Title: An Inevitable Fate
Chapter Thirty Three: A Hogwarts Winter Wonderland
Author: KissThis
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Rating: PG-13
Pairing: H/Hr AND D/Hr in this chappy
Setting: 6th year in Hogwarts.
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Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter, but I DO own a very nice shiny ticket to MEXICO! Whoop!
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A/N: I know this chapter is a little long in coming, but I have two very good reasons.
1. Just two days after my last update my hard drive failed and the entire laptop had to be wiped out. I lost everything – which definitely bites the big one. So as of now, the 20 page plot point outline is completely gone and I'm just gonna have to write the rest of the story on the fly.
2. (Not so traumatic) I just wanted this chapter to be extra-ly long since I won't be able to update again until the 22nd. I will be in Mexico. No internet. But I promise I will be working on it down on the beach and it'll be updated the day of my return.
The day following Dumbledore's announcement was the beginning of a return to something normal. No one mentioned Dumbledore's words to Hermione and for all appearances she seemed to know nothing about it. Hermione's addition to the enemy gravesite, while hard to miss, was also a point of nondiscussion. It was an unspoken agreement that some matters were better left unsaid. And some things were better left well enough alone.
Life at Hogwarts went on.
Hours turned to days, and days became weeks, leading the world into the middle of October. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang quickly adapted to their new lifestyle and settled easily into the rhythm of things after the first few days. No further incidents involving Voldemort had occurred. Castle and inhabitants were finally allowed to return to normal.
There was a ball to plan.
"A giant pumpkin? You can't be serious."
"What's wrong with it?"
Hermione sighed and gave Draco a withering look. Leaning forward slightly from her position beside the hearth, she prodded the golden poker into dying embers. The fire flickered back to life. Draco was draped casually across his personal couch waiting with a bored expression for her eventual reply. Replacing the poker, Hermione brushed off her hands and turned back to him.
"Let me get this straight..." she said slowly. Draco rolled his eyes and glowered at her. "You want the actual dance floor to be inside a giant pumpkin?"
"Yes."
"No!"
"Come on! It's a good idea."
"No...it's a really, really bad idea." She said simply. "You're obviously tired; you shouldn't be up this late, Draco."
Draco glanced at the clock above the mantel piece and gave her an amused look, "It's eleven thirty in the morning, Granger."
"Your sanity is deteriorating so fast." She replied in all seriousness.
Draco was about to reply, no doubt with a witty retort, when there was a knock at the door. Hermione gave a wave of her hand behind her and the common room door drifted open.
"Show off," Draco muttered good-naturedly from beside her. She beamed up at him and turned to greet their visitor.
It was Harry.
He was bundled from head to toe in warm clothes, a long Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck. When he saw Hermione, however, lounging beside the fireplace he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Get out of your pajamas Hermione and come outside. Ron's waiting for us down stairs."
Hermione groaned and dramatically got to her feet. "Tell me why I am going outside?"
"Well it is snowing out..."
"Really?!" Hermione's face lit up with childlike glee. She dashed to the window and with the edge of the draperies wiped the fog from the glass. It was indeed snowing. Feather-light snowflakes drifted lazily down from a cloudy, gray sky. The snow on the ground looked at least a foot deep and already students were running about in the fresh powder, throwing snowballs and building snowmen.
"I'll be right down," She promised, sprinting up the stairs. "So hurry and get dressed, Draco."
As he watched the hem of Hermione's silk nightgown disappear behind the curve of the staircase, Harry scowled. Draco saw it and turned to face the fire. He settled deeper into the couch, making no reaction towards Harry's slightly hostile "covert" glances.
A door closed upstairs and the two boys turned their gaze to the stairway as Hermione came pounding down the stairs. Her thick brown curls were confined to twin braids on either side and covered by a fuzzy maroon cap. She wore a comfortable looking gray, knit sweater that kept falling off her shoulders, reaching past her fingertips, and flared jeans that were beginning to fade. She pulled on her jacket, a knee-length brown pea-coat, as she reached the bottom and was in the process of buttoning it up when she noticed Draco was still in his black drawstring pants and white t-shirt.
She gave a sigh of disappointment, tying her maroon and gold scarf around her neck. "Hurry upstairs and get dressed," She told him. "I'm not going to wait forever."
Draco made no move to get up. His eyes, however, darted over to meet Harry's. He cleared his throat and turned away, grabbing the poker once more from its rack beside the fireplace. "You two go on ahead, I'll meet you down there."
"Alright," Hermione relented, pulling on her mittens. "But promise me you'll come down; you'll go nutters if you stay cooped up in the common room all day."
Draco snorted, a smile forming on his lips. "Who's to say the promise of a Malfoy is worth anything?"
Harry looked away, but Hermione smiled. "Why me, of course. Besides, you have to make appearances to keep the fan-base alive."
Draco smirked. "I don't need to, what with my roommate being my number one fan and all. I see you every day."
Hermione laughed out loud, her cheeks tinged pink. "Dreaming about me again, Draco? How very flattering."
Harry's hand was on her arm; an incessant pulling. "Come on, 'Mione. Ron'll think we stopped in a closet for a snog." He muttered, as the two passed through the portrait door.
"Well Ronald should get his mind out of the gutter," drifted softly into the common room as the door drifted shut.
Walking over to the bookshelves that lined the walls on either side of the larger fireplace, Draco scanned the immaculately organized books for something to read. Mildly frustrated when he found the potions book he was searching for was absent, he settled instead for a classic: Hogwarts: A History. Folding his tall frame into the window seat, he found a comfortable position and began to read.
"Come on, Harry!" Hermione giggled, pulling him along as she ran out into the snow. She dropped his hand and jogged to the middle of the courtyard. Harry stopped at the bottom of the stone steps, and watched his best friend revel in the winter weather.
Face turned upward – eyes closed and lips curved into a smile – Hermione lifted her arms and began to spin. Around and around she turned, opening her eyes to watch the cloud-filled sky swirling above her head. Her scarf whipped around behind her, following her turns. Tiny white flakes drifted lazily, but steadily, down upon her, and as they kissed the warm skin of her cheeks and face they melted instantly, leaving damp pinpoints across its surface. Her spin slowed and she lowered her gaze to Harry as she stopped, facing him. Her scarf drifted to a stop just after, and settled back into its earlier position.
"Isn't it beautiful, Harry?" Hermione brought her hands down to scoop up a handful of dusty white powder. Dampness sunk into the palms of her mittens.
"Yeah, it is." Harry agreed, glancing around the courtyard before turning back. As the skin of her hands began to tingle, Hermione blew the miniature snow drift off her hands and watched it shower back down upon the ground.
"I've always loved wintertime the most," She conceded, hoisting herself up onto the stone fountain that served as the courtyard's centerpiece. "Sure, the others have their fine points, but really they're all the same. The changes are so few that, for me, they tend to blend together."
As she spoke she raised her arms to steady herself, and stepped delicately onto the iced over fountain. Hands crammed in his pockets, Harry strolled down the path as Hermione slowly glided the two or so feet to the fountains center spout. The water had frozen mid burst. Finding a handhold on the crystallized plume of ice, she glided gracefully around to face Harry as he approached.
"But not winter," She went on, running her gloved fingers across the impromptu ice sculpture. Her smile was soft and warm. "Water turns to ice. Frozen rain falls from a gray sky. Everything becomes white. Everything goes to sleep."
Her gaze turned back to the fountain. "It even does the impossible." She smiled down at Harry leaning against the stone base. "It can capture a single moment in time."
Harry grinned loftily, unruly raven locks falling across his eyes. "Like magic."
Hermione laughed, amber eyes flickering.
A voice stopped her short. "Hermione? Is that you?"
Hermione turned to look over her shoulder. Another person was standing at the entrance to grounds. They were sporting Gryffindor colors, though, with the obscenely excessive amount of clothes they were wearing, it was hard to tell who the person was.
"You two had better hurry up or you'll miss all the fun." The Gryffindor called out, waving the pair over.
Now pretty sure that the lumpy bundle was Neville, Hermione smiled and waved back. "We're coming!"
Taking the hand offered to her by Harry, she hopped down off the fountain and the pair made their way onto the grounds at a more leisurely pace than before; arms linked, and feet shuffling through a foot of snow.
Now that Hermione was finally out in the beautiful winter weather she was going to enjoy every minute of it.
"I wonder where Ron is," Hermione murmured conversationally. The red-head had been characteristically absent from the entrance hall when the pair had arrived to meet him. Harry chuckled beside her.
"You know Ron. He probably got bored and went on without us."
As they stepped out of the protection of the stone courtyard they were surrounded by a gentle, icy breeze and a wild flurry of snowflakes. Two Ravenclaw girls ran past, giggling loudly.
"Patience is not a virtue Ron possesses." She commented, burying her chin deeper within the warmth of her scarf. They continued down the make-shift path, created by the trampling of feet, to a valley where the snow was deeper and large hills of it rose up on either side of the trail.
"Hermione..."
Hermione stopped her humming and looked up at Harry with a quizzical expression. "Yes?"
"DUCK!"
Hermione instinctively dropped to the ground. She heard Harry land hard beside her as a speeding object went whizzing over their heads. She lifted herself up slightly and looked around. She saw Harry do the same.
"Look out!" She exclaimed.
Harry caught the next one with Seeker like reflexes, falling backwards over Hermione. The snowball, however, exploded at the impact showering them both with snow. Hermione lifted her face from the drift. Clumps of snow clung to her hair and dangled from her cap. Freeing a hand, she wiped the soggy slush from her face.
"Oy, Harry!" She groaned, unable to pull herself from beneath his weight.
"Sorry, 'Mione." He apologized. She felt him roll off. With great relief she got to her hands and knees, then finally back onto her feet. Brushing the snow from her knees, she straightened and helped Harry up.
"Well, that was certainly uncalled for." She huffed, looking around.
"Do you know who it was?" Harry asked, clapping his hands together to knock off excess snow.
"No," She pursed her lips and turned to give him a look. "I couldn't really see anything, what with being face first in a snowdrift..." She trailed off pointedly.
Harry looked sheepish. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Yeah, sorry 'bout that."
She rolled her eyes and grinned. Another snowball came hurtling at them, but Harry, who'd been keeping an eye open, easily sidestepped it. Two more landed at the feet of Hermione, who was now intently scanning the large piles of snow that lined the path.
A figure appeared at the peak of the left bank and she jumped to the right, crashing into Harry, to dodge the following snowball.
"Seamus!" She shouted accusingly.
The boy waved cheekily and disappeared, most likely to grab another snowball.
"Come on," Harry said, now chuckling with amusement. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him as they ran off the path to the right and began swiftly climbing up the packed snow. A snowball exploded a few feet in front of them.
Hermione glanced across the path to the opposite snow drift. "Neville!?" She exclaimed.
Harry laughed loudly.
"Ooo!" She growled threateningly. "That little sneak led us down here. He's in so much trouble."
Harry tugged her up alongside him. "Threaten him later. Let's get behind some cover first, okay?"
Hermione nodded and pushed him forward a bit. Another snowball hit the ground where they had been only seconds before. Harry grinned, "Thanks."
Through hearty laughter the two sprinted up to the top and went tumbling down into a large hole that appeared suddenly before them. Sliding down the steep slopes, they landed at the bottom in a cloud of disturbed snow.
Ginny looked up at them and grinned, "Glad to see you made it."
Amid a barrage of snowballs, Ginny left her post for a few minutes to show Harry and Hermione around. The main level , which they had fallen onto, was a good eight feet in diameter; large enough to fit five or six people comfortably. Lining the front half of the circle were iced ledges, where Lavender and Padme were currently perched upon, firing back at the opposite group.
Ginny led them back to where another hole opened up, leading to a cavernous room beneath the main level.
"Snowball storage," She informed them, but didn't bother leading them down. A blonde head appeared beneath the hole's entrance, and the trio stepped back to give the girl room to climb out. Hermione was quite surprised when it was Pansy who hoisted herself from the hole. The Slytherin, who was well known for her changing her hair color more often than a chameleon changed it's skin, was hardly who she'd expected to be surrounded by Gryffindors and in the middle of a snowball fight.
Harry, unfazed by the girl's appearance, peered back down into the storage room. When no one else emerged he shook his head. "Is this an all-girl operation?"
Hermione glanced at him with a smile, but he didn't seem to feel at all out of place. That's Harry for you.
Ginny made a cursory look around the main level and shook her head, auburn hair sticking to her cheeks, "No. Justin is out scouting, and my idiot brother got himself captured."
"How many are on the other side?" Harry asked.
Ginny ticked off the names on her gloved fingers, "Seamus, Parvati, Blaise, Neville, Luna, Dean, Hannah, Colin, and Dennis."
Hermione shook her head, "That's nine to our seven. We're outnumbered."
She was about to say more, but at that exact moment a snowball cleared the wall and nailed the top of her head. She shrieked as icy, wet snow slid down the back of her sweater. Raucous laughter could be heard from across the path and she leapt onto one of the ledges to look over.
"SEAMUS FINNIGAN!" She shouted.
The Irish boy gave a mocking salute, "'Ello Hermione."
"Snowball." She growled.
Lavender giggled and placed one in Hermione's waiting hand. Harry appeared beside her, leaning casually over the top of the wall.
"You're in for it now," he warned his dorm-mate.
Seamus waved the caution away, looking back over his shoulder to talk to someone behind him. Drawing back her arm, Hermione threw the packed ball of snow as hard as she could. Seamus turned back around just in time for it to catch him square in the face. The force propelled him back and he tumbled backwards, disappearing behind the snow wall.
Hermione's annoyed expression turned to one of satisfaction. Dusting off her gloves, she dismounted and said, crisply: "Serves him right."
"Nice shot!" Ginny complimented as Harry clapped her on the back.
Hermione grinned, "Now let's rescue this 'prisoner-of-war'."
An hour and several hundred snowballs later, with forts nearly demolished, the two groups decided to call it quits and seventeen soaked teenagers came spilling out onto the path. They started out walking en masse up the hill to the castle, but one by one people began breaking off to join another group; ice skating here, a snowman being built over there.
Soon only the trio of friends was left continuing the trek up through the grounds. Once again Hermione found herself walking in between the two boys, but she didn't mind. Their bodies shielded her from the wind, and she was grateful for the knowledge that she wouldn't be the one coming down with a cold.
As the two boys talked back and forth over her head about Quidditch and such they crested the hill beside the lake. Spying a stretch of snow beneath a large oak that was still clean and untrodden upon, Hermione startled Ron and Harry by darting forward and running up to it.
"Hermione, wha-"
Spinning around to face them, she lifted her arms and let herself fall back into the soft snow. Laughing at her own childishness, she dragged her limbs back and forth, packing down the powder beneath her.
"You look ridiculous," Ron told her, coming to a stop beside her sprawled body.
She sat up and shook to loose snow from her braids. He reached down for her and she grabbed his hand. Taking care not to disturb her impression in the snow, she let him pull her back to her feet then gingerly stepped off to the side.
"It's a snow angel," She told them proudly. "When I was little I always used to make these the first snow of the season."
Ron chuckled, "Well what should we do now?"
"You getting cold yet?" Harry asked her.
She shook her head, "A little wet, but I want to stay a little longer. It's so nice out."
Harry nodded, looking around at the different goings on across the grounds. "Well, where to then?"
Hermione shrugged. It was Ron who made the suggestion, "Lake?"
They both agreed, having no other propositions themselves, and the trio headed down to the lake, now covered in ice. Exchanging their shoes for ice skates, they all squeezed onto one bench and began lacing up their boots. Cheery, winter music, from an unknown source, filled the air.
Hermione was the first to finish. Pulling the hems of her jeans back down over her skates she pushed off the bench, hobbled the few feet through snow, and glided out onto the ice.
Ron was next. Smashing his tasseled cap down tighter on his head he followed in Hermione's blade path and slid a little less gracefully onto the ice. He made Hermione laugh by skating backwards in a circle around her. She pushed him gently out of the way and skating serenely back to the bank and skidded to a stop.
"You coming, Harry?"
He nodded, almost regretfully, and got to his feet shakily. Hermione's brow furrowed slightly in confusion, as she watched him wobble his way down to the lake. The minute his blades touched the ice his feet slid out from under him and he landed hard on his backside.
Some of the other skaters snickered behind her, but Hermione paid them no mind as she hurried to Harry's side. She bent over to make sure he wasn't hurt. "Oh, Harry! Are you alright?"
He grimaced, rubbing his backside. He was pink in the face and she could tell he was more than a little embarrassed. "I'm fine." He muttered.
Hermione frowned again, and as Harry struggled to get to his feet, she put the pieces together in her mind. "You never learned how to ice skate, did you?" She asked him quietly.
The pink in his cheeks darkened to red, "They never took me." He mumbled.
'They' were Harry's aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. A nasty lot, in Hermione's opinion. They treated Harry like dirt – that is when they weren't pretending that he didn't exist at all. Unfortunately for Harry, he had no choice but to spend his summers with them each year, and the experience, while always less than savory, was appearing to get worse every year.
It was no surprise that Harry hadn't learned to ice skate, for the Dursleys never took him anywhere, and Hermione mentally berated herself for not thinking of the possibility earlier. At least then, she could have saved Harry some unnecessary embarrassment.
Grabbing his hands, she helped pull him to his feet. Smiling softly, she gripped his arms firmly, keeping him upright. "Well, now seems as good a time as any to learn. Don't you think so?"
"Really?" He voiced in surprise. "You'd do that?"
"Of course!" She beamed.
Her fingers slid down his arms until they held his hands once more, and much to Harry's protest, she began to pull him along behind her as she skated backwards along the edge of the lake.
"No, Hermione – wait, no – please..."
"It's alright, Harry. One foot in front of the other."
"This is a lot harder than flying a broom," he griped.
Hermione chuckled, "Says you. Don't hurt yourself, Ron" She called out to the red-head, who was currently racing Goyle across the lake. Her eyes never left Harry.
"Hermione..."
"It's just long strides. Here, we'll count." She dropped one of his hands to glide back to his side. He teetered nervously at the sudden loss of support.
"It goes 1, 2, 3 step, alright?" She explained. She gripped his hand tightly, "We'll start with the right foot, okay? Are you ready?"
"No!"
Hermione stepped forward with her right skate, forcing him to mimic her actions, and counting slowly. "1...2...3."
"1...2...3," Harry mumbled along with her.
"Step." She set down her left foot while lifting her right and began the count once more, "1...2...3."
Harry followed her lead, and the two began to skate around the lake. He picked it up quickly, being quite the quick learner, and the pair was soon circling the ice at a decent pace.
"Thanks, Hermione." He told her, after they had skated for a good half hour. He spun her around slowly, both of them drifting closer to the center of the lake.
She flushed, "It was my pleasure, Harry."
The day's exertion had started taking its toll on her, and all of her layers had trapped the generated heat. Her face was flushed from the cold, yet she could feel the sweat beading on her temple. She wanted desperately to wipe it away, but the way Harry was holding her hands made her hesitant to remove them. She felt suddenly nervous at their closeness.
"Harry?"
His head jerked back swiftly, and she realized just how close their faces had been. She exhaled slowly, her breath fogging in the cold. "What is it?" She asked softly.
Harry let out a ragged breath and dropped her hands, "Nothing." He murmured. His eyes wouldn't meet hers and she watched him slide backwards slightly on the ice. "I'm just a little tired. I think I'm gonna sit out for a while."
"A-Alright..." Was all she managed, before he turned and skated away. She watched him leave with mixed thoughts. Had Harry been about to kiss her? She wasn't allowed to dwell on it though, because only moments later a hand clasped her own.
She whirled around in surprise, and her face broke into a smile. "Draco!"
In the thrill of the snowball fight, she'd completely overlooked his absence. She frowned a bit, "I didn't think you were going to come."
Neither did I. He smirked and pulled her out to the center of the lake, "I made a promise didn't I?"
She glared at his mockery, "Better late than never, I suppose." She conceded.
"I feel like dancing, what do you say?"
Hermione cocked her head slightly, for the first time actually listening to the music being played. She smiled. She'd done a lot of silly things since stepping out into the snow, what was one more?
"Why not," She agreed. Placing her hands in his, she laughed, amused, as he pulled them both gallantly forward and spun her around.
They both wobbled around a bit, trying to find a way to dance in ice skates, before finally settling into a comfortable waltz, filled with spins, twirls, and glides.
"I still think the pumpkin is a good idea. It's themed." Draco joked. He spun her out at arms length then pulled her back again.
Hermione chuckled as she collided softly with his chest, "I don't think the girls would appreciate their gowns reeking of rotting vegetable."
She pulled away, dropping his hand, spinning tight circles in time to the music. Draco let her go for a moment before skating up and stopping her with an arm around her waist.
"Do you have another idea?" He asked.
"I do," She replied. "And a better one at that." Draco rolled his eyes, and pushed her away. Knowing that she would follow him, he started off towards the opposite side of the lake. She caught up with him, and the two glided gracefully back and forth beside each other.
"What is it?"
She sped up their leisurely pace and swerved in front of him, spinning around to face him as she skated backwards. "What about a floating dance floor, out here on the grounds?"
"Well isn't that magical," he taunted.
Hermione scoffed, "And your giant pumpkin isn't?"
"Duly noted," He relented.
Hermione glided to a stop, and Draco began to circle her. "Have we even decided if it's going to be a masquerade or not?"
"It is."
Draco made a face. "Says who?"
"Says me." At Draco's disgusted expression she went on, "Oh, come on, Draco, it has to be. Halloween just wouldn't be the same without it."
He scowled, but yielded to her pleas. "Alright, alright."
She jumped at him mid-circle, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're the best!"
Smirking, he grabbed one of her hands and wrapped his arm around her waist, "I know." He agreed.
"Draco, what—"
A livelier tune began just in time as Draco led her in a tango-esque dance across the lake. She laughed at their antics as he spun her around and dipped her low to the ice. Flush-flashed and bright eyed, he pulled her back up and continued their course.
"We look ridiculous," She exclaimed as he dipped her once more.
He smirked, "You're right. We should stop."
Hermione barely had time to register the mischievous look on his face before his arms released her and she fell onto her backside upon the ice. Wincing at the throbbing pain in her rump, she scowled up at Draco only to find him calmly skating away.
"Draco Malfoy!" She shouted after him, getting to her feet. "Get back here!" With quick bursts she hastily closed the gap between them. Draco glanced over his shoulder, and at finding her so close picked up his own speed. He grinned at her.
The chase was on.
He went speeding across the lake, dodging other skaters, Hermione hot on his heels. He heard the disgruntled cries of upset skaters as Hermione pushed through them and chuckled.
"Yeah, you better run!" She shouted from behind him. The empty threat only made him laugh harder. Serpentining faster, he led her on a merry chase all across the lake.
Just when he thought he'd lost her, something warm and soft collided with his side and sent them both flying into a lakeside snow bank.
Hermione's small form was sprawled across his own. They were both panting heavily from exertion, and it didn't appear as though she could get up, even if she tried.
"Caught...you..." She huffed, lifting her face from his chest. She took in several large gulps of air, trying to steady her breathing.
"Pure...luck..." He huffed back. She punched his shoulder.
"I'm tired..." She said, this time with a great deal less panting. With a dramatic flourish she let her head fall back down onto her arms now folded across his chest.
"Busy day?" He snorted.
"Yes." She mumbled.
They both fell silent, feeling oddly warm in the cold snow. Long minutes passed and neither of them made any move to get up or to even speak. Then, against her will, Hermione opened her mouth.
"Draco?" His eyes were closed and she feared he'd fallen asleep.
Sharp gray-blue eyes locked with hers, startling her, "Hmm?"
"Do you remember the argument we had...that night I left for France?"
He was silent for a moment, "Yeah."
"I-I just wanted to tell you...I'm sorry. I had no reason to yell at you like that."
"You had reasons."
She frowned, "But not the right." She sat up slightly. "I want to apologize for that."
Draco sat up suddenly, and Hermione tumbled down into his lap. "Why are you bringing this up now?"
"No reason," She insisted. She was less than convincing.
Draco looked down at her suspiciously, "What happened?"
She shook her head, thick chocolate braids thumping against her neck, "Nothing...I..." She sighed. "There was...an incident...with Hope..."
She looked up at him with wide amber eyes, "I thought I'd never see you again." She told him earnestly.
"I couldn't stand you being mad at me forever; never being able to apologize for the terrible things I said to you."
Draco was silent, his hawk-like eyes boring into hers.
"I wanted to tell you when I got back, but...there never seemed to be the time...and I..." She trailed off, having run out of things to say.
"Are you hungry?"
She blinked at him in surprise, "W-What?"
"You missed lunch. I was asking if you were hungry." He said, a trace of his usual smirk gracing his lips.
She smiled nervously, "A-A little."
"Alright then." He stood up and pulled her to her feet as well. "We can go down to the kitchens."
"Wait," She looked back over her shoulder and Draco stopped walking.
"What is it?"
Hermione shook her head. Harry and Ron were gone. "Nothing. Nevermind." She smiled warmly up at him, "Let's go."
Draco waited for her to catch up, and then they began the long walk up to the castle. Hermione walked close to his side, stealing some of his warmth while participating in a lighter conversation.
"I think the weather's right for a nice cup of hot cocoa. Don't you think, Draco?"
He nodded. "Indeed. I may have one myself."
"With marshmallows?" She asked innocently.
Draco chuckled, "Of course." He agreed, "With marshmallows..."
A lot of my previous chapters have all been high-strung with a whole bunch of major events going on, so I thought I'd slow it down a bit with a nice wintertime bit of pointless fluff.
I hope you liked it. There'll be a fresh chapter on the 22nd.