Sorry for the delay! Real life crept up on me again...I went on a little day trip yesterday with my family and when we got back, I took a nap...so I decided to delay posting until today. The next chapter is the last pre-written chapter I have, so it may be a couple of weeks before it gets posted. I am working on chapter six, though, and have so many ideas for the next few chapters!

Thanks to all who reviewed/followed/favorited. I appreciate you all!

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

let it be me

chapter four

"I knew I'd find you here," a familiar voice said.

Hermione looked up from her position on the sofa that was sequestered away in her favorite nook in the library. She smiled slightly at Harry. She briefly wondered why Draco hadn't come, and then squashed that thought down along with the accompanying twinge of hurt.

"When in doubt, you can always find Hermione Granger in the library," he grinned, nodding at the book open next to her and the stack of books next to it. She had tried to start researching wizarding marriage customs, specifically marriage laws, but hadn't gotten very far before her swirling thoughts overtook her.

"Hello, Harry. Shouldn't you be celebrating? You just found out that you're going to marry the woman you've loved for years."

"Well, we—all of us, not just me and Gin—were going to go down to the kitchens to see if there was some cake left over from dinner, since after McGonagall said she wanted to talk to us no one really had much of an appetite. But we got to thinking, and we didn't want to celebrate without you there."

Harry sat down next to her, his dear face full of concern for the young woman who was like his sister. "I'm sorry that you didn't end up with Ron."

Hermione nodded. "You know, I was actually coming to realize that I needed to break up with him."

"What?" Harry asked, shocked.

"I will always care about him. He's been my friend since first year. Plus, you don't live through everything the three of us faced and conquered without creating some kind of bond. But lately…for the past month or so, things just haven't been right. I don't know if it's because of school and N.E.W.T.s or if things just fizzled out between us, but it didn't feel right to continue a relationship I didn't feel was going anywhere. But that doesn't mean that I didn't think that maybe we could possibly get back together later. Maybe not within a year, but sometime. I just thought that maybe we needed to figure out who we are before we committed fully to being together. But now…now that's not an option. I just wanted an option. Merlin! How would the Ministry officials like it if they were subjected to such a law?!"

"They aren't, of course," said Harry. "Most of them are already married, and the majority of them are probably too old to be having children, even with how long wizards live.

"But I understand, Hermione. People need time to heal and to start to live again. I think all of us thought we'd have a few years before thinking about marriage. We're barely legal in the Muggle world! I want to marry Ginny, I do, and I love that I am going to, but you're right, we could have used more time."

Hermione sighed. "I'm being a little selfish, aren't I, Harry?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm complaining about how this Merlin-forsaken law is going to affect my life, when it affects so many others, too. I'm not the only one whose life has been and will be upended. I'm going to have to remember that."

"Hermione," said Harry. "Yeah, all of us will be getting married way before any of us are really ready, but I think for you and Ron it's a little different. Most of the rest of us were paired with people we were already dating or at least had some kind of attachment. The both of you were paired with people you never would have expected."

"I know," Hermione said. "That's what makes this even odder. I mean, I suppose it could have been worse—I could have been paired with Goyle." Hermione laughed at the revolted look on Harry's face. "It's not that it's Draco—although that is a little awkward—it's more that I'm expected to become a wife at the age of nineteen and I don't know what I'm doing."

"None of us do, really," said Harry. "But we'll get through it. We defeated Voldemort, we can face marriage in stride. At least we're not having to go through this alone.

"And as much as it disturbs me to say this, I don't think that Malfoy would ever hurt you. Not again, anyway. He cares about you. We all see it, even Ron. And we know you care about him too. It'll be fine, Hermione. You know you can talk to me and Ginny if you need to. I may not be great at relationship advice as far as coming from a girl's perspective goes, but I'll always be here to listen."

Hermione smiled at her dearest friend, her brother in all but blood. "Thank you, Harry," she said, hugging him so he wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Anytime, Hermione," he said.

"I need to go talk to Draco. I can't run away from this. We need to tackle this together. Do you know where he is?"

"He said he was going back to your common room. Good luck, Hermione. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Harry. And thank you again."

Her bespectacled friend nodded and waved as they left to find their respective spouses-to-be.

X.X

Hermione entered the Heads' dorm to find Draco sitting on the couch reading. He looked up at her entrance and the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile. She returned the gesture and started twisting her fingers as she spoke.

"I'm sorry I ran out of the Great Hall like that," she said softly.

Draco looked up again. "You needed time to think, didn't you? You needed time to process everything through that formidable brain of yours."

"Yes," Hermione breathed, glad he understood. "I just want you to know that I'm not frustrated because it's you. I'm frustrated with the law in general."

Hermione thought she saw a bit of relief pass through Draco's eyes at her words. While he had lost most of the qualities that had made him a bully—a remaining bit of arrogance and dislike for those he deemed incompetent notwithstanding—he still maintained his cool, composed demeanor. Except for his eyes—for those who knew him best, some of what he was feeling could always be detected in his eyes.

"Honestly," she continued. "Is it too much to ask that we have a normal year?"

"We went through this at the beginning of the year," he answered. "We will never have a normal year. Even if Potter and Weasel hadn't come back, we still wouldn't have had a normal year."

"Well, I for one would have liked to have regained at least some sense of normalcy before I started thinking about getting married!" Hermione said. "Like I told Harry, we're barely legal! We should be thinking about future careers, not planning weddings!

"For some people, early marriages can work," she continued quietly. "I just thought I would have more time. We all did."

Hermione continued to vent for a couple of minutes before looking at Draco, who had remained quiet throughout her tirade.

"Wait," she said. "You're not fazed at all at the prospect of an arranged marriage, are you? You were…" She peered at him a little more. "You were raised to expect one, weren't you?" she asked in wonder.

"Yes, I was," he answered succinctly. "It's common in many Pureblood circles. But what many people don't know, Granger, is that there are three types of arranged marriages."

At the mention of this, her face perked up. She had never known that there could be more than one type of arranged marriage.

Draco chuckled at her enthusiasm. In her defense, however, learning whatever she could about marriage customs of the Wizarding world might help her to figure out what to do about the marriage law.

"Always excited at the prospect of new knowledge, aren't you, you little swot?" A few years before, he would have called her such a name in disdain, even disgust, but now the term was gently teasing, even affectionate.

"I'll tell you about the different types of arranged marriages, Granger. There won't be a test at the end, however, unless that's what gets you going."

She blushed at his words and saw the tips of his ears turn pink as well.

"Anyway, Granger," Draco said, clearing his throat, "there are three types of arranged marriages. The first type is probably what most people think of when they hear the term arranged marriage. A man and a woman are chosen to marry by their families. They don't meet in person until a few days before the wedding, or even until the day of the wedding. They might be allowed to exchange letters. They may have known each other as children, although that isn't necessary. This type isn't practiced so much anymore—not for a hundred years or so."

Hermione nodded. "The European royal families practiced the same type of arranged marriage," she said. "It wasn't about love, but about consolidation or gain of power, land, or both."

He nodded thoughtfully. "It was much the same in the Wizarding world. The second type," he continued, "is much more common. The parents keep an eye on who their children are friends with, who they seem to like the company of best. If things seem to be going well, often a girl and a boy are betrothed about the time they head to Hogwarts or soon after. This kind can be broken, but only with the consent of both parties and their parents.

"I was betrothed to someone by this second type."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Who?"

"Pansy," Draco said simply.

That made a lot of sense. It certainly would explain why she had clung to him during their earliest years at Hogwarts. "I'm guessing you're not still betrothed?"

"No, thank Salazar," Draco answered. "Pansy is a good friend. I think she is to me what Potter or even Weasley are to you. I did like her, for a time, but she became too…clingy. She expected too much. She wanted more than I could give. But then she somehow decided that we weren't meant to be. She started liking Blaise, and I was glad enough to give her the okay to start pursuing him. We talked to our parents and the betrothal was broken. Pansy is an only child and her father has never been able to deny her anything. I could not have been happy in the long term with Pansy as my wife, and she wouldn't have been happy with me as her husband. We'll always be friends, but nothing more."

Hermione nodded. She understood that some friendships weren't meant to stay romantic. It was a hard pill to swallow, but she knew that Draco's situation with Pansy held some similarities with her relationship with Ron.

"The third type," Draco went on, "is probably the most common. My parents were wed under this third type. The parents make sure, as in the second type, that their children are surrounded by suitable possible spouses," he said. She understood the implications—Pureblood children played with other Pureblood children, but according to economic status and sometimes class, which was why the Weasley children weren't included.

"When the children hit their teenage years, the parents suggest a few witches or wizards that their child is encouraged to become better acquainted with, if they aren't already friends. Yes, Slytherins have friends," he said wryly. "We just don't flaunt it like you Gryffindors do.

"The child is expected to pick a future spouse from that small pool of acceptable witches or wizards."

Hermione nodded absently, all the information swirling in her mind. "That is fascinating," she told Draco. "I never realized that there were so many intricacies to arranged marriages. And it really is how many marriages are made in the Wizarding World?"

"Not as many families now adhere to it. Just the older ones—mainly those in the Sacred Twenty-Eight. But even those families mainly go the route of putting acceptable candidates in front of their children and letting the children choose."

"So why did your parents go with the second type?"

"I think it was because it was so soon after the first Wizarding War, and there weren't as many Pureblood girls around our age to choose from. Plus, as I said, Pansy's dad has always indulged her, and she decided fairly early on that she wanted to marry me. I think that money, status, and business were also involved—Pansy's father would have agreed to back Malfoy Industries in exchange for my parents agreeing to our betrothal."

"And so…after Pansy and you broke it off…did your parents not try to betroth you to someone else?" She really wanted to ask, Are you promised to anyone now? However, she was a little unnerved by the slight clenching in her gut that came with the idea that Draco was already promised to someone.

"I think my mother hoped that I would form an attachment to Daphne's younger sister, Astoria. But I never did, as she is two years younger than us and is shallow and not very bright. Besides, by that time—the end of fifth year—my father was in Azkaban, the Dark…You-Know-Who was rising, and suddenly I was more concerned with staying alive and keeping my parents alive than pursuing a girl." He drew into himself at the allusion to sixth year, and Hermione put her hand on his arm, squeezing slightly. He looked at her, and the corner of his mouth drew up as he attempted to smile in thanks.

"So…you are okay with this marriage law?" You're okay with marrying me? She knew he had eradicated all his former blood prejudices and had befriended her, but that didn't mean that he wanted to marry her, even though she knew he cared for her a great deal.

"It was a surprise. But you…you are the best of all possible choices."

Hermione blushed as he intently looked at her again. "That's very Panglossian," she said, not knowing what else to say.

"What?"

"Pangloss. A character in the novel Candide. It was written in the mid-1700s by Voltaire, a Frenchman. Pangloss is kind of Candide's mentor. He thinks that the world we live in is the 'best of all possible worlds' because God would only make the best world possible."

"I see," he said. "So this Pangloss was an optimist, then?"

"Yes," she said. "Unfailingly so. Even with all the tumult around them and all the different challenges that they face during the story, he never loses faith that the world they are in is the best one possible."

"So he was a Gryffindor," he said, smirking.

"No, you dolt, he was a Muggle," she huffed. "And may I remind you that you are going to marry a Gryffindor?"

"Yes, I am. But one with a Slytherin streak and Ravenclaw tendencies."

"You know, it's probably a good thing that most wizards and witches are ignorant of Muggle literature," Hermione commented. "Who knows what would have happened if Voldemort would have read The Prince."

"You mean the work by Machiavelli?" Draco asked.

Hermione quickly looked at him. "You know Machiavelli?"

"I do," he said. "Would it surprise you to learn that The Prince is my father's favorite book?"

"If it wasn't a Muggle book, no, I wouldn't have been surprised," said Hermione. "How is it that you had never heard of Voltaire but know and have probably read Machiavelli?"

"Machiavelli has been required reading for Malfoys for centuries," said Draco. "As to why we revere a Muggle book, it's because the Statute of Secrecy wasn't passed until the late 1600s, well after Machiavelli wrote his works and about 150 years, I'm guessing, before Voltaire wrote his book."

"So wizards and witches continue to read Muggle books that were written before the Statute of Secrecy?"

"Those who can read, yes. Or those who choose to. Not everyone is like us, Granger. Not everyone prefers to spend their days with their nose stuck in a book, little lioness."

She felt her face flush slightly at the new term of endearment. "I can understand some wizarding folk enjoying the older Muggle works, but the Malfoys? Really?"

"Would it surprise you to learn that one of my ancestors was a courtier of the Muggle queen Elizabeth I?"

"Really?"

"Yes. He actually proposed marriage to her."

"He did? A courtier proposing marriage to the ruling Queen of England famous for remaining unmarried?"

"He was a Slytherin, Granger. Ambitious to a fault. Anyway, the family legend says that when she refused him, he cursed her to remain unmarried."

"I thought she remained unmarried for various reasons. She enjoyed the power she was able to wield as an unmarried queen regnant. She had observed her father's string of marriages where he had all the power and could dissolve the marriage if his wife displeased him. She also saw her sister's disastrous marriage to a king of Spain who treated her cruelly. Plus, she wasn't able to marry the love of her life, who was a courtier, like your ancestor, because his first wife had died mysteriously, causing a scandal! Honestly, it was like a soap opera."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "You know a lot about these Muggle queens, don't you? And what's a soap opera?"

"I have always loved history," Hermione answered almost defensively. "My mother liked following the royal family and would read about them or watch television programs about them and some of their ancestors. And the idea of being a queen regnant always fascinated me and appealed to me.

"A soap opera is a dramatic story on television—I've told you about those, remember?—or on the radio following the lives of many different people and their exploits—marriages, children, affairs, and such. It's as if someone turned Witch Weekly into a show and embellished details."

He nodded. "Maybe my ancestor did curse her. Maybe he didn't. Kind of foolish to curse a Muggle queen, but my ancestors had been in the employ of the English kings at various times over the years. Malfoys always follow power. Even when it leads to their downfall," he said, his voice turning quiet and contemplative at the end.

"Back to that character, Pangloss? Was that his name? I don't know if this is the best of all possible worlds, but the Dark…You-Know-Who is gone, which certainly makes this a better world.

"And I meant what I said before," he said quietly. "You are the best of all possible choices. Of all the witches I could have been paired with, I'm glad it's you."

"I'm glad it's you, too," she answered.

He looked at her, eyes widened a fraction. There was a gleam in his gray eyes that she couldn't quite decipher.

"Harry would have been too awkward, Ron and I wouldn't have worked—yes, I know that now. I want to make this work. I do. It's going to take time, though. I…always expected to marry someone I loved, someone who loved me in return. My parents taught me not to take marriage lightly, that you need to make sure that this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.

"We're going to have to discuss things," she said. "I have gotten to know you well over the last few months, but we need to talk about things like where we're going to live, what you think about me working, even after having children…"

"I actually thought of a place that might be suitable for us. I'd never make you live in the Manor—you don't even have to visit if you don't want to, although I will go to see my parents, of course. Especially my mother. As for working, why would I not want you to work? You're Hermione Granger, for Salazar's sake. You're not meant to be stuck at home, raising children and taking care of the house. You're meant to be blazing trails at the Ministry, giving all of those bureaucrats a run for their Galleons, fighting for house elves and werewolves or whichever cause celebre you've chosen to adapt at the moment. You're meant to be handing out badges and campaigning for those who don't have a voice and generally showing up all those old people who should have retired a long time ago.

"Wait," he said as she stared at him, amazed at how accurately he had portrayed what she wanted to do at the Ministry. "Did…did Weasley say he wanted you to stay at home and raise his ginger children and cook him monstrous meals?" He looked shocked and a little angry at the thought.

"No, he never said it outright. But it was heavily implied. I knew that he wanted a wife like…well, like his mother. Someone to run the household. And there's nothing wrong with doing that. Molly is an efficient witch and I am grateful to her for opening her home to me so many times. But it's not for me. I know it would have caused a lot of fights. I would never abandon my children," she said passionately. "I want to be there for them, always, whenever I have them. I do want to stay with them for the first few months, at least. I think it's important for both parents to bond with their new baby. But I always planned on working from home, if I was allowed to do so by whichever Ministry department I was working for."

"I would never want you to think that you had to limit your opportunities just because we had children," he answered. "I don't know if I'll be a good father. But I want to be. I could…I could stay home with them, some, if it came to it. I know I'll probably have to work for a while, even after my five-year probation is up, since the Malfoy coffers have been somewhat depleted by the war reparations," he said. "And I don't want to take over the family business just yet. Turning that around is going to take time. And I have to get my father on board with some of the changes I want to make."

"You will be a good father," she said. "I can tell, you want your children to have a different childhood from the one you had—at least when it comes to the prejudice and isolation. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"We also need to talk about when we want to have children. But that will be for another time, I think. It's getting late."

"Yes. We only have a four-year window to get started, and I don't want to get pregnant right away. After a year or two, I think. I need to get used to being a wife and get settled in a career before we think about having kids, and I'm sure you need to get used to being a husband and settle into a career as well. Goodnight, Draco."

"Goodnight, lioness. I'll see you in the morning."

So what did you think? What did you think about the three types of arranged marriages? Do you think that there was another reason that Draco was glad when Pansy broke off their betrothal? What would you like to see them discuss first?

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