Chapter Text
On December 24th, Hermione woke to find a small letter in place of the red box on her nightstand.
‘Happy Holidays, Hermione. Words can’t express how much last night meant to me. Instead, I hope my final gift will. If you enjoyed last night even half as much as I did, please meet me at the place we discussed. I will be waiting for you with my last gift for you.
Your Draco.’
Hermione read the letter several times before the words truly sank in. Your Draco. He had said almost as much the previous night as they had been on their… date? They had just finished their first course when he confessed to sending every gift. However, he withheld his intentions even if Hermione had a strong suspicion as to why.
The dinner had been charming and almost as any other lunch she shared with him. Except for the tingling sensation that niggled at the back of her mind all the time that it was something more.
She told him she would miss him at the Ministry. He said he would miss her too. She told him her opinion of him might have changed slowly this past month. She still regarded him as a friend, but with every little thing he had left for her, she had begun to see him - once she knew it was him - in a different light. He told her he had always seen her in the same brilliant golden light that lit up all his days.
He walked her home. As much as she expected - hoped? - he would kiss her goodbye, but he didn’t. Well, he kissed her hand in parting. She still felt the tingling on her skin that morning as she folded the letter back.
She had tossed and turned all night thinking what to do. What did she want? All her doubts had been washed away last night. She wanted to give whatever this was with Draco a chance.
As Hermione dressed, she made a quick call to her parents to tell them she would arrive a little later than usual for Christmas dinner, promising to explain why when she got there.
That afternoon, Hermione Apparated and found herself suddenly under a flurry of snow. A short walk later, she stood by the statue in Kensington Garden that represented her favourite story from her childhood. Peter Pan barely kept her company for a couple of minutes before Draco walked up beside her, dressed in woollen wizard attire, holding the red box.
As he handed it to her to open, he told her that he was sure she already knew, but even so the object already belonged to her. It had done for quite some time. Hermione opened the box and found an object she was sure was meant to go with the necklace she still wore.
Inside the red box was a small silver pendant in the shape of a key encircled by a heart. Hermione held it in her hands as she rose on her toes to give Draco his present.
Snow fluttered around them as Hermione kissed Draco and accepted the key to his heart.