SUMMERY: During the war The Burrow was destroyed, killing Mr. And Mrs. Weasley and leaving the children homeless. George moved back into the flat above W.W.W. Harry and Ginny got engaged and Ginny lives with Harry during the school breaks in his recently bought mansion, that was in amazing condition, considering it's last owners, The Malfoys. Voldemort was destroyed but there are still some Death Eaters running around with a grudge. Hermione was only able to reverse the spell on her mother and not her father, so she now lives with only her mother and Malfoy (who doesnt hate the Trio because they saved him even though he's a farret.), who her mother kindly let stay in the basement because she didn't want to be a grandmother. Some students were also allowed to return to Hogwarts and finish their 7th year. Out of the Trio, only Hermione chose to go back. But at least she has Ginny. Oh yea, Snape never died either, but i think it only mentions him once. (Some parts will sound like BtVs but dont worry, it is a HP fic.)

CHAPTER ONE

Winter break. Four weeks that spanned from mid-December to mid-January. Because of the war, the dorms in Hogwarts were closed, the power was shut down, and the house elves wrapped everything in tinfoil to save for the next semester. It was a time for relaxation after a semester at Hogwarts. It was a time for students to see their parents, and beg for money. It was a time to see old muggle friends, to work part-time, and to beg for more money.

Hermione Granger dropped her laundry bag and school trunk to the floor, turned and waved to Harry and Ginny, who had just dropped her off in the flying car Mr. Weasley had left for them in his will, and shut the front door. She looked left and right, then collapsed onto her couch and sighed.

She picked up her trunk and headed up the stairs to her bedroom. She was happy that school was out. First semester of her 7th year had been harder than she thought it would be. If it wasn't for her best friend, Ginny Weasley, she would be receiving one of those little letters in the mail that read "Don't come back."

Since the end of the war, Hermione had been more care free and wanted to have as much fun as she possibly could. Which meant doing what the twins normally did; play pranks, watch them play out and get out of trouble for pulling the prank. And because she was Hermione Granger, smartest witch of her age, no one suspected that it was her when Snape's wand turned on him every time he tried to cast a spell. And the times she DID almost get caught, Ginny had bailed her out every time, with a good laugh at Hermione's expense.

Tossing her trunk on the bed, she looked around the bedroom that seemed very strange after living at Hogwarts and being a runway in the war for months and months. For one thing, it was bigger. Much bigger. For another, she was used to the decorations she and Ginny had put up in their shared room, rather than the butterflies and posters on the walls that decorated her bedroom at home. Maybe during break she would redecorate. She would have the time, because her only employment occurred after the sun set and her mother was gone until Christmas on a long-planned business trip. Even then, her mother would only be home the 24th, 25th and 26th of December, then she'd be heading back to New York until January.

Hermione didn't mind that she'd be pretty much alone in the house. She'd known long in advance that her mother would be gone, had even helped pack for the trip, and it wasn't as if her mother hadn't left her before for business reasons. If she did needed anything, she could always call Ginny or George or Harry or Malfoy (who lived in the basement).

"Speaking of basements," Hermione said to herself. She grinned and headed back down the stairs. It was time to annoy her house guest by doing laundry at two in the morning on a Saturday, instead of on "laundry Sundays."

Scooping up the large bag, she headed for the kitchen. Quietly, she opened the door to the basement and looked down into the dark with an evil smile.

"INCOMING!" Hermione yelled, throwing the bag down the stairs. She hit the overhead lights on the wall, then thundered down the stairs after it. She jumped off the last step and landed with her arms upraised in a gymnast's pose. "Ta-da! Guess who!?"

"Every Hogwarts Qudditch team?" Draco hadn't even bothered to look up from the muggle magazine he was reading.

The double bed he was lounging on jutted out from the side wall five feet from the bottom of the stairs. On one side was an old, tired-looking, two drawer night-stand with a simple desk lamp, CD player-alarm clock and a picture of himself, his friends Crabb and Goyle and they were standing in front of Hogwarts. Three feet separated the opposite side of the bed from a ten gallon fish tank on a stand against the far wall. Four colorful, tropical fish swam slow laps in the water amidst fake rock formations and plastic plants.

Green and Silver Black-out curtains covered the small windows set high on the walls. Next to the washer and dryer to the right of the stairwell sat a dresser, five drawers in height. On top of the dresser was a small television and piles of CDs and a few trophies and awards he had received from Quidditch, Hogwarts and helping stop Voldemort (even if it was last minute). On the floor near it, were small towers of muggle and magical books and newspapers that looked as if they were going to collapse at any moment. A coat tree, with a Slytherin Quidditch jersey hanging from one of the pegs, stood guard several feet from dresser along the back wall.

Hermione picked up her laundry bag and went over to the wash machine. "Sorry about my mum putting you in the basement. We'd put you in the guest room if we had one." She joked. "It's two in the morning, why aren't you sleeping?"

Malfoy shrugged and turned the page in his book. "Couldn't." he looked up at this. "You're mum still think we're 'going to get it on' as she so recently put?"

Hermione laughed as she loaded her clothes into the washer. "No, I think she gave up on that."

Malfoy and Hermione had a strange friendship since the end of the war and the downfall of Voldemort. Sometimes they got along wonderfully, other times they were at each other's throats, and both of them ignored the physical attraction they felt for one another. Neither of them consciously wanted to get involved in a romantic relationship. Unconsciously, however...

"Hey, did Mum leave any instructions about Christmas?" Hermione asked, taking more things from the laundry bag and tossing them into the washer.

"I was drafted into getting the bloody tree with you," Malfoy replied. "She wants it up this weekend."

"Don't sound so excited."

"Granger, what do I care about a Christmas tree?" Malfoy said. He stuck scrap of paper in the book and closed it, then tossed it on the bed beside him. "Or Christmas, for that matter?"

"I know this is your first Christmas since your parents passed away, but it'll be fine." she said as she sat down next to him and played with his hair. "I'll make all the things your mother would make for supper." she said in an attempt to make her friend feel better.

"Nah. Thanks anyway. If I'm going to get past their deaths then I can't have you decorating the house the way mum used to and cook like she used to. I'll be fine. I promise." he said as he hugged her. "Besides, Christmas wasn't always that great with my father. I don't really want to be reminded of him."

Hermione got up and added soap, closed the lid to the washer and turned it on. "Well, I'm going to go unpack. Sun sets at four-fifteen-ish tonight which means any left over Death eaters with a grudge might be out. So I wanna go through the town real quick make sure they aren't up to anything and then we can go tree hunting."

"Joy."

Hermione rolled her eyes and headed back up stairs, leaving the very depressed blond alone with his thoughts. When he got this way, it was better to just leave him be and let the storm pass.

later that day

"There's mail for you, Granger." Malfoy said, setting the pile of mail he'd retrieved on the kitchen counter. He took a seat at the island table with the newspaper and a cup of tea painting a picture of domesticity that made Hermione grin. Despite his bad boy looks he could be any normal 18 year old sitting down to plan his evening, rather than an 18 year old wizard, who got his kicks from playing Quidditch and making fun of her ever chance he got.

"Thanks," Hermione said, leafing through the mail until she found a standard white envelope with her name scrawled acrossit in beautiful penmanship. There was no post marking, stamp or return address. Curiosity peaked, she took a knife out of the kitchen drawer and slit the top. She put the knife away, then pulled out the tri-folded white paper.

Hello,Hermione

That was all it read. The words were written in the same beautiful penmanship, centered on the page, and there was no signature.

"Huh," Hermione said, a frown marring her brow. "This is odd."

Malfoy glanced up from the newspaper. "What's odd?"

"I think I got a secret admirer," she told him, passing him the paper.

He read it and a frown much the same as hers appeared on his face. "Let's see the envelope."

"It's got nothing on it," Hermione told him, handing him the envelope. "It's probably George playing a prank." She smiled enthusiastically. "Or maybe Morgan from school. I wouldn't mind having him as an admirer."

Malfot pursed his lips, causing his cheekbones to become more prominent. Just because he couldn't touch her, didn't mean he wanted anyone else to touch her, either. "Perhaps," he replied, folding the letter and sticking it back in the envelope. He finished off the rest of his tea, then rose and washed the cup out in the sink. "Ready to go, Herms?"

"Yep." Hermione said, sliding her winter coat on. She grabbed her wallet with the money for the Christmas tree in it and stuck it in her pocket. She quickly checked to make sure she had her wand, then followed Ron out the kitchen door.

Hermione looked over her shoulder, scanning the darkness.

"What's wrong, Herms?" Malfoy asked, looking around as well. "Company?"

"No...I don't..." She frowned. "I got that 'someone's walking over my grave' feeling."

"That could be why," he said, nodding towards the large, cloaked creature that bounded out of the bushes ahead of them. The figure looked in their direction, dropped down in attack position, baring its silver mask and wand.

"Death Eater." Hermione said.

"I'm gonna have to agree." Malfoy said and the fight was on.

She ran straight at the figure, grabbing its attention as Draco darted behind it. She punched it in the nose, then spun and kicked it in the same spot. The figure yelped and growled, chanting ferociously and tried to hex her.

Draco grabbed the Death Eater's cloak and jumped back when its right hand swung at him. He spun, yanking the figure around and let go. The Death Eater flew several feet and hit the ground with a thud.

Hermione glanced up at he sky, checking to see if there were anymore Death Eaters coming to help. To her relief, it was an empty sky, so she needn't worry that there would be another fight. She gestured to Malfoy to corral the Death Eater between them. The blond wizard hurried around the far side of the figure. The Death eater continued to send hexes at them, which they easily dodged.

Draco made a sudden moved and it jumped around, facing away from Hermione. Hermione used this to her advantage. She pulled out her wand and sent a killing curse straight at the figure. She looked up at Malfoy and let the Death eater drop to the ground, dead, when she heard it.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound echoed around them, not allowing either of them to pinpoint the direction it came from. It was a slow, hollow clap.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Chills ran down her back. The steady clapping felt more threatening than a horde of Death Eaters, especially since she couldn't see who was doing it.

"Who's out there?" Hermione called loudly. Draco was slowly turning in a circle, listening carefully for any signs of a sound that might help them tell who or what was clapping.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

She rounded the dead Death Eater and moved to Malfoy's side. Her eyes darted from shadow to shadow. Another shiver ran down her spine as the clapping continued.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Draco growled softly in frustration. He couldn't tell where the clapping was coming from. It was unnerving. Hermione put her hand on his arm and he glanced at her. Her eyes were round with traces of fear. His hands clenched into fists and he yelled, "Show yourself!"

The clapping stopped.

The duo waited, tense and ready to move at the slightest sound. The cricket's chirping and other noises of the night were the only things they could hear.

later that night

"You say it just stopped?" George asked, questioning Hermione later that night in the flat above his shop.

"Yeah," Hermione said. She rubbed her arms. "It was really weird."

"And no one was there?" George continued.

"We waited for ten minutes before we left," Hermione replied. "No one even breathed."

"Ferret?" George looked Malfoy.

"I didn't see a bloody thing," Malfoy said.

"Well, for now, keep on your guard," George instructed. "If it is a new Death Eater, the sooner we know who he or-or-or she is, the better." He stuttered. After the war George had stopped talking for months. But Hermione had got him to start talking again and because he hadn't talked in so long, he now stuttered every now and then.

"Got it," Hermione said. She stood and put on her coat. "Come on, blondy. We have a Christmas tree to find."

"Yeah, I know." he said as he said good bye to George.

Hermione walked over to George and stood on her tip toes. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Christmas, George. We'll talk to you later."