Authors Note: Well today is the day I shall be leaving home! Sad sad sad!
I have promised to continue writing, but as you can imagine, I don't know
when I will be able to write, or if I will be able to post - Christmas
holidays aren't that far away! LOL! So many lovely reviews! I love
reading reviews sooooo much! Mwah to all who reviewed! Here's ya thank
yous:
LythTaeraneth - Neville is a fairy! LoL, give him a wand - wait already has one, lets just stick him on the Christmas tree then! LoL It's great that you review so much! I really appreciate it!
Dinka - so who do you think it is then and why do you assume he is in Gryffindor? Hehe! I know who it issss and you don't! Hahahahahaha!
An Anti-Sheep Cheese Muffin - Neville is just a cutie isn't he?! LoL Bless him! I don't know, does she find out who he is on Christmas Eve? Hmmm well look at that, the chapter is called The Eve of Christmas, could that be coz its Christmas Eve in the chapter?! OOOOhhhhhhh! The excitement! LoL
Captain Oblivious - MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I think I have to win now! LoL Sorry! I don't know who is this mystery man?! Hmmmm!
Carmel March - You must have an idea? Who do you want it to be?! LoL Also I'd like to say thanks for reading my other story! It meant a lot that people did! Sorry I didn't write more, but I have it all forming in my head! It's gonna be good (I hope).
Someone28 - ahhh but will she unmask him? We shall see!
Saffire Shadow - noooo not Tilly the pink and purple turtle! LoL. Sorry I didn't get a chance to chat to you before I leave Saff, I will miss the insane chats we had might be on at that time occasionally, but I don't know how things will pan out. Keep on writing hun! Mwah!
Arrow-card - cool to you too! :)
Singingvalentine - you mean kinda like Phantom, in the way were it's not really! LoL I have seen it, and it's good but as far as I can see the only parallels are the mask. Starts singing - The Phantom of the Opera is heeeeeeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, inside your mind! LoL my favourite song from that is Music of the Night tho! LoL Yes, anyways back to the story!
XxdemonchildxX - LoL, is it Neville? Is it someone else? Are we suspecting them, or not? LoL Fudge laughs evilly, as no one knows who the mystery man is except her! Mwahaha!
Alisama2 - banging your fist, and throwing yourself onto the floor is neither healthy or useful! LoL Isn't Neville just so cute?! I had to get a Neville scene in!
Blackorc - you made me cry again. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!! Your words are too kind (are you sure you're reading the same story as I wrote?) LoL Was it me or in your review did you compare me to J.K?! Wow such an honour! Plus I don't know any to quote 'serious dudes', LoL, my ex- boyfriend was more slobbery than a dog (ew!) I just made it up (me has a good imagination, and that's how I'd like my kisses to be)! I was a bit worried because it is the first time I have ever written kissing scenes, but they seem to have gone OK - phew! I would like to email you - if you want me too! I added you to my msn list, but you either don't have it or aren't on the same kinda times as me. Write another story! LoL Well enough from me - onwards!
Araz - LoL, so you think it's Malfoy, but you want it to be Ron? Okie! LoL Well we shall see! I'm not changing who it is, I knew from the beginning who she was going to end up with (honest), so whatever you say or theorise I wont change my mind! LoL!
Eizoku - HeHe! Oh, no! to you too!
Duzzy and wuzzy - I am writing, lots I hope, will try to write while I am away but as I already said I don't know what I will be doing.
Goody - are you sure? Fudge doesn't give anything away, just raises an eyebrow :) am I evil or what?
Well, last chance to talk to me for a while! I will still be able to access my hotmail email so if you miss me that much drop me a mail and I will reply ASAP. I should also have MSN, providing it works! LoL Not sure how much I will be on there tho! Parties to go to and all that!
Even if you haven't read the whole of this authors note, please read the one at the end, it is important (not until you have read the chappie tho)!
Take care everyone, please keep reviewing!
Love Fudgexxx
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
The Eve of Christmas
In the days leading up to the Christmas holidays the work was persistent, with last minute essays due in. The school was decorated in its usual Christmas splendour. Hermione tried to throw herself into her work (even more than usual), so she could forget about the arranged meeting on Christmas Eve. When the term finally ended, and people went home, the castle seemed unusually quiet.
This strange quietness allowed Hermione to spend time analysing who was and wasn't staying in the castle, and out of those who her mystery man was likely to be.
Something that had been bothering her since she had received the letter, was how did he know about the pseudonym? Had she even given him a pseudonym? Had she told anyone about it?
She started writing lists; she became obsessive over the lists, discussing the different possibilities, rating people for how much she thought it was possible for them to be 'him'.
Her lists were, in typical Hermione style, methodical and concise, the completed list looked a little something like this:
Harry Potter - best friend, been acting weird occasionally, kissed me, has the right jaw line.
Ronald Weasley - best friend, kissed me, keeps dropping hints, has the right cheeks for it.
Dean Thomas - came onto me, after dumping Ginny for me. About the right height.
Seamus Finnigan - often gives me funny looks, hasn't made any advances, is this just a deceptive ploy?
Neville Longbottom - very sweet in Owlry, he made the potion, could have had the strongest effect on him, hasn't tried anything.
Fred Weasley - again like Ron, correct cheeks, silly comments.
George Weasley - same as Fred.
Draco Malfoy - kissed me, helped me out with the love potion, right jaw line.
Gregory Goyle - ew!
Vincent Crabbe - ew!
Snape - ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww did try and kiss me.
Lee Jordan - remote enough to surprise me
Ernie Macmillan - tried to ask me out?
Terry Boot - in the DA with us, not really close enough as a Ravenclaw.
Michael Corner - same as Terry. Ginny's Ex.
Anthony Goldstein - same as Terry.
Justin Finch-Fletchley - Hufflepuff, in DA, nice bloke, not very close.
Zacharias Smith - same as Justin.
Colin Creevey - in the DA with us, has obsessive tendencies, probably loves Harry too much.
Dennis Creevey - same as Colin.
To be truthful, Hermione realised that nothing was really going to come from this compulsive listing. It wasn't going to help her find out who her mystery man was, she would just have to wait until Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve was taking a painfully long time to come around, as things always do when you are anticipating them. The day itself dawned clear and bright, and with the powdery layer of freshly fallen snow, the castle looked like a picture postcard. Hermione however was so worked up by this time she didn't even notice. She had no idea how she managed to get through the day. Nerves bubbled round her stomach, and she was completely distracted. Luckily Harry and Ron were too wrapped up in the thrill of Christmas to notice much, and any hint of weirdness they did detect on Hermione they put it down to the excitement of the impending Christmas Day.
The evening dragged on and on for Hermione. None of the other occupants of the common room seemed keen to leave. Too excited they said. At 10 o'clock, most of the room had cleared. Harry had gone up to bed, and it just left Ron and Hermione sitting in an otherwise deserted common room.
"Well, I'm tired," said Hermione faking a yawn, "you should go to bed too Ron," she said, hoping to convince him to leave also.
"Yeah, I guess I should," said Ron and making his way to the boy's staircase.
Hermione moved towards the girl's staircase, but paused before ascending just long enough to check Ron had really gone. She went into the girl's bathroom, and checked how she looked.
"Not much I can do about my hair," she sighed, tugging a brush through it, "now make-up," she thought tensely. Hermione had never been one for make- up; she could be bothered to deal with putting all that on in the mornings. Sure she has worn it before, but she didn't really feel confident with it. "Don't want to put any gloss on," she thought, "don't want to get stuck to him," she blushed thinking about what she might get up to tonight. She ended up with such a small amount of make-up on she need not have bothered in the first place.
She made her way tentatively down the staircase. She paused at the bottom, listening, checking there was nobody in the common room. She thought how useful it would have been to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak. When she was quite sure she was safe, she moved into the common room. It was still empty. Hermione glanced at her watch, 10:54pm; she had been longer than she thought. She knew she would have to be patient for the remaining time, because if she went out too early there would be a chance a teacher would catch her.
The minutes dragged out, stretching into hours. Finally it was 10:59pm.
Butterflies danced around her stomach, as she walked shakily over to the portrait hole. She emerged and looked around.
He was there, smiling down at her, looking devastatingly handsome in his black attire. He didn't say anything, just took her hand and led her through long corridors. She didn't notice where she was going; she was too exhilarated. They ended up in a small room, which looked like a disused classroom. He let go of her hand and performed a locking and silencing spell on the room.
"Don't worry Hermione," he said softy, seeing the slightly alarmed look on her face, "its only so we can talk without fear of being caught."
Hermione frowned, his voice was still as indistinguishably familiar, the way he talked was planned; he used no colloquialisms that could give him away.
"How are you Hermione?" asked the stranger.
"Fine, thank you," said Hermione a little shakily; she had expected him to kiss her again by now.
"Worked out who I am yet?" he asked teasingly.
"No," said Hermione feeling deflated. Had he expected her to then?
"I didn't think you would. I have worked very hard to keep my identity from you. It took a long time for me to learn these charms," he said indicating himself.
"Why bother?" asked Hermione, desperate to know why he wanted to hide, "and how long did it take you? You mean you were planning this before the potion?"
"Does that surprise you Hermione? I have loved you for a long time, and I decided it's really time I acted on it," he replied.
"You didn't answer me," said Hermione, pushing the subject further, she really needed to know.
"Because Hermione I could not stand it if you didn't love me back. This way I get to win your heart without you making presumptions about my character by who I am. Do you understand?" there was a pleading that came though with his words.
"Yes," she said. She did understand, but that didn't mean she liked it. "But, I don't judge people like that. I need to know who you are."
"No Hermione, I know you don't intend to judge people, but if you knew my true identity I don't know that you could love me," said the stranger, his black eyes intently watching hers.
There wasn't much Hermione could say to that. For all she knew it would be true. She didn't know who was under that mask, and maybe that was part of the thrill.
"I love you so much Hermione, and it would break me if you didn't love me back," the stranger's words shook Hermione. She couldn't understand why anyone would want her that much and she blushed.
The stranger looked at Hermione, she could feel his gaze piercing through her. It was like he was reading her soul. She shuddered.
"Will you kiss me again," Hermione whispered, she surprised herself by the directness of the question.
The stranger smiled, "I was hoping you would say that," he replied.
Hermione melted into his arms. They seemed to fit together perfectly. As his lips met hers again the world dissolved away, the only thing that mattered was him and her, in the here and now.
As they kissed the stranger, slid his hands over Hermione's shoulders, and down her back. She responded by moving her hands up running them though his hair.
"His hair?" thought Hermione, "if I could see his hair, I might have more of a clue who he was. Why isn't he wearing his hood?" She struggled away from his grasp, which was much harder than she had expected it to be, and by the time she was free he had pulled his hood back over his head.
"Sorry Hermione, I just can't let you see me," he said. His arms were still wrapped round her.
Hermione's mind was in turmoil; she was shocked that somebody could make her feel, so alive. She found herself wishing that this stranger would be in her life forever; that she could wake up in the morning to his kisses, spending days in his arms. Then she scolded herself, "you cant start planning the happily ever after, you don't even know who he is. This isn't some stupid fairytale romance."
But then he cast her up into his arms again, and all doubts left her mind. The world swam away from her, until nothing but a mass of colour remained. Her skin tingled where he touched it. Tracing the line of her jaw down to the curve of her collarbone. His lips followed the path his hands had traced out. Hermione shuddered, she had never felt like this, and she had never imagined she could feel like this. He nuzzled at her neck, gently leaving marks on the skin. Hermione tilted her head back, and a soft moan left her lips.
The stranger slowly worked his way back up to her mouth, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses. He met Hermione's lips again with renewed fervour. The passion he showed Hermione, along with the tender way her treated her took Hermione's breath away.
Time slipped away, and before Hermione knew it, her mystery man, pulled away from her and whispered, "Merry Christmas."
She had broken the promise she had made to herself about unmasking him before Christmas Day, but that didn't mean she would be beaten. Slowly she reached up, and prised her fingers round the edge of the mask.
"Hermione NO," said the stranger.
"I need to know," said Hermione, still pulling gently on the mask, which was securely in place. Eventually the mask gave way, and she pulled it slowly away from his face.
Hermione was filled with trepidation and nerves; she was finally about to see her true love for the first time. She was almost too scared to look at him. She gasped.
Authors Note: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!! I had to do this! I have a little problem now, do I reveal him or not? You see I think that if I reveal him it will be the end of the story really, unless you care what happens when she finds her true love, blah blah blah, but I don't like to leave you hanging. I hate cliffhangers and I don't think its fair, so it's your choice.
Reveal the mystery man and end the story?
Stop the mystery man from being revealed (I have an idea how) and let Hermione continue to worry over it?
LythTaeraneth - Neville is a fairy! LoL, give him a wand - wait already has one, lets just stick him on the Christmas tree then! LoL It's great that you review so much! I really appreciate it!
Dinka - so who do you think it is then and why do you assume he is in Gryffindor? Hehe! I know who it issss and you don't! Hahahahahaha!
An Anti-Sheep Cheese Muffin - Neville is just a cutie isn't he?! LoL Bless him! I don't know, does she find out who he is on Christmas Eve? Hmmm well look at that, the chapter is called The Eve of Christmas, could that be coz its Christmas Eve in the chapter?! OOOOhhhhhhh! The excitement! LoL
Captain Oblivious - MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I think I have to win now! LoL Sorry! I don't know who is this mystery man?! Hmmmm!
Carmel March - You must have an idea? Who do you want it to be?! LoL Also I'd like to say thanks for reading my other story! It meant a lot that people did! Sorry I didn't write more, but I have it all forming in my head! It's gonna be good (I hope).
Someone28 - ahhh but will she unmask him? We shall see!
Saffire Shadow - noooo not Tilly the pink and purple turtle! LoL. Sorry I didn't get a chance to chat to you before I leave Saff, I will miss the insane chats we had might be on at that time occasionally, but I don't know how things will pan out. Keep on writing hun! Mwah!
Arrow-card - cool to you too! :)
Singingvalentine - you mean kinda like Phantom, in the way were it's not really! LoL I have seen it, and it's good but as far as I can see the only parallels are the mask. Starts singing - The Phantom of the Opera is heeeeeeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, inside your mind! LoL my favourite song from that is Music of the Night tho! LoL Yes, anyways back to the story!
XxdemonchildxX - LoL, is it Neville? Is it someone else? Are we suspecting them, or not? LoL Fudge laughs evilly, as no one knows who the mystery man is except her! Mwahaha!
Alisama2 - banging your fist, and throwing yourself onto the floor is neither healthy or useful! LoL Isn't Neville just so cute?! I had to get a Neville scene in!
Blackorc - you made me cry again. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!! Your words are too kind (are you sure you're reading the same story as I wrote?) LoL Was it me or in your review did you compare me to J.K?! Wow such an honour! Plus I don't know any to quote 'serious dudes', LoL, my ex- boyfriend was more slobbery than a dog (ew!) I just made it up (me has a good imagination, and that's how I'd like my kisses to be)! I was a bit worried because it is the first time I have ever written kissing scenes, but they seem to have gone OK - phew! I would like to email you - if you want me too! I added you to my msn list, but you either don't have it or aren't on the same kinda times as me. Write another story! LoL Well enough from me - onwards!
Araz - LoL, so you think it's Malfoy, but you want it to be Ron? Okie! LoL Well we shall see! I'm not changing who it is, I knew from the beginning who she was going to end up with (honest), so whatever you say or theorise I wont change my mind! LoL!
Eizoku - HeHe! Oh, no! to you too!
Duzzy and wuzzy - I am writing, lots I hope, will try to write while I am away but as I already said I don't know what I will be doing.
Goody - are you sure? Fudge doesn't give anything away, just raises an eyebrow :) am I evil or what?
Well, last chance to talk to me for a while! I will still be able to access my hotmail email so if you miss me that much drop me a mail and I will reply ASAP. I should also have MSN, providing it works! LoL Not sure how much I will be on there tho! Parties to go to and all that!
Even if you haven't read the whole of this authors note, please read the one at the end, it is important (not until you have read the chappie tho)!
Take care everyone, please keep reviewing!
Love Fudgexxx
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
The Eve of Christmas
In the days leading up to the Christmas holidays the work was persistent, with last minute essays due in. The school was decorated in its usual Christmas splendour. Hermione tried to throw herself into her work (even more than usual), so she could forget about the arranged meeting on Christmas Eve. When the term finally ended, and people went home, the castle seemed unusually quiet.
This strange quietness allowed Hermione to spend time analysing who was and wasn't staying in the castle, and out of those who her mystery man was likely to be.
Something that had been bothering her since she had received the letter, was how did he know about the pseudonym? Had she even given him a pseudonym? Had she told anyone about it?
She started writing lists; she became obsessive over the lists, discussing the different possibilities, rating people for how much she thought it was possible for them to be 'him'.
Her lists were, in typical Hermione style, methodical and concise, the completed list looked a little something like this:
Harry Potter - best friend, been acting weird occasionally, kissed me, has the right jaw line.
Ronald Weasley - best friend, kissed me, keeps dropping hints, has the right cheeks for it.
Dean Thomas - came onto me, after dumping Ginny for me. About the right height.
Seamus Finnigan - often gives me funny looks, hasn't made any advances, is this just a deceptive ploy?
Neville Longbottom - very sweet in Owlry, he made the potion, could have had the strongest effect on him, hasn't tried anything.
Fred Weasley - again like Ron, correct cheeks, silly comments.
George Weasley - same as Fred.
Draco Malfoy - kissed me, helped me out with the love potion, right jaw line.
Gregory Goyle - ew!
Vincent Crabbe - ew!
Snape - ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww did try and kiss me.
Lee Jordan - remote enough to surprise me
Ernie Macmillan - tried to ask me out?
Terry Boot - in the DA with us, not really close enough as a Ravenclaw.
Michael Corner - same as Terry. Ginny's Ex.
Anthony Goldstein - same as Terry.
Justin Finch-Fletchley - Hufflepuff, in DA, nice bloke, not very close.
Zacharias Smith - same as Justin.
Colin Creevey - in the DA with us, has obsessive tendencies, probably loves Harry too much.
Dennis Creevey - same as Colin.
To be truthful, Hermione realised that nothing was really going to come from this compulsive listing. It wasn't going to help her find out who her mystery man was, she would just have to wait until Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve was taking a painfully long time to come around, as things always do when you are anticipating them. The day itself dawned clear and bright, and with the powdery layer of freshly fallen snow, the castle looked like a picture postcard. Hermione however was so worked up by this time she didn't even notice. She had no idea how she managed to get through the day. Nerves bubbled round her stomach, and she was completely distracted. Luckily Harry and Ron were too wrapped up in the thrill of Christmas to notice much, and any hint of weirdness they did detect on Hermione they put it down to the excitement of the impending Christmas Day.
The evening dragged on and on for Hermione. None of the other occupants of the common room seemed keen to leave. Too excited they said. At 10 o'clock, most of the room had cleared. Harry had gone up to bed, and it just left Ron and Hermione sitting in an otherwise deserted common room.
"Well, I'm tired," said Hermione faking a yawn, "you should go to bed too Ron," she said, hoping to convince him to leave also.
"Yeah, I guess I should," said Ron and making his way to the boy's staircase.
Hermione moved towards the girl's staircase, but paused before ascending just long enough to check Ron had really gone. She went into the girl's bathroom, and checked how she looked.
"Not much I can do about my hair," she sighed, tugging a brush through it, "now make-up," she thought tensely. Hermione had never been one for make- up; she could be bothered to deal with putting all that on in the mornings. Sure she has worn it before, but she didn't really feel confident with it. "Don't want to put any gloss on," she thought, "don't want to get stuck to him," she blushed thinking about what she might get up to tonight. She ended up with such a small amount of make-up on she need not have bothered in the first place.
She made her way tentatively down the staircase. She paused at the bottom, listening, checking there was nobody in the common room. She thought how useful it would have been to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak. When she was quite sure she was safe, she moved into the common room. It was still empty. Hermione glanced at her watch, 10:54pm; she had been longer than she thought. She knew she would have to be patient for the remaining time, because if she went out too early there would be a chance a teacher would catch her.
The minutes dragged out, stretching into hours. Finally it was 10:59pm.
Butterflies danced around her stomach, as she walked shakily over to the portrait hole. She emerged and looked around.
He was there, smiling down at her, looking devastatingly handsome in his black attire. He didn't say anything, just took her hand and led her through long corridors. She didn't notice where she was going; she was too exhilarated. They ended up in a small room, which looked like a disused classroom. He let go of her hand and performed a locking and silencing spell on the room.
"Don't worry Hermione," he said softy, seeing the slightly alarmed look on her face, "its only so we can talk without fear of being caught."
Hermione frowned, his voice was still as indistinguishably familiar, the way he talked was planned; he used no colloquialisms that could give him away.
"How are you Hermione?" asked the stranger.
"Fine, thank you," said Hermione a little shakily; she had expected him to kiss her again by now.
"Worked out who I am yet?" he asked teasingly.
"No," said Hermione feeling deflated. Had he expected her to then?
"I didn't think you would. I have worked very hard to keep my identity from you. It took a long time for me to learn these charms," he said indicating himself.
"Why bother?" asked Hermione, desperate to know why he wanted to hide, "and how long did it take you? You mean you were planning this before the potion?"
"Does that surprise you Hermione? I have loved you for a long time, and I decided it's really time I acted on it," he replied.
"You didn't answer me," said Hermione, pushing the subject further, she really needed to know.
"Because Hermione I could not stand it if you didn't love me back. This way I get to win your heart without you making presumptions about my character by who I am. Do you understand?" there was a pleading that came though with his words.
"Yes," she said. She did understand, but that didn't mean she liked it. "But, I don't judge people like that. I need to know who you are."
"No Hermione, I know you don't intend to judge people, but if you knew my true identity I don't know that you could love me," said the stranger, his black eyes intently watching hers.
There wasn't much Hermione could say to that. For all she knew it would be true. She didn't know who was under that mask, and maybe that was part of the thrill.
"I love you so much Hermione, and it would break me if you didn't love me back," the stranger's words shook Hermione. She couldn't understand why anyone would want her that much and she blushed.
The stranger looked at Hermione, she could feel his gaze piercing through her. It was like he was reading her soul. She shuddered.
"Will you kiss me again," Hermione whispered, she surprised herself by the directness of the question.
The stranger smiled, "I was hoping you would say that," he replied.
Hermione melted into his arms. They seemed to fit together perfectly. As his lips met hers again the world dissolved away, the only thing that mattered was him and her, in the here and now.
As they kissed the stranger, slid his hands over Hermione's shoulders, and down her back. She responded by moving her hands up running them though his hair.
"His hair?" thought Hermione, "if I could see his hair, I might have more of a clue who he was. Why isn't he wearing his hood?" She struggled away from his grasp, which was much harder than she had expected it to be, and by the time she was free he had pulled his hood back over his head.
"Sorry Hermione, I just can't let you see me," he said. His arms were still wrapped round her.
Hermione's mind was in turmoil; she was shocked that somebody could make her feel, so alive. She found herself wishing that this stranger would be in her life forever; that she could wake up in the morning to his kisses, spending days in his arms. Then she scolded herself, "you cant start planning the happily ever after, you don't even know who he is. This isn't some stupid fairytale romance."
But then he cast her up into his arms again, and all doubts left her mind. The world swam away from her, until nothing but a mass of colour remained. Her skin tingled where he touched it. Tracing the line of her jaw down to the curve of her collarbone. His lips followed the path his hands had traced out. Hermione shuddered, she had never felt like this, and she had never imagined she could feel like this. He nuzzled at her neck, gently leaving marks on the skin. Hermione tilted her head back, and a soft moan left her lips.
The stranger slowly worked his way back up to her mouth, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses. He met Hermione's lips again with renewed fervour. The passion he showed Hermione, along with the tender way her treated her took Hermione's breath away.
Time slipped away, and before Hermione knew it, her mystery man, pulled away from her and whispered, "Merry Christmas."
She had broken the promise she had made to herself about unmasking him before Christmas Day, but that didn't mean she would be beaten. Slowly she reached up, and prised her fingers round the edge of the mask.
"Hermione NO," said the stranger.
"I need to know," said Hermione, still pulling gently on the mask, which was securely in place. Eventually the mask gave way, and she pulled it slowly away from his face.
Hermione was filled with trepidation and nerves; she was finally about to see her true love for the first time. She was almost too scared to look at him. She gasped.
Authors Note: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!! I had to do this! I have a little problem now, do I reveal him or not? You see I think that if I reveal him it will be the end of the story really, unless you care what happens when she finds her true love, blah blah blah, but I don't like to leave you hanging. I hate cliffhangers and I don't think its fair, so it's your choice.
Reveal the mystery man and end the story?
Stop the mystery man from being revealed (I have an idea how) and let Hermione continue to worry over it?