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A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! well...now that I've got that across...so...here's chapter 11! I hope you like it...this is the chapter that i've been promising some readers! And this is sort of my Christmas gift to my loyal and friendly (because you never gave me a flame! I love you all so much) readers. Thanks for all your support! You can make my revision filled Christmas happier if you review hint hint.
Dream
He sat in the quiet room. Alone. Solitarily staring into the crackling flames. It was as if he was spending his time in the Manor. Yet it felt different. In the couch he sat on, he'd finally felt warmth and belonging.
So unlike the dread in his 'home'.
The coldness. The lumbering darkness in there.
A place where he's just a pawn. His trap.
He was in control here. In control of those who followed him, his grades, his appearance…everything-
"Draco?" a soft voice said.
Everything but her.
He turned towards the voice, his face blanked. It was a habit, hard to break, even though she insisted on seeing his emotions. He saw her. A beautiful creature. Poised and sophisticated. She stood there by the entrance, peering concernedly at him.
"Are you okay?" she asked, tugging at the band that bound her lively hair together. It was truly amazing that it had taken him such a long time to see the energy that resided in her caramel locks.
"Draco? Are you okay?" she asked uncertainly again.
"What makes you think that I'm not, Granger?" he asked aloofly.
"Malfoy, it's rude to answer with a question." She said good-naturedly.
"You never seemed to care before. And when did I turn back to 'Malfoy'?" he said as he watched Hermione plop herself down next to him with a gentle smile.
"Since you started calling me 'Granger'." She said, leaning against him as she swung her legs onto the couch and opened a book to read.
They sat there, in silent and peace, comfortable with each other. It was often like that. They just enjoyed each other's presence. They didn't talk about it.
No one knew of their relationship. It was illicit. The forbidden fruit of Eden. There was no word for their relationship. It was just there.
It existed in the moment.
Passionate and comforting.
"I thought you were going back for Christmas." He said, still staring into the dancing flame.
"I was, but…things changed. Decided that I want to spend my last Christmas here." She said without looking up from her book that she was seemed so engrossed with.
"Where are Potter and Weasley?" he asked skeptically, looking away from the flames. "Shouldn't you be spending your Christmas with them?"
"They're playing chess. Harry's bent on winning Ron this year. They won't be leaving the common room anytime soon. They are so noisy…every five minutes…Ron laughing and Harry groaning." Hermione said, continuing with the book on her lap.
"I see." Draco said, looking back at the glowing colors in the fireplace.
What was he expecting anyway? They weren't supposed to be together. They didn't have a future.
"I wanted to spend time with you, Draco. Just you." Her voice made him look back at her. She was looking at him. With a smile. A soft smile that she showed to no one but the closest to her. He had seen her with this smile with Potter and Weasley. The utter adore in her eyes.
She leaned towards him and brushed her lips gently against him.
xxXxx
"I used to look outside the window every winter but I never went out to play." He said softly looking at the pristine snow around them. Everyone had either returned home for Christmas or visited Hogsmeade, so Hermione decided that they just had to come out into the snow and enjoyed the weather.
"Why?" she asked in front him, so giddy that she was close to skipping. "Don't you ever play in the snow?"
"A Malfoy's heir is not allowed to." He replied simply.
"Is that so?" she said, her eyes twinkling in mischief, as she bent down and grabbed a fistful of snow and hurled it his way. It hit him squarely in the face.
"What the-" he exclaimed as he wiped the snow off his face. He saw her running away from him, yelling for him to 'get her back'.
He caught up with her quickly as his longer legs carried him a bigger distance compared to hers. His arms snaked around her waist as he turned the girl around. Her face was rosy from the wind that had hit her face whilst running. Her eyes glowing with life. He was sure that he could not find anything better than the girl before him. He knew that he would never find anything as precious as the girl before him.
He watched her squirming as she tried –unsuccessfully- to get out of his hold. A wicked thought came to him. His fingers started to dance. With a gasp, she writhed violently under his ministrations. He continued tickling her until she gave a hard tug to pull herself out of his reach. After that, as if in slow motion, she lost her balance and fell back. She landed, unceremoniously, on the snow.
"That, was cheating," she said, an accusing look plastered badly on her face, as he sat beside her on the thick soft snow. "You know I'm awfully ticklish."
"Alas, my lady," his voice mocking as he looked over at his side. "It is the one who knows the enemy who wins the battle."
She smiled brightly at him, understanding him perfectly.
"C'mon, let's go in for some hot chocolate." She said, her breath shallow from the activities they'd indulged in.
He looked at her, smiling at the enthusiasm she showed. He stood up and helped her up. How he wished that everyday could –and would- be like this. Just him and her. No one else. Only for them to enjoy.
xxXxx
He walked in quietly, as if afraid to wake an unspoken evil, while she was seated comfortably in her place, reading yet another book he did not think she would need in her future.
It was evening. Their common room was warm with the soft glow of light. He sat down opposite the young girl, his hand gripping a sheet of paper loosely. He looked at her and admired the intense and concentrated expression on her face. The illuminating light from the hearth highlighting all her best features. She acknowledged him with a smile before returning to the volume in her hands. He then contented himself with just looking at her.
He waited, as the content of the letter overwhelmed him. He remained silent until he could bear it no more.
"What would you do?" He said monotonously, looking over at the girl huddled in the armchair with an enormous-looking book. "If you had to do something you don't believe in?"
She looked up sharply. The glazed look on her face when she concentrated was gone. He could almost see the clogs in her head turning at an inhumane speed.
"What's this about?" she asked, choosing her vocabularies carefully. This was an area they had yet to touch. Choices –it was too sensitive. Linking so closely with the dismal future.
"I don't know, just asking." He replied, evading her question.
It was silent then. Neither spoke as they tried to anticipate where this conversation would lead them. A triumph? Or a heartbreak? It linked too much to the time coming to be an innocent question.
"Say no." she broke the silence softly. Her eyes looked at him with a resolute passion that she had always shown to a cause.
" 'Mione, I-" he began, not knowing how to respond to her…Plea? Demand?
"Say no, Draco." She said more firmly. "What will you gain from something you don't believe in? Money? Power? Love?"
"I don't know." He said, looking thoughtfully at the letter.
"Then say no!" she exclaimed. "You are allowed to decide. You have a choice!"
"Some people don't have a choice, Hermione. Some people are controlled by a stronger force." He said softly.
"Of course not! Everyone has a choice. The chance to seize what they want. Is the cause what you want?" she said heatedly, glaring venomously at the letter in his hand as if she knew what it was about.
Maybe she did.
"Draco, you've a free will." She continued, softer after her outburst. "You make your own choices. Some people may not like your choice. But no one can condemn your decisions. Not Snape. Not me…Not even your father. You're not a caged bird. You're an eagle. An eagle that flies in the sky. Right?"
He looked at her. And saw her. Really saw her. The strength. The passions. The vibrant and vivacious woman that she was becoming.
She was truly beautiful.
Not just physically but spiritually. This moment, she was beautiful, more than ever. She meant so much to him. His light. His guidance.
"Yes." he replied, his voice barely above a whisper.
She heard him though. She smiled and slowly sat next to him. She enveloped him into a hug as they gazed at the blazing fire in its hearth, enjoying each other's precious company.
"Stay here with me."
"Okay." She said, snuggling closer to him.
The snow danced furiously beyond their world, as if foretelling the end.
But, it didn't matter.
This moment was theirs. Theirs alone.
Theirs.
A/N: So how was this as a flashback? From me to you as a Christmas prezzy! Since it's christmas...please be nice and press that lil' button down there and review, please?! I would love you so much if you do...>w ! Please Review with hot fudge and cocoa sprinkles on cookie n' cream and chocolate ice cream! MERRY CHRISTMAS once again!