Chapter 294 Christmas Gift
On Christmas Day, Della got up early as usual. Her room was unusually deserted this year, with only a big sock knitted for her by Quasi and Nayla hanging in it. Because it was too troublesome, all her Christmas presents were sent to Durmstrang's ship.
As of yesterday, according to Karkaroff, the gifts had already filled up more than half of the room. Della was not interested in the gifts at all, and was not as excited as she was about exchanging verbal holiday greetings with Maggie.
A month ago, Maggie met the real leader of Leah's gang. After restrainedly displaying a little bit of her ability and intimidation, her magic that could accomplish all the "coincidences" silently completely captured the Muggles, and the cooperation was achieved almost instantly.
For a month, Maggie, who only needed to spend a small amount of time to control the magical forces, had been hanging out with the Muggle gangsters for a long time. It was just like the early stages of all tentative cooperation. One side gave gold and jewelry today, and the other side waved its hand and let a person die with complete reason tomorrow. On the one hand, there was enough wealth that did not require any regrets, and on the other hand, there was an exchange for natural magic that did not require any cost.
They mentioned these things when they were chatting in the two-way mirror a few days ago. Della accurately described Maggie's current situation at that time - it was too boring, because they could actually interfere with Muggles at any time, but now because of some annoying people who were about to come, some of their actions were suppressed, so Maggie ran to another world out of boredom to stir up trouble.
Della had no interest in any of that. She just felt sorry that Maggie couldn't come back to her on Christmas morning. In the past ten years, Maggie would give her the only holiday greeting she would send, and Della would also give him the first blessing.
"Good morning, Della." As soon as she entered the lounge, Draco came to greet her. He was probably warming himself by the fireplace just now, his face flushed. He handed her a beautifully wrapped box, "Merry Christmas! My most beautiful dance partner tonight!"
"Merry Christmas, Draco," Della took the gift, smiled, and took out a gift box from her pocket and handed it over, "Get ready, you will be my handsome dance partner tonight."
"Let's go find a place to open the presents?" Draco held Della's hand. The sweetness overflowing from his heart made him smile a little foolishly.
So, on Christmas Day when everyone stayed at school for the Christmas ball, Della and Draco walked out hand in hand in public, as if no one was around. They were not shy about their intimacy at all. If Della was still an ordinary Hogwarts student, she would have been laughed at a lot.
During the Christmas holidays, students who did not have to wear school uniforms wore new clothes sent by their families and gathered in groups of three or four to play. Their laughter and the Christmas melodies that filled the campus combined perfectly, and Hogwarts became warmer and happier than ever before.
Della's body was cold all year round, but the hand held by Draco was warm. Walking on the road, she silently observed every classmate who passed by with a happy and expectant look on their faces. She thought of Maggie again, and then she looked at the hand held by Draco, and put Maggie aside temporarily, and simply enjoyed her date.
"Where are you taking me to open my presents, Draco?" Della touched the gift box in her pocket. "Let me guess, the Room of Requirement I took you to?"
"Cough!" Draco coughed, and his consciousness instantly returned to the Sunday when he revealed his unclear idea of 'wanting to marry Della' in front of Della. He was a little embarrassed, but after being with Della for so long, Draco finally made some progress in being thick-skinned.
"I-actually don't mind-going there." Thinking of the words he had just prepared, Draco's voice trembled slightly with excitement, and the corners of his mouth curled up, "I believe-that room will read my thoughts, and then I-I will just propose to her directly."
"!" Della turned her head sharply to look at him, meeting Draco's grey eyes that were shy but strong. A rare heat crept up her cheeks. At this moment, the difference between her slowed breathing due to surprise and her accelerated heartbeat in her chest formed an excitement that caused Della to fall into a state of instantaneous hypoxia and confusion. "Dra...co?"
"Ahem!" It would have been fine if Della was just shy and silent. After all, her radiant and affectionate look alone was enough to make Draco's heart flutter. How could he have the energy to answer Della's questions? He coughed twice as if he was choking and couldn't utter a word.
A light laugh reached his ears, and Draco looked towards Della, who was also blushing but making fun of him. He couldn't help but pinch his girlfriend's always cold face, "If you keep doing this, I'll do it for real!"
"Of course you can give it a try," Della said softly, her face still red. "I don't mind, Draco, but I hope you can give me a surprise after careful planning and consideration."
Proposal, home, family.
Oh, family, something Della had always longed for.
At this moment, Della had a rare reverie of a warm future, but compared with the time she spent in a cold and bored attitude, this moment was only a flash in the pan.
But at this moment, happiness really enveloped the two of them.
Draco's face flushed, and the hand that was still pinching Della's cheek suddenly felt hot. He stood up again in a hurry, his eyes glanced to the side, and he stammered, "I-Of course I will..."
The two of them walked forward side by side, feeling a little awkward. They were very close to each other, but both avoided each other's sight. They knew that once their eyes met, their faces, which had finally cooled down, would turn red again.
The road, which was not far to begin with, seemed infinitely longer. By the time the two finally reached the terrace Draco had chosen, which had good lighting and few people, it felt like a century had passed.
The sun shone obliquely on the two people's faces, adding a layer of fine velvety light to the two young faces. Draco looked at Della, who was so holy under the golden light. He felt that he had everything and his heart calmed down. "Now, shall we open the gifts?"
"Okay." Della also regained her usual composure. Only the lingering blush on her cheeks told of the ambiguity just now. She untied the bow on the gift box first, and after two or three unpacking moves, a dark blue, square jewelry box was revealed.
Jewelry of this shape and size can only be cufflinks, earrings or rings. Cufflinks are not usually given to ladies, and she hasn't pierced her ears yet...
Della paused in opening the jewelry box and suddenly looked up at Draco.
"It's not a proposal!" Draco's face turned red. He reached out and held Della's hand that was resting on the jewelry box, and opened the box with her with a 'click' sound. A pair of plain silver rings flashed in the eyes of both of them under the sunlight. "It's just a couple's ring. I will give you something better when I can get something better."
"And, I will do it when I feel I can give you the best of everything," Draco said, holding Della's left hand with one hand nervously. When Della didn't refuse, he pinched the ring with his other hand and put it on Della's middle finger with a trembling hand. It was neither too big nor too small, just the right size, exactly the same as the size he had silently measured countless times, "Put the surprise in front of you."
Della looked at the silver ring on her finger with a snake-like pattern on it. The slight blush on her face was suppressed by the complicated emotions. In this sudden solemnity, her slightly opened eyes on her calm face showed that her heart was shaken more strongly than ever before.
"You don't resist at all!" Draco whispered, happy and excited. He placed the other ring in Della's palm expectantly, and his left hand stopped in front of Della with a clear meaning.
Della pinched the ring, held his left hand and put it on him like Draco had just done, and said in a low voice, "It's just a couple's ring, but it's also a serious promise."
It is a serious commitment for both parties.
"I like your Christmas present very much, Draco." Della said, passing her five fingers through the gaps between Draco's fingertips and interlocking theirs. At the same time, she raised her eyes to meet his gray eyes and tiptoed closer.
An excessively high emotional threshold can make people indifferent for a long time, but when that threshold is really touched, emotions will be vented excessively.
Della kissed Draco, this time not on the cheek or the corner of the lips, it was their first kiss in the true sense.
Draco was stunned for a moment, then his body hugged Della faster than he reacted, and he awkwardly deepened the kiss.
As for the Christmas gift from Della, the two young children will have to wait until their teenage romance heats up before they can open it sweetly.