Disclaimer: not mine

A/N: sorry about the chapter confusion. This is the correct chapter 14. I hope you like it. Oh and the votes are in….I got more votes for my next one to be a combination of a time turner and mirror of erased story. Those who aren't crazy about time turner fics don't worry—I have no intentions of keeping her there forever or keeping her there in a normal fashion (you'll understand when I write it and you read it) and the mirror plays through out the entire thing. Hehehehe….enjoy this chapter. And please review!

Chapter 14

Merry Christmas

Lucius and Hermione were quite a site the next morning. Lucius woke up in his own bed to see Severus standing in the doorway smirking and shaking his head. The confusion on Lucius' face was evident. The last he remembered was being in the drawing room next to a naked Hermione.

"Draco moved you two in here. Smart boy. I shudder to think what noises would be flying through this house if you remained where you were."

Lucius, still attempting to wake completely rolled his eyes.

"The girl would have died otherwise, Severus. I found her in the snow."

Severus chuckled lightly.

"Yes, but you are in a house surrounded by Gryffindors. They seldom think before reacting."

"Too True, Severus."

Hermione had been asleep during this whispered conversation. She was sprawled out on her stomach under the green blanket. Unfortunately, before Lucius could get up she stirred a bit. Severus arched an eyebrow as he watched Hermione stir slightly and roll over throwing her arm and leg over Lucius. There were not enough blankets to keep her covered when she rolled though. Severus found his eyes wandering down her form. Her entire back was bare and though the blanket remained twisted around her bottom, her legs were still bare. The girl was covered and completely revealed at the same time.

"And what are you looking at Severus?"

Lucius' blood was boiling.

"Ah…just noticing the perks to being Miss Granger's white knight"

At that, a groggy Hermione lifted her head. Lucius watched her eyes widen as she realized where she was and what she wasn't wearing.

"Oh Merlin!"

She quickly wrapped the green blanket around her and scooted away as if in defense of a predator. She went too far and before she realized it, she found herself on the floor. Standing up holding the blanket wrapped around her she looked around frantically.

"My…my clothes…"

"Don't worry, Miss Granger. I don't think Lucius was complaining."

After seeing Hermione appalled, flabbergasted, indignant look as her mouth opened and closed, Severus left. The door closed with a loud echoing click. Memories filled Hermione. The snow…the muffled sound of Lucius…warming her…but how she got in his room, she did not know.

Lucius watched and noticed the light of recognition in her eyes as the memories came back.

"Oh," was all she said.

Lucius was sitting up in bed, eyeing her. She stood there holding a blanket wrapped around her as her only cover. The blanket was so long it dragged the ground. She was beautiful in Lucius' opinion, but still a bit pale. His thoughts were interrupted when his door opened again. Turning his head slowly with a raised eyebrow as if to ask 'what now,' he saw his son standing there.

Draco closed the door, as Hermione seemed to try to pull the blanket tighter around her chest.

"Father." He nodded his head to Lucius and then turned to Hermione. He held out a stack of clothes. Hermione just looked at him. Draco rolled his eyes.

"I would have brought you some clothes sooner, but I thought it best to wait until the Weaslette was out of the room."

Not wanting to wait for Hermione to take them, Draco sat the clothes on the foot of the bed. His eyes traveled back to Hermione standing there. A slight smirk played on his lips as he looked her up and down. Feeling rather uncomfortable, Hermione pulled the blanket tighter. Lucius cleared his throat.

"Draco," he asked with an inflection of a threat buried in his voice.

Draco's head snapped to his father and he looked down as if in shame.

"Sorry, father. Mrs. Weasley says breakfast will be in an hour so if you plan on unwrapping your gifts first to get your arses in there. Her words, not mine."

"Thank you, Draco. You may leave now."

Hermione watched Draco leave without a backwards glance or a comment worthy of him.

"I'll…um…I'm just going to…" Hermione indicated her clothes. Once she had them, she began to walk toward Lucius' side of the bed. A door leading to his bathroom was just a couple feet away. She never made it though. Lucius watched her walking in that blanket, reached out, and grabbed the blanket from behind. Hermione was not expecting that to happen when she walked passed him. He pulled her backward toward him. She stumbled back, having been caught off guard. She felt the back of her legs run into Lucius causing her to begin to fall back.

Lucius grabbed her around the waist and threw her the rest of the way over his legs and back on the bed. Hermione gasped and when she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw the cool silvery eyes of Lucius Malfoy hovering ever so close to her. His hands were still wrapped around her waist holding her in place. He leaned down closer as if to kiss her.

He didn't kiss her though her heart pounded as if he were.

"I saved you once. Let's not place ourselves in another situation that will require my assistance again."

He was so close to her that she could just barely feel his lips moving against her own when he spoke. Lucius closed his eyes willing himself not to kiss the girl.

"I can't," he said and Hermione thought she could hear the breaking of his voice.

"Yes, you can," she whispered against his lips.

"No, I can't," he said with much more force as he stood up off the bed. "You may change in here. I am going to shower before breakfast."

Hermione simply nodded her head not knowing what else to say. Once the bathroom door closed, Hermione hit her own forehead.

"Merlin, Hermione, what were you thinking. That is Lucius bloody Malfoy."

Dressing quickly she was gone before Lucius came out.

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Lucius wasn't very hungry, so instead of heading to the kitchen where everyone apparently was, he went to the drawing room and sat in a chair reading. Lucius knew when breakfast was over because slowly others began to dwindle in to open gifts. When Hermione showed up in the doorway Lucius looked up. Her color was back and by the looks of it, Mrs. Weasley must have had some pepper up potion stashed somewhere that she gave her. Remus, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Severus and Draco were already in the room. With a "Merry Christmas," Hermione ran across the room. Remus was the first one she came to. Hermione flung herself onto his lap and twisted around to hug him with a personal "Merry Christmas." Draco understood this meant nothing, but his eyes arched and immediately turned to his father when his father's booming voice filled the room.

"Miss Granger!" She jumped right out of Remus' lap landing next to him on the sofa. "What exactly are you doing? That is not the proper way for a…for a…"

Words failed Lucius Malfoy. Severus' eyebrows arched right along with Draco's in utter fascination. They were well aware of what Lucius was about to say. Hermione sat there wide eyed looking at Lucius. It wasn't an hour ago he was basically kicking her out of his room. Ginny quickly handed Hermione a gift in hopes of curbing an argument that was possibly brewing.

Lucius left the room as they opened their gifts. Hermione thought she had unwrapped all of hers when Ginny spoke up.

"Hermione, there is another one here for you."

She handed it to her. Curiosity stole over Hermione. She couldn't recall seeing this gift before. Slowly, she opened the small box. An old key with intertwined serpents carved in the handle sat in the middle with a small card. Lifting the card, she read it aloud upon Ginny's request.

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself."

"Huh?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron.

"It's a Chinese Proverb, Ronald."

Draco curiously looked over in the box at the key.

"I suppose it opens a door," Hermione said.

"Yep," Draco said. "It opens the library at Malfoy Manor."

"Did you?"

He shook his head no. That left only one other person. The person she had yet to give her gift to. Standing up, she picked up the gift she had to give and slowly made her way to Lucius' room.

Hermione stood outside Lucius' room with the package in hand. She debated whether to knock and risk him telling her to leave or just walk in. She came to a compromise. She would knock and she would enter whether he wanted her to or not. Lifting her knuckles to the door, she knocked lightly.

In his room, Lucius sat on his bed leaning against the headboard reading. The tentative light knock could only be one person.

"Enter, Miss Granger."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione entered the room closing the door behind her. He watched her expectantly. A slight smirk played at his lips as he watched her stand up straight and throw her head up high as she walked over to him and sat on the bed as if she had every right to. She placed a package in his lap and scooted over closer to him.

"Merry Christmas," she said as she leaned over and hugged him.

Lucius understood that it was meant to be just a friendly hug. But he felt her hands move their way up his chest and around his neck. Swallowing the lump in his throat and taking a deep breath, he hugged her back. When she pulled back her eyes were bright with excitement.

"Open it," she said.

He opened the gift in the same fashion Hermione opened all hers—slowly and carefully as if to save the paper. His eyes fell upon a silver picture frame with a most unexpected picture in it. Hermione saw the slight confusion that flitted across his face.

"Professor Slughorn had house elves running around with cameras that night. I asked if there was one of us."

The pictures was of Lucius and Hermione dancing, before she started to panic and ran off. In the picture, they were facing each other looking in the others' eyes. Hermione's arms were around his neck and his hands were slowly gliding down her arms. This was obviously, after he had placed her arms around his neck. Hermione and Lucius both knew how pictures worked in the wizarding world. The picture was a true picture and seemed to capture wants or desires at that moment just like when Harry was forced into pictures with Lockhart the pictures always showed Harry desperately trying to get away before the actual picture was taken. Therefore Lucius felt the lump forming in his throat again as he watched the picture Hermione and Lucius. When the picture Lucius' hands swept down her arms, he then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, holding her close and tight. Then in truth of their actual actions that night, Lucius twirled her around the dance floor.

Lucius didn't really know what to say for a moment. His eyes left the picture and looked up at Hermione.

"Why would you give me this?"

She looked down picking at the bed covers. She was nervous.

"I…I…well, I just wanted you to have a picture that reminded you not of the man you used to be or the man you try to be, but of the man you are capable of being."

Lucius looked Hermione in the eyes knowing he needed to stop this and stop it now.

"You are deluded by a silly school girl fantasy."

He watched as Hermione suddenly stopped fiddling with the bed covers. She sat perfectly still before looking down at the picture lying in his lap. As she got off the bed, she reached over and picked up the picture. She stood there looking at it, shaking her head.

"How could I be so blind," she whispered. Turning from the bed she mumbled an apology as she nearly ran out the room, taking the picture with her.

Storming down the hall, Hermione caught a glimpse of Mrs. Weasley stomping out of the drawing room in a huff. Hermione stormed into the room and went straight to her school bag where she shoved the picture in its frame into her bag. Severus watched, knowing what she was shoving in there. Silently he stood to go have a talk with his dear friend. Hermione turned to look at the rest of the occupants.

"What was wrong with you mum, Ron?"

"She's mad at everyone. Charley sent me a couple bottles of Romanian Firewhiskey and mum wanted to confiscate it, but dad told her I was technically an adult, age wise, and I could drink it if I wanted."

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Severus could not believe what he just walked in on in the drawing room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been in bed for a couple hours now and Severus had forgotten about the firewhiskey fiasco earlier that day. The sight in the drawing room reminded him though. Lucius walked in behind him and stopped in his tracks when he saw at least one empty firewhiskey bottle and Hermione Granger sitting around with her own glass of it with her friends. The two men remained silent watching these friends.

Lucius stepped to the side of the doorway, so as not to be under the mistletoe. Severus, was not as quick witted at that moment though and found himself trapped. Hermione looked up, her face was flushed from the alcohol in her system. Her eyes fell on Lucius. His refusal to accept her gift as nothing but schoolgirl fantasy replayed in her mind. Then her eyes fell on the very trapped Severus.

"Hey, Snape is stuck!" Fred yelled out.

Lucius eyes narrowed as he watched Hermione in her pajamas stand up. Her satiny robe was open and fanned out behind her as she ran toward Severus and jumped up in his arms, wrapping her legs around him. Instinctively, Severus grabbed her and held her there. She looked down at him and kissed him hard enough that it knocked Severus into the door frame.

"BLOODY HELL! HERMIONE!"

Ron was angry and it was written all over his face. Hermione stopped kissing her old potions professor and smiled before looking over at Ron and hopping down on her feet again.

"Its nothing I've never done before."

Ron's mouth opened and closed while everyone else just stared at her. She forgot that no one else knew about her mistletoe experience, but Draco was happy to fill them in. When the room was silent, Severus' eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Hermione.

"Miss Granger, since when do you take to such frivolities as this." He indicated the firewhiskey. Lucius had watched the events and his blood was beyond boiling. He could feel a rage shaking him to the core and when she answered Severus' question it sent him over the edge. He didn't even stopped to question why this angered him. It just did.

Hermione looked over at Severus and shrugged her shoulder before answering.

"I'm just being the deluded silly school girl I have been told I am."

Her voice held a mock innocence. Lucius burst forward off the wall and grabbed Hermione by her arm. He began to drag her out of the room, but she protested. Finally, Lucius leaned over and lifted her up over his shoulder. Harry and Ron stood to help their friend, but Severus stopped them.

"Weasley, Potter, don't even think about it."

Harry sat down and looked to Severus with the utmost hate.

"If anything happens to her I will kill you both."

Hermione was kicking and screaming all the way down the hall.

"No! Put me down! Lucius Malfoy!"

He kicked open his bedroom door and then headed into his bathroom. He turned the shower on and as soon as the water started to fall from the showerhead, Lucius plopped Hermione down on her arse in the stream. Hermione gasped as the cold water hit her skin.

"Now, Miss Granger, get your head on as straight as you normally do, clean yourself up, and get your arse out here. I would like a word with a very sober Hermione Granger."

With that, Lucius shut the bathroom door. Hermione still sat at the bottom of the tub in her pajamas and robe. As the water splashed down on her, soaking her, she pulled her legs up to her, wrapping her arms around her legs and let the tears wash away in the flowing water.