It was quiet, dark, and warm as the fire crackled in the hearth and Draco's hands clasped over Hermione's midsection, her back against his chest and their legs stretched out along the length of the couch. She had told him, when he first led her into his bedroom for their chat, as he'd called it, that they should sit rather than get comfortable on the bed and that they really ought to take a seat and face each other and have it all out in one conversation.
She had gotten her way for the first little while. They had sat up and sipped from their mugs and Draco had started lightly with thoughts of when and where they would move. Hermione hadn't felt ready to bring up any other subject quite yet and so she allowed them the time to just sit and let the beverages warm them along with the prettier thoughts of a home to share entirely. Draco had finished his coffee relatively quickly in Hermione's opinion and as soon as his hands were free he had pulled her closer and she had let him with only one minor protest.
She was still sipping her milk, Draco's chin resting atop her head as they felt the movement of each other's every breath. She set the milk aside, a few sips from being finished, pulling herself up a bit and thus forcing him to move his chin from the crown of her head to her shoulder. "Go on," he encouraged. "What first?"
"Pansy. I would really like to be Juliet's mum," she said softly. "But if I'm her mum, what about Pansy? I suppose…it really is up to you…but I want her to know who she is."
Draco closed his eyes. "Pansy is Juliet's mother. I don't intend to keep that from her in any way. It's about time I put a picture of her up somewhere around here anyway. I can't keep pretending she's just never going to come up again."
Hermione tucked her hands under Draco's, smiling tenderly as his fingers immediately disentangled from each other and folded around hers. She squeezed gently in affirmation. "I've got the story worked out. About the young man who found himself on the wrong side of a war. How he realized he was wrong. How he had a best friend who gave him the most wonderful and precious gift before she left him. It's a lovely story, I'd say. And the best part is that it is one hundred percent true."
She could feel his smile as he kissed the base of her neck.
"I think you'll have to help me with the storytelling," Draco told her.
"Gladly," she replied.
He breathed in the smell of her hair and closed his eyes.
"Draco," she said, "will Juliet be the only little one to whom we tell the story?"
He paused.
"You don't want children," Hermione said. It was a statement, but she waited quietly for either contradiction or confirmation.
What she received was a sigh and one of his hands releasing hers to run over his hair. "Hermione, I never—"
"I know you never wanted children before," Hermione cut in. "But that was before Juliet and…" Before me, she wanted to add. Instead she went on, "I don't want to get married without knowing for sure. I want children, Draco. I always have, and I think I always will. That's not going to change. I would want Juliet to have siblings."
"I never even considered it until you came along," Draco finished. "Look, I can hardly manage Juliet as it is. I don't think I could—"
Hermione laughed. "She's going to grow up Draco; she won't need nappy changings forever," she said. "You were an only child. Surely you wished you had siblings?"
"Not as much as you, I'd suspect," Draco told her. "I was a spoiled, bratty, filthy rich child. I wasn't exactly keen on sharing."
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "You never got lonely?" she asked. "Ever?"
"I got lonely," he admitted. "The house elves were decent company on occasion and I always won when I harangued them into playing with me."
Hermione shook her head. "You must have been such a joy as a child," she drawled dryly.
"Oh, I was delightful," Draco returned.
She laughed lightly and then twisted a bit in his arms to face him. "I think I need a yes or no, Draco," she said seriously. "I don't want this to be something I have to talk you into. I'm sorry this didn't come up earlier but…I want it to be something we both want."
"Hermione..." And then he stopped. Draco suddenly saw it. He saw Hermione, her small frame swollen with a child that was equal parts her and him. He saw a nice, lived-in home with the belongings of a family contained within it. He saw a curly-haired toddler with warm brown eyes just like his mother. He saw Juliet, grown up to be a gorgeous little girl, running about a watching over another little one. He smiled. He saw a beautiful family.
"It is," he told her, twirling a lock of her soft hair around his finger.
"Do you mean that?" Hermione asked, trying to keep any obvious hopefulness out of her voice.
"With all my heart," he replied.
"Draco, are you sure that—"
"Absolutely positive," Draco said decidedly. "I quite like the thought of you having my children."
She couldn't help her slightly watery smile.
"We'll have to name the next one after a constellation, though," he added.
"Absolutely not."
"You'll come around."
"You'd like to think so."
"I know so."
"Draco."
"Aries."
"Draco."
"Scorpius."
"Draco."
"Leo."
"Draco."
"Draco II."
"Mental," she muttered. "Utterly mental."
Hermione was wandering from her bedroom, her eyes barely open and her feet shuffling along in an unawake state. She jumped as she heard a dull thunk at the window and her eyes snapped wide open in startle, just in time to see Errol fall.
She leapt over to the window and threw it open to see the poor, old Weasley owl flapping his wings in an earnest attempt to save himself from his plummet. Hermione quickly pointed her wand at the flailing creature and levitated him and her letter back to her window. The bird nuzzled into her hand in appreciation, exhausted and alarmed.
Hermione gave Errol a treat and then claimed the letter addressed to her. She opened and scanned it quickly, a frown coming to her features before she penned a response back and sent it off.
"Morning, lovely."
She spun around to see Draco stepping out of the floo, Juliet situated on his hip and her diaper bag in hand. She strode over and took the baby from him, kissing each of them good morning and offering Draco a cup of coffee.
"I'll get the coffee," Draco said. "You're not even dressed yet. You go get ready. We'll be late for brunch."
"Actually," Hermione started, "I just got a letter from Mrs. Weasley. Arthur's caught a bug and she's nursing him back to health. Says it's rather contagious though and they haven't any idea what it is. Brunch has been cancelled."
"Cancelled?"
"Yes, sir," Hermione affirmed.
Draco put the diaper bag on the couch, put his shoes by the door and then started on the coffee. "So, what shall we do for breakfast then?" Draco asked.
Hermione grinned. "Dessert."
Draco grinned. "Sounds good. Just let me have my coffee."
Hermione went over to the coffee maker that Draco had switched on and inspected it. "Draco," she said. "You didn't put nearly enough coffee in here. This is going to taste awful."
Draco shrugged. "It's coffee, it's going to taste awful anyway."
She shook her head. "You've never made a cup of coffee before, have you?" she asked.
"Never," he responded shamelessly.
Hermione rolled her eyes and stopped the coffee maker. She handed Juliet back to Draco, smiling at the girl's pouting protest and then told them she'd be right back before retreating to her bedroom to change.
She emerged a few minutes later, presentable but comfy in her thick blue sweater and worn in jeans. She bundled up first Juliet and then herself while Draco got the diaper bag and put his shoes back on.
The walk was short, the weather cold, and Juliet was quick to express her hunger with restlessness. When they reached the small patisserie it was packed with people and Draco did not look pleased. Patience was never something he had in abundance.
The queue curved about the back of the shop to avoid people having to stand out in the cold, the tables were full and the queue was moving slowly. Hermione joined it patiently while Draco followed in disbelief. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Everything's warm and freshly baked. It will be worth it. I promise."
He sighed.
"Besides, everyone is doing takeaway so the place should clear out in a little while."
He nodded and she smiled, twining her fingers through his. "Be patient," she sang.
As one may have been likely to guess, Hermione was right. Everyone who came to the shop after them deemed it too crowded and instead left in favour of something faster and everyone who was ahead of them got their sweet pastries in white takeaway boxes. Soon enough, the place was substantially less congested and Draco and Hermione had a clear view of the glass case.
"Mud cake," Hermione said.
"No."
"Why?"
"Awful name," he said.
"I want chocolate."
"How about cheesecake?" he suggested.
"How about no?"
"Why?"
"I want chocolate," she repeated liltingly.
"How about chocolate cheesecake?"
Hermione looked up at the new participant in their conversation. Charlie was coming through the door behind them, shedding his coat and rolling up the sleeves of a green Henley, smiling at the couple he recognized.
"There's an idea," Hermione said. "Hi, Charlie."
"Hello, Miss Granger. This must be…oh, I know this one…" Charlie was grinning at the little girl in Hermione's arms as he thought to recall the baby he'd been told of. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "Shakespeare! Just like Hermione. Juliet, isn't it?"
Hermione nodded with a wide smile.
"Yes!" Charlie hooted in success and tapped the side of his head. "Still up and running," he said. "And isn't she ever the gorgeous little thing."
Draco smirked.
"Chuck!" Hermione saw the blonde woman who had been working in the bakery the last time she had been there. She was standing behind the counter now, waving an apron which she then whipped to Charlie.
The boy caught it easily enough, twisting his arm so it wouldn't touch the ground.
"You're late!" the woman snapped. Charlie nodded as he hurried himself, swivelling around the counter and tying the apron in a knot behind his back, something he'd clearly had practice doing. "Get your arse back there and wash up. I've been dying back here!"
"Ah, pipe down," Charlie said with a teasing nudge at his co-worker. She glared. "Isn't that busy," he told her.
"Wouldn't be saying that if you were here on time." The girl packed a box of macaroons for a customer, thanked them and then hit Charlie with the back of her hand. "The place was packed."
"Yeah, okay." Charlie grinned and disappeared in the back.
"Decided?" the woman asked, turning to Draco and Hermione who were next in line.
"Chocolate cheesecake, please," Hermione said, indicating the dessert in the case. "And one latte and one," she waited.
"Coffee. Black," Draco filled in.
She nodded. "Chuck! Latte and a black coffee!"
"Yes ma'am." Charlie came loping back, drying his hands and then saluting.
Hermione handed Juliet to Draco and paid before he could realize what she was doing.
He shook his head at her and she waved him away to take the one free table.
"For here then?" the girl asked, getting out a plate.
"Yes, please," Hermione affirmed.
"Take a seat," Charlie said. "I'll bring it over."
"If he doesn't spill it," the girl sang.
"You know, I've had enough from you today," Charlie said, smiling as he fixed the latte on a saucer.
"Of me?"
"Yeah, you," Charlie said. "Is this how our relationship's going to be? Verbally abusing and constant nagging?"
Hermione laughed as she took the seat across from Draco. She looked at the pair, the girl looked to be around her age, give or take a year or two, and she knew Charlie to be a younger sixteen years old. She couldn't help but wonder.
Charlie brought their drinks over and Hermione smiled, thanked him and then let her curiosity get the best of her. "You two are together?" she asked.
Charlie grinned. "Oi, Cassie, can you define this…frisson between us?"
"No, frisson, Chucky," Cassie said, boxing up a pre-ordered cake before handing the cheesecake over the counter to Charlie.
"Oh, you've got a thing for me," Charlie assured, "don't deny it." He placed the cheesecake between Draco and Hermione and then pulled a highchair from the side up to the table.
"Alright, Mister sixteen," Cassie said.
Charlie grinned at her.
Hermione placed Juliet in the highchair and took the discreetly warmed bottle from Draco, pulling the chair closer to her and alternating between offering Juliet her bottle and sipping from her own beverage.
The tables in the shop were filled but the queue had dwindled to two people. Charlie fixed the drinks in takeaway cups while the girl ran the register and boxed pastries. Hermione assisted Juliet so she could finish her bottle and then she and Draco dug into their cake.
"Draco," Hermione began, licking her lips and then carving neatly from the edge of the cake.
"Hm?"
"I was thinking..."
Draco put his fork down and swallowed his bite. "Alright," he said, meeting her eyes and steeling himself. "What is it?"
She laughed. "I was just…about a wedding. I'm not too keen on a long engagement at this point. Don't really see the point."
"Okay."
"And I never really wanted a big wedding."
"Fair enough."
"And, to a certain degree, I feel we're practically married as is and this is just officiating that, yes?" she asked.
"I'd say so."
"So, what would you say if I asked to get married…by the end of the month?"
"Alright."
"Really?" Her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Hermione, I told you, we can get married whenever, wherever and however you want. So long as you're Hermione Malfoy by the end of the day."
"Malfoy," she said, trying it out. She made a face at him. "I think I'm rather attached to Granger."
Draco's expression changed instantly and he stopped. "Hermione Malfoy," he said.
"I don't know…"
"Hermione," he growled. "My wife will have my name."
She laughed. "What is it with men and their wives' last names?"
"Malfoy," he said firmly.
"Yes, yes," she said. "I'll take your name. But really, why does it matter so much?"
He shrugged. "Hermione Malfoy," he repeated.
She hid her smile with another forkful of sweet cake.
"Why?" Draco asked. "So soon, I mean. Thought most girls liked being engaged for a while."
"Why wait?" Hermione countered. "Besides, when have we ever been 'most' anything?"
Charlie came over then. "How is everything?" he asked. "Anything else I can get for you?"
"We're fine, thank you, Charlie," Hermione said.
"And getting married?" he asked. A sheepish smile overtook him. "Wasn't eavesdropping or anything."
Hermione beamed. "Yes, we are."
"When?"
Draco ran a hand over Juliet's silky blonde hair and gave her a wide grin. The little girl returned the expression brightly and bubbled a laugh.
"January," Hermione did some quick calendar calculations, "thirtieth. That's a Friday," she told Draco.
He nodded absent-mindedly.
"Need a cake?" Charlie asked with a grin, gesturing about the shop.
"Yes, actually," Hermione said. "That'd be great. Do you have an order form I can fill out?"
"Sure." Charlie dodged around the counter, grabbed the form and delivered back to their table. "Here you are."
"Thanks."
"So, how old is Juliet?" Charlie asked. "Seven, eight, months?"
"Very near eight," Draco replied. "Good guess."
"I've got a little sister," Charlie explained. "Going on two years old. You might have seen her around the building," he said. "Brown hair, sparkly green eyes, screams bloody murder at all hours of the morning?"
Hermione laughed. "I might've seen her once or twice."
"Chuck!" Cassie called. "Your turn to clean the cappuccino machine!"
"I'm on my break," Charlie told her.
Cassie glared. "Break my arse. You're almost a half hour late. There goes today's break and tomorrow's."
Charlie slapped his palms against his aproned thighs and grinned apologetically. "Seems I've got work to do," he said. "Nice seeing you though and my utmost congratulations."
"Thank you," Hermione and Draco said in unison.
"And it was nice to see you, too," Hermione added.
"Happy marriage!" Charlie wished.
"Chuck!"
"January thirtieth‽"
"Yes."
"Hermione, that's in three weeks!"
Hermione nodded, not bothering to point out that technically it was a little less than that. Ginny looked like she wanted grab her friend by the shoulders and shake her to sense as it was.
"Why?" Ginny asked. She paused and then her face lit up. "Oh, my Merlin, you're pregnant, aren't you?"
Hermione laughed. "No, I'm not pregnant."
Ginny shook her head. "Then why? You can't possibly be so delusional to think that you can pull together a proper wedding by then."
Hermione opened the box of books that had been delivered to the shop earlier that morning, taking in the smell of the freshly printed paper and bindings with a sigh and a smile. She began to sort through them, following her list to make sure they were just what she ordered and then separating them into genres.
"I don't want a big wedding," Hermione said. "Just close family and friends. I wouldn't think to invite most of my family anyway. I hardly see them as is and I think we'll have a wizard officiant."
"Hermione."
"If you're here," Hermione said, "you can make yourself useful and help me shelve these please."
Ginny took a stack of books that Hermione had set aside and went where she indicated.
"Hermione," Ginny called, "you only plan to get married once, don't you? Don't you want to make it special?"
"It will be special," Hermione argued. She joined Ginny with a tall stack of books herself and began to alphabetize them on the shelf. "I'm marrying Draco."
"But Hermione," Ginny whinged. "It's a wedding. You can't just…do it and get it over with."
Hermione huffed. "I am marrying him, that's all that matters to me. All I want is my friends, my parents, and your family to be there, a wedding dress that makes me feel like a bride and a husband who can take it off of me later that evening."
Ginny laughed, looking at Hermione and her impish grin with slight awe. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad," she commented.
Hermione agreed. "And I still want you and Luna to be my bridesmaids. And Draco knows Harry and Ron will be groomsmen. If we get our dresses within the next two weeks then they can be altered and fitted in plenty of time." Given they took the dresses to a wizard or witch to be tailored. "I don't want the fuss and stress of planning a big, extravagant wedding."
Ginny sighed. "But weddings are so magical."
Hermione gave her an obvious look. "I can honestly say that my life has been plenty magical as is."
"Hermione."
"Ginny."
Their eyes narrowed at each other until neither could help themselves and they laughed before they returned to shelving books. It was quiet for a while and then the younger girl let out a soft huff.
"Well, if you're sure it's what you want..." She still looked displeased by this and Hermione smiled slightly at her.
"That one goes over there." Hermione pointed at the book and then across to another stack. "Third row."
Ginny rolled her eyes but plucked the book from the shelf and took it to where Hermione had instructed without protest. "So that's it?" Ginny said finally. "You're serious about this?"
"Yes, Ginny." Hermione pulled her hair back into a bun and out of her face. "Why does this bother you so much?"
The redhead frowned as she rejoined her friend. "I wanted to play wedding planner," she said. "Work's been so boring lately and Harry's got a lot going on at work. James is slowly beginning to try my patience. I thought it would be fun. You were a lot of help in planning our wedding."
Hermione smiled fondly at the memory of her best friends' wedding. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd come dress shopping with me next week," Hermione told her. "And there will definitely be some planning involved. It would be great to have some help."
Ginny hugged Hermione tightly. "Give me a list," she said. "I'll take care of everything."
Hermione laughed. "Thanks."
She had no idea how serious her friend was. One list, numerous floos, two shopping trips and thirty-four invitations later her wedding was planned. She was in utter disbelief at how fast the weeks had passed. She was getting married and she couldn't have been happier.
In the time that Ginny, with small amounts of help and input from Hermione, took to plan the small wedding, Hermione and Draco had done a bit of real estate research. Or rather, every couple of days Draco would find Hermione as she closed the shop and then take her to a property or two to get her opinion before they were due to have dinner. She had deemed two of them high contenders but had yet to come to a decision as one required a great deal of fixing up, though its location was far more preferable being just outside a muggle community with a few wizarding families in relative proximity.
Draco hadn't gotten cold feet yet.
Hermione had been waiting for the moment where he'd question it all and ask her if she was sure about going through with it. It never came. In fact, it seemed that they were the least worried people scheduled to be in attendance at the event. Everyone was happy for them, there was no doubt about that, but (with the one possible exception of Blaise) they could tell that others were trying to subtly hint that things had progressed rather quickly.
Draco supposed he couldn't blame them if one stopped to think about the relationship between him and Hermione numerically. The number of years they had known each other. The number of years they hated each other. The number of months they'd had together after reconnecting. The number of months they had officially dated. And the number of weeks they had been engaged. Looking at it that way, perhaps it didn't add up to much in their point of view. That was fair enough.
When he looked at it however, the equation was much different. Starting with the number of years in which she had seen the worst of him and he had seen the true strength in her, at the time, five foot character, adding to that the number of years in which he had grown up a bit, and then the months in which she had been there for him, regardless his state and past. Plus the months in which he had tried to be there for her as well and when she helped him to become a better him and when he knew he had fallen irreversibly in love with her. The time he spent being able to show her how much he loved her was still a little surreal to him, yet incredibly familiar and natural at the same time. It was as if he had known how to be with her all along and the fluidity of it amazed him to the point where he sometimes wondered how he didn't realize it sooner.
So, yes, it may have been more conventional for them to have a few years on record, but he thought their own timeline balanced out nicely just the same, if not better. He didn't need months or years with her to know. All he needed was her.
Loving Hermione Granger was very possibly the easiest thing he could ever fathom himself to do. And he knew that it was what he wanted to do for the rest of his years, the past ones be damned.
Which was why he could say, without a doubt, that Hermione Granger would not be Hermione Granger much longer.
Ginny grinned as she took her place next to Luna, who held Juliet. The little girl was outfitted in the most adorable pink satin dress, quiet and well behaved as Luna spoke nonsense to her in a light voice and fixed her straightened her dress.
The music began and Ginny could hardly contain herself. Draco's eyes were trained on the doors as he heard the youngest Weasley whisper, "You'll absolutely die when you see her."
And he swore to Merlin, he damn nearly did.
A/N: Ohmygoodness. First things first, I have the BEST readers in the world, biased as that opinion may be. I had no idea that so many of you actually took the time to read the author's notes but let me say that I am so glad you do. Your support was overwhelmingly awesome and very much appreciated. I try to refrain from doing things like this but I feel it necessary to acknowledge all of those who were so kind. Below is a list of those I'd like to thank:
PercabethLover1477, vmontes743, ANEwrites, TheShiningStar, ariamonae, tripleloopx, Hunter's Heir (yes, it was a confidence boost), Blonde K, dracomakesmyheadspin (he makes my head spin as well), lakelady8425, Honoria Granger, bloodybrill (have I mentioned how much I enjoy your penname?), LilyNightShade, KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun, Hanable-13, cnguyen7899, dramionelover1996, Tay Lupin, happytoreaddmhg, shimmeringbubbles and those guest reviewers who should most definitely consider accounts.
Thank you all so much. For your suggestions, encouragement, compliments, and consideration. Those who mentioned that you don't typically read dramione may or may not have made my head a little bigger.
This story is not done. I have been looking forward to an epilogue way too long to stop now I think. That being said, if any of you have anything you'd like to see (Charlie made an appearance for a certain reader this time around) I'd be more than happy to at least take it in to consideration.
You wonderful, wonderful readers, you.
~Scarlett