27
Christmas at Baudilaire...
Hermione woke to the sound of voices arguing. Her first instinct was that Ginny and Draco were at it, but the arguing seemed good natured, almost playful.
"That's not fair!" one voice protested as Hermione pulled on her dressing robe.
"It is too!" the other voice retaliated as she stepped from her room.
"Oh right! You get an entire city and all I get is a mountain."
"But you get the girl."
"True. But you still have a kingdom."
"City."
Hermione turned the corner into the common room and stared. Ginny and Draco were sitting across from each other, a fire dying in the grate. Some how they seemed childish, and carefree. Ginny looked up as Hermione entered. "Oh, hey, Mione."
Draco looked up as well, a grin on his face. Hermione might have been freaked if the grin didn't seem genuine.
"Come join the party, Her-my-own-ninny."
Hermione looked around to see Viktor sitting in a chair across the room, a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. Hermione relented and traveled down the stairs to the unlikely pair lounging against each other.
Ginny lept easily to her feet, showing no depletion in energy for one who had stayed up all night. She pulled down the four remaining stockings over the fireplace, the others having gotten them in thier rooms. She passed out the stockings and they delved into thier fabricy depths. Ginny was soon leaning against Draco's side, eating chocolate frogs and shuffling the cards she had gotten as Draco examined a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, trying to descern if it was safe to eat. Hermione oohed over the books Ginny had given her as Krum fidgeted. Ginny noticed a small package lying in his hand and nudged Draco. He followed her gaze and grinned. She nodded her head toward the door from the common room. He nodded and they disappeared.
Hermione wondered briefly if Draco knew that was the girl's bath room.
(A/N: Short I know. But there really wasn't that much to say. I'm going back to the Torrey-Snape thing in a minute.)