Disclaimer:I own nothing except for my ideas. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: New Year, New Wishes

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Meredith, Happy Birthday to you!"

Meredith squealed happily as she blew out her candles. The room clapped their hands, and Hermione kissed her now four-year-old daughter atop her head.

Hermione turned her head, catching eyes with Draco who leaned down to ruffle Meredith's hair and kiss Hermione quickly.

"Mummy, did I blow them out good?" Meredith asked, clapping her hands together.

"Yes, sweetheart! You did!" Hermione cheered.

Hermione rested a hand on her small, yet visible bump. She stood up from Meredith side and leaned into Draco who placed his hands around her waist. She looked around the room, smiling at her guests.

Ginny and Harry stood on the other side of Meredith, their position almost mirroring Draco and Hermione's as Ginny's hand rested on her own bump as well. Teddy and Victoire stood next to them, both excited for Meredith's party. Fleur and Bill, along with Angelina, George, Narcissa Malfoy and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood next to one another alongside the long dining table in Draco and Hermione's cottage home.

On the other side of the table stood Blaise and Pansy who had been coming around more and more often. Hermione had even come to think of the both of them as friends - almost.

"Daddy, can I eat cake now?" Meredith asked happily.

Hermione smiled as Draco nodded, leaving her side to attend to Meredith and her cake. She herself could not wait to eat some of that cake. It was vanilla, with strawberry frosting - almost exactly what she had been craving all week. Meredith had originally wanted a chocolate cake, but had changed her mind a few days ago, much to Hermione's delight. Anything chocolate now made her feel nauseous.

"Just think, in seven short years, this one'll be starting off at Hogwarts." Mr. Weasley observed.

Hermione felt her smile tense upon her face as her eyes drifted onto Meredith's face. Meredith - who had been smiling as she happily waited for her Dad to cut the cake - was now sitting quietly, the smile all but gone. Hermione sighed, approaching Meredith and bending down to whisper to her.

"Meredith, love. We've got loads of time to figure out Hogwarts, okay?" Hermione whispered, kissing her daughter's blonde hair.

Meredith nodded slowly before resting her head upon her mother's shoulder. Hermione sighed, lifting Meredith out of her chair and sitting back down her her in her lap. Meredith had developed an aversion the word 'Hogwarts' over the last few weeks. She immediately associated Hogwarts with the Hogwarts Express, and that didn't hold good memories for her. Hermione hardly knew how to handle the situation, merely saying that everything would be alright, and there would be plenty of time before she had to go on the Express to get to Hogwarts.

"Don't you want some cake, sweetheart?" Hermione asked.

Meredith nodded, and Hermione watched as a small smile creeped back onto her face. Draco was now watching them, the same concerned expression written on his face as she was sure was on her own.

"Yes please." Meredith answered, the happy tone returning.

Hermione locked eyes with Draco who breathed out a sigh of relief before bending down and kissing Meredith's head and Hermione's lips.

"Alright, pumpkin. Let's give you the first piece, shall we?" Draco asked.

Surprisingly, Meredith shook her head, hopping down from Hermione's lap and turning to her.

"I want Mummy to eats the first piece. She needs to feed my baby brother or sister." Meredith said happily.

Hermione instantly felt her eyes well up in tears at her daughter's words. Her emotions - as well as her cravings - really acted up in the fourth month of her pregnancy, something she now remembered vividly.

"Well, pumpkin, that's very sweet of you." Draco said, ruffling Meredith's hair.

"Auntie Ginny, you can has some first too!" Meredith yelled, walking to Ginny and grabbing her hand to pull her to the seat next to Hermione.

"Good call, Meredith. We've gotta keep these crazy pregnant ladies happy." Harry called out.

Hermione and Ginny both shot Harry a goofy dirty look before smiling at one another. Both Harry and Draco were dealing with two emotional pregnant women at the same time, the girls couldn't really blame them for getting their jokes in where they could.

Draco placed a slice of decadent cake down in front of Hermione and leaned down to kiss her lightly. Hermione smiled, chowing down immediately as Draco handed cake out to the rest of the group.

Not too long later, Hermione and Draco sat in their living room with Harry, Ginny and Narcissa. The rest of the partygoers - the Weasleys - were in the other room with the kids, supervising their play date. Hermione leaned against Draco, who's arm was wrapped around her waist, with a hand on her stomach.

"This has been a lovely day, but I think I really must be going." Narcissa announced with a smile.

Hermione nodded understandingly at Draco's mother. She knew that Narcissa needed plenty of rest - a side effect from her illness a few years ago. She had grown greatly fond of Narcissa, and was in awe of how quickly she had taken to Meredith.

"Meredith, love!" Hermione called out.

Within a few moments, Meredith came in the room, her eyes searching immediately for her mother's voice. Hermione smiled at her as Meredith caught sight of her.

"Grandma Cissa is leaving. Say goodbye and thank her for the gifts, okay?" Hermione instructed.

Meredith instantly hugged Narcissa tightly around the legs. She bent down, scooping Meredith up in her arms easily. Hermione felt Draco tense next to her.

"Mother, be careful please." Draco sighed.

"Oh, Draco. This girl weighs about five pounds. Let me hug my granddaughter on her birthday." Narcissa said, shaking her head and glaring slightly at her son.

"Thank you, Grandma Cissa! I love you!" Meredith squealed, wrapping her tiny arms around Narcissa's shoulders.

"Oh you're welcome, dear. I love you, too." Narcissa whispered, placing Meredith gently down upon the ground and kissing her forehead.

. . .

Draco watched his Mother nervously as she placed Meredith down on the ground. She was right, Meredith didn't weigh much, but it didn't stop Draco from worrying about Narcissa overexerting herself.

He felt Hermione touch his cheek gently, and he turned to her, finding her nodding slowly at him.

"She's alright, love." Hermione whispered.

Draco nodded, kissing Hermione's forehead before pulling her closer to him. He liked days like today, where he was surrounded by the people he cared most about in the world. Some days he couldn't believe that Harry Potter and many of the Weasleys were included in that bunch - but, the matter of the fact was that they were.

"Wait, Grandma Cissa, you can't go get!" Meredith suddenly yelled.

"Why's that, sweetheart? I think Grandma's pretty tired." Hermione said.

Meredith ran over to Draco and Hermione and Draco instantly felt his face flame. He knew why Meredith had asked Narcissa to stay.

"Daddy has to give me his present now." Meredith said with a smirk.

"Uh, pumpkin -" Draco started.

"Meredith, Daddy already gave you your present." Hermione pointed out, sitting up straight and maneuvering out of Draco's arms.

Draco looked at Meredith, who was staring at him with her perfected sad eyes. He groaned, knowing that he couldn't disappoint her now. When he had asked Meredith a few weeks ago what she wanted for her birthday, she had said one thing. It had been something that Draco had been planning for already, but Meredith had finally decided upon when.

"Meredith... do you think we can wait until everybody's gone?" Draco asked desperately.

He was nervous, beyond nervous. Nervous was a complete understatement. He looked at Hermione, who looked beyond confused. He noticed suddenly that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, Bill and Victoire, as well as Angelina and George were standing in the corner of the room. Teddy had gone to sit on Ginny's lap.

Every person possible was in the room.

He blushed slightly, looking back down at Meredith. Her eyes that were so like her mother's widened desperately at him, and he knew he couldn't put it off until later like he wanted to.

"Alright, fine." Draco huffed.

Meredith let out a squeal of excitement, grabbing Narcissa's hand and pulling her back down to sit on the chair she had been previously occupying.

"Draco, what other gift?" Hermione asked, scrunching her nose up in confusion.

Draco sighed, taking one last glance at Meredith, who was now sitting on Narcissa's lap, before turning to Hermione. She stood up off the couch, catching on to his sudden nervousness as she placed a comforting hand on his chest.

"Draco, what is it?" she asked.

Suddenly, he pulled up his courage from deep inside him and got down on one knee. He heard a collective gasp from around the room, but he suddenly didn't care. Hermione had covered her mouth with her hands as her brown eyes shone beautifully.

"Hermione Jean Granger, we've been through the absolute ringer, we have. You saved my life when we first got together. There is no doubt in my mind that I would still be here today without you. When we were... apart... it was one of the darkest times in my life. There was no one - there is no one - that could ever compare to you, and I wouldn't want them to. You are my light, Hermione. You've pulled me out from darkness time and time again, and I can't imagine my life without you and Meredith and our baby-to-be. I love you, so much, Hermione. Let's be a proper family." Draco said, his voice never wavering.

He watched as Hermione's hands dropped from her face, revealing an expression of absolute shock. The room was completely silent as Draco pulled out a small velvet box from his pant pocket. He opened it, revealing a beautifully cut, elegant diamond ring. Hermione gasped once more, and Draco noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I love you, my angel. Will you marry me?" he whispered.

After a long moment, Hermione nodded. She nodded wildly, crying as she did so.

"Yes, Draco. Yes, yes, yes!" she squealed.

He stood up, slipping the ring out of the box and onto her finger. He instantly pulled her into his arms, kissing her enthusiastically as an eruption of applaud thundered the room around them. He was practically shaking with his nerves and excitement as he kissed her.

"You will?" he whispered, pulling away from the kiss, yet cradling her face in his hands.

"Of course I will." she said tearfully.

. . .

Hermione couldn't believe it. Her and Draco were finally engaged. She kissed him once more before pulling away and hugging him tightly.

"Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!" Meredith squealed.

Suddenly, Meredith was next to them, her arms wrapped around her parents legs. Hermione smiled as Draco bent down to lift her up. As he did so, Hermione kissed her daughter's forehead.

"Oh sweetheart, this is what you wanted for your birthday?" Hermione asked, lightly laughing through her happy tears.

"I wants you and Daddy to be happy. And if you marry Daddy, you'll both be happy and I will too!" Meredith explained.

Hermione locked eyes with Draco, and noticed happy tears in his eyes as well.

"Well, I had been planning to already, but... Meredith just dictated the time and place." Draco explained.

Hermione kissed him again before remembering that her living room was filled with many of her closest friends. She turned to them, being pulled instantly into Ginny's arms.

"Oh, Hermione!" Ginny squealed.

Hermione and Draco went from hug to hug, hearing an endless amount of excitement and congratulations. Lastly, as Draco hugged his mother, Hermione came to Harry.

"You're getting married." he whispered, smiling at her.

"Yeah, yeah I am." she whispered back.

Harry pulled her close into his arms, hugging her tightly. Hermione felt him kiss the top of her head and she smiled.

"Are you happy for me, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry grinned. "Do you even have to ask me that?"

She shook her head, pulling him back into a tight hug before pulling away and turning back to Draco. He instantly locked his hands around her waist, and kissed her deeply.

"Well, I think that is a signal to get out of here. Let's leave this newly engaged couple and their daughter to themselves, shall we?" Mrs. Weasley announced with a chuckle.

"Meredith, go say goodbye and thank everyone for coming, please." Draco instructed, patting her head gently.

Around ten minutes later, the guests had left and Meredith was in her room, playing with some of the toys she had acquired for her birthday. Hermione sat upon the couch, holding out her hand as she admired the sparkling diamond ring.

She couldn't believe it.

"Here you go, angel." Draco called out, pulling Hermione away from her thoughts of admiration.

She looked up, seeing him standing before her with two mugs of steaming tea. She beamed at him as he placed one in her hand and joined her on the couch.

"We're getting married." Hermione whispered before she could help herself.

Draco chuckled, taking her tea back from her and placing them on the coffee table in front of them. Hermione instantly sat between his legs and leaned back against his chest as his arms wrapped around her, coming together to rest on her stomach.

"Yes, we are. It's about time." Draco whispered. "I've wanted to marry you ever since you first held me in your arms."

Hermione flushed and felt tears spring up in her eyes. "I love you, so much."

"How did you come back into my life?" he murmured softly in his ear. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Hermione turned to him, pressing a kiss to his lips. "I'm so happy we found each other again."

"Would you like to get married before or after the baby gets here?" Draco whispered.

Hermione leaned back against him, smiling as she felt Draco's hands rub her stomach softly. She overlapped his hands with hers, intertwining their fingers as they rubbed their stomach.

"I... I'm not sure. I've always wanted a small, simple wedding, married in front of the people I love." Hermione explained softly. "But I was never sure if you wanted a big wedding because you're a Malfoy."

She heard Draco chuckle softly. "And when did you become concerned with that?" Draco asked.

Hermione blushed slightly. "Well, when you first told me you wanted to marry me."

She turned around, finding Draco with a grin upon his face. He kissed her softly, just making her blush even more.

"Hermione, we can have whatever kind of wedding you want. We can get married tomorrow, or a year from tomorrow. It doesn't matter to me, as long as we get to spend the rest of our lives together." he whispered softly, kissing her forehead.

"Draco..." she sighed contently, pulling him into a hug.

When they pulled away, Hermione kissed him enthusiastically. He responded instantly his hands intertwining into her hair. When she pulled away, she rested her forehead against his.

"I know. How about we ask Meredith?" Hermione suggested happily.

Draco beamed at her. "Brilliant, love."

"Meredith, sweetheart? Can you come out here, please?" Hermione called out.

A few moments later, and Meredith appeared out from her room, dressed in her Hogwarts pajamas, and holding her teddy bear. Hermione crooked her finger, gesturing for Meredith to join them on the couch. Their daughter instantly hopped up between them, curling herself up as she held her teddy bear close.

"So, you know Mummy and Daddy are getting married now." Draco stated, Meredith nodding enthusiastically.

"Well, we need to decide when to get married. Do you think we should get married before or after your brother or sister is born?" Hermione asked, smoothing back Meredith's blonde hair.

"Mummy, you needs to buy a dress!" Meredith said, happily.

Hermione nodded, chuckling at her daughter. "Yes, I do. And you need to buy a dress, too."

"Daddy needs to buy something pretty to wear." Meredith observed.

Hermione laughed, catching Draco's eye and smiling at the bemused expression on his face. As she sat on the couch with her family, she knew. She knew exactly when she wanted to get married.

"Let's get married as soon as possible." Hermione said softly.

She watched Draco raise his eyebrows at her. "Really? Are you sure you don't want to wait until after the baby is born?"

Hermione shook her head instantly. "I just want to finally be your wife."

Draco leaned over Meredith, kissing Hermione's lips tenderly. As they pulled away, Draco nodded.

"We'll owl everyone in the morning to tell them when. And we'll get Ginny to go shopping with you tomorrow." Draco whispered.

Hermione nodded. "Yes! We can get married at..."

"Here. Outside in the garden. We can cast warming charms."

"That sounds lovely. We can get married on... Saturday."

"Saturday."

Hermione's eyes welled up in tears once more, and Draco just shook his head at her, smiling all the same.

"Damn hormones." Hermione said, with a watery smile.

"Saturday!" Meredith shouted suddenly, causing both her parents to laugh with their little girl.

Hermione wiped a tear away from her eye and snuggled closer against Draco, with Meredith now in both of their arms. She rested a hand on her stomach, noticing that Meredith was already doing so.

"Mummy, when does the baby come?" Meredith asked.

"It should come in June, if it comes at the right time." Hermione answered.

"I want a sister!"

Hermione only laughed softly, catching Draco's eye as he looked at her. She kissed Meredith's forehead before kissing her fiancé's lips, letting herself think of nothing but her family and this coming Saturday.

Author's Note: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! someone asked me how many chapters are left, and I would say not too many. I think maybe one or two, and then an epilogue. 3