Harry Potter and the Rise of the Slytherin Prince

Christmas Plans

Draco was anxiously waiting for Hermione as she came down the stairs the next day for breakfast. She smiled when she saw him but could immediately sense his distress creating a knot in the pit of her stomach. "Is everything alright?"

"Please, come for a walk with me?" Draco held out his arm, which she eagerly took, noticing the nod Harry had given the Slytherin. They walked at a brisk pace through the castle to the privacy of an unused classroom. Draco turned to her as soon as the door was shut, gently caressing her arms. "I'm sorry about last night. I wanted to kiss you so bad but I was afraid that I was just caught up in the moment. I couldn't sleep at all last night, I kept thinking about you...."

Hermione cut off his rambling abruptly as she reached up and pulled his face to hers in a solid kiss. He returned it eagerly, lacing his hand through her hair and pulling her close. They stayed that way for several moments until they heard a loud group laughing as they passed in the halls. They broke apart slightly breathless and hearts racing. "What were you saying?"

Draco broke into a wide smile and Hermione realized that this was the first time she had seen the smile reach into the depths of his eyes. They kissed again before leaving the classroom hand in hand, not caring what the other students or teachers would say. Dozens of students turned to look at them when they came into the Great Hall and immediately they could hear the whispers. Draco looked up at the head table to see Professor Dumbledore smiling softly and Professor Snape's eyebrow rise almost to his hairline. He had difficulty hiding the smile as he helped Hermione into the seat Harry and Ron had saved for her.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked as he turned to go to his own table.

"I have just been grabbing a plate of food and going back to my room or somewhere quiet to read." Draco admitted honestly. He had been avoiding spending time with his housemates, especially ones that had fathers involved with his own and Voldermort's cause.

"Nonsense, you can sit with us." Hermione ignored the glances from other Gryffindors as she slid down the bench so he could sit in between her and Harry. Ron and Ginny on the other side of the table looked at her with disbelief but she stubbornly ignored them. Before sitting, Draco glanced at Dumbledore who nodded slightly to the unasked question. It was unheard of for someone to sit at another house's table but it was also unheard of for people to drag a housemate out of bed and try to throw them into the fire. Within moments the Gryffindors got used to him and they were all talking and laughing as if he had been sorted to their house all along.

"Malfoy, you have to try this. It is our secret recipe. We normally only give it to fellow housemates but for you we'll make an exception." Fred and George handed him a chocolate tart, which he took gingerly. He knew the twins' reputation for pranks and their favourite tricks involved food. He could feel the eyes of most at the table on him and knew he could not back down.

"Cheers!" He heard Hermione gasp and try to dissuade him as he took a big bite for the pleasure of the table. The instant the delicious cream hit his stomach he started to feel strange. Everyone but the young woman sitting next to him burst out laughing although he could not tell what they were laughing at.

"Turn him back now!" Hermione hit the nearest laughing twin. He handed Draco a small brown pill and it was then that he saw his skin had turned a bright green colour. He admired the colour for a moment and congratulated the twins on a great invention before popping the pill returning him to his normal colour. When the laughter had died down, Ginny turned to them with her eyes aglow.

"So, you two are an official couple now, right?" There was a pregnant pause as Draco looked down into Hermione's eyes. He smiled softly at what he saw there.

"If she'll have me," he answered to the girls at the tables delight. Hermione answered by kissing him solidly, making his head spin and the girls giggle.

"Alright, some of us are trying to eat here!" Ron finally groaned as the twins made gagging noises. They broke off with a smile and turned back to their coffee and breakfast.

The weeks went by quickly and Draco found himself falling deeper and deeper for Hermione. They spent hours together studying in the library, walking the corridors and grounds as well as playing games with her friends in the Room of Requirement. Christmas was only a few weeks away when a new problem came to light. Draco had become increasingly distant the closer Christmas came and he carried around a strange agitated expression.

"What is the matter?" Hermione finally pulled him aside one day out of concern and aggravation. "You have been down for two weeks now. Tell me before you drive us both crazy. Maybe I can help."

Draco sighed and realized there was no other choice. "I have a sister, Marsali. She is a year and a half younger than me and has been going to school at Beauxbaton. I'm afraid that she will go home for Christmas and either father will use her to get to me or take out his anger on her. I don't know what to do."

Hermione looked at him with surprise and compassion. Instantly, a solution sprung to mind. "Why don't you invite her here to stay with us for Christmas? We're all staying here so I'm sure it would be fine."

Draco looked at her with shock at the suggestion and then embarrassment that he had not thought of it himself. A slow smile formed on his lips as he mulled it over in his head. "Hermione, I am beginning to see why everyone says you are the brightest witch of our age. You are brilliant; I am going to talk to Professor Snape right away."

He kissed her briefly on the lips before bounding away to the dungeons where the potions master was sure to be. The man in question was leaning over a stack of potions essays when the teenager came rushing in. He finished his sentence slowly while Draco waited impatiently leaning from foot to foot for him to finish.

"Yes, Draco. How can I help you?" A smile threatened to lift the corner of his lips as he watched the young man fidget.

"I was wondering if Marsali could spend Christmas here. For her safety of course." Draco looked at the older man with a hopeful look on his face, which caused the lip to lift even further.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that. It has already been arranged; she will be arriving in time for the Christmas ball the night before the train takes most of the students back to London. Here is the letter she sent me yesterday confirming her arrival." Draco accepted the parchment eagerly, instantly recognizing his sister's neat writing. She would be arriving in a week on the seventeenth of December at three o'clock. A wave of relief sunk through the teenager and a real smile filled his lips for the first time in a week. He almost forgot the Professor watching his reaction behind his desk. "Is that it then?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you so much." Draco gave back the letter and hurried out of the room to catch up on the homework he had been too distracted to focus on.