A/N A big thanks you for all the reviews and comments! You guys are the best!

Enjoy the next, slightly longer, chapter.


Draco woke up to find the bed empty. He sat up and sleepily stared at the bathroom door. Was she sick again? That hadn't happened quite as often lately. Trying to hear anything of what might be going on behind the closed door, he was wondering why the bed looked so neat. Then it hit him. She wasn't sick, she hadn't slept next to him and he had no idea where she was!

With a loud groan he fell back. They had a fight. He had just left. What kind of idiot was he? How could he leave the girl he loved just because they had had words. Well, it had been mainly him that had done the talking and what utter rubbish it had been.

For long moments he stared at the fabric overhead. He would need to do something, he needed to get her back and this time for good. So, what should he do? First he needed to find her. Where would she go? Or would she have stayed at her parents? No. He was quite certain that she wouldn't have stayed there. Not after the incident with Ron in the hospital. Her parents would have probably tried to convince her that that git had been right after all.

Potter's? Possible. She had been staying there after she had found out about the baby, his baby. That meant he would need to speak with Potter. Nothing he was looking forward to doing, but he needed to find her.

What should he do once he had found her? Try to apologise? That would be really hard. Merlin knew what kind of mood she would be when he suddenly showed up. Wrecking his brain for a while he watched his fingers as he entwined them in complicated patterns. Finger...

"Jana!"

Moments later the familiar -pop- could be heard.

"Master?"

"Get me the engagement ring of my grandmother."

"Yes, Master."

A plan was forming in his head. He needed to be rather smart, if this was going to work. She mustn't find out beforehand.


Around lunchtime the same day Draco was stalking through the Ministry and found himself yet again at the reception desk of the Auror Office. The witch behind it didn't look any more welcoming then she had the last time.

"Name?"

"Malfoy."

She looked up. He could see on her face that there had been a moment when she had been expecting to see his father instead of him.

"Draco Malfoy."

"Contact?" There was a rather tight line where her mouth should be.

"Harry Potter and before you ask, yes I know he is still in training and no, I don't have an appointment, but this is concerning Hermione Granger."

There was no rush in his words. He seemed at ease with the world and just happened to have to talk to one of the best known wizards alive.

She looked him up and down. "You have been here before, because of Miss Granger, needing to talk to Mr. Potter."

"That is correct."

She inhaled sharply, nostril flaring.

"What is it about this time?"

"Her recent stay in St. Mungo's."

Raised eyebrows, but he didn't volunteer any more information.

"Take a seat over there."

He did. While watching several memos in paper plane form being despatched his thoughts were going over his plan again. Potter better help him or he would have some serious problems to get this scheme off the ground. In his mind he saw Hermione before him, in a wonderful dress, her hair arranged like it had been for the Yule Ball and with that slightly shy smile. He grinned as he remembered his utter astonishment about her being able to look so gorgeous when she had come downstairs that night. Krum had been envied by most of the male student population of Hogwarts that evening, including himself.

A snort of disgust interrupted him daydreaming. He looked up and found Ronald Weasley staring.

'Bloody fantastic! That moron is the last thing I need right now.'

Draco ignored the wizard in front of him and hoped Potter would be collecting him sooner rather than later. No such luck.

"What are you doing here, ferret?"

"Waiting for Potter to have an intelligent conversation, not that it is any of your business."

"Why would he want to talk to you?"

"Maybe he, in contrast to you, has the sense of listening first before threatening an unarmed man."

A wand was drawn.

"Mr. Weasley! Put your wand away at once." The receptionist sounded even less friendly than she had before.

It was hard for Draco to suppress the smirk that wanted to invade his face. Luckily for him Harry happened to appear at that moment.

"Malfoy?"

"Potter."

"What are you doing here? Ron, stop being a prat and put your wand away. I don't think your mum would be very impressed, should she find out..."

The wand vanished before he had time to finish the sentence. Scowling at his former enemy Ron turned and walked down the corridor without another word.

"What do you want?" Harry made sure not to look at the receptionist. He knew what kind of expression she was displaying by now. Unruly trainee aurors were her favourites, for a quick snack between meals...

"I need to talk to you about Hermione."

"What has happened?" But before any answer could be given he had already started to drag the other wizard towards one of the empty rooms leading off from the reception area.

As the door was closed, Draco didn't loose any time.

"I need you to make a list of all of Hermione's friends and family and then to notify them all to be at the Manor Saturday evening at 7 pm."

There was no reply to the request only a very nonplussed face looking as if Christmas had been swapped with Easter this year.

"What do you mean make a list of all of Hermione's friends and family and notify them to come to the Manor? Except for her school friends that would mean a lot of Muggles."

"Potter, I know that. That's why I asked you to contact them. I don't know how you would get hold of them without using owls. Muggle post doesn't sound reliable."

Harry tried to understand what was actually asked from him. Why did Malfoy need all these people at the Manor?

"What exactly are you planning to do next Saturday at the Manor?"

Draco told him, Harry gasped.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I am serious! Do you think I would otherwise be standing here asking for your help?"

There was a frown and a scrunched up face while its owner was trying to think and nothing much else. He couldn't have heard right. There was no way that he would just go and organise... Or would he? If anybody would be determined and bloody minded enough it was him. A heavy sigh followed the silence.

"Are you going to do it? I don't have all day you know."

"Yes, yes I know. You'll have a lot to organise until Saturday."

Now it was Draco's turn to frown.

"Do you think, I can't do it?" There was a clear challenge in his tone.

Harry sighed.

"Malfoy, you have managed to get Hermione to fall for you. Anybody that can achieve that after having been despised by her for nearly half her life...," his eyes were piercing into his ex-enemy's ones, "could probably turn the moon into cheese, if need be."

Had Potter just complimented him? In a kind of back-to-front twisted way?

"I'll go to her parents and get all the names. I'll probably will need to visit every single one of them personally, but...," there was a very heavy pause, "she is worth the effort."

The two young men stared at each other for a moment before being interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Harry went to see who it was.

"Potter? There's no time for you to lurked in empty rooms. A raid with low level risk has been organised and you are schedule to take part. So, get your gear together and meet me at the Table in five."

"I'll be there."

"I don't care how you do it, Potter. As long as you get those people to the Manor on Saturday." Draco said passing Harry.


Hermione had been sitting in the locked room for two days. Kreacher had brought food and as much tea as she could have possibly drunk. Other than that she hadn't had any contact to the outside world. Most of her time she spend reliving the horrible row they had had. Tears were starting to for yet again. Why did ha have to say all those things? Why didn't he know, that she truly loved him? How could he be so jealous? For no reason at all! Hadn't they been through enough together for him to realise that he was the only one for her? He had spend a month snuggled up to her very publicly in a hospital bed, but still thought that she might actually...A wailing sob escaped her, preventing any further re-living of their fight.

"Draco!" she cried into her pillow.


"Harry! What a pleasant surprise." Mrs. Granger opened the door for the young wizard to enter. What brings you here? Is everything okay with Hermione?"

"She's fine, Mrs. Granger." he tried to re-assure her.

'I hope so anyway...' he thought to himself.

"I need your help with something... unusual."

They entered the living room and took a seat on the couch and the armchair respectively.

"Something unusual?"

"Yes. Well. Not something I'm used to doing in any case."

The woman opposite him gave him a questioning look.

"I have been asked, if I could get a list of all of Hermione's friends and family."

"I can help with the family, but all her friends are now witches and wizards."

"Are there no school friends from Primary School she still is in contact with?"

"Not really. There was Hetty, but she moved to South Wales a year after Hermione started Hogwarts and Sybil and Nelly just didn't bother after learning that their friend was now attending an exclusive boarding school in Scotland. She has always been... studying, reading, you know how she is."

Harry nodded.

"Why do you need the list anyway?"

"Aehm." What was he supposed to say now? Malfoy hadn't told him that he could disclose the reason for the list. Had he told the Grangers what he was planning at all? Better be careful.

"Draco is planning something at the Manor on Saturday. He wants all her friends and family to be there. Oh! That includes you as well."

"Draco wants us to come to a manor on Saturday? Which manor and how to we get there?"

Harry tried to think. Had that prat actually told him any details? No, not really. Just get them all there and make sure not to tell anybody the real reason. He sighed.

"I think, I'll owl him and make sure that he talks to you and your husband before then. The manor he wants you at is Malfoy Manor."

"Malfoy Manor? Isn't he called..."

"Draco Malfoy, yes. It's their family home."

"His family has a mansion?" Mrs. Granger sounded seriously surprised.

"They got an estate actually. It's located in Wiltshire." There was the strange feeling spreading through Harry that Malfoy might have told the Grangers about the bad side of his past, but kept his standing in the wizarding world as such a secret. A grin spread over his face that spoke of If-you-didn't-bother-telling-them-I-will. Before he could say anything though his hostess had already picked up on the monetary side of the fact that her son-in-law to be was living in a mansion.

"How can his family afford a big house like that? Do his parents have well paid..." she stopped herself remembering that his father was in jail.

"The Malfoys are one of the wealthiest families in wizarding Britain."

She was glad she was already sitting. This news would have otherwise knocked her off her feet. They had been assuming that the boy came from the wizarding equivalent of one of the crime ridden and unemployment swamped housing estates. It had sounded as if he had come from a rather bad background and now it turned out that he was the heir to a fortune?

"Harry, are you trying to tell me that my daughter is going to marry your version of Bill Gates or high nobility?"

"Yes. The Malfoys are one of the oldest wizarding families. They are also one of the few that have looked after their blood purity for centuries."

"Blood purity?" That sounded revolting somehow.

"It's like the nobility has done in the Muggle world, they have only ever married other pureblood witches or wizards."

"But Hermione..."

"... is a Muggle born, yes, but Draco loves her anyway. A bit like a crown prince marrying a commoner."

The enormity of what she had just learnt stunned Margaret Granger into silence for quite a while. Harry was starting to wonder, if he possibly shouldn't have told her about Malfoy's background as he had avoided to do so.

"She is going to marry a very wealthy young man then?"

"Yes."

"Oh my God! How am I going to tell her father?"

A frown was the reaction to these words. Why would her father knowing about Malfoy not being some kind of true criminal cause any problems?

"John has resigned himself to the fact that his only daughter is going to be the wife of a juvenile delinquent and now..."

"He will find that she in fact is going to be the wife of a good guy that had a bad start in life."

Had he just been defending Malfoy? What was the world coming to?

"Mrs. Granger, could you start on that list, please. I need to contact everybody in order to...," he looked at her, "You got a telephone... We can just phone everybody." He sometimes forgot about the simple things of the Muggle world these days.

"Of course, hold on." She got up and went to fetch a notepad and pen.

It was about two hours later that they had phoned the brother and mother of Mrs. Granger, the parents of Mr. Granger and also the three cousins of Hermione. They had all agreed to come to London on Saturday morning and meet up. Harry would take care of them getting to their destination. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to do that without having to obliviate them all afterwards, but still.

Maggie Granger had just put the phone down after the last call, when her husband came home. She hugged him tightly and tried to tell him about Harry and the planned festivity all at once. He laughed and hushed her gently before trying to find out what had happened.

It surprised him a bit to see the wizard he know was called Harry Potter sitting in his living room, but he thought that him visiting might be the reason for his wife being so animated.

"Calm down, Maggie, dear, and then tell me what's been happening."

He sat in one of the chairs and his wife balanced herself on the armrest.

"We should have trusted Hermione when she came and introduced Draco to us, dear."

"Oh? Why? What's happened?"

"Harry here has just been telling me thatthe boy our daughter is engaged to is the magical equivalent of a crown prince. His family is very old, very influential and very rich."

Mr. Granger blinked. Wasn't he supposed to be the son of a convicted criminal?

"I thought, his father is in prison?"

"He is, but Malfoy, Draco, was never as evil as his father. He grew up with a really bad role model and then events overtook him and he had no way out any longer. He has proven quite some courage to try and win Hermione actually. Most people in our world will be really surprised once their relationship becomes common knowledge."

"So, what you are saying is, he has only told us only the worst about himself so that we could get to grips with the knowledge, but has forgotten to mention that he is really one of the good guys?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

"Why would he do that? Anybody else what have tried their best to hide a criminal in the family."

"He's a Malfoy. He does that." It had slipped out before he could stop himself. The puzzle faces staring at him told him a lengthy explanation would be requested, if he didn't find a way to make a quick exit. He look at the clock over the door. "Is that the time? Merlin! I need to get going. Otherwise Kreacher is going to send a search party after me."

He got up hastily, said his good-byes and disapparated from their patio.


Draco stood on the third floor of an unassuming building in one of the side streets of Diagon Alley. He had been looking at the door in front of him for the past part of five minutes now. Debating with himself, if he should knock and talk to his mother or just take the easy option and owl her. Though, if he just owled her, there would be all sorts of nasty questions being asked. Questions, he didn't want to answer. Not as yet anyway.

He knocked.

Nothing happened. He was about to turn and leave as the door was finally opened. The Auror that went by the name of James Mulligan stood before him.

"Oh. It's you. Come in."

He stepped aside to admit the frantically trying to calm his nerves Draco.

"She's in the living room." The direction was indicated.

He followed it along the hall and reached the room his mother was sitting in. There was a book in her lap and she seemed to be humming to herself. Her face was relaxed. Her whole body seemed to be relaxed in a way he hadn't seen before. Or if he had, he couldn't remember.

"Mother?"

She looked up, smiling warmly.

"Draco."

His steps were faster than he anticipated as he had reached the couch only moments later.

"Sit down, dear. How is that lovely fiancé of yours?"

He cleared his throat and tried a mumbled answer.

"Pardon?"

He sighed.

"Probably fine."

"Probably fine. If I wouldn't know any better, I would say that you have no idea about her well-being."

There was no reply forthcoming.

"Draco Malfoy! What have you done to her!"

"I haven't done anything!" I tried to defend himself. The stern look he received said it all. "We had a row. I've said a lot of things I shouldn't have said." he conceded.

"So?"

"I'm trying to make it up to her." Raised eyebrows were now directed at him. "I'm trying to organise a surprise for her. I've asked a... a friend of her to help me contact all her family and have them come to the Manor on Saturday."

"To the Manor? What ever for?"

He told her. She opened her mouth, but closed it again as she felt herself lost for words.

"You are really going to... Well, will I be invited to attend to the occasion? Or will I be turfed out off my own home?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Mother. Of course you are to be there." He paused and looked towards the hall. "And you can bring... him as well."

A kiss was feathered onto his cheek.

"I'm proud of you my son. I really am. With you and your children the name of Malfoy has finally the chance to regain the respect and good standing in the whole of the wizarding world as it once did."

His eyes shone with pride.

"Where will the actual event take place? I don't think you would like to do that at the Manor, do you?"

"No. Saturday lunchtime at our house in Edinburgh."

"Good. I expect you would like me to round up our side of the guest list."

"Yes, please."

"I'll see to it straight away."

He got up and looked at his mother with a smile on his face.

"I see you on Saturday then."

"Good luck, my son."

After Draco had left James came back into the living room.

"What was that all about?" he sat next to her on the couch.

"My son is expecting us at the Manor on Saturday evening."

"Oh? Why?"

"A surprise party for his witch."

His auror instincts told him that he wasn't told the whole story.

"Cissy..."

His arms captured her in a loose embrace. She looked alarmed for a moment before relaxing again.

"Why?"

His voice low and seductive. She saw something in his eyes she hadn't seen there since she had become betrothed to Lucius. Would he now...? He did. His lips were every so gently brushing over cheek. She couldn't help herself, but all worries and fear finally left her. She would be free soon and then...


Harry hadn't noticed that he had fallen asleep at the kitchen table over the Daily Prophet. It took a moment before he actually realised what it was that had invaded his dreams. There were people whispering rather loudly somewhere in the kitchen. He tried to understand what the voices were saying.

"... please, I know, I have been a total git. I know, that I shouldn't have said all those things. I was just so... so... I don't know. Weasley has this effect on me."

Who was that? A male voice. There was a guy in his kitch...

"I have been spending hours crying because of you! I have been sick and miserable and..."

That was Hermione. Which could only mean that the male was Draco. How did he managed to get into the house?

"Please, Lea, please forgive me!"

Silence. Harry was about to lift his head from the table when the voices continued.

"You have apologised, so now you can..."

How long had them two been in here with him? They were shuffling about. Or were they?

"I have decided to do this properly. The way you can expect me to do it."

More shuffling.

"Hermione Granger, will you do me the honour and consent to becoming my wife?"

"Draco..."

Was he getting up off the floor? Had he actually been kneeling before her? Harry would have loved to see what was going on in his kitchen, but thought it better to pretend to be asleep. The sounds now reaching his ears made him blush. His best friend snogging the ferret was still a nausea inducing thought somehow. Over time he would probably be getting used to it and after having known about them for five and a half months now...

"Does that mean, you will marry me?"

"Of course I will, stupid."

"How can you call your future husband stupid?"

She giggled. Hermione never giggled!

"Draco!" she sounded breathless as if she as trying to keep quiet when she couldn't really.

"Yes, Lea?" There was a chill travelling down Harry's spine. That kind of voice could only mean one thing... There was a swirl of clothing and moments later the kitchen was only occupied by the owner of the house again.

He sat up, stretched and looked around. He was alone again. A grin was spreading over his face. One problem less he had to worry about. Trying to judge what time it was he got up. It must have been past midnight already. Yawing he skulked off to find his bed.