The Plan

22 - Surprise!

"Draco... Oh my god," I gasped, taking a step forward into the snow. "How did you know?"

"I didn't," he shrugged. "This is the only Muggle place outside of London I've ever been. I thought you might like it here."

Draco had brought me to a snow covered Christmas light festival in New York City. I knew because I had been there before on a trip with father. It was my favorite thing to do over the holiday. We would buy hot cocoa, find a bench near the back, and stand on top of it to see all of the lights in action. I would place heating charms over us so we would stay warm and could keep watching into the late night when the big show would come on.

"I used to come here almost every year with my father. It's one of my most favorite places in the world!"

"Well what a coincidence. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if we had both been here at the same exact time years before and never even noticed each other."

"I would have noticed you mister Slytherin Prince."

He chuckled quietly and wrapped an arm around me. I snuggled my head into the crook of his neck and we began to walk around, the snow crunching beneath our boots.

"Hermione," he began slowly. "How do you feel about me? Like, in all. Do you like me, are we just friends? Are we more?"

I sighed. "I don't know, Draco. I do know that we're much more than just friends, though. That part is obvious enough. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just curious."

"Mhm," I replied suspiciously, but he just smiled and pulled me closer, drawing my mind away from it.

"Want some cocoa?" he asked, eyeing the stand from across the yard.

"Kind of, but we don't have any Muggle money."

"No, but we do have magic." He pulled a galleon from his pocket and snapped his fingers, turning it to a bill.

"I see you've been practicing your wandless magic," I commented. He tried to shrug it off, but I could feel the pride radiation off him. He was doing it for me.

"Let's go then, shall we?" I took his arm and together we made our way to the stand. A muscular blond girl, maybe senteen or eighteen, greeted ud

"Hi, I'm Emma, welcome to Cacao, what can I get you two today?"

"Two caramel almond hot chocolate's, please," Draco responded, reading off the board. Emma nodded and Draco handed her the ten dollar bill he was holding. She gave him four back and a few quarters which I took before he could get confused. Emma returned seconds later with our drink and we left, seeing the line that had gathered behind us.

"Carmel almond, huh?"

"No idea," he confessed, "But it sounded good."

"Draco, what are you trying to get at with this? You didn't take me here just because."

"Well, actually I was going to take you somewhere else, but I thought of this place instead. We're still gonna go there, but I thought you might like to stay for the night show."

I looked up thoughtfully. Stay with Draco and watch the night light show like old days, or go with him and find out where wanted to take me?

"Fine, let's stay." He grinned and kissed me on the top of my head. The look his eyes had were one I had never seen before. I couldn't help but get the sense that I was adored.

I slipped off my scarf, looping it around his neck and pulling him closer, down to where I could reach. I pressed a meaningful kiss to his lips and he wrapped a arm around me so that my body was molded to his. Even though it was snowing, I felt like a was on fire next to him.

He pulled away a bit too quickly for my taste, probably just to leave me wanting more. He succeeded. He sipped his cocoa and nodded to a bench under a overgrown willow tree, most likely older than the both of them combined. We made our way over to it and sat down.

We relaxed and listened to the band play Christmas songs for the rest of the day. I would get up to stretch my legs occasionally, walking a lap around the park until I got back to our bench. Before we knew it, the sun had started to set and we knew more than five carols by heart. The park began to light up in tiny explosions of bright color. It was starting.

Draco slid me onto his lap when he saw me shiver. I felt a wave of warm rush over me and cover me like a blanket. Heating charm. My arms came around his neck so I could reach up and kiss his cheek as thanks. He let me snuggle into him and get settled before he shifted to get comfortable himself, then we watched.

The tree next to us lit up in a spiral of red lights that had been pinned to it. They made our faces glow scarlet. They rest of the yard came to life in sections, first the trees, then the fountain. The stands, including the one we had bought our cocoa from lit up too, as well as the stage the band had been singing on. Each light danced in the night, flickering in time with the music that was playing.

Gold, red, and green sparkled all around the park in beautiful, breathtaking displays that still amazed me even now. My smiled grew huge and so did Draco's. He hugged me to him tightly, earning a giggle that escaped my lips. I rested my head on his shoulder, my arms still around his neck and his still around my waist.

When one of my favorite songs came on, sleigh ride, I jumped up, pulling Draco up with me. He followed me to the spot where a small crowd was gathered in front of the stage. Everyone was signing along, and I joined. To my surprise, Draco did too.

"How do you know this song?" I asked over the music and many voices.

"I've been going to this lighting for years. It's not hard to pick up some of the songs they play every time." I nodded, understanding. We began to sway with the others, rolling from foot to foot along with the beat

He checked his watch a while later, then nudged my arm gently. He had a tiny smile and there were snowflakes in his hair and on his clothes. His eyes shined as he pulled me away from the crowd and towards a smaller fountain near the edge of the park.

"It's almost midnight. You want to find out what the other surprise is now?"

"Yes!" I answered a bit too eagerly. He only laughed in return and offered a hand again. I took it, the suspense killing me slowly. Finally, after he was sure no one was looking, not that anyone could see us anyway, he apperated.

My head spun until I couldn't see straight. When we landed, I had to lean heavily in him to get my balance back. The first thing I saw once my eyes had focused was the sign hanging just above us. There was a few numbers and letters on it, done in the magical black paint that welcomed me to the wizarding world so many times before. And it read: