Chapter Seven:

What My True Love Gave to Me

Early on Christmas morning, Draco woke up. He felt like a little kid again. Instead of longing to open presents, he couldn't wait to give presents. Well, specifically he couldn't wait to give Hermione her present. He glanced at the wrapped parcel and grinned. Then he pulled on a dark green robe and entered the common room. Candy canes floated in mid-air amongst hundreds of lit candles. The breakfast table was piled with more food than Draco could eat...and that was a lot. His stomach grumbled hungrily but Draco forced himself to sit down on the couch. He would wait for Hermione, like a gentleman. He kept sliding glances at the smorgasbord. His stomach gave a grateful lurch when Hermione entered the common room. His heart leapt as well.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione." He greeted her. She smiled at him.

"Happy Christmas, Draco. You look hungry."

"No...not really..." Draco lied. She raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I'm starving, what took you so long to wake up?"

"My apologies, Mister Malfoy." She swept into a low bow. Draco grinned. He knew she was being sarcastic, but he liked the sound of 'Mister Malfoy' from her lips.

"Forget it. Now let's eat." Draco waved it away carelessly. She straightened and sat down at the table.

"Whatever you say." There was far less conversation while they were eating. Neither of them paused from their feeding frenzy to say anything. When finally they had both eaten their fill, Draco slumped down in his chair.

"Why didn't you stop me, Hermione?" He moaned, feeling suddenly sick.

"I could ask you the same, Draco." Hermione replied, closing her eyes tightly. Draco decided that he had gone too far with the tenth croissant. But he decided too late.

"I'm going to get changed. Meet me back out here."

"Why?"

"We're going outside."

"To do what?" Hermione asked, glancing out the window. Tiny snowflakes were falling, adding to the thick layer of snow already present on the ground. Draco winked at her and walked back into his room. He put on the warmest clothing he had and made it waterproof. He waited for Hermione in the common room and glanced at the tree. Under the lowest branches were several parcels. Upon closer inspection he noted that all of them were for Hermione. From Potter, Weasley, Hagrid, her parents...Draco had none. Sighing to himself, he tried to think of something else. He knew Hermione had bought a present for him. She had agreed to dessert after the Christmas dinner feast so that they could exchange presents. Just thinking about the Christmas dinner feast made Draco's stomach lurch very unpleasantly. Hermione entered the common room with her hair piled on top of her head and a smile on her face.

"Let's go." She almost dragged Draco out of the common room, pausing for a moment under the mistletoe to kiss him gently on the lips. They barreled down the stairs and out of the front doors. Everyone they passed stared, curiously. Almost oblivious to the fact that other students were staring at them in disbelief, they talked and laughed as if they were alone. Once outside, Hermione squealed as an arctic breeze hit her in the face. She ran into the middle of the grounds and flopped down in the snow. Draco watched her with curiosity and a smile. She pushed away the snow using her arms and legs and then she stood up carefully so as not to ruin what she had created. Grinning, she beckoned Draco over to see what she had made.

"What is it?" Draco asked, staring blankly at it.

"It's a snow angel! See?" She exclaimed, drawing a little halo with her foot. She looked so proud of her creation, Draco had to laugh.

"I'd like to see you make a better one!" She exclaimed in a challenging voice. And who was Draco Malfoy to refuse a challenge? Draco did what he had seen Hermione do, as she stood to the side smothering laughter. He did a less graceful job of getting up without ruining his snow angel.

"You stepped on the wings!" Hermione pointed out his footprints. Draco rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"Everyone's a critic." He grumbled. Hermione laughed and pushed him playfully. Caught off guard, Draco stumbled in the snow, slipped on some hidden ice and crashed to the ground. Hermione collapsed into giggles, but threw herself down next to Draco in concern.

"Are you all right?" She asked, breathlessly, trying not to laugh.

"Oh...my head..." He moaned.

"I'm so sorry! Did you hit your head? Are you all right?"

"God...I can't see anything. Hermione...where are you?"

"I'm right here, Draco. I'm going to go get Madame Pomfrey-"

"Don't."

"Why not? You're hurt!"

"No I'm not." Draco cracked a grin. Hermione looked relieved, then angry.

"God, Draco, why did you do that? I was scared out of my mind." She got up and started to walk away. Draco leaned forward on his knees and grabbed her hand, jerking her back. She fell on top of him, pushing him into the snow. Their faces were mere inches apart, and Hermione's anger seemed to melt away. Taking advantage of the moment, Draco closed the gap between their lips. Forgetting that they were in the middle of an open snowy field where they were in plain sight, Draco's arms went around Hermione's waist, pulling her closer to him. Hermione was the first to realize the dangers of what they were doing.

"Draco, someone might see." Draco was too impassioned to care, and he leaned forward to capture her lips in another kiss. She pushed him away gently.

"Come on, Hermione, I don't care. This is way too romantic to end." Draco pleaded with her. His blue eyes pierced through her, making it harder for her to refuse. Tossing a quick glance over her shoulder at the castle, she smiled.

"One more."

"Just one?" His lower lip trembled and Hermione sighed.

"That's not fair, Draco!" She exclaimed, trying not to look into his irresistible puppy dog eyes. She failed. "Damn you." She whispered, her lips claiming his forcefully. Draco could taste her hunger and felt his own rising steadily. He traced the sultry curves of her hips with his fingers and deepened their kiss. When the first snowball hit, Draco didn't even notice. The second one beamed him in the head and he broke off the kiss abruptly. He turned his head to see Evelyn packing another snowball.

"So this is how a Malfoy deals with rejection? He takes on a mudblood whore?" She smirked at Draco. He watched a spark of fury ignite in Hermione's eyes.

"Shove it, Evelyn." Draco spat, cutting off Hermione, who was undoubtedly about to go off into a rant. Evelyn sneered at Draco, tossing a snowball between her hands.

"Won't the Slytherins be proud to see that their king has lain with a mudblood?"

"I haven't lain with anyone."

"Come on, Draco. Everyone knows about your reputation. Even I know."

"Exaggerations." Draco clarified, knowing that Hermione was slowly becoming skeptical of his intentions.

"Possibly...but I doubt it. And what about you, mudblood? What will your friends say? You were supposed to be Draco's arch nemesis, were you not?"

"You're not going to tell them, are you?" Hermione demanded, a trace of fear in her tone. Draco winced. Evelyn would feed off of that fear.

"I haven't decided yet...perhaps I'll let you suffer with your guilt a little longer."

"Bitch." Hermione hissed under her breath. Draco prayed Evelyn hadn't heard, but her dark eyes narrowed into slits.

"Watch your tongue, mudblood. This could ruin both of your lives. Your fate is in my hands." She smirked at them both and turned her back. Before Draco knew what was happening, Hermione was on her feet and tackling Evelyn from behind. Getting over the initial shock, Draco jumped up and ripped Hermione away from Evelyn. Hermione had managed to get in a solid punch. Evelyn's nose was crushed and bleeding. Draco saw the fury in Evelyn's tearing eyes and he grabbed Hermione's hand.

"Hurry, let's get out of here." He whispered, dragging her towards the doors. They didn't stop running until they were safely inside their common room. Hermione flopped down onto the couch and covered her face with her hands.

"I can't believe I just did that."

"Of the two of us, Hermione, I think I am the one who is more shocked." Draco kept replaying the incident in his head. It was just as good in his mind.

"I hit Evelyn."

"No...you decked Evelyn." Draco corrected her, grinning. Noticing that he wasn't making her feel any better, he resorted to the never fail method. He kneeled down next to the couch and gently pulled her hands away from her face. He kissed her fingertips lightly, watching desire burning in her eyes. Any moment now... He waited, patiently. Just as he had predicted, seconds later, she leaned forward and kissed him hard. He was almost surprised at the pent up passion he felt when he kissed her. It always seemed like she had been waiting for years to kiss him, instead of just ten minutes. But it didn't bother him. When she kissed him like that, she did things to him. She constantly reminded him that she was not just some girl. She was definitely something special. Something he could not risk losing. For if he lost Hermione, he had nothing left in the world to live for. After pondering it for some time, Draco decided that he needed to tell her what he was feeling. He stopped kissing her and looked deep into her eyes. Now or never.

"Hermione...I love you."

There were only twenty students who remained in Hogwarts, including Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ron, and Evelyn. Dumbledore had set up a large table to seat all twenty for the Christmas feast. There were a few extra places for professors who chose to dine in the Great Hall. Most teachers, though, went out of the castle to celebrate Christmas day. Hermione was still in shock as she was preparing to go down to dinner. Her hands shook slightly as she put on a pair of white gold earrings. Draco loves me... She ran over the words in her mind over and over again. After he had spoken those words, Hermione had frozen. Part of her wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him. But another part of her was scared. She was treading on unstable grounds. She had been involved in relationships before, but none of the boys she had dated had ever told her they loved her. After all, Draco was only eighteen. How could he know if he was really in love with her? All of her doubts had forced her to excuse herself from the common room, saying that she needed to finish an essay. Both she and Draco knew perfectly well that she had finished all of her assigned essays the first day of the Christmas holiday break. Regardless, he had let her go without saying anything. She felt horrible about just leaving him there like that. Ever since she had left him, she had started considering how she felt about him. There was no doubt in her mind that she cared about him as much as she cared about Harry or Ron. But did she love Draco in a different way? Frustrated, Hermione flopped down on her bed. Tears threatened her eyes, but she blinked them away. Her heart was beating so harshly, it started to throb. Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, she groaned and sat up. She needed to finish getting ready. She stepped into a pair of dark blue jeans and white sneakers. Pulling a red v-neck sweater over her head, she left her room to go into the bathroom. Her prayers were answered. There was no sign of Draco in the bathroom or the common room. He must have already left. A tear left her eyes and rolled down her cheek. She had expected him to wait for her to walk down. Maybe he's mad at me. She thought, a horrid feeling growing inside of her. Fighting to stay calm, Hermione combed out her hair and fixed it in a sloppy bun. Lip-gloss was the only make up she felt like putting on, and thinking that her appearance would have to do, she left the dormitory. Her footsteps echoed, pounding in her ears. Heavy snow was falling outside and she sighed. Life isn't making this any better. She thought bitterly. When she reached the Great Hall, she pasted a smile on her face so Harry and Ron wouldn't suspect.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, rising from his chair to give her a hug. Harry gave her a hug as well when Ron had eventually let go.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione. I love the mini model Quidditch field for strategy planning!" Harry beamed at her. Hermione smiled back. She knew he would love it.

"I thought you would, since your team captain and all."

"And Hermione, where did you find Procrastination Preventer?" Ron asked, inquiring about his gift.

"Hogsmeade. I imagine you will be turning your essays in on time now."

"How thoughtful of you, Miss Granger. I'm sure Mr. Weasley is very grateful." McGonagall commented from the dinner table. Ron's ears turned pink and Hermione grinned. She took a seat in between Harry and Ron, only discovering for the first time that Draco was seated across from her. Their gazes touched for a moment, but Hermione turned away nervously, not wanting to see the anger in his eyes. She busied herself with her napkin while Harry and Ron chattered away.

"You know, I sat in between you two so that I might be involved in your conversation. I'm still lost." Hermione interrupted them.

"Oh. I thought you sat in between us so you didn't have to sit next to Malfoy." Ron shot a glare in Draco's direction. Draco pretended not to hear and he seemed suddenly fascinated with the design on the plates. Hermione felt a wave of sympathy sweep over her.

"Knock it off, Ron. He hasn't said anything to you." Hermione defended Draco, making the blonde Slytherin look up from his plate. Ron gave her an odd look, but shrugged. When Hermione dared to look up at Draco, he was staring at her. He gave her a slight nod of thanks, and she smiled slightly in return.

"First of all, I'd like to say Happy Christmas to all of you. Thank you for joining me for a Christmas feast." Dumbledore rose from his chair. "Second, I hope you've all enjoyed your holiday break while it lasted." Hermione's eyes found Draco before she realized what she was doing. A sadness filled her. She had had an amazing time, spending every moment she could with Draco. But it was going to be over in a few days. And then they would go back to homework filled nights and Draco would be practicing the Slytherin Quidditch team again in the afternoons. They would barely have any time left to just sit in front of the fire again. Not that he would want to anymore. She reminded herself.

"Now, please enjoy the feast." Dumbledore concluded, and the serving plates filled with foods. Hermione was reminded of how much she had eaten in the morning, and wisely chose small portions of everything. Harry and Ron made efforts to include her in their conversations, but soon Hermione realized she didn't really feel like talking. Draco was silent the entire dinner, even though Pansy was chattering on right next to him. As soon as she had finished, she excused herself quickly. Harry and Ron stared after her, worriedly, but decided that she had probably been reading too much in one day. Draco looked up as she left. His heart left with her. When he had told her what he felt, she had just stared at him. He couldn't read the emotions in her eyes, but he knew, with a sinking heart, that when she left she was really saying that she didn't love him back. He had managed to make it to his room before crying. Malfoys don't cry often. It wasn't in the character of a Malfoy. But Draco had cried twice in a short period of time. The first time he had cried, it was more anger and frustration. Now when he cried over Hermione, he felt like he should be dead. He began looking around for the quickest way to kill himself. After ten minutes of twirling his fork absentmindedly through his food, he finally stood up and excused himself. In the entrance hall, he paused. Maybe Hermione doesn't want to exchange presents anymore. The thought occurred to him and tears sprang to his eyes. A tiny voice of hope in the back of his mind forced him to go up the stairs to the dormitory. When he saw the common room empty, he wanted to throw himself out of the window. The wrapped box under the tree for Hermione mocked him. He picked it up, wondering whether or not he should destroy it. Actually, I feel more like destroying myself. Ultimately deciding that a fall from the North Tower would be more painful and deadly, Draco turned and left the common room, still clutching Hermione's gift in his hands. The door to the North Tower was slightly ajar, and he slipped through it cautiously. A figure was sitting where he had been sitting the night he wanted to kill himself over Evelyn. He glared at the dark figure. Whoever it was had stolen his spot. He began to approach the person when they spoke.

"I thought you might come here."

"Hermione? What are you doing up here? It's late and awfully cold." He exclaimed, noticing that she was still wearing what she had worn to dinner. He knew she was freezing.

"I wanted to give you your Christmas present. I thought you would head up here. I guess I was right."

"As always." Draco felt a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. She slipped off the wall and walked towards him. Hands, reddened from the cold, passed him a small black marble box.

"Happy Christmas, Draco." She murmured softly, turning around and lifting herself back onto the wall. Draco placed her present on the wall next to her.

"This is for you as well." He watched her eyes fill with tears. He hoped that they were tears of happiness, like his. Through his blurry eyes, he managed to open the small black box. Nestled in the middle of an emerald cloth was a silver ring with the image of a snake slithering across the surface, almost like it was swimming in a silver lake. For the first time in Draco's life, he was rendered speechless. If he wasn't mistaken, and he wasn't, this ring was rumored to be worn by Salazar Slytherin himself. Marveling in the beauty of his gift, he failed to notice that Hermione was opening his gift. With a peek into the box, Hermione gasped in delight. She lifted it out of the box to get a better look. It was a large snow globe with a silver base. Inside the globe were two little figures, one was a tall boy with blonde hair and wearing green robes. The other was a brown haired girl wearing red robes. When she shook the snow globe, the tiny little figures scurried about the snowy grounds, making snowballs and throwing them at each other. Tiny sounds of laughter emitted from the two little people. Hermione grinned at the gift. She raised her eyes to look at Draco, and he stared back at her. They both asked the same question at the same time.

"Where did you get this?" Simultaneously deciding that they didn't really care, they both tried to speak again. At the same time.

"I'm really-"

"I wanted to-" They both broke off, smiling.

"You first." Draco said, taking a seat on the wall next to Hermione. She paused for a moment and bit her lip.

"No...you go first." Draco looked as though he wanted to protest, but decided against it. Sighing happily as he glanced down at his ring, he began.

"All right. I'm sorry about how I reacted today. I realize that maybe you don't feel the same way about me. The moment felt right to tell you exactly what I was feeling. I shouldn't have ignored you this afternoon. So I just wanted to apologize for that. One more thing...how did you afford this? It's like a priceless chunk of history."

"I'm paying in favors."

"Favors?" Draco asked, anxiously. He didn't want anyone taking advantage of Hermione. If he had to, he'd bring the ring back.

"I offered to clean the entire shop."

"I'll come and help you if you'd like."

"It's your present, Draco."

"I don't care. I want to see where you managed to find it." Draco replied. What he said was true, but the real reason he wanted to go was to make sure that she'd be safe. Paying in favors wasn't the smartest way to go, but he knew that she couldn't afford the ring with just money.

"Now what did you want to tell me?" Draco asked, feeling a little down. She was probably going to tell him that she didn't want to see him ever again. Maybe telling her how he felt wasn't the way to go.

"First of all, I want to thank you for your gift. It's perfect in every way. I'll never forget this moment for as long as I live."

"You're welcome. I hoped you'd like it."

"I love it, Draco, thank you. But what I really wanted to tell you is related to what you said." Here it comes. Draco thought, sadly. "When you told me that you loved me, I didn't know what to do. I hadn't really thought about how deeply my feelings ran for you. Not until you told me how deep your feelings went. No one has ever told me that they loved me, besides my family of course. But I wasn't sure how I should react. I spent the rest of the day thinking about how I really felt. The thing is Draco, my mind is on one page and my heart is on another. You knew as well as I do how much we loathed each other for the past six years. At the beginning of the seventh year, it looked like it was going to be the same thing. My mind has been wary, saying that what I'm doing is stupid and deceitful. My heart has been elated. You know me, Draco. I have always been one to place logic before my emotions." Draco felt his heart sinking. Suddenly he felt her slide closer and place her hand over his. "Not this time." She whispered gently in his ear. Draco lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"I love you, Draco." She whispered, kissing him softly. Recovering from the initial shock, Draco pulled her towards him and deepened their kiss. She loves me? She loves me! He thought over and over. Through their kiss, Draco smiled happily. It was Christmas Day, he had received the best Christmas present of his life, and Hermione told him that she loved him. And it was snowing.