Hallelujah - A Christmas Story

A/N: Enjoy! Slight lime/lemon ahead.


*

She dreamt of him again. She dreamt that they were huddled together in their favorite spot, enjoying the feeling of being naked in each other’s embrace. He was kissing her bruisingly, passionately, hungrily as she ran her hand across and over his stomach, feeling the taut, toned planes of his stomach, moaning in delight as he nipped at her lips. She leaned her head back in the lush pillows and he pressed his lips against her throat, bathing the column of her flesh in joyous, playful kisses. He grinned as he snaked his hand down to her breasts, plucking at her nipple as she writhed under him.

It was their first time together and he had never been happier.

As Lucius continued to roll her nipple in his finger, he realized that he had never felt such unadulterated joy with another human being. He had loved Narcissa, of that he was sure, but she never returned that love and passion the way Hermione was now. And unlike Narcissa, who thought the nude body was an ugly thing to be ignored and touched only when necessary, Hermione reveled in her nudity, laughing and joyfully tickling Lucius as the two of them rolled naked around his bed, ending with her on top of him.

It was a wonder they had managed to conceive Draco at all.

She smiled at him as she started to kiss his throat in answer to his own ministrations, watching his eyes close and his body relax at the pleasure that ran through his body. She raked her teeth down his throat, earning her a sharp hiss and then a low growl as she licked the hollow in between his collar bones. She worked her mouth down the rest of his body, paying special attention to his nipples. She felt the strong muscles bunch under her mouth as she danced across his stomach, dipping her tongue briefly into his belly button. She worked her way all the way down, until she finally captured his fine, hard member in her mouth. Lucius arched off the bed in unabashed pleasure, his fingers flexing into Hermione’s riotous curls.

He could scarcely remember the last time someone had so lovingly, tenderly, and passionately taken him like this.

They spent the rest of the night exploring each other in the dark, whispering secrets against each others skin. They tumbled and tossed on the bed, the moon rising and then beginning its’ descent. They watched the sun come up together, exhausted yet unable to sleep. Lucius was carved around Hermione’s body, his strong arm pulling her tightly against his flesh. Her ass rubbed against his most private part, but they both knew that after watching the sun ascend into the sky, they would be chasing Morpheus into fevered dreams.

Hermione tried to fight against the urge to wake up. It was so nice here in her warm bed, where memories of Lucius were welcome and wanted. Here, under her covers, she did not have to pretend that all he had ever done was hurt her. Here, under her sheets with the silk of the nightie he had given her against her skin, she could remember the good times they had shared. There had been glorious moments of happiness, pure joy, and love. There had been days when they laughed themselves crazy, rolling around on his bed as they clutched their sides.

They truly had been am amazing pair.

Whenever she thought of the good days, a sour memory would follow. The argument they had had when she had come back from Draco’s funeral, to find him half dressed, sitting in front of the fireplace with three empty bottles around him on the floor and another in his hand. They had fought that night, Hermione banishing herself to a room far away from his. Lucius had thrown one of the bottles at the door after she had slammed it, the sound of breaking glass chasing Hermione down the hallway as she ran to a bed, any bed that wasn’t his in the damned spacious Manor.

Breakfast the next morning had been very somber. Lucius had arrived late, an ice pack clutched to his temple. As soon as he sat down, Hermione began to bang around her plate and cup, just to spite him. After fifteen minutes of this, he had walked over to where she sat and, with one sweeping movement of his arm, sent all the dishes and food to the ground, the china dishes breaking upon the ground as the food made a mess of the wooden floor. Hermione looked at him with fire in her eyes, ripped the ice pack from his head, and slapped him across the face. Lucius had been unmoving in his anger, drawing in a deep shaky breath as she sat there, chest heaving in her enviable anger.

They had ended up half naked on the table, Lucius pounding viciously into her as her red handprint blossomed across his cheek.

She turned over in her bed, gripping the covers tightly.

If only she could remember only the good memories, and throw the rest away.

There was the night they had made love in his gardens, the stars blazing trails of light across their bodies as they moved against each other, seeking a shared pleasure that only they knew how to drag from the other’s body.

It hadn’t just been about the sex, either. It had also been the friendship, trust, and joy they had built up before Draco’s death. They had included Draco in many family dinners, laughing the first time he had walked into the kitchen and found them snogging against the counter like teenagers. Draco’s face had gone even paler then it normally was, with twin dots of pink blossoming on his cheeks. Hermione had never seen Draco blush before and it made her laugh even more, breaking away from Lucius as she doubled over, clutching her sides. Tears streamed down her face as she fought for breath, two identical sets of eyebrows rising at her mirth. She just smiled and shook her head, still laughing as she hugged Draco.

There had been joyous times.

She awoke slowly, the memory of Draco’s face ingrained in her head. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the white light that was spilling in from the window.

She really did love the snow, but it would make trekking through the cemetery that much harder.

*

Hermione stared down at Draco Malfoy’s tombstone and sighed. Loving Son, Nephew, Classmate, and Friend. As Draco had been an only child, and his father had no siblings and his aunts had one child between them, his tombstone had been very easy to draw up. It had been a simple affair; one Hermione had the displeasure of helping Lucius with.

As she looked at the simple piece of black marble with veins of darkest jade running through the stone, she realized that she had picked out what was to be on Draco’s tombstone and how it would look. The Malfoy coat of arms and slogan, along with the crest for Slytherin House, were etched into the right and left corners of the tombstone, respectively. It was simple, yet effective, allowing the whole Wizarding world to see Draco’s loyalties, even in death.

She was bent over, placing her simple bouquet of holly and ivy down on his tombstone, when she heard the snow crunching behind her. She closed her eyes briefly, kissing the tips of her fingers before pressing them into the cold marble. She stood to her full height, the sound of footsteps having quieted as she was saying her goodbyes.

“He really did love you. You did all you could have done for him,” Hermione said, turning to find her ex-lover standing behind her, his black cloak outlined with the softest fur money could buy. His hair was pulled back from his face by a silky green ribbon and his eyes were surprisingly clear. Hermione thought that he surely would be drunk this day, as he could barely manage to hear Draco’s name unless he had his drug of choice flowing through his veins.

“I failed him,” Lucius said, as he walked up alongside Hermione, his gray eyes boring holes into his only child’s tombstone. “I asked Narcissa if she wished to accompany me this year, but I received no reply. It’s as if he never existed to her.” Hermione sighed; she had heard this from him before.

“Narcissa loves your son, just as much as you do. Neither of you are to blame for what happened to him,” Hermione said, her heart constricting at the pain that crossed his face.

“If I had never gotten involved with that damned half-blood, putting my family in jeopardy, then Draco never would have felt the need to prove that he was a good wizard, a man worthy of respect. He wouldn’t have pushed himself to become an Auror, pushing himself so hard that he would grow tired and restless on a mission. He never would have died if I would have been a better father,” Lucius knelt down in the snow, unmindful of the clumps of wetness that were clinging to his cloak as he brushed the snow off his son’s tombstone.

“That is a circular argument. He could have died walking out his front door one day,” Lucius looked up then and his eyes cleared for a second, as if he saw Hermione there for the first time.

“I saw you last night. You came, just like I asked,” Hermione’s heart broke as she looked at him kneeling in the snow, his eyes hopeful at the joy of having seen her last night. “And you came today, knowing I would be here.”

Hermione turned her eyes away from Lucius’ gaze, her heart breaking even further at what she had to say next. “I came for Draco, Lucius. Not you.”

He stood up then, taking a small step towards her. “They say that grief is for the living, that those who weep for their loved ones are doing it for themselves, and the people affected by their deaths,” he reached out a hand to touch her, thought better of it and slowly let it drop by his side. “Having you here today means more then I can ever tell you.”

Hermione felt as if her heart had completely broken, shattering into a thousand pieces in her chest. She looked at Lucius, really looked at him for the first time, and noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes. His cheeks were hollow and it seemed that his expensive cloak hung from his shoulders. His hair was not nearly as lustrous as she remembered, having spent a fair amount of time twining the gloriously soft white-blond hair in her fists as they furiously made love.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, the smell of Lucius invading her mind. He smelled the way she remembers, warm and masculine. A lazy smile traced her lips as his scent invaded her senses, her lips parting as her eyes fluttered open, to find Lucius standing nearly face to face with her.

“The Gods above know how I have missed you, Hermione love. Come back to me,” Lucius pleaded, his eyes narrowed in pain and longing. Hermione snaked her tongue out to lick her dry lips and Lucius was suddenly there, capturing her lips with his.

He kissed her gently, tenderly, his hands cupping her cheeks, afraid she would disappear. It was a kiss like their first one, a stolen kiss initiated by Lucius and finished by Hermione. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled her down to him, feeding greedily at his soft lips. He smiled against her lips, tears falling from his eyes and rolling down her cheeks where they skin touched. She smiled back, pulling apart because she longed to see his face.

“I love you, Hermione Granger. I swear that I will do right by you.”

Hermione blinked slowly, leaning her forehead against his. “And I you, Lucius Malfoy. I swear that I will stand by your side through everything.”

The two shivered as they felt the magic swirl around them, both smiling wider as they knew that this was a Vow they could both live with.

Draco’s ghost peered out at them from behind a tree and smiled. He felt himself begin to fade as he watched them kiss one more time, before Apparating back to his Father’s Manor.

That had been his Christmas wish, a wish he had been suffering with for two years now. Now, he could rest in peace.

*

A/N: So, being American and all, I had no idea that in the UK they only eat pancakes one day a year. That seems silly to me. Pancakes are amazing!!!!! So, even though it may not be accurate to the time and place, we'll just say that for this story, pancakes abound in England and muggles eat them all the time.

I love pancakes. SO GOOD!!! But thank you to whomever caught that (werewolfim, I think). And for those of you who knew what the connection between Artemis, Selena, and Luna were - good job! I'm glad you enjoyed my name game.

Two or three more chapters. I am going home tomorrow for winter break and I have a deadline, damn it!!