Ch. 43

Weeks passed, and the chill of winter spread over Hogwarts. At first, Hermione and Ginny were uncomfortable with the stares they were receiving from other students, primarily other male students. Draco and Blaise became rather protective of the girls, growling at any of the men who decided to stare at them. But after a couple of weeks, the stares began to subside as everyone grew used to Hermione and Ginny's slightly altered appearance, and the girls tried their best to ignore the men who still decided to stare from afar.

Hermione spent most of her downtime writing notes on her experiences leading up to her current state. Draco was amused by this, smiling anytime she would bring her notebook out into the common room and write after she had finished her homework. He would take this time to catch up on his homework, and unbeknownst to Hermione, he would also write about his experiences as a Veela. He decided not to tell her, knowing that she would be even more ecstatic about the notes he would present to her when she decided it was time to write her book.

It was the second week of December, just two weeks before Christmas break. The four of them were all at breakfast, sitting at the Gryffindor table. They had started sitting in the middle of the table with the other Gryffindors instead of the end, mostly thanks to Dean and Seamus convincing the other Gryffindors that Draco and Blaise were alright.

"I can't believe it's December already," Ginny said in a surprised tone as she grabbed a few slices of bacon. "We still need to plan out our trip, Hermione."

"Trip?" Blaise and Draco asked in unison, looking up from their plates.

"Oh," Hermione looked at Ginny. "We forgot to tell them."

"What trip?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, we haven't really planned it out but," Hermione took a bite of her toast. "Ginny and I talked briefly about travelling around the world for Christmas break while we were getting ready for the ball. We didn't really decide where we were going to go, but I think it's a nice idea."

Draco chewed on the inside of his cheek. He had already had a basic plan for the Christmas break, and was going to surprise Hermione with it. He was just waiting for a note from a friend as the go-ahead.

He didn't have to wait long though as the morning mail appeared, and an owl dropped in front of everyone except Blaise.

"I feel the love," He muttered, watching the other three open their mail.

Ginny rolled her eyes and conjured up an envelope, grabbing a piece of parchment and scribbling something on it before attaching it to the owl's leg and pointing it over to Blaise.

The owl hopped the table, slightly confused but Blaise grinned as he took the parchment from the owl's leg and grinned at Ginny. "Thank you love!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ginny who simply grinned at her friend and nodded to Blaise. "Wait 'til you open it."

Blaise ripped the parchment open excitedly and scanned the small bit of parchment before scowling at Ginny, who had burst into a fit of laughter. Draco leaned over to read it and also laughed, snatching it out of Blaise's hands and showing it to Hermione.

Hermione laughed as well and looked at Blaise, who was scowling at everyone and was obviously fighting back a smile. He lost the battle with himself and ended up grinning, shaking his head at his mate. Soon the laughter died down and everyone returned to their respective letters, silence falling over the group.

Looking down at her letter, Hermione scanned the unfamiliar scrawl in greenish-black ink. She frowned slightly before reading.

Hermione looked up from her note to find Draco watching her quietly. She could feel curiosity coming from him, and she silently passed him the note. Draco read it with Blaise reading over his shoulder.

Ginny nudged Hermione and said, "Mum wants us to come to the Burrow for Christmas."

"Well, I just got an interesting letter from my future mother-in-law," Hermione muttered. "She wants the four of us to come to the Manor for the Christmas holidays."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "The four of us?"

"That's what it looks like," Blaise said, leaning away from Draco and looking at the girls. "We do typically spend the Christmas holidays with them. My mother is normally off at one of her many homes in warmer climates. She was never a fan of the cold."

"That's a shock," Ginny mumbled.

Blaise grinned and took her hand. "Don't worry, love. She'll warm up to you."

Hermione's attention was caught by a sudden panic coming from Draco. She looked over to see his head in his hands, rubbing his face. He was frustrated too.

"Draco?" Hermione asked, trying to get his attention.

He looked up to see the other three looking at him. He sighed and put his hands down on the table in front of him, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"I may have already had a surprise trip planned for the four of us for Christmas break," He said slowly, taking in a deep breath and sighing it out. "But with all of this, I'm not sure how it's going to work out."

"Well, your mother did say she understands if we can only stay one day," Hermione started. "What if we do this: Ginny and I spend the first day of the break at the Burrow so that we can see everyone and you two can go to the Manor, and then the second day, she and I will join you at the Manor. And then we can start whatever trip you have planned on the third day. That way, everyone is appeased, and we still get a little over a week and a half for our trip."

Ginny tilted her head back and forth, liking the plan. The two girls look at Blaise and Draco, who looked at each other. Blaise shrugged and said, "Sounds good to me. Draco?"

"That should work," Draco said thoughtfully. "It doesn't really disrupt the plans I had made."

"And you can still keep the location a secret," Hermione added, smiling at him. "I want to be surprised anyway."

Draco gave her a smile and then said in a stern tone. "Good. And no Legilimency to try and find it out. I was trained in Occlumency so you won't be able to find anything out from my mind."

Hermione and Ginny stared at him, causing him to grin. "Yes, we know you two were doing that. And just so you guys know, Blaise also knows Occlumency since I taught him, so you won't be able to get it out of him either."

Ginny groaned and put her chin into her hand, stabbing her pancake with her fork. "You have to take the fun out of everything."

Later that night, Draco had convinced Blaise to go on the rounds with him so that they could discuss things out of earshot of Hermione and Ginny.

"So since Hermione got a letter from your mother," Blaise started, "Who wrote to you?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you that," Draco said. "He's a bit unorthodox. But he's owed me a favor and I called it in. Plus he's one of the best."

Blaise narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me..."

"I wasn't planning on it," Draco said simply.

"Is it Scabior?" Blaise asked. When Draco didn't answer, Blaise groaned. "Mate, Hermione is going to murder you."

"I know, that's why I wasn't going to tell anyone who it was," Draco said in an annoyed tone. "I was going to make sure he is out of sight and then never tell her that he was involved."

"How did he even survive the war?" Blaise asked.

Draco shrugged. "He told me that he had switched sides and is now out hunting Death Eaters that escaped. Apparently Kingsley trusts him but is keeping him under a tight rope, which I guess is good enough for me. Plus he's been doing very well rounding up the missing Death Eaters so I can only assume that's helping his standing."

Blaise sighed. "Well, hopefully that works out, without Hermione finding out."

"I'm trying my best to make sure she doesn't find out," Draco said. "I've come this far, I don't want to screw anything up."

"Considering both girls let us mark and claim them, I doubt they're going anywhere now. Especially with what you're doing for Hermione." Blaise put his hands in his pockets. "So where are we going?"

Draco grinned. "That's a secret, Blaise. Even for you."

Blaise groaned. "Come on, mate."

"Sorry, can't take any chances," Draco said, shrugging. "Just be sure to dress for cold weather."

"Oh Merlin," Blaise muttered. "I'm afraid to ask."

"Well then don't!" Draco said with a laugh. "You three will learn soon enough!"