Hey all. I would love you all forever if you could review this fic, that
would be great
DISCLAIMER - I don't own the characters that you all know, I do own all the others.
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The cold air carried the small flakes of snow down onto the small magical town of Hogsmeade. The small town, which at this point in time, was filled with students from the local magical school.
The students ran around crazily, their pockets filled with unimaginable amounts of sweets and jokes. Pocket money was being spent on the finest pieces of what can only be called useless junk. Other students, however, spent their money on other things, such as Christmas presents for their families.
A ruthless snow ball fight had broken out across the main street of Hogsmeade, and those who were not shopping were taking sides, gathering the fresh, frosty snow and balling it, tossing it at their house rivals.
Some of the students, much like Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny, were sitting in the local pub, with steaming hot mugs of butterbeer warming them from the inside, it was just to cold for them to be out side with the others, rolling in the snow.
"So, girls, have you finished your Christmas shopping?" Harry asked as he finished his third butter beer. He was beginning to get light headed, so he decided that he had had enough.
"No, I still have to get a few things" Ginny replied. Hermione nodded along.
"Yeah, I have to get some thing for Ron with out him knowing what it is" Hermione smiled. Ron laughed and held his girlfriend closer to his side.
"I have to get some thing for him to, although I don't think her deserves it" Ginny smiled. Ron just smiled at his sister.
"And why would I not deserve a present?" He asked. Ginny sighed.
"Because you are always mean to me" She smiled and finished off the rest of her drink.
"So, I guess we leave the boys here and we can go and do some more shopping, huh?" Hermione asked Ginny as she stood.
"They can manage with out us ... I think" Ginny smiled. The collected the few things that they needed, and then, after Hermione pressed a light kiss to Ron's cheek, they left to go in search of the perfect Christmas present for Ron.
It had begun to snow again outside. But the other students didn't seem to mind. They still ran around, throwing their snow balls in their attempts to disarm their opponents.
Ginny took a deep breath and winced as the ice cold air stung her lungs, she tightened her heavy cloak around her body, and then looked over her shoulder for Hermione.
"Did you have any ideas what to get for him?" Ginny asked.
"No, and this year it is all so much harder. It was easier to buy for him when he was just my best friends, but now he is my boyfriend...." Hermione sighed.
"Then break up with him for the holidays" Ginny suggested. Hermione laughed.
"After all the time I took trying to make him realize how he felt about me? No thank you" She replied. "Plus, I want the present he has got me."
"Hermione Granger, you materialistic sod" She smiled, mock outrage in her voice. Both the girls laughed.
"Any ideas as to what I should buy him?" Hermione asked. Ginny grinned.
"Buy him a book, he will love you for that" Ginny told her, trying desperately to keep a straight face. Hermione sighed.
"I am being serious Gin, I have no idea what to get him." Hermione groaned in frustration.
"Well, how am I supposed to know. He is only my brother. And I have to get him something to, so all of my ideas are going towards my shopping." She replied and then stopped, grabbing Hermione by the arm.
"What? Did you think of some thing?" Hermione asked.
"No, but look, that new shop has opened, there may be some thing in there" She replied, pointing down the street. Hermione looked down the street to where she was pointing. For weeks, the shop had been kept a secret, and now, it was open to the public.
"Sure, lets go and have a look, I need to get some thing before we have to go back to Hogwarts." Hermione replied. The girls hurried down the street, wanting to make it into the store so that they were out of the cold.
It was a large specialty gift store, and Ginny thought it looked really promising to find a present for Ron, and also something for her mother. Plus, there were a few other things that she wanted to look at.
"Right, I suggest that we split up, you take sporting goods and Books, I will take Toys, Jokes and Clothes, and we will met beck here in an hour." Ginny told Hermione. Hermione nodded, and both girls went their separate ways.
Ginny was glad that Hermione had agreed to split up. She wasn't so sure she could deal with an hour or so of her going on about Ron. Plus, it would give her the chance to hang out alone in the toy department.
Stuffed animals were her weakness. For a 16 year old, she had an unusually large amount of stuffed animals in her bedroom at home in the burrow. It was childish, she knew, but she could care less. Living in a house with so many brothers, she had to have some thing girly to hold onto. Her brothers seemed to respect that she liked fluffy toys, they had spent years ripping the heads and legs off of her dolls, but they never touched her stuffed animals.
The shelves in the toy department were large and full of as many plush animals as they could hold. Ginny smiled. She was in heaven. All the toys were just so cute. Ginny wished that she could take them all with her. (Of course, she didn't have enough money for that).
Instead she sat, and picked up one of the teddy bears. Ginny knew that the time would come when she would have to outgrow her obsession with the cuddly toys, it would come to a point when she knew she would just have to let go and grow up. In years to come, she would be having children of her own, and she knew she would have to start buying toys for them, but not for herself.
Ginny didn't want to grow up. That was part of the appeal of the toys. She didn't want to be a grown up, that mean that she had to deal with the real world. Growing up mean that she would have to get a job and find a place to live, it meant that she would have to learn how to properly look after herself and she would have to leave all of her childish dreams behind.
She didn't really want that, she was sure that she was not strong enough to look after herself like that. But the inevitable was coming. She was in her sixth year of Hogwarts, and soon she would have to move on with her life.
But now all she wanted was another bear for her collection. She still had a year before she had to grow up, and she was going to take advantage of it. Plus, the bear she held was just so cute, its little fluffy arms held open just wanting to be hugged, how could Ginny resist that. She looked at the price tag. There was no way that she would be able to get it and a present for Ron, but she just didn't want to part with it.
A little voice in her head told her to stop being so damn selfish, Christmas was a time for giving and she had to give her brother something. The bear would just have to wait. Maybe she could save for it later on in the year. So Ginny sat for a few minutes, just hugging the toy. Then suddenly, some one walked up to the shelf.
Ginny stood quickly, and threw the bear back on the shelf. She didn't want any one from the school to see her hugging a toy. Not many people knew that Ginny liked toys, and no one, except for those who were really close to her, knew of her extensive collection. Thankfully, her brothers had made the decision not to tease her at school. Ginny was glad that they had had just that one shred of common decency. She didn't know what she would have done if some people had found out.
Ginny watched as the other person came into the stuffed animal section of the toy department. She was shocked when she saw who it was.
He stood with his back toward her, so that he had not seen her yet. But Ginny didn't need to see his face to know who it was. She took a slight step back and hid so that he would not see her.
Draco Malfoy stood in front of the shelf, his eyes traveling over the toys. He looked as though he was trying to find the right one. Ginny watched as he reached out and picked up soft pink and white teddy bear with a beautiful pink bow.
Ginny, much like the rest of the school, had noticed something strange about Malfoy recently. For all of the year before, and all of this year, he had kept to himself. He had hardly spoken to any one over the last year and a half. He stopped purposely trying to make waves, he stopped teasing others, he had even stopped his snide comments that were directed the Harry, Hermione and Ron. He would answer questions in class, and if some one was to ask him something, he would answer politely (some thing no one ever expected.)
He had exiled himself from the other Slytherins, he had even exiled himself from the rest of the school. Ginny had even heard a rumor that he was going to quit the quidditch team.
She couldn't stop herself from being concerned. Every one seemed concerned in some way or another (although not many people voiced their concerns). It was just strange, one year he left the school as one of the most popular kids of the school, and he came back as a quiet, withdrawn, almost depressed shadow of a man.
What ever it was that had changed him, Ginny knew it had been something serious, something monumental, something amazing. For a while, Ginny had wondered if it was something to do with his father, but he had not told anyone what his problem was, so there was no way to know for sure.
Ginny stood back and watched as Malfoy turned the teddy in his hands, looking it over. She watched silently as he ran his fingers over the soft fluff of the bear. Ginny was surprised that he was even looking at a teddy bear, let alone examining it so closely. Ginny even thought that she saw a tear run down his cheek.
She knew that none of the others would believe this. Their ex-arch nemesis looking all misty eyed over a stuffed bear. She knew that they would never believe her, so Ginny made the split second decision not to tell any one what she saw.
Besides, Draco's business was just that, his own business. And although Ginny had not forgiven him for being so mean for all of those years, she knew he was going through a lot, and she was sure that he would not want rumors going around.
Ginny's gaze never left him as he sighed, wiped his cheek of a tear, turned, and left the toy area, with the pink teddy bear in his hands.
She stepped forward after he had left and watched as he walked to the cashier and paid for his purchase and then left the store.
Well, Ginny thought, that was strange.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco sat at his desk and looked at the photograph in his hand. He had spent so much time over the last six months just staring at this photograph. This photo of the only thing that meant anything to him any more. The photograph of his world, his world that had been taken away from him.
His fingertips danced over the cheeks of the person in the picture. He remembered the last time he had seen those cheeks. They had been covered in tears, and all he wanted to do was kiss them all away. He knew he never would be able to, because, at that point in time, all he was allowed to do was turn and leave.
His heart had broken as he realized that he had caused those tears, and he wanted to do what ever he could to make everything alright for her again.
He had pressed the memory of her into his brain, making sure that he would never forget the way that she looked the day that he had left. He knew that next time her saw her, if he ever saw her again, she would look so different, he just hoped that he would be able to recognize her. And he hoped, although he knew otherwise, that one day, she would be able to look into his eyes and remember.
His biggest fear was that he would pass her on the street, and not know who she was.
He sighed and took the pink bear from his shopping bag. He hoped that she would like it, he hoped that in times to come she would hold the bear in her arms and think of him. Just the way he would always look at her photograph and think of her.
Draco wished that he could offer her more, but he had been ordered away, told not to come with in a thousand meters of her, and that had broken his heart so bad. He just hoped that he would be able to get this letter and package through to her.
He picked up the thick wrapping paper, and carefully wrapped the bear in it, tying it tightly with string. Then he sighed, rubbed his eyes, and picked up a quill and piece of parchment.
He just stared at the blank paper for a few minutes, unsure of what to write to the person he loved more than life itself. But soon, the quill just never left the paper......
'Kayla,
Merry Christmas Sweetie. I know, you probably don't understand this note, and believe me, I don't understand this note either. I have been told to stay away from you. I guess I am writing this thing to you so that you know it is not my intention for us to be apart. If I had it my way, I would be with you this Christmas, and every Christmas from now on.
I understand if you don't read this now, well, I know you cant read this now, but I hope you will keep this, so that one day, you will read it, and know how I feel about you. I hope that one day you read this and you realize it was never my decision for us to be apart. It was never my decision and never my choice. If I had it my way, I would spend every day of my life with you. I hope you know that.
Truthfully, I am not old enough to be the man that you need in your life. I am not mature enough to understand what it is you really need, and I know that you will be better with out me, that is why I didn't fight when I was ordered away.
I want you to know I love you, and there is not a day that goes by that I don't wish things were different. There is not a day that passes that I don't think of you and the future we could have provided for you.
I am different than a lot of people think, another reason why I cant see you. Maybe one day you will be given the opportunity to understand what I mean, but not now. You are not ready for the information.
I am going to write to you every chance that I get, I just hope that some one passes on the letters, or has the thought to keep them for you, so you can read them when they think you are ready. I am going to send you some thing every Christmas, and I promise you, I will never forget your birthday (how can I right, it is exactly the same day as mine)
I love you with all of me, and I hope that there is never a day that passes that you don't know that. When ever things get bad, I want you to take a deep breath, close your eyes, picture me and remember that I love you. I will do the same, thinking of you, and hopefully, it will get us through the hard times.
I love you. Merry Christmas,
Your father
Draco Malfoy.'
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Well, do you like it, now is the time to tell me,
Review please.
DISCLAIMER - I don't own the characters that you all know, I do own all the others.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The cold air carried the small flakes of snow down onto the small magical town of Hogsmeade. The small town, which at this point in time, was filled with students from the local magical school.
The students ran around crazily, their pockets filled with unimaginable amounts of sweets and jokes. Pocket money was being spent on the finest pieces of what can only be called useless junk. Other students, however, spent their money on other things, such as Christmas presents for their families.
A ruthless snow ball fight had broken out across the main street of Hogsmeade, and those who were not shopping were taking sides, gathering the fresh, frosty snow and balling it, tossing it at their house rivals.
Some of the students, much like Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny, were sitting in the local pub, with steaming hot mugs of butterbeer warming them from the inside, it was just to cold for them to be out side with the others, rolling in the snow.
"So, girls, have you finished your Christmas shopping?" Harry asked as he finished his third butter beer. He was beginning to get light headed, so he decided that he had had enough.
"No, I still have to get a few things" Ginny replied. Hermione nodded along.
"Yeah, I have to get some thing for Ron with out him knowing what it is" Hermione smiled. Ron laughed and held his girlfriend closer to his side.
"I have to get some thing for him to, although I don't think her deserves it" Ginny smiled. Ron just smiled at his sister.
"And why would I not deserve a present?" He asked. Ginny sighed.
"Because you are always mean to me" She smiled and finished off the rest of her drink.
"So, I guess we leave the boys here and we can go and do some more shopping, huh?" Hermione asked Ginny as she stood.
"They can manage with out us ... I think" Ginny smiled. The collected the few things that they needed, and then, after Hermione pressed a light kiss to Ron's cheek, they left to go in search of the perfect Christmas present for Ron.
It had begun to snow again outside. But the other students didn't seem to mind. They still ran around, throwing their snow balls in their attempts to disarm their opponents.
Ginny took a deep breath and winced as the ice cold air stung her lungs, she tightened her heavy cloak around her body, and then looked over her shoulder for Hermione.
"Did you have any ideas what to get for him?" Ginny asked.
"No, and this year it is all so much harder. It was easier to buy for him when he was just my best friends, but now he is my boyfriend...." Hermione sighed.
"Then break up with him for the holidays" Ginny suggested. Hermione laughed.
"After all the time I took trying to make him realize how he felt about me? No thank you" She replied. "Plus, I want the present he has got me."
"Hermione Granger, you materialistic sod" She smiled, mock outrage in her voice. Both the girls laughed.
"Any ideas as to what I should buy him?" Hermione asked. Ginny grinned.
"Buy him a book, he will love you for that" Ginny told her, trying desperately to keep a straight face. Hermione sighed.
"I am being serious Gin, I have no idea what to get him." Hermione groaned in frustration.
"Well, how am I supposed to know. He is only my brother. And I have to get him something to, so all of my ideas are going towards my shopping." She replied and then stopped, grabbing Hermione by the arm.
"What? Did you think of some thing?" Hermione asked.
"No, but look, that new shop has opened, there may be some thing in there" She replied, pointing down the street. Hermione looked down the street to where she was pointing. For weeks, the shop had been kept a secret, and now, it was open to the public.
"Sure, lets go and have a look, I need to get some thing before we have to go back to Hogwarts." Hermione replied. The girls hurried down the street, wanting to make it into the store so that they were out of the cold.
It was a large specialty gift store, and Ginny thought it looked really promising to find a present for Ron, and also something for her mother. Plus, there were a few other things that she wanted to look at.
"Right, I suggest that we split up, you take sporting goods and Books, I will take Toys, Jokes and Clothes, and we will met beck here in an hour." Ginny told Hermione. Hermione nodded, and both girls went their separate ways.
Ginny was glad that Hermione had agreed to split up. She wasn't so sure she could deal with an hour or so of her going on about Ron. Plus, it would give her the chance to hang out alone in the toy department.
Stuffed animals were her weakness. For a 16 year old, she had an unusually large amount of stuffed animals in her bedroom at home in the burrow. It was childish, she knew, but she could care less. Living in a house with so many brothers, she had to have some thing girly to hold onto. Her brothers seemed to respect that she liked fluffy toys, they had spent years ripping the heads and legs off of her dolls, but they never touched her stuffed animals.
The shelves in the toy department were large and full of as many plush animals as they could hold. Ginny smiled. She was in heaven. All the toys were just so cute. Ginny wished that she could take them all with her. (Of course, she didn't have enough money for that).
Instead she sat, and picked up one of the teddy bears. Ginny knew that the time would come when she would have to outgrow her obsession with the cuddly toys, it would come to a point when she knew she would just have to let go and grow up. In years to come, she would be having children of her own, and she knew she would have to start buying toys for them, but not for herself.
Ginny didn't want to grow up. That was part of the appeal of the toys. She didn't want to be a grown up, that mean that she had to deal with the real world. Growing up mean that she would have to get a job and find a place to live, it meant that she would have to learn how to properly look after herself and she would have to leave all of her childish dreams behind.
She didn't really want that, she was sure that she was not strong enough to look after herself like that. But the inevitable was coming. She was in her sixth year of Hogwarts, and soon she would have to move on with her life.
But now all she wanted was another bear for her collection. She still had a year before she had to grow up, and she was going to take advantage of it. Plus, the bear she held was just so cute, its little fluffy arms held open just wanting to be hugged, how could Ginny resist that. She looked at the price tag. There was no way that she would be able to get it and a present for Ron, but she just didn't want to part with it.
A little voice in her head told her to stop being so damn selfish, Christmas was a time for giving and she had to give her brother something. The bear would just have to wait. Maybe she could save for it later on in the year. So Ginny sat for a few minutes, just hugging the toy. Then suddenly, some one walked up to the shelf.
Ginny stood quickly, and threw the bear back on the shelf. She didn't want any one from the school to see her hugging a toy. Not many people knew that Ginny liked toys, and no one, except for those who were really close to her, knew of her extensive collection. Thankfully, her brothers had made the decision not to tease her at school. Ginny was glad that they had had just that one shred of common decency. She didn't know what she would have done if some people had found out.
Ginny watched as the other person came into the stuffed animal section of the toy department. She was shocked when she saw who it was.
He stood with his back toward her, so that he had not seen her yet. But Ginny didn't need to see his face to know who it was. She took a slight step back and hid so that he would not see her.
Draco Malfoy stood in front of the shelf, his eyes traveling over the toys. He looked as though he was trying to find the right one. Ginny watched as he reached out and picked up soft pink and white teddy bear with a beautiful pink bow.
Ginny, much like the rest of the school, had noticed something strange about Malfoy recently. For all of the year before, and all of this year, he had kept to himself. He had hardly spoken to any one over the last year and a half. He stopped purposely trying to make waves, he stopped teasing others, he had even stopped his snide comments that were directed the Harry, Hermione and Ron. He would answer questions in class, and if some one was to ask him something, he would answer politely (some thing no one ever expected.)
He had exiled himself from the other Slytherins, he had even exiled himself from the rest of the school. Ginny had even heard a rumor that he was going to quit the quidditch team.
She couldn't stop herself from being concerned. Every one seemed concerned in some way or another (although not many people voiced their concerns). It was just strange, one year he left the school as one of the most popular kids of the school, and he came back as a quiet, withdrawn, almost depressed shadow of a man.
What ever it was that had changed him, Ginny knew it had been something serious, something monumental, something amazing. For a while, Ginny had wondered if it was something to do with his father, but he had not told anyone what his problem was, so there was no way to know for sure.
Ginny stood back and watched as Malfoy turned the teddy in his hands, looking it over. She watched silently as he ran his fingers over the soft fluff of the bear. Ginny was surprised that he was even looking at a teddy bear, let alone examining it so closely. Ginny even thought that she saw a tear run down his cheek.
She knew that none of the others would believe this. Their ex-arch nemesis looking all misty eyed over a stuffed bear. She knew that they would never believe her, so Ginny made the split second decision not to tell any one what she saw.
Besides, Draco's business was just that, his own business. And although Ginny had not forgiven him for being so mean for all of those years, she knew he was going through a lot, and she was sure that he would not want rumors going around.
Ginny's gaze never left him as he sighed, wiped his cheek of a tear, turned, and left the toy area, with the pink teddy bear in his hands.
She stepped forward after he had left and watched as he walked to the cashier and paid for his purchase and then left the store.
Well, Ginny thought, that was strange.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco sat at his desk and looked at the photograph in his hand. He had spent so much time over the last six months just staring at this photograph. This photo of the only thing that meant anything to him any more. The photograph of his world, his world that had been taken away from him.
His fingertips danced over the cheeks of the person in the picture. He remembered the last time he had seen those cheeks. They had been covered in tears, and all he wanted to do was kiss them all away. He knew he never would be able to, because, at that point in time, all he was allowed to do was turn and leave.
His heart had broken as he realized that he had caused those tears, and he wanted to do what ever he could to make everything alright for her again.
He had pressed the memory of her into his brain, making sure that he would never forget the way that she looked the day that he had left. He knew that next time her saw her, if he ever saw her again, she would look so different, he just hoped that he would be able to recognize her. And he hoped, although he knew otherwise, that one day, she would be able to look into his eyes and remember.
His biggest fear was that he would pass her on the street, and not know who she was.
He sighed and took the pink bear from his shopping bag. He hoped that she would like it, he hoped that in times to come she would hold the bear in her arms and think of him. Just the way he would always look at her photograph and think of her.
Draco wished that he could offer her more, but he had been ordered away, told not to come with in a thousand meters of her, and that had broken his heart so bad. He just hoped that he would be able to get this letter and package through to her.
He picked up the thick wrapping paper, and carefully wrapped the bear in it, tying it tightly with string. Then he sighed, rubbed his eyes, and picked up a quill and piece of parchment.
He just stared at the blank paper for a few minutes, unsure of what to write to the person he loved more than life itself. But soon, the quill just never left the paper......
'Kayla,
Merry Christmas Sweetie. I know, you probably don't understand this note, and believe me, I don't understand this note either. I have been told to stay away from you. I guess I am writing this thing to you so that you know it is not my intention for us to be apart. If I had it my way, I would be with you this Christmas, and every Christmas from now on.
I understand if you don't read this now, well, I know you cant read this now, but I hope you will keep this, so that one day, you will read it, and know how I feel about you. I hope that one day you read this and you realize it was never my decision for us to be apart. It was never my decision and never my choice. If I had it my way, I would spend every day of my life with you. I hope you know that.
Truthfully, I am not old enough to be the man that you need in your life. I am not mature enough to understand what it is you really need, and I know that you will be better with out me, that is why I didn't fight when I was ordered away.
I want you to know I love you, and there is not a day that goes by that I don't wish things were different. There is not a day that passes that I don't think of you and the future we could have provided for you.
I am different than a lot of people think, another reason why I cant see you. Maybe one day you will be given the opportunity to understand what I mean, but not now. You are not ready for the information.
I am going to write to you every chance that I get, I just hope that some one passes on the letters, or has the thought to keep them for you, so you can read them when they think you are ready. I am going to send you some thing every Christmas, and I promise you, I will never forget your birthday (how can I right, it is exactly the same day as mine)
I love you with all of me, and I hope that there is never a day that passes that you don't know that. When ever things get bad, I want you to take a deep breath, close your eyes, picture me and remember that I love you. I will do the same, thinking of you, and hopefully, it will get us through the hard times.
I love you. Merry Christmas,
Your father
Draco Malfoy.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well, do you like it, now is the time to tell me,
Review please.