AN: Characters are not mine.
Sorry its taken so long, but this chapter has turned out a little longer than I planned. Hope you like it :)
Chapter Eleven - Christmas Wishes
It was a month before Theodore Nott was seen again. He'd been suspended for unprovoked violence against another student. An incident that had seen many changes at Hogwarts. Gone were the house tables, replaced by smaller tables so that students could intermingle, something accepted by most of the students.
Dumbledore had also given another lecture on inter-house unity and respecting each other and moving on from the war. Blaise Zabini had also replaced Theodore as the Slytherin prefect, something Draco was happy about as he hadn't really wanted to deal with Nott again.
The most important change had been the change in relationship between Draco and Hermione. Since their first kiss on halloween they had shared many more, but not outside their room. With everything that had happened in the past year and the constant gossip about their friendship they had both decided that this was something that they wanted to keep private.
It had been Nott's first day back at school, and everyone had been watching Draco for a reaction. Draco had promised Hermione that morning that he would take the high road and not do anything to Nott. He'd ignore whatever taunts and insults Nott might throw his way. Hermione had given him one of her beautiful smile and given him a chaste kiss before heading to class.
Surprisingly Nott had been quiet upon his return. He hadn't looked at Draco or made any comment. In fact if the entire school hadn't been waiting for his return and watching his every move you wouldn't have known he was back. Of course the entire school had been watching Draco too and waiting to see what he would do. It was a confrontation that they had been waiting a month for, and no one was happy when nothing happened.
As soon as classes finished Draco headed straight for the Head's Dormitory. He just needed to get away from everyone. He needed some peace and quiet. Hermione gave him that time. She headed to the library with Ginny until it was time for dinner. As Ginny headed to dinner, Hermione headed to the Head's Dormitory saying she was going to get Draco. Ginny smiled, knowing fine well that neither of them would make an appearance at dinner, because there was no way the Hermione would get Draco to leave their room until he had to.
Hermione entered the Common Room to find Draco sitting at his desk studying. She dropped her bag on the sofa before walking over to their desks and wrapping her arms around Draco from behind, kissing his cheek. She felt Draco relax into her touch.
"Dinner?" she whispered in his ear. She felt him stiffen slightly, and she smiled, already knowing she stood no chance of getting him out of their Common Room until morning.
"I'm not hungry" he muttered
Hermione pulled away from him and moved to sit on his knee, as he pushed back his chair, "even for dinner with me?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Draco looked into her eyes, taking a deep breath. Saying no to her was getting harder and harder. Hermione could see his internal debate and was about to say something when Draco's stomach rumbled. Hermione giggled.
Draco rolled his eyes, "I guess dinner then" he grumbled. Hermione giggled again, before leaning in to kiss him. Draco responded to the kiss, feeling better than he had all day. The pair were getting lost in their kisses, when Draco's stomach rumbled again. He groaned in frustration while Hermione couldn't help but laugh.
"Fine, we'll go to dinner" Draco grumbled, the stress showing in his face.
"Or we eat here" Hermione smiled.
Draco looked confused, as Hermione stood up and walked towards the kitchen area.
"Dobby" she called, and there was a loud pop and Dobby appeared, "How can Dobby help Miss?
"Can you get us some dinner" Hermione asked
Dobby nodded and was gone with another pop. Hermione turned round smiled at Draco before running up to her room to get changed.
Dobby returned with a plate of sandwiches, pumpkin pasties, and 2 bottles of butterbeer, and Draco and Hermione tucked into their dinner on the sofa in front of the fire, before snuggling up together, reading.
"I was proud of you today" Hermione told him.
Draco smiled, "But I didn't do anything".
"Exactly" she said turning to kiss him, "and that's why I'm proud of you, I know how hard it was for you".
"I promised you I'd behave" he smiled, kissing her forehead, "so I did"
Hermione smiled, but it turned into a yawn.
"Tired?" Draco asked
Hermione nodded, "but I'm comfortable here"
"Come on bed" Draco said, slowly standing up and holding out his hands to Hermione, to pull her up, before leading her up the stairs and to her room. He turned and kissed her cheek "goodnight" he said, before letting go of her hand and turning away from her towards his room.
Hermione grabbed his arm, "stay with me" she whispered.
Draco turned and looked at her, "stay with me" she whispered again, looking into his eyes, taking his hands and stepping forward, and giving him a chaste kiss. Draco smiled and nodded. Together they walked into Hermione's room and curled up together in her bed, falling a sleep in each others arms for the first time.
As December progressed the Christmas spirit was growing. Christmas trees and decorations had been put up around the castle and the grounds had a covering of snow, making the whole castle feel like a winter wonderland.
The students had realised that there was not going to be any showdown between Draco and Nott, and many were disappointed, but there was soon other gossip and incidents for the students to gossip over. No one expected to find Ernie McMillan and Pansy Parkinson kissing in a deserted classroom, or that Michael Corner and Terry Boot would get into a fight during a History of Magic lesson over Padma Patil.
The plus point of all of this confusion is that no one was really paying attention to Draco and Hermione, and Draco for one was enjoying the peace.
As Christmas got closer everyone was getting excited about going home for the holidays, seeing their families, being together. Draco and Hermione knew that was not an option for either of them. Hermione had received an invitation from the Weasley's to celebrate Christmas with them, but she had not responded. She loved being at the Burrow but last time it was there it had been painful to be surrounded by such a loving family that weren't hers. Plus she knew if she went then Draco would be left alone, and more than anything she is wanted to be with Draco.
"Hey Hermione" Ginny said as she sat down next to Hermione in the library, "mum said you haven't replied for Christmas" she continued, "you are coming aren't you?"
"Well...um...I'm not sure"
Ginny looked at her confused, "why wouldn't you come?"
Hermione stayed quite, not really sure how much she was ready to talk about yet. She was pretty sure Harry would have told Ginny what she did to her parents, but even he didn't know that she had been to look for them. Would Ginny understand? Sure they had lost Charlie, and she knew that had hit the family hard, but they still had each other.
Ginny could see Hermione thinking things over. She'd had a feeling that Hermione wasn't being totally honest and had been hiding something from her, and it hurt. She thought of Hermione as a sister, she was her closest female friend. Ginny had given her time, hoping she would talk about it when she was ready, but even now when she had the perfect opportunity to discuss anything she wanted, she was keeping quite.
Ginny's hurt was turning to anger, and eventually she said "fine, don't talk to me, don't tell me whatever is on your mind, and don't come for Christmas if you don't want to but remember as far as mum and the rest of us are concerned you are a member of our family and we want you there" before storming off.
Hermione sat there in shock. She loved the Weasley's and she knew that Molly mothered her and she did love them as a family, but was she ready to replace her parents yet?
Hermione wasn't sure how long she sat there, but eventually Madam Pince came up to tell her that she was closing up the library and she should really head back to her room. Hermione walked back to her room in a daze, still thinking about what Ginny said and what she should do for Christmas.
Draco had been waiting for Hermione for most of the night. He'd seen her earlier in the library with Ginny and just figured the girls had been catching up. He and Hermione had been spending more and more time together in their room rather than with others. It was easier to study, she had told her friends, but when she walked into the room he realised his presumptions had been wrong. She looked upset, hurt and incredibly confused.
He stood up and walked over to meet her, causing Hermione to jump when he reached out his hand to take her bag off her shoulder. "Sorry" Draco said, taking her bag. Hermione smiled back at him, but he could see that it didn't reach her eyes, before heading straight up to her room. Draco knew at this point something was wrong, and something had happened.
He placed Hermione's bag down by her desk, before heading over to the kitchen to make her a hot chocolate. Once her drink was ready he picked it up with some biscuits and headed up to her room.
"Mione" he said as he knocked on her door. There was no answer, so he gently opened the door and saw Hermione curled up on her bed, staring out of the window. He put the cup and plate down on the bedside table and gently sat on the bed next to her.
"Mione" he said again, rubbing her back "talk to me".
Hermione turned and looked at Draco before sitting up to hug him. Draco hugged her back, and then moved so that they were lying on her bed, with her head resting on his chest. Draco continued to rub her back, just wanting her to let him in.
"Ginny was upset with me" she said quietly "about Christmas".
Draco did his best to not react to what she was saying. He knew she'd been invited to the Burrow for Christmas, and he knew that the Weasley's loved Hermione like one of their own, but he also knew that she was scared, and blamed herself for not having her own family around.
Hermione felt Draco stiffen slightly when she mentioned Christmas. She didn't want to hurt him, she wanted to be with him, but what Ginny had said had really hit home. Hermione moved so that she was lying beside Draco looking at him. He rolled over to look at her, still stroking his hand up and down her back.
Draco could see the conflict in her eyes, and he knew what he had to do, "Mione, go to the Burrow for Christmas. You love the Weasley's and they love you. Its what Christmas is all about".
Tears were forming in her eyes, "what about you?" she asked.
"I'm staying here" he said "and don't worry about me, Snape will be here, so I'll be celebrating Christmas with my Godfather".
Hermione nodded, tears falling down her face, "I'll miss you".
"I'll miss you too" he said, before leaning in to kiss her.
Christmas came around all to quickly. Hermione had stayed at Hogwarts until Christmas Eve, wanting to spend as much time with Draco as possible. She'd told the Weasley's she wanted a few days to herself.
Dumbledore was allowing her to floo from his office at 6pm. It was currently 4pm and she was sitting on the sofa curled up in Draco's arms, a place she'd been all day.
She glanced over at their Christmas tree in the corner of the room. It was only small, sitting on a table, decorated in red, gold, silver and green. Last night she'd placed Draco's present under the tree and she could see that there were now 2 presents.
"Can we have Christmas now" she asked, turning in his arms to look at him. Draco smiled, kissing her head, "I thought you'd never ask".
Together they stood and walked over to the tree, each picking up the present with their names on, before returning to the sofa.
"Ladies first" Draco said and Hermione began to open her gift. She knew it was a book, but when she opened it, it was a first edition of Hogwarts a History. She looked at the beautiful old book in her hands, before turning to look at Draco, "its beautiful" she whispered.
Draco smiled, it had been hidden in the Malfoy Library for years. Snape had kindly retrieved it for him, and seeing her reaction was priceless, but he knew there was more, as he'd also bought her a gift. A present that was currently sitting hidden in her bag, ready for her to find in the morning.
"Your turn" she said, and Draco opened his present. It was also a book, the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Draco had been working his way though Hermione's muggle book collection and she'd noticed he'd read Hamlet more than once.
Draco opened the book and saw an inscription on the front page
"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
"Thank you Mione" he said, before leaning into kiss her.
It was 5.45pm and Hermione knew that she had to leave, but that would mean leaving Draco's warm arms. Sighing she got up and walked up to her room to get her bag. When she returned Draco was standing waiting for her by the portrait hole. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her gently. It was a tender loving kiss.
"It's only a week" Draco said with a soft smile, "I'll be fine, enjoy yourself".
Hermione smiled, "I'll try" she said before leaning up and giving him a quick kiss, and heading out of the portrait hole.
Later that night Hermione was sitting in the Weasely's living room with the rest of the family. Everyone was there, Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, Fred and Angelina, George and Katie, Percy and Audrey, Ginny and Harry, and Ron. The family had spent the night reminiscing and telling family stories.
Hermione was sitting in the corner, thinking about her family Christmas's growing up, and her family. She wondered what her family would be doing now. It was summer in Australia, so Christmas would be hot, no snow. Would they still have a big Christmas dinner? Would they open their presents outside? Did her mum still make her own Christmas cake?
"Hermione...Hermione dear" Mrs Weasely called.
Hermione looked up and saw Mrs Weasley standing in front of her, "everyone's heading to bed dear". Hermione looked around the room and saw that it was almost empty. She smiled at Mrs Weasley, "goodnight" she said getting up and heading up to bed.
Ginny was already in bed when Hermione arrived at their room. Hermione changed quietly and got into bed. It was weird not having Draco beside her, even though they had only been sharing a bed for a few weeks. She wondered if he felt the same.
The next morning Ginny woke Hermione up, "Happy Christmas" she said as she sat down on Hermione's bed. Hermione opened her eyes and looked at Ginny, "Happy Christmas" she said, a little less enthusiastically.
"Come on, everyone's downstairs already"
Hermione nodded, "I'll be there in a minute".
Ginny headed downstairs, and Hermione sat up and pulled her bag towards her. She opened the bag, looking for her favourite jumper. As she pulled it out a box fell out. She picked it up and opened it, gasping as she saw its contents. The box contained a beautiful silver necklace, with a diamond encrusted heart hanging off the chain. As Hermione pulled it out of the box a piece of parchment fell out too. Hermione picked it up and read it.
"You have my heart, and now it can be close to yours"
Hermione felt the tears falling down her face. She had never seen anything so beautiful or read anything so beautiful.
"Hermione" she heard Ron and Harry yelling from downstairs.
"Coming" she yelled back as she quickly pulled on her favourite jumper and a pair of jeans, and fastened the necklace around her neck, and sure enough it fell low enough to sit just above her heart. Tucking it under her jumper, she headed downstairs.
The opening of presents had already started when Hermione arrived, so she sat down and joined in. Before long all of the presents had been opened and everyone was starting to get ready for dinner.
Hermione came down, ready for dinner, and saw Mrs Weasley rushing round the kitchen, while Fleur and Bill were setting the table. Mr Weasley was sitting in the living room with the twins and Percy, with the girls sitting together chatting away. Everything around her was screaming family.
Everyone sat down to dinner and the meal began. It was just like every other meal at the Weasley's, loud. There was laughter, jokes and stories. Everyone was having a good time, everyone except Hermione. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about her family Christmas's and what she was missing. She knew none of them would understand.
After the meal everyone moved into the living room, and Hermione headed upstairs. She packed up her things, grabbed her bag and headed back downstairs. Mrs Weasley was still in the kitchen, as Hermione came down.
"I'm sorry Mrs Weasley, I have to go, I can't...I can't stay here" Hermione muttered, looking at Mrs Weasley, who could see the hurt in her eyes.
"Hermione" Mrs Weasley said as she moved towards her, but Hermione backed away, "I'm sorry" she said as she walked out of the door and apparated away.
Hermione arrived in Hogsmeade and began the walk to Hogwarts. She used the time to think and try to process all that had happened and what she felt. Her tears were flowing freely.
Hermione arrived at the school and was surprised to see Professor McGonagall waiting at the gates.
"Molly floo'd me, she hoped you'd come back here" she explained as she opened the gates. Hermione just nodded meekly. Together they walked back to the school. Once inside McGonagall turned to Hermione and said "there are people who care about you Ms Granger, talk to them" before walking away and leaving Hermione to make her own way to her room.
Draco was sitting on the sofa, reading Shakespeare when the portrait hole opened, and he looked up to see Hermione walk in. He could tell she was upset, and he was off the sofa in seconds walking towards her to wrap her in his arms. Hermione hugged him back, before pulling him into a deep kiss.
"Thank you for my present" she said, breathlessly when they broke the kiss.
"I meant it" he said, before pulling her jumper over her head to see the necklace around her neck, "it suits you".
Hermione kissed him again, before pulling him over to the sofa. They curled up together and Hermione turned to look up at him, "you have my heart too. I love you Draco".
"I love you too" he said, kissing her.
AN: So what did you think ? Hit the button and let me know...