DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
AN: This is a continuation of Sacrificial Spells and Tragic Results. Read that first.
"I am so not telling them!"
"Uh, yes you are!"
"Really? Is this much argument necessary?" Hermione interrupted.
"Yes!" they both exclaimed.
"Ginny's going to blow up on me," Harry groaned.
"Hermione, why'd you have to put us in such a compromising situation? I always knew Potter and Weasel were imbecilic ignoramuses, but you?" Draco moaned.
"Stop using fancy words, Draco."
"Oh, can your uncouth ears not bear to hear them?" Draco remarked.
"Uncouth? I'll show you uncouth!" Harry growled in response, jumping up and brandishing his wand. Hermione put her head in her hands.
"Harry, you'll be doing nothing of the sorts. Draco, kindly stop teasing Harry. We must discuss this in a civilized manner," Hermione interceded before the two could start dueling.
"I'll only shut up if he does," Harry retorted.
"Same goes for me."
"Now, let's all sit down. Draco, over here. Harry, sit over there." She separated the bickering pair.
"I think Potter should do it," Draco said immediately.
"Do I look suicidal?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"Didn't you walk to your death during the Final Battle? That seems plenty suicidal to me, how about you, Mione?" Draco commented.
"Enough, Draco. How about we all tell them?" Hermione suggested.
"Yeah. You could say, 'Guess what, guys? I'm alive!'. 'Cause that will totally work," Harry stated scathingly.
"It was only an idea," she said defensively.
"Potter's right. We can't just walk up to them and pretend nothing happened."
"I say we tell them during dinner at the Burrow."
"You want me to come there?" Draco drew back in surprise. "It's filled with Weasleys to the brim! I can't even stand being around Weasel and Weaslette!"
"I'd appreciate it if you stopped calling my girlfriend Weaslette, Malfoy."
"Harry, continue. Ignore this idiot."
"Hey!"
"She was only speaking the truth, Malfoy. Anyway, Hermione, you wouldn't come in yet. I'd hint about a surprise. Then around main course I'd tell them someone very special has returned. You would appear at that moment," Harry explained.
"Where do I come in this whole mess?" Draco asked.
"If you'd let me continue, you would appear a few minutes later and introduce yourself as Hermione's boyfriend," he resumed, shooting Draco a look.
"Potter, you seem to be wishing for my death. If I tell Weasel I'm dating Hermione, he'll bloody kill me first chance he gets. Not just him, probably the whole Weasley lot!"
"Draco, they would never do that. If it makes you feel better, I'll tell them not to harm you, dear," Hermione interjected.
"I guess…" he grumbled.
"Now, dinner's at six. Malfoy, get ready."
"What, is this some formal event?" Draco questioned.
"Harry's just joking around, darling. Dinner at the Weasley's is never formal. Just wear something casual."
Later that afternoon, Harry and Hermione were waiting for Draco. He soon appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in fancy blue robes. They were embroidered with gold and a dragon brooch adorned his chest. His platinum blond hair wasn't combed back with gel, as he had did as a child, but left loose hanging over his eyes.
"Malfoy, do you even understand the word casual?" Harry asked him, raising his eyebrows.
"This is casual," Draco protested.
"Whatever. Come on, we're going to be late," Hermione said before either of them could begin arguing, kissing Draco lightly. "You look handsome."
"Might I say that you are more beautiful?" he returned. It was true; Hermione was dressed in an emerald green gown that flattered her creamy skin.
Draco and Hermione watched from the shadows as Mrs. Weasley served meal after meal, laughing quietly as the Weasleys were bewildered by the hints Harry was dropping. Everyone was quite somber, not quite over Hermione's "death".
"Someone very special and close to our hearts has returned," Harry announced. They all gazed at him in surprise, wondering who he could be talking about.
"Hello, everyone! Good to see all of you again!" Hermione greeted pleasantly, appearing from the shadows. The Weasleys' jaws dropped in shock. Mrs. Weasley even fainted, caught by her husband before she could hit the floor.
"Harry. Is this a joke?" Ginny said very slowly. Her boyfriend shook his head.
"I promise, Ginny, it's real. Hermione never really was dead; she was in a coma."
"Why didn't you bloody tell us?" Ron shouted, his chair knocked down as he stood up.
"Kingsley made me promise not to tell any of you. I'm sorry," Harry pleaded, shrinking back from the strong glares he was receiving. Ginny stood perfectly still.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER! How dare you!" she shrieked lividly, slapping him. 'The cannon's blown it's top,' Draco thought.
"He's sorry, Gin. I'm sorry too," Hermione said, hugging Ginny. Ginny's eyes were flowing with tears. "Ron, I'm so sorry!"
Ron merely nodded, his face as red as his hair; it was not a pretty sight. "I still can't believe it," he ground out.
"Well, you're not going to bloody believe this either, Weasel," Draco smirked, appearing. Ron's jaw dropped again. "Close your mouth or you'll catch flies, Weasel."
"What - are - YOU DOING HERE?" Ron yelled.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot to introduce myself. Draco Malfoy, boyfriend of the amazing Hermione Granger. Pleasure to meet you!"
"HERMIONE! WHY ARE YOU DATING BLOODY MALFOY?!" Ron screamed, swearing ferociously.
"I love him, Ron, and he loves me back," Hermione answered simply. Ginny gawked at her in shock.
"You - Hermione Jean Granger, Gryffindor Princess - are dating Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince?" She whispered. Hermione nodded, grabbing Draco's hand and pulling him towards her.
"I swear, I will murder you, ferret!" Ron promised furiously.
"I - I don't know what to say," Ginny said. "First, you're alive. Now, you're in love with Draco bloody Malfoy?" Her voice rose up to a squeak at the end.
"Hermione, darling! You - you're alive!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.
"Yes, I am, and I'm dating Draco Malfoy," Hermione replied.
"Oh my," was all the Weasley matriarch managed to say.
The next day, the Daily Prophet announced that the bookworm of the Golden Trio was alive and dating Draco Malfoy. Rita Skeeter had somehow found it; no one knew how that snoop got around.
A few years later, Hermione and Draco were happily married, as were Harry and Ginny. The Weasleys had gotten to know Draco and had discovered that he wasn't as bad as they had thought; of course, this all happened after Ron stopped trying to murder Draco. Ron was engaged to Romilda Vane; the two actually made a good couple.
Hermione and Draco had one daughter, a two-year-old with her father's hair and her mother's eyes and face. They had named her Elektra. Harry and Ginny had a young son, James. He was a carbon copy of his grandfather. They all lived happily ever after - well, as happily as the Golden Trio's lives could ever get,
