Draco had tested out a theory that very early morning and it was undeniably the best experiment he'd ever conducted. He'd found out that any variation of the word "pleasure" aroused the brunette witch.

"Pleasure" itself still made her skin redden. "Pleasures" when lowly rumbled into her ear made her take her lip between her teeth. "Pleasured" licked onto her neck made her moan delectably. "Pleasurable" as he slid himself into her made her dig her nails into his back. And, by far his favorite, "pleasurably" as he kissed across her chest, down her stomach, and past her navel even lower, made her arch her back in such a way that magnified his own sense of pleasure a million fold.

He had never been such a fan of words until now.

It had been just after five a.m. when they had left the library. Draco had properly Scourgified the table and anything else that may have been touched by them. Hermione, ever the perfectionist, or perhaps this was out of sheer paranoia, had done it two more times after him –even on things that Draco tried to tell her wasn't necessary.

They walked together in silence, although it was less awkward than their first time together.

Draco looked at her as she pulled his robes closer around her. "Can I tell you something? Something I hope you don't take offense to?"

Hermione eyed him cautiously before giving him the nod to continue.

"Well, what just happened back there..." Draco said slowly as he jetted a thumb back towards the library's direction. "You never struck me as the type of person to have sex in such an…unconventional place."

"Places," Hermione couldn't help but amend. Her blush had returned, but this one was more innocent. "And you're right, I'm not. At all. I'm honestly quite shy about these things."

Draco stared at her like she'd just sprouted a third eye. "I think you need to adjust your definition of 'shy,' Granger."

Hermione was sure she looked like an apple by now and she refused to look at him. Draco noticed and found it absolutely astonishing. She was, (and he could hear his old self scoffing loudly at this) undeniably, a fierce and gentle lover –however she was able to make that combination work. And so, to have her look completely innocent and utterly embarrassed to bring up their exploits, it was funny. In a good way. It confirmed that saying about not judging a book by its cover. There was more to this witch who was walking beside him, and he hoped, almost desperately and quite shamelessly, that she thought the same about him.

"I should probably give this back to you." Hermione said as she began to slip off his robes. Draco quickly stopped her.

"No, no, keep it. It's cold. I don't want you to freeze on the way back."

Sweet. Thoughtful. Malfoy's going to kill me with this caring side of him.

"Thank you."

Draco held back the urge to say, "My pleasure." He'd exploited that word enough and decided to give it a rest before it no longer had the same effect that he'd grown to appreciate and yearn for. Instead he nodded, and once again they parted ways. Unlike the last time that they did Hermione turned back once, a small smile on her lips before she continued on her way to her House. As Draco headed back to his own, he had officially decided that this had shaped up to be a weekend for the ages.

But come tomorrow –midnight tonight, in fact –the weekend would be dead. Monday was the official start of the Christmas holiday and the Hogwarts Express would be coming to take students home. Although as an adult student Draco had the option to come and go from the castle as much as he liked, he had yet to return to the Manor. He'd written letters to his mother, yes, but he somehow couldn't bring himself to visit. His childhood home held so much…memories of past mistakes. He didn't want to be burdened by them anymore than he already was. But for the sake of the season he would go.

He'd go home. Granger would go home. And when they came back he could already envision the barrier that would re-erect itself between them.

Draco sighed.

This was going to be one depressing Christmas.

"Nice robes, Hermione." Harry said as he greeted her off the train. "Did some shopping in Hogsmeade, I see."

"Oh, uh," she stammered. The knowing smile on Ginny's face didn't help her confidence any either. "Yeah, I did. Great bargain."

"Yes, the salesman was very generous to her." Ginny added mischievously. Hermione could've killed her.

"Well, they look good on you. Come on, Mrs. Weasley's preparing lunch. Ron's there too. He would've come, but Mrs. Weasley figured that if he was going to eat everything he'd might as well learn how to make some of it."

Ginny raised a brow. "Were you at my parents'?"

"I'm always at your parents."

"Hmm, that's either very sweet or very creepy."

Harry laughed and pecked a kiss on Ginny's cheek as he led the way to the muggle platform. Hermione followed, somehow catching Draco's eye as he also headed towards the platform.

"Potter, Weasley," Draco greeted.

"Malfoy," they both said together with little feeling (although Harry had more than Ginny).

"Granger,"

"Malfoy," Hermione said. Time seemed to slow as she walked passed him. He never broke eye contact and she wasn't going to be the one to do it. His scent wafted under her nose –not cologne, but a natural smell that, regrettably, his robes no longer emitted. He didn't smile at her, but neither did she with him. Instead there was an understood agreement between them –one Hermione wasn't sure what it said, but it gave her a comfort anyway.

Hermione finally looked away when he was out of eyesight. He wasn't out of earshot though, and she heard him clearly say, "They really do look good on you."

She wondered if he'd meant to be heard.

"Draco, it's freezing! What in Merlin's name are you doing without your robes?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine, Mother, thank you very much for asking. The train ride was lovely as always."

"Don't be cheeky."

Draco sighed as he walked through the main fireplace of Malfoy Manor. "I am wearing a cloak, Mother."

"Yes, but it isn't nearly as warm as your robes." Narcissa told him. "Where are they? Roman made those robes especially for you. If he ever got wind that you lost them-"

"Unless you wrote him and told him that yourself, then you're worrying for nothing. In fact, you are worrying for nothing. They're just robes. Clothes. Clothes that I can buy anew if I need to."

"Oh, Draco,"

Draco rolled his eyes as his mother turned into a child right before his eyes. "I thought Malfoy's didn't pout."

"They don't." She said snootily. "But there's no one here to see me do it."

By that she meant that his father wasn't here to see her do it. He had been the one to enforce every Malfoy behavior within their home and to extinguish every behavior that wasn't.

Narcissa led the way through the Manor and into one of the many sitting rooms. One of their house elves already had tea prepared and Draco used his wand to warm them some. His mother had had her wand taken away for the duration of her home confinement. Not that that hindered her in any way. The house elves merely did more work around the Manor now than they used to –and that's saying something since they were already worked to the bone.

His mother sipped her tea happily, her posture impeccable although there were no guests to impress. "How's school?"

"How's house arrest?" Draco scowled on reflex.

"Draco!" Narcissa admonished. "I know that you're an adult, but this rudeness from you simply won't do!"

Draco sighed as he brought a hand to massage his temple. Tea was not going to cut it. He called for a house elf and told him to bring him the strongest liquor Malfoy Manor had to offer. The tiny creature came back quickly with a bottle of something dark as well as a short glass.

Narcissa watched him as he opened it and poured the liquid into the glass. "That came from your father's stores."

"I'm aware."

Narcissa frowned. "I advised you not to go back, didn't I?"

"You did." Draco nodded. He closed his eyes as the alcoholic beverage seared his throat on the way down. He would have to drink this slowly if he didn't want to become a sloshed mess. An angry sloshed mess to be precise. "But I don't regret the decision. I still have hopes to work for the Ministry one day and I want them to have as little reason not to hire me as possible. NEWT scores will be necessary."

"They could still deny you. It would probably give them great pleasure to do such a thing."

Draco shrugged and sipped his drink. "Perhaps, but I have to try."

They sat in silence then –for a few minutes at least. Narcissa set down her teacup and leaned slightly forward. "In all seriousness, Draco. How is Hogwarts?"

"My time there or just in general?"

"Both?"

"The school is as good as new." Draco answered her. "You would have never thought it had been nearly obliterated. As for my time there… Well, it's been no different than my time outside of its walls."

Narcissa tutted. "Shameful. These people pride themselves on not being prejudiced. About giving people fair chances in life. You've been exonerated for Merlin's sake! With the help of Potter, no less! How can they treat you so poorly and sleep at night?"

"Because I'm the bad guy, remember? A monster. It makes things very easy that way –to dehumanize the enemy. If you recall, it made things easy for us as well."

Narcissa pursed her lips. Quietly she agreed. "Yes. Yes, it did."

The Christmas holiday was fast approaching and Hermione still had a massive list of presents to buy. In four days. It was both a blessing and a curse to have two families. While it made every festive event even more so and warm with all of the love, it was also maddening trying to make sure that she pleased everyone. They all always got her such wonderful gifts, it was only natural to want to do the same in return.

"Which one do you think Ron will like more?" Hermione asked as she held up two sweaters. Each were Chudley Cannons related, but with different designs on the front. Harry eyed them both before eventually settling for the one in her right hand. She smiled. "Great! I can finally get him off my list."

"Good. And you've got Ginny down, right?"

"From the last shoppe, yes."

"Nice. And I was with you when you got stuff for your folks, so that just leaves, what? Me and the rest of the Weasley family?"

Hermione frowned while Harry was grinning like mad. "Oh, Harry, I hate you."

"I think you meant to say that you love me, but I'll let it slide this time."

Harry laughed while she smacked him on the arm.

"Well, since I do have to go find something for you, shoo! I can't have you lurking over my shoulder."

"What? Don't trust me?"

Hermione snorted. "Not in the slightest."

Harry was all smiles again as he left her and Hermione was finally able to get back down to business. She would meet him at Eadle's Eatery in an hour which, she felt, definitely wasn't enough time. But that's what she was heading out shopping again tomorrow for –with Ron this time. And the day after with Ginny. She found it necessary to break up her shopping between her friends because if they were all together? Merlin help her, she wouldn't get anything done.

Hermione chuckled to herself at the thought of it. She was currently walking out of her fifth store, sadly without anything for Harry, but happily with something to give to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. As she headed down the street the little girl in her came out when she spotted a small park off in the distance. Screw the shoppes. This little gem was the real reason why Hermione liked going to the small wizarding town in Croydon. The park held a two-person swing-set, a merry-go-round, and a seesaw. The latter two magically operated themselves, but the swing-set was very muggle and for that reason it was mostly free since young kids seemed incapable of swinging alone.

Everything was snow-covered after a gentle snowfall came down earlier that day. Hermione still walked over though and used her wand to take away the snow on one set of the swings and to warm its seat. She set her belongings onto the snow and sat down.

While being here was lovely, Hermione felt absolutely sinful. It was the snow. It was a beautiful reminder of the blond surprise that she had left behind. Between the winter and books, they seemed to always remind her of him. His smile, his snarky chuckle, the way he looked at her... Merlin, the way he looked at her. Still to her disbelief attraction was there. Lust was there. Amusement. Contentment. Amazement. Yes, she read it all in his face when he thought she wasn't looking. It was sad though, that when he did know that she was looking –particularly when they were simply talking –vulnerability was there. It was as though –and she could confirm it now –that he was afraid of what she thought of him and of what she would say or do.

Vulnerability didn't suit him.

She hoped that she could somehow break him out of it. That, she realized while laughing to herself, meant that she would have to spend more time with him. Time that included non-shagging moments and real quality time.

Oddly enough, Hermione didn't find the idea to be a bad one.

"No." Draco said for umpteenth time as he brandished his wand. Pansy's name disappeared from off of the parchment his mother had on the desk.

Narcissa huffed. "You still haven't given me a reason why not. And, until you do, her name is going right back on the list. Daisy,"

Daisy the house elf, his mother's elven wand, raised her hand, but she hesitated. Draco's glare was one to kill and she was deathly afraid and confused as to what to do.

"Daisy," Narcissa addressed. "It's alright. Add the name."

"Daisy, don't you dare move an inch." Draco contradicted. The poor house elf kept moving her gaze from Mistress to Master before she became so flustered that she disappeared on the spot. She was always such the scared elf.

"Oh, now look what you've done!"

"Mother, I am not having that clingy witch in this Manor."

"Come now," Narcissa scoffed. "Pansy's a grown woman. I'm sure she's past such an infantile stage."

"Last I heard she was hard up for a husband." Draco retorted. "That'll make her clingy enough."

"Well…is it so wrong to have someone here who wants to-?"

"If you're going to play matchmaker, you could choose a much better witch."

"I agree." Narcissa nodded. "But all the other better witches are already married or engaged."

That much was true, Draco knew. The war seemed to have scared everyone into marrying quickly as though they would never get another chance if they waited. As it stood, Draco and Pansy were the only ones their age not coupled up.

"She'll come." Narcissa continued. She had chosen to manually write Pansy's name in and Draco cringed. "I expect you to play nice, Draco. However, if she really is that appalling to you, then you don't have to 'play nice' with her. Is that better?"

"Somewhat," Draco grumbled. Narcissa smiled lovingly at her son. He had always been such a moody boy, and now he was a moody young man. However aggravating, because she was his mother she found him adorable nonetheless.

"Might I say one last thing on the matter?"

Draco stared at his mother and gave a long sigh. "Make it good."

"I do encourage you to reconsider. Maybe not by the time of the Christmas dinner, but for the long run perhaps? Considering our…predicament, it may be a bit hard to…well… And I know marrying later in life isn't such a horrible option, but we've always married young… I married your father when I was twenty-two, and we-"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, Mother." Draco replied. "I'm hardly in any rush."

With that Draco politely dismissed himself from his mother's presence and left her to finish the guest list for their Christmas dinner. He couldn't help but be equally annoyed and amused by his mother's meddlesome behavior. She had been trying for the past two years to get him to settle down with someone. If not marriage at the very least seriously dating. He was thankful that the last arranged Malfoy marriage was his great-grandfather's. That, of course, didn't stop parents from strongly suggesting who their future mate should be. Divorces in pureblood society was an impossibility –not that it couldn't be done, but it was heavily frowned upon so no one did it. It was the main reason why parents had been involved in their offspring's future in the first place.

But despite his mother's eagerness, Draco wouldn't be falling for her pressures. Besides, although he had known Pansy for years he simply wasn't interested in her like that. Contrary to popular belief, he'd never even slept with her (although, to give the witch a compliment, it wasn't for a lack of trying on her part). Draco was a highly selective person, and in this regard he preferred that this side of him prevailed.

Of course, his mind decided to taunt him, you weren't very selective when you spent not one, but two nights with Gryffindor's princess, now were you?

Draco could kick himself. His inner voice was still as cocky and git-worthy as ever. However, it was right. Everything about Granger had been one impulsive decision after another –none that he regretted. She was…an irresistible presence. He found himself drawn to her –even without the mask. Even now although he was miles away from her, his mind was filled of her. It didn't help that from every window he could see the snow that covered Malfoy Manor's grounds or the fact that his home held far too many libraries.

He wondered what tangible object or force of nature would be next to elicit her memory.

Author's note: I know I wrote this and everything, but Ginny is hilarious to me. And I love Draco and his mother's interaction (the funny side and the...not so funny).

Reviews are most welcome! You guys have been amazing with the support, and I honestly am so thankful for it. I had no intention of making this story go so far (and I'm still not sure how much longer it'll be), but I'm really glad that I decided to continue it. Am I thanking you guys too much? Really don't want to sound like a runaway train here haha.

Happy reading!

-WP