
About half an hour later, Hermione and Draco were pulling on heavy jackets, hats, gloves and scarves.
"Draco... With all this stuff you're making me put on, you make it seem like we're walking to your house," Hermione complained.
"Well, we do have to walk a little ways. No cabby will drive up through my neighborhood. They're too scared. One of them was viciously attacked and another was brutally murdered, so none of them willingly take chances."
"Oh... Wow..." was Hermione's only response.
"Well... We should go," Draco implied.
"Yeah... I'm starting to overheat," she joked.
As the two walked down the street, Hermione tried, with no success, to find out why they had to go to his house. Draco would not reveal what he was getting for Hermione.
"Hermione, give it up, I'm not going to tell you!" Draco exclaimed with a devious grin as they got into a taxi.
"If you do, I'll tell you what I'm giving you for Christmas!" she begged.
"My answer isn't changing, baby!" Draco said, laughing.
"Fine!" Hermione pouted.
As the cab pulled to a stop at the foot of Willowgrove St., Draco paid the driver and helped Hermione out of the car.
"So where to from here?" she questioned, scanning the area with her hazel eyes.
"There's a shortcut through the woods... I don't know if you want to take it though. Eitherway, we have to go uphill."
"Great! A hill in these shoes?" Hermione exclaimed, indicating her heeled 'army' boots. "You never said anything about hills, Draco!"
"Well why would you wear heels when I told you we would have to walk?" Draco argued playfully.
"Well, I wouldn't have worn them if someone would've informed me tha we are to be hiking to your house!" she argued back.
"Ugh... Why do women have to be such complainers!" he groaned as he followed a trail into the woods.
Hermione stood and watched him disappear amongst the trees, then called, "Draco, you're not just gonna leave me here, are you? Draco?... Men!" and finally ran in after him.
As she passed a small cluster of tightly packed trees, something grabbed her from behind.
After she shrieked, a man's voice said, "Mione, it's only me!"
"You big jerk! You scarred the shit out of me!" she said, hitting him with her purse.
"Ow!" Draco yelped as the purse came in contact with his head. "Alright, alright. Let's go," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her deeper into the woods.
"So, how far through here are you dragging me?" Hermione asked.
"Until we get to my house, which is on the other side," Draco replied.
Hermione groaned in disgust and mummbled something, which Draco thought was "some shortcut", which in turn prompted a laugh from him.
As they were trudging through the snow covered ground, Draco warned Hermione about the numerous hot springs in the vicinity and how she should just follow in his footsteps.
"Okay, but I'll be fine, Draco," she defended herself.
After walking for a little while longer, Draco decided to sit down and rest on a log that had very little snow on it. As they rested and talked about their plans for the rest of vacation and what was going to happen at school for the rest of the year until exams started.
When Draco got up, he nudged Hermione's purse, which slid down the snowy banks and skidded to a stop against a couple boulders twenty feet away.
"Sorry. I'll get it," he said quickly.
"No, it's alright. I got it," Hermione said.
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yeah.." she replied, walking carefully down to where her purse had fallen. She hastily grabbed her bag, showed Draco that she was capable of walking twenty feet to recover her purse, then started back up the small hill.
"Woah," she quipped as she took her next step. The snow, which was as hard as a rock, began to crack beneath her weight. "Draco!"
"Hermione, don't move! You're on a hot spring!"
"Oh, well that's just great! What am I supposed to do now?" she said worriedly.
"Toss me your purse and slowly walk up here," he informed her as she threw her bag to him, which he dropped onto the ground. "Alright... walk very slow."
As she began to cautiously make her way up to her boyfriend, the snow cracked even more. She was getting closer to him, but when she was about eight feet away from him, the snow could hold her weight no longer.
With a loud cracking sound, she fell through the broken layer of icy snow and fell into the infinately hot water.
Draco struggled to free her from the hot spring, and when he had successfully pulled her out, her face slowly turned to a bluish hue.
"Oh my gosh, Mione, I'm so sorry," he said as he removed her cloak, extra sweater and hat and gloves, replacing them with his own. "Why did I let you go get the purse? I can be so stupid sometimes!"
"Draco... It's not your fault. You're going to get so sick... Look at you! You have a t-shirt on. You're going to freeze to death!" she complained.
"I don't care if I get sick as long as you don't," he said as he helped her along the path up to a clearing.
They turned left at the clearing and within five minutes emerged into a large backyard full of many varieties of flowers and shrubs...
"Welcome to Malfoy Manor!" Draco said, trying to sound cheery.
He tried to get in the back door, but it was locked, and the bell didn't work. Walking fast around to the frint of the house with Hermione, he decided to try his luck with the front door. It too, was locked, so he banged on the door loudly and a small house elf opened the door and let Draco and Hermione in.
"Mione, I should never have made you come here. At least I shouldn't have made you go through the woods," he repeatedly apologized.
"Draco, don't worry about it. I'm fine. Besides, I want my present!" she said, trying to mask her pain. Hypothermia was beginning to kick in, causing searing pain through her limbs.