Hooray! Third in the series is done.
Again, I'd like to thank juhninja for writing the ending to this.
It was a big help.
Enjoy!
Blaise was sleeping soundly until he felt a powerful force on the side of his head.
"Blaise, wake up," a familiar voice said.
"Give me one good reason why," he replied, his eyes still closed.
"I need your help with something. So get dressed because we're going to Diagon Alley."
Blaise opened his eyes and sat up before looking at the blonde boy and saying, "Well what's in it for me?"
"What are you talking about? Can't you just help a good friend of yours?"
"Oh no, my friend, there has be some kind of payment for my services."
"Okay, first of all, I'm trying to not put what you just said out of context. And second, what are you suggesting?"
"Anything, as long as I get something out of this. And you have a really sick mind, you know," he said, shaking his head.
"Well I can say the same thing to you!" he said before thinking. "Okay, you come with me to Diagon Alley and I'll buy you ice cream."
"Deal!" he said excitedly.
"Alright then, get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs," he said as he exited the room.
"Oh, and one more thing, Malfoy," Blaise said, getting out of bed.
"What now, Zabini?" he replied, annoyed.
"What are we going to do, anyway?"
Draco smiled and said, "That's for me to know and for you to find out." With that, he exited the room to leave a confused boy to get dressed.
As soon as Blaise was ready, the two boys apparated to Diagon Alley.
"So when am I getting my ice cream?" Blaise said as they walked passed shops.
"After I do what I need to do," he simply replied.
"Again, why do you need me anyway?"
"Because I need your help. Why else?"
"Let's see. You can treat me to some lunch or buy me something," he said, smiling at the blonde's annoyance, "Why do you need my help, again?"
Draco stayed silent for a moment before they came to their destination and pointed.
"Oh," Blaise said, surprised, "But why me? I know nothing about this stuff."
"Because, since you are my best mate, I need your opinion," he said as they entered.
"Well I'm flattered," he said.
"Yeah, you should be Zabini," the blonde said before looking for a person to help.
As soon as they found someone, the door opened once again to find a panting Melany walk through the door.
"What took you so long?" Draco said as she came over.
"If you don't know, Malfoy, I have a job. And sometimes, it gets very busy. You're lucky I even showed up," she said, rather annoyed.
"Why are you here?" Blaise asked her.
"Well why wouldn't I be? I am Jenine's best friend after all. So I'm just here to help Draco here," she explained.
"And you're not helping with all this yapping going on," Draco said, rather annoyed.
"Sorry," they muttered.
"Hello sirs, madam," the store attendant started, "How may I help you today?"
"Yeah, I'm here to shop for an engagement ring," he said, confidently.
"Well you obviously come to the right place. Any ideas on what you would like, sir?"
"No actually, I don't. Which is why I have her," he said, grabbing Melany by the shoulders and outing him in front of him.
"Uh, well," she started, surprised.
"Hey, you're the girl who runs the counter at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Melany, right?"
"That's me," she said, smiling.
She laughed before saying, "My son goes over there all the," she started.
"Yeah, yeah. Can we please just get on with it, please?" Draco said, impatiently.
The attendant looked at him and said, "Draco Malfoy, right?"
"Uh, yeah?" he said, confused.
"My son has been to your shop, too. Says you and the other girl. Jenine, was it? Yes, Jenine. He says you two are very nice people," she explained.
"Well bless his little heart!" Blaise started, "Too bad he isn't always like that, as you can see."
Everyone laughed but Draco before she said, "So I assume this ring is for Jenine, yes?"
They all nodded.
"Right then, so since you, Melany," she started.
"Please, Mela is fine," she said.
"Right, Mela," she corrected, "So since you are her best friend, any idea on what she wants?"
"All I know is that she wants a simple gold band with a huge rock," she said.
Both of the boys laughed but stopped when they saw neither of the other girls laughing.
"Oh you're serious?" Draco said.
"Uh, why wouldn't I be?" Melany replied, looking as if she were about to slap them both.
"Well it just seems so simple. Even for Jenine," he replied.
"Unlike you, Draco, Jenine likes simple. And I thought you would know that since you've been her boyfriend for how long?" she asked.
"But you never know. Maybe my Malfoyness rubbed on to her," he said.
"Hey, I've been your best mate longer than you've been with her, and your so- called 'Malfoyness' didn't rub on me. So if it didn't do it on me, then surely it wouldn't rub on anyone else, including her.
"What is this so- called Malfoyness anyway?" the attendant asked.
"You know, the ability to be over the top in everything and to always seem to get whatever they want," Melany teased.
The blonde was about to protest before saying, "Yeah, she got it."
"Alright then. So a simple gold band with a big rock? I think I have just the thing," she said, motioning them to follow her.
After about half an hour, they all agreed on a perfect one that just fit the qualities Jenine would have wanted. Draco paid and they left.
Meanwhile, Ginny came in to the candy shop to escort Jenine to the burrow after she closed up.
"So where's that blonde ferret boyfriend of yours?" Ginny teased as she helped the girl close up.
"Oh, please, don't call him that," she replied laughing, "And he said he needed to take the day off."
"Did he say why?"
"No, and I didn't ask. This is his first independent day off since we opened the shop. So I'm fine with it," she simply said.
"Whatever you say, Jenine."
The girl sighed before saying, "Listen, Gin, I love Draco, which means that I trust him too. And I appreciate your concern, but you also have to have faith in him."
"I know, Jenine. It's just Draco, you know?"
"Well I can say the same thing about you with Blaise," she teased.
"Yeah, yeah. Are you ready, then?" the redhead asked,
"Just about," she said before switching the sign from 'Open' to 'Closed'. "Alright now I'm ready."
With that, the two left the shop with a pop.
"Aunt Jenine!" Teddy said when they appeared in the living room.
"Hey there, Teddy," she said, picking up the boy.
"Aunt Hermione reminds of someone," he said as Hermione.
"And who may that be?" Ginny asked with a smile.
"Please, Gin, don't enforce it," Hermione said.
"Well I want to know!" Jenine said, "Who is it, Teddy?"
"The octomom!" he cried.
Jenine suddenly burst out laughing before Ginny said, "I'm sorry, who?"
The other girl ran to her bedroom and came back with a magazine and showed who the octomom was. Ginny looked at the picture with wide eyes and then looked at Hermione before laughing along as well.
As they calmed down, Jenine asked, "Teddy, how do you know about that?"
"He's been reading magazines with me when suddenly he came to that conclusion.
"Oh that's rich," Ginny said, tears coming down her face.
"What's rich?" Tonks said as she came into the room.
"your son here thinks that I look like the octomom," Hermione said, sighing.
"You mean the muggle woman who has like 14 kids or something?"
"That's the one," they all said.
Tonks looked at Hermione for a moment before laughing as well.
"I honestly don't see what's so funny!" Hermione said.
"What's funny?" Harry said as he, Draco, and Blaise walked in.
"I am not repeating myself," she simply replied.
"Uh, okay then," he said, confused.
"Well, I vest be off now. See you all tomorrow. Come on, Teddy," Tonks said, motioning for the boy to come.
"Bye, Tonks," they all said as they left.
The day went on smoothly, but Draco hadn't made the move yet.
"The day is almost over mate. When are you gonna do it?" Blaise asked over dinner.
"At a time that's unexpected, that's when," he replied.
"Whatever you say," he said, taking another bite of his food.
Dinner passed, and the blonde still didn't make a move. Both Blaise and Melany were disappointed when he didn't say anything as they went to bed.
"Just wait and see," Draco said simply before he went into his room.
"Jenine," whispered Draco as he poked her cheek. "Jenine!" he said in a sing song voice. Jenine groaned and turned to her other side, away from Draco. "Ron's eating your breakfast!" he practically screamed in her ear. She jumped up, startled, and bumped her forehead against his.
"Ouch," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "What do you want, you jerk? The sun isn't up."
He rolled her eyes at her. "Lovely, I almost forgot that you're not a morning person." She mock laughed at him.
"Why did you wake me?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Let's go for a ride on my broom stick," he said, smiling.
Jenine widened her eyes in horror at what he was suggesting. "WHOA. What the heck?! I thought we talked about this! I'm not getting knocked up until I'm married, whether you choose to be in that future or not!"
Draco laughed at her assumption. "Funny, but I meant an actual ride on my broom stick?"
"Oh," she said dumbly. He rolled his eyes at her again. "Okay. Just wait, I'll go get dressed."
She got up only to be stopped. "We don't have time! I need to show you something. You look perfect right now, let's go!"
Jenine had no idea what was going on, but she knew Draco. He was very random, and had the craziest ideas. It was probably just one of those again. She sighed and allowed herself to be dragged downstairs and into the backyard.
Once outside, he climbed onto the broom and helped her up, seating her behind him. "Hold on tight," he whispered, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. They zoomed away into the slowly brightening horizon.
Jenine never saw the several pairs of eyes watching from the window in the kitchen, and didn't notice the shared smiles.
Draco slowed down allowing Jenine to watch the scenery beneath and around them. The air smelled crisp, cold, and clean. It was her favorite time of day, but only when she could bring herself out of bed. She leaned forward to Draco's back and inhaled the mixed scents; the crisp smell of morning and the slightly spicy and masculine smell of Draco. It was intoxicating. She smiled into his back. "Thank you for waking me up," she said.
He grinned. "You're welcome, darling." He sped up a bit, tilting the broom up to get to the top of a hill. "We're almost there."
She lifted her head. "Almost where?" She gasped as she took in her surroundings. The hilltop was consistently green and the trees almost touched the skies. The flowers were slightly open, as if awakening from their dreams. The spot they were standing was the perfect place to watch the sun rise.
Draco conjured up a few blankets and pillows and sat down with Jenine's head in his lap. They lay there for a while, staring at the horizon, anticipating the sun's arrival. "It's beautiful," Jenine whispered. "This is much better than a sunset."
"Yeah, I know," Draco said, playing with her hair. "I remembered." He glanced up at the horizon, seeing that the sun began to touch the morning sky. "Jenine, can you stand up please?"
She looked disappointed. "We're leaving already?" she pouted. "Can't we stay longer? It's perfect up here!"
"Just stand up," he said in mock anger. He smiled and added, "please?" Jenine stood with Draco's help, and he didn't release his hold on her hands. Jenine sighed, amazed at the view.
"It's such a gorgeous sight, I wish I could stare at it all day," she confessed.
Draco stared at her face, relaxed, content and beautiful. "I agree completely."
She turned her face to see him staring at her. She blushed and squeezed his hand a bit tighter. "You're not too bad yourself, Malfoy."
She returned her gaze to the rising sun. The sun was already half exposed to them, brightening the sky with purples and blues, and subtle pinks. Draco wrapped his arms around Jenine, hugging her from behind. "I love you, did you know that?"
"I love you, too," she replied, craning her neck to kiss his cheek. He suddenly let go and said "Close your eyes." She obeyed and said, "Presents?"
He said, "Yes," with a huge grin. She covered her eyes with her fingers, and didn't peek. She loved surprises. He finally said, "Okay, open them." She opened her eyes and gasped.
He was bent down on one knee with a box in hand which held a ring. Her vision blurred, and her face hurt from smiling. "Jenine Potter, I love you so much, and you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm not great with speeches, but I will say that you're perfect, and I can't imagine life without you or your sugar rushes. I love you. So will you marry me?"
Jenine jumped into his arms, knocking him backwards, leaving both of them on the grass. "Yes! Of course I will! It took you too damn long."
He laughed and agreed, slipping the ring onto her fourth finger on her left hand. He kissed her. Oh yes, he could certainly join George. He, too, was whipped.
The same thought ran through everyone's mind as they returned to the Burrow hand in hand with matching face-splitting smiles.
Finally.
Well what'd you guys think? Review, please! :D
