Love Thy Enemy (Finished)

The Greatest Gift

When he flips open the lid of the small box, I can barely contain a gasp. Nestled in the velvet is a small oval locket decorated with vines and stars. I reach out and run my fingers over the cool metal. It is absolutely gorgeous. 

"Draco, its so beautiful," I whisper, still staring at the delicate locket. 

"You have only seen half of it," he says and he slips it out of the box and into his hand. He opens the small clasp and hands it to me. This time, there is no way I could contain my gasp of amazement. Inside is what looks like a small pool of water that is magically contained in one side of the locket. And inside that pool are half a dozen of the tiny glowing bacteria we saw back at the pond on our first real date. They look like glowing stars shining out of my locket.

"How did you get this?" I ask. I reach out to touch the locket, but I don't for fear of the water falling out and ruining the whole thing.

"Its okay Hermione, you can touch it. It is magically sealed, like a tiny fish tank. And to answer your question, I had it made for you. See, I did some research and it turns out that these little things can live for hundreds of years. They don't eat, so they don't need food. As long as they are not alone, they will just keep on glowing and glowing. So I went down to the pond, fished some out and took them to the wizard who runs that little jewelry shop in Hogsmeade. He told me he could make the locket and I told him to do it," shrugs Draco, as if it is no big deal.

"Draco, it is so much. It must have cost a fortune," I guess, looking away from the locket and up into his face for the first time since he opened the lid. My words have no affect on the glowing look in his face.

"Hermione, money means nothing to me anymore. All I need is you, everything else is just icing. Don't ever worry about how much it cost, I would have spent 50 times more if that's what it took to put that look on your face when you saw it. That was worth way more than what the locket cost," he tells me and he reaches out to brush my cheek. I hadn't realized I was crying until he wiped the tears away. "Here, put it on. Please," he says, opening the clasp and holding it out to me.

I quickly sweep my hair back and turn my back to him so he can put it on. When he is finished, the cool metal locket rests in the center of my chest. It quickly warms to my body temperature. I stand and walk over to the mirror hanging on the wall between our bedroom doors. The glowing stars glisten in the small pool and it's beauty is breathtaking. After a minute, Draco comes up behind me and wraps his arms around his waist. He looks at our reflection over my shoulder and brushes a kiss over my temple.

"I'm glad you like it," he says quietly, as his mout is right next to my ear.

"It is, by far, the best gift I have ever gotten," I tell him. I turn in his arms until I am facing him and return his embrace.

This time, we don't kiss. But it is no less passionate. Draco stares down at me with those burning grey eyes. His long lashes cash light shadows over his cheekbones. His long fingers glide up and down my bare arms. He draws complex designs over the skin of my shoulders. His hands lower, tracing the lines of my collar bones, running over my neck. I shiver with the pure passion of it. My whole body is burning, aching to be held, to be touched and kissed. But there is another burning, one that isn't so much physical as it is emotional. And when I figure out what it is, I blurt it out before I can even think it through. Not that I wouldn't have said it anyway, but maybe with a little more tact.

"I'm in love with you!" I practically shout and immediately blood fills my cheeks, making my face a brilliant red. "Sorry," I mumble as soon as my brain catches up to my mouth. A radiant smile lifts the sides of his mouth and his hand continues its trek up until he is cupping my cheek.

"I love you too, Hermione. More than anything," he says.

Draco

I can't believe how fast my heart is beating. She loves me. She loves me. I can hardly wrap my head around the words. It is near impossible not to just shout out my joy and excitement. I just want to sweep her up in my arms and spin her around and never let go. But I have to play it cool. I can't act like a moron and ruin everything now. She might change her mind.

Suddenly, my hands, that felt so smooth and sexy before, feel like big meaty blocks I have no idea how to work. I don't know what to do, how to touch her to show her just how much I really do love her. And I don't mean in a naughty way. That I could handle. But this, love, its an entirely new thing for me. I am in unfamiliar territory. 

Hermione is watching me with a strange expression. As if she is trying to read my mind. I must have been at least half right judging by her next words.

"What are you thinking?" she asks. I tell her the truth, there is no reason to lie.

"I was thinking about how new this is for me. About how I don't know how to show you how much I love you," I sigh and this time, it is her reaching up to cup my face. She pulls my lips down to hers for a kiss as soft as the brush of butterfly wings. When she pulls back, she lays her cheek against my chest and hugs my waist. I hold her close, as happy as I have ever been.

"This, you, its all I need. Its perfect," she says and that is how we stay, holding each other. I never lose my grip on her that night. Not even when we go into the bedroom and lay down. She is asleep long before me, but I can't shut off my mind. I let these new emotions flow through me, trying to make sense of them. In the end, I just pull Hermione's sleeping form tighter against mine, bury my face in her neck and close my eyes. Finally, with her scent enveloping me, I slip into unconsciousness. 

Nicola

The next day, I head to the library as soon as I am up and dressed. It is easy to find the right book. It isn't even in the restricted section. I flip it open to the right page and read over it. It is the most complicated potion I have ever read, but I am the best potioneer in my year. If anyone can do it, I can. Then, I flip a few pages until I find the next potion I am looking for. Plan B. If the first doesn't make Draco mine, the second will make sure that at least that mudblood skank won't have him either.