Dramione One-Shots (Collection)

Christmas in the Coatroom

Written by gracediamondsfear

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21854221

***

MALFOY FLAT, LONDON

They were late for the Ministry Christmas Party that he didn't even want to go to and wouldn't were it not made painfully clear that while not mandatory it was HIGHLY ENCOURAGED for all upper level employees to MAKE AN APPEARANCE. Hermione, who for some unknown reason loved socializing and spending time with other people, did her best to keep spirits high, pouring Draco drinks as they got dressed, feeding him little mini mince pies and singing carols at the top of her extremely, painfully off key voice. But he was still pouting as he tied his tie for the third time in front of the bedroom mirror.

"When you start making parties a requirement for the staff, that's when you know things are going straight to hell. Not even Voldemort demanded we celebrate as a group."

He checked the tie, snarled at his reflection, untied it and prepared to start again before Hermione walked up and worked on it herself.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy," she said, folding the black silk in on itself (Draco felt that using charms on fabric did damage to the fibers and wouldn't allow it) "I think they knew that when they did away with the silent auction and the live music and all of the other things that getting anyone to come voluntarily would be a hard sell. But there's still an open bar, and we'll still have our friends there, and we still have things to celebrate this Christmas, don't we?"

She smiled, her engagement ring glinting off the low light of their bedroom sconces. He sighed in resignation and kissed her hand, arranging his hair one last time. There were always paparazzi at these things, waiting for some sort of scandal. When he and Hermione announced their engagement there was a collective sigh of disappointment that their relationship hadn't ended in a knock down drag out fist fight in the middle of Diagon Alley.

"Look here, Granger. We'll stay for...an hour. Two at the very most," he said, wagging a finger in her face. It was a very particular finger, as it wore a black leather ring; the miniaturized version of her collar that she wore during their playtime. He wanted to make sure that she saw him wearing it; and he would do so all night, casually tapping it against a glass, twirling it with his thumb. "And then we'll come home," he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her in close, "and celebrate the coming holiday in our own, traditional way."

"Or," she said, raising an eyebrow and kissing the M signet ring on his third finger, "we could enjoy the company of our friends, partake in the free baked brie and creme caramel and stay until the very end, and celebrate just like we did the first time."

THREE YEARS EARLIER

The only good thing Malfoy could say about the Ministry Christmas Party was that it was one of the finest open bars he'd ever ransacked. With every cocktail he ordered he demanded the top shelf liquor and watched carefully to make sure the bartender poured generously...after all, he'd lured their service with a full galleon tip the minute he'd walked in the door. Other than the bar there was the standard buffet of substandard food, a band he'd heard at a thousand other functions, drunk witches tripping over their heels on the dance floor, drunker wizards laughing too loud at jokes that were not at all funny...

And Granger.

Stupid brilliant big mouth gorgeous perfect Granger wearing black stockings with a seam running up the back.

He'd been working on her floor for nearly a year, attending meetings, suffering weekly "team luncheons" that were like having a leg slowly sawed off, and she'd been nothing but friendly, professional, fair and...beautiful. She was so achingly, god damned beautiful that it just didn't even make sense to him how he'd missed it before. Of course he'd been an idiot for a long time in his younger days. It had been nearly ten years since the war, and old school loyalties and rivalries were long gone. He could simply look at her as a witch...a co-worker, a woman. A bloody amazing woman.