Christmas tea was very quiet, as there were only five students staying for Christmas break, Hermione, Draco, and three others they did not recognize. As a result, the students sat tightly next to each other to eat. It was very slightly awkward for Hermione, because she happened to be sitting next to Draco, the only Slytherin staying at Hogwarts.
The other three did not eat much, so they left only a few minutes after the start of the tea. The professors pulled crackers with one another, and Draco offered to pull one with Hermione.
They tugged on the small cracker, and in doing so, their hands met. For a moment, both wanted to hold on, but shocked, Hermione let go quickly. Draco dropped the cracker and it blasted loudly. Two doves came out of it and circled Hermione and Draco's heads. Luckily, no one saw this before Hermione and Draco moved quickly away from each other. Both were blushing.
"Well, I'll see you around, I suppose," Hermione mumbled as she jumped up and scurried away.
Once safe in Gryffindor tower, she collapsed onto a chair by the fire.
"What is wrong with me?" she groaned to no one in particular.
There was a sudden knocking in the portrait, and the Fat Lady cried, "Watch it!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" said a boy's voice frantically. "It's just there isn't a door, so what else was I supposed to knock on?"
It was Draco.
Hermione jumped up and pushed open the portrait to let Draco in. He saw her and both blushed.
"So...what is it?" Hermione asked, looking away.
"I-I just wondered if you wanted to study for the Potions exam after Christmas. You're really good at Potions, you know." Draco looked away too.
Hermione truly wondered the real reason for him being here.
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll study with you."