"Draco. "
Draco turned his eyes away from the diamond ring on Pansy's finger to look up at her.
"Hm. What Pansy?"
"Were you even listening?"
"Were you saying something?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. It seemed that none of her friends could believe her engagement to Ron Weasley. They had all had the same shocked look on their face, Blaise had even had the nerve to ask if Ron had paid for the ring himself.
Of course, she knew he had only been joking, but she had still hit him repeatedly on the arm till he apologized.
It shouldn't have been a huge surprise. She had been dating the ginger for a year already, and everyone had known they were head over heels in love, but still no one seemed to get over the fact that they had recently decided to join together, forever, under matrimonial vows.
She smiled just thinking about it.
Ron had been so sweet when he proposed to her, whipping out the ring on their anniversary. He had told her he wanted to celebrate their anniversary next year, the year after, and all the years after that. He was so cheesy in such a cute way. He made her feel beautiful and wanted just by looking at her. He had been the best boyfriend, and friend she had ever had. She was in love with him, so of course she had said yes.
After telling their families, they set out on telling their very diverse friends. It was hard enough to convince them to get over past grievances after the war and accept their relationship, but Pansy had pushed all her friends into accepting and supporting her and her fiancé.
She saved Draco for last, knowing he might react differently than all her other friends. Pansy knew without a doubt that in the end he would fully support her, but she still had a know in her chest, anxious, even though he had taken the news about their wedding fine, if not a little shocked. The hardest part was convincing him to be one of Ron's groomsmen.
She looked at her best friend's sheepish face, knowing that he would do anything for her and Ron's happiness, once he got over the shock.
"Draco, I told you Ron and I want you to be in the wedding. "
She paused, waiting for his reaction. When he didn't show any signs of disagreement, she continued, slowly.
"Hermione and Ginny are going to be some of my Bridesmaids, and I want you and Blaise to be Ron's groomsmen. I want you to be a part of my wedding, but I won't force you to do anything you don't want to."
She took a deep breath, and held it, expecting him to decline and never talk to her again. She expected the worst, because while Draco matured and got over childish nemesis', as did Ron and Harry, he was still wary of them. But Draco, once again, proved just how much he had grown and showed her he was still the bestfriend she had loved since first year. She felt silly for fearing something. He smiled.
"Pansy, of course I'll be in your wedding, why the hell wouldn't I be! Although, I can't promise that I'll be as excited to see Granger and Potter as you'll be."
She ignored his comment about his past enemies and laughed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her chest. She released her fears and enjoyed the rest of her lunch with Draco, excitedly going over the plans she had already set for the upcoming event.
oOo
Hermione's eyes filled with tears as Ron told her about his and Pansy's engagement. She was ecstatic. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to give him a kiss on each returned her hug while they both laughed.
He then continued to tell her about his plans for her and Harry, while she eagerly listened.
Things were not awkward between them after they had ended their brief relationship. Hermione had finally had to admit to herself that while she had dreamed of being in his arms many times for years, when they finally admitted their feelings for each other and acted on it, she felt like she was kissing and a brother, not a lover.
It seemed that Ron had felt the same, because when she approached him and later admitted the reasons for breaking it off, he had laughed and had told her he couldn't have agreed more.
Now, she looked at him and was truly happy that he had found love and happiness. When he had first told her and Harry about his relationship with Pansy Parkinson, she had been wary, but supportive all the same. After the war, surprisingly, most of the sons and daughters of Death Eaters tried to compensate for their parent's murderous actions. Even Draco finally came around and helped out by donating thousands of galleons to the Ministry and had helped in rebuilding Hogwarts after the Great Battle.
She thought about Draco, and Blaise Zabini, and how much they would have had to have changed in order to agree to be groomsmen in Ron Weasley's wedding. It would be very interesting, and as she smiled to herself she recounted the last time she had been in Malfoy's company.
It was at one of the ministry's annual fundraiser balls. She had arrived late, and by the time she had gotten there there was no one to be her dancing partner. She was bummed, until someone had lightly tapped her on the shoulder at the bar. When she had turned around it had been Draco Malfoy's smirk that had awaited her, much to Hermione's surprise.
They had ended up dancing together all night, after some light chatting and heavy drinks at the bar. After the ball had ended and her and Draco had bid adieu, she had gone home and immediately flooed Ginny, who luckily was at home by then with a sleeping Harry. She remembered how she had told Ginny everything, like an excited schoolgirl and her friends talking about a silly crush.
Ginny had just decided she had looked too good in her floor length, shimmery red dress for him to resist.
Now, Hermione knew he had just been civil, and was in need of a dance partner too, but she still couldn't deny the fact that she had looked absolutely stunning in that dress.
While Draco was still an arrogant ass, he did have his charms. She wondered if he still remembered the ball, or the way he sweet talked her into staying longer and how he had had his arm on her waist the whole night.
She rolled her eyes for thinking about him at an inappropriate moment. it seemed she had been doing that a lot.
Focusing back on her best friend, she nodded and listened to the rest of Ron's plans, thinking how the wedding would be very interesting indeed.
