When Draco Met Hermione

Chapter 14: Holidays

Draco looked at himself in the mirror. It was the dead of winter and he could hear the cold wind howling outside. He was checking to see if he had anymore hair left on his face. During the summer and well into the fall, he had decided to grow a beard. He thought it would make him look older and make women run to him more than they already did. Unfortunately, it had a reverse effect. No one wanted a hairy-faced Draco. Hermione had constantly remarked on how ridiculous he looked. Draco checked the clock on his bedside table. He was supposed to meet Hermione at the Christmas tree lot a few blocks from her house. She insisted on getting a tree despite the fact that she would be leaving for London to celebrate the holiday with her parents. Draco would be apparating to the Malfoy Estate in Monte Carlo to see his parents. Today would be the last day he could spend with Hermione before New Year's Eve. Draco stepped back from the mirror, "Well, it's about time we saw your bare face again!" 'Blasted talking mirrors.' Draco never got over the fact that even though he wanted to live as a muggle, his mother still managed to smuggle in as many magical things into his home as she could.

Rrrrrriinnnngg! Draco picked up the phone wondering if it was the girl he shared his bed with the night before, and promptly threw out in the morning. He winced at the though.

"Hello? Oh, yes, well, about that....well, I can pick some up on the way there. Give me 15 minutes; I'll meet you at the lot."

~*~

"Ooof!"

Draco stared at the mess in front of him. It was a mixture of snow, pine needles, and a head of brown hair.

"Well, are you just going to stand there staring? You stupid oaf, stop walking so damn fast!"

Draco stifled a laugh and held out a hand to help Hermione back on her feet. They each grabbed an end of the Christmas tree that Hermione had just purchased. They lugged it up the stairs to her apartment and propped it up immediately on the tree stand that Hermione had transfigured from an old bowl.

"Would you like some tea Draco?" Hermione's voice rang out into the living room where Draco was unpacking Hermione's ornaments that she had set out the night before. He couldn't remember the last time that he really decorated a tree. Actually, he had never decorated a tree and he was thirty-one years old! 'Well, no time like the present I suppose.' He began to place the ornaments in order by size and color, "Tea would be great!"

"Coming right up!" Draco could hear Hermione banging around in the kitchen. He looked around the room and decided he might as well get comfortable. He took out his wand and a small fire appeared in the fireplace. A short while later, Hermione walked in with two mugs of tea and a smile formed on her lips at the scene in front of her. Draco was curled up on the floor by the ornaments, the light of the fire bouncing off his golden hair. He was half asleep. She went over and sat down on the floor next to him and placed his mug of tea by his head. She leaned back on the side of the couch and sipped her tea, happy and content.

~*~

Two weeks later

December 31^st

"What the hell do you mean you aren't coming to pick me up?! Do you know how absolutely impossible it will be for me to apparate to your place with all my bloody bags and parcels you inconsiderate waste of air!" Hermione Granger was sitting on a toilet in a public restroom at JFK International Airport. A silencing charm had been placed around the stall so other patrons would not hear her scream into her cell phone, cursing Draco Malfoy over and over in her head.

Earlier in the week, Draco had invited Hermione to a New Year's Eve party at The Plaza, an extravagant hotel in New York. She told Draco that would be fine, as long as he came to pick her up in her car, because the last thing she needed was to hail a cab with five suitcases on New Year's Eve at JFK Airport. And now, while quietly sobbing into her handkerchief, Hermione Granger had to listen to Draco tell her that he was unable to leave for a few more hours because a certain woman named Katrina was occupying his bed and was dead asleep.

"Fine you miserable prat! Why don't you take your precious Katrina to your fancy party while I spend the rest of my day hailing a cab and enduring an awful ride back to the city?" Hermione sobbed even louder.

"You really should stop simpering, you pitiful wench. It doesn't become you at all." Hermione stopped sobbing instantly. Draco was speaking to her, but it did not sound like he was talking on the phone, it sounded like he was.....

"Surprise!" There, in front of a tear-stained Hermione stood Draco Malfoy, his usual smirk in place.

He opened his arms and awaited Hermione's hug, but he got a different kind of welcome. Hermione got up from the toilet and began screaming at him, wand waving in his face.

"You stupid, conniving, mean....oh! Of all the.....ggrrrr! I swear I could just...."

"Give me a hug and laugh with me?" Draco saw that she was in no mood to laugh. Hermione sat back down on the toilet seat and blew her nose. She looked up at Draco, most of the anger melting away.

"How in the world did you find me and why in the name of Merlin did you do it, and why are we still in this awful bathroom stall?"

Draco leaned against the door. "Well, Granger, I did a simple locator charm. Found you right here, fourth bathroom, second floor, first stall on the right. Second, I haven't given you your Christmas present yet, so I thought I would get you roaring mad now, so when you see what a disappointment your present is, I can remind you of this moment, and suddenly I'm the best present-giver in the world, and third, I made sure the silencing charm is still on, enlarged the stall a bit, and I think it's a rather intimate place to meet a friend," he said with a wink.

"Shut up. Grab my bags and let's go." Hermione peeked outside the stall and made sure there was no one there. She and Draco undid the silencing and enlargement charm, as well as the shrinking charms she did on her bags when she went to hide in the bathroom stall. Hermione did a quick lightening charm on the bags and they were off to retrieve the rest of her bags and get back to the city.

As they walked towards the car, Hermione turned to Draco, "So, what did you get me for Christmas?"

"A night of unbelievable erotic pleasure starring yours truly." The blush that crept up Hermione's cheeks was present enough for Draco. "I'm kidding, it's in the car."

They got in the car a short while later and Hermione was literally bouncing on her seat. "I want my present! After that foul incident an hour ago, I deserve the world's biggest diamond necklace and dinner...a fancy, large, money draining dinner...speaking of money draining, how was Monte Carlo?"

Draco shrugged his shoulder, "The same I suppose. Nothing fantastic, mother is still a complete cow when it comes to muggles. Father has yet to return to England and I think it's making him a bit batty. Oh, and my cousin Euphremia was there. She was a force not to be reckoned with. That and she has a thing for walking around completely starkers. She said it lets her magical energy flow without constriction, but I think it's because she wants to attract the attention of Barkley Marsh, one of the richest men in Monte Carlo, former dark wizard, savvy dresser, known bachelor with a penchant for naked nubile Malfoy women. All in all, just another couple of normal days in the Malfoy household. And was London was just was entertaining?"

"Well, naked cousins decided not to join in the festivities, but all in all, it was a good time, and it was nice to be back in England, and to see my mum and dad. Also, I saw Ginny there, so it was nice to have someone to talk about New Yorkwith me. I met her brother, Ron Weasley, I believe he still has a death threat pointed in your direction, and get this, Harry is his best friend! So I happened upon Harry the last night I was there and we had a nice chat and all. Apparently he's engaged to some girl from Hogwarts. I think her name was Pavaroti? Parmaloni?"

"Parvati?" said Draco with a smile. The Patil twins, especially Parvati, were like sirens. They knew just how to draw a guy in a keep him until they were tired of playing. He himself had experienced great pleasure, and pain in getting involved with a Patil twin. He was a bit surprised that the wildest twin wanted to settle down, and with Harry Potter none the less.

"Oh so you know her, do you?" Jealousy was dripping from Hermione's quavering voice. It obviously did her no good to hear that after year and a half, Harry had replaced her, and agreed to get married.

Draco had to come up with something to prevent tears from falling. "You know, I heard that Parvati and her twin sister are part Veela, so more than likely Harry is with her because he's enamored with her. I am sure he will never love anyone like he loved you."

"Well, perhaps. But it was a good time and I was glad to go back, but now I'm going home and that feels even better." A small smile crept onto Hermione's face. It grew considerably larger as Draco produced a small robins-egg blue box from the inside of his coat pocket. Hermione quickly clapped her hands as Draco placed the box on her lap.

"Oh Draco..." Hermione ripped the ribbon off and opened the box. She gasped and lifted the contents out of the box.

A pile of pearls lay in the palm of Hermione's hand. It was a brilliant necklace with five strings of pearls holding together a stunning silver pendant flanked with sparkling round diamonds. For the first time that day, Hermione was rendered speechless for a few seconds.

"Draco, this is absolutely stunning." Hermione stared at the necklace which was a bit ostentatious for her usual taste, but it was stunning. Hermione smiled and Draco was pleased to see that she seemed to truly love it. Hermione reached into her carry-on bag. "Well, since you gave me mine, here's yours." Draco took the slim gold package from Hermione's hands and looked at the wrapped present for a moment. It screamed Hermione just by the way it was wrapped: precise, perfect creases, and a tasteful bow, which was on the side. He grinned at Hermione and tore open the present with such gusto he looked like a child opening the first Christmas present. When all the wrapping was shed, in his hands lay a small wooden case. He opened it and found a gold compass. Confusion lit up Draco's face and Hermione chimed in quickly, "I know you don't really need a compass, you have a perfectly good one on your broom, and you do have an uncanny sense of direction, but this one is different." Hermione reached over and took out the compass. She placed it in Draco's hand, "Now think of the food that you want right now." Draco closed his hand over the compass and thought for a moment. Hermione giggled a bit seeing the serene expression on his face. "Now, open your hand. Tell me what you see."

Draco opened his palm and looked down at the compass. "Well, I see a giant bowl of spaghetti with meatballs, expensive wine, and something that looks a bit like tiramisu, although I was thinking crème brulee."

"Well, notice how the arrow is pointing north east? If you go in that direction, you find exactly what you see. The compass directs you to what you want the most, such as the book that you want to read, food you want to eat, even people you want to date! I thought I would just give you a little nudge in trying to move on and find someone to wake up to in the morning."

Draco closed his hand over the compass again and thought for a moment. He opened up his hand and looked at the face of the compass and where the arrow was pointing to. He looked in that direction, a small smile on his face, and a heavy heart to go along with it.

"It's perfect. Much more thoughtful than that bobble I gave you. But I must insist you wear it to the party we're going to tonight. However, I must warn you, if this compass directs me away from you and onto a harem of nubile supermodels, it's not my fault, it's yours."

"Absolutely no need to warn me. I am sure I'll lose you to a leggy, nubile man-snatcher within five minutes into the party."

Draco started the car, "Well then, I say we head northeast, get some spaghetti, and then off to get ourselves primped for this evening."

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'This is going to be an interesting evening.'