Disclaimer: Yeww, these characters do not belong to me but are actually the property of the amazing J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Huzzah, chapter 10! I never thought I’d get this far, yet here we are. I’m glad you’re all enjoying it and the reviews are really inspiring me to keep on writing. I’m hoping there will be about 15 or so chapters, maybe a few more if you’re lucky, but there will definitely be a sequel no matter how many chapters there are in this story. So, without further ado, here we go!
***
Time flashed by quickly in a blur of studying and homework, and with little time to spend together just relaxing, there was a definite strain on the young relationship of Draco and Hermione. After the first few days of stares in the corridors as the couple walked through the castle holding hands, people stopped pointing them out and did not pay much attention to them. Everyone except Ron had grown to accept their relationship and he would sneer at both Draco and Hermione whenever they were in the same area as him. In several of the classes Hermione shared with him she could distinctly overhear him badmouthing her to Lavender or Harry or whoever would stay still long enough to listen.
Harry had turned a deaf ear to Ron’s complaints and was on Hermione’s side thanks to Ginny who had been excited and overjoyed ever since Hermione had told her about her new relationship with Draco. Her and Harry spent what little free time they had with Hermione and Draco in their common room, leaving Ron to sulk with Seamus and Dean who seemed to be getting tired of his moping around and rather rude conversation topics which mainly concerned Hermione and Draco.
All too soon, one night at dinner in the early days of December as the enchanted ceiling showed the thick snow which was falling to rest outside, Professor McGonagall stood up and cleared her throat loudly, commanding silence from all of the students who immediately stopped talking.
“As you all know, earlier this year at Halloween the school held a ball. This Christmas Eve, a similar event will be occurring. Only students from fourth year and up shall be allowed to attend unless students from the lower years are asked by an older student. As with the last ball, Hogsmede visits will now be scheduled for each weekend leading up to the event. The ball will commence at seven o’clock that evening. All students who will not be remaining at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays and will therefore not be attending the ball, there will be a sign up sheet posted outside Mr Filch’s office as of tomorrow morning.”
Professor McGonagall returned to her seat as the students began to talk in excited whispers which soon escalated to loud conversations, though each was drowned out by another’s.
“So, are you two going?” Ginny asked Hermione and Draco who were seated next to each other at the Gryffindor table. They had taken to eating most of their meals in the Great Hall as it meant more time with friends, and they sat at both the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables equally.
“Yes, I suppose we should. I don’t know though, I’m not really sure that I want to go for the whole time. What do you think?” Hermione said, taking a bite of her chicken pot pie.
“Whatever you want to do is fine by me,” Draco squeezed Hermione’s hand and she blushed. “Are you finished eating? I think we should start on the essay Slughorn gave us tonight, and I think it might take a while.”
“Yeah, you’re right. See you later, Ginny. Bye, Harry,” Hermione said with a wave to her two best friends and her and Draco proceeded out of the Great Hall and up to their common room.
“Offspring,” Draco said lazily once they reached the portrait of Eve who swung open and let them in with a smile. “I think we should talk to McGonagall about attending the Christmas ball. I mean, I definitely want to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas break, but like you, I’m not too keen to actually attend the ball. It’s a lot of effort and I’m sure we’d be able to have just as good of a time if we stayed in.”
“I agree entirely. I don’t really want to go and spend some money on some new dress robes that I’ll most likely only wear once. And, as you said, we’d be able to have a nice time if we just stayed in,” Hermione agreed as she sat down at the table, propping her textbook for Potions up and sucking on the end of her quill as she thought about how to begin her essay.
“Alright, what about we go and see McGonagall tomorrow morning? I’m sure she won’t mind if we don’t turn up. She said that there’d be other balls next year, didn’t she?” Draco asked and Hermione nodded in confirmation.
“What do you want for Christmas?” Hermione asked after they had been working for half an hour or so with only the vague passing comments on the essay as conversation.
“Nothing, really, now that I’ve got you,” Draco smirked, and Hermione laughed lightly. “I don’t really mind. Anything that you would deem suitable for me.”
“Well that doesn’t really narrow it down much. Chocolates? A nice quill?” she suggested.
“A nice quill would be nice. This old eagle feather quill is getting a bit worn,” he decided, looking carefully at the brown feather in his fingers. ”What would you like, gorgeous?”
“Hm, I’m not sure. A new quill would be nice, but I don’t really need one. Chocolates, maybe. Or jewelry. Every girl likes to be pampered, you know,” she said, winking at him. He smiled as he contemplated what to buy her, and they went back to work in silence for another hour or so, at which point Hermione gave a great big yawn.
“Go to bed and get some rest. You’ve been working yourself ragged lately,” Draco encouraged her, and she nodded sleepily.
“There’s just so much work to get done, but I suppose being tired won’t help me complete anything,” she mumbled sleepily, stifling another yawn. Draco stood up and kissed her lips softly and felt her melt into him, so he stood there holding her against his chest for a moment until he realized she had gone to sleep.
With a slight smile, he scooped her up in one quick movement so as not to wake her and carried her up to her room where he placed her gently on the bed. The old Draco Malfoy would have undressed her and had a little bit of a peek before putting her to bed, but the new one wouldn’t. He took off her tie, peeled back the layers of sheets and placed her beneath them before kissing her softly on the head.
Without thinking, he lay down beside her on top of the covers, put an arm over her sleeping figure and decided to just rest his eyes for a brief moment, and then he was gone.
***
The early morning light of the winter sun filtered through, warming Hermione’s face ever so slightly. The feeling was so pleasant that she refused to open her eyes for a moment. When she did open her eyes she felt a pleasant weight on her torso which was Draco’s arm, and she rolled over to see him staring at her through half closed eyes.
“You’re so beautiful when you’re asleep,” he murmured and leaned over to kiss her. He had meant it to be only a small peck on the lips, but Hermione had different ideas as she tangled her hands in his hair, forcing his lips to remain on hers. He propped himself up on his elbows as he remained hovering over her, his blonde hair hanging into her face as the kiss gained in passion and momentum. Finally they broke apart for air, and Draco pulled back completely, making Hermione pout playfully. “Good morning to you too,” Draco said with a chuckle, and Hermione couldn’t help but laugh.
“Did you put me to bed?” she asked, finally noticing the fact that she was still in her school clothes minus her tie.
“Yes, you sort of fell asleep in my arms,” Draco said, trying not to smile as her eyes grew wide.
“Wow, I must have been really, really tired then.”
Draco nodded and stood up, running a hand through his bed hair. “I think I’m going to go and take a shower.”
Hermione nodded and said she’d do the same, and with a final kiss they went their separate ways.
***
Draco paused as he hovered in front of his wardrobe with nothing but a towel around his waist in the way of clothing. It was cold outside and no doubt a bit draughty in the larger rooms of the castle, so he decided to choose some warmer clothes. A quick glance out the window told him it had started snowing, the tiny white flakes falling from the sky slowly, but the clouds gave the impression that they’d soon pick up, covering the school in a soft white blanket.
He decided on a pair of black jeans, the long-sleeved green shirt which Hermione loved, and a black jacket. After a quick look in the mirror and a comb through his hair, he went downstairs to clean up from the night before as he waited for Hermione. They had to go and talk to Professor McGonagall about whether or not their attendance to the Christmas Ball was necessary, and then he thought that a walk around the grounds might be nice despite the cold.
With a flick of his wand he swept the parchment with their potions essays on it onto a shelf on the bookshelf, and with another flick the ink and quills were beside them. As he finished the clean up Hermione wandered down the stairs of her dormitory, wearing dark jeans, boots, a heavy black jacket and her Gryffindor scarf with her hair swept up into a ponytail. Draco took her hand once she reached him, planting a feather light kiss on her temple.
“Do we want to go and see Professor McGonagall?” he asked and she nodded after a moment’s thought.
The meeting with McGonagall was quick, and after she had contemplated all the work that they had accomplished so far, she told them that their presence was not required and that they were allowed to remain in their common room instead, much to Hermione’s happiness.
“What do you want to do now?” she asked Draco, smiling broadly as they left McGonagall’s office.
“How about a walk? I know it’s cold, but the grounds are beautiful in winter,” Draco suggested, and Hermione nodded in agreement.
A flurry of cold air assaulted them as soon as the couple stepped outside into the snow, and Draco pulled Hermione closer to him as they walked to try and shelter her from the cold winds which were whipping them from behind. They walked quickly to get to the side of the frozen lake which was obscured and protected from the harsh winds, and they sat down next to the tree which they had started to refer to as their tree.
Their stance was the same each time; Draco with his back against the trunk of the old willow with Hermione’s back leaning against his chest, his hands clasped in hers as his arms wrapped around her body, coming to rest on her stomach. Hermione leant her head back against his chest, looking up at him.
“I love you,” she said suddenly, and Draco’s face looked stunned for a moment before splitting into a wide smile.
“I love you, too,” he murmured, and she got on her knees and turned to face him. Both were smiling at each other as Draco took her face in his hands, and the kiss they shared was soft, letting all their worries disappear into the icy atmosphere. Hermione’s hands snaked around Draco, pulling him towards her, and as it was heating up-
“OI! Do you two mind? This is a public place!” someone yelled, and the voice was all too familiar to Hermione. With another chaste kiss to Draco’s lips she pulled back, much to Draco’s annoyance, and stood up. Draco followed suit, wrapping his arms around Hermione once she had stormed over to Ron, who was standing there, his face almost as red as his hair. His arm was draped casually over the shoulders of Lavender Brown, but she had wrapped her arm around his waist in a clingier stance.
“Oh, and I suppose that all you two get up to in public is alright then? Trust me, what we were doing was about half as bad as your most basic kiss,” Hermione said accusingly, and Draco felt her body tense up. He kissed her head soothingly, but she didn’t relax.
“Listen, Weasel,” Draco drawled, keeping a firm grasp on Hermione so she wouldn’t do something she’d regret, “You and your little plaything there have no right to be complaining about other people showing affection in public, and you have no right to talk to Hermione like that.”
“Oh, I have no right to talk to her like that, but you were allowed to make six years of her life a living hell?” Ron pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco, causing Hermione to stiffen. Very casually and slowly, Draco shifted their position so he was in front of Hermione and protecting her from any stray spells.
“I regret every bad word I ever said about Hermione, and she knows that. It’s a completely different situation. You were her best friend, and now you’re treating her like the scum of the earth,” Draco said, keeping his voice calm but pulling out his wand.
“No, I treat you like the scum of the earth because that’s what you are, Malfoy, and she’s just the girlfriend of the scum of the earth, so why should she deserve better treatment?” Ron sneered, and Draco felt rage shoot through his body.
“Keep your opinions of me the same if you will, Weasel, but Hermione is nothing like I ever was, so don’t you dare, don’t you even dare to try and insult her in front of me,” Draco said, his voice low, cold, and deadly. His wand was raised and pointing at Ron, who recoiled slightly at Draco’s tone.
“Draco, please,” Hermione whispered from behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder softly. He felt himself relax slightly at her touch, but did not lower his wand.
“I’ll say whatever I damn well please, ferret. Stupefy!” Ron yelled, sending a jet of red light towards Draco and Hermione.
With a silent shield charm, Draco deflected the spell, and with a wave of his wand, Ron was put under a full-body bind and fell to the ground with a loud thump. Lavender squealed loudly.
“What did you do?” she shrieked, dropping beside Ron’s body. His eyes were moving, and if looks could kill, both Draco and Hermione would be dead.
“He’ll be fine,” Hermione said, stepping away from Draco’s protective stance around her and walking over to Lavender. “It’s just a body-bind curse,” Hermione said soothingly, but Lavender flinched away from her. “Draco, would you mind undoing the spell?”
Draco nodded and Ron began to slowly stretch his fingers and get to his feet.
“What was that for, ferret?” he bellowed.
“You were trying to attack Hermione and me, if I am not mistaken, and I couldn’t let that happen,” Draco said calmly, his eyes on Hermione who was frowning slightly. “Now, if you’ve come to your senses and do not wish to be placed under another full-body bind, then I would like to go inside for some lunch.”
Ron snorted loudly, but let Draco pass. Draco held his hand out to Hermione who took it, but with a moment’s hesitation.
“Do you mind if we just eat in the common room? I want to talk to you about something,” Hermione said, and Draco felt his insides squirm nervously, but he agreed nonetheless.
Once they were sitting at the table with a sandwich each, Hermione looked at Draco.
“What was that back there? You attacked him without a moment’s hesitation,” she mumbled, her eyes meeting with his.
“What was it? That was me trying to protect you and defend you. He was going to stun me and then probably you, judging by what he was saying,” Draco said, trying to keep his voice level.
“I don’t need your protection. You know I’m perfectly capable of defending myself.”
“It was instinctive. He tried to hurt me, so I reacted, and then prevented him from doing so again. If it means that much to you, then I’m sorry,” he murmured, taking her hands in his, but she pulled away.
“You attacked someone who used to be my best friend,” she frowned.
“No, I defended myself against someone who was trying to hurt me. You would have done the same in my place. I didn’t hurt him, I just stopped him from hurting us,” Draco said, pleading with her to understand his reasoning. When she didn’t respond, he sighed. “I love you, and I promised that I would never let anything happen to you. I will do anything to keep you safe and out of harm’s way.”
“I am not some glass statue which needs your protection, Draco!” Hermione said shrilly. Draco winced, but pressed on.
“I know that. If it makes you feel any better, then I actually wasn’t protecting you at all, I just cursed him to save my own skin,” Draco said, unintentionally letting a colder tone slip into his voice.
“Fine,” Hermione said, ending the conversation as she stood up and went to her room, leaving her sandwich untouched and Draco internally cursing himself.
“Shit,” he said and fell onto the couch, his arm covering his eyes.
***
A/N: Uh-oh! Anyway, sorry this took longer than I had expected, but it is here now, so I hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R!
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