Right all the apologies for not updating sooner, I know I say this every time, whoops. I know this is short but more will be following I promise its just I have got lots on so getting some free time is proving a little difficult. I am also going back through all the previous chapters and editing significantly because I thought that some of them were just a little sloppy. Gosh all that babbling over, hope you enjoy this, even though there isn't much to it, thanks so much for all the comments etc, they mean a lot and I'm so chuffed that there are people enjoying my story. :)

Hermione had never felt so aware of anyone in her whole life, even with the expanse of the kitchen and Draco lingering in the doorway at the far end, she felt as though they had the breathing space of a broom closet.

"So…How was your day?" She cleared her throat uncomfortably, rifling through the cupboards for the hot chocolate, glad of something to keep her distracted from how awkward it all seemed. Hermione snuck her glance under her arm, watching him fiddle with the cuffs of his shirt, wondering if there was ever an occasion that called for the Malfoy to dress down.

"Nauseating dinner guest, friends getting far drunker than they should and causing a scene, you know the usual."

"Right…" Hermione said slowly, turning the kettle on and swinging herself round to face him, "that's a normal Christmas?"

"Well usually I'd be getting drunk too, get nice and sozzled so I can check out early. Dribble the yuletide onto my pillow, that sort of thing."

"That's incredibly sad."

"Yeah well, I had a better offer this year." There was a softness in his gaze as he said this that made Hermione's cheeks glow. "So, what about you, Granger? What does the most know-it-all-witch, do with her Christmas?"

"It was nice, the Weasleys always make me feel welcome and they do the best Christmas'" It was the truth but this Christmas had felt strange somehow; behind the jokes and the laughter, even as Sirius belted out carols and hung tinsel off sleeping guests there had been a nameless shadow so subtle and insidious that even her awareness of its presence did little to dispel it.

"Do they now?"

"Mmmhmm."

"And the best jumpers?" Hermione paused glancing down at the jumper she wore. Mrs Weasley's obligatory gift that she showered on every one of her children and obviously their friends. She knitted them at a furious rate and one size just had to fit all, even if it didn't. In her desperate attempt to leave a little earlier she had completely neglected to change into something a little less orange and unflattering.

"How did you…?"

"An inkling," Draco smirked, eyeing her up casually, "it suits you."

Hermione let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding as the kettle boiled behind her. She grasped two mugs with shaking hands, wincing as they clattered onto the counter. She mumbled a few choice words to herself, spooning the hot chocolate into the mugs quickly, nearly jumping out of her skin when Draco stood next to her, his arm pressing against hers.

"What's that?"

"Erm, this? It's hot chocolate, it's instant."

"As opposed to the hot chocolate that isn't?"

"Muggles don't have magic, remember. They have to think up new and imaginative ways to get things done simply."

"Is that right?"

"That is exactly right." Hermione wished she could understand the stifling atmosphere around them. Only the other night things had seemed so easy and now everything seemed so difficult.

"How's Mr Weasley?" He seemed uncomfortable as he sounded out the words, leaning back against the counter and scratching the back of his neck.

"He's – He's much better, thank you, on the mend." Hermione rolled her eyes at her own formalities, wondering why she sounded as though she had been dropped right into one of Mina's memories.

"On the mend," Draco repeated the words, a smirk of amusement curling his lips and Hermione's breath caught. The tension from the night before was back and in full force, she could see it all so clearly in her mind; he hadn't been able to keep his hands off her, dragging her as close as feasibly possible and she'd clung onto him with trembling fingers. She dazedly made her way over to the fridge, opening it wide and making a grand show of looking for the whipped cream, all the while cooling off her cheeks.

"Now I can't promise that this is going to be as good as your mothers." She wasn't sure how much she was fooling the blonde, but her words sounded strained to her own ears. She shook the can heavily squirting the whipped cream onto the two drinks, adding the finishing touches of tiny marshmallows before stepping back and gesturing to them with a flourish.

"They look good, Granger." But he wasn't looking at the drinks, he was staring at her, his gaze so serious that she found herself gulping a little.

"Well, we better drink up." She grasped hers quickly, taking a big sip and instantly regretting it, the liquid scalding her tongue, "Ow hot, don't-don't drink it just yet. Sorry, should have, should have let it cool first." She groaned, placing her mug back on the side next to his. "We need to talk."

"Hmm, I agree."

"You do? I mean yes…it's just that everything is so awkward, and I think that if we…What? What's so funny?" Draco's shoulders were shaking with laughter. "Malfoy this is serious." He sobered a little and Hermione watched in confusion as he closed the distance between them.

"What are you…?"

"It's incredibly serious that you, the brightest witch at Hogwarts," he reached forward wiping something off the end of her nose, "are not aware of the huge glob of cream on the end of your nose." He sucked the end of his finger and Hermione found her mouth watering a little, she wondered how it could look so good, how she could want so badly to taste the remnants of it on his lips.

"Tastes good." Draco nodded in appreciation, staring at the end of his finger before turning back to her, the smile dropping from his face almost instantly. The bob of his Adam's apple was hypnotising, and Hermione blinked at it before looking back into his eyes.

"You were saying?" Her eyes nearly drifted closed, because there was that gruffness to his voice again, the same as she'd heard the night before. She wanted to hear it again, wanted that self-assured Draco that had kissed her, drawn patterns on her skin and smirked at her reactions.

"I…I…" She was vaguely aware that her mouth was simply opening and closing, communicating nothing but garbled sounds and her own stupidity. She all but sighed with relief when he leant forward and kissed her, so gentle and shy, his hands clenched at his sides and a wealth of space between them. Hermione whimpered when he pulled away, grey eyes searching her face. His hands were on her hips, long fingers grasping at the awful knitwear and dragging her close.

"You wanted to talk.?" Her toes threatened to curl out how wonderfully shaken he sounded after just one delicate kiss. She shook her head and he was kissing her again, with an urgency that made her legs shake beneath her. How could it have ever been awkward, there was no reasonable explanation because everything about him seemed to just fit.

She shivered when he nibbled her neck, his smile suitably vampiric as he looked at her then lowered his head to do it again. His fingertips were pressing almost painfully into her hips, bulky Christmas jumper the only thing keeping them from searing her skin with their warmth. But she wanted them to, she somehow wanted them to brand every part of her. She tugged at his hair, confidence soaring when he groaned, moving to kiss her.

With shaking hands Hermione undid his tie, feeling the blonde freeze a little when she slipped it off, letting the fabric fall between her fingers. There was no sound as it hit the floor, but the impact was such a loud accompaniment to their hastened breaths. He looked at it and then at her, gulping heavily.

"Granger?" His voice was choked and uncertain and it sounded so good. Who had she become? Hermione Granger had never been so bold, never so forward or needy. She watched her fingers undo his top button, then the next and then the next, opening his shirt out and running her fingers over the soft paleness of his skin. He sucked in a sharp breath and she thought of the rose garden. She had been bold then, touching him so brazenly, feeling a little smug when his stomach had jumped beneath her fingers. Had he wanted her then too?

More buttons followed till she was tracing her fingers along the whole of his torso, listening to every sound and watching every reaction with fascination, tracing the line of hair from his belly button to his trousers and back again. He moaned and suddenly Hermione was pressed back against the counter, his mouth hungry over hers and she gasped at how much he wanted her. It was thrilling and petrifying all at once and she had no idea how to deal with the onslaught of emotions.

Draco's hands, just as shaky as hers had been, were under her jumper, fingers tracing the underside of her bra. There was no calm certainty to them, not as there had been with Mina and Edward, their memory full of warmth and rightness. Hermione felt as though she was being battered with all emotions at once; the desperate passion and need for something, for anything, for more; more of his want for her, more of his shaking hands exploring her body. He cupped her breast, and Hermione gasped, arching into his touch at the same time as pushing him away.

He stumbled back, hands up as though facing a wand-wielding witch, breath punching the air.

"Fuck, I'm sorry." Hermione blinked dazedly at him for a few seconds. Draco Malfoy had just apologised to her. She couldn't quite believe that out of all the things that had happened over the course of the last few minutes, him apologising to her was what surprised her the most. He ran his hands through his hair, turning away from her and stalking the length of the kitchen. Hermione couldn't help but stare at him, feeling both pride and shame for the state she'd left him in, jacket still on, shirt hanging open and his tie a crumpled mess on the floor.

"I don't do this…this isn't. I've never done anything like this before…it's…" She knew she couldn't say too much when she'd been the one causally undressing him. Draco paused in his pacing, slowly making his way towards her and wrapping her in a tight hug. She could feel his heart racing beneath her fingertips.

"I didn't expect that to happen." He mumbled into her hair.

"I don't know what I'm doing." Hermione groaned burrowing her head into his chest.

"Me either."

"What?" Draco pulled away a little as she looked up at him violently.

"I said, me either."

"What? How?" Draco grimaced, scratching the back of his neck.

"I don't make a habit of doing this stuff, Granger."

"With me, or with anyone?"

"Merlin, with anyone."

"But you're…you're…"

"I'm what?"

"You just seem to…know." Hermione found his blush incredibly endearing, even more so given the fact that he couldn't meet her gaze.

"I stole a lot of my material from the memories." Hermione found herself giggling at how ridiculous the statement seemed, erupting into louder laughter when he gave her a disapproving stare. "Ha ha ha laugh it up. Look I'm just as…" Hermione sobered.

"Just as what?"

"Come on, Granger might have thought about us being a thing, but I never expected it."

"We're a thing?"

"Good to see you using that brain of yours."

"I'm sorry, but I don't even know what this is. When you first came here it was awkward and now its…" she fingered the button of his shirt, glancing up at his lips that were so much redder than normal, "now it's not."

"Wow, so articulate," He joked, hands running up and down her sides, staying infuriatingly above the sweater.

"I just…" she was on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his curiously. She knew that they should talk, she knew she should make them sit down with their hot chocolates and discuss exactly what it was that was happening between them. But kissing him was so good, so right and so much better than hot chocolate.