hand in hand; dramione

16

Meeting the Malfoys had gone a lot better than I had planned, so I decided to spend the rest of the break here. They had taken us to eat at fancy, and expensive restaurants almost every single night that week. And when we weren't eating out, there were chefs cooking 4 course meals at the manor. It was exhausting. Sometimes you just want a cheeseburger.

This morning was Christmas and I was up bright and early. The sun hadn't come out yet and the guest room where I was currently staying was extremely cold. I assumed no one was awake yet and decided to stay in the room until Draco came to get me.

There was a large pile of presents sitting at the end of my bed. I assumed owls had delivered them last night. I had also sent mine last night. I had taught my parents to use the owl system in year 3, so it was no surprise when I spotted a medium sized gift wrapped in their signature wrapping paper; Bright purple and white stripes with candy canes. They had used this since before I could even remember. I never knew why.

I pulled a random book off the shelf sitting against the wall. It didn't have a title but the art on the cover looked rather interesting.

It wasn't until the sun started to peak through the window that my door creaked open. Draco was leaning in the doorway with two cups, both letting off steam. I assumed it was butterbeer. He smiled at me sleepily and walked over to the bed, handing me a cup. Thanking him, I scooted over and gave him room to sit beside me.

"How long have you been awake?" The blonde asked, sitting his head on my shoulder.

"About an hour or two, you?" I took a large sip of the drink and set it aside.

"Just woke up..." His responses were groggy, it made me giggle a bit. Suddenly I remembered what day it was and pulled a small gift wrapped in emerald green paper. I had bought it at Hogwarts, they sell it right before we leave. The snakes danced around on the paper.

"Ah! Here...Merry Christmas, ferret." He took it and scowled at the nickname.

"I suppose I should get yours before I open mine." I was surprised he had got me anything. This wasn't something we agreed to do. Moments later he returned with a velvet box. We opened them at the same time.

The box held a silver chain with a charm. It was a silver heart and inside it was what I could only assume to be a ruby lion entangled with an emerald snake. It was gorgeous. Draco's present was a black watch that I had engraved to say, 'hand in hand'. It was a saying we had, to let each other know we'd get through things together.

Simultaneously we reached in to hug one another.

"It's so pretty, Draco. Thank you so much." I pecked his cheek.

"This is amazing, 'Mione. I love it."

The rest of that morning was spent opening presents, drinking butterbeer and taking a nap. Later we'd go down to say hello to Lucious and Narcissa. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to buy them presents or not but I did. I had bought a very expensive wine.

Afterwards, we took a trip to my parents house. I had brought Draco with me because they had expressed in their letter how much they adored him from their first meeting. Apparently, the ferret had bought them a getaway trip to Paris. When I found out I had slapped him on the shoulder. He was so irresponsible with his money.

Mom had made dinner for us and refused my multiple requests to help her. She did, however, make me clean up after everyone. I didn't mind, though.

When it got dark, we went back to the manor. I began writing my thank you notes to everyone who had sent me something, while Malfoy went straight to bed. I understood. I was so exhausted I thought I would pass out. And after finishing my notes I did.