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C H R I S T M A S S P E C I A L
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Mal's POV
I gathered my belongings and closed my suitcase. Finally, Christmas.
Ever since my fight with Draco in the library a couple months ago we had smoothed things over, in our own way I guess. We just didn't talk about it, I wore his bracelet the next day and I saw him look at it and smile, but neither of us acknowledged it again. That's just how our... friendship? works, I guess.
I put on my winter coat and scarf and headed out of my room, suitcase in hand. I saw him there, sitting on the couch, with his legs on top of his suitcase and his face buried in his hands. I sighed and put down my suitcase, heading over to sit next to him.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"What a ridiculous saying." He didn't move from the position I had found him in. After a couple seconds he sighed, "I don't want to go home."
"You hate it there, don't you?"
"My mum's not bad, it's just... I don't want to go and have my father rub in my face how much of a disappointment and failure I am." I felt myself relating to this bit of information a tremendous amount.
"Yeah, your dad sounds like an idiot." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"You're so lucky."
"Me?" I raised an eyebrow at him
"Yeah, I've met your parents. Sure they have one major flaw: they're muggles." I glared at him. "But other than that, they're nice... I mean annoyingly nice to the point where even I feel bad being mean to them. Your father is so laid back, he jokes around with you a lot, it's pretty evident he loves you."
"Yeah, he does." I smiled, remembering how lucky I am to have found the Grangers.
"See? Lucky." It wasn't always that way. "But me, I have to go home to a screwed up, abusive father." I shivered as I recalled that night and how my birth father was with me before I got adopted.
"Screw that." I said it out loud before being able to think fully of what I was about to say.
"What?"
"Come home with us."
"Mal? We've got to go!" I heard Mione call out from outside the Slytherin common room door.
"I'm going!" I called out. I looked back at Draco, "C'mon. It's Christmas, it's supposed to be fun." He hesitated for a couple seconds before finally giving in and getting up to come with us. I smiled and grabbed my suitcase, heading over to face Mione's wrath.
"Mal, you took forever. What was the—" she looked over at Draco and glared at me, "No. No no no no no. He is not coming. He already came once this year, does he really have to come again?"
"Listen you mud—" Draco began.
"Alrighty then..." I interrupted, "let's play nice, it is Christmas after all. Just for these two weeks, sounds good?" Neither one of them said anything for a while and finally Mione sighed.
"Fine. But he calls me that name one more time and he's gone." She glared at him.
"Draco?" I looked at him expectantly. He groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I'll be as 'nice' as I can be. Happy?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
I smiled. "Very."
"Can we go? Mum and Dad will be waiting for us." Mione hurried us along.
"Yeah, let's go." I picked up my suitcase and we all boarded the train on our way to our parents' house.
Draco's POV
December 24th
I watched as her head rolled back in laughter and pretended to give her a mean glare.
"You told me we were going to this guy with magical powers who can get you anything you want for Christmas if all we did was sit on his lap and say what we wanted!" I ran my hand through my hair, causing small icy snowflakes to fall.
"And you believed me!" She laughed even harder.
"We are wizards! So god forbid I believe you when you say there's a guy out there with those types of magical powers."
"That's a story parents tell their kids, children typically from ages 0-9. That's the type of people who believe it, except of course you."
"Yeah I realized that when we were the only ones over 4'10... well, except for you of course. You're still as tall as an 8 year old." I teased her and she rolled her eyes.
"I'll have you know I'm 5'2." She announced to me proudly, as if that height was so much taller.
"Congratulations, now you can go on the big kid rides!" I made my voice high pitched to mock hers, even though that was not her voice at all, and she smacked my arm.
"Well, excuse me for not being a tall... snow covered, white tree."
"Hey! I'm not a snow covered white tree."
"Yeah... sure." She rolled her eyes at me and I huffed.
"Well, at least I'm not as tall as a toddler!"
"Nope, you're as tall as a giraffe." She took a good look at me for a couple seconds, "and you've got the neck as one too."
"Take that back!" I had no more defenses.
"Or what, you'll tell your father? Look at me I'm trembling." She laughed victoriously. She knows she won this round.
"Shut up, Kat." I rolled my eyes.
"I mean you actually sat on his lap." She hugged her stomach again, complaining about the cramps she was getting from laughing so much.
"That is not my fault, Christmases at my house aren't the same. There's no tree or colorful gift wrapping, there's just gifts, if I'm lucky enough, unwrapped." I looked at the floor to avoid her seeing the sadness I knew appeared on my face
"This year you can enjoy it the proper way, how it should be." She tried to cheer me up as we walked inside a park.
"Yes. I think it's nice, you know?"
"What is?"
"The story of the guy with magical powers they tell children."
"His name is Santa Claus." She laughed again.
"Fine, Santy Klaus or whatever, you get the point. They tell them these nice stories, fueling their imagination, allowing them to dream, you know?" Even I surprised myself with the way I was speaking so openly to her right now.
"Yeah, they should appreciate it while it lasts."
"What do you mean?" I asked and motioned for us to sit on a bench. She sipped on her hot chocolate.
"I mean they should appreciate the fantasies while they last. They should appreciate every Christmas story, every 'Happily Ever After', every fairytale, every heaven vs hell story, everything that makes them see the world through rose colored glasses. All that crap."
"You don't believe in any of that?" I asked and she shook her head at me. "That's a pretty bleak outlook on life you got there."
"I think of it as a realistic outlook. I mean, do you believe in it?"
"Well, maybe not the conventional way but honestly, I have to believe there's more out there than just..." I looked around, "this."
"I mean, we all know Santa isn't the one that puts presents under the tree. And there are no fairy tales in life, no fairy godmothers to save the day, no 'Happily Ever After', no one love that consumes every part of your being, as if you couldn't live without them, no heaven or hell, when you die you die. That's it."
"Woah there Granger, that clearly has a lot of issues to unpack."
"Yeah..." she said simply and looked out into the trees, as if she was no longer here and her eyes glistened with fear, fear of a darkness unknown to me that she's clearly faced before. After a few moments she seemed to snap back into reality and smiled at me, but I could still see the smile did not reach her eyes. "But that's life, you know? It sucks but it's all we've got." She shrugged and stood up before I could ask her any questions, "we should start heading home, it is Christmas eve after all."
"Will there be the huge feast I've heard about?" I rubbed my hands together with excitement but played it off as being cold.
"You see... not a huge feast but my mom cooks well, and my dad can bake, so hopefully it won't disappoint any expectations." She turned around and we started slowly walking back to her house, in comfortable silence.
When we were on her front lawn, I saw the darkness that had clouded her mind before still clearly evident in her face and did the only thing I could think of: I picked up a snowball and hit her in the back of her head. She turned around slowly and glared at me, but despite her attempt at an intimidating posture I could see that devilish grin of hers start to form on her face.
"You shouldn't have done that." She put her shopping bags to the side and picked up a snowball, attempting to hit me but I dodged it.
"You've got some bad aim there Granger, so disappointing." I teased, trying to cheer her up.
"Me? Bad aim? Never." she rolled her eyes and picked up another snowball, this time hitting me in the chest with it, "see? Told you." She stuck her tongue out at me.
I threw another snowball at her and some snow landed on her tongue. She laughed as the cold snow melted in her mouth and prepared another snowball, preparing to make another move at me but I was too quick for her. I threw a snowball at her and hit her ear, hiding behind a big tree before she could come at me again. A few moments passed and I didn't hear her, I peeked out of the tree a little, to look for her but I didn't see her. I looked to the other side and didn't see her there either. Did she leave? My suspicions were proven false when I felt a lot of snow suddenly go on my head. I shook the snow out of it and looked up to find her sitting above me on the tree.
"Told you I had good aim." She smiled and I took her arms, pulling her off the tree to the ground, she struggled against my hold and we both slipped, falling to the ground. I made the stupid decision of shielding her from landing face flat on the ground and I fell flat on my back instead. Ouch. I groaned in pain and she laughed, I felt the rise and fall of her chest as she laughed while still on top of me from the fall. "Are you alright?" She asked, still not moving, and I made no effort to remove her either.
"Yeah, I'm tough. A little fall won't break me."
"Ok Mr. Tough Guy." She rolled her eyes and touched my hair, shaking some snow off it. I looked at her as she did so and couldn't look away. She's so pretty. I realized a little too late that she caught me staring at her and pretended to look at a snowflake on my eyelash. "Like what you see Malfoy?" She teased me just as I had once done her.
"Yes." I admitted shamelessly, knowing she wouldn't believe me.
"Yeah ok." She rolled her eyes and got up, extending her hand to pull me off the floor as well. "We should go inside."
"Good idea." I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice as I got up and shook some snow off, ready to head inside for my first "real" Christmas.
Hermione's POV
I watched them from the window as they play fought, and couldn't help but wonder if this was the side to Malfoy my sister saw everyday, not the loathsome cockroach I did. I felt my mom's hand on my shoulder and looked up at her.
"I was just--" I tried to explain me spying on her.
"Checking up on your sister?" My mom put it nicely.
"Yeah." She sighed and leaned to look more clearly through the window.
"Those two are..."
"Annoying?" I suggested.
"No." my mom rolled her eyes. So that's where Mal got it from. "In love." What?
"What?" I looked at my mom like she had grown a second head.
"You don't see it?"
"No. Of course not."
"Look," she and I leaned close into the window, "look at how he's smiling. I rarely see that boy smile, only when he's with her." I saw my sister start climbing up the big tree in our front yard, the same one Malfoy was hiding behind.
"No. Malfoy doesn't love anyone but himself, I don't even think he loves his parents."
"I beg to differ. Oh! Look!" She smiled big and I looked to find what she was smiling at.
Mal had just covered his head with snow. Nice job Mal. Now he'll surely want to leave. Instead of yelling at her, he pulled her down and they slipped and fell. I didn't fail to notice how he landed on his back, making sure she didn't get hurt, despite how much that fall must've hurt him. Now she was on top of him, both of them laughing. It's true, this might just be the first time I've seen Malfoy laugh. I watched as Mal moved some snow away from his hair, but the thing I truly noticed was how he looked at her. I've seen that look before: it's how my dad looks at my mom, how Professor Lupin looks at Tonks, how Ron's dad looks at Molly.
Bloody hell, he is in love with her. No. He can't be. He's going to break her heart. Maybe she doesn't feel the same way.
I leaned in closer to the window and saw how Mal looked at him, how they locked eyes and looked at each other as they talked. Goodness, you would think they'd jump in front of an Avada Kedavra spell for each other, despite how most of the time they act like they would be the ones firing those spells. As if they could feel us looking at them Mal suddenly got up and pulled him up to start heading back here.
Oh no.
I took my mom's hand and pulled her away from the window so we could busy ourselves and pretend we hadn't just been spying their very intimate interaction.
"We're ho-ome." Mal sing-songed as she came in.
"Hello." Malfoy said curtly, his smile had wiped off his face when he stepped inside, as if guarding himself from letting others see how happy and carefree he could truly be. Maybe my mom's right, maybe Mal's good for him. But she's too good. He doesn't deserve her. And I will do anything I can to make sure he doesn't get her.
"Mal, sweetie, you want to get started on your specialty?" My dad asked her and she nodded, already pulling her hair up in a ponytail to get started.
"Her specialty? I'm intrigued." Malfoy leaned on the kitchen island and watched her as she took her ingredients out of the fridge. She set all the ingredients down on the kitchen isle, including a packet of strawberries which Malfoy grabbed and popped one into his mouth. Can you believe him? He's acting like this is his house.
"Hey! Don't eat that!" She took the packet of strawberries from him and pouted. "They haven't been washed, plus I need them for 'my specialty.'" She looked at our dad and smiled, he came up and kissed her forehead. She's happy. She wasn't 6 years ago, and I am not letting him ruin her. I went up to Malfoy.
"Can we talk?" I nodded for him to come upstairs with me.
"About?" He spoke to me like in the 5 seconds of me coming here he was already tired of me. Jerk.
"Just come. It's important."
"Fine" Hs rolled his eyes at me and turned back to my sister, "I'll be back."
"Where are you two going?" Mal asked as she cracked some eggs into a bowl.
"Granger's just gonna give me a blanket for later tonight." Malfoy made up a quick lie.
"I told you you were gonna get cold, you don't listen."
"Shut up. When I come back I want to see if you truly live up to what your dad said." He smiled at the playful annoyance in her face and popped another unwashed strawberry in his mouth.
His smile was erased as soon as he turned back to me and he followed me up into my room. "You want me in your room, Granger? I don't think your Mum and Dad would like that very much." He smirked as he came inside.
"Shut up. You need to leave." I ordered.
"What?" I could tell he got annoyed. Too bad I don't care.
"Leave."
"And I would listen to you because...?"
"Because this is my house. Despite Mal making you feel welcome, you're not."
"What did I do this time Granger? I haven't called you a mudblood since I got here." I cringed at the mention of the name.
"I saw you."
"You saw me...?"
"With Mal. Outside." His face immediately grew more serious and he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"So now you're spying on us." He teased me, but I wasn't about to fall for this surprisingly decent mood he was in.
"I wasn't spying, I was checking in on my sister. She feels this insane need to keep you from harm because--" I stopped myself immediately, she hadn't told Malfoy about the vow or the bond and I had a feeling she wouldn't want me to.
"Because?"
"Because unlike you she's a good person, she's kind, and pure, I don't even understand why she got put in Slytherin."
"How well do you know your sister? Because yes she is all you claim but she is also willing to move anyone or anything in her way to get something she wants. She has plans, she wants a life bigger than this. She's smart. She's ambitious. That is why she's a Slytherin, and rightfully so."
"Whatever that's not the point, the point is: you need to stay away from her."
"Yeah, sure." He scoffed.
"I'm serious. I saw the way you guys looked at each other out there. She can't fall for you Malfoy, you'll destroy her, just as you do everything." He inhaled sharply and his shoulders dropped unconsciously, his face looked... defeated? He knows I'm right.
"Yeah, whatever Granger. It's not like I like her or anything." He looked at the floor. Bloody liar.
"You and I both know you do. The important thing is that she doesn't. Because if she thinks she actually has a chance of... saving you or whatever it is she thinks she's doing, she won't stop until you destroy her. We all worked hard to get her to where she is, do not ruin that."
"You're really fucking bothered by this aren't you?"
"I'm just trying to look out for her."
"Me too." I was thrown aback by his response.
"You are?"
"Yes. I won't hurt her."
"That's the thing, you may not realize it but you destroy everything good that comes into your life--"
"How in the fucking hell would you know that?! You don't know me. And you don't know anything about my feelings or my not feelings towards your sister. So no. I am not leaving, that would hurt her." He crossed his arms over his chest, a silent challenge.
"You stay away from her once Christmas break is over, got it?"
"No. I know you're used to everyone listening to you because of that bossy attitude of yours, but I'm not falling for it. I don't take orders from you or anyone else. Especially not in regards to Kat." With that he stormed out of my room and headed downstairs. I grabbed the first blanket I saw and followed him down.
Draco POV
"Here, try." Kat took some of the batter on a whisk and motioned it in front of me. I looked at Granger once before turning to Kat and licking it, loving the anger I saw on Granger's face.
"Ok... not bad." She rolled her eyes and swatted my arm.
"It's good, just wait till it's actually baked."
"What are you even making?"
"It's a surprise, you'll see." I watched her as she baked away, slightly biting her lip as she concentrated. I had come to notice those small little habits of hers, and what they mean. When she bites her lip a little she's concentrated, when she tugs at a strand of her hair she's frustrated or anxious, when she constantly flips her hair from one side to another she's nervous. And my particular favorite: when she plays with her bracelet she's flustered and trying to calm herself down. I like that my gift is what she uses to calm down, it's like knowing I gave it to her soothes her. As I watched her bake I felt Granger glaring at me the whole time, but of course it couldn't have anything to do with the way I did the complete opposite of what she asked. Instead of staying away from Kat, Granger's frustration made me want to be even closer to her, I made an effort to constantly touch her, even if it was a small touch. A brush of her hand here, a playful tug on her hair there. I wiped her cheek with my thumb when some flour would land there and she didn't even notice.
After a while Granger finally stormed out of the kitchen to go set the table, and I still found myself constantly touching Kat in the small ways I did, I don't know what it is but I felt the need to touch her, to be close to her at all times. Every touch sent a spark of electricity through me, and I refuse to believe it was a result of friction.
"Voila." Without even realizing it, Kat had a big plate full of... flat pancakes? But they were beautifully decorated, with an assortment of sweet sauces on little cups to choose from, as well as an assortment of fruits on a plate.
"Your specialty is... flat pancakes?" I asked her and she rolled her eyes.
"No you fool they're not 'flat pancakes'" she tried to lower her voice to mimic mine and I couldn't help the laughter that escaped me, "they're crepes, and they taste amazing."
"Let's see about—" I attempted to grab one but she hit my hand.
"No! These are desserts. I'll put them in the middle of the stove to make sure they're kept warm, you go sit."
"Fine." I rolled my eyes and helped her put the fruit plate on the fridge and headed over to the table, where a furious Granger was already sitting. Kat, oblivious to the tension came and sat next to her sister and directly across from me, smiling at both of us.
"Malfoy, I know this is your first Christmas with us and we are happy to have you. We do start off by saying one thing we're grateful for." What is this? Thanksgiving? "I typically start so..." Kat's dad stood up and cleared his throat, her mom noticed he was nervous and took his hand, rubbing small circles on it. He visibly relaxed and began, "I am grateful for my wonderful daughters, my beautiful wife, and for being able to have food on this table tonight."
Her mom got up and began, "I am grateful for my two daughters, for my caring husband, and..." her eyes landed on me and I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, "for you Malfoy, the moments you've been here are moments where I've seen a sparkle in my daughter's eye" her tone shifted to be slightly more serious, "and I hope that sparkle isn't taken away from her." She gave a polite warning to me and sat down. Great, it's Granger's turn.
"I'm grateful for my wonderful parents, who I know will do anything for us, and my sister..." Granger took Kat's hand and pulled her up, "who has made my life so much brighter for being in it, and for always being careful." Kat's look of appreciation turned to confusion at her sister's last words. I glared at Granger, that was a jab at me. She didn't have to make Kat uncomfortable.
"Right, my turn" Kat started playing with her bracelet and I looked down at my plate to smile, "I am grateful for my parents who I really really love, thank you for everything you have done for me, seriously, I wouldn't be anywhere without you," her voice cracked and I looked up at her. I mean yeah they're her parents but they've always been there, it's not like it's a new thing. "And for my brainiac sister, who helped give me the confidence to stand firmly and not let anyone drag me down. And for Draco," My eyes widened and I unconsciously leaned forward on the table, slightly eager to hear what she was going to say. "For teaching me that people are not always their first impression, when you get to know them, you can see they're the complete opposite." I tried to keep a straight face but my eyes betrayed me and I started to smile. Granger scoffed and Kat kicked her under the table.
That's my girl. What? No, wait, she's not my girl. Not yet anyway. No wait, never will be. I battled with my subconscious and didn't realize it was my turn. I stood up hastily and tugged at my sleeves.
"I am grateful to all of you, really, for allowing me to interrupt your regular Christmas special. And for Kat, for being the one who always looks out for me." I saw her smile fade and immediately panicked.
Did I say something wrong? I tried to say it as right as I could. She started tugging at a strand of her hair. Damn it! What's wrong with her now? What did I say?
I sat down and we began eating, but I couldn't focus on my food when I was so focused on the fact that ever since I gave my little appreciation speech she refused to look at me. Whenever I spoke she would either look at her plate or right past me, and this time I really made an effort to speak, so much so that the muggle Grangers were both surprised by my version of being 'talkative'. After dinner, I saw Kat get up to fetch the dessert she prepared and saw my small window of opportunity, I got up to talk to her.
"Kat, what's wrong?" She shook her head but still didn't look at me. "Did I say something?" She took an obnoxiously long time to unwrap the plate and I took it from her hands and held her chin up to look at me. "Talk to me."
"I'm fine, honest." She tried to smile at me but I knew when she faked a smile, it didn't reach her eyes.
"I didn't mean to say anything to upset you, you are always there for me somehow." I saw a darkness cloud over her mind and she looked away from me again. This is so frustrating! I should've bought that stress ball she told me to buy today. I ran my hands through my hair and tugged at it, walking behind her as she headed back to the table. While we ate I actually complimented her dessert, and still she gave me a very small, very polite, smile. She should be a little more grateful, I don't compliment often. I ignored my subconscious and tried to be patient but she is making it really hard. We finally finished eating and after I washed the dishes I took my regular position on the sofa. Yes I washed the dishes, we had house elves for that stuff back at my house but again, I'm trying here.
"We usually open presents on Christmas Eve, not Christmas day, do you do it differently at your house?" The muggle dad asked me and I shook my head. It's impossible to do a tradition differently if there are no traditions to begin with.
We all opened our presents and I saw everyone's face light up, the muggle dad had gotten Kat's mom a necklace with her daughters' names on them. Kat had gotten Granger a Polaroid camera, to which Granger got up and hugged Kat tightly, thanking her repeatedly. Where she got the money from, who knows? Her mother gave Granger some new school supplies and of course Granger was beyond grateful. All that girl does is school, of course she'd be happy. The muggle parents surprisingly got me a gift as well, a black leather sketchbook with a set of pencils, which I thanked them and gave them a small smile for. Kat's reaction to everything was unfortunately all I paid attention to, her parents had gotten her some new acrylic paint, paint brushes, and canvases. I didn't even know she was interested in art. Granger gave her sister some new shoes, which Kat jumped up and hugged her for. They're just shoes, and they're all black, it's really not that big of a deal. Still, her smile never reached her eyes.
Kat suddenly went up into her room and came back with a small box, and handed it to me. I looked at her with a confused look on my face and she simply shrugged. I opened the box: her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird. Of course she doesn't know I read it as soon as I got my hands on it, but I'd much rather keep this one. I smiled as I scanned through the pages, they were a bit worn down, an evident demonstration of how much she loved the book, and there were little notes and scribbles in the pages, pointing out her favorite lines and commentary. This is much better than the brand new version. I thanked her silently and put my present under my pillow. I'll look through it in more detail later. I watched as she fidgeted with her charm bracelet and felt bad for not giving her anything. Soon.
Everyone finally went upstairs and when I knew they would all be asleep, I took a small bag I hid under the couch and headed to Kat's room.
Mal's POV
I didn't expect anything from him, the charm bracelet he gave me for my birthday was a surprise enough, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit sad. I bottled up the feeling and put it away. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when he mentioned I was always there. I couldn't tell him about the vow or the bond, the things that made me be there. I started drifting to sleep when I felt the weight shift on my bed and a cold hand shake my shoulder.
"Kat?" Of course it's you. I rubbed my eyes and sat up.
"Yeah?"
"I wanted to give you something." He handed me a small, forest green bag and I smiled as soon as I looked inside.
A black t-shirt and his white button down uniform shirt, both would fit me slightly big but that's not what matters. I looked at him and smiled, moving to sit next to him and put my head on his shoulder, inhaling softly. "Thank you Draco."
"I liked how my shirt looked on you so... you know." He shrugged and I put my hand on his.
"It's a good gift, thank you."
"I liked your gift."
"Really?"
"I thought we could..." he took out the book from his back pocket and handed it to me, "I thought you could read it to me." I smiled and pushed the book back to him.
"What if you read it to me this time?"
"Alright." He moved to sit with his back against the headboard and pulled me to sit next to him. I leaned into his neck and he wrapped an arm around me and held the book with his other hand. He started stroking my hair as he began reading, "When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his..." I started falling asleep, enjoying his scent and listening to his soothing voice as he read to me.
That's when I knew. I knew that even without the vow or the bond, I would still have been there and will be there for him, every single time. For this boy that hadn't received enough love in his life, I could only hope I could provide some satisfaction for what he had been missing out on.