Prepare for some very fluffy romance:)
Draco sat in complete darkness, drinking his top shelf firewhiskey, his mind a mess. His father's words kept hounding him, making him think on things he normally wouldn't bother with. Leaving the manor he'd locked himself away in his bedroom with the full intention of drinking himself into a forgetful stupor. The alcohol however had just made things worse, bringing out his emotions in full force. It pained him to have to admit to not wanting to let go of Hermione, even if he risked total destruction of both their lives. The cynical side of him knew he wouldn't have the guts to do such a stupid thing, no matter his true feelings. Hadn't he always gone along with everything other's had told him to do? During his time at Hogwarts he'd believed everything his parents had told him about his superiority over tainted blood, and that it was his right to lead. When Voldemort had moved into the manor, Draco had gone along with everything even though his mind had told him it was wrong. He hadn't even had the courage to switch sides at the Battle of Hogwarts, leaving the battlefield with his parents like the cowards they all were. If it hadn't been for his mother's lie, they probably would have all ended up in Azkaban; he still wondered how his father had escaped that fate.
Downing the contents of the glass, he quickly refilled it wanting the memories to leave him. As he continued pouring he caught sight of the dark mark on his forearm, the mark he had willingly taken to avenge his father. It was only now that he realised Hermione had never mentioned it, not once had she let on she even knew about it. Obviously she'd seen it countless times; there had been ample opportunity in the past few months. That was her though, always willing to forgive someone their past.
His eyes strayed over to the calendar on his table noting that Christmas was only a week away. His father had insisted he marry before the year was out which didn't leave him much time to choose a wife and let go of Hermione Granger. Suddenly he thought about the antique shop in Knockturn Alley he frequented and knew exactly what he was going to do. First thing in the morning he would go down there and buy Hermione a sort of parting gift that would at least allow her to always remember their time together.
######################################
Hermione arrived at Draco's house on time, happy to be spending Christmas Eve with him. The invitation had caught her by surprise as she'd thought he would be spending it at the manor with his family. Ginny had assured Hermione she would cover for her at the burrow, everyone was going to be questioning as to why Hermione who had no family would spend Christmas Eve alone.
She called out to signal her arrival, hoping the dress Ginny had helped her choose was suitable for whatever he had planned.
"Hello Hermione" Draco drawled, dressed in a pair of black slacks and an impeccable tailored shirt.
Hermione felt very inadequate all of a sudden, so distracted with worrying about her outfit she hadn't noticed what he'd called her.
"Something wrong?" He asked, walking up to her.
"No, sorry my mind was elsewhere, Merry Christmas" She smiled, capturing his lips in chaste kiss.
"What did you tell the gang?" He asked.
"I left that up to Ginny" She grinned.
Draco chuckled, grabbing hold of her hand and leading her into the dining room.
"You cooked all this?" She asked, shocked.
The table was lined with all kinds of food stuffs, including a giant turkey, it had never occurred to her he could manage such a feat.
"With magic of course" He smirked, pulling out a chair for her to sit on.
She murmured a thank you as her mind tried to decipher what this dinner was all about. Friends had dinner together, yes but this dinner felt suspiciously intimate.
"Relax, will you?" he exhaled.
"I'm sorry I'm being rude, how was your day?" She took full advantage of the bottle of wine in front of her.
"It was the same as always, meeting after meeting" He shrugged.
"What is it you actually do, besides playing the part of rich playboy?" She asked innocently.
"Very funny, I've already told you how hard we work for our money Hermione" He replied curtly.
It was at this point she realised he was using her given name like it was second nature to him.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" She whispered.
"It's your name isn't it?" He arched an eyebrow.
"You know that isn't what I meant" She persisted.
"Friends use their first names don't they?" He sighed.
"I guess" She said hesitantly.
"Are we overthinking things again?" He smirked.
"I'm sorry Draco" She beamed light heartedly.
"Can we eat now?" He rolled his eyes at her.
She found the nerves leaving her as they enjoyed dinner, Draco telling her about the Christmas's he'd spent at the Manor, tactfully leaving out the war years, whilst she in turn told him about her muggle Christmas's.
"You went around singing at total stranger's doorsteps?" He asked.
"Carolling Draco, it's a muggle tradition"
"Sounds like fun" He mocked.
"It was much better than spending time with bigoted snobbish people"
"Where are your parents by the way" Draco questioned.
The light left her eyes instantly, the painful memory erupting inside of her mind.
"I don't know" She finally whispered.
Draco sat very still, kicking himself for having brought the subject up. He tried to remember if he had read or heard anything about them but conceded he didn't really know much about them.
"I didn't mean to bring it up"
"It's ok, I guess I'd kind of pushed it from my mind" She mustered up a weak smile.
An awkward silence came over them, neither knowing what to say to break it. Hermione decided to change the subject entirely.
"So was this delicious meal all you had planned for tonight?" She asked playfully.
"No, I wanted to give you a gift" He pushed his chair back, walking over to the buffet and retrieving a small box.
"I didn't realise we were doing gifts" She groaned, annoyed with herself for not having the presence of mind to get him something.
"Don't worry about it Hermione" He waved her concern away, placing the box in her hands.
She shot him a questioning look before unwrapping the gift, a look of puzzlement crossing her face when she saw what was inside.
A beautifully sculptured Dragon sat atop what looked like a music box, the dragon began to curl itself around her hand whilst the box began to shimmer slightly.
"What is it?" She finally asked.
"It's an Arcana Musicale, a magical memory store" He told her, watching her carefully.
"I've never heard of one" She admitted, gazing at it with wonder.
"Probably because they're more of a 'dark arts' object" He made imaginary quotation marks in the air.
"Dark Magic?" She asked, suddenly wanting to remove the dragon from her.
"Relax it's not evil, it's simply meant to be a kind of pensieve" Draco explained.
"So I can store memories?" She raised her eyebrows, utterly confused.
"Not just any memories, your most happiest ones. You give them to him and every time you wish to see them he will play them to you" He explained.
Hermione didn't know what to say, the emotion threatened to choke her as she kept her eyes on the dragon. He simply looked up at her, his emerald eyes making her feel safe and warm. She couldn't help but compare it to Draco, with whom she had always been at ease with. Without warning a traitorous tear fell from her eyes making it harder to keep her emotions in check.
"Are you alright?" He rushed to her side, concerned that the gift hadn't had the effect he was hoping for.
"It's a wonderful gift" She managed to choke out, her insides churning at the emotions she was allowing him to witness.
"It's meant to carry happy memories Hermione" He smiled, wiping the tears away.
"A bit too personal if you ask me" She laughed.
"You know I care about you right?" He cleared his throat, not really knowing where he was going with this.
"What are you talking about?" Her voiced hitched at the implications of what he had just said.
"Although our futures may not be linked, it doesn't change the fact that I care for you deeply" He looked up at her, all playfulness gone from his eyes.
"I care for you too" She admitted, allowing more tears to flow.
"There's some things I need to share with you" He immediately stepped away from her, perceiving she might not take what he had to say well.
"You're ending it" She said softly, wiping away the tears.
"My father has requested I marry. I'm sorry" His voice slightly broke on the last two words. He would never have imagined how difficult this would feel when he'd propositioned her, what seemed like years ago.
"I understand, we both knew this day would come" She nodded sadly.
"If there was any way I could keep you …" He started.
"I couldn't be a mistress Draco and we both know the world would never accept us" She cut in, resolved not to waste time on what ifs.
"I know" He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Let's forget everything just for tonight Draco, after all it is Christmas Eve" She smiled brightly, detaching the dragon and placing it on the table.
Rising she walked over to him, placing her arms around his neck seizing his lips with hers. To say he was caught off guard would have been an understatement. Even as he felt her lips grow more persistent he wouldn't allow himself to believe it was actually happening. He'd been so sure she would never want to see him again; this was definitely a curve ball.
She pulled back from his lips and looked up at him fearfully. He realised she had mistaken his lack of response on his not wanting to kiss her back. With a huge grin he cupped her face, winding an arm around her waist as he captured her mouth, showing her with his lips just how much he desired her. He allowed every emotion he felt to pour into that kiss, wanting to empty himself of it all. His hand left her face to run down the sides of her body, past her breasts until it met his other hand, abruptly lifting her off the ground.
Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing him to carry her to his bedroom, their lips still attached. Reaching his bedroom Draco ripped his mouth away, placing her gently on the bed whilst he struggled to regain his normal breathing pattern. No matter how many times he had had her in this exact position, he never tired of seeing her in his bed, flushed with desire for him, only him.
With a half uttered groan he divested them both of clothing with a quick spell, covering her naked body with his, as he looked down at her.
"Are you sure you really want to do this Hermione" He whispered harshly.
"It isn't the first time Draco" She stated.
"You know what I mean" He shook his head.
"It can be one of my happy memories" She gave him a beaming smile and that was all the encouragement he needed.
He left behind a trail of kisses as he made his way down her neck stopping only when he'd reached her breast. Tentatively at first he took her nipple in his mouth enjoying the moans that he elicited from her. Sliding his hand down her stomach he slipped a finger inside of her, finding her dripping wet and more than ready.
"I can't wait any longer" He gasped, feeling his erection hardening.
She nodded in agreement, automatically wrapping her legs around his hips as he entered her. If Draco died at that moment he wouldn't have cared. The immense pleasure he felt as he thrust inside of her would of made it worthwhile.
Hermione felt the world shatter around her as she felt herself climax, forgetting everything but him. If the world wanted them to be apart then that was fine but they would always have this at least. With a sigh she allowed herself to be brought back to reality, one which from tomorrow would not involve Draco Malfoy.
When Draco awoke the next morning he was alone.
#################
I apologise if anyone found this chapter a bit too sugary but it is a romance after all. :) I hope I pulled off the lemony scene I still have not perfected the art of smut.