Silver and Gold (A Dramione Fanfic)

Chapter 17

   Draco fought to keep his face impassive as Hermione picked up his gift to her. It's shiny red ribbon gleamed in the sunlight as she examined it. She turned to him, questioning, but he kept his face as impassive as possible. Turning back, she carefully untied the ribbon, letting fall away. Her hands visibly shook as she tore through the wrapping paper and opened up the little black box.

   Her eyes lit up at the spectacular necklace Draco had bought her. She gave an audible gasp as she examined it further. He grinned. She whipped around to face him, beaming, but instead of speaking she moved forward and enveloped him in a tight hug. He responded immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her hair. It smelled intoxicatingly like green apples with a hint of cinnamon.

    He was fighting to keep his control and composer, but maybe not quite as hard as he had fought earlier that morning. The sight of her, cheeks rosy, hair messy, and with front of her dressing gown open, had almost made him lose control. Yet he was determined to remain in her trust. He would contain himself.

    He stayed there, hugging her, until she pulled away. Pushing through the fog that seemed to surround his mind, he reached over and pulled the box carefully from her fingers, brushing the soft skin on the back of her hand lightly. He pulled the chain from the place underneath the pendant and undid the latch. Hermione moved her hair to the side. Slowly, still kneeling in front of her, he reached around to clasp the necklace, his hands brushing the soft skin of her neck.

    Her cheeks were a little pink as he sat back, grinning at her. She gave him a small, awkward smile in return and cleared her throat.

    "Er... Draco?" She asked, looking rather embarrassed. He loved the way his name sounded rolling off of her lips. "Thank you."

    "No problem," He said, "Now c'mon, I've still got my presents to open."

    She smiled, unconsciously fingering the chain of the necklace, as he stood. He held out a hand to her, which she took, and he pulled her up off of the floor. She steadied herself and followed him to his room.

    His pile was slightly larger than hers. He knelt down before it, next to her, and took a quick inventory; most were from his mother. A green-and-gold one was from Blaise, a silver one from Pansy, and a scarlet one from Goyle. Nott hadn't gotten him anything. A dark, midnight blue package with a silver ribbon caught his eye. He picked it up, looking it over.

Draco

    That was all that was written on it, in neat, looping script. He glanced at Hermione, who looked as if she was trying to suppress a smile. Grinning again, he untied the ribbon and tore through the paper. Inside was a black box, bigger than the one that had held the necklace, but not much bigger than his fist. He lifted the lid carefully.

    Inside was a silver wristwatch. It gleamed as he delicately removed it from its red velvet lining. It's hands were silver, as were its numbers, against a dark green face. He had been in need of a watch since a few months ago, when his had mysteriously gone missing on the Hogwarts express. He had seen a second-year Gryffindor wearing one that looked suspiciously like it a day later. Now, he turned to Hermione, and, grinning even wider than before, slipped it on.

   "Thank you, Hermione," He said, trying to convey all of his sincerity into those three simple words.

   "It's no problem, really, Draco," She replied, looked hugely pleased at his reaction.

   The continued opening his presents, but Draco was determined to keep his enthusiasm on a short leash. Finally, after another quarter-hour of presents, he had finally gotten through his pile. He waited for her as she freshened up and got dressed before he did the same, and together they went down to the Great Hall for a spectacular Christmas feast. There were hardly any people to attend, of course, but significantly more than normal. The war had left many orphans.

   They sat side by side, unnerving and unsettling a quite a few people, but Draco couldn't care less. Once fully stuffed with turkey, boiled potatoes and Christmas pudding, he pulled her aside.

   "Go on up to the common room," He said, "I'll meet you there."

   "Er... why?" She asked.

   "You'll see."

   She gave him a slightly miffed look and turned away, presumably to head up to the common room, he turned back in the other direction, towards the kitchen. A few moments later, and he stood outside the painting of a bowl of fruit. The entrance to the kitchen. Feeling rather foolish, he reached out and tickled the pear. It gave a giggle. A green door handle appeared simultaneously, and he grabbed it and pulled open the door.

   He was suddenly surrounded by house-elves. A wizened old one whom he recognized stepped forward to greet him. This particular house elf had shriveled skin, white hair only in his ears, and a large golden locket around his neck. His name was Kreacher, and he had been very helpful to the Death Eaters in Draco's fifth year.

   "Mr. Malfoy," croaked Kreacher in his bullfrog's voice, bowing low enough for his snout-like nose to touch the ground.

   "Hullo, Kreacher," He greeted halfheartedly. He didn't much like Kreacher.

   "Is you be wanting anything from Kreacher, sir?" He asked.

   "Just a couple hot chocolates will do."

   The house elf nodded in response and turned around, slipping back into the recesses of the kitchen to fix some hot chocolate. In the meantime, Draco was offered a plethora of cakes and sweets, all of which he turned down. After about a minute of this, he thought he just might yell at them all, get them to go away, wipe the sappy smiles from all of their faces. Luckily, Kreacher came back just in time.

   "Your hot chocolates, sir."

   He took the steaming tray from Kreacher's long-fingered hands and turned. Without so much as a thank you, he left the room.