Hermione woke up as the sunlight pierced her eyelids. She groaned and sat up. All night, she'd tossed and turned, trying to banish her thoughts of Draco from her head. She hadn't succeeded and had lost the entire night of sleeping.
Damn. Why the hell did Draco have to be cad? He had deliberately planned the evening so she would drop her guard and have sex with him. He would have succeeded if Hermione hadn't snapped out of it when she did. It didn't help that Hermione had liked it far more than she would have admitted. Draco had haunted her dreams. There, he'd driven her crazy with want and pleasure. He'd used his fingers and tongue in a way that made her body ache with just remembering.
She ran a hand over her face and got up. Today was the first day of Christmas holidays. She had three weeks all to herself to do whatever she wanted. And what she wanted right now, was a shower...an ice cold one.
Draco woke up and stretched. After Granger had run out on him, he'd taken her advice and gone searching for another girl. Fortunately, he'd found one. Unfortunately, it was an annoying third year Ravenclaw girl who'd cried her eyes out when he'd kicked her out of his bed not five hours ago. Stupid girl. Didn't she know that he never let anyone stay in his bed after he was done with them?
He stood and walked into his bathroom. As he took a shower, he remembered last night with Granger. He'd intended to seduce her, and it had been working. He could still feel her body under his as he tasted and teased her. But that chit had figured out what was going on and ran. The other girl had satisfied him, but his body was calling for the Gryffindor. And his pride was, as well. No girl had ever turned him down before. He had to have her.
The hot water ran over his muscles and he began to relax. Now that his first plan had fallen through, he needed to come up with a different one. He had three weeks to get that mudblood into his bed. He never forced girls into his bed, just out. Each approach was different for each girl. He just needed to know her type.
His body straightened as he remembered something. Granger had gotten hurt running after Peeves because he'd gotten the results of her personality quiz. With a sweet enough pot, Draco bet he could get the ghost to give him the paper he'd taken. Draco shut the shower off and grabbed a black towel, wrapping it around his hips. He wiped the fog off the bathroom mirror and smiled at his reflection. Let the games begin, Granger.
Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table and looked around. Three Hufflepuff, two Ravenclaw, five other Gryffindors, and four Slytherin. Correction, the fifth Slytherin had just arrived. Hermione turned to her plate so she didn't have to see Malfoy's face. He was going to brag to his Slytherin buddies about seducing the Gryffidnor's prize Seeker. She didn't need to hear any of that.
"Hey, Hermione," a second year said, drawing her attention to him. "Why aren't you with Harry and Ron?"
Hermione shrugged. "Wanted some time to work on homework and extra credit assignments from all my teachers. The Burrow is too noisy to concentrate," she lied.
The boy laughed. "You've always got your nose in a book, Hermione."
"Yeah," a second year girl said. "You should relax. Kiss a boy or two."
Hermione sipped her hot chocolate, hoping the heat would hide her blush. She wasn't going to be kissing any boy soon. She'd had enough of that in the past few days to satisfy her for a few weeks. A few months, actually. Malfoy was leaving a weird taste in her mouth.
Speaking of Malfoy, Hermione looked up and saw him chatting with Parkinson next to him. Why didn't he just shag her? Why did he have to go after her last night? Hermione heard some crying and turned around in her seat to see a third year Ravenclaw crying into the shoulder of the other Ravenclaw, a boy with blond hair. She was too far away to hear everything, but she could pick up "Kicked me out", "Gave him everything", and "I hate Slytherin".
Hermione turned around in her seat and glared at Malfoy. She knew those words, having heard them all over the school for since Malfoy turned 13 about four years ago. The git had run through most of the Slytherin girls before turning his attention to the other houses. Thankfully, he'd left the Gryffindors alone.
Malfoy looked up from his chatting and met her eyes. She poured her hatred into her eyes. She swore he would have flinched if he wasn't around his cronies. "If you'll excuse me," she said to the other Gryffindors. She stood up and started to leave.
Dumbledore passed her at the door and said, "Ah, Ms. Granger. Would you stay a moment? I would like to ask a favor from you."
"Yes, Professor?" she said.
"As it is the Christmas holidays, and the students who stayed behind are probably missing the Christmas feeling of being home," Dumbledore said. "I was wondering if you would hold a Christmas party. Maybe use the Room of Requirements and decorate it nicely. Invite everyone, have a White Elephant exchange, I believe it's called...that is what you do at parties, yes?" Hermione nodded. "Excellent. Well, I'll leave that to you. And don't forget to invite all the students. Thank you, Ms. Granger." He then walked away.
Hermione put a hand on her hip and ruffled her hair with the other, sighing. This idea was one of Dumbledore's weirdest ones yet. A Christmas party for everyone, which included five Slytherins? Yeah, like that wasn't going to blow up in her face. But the Headmaster had asked her, and she couldn't refuse the Headmaster. She was too much of a 'goody-goody' as Ron liked to put it.
Hermione turned and walked out of the Great Hall. She hated to procrastinate and getting the room decorated would be the best way to spend her time. So, she headed to the Room of Requirements.
Draco looked up as the Headmaster stopped next to the Slytherin's table. "Mr. Malfoy," he said, smiling under his white beard. "I would like to ask a favor from you, if I may?"
"Of course, Headmaster," Draco said, smiling back politely.
"As it is the Christmas holidays, and the students who stayed behind are probably missing the Christmas feeling of being home," Dumbledore said. "I was wondering if you would hold a Christmas party. Maybe use the Room of Requirements and decorate it nicely. Invite everyone, have a White Elephant exchange, I believe it's called...that is what you do at parties, yes?"
Draco blinked. Was he serious? "I'm not one for planning parties, Headmaster," he said.
Dumbledore chuckled and said, "You do not have to worry. I would just like Ms. Granger to have some help. I've just asked her and she has agreed."
Draco smiled a bit more genuinely. "Alright, Headmaster. I'll help Granger," he said. Dumbledore nodded and walked up to the teacher's table. Draco picked up his pumpkin juice, still smiling. That old man had just given him the opportunity he'd been looking for. Asking him to help plan a stupid party with Granger was too perfect. She wouldn't be able to avoid her. They had to work together.
"What's with that grin, Draco?" Pansy asked.
Draco looked at her. Pansy had had her pug nose fixed for her 14th birthday as a present from her father, making her really attractive. He'd thought about sleeping with her a couple times, but she was a friend. He never slept with his friends. He may be a git to other girls, but he had some morals. "It's nothing, Pans," he said. "I was just given the opportunity to get my revenge on Granger."
"As long as it doesn't mess with the party," she said. "I like parties."
Blaise chuckled. "You going to clue us in on what you're planning, Drake?" he asked.
Draco shook his head. "I think you'll like it better when it happens," he said with a conspiratorial look at his mates.
Crabbe and Goyle smiled dumbly at each other. They didn't get it, but, then again, they didn't get a lot of things.
Draco stood up and said, "I'll see you later." He then left and headed to the one place he knew Granger would be after accepting the request from Headmaster. The Room of Requirements to start on the party right away. One thing he noticed about Granger, was that she was extremely hated procrastinating.