Disclaimer- I don't own it. Go eat a veggie burger.
A/N- I have a beta! Yay! I hope all of you will forgive me for falling into the horrible cliché of Hermione being a singer. But I couldn't help myself! I know, there are no excuses for falling prey to a cliché like that. Ah well, I needed it for the later plot. That bit'll be clichéd, but the purpose I use it for probably won't be too bad. Now, without further ado...
ON WITH THE MADNESS!
-Killing Me Softly-
-Chapter 6- O Christmas Tree-
Just over an hour after Hermione and Ginny had come outside they were sitting together on the same tree branch that Hermione and Draco had sat on only days before. Hermione had conjured Ginny a steaming mug of hot chocolate and herself a cup of peppermint tea. She sat with her back against the tree's trunk and Ginny sat cross-legged on a particularly thick part of the sturdy branch. As they sipped their steaming drinks they watched the sun set over the lake. The orange-red sky sparkled on the surface of the calm, partially iced over lake.
"Mo?" Ginny said, using the nickname she had given Hermione when she had been in third year. "Where have you been these past days?" Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but Ginny cut her off. "I know you weren't at home, I flooed you last night and your parents said they hadn't seen you since you left for school in September. Don't lie to me Mo, I want to know." Ginny, despite her rather nosy nature, was not one to ask questions. She always liked to answer any she had on her own. So when she did ask something Hermione knew that it was in her best interest to answer them truthfully.
"I- Well you see-"Hermione started.
"Spill," Ginny said rather roughly.
"Alright. Well, you know how horrible Draco's been to me, to everybody, all these years. I don't know, I guess I just sort of snapped..." Hermione proceeded to tell Ginny everything that had happened over the past three days. When she got to the part about Draco not wanting to be a Death Eater, Ginny burst into giggles.
"Dang," she said when she had collected herself. "That's rather unexpected..."
"Tell me about it. He's such an egotistical bastard, who've thought Draco would be... well, I don't know if I should say good, maybe more... neutral?" Hermione said contemplatively.
"An egotistical bastard, eh? Is that why you call him Draco?" Ginny smirked at Hermione in an almost Slytherin manner.
"I do not!" Hermione said indignantly.
"Yes you do, you said 'who've thought Draco would be...'" Ginny contradicted. "Now," she said before Hermione could say anything "I've finished my chocolate and you your tea, so let's go in." She leapt to the ground and started up the path to the castle.
"Hey! Hey, wait!" Hermione cried, chasing after Ginny.
--
Hermione woke up on Christmas morning to a soft voice whispering in her ear.
"Hermione... Hermione, it's Draco... I want to shag like rabbits 'til the cows come home..." Hermione smiled, still half asleep, into her pillow.
"Not until I've had my tea..." she mumbled.
"HA!" Ginny laughed, "I knew it! You think The Ferret is shaggable!"
"What! I didn't- I never-"Hermione stuttered.
"It's ok, I know you lust after the worm. Now, come open presents! You've got a fair chunk left..."
"Left?" Hermione questioned.
"Er... well, you see... Crooks got curious..." Ginny explained. "But don't worry," she added hastily. "Nothing's ruined. Just the wrapping." She pulled Hermione to the foot of her bed where, just as Ginny had said, there sat a pile of bedraggled presents.
"So, how did you get in here?" Hermione asked, as she tore open a lumpy package, the annual Weasley Sweater no doubt.
"You gave me the password a while back, remember?" Ginny replied.
"Ah yes. Shame really..." Hermione ducked Ginny's swat and turned back to her presents. The sweater, she noted with great joy, was for once not pink, but a deep shade of red with gold trimming.
Hermione pulled the next present towards her and opened it carefully. After folding the paper neatly (a habit she had picked up from her grandmother) she looked to see what the gift was.
"A harmonica?" she questioned, confused.
"Yes. I- I've decided to... letyouteachme." Ginny forced the words out with reluctance. "So I got you a new one and- and we can start lessons whenever you want." Hermione was by this time positively beaming. She had wanted to teach Ginny how to play the harmonica ever since they had become friends. In fact, that was how they had become friends. The summer after third year Hermione had been staying at the Burrow and was looking for someone to teach her newly acquired skill. Someone to pass on the wisdom to, so to speak. Hermione had come to Ginny after being mercilessly turned down by first Ron and then Harry and had, literally, gotten down on her knees and begged. Ginny, like Harry and Ron, had refused, but the two girls got to talking and by the time Hermione left The Burrow at the end of the summer they were fast friends. But Hermione never had given up her 'quest'. At least once a month she asked Ginny to let her give her lessons. Both girls were incredibly stubborn so for Ginny to give up and let Hermione win was extremely difficult. Hermione greatly appreciated the sacrifice, but she wasn't about to give Ginny an easy time about it.
"So, the great Queen of Bullheadedness has finally given up? That's a first," Hermione smirked.
"Oh please, you know you're ten times more stubborn than me," Ginny said with a pout.
"I," Hermione said. "Than I." Ginny stuck out her tongue and reached for a small green package.
"This one's from you," Ginny said as she attempted, and failed, to untie the present's black bow.
"How'd you know!"
"Well, first of all, you're the only person I know who can tie bows this tightly, with or without magic –will you pass me those scissors?- and second you're just about the only Gryffindor who wraps presents in green."
"It's a pretty color. I'm not about to let a little house rivalry stop me from liking it." Hermione shrugged.
"So what's this supposed to be?" Ginny questioned, holding up the round flat object that much cutting and ripping had unveiled.
"It's a muggle CD I burned this summer. I've charmed it to work here. You have no idea how long that took me."
"What, all of five minutes?" Ginny teased. Hermione hit her over the head with a book she had just unwrapped. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry," Ginny apologized. "So, what's on it?"
"I'm surprised you actually remembered what a CD is," Hermione smirked. "A wide variety of muggle music. Some stuff from musicals and operas I like, some songs by a few good bands, and, of course, some stuff by yours truly, or at least sung by me. I can't write music to save my life. You know I think wizarding music is awful, you need to be introduced to the joys of The Cranberries, Marvin Pontiac, and RENT."
"Don't you need a... DC player or something to make it work?" Ginny asked.
"Open that purple package right there," Hermione replied. When Ginny had torn open the package (with much help from the scissors) Hermione said, "The charm on that'll have to be refreshed every so often. I've got it running on magic instead of batteries and the charm may die every month or two, more often if you use it a lot. I can teach you how to do it."
"Thanks," Ginny said, picking up the bright pink boom box that sat in her lap. "I shall name it... Millie!" Hermione laughed. Both girls had an odd habit of giving inanimate objects names, although they hardly ever remembered them. This habit probably derived from Hermione's strong belief in everything, living or not, having equal rights.
"So. We can schedule your first harmonica lesson for some time next month, assuming you don't want to start during the holiday season," Hermione said in a business-like manner.
"Sure, whatever. Now, let's go down and eat! I'm half starved! You know it's lunch already." Ginny pulled Hermione out of the room and down the stairs. In the common room Draco was sprawled elegantly on the couch, reading a book. Ginny glanced at him for a brief moment before bursting into giggles, causing Draco to look up. His eyes met Hermione's and he raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. Hermione rolled her eyes and dragged Ginny by the wrist through the portrait hole.
Still giggling madly Ginny skipped down the corridor, with Hermione following behind her in a much more dignified manner.
-End Chapter 6-
A/N- Thanks muchly to my fantasticifying beta, akgurl61690. I don't know who wrote the song for this chapter, all I know is that it wasn't me. I chose it because I just realized I've completely failed to mention a Christmas tree at all in this chapter. It's so depressing. Now, REVIEW! I deserve it since I wrote such short, to the point author's notes this chappie.
THANKS (25 REVIEWS!!! SCORE!!!)
blackhorse darkrider- Your mention of the incident has cheered me up considerably. I won't mention it, I'll only say this: thanks for bringing it up. Giggle.
Ok, to answer your questions: I think I said around a week, but then I decided that I didn't have energy to write that much. So I just made it three days. Besides, you really wouldn't wish five days of closet confinement on a free spirit like Blaise, would you? Ginny was informed, like Harry and Ronald, that Hermione would be at home for Christmas. However, on the last night of Hermione's 'absence', Ginny flooed her house. She wasn't there, so of course Ginny knew that she had been lying. That of course led to their confrontation in chapter... um, 4 or 5 I think. Wait... it was this chapter. I really need to update more often. I'd already gotten a beta when I got your review, so that won't quite work out. Quite sorry about that.
Ah, well of course I was kidding when I said that in my bio. Kristin was lucky because if I hadn't already had the chappie written she would have had to wait something like a month for the next update. Thanks for the review!
akgurl61690- Thanks for the review! I think this chappie is a bit longer... I'm not sure. It may actually be a bit shorter. Also, I've been meaning to ask you, do the numbers have any significance or are they just numbers? Again, much thanks for the review!