all characters and canon situations belong to JK Rowling and I make no money from the publishing of this story. Thank you.

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Chapter 28 -

Hermione was singing. "I couldn't stand the pain, and I, would be sad if our new love…was in vain…" Her voice filled the kitchen as she and Ginny washed the dishes after breakfast. Draco sat at the table, watching, listening, and loving every minute of it.

"What song is that?" Draco asked, as Hermione continued to hum.

"It's called, 'If I Fell', by the Beatles," Hermione said.

"The who?" Draco asked.

Hermione laughed and said jokingly, "Not the Who, the Beatles."

Harry walked into the kitchen and said, "Lord, have mercy, Malfoy, even most wizards have heard of the Beatles."

"Are they a Muggle band?" Draco asked.

Ginny said, "You are joking, right? You've had to have heard of the Beatles!" Ginny suddenly ran from the room. She came back with a Muggle record album, pointed to it and said, "The Beatles! See! I'm a pureblood, just like you, and I've heard of them!"

"Okay," Draco said, almost defensively, putting his hands up in defeat. "Still, that's a nice song, but don't worry, Granger, your love will never be in vain."

Hermione made a funny face, wondering what he was talking about, when she thought of the song. She said, "Oh, the lyrics. Well, I hope you take them all to heart, my dear. There's one part that goes 'I've been in love before, and I've found that love is more than just holding hands,' and that's true." To demonstrate, she walked over to where he sat, put the dishtowel over his shoulder, and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"Yes, love is more than holding hands, Granger, dear," he smirked, kissing her back. "That's what I tried to tell you all day yesterday!" He kissed her again.

"Oh, how sweet," Ginny said.

Harry leaned over to her and said, "If you were getting the mental picture I was getting, you wouldn't think so."

She whispered back, "What do you know that I don't."

Before Harry could answer, Draco said, "We made love last night, and it was glorious."

Hermione put her hands over her face, and stood up from his lap. "Draco!" she abolished, stomping her foot.

"Well, you must have told Potter," he whined, "So, I get to tell someone."

Ginny said, "Give me details!"

Harry and Hermione both said, "NO!" at the exact same time.

Draco stood up, threw the dishtowel at Harry's face, and said, "Let the little friends finish the dishes, Mrs. Potter, and you and I can have a little walk around the garden, and I will regale you with the sordid details." Draco offered his arm to Ginny, she laughed, and they walked out the door.

Hermione went to the screen door as it slammed shut in her face and yelled, "I'm warning you, Draco Malfoy! Don't you dare tell her a single detail!"

Harry sat down, hung his head, and said, "You do realize she will want to talk to me about it now. I will be forever traumatized. This might be worse than the whole Voldemort trying to kill me for 17 years."

Hermione laughed and splashed water from the sink in Harry's direction. It missed. He got up and cleaned the water off the table. Harry came up to her and stood beside her as she watched Draco and Ginny from the kitchen window, as they walked around the back garden. He pushed his shoulder into hers and said, "He fits right in, doesn't he?"

"Weird, huh?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, very weird," he agreed. He turned to sit on the counter and said, "When Ron gets back, do you think you will still come for Sunday dinners, and the like? Will you feel comfortable bringing Malfoy here with Ron and Pansy?"

"I don't know, Harry," she said. She leaned against his chest, and he put his arms around her. "I don't want to lose all of you."

"You will never lose me, Hermione." Harry kissed her forehead. Draco and Ginny walked back in the kitchen.

"They are cheating on us, my dear," Draco said to Ginny.

"No, they are always like that, all touchy feely. I've come to accept it, and you would do good to accept it as well," Ginny said. Then, she looked at Hermione, as she remained wrapped in Harry's arms, and said, "Draco didn't really tell me anything, so I expect a run down from you later." She winked and added, "Now, who's up for some Quidditch? George and Charlie are already outside, and Bill and Percy should be here shortly."

"Granger," Draco asked, "are you playing?"

"No, but I will be the best spectator you've ever seen," Hermione stated. They walked outside, just as Fleur and Bill were arriving. Their daughter ran to her grandpa's waiting arms.

"That's a pretty little girl, blonde and sweet. Will our little ones be that beautiful, do you think?" Draco asked. Hermione was going to make a joke, but she turned and saw that he was regarding Victoire so thoughtfully, that she just smiled.

Everyone grabbed a broom, and were in the field, waiting for Percy to arrive. He finally came walking over the hill, with another gentleman by his side. "Who's that?" Draco asked.

"I can't tell yet," Hermione said. The whole clan was calling for Percy to hurry up, so the two men started to jog. When they came close enough, Hermione's eyes grew wide. It was Oliver Wood. Soon, everyone was clapping him on the back, and shaking his hand. It had been many years since they had seen him.

Draco leaned over and said, "Didn't he go to Hogwarts? Gryffindor? That Quidditch player? Wood? "

Hermione answered all his questions softly, and with one word, "Yes." She looked down at the ground.

"Something wrong, Granger?" Draco asked. His answer came, not from Hermione, but from Oliver himself.

Oliver walked up to Hermione, and said, "Goodness, Granger, you are more beautiful than I remember. How are you?" He took her hands in his, held them out, and accessed her 'beauty'. Draco frowned.

"Nice to see you again, Oliver," Hermione said. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He turned and nodded to Malfoy, but they exchanged no words.

"Did you go to the wedding yesterday?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, I haven't really left yet," she said meekly.

"If I knew you were going to be here, I would have accepted Percy's invitation," Oliver said, smiling at her. Draco frowned even more.

"Hey! Are we playing or not? Wood, Malfoy, get your arses over here!" George yelled.

"See you, later, Hermione," Oliver said, with a wink.

"Wanker," Draco said, under his breath. He waved at George and said, "I'm going to sit this one out, with Hermione."

"No, go play, Draco," Hermione said, pushing him toward the field.

"I would rather be with you," he said, sincerely.

"Is this because of Oliver?" she asked.

"Why would it be?" he asked. "Was he one of the famous five?"

"The what?" she asked, sitting on the ground, as the others began to play.

"The famous five. The five men you've slept with," he said, sitting beside her.

Hermione laughed and hit his shoulder. "You are a riot, Malfoy! No! I haven't even seen him forever. I had a mad crush on him when I was young, and all the Weasleys knew about it, so did he, and they all used to tease me about it, and it was really quite frustrating. That's all. Anyway, you are the only one I have a crush on now."

"I hope so, Hermione," he said. He looked at the game, but kept stealing glances at her. She kept her eyes on the game as well, but she could tell he kept looking at her. She reached over, without looking, and took his hand in hers. He smiled.

"Sing me another one of those Beatles songs," he said.

"No one wants to hear me sing," Hermione smiled.

"I do," he said. "Sing for me, Hermione."

"No, but I will make you a promise, on our wedding night, I will sing for you."

"You better do a whole lot more than sing to me on my wedding night," he said with a gleam.

"I called it 'our' wedding night, and you called it 'yours'. Interesting. I wonder what psychological meaning that has, if any?" she asked.

"It just means that you are mine, and while I am yours as well, you are less selfish than I am, and me, being the self-centered being that I am, I see everything along the margins of mine, mine, and mine," he said plainly.

"Yes, that would be a good explanation," she mused. She shook her head and said, "You really, truly, are a riot, sometimes."

Draco said, "I can't really argue with that."

"Of course not," she said. They resumed watching the game, when Hermione felt his fingers crawl up her back. At first, she thought it was a bug, but when she realized it was he, she relaxed. His fingers crawled up to the exposed skin of her back, and with the little pink sundress, there was a lot of exposed skin. He started moving his fingers, feathery soft, across her heated skin. He leaned over and kissed her shoulder. His fingers continued their trek and exploration of her back, as his mouth moved from her shoulder, to her neck, and then to her back. He moved her hair away from the back of her neck, and kissed her there as well.

She was trying to pay attention to the game, she really was. She just couldn't. She shook her head a couple of times, to clear her thoughts, but damn him, he was so distracting! His left hand continued to move along her back, this time, tracing under the straps that held the dress together, over her shoulders, as his mouth kissed her shoulder again, and his right hand came to rest on her outstretched leg. The right strap fell from her shoulder, and he did nothing to replace it. Instead, he traced the strap as it lay on her shoulder, stopping his fingers as they reached the front of the dress.

His right hand remained on top of the dress, on her thigh, merely resting meekly. That was about to change.

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