A/N: Alright, so I tried to recreate the lost chapter for you. I'm pretty sure it's just as good as the one I wrote last night, if not better. And I made specials pains to save it every few minutes. Also thanks to ultra-swimgurl for the review! You made my day. I saw your review as I was leaving work where I'd had a very rough day and it made me happy. :) And by the way, all your questions will be answered in the sequel which I'll start writing now. :D Hope you enjoy this!

This Christmas

Christmas. To Hermione it was almost as bad as Valentine's Day. With all the commercials about spending the holidays with your loved ones, or buying jewelry for that special woman, Hermione was about ready to just call her boss and tell him she could work all winter long. She remembered when she used to adore the holidays. She once looked forward to spending the time with her parents, or her friends.

But her parents were dead, and her friends all busy with their own loved ones. Harry had Ginny and the entire Weasley family. Ron had Lavendar and his family. And she couldn't intrude on her Muggle friends. Christmas was something that Muggle families celebrated on their own. They usually went on vacation to some exotic place, or hid away in a cabin in the woods.

This year, Christmas was going to be lonely. And slightly disappointing. She knew the Weasley's well enough to know soon she'd be getting an owl, inviting her over for some dinner or another. Hermione groaned as she remembered that this was an annual invitation. She was determined to get out of it this year. Good thing Hermione was getting better at coming up with excuses to get out of these things. She could always say her boyfriend's parents wanted to get to know her better, and then tell Ginny some bull shit story of meeting a new guy.

But as Hermione sat and thought about that plan, it seemed a bit too complicated. Plus, eventually she would either have to fabricate a break up, or a boyfriend. And seeing as creating a boyfriend out of thin air was nearly impossible, Hermione decided to figure out a better route. Maybe go nearer to the truth? Possibly that she opted to work through the Holidays, so that others in her Department could celebrate it with their families? That might work, plus it would be more characteristic of her than making up a new boyfriend.

Hermione, having decided on a story to tell the Weasley's, turned her attention back to the Christmas special on TV. As usual it was some Christmas story about true love and the journey some woman took to find it. Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing full well the ending to this. She would find the guy of her dreams, then realize her real true love was right in front of her the whole time, then fell for him even though it was too late. And then him choosing her over the other girl anyway. These love stories always ended happy.

"Stupid love stories. Why can't all love stories end like West Side Story? Why does everyone else get to be happy?" Hermione muttered angrily out loud. She turned the television off and put her dinner dishes away. She couldn't sit around and watch another romance movie. They always made her depressed, cause it reminded her of the guy she couldn't have, and the love she would never share with him.

Hermione dragged herself upstairs, wishing she had a different life. She knew the next few hours would be spent staring at the ceiling as she attempted to fall asleep. Then when she finally managed it, she would have these horrible nightmares, remnants of the war, and would wake early in the morning and would feel as exhausted as she had when she originally wanted to go to sleep.

The only reprieve from her nightmares, was the few seconds when she would have a happy ending with the man of her dreams. She knew things wouldn't ever work out between them, their history prevented it. But she could still dream. And dream she did. She dreamed of walking off into the sunset with him after the Final Battle, she dreamed of waking up next to him instead of alone. But no. He would be taken from her right as she began to think it was real.

Each and every night it was the same thing. She would be happy, hugging him and holding his hand, but right at the last minute, Voldemort or one of his followers would swoop down and kill them both. And right before the spell hit, she always heard the same thing. "Filthy Mudbloods don't deserve to be with Pureblooded Wizards. Every day Hermione wished she could escape the reality of the war.

She wished she could forget all of it. But at the same time, she knew she had to remember. She knew she had to carry around the memory of it, so it never happened again. Because of people like her, and Harry, and Ron and the Order, it would never happen again.

As she began to get ready for a restless night, an owl swooped in and interrupted her pattern. It was Ginny telling her to get ready to go clubbing and an address of the place they would meet. Hermione groaned and knew there was no way she could get out of this one. Ginny would just Apparate and steal her away anyway. So Hermione slipped on a flowy shirt and a short skirt with some nice heels, before apparating to the aforementioned club.

"Oh, Hermione! You came!" Ginny exclaimed when Hermione finally made her way over to Ginny. Hermione nodded and ordered a drink. Ginny didn't get to get out much, what with all of her brothers at home and her mother needing someone to help with the cleaning. Ginny spent the next half hour, explaining to Hermione just how pushy her mother was getting.

"She keeps hinting to Harry that in a few years, I won't be able to bear children. It's like, 'Come on, Mum! I'm only 17!' but she won't listen to me. I just wish it had worked out between you and Ron. Then you'd be going through the same thing as me." Ginny said jokingly to Hermione. Hermione laughed at this.

"The reason it didn't work out between me and Ron, is because he was getting EVERYTHING from Lavendar. Isn't your mum pushing Ron and Lavendar?" Hermione asked, nodding to the bartender to refill her drink. Ginny snorted.

"Of course she is, but Lavendar's enjoying. And so is Ron. I don't think they're gonna last much longer before Mum finally has Ron convinced that he should marry her. I bet you by this time next year, not only are they engaged, but Lavendar will be pregnant as well." Ginny said getting a refill on her drink.

"I'll take that bet. I have no doubt that'll happen."

"You coming this year to spend the Holidays with us?" Hermione knew the question was coming, she just wished she could have been a bit more prepared about it. She took a quick swig of her drink before answering that question.

"Can't. I decided to work through the Holidays so that my coworkers could be with their families."

"Bullshit. We both know the Ministry is nearly completely closed during the Holidays. Your department especially."

Fuck.

"Fine. I don't feel in the mood to celebrate anything. I mean. Everyone in your family is paired with someone else. I'll be the odd one out. Literally. Without me, everything will be even. Plus, Christmas was always something I spent with my parents. It feels wrong to spend this Christmas with anyone if they're not here." Hermione said, looking down at the ground. This was the honest to God truth, and she couldn't believe she was telling Ginny.

"Alright. I understand. But please, next year?" Ginny asked drinking a bit more.

"We'll see. That's a whole year from now. Things might be a bit different this time next year." Hermione said smiling. That's when she saw him. Her secret crush. He was just standing there, across the room. And he was looking as handsome as ever. She had little to no desire to talk with him. Things weren't the best between them. Plus, there was no way it would work out. No one in the world would understand.

"Hermione? Come on, let's dance." Ginny said, dragging Hermione's gaze away from the God that was her crush. She wished she could just talk to him about things, but she couldn't. He wouldn't want to talk to her anyway. Ginny and Hermione danced together, quickly getting the attention of a few guys. Hermione didn't want their attention, but she took what she got and danced.

She allowed herself to get lost in the beat of the music. The bass boomed in her ears, and her heart synced to the beat. She moved flawlessly in her heels, a trait she acquired naturally. While other girls had spent years perfecting the art of walking in heels, Hermione had no need of practicing, the talent already there in her perfectly formed legs. She hoped he was looking, hoped he was watching her.

After what felt like hours, Hermione removed herself from the dance floor, to get more alcohol. Ginny was soon by her side. They both took a few shots of their preferred poison before they were able to fully catch their breath. Hermione looked back to the place he had been before, and saw him standing there again. He was chatting with some friends of his from Hogwarts, his expression seeming bored and uninterested. Hermione looked down at the ground, but back up at him again. He was so handsome, he had grown into some wonderful person despite his oddities as a child.

Ginny, having tried multiple times to catch Hermione's attention, finally decided to see what she was so engrossed with. Hermione tore her eyes away from him, hoping to hide her secret from Ginny. But it was to no avail. Ginny saw.

"Do you have a crush on him?" Ginny was as surprised as Hermione knew she would be.

"Yes. But please don't tell anyone. He's not going to be interested in me, and it's just a small crush. It'll pass with time." Hermione said, but there was no truth in her voice. She had no idea when this crush would fade, or even if it would. She hoped it did, but she couldn't, wouldn't guarantee anything to herself.

"Well why wouldn't he be interested?" Ginny asked. She didn't understand.

"Look at him, at the way he just commands the attention of every girl in the room. Look at how handsome he is. Then look at me. I'm plain, not at all what he should be looking for in a girl. There's no way he could like me." Hermione said, her gaze drifting to the floor. She didn't want to stare at him and get lost in her thoughts again. There was a chance he would notice her staring and be freaked out.

"Clearly what you see and what I see are completely different." The new voice startled Hermione a bit. Not because it was someone intruding on a private conversation, but because of the voice itself. She knew the owner and wondered what he meant. She turned to look at her boss, the guy who somehow made it to a position above her. She looked at him with such an quizzical look he felt the need to explain.

"I see before me a beautiful woman who has blossomed from the smart, pretty girl she was in school to who she is today. I see a woman, who at one point or another tonight, has captured the attention and desire of every male and lesbian in this room. I also see a woman who's future is as bright as the sun and as filled with such wonders that no one would even begin to imagine what she will accomplish for our world." He said ordering a drink from the bartender.

"What do you mean? I'm a buck toothed know it all who's bossy and not at all attractive. You said so yourself, Malfoy." Hermione said throwing back another drink. Ginny watched the exchange with interested eyes. Malfoy wasn't lying about what he had said to Hermione. She thought she saw something there, that definitely wasn't there before, but maybe she was wrong. It couldn't be... could it?

"Yes, but that was before you fixed that tooth problem, with my help if I remember correctly. You are no longer a know it all, instead you're just smarter than the rest of us. And you're still bossy, but that's because you're a leader. I can call you bossy because you're my subordinate and I'm supposed to be the leader so it's just left over resentment. And unattractive is the exact opposite of what you are." Malfoy smiled slightly as Hermione thought all this through. He had eavesdropped on the entire conversation before he had entered, and knew that she fancied the guy across the room.

"Care to dance?" Malfoy asked sliding off his seat before holding his hand out towards Hermione. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"The best way to get a guy, is to make him jealous. So let's go make Longbottom jealous." And with that Malfoy nearly dragged Hermione onto the dance floor. Ginny stayed at the bar and watched the scene unfold before her. It was as if the entire club stopped just to watch the two dance. They melded perfectly together. The way Malfoy danced in perfect harmony to Hermione made her look absolutely stunning. And if Ginny hadn't already made very solemn and holding vows with Harry, she probably would have tried to make a move on Hermione.

Malfoy was right, within minutes of their entry on the dance floor, it was like watching dogs strategically fight for Alpha Male. It wasn't long before Neville won and was dancing with Hermione. Malfoy quickly returned to his seat and back to his drink. The bartender knew the look on his face and just left the bottle next to him. Malfoy took several drinks before Ginny decided to question him.

"Why'd you do that? Don't you like her?"

"I just wanted her to be happy. I've been in love with her since I saw her. But even at 11 I knew we could never be together. Not as long as my father and his stupid beliefs were still around. I wanted her to be happy, so I made damn sure she would never fall for me. Worst part is, my plan worked. So naturally, it's possible for us to be together, and now she wouldn't want me any more than she would a Basilisk." He drank some more, hoping to erase the pain he felt. Ginny could see it in his eyes.

"Well, shouldn't you at least try? It wouldn't hurt to try." Ginny said watching her best friend dance with Neville. Something didn't seem right about those two dancing. They looked like a cute couple, but they didn't have the same passion and friction between them as her and Malfoy had. Could that possibly mean something?

"It'll hurt too much. I just want to see her happy. And if that means helping her get another guy, so be it." Malfoy said nodding towards Hermione and Neville making out on the dance floor. He took another drink and a muttered a quick, and slightly angry, good bye. Ginny watched him leave, wishing she could some how help.

"Where'd Malfoy go? I wanted to thank him. Oh well. I'll see you later, Gin." Hermione said before leaving hand in hand with Neville. Ginny couldn't believe it, but she had made up her mind. She swore that she would help Draco get Hermione, so help her Merlin. If she didn't succeed, she didn't deserve the title of Meddling Bitch that she had worked so hard to receive.