Disclaimer: Characters and Harry Potter world are owned solely by JKR. I just own this particular plot.

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed! It really made me happy to see that you guys are enjoying the story! To my guest who wrote about Hermione's decision regarding the proposal, I hope you like the chapter! And to Jadepowell, thanks for your input on who the murderer might be! Hope you enjoy the chapter ;)

As always, thanks for reading :)

Previously:

Giving her one last smile he knelt down before her and produced a golden diamond encrusted ring.

"Will you do me the honor of accepting my hand in matrimony, Hermione Jean Granger?"

Chapter 3

Wednesday, 7:55pm

Hermione Granger residence

The small cuckoo clock, a present form Ginny when she had visited Germany's famed Black Forrest, hung beautifully on Hermione Jean Granger's living room, counting down the seconds till the time arrived to let its small Vogel escape its eternal resting place for eight short-lived seconds.

For the redheaded man, kneeling on the floor in front of the beautiful brunette dressed in pale blue and adorned in diamonds, each seconds seemed to last an eternity.

Merlin, he had waited exactly 12 months and 5 hours for this precise moment. But each second that passed by was nothing if it meant he'd have her for the rest of his life.

His smile widened even more as he stared at the beautiful woman in front of him. He was so lucky to have her. He knew their relationship had taken its time to lift off, but by Jove, every instant that he had spent with her had been the sweetest moments in his 25 year-long life.

He recalled confiding in his mother and sister a year ago on his proposal to Hermione. They had very patiently advised him to wait a few more years; witches like Hermione were not like the groupies that hung out after his Quidditch matches, eager to land a husband. He had begrudgingly agreed, and waited one year exact. Quite frankly, he couldn't wait any more. Hermione loved him as much as he loved her, and she knew he would never stand in her way of reaching her goals. Sure he wanted to start a family as soon as possible, but he knew Hermione was a modern witch. She would want to wait more years. And that was perfectly fine with him. But just because she didn't want to add family members just yet, didn't mean she couldn't become his wife! Plus, two years of abstinence was pure torture for a 25-year-old male.

So when the time to mark their three years together approached, he decided to tell no one and surprise them all at the same time. He knew he'd have to make it special, and he knew he would have to patiently wait some more seconds after he presented her with the ring before officially calling her his fiancé.

Oh but these seconds that passed by as he kneeled before her were pure agony. He knew she'd take her time, which is why he had practiced the kneeling pose for a while. His Hermione was a rational witch. She would think everything through with her mind first before agreeing with her heart that he was the one and only one for her. And that was fine with him, because quite frankly, that's why he loved her. She was so different from him on so many levels, yet at the same time, they were the same. So with that in mind he had prepared for a week and now, on the eve of his three years with her, he waited patiently as she took her time to accept his hand.

His knee was beginning to hurt.

No matter, any second now.

He watched her even more intensely as the last seconds ticked by; he could feel her arriving to a decision and his smile widened even more. Three more seconds and a full minute of waiting would be reached, but finally she would be him and only his.

He took in a deep breath as his eyes traveled to her slowly opening mouth.

Fifty-eight, fifty-nine…

"Ron, I – I can't"

Thursday, 8:25am

Malfoy Manor

Draco Malfoy liked his coffee black. Completely black. Maybe a drop of water or a spoon of whiskey now and then, but for the most part he like it black.

Prior to his departure from England, he had hated the bitter substance. His first taste had been when he was 11 and had just returned from his first semester at Hogwarts. He had seen his father sip the ebony liquid at breakfast one morning and wanting to be just like him, you Draco had ordered the house elves to bring him whatever his father was having. Upon its arrival he had picked it up with the same elegance his father possessed and had brought the cup up to his lips; eager to act like a fully adult Malfoy male. However upon its entrance past his parted lips, the young Malfoy had gasped and made the liquid go down the wrong end, choking at the bitterness and hotness of the café before dropping the china and all its contents on the breakfast table, much to his father's amusement and his mother's displeasure.

Since that day, at the tender age of 11, Draco Malfoy had sworn off coffee.

If it hadn't been for a beautiful Spaniard witch and the intense heat that surrounded them that summer's morning as they rolled out of bed, Draco Malfoy would still to this day have called himself a coffee-hater.

But Camila had insisted on changing his ways about coffee and had made him try a very simple yet very flavorful Café Con Hielo.

Merlin, that had been his undoing.

From that day on he had tasted all types of coffees he could get his hands on.

He had decided he liked Café Solo best, but when he was feeling in a celebratory mood he would order Café Carajillo or Café Bombon.

2,320 kilometer away though, sitting at the head of the table in the grand dining room of the Malfoy Manor and barely listened to his mother's suggestions on who he should take as a date to Saturday's gala, the Malfoy heir felt a pang of nostalgia hit his heart as he stared blankly at the black substance before him.

This 11-year-old self was back.

Slowly he moved the cup away from him as he reached for a juice glass and sipped on it, wishing it was an espresso and that instead of sitting in a cold room with his manic mother, wishing he was enjoying a chilly morning in the arms of Vanessa. Or Camilla. Or Elena.

"Just wait until you see her, Draco. Astoria has grown into such a beautiful young witch, and very intelligent too; she just launched a fashion magazine last month and it has already taken Europe by storm."

With a roll of his eyes, he reached for a muffin. "Yes, mother."

"Oh, you two would make such a lovely couple, Draco dear." His mother beamed, "please tell me you'll consider taking her to the gala." She winked before taking a drink from her steaming cup of tea.

He sighed and dropped his muffin back on his plate before standing up and looking at her.

"I'll consider it mother, but honestly, I'd rather go alone."

"Alone? " Narcissa Malfoy firmly laid her cup down and stared horror-struck at her son, "To the Gala of the year? I think not Draco. You can't possibly be serious, Malfoy men never arrive unaccompanied. No, that won't do. I'll owl Astoria right this instant and have her go with you; I know she'll be positively thrilled!" And without another glance at her son, the blonde woman elegantly left the table and the room.

To say that the Malfoy heir was mad would have been an understatement.

The house elf waiting on them throughout breakfast slowly walked backwards towards the wall and with once last glance at his master, disappeared with a gentle 'pop'.

In the span of 2 seconds the young wizard had gone from being completely detached to bordering homicidal thanks to his dear mother.

Breathing harshly he tried to compose himself as he weighed his options.

Either he could go marching down to his mother's study and confront her about her running his life, or he could finish his bland breakfast, completely ignore what had transpire and attend the gala with one very attractive, very pureblood and very annoying Slytherin.

To be completely honest, he had only said he'd go alone just to spite his mother. But now that he considered it, having her owl Astoria would rid him of the trouble of finding a suitable witch; after all, Astoria couldn't be that bad if mother suggested her. But sure, if he chose to accept her, his mother would believe herself the winner and get her way, but he would also be rid of the effort of having to 'politely' reject the 100 plus vultures that were bound to go after him throughout that night; Astoria would do the work all by herself. And he could even land an easy shag afterwards.

Self-preservation or shag?

Shag.

Sighing slowly and dropping his shoulders as he relaxed, he snapped his fingers and ordered the appearing house elf to bring him some tea as he sat himself back down to finish his breakfast.

He would go to the gala with Astoria, abandon her at some point and see what the Ministry wanted, find her at the end of the evening and beg forgiveness, partake in unnamed activities throughout the night to early morning, and once they both were satiated, return home and never get back to her about whatever she had made him promise to do as a payback.

Yes, that was a good plan. Mother would be happy, for the most part, and he would be pleased.

Taking a bite from a surprisingly warm muffin, he smiled.

Saturday looked to be a bit more promising.

Friday 7:15am

The Burrow

Ginny Weasley had never considered herself to be a comforting type of woman. On times of trouble at the family, she would usually let her mother do all the work as she sat and watched attentively. How her mother could feel all those types of emotions at the same time and console people in the specific way they need to be aided, was beyond her. So when Ron arrived at Burrow Friday morning, shortly after her own arrival from Germany, puffing away at his lungs with eyes red as blood and utterly disheveled, she moved to the side and allowed her mother to do what she did best.

"SHE SAID NO! SHE BLOODY REFUSED ME. ME! RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE SHE, THAT BITCH!"

"Ron, what-"

"AFTER TWO LONG BLISSFUL YEARS TOGETHER, SHE TELLS ME SHE'S HAD A CHANGE OF HEART AND THAT SHE DOESN'T DESERVE ME! WHO THE BLOODY HELL IS SHE TO MAKE THAT DECISION?!"

"Ron, calm-"

"AND YOU KNOW WHATS THE BEST PART? APPARENTLY SHE'S BEEN FEELING THIS WAY FOR A WHILE, A WHILE! MERLIN, I KNEW OUR RELATIONSHIP WASN'T PERFECT BUT FOR HER TO BE FEELING THIS WAY AND NOT TELL ME ANYTHING IS PURE BETRAYAL!"

"Ron, please calm down." His mother walked briskly towards the wizard and pulled him down to a kitchen chair. "Now darling, please calmly explain what is going on."

"Arhhh, she broke up with me, mum!" The redhead angrily spat, before collapsing on the chair and sobbing into his arms. "Hermione broke up with me!"

Mrs. Weasley widened her eyes as she quietly turned to look at her only daughter, who just shrugged her shoulders and kept silent.

"What exactly happened, Ron?" the elder witch questioned, taking care to speak to him as calmly as possible.

She knew how flared Ron's temper could get. 25 years of tantrums and spats with her youngest son had taught her that the best way to get through him, was to ask as few questions as possible and then to quietly and patiently allow him to calm down on his own and retell the story.

After a few more seconds of dying down sobs, the wizard seemed to calm down and lifting his head back up from his arms leaned back on his chair and looked dejectedly at the two witches before him.

With a long sigh, he began.

"I proposed to her Wednesday night, on the eve of our three years together. I know you both told me to wait, but I just couldn't." A lonesome tear made its way down his freckled cheek. "I professed my love to her, mum, took her hand, got down on one knee and proposed to her! And she said no."

Molly Weasley and her daughter exchanged a worried glance before looking back at Ron.

"Ron, sweetheart –"

"I loved her, mother. And she broke my heart."

Taking his hand in hers, his mother gently drew circles around it before calmly continuing.

"Did she say why?"

He scoffed. "Something about not being good enough for me and feeling guilty at not being able to love me the way I deserve to be loved." He spat, "But honestly, who is she to decide that for me? I mean these past two years she gave no sign of being unhappy, no sign at all, and now suddenly she's changed?"

"Sometimes passion for our loved ones make us lose sight of where we are heading, Ron" spoke Ginny, looking at her redhead brother before staring blankly at her hands with a painful look on her face.

He ignored her. "Why did she have to do this to me, why did she have to wait so long to tell me this? Three years? Bloody hell, did she ever even love me?" he questioned, furiously standing up and pulling at his hair angrily.

"I'm sure she did sweetheart, in her own way," replied his mother gently. "But perhaps she realized that the love she had for you was not the same type of love you had for her." She paused to wait for the reaction her response might have on her son. After a few seconds of nothing, she continued, "I know it must hurt deeply, Ron, but at least she found the courage to tell you before things progressed even further."

"Courage? You think waiting three years to tell me she didn't feel the same way and leading me on, is courage, mother?"

"Ron, -"

"No! Cowardice is what it is! Not courage! A courageous person would have never done this to someone they supposedly cared about!"

"But, Ron-"

"NO BUTS MOTHER! SHE'S PLAYED ME LIKE A FOOL AND SHE'S GOING TO REGRET IT! Oh yes she is! She's going to wish she had never met me!" the young man roared, blood filling his face once more.

"Vengeance won't solve anything, Ron." Said his sister; slowly getting up from the table and moving towards the door to leave the scene.

He sneered at her. "What do you know, Ginny." He spat, "Don't act like you understand what is going on when you can't even feel anything anymore. Why Harry ever decided to marry you is beyond me, you're nothing but a cold, heartless bitch!"

"Ron! You will not talk to you sister like that!"

"But it's the truth mother, when has she ever shown any emotion? Any real emotion, not the fake show that she puts on whenever people are around?" he defended, glaring openly at his mum and pointing a finger at his youngest sibling. "And now she comes giving advice when she can't even understand what Hermione's betrayal is doing to me!"

"Ronald Weasley, that's enough! How dare you throw all your anger at someone who is only trying their best to help you, you ungrateful child! Apologize to your sister right this instance!" His mother bellowed.

"No! It's the truth and she needs to hear it from somebody!"

"How, dare you, you insuf-"

"It's alright, mum," sighed Ginny, turning slowly away from the door she was about to cross. "Ron's right." And without another word and an indifferent shrug of her shoulders, Ginny disappeared.

If a pin had dropped that second, its sound would have resonated across the room.

"How could you be so heartless, Ronald!" yelled his mother as she angrily shook a finger at him. "You know how your sister suffered after the war, it affected her the most and yet you throw it all in her face and call yourself the victim! Good heavens where did I go wrong with you, Ron! Just because you feel you have the money and the fame to look down on people doesn't give you the right to do it. You want to know why Hermione broke it off with you, or betrayed you, as you are now calling it? Because you're a selfish man who only thinks of what he deserves and wants to run all relationships at the beat of his drum!

"I have never been this disappointed in you, Ron. Maybe once you start treating people like human beings, you'll start getting all that you want. Not because you demand it, but because for once in your life, you earned it."

And without another glance at her disgraced son, the elderly witch spun on her heels and left the room, leaving a very angry Ron Weasley alone in the kitchen floor.

With a last huff and another tug at his hair, the wizard disapparated.

Saturday, 5:56pm

Hermione Granger's residence

"Come on, Hermione, you have to come out eventually," drawled Ginny as she nonchalantly tapped on Hermione's bathroom door.

"I can't, Ginny."

"Yes you can, Hermione," sighed the pretty redhead. "So you declined a marriage proposal, big deal. Trust me when I say, you haven't been the first person to do that, and take comfort in the fact that you won't be the last. Now come out, the gala will be starting in almost an hour and we still have to get you ready."

"You didn't see the way he looked at me, Ginny. It's like I had ripped something away from him," said the brunette as she slowly opened her bathroom door.

"Trust me, Hermione. I know my brother, he can be a git when wants to and honestly, I think he deserved what he got. You two would have never worked out in the long run. Let him suffer a little. I'm glad someone was able to bring him down from his high horse."

"But he's your brother-"

"And what choice do I have in that matter. Sometimes I wish it had been him instead of Fred."

"Ginny, you don't mean that"

"I do Hermione, I really do. Fred was everything a brother and person could be. It's not fair."

Hermione furrowed her brows as she looked at her friend of over 5 years and leaned on her bathroom door frame.

Out of all the people she knew who took part in the Hogwarts battle, it was Ginny the one who had suffered the most after the bloodshed had ended. Hermione hadn't been very close with her then, but after it all had come to pass; something within Ginny had changed and even she noticed it. Gone was the passionate young woman who had firmly stood by them as they defended Hogwarts. Gone was that spark that shone on her eyes every time she was filled with an intense emotion. It was as if a part of Ginny had died along with Fred that night. Harry had been the one who took on the job of caring for her, even though he had some demons of his own left to fight. But it seemed like the time they had spent together had not only helped them regain their composure but tighten their bond as man and woman. Harry knew that the Ginny he had loved before the war would never return, but that was ok with him, because somewhere in between the fights with her and the struggle to help her kill her own demons, he had fallen in love with her all over again. And the same was evident with Ginny. After the war, she had come out cold and sometimes distant, but if you looked closely at her in times when she thought no one was paying attention, Hermione could see the admiration and love she held for her raven haired friend, even if she never showed it.

Looking then at the redhead stand gloomily by her bathroom door, Hermione knew that more talk about Ron would do more harm than good, not only to her, but to Ginny as well. So taking in a small breath and the young girl's hand in hers, she quickly dismissed the idea of her ex-boyfriend, and pulled Ginny into her bedroom.

"Come on, Ginny. Work your magic on me and make me as beautiful as yourself." She smiled as she sat in front of her large bedroom vanity and gave her friend a reassuring glance.

The redhead only rolled her eyes and grinned.

"About time, Hermione," she smirked and began her work.

"My lovely Astoria, thank you for replying so promptly to my owl! Dear Draco was absolutely thrilled when you accepted the invitation," lied Narcissa Malfoy as she welcomed in the beautiful black haired witch to the parlor. "He was beyond himself, really, the darling boy," she winked as she had one of the house elves offer the younger witch a drink. "He should be coming down soon; I'm sure he just wants to make sure he's all proper for his beautiful date."

"That's quite alright, Narcissa. No need to worry, I'm sure he'll come down shortly." The dark-haired witch grinned, sitting herself in the dark lush armchair and sipping at her tea. She had waited years for his return to the country; she could wait a little bit more.

"Always so amiable" Narcissa smiled at the young witch and sat herself next to her. "So tell me, darling, how's the magazine coming along?"

"Absolutely fantastic, Narcissa," beamed the young witch. "We just finished a shoot in Rome two days ago and now we're getting ready for the fashion show in Milan. You must come down and join us; it will be positively splendid to have such an admired woman as yourself in attendance," the pretty witch winked.

"Oh, sweet child stop it, you flatter me," said the eldest of the two, laughing gently.

"And that is what she needs the least of right now, Astoria, so if I were you I would heed her suggestion and stop it," drawled Draco Malfoy, entering the room and walking towards his mother.

"Mother," he greeted as he gently bend to place a kiss on her cheek and turned to look at Astoria.

"Well, Astoria, you sure have grown up. No longer the round-faced girl I knew back at school, I see," he smirked, taking in her form and giving her an appreciative glance.

"Draco, how nice of you to join us," cut in his mother as she stood up quietly and placed a hand around his arm, squeezing tightly.

"My mother taught me to be punctual," he grinned and stepping out of his mother's grasp, extended a hand to Astoria and pulled her to his side.

"We'll be leaving now, mother. Don't wait up," and without waiting for a reply from the witch, the two dissapparated.

Narcissa Mafloy glared at the spot where her only son had stood. Merlin, he would be the death of her.

The Victoria Room, situated in the second floor of the Ministry of Magic was a colossal room which suited different purposes ranging from target practice training for the Aurors, to hosting battleship battle demonstrations. It was, however, mostly used for entertainment purposes thanks to its ability to accommodate large crowds.

At the current moment, the room was elegantly adorned with golden sashes around the walls and ice sculptures at every table. Beautifully ornamented willows decked each corner of the hall and a large painting depicting the final battle and victory over Voldemort hung beautifully over the entrance doors.

The hall's ceiling had been charmed to portray a clear night sky, allowing its occupants to marble at the closeness of the stars, while charmed balcony's permitted its guests a quick break from the commotion within its walls. Over all the decoration was moderate, but still gave the room a graceful look to all who entered it.

To Draco Malfoy however, the event was royally rubbish. They had arrived 30 minutes after the gala had commenced and he could already think of 104 other ways on how his evening could be spent. So far he can met with two overly exposed witches who had quickly disappeared thanks to Astoria's glare and four ministry officials who seemed to be very interested in how his mother was coping after her husband's tragic death. He quickly dismissed them with five well placed words and a sneered that would have made his late father proud.

To his utter surprise, however, Astoria Greengrass had been nothing short of the perfect companion for this absurdly unceremonial event. After accompanying him to the donation table by the entrance of the hall, she had played the perfect pureblood girlfriend role. She had listened to his complaining attentively and replied only when she had something good to say, which was surprisingly often. He was astonished to discover that her replies lacked neither tact nor intelligence. For once, his mother had been right about something; the witch by his side was brilliant. His plans of leaving her for the duration of the gala were therefore deleted from his mind and he contemplated the rest of the evening with her. He might be able to actually enjoy intelligent conversation with the witch before they became purely physical.

Sipping his champagne as Astoria dismissed yet another overly eager witch, he quickly spotted Blaise make an appearance with a pretty petite by his side. The tall Italian uninterestingly looked around the hall before spotting Draco and guiding his date towards the blonde.

He felt Astoria tense as they approached and allowing himself one glance down at her before Blaise reached them, he noted her narrowed eyes.

Interesting.

"Astoria," the tall wizard greeted her with a knowing smile

"Zabini," was her curt reply.

"Draco, glad you could join in the celebration," he grinned playfully, "Allow me to introduce my date for the evening: Adriana Dubois."

The pretty young witch smiled pleasantly at them before returning her gaze back to her date.

Not wasting any time in useless pleasantries, however, Blaise quickly looked down at Adriana and letting go of her hand, excused himself and the Malfoy heir.

"Adriana, love, Draco and I have some business to attend to, can you please entertain Astoria for a few minutes as we converse in private. Won't be long, promise," he said, giving her one more dashing smile and a kiss on the cheek, before turning to look at Draco who nodding his head at Astoria stepped aside and followed the Italian.

Maybe now things would begin to pick up.

"All's well, Draco?" his friend spoke as he lead the way to a nearby balcony.

"As well as can be expected, I suppose."

"I'm glad. I appreciate you coming to the Gala, I know last time we spoke I wasn't able to explain things clearly, however I trust soon you'll soon get to be more intimate with the details." He spoke as he reached for a champagne glass before looking back at the blonde man before him.

"So, Astoria? I always thought you hated the little chit."

"Mother recommended her. However, she seems to have outgrown her childish banters."

"As well as her previously plain looks," finished Blaise as his stare moved towards the tall dark-haired witch standing by Adriana, completely ignoring the younger girl's wish for conversation.

"I suppose," replied Draco, observing his friend with interest.

Blaise took another drink of his glass and grinned at Draco. "I hope I'm not boring you; Shacklebolt should be arriving shortly."

Draco nodded suspiciously, and glanced at Blaise once more, watching him lean against the balcony rail, inspecting the room in front of him.

He moved towards the corner of the terrace, hiding himself from the crowd and leaned on the corner as he watched his supposed friend enjoy the quite that surrounded them.

Something had changed in Blaise, he was sure of it. The wizard had always been the silent type, however there was something different about this specific silence that he kept and Draco couldn't place a finger on. It was as if he was purposely mocking him with his lack of words.

Lost in his own musings he didn't notice two figures approach Blaise a few minutes later.

"Blaise!"

The Italian smiled at the two approaching females as he pushed off the balcony rail and greeted each one with a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"But what visions you both are. Arise fair suns and kill the envious moon, indeed," he winked before accioing two champagne glasses and handing them off to the witches before him.

"Always the flirt," the small brunette in front of him smiled as the redhead next to her allowed him an amused smile.

"Just being honest, Hermione," he winked before taking another sip from his own glass.

"What a flirt indeed, Blaise" a deep masculine voice broke the gathering as a confident Draco Malfoy stepped out of the shadows.

If Hermione Granger thought Ron's proposal had been the highlight of her week, she had been sorely mistaken.

A/N:

Some terms:

Vogel means bird in German

Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon is a line from William Shakespeare's Rome and Juliet

Thanks for reading!