Count Your Blessings

Hermione purchased Quality Potions for two galleons and ended up waiting while Ron tried to count enough knuts to pay for a tiny book he had on the counter. When Hermione leaned over to read the title, Ron quickly slammed his hand over it and looked at her. The sound he made caused several people around them to look up in interest before turning their attention elsewhere. His ears went pink as he finished counting his money and handed, literally, a handful of coins to the clerk. The clerk eyed him and grumbled about students using all of their spare change. Ron quickly tucked the book under his bright teal jumper and cleared his throat.

“Ready?” He asked, his voice croaking when Hermione raised a sculpted eyebrow.

She didn’t pry. Whatever Ron had bought was his own problem. She was curious though. It wasn’t very often that Ron went to the trouble of counting exact change out, let alone buying a book, AND not letting her see what it was. She forgot about it once they stepped outside as the cold nippy air attacked them.

Hermione tried to shield herself from the wind as they trudged their way to the Three Broomsticks. Eventually, Ron pulled himself in front of Hermione to shield her from the wind, taking all of it. He was such a gentleman when he wasn’t trying to act like one. They managed to reach the Three Broomsticks without trouble, although Ron had slipped on ice three times and once when Hermione was trying to help him up slipped. They both ended up back flat against the icy ground but erupted with laughter.

The place was crowded and there was hardly any room to get by. Hermione had to snake through crowds, break couples up by walking straight through their hands, apologizing of course, until she reached the back of the establishment. Ginny and Luna sat in one corner, giggling over something in a bright pink bag between them. Harry sat looking bored with his chin resting on his hand but perked up when he saw the besotted Ron.

Ron’s face was red and he looked as if he had run face first into a table. Three caps were askew atop his head and a scarf was trailing behind him, tangled in all the others. He plopped down next to Harry with a loud groan and leaned his head back. Hermione sat beside Luna, who had looked up and at Ron. Ginny looked up as well and leaned over to greet Hermione. They exchanged looks as Luna basically bore her bright blue eyes into Ron, who had his eyes closed and mouth open like a large bass.

“I’ll get us a round of butter beers,” Harry said, breaking Luna’s gaze on Ron.

“I don’t think you can get through the crowd,” Hermione said, straining a little as she looked around the large group of people.

“I suppose so,” Harry replied in defeat, plopping his chin onto his hand again.

“It’s fine, Harry. I’m not thirsty anymore,” Ginny said lightly, rubbing his arm. Harry seemed to perk up with her touch and smiled at her.

“Gulping Plimpies really like butter beer. It makes their skin soft,” Luna said lightly, causing everyone to look at her with a confused look.

She tilted her head to the side and parted her lips to speak, “Would you like a butter beer, Ronald?”

Ron snorted and looked down at her, his caps tumbling off his head as he looked at her. Blinking, he looked to Ginny and Hermione as his ears turned pink.

“Uh…”

“Here you go lads and ladies,” came the voice of Rosmerta who was carrying a tray of bottled butter beers. “I had to wriggle my way through the crowd but here you are, sorry for the wait.”

Everyone looked at each other in confusion as Rosmerta placed a bottle in front of everyone. Harry dug into his pockets for a few galleons but Madam Rosmerta just shook her head and held her hand out.

“Already paid for, Mr. Potter.” Her light blue eyes danced across everyone’s face, except Ron who had already popped open his bottle and began chugging it.

“By who?” Hermione asked, looking around the crowd. Her eyes landed on the table across the way and she smiled.

Draco sat against the wall with an arm around the chair where Pansy sat. She was busy chatting to Daphne and even leaned over to smack Millicent in the back of her head when the heavy set girl didn’t nod at her every word. Blaise and Theodore were arguing over something but Draco looked plain bored. Until he saw her eyes looking at him. He seemed to perk up and grinned that famous Malfoy grin, wriggling his eyebrows.

Madam Rosmerta spoke but her voice was blocked out when a loud crash echoed across the place. Two students crashed into one another, throwing punches, and ramming into one another. A few students laughed loudly and chanted, “Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

In a flash, the pretty Rosmerta darted into the crowd telling them to break it up. The group quickly forgot about the free butter beer and everyone dug in. Hermione sat with her finger on the tip of her bottle and stared at Draco. Their eyes met again for a brief moment before his face was turned by Pansy’s hand as she whispered something into his ear.

Hermione went back to her drink and leaned over to see what Ginny was talking about while Luna gave her butter beer to Ron and warned him not to chug it too fast just in case Krumbled Korkies were awake. They gave bad stomach aches apparently. Ron just raised an eyebrow and took a smaller swig before Harry and him got into a conversation about Quidditch.

----

The rest of the week went by quickly. Christmas was coming up and Hermione was feeling a little excited to be taking a break from school work, which was odd considering she had checked out a few ‘light reading’ books from the library. Ron, of course, made a comment that what she considered ‘light reading’ was what normal people considered a year’s worth of reading. She didn’t care, she liked reading.

When everyone was asleep, Hermione sat against her head board and flipped through the pages of Quality Potions. Every so often she’d stop and read the description of a potion she thought might fall under the one she was suffering from. Twisting her lips to the side, she closed the book and leaned over, putting it onto her nightstand in the same spot she normally had. She paused when she spotted Crookshanks wander up to her bed and jump up easily.

He crawled up to her carrying something in his mouth. She first thought it was another rat, secretly hoping it was Peter, but normally it wasn’t. Crooks dropped what he had in his mouth onto the bed beside her and to her surprise it wasn’t a dead animal at all, but rather a small package. Hermione looked around and grabbed the small package. She shook it and heard something clinking in it.

Slowly unfolding the package, Hermione tilted her head to the side as she noticed that it was a box from Jenkins’ Jadeite Jewels at the end of High Street in Hogsmeade. Her eyes widened when she pulled out a small silver bracelet that held a few little charms. Hermione looked down at Crooks, who had rolled over onto his back and firmly passed out. A note fell from the box and landed on her lap. Hermione quirked a brow and pulled it up until the moonlight.

She unfolded it and watched as the writing, in elegant print, glistened in a midnight blue. The words shone briefly and ran across the parchment like an ad, but it wasn’t. It was a letter, from Draco:

“I saw this and thought of you.
-DM
p.s. Your cat tore up my shoes, you owe me.”

Hermione grinned and looked down to Crooks, bringing her hand down to rub his belly. His leg twitched and he mewed pleasantly. Holding the bracelet up, she watched as it latched onto her wrist and shrunk to a comfortable size. Hermione leaned back against her bed and watched as each charm twirled around and lit her canopy of curtains up with the night sky. Stars twinkled and there were a small shower of shooting stars. She closed her eyes and smiled as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep, her hand clutching the twinkling letter.

---

The next morning there was an announcement on the Common Room board indicating that students needed to sign up if they were planning on staying over break. Hermione was invited to the Burrow for the Holidays and planned on filling up the going away sheet before the day was out. She found that she was too busy with trying to get to class on time that she didn’t have enough time to sit down and fill it out.

She was nearly late to Potions because Ron had fallen through the invisible steps and she and Harry spent fifteen minutes trying to pull him out. Luna had also lost her shoes and blamed Nargles, but Ron helped find them and she beamed happily at him but he didn’t seem to notice. Ginny had a run in with Pansy Parkinson but when Draco arrived around the corner, she was forgotten. Everyone was running late as the snow seemed to slow down everyone’s bodies.

Hermione had worn two sweaters in potions because it was freezing. Hot in the summer and cold in the winter. She overheard Ron complaining about freezing off his ‘jingle bells’ and Harry laughed. His laughter cost Gryffindor five points from Snape, but Hermione won them back by answering a row of questions correctly. She knew Snape just wanted her to shut up and give others a chance to answer.

She would, ever so often, feel the prickling at the base of her neck whenever she knew Draco was looking at her. Hermione felt his hand brush up against her when they were working on a Life Extender potion, one that healed severe injuries caused by certain hexes. Of course, he’d still snidely comment on her inability to crush Walhog berries correctly, and she’d admonish him about how much dragon blood he poured into their cauldron.

Ron and Harry were having too much of a difficult time wrestling with the bouncy Walhog berries that they didn’t notice the subtle exchanges between Hermione and Draco. She was sure of it because if they did, Draco would be flat on his back and hexes would be thrown. They finished their potion first and Snape awarded them nothing, as usual. He did, however, look between them especially when Hermione blushed after Draco whispered how attractive she looked squashing the berries.

“That was brutal,” Ron said as they exited the dungeons, slinging his bag onto his shoulder. “I can’t believe you and Malfoy didn’t get into it.”

Hermione shrugged, “It’s a matter of being professional, Ronald. He wasn’t about to lose house points or his grade.”

“Besides, why would he cause trouble? You’re the smartest witch of the century,” Harry added, trudging up the stairs between Ron and Hermione.

“Oh, thank you Harry but I don’t think I’m the smartest witch. There are plenty of bright witches.” She said with a small blush on her cheeks, she really did like those compliments.

The trio split up once they got to the library. Hermione had to return some books and Ron and Harry were going back to the dormitory to get ready for Quidditch practice. The library was rather full and so she had to find a place in the back. She set her school books onto the table and pulled the parchment out ready to complete it.

“Oi,” Draco’s voice echoed in the small nook.

Hermione turned and looked over her shoulder. He was standing against a bookshelf with his hand resting above him. He looked damn good with a loosened tie and the top button of his shirt undone.

“What are you doing?” He asked, take a seat next to her.

Draco rested his arms on her pile of books as Hermione spoke. “I’ve been invited to the Burrow for Christmas Holiday.”

She looked at him and watched his jaw twitch. He held a face of indifference for a moment before leaning over and snatching the paper. Hermione frowned and reached for it.

“Give it here, Malfoy.” She said, trying to pry it from his fingers as he had balled it into a tight wad.

“Why not stay here for Christmas Holiday?” He asked, causing Hermione to halt and sit back down.

“Why would I stay here? Ron and Harry are going to the Burrow.”

Draco shrugged, “I’m staying here. You could stay with me.”

She quirked an eyebrow and watched his expression change a little. “I told them I would go to the Burrow for the Holiday.”

“Well cancel,” he leaned forward a little, “Think about it Granger. We’ve been shagging every night for weeks. Imagine what it will be like when you’re in a house full of red headed weasels. Male weasels.”

She groaned and looked away, her mind trying to figure things out.

“Why aren’t you going to the manor?” She asked him instead.

Draco shrugged, “Don’t feel like it. Our family is not very Christmas oriented. Sure I get a lot of gifts but I always end up opening them alone. Mum likes to go to Spain and my father is too occupied with….his job.”

Hermione felt his hand touch her arm, his thumb rubbing hers lightly. “Think about it.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers lightly, touching her charm bracelet. “I like that, where’d you get it?”

Hermione looked down and smiled, “Oh I don’t know. Some insufferable git who think he’s god’s gift to women.”

Draco grinned and pressed his lips against hers again, “That’s not a bad thing, now is it? He apparently admires you out of everyone.”

“Yeah,” Hermione sighed dramatically, “When he’s not busy being a prat to everyone he’s not so bad.”

Draco and Hermione exchanged glances and laughed. They heard Nott’s voice shout for Draco to hurry as they were going to be late for Divination. He rose out of his seat and pecked Hermione on the crown of her head before leaving. Hermione sighed and looked down at the bracelet. She rose and packed all of her books, glancing down at the crumpled parchment in front of her. Grabbing it, she tossed it into the bin and made her way to McGonagall’s office to sign up to stay in Hogwarts over the break. She’ll break it to the boys later.