Chapter 7

A knock came from Bella's door as she just finished packing her last bag. She gave a sound of approval and opened the door and stepped away to let her brother in.

"Good. You're just in time. We could go in a few minutes, I'm just about finished packing." Bella explained hurriedly as she grab for her brown suede coat from the rack and her blue knitted scarf. She wrapped it on her neck and gave Draco an expected look.

"Where's your stuff?" Bella asked confusedly.

"I'm not coming Bella." He said quietly. He bowed his head as he fists his pockets, standing awkwardly.

"Why not?" Bella asked sadly.

"I'm scared going back to the manor. I'll just make up an excuse—"

"Draco, we are not spending Christmas at the manor." Bella stated dryly. Draco looked up, his expression puzzled yet a light of hope flickered in his eyes.

"We'll just be dropping by to see mother but that's before we come back to Hogwarts. I'm planning on taking you somewhere. I also have Dumbledore's permission to take you because I'm already a consenting adult."

"Where're we going?"

"Places." Bella smiled. "Come on. Pack your stuff. We're going on a field trip."

Draco grinned at her, his boyish excited grin that she loved so much, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're back."

"I'm glad too." Bella watched him go, he closed the door quietly and a sigh escaped her lips. Her poor brother. She knew he would object going back to manor that's why she planned this vacation. It's her first vacation with him since she left and she made sure that no one, not even the Dark Lord could stop her from taking her brother away –even if it's just for a little while.

With everything that's happened, she thought they both deserved to have some fun and to ran away from all the drama. She actually just thought of it after the party at Slughorn's, clearly after crying her eyes out from seeing her ex-boyfriend's father.

Edward.

She wondered how he's spending his Christmas. Or whom he's spending it with. Bella blocked that thought away. 'Now's not the time, Bella!' her mind screamed at her. 'But when is the right time?' pouted the love sick girl she once was. Bella shook her head. She doesn't really know but she does know that she can't run away from everything forever. Sooner or later, her past is going to bite her on the ass.

A knock resounded in her room making her coming back to the reality. She stood up from where she was sitting, noticing that she hasn't realized she was sitting, and answered the door.

"Bella!" smiled Hermione.

"Hermione, please come in." Bella opened the door widely and let her friend in. Hermione noticed the luggage neatly stacked beside the door and looked at Bella.

"How've you been?" Bella asked as she motioned for Hermione to sit. The two sat on the sofa and Bella snapped her fingers and a steaming tea pot emerged from her kitchenette followed by a tray of saucers, teacup and sugar.

"Tea?" Bella asked, not noticing the look of awe Hermione was giving her.

"Yes please." Her friend recovered and shook her head with a smile. Bella offered her some tea and Hermione gave a thankful nod.

"Going home, huh?" Hermione motioned her head towards the luggage.

"Not exactly. We're going to travel. Hoping to spend as much as I have with my brother." The expression on her face seemed normal but the tone of her voice got Hermione looking at her friend in alarm.

"You make it sound like you're going away or something." Hermione joked half heartedly, feeling anxious for no reason.

"Maybe I am." Bella smile sadly. "The war is coming Hermione, everyone knows yet no one is acknowledging it. I, for one, am not just going to sit here and spend my time idly."

Hermione, feeling surprised at the mention of something so morbid at this time of the year, looked at Bella as if she's some deity or someone mythological giving a prophesy. Don't get her wrong, of course Hermione still doesn't believe in anything that concerns Divination but when Bella says something like that, a truth that's bound to happen, with her grey eyes wide and filled with unshed tears, her golden blonde hair framing her heart shaped face and her innocent demeanor, she feels like she's not talking to Bella anymore but someone older, wiser. Someone like Dumbledore.

"Do you really think it's going to happen?" Hermione asked, feeling breathless.

Bella smiled vaguely. "Would I have said that if I thought otherwise?"

Hermione flushed, feeling like a child. She looked down at her hands and let out a shaky breath. She is Dumbledore. She thought.

"I believe you are here for a reason?" Bella asked, looking at her steadily.

"Oh yes. I just want to give you my gift before I go home for the holidays." Hermione reached into her jacket and produced a rectangular shape wrapped in brown paper. Bella smiled and reached for it, feeling excited yet wary.

"I bought you something too." Bella grinned as she stood up from where she sat and walked into her bedroom. A moment later, she came out and was holding a same rectangular shape wrapped in silver paper. Bella gave it to Hermione.

"Merry Christmas." With all the drama that has happened, the two have become close. Hermione shared her deepest secrets to her, the good ones and the bad. And Bella shared the same. All of it, even the part with Edward being a vampire. Hermione looked at her at that time like she was insane but she explained all about the vampire vegetarianism going on the rage. With their secrets all out in the open, the two trust each other explicitly. Like sisters.

Hermione smiled, surprised at receiving anything from someone named Malfoy. "Thanks."

"Shall we open it at the same time?" Bella asked, grinning and Hermione nodded. They both ripped the paper and gasp in surprise. Bella laughed out loud.

"Who would have thought?" she smirked as she raised the muggle book, Why we Broke Up?, the same one Hermione was holding.

"I thought it might be funny." Hermione smirked, adapting the mannerism, as the two friends placed their books on the coffee table.

"Yeah, me too. I should have known we'll be sharing a wicked sense of humor." Bella laughed. "But thanks. For everything."

"For a Malfoy, you're not so bad yourself." Hermione giggled. "You're welcome." she stood up and Bella did the same. The bushy haired girl spread her arms and Bella hugged her lightly as they walked towards the door.

They both bid goodbye and Bella closed the door of her room.

A few minutes later another knock came and Bella groaned. 'Who is that now?' Bella swung the door open, an irritated look on her face.

Draco came into view, a confused look on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just bumped into Granger."

"And…?" Bella asked knowingly while raising an eyebrow.

Draco rolled his eyes and stepped inside. Bella let him in, looking at him expectantly. "She was here wasn't she?"

Bella looked at him surprisedly. "Yeah, gave me a gift and all. How'd you know?"

Draco ignored her question. "You know I'll accept you no matter what your preferences are, right?" He was staring at her, his face grave and his tone serious but the light in his eyes says otherwise.

"I am not gay, Draco Malfoy!" Bella screeched as she punched her laughing brother who dodged it easily.

….

"Ready?" Bella asked her brother, who was standing by her side, with the flush on his cheeks and the brightness in his eyes. 'He's really excited about this trip.' Bella thought. The two siblings were standing at the Hogsmade station, surrounded by the crowd of excited students boarding the train back to London.

"As I'll ever be."

"Well come on, then." Bella grinned and reached her hand out for him. Draco nodded, and without hesitation, the two dissapparated. The feeling of being sucked from the inside out came and after a moment they felt the hard ground touched their feet and balanced perfectly.

Draco looked around as he let go of his sister. They were in front of a white modern looking house. Too white. It actually looks the opposite of his childhood home where everything was colored in dark monochrome and gothic themed furniture. This house though was only a one story house, with French doors and beautifully decorated front lawn with wild flowers blooming on different patches on the gravel stoned pathway.

It wasn't grand like their manor back at Yorkshire but it has a home-y feeling to it that Draco felt drawn to. He took a step forward, aware of his sister's piercing grey eyes boring onto him.

"Where are we?" Draco asked out loud.

"In Italy, but if you're asking where we are exactly, I don't really know. I suck in geography." Bella shrugged as she led her brother into the gravel pathway towards the very white house. Bella opened the door without hesitation like she owned the place. She let out a sigh of relief and took off her heavy winter coat and bags. She motioned for Draco to do the same.

Draco followed his sister's lead; taking off his leather gloves first, then his grey coat. While taking his clothes off, he looked around the interior of the house. Even the inside was decorated modernly, all painted in white. On the other end of the room, past the dining area, was a huge French double door opened wide, giving Draco the full view of the blue ocean.

"Whose house is this?" Draco asked, thinking of the very lucky muggles to have found this little paradise in the shores of Italy.

"Ours." Bella answered from somewhere. Draco followed her voice and led him in the kitchen. Bella was looking through a large metallic box with a door. It was giving off cold air making Draco to come closer.

"What are you looking for?"

"Food." Bella answered. "We need to go to the market to restock this whole place if we're gonna spend Christmas here." Draco tapped the metallic door curiously. His sister's head popped out from the box and looked at him like he's crazy. Draco hastily withdrew his finger.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked curiously.

"Nothing."

Bella gave him an amused look. "Do you know what this is?"

Her brother gave him an incredulous look. "It's a muggle contraption."

"It's a refrigerator. Muggles call them ref for short." Bella explained patiently. "You're going to need to familiarize yourself with everything muggle related in this house because I sure as hell am not going to be your elf."

Draco gave him a horrified look. "Well, where is the elf then?"

"We don't have one. One comes by every week to keep this place clean but that's it. I don't want an elf." Bella gave her brother a pat on the head as she sauntered her way back to the living room. She grabbed her bags and disappeared to a hallway on the left side of the house.

"How the hell are we going to eat?" Draco called out, looking lost in a kitchen full of unknown appliances.

"I'll cook of course." Bella appeared again, coming from the room on the farthest side of the house. She motioned her head for her brother to follow and Draco did what was told. When they arrived back in the living room, Bella was picking up her brother's things. She threw them at him.

"Pick a room except on the one in the farthest left. That's mine." Draco caught his stuff without difficulty and nodded at his sister coldly. He turned his back swiftly and went to go search for his room.

"Oh! And no magic while we're here." Bella called out.

"Bloody chit." He muttered.

"I heard that!"

Draco rolled his eyes. He heard banging of pots and pans from the kitchen and splashing of water. 'I just hope Merlin knows what she's doing.' Draco opened the first door on the right and scanned the room. It was decorated just as the rest of the house, white and modern. There was a king sized bed on the east wall and a wardrobe closet beside the door. Draco frowned. His clothes won't fit in that puny space.

He closed the door and tried the other one opposite the first room. This one though was a little different. The bed was king sized too, but there were gold lace trimmings and floral patterns on the bed sheet. There's a vanity on his right and a walk in closet on his left. The whole aura of the room screamed royalty/honeymoon so he closed the door and tried the next one adjacent to it.

This one made Draco smile. There's a huge window facing the beautiful sea and a white oak desk propped on the side. The bed was the same size as the first two rooms he'd seen but the designs on the sheet was blue stripes and without the lace. There's also a walk in closet but he frowned when there's no private bathroom.

'At least there's no lace.' Draco thought. He shrugged at himself and placed his bags beside the bed. He sat on the bed and sighed contently. Reaching for his bag, he manually put his things out to their respective places in the room, marking his territory. When putting his clothes away, he noticed a door on the other end of his walk-in closet. Slowly, he opened it to reveal a pristine white marble bathroom complete with a shower, a bathtub and two sinks. On the opposite side of the bath room stood a door. Draco grimaced.

"At least I found the bathroom." He muttered sarcastically, knowing full well he'll be sharing it with his sister.

He closed the door of the bathroom, grabbing a cotton white t-shirt and shorts as he passed by his closet and changed out of his winter clothes. He looked out of his bedroom window and smiled at the gorgeous view.

There was a knock on his door. Draco opened it and Bella stood there looking anxious.

"All settled?" She asked.

Draco sighed then nodded. Bella gave him a smile and pat his hair.

"Come on. It's time to eat." She said softly, her eyes full of emotion. Draco smirked at her.

"I hope you wouldn't poison us both."

…

"So how did you come by with this house?" Draco asked as he poked his marshmallow (which Bella introduced to him not long ago) on the bonfire, its coat turning into a brownish color.

"I bought it from Zabini's mother. They have several vacation homes here and I thought I should check it out." The blonde girl answered while munching on her marshmallows. Realization dawned on Draco's face.

"Is that why Zabini kept flirting with you?"

His sister laughed. "Of course not. He doesn't know about his mothers transactions. But as for your best friend's flirtatiousness, that's all on him. He's a very good ally to have Draco. You should be very thankful for a friend like him."

Draco grumbled begrudgingly as he grimaced at the fire. 'Bloody friend that he is, who kept hitting on my sister.' He felt the cold wind giving shivers up his spine and fresh ocean air making him relax. He succumbed further onto his bean bag chair and wrapped the wool blanket tighter. Both Malfoys were sitting out on the patio, drinking wine and toasting marshmallows, just talking quietly as if someone might hear them.

"Are we going to spend the rest of our Holidays here?" Draco asked out of the blue. His sister, who was staring at the fire, looked up and smiled.

"for most part, yeah. Tomorrow we'll go shopping for everything we need and then have a barbeque." Bella answered, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Come on. Let's go to sleep. It'll be a long day tomorrow." They both got up, Draco putting out the fire and then heading back inside the White house.