Just Pretend

This chapter was beta-ed by my great beta Molls. Thank you!


When Hermione came back to get Draco for the bubble bath, his room was dark. She couldn't see a thing. "Uh...Draco? Are you in here? Why is it dark? Umm..." Hermione said softly.

Strong arms suddenly wrapped around Hermione's waist. She knew that it was Draco. She leaned into his chest, as he cradled her with his arms. Who would have thought that Hermione Granger would love Draco Malfoy?

They were complete oppsites. But in their own ways, they were completely the same. Different but the same, how did that work? All of a sudden the room was lit dimly with creme colored floating candles.

"I love you, Hermione." Draco whispered hotly in her ear. "Happy Christmas, love." Hermione looked down at his hands to see a box. "Open it." With shaking hands she took the box.

Draco watched Hermione carefully. He wanted to know if she liked it or not. She slowly opened the box. When she saw a beautiful bracelet, she gasped. It was pure silver and the band was half an inch wide.

Dangling from the band were strings of snowflakes. On the frost-covered branches of the snowflakes were diamonds. "Oh, Draco. It's beautiful," Hermione said, with eyes full of tears.

"Let me." He carefully took it out of the box and grabbed Hermione's wrist. Once it was on her wrist, she held it up to eye level. It had something engraved on it. Hermione read it out loud. "Loving you is like breathing. How can I stop?"

Draco smirked when she latched on to him. "It is beautiful, Draco. I love it so much. I love you so much." Hermione held him tightly.

"It...It was my mother's." Draco said softly.

"Draco, you don't have to give it to me." Hermione said, looking into his loving eyes. You could get lost in his eyes.

"I want you to have it." He was leading Hermione back to the bed, when she pulled herself out of his arms and walked towards the door.

"I want to give you something, too. Hold on." Draco went to protest, but she had already left out the door. Draco truly loved her. Never would he let her go. He would give anything if it meant she would always be his.

Hermione came back, you could hear the soft tinkling sound of the snowflakes hitting each other. She wore a triumphant smile on her face. Draco couldn't stop himself from smiling back at her, as she came towards him with a box of her own. It had a little bow on top of it. "Open it." She handed him the box. Draco's curiosty was peaked, he wondered what the bloody hell could it be?

He opened the box, his face registering his surprise at what he saw. It was a pocket watch--a distinctly Slytherin pocket watch. It was gold and in the snake's head was the watch. He opened the snake's mouth and around the watch's face were rubies. The snake's eyes were green emeralds. The snake's fangs were diamonds which you only got to see when you opened the watch.

The watch was great but he couldn't take it from her. How much did this cost her? Probably a great deal of money for her. There was no way he was taking this. How did she pay for it? Did she steal it?

"It was my great, great grandfather's. My great, great grandmother gave it to him for his birthday. He was a Slytherin." Hermione explained as though reading his thoughts.

"So I'm not the first Slytherin to be in your family."

Hermione laughed. "Nope." Draco led her back to the bed. They never did make it to the bubble bath.

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It was Christmas Day. Draco didn't want to leave bed, he was too sore and tired. They hadn't gone to sleep until early this morning. He searched the bed for his love but found nothing but rumpled sheets. He needed food, a hot shower and some clothes. He wasn't moving too fast though. He laid his head back down on the pillow until he heard a tap on his window.

He regretfully lifted his head to see Blaise's owl. Draco was expecting to get a letter from him soon. It hurt like a bitch to get out of bed and get the letter from the owl. The owl left as soon as Draco took the letter.

Dear Draco,

I assume you will still come to my house for New Years like you always do. That is--if Granger hasn't killed you. I hope when I see you it won't be at your grave. That is if they even found your body, I don't think Granger would kill you messily.

Yours,
Blaise

Stupid Blaise why does he have to joke around like that. The git! He would have to talk to Hermione about going to Blaise's. Draco went downstairs. Everyone was there as well as a few he didn't know. They all were looking at him, still in his nightclothes, weirdly. Draco only raised an eyebrow at them. Hermione started laughing, at least she, too, was in her pyjamas.

"Draco, I left you a note this moring." Hermione said.

"I didn't get it." Draco just stood as Hermione walked up to him and ripped something off of his head. "Ow!" Draco rubbed his forehead.

"Just come on, you don't have to get dressed until later." Hermione said pulling him towards her family.

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"Draco! You hit me!" Hermione yelled. They had decided to go outside and have a snowball war. It was Hermione, Draco, her cousin Dennis, a few younger ones, and her cousin Jennifer, who was a few months older than her.

"You're the enemy, love" Draco said innocently. Draco turned around to see how his teammates were doing when he was tackled to the ground.

"Hermione, get off of him!" Dennis yelled. He only cared because with Draco, they were winning.

"Dennis, stay out of this!" Jennifer yelled. "You're upset cause you aren't winning!" Jennifer now had Dennis on the ground. The four younger kids watched as the teenagers rolled around in the snow. And they were supposed to look up to them? Right now the youngers ones were acting more mature.

"Draco!" Hermione yelled as he pinned her to the snow. "Act your age and not your dick size!" Hermione whispered harshly so only he could hear.

"I'm not letting you up until you say that I'm your master!"

"What!? Have you gone mad?"

Draco laughed. He had to think of something that she would never say. He liked being on top of her. He went to say something to Hermione when he was tackled from the side.

Jennifer was on top of Draco. "Who's your master now?" She asked with a smirk. "You make one wrong move and I will kill you." Jennifer glared as she threatened Draco.

"Aw...She likes you!" Hermione said with a smile.

Draco turned his head towards Hermione. "This is how she acts when she likes me? I wouldn't want her to love me then."

"Jennifer, I do like this one, so please don't kill him." Hermione asked. Jennifer shot Draco another glare and the got off of him. She said a mumbled "lucky" and took the kids into the house.

"They trust her with those kids?" Draco asked when Hermione was standing next to him.

"She just doesn't like people that much. This is why she doesn't go to Hogwarts. She has a private tutor." Hermione explained.

"She's a witch?" He exclaimed. Great--now the little evil killing witch could do magic! What was wrong with the wizarding world?

"Yeah. Just she and I are though. She is really smart, sometimes I think she is smarter then I am. She is a really good witch. She is an even better friend. If she doesn't kill you and you can become friends with her, you would lucky."

Draco had to wonder what made her that way? Then he wondered what house she would have been put in if she was at Hogwarts. His thoughts were interrupted as Hermione pulled him toward the house.

"Wait, Hermione, I want to ask you something," Draco said suddenly. "What do you think about going Blaise's for New Years?" Draco asked.

"I don't know. I have to ask my parents and see if they don't mind me leaving. Jennifer usually stays with me until New Years though." Hermione said thoughtfully

"Do you think she would want to come?" Draco asked, thinking there was no way she would say yes. She doesn't like people. There just is no way.

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"Come on, Draco. You have to do it!" Hermione told him.

"No way! I look stupid as it is!" Draco argued.

"Draco, sweetheart, please do it for me?" Mrs.Granger asked sweetly.

"Ok, I'll be Santa." Draco said with a sigh. He had no clue how he was suckered into this. It wasn't fair. Hermione and Mrs.Granger started to fuss around Draco. Jennifer was in the corner with a smirk on her face.

"Draco, you're too skinny," Hermione said while stuffing another pillow in the Santa suit.

"Baby, this is all muscle," Draco said arrogantly.

"Ok, now say 'Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!'" Draco tried it a few times but the girls told him he needed to make his voice deeper. The girls fussed around him a few more times.

"Ok, Draco, what do you say?" Hermione asked.

"Moo?" Draco asked teasingly. "Ow!" He yelped when Hermione hit him. "I know what to say, love." He bent his head down to kiss Hermione.

The little cousin who was watching through the cracked door gasped. She got up and ran down the stairs. She had to tell everyone that she saw Hermione kissing Santa Claus!