Chapter 8

The Christmas Eve Party

The next day the majority of the school headed to the Hogsmeade train station. The six of us found a compartment near the middle of the scarlet train and made ourselves comfortable. We wouldn't have to go back to Hogwarts until the 11th of January. I was looking forward to just over twenty days of relaxing.

When we arrived at Kings Cross Station, Lucius Malfoy was waiting to escort Draco and I back to Malfoy Manor. We said our good-byes to Pansy, Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle and then headed towards Lucius.

"Miss Potter," he greeted me as Draco and I approached him.

"Mr. Malfoy," I said back, reaching out to shake his hand. He took my hand and gave me a polite shake.

"It's a pleasure to have you with us for the break." He said curtly. "Let's be on our way."

We walked out to the station parking lot and got into a Ministry car. We were escorted the short drive to the Leaky Cauldron where we used the fireplace to travel to Malfoy Manor. One at a time we appeared in the marble fireplace in the drawing room. Nariccisa Malfoy was waiting for us with a tray of tea and various treats.

"Draco!" Narccisa cried out happily. She embraced her son lovingly. "I've missed you," she added after letting him go and looking him over. She looked over at me and gave me a warm smile. "It's nice to see you too Chloe." She reached over and, much to my surprise, gave me a hug.

"It's nice to be back," I said, awkwardly patting her on the back. She let me go and offered the two of us tea and snacks.

"I'm going back to work," Lucius said before leaving us.

"He's been working a lot," Narcissa said after bidding her husband good-bye. "Tell me you two, how has school been? Draco hasn't been writing me as many letters as I would like."

"The usual mom, homework, studying, and quidditch." Draco answered between bites of a sugared cookie.

"We did come up with a hilarious song to get in the head of the Gryffindor Keeper," I said with a smile. Narcissa enjoyed our story of singing Weasley is Our King and how it affected Ron. When we got to the part when Draco got punched she was concerned but in the end found comfort in the fact that Harry, George, and Fred got life bans from the game.

"They got what they deserved," she said, almost viciously. "Well, I'll let you guys get settled. Dinner is in an hour."

Draco and I went our separate ways. I headed towards the room I stayed in during the summer. My trunk was already there, most likely dropped off by one of the house-eves. I unpacked some of my clothes before laying down on the soft bed. I had about fifty minutes before I'd be expected for dinner, and I was going to spend it laying down. Traveling always made me tired.

Dinner went by in a flash, roast beef, potatoes, and an assortment of vegetables. My stomach was full and quite happy.

"Mom," Draco said after finishing his food. "Chloe and I would like to make a visit to Diagon Alley before the Christmas Eve party."

"What for?" Narcissa asked curiously.

"I need to buy a dress for the party," I answered. "I unfortunately didn't bring a formal dress with me."

Narcissa nodded, "you'll want to go to Twilfit and Tattings. They have the best selection of clothing."

"Oh? I haven't been there. I've only done my shopping at Madam Malkins." Narcissa pursed her lips together.

"Trust me," she said cooly, "go to Twilfit and Tattings." Once I reassured her I would go to the shop she recommended, she excused herself to go to bed.

"Sorry about that, Twilfit and Tattings is my mom's favorite shop." Draco said with a half smile. "We can go tomorrow, if you'd like."

"I would love that," I answered with a smile. "The sooner I get this dress business sorted out the sooner I'll be able to relax."

With the promise of a day spent out and about I slept like a baby. The comfortable cloud-like bed might have also been a contributing factor to the amazing sleep I got.

The next morning the four of us ate breakfast together. There was light small talk, mostly about school, and then Lucius excused himself to go to work. Narcissa walked him to the door, giving a peck on his cheek. She rejoined us at the table and poured herself another cup of tea.

"You two have to promise me that you'll be careful." She said while she added a spoonful of sugar to her tea. "I won't be able to join you, I have much to do here to prepare for Christmas. But you two go out and enjoy the day." She stirred her tea counterclockwise. "Draco, please come see me before you leave."

When I finished my breakfast I excused myself from the table and headed to my room. I just had a few things to grab, like my money bag, before Draco and I headed out. I rummaged through my trunk and found my bag near the bottom. I grabbed it and stuffed it in my cloak pocket. Finally ready, I headed to the drawing room where Draco and Narcissa were conversing in low voices. She handed him a small bag before turning to me.

"Be safe," she said after offering me the pot filled with floo powder. "I expect you home by dinner." And with that we were off.

I arrived first in the Leaky Cauldron fireplace, stepping out of the way while brushing ash off my cloak. Seconds later, Draco stepped out of the green flames, his blonde hair glimmering in the light.

"Shall we?" He asked as he swept off the ash from his green cloak. I nodded and we headed to the back of the tavern, where we would enter Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley was bustling with witches and wizards doing last minute Christmas shopping. Snow was lightly drifting down, dotting our cloaks in white spots. Colorful cloaks pushed past us as we made our way down the street. There were so many people I had to grab onto Draco's arm so we wouldn't be separated. I was grateful for this because I kept slipping on the slushy ground.

"You'd think that the street would have been cleaned off by now," I muttered as I nearly fell over for the fifth time. Draco let out a light chuckle.

"Too many people out," he said as he pulled me out of the way from a family of four. "No one has room to perform any magic."

"How come you are slipping?" I asked, glaring at him.

"Anti-slip spell on my shoes," said Draco with another chuckle. "We're almost there." He pointed to a peach colored shop about twenty feet ahead of us.

Draco pushed open the windowed door and a bell rang out. Once we were inside, I brushed off as much snow as I could. A long legged witch approached us, a wide smile on her face.

"Welcome, welcome," she greeted us. "Ah, Mr. Malfoy, it's always a pleasure." She took Draco's hand in hers and gave it a shake. "And who is this lovely lady?" the witch asked after looking me up and down.

"Chloe Potter," I answered.

"I am Madam Featherswallow, it's a pleasure to meet you." Madam Featherswallow shook my hand as well. "What can I do for you two? I have a variety of robes, formal and not, cloaks, hats, scarves, so on and so forth."

"I need a formal dress," I said, looking around the shop. "Something for a Christmas Eve party."

"I see," Madam Featherswallow looked me up and down again. "Let me think here…" she turned away and disappeared in between the racks of clothing. A few minutes later she reappeared holding four different dresses. "I want you to go try these on," she gestured towards a dressing room, "and model them for me."

I hung my damp cloak on the coat rake near the door before grabbing the dresses and heading towards the dressing room. I hung three of the dresses on a hook and the last on a separate hook. The one I put aside was a black glimmery dress with ruffled sleeves. I put it on and looked at myself in the mirror. If it weren't for the glimmer, the dress would have blended in with my hair, making it look like I was wearing a hood. I stepped out of the dressing room to show Madam Featherswallow the dress.

"Oh," she said with an air of disappointment. "No, you can't wear that. I was hoping the glimmer would shine a bit more but with your dark hair it just doesn't work." She dismissed me and turned back to Draco, who was sitting with her on a cream colored bench.

Back in the dressing room I changed out of the black dress and into a blue one. This dress was a midnight blue with elbow length sleeves. It reached down to just below my knees, snug against my body. I liked the way I looked in this dress, but the sleeve length was bothering me. Once again, I stepped out of the dressing room to showcase the dress.

"Now this one," Featherswallow said with a smile, "this one looks amazing on you. I love the way it shows off your curves, wouldn't you agree Mr. Malfoy?" I turned and looked at Draco who was staring at me with his gray eyes.

"Yeah," he said softly. "You look great." He said a little louder after Featherswallow nudged him with her elbow.

"Next," she said with a wide smile that showed off her white teeth.

I returned to the dressing room, before taking the blue dress off I looked at myself once more in the mirror. I did really like this dress, and Madam Featherswallow was right, it did show off my curves, but the sleeves were making the crook of my elbow itchy.

I grabbed the next dress, a deep rose red, and slipped it on. This was a floor length dress made of a wispy light fabric that flowed around my ankles. It was also sleeveless, with a heart shaped bodice. There was a black bow that wrapped around my waist, making me feel like a Christmas present.

Madam Featherswallow loved this dress as well, saying that red went well with my complexion. Draco nodded, agreeing with her and said that I looked great in it. I sighed, was he going to say the same thing about all the dresses?

The last dress I tried on was a velvet forest green. The sleeves were two inch straps that led down to a tight bodice that pushed up my chest. The fabric bunched a little at the waist, creating a flowy skirt that went down just past my knees. I was in love with the dress. Not only did it fit me perfectly, but it really brought out my green eyes.

When Madam Featherswallow saw the dress she clapped. "This," she said excitedly, "this is the dress. It's perfect for you! And the color brings out your eyes."

I glanced at Draco, his mouth was held open just a bit, like I had surprised him. "Chloe," he said softly, his stormy eyes gazing over me, "you are beautiful." I felt a blush creep up my cheeks.

"Th-thank you," I stuttered, unsure why I began to feel awkward. Perhaps it had something to do with the look Draco was giving me. Was Pansy and Zabini right when they said we looked at each other a certain way?

"Go, change back into your robes," Madam Featherswallow said. "I'll ring you up when you're done." I nodded and went back and changed into my robes.

When I was finished I handed the green dress to Madam Featherswallow, who packed it up for me. I pulled out my money bag, ready to pay for the dress when she said, "oh no, Mr. Malfoy has already paid the bill."

I turned to Draco, "why'd you pay for the dress?" I asked.

"Mom wanted to buy you the dress as her Christmas present," Draco answered with a light smile. "She gave me the money just before we left the manor." So that's what they were talking about in the drawing room.

"I'll be sure to thank her," I took the bag Madam Featherswallow put my new dress in. "Thank you for your help." I said to the shopkeeper before putting on my slightly damp cloak.

"Anytime Miss Potter, anytime." She waved us off, a smile still on her face.

"I would like to wander around the shops for a bit before we head back," I told Draco as we pushed our way through the crowded street. "I need to buy your parents something."

"No," said Draco, "you don't need to do that."

"I do, your mom bought me this dress. The least I can do is buy her a gift as well." Draco let out a sigh.

"She'd probably like a new tea set," he told me. "Green is her favorite color."

With that in mind we headed to the only store in Diagon Alley that would have tea sets. I perused the various sets while Draco waited for me near the entrance. It was about ten minutes before I found the perfect set for Narcissa. The set came with a kettle and four tea cups. The kettle and cups were white with green leafy accents that reminded me of some of the plants in Narcissa's garden. I purchased the set and we left the store.

Half an hour later we arrived back at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa was nowhere to be found, we assumed she was still preparing for the Christmas Eve party in four days. I went back to my room and wrapped up the gift I bought for Narcissa.

The days leading up to the party were filled with helping Narcissa decorate the house. Most of the house was decorated with silver and green, I suppose the Malfoy family took their Slytherin pride seriously. We hung up silver and green garlands on every entrance way, fireplace, and bookshelf in the manor. Even the tree was only decorated with silver, white and green.

Finally the 24th rolled around and the Manor was bustling with activity. House-elves were putting finishing touches on a few decorations, as well as finishing the cooking for the dinner. Narcissa was locked up in her room, Draco said she would be in there until the start of the party getting ready.

"I'll probably need an hour or two myself to get ready," I said. "I want to look my best."

Draco shook his head, "I don't understand, it takes me around ten minutes to be ready." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Of course it only takes you ten minutes, but some of us like to look presentable." I joked lightly.

He pushed my shoulder in response and said, "rude," under his breath. I shoved him back playfully.

"I could alway help you get ready," I laughed.

"Going to help me put my pants on?" He said sarcastically. I blushed at his words.

"I meant maybe your hair or making sure you don't smell bad."

"Right," he said, elongating the vowel, "you keep telling yourself that." He winked at me before strutting off to his room. I stood in the hallway, furious that he got the last word in.

In the end, it took me about an hour and a half to finish getting ready. I looked at myself in the full length mirror. I swished my hips, loving the way the dress moved with my body. I put on a silver necklace that had a snake at the end of it. My hair was pulled back in a half up half down style. Satisfied with how I looked, I headed out to the drawing room where the other guest would be before dinner.

Narcissa was wearing a silver floor length dress, her light blonde hair was pulled up in a bun. In the bun she had weaved in a green leafy hairpiece. She was absolutely gorgeous. When she caught sight of me she gave me a warm smile.

"Chloe," she said, coming to my side, "you look spectacular. I told you Twilfit and Tattings had the best selection."

"Thank you so much for the dress," I thanked her. "You really didn't have to."

"I wanted you to look your best." Narcissa said simply. "This party is going to be filled with very important people from the Ministry, everyone associated with my family needs to be perfect."

"I'll be on my best behavior," I assured her. She nodded and told me to go make myself comfortable while we waited for everyone to arrive.

I sat down on an armchair near the fireplace, which had a lovely fire going. It wasn't long before I was joined by Draco. He was wearing black dressing robes, a white shirt, and a green tie. His silvery blonde hair was slicked back, like usual. I shook my head at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I told you that you needed help with your hair." I said slyly.

"Shut up," he shot back. "My hair looks just fine."

"It looks like it always looks like." I shrugged. "Would have been nice to see a change."

Draco rolled his eyes at me. "What would you have done with it?"

"I actually would like to see what it would look like not slicked back."

"Way too fluffy," he said with a grimace.

"Fluffly is bad?"

"Fluffly isn't perfect," he explained. Narcissa's words from earlier came to mind, 'everyone associated with my family needs to be perfect'. Draco must have felt like he needed to look and act perfect all the time. There was no room for error with his family.

Just before the first guests made it to the door, Narcissa and Lucius had us come to the door to greet them. We stood side by side as guest after guest came in, shaking their hands and welcoming them to Malfoy Manor. I only recognized the Minister of Magic, Pansy, and Zabini, all of whom greeted me warmly. The Minister even said something about me being the better, less crazy, twin. The first thirty minutes of the party was literally just standing and greeting guests. Only when the last guest arrived were we allowed to join them in the drawing room.

I scanned the room, looking for Pansy and Zabini. I found them in a corner of the room, talking softly. I took Draco's arm and dragged him over to them.

"Pansy, Zabini," I said warmly. "How are you guys enjoying the party?" Pansy gave me a small smile.

"Oh you know, just making sure to keep out of the adults way." Pansy answered.

"Like usual," Zabini added, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, why have kids if you just want them to sit in a corner and make no noise?"

"Why indeed," Draco said sarcastically, "Oh yeah, to continue the pureblood lines." The three of them let out stifled giggles. Apparently this was something of a joke between them. I shuffled my feet awkwardly. I wasn't pureblood, nor was I born simply to continue a line of purebloods. My parents had Harry and me because they had wanted to.

Noticing my slight discomfort Draco added, "don't worry Chloe, we are well taken care of. Never wanting for anything, except maybe our parents' approval." Pansy and Zabini agreed with him, but his words did little to make me feel better.

"Dinner is served," Narcissa announced before the conversation could continue. The party shifted from the drawing room to the dining room where the long black table was filled with food. The four of us sat down and waited for Lucius to give his little Christmas speech before we would be allowed to eat.

"Thank you all for joining us in our home to celebrate the holiday." Lucius began, standing at the head of the table. "Another year has gone by…" The speech was filled with talk about strengthening relationships in the Ministry, sacrificing for the good of the people, and excitement to continue working together next year. "... now, let us enjoy good food and good wine!"

Everyone at the table began helping themselves to food. The room was a buzz with conversation and the sound of silverware clicking on plates. There was turkey, cranberry sauce, yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, brussel sprouts, and trifle for dessert. My stomach felt like it was about to burst by the time dinner was finished.

At the end of dinner everyone moved back against the wall and Lucius performed some magic to make the dinner table disappear and smaller rounded ones to appear along the walls of the dining room. Narcissa turned on the radio to play various Christmas songs by wizarding bands, and invited everyone to dance. Pansy, Draco, Zabini, and I headed to a small sitting area in the corner of the room, and watched the adults talk and dance for a few minutes.

"This is soo boring," Pansy complained as a pair of Ministry officials waltzed past us.

"Let's go dance then," Zabini said after the waltz ended. He offered her his hand; she looked up at him and slowly let herself smile.

"Alright," she took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor.

Draco and I watched them dance around the room. They looked so sophisticated as they twirled around the other dancers. Pansy's dark blue dress swished and swirled around as Zabini expertly spun her around.

"I wish I could dance like that," I sighed wistfully.

"You can dance like that," Draco said softly.

"How would you know?" I asked curiously.

"I saw you dancing at the Yule Ball," he said simply. That's right, I remembered, I danced the first dance of the Yule Ball with Cedric and the other Champions.

"Regardless," I shrugged, "I never looked as sophisticated as Pansy and Zabini."

"Come on," Draco said, his eyes glistening in the light, "let's dance."

Before I could say anything, Draco grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor. He placed one hand on my waist, the other holding mine. I put my free hand on his shoulder and when the music restarted, we began to waltz.

Draco clearly knew what he was doing. He led me effortlessly through the dance floor, making me feel as though I was floating through the air. His hands kept me steady, even when I stumbled slightly over my feet. His gray eyes gazed into my green eyes and there was something in the way he was looking at me that made me blush. Draco pulled me closer to his body and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"I don't think I told you this," his breath tickled my ear, "but you look beautiful."

"Th-thank you," I mumbled, my cheeks turning a deeper red. His hand gave mine a small squeeze as he pulled away from my face.

We continued to dance, our bodies close to each other, and I began to feel a tingle in my stomach. This was a feeling I hadn't felt since I was with Cedric. All of a sudden I was hyper-aware of his hand on my waist, how close I was to his chest, his eyes staring into mine. My breath quickened, as did my heart rate, but it had little to do with the fact I was dancing. I felt like I was on fire, like I might spontaneously combust at any moment. It was like someone had set a slow and steady match beneath my center, deep in the pit of my stomach.

When the song ended, I excused myself and hurried out of the room. I needed fresh, cold air to clear my mind. I headed outside and took a deep breath, the cold December air burned my throat.

"What the bloody hell was that?" I muttered to myself. I looked up to the sky with my eyes closed, allowing the snow to fall on my face. How could a four minute dance make me feel that way? Thoughts of Draco's hand on my waist, his breath against my ear, started to consume me.

"Chloe?" A voice from behind said. "Are you alright?" I turned around and came face to face with Draco. He must have followed me out of the dining room.

"Yeah, I just needed some air," I said, trying to not look at his face. Were his eyes always so breathtaking?

Draco approached me, "are you sure?" I looked up at him and gulped. The tingling feeling from earlier came back as he took my hand in his.

"I-" I found myself staring at his lips, they had turned into a darker shade of pink in the cold air. "I am," I whispered.

"You look a little flushed," he said, putting the back of his hand on my cheek.

His skin was soft and cold against my blushing cheek. I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from turning a deeper shade of red. His hand moved from my cheek and onto my bottom lip, rubbing it softly. "You really shouldn't bite yourself," he whispered, leaning in close enough for his nose to touch mine. My mouth involuntarily opened slightly at his words. He was close enough now I could feel his hot breath against my lips. His hand cupped my cheek, pulling me in.

"Draco, Chloe?"

We froze, millimeters away from each other. He removed his hand and, much to my disappointment, turned away. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath until that moment. I let out a small sigh before looking past Draco to see who interrupted us.

Pansy stood in the doorway looking aghast. Draco was glaring at her, looking quite miffed.

"Pansy," he said through gritted teeth, "what are you doing here?"

"I thought something was wrong," she glared back at him. "Chloe practically ran out of the dining room and I was worried something happened. Looks like I was right, you know you two shouldn't be out here. What would your parents think?" She crossed her arms indignantly.

"Why do you care?" Draco shot back, anger lacing his voice. "It's none of your business."

Pansy let out a huff of irritation, turned on her heel, and stalked back into the Manor. Draco turned back to me, anger still in his eyes.

"Sorry," he said softly. "We should get back inside." I quietly agreed with him and followed him back inside.

AN: Happy Holidays everyone! Stats aren't working so please leave a review, favorite, or follow to let me know if you're enjoying the story so far.