Disclaimer: Not mine. Only new characters. And plot.
Hermione moaned softly as she turned over in her bed, snuggling closer to Draco's chest.
"What time is it?" she asked. He shifted a bit, lifting her head onto his bare chest.
"Almost time for us to get up," he mumbled. She sighed.
"Time to face the music," she whispered and he laughed.
"I'd hardly call Weasley's ranting music, love," he told her and she nodded, smiling, in agreement. Resting her chin onto his chest, she gazed up at him. He reached down and moved some strands of hair away from her face. Shivering as his hand brushed her skin, she got out of the bed and pulled on a skirt and bra. Draco watched her bustle around until he finally got up, still wearing his boxers.
Ginny was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Ron, Dean, Neville, and Seamus. Laughing softly, she glanced over at the doors and gawked.
"NO WAY!" she shrieked and clapped her hand over her mouth. But it was too late. Everyone turned and eyes grew ten times their size.
"Maybe we should have waited until dinner." Hermione looked around as Draco wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Well, to late now," Draco mumbled into her ear. "I'll tackle the Slytherins, you tackle the Gryffindors. Ready…Break!" She glared at him as he kissed her softly on the lips and sauntered over to the Slytherin table, where the students looked very mutinous. Things were worse at the Gryffindor table. Some of them were actually fingering the butter knifes. Sighing, she squared her shoulders and strode over. Harry and Ron looked livid.
"Harry, Ron, let me explain," she started, but Ron cut her off.
"What the HELL WAS THAT!" he roared.
"Keep your voice down!" Ginny hissed, but Ron ignored her.
"Did my eyes deceive me or did I just see you KISS DRACO BLEEDING MALFOY?" he boomed. Hermione stood.
"Ron, if you don't lower your voice, I'll curse you!" she yelled at him. He flinched and sank to his seat. Glancing around, she also sat, glaring at him. "Now, I have something to say. Draco and I talked last night and…well, he…Ron, Harry, don't take this the wrong way but…um…oh Merlin, DracopurposedtomelastnightandIsaidyessonowwe'reengaged." Ginny seemed to be the only one at the table who actually understood what was spoken because she leapt over the table and bounced up and down with Hermione, squealing.
"Ican'tbelieveit! Ican'tbelieveit! Merlinthisisamazing, thisisawsomethisisMerlinIcan'tbelieveit!" The fact that both girls seemed to be making sense to each other was of no consequence to Ron or Harry, who both seemed to be losing their nerve.
"Can you both SIT DOWN!" Harry shouted and both girls became instantaneously silent, exchanging looks. Harry sighed. "Hermione, can you please repeat, in logical English, what you just now said?" Hermione took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair.
"I said, Draco purposed to me last night and I said yes so now we're engaged." There was silence at the Gryffindor table. Over at the Slytherin table, the Slytherins seemed to get over their shock a lot more quickly.
"Draco, she's a Mudblood!" Pansy shrieked. Blaise grabbed Draco's arm before it reached his wand, shaking his head. Draco glared.
"So?" he asked. "Haven't you heard that marrying Mud…muggleborns is a fashion now?" Pansy scowled at him.
"Don't you play with me, Draco Lucius. How can you stand being next to her? Ugh, and you'll have to screw her too!" Several Slytherins made faces. Draco smiled.
"I'll have you know that she's a lot better screw over than you'll ever be, Pansy. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go rescue my fiancé before she's eaten by lions." He stood and, with Blaise, left while Pansy's face changed to the color of a very ripe tomato. Draco smiled, as he got close, listening to Weasley rant. Granger owed him 10 galleons.
"HAVE YOU GONE STARK RAVING MAD! HOW ON EARTH COULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER MARRYING A EGOTISTICAL, MALICIOUS, LOATHSOME FERRET LIKE THAT?"
"I don't know about you, but I think someone's gone a bit mental," Draco slurred, sliding past Ginny. He grabbed Hermione around the waist, pulled her close, and kissed her a lot more passionately than necessary in public. Ginny giggled, Blaise rolled his eyes, Dean and Seamus shook their heads, both hiding smiles, and Harry and Ron looked absolutely furious. Hermione gasped into the kiss and pulled away, coloring profusely and giving Draco a shy smile. But upon sighting her best friends' looks, the smile vanished.
"Harry…Ron…" she began, wriggling out of Draco's hold. Before she could go further, however, Ron was over the table and at it with Draco.
"RON! DRACO!" Ginny yelled, scrambling out of the way as both boys tumbled down the aisle. Hermione took off after them, biting her lip. Draco punched Ron heavily in the stomach and shoved him off. Gasping, Ron threw out his arm and caught Draco in the chin, sending him backwards into the wall. Both young men stood and Ron had out his wand in a second, pointing it at Draco's face.
"RON, STOP!" Hermione screamed, rushing forward and stepping in between both of them. Draco was glaring, but was too busy nursing a broken arm and shoulder blade to care much. Ron's wrist was broken and had a huge bruise on his temple and cheek.
"Get out of the way, 'Mione," Ron growled. She shook her head, trying her best to hide her anxiety.
"Please stop this," she pleaded softly. "Ron, please. Leave him alone. If you want to take this out on someone, take it out on me. It's not his fault." Ron's eyes were wrathful.
"Why him?" he hissed. "What's he got to give you?"
"A lot more than you do," Draco spat.
"Stop it!" Hermione cried, turning on him. She looked from one to the other. "What is wrong with you? Can't you both, for one minute, get along!"
"Not with him," Ron snapped. "He thinks he owns everything. He doesn't care. I don't care if he saved your life, he's still the same scum-ridden ferret he's always been."
"Well, at least I got what I wanted," Draco slurred, eyeing him coolly. "You're still a penniless bum whose parents don't have the sense to stop screwing around with each other so they can get a dime to rub together. What was that I heard? Your mum's pregnant again? How on earth do they scrape enough together to get all of you through school?" Draco had passed an unseen line. Ron snapped. Hermione was shoved to the floor as both boys went at it again. The Great Hall was on its feet and even the teachers seemed not wanting to interfere. With tears in her eyes, Hermione got to her feet, shrugging off Ginny's help. Trying not to cry, she strode forward and grabbed both of them, shoving them apart. Both boys were startled at her appearance.
"STOP IT!" Hermione screamed. "Just stop it, please! I can't take this fighting." She turned to Draco. "Please…" Bursting into tears, she hurried out of the Great Hall and down the corridor, out of sight. Draco, with one last glance at Ron, walked out of the hall and exited the Entrance Hall, heading down towards the lake.
Classes went by quickly and soon, Hermione was sitting in the common room with Harry, Ron and Ginny. They all remained quiet as they wrote essays and read through the books. Ginny glanced at all of them and opened her mouth when Hermione stopped her.
"Don't Ginny," she murmured. She turned to Harry and Ron, who had placed down their quills and were now staring into the fireplace. Getting up, she closed her book, placed it on the table and left the room. Harry nudged Ron, who sighed and stood, following Hermione.
"Hermione, wait," he called, catching up to her as she turned a corner. She stopped, watching him carefully. "Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted this morning, it's just that…I was really shocked! I mean…" Hermione shook her head.
"It's ok, Ron," she said softly. "I understand. I shouldn't have acted the way I did." She gave him a small smile. "I guess I should have broke it to you both a bit more privately, instead of out in the open. But…what's done is done."
"Hermione." Both Gryffindors turned to see Draco leaning against the wall, hands shoved deeply into his pockets. Ron's face darkened and Hermione looked cautious.
"What do you need, Draco?" she asked. He turned so his back was against the wall and he was staring at a painting of a nymph.
"Can we talk?" he murmured softly. Giving Ron an apologetic look, she walked over. With one glance at Ron, Draco pushed himself up and strode down the corridor to the Head common room. Stating the password, he stepped in, Hermione following. He waited for her to sit before sighing.
"Hermione, this morning-" Hermione stood, cutting him off.
"Draco, don't," she told him, taking his hand. "Forget about it. We were both on edge. It was bound to happen." He sat down on the couch, rubbing her hands.
"Yeah, but still…" She sighed, squatting in front of him.
"Look at me," she whispered. His gray eyes met her hazel ones and she smiled. "I don't care. You told me that you couldn't promise me a happy, free-of-care life. This morning was proof. But I made you a promise as well. I promised you that I would, through anything, still be there. Even if you were the world's worst tyrant. I wouldn't agree with you, but I'll be there." She sighed, looking away. "Draco…Last night, you told me, for the first time in our relationship, that you loved me. I want you to tell me why it took you so long to say it." To her, the silence the had dropped into was maddening.
"Because I was scared," came his reply at last. She stared at him and he sighed. "I was scared that, if I ever told you that I loved you, then I'd do something horrible and I'd lose you forever. So I never took the risk. I didn't want to lose you like that."
"But you did," she whispered. He smiled, kissing her neck.
"And I was a prat for it." He kissed her right cheek, then her left. "I never should have let you go." He kissed her forehead. "I never should have let you go with him." He kissed her nose than stopped, staring into her eyes. "I almost lost you, Hermione. And I don't want to ever take that risk again." With that, he kissed her passionately.
"I love you, Draco," she whispered through the kiss, pulling herself up into his lap. He smiled and kissed her down her neck, unbuttoning her robes and shirt and discarding them on the floor.
"I love you too, Granger," he mumbled back and she giggled.
"What are we going to do about this name calling," she whispered.
"Well, I've made out a plan. You see, I'll call you Hermione in public and maybe sometimes in private. Love when I'm in a good mood. 'Mione when I'm upset."
"And what are you going to call me when you're extremely content?" she asked.
"Granger," he murmured into her skin. "Only then, when I'm content, will I call you Granger."
"What are you now, Draco?"
"I'm extremely content, Granger. And you?" She tilted up his head and stared at him.
"I'm…there are no words to describe how incredibly happy I am."
A/n: Sorry for the HUGE wait! I can't believe I kept you all waiting that long! It's been like...forever! Haven't updated since FEBRUARY! That's really sad... um...I won't be able to update for a while (big shock!). MS Word isn't working so I can't type much. Fortunately, I had this done a long time ago, only I didn't get time to post it. however, if you're bored, and want to see more of my work, go to My penname is tomfeltonsgirl32. See my stories there plus a different version of my Harry Potter and Godric's Revelation. I think it might be better, I dunno. Hope you liked this chappie! Thanks to:
Spooky Biscuits of Doom: Didn't think you'd be waiting this long, did you!
Lauren: I'm sorry for mocking you! I didn't mean it. And yes, that is one of my favorite lines of Draco Malfoy! Ps: do I like what?
darkangel1690: Oh, stop worrying yourself. I can honestly tell you that she will not die. She already did that. However, someone will die.
Ice Witch101: Trust me. Things can always get worse!
flip chick: You'll find out soon who it is!
Loca4Anime: How can I not mention you! You're the only one who writes so much! It was like a whole freaking page! But, That's really cool! I like it when reviewers write a lot! Keeps me updated! And yes, I think it was one of the best chapters I've written, especially for a D/Hr fic. And about the mistakes...yeah right! Have you read my stories? I read them over after I post them and curse myself at the number of mistakes I see! BTW, Happy belated B-Day! Hope it went well! And sorry for the long wait.
PrincessAngelz: ...um, maybe you know more than I do...readers tend to...isn't Anna dead? This is really sad, when the writer doesn't even know! I'll have to read up!
dramioneshipper: Yeah, suffering is what I do best...sort of! Glad you like!
ladyBlue Wolf: ...um, one question? Do you know where this conversation started? I'm serious, I've looked back and I seriously can't find it! Ps: Yes, they're bums, but they're very good at being bums, so we have to give them credit!
spiritedwings: I'm sorry, but I can't figure it out! I'm guessin that the last four words are Harry Potter FanFiction!
becky red: A wedding chappie? Man, I haven't even planned the next chappie yet!
Again, I must apologize for the delay and for the delay that will come. There is a good chance that this won't be updated for a month or more? Oh, the horror! Hope you enjoyed what I put up, anyway! Loved how many reviewed! Will love how many review!