Chapter 10
Draco
„Get up already!“
Draco pulled the blanket over his head. It was promptly pulled away. “Hey!”
“It’s Christmas Morning!”
He blinked at her. “It will still be in an hour. Or two.”
Granger gave him a look that clearly told him that his argument, although very sound in his opinion, didn’t count.
Sighing her got up and followed her into the common room. “You’re a menace. You know that, right?”
“Yes,” she replied in an overly cheerful voice and then stopped. “Wow,” she commented, staring at the huge pile of gifts.
“What?” Draco asked, still sleepily, brushing orange cat hair off his silk pyjamas.
“Nothing, you just wouldn’t think it’s just the two of us.” It was a huge pile of gifts.
He snorted and spotted one package, long and thin, and finally he was fully awake.
One of the Death Eaters had “borrowed” his broom for the chase after Harry, which had turned out to be rather difficult because there had been several Harrys according to a fuming Voldemort. He remembered being impressed by the clever use of Polyjuice Potion. He had been less impressed when he had found out that the Death Eater in question had never returned, neither had Draco’s broom, which had been a bigger loss in his opinion.
With far more enthusiasm than just a few seconds ago, he took the telltale package and ripped it open. A grin spread across his face. It was a Firebolt II, the newest model, which he and Ginevra had admired in a magazine just a few days ago. It was dark brown and sleek and absolutely gorgeous. “You know, if the Weaslette is nice for once, she may be allowed to fly it in a game or two.”
Granger, now close behind him, laughed. “Good luck. She enjoys teasing you far too much.”
“More than flying a Firebolt II?”
“I don’t know. Is that a good one?”
He rolled his eyes. “Open your gifts, Granger.”
She shot him a grin and examined the gifts, trying to find one that was for her. Her eyes widened when she saw a large one with her name on it. Draco knew what it was, but didn’t say anything.
He watched her unpack a brand-new telescope, the best one on the marked, the same that he had. His parents had asked him what she could need and he had told them that she still had the same telescope she had used in first year and even then, it had been an average one. Why his parents would buy her an expensive gift, he wasn’t sure. Perhaps because she had been there for Draco when they weren’t able. Could be that she had stayed at Hogwarts to keep him company over the holidays, or maybe even because they had come to like her or at least appreciate her correspondence. Maybe a bit of all of the above. But in the end, he didn’t really care. She deserved great gifts.
After reading the card, she stared at him. “That’s too much. Can I even accept that?”
“Of course you can. It’s not that much for them.” He smiled. “Also, I’m pretty sure they would be offended, if you sent it back.”
One more moment of hesitation, then she smiled. He had known she wouldn’t say no. She sometimes used his telescope and the first time she really had been impressed by the vast difference. “Ok, if you say so. I wouldn’t want to offend them.”
“Absolutely never a good idea.”
They busied themselves with opening more gifts. Hermione received several books and book-related items by her friends, a violet jumper with an H on it and an elf hat for Crooks from Ron (Draco could already see the cat trying to murder anyone who approached him with it). The hat made her grin. “Oh, I just had the perfect idea for a photo we can send to your parents.”
“Will it be taken tonight?”
“Yes, and Crooks will keep you company.” He looked at her suspiciously and even the cat stopped playing with the wrapping paper to glare at her. “How is it you two are such drama queens?”
“Why don’t I trust you, Granger?”
She smiled sweetly at him. “I have no idea. Because you’re suspicious by nature?”
“That must be it,” he said dryly, but peeked up when she took his gift. It was small, but he hoped she would like it. He had asked Potter to get it for him because while he was able to order things from the Wizarding world, he had no idea how to get anything from Muggle London. Even if he had been allowed to go there, he would probably just have gotten lost. The overcrowded underground stations she had told him about sounded very confusing.
Apparently, he had chosen well, because she beamed when she realised what it was. Tickets for the musical “Les Misérables” and a voucher for a restaurant nearby. She had told him about musicals a few weeks ago and he had found that really interesting. Like operas, but with modern music and shows. Draco really enjoyed going to the theatre and he liked operas, so musicals sounded great! But it was more than that. The tickets were for the summer after Hogwarts and he hoped that this would show that he wanted to continue their friendship after school, that he still wanted to spend time with her and wasn’t just doing so because he had no one else.
She pulled out the card. Of course it was written by Potter, he hadn’t had enough time to send it to Draco so he could wrap it and write a card. He looked over her shoulder.
Hi Hermione,
I’m just the messenger for this one. Malfoy asked me to venture into Muggle London and get his Christmas gift for you, so here you are. I hope he’s right and you’ll like it!
Love,
Harry
Granger turned around and hugged him. “Thank you! I haven’t seen that one yet, I can’t wait!”
“You’re very welcome.”
“Are you coming with me?”
He grinned. “I kinda hoped you would ask, but obviously, they’re your gifts and you can take whomever you want.”
Her smile grew wider. “Of course I want to go with you! I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“So am I.”
Draco’s gifts included some more from his parents, some from other relatives and his friends, a lot of them potions related. When he opened one of those, he swallowed. It was a book, but it wasn’t the gift itself that made him emotional, it was the sender.
Hey mate,
Sorry I never answered your letters and I’m sorry you were worried. I promise I read all of them.
I wasn’t mad at you and I never blamed you for what happened in the Room of Requirements. Really! It wasn’t really fair that you, Lucius and Narcissa were punished, but I’m glad you’re doing alright now.
I guess I needed some time, but I promise I’ll be in touch now.
A few days ago, I met with Theo and Blaise and we went for some Christmas shopping. That was nice, good to be out, you know. I found that book and I know you like the author, so I hope you don’t have it yet!
I’ll spend Christmas with the others, Pansy and Daphne will be in England, too. We’ll miss you, though.
Have a great Christmas and wait for my extra long letter to answer all of those you sent me. Thanks for not giving up on me.
Greg
“You ok?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, maybe a bit watery, and handed her the letter. He was so relieved that Greg was alright. He had had all kinds of bleak scenarios in his head since no one had seen him for months.
Granger smiled at him. “That’s great! I’m so glad he’s ok!”
“Me too.”
Then he got to her gift. It was a soft leather sheath for his silver knife he used for potions, it was embroidered with the Draco constellation. “That’s great! Thank you!” He loved it. His sheath was rather old and this one looked great and was really high quality.
“I’m glad you like it!”
She smiled at him and he realised how close they were sitting together, so close that he could smell the pine needle shampoo that he had seen in their shared bathroom. He would just have to lean in a little to kiss her. Something he had fantasised about for quite a while.
Of course, he didn’t.
But she did and he froze for a moment and she just wanted to pull away, but he couldn’t let that happen. He would never have made a first move – she deserved better than someone who bore the mark of the psychopath who had wanted her and everyone like her dead – but she had initiated and he couldn’t let that chance slip through his fingers.
He leaned in and gently kissed her back and then he felt her hands on his hips and they moved even closer together.
It seemed like forever until they parted and they smiled at each other. Draco couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so happy.
“You had me scared there for a moment,” she broke the silence. “I already thought I’d misread and you aren’t interested.”
“You didn’t misread at all.” He couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot.
“Good.” Neither could she.
“Yeah.”
They finally managed to stop staring at each other and opened the last few gifts. There was just one surprising one left and it was for Draco, expensive chocolate and other sweets and a sheet of paper with colourful scrawling on it.
Confused, he took the accompanying letter.
Dear Draco,
I hope you don’t mind me writing and sending you a little something. I’m sure you know your mother has a sister called Andromeda. That’s me. Unfortunately, I don’t know you very well yet, but I thought you can’t go wrong with chocolate. The picture is from your cousin, Teddy. He’s not even a year old yet and therefore couldn’t tell me what it is, but he sure was really passionate about painting it.
Draco chuckled and held the letter so that Hermione could see.
I’m sorry you can’t go home for Christmas, but Harry (who’s Teddy’s godfather) told me that Hermione is staying with you. She’s a nice girl; I hope you two have a great holiday.
And I hope to see you once you finish your last term, I’m sure Teddy would be thrilled to get to know his cousin, too.
Your aunt,
Andromeda
P.S.: Do you think your mother would be open to some correspondence? I have to admit, I miss her.
“Wow, I didn’t expect that.”
“Will you answer?”
He nodded thoughtfully. “I will. Teddy … He’s professor Lupin’s son, isn’t he?”
“Yes. He married Nymphodora, Andromeda’s daughter.”
“I heard.”
What say, Draco? Will you babysit the cubs?
He blocked Voldemort’s taunting voice from his mind. “I’m sorry they died. He was a great teacher and I was such a prick.” It was an interesting twist of fate that he was now a werewolf himself and maybe a just punishment.
“Dumbledore wanted you to get him fired. That’s why you even heard what happened, I’m sure he told Snape to casually mention it.”
“What?”
Granger sighed. “He suspected that Voldemort cursed the position of the Defence teacher, because Dumbledore didn’t hire him before the First War. Every Defence teacher since, who didn’t leave before their first year of teaching was over, had something terrible happen to them. I guess he didn’t want to look bad by firing Lupin himself or maybe he just didn’t have the guts, so he made a 13-year-old do the job. He was rather good at that, using children as tools.”
Her voice sounded a bit bitter, as it always did when she talked about Dumbledore. And he started to understand why. Still … “Well, I played right into his hand.”
“Yes, but I’m sure Remus wouldn’t hold a grudge.” She smiled softly at him and took his hand.
Hermione
“Oh come on, you two, you look positively murderous. This is a Christmas photo, not a cover for a murder mystery!”
They had spent the whole day together, mostly in the common room except for meal times and a short walk on the grounds after lunch. She had loved every minute of it. As easily as they had become friends, they had eased into being a couple and they probably hadn’t been very subtle about it, judging by the curious looks the teachers had given them during meals. As in Dumbledore’s times, they all sat on a table together during the holidays and there were only three other students who had remained at school, a fourth and fifth year Ravenclaw and a third year Hufflepuff.
Before the transformation, they had sat on the sofa, reading, and after a while, Hermione’s head had ended up in Draco’s lap and they hadn’t talked for two hours straight, she had enjoyed being so close to him, his hand running through her hair while they had otherwise both been focused on their respective books.
At some point, he had put the book aside, kissed her on the forehead and excused himself because the transformation had been about to begin. She was still a bit torn about that. While she had actually come to enjoy having him around as a wolf, she hated that the beginning and the end of the night were marked by so much pain.
But Draco had still looked rather cheerful when he had left the room, at least until he had seen Crooks, who had already worn his elf hat and a scarf Hermione had shrunk for him.
She had suffered a few scratches putting them on the cat and Draco had stared daggers at her ever since she had dressed him up with his Slytherin pompom hat (she had magically added the pompom to his woolly hat) and a Slytherin scarf.
They were both sitting in front of the fireplace in the common room, looking like they were contemplating where to get rid of her body.
She made a photo anyway.
“Seriously, you’re such Grinches.”
Draco cocked his furry head in question. She suppressed a giggle as the pompom bounced back and forth.
“It’s a book. The Grinch is a … well, a hairy, green creature who hates Christmas.”
How a wolf could give her such a dry look was beyond her.
She chuckled, looked at the photo, which would have to do, and got up. “Well, I guess I should get that stuff off you now. Because I have another surprise for you, although you don’t deserve it. We’ll have a little adventure tonight.”
As if on cue, the door opened and Headmistress McGonagall and Professor McNair entered.
Draco looked mortified and Crookshanks actually hissed. Hermione rolled her eyes. They didn’t look that embarrassing.
“Do you think they’re going to be cold outside?” McGonagall asked in an amused voice, although they both looked at Draco in astonishment, whom they had never seen in his wolf form. Judging by their looks, they hadn’t seen a white werewolf yet, either.
“No. This was just for some Christmas-themed photos for his parents. Unfortunately, they both decided to be insufferable. Do you know the Grinch?”
While McNair shook his head, McGonagall smiled. “I do.”
With a grin, she got up and knelt down next to Draco and Crooks. With one swift movement, she removed Draco’s scarf and hat, got another hiss from Crooks, rolled her eyes and removed his scarf and hat as well.
McNair in the meantime took the photo that lay on the sofa and grinned. “You know, if there’d be even more Christmas cheer, it would be cheesy.”
Hermione snorted.
“But you know that you need to be careful with sending pictures like that per owl, don’t you?”
“I do. I use the Tatum Tradition Charm when I send them full moon photos.”
She couldn’t deny being a little satisfied when both of her teachers looked impressed.
“Did you tell Mr Malfoy already?” McGonagall asked now. “I think he’s a little confused as to why we’re here.”
“No, Headmistress. I wanted to surprise him. I’ll be right back, I’ll just get the invisibility cloak.” On her way to their room, she heard McGonagall explain.
“Miss Granger came to us a few weeks ago …”
When she came back, dressed in her winter coat, a scarf, mittens and Draco’s pompom hat, Draco looked far more cheerful, he even gave a little snort when he saw the hat on her. It didn’t fit with the Gryffindor scarf, but so be it.
“A Slytherin hat, Miss Granger?” McGonagall sounded amused.
“Well, I like the pompom,” she said with a soft chuckle. “I transfigured it from one of Crookshanks’ toy balls.” Maybe that had been his real reason for scratching her, but he had dozens of toys.
“Well, that’s creative. Ten points to Gryffindor.”
“It’s the holidays, Devon!”
“So?”
Still grinning, Hermione spread the invisibility cloak over Draco and they made their way outside. There, she removed the cloak and smiled when he immediately lifted his head to take in the outside smells for the first time. His tail started wagging and Hermione shared an amused look with her teachers.
And then he was off, just sprinting through the high snow, enjoying the freedom he had never had in this form. Crookshanks, who had followed them, made a loud noise between a miaow and a defect car engine and ran after him. The fresh snow was so high today, she could at times only see his bushy orange tail, but he valiantly followed Draco around.
Minerva McGonagall
She had been surprised about the situation they had walked into – cat and werewolf dressed up for a photo and Hermione Granger completely without reluctance interacting with Draco Malfoy in his wolf form. It seemed that he had found exactly the friend he had needed. Or rather two friends, because the cat never left his side, even as they went outside and Draco started running through the fresh snow.
Devon turned to Miss Granger. “Well, I think we’re going back inside. We made sure Filch is busy in a part of the castle where he doesn’t get in your way when you go back, but put the invisibility cloak over him anyway, just to be sure.”
“I will. Thank you again.”
With one last look at the unlikely trio – Miss Granger was now following the other two – Minerva and Devon re-entered the school.
“I didn’t think werewolves could be white,” Devon commented conversationally.
“Neither did I.” She smiled. “I find it more interesting how unafraid Miss Granger is with him.”
“Yes, it must be nice for him to have someone who doesn’t seem to care at all.” He turned to her with a grin. “Do you think they’re together?”
“I think it’s none of my business.”
“Oh, come on! Have you seen the way they looked at each other all day?”
She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at that. “I didn’t say I was blind.” The smile faded. “I’m a bit worried about his parent’s reaction though. He’s their only heir and their line has been pure for a thousand years.”
Hermione
It was so good to see how much fun Draco had. Even Crooks gave the impression of a considerably younger cat as he now climbed up a tree, which caused some snow to fall off a branch and on Draco’s head.
It was also fun to take some more photos. Draco was gorgeous in the snow and Hermione especially loved the photos in which all you could see of Crookshanks was an orange tail following the wolf around. She would keep one of those.
She envied them for their fur, though. After two hours of striding through snow, she started to feel rather cold, even in her warm coat.
Draco seemed to notice and while she was still watching Crooks balancing on a branch, a warm body pressed against her legs. She smiled down at him. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. But I will use you to warm up later.” She grinned when she saw his enthusiastic tail wagging.
The next moment they heard a surprised yowl and Crookshanks, who had slipped on the snowy branch, fell into the snow below.
“Alright, Crooks?” Whether he was embarrassed to have fallen or mad because snow was clinging to every little bit of his fur, Crooks didn’t even deign to look at her and stomped off.
She shared an amused look with Draco before he followed the cat.
They spent another hour outside and despite the cold she was sorry to go in already, as it would be the last time he could spend full moon outside before he would be able to go home, She was also glad to be back inside, though, were she magically dried both Draco’s and Crooks’ fur and took a quick, warm shower herself.
The fire crackling in the small fireplace in their room, they curled up in bed. Since Draco was sleeping in hers anyway, she got his blanket as an additional one and spread both blankets over them both. Crooks crawled underneath and curled up against her feet – which was perfect, because they didn’t feel warm yet.
She smiled when she felt Draco’s head against her cheek right before she fell asleep.
~tbc~