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Chapter 37 –
Bill came outside to the swing and told Draco and Hermione that they all had a surprise for them. With anticipation, the pair walked into the house, Draco grasping Hermione's hand a bit too tightly and Hermione biting down on her bottom lip. The family had already done so much for them, what else could there be?
Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't what was before them. Draco stood with his mouth slightly agape, his eyes wide, in total shock. Hermione clapped her hands together, and jumped up and down, in excitement. There on the mantel, along with all the other family portraits, Bill and Fleur's wedding, each Weasley child's graduation, baby Victoire's first steps, Harry and Ginny's wedding, was a picture of Hermione and Draco on their wedding day, as they walked out of the chapel hand in hand. Missing was a picture of Ron and Pansy.
Percy said, "I snapped that one, and I'm not even sure you saw me do it. I have a copy for you, too, and I already sent all the Muggle pictures I took to your parents, and Ginny put the copies of those and some others in an album for you."
"But, it's up there with your family's pictures," Draco said, astonished.
Molly walked up to him and patted his cheek, and said, "What did you think would happen when you married our girl? You became part of the family, Draco dear. We love her, so therefore, we love you."
"Yeah, we love you," George said. Everyone laughed.
Hermione walked over to the portrait and pulled it toward her, for closer inspection. Draco stood behind her. The picture showed their friends and families flanking each side of the little steps, and Hermione and Draco walking out of the chapel, hand in hand, smiling at each other, leaning over, and kissing. Then it would repeat the same scene. Hermione was awestruck at their kindness.
She held it to her chest, and said, "This is the best surprise, ever!"
Charlie walked up to her, took the picture from her hands, and said, "That's our copy, get your own," and he placed it back in its honoured spot on the mantel. Ginny handed them two ornately wrapped boxes.
She said, "The one is the wedding picture, in a frame hand painted by Fleur, and the other one is the picture album. Like Percy said, we made one for your folks, Hermione, with non moving pictures, and one for Draco's parents with wizard pictures. Percy sent them out by owl about an hour ago."
Hermione started to cry and Draco said, "Great, now she's crying again. I can't even count how many times she's cried this weekend."
She gave him a dirty look and said, "These are tears of joy, you wanker."
"Prude," he said.
"Dolt," she said.
"Crybaby," he said.
"Idiot," she said.
Mr. Weasley said, "Yes, I think they have a long and happy marriage ahead of them." Everyone laughed.
"Who wants pie?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Everyone followed her into the kitchen, including Draco.
Harry held Hermione back and said, "I have a present for you, too, but I want to give it to you in private."
"Should I get Draco?" she asked.
"No, it's just for you, since I didn't get you an engagement, wedding, or anniversary present," he said with a grin. "Come on, follow me upstairs."
They walked up the stairs, under the watchful eyes of Draco and Ginny, and Harry ushered her to Ginny's old room. He took both her hands and told her to close her eyes.
She closed her eyes, and suddenly, she felt a soft kiss on one side of her face, and then the other. She opened her eyes and said, "Is that all I get? Two little kisses on my cheeks?"
"No, that's just the first part of the present," Harry said with a laugh. "Sit down on the bed."
"Now, Harry, we're both married," she joked.
"Sit down, Granger," he said.
She sat down on the bed. He walked over to the closet, and opened it up. She tried to look around his body, to see what he had in his hands, but his back was in the way. He stood upright and said, "Now, shut your eyes again."
She did so, and she felt the weight of his body on the mattress next to hers, as he came to sit next to her. She opened her eyes as he placed a package in her hands. "What is it?"
"Gee, I don't know, I wonder how you can find out?" he asked.
She laughed and opened the present. It was a small wooden box, no larger than a book, (at first, she thought it was a book). The top had a picture, a Muggle picture, taken of Hermione and Draco during Ron and Pansy's reception. She didn't even know anyone took their picture that day. It was them, sitting at a table, faces toward each other, holding hands, and looking into each other's eyes. On a small gold name plate, under the picture, was their names and the date of their wedding. She looked up at Harry, and he smiled.
Just then, Draco walked in the room. He said, "Thanks Potter, I'll take it from here." Harry leaned over, kissed Hermione's cheek again and started out the door. He patted Draco's arm before he left.
"This is from you?" she asked.
"It's my surprise," he said. "Open it, Granger."
He sat beside her and she opened the wooden box. Music began to play from the box. The song was "Something", the song he had played at their wedding. The box was full of mementos and the like, from the weekend they fell in love. The first thing was a little netted bag of rice, tied with ribbon. She held it up and laughed.
"Rice?" she asked.
"Yes, remember, you threw the whole bag of rice right at the Weasel's head after the ceremony? I laughed so hard, it was the best part of the wedding."
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Draco nearly laughed his arse off when Granger threw that handful of rice right in Weasel's face. Draco was sure it was intentional, for she ducked behind another guest so no one would know it was she, but Draco saw the whole thing. Well, bully for her, he thought.
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The next item was a feather. She held it up and looked confused. She said, "Please, do explain this one."
He took the feather from her fingers and tickled her nose with it. She hit it away and he said, "Aunt of the bride, should I say more?"
"Yes, because I still don't remember this," she admitted.
"We were sitting at the reception, making fun of the wedding guests, and you saw the aunt of the bride and you made that comment about her hat remember?"
She laughed. She did remember.
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Hermione said, "She must have transfigured a peacock and put it on her head, not realizing that the spell didn't work."
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The next item was a small white daisy. She remembered this one. She clutched it to her chest, closed her eyes, and smiled as she reminisced.
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He plopped down on the ground beside her. Hermione had a white daisy in her hand. He took it from her and played with it a moment. Then he leaned over and put it in her hair, behind her ear. It was one of the most romantic things anyone had ever done, and her heart skipped a beat.
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She held up the garter from the wedding and said, "Now, why did you think this would bring up good memories? How did you even get it from the little tart?"
"How did that get in there?" he joked. He took the garter and flipped it across the room.
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Hermione looked at him and said, "Did you and the tramp have a nice time with the garter belt."
"Yes, it was rather pleasant," he said, lying back on the ground.
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She next drew out a large burr. She laughed and said, "Was this one of the actual thickets that was in your bum, or a reproduction?"
"Would I give you a fake anything?" he asked.
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He stayed on his back, and said, "Oh, my bum!" She crawled over to him, laughing.
She said, "Your bum? Did you hurt your buttocks, Malfoy?"
"No, you hurt me," he amended, trying to sit up. He lay back down and said, "I really hurt myself." She kneeled over him, and turned him over to his side. She let out a gasp. "What?" he asked alarmed.
"It's your backside that hurts?" she asked, with him still on his side.
"Well, not my backside so much, as…well, fine, my backside, why?" he asked back. She started laughing, and could not stop. He said, "What the bloody hell, Granger?"
"Malfoy, you must have rolled into some thickets. You have about four or five burrs stuck right to your backside!" She continued to laugh.
"Take them off me!" he said, still on his side.
"Take down your pants," she urged.
He looked back at her and said, "If you want to see me naked, that won't come until date number 30."
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The little white polished stone she gave him as a wedding present was next. She looked confused and said, "You had that in your pocket at my parents' house on Friday, so how did it get in this box today?"
"Magic," he said with a smile.
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She stood back up and went over to her purse. She sat down beside him again, and said, "Close your eyes, and hold out your hand."
"This better be good," he said, closing his eyes. He felt something plop on his hand. He opened his eyes, and there in his hand was a small, smooth, white, polished stone.
"What is this?" he asked, holding it to his face to examine it more closely. It almost looked like it was made from glass.
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He reached in the box next and withdrew a small white box. She knew it was the box that contained the bracelet he gave her for a wedding present; however, she always wore the bracelet, so it couldn't be in the box. She looked at her wrist, and it was sans bracelet. She said, "Hey!" She opened the box, and her bracelet was inside.
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Draco said, "Shut your eyes, and hold out your hand." She did as requested. He placed the small white box in her hand. She opened her eyes, and took off the lid. She looked at him once before she looked in the box. Inside was a silver bracelet with a single pendant. The pendant was a diamond teardrop, which sparkled and shined as she held it up to examine it.
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Hermione placed the box with her bracelet back on the bed, and reached in to find his watch. His watch played an important role that first weekend. It was how he measured 'what date' they were on, 'when their anniversary was', and also, when they were to marry. She recalled the words he told to her that day.
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"I was thinking about how I wasted so much of my life, not having you in it. I feel as if my life is just beginning, right now," he said. He kissed her hair. She drew circles on his chest.
"I know that I feel the same way. We should never waste another moment. Let's make a pact now, that no matter what, we won't waste one more minute or our lives without the other in it," she said. She lifted her head, to look in his eyes.
"It's a deal," he said. He put his hand on her cheek, and said, "And to answer your question from earlier," he said, looking at his watch, "It's 3:06 am."
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The words he said that day, "MY LIFE IS JUST BEGINNING" was in fact inscribed on the inside lid of the box. Below that was written: "LET'S NOT WASTE ONE MORE MINUTE OF OUR LIVES WITHOUT THE OTHER ONE IN IT."
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Hermione laughed at the next item, a little pink sock, which belonged to Victoire. She said, "You stole a child's sock?"
"No, I told her parent's about my gift, and they gave it to me. Seeing you with that baby, bathing her, dressing her, reading to her, made me see what a great mum you would be someday."
"How did you feel when I almost threw up changing her poopy nappies?" Hermione asked.
"That's the next item in there, by the way," Draco joked. Hermione hit his arm. "Seriously, that only made me love you more."
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She finally got the little girl dressed, sans shoe and socks. "Draco, put her socks on her. At least do something useful."
Draco sat on the floor, in front of Hermione's legs and reached up as Hermione held the baby on her lap, brushing the baby's hair. He took her little foot, and put one sock on. He started to put the other one on, but instead, he smelled the baby's foot and said, "Eww, stinky!"
Victoire laughed. So did Hermione. Draco tickled her foot and then put the last sock on.
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The last two items were his tie from the wedding, purple, by the way, and her bouquet, which was her something blue. He said, "Remember what I said. I said, 'If I asked you to marry me, right now, right here, and I meant it sincerely, what would you say?' and you said, 'Are you asking me, right here, right now?' and I said, 'I might be'."
"Yes, I recall," she said. "You also said, 'If I ask you, right now, right here, to marry me, and I said I wanted to do it as soon as possible, say, by 1:00 pm. Twenty-four hours from the beginning or our relationship. What would you say to that?' and I said yes, if I recall."
"No, first you said that would be impossible," he reminded, "then I told you to leave everything to me, and then you screamed, 'YES', and I was happier than I had ever been in my life," Draco exclaimed.
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"Come on Granger, leap of faith here, and show me your Gryffindor courage! YES OR NO?"
"YES!" she blurted out.
"YES?" he questioned.
"YES!" she said, laughing and shaking all over. "MY ANSWER IS YES!"
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Hermione gently placed all the items back in the box, and closed the lid. She said, "How long have you been planning this little surprise?"
"Truthfully?" he asked.
"As hard as it is for you to tell the truth, yes, I really want to know," she said, placing the box on the floor by their feet, and her hand on his cheek.
"Since right after the wedding. That's when I pilfered most of the items," he said honestly.
"Draco Malfoy, you are without a doubt the sweetest man I've ever know. You are almost so sweet that I feel sick, being the diabetic that I am," she laughed. She said, "See, funny. I am so funny."
He merely shook his head. He pushed her down on the bed, and he crawled up so that he was up against the headboard. He pulled her over to his arms, and held her tight. He said, "Is this perfect or what?"
"I know something that would make it even more perfect," she said.
"Perfecter?" he asked.
"That's not a word, I was using the correct grammar when I said more perfect," she corrected.
"I think it's Perfect, Perfecter, and Perfectest," he said.
"I doubt it, but we'll look it up in the dictionary later, if you'd like," she said, rolling her eyes, to humour him.
He laughed and said, "Now that's humour, Granger."
"No, that's stupidity, Malfoy. Now, do you want my present to you?"
"I doubt you have a present for me. You didn't know about this little two week anniversary. I did. I planned the whole thing, right down to the little romantic dinner on the front porch," he revealed.
"You planned that?" she asked.
"With their help, yes, although in hindsight, I should never have trusted Potter with the important role of waiter. I should have assigned him busboy," Draco said. "Never mind that, if you want to pretend you have a perfect present for me, go for it. Give it to me."
She scooted to the side of the bed, and started out the door. She turned to him and said, "Just give me a second." She walked out the door and went to the bathroom. He stayed on the bed, still doubting the existence of the 'so called perfecter present'.
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