a/n: that was some chapter huh? well here's the next one. enjoy!
Hermione woke up with a small chill in her room. Her eyes fluttered open and woke up with her room filled with a soft light. She sat up and looked toward the glass door to the balcony. She surprised herself that she had never gone outside of that glass door.
She yawned and put on the pair of slippers that sat in front of her bed. She walked to the bathroom and took the silk robe from behind the door. She wrapped it around her and walked to the glass door. She touched the glass and found it cold. She saw white beyond the balcony and a white sheet surrounding the edge of it. She took the handle and opened the door.
Cold air hit her face and blew back her hair. She tightened the robe around her waist and stepped out. The balcony was large and let out a view of the garden on the west side of the manor. Hermione couldn't see much of the manor through the falling snow. With a smile, she lightly touched the rail of the balcony and touched the snow.
She breathed in the cold air and closed her eyes. She absolutely loved the winter. Mostly because of the snow. As a child, she always loved to play in the snow. Ok, getting a little cold here. Hermione turned around and went back inside. She rubbed her arms with her hands. As she took off her robe, Draco knocked on her door. "You awake love?"
"Yes Draco." Hermione replied.
Draco opened the door and closed it behind him. "Morning" he said smiling.
Hermione put the robe on her bed, "Good morning."
Draco walked over to her and put his arms around her waist. "Merry Christmas" he said to her. Then Hermione remembered it was Christmas day. "Lets go downstairs," he said, "There are something's I want you to see."
Hermione smiled. She took his hand and followed him out the room. Draco took her down the large staircase to the living room. Hermione walked in with Draco and gasped. Near the burning fireplace was a very large, very bright and very nicely decorated Christmas tree. On the top held a big star that almost looked real. Under the tree was a large amount of presents. The small ones were on the love seat and the larger ones lied under the tree.
"Wow" Hermione breathed. Narcissa came from behind the tree with a small box with a silver bow on top. She walked up to the couple and gave the box to Hermione. "Oh Narcissa. You shouldn't."
"Just think of it as a little 'thank you' gift." she said with a smile.
"Mother, when did you get this?" Draco asked curiously.
"Well...I just happened to wake up a little earlier than usually this morning and decided to go out to the shops."
Anxiously, Hermione took off the bow and opened the box. Inside was a necklace with a diamond pendent in the shape of a heart. "Wow mum. That's beautiful" Draco said.
"It sure is" Hermione agreed.
"Go on. Take it out. Wear it" Narcissa urged. Draco had taken the box and took out the necklace. He put it around Hermione's neck and connected the clasp.
Hermione was speechless. "Thank you" she said breathlessly.
Narcissa took Hermione away from Draco and took her to the couch opposite the present filled love seat. "This one is from Draco." she said, passing Hermione a slightly larger box.
Hermione's face lit up when she opened the box. "A book!" she said with a high pitched voice. She took out the thick book and read the title. Elusive Love. "Sometimes love is worth the wait," she read from the corner of the book. The cover was a picture of a lake and a woman on a boardwalk in front of it. It was at sunset and the wind blew the hair and dress of the woman gracefully. The woman looked at Hermione and smiled. Hermione traced the cover around the book with her finger. "I can't wait until I read it."
"I knew you would like it" Draco said, leaning on the couch.
Hermione glanced at the fireplace. She watched as the wood burned and the sparks of fire danced within their stone home. She didn't want to but Hermione's mind wandered to the night before. The way Draco was tortured by his own twin. The way Virginia tried to kill her. Hermione shook her head to rid of the memory but it wouldn't budge. Then she thought the worst. Something bad is going to happen. No. Your wrong. she argued with herself. You know I'm right. You can feel it Granger. Something bad is going to happen. Don't ruin the moment. Hermione kicked the thoughts to the back of her head and looked back at Draco and Narcissa.
They looked happy. Exchanging gifts with each other. Hermione had never known Narcissa could smile as much as she did. She doubted Draco knew either. Yet, Hermione felt a pang of sadness because she did believe something bad was going to happen. Don't think of it now. she thought. She looked away. She had to get out of this room. The longer she lingered, the more she thought of bad things. The more she had those thoughts, her stomach began to go into knots, making Hermione uncomfortable.
"Hermione?"
She had snapped out of her trance and looked back to where Draco and Narcissa sat. Draco sat on the love seat where a bunch of little gifts had stayed. Now the couch was filled with wrapping paper. Draco sat on the love seat alone.
"Err...Where is your mother?" Hermione asked.
Draco looked over his shoulder. "Oh, she left to tend something in the next room."
Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Hermione asked, "What? By herself?"
Draco cocked his head to the side and chuckled, "Yea. Strange right?"
"Very" she replied.
"Are you insinuating that I can't do a simple task myself?" Narcissa said within the door frame at the back of the room. She held one more present in her hands.
"You've surprised me this year mum. You're certainly in the giving spirit," Draco said.
"Well Draco," Narcissa said a matter-of-factly, "This year a new light shined and this specific light showed me that there isn't anything wrong with a little giving here and there. So this light just so happens to deserve something special." Narcissa placed the present on Hermione's lap.
"Oh no Narcissa. You had already given me this necklace. I can't accept anything else."
"No, no, no" Narcissa disagreed, "This one was made special for you. If you reject it then it would just be a waste."
Hermione eyed the box on her lap. She smiled finally. "Oh fine." She tore up the delicate wrapping paper and opened the cardboard box inside.
"Why does she get all the good stuff?" Draco pouted.
"No worried dear. There's one for you in there too."
Hermione reached into the box and pulled out a soft fabric. "Um..."she said, looking a little puzzled.
Draco took out the second fabric. Equally soft, but his was larger. "I don't get it. What is it?" he asked.
Narcissa sucked her teeth. She stood and took his fabric. She straightened it out and revealed it was a cloak. Draco's inner fabric was emerald and silk. On the front was the Hogwarts crest. "Sooo...You got us new school cloaks?" Draco asked, still confused.
"No you silly boy," Narcissa said, throwing his cloak at him. "There's something special inside these cloaks."
Draco took his and looked around it. He stuck his hand inside the pocket. "In here?" he asked.
"Stop acting a fool Draco," Narcissa said, not amused. "No, not in the pockets. In the fabric. It was made special for you."
Hermione observed her cloak. She looked closely at the black thread. She saw something sparkle. "Whoa," she said. "What's inside? Well...as in, what does it do?"
"That is for you to find out," she said.
Hermione sighed. Great. Another mystery.
"Well, they are quite stylish," Draco said, wrapping the cloak around him. Narcissa and Hermione laughed at him and Hermione threw a ball of wrapping paper at him.
"I don't know about you but I'm hungry," Hermione said, folding the cloak and placing it on the cushion next to her.
Draco nodded quickly, "Me too."
Narcissa paused to think. "Oh ok. Let's get dressed and go out and get something to eat."
Before she even finished the sentence, Draco had raced up to his room. Hermione let out a chuckle. "I should go shower." She stood and with the box her necklace came in, her cloak and her new book, she walked upstairs to her bedroom. She placed her gifts on her bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
She was so relieved that she could take a shower without tense muscles and a drifting, worried mind. About time that V.N.M. business was over with. she thought. Just like she was interrupted while she was staring into the fireplace, unwelcome thoughts invaded her mind. She's not dead! She was just hurt by Narcissa. She'll get over it and she'll get over it soon.
When that happens she will come back. More angry and thirstier for revenge. "Oh dammit; leave me alone!"
When Hermione was finished with her shower, the bathroom was quiet and everything glass was fogged with steam. She put on a robe and went back to her room. By looking outside the glass door she saw that it was still cloudy and cold. She looked inside her closet and pulled out her clothes. What a happy holiday it is, she thought.
Draco, Hermione, and Narcissa sat around a table in an elegant restaurant for breakfast. "I'm having such a good time," Hermione said after Narcissa told a story about one of Draco's first holidays away from home. Quite amusing actually.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Now you are welcome back anytime you like," Narcissa said with a small chuckle from her story.
Draco, however, was not amused. "Mother, I don't think anyone would ever want to hear a story about a naive, 6 year old boy at Christmas."
Narcissa patted her son's arm, "Oh Draco, I haven't met one person who hasn't found you 'set-his-own-trousers-on-fire-with-the-Christmas-tree-candles' funny."
"Now you do. I hate that story." Draco pouted and looked away.
Hermione shook her head with a smile and said, "I'll be right back." She stood up and walked away to the bathroom. Making sure it was empty, she slid into one of the stalls and took out a mirror from her purse. "Harry Potter," she said.
Soon enough, Harry's face appeared at the other end of the mirror. His face lit up with joy at the sight of his friend. "Hermione! It's good to hear from you," he said, "How are you?"
Hermione smiled as well. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm having breakfast right now but I just wanted to check in and say hi."
"Oh...well great. Who are you eating with?"
Hermione hesitated. She never told Harry or Ron she was spending the holiday with Draco. She was positive Harry wouldn't want to know now. "Err...with my parents. Enjoying a beautiful snowy day together."
"That's good. I'm at Ron's. Him and the twins are making gingerbread houses with dancing gingerbread men."
She laughed. "Sounds fun," she said.
"Yeah but it would be a lot better if you were here."
"Harry! Come look at this!" Ron's voice echoed behind him. He looked over his shoulder and back at Hermione.
"Sorry. Got to go. Unless you want to say hi to the gang."
"No, no. Just send them my love. And merry Christmas Harry."
"Merry Christmas Hermione." With that, Harry's face disappeared.
Hermione heard the door open. She paused.
"Hermione? It's Narcissa. Are you ok?" Narcissa asked outside the stall next to Hermione's.
"Uh...yes Narcissa. I'm perfectly fine. I'll be out in a minute."
"Ok then."
Hermione waited to hear the click of Narcissa's shoes click toward the door and the slam of the door closing.
Click...Click...Click...Slam!
Hermione let out a breath. She stepped out of the stall. She left the bathroom and walked back to her table.
Narcissa buttered her second piece of bread and spoke quickly to Draco. "Just consider it. This is the opportunity of a lifetime."
"I know you don't expect me to take this big of a leap in my life," Draco said in a hushed tone.
Narcissa took a double take when she saw Hermione approach the table. She stuffed the piece of buttered bread in her mouth.
"Sorry I took so long," Hermione said as she sat herself next to Draco. Draco nodded and took a sip of coffee. Hermione went back to her breakfast. The table seemed tense. The only noise that came from their table was the noise from their forks hitting their plates.
Hermione was confused after she had come back from the bathroom. Narcissa and Draco's attitudes changed. Even back at the manor, "I'm going to organize the New Year's party."
She kept walking, not looking back.
"She'll take a while," Draco said before walking away himself.
Hermione was discouraged. She took herself up to her room and opened the balcony door. She made sure she was bundled up and took a book with her. She took a seat in front of the greatest view of the winter wonderland. She took the book to her lap and began to read.
...The dream was always the same.
It began with Susannah looking out over a charcoal ocean. A thick fog crawled over the water, blurring the division between sky and earth. As it surrounded her, she felt her will dissolve, as thought overtaken by a supernatural force. Then an eerie foreboding emanating from the sea, fog and sand enveloped her like and invisible cocoon. Flooded with anxiety, she desperately began searching the seashore for something, but didn't know what.
As the dream continued, Susannah would become so frightened, she would awaken screaming for her mother. Susannah was six years old when the dream first appeared. her mother had reassured her there was nothing to fear and that dreams were not real...
Hermione's eyes struggled to stay open. They fluttered a few times before closing completely.
Draco sat in his father's study. Trying to think through his mother's proposition. Flipping through an old book of dark magic, he sighed and closed the book. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Narcissa's voice rang in his head.
He held his head in his hands. What should I do? Then there was a knock at the door.
"Does Master Malfoy wish to have his tea?" a house elf squeaked.
Draco wasn't even really paying attention. He waved his arm dismissively. The house elf quickly got to the desk and placed the tray on top. It struggled to reach the tea pot to pour the tea into the cup. "Don't worry about it, I got it," Draco breathed, paying no mind to what he was saying.
The house elf seemed frightened. It quickly ran out the room.
I know you don't expect me to take this big of a leap in my life. He shuddered. The task was for him to make a tough decision.
"Maybe I should talk this out with Hermione," he said to himself. "Mm...not now." Draco poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. He was anxious. He didn't know what to do. For about an hour he paced from the desk, to the door, to the desk again. He glanced at the grandfather clock. 1 p.m. He ran his hand through his hair. "Geez," he said.
Soon enough, he decided to leave the room. He walked through the long halls and turned a corner to Hermione's room. He knocked once. Nothing. He knocked a second time. Nothing. "Hermione?" he said. He put his hand on the handle and turned it, opening the door. He walked into her room and it was awfully cold. "Dear God woman. How can you stand it?!"
Draco then realized Hermione wasn't even in the room. He also noticed the glass door wide open. He stepped into the room completely and closed the door behind him. He went out onto the balcony and looked for Hermione. He found her a few feet away from the door. She has on her coat, hat, and scarf so she probably barely felt the cold. She was asleep with her book, Elusive Love, lying open on her lap.
He couldn't help but smile. He didn't want to leave Hermione out in the cold so he took her book, marked it, and carried her to her room as he has done so many times before. He placed her on her bed and removed her scarf and hat. He unbuttoned her coat and placed her book on the desk on the left side of the glass door.
Should I tell her? No. Not now anyway.
Draco looked at Hermione one more time before closing her door.
A/N: ok no more apologies. u kno y im so late. i will tell u this. b prepared for a shocking next chapter for the new year. hehe.. R&R ppl. thanks!