After a long sleep in and an afternoon of playing with kids at the library, Hermione found herself waiting in the snow outside the Burrow. She could hear all the commotion going on inside from the numerous children which would be visiting for the "Weasley Plus Hermione Family Christmas" and she wondered if she should just let herself in. As she moved to open the door it swung open and Molly, looking as happy as ever, engulfed her in a hug.
"Come in, dear! You must be freezing! That little cardigan doesn't look very warm," Molly hurried her into the warmth of the Burrow. "We've got a new little guest bedroom just for you," Molly informed her and Hermione was shocked, but very happy. Last time she had to stay the night at the Burrow she was placed in Ginny's room with both Ginny and Harry. To say the night was awkward would be an understatement.
As soon as Hermione entered the living room of the Burrow she collided with something. Looking down she saw that Teddy had wrapped his arms around her waist tightly.
"Teddy!" she grinned, dropping her bag and picking up the blue-haired child. "You're getting a bit big for me to pick you up."
"No I'm not. Harry can still pick me up," Teddy grumbled and Hermione laughed.
"Alright, I can still carry you around if I have to. I just need to make sure I don't hurt my back," Hermione grumbled and Teddy's face filled with concern.
"You don't have to carry me, Hermione!" he wriggled from her grasp and landed perfectly on his feet. "I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Such a gentleman!" Hermione exclaimed, bending down and planting a kiss on Teddy's cheek. The little boy's hair turned as red as his face did and he turned away and ran out of the room.
"I think he has a crush on you," came the voice of Ginny and Hermione looked up to see her smiling best friend.
"I don't think I'm supposed to know that," Hermione said.
"Probably not," Ginny shrugged. "C'mon, I'll take you to the new guest room. Percy got a raise and decided he hadn't finished paying Mum and Dad back for how much of a wanker he was in the war, and built them the guest room. It's pretty nice, actually."
Ginny opened a new door which Hermione had never seen before and they entered into a light, spacious bedroom. Hermione looked around, impressed. The floor was light wood and the walls were white, and there was a large bed and closet.
"It's lovely. I'll have to thank your parents for letting me break it in," Hermione dumped her bag on the bed.
"Oh, don't bother. They've been dying to have someone use it, and you were the perfect excuse," Ginny plopped down on the bed beside Hermione's bag. "So, tell me everything."
"What on earth are you talking about?" Hermione feigned innocence and began unpacking, turning away from Ginny.
"Don't give me that, Hermione. You look like you've been recently shagged."
Hermione dropped the pair of knickers she was holding and blushed. "Not shagged, just very thoroughly snogged," she admitted and Ginny let out a squeal. Hermione felt like she was fifteen again.
"Who was it?" the redhead demanded, leaping from her spot on the bed and hurrying to Hermione's side. Hermione said nothing, instead pressing a finger against her lips in secret. "That's not fair!" Ginny whined.
"If I tell you then you have to promise not to tell anybody, okay?" Hermione conceded defeat, leading her friend back to the bed. "Especially not Ronald."
"Holy shit, you snogged Malfoy!" Ginny exclaimed, jumping up from the bed, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Keep it down!" Hermione dragged Ginny back into a sitting position and then sighed. She was baffled by her friend's powers of deduction. "Yes. I snogged Draco Malfoy. Satisfied?"
"No, not yet," Ginny shook her head. "How was it?"
"You are ridiculous," Hermione shot her friend a glare and Ginny grinned. "At least you're taking it better than I thought you would. Don't you hate Draco?"
"Ooh, it's Draco now, is it?" Ginny's grin widened, only to falter when Hermione tossed a pillow in her face. "I don't hate Malfoy. I just have a strong aversion to him."
"And yet you nearly ripped my head off when you thought I was dating him," Hermione stated dryly.
"That incident was more because I found out through the Prophet, whereas now I'm fairly certain I'm the first person you've told," Ginny explained. "Would I be correct in that assumption?"
Hermione nodded. She had told Lucinda everything about the party, other than the extensive amount of alone time she had spent with Draco, and they had been far too busy dealing with a child who was making a stack of ancient books levitate to breach the topic anyway. "You have to promise you won't tell anyone," Hermione warned.
"I swear," Ginny nodded solemnly. "Draco Malfoy. You of all people macking on with Draco Malfoy! It's ridiculous."
"Shut it, you," Hermione said as she attacked Ginny with another pillow. "Anyway, let's go and get the meet-and-greets over with." Ginny's face paled. "What is it, Gin?"
"Charlie," Ginny said quietly and Hermione paled as well. "He'll be arriving just before dinner. What are you going to say, Hermione? He still wants you, and he will not like the fact that you kissed Malfoy."
"I know, I know!" Hermione tossed her hands in exasperation. "But he left me, remember? I wanted him, and he left."
"He had to, Hermione. His job is in Romania, and now that his contract is up he said he was willing to give it all up for you," Ginny said and Hermione buried her face in her hands. "What about we cross that bridge when we come to it? Sound good?"
"I suppose," Hermione's voice was muffled by her hands but she heaved a sigh and got to her feet. "Let's go and see if your mum wants help with dinner. Maybe I can avoid talking to him privately until after dinner."
Ginny stood up and they left the bedroom quietly, returning to the main house where Teddy was playing with Victorie and Fred Jr. Hermione could hear Victorie and Fred laughing as Teddy changed his appearance at will as they passed into the kitchen where Molly was bustling about as she prepared dinner. The elder witch shooed them out of the kitchen, claiming dinner would be ready in a few minutes and she didn't need any more distractions, instead sending them to round up the family for dinner.
Five minutes later all eighteen guests were assembled around the magically extended table in the dining room. The noise was deafening and, much to Hermione's dismay, she found herself wedged between Charlie and Fleur. Fleur was turned away from her, focusing all of her attentions on Victorie which left Hermione at the mercy of Charlie.
All was going well until she moved on from her roast potatoes and began to cut into her turkey. All of a sudden she felt a hand grasp her knee and she leapt an inch off her chair, dropping her fork with a clatter. Luckily the sound was not heard over the racket the other guests were making. Shooting a glare to her left, to Charlie, she was faced with the unsure face of the redhead. He had cocked his head to one side and was observing her with questioning eyes. She took a deep breath and shook her head, purposefully moving his hand off her knee. The look in his eyes was almost enough for her to put it back there.
She offered no explanation to Charlie, instead stabbing her turkey quite violently with her fork and remaining tight-lipped for the rest of the meal. Once dessert had been cleared and everyone was feeling rather warm and full the guests dispersed. Bill carried Victorie to bed, the little girl having fallen asleep in her Christmas cake, and he was closely followed by George who lugged Fred upstairs. Most of the others went to the living room and after Hermione helped Arthur and Molly clear the table she joined the others.
A fire was blazing, bathing the room in a cheering orange glow. It matched perfectly with the loud conversations and music playing from the wireless. Even Hermione found herself getting rather involved in a discussion about Quidditch; the atmosphere was magnetic. Molly brought out a tray cluttered with mugs of steaming hot chocolate and not long after Teddy excitedly pointed out snow which was beginning to fall outside. It was a very cozy affair. By eleven o'clock Teddy had curled up on the floor and was snoring lightly, Ginny's head was lolling on Harry's shoulder, and Bill, Fleur, Molly and Arthur had already retired for the evening. Harry gently woke Ginny and sent her off to bed before carting Teddy to his bedroom, and they were closely followed by Percy and his wife, Audrey.
Soon Hermione and Charlie were the only two remaining and the once cozy atmosphere was replaced by a tense silence. Hermione cleared her throat and Charlie looked at her expectantly, his expression only to fall when the silence returned.
"So..." he eventually began when the quiet grew too much for them. "You met someone else."
Hermione's jaw dropped at his statement. Had she implied anything during the course of the evening to make Charlie come to that assumption? Surely not! She had kept her personal life out of the evening's discussions. A few moments later she remembered their exchange at dinner and sighed. "Charlie, look-," she began.
"Wait, Hermione," Charlie held up his hand to silence her. "I know I left you and it was wrong of me to expect that you wouldn't move on in my three month absence, but if you still want me then I'm here to stay. So I want you to answer me this: is there someone else or do you want to try us?"
"I don't know," Hermione said truthfully.
"You don't know if you want to try us or you don't know if there's someone else?" Charlie posed the question. "You sure aren't making this easy," he added with a small smile, one she felt compelled to return.
"I don't know if there is someone else or not," she clarified. "Something has happened with somebody, but I'm not sure where we stand at the moment. I would rather we cleared it up before I launched headfirst into a relationship, or anything for that matter."
"So we're on pause?" Charlie asked and she nodded.
"In a way. I don't know if we're going to start, to be honest," she shrugged. "I'm sorry."
Much to her surprise, Charlie laughed. "What on earth do you have to be sorry for? Hermione, I'm the one who left you and expected you to wait around. Besides, there are plenty more fish in the sea for me to catch in my net," he winked. "I suppose I'll just have to keep on fishing."
"I suppose so," she agreed. "Thanks for not making a huge deal out of this."
"Not a problem," Charlie smiled. "Anyway, I think I'm going to turn in for the night, seeing as it's nearly Christmas day. I'll see you in the morning, Hermione."
Hermione waved Charlie away and sat in front of the dying embers of the fire for a few more minutes before letting out a relieved sigh and dragging herself to bed.
Hermione sat bolt upright, reaching for her wand which lay on the bedside table. Her eyes snapped to the large brown ones which looked directly into her own and she relaxed, dropping the wand beside her.
"Teddy?" she croaked out, voice laden with sleep. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong!" the boy beamed, his hair changing colour until it was bright blue, a colour they had grown to associate with excitement. "It's Christmas!"
Hermione glanced at the clock and stifled a groan. It was certainly Christmas, but it had only been so for four and a half hours. She deduced that was also the amount of sleep she had gotten. "Is everyone else up?"
"The others are waking them up. I wanted to wake you up, though," Teddy grinned. "Now, come on!"
Fighting the urge to collapse back onto the pillows, Hermione stood and grabbed a dressing gown, wrapping it tightly around herself. She gestured for Teddy to lead the way and the boy obliged, running ahead of her and skidding into the living room where he got on his knees in front of the large Christmas tree. Hermione's eyebrows lifted at the huge pile of presents that was beneath the tree.
The others shuffled into the room a few seconds later, all of them mumbling and groaning as the children tugged them along. Molly moved past them all and into the kitchen, returning five minutes later with mugs of tea for all of the adults. Once everyone was settled and perking up over the hot drink the children were allowed to start opening their presents. They all tore into them eagerly.
The most entertaining reaction of the children belonged to Teddy when he opened his biggest present, a gift from Harry and Ginny. It had appeared to just be a long box wrapped in delicate silver paper, but Harry warned his godson to be careful with it. Nodding solemnly, Teddy slowly pulled the paper off until the present beneath was revealed. His eyes, now a shade of blue to match his hair, widened with shock and his jaw dropped. They had bought him a child-size version of the Thunderstrike 1000, the latest, fastest broom on the market.
As soon as he had pulled the broom out of the box he let out a shriek of delight and was about to climb on it when Harry caught him by the back of his shirt.
"Maybe it isn't a good idea for you to fly inside, Ted," Harry said, carefully prising the broom from the seven year old who had his eager fingers clasped around it. "I'll take you flying after breakfast, alright?"
Teddy pouted but nodded and the adults all laughed causing his hair to turn red from embarrassment.
Once the children had opened all of their presents the adults each received a smaller pile of gifts. Hermione, as usual, received a variety of books from her friends and family, both muggle and wizarding alike. She also received a rather raunchy set of lingerie from Ginny which caused her to blush like mad and quickly shrink the box and hide it in her dressing gown. Her last present was a small, rectangular box which she almost didn't notice.
Hermione reached out, grasping the box with a frown. There was no note, unlike the other presents which she had received. Carefully removing the purple tissue paper from the package she was left with a light blue box. Upon opening this she was greeted with the sight of the most delicately beautiful necklace she had laid her eyes on. It was silver though mainly comprised of diamonds which shone beautifully. The design was simple and would only hang to the hollow below her throat. It was elegant but not showy.
"Who sent you that?" Ginny asked, peering over Hermione's shoulder at the piece of jewellery. "Was there a note?"
"No, nothing like that," Hermione frowned, tracing her fingers over the diamonds carefully.
"I have a guess of who sent it," Ginny said quietly so only Hermione could hear, the redhead wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Hermione fought the urge to hex her best friend, instead contenting herself with a light slap to the back of Ginny's head. "Ow, you're mean," Ginny complained. "Put it on."
Sighing, Hermione removed the necklace and carefully clipped it on. She stood and walked over to the mirror to see how it sat on her. She could not help put think it suited her perfectly. Ginny agreed and they both discussed who the mystery sender could be. Hermione instantly dismissed the idea of Draco sending her the necklace, much to Ginny's annoyance.
At six o'clock the members in the room dispersed to go and get changed whilst Molly banged around the kitchen as she prepared breakfast for everyone. Thirty minutes later everyone had squeezed their way around the dining table, the children constantly fidgeting and fussing, eager to go and play with their new presents. By seven thirty the men, joined by Teddy, Ginny and Angelina were all suited up and ready to go flying despite the snow. Hermione declined the offer, shuddering at her fear of heights.
As Audrey chose to help Molly prepare lunch for the family, Hermione opted to stay by the fire and read a book. The flames crackled merrily as she curled up in an armchair in her snug blue sweater, knitted by Molly and featuring a large 'H' in the centre, and flipped open her book. By eleven o'clock she was halfway through the text on Goblin Rights and she closed the heavy tome, stretching out luxuriously. She was in such a position that the sun shone directly onto her, emphasizing the warmth from the fire.
Just as she was about to rise, the door clattered open and the flyers trudged in, dragging snow through with them. Molly came rushing in, clucking her tongue at the mess they made and promising hot chocolate for everyone. Teddy was the last inside, his face flushed from the cold and his hair blue from excitement.
"Hermione! I flew, Hermione! I flew!" he beamed once he had changed into dry clothes and joined her on her lap. "Can you believe it? I went up so high! It was so much fun!"
"Good work, Teddy. Do you think you'll play Quidditch when you're older?" Hermione cuddled the boy to her and he nodded.
"Totally! I want to be a Seeker like Harry," he grinned.
As he finished speaking a huge silver dragon burst through the window, coming to a stop in front of Hermione. Teddy mumbled an awed "Wow, cool!" before the Patronus opened its mouth and Draco's voice came out.
"Hermione, if you're here, I'm waiting outside to wish you a merry Christmas," the voice said before the dragon disappeared into thin air. Hermione smiled and Teddy looked up at her curiously.
"What was that?" the little boy asked.
"A Patronus. Difficult magic, but I'm sure you'll learn it when you're older," Hermione explained kindly. "Say Teddy, do you want to come and visit a friend with me? He's just outside."
"Is he the one who made the cool dragon?"
"He certainly is, and I think he would like to meet you," Hermione said, figuring that Draco might be interested in meeting his cousin, particularly seeing as Teddy was a fascinating boy. Besides, it seemed as though Teddy was intent on staying with her for the rest of the day, or at least until he was allowed to go flying again. "Come on, he's outside. We'll get your jacket on and go and see him."
Once they were both warmly dressed she led Teddy outside and along the front path, trudging through the snow. Hermione shivered as the wind blew and she looked up to the swirling grey sky, knowing they were due for more snow. She felt Teddy's grip tighten on her hand and she looked down at him, noticing white blonde hair and big grey eyes when he looked back at her – he looked exactly like Draco would have at that age. Hermione returned her eyes to the path and found that Draco was indeed standing only two metres away.
"Hey," she smiled when they reached him. It was an awkward moment. Neither knew quite how to greet each other. Draco leaned in to kiss her lips whilst she leaned in to peck his cheek. They both stalled and pulled back, blushing, until they settled on an awkward one-armed hug.
"Merry Christmas," Draco offered. "I see you got my gift," he nodded to the diamond necklace.
"You sent it?" she asked, shocked. "I should have gotten you something more than that French cologne."
"Nonsense, it was my pleasure," Draco waved it away. "Who is this?"
"Draco, this is Teddy Lupin," Hermione said, letting go of the boy's hand as Draco dropped down until they were eye-to-eye.
"Hello, Teddy," Draco held out his hand and Teddy shook it. "I didn't realize you would look just like me." He said it seriously but Hermione saw a twinkle in his eye.
"I don't look like you," Teddy explained, shaking his head so his hair turned brown and his eyes green.
"So you're a Metamorphagus?" Draco asked and Teddy nodded proudly. "That's pretty cool."
"Duh," Teddy mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Ted, be polite," Hermione scolded the boy and his hair turned red as he muttered and apology. "Sorry about him. He isn't good with new people."
Draco returned to his normal height. "Forget it. I'm used to that attitude from people five times his age," he shrugged. "Comes with the territory, I guess." She noticed his right hand move slightly towards his left forearm but the action disappeared in less than a second.
"Right. Sorry," she shook her head. "That was dumb of me."
"Why do you do that?" he frowned.
"Do what?"
"Apologize. You do it a lot," the crease in his forehead deepened slightly. "Why?"
"Nervous habit?" she guessed. "I don't know, it just happens. I've never really noticed it."
"Apologizing is a sign of weakness," Draco pointed out.
"Or you can be being polite," she replied and looked down at Teddy who was shuffling around impatiently. "Ted, you can go back to the house, okay? If anyone asks, tell them I've just gone for a walk."
Teddy nodded and let go of Hermione's hand. He looked back at Draco, his hair changing back to platinum blonde, and ran back inside.
"So now you're lying about seeing me?" Draco asked with a smirk. "Am I that much of a dirty little secret?"
"No, not really," she shrugged. "But the Weasley men would probably crucify you if they saw you here. My ex-husband is in there, actually. Well, he is acting decidedly sheepish and terrified of me, but I think he would still jump to my protection if a dirty Slytherin were to try and hurt me."
"Dirty Slytherin? You wound me, Granger," he sighed.
"Why do you even call me that? I thought you were the one who insisted on us being on a first name basis," she pointed out.
"True. But Granger is a lot fierier than Hermione. It suits you better."
"And if I get remarried?"
"You'll always be Granger to me," he shrugged.
"How touching."
"I like to think so," Draco grinned. "So, having a happy little Christmas?"
"Yes, it's quite nice. I've already had the awkward relationship talk with Charlie," she explained, wrapping her arms around herself to keep in the warmth. As she did so, she noticed Draco stiffen slightly.
"Oh? And what exactly did you tell him?" his voice was strained.
"That I don't know what I want at the moment," she said truthfully. "I told him that something might be happening with someone else, and I don't want to get tangled up in a relationship only for it to all fall apart."
"I see," Draco murmured, his tone somewhat lighter.
"Indeed." It was Hermione's turn to be stiff. "Have you been having a nice Christmas?"
"Not particularly," his nose wrinkled in distaste. "Pansy and Blaise are getting a divorce and Pansy has moved in with me. She keeps flying into rages and breaking absolutely everything in her reach."
"That does sound fun," Hermione joked and the corners of Draco's mouth turned upwards.
"We spent the morning with my parents, and she's gone back to her mother's home until dinner. I'm meant to be going back to see my parents for lunch," Draco said, shaking his sleeve back and checking his watch. "Speaking of which, I'm probably keeping you from your food, and my mother won't stand for me to be late."
"You're probably right," she frowned, a little bit sad. "I guess I'll see you around."
"Definitely. My mother will want to catch up with you soon, along with Calline. I think they're pulling together something around New Years, and I imagine you'll be expected to attend," Draco explained.
"Your mother certainly does love throwing a party," Hermione smiled. "I'll see you later." She turned away with a quick wave, heading back to the warmth of The Burrow.
"Granger," his voice was quiet and impossibly close, and when she turned around he was right in front of her. Before she could even move he had pressed his lips to hers firmly, his mouth demanding, dominating. And then, before she could even think about reacting his lips were gone from her own, instead set into a small smirk. "Merry Christmas."
She heard a crack and he had vanished, and she wandered back to the house in a daze, her head spinning with the intensity of the kiss. What was Draco to her? Were they a couple? Or were they just friends?
Just friends, she decided. Just friends who happened to snog every so often.
A/N: Hello, everyone! Another chapter for you, longer than I had planned for it to be. Please review and let me know what you think, for I'm not entirely happy with it. As always, there are pictures of outfits (and Hermione's necklace) if you follow the link in my profile. Whilst you are there, I would greatly appreciate it if you could check out my other links.
On a side note, woo! I've reached over 100 reviews for this story! Thank you so much to everybody who has taken the time to review. It means so much to me and definitely brightens my day when I read what you've said to me.