A/N: I'm so happy you all enjoyed the last chapter! I hope you enjoy this one!
"You've got something right there," Draco said, staring pointedly at her lips.
Hermione felt herself blush and wiped the foam from the Butterbeer from the top of her lip. She had been interested to learn, while ordering, that Draco took a pinch of ginger in his Butterbeer as well.
"So," she cleared her throat, "what are your plans for tomorrow?"
Draco shrugged, stirring his drink lazily. "Probably going to work on our Runes assignment," that was code for the Cabinet, "and then maybe go to the library. Lunch, contemplate my life's choices, Dinner, nap, discuss the meaning of life with the Bloody Baron. The usual."
Hermione couldn't help but snicker at his stupid joke. "I suppose I should've known you were this annoyingly bad at joking. I mean, you composed 'Weasley is Our King', right?"
"I," Draco said, setting his cup down, "take strong pride in that. Some of my best work, actually."
They finished their drinks while chatting, and the waiter brought their check over. Fumbling around in her pockets, she pulled a few galleons out, but stopped when she saw Draco slip him the money first.
"I could have paid for that, you know," Hermione said as she stood up, crossing her arms with indignation.
"I don't doubt that," Draco said, not wanting her to get the wrong idea, "But, honestly, Granger, my family's so filthy rich that I could've bought the whole pub and they wouldn't have noticed. I don't think a few galleons for butterbeers will hurt."
"How did your family get so rich?" she asked, pushing the door open for the two of them.
Draco looked around, decided on visiting Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and replied, "Honestly, I don't know. I have a feeling it's not all… honest money, though. I mean, my father runs Malfoy Corporations, but I have a feeling that's not where our money came from. Don't tell anyone that," he looked nervously at Hermione.
"I've already told you," Hermione shook her head, "we are friends. You can trust me."
Draco didn't respond, uncomfortable with all this talk about feelings and such. Hermione glanced at him, unable to stop her mouth from curling into a small grin. She was honestly glad that they were friends. It was strange at first, but their personalities were compatible, and they balanced each other out fairly well.
She hoped to use the break to take Draco's mind off of his mission, noticing that he had been more stressed than usual as of late.
They entered the quill shop and Draco bought some parchment. Hermione found herself a new quill, but Draco scoffed and forced her to let him buy her an Eagle quill. Much too fancy for her taste, but she didn't want to discourage him from being friendly.
After shopping for a bit longer and stopping to look at the Shrieking Shack, Hermione and Draco were ready to return to Hogwarts.
"D'you remember when you, Crabbe and Goyle came over here while Ron and I were looking at the shack?" Hermione said, smiling fondly at the memory of Draco falling in the snow from Harry's invisibility cloak.
Draco replied, "Ha-ha. Very funny. And yes, I do."
"I, for one, found it to be very funny," Hermione giggled at the memory.
"I'm glad someone did," he grumbled.
"You had it coming-oomf!"
Hermione's words ceased as Draco hurled a snowball at her chest. Hermione looked down in shock before gathering the snow into a ball and aiming for the Slytherin.
"You slimy little ferret!" she yelled, laughing and trying to hit his teasing face. "Get back here you foul-"
Draco hit her again with a loud whoop, and soon the two were chasing each other around the small field by the Shrieking Shack, all of the problems surrounding the Vanishing Cabinet and the looming threat of the Death Eaters banished from their minds.
Their happiness and forgetfulness could not last, and soon the two unlikely friends were back in the Room of Requirement, hard at work to repair the cabinet. Hermione, much to her dismay, found herself bickering with Draco under the stress of her mission and repairing the cabinet.
"I don't get it," she sighed. "The only thing I can think of is that you still don't want to repair the ruddy thing."
"I don't!" Draco exclaimed. "How can I? If I completed this, the stress put on me to complete the next part of my mission… it would kill me."
Hermione winced at the reality of her mission but composed herself quickly.
"Well, it's no use trying to fix it if the main component of the spell isn't there," she admitted. "Have you checked everything in the-"
"In the library, yes," Draco smiled slightly, starting to pick up on her obsession with the library.
"There has to be something we're missing…"
On Christmas Eve, Hermione and Draco found themselves in the Great Hall, sitting near each other for lunch. They were discussing Arithmancy, Hermione animatedly gesturing as they debated a theory that they had learned before the Holiday.
"No," Hermione shook her head. "I specifically remember reading about Von Barmoor's Theory in Arithmancy's Theorems: Volume II."
Draco replied, also very engaged in the academic debate, "I swear that Professor Vector explained that Von Barmoor's Theory only was applicable if the variables were switched!"
Hermione stopped the debate to smile to herself. She enjoyed seeing this side of him.
"What?" Draco asked worriedly.
"It's silly, but…" Hermione looked up at him with a strange expression, "I've never really had a friend that was willing to talk about school with me or that even understood the theories. It's just… nice, that's all."
"If it makes you feel any better," Draco smirked, "I don't think Theo and I have talked about school since third year."
Hermione laughed and launched herself right back into the debate.
Later, the two were in the owlery, Hermione holding a bag of wrapped gifts and Draco carrying a small parcel.
Finding a Hogwarts owl, she gave the bird her presents for Harry, Ginny and Ron, and affectionately pet it's head before it took off, heading for the burrow. The other gift, for Luna, was taken by a different owl and disappeared as well.
Despite not really liking Luna, she knew that she meant well, and figured the least she could do was send her a book about Magical Creatures.
Draco, on the other hand, owned an owl. The Eagle owl, a beautiful bird which Draco told Hermione was named Hermes, affectionately took the parcel and a letter and was off, likely to find the Malfoy Manor.
About to leave the owlery, they stopped when an owl who Draco recognized swooped over to him, landing on his arm. He took the package from the screech owl, gave the bird a small treat, and watched as it flew off.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Draco rolled his eyes.
Hermione anxiously watched as he read the letter, a look of displeasure on his face. She hoped it wasn't from the Death Eaters or anything.
"Is everything okay?" she tentatively asked as he finished reading the parchment.
Draco scoffed, "Yeah. Just read this."
She took the letter and read:
Dearest Draco,
I miss you terribly. I wish you would have told me that you were staying at Hogwarts for the holiday or I would have stayed too. Of course you're always welcome to visit me, as you know. I wanted to wish you a Happy Christmas and remind you that you can always come find me if you want to talk. I'll talk to you when you get back dear.
Love,
Pansy
The letter was signed with a lipstick print kiss and Hermione felt strangely angry at Pansy until she looked up and saw Draco laughing. She couldn't help but join in at the pathetic letter.
"I don't know what's worse," said Draco, laughing with Hermione, "the fact that she expected that to entice me or her lack of commas."
When Hermione woke the next morning, she threw herself out of bed, excited for her favorite holiday. At the footboard of her bed, a small pile of presents from her friends.
Harry had given her a new book about transfiguration, Ginny sent her some candies, and Luna made her a necklace similar to the jewelry made of bottle caps that she often wore. Surprisingly, Ron sent her a gift as well, a new set of parchment paper, with the first page already written on.
Hermione,
I'm sorry for this whole mess. I wanted to be mature and mend things between us. Hope you can forgive me-I'll talk to you when I get back.
-Ron
Hermione beamed, reading his apology happily. There was still a chance to salvage their relationship after all.
Once she had finished opening her presents, she grabbed the gift she had bought for Draco from her trunk and made her way down for breakfast.
The Great Hall was decorated beautifully. Mistletoe and holly hung from the doorways and sparkling silver tinsel lined the walls. Tall, white Christmas trees twinkled and the enchanted ceiling was sprinkling snow that melted before it touched them. Faint Christmas music was playing as Flitwick instructed the Hogwarts orchestra and the feeling was jovial.
She met Draco at the Slytherin table, sitting down beside him cheerfully. She really enjoyed the holidays. The stress of the cabinet seemed far away and they could talk freely with each other, rather than having the secluded conversations they usually had.
He looked up at her, closing the book he had been reading and sending her a small grin.
"Morning," she said, breathless from the sight of the Great Hall.
"Good morning," he replied, grabbing a piece of toast to accompany his tea.
Hermione bit into a muffin before exclaiming, "That's it-I can't wait any longer!"
Draco stared at her quizzically as Hermione pulled the parcel from her inside pocket.
"Happy Christmas, Draco," she said as she turned to face him.
He grinned, "Hang on." Pulling something from his pocket as well, they exchanged the gifts.
Hermione opened the small box and stared at the gift, gaping. "Draco…"
He had bought her a beautiful necklace with two small jewels attached to the chain. One of the diamonds, a beautiful emerald, sparkled at Hermione, and besides that was a dazzling ruby. Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hermione didn't know what to say. "I-Why?"
Draco earnestly replied, "Because I am thankful for your help, despite my sarcasm. I was going to get you an emerald necklace, but figured that you are a Gryffindor, unfortunately, so I added the ruby next to it. So, honestly. Thank you."
Hermione couldn't help it. She flung her arms around him, very grateful for his gift and his change of heart. Draco seemed surprised, but after a pause, he returned the favor, circling his arms around Hermione. His hold felt comforting, and Hermione wouldn't mind staying beside him for a while. She felt herself blush and released him, noting that he smelled rather nice, like his cloak.
Draco, also blushing slightly, turned his attention to the gift Hermione had given him.
"It's not an expensive diamond necklace or anything like that, but-"
Draco pulled the wrappings off the gift, and a blue journal was revealed. On top of the journal sat a package of Muggle pens. He opened the journal to reveal a small note from Hermione on the first page.
Draco,
Despite your confusing refusal to admit it, you are a very talented artist. I saw this Prussian blue journal (which, as you've told me is much more refined than seaweed green) and figured you could use it to work on your drawings. Also, you probably needed some new pens. Happy Christmas!
-Hermione
Hermione blushed, "If you don't think you want it, you don't have to use it, of course. And I wasn't sure what kind of paper-"
"Granger," Draco interrupted her with a small smile, "It's perfect."
"I'm glad you like it," Hermione replied. She glanced down at the necklace and asked, "Would you mind?"
She pulled her hair to the side and Draco took the necklace and placed it around her neck, clasping it closed. His hand brushed the back of her neck and Hermione had to force herself not to pull away from the shock of his surprising touch.
"There," he muttered, pulling his hands back to his lap.
"Thank you."
Hermione blushed, and they finished their breakfast together cheerfully.
Christmas passed, and Hermione and Draco spent their time wandering the grounds, observing the portraits (Draco showed her the floral landscape and Hermione decided that her favorite portrait could have very easily been connected to it) and reading in the library.
On New Year's Eve, Dumbledore announced to the handful of students that the Weasley twins had volunteered to put on a fireworks display for the school starting at 11:45 that night.
Around 11:45, Draco and Hermione made their way up to the Astronomy Tower to watch the fireworks. Perched on the windowsill beside Draco, Hermione was feeling happier than she had all year.
The much-needed break allowed for the two friends to really feel like friends. It was strange, walking to lunch and eating with Draco, something they couldn't do normally with everyone else at Hogwarts.
Draco had been filling the sketchbook that Hermione had given him with drawings of what he had been doing. There were sketches of the library, the Great Hall and the snow-covered grounds of Hogwarts, as well as a couple of drawings of Hermione, usually reading.
The firework show began, fireworks of all colors flashing across the sky. The Astronomy Tower was filled with the loud booms of the fireworks and Hermione found herself shoulder to shoulder with Draco, their feet dangling over the side.
Hermione sighed happily at the sight of fireworks and breathed in Draco's cologne, which she assumed to be that smell she couldn't recognize on his cloak.
The thing that worried her, however, was the feeling she had when she smelled his expensive fragrance. The hot, lurching feeling in the pit of her stomach told Hermione all she needed to know. Add that to her recurring thoughts of how nice his smile was or how fine his blonde hair was, and Hermione had a creeping suspicion.
Was she attracted to Draco Malfoy? I mean, it's okay to like him, Hermione thought to herself, As long as nothing happens because of it, right? He's an attractive boy and I'm a teenage girl. It's only natural.
She glanced at Draco to find him staring at the fireworks, obviously deep in thought. He noticed her watching eyes and glanced down at her.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Hermione hummed, content.
She pushed herself off the ledge and walked away to admire the view from farther away. Draco followed her, removing himself from his seat.
"Bet you wish Pansy was here with you, hm?" Hermione said teasingly, laughing.
"Screw you," Draco said before Hermione playfully pushed him.
Hermione turned to face Draco, looking up at his face. His expression changed from playful to more serious. He stepped closer toward her, reaching an arm out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. Hermione felt herself bite her lip subconsciously, leaning into his touch. His eyes darted to her lips and he began to move toward her, ready to bring his head down to hers, and-
They jumped apart suddenly when the door to the tower opened, bringing them back to their senses. Hermione felt her cheeks redden and she glanced at Draco nervously.
"I, er, I think I'm going to head back to my dormitory, if that's alright with you."
Draco nodded, his cheeks also a pink tinge. "Er, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Tomorrow," Hermione agreed. She was about to leave, but stopped herself, turning around to go back to Draco.
"Happy New Years," she said quietly before hugging him quickly and placing a small kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight."
Once back in her dorm, Hermione flopped down onto her bed. She hadn't anticipated this, of all things, happening when she accepted Dumbledore's request.
Hermione grabbed the journal that she had started to keep track of Draco's mission that had been thrown to the bottom of her trunk haphazardly and opened it to the first clean page. She had forgotten about her list as they had become friends and she didn't need to spy on him any longer.
Draco Malfoy, she wrote.
Pros:
Funny (sometimes)
Kind (to me, at least)
Charming (paying for my drink)
Thoughtful (the necklace)
Attractive (obvious)
Friendly (has been a pretty good friend to me)
Cons:
Death Eater (by choice? no. but still is)
Ron and Harry (might kill me)
Would have to break up after he completes his task.
Verdict:
Boys are confusing.
She closed the journal with a sigh, throwing it back into her trunk. As she got ready for the night, her mind was racing.
Willing her racing thoughts and quickly-beating heart to slow, she gradually fell asleep, Draco and her friends on her mind.