A/N: So I'll start this off by saying that I cannot promise I will update within a week every time. I actually ended up splitting the original version of this chapter in half because of some minor details that I wanted to fit in along the way.

We still aren't into the letters yet. There are just a few other details that need to be put into place before we can really start looking at the stories behind those letters.

Thank you for the reviews, kudos, favorites, comments, follows and bookmarks from the Prologue. I do hope that you enjoy this chapter as well.

If you enjoy the chapter, please leave a review. Reviews always make my day!

Love always,
~starr

~ May 2002 ~

"Move in with me," Draco said, peering back over his shoulder at Hermione, who was sitting on the bed. She was slipping the sling of her heel over the back of her foot as he finished adjusting the Windsor knot of his tie in the mirror.

Hermione quirked her eyebrow at him after securing her shoe in place. Sure, she spent most of her time here anyways, but they had only been dating a few years. They had never talked about living together. Their schedules were as crazy as ever, but they still made time to see each other. Between trainings and classes, they were lucky they saw each other at all.

"What?" she asked standing up and brushing her hands over her dress before walking over the doorway to the bathroom. She smiled when she saw Draco's reflection smiling at her in the mirror as he adjusted his tie again.

He spun around and leaned against the counter. The smile still beaming brightly upon his face as he rested his hands on the counter on either side of his waist.

"Move in with me," he repeated slowly as he took in the beauty that she was. The emerald green dress clung to every curve of her body in the most beautiful way. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her in his life.

"You want me to move in here?" she questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest. She hadn't missed how handsome he looked. She loved when he got all dressed up. Also, she couldn't deny that she hadn't thought about them living together often.

Draco nodded his head. "I'd like it if you did. You're here every night as it is. Half the clothes in the closet are yours. It makes sense to me that you and the rest of your stuff be here too."

Draco began fussing with his tie again as he waited for Hermione to say something. He could have sworn this was more nerve wracking than when he asked her out on a date three years ago. She was good at making him wait for the answer he wanted to hear.

Hermione watched him as he fidgeted with his tie. He was nervous. She stepped forward and gently pushed his hands away from his tie. She straightened the tie from the knot down and rested a hand on his chest.

"We've never talked about living together," she said softly, looking up at him through her eyelashes, a soft smile on her face.

Draco looked down at her and he smiled. He placed a hand on the small of her back and the other on her waist pulling her into him, eliminating the space between them.

"Are not most of your work clothes in my closet right now?" he asked. Hermione nodded.

"We've never properly talked about any piece of our relationship," he smirked, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, "So what do you say?"

He leaned back so he could see her face. She might not always say what she was thinking right away, but he could always find insight when he looked deep into her chocolate eyes. That is when she let him.

Hermione closed her eyes momentarily. She knew what he was doing and she didn't want to give anything away. She went up on her tiptoes and captured his lips with hers momentarily before leaning back away from him and opening her eyes. A smile danced across her lips as she spoke, "We'll have to swing by my flat after the ceremony to pick up a few things."

Draco's eyes lit up as he quirked his head as he spoke, "Does that mean…?"

Hermione laughed as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek before walking back into the bedroom to finish getting ready for his Auror ceremony. She looked around the room and smiled. She could definitely adapt to living here from now on.

"Come on then, we don't want to be late," she called as she headed downstairs.

. . . . . . . .

~August 2002~

She sat at the table, staring at an unopened envelope addressed to her. The return address read the Ministry of Magic. She knew that it could only be one of two things. A "Congratulations! You got the job" letter, or a "Thank you for applying, but we have chosen to hire someone else" letter. One letter would make all her dreams come true, and the other would send her into a depressive spiral, causing all of her hopes and dreams to come crashing down.

The internship she did with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement couldn't have gone any better, so there was no reason to be worried. However, her mind loved working in overdrive giving her a million and one reasons that she would get shot down for the position that opened up within the department.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the roar of the floo as Draco came home from the office. In fact, she never heard him come into the kitchen and stand beside her.

"Hey, love," Draco said happily leaning down to place a gentle kiss atop her head causing her to jump out of her seat in a panic. Her head snapping so quickly to see who was there that it caused her to reach a hand up to rub her neck.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she exclaimed clutching her other hand to her chest closing her eyes momentarily, "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Draco pulled his lower lip into his mouth and bit down in an attempt to hide his amusement as he kneeled down wrapping a cautious arm around her shoulders. She turned her head into his shoulder allowing him to wrap his other arm around her. He squeezed her tightly and placed soft kisses along her temple.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I thought you heard the floo when I came through," he whispered. He could feel her shaking her head against his chest before he heard her speak.

"I never heard the Floo. I'm sorry I yelled at you," she mumbled as she slowly leaned back in her seat to look at him.

"It's okay," he replied quietly as he released his tight hold on her, "Are you okay?"

The concern was very evident in Draco's eyes as Hermione examined the features of his face. The soft creases forming at the corner of his icy slate colored eyes that seemed to appear when he was especially worried about her. He was used to her occasional panics when things got too stressful for her, and he knew exactly what to say and do to help her calm down. It made her smile to know that she was loved so much by someone who she loved deeply as well. Moving in with him was one of the best decisions of her life.

Slowly, she nodded her head, "It'll depend on what that letter says." She motioned towards the table with her head. Draco's eyes trailing from her face to the table where the hefty envelope was lying unopened.

He turned back to her and kissed her on the cheek, "No matter what it says, it'll be okay. Besides, you know what they say about people who get the big envelopes…"

Hermione saw the smile on his face out of the corner of her eye as she stared at the table and started to laugh. She realized how silly she was being about this whole thing. Big envelopes were always a good thing, and she knew that.

"Hey," Draco said quietly, placing a tentative hand on on her chin, turning her attention to him, "Wanna open it together?"

"Promise you won't be disappointed if I didn't get the job?" she asked causing Draco to laugh as he nodded his head. Slowly, she reached out her hand and grabbed the letter off the table. Opening it even slower, she began to read the contents of the letter aloud.

Dear Ms. Granger,

It is with great pride that I write this letter to you today. Congratulations on your new employment with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement…

She and Draco jumped up from where they were with a cheer of excitement as Hermione dropped the letter back on the table. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist, picked her up off the ground spinning her around. When he set her back down on the ground, he crashed his lips into hers keeping his firm grasp around her waist.

"I guess this means we're co-workers now," Draco said with a wink after the kiss.

"I guess so. Someday I'll be your boss," Hermione replied proudly as she picked up the letter once again. A smile beaming from her face as she read it to herself once again.

. . . . . . . .

~ December 2005 ~

They were getting ready to travel to the Malfoy Manor for Narcissa's annual Christmas party. The presents were for Narcissa and Lucius, along with one present for each other, were packed in the boot of their car. Hermione looked around the living room one last time making sure that they weren't forgetting anything. They'd only be gone for a few hours, but by the looks of their car it looked as though they were going away for a long weekend. A person has to be prepared for anything when they stepped foot into the Manor.

"We don't have to go," Draco said as he watched Hermione from where he was leaning against the door.

Hermione shook her head adamantly, "No. We told your mother we would be there."

"Okay," Draco replied walking over to wrap his arms around her pulling her close to his chest. "It'll be okay. We won't stay late," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

Hermione nodded against his chest as a small smile grew on her face. He always knew just what to say to make her feel better. She didn't think that things could get any better than they were right this second. She leaned back and kissed him softly on the lips. As she went to walk away, Draco took her hand and pulling her attention back to him.

"Something wrong?" she asked quickly, impending worry lurking in the back of her mind.

Draco shook his head, "Nothing's wrong. I just have something important I wanted to talk to you about before we left."

Hermione quirked her eyebrow at him as she stepped towards him and he took both of her hands in his. He brought them to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on each one before looking up at her with a smile on his face.

"I love you, Hermione," he said.

"I love you too, Draco," she replied in turn. She knew that either something very good was about to happen or else he had some very bad news. Anytime he had news, good or bad, the conversation always started the same.

"You make me happier than I've ever been and you challenge me to become the greatest version of myself that I can because I want to be the man that you deserve. Although, there's one thing that would make me the happiest man in the world," he paused as he got down on one knee in front of her and pulled a small black velvet box out of his jacket pocket. Hermione clasped a hand over her mouth as tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

Draco took a deep breath before opening the box and looked up at Hermione with a smile as he spoke, "Hermione Jean Granger, would you make me the luckiest man in the world by marrying me?"

. . . . . . . .

~ June 2007 ~

The music began to play. Draco was standing in the front end of the aisle, Hermione could see him from the cove that she had been hiding in. He looked so handsome. She couldn't believe how lucky she was that today she was going to marry him. The man who was making all her dreams come true.

She was brushing down the tulle of her dress for the umpteenth time when Harry stepped into her little cove with a smile on his face. It was the first time he had seen her in the dress.

"You look beautiful, Hermione. Malfoy is a lucky man," he said proudly offering her a hand, "Are you ready?"

Hermione nodded as she took his hand with a smile on her face.

"Are you sure? I can apparate out of here in a second if that's what you want," Harry warned quirking his brow.

"I'm sure, Harry. He makes me happy," Hermione laughed.

"You just say that word," Harry replied with a wink as they walked out of the cove as the music began to play and the crowd stood.

As Harry walked her down the aisle, her eyes met with Draco's. She watched as he rolled his shoulders in an attempt to shake off the whelm of emotions that had overcome him upon seeing his beautiful bride walking towards him. She smiled softly as she tried to hold back the laughter that was bubbling up inside.

She pawned it off to nerves, but she knew it was a response to how Draco was feeling. He didn't show his emotions to anyone other than her and such a public display would be detrimental in his mind, so he was doing everything he could to stop it in it's tracks.

Harry kissed her softly on the cheek when the reached the end of the aisle and whispered, "Just say the word, I promise."

Hermione laughed and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. He turned his attention to Draco and shook his hand firmly before returning to his seat.

Draco took Hermione's hand in his and walked to stand in front of the minister. They held hands for the entirety of the ceremony, never wanting to lose that simple connection.

. . . . . . . .

Finally able to get a moment to themselves, Hermione and Draco slipped away to their honeymoon suite. They shared a brief kiss before Hermione took a seat on the bed and looked at Draco as he shed his suit jacket. She just watched with a dreamy look on her face. Draco happened to catch her staring out of the corner of his eye.

"See something you like?" he questioned slyly as he turned on his heels and walked towards where she was seated, laughing as she nodded her head. He leaned down capturing her lips with his, sliding his tongue along her lower lip before slipping inside when granted permission, compliments of a moan escaping her lips.

"What was that for?" she whispered as she rested her forehead against his with a smile playing at her lips.

"Just because," he replied with another quick kiss, "Did you want help getting out of that?"

He quirked his eyebrow as he asked. His voice dripping with desire for his beautiful wife, a wicked grin as evidence on his face.

"In a minute," she said, "I want to ask you something first."

"Okay…" Draco sighed as he sat down beside her, "Should I be concerned?"

Hermione laughed, "No. I just wanted to know what you thought of me keeping my maiden name at work."

"Oh," Draco replied scratching his head, "I guess I hadn't really thought about it."

He quirked his head to the side as he thought about it for a moment. He could see why she would want to do such a thing. She would go a lot further professionally if she kept her maiden name. Being a Malfoy was not as glorious as it may have seemed to be.

Hermione watched him as he thought it over. She knew it wasn't an easy topic to think about, in fact that's why she waited so long to bring it up to him. As she waited for his answer, she bit her bottom lip and drug her teeth along it. An action she had been doing for ages. An action that caused Draco to pop his head straight up and look deep into her chocolate colored eyes.

"That's my job," he hissed as he watched her repeat the action again. A smile growing on her lips and desire flooding her eyes.

"Mrs. Malfoy at home and Ms. Granger at work," he mused stroking his chin, "It'd be like I'm sleeping with two different woman. I like it!"

He winked at her, crashing his lips into hers with bruising force before she could say a word.