New Beginnings

Midnight

After seeing Narcissa safely to her hotel room, Hermione and Draco apparated home.

'Oh no!' Hermione moaned as they entered the apartment, and scurried into her room, a swirl of sparkling chiffon.

Draco sank onto the sofa, kicking off his dress-shoes. He closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep. The scent of summer roses and parchment washed over him. He cracked open an eyelid and saw Hermione, holding something behind her back and shuffling from foot to foot.

'I, um, I know you said you didn't have many Christmas traditions in your house, so I...um...'

Draco raised an eyebrow at her as Hermione stuttered into silence.

'Go on,' he smiled, encouragingly.

'Well, I wanted to share one of our traditions with you, only...only I forgot to put it up before we left.'

Hermione shoved into his hands a green stocking with a silver "DM" embroidered on it.

'Thank you!' Draco pulled out a copy of "The Hobbit", a green apple and a pair of garish Christmas pyjamas.

'You're welcome,' Hermione grinned sheepishly as he eyed the pyjama trousers, which were bright green and adorned with Christmas trees.

'And Granger?'

'Yeah?'

'Unlike you, I didn't forget,' Draco smirked, pointing at the fireplace.

A fluffy red stocking with a golden "H" on it hung from the mantelpiece. Hermione gasped and flung her arms around Draco.

'Thank you, oh thank you! How did you do that? It wasn't there when we left!'

'Magic. Duh.' Draco mumbled through a mouthful of hair, patting her back awkwardly.

Inside the stocking, Hermione found a punnet of strawberries, a pair of red, reindeer pyjamas, and a new copy of "Hogwarts: A History".

'You always had your nose in it in school,' Draco explained, wincing as Hermione grabbed him into another hug. 'And you said you'd left your old one back at home.'

'Thank you, this...well, it means a lot.' Hermione smiled shakily at him, her eyes bright.

'Yeah, well, it's tradition, right?' Draco shrugged. 'Can't mess with that.'

*****

'I look ridiculous,' Draco grumbled, tugging at his brightly decorated pj shirt.

'You look adorable.' Hermione's eyes sparkled with laughter, her lips twitching.

She was lounged on the sofa in her new pyjamas, which were soft and comfy.

'You looked better in green,' Draco told her as he rummaged in the kitchen.

Hermione flipped a rude gesture at him, her eyes not leaving the familiar text as she reread the book she knew by heart.

Draco set a mince pie for Father Christmas on the coffee table, alongside a glass of milk, and a carrot for Rudolph. Hermione smiled.

'Shove up, big bum,' he pushed her legs off the sofa.

Hermione rolled her eyes and shifted to make room. Draco wriggled into the space, shaking the sofa. Hermione flicked her wand and a cushion smacked him in the face.

'I take it you don't want this then?' Draco nodded to the fully-loaded hot chocolate floating over from the kitchen.

'I do, sorry! I take it all back!'

'That's what I thought,' he grinned, catching it and passing it to her.

Draco twitched his wand and a mug of tea drifted over into his hand as he opened his new book.

A clock started chiming, signalling midnight. Hermione looked up from her book, a dab of cream on her nose.

'Merry Christmas, Hermione.'

'Merry Christmas, Draco.'

They clunked their mugs together in a toast. Presents began magically appearing under the tree. Hermione's face lit up and she squealed like a small child.

'You know,' Draco drawled. 'In my house we had a tradition that we could open one present before bed...'

'Well, if it's tradition...'

The grinned at each other then jumped up and hurried over to the tree, where more presents were still being revealed. Draco picked up the biggest gift, and Hermione chose a squishy, lumpy one.

'You go first,' Draco offered.

'No, you go. I know what this one is.'

'Wait!' Hermione shouted as Draco began to pull off the shiny green wrapping paper. 'Who is it from? You have to read out the tag!'

'Oh, er, "To Draco, love Mother".'

Chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties and fizzing whizzbees tumbled out of the box, along with all Draco's other favourite sweets.

'That's...a lot of sugar...!'

'I may have mentioned to mother that I missed the sweets we have back home...'

'So she bought you most of Honeydukes, fair enough!'

'Shut up. Your turn!'

Hermione carefully unwrapped her present. Inside was a hand-knitted, purple jumper, with a giant "H" in pink. Folded inside the jumper was a box full of homemade fudge, cookies, and muffins. A letter was taped to the lid. Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she hugged the jumper and the letter to her chest.

'Who's it from?'

'Molly and Arthur. Weasley. Molly makes everyone a jumper every year. I thought maybe this year she wouldn't, after...y'know...'

'After her son was an idiot?'

'I broke up with him, remember?'

'Doesn't mean he's not an idiot!'

Hermione rolled her eyes, her mouth too full of fudge to reply.

'Well, I'm off to bed. The sooner I get to sleep, the sooner I can open more presents!' Draco stretched, popping an Exploding Bonbon into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out with a soft boom. He coughed out a tendril of pink smoke.

'G'night Draco, and thanks for everything.'

'Don't mention it. Night!'

*****

When Draco came out to get a drink in the early hours of the morning, he found Hermione wearing her Weasley jumper, curled up asleep in front of the tree. The letter, speckled with tears, was clutched in her hand.

Draco lifted her gently from the floor and carried her to her room. He was pleasantly surprised her door had no spells on it. Maybe she was starting to trust him?

Carefully lowering her onto the bed, Draco prised the letter from her hand and propped it up against the books on her nightstand. He tucked her in, wrapping the duvet around her.

Hermione stirred in her sleep, her eyelids fluttering. She whimpered, her lips tugging down into a frown.

'Shhh,' Draco whispered, stroking her cheek. 'It's ok. You're ok.'

Hermione slowly settled, her face softening again. Draco leaned down, his lips brushing her forehead.

'Good night Hermione. Merry Christmas.'

He slipped out of the room, his lips tingling and his heart beating uncomfortably.

Draco spotted the plate and drink left on the table. He quickly took care of it, leaving it looking like a festive visitor had paused for refreshment.

With a final glance at Hermione's door, Draco hurried back into his own room.