Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading, reviewing, favouriting, or following! It means a lot to me to know that you've enjoyed my attempt at a romance piece. But here is the last chapter, extra long and free of all those annoying cliffhangers. I very much hope you enjoy it. I am considering writing a bonus chapter to this, but as it stands this is all, so until next time, ta ta!
S. White
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 26 - Z is for Zenith
The trip was supposed to be a short one and so it would only require her to take one day off work. She didn't know how happy the Ministry would be about another day off so soon after the trip to Paris, but since it was only one day she thought she could get away with it. She already felt a bit of longing for the days of carefree travel they had during their time in France and once her boss okayed the day off she agreed quickly.
They had two weeks before the business trip and Hermione decided to pack slowly. She wouldn't need much anyway since they would only be away for three nights and they were planning to travel by Floo network. Draco, on the other hand, seemed busier than ever, although logically he must have a lot of business to tie up before he went on the trip. He told her there was going to be another fancy dinner to attend and asked for her measurements for a new dress.
"Why don't I just wear an old one? Would the one I wore to the Christmas party work?" She asked, flipping through the dresses hanging beside witches' robes in her closet.
"I want to order you one from a dressmaker in Bath," Draco said, his wand directing the tape measure along her arm as she swatted at it.
"Why there? If you're so determined it has to be a new one I can look here." She tried to shake the tape measure off her leg.
"I want to order it special. Just stand still for a minute?"
She relented, allowing him to take his measurements, give her a kiss, and go. That didn't seem to be the reason for all the strange behaviour, however. She found out he was spending a lot of his time at work on the phone and running quite a few errands on his lunches or just after work. She went into their study one day and found him with a stack of letters that he tucked away before she could see what was on them. Draco was out for nearly half the weekend before the trip and Hermione was left alone in the flat. Draco had even left a list for Pelly and when Hermione asked if she could help, the elf shook her head, her ears flapping.
Despite all this Draco was no less affectionate to her when he was actually home. He still made an effort to sit and read with her or curl up and watch a movie. He sent her notes at work and once had flowers delivered to her desk. If it wasn't for these secretive phone calls and errands, she wouldn't have had a care in the world, and she would have had a nearly perfect two weeks. But finally she gave up and called Ginny to discuss things.
"Hello?"
"Gin? How are you?"
"A little morning sickness but otherwise alright. How are things there? Settled in okay?"
"Oh, yes, that's fine, but...Gin, Draco's acting strange. I think he's hiding something from me," Hermione admitted.
"When did it start?" Ginny asked and Hermione thought that was a strange question to start with.
"When we agreed to go to Bath," She said and there was a pause on the other end of the line.
"I don't think you need to worry, sis," Ginny said finally.
"Are you sure? I mean he's acting mostly normal but he sort of sneaks off to do things without telling me. He even gave Pelly a list of things too."
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about it, okay?"
"How do you know?" Hermione said, worry in her voice.
"At least one of the times he came to see Harry and I, I know that," Ginny said in what sounded like a careful tone.
"What? He's been to see you and he didn't even tell me?" Hermione said in shock.
"He just wanted to check something. It was only for a minute or two. Look, don't worry."
Hermione didn't know if she felt better or worse after her talk with Ginny. She was a little reassured. She really didn't think he was cheating: she remembered him confessing he had been cheated on a year ago, he wasn't really the type, and he didn't act like a cheater as she well knew, but she was still terrified of the thought of losing him. The disappearances and mysterious communications had largely stopped by the middle of the week but when he received a call and hurried out of the room to take it, she gave in to her worry again, this time calling her mother.
But Mrs. Granger had much the same reaction as Ginny had, even after Hermione described the incidents across the last week. Hermione even thought that her mother sounded like she was smiling when she spoke. She was far from reassured, therefore, when she finished work on Thursday. Megan saw her off, hugging her, telling her to have fun, winking, and confessing she wished she was coming.
Hermione only had one bag to pick up from their flat where she changed and joined Draco. He was smiling that handsome, loving smile and she melted under it, her worries washing away. They said goodbye to Pelly and Hermione thought she just caught Draco and the elf exchanging signals behind her back. She mentioned it but Draco led her to the fireplace without much explanation. Draco entered the fire with his luggage first and Hermione tried to ask Pelly but the elf just smiled and wished her a good trip. Hermione sighed, thanked the elf, and picked up her bags. When she stepped out into a wizard pub in Bath, Draco took her hand to steady her.
It was a short walk to the beautiful little bed and breakfast where they were staying and they occupied their evening first by finding dinner and then walking around the nearby streets hand in hand, admiring the view. Draco had a meeting the next morning but he suggested she visit the Jane Austen Museum in town. She was immediately excited and Draco grinned, handing her a page where the directions where written in what she recognized as Pelly's hand.
"I took the liberty of looking up some places you might like," Draco explaining, kissing her. "Have fun this morning, my love. I'll join you as soon as I can."
"Try not to daydream in your meeting," Hermione said with a smile.
She sat in their bed and breakfast, watching him stride away in his perfect suit with a smile on her face. Silly or not, she loved him. He turned, spotted her, and waved, a grin on his face, and she waved back. She ended up taking a cab into the centre of town and then wandered over to the museum. The city was beautiful, much of it built with carved stone like London but without many of the modern buildings and the huge, grand houses. It had the feeling of a city in the country; a place for country dwellers to come. She enjoyed the museum and went into a few shops, all the while seeing advertisements for an upcoming Jane Austen Regency Ball, and then went to the restaurant where they had decided to take their lunch together. Draco was waiting for her there.
"How was your morning, my love?" Draco asked, kissing her cheek.
"Good. This is a lovely place. And your meeting?"
"As well as expected. I just need to hear if they accept."
"It's a big deal?"
"The chance of a lifetime."
"No wonder, then. Oh, did you know there's a Regency Ball tonight? A big party based on Jane Austen's books and British culture during the early nineteenth century."
"No, I didn't," He said, though she thought he was fighting down a grin.
"Too bad. It might have been fun. Pretend to be a nineteenth century gentlewoman for a night," Hermione laughed. "So, what's the plan for this afternoon?"
"Would you like to tour the Roman baths? I got us tickets, if you're interested. Then we need to pick up the clothes for the party tonight."
"The Roman baths? I'd love to!" Hermione said excitedly and Draco smiled.
Hermione was fascinated by the ruins of the Roman bathhouse as they walked through the museum, arm in arm. But Draco bent down to read the information plaques just as she did. He knew a little history from his early education but Hermione was able to explain more and give him an idea of the rise and decline of the Roman Empire, especially in Britain. She was enchanted by the ancient building and delighted by the actors portraying Romans, even if Draco stared furiously at the man playing a Roman soldier when he chatted a little too long with her. Hermione smiled at this little display of jealousy and kissed his cheek, which relaxed him and made him smile.
After the tour, including a taste of the baths' water which made Draco grimace, they made their way to a small shop where Draco picked up multiple pieces from the woman behind the counter. This made Hermione curious; he hadn't told her about anything more than her own dress. But what was even more curious was that probably half of the items in the shop were old style clothes. While they waited she examined a high waisted white dress of exactly the sort she always imagined Jane Austen's ladies like Elizabeth Bennett or Emma Woodhouse wearing. They dropped the items off at their room before going for dinner.
"Draco. You said you were ordering me a dress. What's in the other bag?"
"You'll see," He said with a wince.
"Is that all you're going to tell me?"
"For now."
"Does this have something to do with all the letters and the phone calls and the visits and everything else?" Hermione said angrily, though she managing to keep her voice down.
"Uh, yes," Draco admitted.
"And when will I be let in on the secret?" Hermione drawled, rolling her eyes.
"Soon." Draco shrugged.
"Really?! What is this all about?!" She said, nearby diners looking over at them.
"Okay, okay, come on," Draco said, standing and holding out a hand. He was wearing his calm mask and she wondered if that meant he was nervous or upset. She took it slowly and he drew her up.
The rest of their dinner was packaged and they took it with him, apparating to a secluded spot by their bed and breakfast instead of taking a cab and walked the short distance back to their room. Draco sat her on the bed and opened his bag, pulling out a folder he usually kept his business papers in. He rifled through it while she watched, occasionally glancing up with what looked like embarrassment and twice running his fingers through his hair. Hermione was mildly shocked that anything could make Draco Malfoy so nervous.
"Mione, I've told you a lie today," He said finally and she stiffened, fear dropping into the pit of her stomach. He pulled something out of the folder and held it out. "I did know about the ball."
He was holding a pair of tickets. She took them with shaking fingers and read the information on the front. They were very clearly for admittance to the Jane Austen Regency Ball that same night. Her eyes were pulled to the clothing bags they had picked up that afternoon. He had ordered her a dress from a shop in Bath, the shop with all the Regency style dresses in the window. Two tickets, two sets of clothes. She looked up at Draco again and saw him watching her with a nervous look in his eyes.
"You arranged for us to go?" She managed.
"Yes."
"Draco Malfoy, I love you so much!" She broke into a beaming smile and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him back onto the bed with her as she laughed.
"You better. I'm going to wear one of those ridiculous outfits for you, you know," He drawled, but he was grinning.
"Thank you," She said, burying her face in his shirt collar.
"Anything for you, Mione," He whispered.
"I can't believe you set this all up!" She laughed weakly.
"Well, up you get, my love. You have an appointment at a muggle hair salon in fifteen minutes, then it's back here to get into our clothes, and we're to be picked up in two hours."
Hermione's mouth fell open as she tried to find something to say and words completely failing her. Instead, she kissed Draco desperately and he held her tightly to him. It was far too soon when they separated and he set her on her feet, apparating again back into town. They walked to the salon where Draco had booked Hermione in for her hair and there were a half dozen other women getting their hair pinned up for the same ball.
The woman worked quickly, making a loose bun encircled by a thin braid, strands of hair escaping here and there in a natural sort of way. The hair framing her face was curled into loose ringlets and arranged to stay out of her face. To Hermione's surprise, Draco then came forward and pulled some carefully wrapped jewellery out of his breast pocket. They were hair ornaments of silver with what might have been diamonds sparkling on them. The hair dresser obediently adorned Hermione's hair with them while Hermione sat in stunned silence. She felt that the cost of any one of the items now in her hair was probably higher than that of most of her outfits combined.
"Ready?" Draco said with a grin, holding out his arm. She took it and they walked out slowly, Hermione barely moving her head.
"Draco, I can't wear all this. I'm afraid if I turn my head I'll drop hundreds of galleons worth of things."
"I want you to. And she pinned them in well and secured them. Believe me, I watched. And, my dear Mione, you look like the stars are in your hair," He said, kissing her cheek.
"Thank you," She murmured, blushing hotly. "You really are feeling particularly romantic tonight, aren't you?"
"It's hard not to be, with you here. Come on, let's get you out of those clothes."
"And into a dress?"
"Unfortunately," He drawled and Hermione laughed. That was more like Draco.
They had to help each other into their outfits, firstly in order to figure out how exactly the unfamiliar garments were supposed to work and secondly, in Hermione's case, to pull them on without damaging her admittedly amazing hair. Hermione's dress had two white undergarments that were pulled on over her underwear. The top one was thinner than the first and had a beautiful pattern of lions embroidered around the hem. Over that was a sort of overdress in red that fell over the others on the sides and back but open in the front to show the white dress and the embroidery. It was tied with gold ribbon under her chest. From the puffed sleeves to the chest, to the length straight down to the floor, the dress fit perfectly. Finally there were stockings, a pair of white shoes that were almost slippers, and gloves of white silk that reached to her elbows.
Draco's clothes were a little simpler, even if Hermione couldn't help laughing about the flap at the front of the pants. He had black pants and a long black jacket with a high collar. Under that was a white shirt and a carefully tied white cravat that Hermione helped straighten. He refused to wear the hat. Hermione stood to fix a fold in his shirt and paused, glancing over at the mirror.
"We look quite the pair," She said, staring at the unfamiliar reflection.
"I look good," Draco said with a grin and Hermione gave him a light punch. "Okay, okay, I guess you look good, too."
"You're so kind." Hermione laughed.
"You know I love you."
"And I love you."
"Come on, I think there's an overcoat for you somewhere. Our ride should be here soon."
She found a tan coat similar in style to Draco's but almost as long as her dress and Draco helped her pull it on. He also found the fan he had ordered for her which was the same red as her dress and also with a pattern of gold lions. She buttoned up the coat and Draco shrugged on a matching coat over his jacket. Finally, he tucked his wallet and his wand into his jacket pockets as she packed a little money and her wand into a long, regency style purse. He offered his arm and she took it, her gloved palm on his forearm, and he led her out into the night. Draco was having trouble keeping the grin off his face and Hermione was smiling broadly. But her smile soon turned to shock again.
"Draco Malfoy, did you hire a coach?!"
"Yes, I believe I did."
"How many other surprises do you have in store for me?"
"Only time will tell, my love."
The coach driver opened the door for them and Draco handed Hermione up. He got in after her and sat on the seat opposite her, the driver shutting the door. They heard the jangling of the harnesses and the carriage jerked forward, but soon the ride grew easier. Hermione watched through the windows and tried to understand the reality of where she was sitting. She could hardly believe that she was sitting in a coach in clothes out of a novel across from her amazing, handsome, silly man who had set this all up.
She watched with wide eyes as they drove past the beautiful Bath Abbey and stopped near it. Draco exited ahead of her and extended a hand, and helped her down from the coach. She was a little nervous as they entered and were greeted by a muggle at the door. Everyone inside and, it seemed, most of the people outside, all wore period clothing. They were given a quick orientation once the man verified their tickets, Hermione was given a dance card, and they were shown into the hall.
For a moment they stopped and Hermione stared in amazement at the room which would have been beautiful in its own right and even without the crowd of people inside, every one of which was in period dress. There was dancing, groups learning the dances, people sitting and eating or drinking tea, and still more chatting in groups or pairs. Hermione felt like she was going to wake up back in London at any moment.
She and Draco talked to other people there for a while, meeting people from all over the world as well as from within Britain. When Draco pulled her over to dance, she discovered that he had researched this as well, because he already knew the steps the instructor was trying to teach them. But this meant that when the group stepped out onto the floor to go through the motions for real, she could trust him to know his part. She felt a little silly and thought Draco looked sillier and she told him with a laugh that at least no one they knew would see them. He pulled her out for the dance they knew twice more when it came up as she smiled and laughed.
"Let me sit for a while, Mr. Malfoy," She teased as they left the floor for the third time. "I'm not used to all this dancing."
"Of course, Ms. Granger," Draco drawled, drawing her away. He raised his free hand slightly and one of the guides at a door raised a hand in return. "This way, Ms. Granger."
"Where are we going?" She asked as he led her out the door beside the guide.
From there they were directed to a door that led outside to a small area where a bench had been set up. It was made of carved stone and surrounded by too many rose bushes to count, rising on trellises to form walls. She didn't think she had ever seen so many roses in one place and she could smell them in the air.
"This is where we're going, Mione," Draco said, taking her to the bench and sitting with her.
"This is beautiful!" Hermione breathed, her eyes moving from one exquisite bloom to another.
Draco stood and removed his wand from his pocket. He carefully took the biggest and most beautiful red rose he could find and cut it from its stem, using another spell to remove the thorns. Then he tapped it with his wand and the petals seemed to crystallize, the light of the moon and stars, and the blue tinted muggle lamps glittered off it. He sat again and offered it to her and when she took it with shaking fingers she thought it looked like living glass. The petals were still soft to the touch but somehow solid at the same time.
"I love you, Mione," Draco whispered, kissing her cheek.
"I love you, too, Draco," She whispered back. He smiled, gently taking the rose from her hands and using the stem to anchor it in her hair to the side of the bun.
"Mione, my love, I have a confession to make," Draco said, taking a deep breath.
"What?" She said, a drop of fear disturbing this perfect moment.
"I've lied to you about one other thing in these two weeks," He said, his eyes on the ground. "There was no business meeting. This morning I was finalizing all my plans for tonight."
"Why are we here then?" Hermione said, confused. "You didn't come here just to surprise me with the ball, did you?"
"Partly," Draco said and took another deep breath.
"What is it, Draco?" She said as gently as she could, removing her glove and taking his hand.
"Mione, sometimes I have no idea why you fell for a ridiculous fool like me, but I love you more than anything in the world, and I wouldn't take the world for you."
Hermione's breath caught in her chest and her heart began to pound. Draco kissed her hand and, without releasing it, moved off the bench, getting to one knee on the cobbles in front of her. It was a beautiful night, surrounded by roses, stars, and beauty, but she never looked away from Draco's face. Those grey eyes were more full of love than she had ever seen them before and his lips curved in a loving smile.
"I don't think I could bear life without you. My amazing, lovely, intelligent, wonderful Hermione Granger. Do you think you could bear to spend your life with me?"
He was proposing. Draco Malfoy wanted to marry her. Only two thoughts seemed to fit in her mind, the first that he was asking to marry her, and the second was that she loved this ridiculous man with all her heart. She loved that handsome face looking up at her with a mixture of love and nervousness, she loved the man who had opened his heart and his life to her, who did more than he needed to make her happy, to make her comfortable, to make her feel loved. He had made up the idea of a business trip just to come here and propose to her.
"Yes," She breathed, watching the joy dawn in his face unrestrained. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Hermione fell forward, hugging him, and he caught her, easing them both back onto to bench. They sat there for some time, clutching each other tightly, every other consideration eclipsed by joy. When they drew apart he again reached into his pocket but this time his hand came out holding a ring box. She noticed that both their hands shook slightly as he opened the box and slid the circle onto her finger. It was simple but elegant, the band made of vines of gold and silver intertwined and about a dozen diamonds frosting the top. Her fingertips brushed it as his ran along her jaw, lifting her head so that he could kiss her gently and tenderly.
"I feel like I've fallen into a dream or that the clock will strike twelve like in Cinderella," Hermione said as tears of joy escaped her attempts to stop them. He held her, wiping her cheeks with his handkerchief.
"What's Cinderella?"
"A servant who wants to go to the prince's ball and a fairy godmother grants her wish. She goes and dances with the prince and they fall in love but at midnight the spell ends and she runs away before they find out who she is. But she leaves a shoe behind and the prince tries it on every girl in the kingdom until he finds the girl it fits, which is Cinderella, and marries her."
"Sounds like he was on the wrong end of a bad memory charm to me," Draco drawled and she laughed wetly. "I think you'd be angry if the only way I could recognize you was by your shoe size."
"Yes. I don't think I would be marrying you if that were the case," She said and both of them paused as the sentence sank in.
"I wouldn't expect you to, my lovely fiancée," Draco said, kissing her again.
"There is no one I'd rather be with. Now that I'm here I can't imagine it any other way. I love you, Draco."
They sat together for a little longer until Draco took her hands and drew her to her feet. Reluctantly she began to put her glove back on but Draco stopped her.
"Not yet. I have one more surprise for you, my own Mione," He said with a grin.
"Another one? I'm not sure if I can take any more surprises," She said as she finished mopping up her eyes. She was a little glad he had stopped her putting on the glove. She couldn't stop glancing at the ring.
"You'll like this one," He said with a grin, leading her back into the building and nodding at a waiting employee who slipped through the door. "Although I hope you liked the last one, too."
"Very much," She said with a smile. The hand on his arm was the one with the ring and it glittered in the lights. "Why are we waiting here?"
"You'll see."
Draco was smiling broadly the whole time and so was Hermione as she took the chance to look around. It was a beautiful building. From the other side of the door the noise stopped and there was muffled shouted and then the chatter slowly rose again. Hermione looked questioningly up at Draco but he didn't appear about to tell her anything. Hermione didn't know what she had expected, but she didn't expect two other employees to take the handle of each door and the first to appear, then slip through into the hall again. She heard him shout through the opening.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present to you, Mr. Draco Malfoy and his fiancée Ms. Hermione Granger!"
The men on the doors opened them wide and it was only because of Draco at her side that Hermione thought she had the courage to walk out. If they weren't under the gaze of so many muggles she would be glaring at him, or possibly hexing him, for putting the spotlight on them. Then she stopped. The first row of people stood a little ahead of the others and, to her shock, they were certainly not muggles. Harry stood in the centre in a military uniform next to Ginny in a Regency dress tailored to fit her expanding stomach. And there was Megan, Luna, Neville, George and Angelina, and even Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. They were all smiling and clapping as Hermione's mouth fell open. Ginny held out her arms and Hermione rushed forward, hugging her friend tightly.
"What are you all doing here?" Hermione managed after a moment, wiping away more tears.
"Draco-er, I mean, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said, straightening his red jacket and glancing around, "He set it all up, got us the tickets, clothes, portkey here, and rooms for the night."
"That's what you talked to them for," Hermione said, and Draco nodded.
"The letters, the meetings, the calls, most of it, in fact. I had to buy some of the tickets off mug-other people, since they were sold out."
"Am I the only one who didn't know about this?" She said, thinking of the organizers of the ball who had allowed them to be announced. Around them the ball was beginning again and the muggles spread out to the tables or to dance.
"Well," Draco thought for a second. "Yes, I think so."
"You...you ridiculous, romantic, amazing man," Hermione said a little weakly, smiling despite herself. It was hard to stay angry with him when he had been setting up this amazing night.
Their friends laughed. Soon the two of them seemed to be at the centre of a circle, hugging, shaking hands, and receiving congratulations from all their friends. The women oohed over the ring and the men commented about the extreme preparations Draco had taken. They stood and talked for a long time and Hermione received explanations for just about all of Draco's strange behaviour for the last two weeks.
He had come up with the idea of a business trip to get her to join him without suspicion. He apparently already had a handful of tickets and bookings at bed and breakfasts with the idea of surprising her by taking her and some of their closest friends. But once it was turned into a marriage proposal, he had to get a few more tickets and rooms off muggles. He set up the hair appointment, the coach, and arranged with the ball organizers for the little rose garden and for the announcement with their friends at the front of the crowd if she said yes. He had looked up places for her to visit to keep her busy and so she didn't get suspicious. Then he had to arrange all the outfits to be completed with little notice, besides finding a ring. He had even thought of the little details like putting the two Aurors in military uniforms while the rest of the men were in gentlemen's dress.
It was a wonderful night, indeed, just like something straight out of a fairytale. All the members of the group talked and laughed, mixing freely with each other, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw alike. They even danced, although Neville sat out, claiming an injury from a spell he received in the leg in Greece, even if Harry pointed out he hadn't reported one. Draco had also arranged for her friends to go through the lesson on the regency dance. Megan and Luna stood with the Slytherin men as Harry and George took their places with their wives, Harry looking more than a little uncomfortable, Hermione noticed. There were a few muggle couples in the dance as well, but they barely noticed.
Hermione didn't think she could have imagined a more perfect evening for a proposal, as she danced with Draco in a beautiful dress, with all her best friends in their Regency finest, only one glove on and a crystalline flower in her hair. It was bittersweet when the ball ended but she tucked her ticket safely into her little purse as a keepsake. She also found that Draco hadn't just ordered one coach; there were two waiting for them when they left. The Potters, Megan, Luna, and Theo Nott would all be staying at the same bed and breakfast they were and spending the day with them tomorrow.
They split up at the bed and breakfast to their separate rooms, Draco taking Hermione's hand and holding it tightly. When their door shut behind them Draco kissed her passionately and she responded until they broke apart.
"Wait, wait, I want to call my mum. And we should get everything out of my hair," She said and he groaned, leaning against her.
"You're right. Here, sit on the bed."
Hermione obeyed, finding her cell phone and sitting on the bed. The mattress sagged as Draco sat behind her and she felt him carefully removing the ornaments from her hair. Her mother quickly answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi mum," Hermione said, suddenly finding that her voice was choked with tears. Draco's hands massaged her shoulders and he kissed her neck.
"Did you say yes?"
"What? You knew too?!" She spun around to look at Draco. He smiled innocently and handed her the rose he had placed in her hair earlier.
"Of course. Draco talked to us about it. He asked for our blessing and wanted to know if his idea was a good one. So?"
"Yes," Hermione said weakly, looking from the rose to Draco's smiling face. "I said yes."
"That's great, sweetheart. We really like him. Your father says as long as he keeps watching the football, Draco's alright by him, but he thinks Draco's nice too."
"Thanks, mum."
"We love you, Hermione, and we're so glad you're happy now. Keep us up to date."
"I love you too."
"Enjoy your day in Bath!"
"Thanks. Night."
"Nighty night, sweetheart," Her mother said and Hermione ended the call, turning the rose between her fingers and looking at Draco, even if she kept glancing down at the ring on her finger as it caught the light.
"You asked for their blessing?"
"Yes."
"Why? Not that I'm complaining."
"It was the proper thing to do. Besides, a lot of wizards do it. I've only met them a few times and I wanted to make sure they approved. Then I wanted their opinion on my plan. I talked to your father before the football game on the day after your birthday and when he took you upstairs he was giving me time to talk to your mother."
"Oh. Thank you," Hermione said, placing the rose carefully on the nightstand. "You're a very proper fiancé."
"You know, I've never been that good of an actor," He said with a grin.
It was nearly an hour before they actually prepared to sleep, although some of the time was taken up by their attempts to get out of the Regency clothing, which was a little trickier than what they were used to. Hermione hung them up before they went to sleep, curled up close together.
They met their friends for breakfast the next morning and Draco laid out the places that he and Pelly had found in their research as possible places to visit. They voted and agreed as to where to go and set out on what Hermione felt was a little like the first day of the rest of her life. It was a fantastic day even if they decided to return to London that night and, after checking out, apparated home. Their home.
It was the next day, while Hermione and Draco left the little tea shop where they first had real, pleasant conversations over a year ago that a Prophet reporter caught sight of their clasped hands and the ring on Hermione's finger. A photo, with an enlargement of their hands and the ring, appeared on the front page the next day, along with a headline that made Draco laugh and Hermione shake her head.
SLYTHERIN PRINCE DRACO MALFOY AND GRYFFINDOR PRINCESS HERMIONE GRANGER ENGAGED!
When will the wedding take place? Where and when was the proposal? No comment- say friends.
The article went on to speculate the details of the proposal. Using a muggle venue meant that not a word of it had reached the magical paper. Yet, it was hard to be angry, since, in a way, the nosy reporters had been part of the reason they started pretending to date in the first place. They ignored the paper and were a little kinder to reporters when they were inevitably stopped the next time they were out. After all, without the Prophet, they may never have gotten together, and Hermione may have never learned the ABCs of moving on.
The beginning.