The Secret Snowflake

Everywhere that Hermione looked, all that she saw was student after student unwrapping presents. Wrapping paper floated in drifts through the halls, ribbons lay discarded on the stone floors and a chorus of thank-yous echoed through the school. Everyone had a gift. Except her.

In an effort to increase school unity, Christmas at Hogwarts this year had been slightly different. There had been a school-wide Secret Snowflake, which worked in exactly the same way as a Muggle Secret Santa. All the students names had been placed in a cauldron and randomly allocated, and a gift was to be given to the student whose name you received. Hermione had dutifully despatched a homework organiser to the second year that she had been allocated at the start of December and had then sat back to wait for her present. Now, just three days before she went home for the holidays, she still had nothing.

It wasn't that she particularly wanted a present from a complete stranger, she thought, it was just that her hopes had been raised by the fact that it was meant to be an activity for the whole school. That meant EVERYONE should have taken part, so someone must have drawn her name! Plus, it was so humiliating not to receive anything when all around her were children unwrapping things. She wasn't that difficult to buy for: at this point she'd even settle for confectionary. It was just that it…it wasn't fair!

Draco looked at the small parcel in front of him like it was a piece of excrement. Turning his sneer to the fourth year Ravenclaw who had plucked up the courage to place it in front of him, he paused for a moment for dramatic effect and then drawled "and what is this meant to be?"

"It's your Secret Snowflake present. Merry Christmas." The fourth year looked as though he was having teeth pulled. It was bad enough to have drawn Draco Malfoy, but now to have to stand here and be humiliated: it was quite possibly the worst thing ever to happen to him.

"How touching. I hope for your sake that you've had some genuine insight into the sort of present that I would like? Or have you been so pedestrian as to just get me chocolate and be done with it?" As he spoke, Draco's long white fingers were idly pulling off the shiny paper that covered the small box. "Oh look, you've gone for chocolate. What a shame."

Crabbe's knuckles cracked menacingly and the Ravenclaw suddenly decided that he had overstayed his welcome at the Slytherin table, and turned tail and fled. Draco ripped open the box and pulled out the small frog, holding it firmly between his index finger and thumb so as to thwart its escape. "Why is Hogwarts encouraging this kind of mindless sentimentalism? Much as I enjoy Chocolate Frogs, I don't need pathetic little runts, desperate to spread the Christmas cheer, giving me presents." He snapped the limbs off the frog and left them lying on the side of his plate.

"Did you give your person a present?" Goyle asked, staring mindlessly at the discarded chocolate on Draco's plate.

"Do you ever listen to a word I say Goyle? Of course I haven't given my person a present. In fact, I haven't even looked at who I've got."

His cronies laughed appreciatively, but the thought of the Secret Snowflake stayed with Draco the rest of the day, until he found himself using a spare period to rummage through the small scraps of paper that were clustered in his bedside table. Finally, he found the small scrap of parchment with a tiny silver snowflake emblazoned on it. Unfolding it, he saw the neat script spelling out the name 'Hermione Granger'.

He looked at it for a minute, almost unable to comprehend the sheer deliciousness of the moment. Should he carry on ignoring Granger, or should he send her something vile? Standing up, he decided the moment had to be shared with someone and rushed downstairs. No one was in the common room so, still clutching the scrap of paper, he pushed through the enchanted wall of the Slytherin common room and rushed through the dungeons up to entrance hall.

Pausing for a moment, he wondered where he should look first, and spinning round, felt his shoulder connect heavily with another person. Pulling back and clutching at himself, he plastered a scowl across his face and turned to face the object of his displeasure.

Only to be taken aback at the sheer coincidence of life: Hermione Granger was glaring back at him, looking considerably angrier than him. "Watch where you're going Malfoy."

"You were the one walking close enough to barge into me Granger. Why don't you watch where you're going?"

"Your repartee is just stunningly eloquent Malfoy." Hugging her books closer to her, she made to walk away. But Draco simply couldn't let her leave. Not when (a) she'd gotten the last word in and (b) he was meant to be her Secret Snowflake. There had to be some way he could jibe at her with that.

"What's your problem Granger?"

"You Malfoy. You're my problem. There, does that make you happy?" But she didn't even turn around, she just carried on walking up the stairs, shouting the words back over her shoulder.

"Why would it?"

"Because that's all you ever want. Face it, you're predictable." And then she was gone, rounding a corner into the depths of the school.

Draco watched her silently. They were always trying to pass some kind of judgement on him; trying to fit him into one neat little box. Didn't they realise that it was much easier to be manipulative when you did precisely what people didn't expect?

Taking the scrap of paper out of his pocket, Draco ran his finger over the script and wondered what he could do with it. Send her chocolate that would make her ill? No, that bordered on an actual offence. Send her something boring like stationery? No, she'd been in heaven. A hairbrush? Not that useful anymore, seeing as she seemed to have learnt what a comb was.

Turning back, all his plans of gloating gone, Draco wandered back to his dormitory and sat on his bed, brooding and plotting.

Hermione smiled at Harry and Ron, and gently laid her spoon down on her bowl. It was only two days before she went home now, and she was trying to resign herself to the fact that she was not going to be receiving a present from anyone unexpected. And yet, every time she told herself that, a little voice piped up, reminding her that there was still a chance for her to get something, and it was probably going to be something really special. Shaking her head slightly, hoping to drown it out, she almost didn't notice when one of the school owls swooped down and dropped a crimson envelope in front of her.

Tearing it open, she nearly dropped the letter in the remnants of her cornflakes. "I've got my Secret Snowflake!"

"Why do you sound so surprised by that?" Ron mumbled.

"Well, it's been left so late, I was just beginning to think that…well, you know, that they weren't going to bother."

The boys grunted non-committal sounds of comfort and went back to their bacon as she scanned the letter. It read quite simply:

Come to the Charms classroom, tonight at 8 o'clock to get your Secret Snowflake present.

She placed the note into Ron's open palm and watched as his eyes scanned the words. "Unusual way of doing it. Most of us have just given our presents."

"Yeah, I suppose. But hey, what's the worst that could happen?"

Draco let his eyes casually rove over to the Gryffindor table and watched as Hermione tore open the envelope and scanned his letter. Showing it to her friends, she smiled warmly. That boded well, she clearly didn't suspect anything too out of the ordinary. And now what to do with Granger.

His favourite option at the moment was to see how long she would remain sitting in the Charms classroom on her own, and then to go and make fun of her. To belittle her to the extent where she wouldn't dare try and speak back to him again.

But then, that was what he always did. So his other option was to go and give her a relatively nice present, and try and pretend to be all soft and sensitive. Then, when she fell for it and tried to be nice to him the next time, he would reject her completely; leave her out in the freezing cold of his scorn. That was a good plan. That would do.

At eight o'clock that night, Hermione brushed her fringe out of her eyes and pushed open the door to the Charms classroom. The classroom was dark and empty, so pointing her wand at a couple of lamps, she lit them and sat on the corner of a desk, resolving to wait five minutes, and five minutes only.

Just as she was beginning to think that she should go while she had some shred of dignity left, the door pushed open and an all-too-familiar head of sleek blonde hair entered the room. "You? Oh for pity's sake."

Sliding off the desk, she made to push past Draco who stuck out an arm and blocked the path out of the room, a smug smile smeared across his face. "Leaving so soon Granger? You don't want your present?"

"Why would I want a present off you? Now get out of my way!"

"Touchy. What a shame. It's a lovely present as well."

Hermione stood back and glared at him. "I don't care what it is. I don't want it."

"And I go to all this effort, setting up a secret meeting so that you wouldn't be embarrassed by little old me bringing you a present over to the Gryffindor table."

"I don't believe you for a second Malfoy. You're hardly the giving type."

"Maybe you just never gave me a chance to be the giving type. Did you ever think of that Granger?" He looked at her with a patronising smile.

"You are unbearable. Please move out of the way."

"Not until I give you your present." He half-laughed, enjoying himself more than he would have thought possible.

"You haven't even got one!"

"It's in my pocket." He answered her and then laughed at the expression on her face. "That piece of genius, if you can believe it, was entirely unintentional."

Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it towards his face. "Get out of my way or I will curse you. I swear I do not have time for this crap."

"So touchy Granger. I know you really want to get your present…"

His crooning tone pushed Hermione over the edge. Flourishing her wand, she shouted a hex and then her world slowed down.

Seeing it in hideous slow motion, she watched as Draco flung himself to the floor, letting the hex ricochet off the wall behind him and spin over her shoulder towards one of the lamps behind her. The light dimmed dramatically and then Draco was throwing himself at her, sending her crashing to the floor. Reaching up her body, he seized her wand and flung it away from them.

"What the hell is your problem Granger? I tease you, so you curse me?" He was still moving up her body so that his face was level with hers, and she was suddenly very aware of how tall and well-built he was, dwarfing her small frame.

"I gave you fair warning," she spat. "Now get off me. I don't know what you're planning to achieve through this."

"You are the most irritating, pig-headed person I know! How can you just sit there and pretend that you didn't do anything wrong?" His eyes were staring straight into hers now, the single lamp that was left casting flickering light over them.

"Because I didn't! And you're the most irritating, pig-headed person that I know, and technically I'm not sitting, I'm lying on the floor, being crushed by you!"

"Always got an answer for everything, haven't you Granger?"

"And you've always got a problem to cause, haven't you?"

"Are you honestly saying that I haven't brought some excitement into your mediocre little life?"

"I can do without the kind of excitement that you bring, if you think tackling someone to the floor is excitement."

"Whatever. You just don't appreciate the finer things in life." And despite the fact that his brain was telling him to get the hell off Granger while he still could, his body was remarkably reluctant to follow orders. Granger was warm and soft, and every instinct in his body was telling him to just drop his head slightly and press his lips against hers.

And then he saw the look in her eyes and thought that he would be well-advised to get away from her. But he still couldn't.

Hermione looked up at the grey eyes that had sneered at her, glared at her, laughed at her but had never looked at her in quite this way. They were contemplative and looked scarily like they were thinking what she was thinking: that the warmth of another body against hers was one of the most enjoyable things that she had ever felt. That the way they were pressing against each other was uncomfortable but in all the right ways. That she could just imagine his lips pressing against hers and his arms wrapping her to him. And all of this was making her more and more sure that he needed to get the hell off her and let her stand up before they crossed a line that could never be reinstated. But how were they meant to move easily away from something that felt so very right, no matter how wrong they thought it was?

So they lay there, just staring at each other, wondering what they were meant to do to break the tension that was between them. They could stand up and walk away and go back to awkwardly trading insults, or they could let instinct take over. Each knew which was the more appealing option, but both were too stubborn to make the first move, because that would mean giving up some of the infinitesimal control that each felt they had over the situation.

The seconds ticked past and Draco could feel Hermione's breath on his lips as her chest rose and fell. She could feel his body straining to remain perfectly still and maintain the equilibrium that he had.

She took a deep breath and was shocked by how loud her own whisper sounded in the tense hush of their battle. "This is…weird."

"That's hardly an adequate word for the situation Granger. Why are we still lying like this?"

"Well…you could get off me." But the tone of her voice made it perfectly clear that that was not something she wanted him to try.

"Or…you could move slightly, and we could see what happens then."

"Do we trust ourselves?"

He didn't even try and pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about. The very thought of her moving beneath him, no matter how innocently, filled his mind with images of Hermione Granger writhing naked in his hold. His throat dried out instantly and he had to suck in a breath as deep as she had.

She watched the bobbing of his throat as he swallowed and suddenly became aware of just how dry her lips were. Without thinking, she ran her tongue across them and then jumped as Draco exhaled loudly.

"What the hell are you trying to do Granger?"

She met his eyes briefly and was shocked at the intensity of what she saw there. It was precisely what she saw, mirrored back in even stormier shades. "Sorry."

Looking past his eyes, she glanced up to the ceiling and almost laughed as she saw the Christmas decoration hanging above them. He was watching her face, and almost lost his self-control when he saw her white teeth bite at her plump lip in an attempt not to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Above us." She whispered back. "Mistletoe."

He stared back down at her and wondered if he dared to do what he was about to do. "I'm guessing you know what it's traditional to do under mistletoe."

"You couldn't face me licking my lips, how are you going to kiss me?"

"It'll break the tension," he said, both of them knowing that that wasn't true, not for a single second. "And then this will all be over and we can just leave."

He knew that he was wrong, she knew he was wrong, he knew that she knew that he was wrong, but neither of them could find it in them to actually care any more. Tentatively, she moved her hands, slowing running them over his shoulders and behind his neck, entwining her fingers in his soft hair. He slid his fingers over the velvety skin of her cheek and let them move down to her jaw line, gently turning her face so that she was at the perfect angle.

Slowly, as he watched her, her gaze fluttered from his eyes to his mouth and then back to his eyes before her eyelids slowly closed over the eyes that now seemed to be the most beautiful things in his world. The few seconds that it took for him to lower his mouth and touch her lips were the longest that he had ever experienced.

When their lips touched, it was as though an electrical current had run through the pair of them. Any ideas of having one simple kiss and then pulling apart were completely forgotten. How could they possibly deny themselves something that was so insanely good? Their mouths opened, their tongues touched and they were pulling themselves closer together, kissing almost violently with their need.

Without a thought to anything other than the immediate need, unable to tear their mouths apart, they began ripping at their clothes, sending buttons scattering into dark corners and scraps of material fluttering to the floor. When they were finally able to press against each other, naked and warm in the flickering light of the single lamp, they felt more natural than they ever had in their lives.

All their earlier violence gone now that they knew there was a means to relieve the aching passion that was burning in them. Gently placing a trail of butterfly-light kisses down her neck and across her shoulders, Draco let his hands skim across the silky skin that seemed to hold the answers to all his problems. Hermione thought that he must have been scorching the imprint of his kisses into her skin, leaving her burning for him. Letting her small fingers roam across the supple muscles of his back, she let herself be moved and held close.

When they finally became one, it was a feeling of long overdue completion. As they moved against each other, their eyes latched onto each others' and didn't let go, no matter how frantic the pace came, no matter how her fingernails raked at his back, no matter how tight he held her hips against his. It was only when her eyes closed in bliss as she let out a throaty moan, and he buried his head in her neck and bit her shoulder that they were able to break away from the intensity of what had just happened and lose themselves in the convulsions that racked their bodies rhythmically.

Collapsing to the side of her, Draco reached out and pulled Hermione close to him, only truly happy when he felt her head resting on his chest. The mistletoe hung above them, shining knowingly in the flickering light.

Draco wrapped a strand of Hermione's hair around his finger and smiled to himself. She looked up and saw his expression. "What are you so happy about?"

"I think I'm beginning to understand Christmas spirit."

She laughed softly, a sound which set every single nerve in his body alight again. "I don't think this was precisely what they meant us to do when they set up the Secret Snowflake."

"Maybe not, but it's a million times better than chocolate."

"What did you get me?"

"Chocolate," he deadpanned and hugged her a little closer.

Letting her eyelashes flutter against his chest, Hermione smiled to herself. He poked her. "What are you so happy about?"

"That was a Secret Snowflake worth waiting for."

He laughed softly, a sound which made her want to throw herself on him again. "From me to you – merry Christmas."

The End.

AN: Ok, so I know pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but hey, I'm proud of this one. Not only is it the longest one shot I've ever done, but I just particularly enjoyed writing it. I really, really hope you enjoyed reading it – please review and let me know! Merry Christmas everyone – I hope you have a great one! Love…petitesorciere xxx

Ps.: To get the full Petitesorciere effect, I suggest listening to the love-y bit with Sigur Ros Hoppipolla on…it's just divine! xxx