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I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters; J.K Rowling does! The storyline, however, is mine.

Ch.38

Hermione gasped as her feet touched the ground. She took in deep breaths as she attempted to calm herself down as well as to stop the dizziness she was currently experiencing. When she had finally managed to regain her breath, she looked at her surroundings. It took her a few minutes to realise that Draco had apparated them to the heart of the labyrinth. She turned around to find Draco looking at her. Returning his gaze she asked, " okay, what did you want to show me?"

Draco chuckled at her impatience, "Shush," he said, pointing to the rose at the centre of the fountain. Hermione watched in wonder at the closed stone bud, she let out a gasp as the first rays of the sun hit it and it began to open. Each of its petals filled with a teardrop of emerald. Hermione was struck with the beauty of the flower as the sun shone on the emeralds, creating a cascade of soft jade light that illuminated the water in the fountain, making it glow green.

She turned around about to thank Draco when she saw him on one knee.

"Draco what on earth are you doing down there, get up! You'll get grass stains on your…." He voice trailing as he interrupted her.

" Shush Granger," he said.

And for the first time in her life, Hermione actually listened to him and kept quiet, staring at him with widened eyes.

Draco took a deep breath before speaking, "Hermione Jean Granger, I'm not sure if I fell in love with you after seeing you for the first time or somewhere in between the taunts or when you broke my nose. I love you for your courage and beauty and impatience and the way you always manage to make me want to do and be better. But I know I've loved you and I will love you for as long as I live and even after that. What I'm trying to say is will you marry me?"

Hermione stood speechless for a few minutes as she took in his speech. Wiping tears from her eyes she knelt down. "Draco Malfoy, I love you. I think I loved you from the moment I barged into your compartment looking for a frog. These past few days have been wonderful. I've gotten to see a side of you that I wish will never fade. It's not just that side that I love, I love your protectiveness and possessiveness and the way you make me feel when you smile at me, I even love the infuriating way you smirk sometimes. I would be honoured to spend the rest of my life with you," she said, as she kissed him lightly on the lips before pulling away to look at his face.

Draco sat in shock for a few minutes as he took her words. Finally he snapped out of his stupor, and picked her up and spinning her around. Hermione squealed and lightly hit his chest, playfully demanding to be set down. Draco continued to spin her until the world became a blur, and only then did he finally set her down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box his mother had given him.

Kneeling once more he said, " Hermione, allow me to offer you this ring as a promise of my love."

Hermione nodded her head, giving Draco her left hand. She watched in wonder as he slipped on an emerald ring. Standing up he pulled her towards him and placed his lips on hers as he tried to fill the kiss with all his love for her.

Narcissa Malfoy stood by her study window, tears making their way down her face as she saw the declarations of love from the couple. Wiping them away, she thought to herself, "finally." Her mind then drifted to the familiar scene between her love and her.

Hermione and Draco sat breathless on the black granite bench, both trying to catch their breath after their passionate kiss. Draco looked at Hermione and was once again struck with her beauty, "I'll never get tired of this, this feeling of breathlessness and the feeling of seeing her face when she smiles," he thought to himself.

Standing up he said, " let's go back, I have to tell mother. Be warned, she'll want to help you plan for the wedding," he added jokingly.

Hermione looked at him and said, " we can have the wedding after we graduate."

At her words, Draco looked slightly uncomfortable. " What's the matter?" Hermione asked, as she got up to stand beside him.

Clearing his throat, Draco answered, "graduation is after my birthday, and with this Veela thing, I'm not sure I'll survive not being able to complete the ritual before then," his face becoming a light shade of pink.

" Oh Draco, you should have said so, we can have the wedding during the holidays before graduations, would that be fine for your Veela?" she asked, worriedly.

Draco nodded his head slowly, his face showing his uncertainty. "I think so love, but are you sure?" he asked.

Hermione huffed and answered, " of course I'm sure, I love you, that's all that matters."

Shrugging Draco pulled her hand and started walking back to the manor.

The pair walked briskly back to the dining room, both of their stomach's grumbling from their lack of breakfast. As they entered, they were greeted by Narcissa, who regarded the two with a twinkle in her eye.

Draco and Hermione ate their breakfasts hastily due to their hunger. When they were done Draco looked at his mother and said, " I've asked Hermione to marry me and she said yes. We plan to marry during the holidays and were hoping you could help arrange the wedding."

At his words Narcissa quickly stood up and hugged Hermione and Draco, whispering congratulations in their ears. "Of course Draco, I'll help. But first we need to celebrate this, I'll plan a ball for tomorrow."

"Narcissa that's too soon," Hermione protested.

Narcissa pondered for a few minutes before saying, "very well we shall have the ball the following day. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a ball to plan," she said, excitedly as she rose form her chair.

Hermione looked at Draco and said, "what have we gotten ourselves into?"

Draco simply shrugged and said, " I have no idea princess."

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Ps: sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors.

Arriva deci!