CHAPTER 8

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Where had the time gone?

They shared a dorm. The sexual tension was through the roof, but he was a Malfoy, and she was a Muggleborn witch.

They grudgingly accepted it and went about their daily business.

Was it easy? Fuck no!

They argued and fought like an old married couple.

No more making out sessions with others in the dorm. They agreed that it was hurtful and pointless.

Hermione stayed with Ron, and Draco dated whomever he fancied.

They thought they had the perfect arrangement and understanding.

But sooner or later, their thirst for each other would need to be quenched.

Hermione hurried about the dorm packing her things.

She noticed Draco sitting at the table, his nose buried in an old potions book.

"Trying to brew a love potion?" She teased.

He looked up and smiled smugly, "You and I both know that I don't need a love potion to get a woman."

He emphasised the word woman and openly let his eyes travel over her body.

Hermione bit her lip and wished she kept her big mouth shut; she walked right into that one.

She watched him with interest.

Cool as a cucumber, he returned to his book, but she interrupted again, "Are you heading home for Christmas?"

He sighed exasperatedly, pushed the book away and replied, "Okay, Granger, since you're dying to make conversation."

His eyes clouded over darkly, and he hissed, "NO! I'm not going home for Christmas."

He didn't know where home was anymore. It was most certainly not Malfoy Manor.

"Oh...err...but why?" Hermione asked timidly but curiously. The Malfoy Christmas Ball was legendary.

Draco groaned and spat, "Merlin. You're such a noisy pain in the arse. I hate being around my father, okay?"

He added painfully, "There, are you satisfied?"

His father made his skin crawl.

She winced and cursed her stupidity.

It couldn't be easy being him, especially after everything that happened last year.

Students still taunted him, calling him a Death Eater and other vile names.

Of course, they wouldn't dare say it to his face out of fear, but they whispered it in the dark corners of the castle.

Forever judging him and the mistakes of his past.

Her heart went out to the man in front of her. Before she knew it, her arms went around him and pulled him close to her body.

He let her hold him. Her smell kept him sane.

He didn't know how he was going to survive a week without it and her infectious laugh.

She had a stroke of ingenious. Well, it was brilliant in her mind.

Hermione let Draco go and cleared her throat, "Would you like to come over to my parents' house for Christmas dinner?"

He stared at her like she sprouted cat ears, was she off her fucking rocker?

Draco laughed, thinking she made a joke, but when he saw her serious face fall, it wiped the grin off his.

"Oh wait, you're serious, Granger?" he asked softly.

She turned away and rolled her eyes, "Forget it, I don't know why the heck I bother."

He grabbed her by the wrist, pulled her back and apologised, "No wait, I'm sorry, okay? It just caught me off guard."

Taking a piece of paper, she wrote down her address and put it inside his potions book.

Reaching up, she tightened his scarf, kissed him lightly on the lips and whispered, "Have a good holiday, Draco."

He itched to deepen the embrace but thought against it and let her go.

Draco was not completely alone; he made plans to hang out with Blaise and Theo during the holidays, so not all was lost.

They piled into an empty booth at the Hogshead and ordered their usual. The place was packed with interesting characters.

Theo whistled at a few older girls, and one of them smiled at him, "Watch and learn, boys," he said confidently, slid off the chair and went towards the girl's table with a stride to his step.

Blaise hid a laugh and turned to face his best friend, "How are you holding up?"

Draco shrugged. He was fine if fine meant that he thought about Granger every day and fought the gut-wrenching pain that encased his heart.

Theo came back looking defeated, and like he was about to cry, he gave his friends a piece of parchment, "Here, these stupid bitches want to hang out with you guys more than me."

Blaise and Draco roared with laughter.

Theo threw the girls a look of disgust, "They don't know what they are missing."

Theo's father was driving him insane, and he spent most of his holiday at Blaise's house. His father was a raging lunatic and, like Lucius Malfoy, a devoted follower of the fallen Dark Lord.

"We do have the best fathers," he said miserably, staring into his drink.

"Cheers to that, mate," Draco raised his glass and clinked it with Theo's.

It was Christmas Eve, and Draco took a stroll around the school, everything was covered in snow, and he missed his mother.

She knew why he stayed away, and she understood.

Lucius paid a visit to Hogwarts and tried to force his son to come home.

Appearances were befitting of a Malfoy gentleman, and his presence was mandatory at the annual Malfoy Christmas Ball.

He politely told his father to sod off.

On impulse, he headed to the owlery, and his beautiful Eagle-owl descended onto his outstretched arm.

Draco stroked the bird's feathers, and it gave a hoot of content.

He quickly scribbled the note before changing his mind and holding it out for the owl to take. It gave another hoot and took off.

Hermione enjoyed her holiday; she took every opportunity to be around her parents.

She loved the wizarding world, but there were a few things from the Muggle world that could not be replaced, and she just happened to be staring into one.

A microwave.

She watched as the popcorn popped and spilt over, engulfing the small kitchen with a cheesy smell.

Yum!

She had just gotten a large bowl out of the cupboard when the beautiful owl landed on the pantry.

The owl was so beautiful, with black and grey feathers, and he was far bigger than most owls at Hogwarts.

Hermione knew instantly that this was not one of the school owls. The owl let her pet it, and it hooted in content when she gave it a treat.

Only after it devoured the snack did it let her remove the letter and continued to peck at the crumbs near its foot happily.

Granger,

If the invite is still open, I will see you for dinner at 6 pm.

DM

Hermione's heart soared. It beat faster and slammed against her chest.

She doubled over and tried not to vomit.

Clutching the letter in her hand, she sighed a deep sigh of content.

She had thought about him every single day and even refused to go to The Burrow despite Ron's and Ginny's desperate pleas.

She realized that she needed a break from Ron, which was the perfect opportunity to take it.

Hurriedly, grabbing paper and pen, she wrote back her reply and held it out to the owl to take between its razor-sharp beak. It let her stroke his head one last time before taking off.

"MUM, WE HAVE A GUEST FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER," she yelled cheerfully for her mother to hear.

Abandoning the cheesy popcorn and humming to herself, Hermione went in search of her parents.

Draco sat in the Great Hall pushing his food around the plate when he saw his owl approach.

His heart soared with anticipation.

A few Ravenclaw girls watched the beautiful bird land in front of him, "He's so beautiful."

He heard the comment, and for once, he knew they meant the owl and not him.

Taking the letter with slightly trembling hands, he momentarily hesitated.

What if she had forgotten about her invitation?

Dear Draco,

I will be waiting for you. I hope you like apple pie!

Hermione

Her handwriting was flawless.

A happy smile crept onto his lips. He folded the paper carefully and put it in his pocket.

His mood improved drastically, whistling he made his way to Hogsmeade.

Draco stood by the counter at The Three Broomsticks waiting for Madam Rosmerta, "Here you go, the best-mulled mead you will find with a hint of honeysuckle."

The motherly barmaid winked at the last ingredient and handed him the bottle.

He thanked her and hid the bottle under his thick coat.

It wasn't like he could turn up at Hermione's empty-handed, and he had no clue what Muggles liked to eat or drink on special occasions, so he did the most logical thing and bought a bottle of alcohol.

He hoped it was enough to impress.

Draco dressed carefully, a black turtleneck sweater and casual dark blue pants. Strands of wild platinum blonde hair fell onto his pale face.

Satisfied by his appearance, he picked up the bottle of mead and went on his way.

Deciding on tight blue jeans and a white jumper that fit her well, Hermione looked around, nervously tapping her feet and chewing on her bottom lip.

Her mother noticed her daughter's jitteriness, "Will you please sit down? You're making me very nervous," her mother scolded.

Raising her eyebrows, she asked the most obvious question from her daughter, "Is this boy someone special? I thought you were still dating Ron."

Ron, Hermione thought sadly.

She felt a pang of guilt, but it wasn't like she was dating Draco.

He only licked her dry and kissed her bloody, senseless, perfectly normal.

Hermione wanted Draco to have a place he felt welcome and maybe even happy.

Damn the bloody goody two shoes in her.

She shrugged and lied convincingly, "He's the Head Boy. I thought it would be nice to invite him because his parents are abroad."

Julia Granger nodded and returned to the book she was reading.

They both turned around at the loud sound of the doorbell.

Hermione glanced at the clock. It was five minutes to six.

Her mother opened the door, and there he stood, looking every bit like a snow angel with his blonde hair and snow-covered jacket.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Draco did not notice Hermione standing behind her mother.

He smiled warmly and kindly at the older woman and extended the bottle of mead towards her.

Julia gushed, "Oh, thank you so much, but you really didn't have to, son."

She opened the door wide enough for him to enter and instructed politely, "Come in, come in," Draco dusted the snow from his cloak and stepped inside the Muggle abode.

He gently shook his hair off the remaining particles, finally looked at Hermione and grinned, "Thank you for having me."

His good manners and politeness made her laugh.

He was the poster child of charming. Her parents were eating out of the palm of his hand.

Draco was intelligent and witty but what surprised her most was his intricate knowledge of Muggle world cars.

When he confided to her father that he wanted to buy a BMW because he was fascinated by the engine, her father gave an approving nod, "I like this boy, Hermione."

She always pictured him as the Muggleborn hating, pureblood crazy Draco Malfoy. Seeing another side to him was extremely appealing.

It pulled her to him even more.

After dinner, her father popped open the mulled mead, took a sip and exclaimed to everybody with flushed cheeks and a happy smile, "That is absolutely delicious."

Draco silently thanked Rosmerta.

Once her parents thanked him for his gift and with the promise that he would visit again soon, they retired for the night.

Hermione stood in the kitchen putting away the dishes from dinner. He came in, leaned against the sink and watched her intently.

Draco played with a rogue strand of her hair and whispered, "Thank you for inviting me, Granger. You are fortunate to have parents like yours."

She smiled at him while wiping a plate, "They like you, Draco."

He flashed his adorable smile, "Well, I am a pretty likeable guy when I want to be. You like me too, don't you?"

His question caught her off guard, and she dropped the plate.

It didn't hit the ground but levitated. He smirked and brought it up to the counter with a wave of his wand.

He stood in front of her, placed a long finger under her chin and raised her face to meet his, "You didn't answer me, Granger."

They needed no words. His lips claimed hers, kissing her hungrily.

Merlin, he had missed her.

Hermione bit his lower lip as he slipped his tongue inside her willing mouth. She held onto him wanting more, always wanting more.

They kissed fervently, and Draco rasped, "Happy Christmas, Hermione."

Her fingers tightened in his hair, and her reply was drowned by his insistent kisses, "Merry Christmas, darling."

The cuckoo clock in the Granger kitchen came to life, and the two entangled lovers broke apart.

Fuck! It was late, and he had to go

Draco looked at the clock and frowned.

"I have to get back before curfew. I'll see you soon?" He asked her reluctantly but hopeful.

Licking her swollen lip, she nodded.

Gently took his hand, she led him out to the backyard. He kissed her forehead lightly, and with a loud "POP" he was gone.

Hermione stood in the garden for a few minutes until the cold air crept into her pores.

No one knew he came over for Christmas. No one knew anything about what was happening between them, themselves included.

They would kiss, share moments of unbridled passion and then go about it as if nothing happened.

It was infuriating, Hermione wanted to talk about it, but Draco refused. He changed the topic or blatantly ignored her, and however grudgingly she had come to a conclusion, it was because of who she was.

Hermione Granger, best friend of Harry Potter, current girlfriend of Ronald Weasley and most importantly, Muggleborn witch.