Draco improved rapidly after his discharge from the hospital wing. Sleep still evaded him more often than not, but he came to most meals, and he never missed a class. Hermione found that she quite enjoyed working with him. He was a bright student, and was nearly as serious about his studies as she was about hers. The two took to working and studying together regularly.
Despite having been locked in Draco's cellar for a good part of the previous year, Luna welcomed him as a friend with open arms. Late one night she confided in Hermione that her acceptance was in fact largely due to her time in Malfoy Manor. She had seen his face, his reluctance, his fear, every time he had come down to the cellar. She knew that he was suffering too.
Ginny wanted to accept Draco. She understood what Hermione saw, his need for a friend, for compassion. But it was hard. Every time she looked at him, she heard his insults echoing in her head. Mudblood, blood traitor. She saw all the things he had done in the war. It wasn't until a particular night in late November, when the three girls and Draco were exploring an old corridor and she accidentally became locked in a closet with him for a full twenty minutes, that she was able to set the past aside. When, after many spells (and several curses) Hermione and Luna were able to wrench the door open, they found the two smiling and chatting like old friends. Ginny and Draco refused to tell them what had happened in that closet, but afterwards their fights were of the friendly type, and they discovered a mutual love of dry jokes.
It was precisely this closeness of the friends that made Christmas holidays so difficult to sort girls, of course, were going home. Hermione was anxious to spend time with her parents. Their memories of her had mostly recovered since she and Ron had found them in Australia, but there were still gaps. Ron was going to come to stay with the Grangers for a full week, and then he and Hermione were going to spend the remaining vacation time at the flat he shared with Harry. Ginny couldn't wait to get home herself to see Harry. She was hoping to spend some time staying in the flat as well- though her parents disapproved strongly. And Luna was excited to spend the vacation with her father. But Draco's situation was a different matter.
"I'll just stay in my dormitory for the holidays," he insisted. This was at least the twelfth time that the girls had broached the matter in the past three weeks. "I was never planning to go home anyways. I just want some peace and quiet."
Hermione surveyed him from across the large library table. She was glad that he knew better than to try to go home; Malfoy Manor was full of former Death Eaters and Voldemort supporters who, one way or another, had managed to escape imprisonment in Azkaban. Not to mention his parents, who they all knew were fuming at the rumours that he was spending time with a mudblood, a blood traitor, and "that crazy witch with the incompetent fool of a father." But she did not like the idea of leaving him alone for the holidays, either. He still wasn't sleeping regularly, and was subsisting off of naps stolen between classes. And without someone watching him, she didn't trust that he would continue to eat properly. She had already noticed that he was beginning to miss meals again as the holidays approached.
"You can stay with daddy and me," Luna offered for the seventh time. "Our holidays are always quiet, but we do have so much fun! And this year we're going to join the Weasleys and Harry and the Grangers for Christmas dinner! It's going to be like a big family reunion!"
Draco closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The lack of sleep was giving him headaches. "No, Luna," he said. "I'm sorry. I just can't."
"We can't leave you here alone," Ginny said softly. "You know we just want to help. My family has lots of room, I could talk to them, my parents wouldn't mind. It might take a couple days to get used to the idea, but…" Her voice trailed off as Draco shook his head.
"What about the flat?" Draco's head snapped up at the suggestion from Hermione. "Harry and Ron's flat, I mean. For the first week neither of them will be home. You could stay there. They have an extra room and everything. If you want to spend time with us you can, and if you want to be alone, you can do that too." She grinned slyly. "And you can't protest, because it will certainly be quieter there than it will be here."
Hope fluttered deep in Draco's eyes for a moment. But before he could agree, it was snatched away by the dark fog that seemed all too often to hang in them. "Potter and Weasley will never let me stay in their flat, especially not alone," he mumbled, his head sinking down to the table. "And then there's still the second week. None of you will want me around for that."
"Oh yes they will let you," Ginny's voice took on its usual commanding tone. "I'll write them myself and tell them they don't have a choice. And for the second week- well, that's what silencing charms are for." She grinned devilishly.