Hermione woke up in the hospital ward. She was alone, or so she thought. She tried to move her arm, but pain shot through her bicep. She let out a scream of shock and looked over to see a tube coming out of her vein, and realized that she had several iv's injected into her skin. From the corner of her eye, she sensed movement.

"Who's there?" she called. "Please come out." The figure moved again, and came out from behind the curtains of another bed. It was Draco.

Hermione sighed. What was she going to do with the mess she found herself in? Pregnant, with two men trying to win and keep her heart. "Draco..."

"Hermione, please, before you say anything, I just want to -" Draco rushed forward to take Hermione's hands in his.

"No, Draco," Hermione interrupted him, "it's my turn to go first. I need to know what happened to me."

Ron stepped into the ward. "I can answer that," he said, with a light spring in his step. "The potion wore off of Lavender, so the potion wore off inside of you as well. You are no longer pregnant, Hermione!" He laughed heartily, then grew sober after a few moments. "Of course, you had some unfortunate side effects, and lost a lot of fluid, but in a day or two you should be back to full health." He cupped her hands around her face and drew her in for a passionate kiss. Draco noticed that she was tense. She was never tense when she kissed him.

When it was over, there was some awkward silence. Ron was the first to break it by saying, "Draco, we should probably let Hermione rest. She needs to get better as quickly as possible."

Draco acquiesced as graciously as he could, but a scowl still rested on his face as he and Ron parted ways. Draco went towards his dormitory in the dungeon, and Ron went to the library to look for Harry.

Hermione was up in record time, her body healing faster than Madame Pomfrey expected. The old nurse figured that it was the excitement of the semester almost being over, when in reality, it was the fact that Hermione did not want to be stuck in one bed, at the mercy of Ron or Draco visiting whenever they desired. It was extremely awkward when they both visited together. Maybe Ron didn't notice it, but the sexual tension was suffocating her, and she had to get away from it.

Exams were pretty much over by this time. It was Wednesday, so she still had Transfiguration and History of Ancient Runes, but that was it. At least she wouldn't fail those two classes. As she walked out into the garden, she saw Draco, who was staring out into the pond, under the surface of which sat the Slytherin Common Room, an extension of the castle. Against her better judgement, she went and stood next to him.

They both stood silent for several minutes, just allowing themselves time to breath and take in the beauty that was the sunset. Browns, golds, blues, pinks, and even purples lit the sky, though Hermione was sure that splashes of red and orange found their way into the sky due to some unforeseen consequence of a Weasley Wheezes toy.

"Why are you still with him?" Draco broke the silence with the question she had been asking herself for the last month and a half.

"Why? That's a good question." And it was. She didn't really know why. She didn't love him. He didn't make her happy. She couldn't bear to look at his face. But he had a family, one that she had connected with, and they had connected with her. "For one, Ron's parents aren't evil. Don't interrupt," she said when Draco opened his mouth to speak. "You asked me why, and I'm going to tell you. I know that your parents don't define who you are, but they can define what your significant other's life will be like if you spend if forever with that person. How will I know that your parents will even like me, much less love me like Ron's parents do? Your parents hate mud bloods, and would never stand for you dating one. Now let's add that to the shame of the whole school finding out I cheated on Ron with you. I would never be able to lift my face in my boyfriend's home, or in public, again!"

The Slytherin boy's face was so red, he should've been in Gryffindor. "The shame? You think it's a shame to be dating me, Hermione Granger?" His voice was quiet, but dangerously so.

"That's not what I meant, Draco! All I was trying to say was that being found out would be the shameful part! Don't you see, it'd be shameful with anyone!" Hermione stumbled over her words trying to justify what she had previously stated.

By this time they had started walking, and Draco turned to her and grabbed her arm. "Listen here, mud blood. There is no disgrace in that term, and there is no disgrace in you. So what if you're a witch living with muggle parents. It doesn't matter to me, and if my parents don't like you, we don't ever have to see them again. But I love you, Hermione Granger, if you could just open your eyes and see that..."

At that moment, Ron came around the corner, and tripped. Maybe Hermione didn't notice, but Draco definitely knew it had been staged by Ron and Harry, because Ron was able to make a quick save and roll up to Hermione, landing on one knee in front of her.

He coughed to clear his throat, then Ron said, "I know we've been through a lot the past few months. I honestly feel like it's all been kind of surreal. But I know that my love for you has never wavered." He pulled out a diamond ring. "Would you, Hermione Jean Granger, be willing to marry me and be my wife?" He looked up pleadingly into her eyes. For a brief second, she glanced over at Draco, but he was just looking away, back at the lake, where the squid lay on the surface of the water. To Hermione, it almost looked dead, just like her dreams of a life with Draco.

"Of course, Ronald." She laughed and ran into his arms for a sweet embrace. She took one last look at Draco, and tried to tell him with her eyes It's for the best. For both of us. He wasn't looking.

The wedding took place a year after Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Draco graduated from Hogwarts. Harry had just finished training to be an auror early due to his experience in the Battle of Hogwarts, and Draco was working in the Ministry of Magic, helping the less fortunate, such as house elves, mud bloods, and other magical beings who did not get equal representation.

The wedding took place in the old South church, which was made from dandelion seeds and hemp. It was literally magic that was keeping the building together. But Ron and Hermione thought it was quaint, so that was where they were getting married. There was lace bordering the arch under which they would stand for their vows, and lily and rose petals lined the aisle ways.

Hermione's dress was made from spider silk. It shimmered in the moonlight as she walked down the aisle, and her scooped neckline flattered her bosom as much as the a-line flattered her waist. Every breath was held as she floated like a dream on a cloud down the aisle.

Everyone was transfixed on the bride. Everyone couldn't take their eyes off the beauty who was so happy that tears spilled from her eyes.

Everybody was so busy, nobody noticed the tall blonde leave from the back of the building when the bride came in.

Nobody realized that the tears were a result of that man making that very exit.

Hermione bolted upright in a sweat, tears streaming down her face. Calm down, Hermione, she told herself. It was just a dream. She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Just a dream.

It had been a week since Ron had asked her to marry him, and for some reason she had said yes. Ever since that day, Draco hadn't tried to avoid her per say, but he was definitely guarded and reserved. He wasn't as open to talking as he used to be, and why should he be? She was marrying Ron, and Draco wanted her to marry him. Not exactly "let's talk about our troubles" material.

The sun had just begun to rise, so Hermione decided to start her day a little earlier than normal. She made her bed, brushed her hair and teeth, and lemon-scented spray on her bedsheets. She folded her pajamas, and put away the book she had been reading before bed the night before. When all was as it should be, she walked down to the common room, where she saw Harry sitting on the couch, trying to cram as much as he could into his suitcase that he was taking to the Weasley's for the summer.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione said, slumping herself down next to him on the sofa.

"Oh, hey, Hermione, how are you?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine." Hermione stared into the fireplace, watching the flames dance to and fro. It always seemed to be lit, even at insane hours of the morning, though Hermione had never seen anyone light it in all her five years at the school.

"Are you sure?" Harry stopped packing so that he could look at Hermione's face.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Despite her assurance, Hermione avoided eye contact with her best friend.

"Hermione, come on. I may be unobservant, but I'm not stupid." Harry put down the clothes he was trying to force into his case. Why he didn't use magic, Hermione did not know, but she didn't have time to point it out to him before he continued talking. "You haven't eaten shit in four of the past seven days, you're doing a lot of homework, even for you, and I can hear you crying out in your sleep. Hey, don't worry," he said in response to Hermione's worried look, "I don't think you bother anyone else. I'm on the other side of the wall as you; that's why I can hear you."

Hermione covered her face in her hands and groaned. "Oh, Harry, what am I supposed to do?" she cried, her eyes filling with tears. She leaned into her friend as he wrapped his arms around her in a soft embrace.

"Do you love Ron, Hermione?"

Hermione looked into Harry's face, but there was no joking in his eyes. He was dead serious. "No, Harry. I don't love Ron anymore." And like that, she knew. When she stopped thinking about it and just listened to her gut, she knew that she wasn't in love with Ron. She loved spending time with his family, and she enjoyed time with him, but spending the rest of her life with someone who had no ambition for their life was not something she really wanted to do. She was fourteen years old when she accepted his proposal to go to the Yule ball, and she only did it so she wouldn't have to go alone. She was only fourteen when she had her first kiss. And now she was sixteen years old, accepting a marriage proposal from a man - no, a boy - she didn't even love. She was so young, and she was making decisions that could ruin her life forever.