A/N: This is a gift fic for DarylDixon'sGirl1985. I hope you enjoy it.
A Pear Tree
'Hermione…HERMIONE!'
Hermione raced out of the bathroom with her toothbrush in hand, dripping toothpaste down her arm, and toothpaste smeared on her lips. 'What's wrong?' she called down the stairs to her mother.
Mrs Granger turned away from the open front door to look up at her with a frown, pointing outside. 'Care to explain why there's a pear tree growing in the middle of the garden?'
Hermione returned the frown, coming down the stairs. 'Pear tree? Is that what you said?'
Mrs Granger turned to look back outside, the chill of winter hitting Hermione before she'd reached the bottom of the stairs. She shivered violently for a moment in her thin cotton pyjamas. Yes, right where her mum's rose bush used to be was a pear tree.
'A pear tree,' Mrs Grangers confirmed, turning to look at her. 'Not your doing then?'
'Why would I put something like that in the garden?' She pointed at it with her toothbrush, a spray of toothpaste flying out the door.
'I don't know. I thought you were trying to be clever for Christmas,' she said with a shrug, closing the door.
'I don't even like that carol.' Hermione wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. 'Also, why would I do that when it's sudden appearance would have to be explained to the neighbours?'
Mrs Granger laughed. 'They've only just noticed that we painted the front door.'
'That was eight months ago,' Hermione said.
'Exactly.' Mrs Granger started to walk into the front room when she turned back. 'But do get rid of it soon. Not sure I want a partridge fluttering around the place.'
Hermione hauled the front door open again. Yes, there was indeed a partridge sitting at the very top of the tree. And it was snowing too, almost as if to make a point.
'Merry Christmas, by the way,' Mrs Granger called through to her.
XXXXXX
Hermione sat on the bench windowsill of the bay window in her bedroom with Ginny. Both of them sat sideways, looking out of the window, cradling hot chocolates.
'Are you sure there wasn't a note in the tree?' Ginny asked after they'd sat staring at the pear tree for a few minutes.
It was Boxing Day and she'd asked Ginny to come to her before she went to the Weasleys with her presents and for a second Christmas dinner. She'd told her about the mysterious appearance of the discussed tree and here they were.
'It's been snowing for the last week, I'm not searching through the tree for a note.'
'Oh honestly. I swear the witch goes right out of you when you're with your parents.' Ginny shoved the window open, handing Hermione her cup. 'Accio note!' Ginny pointed her wand at the tree.
'Oh my god!' Hermione shrieked when the poor partridge came zooming at them from the depths of the tree, snow flying everywhere. Ginny, with her Quidditch training reflexes, threw her wand away and caught the bird with a gentle hand.
'Sorry, sorry, sorry,' Ginny kept saying to the bird, holding him at arms length. He looked a little dazed but not injured.
Hermione moved quickly to put their cups down on her desk before returning to look at the bird.
'It's on his leg,' Ginny said, gently turning her hand to expose the leg with a delicate piece of parchment wrapped around it.
Hermione used her wand to remove the note before Ginny let him back out into the garden.
Merry Christmas, Hermione.
She flipped it over, expecting more. She didn't even recognise the handwriting.
'Er, Hermione,' Ginny started.
'Shut the window,' Hermione said with a shiver, taking a seat on the windowsill again.
'Don't suppose you know what turtle doves look like?' Ginny turned to look at Hermione. 'Because I think you've got two of them in the tree now.'
Hermione leant over quickly, an elbow digging painfully into Ginny's thigh, and spotted two distinct looking birds nestled close together on an outside branch.
'I'm not summoning that note,' Ginny deadpanned.
Tutting, Hermione pulled the window shut. 'This is ridiculous. What happens when we get to day eight?' she asked indignantly.
XXXXXX
Having talked it over with the Weasley family and Harry, all of them promising that it was none of them doing this, they went through the lyrics of The Twelve Days of Christmas so that she could prepare herself. Should the pattern continue, of course. Charlie was of particular use when he pulled out a book on wild birds as he raised concerns over the turtle doves living in snowy conditions when usually they would have migrated by now.
'I like birds more than dragons,' he grumbled when George started calling him Percy.
It was later that evening she was looking up the information on the current residents of the tree and realised that the poor partridge was out of his natural habitat too. Whomever this prankster was would get a piece of her mind once she discovered them. Especially, now that the knowledge was there, she couldn't leave the birds in the tree on another snowy night.
Once the birds were settled in cages for the night, in the kitchen, with the partridge in one and the paired doves in another, Hermione spotted the notes around a leg of each dove. With a small flick of her wand, the notes came to her with the birds barely waking up.
The first note read: They say turtle doves represent love and new life.
The second read: Please remember this when I reveal myself.
XXXXXX
When Hermione entered the kitchen the next morning, the two cages were now on the kitchen table between her parents, and the table was set for breakfast, with a bowl of boiled eggs placed in front of Hermione's seat.
Mrs Granger smiled, or rather smirked at her. Her father was currently reading the book Charlie had lent her.
'Hens?' Hermione pointed at the eggs. Mrs Granger pointed to the back door at the other side of the room.
Sighing, Hermione pulled her cardigan tightly around herself and went to look. The snow was coming down thicker, blurring her vision slightly, but as she gingerly stepped into the garden, she saw the three coops, with three little beaks just visible in a small doorway.
'At least we don't have to come up with names for them,' Mrs Granger called from the door.
And there above each doorway were the words- Faith, Hope, and Love.
XXXXXX
Walking back into her bedroom after her morning shower Hermione screamed while clutching at the towel around her body.
'You have company,' Mrs Granger called from downstairs.
'It's half past seven,' she said loud enough for her mother to hear too.
Harry, Ginny, and Ron were currently sat on her bed, expectant looks on their faces.
'It's the fourth day,' Ron said simply. Harry and Ginny began nodding their heads.
'Ron, do you still have three sausages?' Mr Granger's voice suddenly called up the stairs. Trust Ron to still get on with her parents, even after they'd spilt up. Trust her to still get on with Ron!
'Yes. Thank you, Mr Granger,' he called back, standing up to start pulling clothes out of the drawers for Hermione.
'Ginny? Harry?'
'The usual,' they shouted back in unison.
Hermione stared back into the hallway, waiting a moment to see if her parents had anything else to add to the situation. A moment of silence confirmed they didn't.
'I'm well aware it's the fourth day,' Hermione snapped, snatching her clothes off Ron.
'We've got bets on what calling birds are,' Harry explained.
'So you thought you'd turn up at my house at an unreasonable hour to find out?' Hermione picked up her wand from her desk and pointed it at her three friends. 'Get out of my room before I curse you all into the new year!'
They raced out like a herd of elephants, leaving her to get dressed in peace. She'd barely gotten her favourite dress over her head when Ginny shouted up the stairs that the birds were already in the pear tree. Ignoring the loud chatter happening that drifted up the stairs, Hermione slowly put on her tights, pointed her wand at her hair to dry it into some form of curls rather than a bushy mess, and shoved her feet into her favourite ankle boots.
'Hermione!' Harry shouted. 'They're blackbirds.'
Grabbing her oversized woolly cardigan, Hermione slipped it on, tucking her wand into one of its pockets, and went downstairs.
'Why blackbirds?' Ron asked.
Hermione stopped on the bottom step, watching her friends stood in the open doorway, staring outside.
'Because it's believed that the original carol called them colly birds, which meant coal or black in old English,' Hermione spoke up, stepping down to squash in between her friends so she could see the four blackbirds dotted around the tree. 'It's a shame they thought to look this part of the carol up, but not the natural habitats of the animals they're sending.'
Then she left them to go to the kitchen for her breakfast, ignoring Ginny's comment of, 'Clearly this is not her idea of romantic then?'
XXXXXX
Later that day Hermione went with her three friends to Diagon Alley for various reasons. Ron had promised to look after the shop for George for the afternoon. Ginny wanted a kit for her broom. Harry just wanted to be with Ginny because this period between Christmas and New Year was the only time he had off from his last year of Auror training. And Hermione wanted to see if there were any books on the meaning of Christmas carols in the magical world.
After a quick drink in the Leaky Cauldron, they all went their separate ways, none of them having brought up the gifts Hermione was being sent. They'd soon learnt she was not in appreciative mood for them.
Stepping into Flourish and Blotts, Hermione felt her muscles relax, having not realised she'd been so tense, and breathed in deeply. She was sure she'd never tire of this shop or its smell.
Having enquired about her topic of interest, Hermione went to the shelves she'd been directed to, eyes scouring the titles. She wasn't seeing anything that could be of use to her. Many things about the history of Christmas in the Muggle and Wizarding communities, but nothing on carols. Maybe he'd misunderstood what she was asking for. Checking the shelves once more, she sighed heavily, and turned to go back to the counter.
'Try that one,' a familiar male voice said as she took a step away from the section.
Turning back, Hermione frowned at seeing Draco Malfoy before her. He held a book out to her.
'There's a chapter on carols and their symbolism in it,' he said, holding her gaze firmly.
She silently took it, staring at it like it was about to grow wings and take off.
'Aren't you a little late to be researching Christmas carols?' he asked after a few minutes of silence.
Her head shot up from staring at the book, as if suddenly remembering he was still there. 'It's…complicated,' she said.
'I'm good at complicated,' Draco said with the start of smirk.
'I'm sure you are,' she said quietly. She held the book up. 'Thank you.' She started to walk away.
'If you're looking for symbolism, that was me offering an olive branch, Granger,' he said quickly.
'I know,' she said over her shoulder.
XXXXXX
The next morning Hermione sat at the kitchen table, having got up before her parents, for fear of any surprise guests turning up, not to mention strange gifts. The current 'gifts' were sleeping in their assigned cages hanging from the ceiling, awaiting to be picked up by a nearby wildlife sanctuary in the new year.
She looked at the little note that had come with the blackbirds- These birds represent more than the fourth day. Do you know?
There was a tap at the back door. When she looked up, there was Ginny waving through the window of the back door. Hermione signalled for her to come in.
'Morning! Thought I'd swing in just before practice to see what today's delight looks like,' Ginny said brightly, shaking off her robes, water dripping on the floor off them.
'It's not arrived yet,' Hermione said with a heavy sigh. She rolled up the small note in her hand and put it by her mug.
'Have you checked the tree?' Ginny made quick of drying herself off with her wand.
'You do know what day five is, don't you?' Hermione laughed. 'Why would they be on the tree?'
'Why are they even sending these gifts?' Ginny asked pointedly. 'Come on, let's go check the tree.'
Hermione spotted the small box hanging from a low branch the moment they opened the door, even through the heavy snowfall. It's dark green colour and bright red ribbon was a stark contrast against the white. With a flick of her wand, the box landed in her hand with a satisfying thump.
'Morning, ladies. Coffee?' Mr Granger was coming down the stairs as Hermione shut the door. 'Gold rings today! Does it come with a proposal?'
'Oh for goodness sake!' Hermione snapped, ignoring her father's shared laugh with Ginny. Then her annoyance dissipated as she opened the little box to find five delicate little gold rings on a gold chain so thin she was scared it would snap.
'Well that won't have come cheap,' Mrs Granger piped up, having joined the silent group as they stood at the bottom of the stairs looking at the piece of jewellery.
'You should wear that to the New Year's Eve party,' Ginny said excitedly. 'You can see if anyone pays close attention to it.'
'And by then I'll likely have another thirteen birds in the front garden,' Hermione muttered, snapping the box shut.
XXXXXX
Hermione was sat at her desk later that day pouring over the book she'd bought the previous day, not that it got her any closer to realising who was sending the gifts, or why. She let out a long sigh as she sat back and shrieked when she spotted an owl sitting on the ledge of her window.
Moving quickly with her heart racing, she opened the window to let the owl fly in.
'You didn't knock,' she said to him sternly when the owl dropped a package on her bed. He gently landed by the box and held his leg out with a letter tied to it.
'Everything alright?' Mrs Granger asked, her head poking through the small gap of her doorway.
'Just an owl being a creep,' she said, untying the letter.
'Does he need a snack? Your father's still got all that food he bought for the others,' she said, stepping in.
'Well?' Hermione asked the owl. He gave her a low hoot.
'Come on then.' Mrs Granger held her arm out, which the owl obediently flew to. 'Now aren't you beautiful,' she said to the bird as they walked down the hallway.
Sitting down on the bed, Hermione opened the letter.
Granger,
Found this in our library. Hope it's of use. My offer stands.
D.M.
She turned the parchment over to see if there was more. Draco Malfoy was sending her a book? She made quick work of opening the package to find a thick book of Christmas carols and their history. She sank down, frowning at the cover. It had a partridge in a pear tree printed in gold on it. Getting up to go to the window, she opened it and held the book up. She couldn't quite tell in the darkness of the evening, but she was fairly sure the tree in her garden was an exact replica of the one on the book.
XXXXXX
HONK!
Hermione sat bolt right up in bed, brushing her hair back from her face. The room had a shade of blue to it, the sun having barely come up.
HONK! HONK!
She groaned, flopping back into her bed. Day six. Geese.
'I know you hear them, Hermione,' Mrs Granger called from down the hall.
'I put some wood for a shed in the back garden, love,' Mr Granger called through a yawn.
Sighing, Hermione flung the blankets off her, and got changed quickly into thick clothing. Trust her father to be prepared. Grabbing her wand from the bedside table, she went to the front garden first and found six Barnacle geese (thank you, Charlie's book) huddled under the pear tree. She threw a Silencing Charm on them before getting to work on building the shed in the back garden.
This. Was. Not. Romantic.
With a quick glance around at the neighbouring houses, Hermione found no lights on yet, and got to work. Using sharp flicks of her wand, that sometimes sent the planks of wood banging together, she made a shed. It wasn't her finest work, but she was working in the heavy snow with Muggles at risk of seeing. Stomping around the side of the house, she went to the geese still huddled under the tree.
One of them had a silver necklace loose on their neck with a flying goose charm hanging on it, and a piece of thin parchment wrapped around a small portion of the chain. The goose remained compliant in letting her remove the necklace. Shoving it in her coat pocket, Hermione herded the birds into a warmer setting, all of them being more agreeable to the movement than she was expecting. By the time she got back into the house, she was frozen, and her mother was already making coffee.
'I have to admit, I'm becoming concerned for the coming days,' Mrs Granger said, watching her daughter use her wand to dry herself off. 'Where do we put the swans?'
Hermione pulled the necklace out of her coat pocket, dumping it on the table, before shrugging off the coat and hanging it up by the door. 'I'd be more concerned when it gets to the people.'
'What's that?' Mrs Granger pointed to the chain.
Hermione shrugged, gently pulling off the slightly soggy parchment.
They say people who have the goose as a totem are kind, loyal, and brave. A fitting gift. Do you understand?
'Do you?' Mrs Granger asked, having read the note over her daughter's shoulder.
'No. I think I've worked out the who, just not the why,' Hermione said, taking a seat at the table.
Mrs Granger watched her for a moment. 'Are you not going to elaborate?'
'Not yet. It might be a coincidence and nothing more.' She held the goose charm between her fingers. 'But if this is his idea of a joke, he's going to seriously regret it.'
XXXXXX
That night Hermione decided to stay awake. She had a nap in the late afternoon and then she got a blanket, a strong cup of coffee, and sat in her bay window watching the pear tree. She couldn't afford to let swans stay. There was no room. And the neighbours were starting to get a little nosey. Plus, she was now curious to see how these birds were getting here.
As it was, her worries about having swans in the garden was fruitless. At around five o'clock, the tree shifted oddly in what little light was shining on it from her window, shaking off some snow from its branches before seven of them hung heavily with little bags at the end.
Stretching out her stiff body, the coffee long finished, Hermione put on her coat and some boots before going to collect the little bags.
Once back in her bedroom, she lay them out on the bed. Each one was green with a red silhouette of a swan stamped on the sides. One tag on a handle read, Swans are a little big to send, don't you think?
'And the others aren't an inconvenience?' she muttered to herself.
The remaining six tags made up a sentence that didn't take Hermione long to piece together; Do you understand my meaning yet?
In each bag was a gift that had a swan in some form or another, from a leather bound notebook stamped with the silhouette of a swan, like the bags, to a delicate wooden ornament of a swan, which had a mate in another bag. She took the two wooden ornaments and placed them on her desk, facing each other…kissing.
Too tired to even understand the meaning of this gift, let alone the others, Hermione crawled into bed, ignoring the bags scattered across the duvet and immediately fell into a deep sleep and, for some reason, began dreaming of Draco Malfoy asking her to dance.
XXXXXX
A few hours later, Hermione was woken by Mrs Granger shaking her gently.
'It's lunchtime,' she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. 'Late night?'
Sitting up, Hermione rubbed at her dry eyes before taking the coffee her mother was holding out to her. 'I stayed up in case we ended up with swans in the garden and I had to get rid of them before everyone saw them.'
Mrs Granger picked up a remaining gift bag at the foot of the bed. 'Your dad was a little disappointed not to see them this morning,' she said with a smirk, looking at the tag. 'They really want you to understand, don't they?' She held the tag up to Hermione with that one word of understand on it.
Hermione sighed. 'I understand the meanings behind each gift. I even understand the true meaning behind the carol more than I ever thought I would. What I don't understand is the why.'
Mrs Granger placed the gift bag neatly on the bedside table, standing up to pick up all the fallen gifts from the floor and place them on her desk. 'Well,' Mrs Granger turned the chair at the desk around to face Hermione, 'talk it through with me.'
Taking a large sip of her coffee, Hermione proceeded to tell Mrs Granger what she understood of the symbolism. What it meant to have the birds for totems, how the partridge helped people to gain knowledge, the dove was enduring love and purity, the geese were kind, loyal, and brave.
'I see,' Mrs Granger said thoughtfully. She had an odd smile on her lips. 'And the rest?'
'The hens speak for themselves with their names- Faith, Hope, and Love, don't you think?' Hermione took another sip of her coffee, frowning at the look on her mother's face. 'The blackbirds mean a number of things, such as being sensible, home, family, and magic…but they could also be a bad omen, depending on where you look.'
'I doubt it's that, otherwise they wouldn't fit with the rest of the gifts,' Mrs Granger said sagely. 'And the gold rings?'
'Wealth, grandeur, and prosperity, which would tie in with the person I think is sending the gifts,' Hermione said as she looked to the necklace in question on her bedside table to the right of her bed. 'But if you look at the colour of gold, it could mean something else.'
'Such as?' Mrs Granger pushed when Hermione continued to stare at the necklace.
'Yellow means compassion, courage…wisdom.' Finally she looked back to her mother, sipping her coffee.
'You don't see it, do you?' Mrs Granger said kindly, tilting her head slightly. When Hermione shook her head, she laughed affectionately. 'Well, if not, then could you please go have it out with your suspect before we end up with eight cows on the street tomorrow morning.'
'What am I meant to see?' she called after her mother to no avail.
XXXXXX
Hermione toyed with having it out with Draco Malfoy, but it was the fact she couldn't be completely sure he was the culprit behind this silly joke he was playing on her. She thought about nothing else as she spent the afternoon getting ready for the New Year's Eve party to be held at the Ministry. What did her mother mean?
'Ginny's here,' Mr Granger suddenly called up the stairs, 'with Luna.'
Hermione frowned at her own reflection as she check the long sleeved, floor-length evening gown in navy blue. Not a crease in sight thanks to a well-placed charm on the silk the material. She let her fingers run across the bow tied at the side before turning away to go see why her friends were here, instead of meeting her at the Ministry.
'We know, we know!' Ginny said with a smirk when Hermione came into the living room.
'Oh, blue seems to be the colour of the evening,' Luna said happily, swaying side to side so her bright blue, knee-length dress swayed around her.
Ginny gave her an odd look, then looked at Hermione's dress. Ginny was dress in a shade of blue that was between Hermione and Luna's, and a little more daring on the neckline, as it plunged all the way down to her waist.
'Anyway!' Ginny shook her head, focusing on Hermione again. 'We've been enlisted.'
'Enlisted?'
'Enlisted,' Luna confirmed.
'Who by?' Hermione demanded. 'What for?'
'Never you mind,' Ginny said firmly, pulling out a small square of parchment from behind the thin silver belt she was wearing. 'Let's just say you don't have to worry about a surplus of milk arriving tomorrow.' She handed her the parchment.
Hermione opened it as her mother moved to read it over her shoulder.
'Would?' Mrs Granger asked of Ginny.
Ginny gave her a nod, as if that one word on that parchment made all the sense in the world. Then she nudged Luna, who pulled another piece of parchment from a curl of her hair and handed it to Hermione.
'Would it?' Hermione asked. 'Would it what?'
'Come on, everyone else will be waiting for us,' Ginny said, giving a small wave to Mr Granger coming out of the kitchen.
Hermione tucked the two pieces of parchment into her small clutch bag, wished her parents a Happy New Year, as they were off to celebrate with family friends, and left with Ginny and Luna.
It was arriving into the Atrium that Hermione was quickly set upon by Parvati and Padma Patil, both looking at her with an odd expression, and sighing ever so gently. It was the same expression her mother seemed to have earlier.
'We have something for you,' Padma announced before Hermione could say anything. She pushed a piece of parchment into her hand. Be, was all it said.
Parvati quickly added her parchment to it. Possible.
'It's so-'
'Padma,' Luna cut in, a serene smile on her face, 'would you and Parvati show me where the drinks table is?'
Hermione turned quickly to Ginny when she caught her moving frantically out of the corner of her eye. Ginny dropped her arms and smiled at Hermione. 'Shall we find Harry and Ron?'
Ginny tucked her hand into the crook of Hermione's elbow and started steering her towards the hall that was hosting the party, following Luna and the Patil twins. They'd barely entered the room when Fleur immediately stood in front of Hermione with Bill. Fleur, in a blast of floral perfume and flowing silvery-blonde hair, smiled brightly at Hermione before placing a kiss on each cheek. Bill wouldn't meet her questioning look.
''Ere you are, 'Ermione! What a beautiful night it will be, non?' She pushed a very familiar looking piece of parchment into her hand before leaving with Bill, giving Ginny a knowing smile.
'What is going on?' Hermione demanded, roughly shoving her clutch under her arm. She opened the latest note while waiting for Ginny's response. To. Sighing with a small growl, Hermione scrunched all the notes in her hand into her clutch. She brought her gaze back to Ginny when she hadn't answered. 'Well?'
'Just…let the evening happen, will you?' She placed a comforting hand on Hermione's shoulder. 'Not everything is bad or suspicious- ah! Let's go say hello to Cho!' She pointed to the lady in question waving at them.
'You don't even like Cho.'
'I never said that,' Ginny said, taking hold of Hermione's hand.
Hermione gave up trying to get anymore sense out of Ginny, instead, letting her take her over to Cho, whom would surely have a note for her. Why else would Ginny speak to her?
'Evening, ladies,' Cho said politely, looking divine in a mermaid style dress of a green so pale it was almost white.
'I assume you have something for me?' Hermione was trying her best to keep her irritation out of her voice, but she wasn't a big fan of having things hidden from her. Or not understanding what was happening. It was unnatural to her.
'I do.' Cho pulled a small note from the tiniest of folds in the bodice of the dress. 'Have a lovely evening,' she said sincerely. She shared a smile with Ginny too as she left.
Earn.
'Would it be possible to earn…earn what?' Hermione now shoved this note into her clutch. It was beginning to look a lot like her schoolbag did.
'Hermione! Ginny! It's been too long!' Angelina Johnson's voice said from behind them.
'It really has!' Katie Bell's voice add to it.
Ginny had already turned around to greet their old housemates. Hermione sighed once more and held her hand out to them.
Angelina and Katie looked to each other with a frown before looking to Ginny. 'She's not very good at playing along,' she said in a loud whisper.
The two women shrugged their shoulders. Katie gave her note first. Your.
Then Angelina. Forgiveness?
Hermione quickly counted the notes. Eight of them. To make an eight worded question. Would it be possible to earn your forgiveness? Snapping her head up, Ginny, Katie, and Angelina all watching her intently, with a few other note-givers dotted around the room watching her, Hermione shook her head. 'I get it now,' she muttered before directing a question to them, 'And you're all happy to be considered maids then?'
'I see what you mean Ginny,' Katie said.
'Hermione,' Angelina started gently, 'there's nothing insidious about it. It's a bit of fun we're all helping a new friend with.' Katie nodded in agreement to this.
'Let's get you a drink,' Ginny said when Hermione didn't say anything for a moment.
'This isn't funny,' Hermione hissed to Ginny as she pulled her away from Katie and Angelina.
'It's not meant to be.' Ginny rolled her eyes as they came across Harry and Ron, dressed in their smartest dress robes, taking a glass of champagne off Harry. 'Can you please convince her that this is a nice thing that's been happening?'
'Well- oof!' Ron rubbed at his ribs, glaring at Harry. 'Alright, I suppose it's a bit nice.'
'Now I'm convinced,' Hermione said, 'consider my mind at ease.'
Nothing else was said about the matter as the music started up loudly across the room and bodies moved quickly to go to the dance floor in the centre. Harry had no say in the matter when Ginny shoved their glasses onto a nearby small table and hauled him away.
'Think I'll go see if Lavender wants to dance,' Ron muttered, moving away quickly from Hermione.
Tutting, Hermione turned sharply towards the drinks table and walked straight into Draco Malfoy.
'Sorry,' she snapped, unwittingly grabbing onto his forearm to maintain her balance in the precariously high heels she'd decided to wear.
'I've heard better apologies,' he said with the hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth.
'It's about as good as you'll get.' She started to let go of his forearm, but he'd turned his arm quickly and his hand held onto her wrist, his touch warm against her skin. 'Are you really going to start something in front of all these people, Malfoy?'
Draco tilted his head, his eyes flicking to the busy room for barely a moment before holding her gaze firmly. Then his eyes drifted down her face, lingering for a moment on her lips, and then went further still to the gold necklace she was wearing, holding five dainty gold rings.
'Do you understand now?' he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
Hermione opened her mouth, ready to answer, but her throat had dried quickly at the intensity of his gaze on her. She felt like she was being stripped bare. She settled for shaking her head.
Draco, still holding her wrist, stepped closer, his other hand lifting the rings on to his fingertips. She flinched, not out of fear, but at how intimate the feel of his fingers near her neck felt. He moved closer still, leaning his head forward, his lips near her ear, his cheek almost touching hers. Hermione could feel her pulse racing in her neck. 'Would it be possible to earn your forgiveness?' he asked, his breath sending a shiver down her spine.
When he stepped back, not letting go of her wrist, but letting go of the necklace to drop his hand down, she finally started to come to her senses. 'Why are you doing this?'
Then she saw it. It was gone so quickly, but she did see it. Uncertainty. Fear. Right there in his eyes. He wasn't playing a joke on her. He was taking a risk.
He let go of her wrist. Her skin felt unexpectedly cold from the lack of contact.
'I might not have it earned now, but I promise I will make this right,' Draco said, taking a step backwards.
'Why do you want my forgiveness?' she asked. She used both hands to now hold on to her clutch tightly so that she wouldn't try to reach for him, not sure why she wanted to. 'Why does it matter now?'
Draco stood up straight, his arms firm by his sides and hands balled up tight. 'It's always mattered since...' He didn't finish the sentence. Couldn't seem to look her in the eye. 'I worked on them first.' He signalled with a tilt of his head to the dance floor, a small smile in his eyes.
Hermione looked. Her friends were huddled together, barely dancing, all now finding the strangest things interesting in the room, and none of them on the same page as to what they should be looking at.
'I thought if I made it right with them somehow, then one day I'd be able to make it right with you.'
Nothing was said between them as Hermione let this information sink in. Her fingers were hurting from gripping her clutch so tightly. Draco looked as tense as she felt as he remained ramrod straight. The sounds of the music and loud chatter was lost to her while her mind filled with thoughts.
'Why those gifts? Why that carol?'
Draco didn't answer. He didn't need to. A small movement in the form of looking to her friends told her everything she needed to know.
'Which one suggested it?' she asked with a dangerous note in her voice.
'Does it matter? They were all helping me,' he said earnestly. Finally, his body lost some of its tension and his shoulders sagged a little. 'I see I've done this wrong.'
Hermione sighed softly. 'We've not spoken to each other in over two years. Why would I understand any of it?'
'Maybe we could discuss this somewhere else where we're not being watched?'
'Or maybe you could make use of that mistletoe, Draco,' Luna said as she walked past them with a drink in each hand.
Hermione and Draco looked up to find the plant directly above them.
'For goodness-'
Hermione didn't get to finish her sentence as Draco had moved forward and wasted no time in gently pressing a kissing on her lips, his hands resting on her upper arms. It made absolutely no sense to her, but Hermione's hands dropped the clutch to the floor and immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the kiss firmly. What a turncoat her body was at the sign of one kiss from a man she'd sworn never to speak to again not too long ago.
And yet…it felt right. Complete. Like she wasn't sure why they'd been enemies.
Draco pulled back, his hands holding her waist firmly now. He leant his forehead against hers. 'Do you understand now?' he asked in a low voice.
Hermione nodded, forcing him to lift his head, then slapped his chest. 'I understand you've robbed me of four more presents!'
Draco laughed in surprise, rubbing at his chest with one hand, and grabbing the hand that was about to punch him in the bicep with the other. 'Birds are one thing, Granger, but organising people is quite another.'
She gave him a devious grin, snatching her hand back, before picking her clutch up off the floor. 'I thought you said you were good at complicated. I was looking forward to the logistics of how you would make the rest work!' She sighed dramatically. 'I suppose my forgiveness is not that important to you.' She shrugged, grabbed a glass of champagne off a passing tray floating past them, and turned to leave. 'Valiant effort though, Malfoy.'
Draco moved quickly to stand in front of her. 'Are you not going to let me finish what I started?'
Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. 'Of course I am,' she finally said. Triumph lit up Draco's features. 'Tomorrow. By taking me to lunch. And listening to me complain about the fact I had to build a shed for some geese! In the snow!'
Draco laughed with a small laugh, a questioning look in his eyes. Then it was gone, instead he now looked…hopeful. 'What about tonight?' He let his hand gently touched her elbow.
'Well…' She glanced to the clock hanging high on a wall near the entrance. 'You've got exactly two hours to convince me to see the New Year in with you instead of murdering you and my friends.'
Draco grinned, flicking his wrist, causing the glass she was holding to disappear, and gracefully twirled her. She let out a small shriek of surprise before laughing when he dipped her backwards, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. 'Consider it a challenge accepted.'
Five Days Later
Hermione shot up from her bed, stumbling to the window, her heart racing and hair covering her face.
'What is that racket?!' Hermione heard Mr Granger call from down the hall.
'I'll kill him,' Hermione muttered kneeling on the bay window seat to throw the window open. Roughly shoving her hair out of her face, she leant out into the cool air and looked for the source of the noise.
'Hermione?' Mrs Granger came into her room. 'What is going on?'
Sighing with a small laugh she couldn't help, Hermione stood up and pointed outside the window as the sound of drumming started increasing in volume. 'Day twelve,' she said.
'Make sure he explains to the neighbours when he's done. It's bad enough the hens keep escaping into next door's garden,' Mrs Granger said, not bothering to look out the window herself.
When she turned back to look outside, Draco was now stood under the pear tree, leaning casually against the trunk, arms folded and smirking at her. 'I believe this completes the gifts,' he called up to her.
'So it does,' she called back. She watched as the drummers lined up along the garden fence, tapping frantically at the drum hanging in front of them. Neighbours were starting to come out to see what was happening. 'Any chance you could get them to leave now?'
'Am I forgiven now?'
'What happens if you're not?'
'You really want to drag this out with your neighbours watching? They're looking a bit angry,' Draco said smugly.
Hermione opened her mouth to argue back about the situation and stopped. She felt something unexpected and thrilling shoot through her. Part of it was the fact she'd gotten to know him a little better over the last few days as they went to lunch every afternoon. But it was also because she'd come to realise something.
There was Draco Malfoy. In her parents' front garden. In the middle of a small Muggle town. Asking her to forgive him.
Draco Malfoy.
'Will you be having breakfast when this is over?' Hermione heard her father call from the front door.
Draco looked down to her father, whom Hermione couldn't quite see, straightening up quickly with a more respectful look on his features. 'Only if Hermione would like me to,' he said as politely as he could while shouting over the drumming.
'Then you best get rid of them,' she nodded her head at the drummers, 'before we're lynched.'
A few moments later, the street was blissfully silent, the neighbours had gone back in, her parents were in the kitchen, and Hermione stood with Draco under the pear tree. The snow had stopped on New Years Day and mostly melted, which meant the pear tree no longer looked as magical. It didn't matter to Hermione.
'Your dad seems nice,' Draco said awkwardly, like it was hard to say something pleasant.
A laugh burst out from her and she saw that same flash of fear in his eyes again that she saw at the party. She bit down on her lip quickly to stop anymore laughter and tried to give him a sympathetic smile.
'I know I could have done this in a more simple way, but I wanted you to know how much I-'
She cut him off quickly, putting a hand in his, and said, 'You're forgiven.'
Draco gave her a relieved smile. 'Happy New Year, Hermione.'
'Happy New Year, Draco.'
