Jackie: Wow...did I actually update this story?

Agent Blorange: I believe you did. Although I don't know why.

Draco-muse: Yay! Non-slashy fun!

Takeru-muse: I told you she'd do it to you.

Jackie: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own Jackie. As much as I've been working on Beating the Odds, I really missed this story more. BtO was more of an experiment that got out of hand...this was my baby. So, I thought I'd start working on it, too.

Agent Blorange: And she left me in this story, but kicked me out of the one I liked. Women.

Draco-muse: Serves you right. Anyways...enjoy!

Chapter 8: The Adventure Begins...

The days grew colder and shorter as winter descended upon the school. Students began donning their scarves and gloves on a regular basis, and fewer students wandered outside the school between classes. Most of the students shrugged off the cold, only complaining a little when taking classes in the chilled dungeons.

On this day, however, one sixth-year student unaccustomed to the temperature sat in potions class, huddled below her robes, shivering pitifully. Class had yet to begin, and Jackie was taking all the time she could before she would have to remove her gloves and scarf when Snape came in. To make matters worse for her, Draco hadn't arrived yet, and the icy stares from Harry, Ron, and Hermione only served to make her feel colder. Teeth chattering, she pulled her robes tighter.

"What's the matter? British winters too cold for the American?"

Jackie turned only her eyes to Hermione, who delivered that comment with a smug smirk on her face, and sneered. Harry and Ron laughed quietly at her side. "Why is everyone on about American? We have more than one weather system, you know, and you wouldn't be laughing if you were in Alaska. However, it is far too cold for the South Texan, but I'd like to see you survive my summers with that blanket of hair on you."

Turning back towards the door, Jackie shook her head slightly. She was really tired of people (including Draco) regarding her as simply an American, as if they were all the same, but shrugged it off this time because it was just too damn cold to think of a good comeback. Hearing snickering behind her, she turned her head to glare at the Golden Trio giggling like schoolgirls at her.

Suddenly, warmth spread over her waist and back as strong arms wrapped around her from behind. Melting into the sensation, she sighed and leaned into the embrace. "Cold, are we?" asked the friendly voice behind her. Jackie looked straight up into Draco's smiling face. "Nah, I just like to shiver, it burns calories, you know."

Draco smirked and bent close to her ear. "There are better ways to burn calories...and warm up at the same time," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss behind her ear, causing Jackie to shiver for a completely different reason. But as soon as he had appeared, she was left cold again as he kissed her goodbye and strode confidently to his seat, just in time for Snape to appear from his office.

"You know, this is the first holiday I've looked forward to in years," Draco confided as he and Jackie made their way to the coaches that would deliver them at the train station. "Before, it was always father's parties and criticism." Jackie shifted her bag to her other shoulder so that she could put an arm around Draco's waist. "Well, this time it'll be all fun and games and teenage parties and caroling. It'll be great, I promise."

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Caroling? You're not going to make me sing, are you?" She looked at him, shocked. "You've never been Christmas caroling before? Oh my gosh, you're a deprived child." He laughed, never having heard himself described as deprived before.

As they loaded their bags into the carriage, Draco slipped his arms protectively around her waist and lifted her gently onto the stairs, letting his hand slip down to her hips as she ascended. After he finished admiring the view of her backside, he quickly climbed inside and shut the door behind him. They watched out the window as other students rushed by to find unoccupied carriages, laughing and talking about Christmas gifts and family as they hurried about. When they finally started moving, Jackie laid her head on Draco's shoulder, and he in turn placed his arm around her shoulder as the cart bounced along the cobbled road.

Staring out the window at the silent snowfall, Jackie's eyes lit up and she smiled. "You know, this is the first time I've ever seen it snow," she said quietly. Draco looked at her, shocked. "And you say I'm deprived. No snow in Ame...San Antonio?" Jackie rolled her eyes. "Thank you for catching yourself. I'll bet the temperature isn't even below freezing. It only gets down that low around late January, and it's really dry during the winter." Draco looked out the window, trying to imagine a winter without white blankets of snow and ice covering everything in sight. "When we get back here," he said, squeezing her waist, "I'm going to take you out and teach you how to build a snowman and make snow angels. That's information you can't live without."

Laughing, she ran a hand through Draco's now shoulder-length white-blonde hair. "I already have my snow angel."

Snuggling closer, Draco stole a deep kiss as the carriage headed towards the station.

"Explain to me how this works again."

Jackie laughed as Draco watched another plane take off from the London airport with a worried expression. "How can they fly without magic?" he asked for probably the fifth time. "I told you," she said, putting a hand on his arm, "they use jet engines to get up to speed, then air pressure underneath the wings hold them up. It's perfectly safe, even without magic." Draco didn't look too sure, and looked in his bag once again to make sure his broomstick was still there, shrunken and unharmed, just in case. Jackie giggled and shook her head. "You disillusioned your stuff, right?"

Draco nodded. They had both put charms on their things to keep them from appearing on the carry-on x-ray machine, therefore avoiding some awkward scenes. Instead of a myriad of miniature items, they would see only a few changes of clothing and a toothbrush.

Jackie looked Draco over once again. He was wearing the same outfit that he was wearing when he first met her...black t-shirt and dark, tight jeans. She bit back a growl at his appearance...she really loved that outfit on him. She herself was wearing a tight UTSA Choir Camp shirt and a pair of black slacks. They had a long 15-hour flight ahead of them, and she wanted to be comfortable.

Draco, however, was anything but comfortable and relaxed. "How is it supposed to stay in the air for fifteen hours?"

Jackie sighed. "It doesn't. We stop once in Dublin and once in Chicago before we get so San Antonio. Refueling and switching planes. Stop worrying. If you fall out, I'll catch you."

"You can fall out?" Draco asked, wide-eyed. Jackie slapped her forehead. "Why do I bother?"

Several long hours, two changeovers, and countless peanuts later, Draco walked shakily down the ramp off the plane. He felt rather dizzy after sitting for the majority of the day. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was already 11:30 at night, so he expected to go back to the boarding house and sleep the rest of the night. He was shocked, however, to find that his eyes were assaulted by the bright South Texas sun, and he looked at Jackie, confused. She, too, was shading her eyes and yawning, but muttered, "I hate time zones."

"Why is it daylight?" he asked, confused. Jackie glanced over at the large digital clock on the wall, which read 5:30PM CST. "We crossed lots of time zones, so it's only early evening here. This means, unfortunately, that we are obligated to let everyone fawn over us and drag us around town until midnight before we get to sleep." Jackie whined a little, and Draco mimicked the sound...this was going to be a long day.

Walking further into the lobby, Draco saw quite a few people holding up signs with different names on them. "I guess lots of people are coming here for the holidays," he said. Jackie smirked and rolled her eyes. "San Antonio is the world's largest tourist trap. Christmas and summertime are the worst times to live here, believe me, I know. Touristas everywhere...mangling Spanish words, praising a lost battle, and generally annoying all the residents..."

At that point, Draco noticed that one sign was glowing. And the letters were spinning around. "Is that them?" he asked, pointing.

Jackie looked over, and saw a group of people holding a charmed sign. Three guys...two large football-player-shaped guys, one short and one tall, and one scrawny guy with bright orangey-brown spiked hair and a glazed look in his eyes. There were also two girls...a tall blonde girl waving, and a shorter Chinese girl jumping up and down. Grinning ear to ear, Jackie broke into a run, dragging Draco along by the wrist.

"WELCOME HOME, JACKIE!"

Jackie: I'll leave it there for now. I have lots of fun ideas for what can go on during the holidays...but it's after 1 AM CST and I'm tired.

Agent Blorange: zzzz...

Draco-muse: ((Shakes head sadly)) Take our advice, kids. Don't do drugs or you end up like him.

Takeru-muse: Better than ending up like you.

Jackie: I'm too tired to stop the fight, so just Stay Tuned!