She showered, dried her hair, and dressed. Her normal frizzy mane was tamed into something presentable, which pleased her. She'd been using a new hair potion Ginny had gotten her, it actually helped more than wand magic did. Feeling like she was in a very good mood, she even took the extra few minutes to apply some eyeliner, shimmery gold eyeshadow, and mascara, plus a slick of gloss. Her cheeks were already rosy from the cold, and at this she felt relaxed. Settling into bed again with a novel, she spent the entire morning reading - not that this was an unusual activity for Hermione.
After lunch, which most people had not shown up to, Hermione returned to her dormitory to gather some things. She'd need her notes of course, and then some more parchment for the rest of the planning this afternoon... a quill, ink, maybe her novel, she was sure she'd seen a blanket or two in the room the previous night...
Oh, the night before. She'd hugged Draco Malfoy of all people, and he'd put his hands on her waist to raise her to put up the star, and worse - there was photographic evidence that she'd been smiling with him the whole time. But nobody could be more surprised than Hermione herself. This was the boy who had tortured her existence since day one, who had called her mudblood and so many other things. This was Draco, whom her friends hated and whom she used to hate herself. But was he even the same Draco right now? This Draco hadn't called her mudblood once, and he'd even taken to calling her by her first name. He'd lifted her onto his own shoulders, and he'd waved her over to sit with him that day, and...
It was all a little too much to think about at the time. Hermione grabbed her things and headed to the room of requirement, hoping a small bit of baking might help her relax.
But it wasn't enough, as much as she wished it was. The room was full of students looking forward to the following week, talking, asking each other about presents and various other things. Hermione opted for a chair by the fire, scooting it closer to read by firelight. After a full hour of reading though, she found herself restless. The others were all talking about the week to come, and she hadn't even planned everything yet. Grabbing her parchment and quill, she pulled a small table up to the side of her chair and began frantically scribbling ideas and crossing them out again.
Activities:
Baking
Cooking - Day of
Sledding
Snow Angels/Snowmen
Hogsmeade Trip/Shopping - 20th
Present wrapping - Christmas Eve Morning
Holiday Films
Before she could think of one last thing to do, the object of her confusion pulled a chair up and sat down beside her.
"Hermione. Even more details, then?"
"You have no idea." He laughed at her slight frustration and nudged her shoulder.
"I'm sure it'll all be fine. It's really great, what you're doing here..."
"Thank you, Draco!" She beamed. "That's probably the first really nice thing you've ever said. Ever."
He looked as if he might deny that, but changed his mind, shrugging. They laughed.
"It's true though... maybe it's just the Christmas spirit putting you in a good mood."
"Most likely. Though I promise I'll try not to turn back into the world's biggest arse when term starts again. We've already had a bit of fun in the past few days, and there's still almost two weeks left before the end of break..."
"That's true."
"Yeah. Hopefully nothing's... weird, when people get back."
She turned towards him again. "And why might they be 'weird'?"
"Well," he flushed, "I just meant that it's going to be pretty obvious to our friends when they come back and we aren't hostile towards each other anymore."
"Oh, that... yes. Well. They'll just have to deal with it, won't they?"
He smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess they will."
There was an awkward silence between them, while the others in the room gabbed about everything and nothing.
"Anyway, Hermione... we'd better write up a few lists of things to get in Hogsmeade tomorrow... we don't want to forget anything..."
And as he reached across her, their eyes meeting and arms grazing in a split second, then turning away, he quickly grabbed parchment, and Hermione realized that she and Draco were much more alike than she ever could have guessed.
Baking: December 22nd and 23rd
Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients for Brownies
Ingredients for Hot Chocolate
(See attached sheets)
Cooking: December 25th
Roast Turkey
Roast Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts and Carrots
Cranberry Dressing
Chesnut Stuffing
Pigs in a Blanket
Pudding
Mince Pies
(Attached sheets, plus Christmas Crackers)
Sledding: December 21st
Any sleds Hogwarts might have, ask Hagrid
Party Materials: December 24th
Christmas Crackers
Gift Wrapping Materials: Whenever
Boxes
Bags
Tissue Paper
Wrapping Paper
Ribbon
Bows
Labels
Holiday Films - Find some in Hogsmeade or by owl post. Ask Hagrid about a projector? December 25th
Also - ask the Room of Requirement for some blankets or something, it's terribly cold in here.
-Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, December 19th
It was almost five by the time they'd finished writing up every separate list and Hermione was finally satisfied that they'd gotten all of the planning done. Falling back into her chair, she let out a full breath.
"Tired? From writing a few lists?"
"It's more of a mental challenge, Draco. But it's the kind of thing I'm best at I suppose."
"I guess so... alright. There are still almost two hours left until dinner, would you care to take a walk with me?"
Stunned, Hermione glanced up at him. "Well... alright. I suppose that's acceptable. I'll just be up to get my coat..."
"Great. I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall in ten. And Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"Don't flake out on me, and do hurry. I haven't been out in the snow since it fell."
Once they'd met downstairs, they set off across the grounds.
"It's a bit chilly out here, isn't it?" He stuck his hands in his pockets, snow was beginning to fall again and it was indeed very cold.
"To say the least, yes. It's freezing." They continued on until they reached a nice sized hill just on the other side of the Forbidden Forest.
Draco stopped suddenly. "Close your eyes for a moment."
"And you promise you won't do anything stupid? Because if you do, I'll hex you so bad you might not live until Christmas."
"I know you will, I'm not taking any chances. Just shut your eyes."
Hermione did as she was told, and heard the swish of a wand and the sound of something flying towards them.
"Alright, open them."
And in front of them were two simple plastic sleds shaped like discs.
"I figured there was nothing else to do, and the hills looked nice today... we should test this hill out to make sure it's acceptable for the snow day..."
And for the second, equally unexpected time in her life, Hermione threw her arms around Draco Malfoy. He placed his hands on her back again awkwardly before stepping back.
"Draco, they're perfect. It's perfect. Come on. I'll race you." And before he could react, she was halfway up the hill, sleds still sitting in front of him.
"What, you expect me to carry both of these?"
"Of course not, Draco. Are you a wizard or what? Accio Sleds." They slid up the hill, as if sledding in reverse, and stopped next to her. "Come on then!"
They spent over an hour sledding, running up the hill and sliding back down one at a time, constantly in fits of laughter.
"Draco... Draco... I'll race you. Come on, up top." He joined her at the top of the hill, setting himself down on his sled. "On three... twooooo.... one!"
They sped down the hill in a matter of seconds. The slickness beneath them made them lose all control, and they were running closer to each other every second...
They collided, and each of them let out a short scream before tumbling ten feet from the bottom. Laughing as they slowed down, they stopped as soon as they fully landed.
Draco was on his back, one knee bent up in the air and foot planted deep in the snow. His arms were beside him, bent at the elbows. Hermione had landed on top of him, her chest pressed up against his and her legs on either side of his upwards knee, tangled up with his own. One of her wrists was pinned beneath his head, and the other arm was above both of their heads, lying in the snow. Their faces were inches apart, she could feel his hot breath on her lips and he could feel her shaky breaths against his own. For a few moments, neither moved, too shocked to do anything or think anything. Draco blinked, his dark lashes brushing her cheek. It was suddenly much too much for Hermione, he was much too close, it was still Draco for goodness sake...
She rolled herself off him, lying on her back beside him, and they each took a deep breath. She turned her head slightly to look at him, and found that he was already looking at her. She turned away quickly, clearing her throat.
"Alright... one more race perhaps... then we'd better head in before Dinner, we shouldn't be late and I'll need to change out of this wet clothing..."
They trudged back up the hill and set off once more, speeding towards the bottom. This time, they did not crash into each other. It was a good thing after all though, as neither of them thought they could handle that again.
Back in her empty dormitory, Hermione stripped out of her damp clothes, setting them on the railing around the heater to dry. It had been running all day, so the room was nice and toasty even before she put on jeans, a black tank top, and a dark green cashmere sweater. She smoothed her hair into place again, brushing the snow out of it, and fixed her makeup before heading down to dinner. This had already been quite a day.
Sitting between Olivia and Avery, Hermione conversed with them about the things she'd be getting in Hogsmeade the next day, and what each of them might want for Christmas. She had another idea, to post a list in the room of requirement the next morning so everyone might be able to write down a few things they might want for Christmas, so everyone could shop for their friends. While explaining the idea to them, she stole a glance at Draco, who was talking to a Hufflepuff boy about being on the Quidditch team. Before she could look away, however, he turned his head. And this time, he was the one catching her looking.
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