Disclaimer: Not. Mine. =) "How you remind me" is by Nickelback. Story is as said - Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce.

A Tardy Dinner Guest

Hermione's POV (still)

As I walked into the dinning room, I noticed a long table that looked like they had just taken a table out of the Ski Lodge's Dinning Hall (they're in Jackie's and Mandy's personal house, the ski lodge is different) instead of taking time to go to the store and buy one. My parents were already sitting at the far end of the table, talking quietly about something.

As I walked over to them, I noticed a door, painted the exact same color as the wall (some sort of weird bronze color.) 'It must be to the kitchen' I thought. I sat down next to my mum and she gave me a hug.

"What's for dinner?" I asked, but as soon as I finished my question, Aunt Mandy and Jackie came through the door I thought was to the kitchen, which it was, carrying plates with chicken, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and any other foods I could have hoped for.

They set the plates of food on the table and I just stared in awe. "How are we going to eat all of this?" I asked them.

Jackie responded, "My nephew," she said simply, "is about your age. Need I say more?"

I laughed at that. No, she didn't need to say more. I knew how Ron and Harry ate. Like they hadn't seen food in ten years. I would never understand it.

Just as I was about to set some chicken onto my plate, a familiar blonde- haired someone apparated across the table from me.

My aunt suddenly jumped up and pointed a wand at my parents and I. I automatically, reflex from the dueling club in my second year, jumped up and pointed my wand at her.

"Drop it," I said.

Aunt Mandy stared at me in shock and Draco, who didn't know who Mandy was, also got out his wand and pointed it at her.

"You heard her," he said. "Drop it."

Aunt Mandy made no movement to put her wand away, she just stared at me in shock.

"Expelliarmus," said Draco, after she didn't move. He caught her wand and stared at her for a while. Then he turned to me

"Hermione?" he stared at me in shock.

'Did he just call me by my first name?!'

"What are you doing here?" he continued.

"Visiting my aunt for Christmas?" I replied.

"H-Hermione..?" my aunt finally managed to say. "You're a witch?"

I just looked at her. Did she really need me to say 'Yes I am'? Luckily I didn't have to answer her, because I was just as shocked to find out she was a witch too. I wasn't the only surprised one either. My parents were staring at Draco and Mandy as though they'd just popped in from another planet. For all they knew, Draco had.

"Of course she is. How could she be standing there, about to hex you into the next dimension if she wasn't?" Draco said. "Who are you, anyway?" He was playing with my aunt's wand as if it was a baton.

Jackie seemed to be the only one not shocked. She walked over to Draco, took Aunt Mandy's wand from him, and gave it back to Aunt Mandy. "Draco," she said, "this is Hermione's aunt, my best friend Mandy, and co-owner of this ski resort."

"Oh, Aunt Jackie." I heard him say.

'This is Jackie's nephew?' I was so confused. How could Draco be? Even though he and I were prefects together, and had come to an understanding, a truce, if you will, we were nowhere near best friends.

"You're Jackie's nephew?" I asked him.

He stared at me as though it was obvious, which it probably was. "Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

"I assume you two know each other? From Hogwarts?" Jackie asked us.

"Yeah," Draco said without looking away from me.

'I'm going to spend Christmas with Draco instead of Harry and Ron. How ironic.'

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Draco's POV: (Finally! Yay!)

As soon as I apparated to my aunt's house, I knew something was going on. I looked around. I was right. There was my aunt, and some other lady serving dinner to three guests. I saw my aunt's friend (I assumed she was her friend) take one look at me, and turn her wand on the three guests. That's when I got a good look at them. One, a familiar brown-haired someone had just jumped up and pointed her wand at my aunt's friend.

"Drop it," she said.

I thought this person might be a threat to Hermione and the other two people, who were probably her parents, so I also took out my wand.

"You heard her," I said. "Drop it." She didn't move. I got angry

"Expelliarmus," I said, and her wand flew into my hand. For a while, I stared at her before turning to Hermione.

"Hermione?" I asked, making sure I wasn't seeing things. 'Did I just call her by her first name? No!' I continued, "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my aunt for Christmas?" she replied, as though it was the most obvious thing ever.

"H-Hermione..?" her aunt (I assumed it was her aunt, because there was no one else here) finally managed to say. "You're a witch?"

I almost cracked up laughing. What sort of question was that?

"Of course she is. How could she be standing there, about to hex you into the next dimension if she wasn't?" I said, trying to not laugh. "Who are you, anyway?" I was playing with her wand as if it was a baton.

My aunt was the only one not about to hex anyone at the moment. She walked over to me and took her friend's wand back and gave it back to her.

"Draco," she said, "this is Hermione's aunt, my best friend Mandy, and co- owner of this ski resort."

"Oh, Aunt Jackie."

Hermione looked at me, surprised. "You're Jackie's nephew?"

I couldn't believe all the stupid questions being asked here. "Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

Before she could reply, Aunt Jackie broke in. "I assume you two know each other? From Hogwarts?" she asked us.

"Yeah," I replied, not dropping my gaze on Hermione.

"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on here?" one of the people who were silent this whole time asked.

I turned to him, but before I could say anything Hermione explained, "Dad, Aunt Mandy and her friends are witches too. That," she waved her hand in my general direction, "is Draco Malfoy. He's a prefect at Hogwarts too." I noticed she didn't say anything of how I'd teased her in previous years or mention my Slytherin background.

~This is how you remind me~

~Of what I really am~

Just thinking back upon those years reminded me how mean I was to her, how I called her horrible names and actually cursed her once. And still she was civil towards me. 'How does she do it?' I wondered in awe. 'If someone had been like that towards me, I would hate them for the rest of my life. We agreed to be polite toward each other to set a good example for the younger children, but we aren't at Hogwarts. She could be cursing my butt from here to the moon and it still wouldn't go against our truce. Why wasn't she?'

~This is how you remind me~

~Of what I really am~

Suddenly I felt incredibly guilty.

I sat down to eat with the rest of them, hardly taking my eyes off of her. She was simply eating her dinner and not acting angry or anything. I couldn't believe it. 'How does she do it?'

**********~~~~~**********

Hermione's POV:

During dinner, I could feel his eyes on me. I was not going to look up. 'I won't let him ruin my Christmas,' I thought 'He may be from Slytherin, and he may have teased me for four years until we became prefects, but I will not let him ruin my Christmas. I will remain civilized as long as he does.' He and I had formed a truce at the beginning of fifth year, when we found out the prefects would have to share a common room, even though they got their own rooms that connected to their respective houses' common rooms.

Sharing a common room was Dumbledore's idea. He seemed to think that having one common room for all four prefects from each house would establish inter- house relationships. So far, all that happened was Draco and I no longer tried to curse each other off the face of the earth.

Privately, I'm sure he still called me mudblood and those horrible nicknames that used to in public. Some people never change. Although, I've noticed some differences in him. He no longer rejoices when he gets an owl from his father. I think he's realized that by stalking around acting as if he owned the place was something his father would do, and he wants to become more independent.

I certainly wouldn't like it if my parents tried to force me to become dentists.

After dinner, I lead him upstairs and showed him his room and where my room was. I decided to continue with my earlier plans, so I went back downstairs to read my book and listen to music.

Reading:

In the gateway stood Numair SalmalĂ­n.

Daine gasped and lost her grip on the hyena shape. She turned human instantly - human and unclothed - and sat down hard. "No," she whispered, breathless. "Gods, this is too horrible. Don't do this to me."

The hyenas shifter to form a circle of furry bodies, concealing her, as the man came forward.

"I'm real, sweetling. It truly is me."

"Kaddar and Varice saw them kill you. You're a - a ghost, or a - puppet. A simu-thing."

He lifted a hand: black, sparkling fire grew around it. "Orzone couldn't attach magic to a simulacrum, remember?" He let the fire die as the hyenas watched, heads cocked in interest.

She swallowed. "Very well, then - you're one of Numair's simal-"

"Simulacra. Magelet, remember how we met? I was a shape-shifted hawk. You nursed me until Alanna helped me regain my true form. Last year, in the courtyard of Dunlath castle, I changed Tristan Staghorn into an apple tree with a word of power." He removed his cloak and tossed it toward her. Borne by his magic, it settled onto Daine.

Rising, she wrapped the cloth around her with numb fingers. She didn't think a fake would know so much. Gingerly she stepped away from the hyenas and reached for him, then yanked back, terrified that if she toched him, she would know he was dead.

"Kitten?" she cried. "Is it truely him?"

The dragon chortled happily and nodded.

Numair waited, one hand extended to her. Steeling herself, she reaches again and placed her hand in his. Roughly he pulled her into an enveloping hug, arms encircling and lifting her off her feet. Nose buried in his shirt, she breathed his unique smell, one of spices, soap, and clean clothes. No one would think to copy that, she realized, and began to cry.

He murmered softly to her, arms wonderfully tight. When at last she stopped, he let her go and produced a handkerchief.

Obediently she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "Where have you been?"

"At the university. Once the emperor's men arrested my simulacrum, I had to play least-in-sight for a day or two."

"But - they knew - Varice and Kaddar were sure it was you."

"It was a very good simulacrum, my dear. I worked on it for weeks in secret and had it shipped to Lindhall from Tyra. I didn't quite trust Ozorne's good intentions, I'm afraid."

Memory flared: in Lindhall's office, Lindhall had placed the turtle in another room, and she had seen a shape like a body covered with cloth.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Numair sighed and smiled ruefully down at her. "I have no idea. I think I forgot.

"Oh." That made more sense than it didn't. "How'd you find out? About - all this, then?"

"Kaddar made it across the river. We have enjoyed a most informative evening. Are you aware that the entire west wing and Astronomer's Tower are burning?"

She scuffed a foot on the ground. "I thought they'd killed you. I lost my temper."

Numair's eyes danced. "Magelet, that is the greatest understatement that I have heard in my life."

Someone pulled my headphones off "What are you reading?" a familiar voice asked.

"It's a muggle story. Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce." I answered him.

"Oh," he said simply and sat down on another couch to listen to music.

****************~~~~~~~~~~~***************

Draco's POV:

I looked around my room. "This is where you're going to be staying all Christmas break," I said out loud to myself. I saw two doors. Opening one, I realized it was a closet, and I put all my clothes away.

The house elf must have thought I'd be spending most of my time around muggles, it had packed all muggle clothes. I sighed. I didn't really like muggle clothes too much. I found them very. restricting. I liked my wizard's robes.

The second door turned out to be a bathroom. The elf had also packed things I would need like soap and shampoo and all my wizard hair gel products. 'Good elf,' I thought.

After I was sure I could spend no longer admiring this room, I went to talk to Hermione. I opened my door and crossed the hall to knock on hers.

*knock*

There was no answer. I opened the door and looked inside. No Hermione.

'Oh well,' I thought. 'I'll just go listen to music near the fireplace.'

So I went back into my room, got my CD player and went back downstairs. As soon as I got there, I saw Hermione reading a book on one of the blue couches. I stood there for a few minutes just looking at her. Then I snapped out of it and went over to her and pulled her headphones off.

"What are you reading?" I asked

"It's a muggle story. Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce."

"Oh." I sat down to listen to music.

*******~~~~~~~~~~*************
Sila-chan: Sorry about that... I fixed it though. I plan to. as long as you keep reviewing! (Notice the dots. Lol. ;-) )

Mdemanatee: will do ;-)

Draco is the man: Haha. Well sorry, he was a bit late. But it was so totally more dramatic this way. =)

Dreaming One: No, Herm's mum isn't a squib.. it's just her siblings were witches and wizards and she wasn't! (they're muggle-born) I swear I said that Hermione's aunt Mandy owned a ski lodge with her BEST-FRIEND Jackie. I absolutely hate it when people rush. I've seen Hermione throw herself at Snape and kiss him, and I was like. "Uhm. Did I miss something?!?" Lol. Keep reviewing!!

PlaYbOiBuNnY69: I'm on vacation right now, so I'll try to update everyday. But when I have to go back to school (EVIL) I'll update as often as I can.

Ellie: lol was Hermione surprised enough? Keep reviewing! =)

CarnimĂ­rie: cant rush the Draco/Hermione "interaction" lol. If I did, then I'd run out of story before I got to chapter 5!

Jakerius: haha thanks for reviewing =) maybe now that you say you like the story you'll read the rest of it? Hint hint..

Jupiterlady5: I don't mind if you print off my stories, as long as you come back and review. I need the feedback!
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