Disclaimer: Anything you recognize I don't own

Okay, so its been a while. I could give you loads of excuses like graduating college, working, and starting grad school, but no excuse seems sufficient given that this story is already finished. So, to give myself a little break from grad school and work stuff, I've decided to finish editing this story and finish re-posting it. I can't promise how regular I'll be, but I will try!


Without so much as a warning, Jasmine, with Maggie in tow, flooed over to Draco's flat. It was a Saturday and, since it was already eleven o clock, if he wasn't up yet then he was about to be. Sure enough, the silence that surrounded his flat as Jasmine stepped out of the fireplace with Maggie on her hip proved that Draco was most likely still asleep.

With an evil grin Jasmine tiptoed down the hall to Draco's bedroom. Thankfully, his door was open a crack. After pushing it open enough so the two of them could get in, the two saw Draco sprawled out on his bed, mouth open in his sleep.

"Maggie, do you want to wake up Draco?" Jasmine whispered as she moved to the bed.

Maggie eagerly nodded her head and, as soon as Jasmine set her down on the bed, the little girl scrambled up to Draco's face. After placing an adorable, yet wet, kiss on Draco's cheek, she began to smack at his chest while yelling, "Aco! Aco!"

"What the bloody-!"

"Draco, there is a child!" Jasmine yelled through her laughter.

The look on his face was priceless as he took in the two girls. First, the laughing form of his so-called best friend and then to the little girl that was smiling up at him widely while chanting his name. With that smile he found that he couldn't be too mad, but then he realized his cheek was wet.

"Gross! Why are you two here, anyway?" Draco demanded as he pulled the little girl on his lap to quiet her down. Maggie immediately stopped her chanting and snuggled into Draco's arms quite adorably. It was hard to be angry with her doing that, and he wanted to be angry at Jasmine at least.

"Maggie missed you so I thought the three of us could go out to lunch while Theo heads over to supervise the work on our new flat."

"Well, take the toddler so I can get dressed and we'll go. However, I have to get to the office at two for Hermione's photo shoot."

Jasmine's face lit up, "Can we come to?!"

Draco sighed dramatically, "I guess."

Satisfied with that answer, Jasmine took Maggie and headed to the living room to wait while Draco dressed. It only took him a few minutes to get ready and, once he was ready to go, the three of them headed towards a new muggle restaurant that Jasmine was eager to try out.

Once seated, the three of them attracted some interested stares. Jasmine knew why: they were wondering how such a dark child came from two fair people. Thankfully, though, Draco didn't seem to notice or mind the stares of the muggles so she decided to say nothing at all.

"So, when's the wedding?" Draco asked once their food had arrived and Maggie was on his lap eagerly eating his offerings of pasta.

"September fifth." Jasmine replied. "I've been meaning to ask you a question about that. You're my best friend and I would like nothing more for you to be my man of honor, but my Mom would not go for that, so will you be Theo's best man?"

"What about his friends?"

"He really doesn't have any good guy friends."

"I'll do it for you. Not that I don't like Nott, but I'm definitely not his 'best man'."

Jasmine chuckled, "I know. We've decided to just have one attendant each because of that. Unfortunately, I can't even come up with one. I have until May though to think of someone."

"Don't you have sisters?"

"My Mom needs them for other wedding related tasks that she can't trust into the hands of anyone else. And my sister-in-laws…there is no way."

While the information she had just fed him was true, she was secretly laughing on the inside as she thought of her plan and how he was an unsuspecting victim in her scheme. Hopefully it would work out well and Hermione would agree to be her maid of honor. If she did not, she would just have to give in and ask one of her brother's wives, no matter how much the idea grated on her nerves. Those girls would love nothing more than to try to turn the spotlight to them.

"Is Maggie going to be a flower girl?" Draco asked as he fed Maggie another bite of pasta.

"Yes, and so will my two nieces. They'll help Maggie down the aisle and keep her from trying to eat the petals, or whatever she might do with them besides throwing them."

The three were quiet for a few minutes as they ate until Draco broke the silence with an unexpected but caring question, "Does he make you happy, Jasmine?"

Jasmine smiled warmly at her best friend, who was so lovingly holding her future daughter, and replied, "Yes, he does. We love each other and I love this little girl and that brings me more happiness than I could have possibly dreamed of a year ago."

"Good. Just know that my door is always open to you."

"I know it is, Draco." And, although she wanted to tell him that she loved him, as a friend of course, she kept it to herself because she didn't want to alarm him. Those words would never come easily to him. What he had said was enough to show her that he did love her.

Xxx

Hermione was already at the office waiting with the photographer and his crew when Draco arrived with Jasmine and Maggie. With a quick glance at his watch Draco saw that they weren't late, however, they were right on time.

"Good afternoon Mr. Malfoy." Pierre, the photographer, smiled in greeting at the man who had provided him with much business in the last couple of years. This meant that he had become really good at ass kissing, but at least he was subtle about it.

"Good afternoon everyone." Draco replied with a nod to Pierre and his crew and a warm smile to Hermione. "Let's take Ms. Granger to makeup and wardrobe while Pierre sets up his equipment, yes?"

His suggestion spurred everyone into action. Two ladies each took one of Hermione's arms and led her around a curtain they had already set up. As they led her away she cast a desperate look at Jasmine. Jasmine smiled and with Maggie still on her hip, she followed Hermione and the two ladies behind the curtain.

"Don't worry Hermione, the ad isn't going for sexy, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Jasmine assured her as the wardrobe lady pushed clothes into Hermione's arms and insisted she change into them.

"I just don't like drawing attention to myself." Hermione sighed as she pulled off her t-shirt.

Jasmine nodded in understanding as she put Maggie down on her feet and took hold of her hand, "Understandable, but why did you agree to do this ad?"

Hermione's face disappeared as she slipped the new shirt on and, when her face was visible again, Jasmine saw that her face had flushed red. "I'm doing it for Draco. He was pretty insistent on it and was convinced it was the best way to go."

Jasmine had to work hard to keep her lips from curling up into a satisfied smirk and, instead, plastered a small and innocent smile on her face. However, inside she was cheering because she was so close to being victorious! It was only a matter of time.

"Just think of all the people your potion is going to help. You're going to improve their quality of life and that makes all this worth it doesn't it?"

Hermione nodded and zipped up the pencil skirt the wardrobe lady had given her. They'd gone for a successful sort of look for her, since she was a Healer. Her skirt and blouse were of muggle origin, the skirt in black and her blouse a nice black and white pattern. Then they had slipped on a really nice version of her Healer robes; a set that didn't contain stains from potions and blood. Hermione felt very odd as they insisted she slip her feet into three inch black platform heels. There was no way a Healer would wear a skirt to work, let alone three inch heels! Hermione was no stranger to heels, but not at the work place.

"You look great, Hermione!" Jasmine smiled encouragingly when she saw the look Hermione cast at her feet.

Hermione let out a breath, "Not exactly what we actually wear to work is it?"

"That wouldn't be nearly as appealing."

After the makeup lady worked her magic on Hermione, which just consisted of highlighting Hermione's eyes with a little bit of eyeliner and mascara and a coat of lipstick for her lips, the three of them headed out from behind the curtain to where everything had been set up in their absence.

Draco looked Hermione over with an assessing eye, noticing the flush on her face when his eyes met hers again. He gave her a smirk and said, "Looking good Granger."

"Don't tease her Draco, she looks very professional." Jasmine inserted.

Draco chuckled, "That she does. You look brilliant, Hermione. Trust me; you're going to be proud of this ad."

Xxx

After the ad shoot was over, Hermione had headed home and Draco had insisted on watching Maggie so Jasmine could go over to the new flat alone with Theo. So, after she left Draco alone with Maggie in Theo's flat, Jasmine flooed over to the new flat across town.

When Jasmine stepped out of the large fireplace she saw that all the workers were gone and that Theo had all the furniture shrunk so he could move it around the large living room easily. He looked up as she stepped from the fireplace and smiled.

"I'm glad you're here. I can't figure out how to place the furniture in here."

"Do you like what Hermione and I picked out?" Jasmine asked as she moved to his side to look down at where the pieces were.

Theo nodded his head, "My favorite was the bed."

Jasmine blushed, much to Theo's amusement. She had been embarrassed when picking it out with Hermione, who had insisted she buy the king size since Theo was so large. Of course, that comment had led her to think of other things bed related…as well as size related. She and Theo hadn't gone past feeling each other up during intense snogging sessions and if she was honest with herself, she would admit that size was something she was worried about. She was only just over five feet tall, after all.

Acting as if she had ignored his statement, Jasmine said: "I like the way you have the furniture arranged."

Theo nodded, waved his wand, and the two of them watched as the furniture returned to its natural size, nicely completing the look of their living room. Jasmine was about to make a comment when out of nowhere Theo scooped her up into his arms and, laughing, ran down the hall to the master bedroom. Once inside, he threw Jasmine down onto the large four poster bed and pinned her to the bare mattress with his much larger body.

"What are you doing?" Jasmine asked breathlessly.

"Is Draco watching Maggie?"

"Yes, but-"

"Does he have any plans tonight?"

"No, Theo-"

"Good." He grinned and, before Jasmine could say anything else, his lips came down onto hers, cutting of all protest from the blonde witch. It didn't take her long to melt into his kiss. As usual, he took his time seducing her with his lips and hands until her mouth opened on a gasp and he slid his tongue into her mouth to entwine with hers. Jasmine moaned against his mouth and ran her hands up into his dark hair, running her fingers through the strands as he continued to conquer her mouth masterfully. As usual, her stomach was full of that pleasant warm feeling that only seemed to intensify as the kiss went on and on. Finally, when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, his lips left hers and trailed down the side of her neck.

She moaned his name as he lightly sucked on the skin at her neck and felt his smile against her skin. After that things escalated quickly, neither one of them doubting for a moment what was about to happen. Once all their clothes were deposited on the floor and Theo was looming over her, she smiled up at him and opened her arms to him.

"I love you." She whispered as he laid his body on top of hers, his body resting in between the cradle of her thighs.

"I love you too, Jasmine. You're mine." He whispered hoarsely and then proceeded to make her his in mind, body, and spirit. At that moment she knew that their wedding would just be a formality for everyone else because, despite the fact he hadn't made her his in name, that wasn't as important compared to everything else.

Xxx

It was after nine when Theo walked into his flat to find Draco Malfoy asleep on his couch with his daughter snuggled into his chest asleep. Her dragon family surrounded the two of them on the couch and Maggie's favorite story lay open on the table in front of them. Theo grinned, if Jasmine was here she'd be gushing about how cute this was and take a picture immediately. But since Theo was not Jasmine, he threw a pillow at Draco's head, being careful not to hit his little girl.

His aim was successful and Draco opened his eyes and glared up at Theo, "About time the two of you got back." Then when he didn't see Jasmine he asked, "Where's Jasmine?"

"I put her to bed; she was very tired." Theo said with a satisfied smile.

"Don't look so smug about it, Nott." Draco replied. "You better be good to her, that's all I have to say. Otherwise I have no interest at all in your sex life, thank you."

Theo nodded and moved to lift Maggie off of Draco's chest. Once the transfer had been made, Draco stood up and headed for the door instead of the fireplace. He wanted to check on Jasmine before he went home and didn't care if Theo knew it.

Even though her door was locked, Draco was easily able to get inside and headed to her bedroom. Sure enough, she was tucked under the covers, asleep. But just as he was about to turn around and head to her living room fireplace he heard her stir.

"Draco?"

"Hey, are you alright?" Draco asked concerned.

Jasmine blushed; he knew! How the hell?

"How can you tell?" She demanded.

Draco chuckled, "Theo seemed quite pleased with himself. And I know you're not a virgin, but Nott is a rather big bloke and I wanted to make sure he didn't overwhelm you."

"If I answer you have to promise we will never talk about my sex life with Theo ever again."

"Done."

"I'm okay. However, I was out of practice so I definitely need my rest."

"I'll leave you to it then, good night."

"Night Draco."

Xxx

March had given way to April without a lot of major incidents to mark the passing of time. However, as soon as April arrived, there were lots of things happening. First, Theo and Jasmine were moving to the flat across town with Maggie. Second, Jasmine was quite sure that she and Hermione could be considered good friends after almost a month of long talks, good laughs, and shared experiences at the hospital. This, of course, meant that it was now only a matter of time before Jasmine asked her to be her maid of honor. And lastly, the ad for the potion was about to go public.

"I can't wait to see it Hermione!" Ginny said excitedly from her place across the table from Hermione.

Over the course of a month Jasmine had met Ginny and they, as well, had become friends. So seated next to Hermione sat Jasmine with Maggie in her lap and James at the end of the table in a high chair provided by the restaurant.

"She looks brilliant in it." Jasmine smiled. "We were there when they shot the pictures, plus Draco let me see the mock up."

"Why didn't he let me see it? I'm the one in it!" Hermione demanded.

"Well, I kind of snatched it from his desk while he was occupied with Maggie." Jasmine replied with a sheepish grin. "But I know you're anxious about it and you have no reason to be at all, Hermione. It looks great."

Ginny beamed, "Think of the extra money you'll be getting! You could quit your job; not that you would since you are Hermione Granger and addicted to work."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her red headed friend even though she was right; no matter how much money she had in her bank account she would be too bored if she didn't have a job to go to. Just the thought of it made her cringe.

"I was thinking of taking a vacation though, with some of the money." Hermione stated. "As you know Ginny, my parents live in Australia and I'd thought I would go visit them." Then to Jasmine she explained: "I obliviated my parents before I met up with Harry and Ron for what is now referred to as our 'camping trip'. After the war was over I traveled down there and restored their memory. They then decided to open a dentist practice down there and stay."

Jasmine nodded her understanding, "Well, that will be nice to see them. When were you thinking of going?"

Hermione shrugged, "I have vacation time at the hospital whenever I want it, so it's just a matter of making a choice. I'd rather go in the fall though."

Feeling a bit of panic rise up in her chest, Jasmine knew that now was her best opportunity to carry on her plans for her wedding. If she waited much longer Hermione might pick to go to Australia at the same time her wedding was to be.

"Hermione, I'm getting married on September fifth as you know, and I was wondering if you would be my maid of honor?"

Ginny gasped in delightful surprise and watched Hermione anxiously along with Jasmine to hear Hermione's answer.

"Are you sure? I know you have sisters…"

"My Mother needs them for other tasks, and I would really like it if you would. I've never really had girlfriends and since my best friend is a guy he is out of the question. But I've enjoyed the time we've spent together lately."

"Me too!" Hermione replied earnestly. "And if you're sure, then yes, I'll be your maid of honor."

Jasmine hadn't lied about what she said; as she had gotten to know Hermione she truly did want her as her maid of honor, however, there was no denying her initial scheme and how wonderful it was going to be.

"Great! Thank you! We won't have to do much until May; then my mother will insist on going shopping."

"So who's the best man?" Ginny asked curiously after a few minutes.

Jasmine couldn't lie or evade this question, so it was best just to get it out. Hermione had already agreed to do it and she wasn't one to renege after she had given her word. "Draco Malfoy."

Jasmine watched as Ginny's lips curled up into a satisfied smirk and knew that the red head would be the perfect ally for her plans to keep Hermione in the game. And the best part was that it looked like Jasmine didn't even have to say anything to Ginny about it; she already had it figured out and liked it! As for Hermione, at Jasmine's response her fork had paused midway to her mouth and her brown eyes had widened.

"Draco?"

"Yup, Theo doesn't really have any mates and since Draco is my best friend I convinced him to let Draco be his attendant." Jasmine replied.

"Aco! Aco!" Maggie chanted at the sound of Draco's name.

"Well that should be interesting." Ginny mumbled with a smile as she wiped her son's face clean.

Xxx

Moving had been a rather simple affair given the fact that they had magic at their disposal. The two of them handled it quite easily by their selves and after a long afternoon of situating everything in their new flat they had put Maggie to bed in her new room and then gone to bed themselves.

A while later they lay on the bed, still awake, both with satisfied smiles on their faces and a sheen of sweat on their skin from their exertions.

"I asked Hermione to be my maid of honor today at lunch and she agreed." Jasmine said proudly.

"Does she know that Draco is the best man?"

"She asked so I had to tell her. You should have seen her face! And Ginny! She's an ally; it looks like she has the same goal!"

"I guess the Potter clan will be at our wedding then." Theo sighed.

Jasmine nodded, "I haven't personally met Harry, but I like Ginny and their son is adorable. So don't be all Slytherin on me."

Theo chuckled, "I'm not, its fine. I personally do not care who is there as long as we're getting married."

"Are you sure? My mom was horrified that we were moving in together already! She asked me why you were bothering to 'buy the cow when the milk was free'. If you've never heard that before, it's a muggle phrase about premarital sex."

"I get it, Jasmine, and while I do enjoy the milk I want to make sure it remains only mine, which does require the purchase of the cow."

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, it would be great if we could quit referring to me as a cow."

Theo chuckled as he rolled over onto his side and slung an arm across Jasmine's waist. Then, snuggling his head into her neck he closed his eyes contentedly. After a moment or two Jasmine closed her eyes and then the two of them drifted off to sleep together.

Xxx

At ten o' clock Hermione was curled up on her couch, Crookshanks at her side, and one of her favorite books in hand. She was just reading about Jane Eyre being found in the moors after running away from Mr. Rochester when there was a knock on her door. Both she and Crookshanks looked up at the door, startled. No one ever came to her door this late. If anyone was going to contact her at ten at night they would have used the floo.

So, using her instincts from the war, Hermione grabbed her wand and proceeded to the door slowly and cautiously.

"Granger, it's me, not some crazy stalker. Open the door before your old neighbor gives me the stink eye or something."

Breathing a sigh of relief and setting her wand down on one of the tables, Hermione proceeded to open the door to Draco Malfoy. Why he was there she had no idea, but she could only be thankful that it was him and not some crazy stalker or something even worse.

Draco looked over Hermione curiously. She was dressed in what he assumed were her pajamas, a pair of paints printed with cartoon caricatures of cats and a long sleeved shirt that matched. When his eyes met hers again he had a grin on his face and her cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Not to be rude, but why are you here?" Hermione asked bluntly.

"For this." With that said Draco held up a hand in which he had a piece of paper in. Before Hermione could ask any more questions, he held out the paper and waited for her to take it.

Taking it from the blond wizard, Hermione opened the paper and took in the picture of herself drinking the potion of her own creation. As promised she did look alright, and the ad wasn't as bad as she had feared. The text was exactly as they said it would be and Pierre, the photographer, had done a brilliant job of making her look amazing.

"I thought I would show it to you before it goes live tomorrow morning. You'll probably be bombarded with it in the hospital, so I wanted you to be prepared for it and reassured that it looks brilliant." Draco explained.

"Thank you, Draco." Hermione smiled as she continued to stare at the ad.

Just then Draco felt something brush against his pant leg and looked down to see Hermione's ugly cat staring up at him disdainfully before he moved over and rubbed himself wantonly on Hermione's leg.

"I think your cat hates me." Draco said suddenly.

Hermione smiled, "Crookshanks takes a while to warm to new people."

"Somehow I doubt that." Draco mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing, I guess I can be grateful that he didn't scratch me. Although, I have to say that I'm not too happy about the orange hairs that are now all over my black pants."

Hermione quirked a brow at him and set the ad down on the table, "Here, I'll go get my lint roller if you're really bothered by the cat hair on your pants."

Before he could protest and say that was not necessary, Hermione had already disappeared down the hall leaving Draco alone with the ginger haired cat. The two of them looked at each other assessingly until Hermione came back into the room with her lint roller.

"Are you having a staring contest with my cat?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes, I am." Draco replied unashamedly as he took the roller from her hand and started to roll it up and down his pant leg where that cat's tail had brushed against him. Hermione watched on in amusement and picked Crookshanks up in her arms, planting a kiss on the top of his head.

"Really, Hermione? Did you just kiss your cat?" Draco asked, disgusted.

Hermione laughed, "Yes, Crookshanks is an old friend; I've had him for a long time."

"You kiss an animal all the time?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "It's not like I'm kissing him on the mouth, Draco. Haven't you ever had a pet besides an owl?"

Draco shook his head no, "Malfoys weren't allowed pets besides those bloody peacocks that roamed our grounds. And let me tell you, those things could be mean and very creepy."

Hermione laughed out loud as she envisioned a small Draco trying to play with a strutting peacock.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I just pictured you as a little boy trying to play with a peacock."

Draco's face grew defensive, "That's not funny, I have a scar."

"That really happened to you?!" Hermione asked her voice full of laughter even though she could tell that the topic was a sore one for him. "I'm sorry; I'm not trying to make fun of you. What happened?"

Draco sighed and set the roller down on the table, "When I was eight we had this male peacock my Father was so very proud of. I can't remember his name, but that bloody peacock strutted around like he was the greatest thing since the invention of self-inking quills. But he was beautiful with his feathers out and one day I decided I wanted to get close enough to get one of them directly from the source. I figured he was a pet so that meant that he was supposed to like me. So I approached him and was about to pluck out one of those feathers when the bloody thing beaked me in the arm!"

Hermione couldn't help her laughter at that point. She felt horrible, but it was just too funny. He had been beaked! At the same time though, her heart was sad that Draco had never experienced the love of a pet in his childhood and, when he thought he did have one, had only been injured.

Draco narrowed his eyes at her laughter, but said nothing as he rolled up his right shirtsleeve, "You see this scar? That's from that beast."

Hermione looked to where he indicated, just above his elbow and saw the evidence of his beaking. Her laughter died immediately; the beak had cut deep and left a puckered scar in its wake.

"I'm sorry, Draco."

"What followed was worse. My Father punished me severely for bothering his prized possession."

Hermione gasped, "He beat you!"

"Not often, but that was one of the few times in my childhood."

"That's just horrible, Draco I-"

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it, I've gotten over it. Anyway, after the beaking I kept my distance from that bloody animal and eventually he died. However, after third year during the summer my Father had purchased a new one. One day I was searching for a quaffle I had lost while practicing Quidditch on our lawn and while I was searching through the bushes I turned my head to the right and the thing was right there staring me in the face! It was creepy, but thankfully that one did not beak me and I was able to get away. I never did find the quaffle though."

Hermione laughed at the picture that conjured, but still could not get her mind off the fact that Draco had beaten as a child after he had been wounded; and he was only eight years old. When Draco noticed the somber look on her face he was quick to reassure her that it was something he hadn't thought of in years and that since his father was dead it was best that was put to rest with him.

"I'll see you later, Hermione." Draco said without giving her time to respond.

Hermione watched as he walked out of her flat, closing the door quietly behind him.

Xxx

Draco couldn't believe he had told that whole story to Hermione; he'd never told anyone about the peacocks before, not even Jasmine! He knew that he should be embarrassed from her laughter over his two incidents with the peacocks, but he was more embarrassed because she knew that his Father had beaten him.

His Father had, from a young age, taught Draco that he was superior to everyone else, most especially muggleborns and muggles. He had also taught Draco that he was supposed to be the best at everything. And even though Draco was his only son, there were certain things that he did love and care for more than his own son. One of those things happened to be his prized peacocks; the other was his devotion to the dark lord.

So, of course, when Draco happened to interfere with either one of those things he had suffered a beating. Nothing too obvious, in case his Mother saw that he had marred Draco's good looks, all his bruises were easily hid with clothes. As for his scar from the peacock, while it could have been healed to disappear with some potion, his Father had left it there as a reminder to Draco for the rest of his life. While he had been verbally abused quite a bit by his father, for letting Hermione Granger get better grades than him, losing to Gryffindor, losing the House cup, he had only been beaten a few times. The other time had been right before he took the Dark Mark.

But Draco had promised himself when he worked so hard to make a change with himself that he had to leave these bad memories of his father in the past. Thinking about them only served to make him angry and ignited that rage he had felt during his years at Hogwarts, the rage that marked him as someone no one liked and some feared. He didn't want that. His father was dead and he was finally free of the source of his rage, so it was better just not to think about it at all.