Author Note: You readers are simply wonderful. I never expected this kind of response. I couldn't help but write another chapter for all of you. Hope you all enjoy it, let me know what you think.

A special thanks goes to: annabeanlatte, SunLover92, Crayola369Kitten, Danikae, kkrrista, redroseblack, Phoenix823, indyjones88, GrangerManor, lydi13, lovinreading, lexa2611, BelovedEnemy83, nagativecreep91, pgoodrichboggs, flimflamx, Dindore, mikaylamalfoy12 and VeraDeDiamant for becoming followers to this story.

Another special thanks goes to: LightofEvolution(Thank you for referring my story to your readers), Legolas' Girl 31, negativecreep91, pgoodrichboggs, Guest and Dramonie shipper17 for the wonderful reviews.

Chapter 5:

December 2nd, Hermione's Apartment

She never slept in; but when Hermione rolled to her side to look at the clock it was reading almost noon. Groaning, she rolled back over onto her back. The white ceiling greeted her. The comfort of her blankets were just so warm that she didn't want to get out from underneath them; then it dawned on her that she told Draco that should would bring over extra Christmas decorations for him.

Thinking about him got her heart pumping a little faster. Yesterday had been completely unexpected, yet she wasn't going to deny the fact that she enjoyed spending time with him. She learned new things about him and he probably learned things about her. Holding her pillow tighter, she closed her eyes, attempting to push aside her emotions associated with Draco Malfoy. It also didn't help matters that she really didn't have anyone to talk to about them. Harry was always busy with work. Ginny was busy being a mother and Ron, he never wanted to listen before so why would he now.

"Okay, Hermione it's time to get up." She told herself tossing the blankets off.

Sliding her legs over the edge, her bare feet touched the plush carpet floor. She finally made her way into the bathroom to begin running water for a shower with the hopes it would wake her up. Stepping under the spray, her eyes closed as her fingers filtered through her long wet hair. Draco's face came almost immediately to mind. His blue-gray eyes were gorgeous and could easily draw her in, then she thought about her body being pressed against his. Her body was screaming with sensations she thought had long disappeared.

The longer she stood there the colder the water became, which in her mind wasn't all that bad considering how heated she had become in less than three minutes of thinking about Draco from the day before. Hermione shut the water off and reached for a towel to wrap herself in to keep the chill to a minimum.

The phone was ringing the second she walked out of the bathroom. Still clad in just a towel, she rushed over to grab the device. Pushing the button, she greeted whomever was on the other line. "Hey Hermione." Harry's voice answered, which surprised her.

"Hi, is there something wrong? You never call me." She asked.

"No no, nothing wrong. Ginny and I were wondering if you'd like to spend Christmas with us. We offered last year and you never showed. I really don't think spending another holiday alone is good for you."

"I appreciate your concern; but I'm fine. Ron asked me to spend Christmas with him and Lavender a few days ago."

"I know. You didn't answer him either."

Curling her bottom lip in, she didn't know what to tell him. If she was honest with herself, she really didn't want to bring either one of her friends down with her gloomy nature when it came to holidays. Sure, she decorated; but her heart wasn't in it anymore. There were rare moments when happiness would shine through; but they were few and far between. "I'm sorry. I wish I knew what to tell you guys. I'm just...not good company."

"That's not true. I was thinking of inviting Ron and Lavender out here as well. It would be like a reunion of sorts. Please think about it."

"Okay. I'll think about it."

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure."

The line went dead and she returned the device to the stand. Turning on her feet, she went back to her bedroom to get dressed and pull out all the extra decoration that were shoved into the back of her closet. Pulling out a box, the contents spill over onto her unmade bed. Tinsel and ornaments scattered all over, Hermione picked them up and put them back into the box before carrying it out into the living room. "I hope he has a tree." She told herself grabbing her coat from the hook by the door.

Lifting the box back up, she stepped out of her apartment and locked the door behind her. Aiden waved at her in passing as he unlocked the gate for her. It was relatively easy to flag down a taxi when you looked like things were going to fall out of your hands. Most drivers took pity on women, which was a benefit to her in this particular case.

She shoved the box across the seat and slid in afterward. Telling the driver where to go, she pulled the door closed and enjoyed the short ride to Draco's apartment building. It was even better when the driver told her not to worry about the fee because of the short distance. He winked at her flirtatiously as she got out of the vehicle, pulling the box across the seat.

"Thank you." She said with a warm smile.

Her heart was starting to race again. Holding onto the box tighter, she weaved around a couple coming out of the double doors to get inside. Climbing the sets of stairs that would lead her to his home, her palms were becoming sweaty. She was nervous and didn't understand why. 16B stared right back at her as she chewed on her bottom lip again.

December 2nd, Draco's Apartment

Sitting the box down on the hallway floor, she curled her hand into a fist and knocked on the wooden door. As she bent down to pick the box back up, the door opened only to find an angry Pansy staring right at her. Her short dark hair fell into her dark eyes. There was a fire burning behind them and Hermione could feel the anger rolling off her in waves. "What the hell Draco? You've already found a replacement...in her. Damnit! She's a mudblood, you idiot! Didn't your parents teach you anything?" Pansy shouted pushing the door open wider.

Draco narrowed his eyes even further than they already were. Hermione could tell that his patience was running thin. Pansy was infuriated by his silence. She stepped passed Hermione, careful not to brush up against her and stormed down the stairs. The words were gone and all Hermione could feel was the angst. "I'm sorry you had to see that. You didn't deserve to be called that." Draco apologized coming closer to her.

"Wouldn't be the first time someone called me that." She snapped without meaning to.

He looked away upon hearing her sharp tone. He knew what she was referring to. That same word came out of his mouth several times over the years, nothing would change that fact either. A loose curl from Hermione's hair fell into her eyes, eyes that were filled with a sadness that she wasn't willing to express.

She looked down at the box in her hands and he realized that she had come to bring him the extra Christmas decorations like she told him the prior night. He felt awful and didn't know what to do. "I should go." Hermione said turning away from his open door.

"No, please..." Draco replied reaching out to grab her arm from the junction at her elbow.

Stopping, she turned back towards him. There were emotions that not even she could describe written on his face. The hurt behind his eyes clawed at her heart, begging her to stay. She wasn't going to deny the fact that she was curious as to why Pansy was there or why she would assume that Draco had moved on the likes of her. "Stay. Is that the decorations you were talking about last night?" He asked trying to push aside what happen moments before hand.

"Yes."

"Come in."

Draco let go of her arm to allow her to make the decision herself. Hermione swallowed hard and took a step closer to him. A slight smile formed on his lips as he let her passed him to get inside. She sat the box on the counter and slipped out of her oversized coat. He watched intently, memorizing her features.

She was dressed in light colored jeans and a black stripped sweater with red trim. It dipped a little lower than her normal clothing, showing off a little of her cleavage. He wondered if she had worn it on purpose knowing where she was going to be. Once again, he had to push aside his desires and focus on how things progressed on their own without coaxing.

"Do you mind me asking what that was about?" Hermione asked stepping around the counter to open the box.

"She's never quite got over me, I suppose." He answered pouring water into a kettle.

"How long has it been?"

Draco placed the kettle on the stove and ignited the flame. He had to think about the question a moment, because not even him was real sure when it had ended between them. All he knew was that there was no satisfaction and they never really got along; but since his parents liked her, he felt like he owed it to them to continue on even though he was miserable for quite some time. "It's probably been over a year now. To me, it was over for longer than that. I wanted it to end way before graduation."

"It took a long time for Ron to accept that I didn't want anything more than friendship, eventually he moved on and found solace in Lavender."

"I apologize for her outburst towards you. She probably never excepted to see you at my door."

He let out a soft chuckle to himself and he reached into a top cabinet above the stove for two white packets. Hermione turned to watch him, admiring him from a distance. He was still dressed in black sleep pants that were low to his hips and a plain white t-shirt. The view of him left her mouth dry and her heart racing.

Mentally cursing herself to stop staring, she heard the kettle whistle. Draco poured the hot water into two mugs neatly placed on the opposite side of the stove. He then opened the packets that were clearly hot chocolate mix that already had the marshmallows in it. The smell waved under her nose and her stomach started to flutter.

"Here. It's hot chocolate." He said handing her a dark colored mug.

"Thank you." She replied accepting the drink.

Taking the first sip, the heavenly warmth slid down her throat. She could tell there was more he wanted to say about the previous incident; but figured she shouldn't push the issue. He'd tell her when he was ready to. She tried not to let that word bother her, even when she looked at her own arm it would stare right back at her. "The decorating may have to wait. I don't exactly have a tree just yet." He admitted.

"Oh..."

"I should have told you that last night."

"No big deal. I needed to get out anyway, minus the name calling."

She turned back towards the box and dug around through the ornaments to find a small plug-in ceramic painted tree. Draco hated how that word changed her demeanor. She acted like it didn't bother her; but he knew that it did. How could it not? His own aunt carved it into her flesh and he stood by and never lifted a finger to help. It was those moments that kept him up at night, gasping for a breath.

Thinking to himself, he never noticed her plug the little tree in on the counter and it lit up instantly. A smile curved her lips upward. "You know...both Harry and Ron asked me to spend Christmas with them." She said aloud, breaking the silence between them.

"I would assume they ask you every year. Don't they?"

"I haven't gone the last couple years."

"Why? Aren't you all good friends?"

Hermione shifted around with her back against the edge of the counter. She had spoken the words and now she had no choice but to answer the question. Never in a million years thought she would be talking this openly with Draco Malfoy, yet here she was spilling her guts to him in his own apartment. "I'm not exactly the best company. I've changed quite a bit since the war and I guess...I've never recovered."

"You are fine company...at least to me you are, so I'm sure that you would be fine company for them as well."

"Are you telling me that I should accept their offer?"

He took several steps closer to her, not understanding why he wanted to be closer to her. She lifted her head up to meet his gaze. The emotions swirled between them, creating heat that crawled up to her cheeks and pooled between her thighs. The man in front of her screamed sex appeal and the desire to undress him was maddening. "You do what you feel you need to do. No one needs to tell you otherwise." He expressed before looking inside the box.

"Thank you for these." He said again lifting a small box out of the bigger one.

He opened it and a small green plant with a red bow fell to the floor. Hermione immediately snatched it up, embarrassed. She knew what the plant was and had no idea how that had gotten into the decorations. Draco's devilish grin returned. He to had seen what the plants was and was amused on how flustered she became. "That was not supposed to be in there." She said tucking the small item into the front of her jeans pocket.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked in a teasing manor.

"Yes!"

Another chuckle escaped his mouth as he took another step closer to her, preventing her from escape. He reached into the front pocket of her jeans and pulled the mistletoe plant back out. She didn't think her cheeks could burn anymore than they already did; but the burning intensified. Not a single word could be formed in her mouth as her saliva ran dry. "So if I hung this over us, would you allow yourself to indulge in kissing me?" He asked.

"Draco..."

Lifting it above them, he waited to see how she would react before leaning in. Her bottom lip curled inward, under her top teeth. It was clearly a habit she did when she was nervous. His free hand rested on her hip, moving the fabric of her shirt away just a little so he could brush his thumb across the bare skin of her waist. A soft sigh escaped her lips as her eyes slight closed. "This...this is..." She stumbled over her words only to have them cut off by Draco's lips crashing down upon hers.

He pulled her to him, she could hear the object fall to the floor beside them. One hand cupped her face while the other wrapped around her waist. Her lips answered his movements slowly, savoring the taste of chocolate on his tongue mixed with his own unique flavor. Her hand slid up his chest to rest just above his heart. The beating was rapid just like hers. She was drowning in all the sensations that were fighting to the surface. He broke the connection and leaned his forehead against hers. "I really should go now." She said sliding out around him.

"Hermione..." He called using her first name.

She froze mid-step upon hearing it. He had never called her by her first name in all the years she had known him. It was always Granger and to hear her first name right after he had kissed her was just all too much for her to handle. The pleading look on his face was enough for her to crumble; but she needed some space to clear her head. "I'll see you soon, okay..." She said putting her shoes back on and slid back into her oversized coat.

Before Draco knew it, Hermione was out the door and he was alone. He bent down to pick up the piece of mistletoe from the kitchen floor and held it in his hand. Her lips were more soft than he ever though possible and the way she moved against him created a tightness in his lower half. He didn't want to admit there was more to the attraction than just simple desire; but he knew that it was more than that. He cursed Harry for being the one to ask him to look out for her, because now he had probably just fucked up and scared her off. That was something he didn't want and now would have to find a way to fix things between them.

He made a mental promise that he would do just that. Hermione Granger made him feel things that he thought were long gone and he wasn't about to let that go. He also knew that he would eventually have to tell her about the death threat and the report Harry had been trying to keep from her; but for now, he wanted to fix what he felt he did wrong by kissing her without permission.

End Note: Happy Holiday's, I hope you all enjoyed reading.