I leaned against the wall of the seventh-floor corridor, shrinking into my jumper a little to stay warm in the drafty castle. The winter holidays started tomorrow, and since Dad and I still weren't on complete speaking terms, we had come to a mostly civil agreement that I would spend the first half of the Christmas holidays with him, and then the rest at the Burrow with Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys.
It seemed that even after I had finally managed to get my man back, the universe was going to try its damnedest to keep us apart still. Tonight, for example - I had thought that after dinner I was free to get ready to meet Draco before we separated for the holidays, but Harry cornered me to talk about another stupid Death Eater Draco theory. Once I managed to brush him off and scurry up to the Common Room, Rosie dragged me into a gift-giving party with her and Elinor that I had, unfortunately, forgot about, so I had to hide Draco's present behind my back while I gave my girlfriends their gifts.
After lots of squealing, thanking, and tearful "I'll miss you"s, I managed to duck out of Gryffindor Tower and head for the seventh floor, where I now found myself struggling to stay warm as I waited for Draco. I looked down at my outfit, cursing myself for trying to dress cute instead of practical - I had donned a small black velvet pleated skirt, a ruby red jumper, and red tights with black ballet flats. Fashionable and festive? Yes. Warm? No.
"Well, this is the best Christmas present I've ever gotten."
I looked down the corridor and smirked, blushing a little when I saw Draco sauntering towards me with one hand hidden behind his back and the other shoved in his pocket. "Do you say this to every girl you see in the halls?" I teased, placing my hand on my hip and raising an eyebrow. Draco grinned, pulling me into him and looking me up and down. "Only the ones who make me forget how to breathe properly." I really blushed at that remark, smiling shyly up at him.
"Let's go inside," I said quickly, turning to face the blank expanse of stone wall. "We need to celebrate the holidays." I thought over and over, looking at the cold, grey stone. Almost immediately, a small wooden door materialized in the middle of the stone and I took Draco's hand, pushing it open. Once inside, we shut and latched the door tightly, taking in our surroundings with awe.
We were in a small living room. It didn't look like the living room of Snape's house, and I was almost certain that there was no room in Malfoy Manor that looked remotely like this. It was warm and cozy, with soft couches full of blankets and pillows and a stone fireplace with a fire already roaring in the grate. The entire room was decorated for Christmas, complete with a glowing tree and warm lights and garland strung everywhere.
"What is this place?" Draco said, walking a little further into the room. "My creation. I just...imagined what a Christmas with you would be like. Away from all of the madness, just the two of us." I said, and when Draco turned to look at me, his face was positively glowing - maybe at the idea of us celebrating Christmas together one day, far away from here? "Merry Christmas, Draco," I said softly, walking over and placing my hands on his cheeks, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. "Merry Christmas, indeed." He said, smiling and kissing me back.
When we broke apart, I could see in his eyes the question he didn't want to ask. "An hour. Then we have to be in our dorms to catch the train tomorrow." I said, and Draco nodded, a little resigned. I absolutely hated how we never had enough time together, and how it took such a toll on our relationship no matter how strong we tried to be.
"Do you want your present?" I said, trying to lighten the mood and from the change in Draco's expression, I knew I had succeeded. He grinned and nodded and we sat down on the couch. I pulled his present from the pocket on my skirt, a piece of parchment rolled up and wrapped with a bow. I handed it to him and he undid the bow, and it took all my willpower not to giggle at the expression on his face when he saw that his Christmas present was just a blank piece of parchment. "Is this a hint to take up drawing?" Draco joked, and I shook my head.
"You said the Death Eaters are starting to monitor everything, right? Well, I worked out a way that we can talk to each other with no one else knowing. The parchment is enchanted. Whatever you write on it will appear on an identical piece that's sitting in my trunk right now. And, whatever I write on that one will show up on yours. It disappears after a few minutes, and it's completely undetectable." I said, and Draco beamed at me with pride. "You're brilliant. I love it, Isabelle." He said, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.
"So, where's my present?" I said jokingly, and Draco laughed. "Close your eyes and hold out your hand." I obeyed, biting my lip in excitement. I felt something small and cold being placed on my wrist, and I opened my eyes to see a small silver chain bracelet around it. I turned my hand over and my mouth fell open a little when I saw a small silver circle with something engraved on it - the Malfoy family crest. "Draco, only Malfoys are allowed to wear the crest, I'm a Potter and even I know that," I said, looking at him wide-eyed. Draco smiled, taking my hand in his. "I know."
I looked at him for a second and then gasped. "Holy hippogriffs, Draco, are you proposing!?" I exclaimed, not sure whether to be overjoyed or horrified.
"No! No, not at all, Isabelle! I mean, not that I wouldn't want to but we're only sixteen and it's just that-" "Draco." I said firmly, cutting him off. Draco took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before speaking again. "It's not a proposal, Isabelle. But it's a promise. A promise that I fully intend to keep, because I want you to be Isabelle Malfoy one day."
I practically launched myself at Draco, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him hard as tears sprang to my eyes. He wanted to marry me. He wanted us to get married and have a family and grow old together. Draco pulled me into his lap so I was straddling him, holding me there and kissing me back with fervor. I could have stayed like this forever - wrapped up in my lover's arms, doing what we do best, but both of us knew in the back of our minds that our time in this room was coming to a close and fast.
We stayed like that for a few moments more, reveling in the quiet stillness of the room, save for the crackling fire, and the soft glow of the lights around us. "It's only for the holidays." Draco murmured, chuckling when I refused to let go of him when we stood up. "Three whole weeks without you," I grumbled, looking up at him with sad eyes. Draco leaned down, pecking me lightly as we walked towards the door. "Don't the muggles have some kind of saying that goes 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'?" He said, and I nodded. "Yeah, they do. It's hippogriff shit."
Draco laughed loudly, and the sound brought a smile to my face. He had seemed so stressed lately that seeing him like this, relaxed and happy because of me, made me feel invincible. "We can try out that magic parchment of yours, yeah?" Draco said as we reached the door, both of us stalling our inevitable. I nodded, hesitating for a second before wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, burying my face in the crook of his neck. "It's not forever, Isabelle. And just think, one day soon, we'll have forever all to ourselves." He said, rubbing my back soothingly. I smiled against his skin, thinking about the amazing future Draco and I had ahead of us and suddenly, three weeks didn't seem so awful after all.
------
I was wrong. three weeks was absolutely awful. I made it all of three days before I packed a bag and left Snape's house, escaping through the Floo Network to the Burrow. I could hear him yelling from the drawing room when the roar of the emerald green flames echoed through the downstairs, but I had disappeared into the fire just as he walked into the kitchen.
I landed hard in the Weasley's large fireplace, stumbling out of it onto the kitchen floor as I tried to find my balance. Coughing and brushing the soot off of me, I looked up to see a kindly-faced Mrs. Weasley standing in front of the sink, smiling at me. "If you can't handle the Floo Network, how are you going to handle apparition, dear?" She said, coming forward to brush some soot from my hair and face. I chuckled, giving her a hug. "You just missed dinner, but I can whip up something quickly if you'd like?" Mrs. Weasley offered, and I shook my head.
"No, please, don't trouble yourself. The fact that you're letting me spend Christmas here means everything to me. Would you mind if I just settled in for the night?" I asked and Mrs. Weasley nodded, kissing my forehead before walking back to the sink to finish washing the dishes. I smiled sadly at her retreating figure, a bittersweet feeling filling my heart. Her love and attention had been a constant since the day I met her, and I was always treated like I was one of her own children, but it made me feel sad - I couldn't help but imagine my own mother in her place, worrying about my studies or if I was getting enough to eat, arguing with me about how I styled my hair, or giving me advice about boys.
As I walked into the living room, I raised my eyebrows when I saw Harry and Ginny sitting quite close to each other on the sofa, feeding each other Christmas sweets. "Hi, Isabelle!" Ron said cheerfully, walking up behind me and giving me a side hug before settling down between Harry and Ginny. I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh at the flush on Harry's cheeks and the annoyance on Ginny's face. "Come with me Isa, I'll help you get settled," Ginny said, throwing her brother a venomous glare before leading me up the stairs to her room.
"You get the other bed this time, Hermione is on holiday with her parents so she won't be joining us." Ginny said and I set my bag down on the bed, smiling gratefully at her. "I really appreciate you guys letting me stay here. Christmas at Snape's house isn't really a jolly affair. And I know my brother appreciates you lot letting him be here as well." I said, winking at Ginny and laughing at the scarlet blush that covered her face. "I'm that obvious?" She said and I nodded, sitting on the bed and patting the space next to me, holding her hand as she sat down.
"Yes, but he's not much better. Trust me, I know my brother well enough to know when he likes someone. It's taken him an entire millennium to open his eyes, but he likes you, Gin." I said, smiling warmly at her. Ginny squeezed my hand, returning my smile. "Thanks, Isa. Oh, is this a new bracelet?" She said, seeing the flash of silver under my jumper sleeve. My heart froze in horror as she pushed the sleeve up before I could stop her, and I knew from the look in her eye that she recognized the crest. "No." She said, staring at me in disbelief. "Ginny, please, let me explain," I begged but Ginny didn't listen and instead jumped up, bolting for the door.
I grabbed my wand and pointed it at her bedroom door, casting "Colloportus!" and sealing the only exit from the room. Ginny quickly snatched her wand from the dresser but I was one step ahead of her, pointing mine at her and whisper-yelling, "Expelliarmus!". Ginny's wand flew into the air and I quickly caught it, earning me an incredulous and angry look from Ginny.
"Isabelle, what the bloody hell are you doing?" She hissed, and I threw both our wands on the bed, holding my hands in front of me. "Please, Ginny, just hear me out. Please." Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me, nodding her head for me to go on. "You have one minute." She said simply and I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself.
"I know what you're thinking. And you're right. This is the Malfoy crest, and I'm wearing it because I'm dating a Malfoy." Ginny's mouth dropped open but I rushed on, not allowing her to speak. "I've been dating Draco since our third year, and he's not a bad man, Ginny. He's not. He's nothing like the things that Harry is accusing him of and he's certainly not a Death Eater." I insisted, lying through my teeth. "He's a good man, he's kind, he loves and protects me, and he has a good heart, Ginny. He really does." Ginny frowned, looking at the door and looking at me.
"You know, if Harry asks me about this-" She said but I raised a hand to cut her off. "I would never ask you to lie for me. But Harry doesn't suspect a thing. He's pretty damn thick in the head for someone who hangs around the brightest witch of our age. All I'm asking is that you don't rat me out and expose Draco and I because I'm a big girl, Ginny. I'm old enough to make my own decisions and get myself into trouble if I want. None of this has been smooth sailing but we've managed to stay together for over three years. I'm in love with him, Gin, and he loves me. I know that this is a terrible secret to keep but please don't reveal us before we're ready."
Ginny bit her lip, taking all of this in and thinking for a few moments before speaking. "I won't say anything. But like you said, if Harry asks me, I'm not going to lie to him. I hope you know what you're doing, Isabelle." Ginny said, taking her wand from the dresser and casting the Alohamora charm on the door, walking back down to the raucous living room.
I sat on the bed with a thump, a huge sigh leaving my body. I had spent three years dodging questions and tripping up and almost getting exposed to all our friends, but now I was placing the secrecy of Draco's and my relationship in the hands of a woman who I normally believed I could trust with anything, but now...maybe not. Looking out the window to the moonlight fields beyond the Burrow, I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them. "Two weeks and four days." I murmured to myself, my mind drifting off to a future Christmas spent far away from here, with snow and mistletoe and a certain silvery-blonde haired man.
(A/n: MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS!!! I know it's not even Thanksgiving(USA) yet but my gc on Twitter just got our Secret Santa sorted so I'm in a Christmas-y mood! Thank you so much for reading, my lovelies! I hoped you loved this chapter and if you did, make sure you subscribe to me or add this story to your reading list/library to get notified every time I update - Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday! Love y'all!! - H xx)