Saturday, December 26, 1998 (Boxing Day)

Waking up on Boxing Day, Hermione immediately smiled, thinking about Draco. She looked over at her bedside table, saw the charm bracelet he had given her for Christmas and thought about the adorable way he had had asked her to be his girlfriend.

She got out of bed and began to get ready for the day before making her way down to the Common Room, expecting to see Draco, but was surprised to find that he was not down there.

She walked over and sat down in her usual chair and thought about Ginny's letter that she needed to reply to. She needed to speak to Draco about a few parts of the letter. She had a couple questions to ask him.

Suddenly, she felt a gentle kiss on her cheek and looked over at the handsome blond wizard smiling at her.

"Good morning, Darling." He said quietly before furrowing his brow. "Is everything all right? You seem…bothered by something."

She smiled and cupped his jaw, "I'm fine. There are just a couple things I was thinking about."

"Care to talk about them or…"

"Yes actually." Hermione replied. "Erm…do you…are you all right with me telling Ginny and my other friends about us?"

"Yeah! I'm not ashamed of us, Hermione. I hope you feel the same." He replied.

Shaking her head, she replied, "Of course I'm not. I just wanted to be sure that you were all right with it."

He smiled, "I am."

"Also…Ginny, Harry and Ron are considering staying at The Three Broomsticks on New Years Eve so that they can see me. However, if you'd like New Years Eve to be only the two of us, then I'll tell her that I can't."

Draco shook his head, "No. I think you ought to go."

"Not without you." She replied quickly.

He met her eyes, and crouched down in front of her seat so that they were level. "Are you certain? I'd understand if you want to spend the holiday only with your friends."

She scooted forward, and cupped his jaw, "I want to spend it with you." She whispered before kissing him with unexpected passion.

He hummed and leaned into the kiss.

As they separated, Draco exhaled and smiled, "Well, if your friends are all right with me coming, then I'd love to join you."

Hermione smiled and nodded, "All right. Let's go to breakfast and then I'll respond to Ginny."

He nodded and then helped her up from the chair before they headed to The Great Hall.

When they returned to the Common Room, Hermione kissed him before heading up to her Dorm to write the letter to Ginny.

Gin,

I had a lovely Christmas and I hope you did as well.

There is something you should know about Draco. He and I are in a relationship. He is such and wonderful bloke, Gin. I truly care for him, and I hope that you can accept it. Your opinion matters to me, but I can't and won't let it change how I feel about him.

If you want to get together on New Years Eve, you need to know that I'll be bringing him with me. I don't want him to spend the holiday alone. Let me know if you still want to get together and if so, what time you want to meet up at The Three Broomsticks.

As for your question about Viktor…he's not who I thought he was. I ran into him in Hogsmeade the other day and he treated me dreadfully because of the letter. I never imagined that he would ever speak to me in such a way, but he is simply not the same person he was before the war. It was awful, Gin.

Write back when you can.

Love,

Mione

When she finished writing the letter, Hermione read through it and nodded. She slipped it into an envelope and sealed it with some purple wax before making her way down to the Common Room.

She was surprised to find that Draco wasn't in there.

She thought for a moment before walking up the stairs to the bloke's dorms. She heard a door open, and Draco stepped out of his dorm with a letter in his hand.

"Hey. I got a bit worried and thought I'd come find you." She replied nervously.

He smiled as his shoulders relaxed, "Well, you did."

Shaking her head, Hermione replied, "It's fine. I'm sorry if I surprised you."

"No, Darling. It's fine. Did you finish your letter?" He asked.

Nodding, she stepped closer, "Would you care to walk with me to the Owlery?"

"Yes. I actually also have a letter to send. I erm…I wrote a letter of thanks to my mother for the rings." Draco replied.

Hermione smiled, "I think that's wonderful, Love."

He nodded, and walked over to her, "Let's go."

Together, the couple walked to the Owlery to send their letters.

"Did you decide to tell her about us?" Draco asked as they walked to the Owlery.

She nodded, "Yes." She said, squeezing his hand, "I'm proud to be with you, Draco. I care about you, and I am not ashamed of that whatsoever."

The blond wizard smiled, "Neither am I, Darling."

When they arrived at the Owlery, Draco whistled for his dark Eagle Owl, Ajax who flew down, landing near the wizard.

Hermione called for her cinnamon-colored Barn Owl, Cassia who also flew down, landing on a perch near the witch.

They gave the owls their letters, telling them where to go before watching the birds fly out of the Owlery.

Draco looked over at the brunette and swallowed.

She met his eyes and furrowed her brow in concern, "What is it, Draco?" she asked, walking over to him.

"I hope that your friends don't give you too hard of a time about us. I…I don't want to be the reason that you all argue." He replied.

"Draco, I don't care what they say or what they think. I'm with you." She said, "Please, Love, stop worrying."

He nodded and pulled her close, "All right, Darling. All right."

She cupped his jaw and leaned in kissing his lips. He kissed her back, pulling her body completely against his.

She pulled back slightly and met his eyes before glancing around, "Not here. Come on." She said, pulling him out of the Owlery and down the corridors of the castle.

They ran down an abandoned corridor and Draco pulled Hermione into an alcove. It was a large alcove, near a window but was dark and private. So private that if one were to pass by, they wouldn't even notice the couple inside. Against the back wall of the alcove was a small bench.

Draco gently pushed Hermione against the side wall of the alcove and kissed her lips with intensity.

She hummed and cupped his jaw, pulling him deeper into the kiss.

As they snogged, Draco gripped her hips and pulled her close to him.

They snogged heatedly for a few minutes until Draco pulled back and pressed his forehead against hers, breathing heavily.

He smiled, "You…you are just…remarkable." He breathed.

She laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "You too, Love."

"What would you like to do now?" Draco asked.

Hermione exhaled as Draco pulled back, "Well, how about we go back to the Common Room and play Wizards Chess?"

"All right." He nodded, "That sounds good."

Later in the day, after lunch, and a long stroll in the snow, the couple snuggled together on the sofa as the sun went down.

Draco was lying down on the sofa with Hermione lying on top of him, resting her head on his chest. They had scooted the sofa closer to the fireplace and were loving the warmth as they cuddled.

They talked for a long time until they both fell asleep in one another's embrace.