Christmas with the Humbug; Part two

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Notes: I'm continuing all of my stories as though The Half Blood Prince doesn't exist. It's a good book, but a LOT of the events don't tie in with my plot. Thank you, PoD

X

The morning was heralded with a fresh coat of sparkling, white snow and a surreal peacefulness. That is to say, outside it was peaceful. In the corridors of Snape Manor, there was complete chaos.

Severus woke to his usual mug of black coffee brought in by Manny, and a copy of The Daily Prophet. Just as he was settling in at the kitchen table, Winny came bustling into the room, looking incredibly flustered. She rushed over to him and he was struck with an irrational wave of panic.

"What is it, Winny?" he asked, trying to calm himself.

"I was just speaking to Quinn about Miss Hermione, and she told me that she had heard strange noises coming from the new Mistress' room, and then there were screams. I was going to go and check on her, but I thought that I should let you handle the matter," she said, nearly in one breath.

Severus said nothing, but he stood quickly and swept through the house to Hermione's room, where he threw the door open. He had to do a double take on the scene before him. Draco Malfoy… his god son… was in bed… with HERMIONE! NAKED!

"What is the meaning of this?" he exclaimed, rousing the lovers rather quickly.

Hermione was the first to recover. She sat up, covering herself with the blanket as she did so. "Um… Severus… it's not what it looks like."

"Really? Because it looks, to me, like you and Draco are lying in bed together, with no clothing on," he said, raising an eyebrow, "Usually that means… one thing."

"Okay… so maybe it is what it looks like," she said, "But- er… there's a perfectly good explanation."

"Well, then I trust that you both will quickly dress and be downstairs for breakfast to tell me all about it," he said, and, eyeing Draco, almost coldly, left the room.

Draco turned to Hermione, who was as white as a sheet. "Listen, Sev's a pretty understanding guy. I'm sure that once we tell him that we're going steady, he won't mind as much."

"But he seemed so furious! I never should have let you stay," she said, running a hand through her hair, "I knew you wouldn't behave."

"Listen, he's only mad because he thinks I'm a rake," Draco said, "He thinks you'll get hurt."

Hermione looked over at him, in a slightly better mood, and got out of bed. "Well, I should shower before we head down. I'm feeling rather dirty."

Draco grinned, following her silently.

x

Approximately thirty minutes later, Draco walked into the kitchen wearing black jeans and a semi- tight green t-shirt. He was, moments later, followed by Hermione, who was wearing blue- jeans and a yellow peasant top. They sat down at the table and faced Severus, who looked increasingly outraged. He had, of course, noticed that Hermione was still slightly flushed from the obvious 'activity' in the shower, and was positively steaming.

"So, Sev, what exactly do you want to know?" Draco asked, casually.

Severus' left eyebrow rose slightly. "I want to know why you- did that- with her?"

"Well," he said, smirking, "when a man and woman-."

"What Draco is trying to say," Hermione interrupted, "is that he and I have been going together for a while, and… well…"

"Well, what?" Severus snapped impatiently, "Nothing you say can erase the things that Draco has done in the past. He's an unscrupulous womanizer, and I don't want to see you get hurt like all of his other- projects."

"Projects?" Draco said, wrinkling his nose in distaste for the word.

"Listen, I don't want to make you worry, but I love Draco," she said, "And I know he loves me. He may have been like that before, but… I think he's… changed."

Severus watched the emotions in her eyes and realized how much truth was in her words. He sighed. "Very well," he said, "I will let you off this time, but please refrain from doing anything in this house again. Oh, and Draco?"

He turned.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," Severus said.

Draco smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

As they walked away, Severus shook his head. "She's too good for him…"

x

Hermione smiled at Draco as they sat in the cozy front room, soaking up the warmth that the giant, blazing fire was emanating. They were sharing one of the larger, plush arm chairs, and Hermione was curled up on his lap, encircled by his strong arms.

"So, how are you enjoying your Christmas vacation?" he asked softly.

"Brilliant… best yet, in fact," she said, smiling as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Did you know that you smell very good?" he inquired, nuzzling the top of her head, inhaling her scent, "Whatever soap you use, don't stop."

"I won't," she replied lazily.

"Aren't your friends coming over today?" Severus said from the doorway.

"Yes," Hermione called, "They'll be over around mid-day."

With that, Severus turned and walked away muttering about disgusting displays of affection. Hermione smiled up at Draco, suddenly hatching a very evil idea.

"Sev has a love interest," she said suddenly.

Draco blinked. "What?"

"It's true. It's Tonks," she stated, nodding, "Trust me, I know these things."

"Really? And why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Well, besides the fact that he's your Godfather, and I thought you might like to know, if he's preoccupied with a girlfriend, you and I could spend more time with each other," she said, smiling at him innocently.

"So you want me to help you get them together…" he finished, sighing, "Tell me what to do."

x

"Sev! Severus!" Draco yelled bursting into his study, "Tonks just arrived! She came through the floo network and- you know how clumsy she is- she stumbled out of the fireplace. I don't know exactly what happened, but her leg- I think it's broken! Hurry, she must be in loads of pain!"

Severus immediately dropped what he was doing and followed Draco down the stairs. I hope you're right, Hermione…

Meanwhile, Hermione had flooed to Grimmauld Place and ran into the kitchen. She grabbed Tonks by the arm and pulled her from the room, winking at Remus as she left.

"Hermione, what's the meaning of this?" Tonks exclaimed.

"There's no time to talk! There's been an accident! Severus was making the Veritaserum, and I ran in to the room and he spilled all of the Unicorn hair, and… it just exploded! He's really hurt, and I don't know what to do, but he keeps asking for you!" Hermione said, actually managing tears.

"Let's go," Tonks said, suddenly as graceful as a cat.

This is totally going to work!

Severus and Tonks ran into the room at the same time. They turned to their respective captives, who promptly shut the doors in their faces. Hermione put up as many wards as she could think of and ran over to Draco's door, where they exchanged evil smirks.

"You're not coming out of there until you tell each other exactly how you feel!" Hermione yelled through the door.

"Well, Sev, we might as well get comfortable. We'll be in here for a while," Tonks said, sitting down on the large sofa in the middle of the room.

Severus sat down at the opposite end of the couch. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," she said, taking a deep breath, "That, while I have no problem admitting how much I love you, you're as closed off as those doors."

It took a moment for Severus to realize what she had just said, at which time he looked up at her, questioningly. She simply smiled, blushing brightly. He grinned.

"I'll have you know, Nymphadora," he said, purring her name as he moved closer to her on the couch, "That I have no problem expressing my feelings, though I may not do so in words…"

He captured her lips in a tender kiss, attempting to convey all of his feelings for her in that single moment. She brought her arms up and around his neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. When they pulled apart, she smiled.

"My name sounds so much better coming from your lips," she said, and he kissed her again.

"I think it worked," Hermione said, removing her wards and dragging a speechless Draco away from the door.

"Yeah…" Draco said, his eyes wide, "Sev was being… so…"

"Romantic?" Hermione offered.

He blinked. "Yeah."

"Does that surprise you?" she asked.

"Of course it does! You think you know a guy…" he said, shaking his head.

"I thought I knew you," she said, still pulling him through the house.

"Yeah, but that's different," he replied, grinning when he saw where she was leading him.

"How so?" she asked.

"It… well- it just is," he said, stubbornly.

She pulled him through the door, laughing when she saw the look on his face. "Don't get any ideas. I'm not getting in trouble again. That's why we're going to your house!"

"Really?" Draco said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Just for a few hours. I think Sev is preoccupied enough that we can get away for that long," she said, offering him the floo powder.

"Right. A few hours. That's long enough," he said, smirking as he took a handful.

XHPX

So… Review as always, and I'm terribly sorry that it's been taking so long to update all of my stories. I've had major writers block… that and work and friends… no TIME or INSPIRATION. Sad days, indeed. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer and take less time to complete. Major plot in the next, so watch for it! (and never give up!)