Chapter Seventeen: Christmas and Mistletoe

Previously: Sometimes I just wanted to hold her close and kiss her and hold her even closer and kiss her even more and tell her that I loved her…but I couldn't. She was obviously with Riddle, and for once, I had a feeling that I couldn't compete with someone over a girl. Back when Hermione and I were in Hogwarts, I could have my way with any girl I wanted, whether or not they were in a relationship. They swooned at my feet. They practically worshipped the ground I walked on! So what I didn't understand was how I could have any girl I wanted, I could win hands down against any wanker in the school, but I couldn't have Hermione, and I certainly couldn't compete with Riddle. Merlin, my life was shit.

I wanted Hermione more than I had ever wanted anyone, and he may have been the Dark Lord…but nothing was going to stop me from claiming the only woman I had ever loved. And if he honestly thought he would win; he had another thing coming!

Hermione Granger P.O.V.

I smiled silently as I gazed at the ten foot tall Christmas tree standing proud and sparkling before me. The flames had been charmed to levitate beside the pins and avoid catching the whole thing on fire whilst the baubles spun like crazy around the tree. A shining golden star hung atop the mountain of emerald pins and candles hung around the dim lit room.

It was Christmas morning and if I'm honest, I was as excited as an eleven year old buying her first wand!

When I had first arrived in 1944, I had no idea I would stay long enough to have a Christmas here and for some reason, it scared me. I had never spent a Christmas away from my family, and it was odd to think that my friends from so far in the future wouldn't be sending me Christmas letters or presents anymore. Not until I changed the future.

My thoughts had partly been trained on Tom from the moment I awoke. I wondered what this experience would be like for him, spending Christmas at Hogwarts for the first time. If I were him, I would definitely be relieved to get away from that horrible place…but Tom and I thought in extremely different ways and I had never really been able to determine his reactions to things.

Mistletoe had started to bud from the ceiling and extremely slowly, was beginning to grow bigger and bigger. I imagined myself under that waterfall of mistletoe, my hands tied to Tom's raven locks, and his grasping my waist, our lips colliding together in an endless harmony. I sighed dreamily, which was something I rarely did, and proceeded forward to join Draco beside the tree.

As I plonked myself down next to the blond wizard, I strange warmth filled my insides and I suddenly felt at home. The feeling was like happiness, but I wanted to cry as well as smile. It was strange and completely unknown to me but I liked it and it made me realise how much I needed and wanted just three more people to join Draco and I round the tree.

"Morning" Draco grumbled.

I was surprised to hear that tone of voice spill from his lips on such a day as this to be honest, but my shock evaporated as I noticed a small envelope crushed delicately in his palm and the name DRACO smeared by a tear on the outside. I closed my eyes and sighed, placing my hand soothingly on his shoulder.

Who is the letter from, Draco?

He didn't answer for a moment, and in that brief moment I felt almost like a Dementor had entered the room and drained all the happiness and warmth from us.

Dumbledore send for me this morning and handed me this letter. My mother wrote it before we left home and gave it to Dumbledore to give to me today. Read it, he replied.

I nodded and took the note in my trembling hands whilst inhaling deeply. His face was still turned from me and I assumed he felt ashamed for me to see him in this state. I glanced down at the letter and unfolded it, sliding the emerald note from the envelope and opening it to reveal a short paragraph of shaky but neat handwriting.

My Darling Draco,

Firstly, I would like to say merry Christmas and I truly hope you're having an exciting time where you have gone. You are so brave to agree to this and I sincerely hope that you and Ms. Granger are fairing well together and not behaving like children as you used to. Please remember that you are both in the same situation now and you must work together and contribute towards the downfall of the Dark Lord. Please stay safe, my child. You have no idea how proud of you I am, and I'm certain that if your father had once been on our side, he would be proud also. Do not hate your father, you know, as do many others, the influence the Dark Lord has on everyone and he was the man he had to be in order to protect our family. I will not say that you remind me of him, because both of you are brave and noble men but your father did not have the chances you have today to change everything.

Come home soon my son. I am praying for you.

All my love

Mother.

Tom Riddle P.O.V.

Christmas morning was unusually similar to every other morning, plus a tree, a few presents and a big meal. I didn't really see what was so exciting about it really, but Hermione seemed to be quite excited about it so I was prepared to give it a chance.

Hermione and I weren't actually dating to be honest; it wasn't official in any way as some had been saying. Neither of us had asked the "killer" question. Ok, we had kissed a bit, but not an awful lot. Not that I didn't want to; if I had the choice, Hermione would already be completely mine and no one else's but I doubted that she would even consider such as that at this stage.

I shook my white shirt a few times before throwing it over myself lazily and leaving the top three buttons open. Well, I could tease her just a slight bit at least. I reached underneath my bed and pulled out a silk bag containing the present I would give to her in less than three hours. I stroked the material and pulled out my wand before shrinking it and placing it inside my pocket before walking from the room and giving McGonagall a nod, ignoring the decorated common room and exiting the Heads quarters.

Hermione's quarters were only a two second stroll from mine, which was even more convenient for me. It angered me that she shared a common room with that arrogant blond, but she obviously had no interest him which was more than I could say for him.

Draco was gone by the time I entered the common room, which gave me even more time to be alone with Hermione. Being the Head Boy gave me access to even Gryffindor dorms, meaning that unless the doors hadn't got an entering charm on them, I could walk in and out of Hermione's quarters whenever I wished.

Might come in useful, I thought.

Hermione was no where to be seen in the common room so I assumed she was in her room. My assumption was right, and I found her bent over a pile of books, searching franticly through the pages whilst biting her lip and pinning her hair behind her ear occasionally when her caramel locks hung limping in her eyes. I had to smile at her concentration face; how she nibbled at her lower lip and squinted her eyes slightly, how her eyes lit up when she found what she was looking for and her lips lifted into a smirk. She slammed the book shut in excitement and jumped up after tucking the book underneath her arm, still smiling.

I almost laughed at her expression when she came face to face with me. She honestly looked…well, adorable.

The back of her hair was pinned into a messy bun, leaving the front to hang loose and irritate her. Her mouth formed a small O shape as she noticed I was there, and her glistening brown eyes widened before she relaxed and her cheeks adopted a radiating shade of pink. Her plump lips transformed into a tiny, shy smile which I loved and she turned quietly to place the book into her bed before facing me again with a tender smile.

"Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed breathlessly, her smile growing wider as she took a small step towards me and leant forward to press her soft lips to my cheek and leave a burning sensation in my cheek.

She stepped away from me quickly and pinned her arms behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heals whilst biting her lip nervously and glancing from me to the floor. Honestly, she didn't realise how down right gorgeous and innocent she looked in that pose.

I allowed myself to smile just a little before returning her greeting and welcoming myself to take a considerably comfortable rest on her bed. I must say, other peoples beds seemed to be so much comfortable than my own; especially Hermione's.

Hermione chimed suddenly and rested beside me, a small smirk playing at her lips, "Comfortable? Good. Now, when do you want your present?" she asked excitedly.

I sighed and rolled over slightly to prop myself up on my elbow so I could see her beaming face fully and drink in her good mood. I gave her my most charming of smiles and fluttered my eyelashes dramatically at her before saying, "Whenever it suits you, my dear," in a sickly sweet voice.

Her smile grew even wider and she leapt off the bed to rummage inside one of her draws and pull from it, a tiny package covered in emerald wrapping paper bearing intricate patterns. I had never really had an interest in receiving presents from people, not unless it was totally useful and I tended to just take what I wanted anyway. For some reason, this time I really wanted to know what was inside it and the anticipation building in the pit of my stomach was like wild fire growing and growing. It took all the manners I possessed not to snatch the package from Hermione's grip and tear the paper off…

She returned to my side soon enough and handed me the present, nervously nibbling at her lower lip and eyeing me carefully for a moment before I glanced down at the present and slowly unwrapped the paper.

I was…shocked to lay eyes on the gift inside. I hadn't been expecting it at all to be honest. In fact, I doubt anyone would have been either.

My fingers skimmed over the metal cage gently, gliding softly over the cold bars, not quite daring to dip my fingers inside the bars to touch the treasure.

"He's a Peruvian Vipertooth," Hermione began, "obviously, he isn't a living breathing one; they are much, much bigger. I charmed him to act as if he were the real thing. Although, he only lives for fifty days…" she trailed off.

"Thank you," I whispered, my eyes dancing over the copper scales, the black ridge markings and enormous horn protruding from his head. He was a beauty.

I glanced up at Hermione who sat in awe of the Dragon before us, who at the moment was trying his hardest to burn a hole through the bars. Hermione giggled at the sight and leaned forward to poke her finger through the bars and stroke the scales on his back. Surprisingly, he allowed her to do this and even seemed to enjoy it.

After a few minutes of toying with the Dragon, I broke the silence and asked Hermione if she wanted her present yet.

She replied by saying, "Oh, Tom! You didn't need to get me anything..." in a disappointed yet excited voice.

I shook my head and reached inside my pocket to pull the silk bag and enlarge it to the right size again. I rose from the bed and reached around Hermione to tie the locket around her neck. Her Carmel locks tickled my nose as I leaned forward in concentration and consciously breathed on her neck, gradually getting closer and closer to her until my lips almost brushed her ear. I felt her shudder beneath my touch and a great sense on control and pride wash through me. I loved the fact that I could almost control her, and make her shudder the way she did, make her blush when I touched her or glanced at her or flirted with her, made her crave me when I was close. She was mine. Well, almost.

I watched Hermione closely as she lifted the locket at her chest to get a closer look. Her immediate reaction was shock, then gratitude, followed by joyous tears. I smiled at the tearful girl before me and gathered her in my arms, tracing my finger tip over the emerald S and breathing in the strawberry scent of her hair.

Four Hours Later

"I haven't seen Draco since this morning," Hermione muttered, fiddling with a pin she had picked from a Christmas tree.

I would have ignored her if she were anyone else. "He's perfectly capable of looking after himself, Hermione." I replied politely.

She sighed, "Yes, I know…but I worry about him so much, Tom. He's been so distant lately and I hardly ever see him."

I didn't reply.

"Maybe I should go look for him..." she continued thoughtfully, obviously not noticing the anger shining from my eyes.

"He's fine, Hermione." I growled.

The tone of my voice made her head snap in my direction, and her eyes shone with guilt as she studied my rigid expression and clenched fists. Her hand suddenly enclosed around mine and I felt her warmth calm me a little.

"Yes, you're right, I'm sure he's fine." She said with an uncertain laugh and scooted closer to me on the bench before resting her head on my shoulder.

I appreciated her closeness; it made me feel secure and wanted. I liked it.

The hall was more or less empty by now seeing as breakfast had already passed and Dippet had already voiced his speech. As boring as ever, one again. This left Hermione and myself. She seemed oblivious to the Mistletoe growing above us.

I glanced at the berries a few times before deciding to go for it and lifted Hermione's chin ever so slightly, forcing her to look at me. I took a deep breath and signalled to the plant above our heads. I expected her to blush and nibble her lip nervously. But she seemed raring to go to be honest.

I smiled at her peaceful expression, watery eyes, curved lips and freckled skin before stroking my thumb against her cheek and moving in closer until I could feel her breath tickling my mouth, leaving me craving her touch.

I couldn't wait anymore; seriously, the time this kiss was dragging out was taking the piss.

I closed the distance between us with one swift movement, and moulded my lips with hers.

I have to apologize so much! I haven't updated in so long and I feel terrible for it. I cant promise that my updates will be snappy and regular, because they probably wont :L but please stick with me? Don't think I'm giving up on this fic 'cause im not =] Ok, this chapter is extremely short to be honest, but atleast it's out there eh? :L the next chapter will be worth reading i promise lol I'd like to say thank you to all those reviewers, you are truly amazing people and I love you loads ;D keep reading and reviewing m'lovelies. xxx