1

Yawning tiredly as she stretched and pulled herself from bed, Hermione Jean Granger slowly shuffled to the kitchen of her small flat located in the heart of wizarding London. Quickly making her favorite cup of coffee, she grabbed a copy of the Daily Prophet and settled on her couch to catch up on the daily happenings. The Wizarding War was over, it ended three years ago when her best friend, the famous Harry Potter, had defeated the then Lord Voldemort; freeing the wizarding world from his clutches. An age of peace was settling over their world, the likes of which was unprecedented. Even though there were several former Death Eaters on the run who held and clung to the old beliefs and while they were still a danger to be sure, they would be hunted until they could be captured and put in prison.

Nothing exciting had been happening in the Wizarding World since the end of the war; but what was on the front page of the paper made her blood run cold "Minister of Magic reenacts ancient Marriage Law". "No, surely not! That is absolutely barbaric!" she whispered to herself. Hurriedly she flipped to the page and began to read the article

"Yes it is true, our dear readers. An ancient form of the Marriage Law has been reenacted by our esteem Minister of Magic. Since the end of the war population levels have fallen drastically and sadly it would seem that our population may be on the verge of extinction. Also part of the problem is centuries of inbreeding from the oldest wizarding families who are pureblood, to save our population they must marry outside of their families. All witches and wizards over the age of 18 are to be affected by this law; whether they be pureblood, half blood or muggle born. Anyone and everyone falling into these categories and age range should be prepared to receive a letter in the coming days."

Hermione just stared at the paper, feeling anger and sadness. After everything she had been through, everything she had given to the wizarding world she was going to be expected to marry and marry someone whom she did not love! No sooner than she had finished reading the article did she feel a disturbance of the wards around her flat, meaning someone had tried to apparate into her flat but failed thanks to the wards she had set up for privacy. Only a few seconds later she heard angry pounding on her door. Sighing she got up and made her way to the door, already knowing who it was. Opening the door she was greeted with the unpleasant and unwelcome sight of Ron Weasley at her door, her ex-boyfriend. Time had not been particularly kind to him, even thought they were both twenty years old, Ron looked much older and much more tired then her. Dark bags under his eyes indicating how much he had not slept, dirt and grim on his face and neck, his hair was long and unkept; his clothes were ragged, patched and baggy, much to large on his wiry frame. Returning her gaze to his face, to top it all off he looked angry and that was not an emotion that Ron handled well. "What a surprise, what are you doing here Ron?" she said keeping her tone neutral. Ron shoved the Daily Prophet in her face so she could see the article about the marriage law, smirking he said "You know why I'm here Hermione. They've passed the marriage law, its time you put your foolishness aside and agree to marry me!" he finished in a loud voice that she was sure all of her neighbors had heard. Not caring about anyone around Ron pulled a small box out of his pocket and showed her the ring again. Hermione was not a woman who put a huge value on material things or jewelry, but in her opinion it was not a very pretty ring and it was not part of her personal style at all. It was a square shape diamond that was far from flawless and very small, the diamonds did not glisten in the light or sparkle whatsoever and it was set on a gold band that was much to large for the size of the diamond itself. Even though she did not like the ring, it wasn't the reason she did not want to marry her ex.

Not waiting for an invitation into her flat, Ron barged passed her and went inside and took a seat on her couch. Hermione glared at him as she closed the door "Don't recall inviting you in." Ron shrugged and propped his feet up on her coffee table, Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust at the mud that caked his shoes. "Ron I'm not going to marry you. We broke up right after the Battle of Hogwarts, we haven't been together in nearly three years." Ron's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at her words and she saw his fists beginning to shake subtly "What the hell is wrong with you 'mione? We were together for four years and then all of a sudden you break up with me, at the very end of the war that could have taken our lives. Why do you continue to defy and reject me?" Hermione's shoulders straightened and her head was held high after his comment about defying him. "I can't defy you if we aren't together Ron and we haven't been together for 3 years! You need to stop rehashing this argument." Hermione slowly started to walk around her flat, positioning herself behind her kitchen island and placing her hand on her wand, just in case this turned violent. Ron's eyes followed her around and narrowed when she finally settled at a point far outside of his grasp. He stood and sauntered over to her, as if he owned the place. "Why do you refuse to marry me?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him "You know very well why, you used to hit me Ron and not little love taps either. You left bruises." Hermione swept her long wavy brown hair over her right shoulder to show him her left shoulder where she still had scars and a slight discoloration from years ago when he had hit and scratched her very deeply. Ron's eyes narrowed when he saw the marks "Hermione even if I did hit you, it was because you deserved it and did not listen to what I said. Now I am saying this, you will marry me. As of this moment we are engaged and there's nothing you can do to stop what is going to be your future." Ron forcefully grabbed her right hand and was about to shove the tacky ring on to it, when Hermione shoved him backwards hard. Ron tumbled over the couch but quickly righted himself, pulling out his wand and shouting "Rictusempra" at the same time Hermione herself shouted "Protego Maxima". Hermione was the brightest witch of her age, her magic far out reached that of Ronald Weasley, his spell ricocheted off her shield and hit him instead of her. The force of the spell knocked him backwards over the coffee table and had him doubled over on the floor laughing, mostly in pain. Hermione walked over to stand above him and said the incantation "Finite Incantatem". Ron stopped laughing immediately but struggled to catch his breath while glaring up at her. Hermione looked right back down at him with a stare as equally as cold "How dare you. I am not some property you can claim and you should know far better by now than to try and cast a spell on me. Get the hell out of my flat." Ron stood, collected his ring and wand and walked to the door "This isn't over, Hermione. You will be mine." With that he slammed the door shut and apparated away.

Hermione set her wand down on her coffee table and sat down on her couch, running her hands through her brown hair. In her youth, her hair had been bushy and extremely hard to control, but had lengthened as she got older and become easier to control. Hermione let out a breath she had not known she was holding. Ron had become an extremely aggressive person during the war and even more so after the war. That was why she had broken up with him after the Battle of Hogwarts. He had hit her a few times when she was in school, and more frequently while they were off with Harry hunting for Horcruxes', which had helped to defeat Voldemort. Looking at the clock on the wall Hermione was shocked "Bloody Hell! I'm late for work!" She hurried and dressed in a dress in the shade of dark purple with ¾ quarter length sleeves which was made of light flowy material, and throwing on a gray cloak Hermione grabbed her wand, exited her flat and apparated to the ministry. Once there she walked the familiar halls until she arrived at her workspace, only to run into her boss "You are very nearly late Mistress Granger." Hermione nodded and replied "Yes Master Robins, I apologize. I had an unexpected visitor this morning who caused me issue. I'll start on my work at once." Master Robins nodded as Hermione hung her cloak and walked to her brewing station and pulled out her notes and ingredients next to her bubbling cauldron. Hermione had worked hard all those years at Hogwarts and had worked her way up to being a potions mistress, much like Professor Snape, who had been her mentor as she worked towards her mastery. Hermione worked with the Auror department at the ministry, helping them solve crimes and provide potions that they may encounter. Hermione shook her long brunette hair out of her face and placed it in a ponytail to keep it out of her way as she set about trying to stabilize the potion she was trying to create. Doubling over her notes and reviewing them, Hermione got to work and hoped to make some progress on the complicated potion today.

A mere 8 hours later, Hermione had made very little progress on her potion. It was supposed to be a cure all for the nerve damage suffered from the cruciatus curse, although it would heal the nerves it could not cure the insanity the plagued its victims. She couldn't seem to stabilize it, any ingredient she used to try, had the potential to turn the potion into an explosive concoction. Closing and locking up her notes in the safe, she pulled her cloak on and began the long walk back to the apparition point within the ministry. "Hermione!" she turned to see her best friend, Harry Potter, running towards her. Hermione opened her eyes and hugged him "Harry, good to see you." He smiled at his friend, but his smile seemed strained "Ron told me he came to see you this morning." Hermione's head dropped as she explained the entire encounter with her ex this morning. When she was finished Harry wrapped her in another, tight comforting hug "I know why you broke up with Ron and I respect why you did it. He should never have laid his hands on you back when we were in school. If I would've known about it, I would've put a stop to it myself. And it seems his obsession with you still have not ended to this day. Don't worry 'mione, we will figure something out. But for now, go home and relax it's the weekend." Hermione smiled at her friend before saying goodbye and heading to apparition point and disapparated back to her small loft; resetting the wards so she would have no more unwelcomed visitors. Hermione undressed out of her witch robes and pulled on a pair of black sweatpants and white long sleeve shirt, but stayed barefoot. Picking out a new novel to read and settled on the couch for a relaxing evening. A few hours later after some quiet peaceful reading, Hermione heard a lite wrapping on her window and looked over to see a night black owl with an official looking letter in his beak. Hermione sighed and went over to open the window. As the owl flew and perched himself on her kitchen counter and held out his little leg for payment. She gathered up two gold galleons and placed them in a little leather pouch, the owl dropped the letter it was carrying, hooted at her as he flew out the window he had flown in through. With shaking hands Hermione opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of papers:

Dear Miss Granger,

According to our records you are within the age and blood status requirements to be available for the newly reenacted Marriage Law. While we appreciate your service and sacrifice in the Great Wizarding War, we apologize but nonetheless you can not be made exempt from this law. You have three petitions for your hand in marriage as of this morning when the law was signed in, they are as follows:

Blaise Zabini

Draco Malfoy

Ron Weasley

You May choose from any of the three listed above or choose to wed someone not on this list. The wedding must take place within 2 months once you decide who to marry. It is also a requirement that the couple must produce at least one child within the next year and child within the next three years. Failure to meet these requirements, will result in your wand being snapped in two and being banished from the wizarding world.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister Of Magic

Hermione read and re-read the letter twice to make sure she understood exactly what was happening. If she didn't comply with the requirements of the Marriage Law, her wand would be snapped; she wouldn't be allowed to be a witch anymore. Tears stung at her eyes, she had managed to avoid thinking about this damned Marriage law all day, but now she was forced to deal with it face first. "Well one name is surely out, I don't care if he has been deemed suitable for me to marry I will NOT marry Ronald Weasley." A moment later there was a knock on at her door "Hermione I know you are in there. Open up!" Hermione smiled and hurriedly to unlock the door for another one of her good friends. "Oh Ginny, I'm so glad you are here! I just received my letter from the ministry. I dreadfully I need your help, come in." Ginny Weasley hugged her friend back before coming into the flat, Hermione closed the door and joined her on the couch. She waited as her guest read her official letter from the ministry. Setting the letter down Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand "I have to say this, You can not marry my brother. The two of you were no good for each other and he did not treat you the way you should be treated." Ginny wrapped Hermione in a quick hug "As much as I wanted you to be part of the family, it wasn't meant to be, but you will always be my sister." Hermione wiped some tears from her eye as she disentangled herself from her friends hug and went to make the both of them a cup of hot tea with honey.

Sitting back down on the couch Hermione took a sip of her tea and said "Thank you for saying all of that Ginny, it truly means the world to me. Although Ron won't take this laying down though. Now onto the other two options." Ginny nodded and took a sip of her tea "Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. Both of them bullied us in school, they are both unbelievably attractive though and wealthy beyond our wildest dreams." Hermione nodded "Yes you are right, I have seen Draco since school he works in the Auror department with Harry. He's actually been quite nice to me; even helped me carry some lab supplies before when I was over encumbered. Blaise however, I have not seen since school. Oh Ginny I don't know what to do, I never saw myself being forced to marry." Ginny took her friends hand and held it in her hand "I know 'mione. But these are your choices right now. Listen to your heart, what do you want to do?" Hermione closed her eyes and thought for a few minutes before saying with a sigh "I think I should owl Draco Malfoy." Ginny smiled and nodded as her friend penned the letter to her former school enemy:

Mr. Malfoy,

I have received my letter from the ministry regarding my choices for the marriage law and as you petitioned for my hand, I think it would be wise if we meet and discussed our options. If it is agreeable would you please come to my flat for dinner, tomorrow at 6 pm? I await your answer by owl.

Hermione Granger

Hermione gave the letter to the owl who nudged her affectionately before flying off. Going back to the couch Ginny gave her an approving nod "I'm proud of you Hermione and I know Harry would be too, we will support you no matter what happens. Now lets pick out an outfit for dinner tomorrow!" Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm and started dragging her down the hallway with a grin on her face. Hermione smiled, Ginny always thought every problem could be solved with fashion. Hours later with an outfit picked out, the owl finally returned with Draco's answer.

Hermione,

I agree it would be a good idea to meet and discuss our options. 6 is a lovely time for dinner, I look forward to seeing you then.

Regards, Draco

"That's a promising sign, at least he doesn't seem appalled by the idea. Hopefully tomorrow goes well." Hermione said. The two girls had a lite dinner before saying their goodbyes "You have to let me know how tomorrow goes, I'll be sending good thoughts your way all day." Ginny said as she walked to the apparition point and apparated back home.

Even though it was still early Hermione decided to turn in for the night, she was to high strung to be able to get anything done anyway. She had thought she would sleep, but Hermione fell asleep almost instantly and slept the whole night; waking at 9 am. "Oh, I never sleep this late." Hermione said as she got out of bed and started to stretch and get ready for the day. Even though her date (Could she call it a date?) even though her date with Draco wasn't for another 9 hours, Hermione set about doing a deep cleaning of her flat the muggle way. As she was scrubbing her floors she said to herself "Yes I may be a witch, but I was raised a muggle. I can clean just fine with my own two hands." But she did point her wand at the wireless radio, causing it play her favorite radio channel so she wouldn't have to clean in silence. Hermione scrubbed all of her floors in each room with soap and hot water. Closely followed by finishing her all her laundry, straightening her bed. The pillows on the couch were fluffed, the magazines on the table were straightened and stacked. The books on her bookshelves (yes plural) were polished and feathered dusted. All of the windows were cleaned and every plant was watered. Air freshener was sprayed and finally Hermione lit several candles in a calming Lavender scent. Looking at the clock on the wall Hermione say she had three hours until Draco would arrive so she decided it was time she got dressed. Starting with a shower, she exfoliated and shaved her legs, used her favorite sugar scrub which was Vanilla bean scented and finished off with washing her hair with her favorite rose water shampoo and conditioner. After getting out of the shower, Hermione dressed in the dark and light blue colored wrap maxi dress that Ginny had picked out for her last night, it was her flat so she decided that for the first "Date" she would be dressing in causal muggle attire. Drying her hair and putting some leave in conditioner, Hermione curled her hair into loose ringlets before brushing her fingers through it and causing her brown hair to be in loose waves before spraying it hair spray. Hermione set about during her make up next, going to a light brown smokey eye with a pop of sparkle on the lid of her eye, paired with a black mascara and a light pink lip completed her look for the evening.

Having finished getting ready and being quite pleased with her appearance Hermione started making dinner. Ever since she was a little girl she had loved cooking and Mrs. Weasley at the burrow had took her under her wind and helped teach Hermione how to cook a variety of different meals; now that the young woman lived on her own she was quite happy with the instruction she had received. Two hours later Hermione had finished cooking; Home made chicken marsala with a wine sauce and mushrooms, steamed vegetables and oven roasted red potatoes. After setting the table, Hermione heard a knock on the door, looking at the clock she saw if it was 15 minutes till 6 "He is nothing if not punctual." Hermione muttered to herself as she smoothed the front of her dress down before making her way to the door. Taking a deep breath Hermione opened and smiled, although she was a little in shock. There stood Draco, his trademark short platinum blonde hair looked natural with very little product, a crisp white button down shirt (The top two buttons left un-done) normal jeans and a normal pair of shoes, Draco looked very normal, very muggle and if she was being honest with herself, he looked extremely attractive. In his hand was a bouquet of white roses. "Hello Hermione, these are for you." He said with a smile that actually reached his eyes, and softened his features. It was good to see Draco smile, good to see him enjoying himself. Hermione took the flowers and inhaled their scent deeply and smiled back at him, thinking to herself He never smiled like that when we were in school, but this is not the child I went to school with. "Thank you Draco, these are lovely you shouldn't have. Please come in." Stepping back Hermione allowed him to pass into her flat before closing the door. Conjuring a rose colored vase, placing the beautiful flowers in it and then putting the vase on her counter. Draco was observing the living room and kitchen of her home "This is a very nice place you have, it suits you Hermione." She smiled at him "Thank you, its small but it will do for now. I've made chicken marsala for dinner, I hope that's ok?" Draco nodded as he moved to what she had already thought of her chair and moved it back for her "It is and smells delicious. Shall we eat?" Hermione nodded and took her seat that Draco had pulled out for her "Yes thank you. Please sit and enjoy."

Draco sat across from her and uncorked the bottle of white wine and poured both of them a glass. Smiling they both raised their glasses in silent toast, both Hermione and Draco ate in silence for a few minutes before Draco broke the silence. "If I may ask, who were your other two petitioners in your ministry letter?" Hermione took a sip of her wine before replying "Blaise Zabini and Ron Weasley." Draco's face was a mix of shock and revolution "Weasley and Zabini eh? My best friend and your ex boyfriend. Why didn't you choose one of them?" Hermione wiped her mouth "Well while Blaise is handsome, pureblood and wealthy much like you, I haven't had much interaction with him outside of school. And well Ron is a complicated story." Draco merely nodded and the two of them finished their dinner in relative silence, before moving to the couch. It was clear both of them were nervous "I'd like to know the story behind Weasley, if you don't mind to tell it." Hermione shook her head and dropped her shoulders a bit "Well I'm sure you know that Ron and I dated for 4 years while in school, everyone expected us to end up engaged and married after the final battle of Hogwarts." Draco nodded "Yes that was the general consensus, even among us Slytherins." Hermione's eyes opened in surprise, but continued her story "I broke up with Ron right after the Battle of Hogwarts. Everyone thought it was a tragedy, but what no one knew and what many people still don't know is that…Ron used to hit me." Draco stiffened and gasped at her words "It didn't happen every day, but it did happen more times than I should have allowed it go on. He rarely left marks, but I do still have some scars." Sweeping back her hair, Hermione showed him her left shoulder blade, where the scars and discoloration from his scratches and blows still stood out on her shoulder. Draco gasped and slowly reached out his hand to trace the scars, Hermione held her breath as his hand made contact with her shoulder, but his warmth and light touch soothed her nerves "He did this to you?" he asked in a low voice. Hermione's head dropped and tears stung her eyes "Yes, the bruises and scratches will never heal. It's a constant reminder of what he did. So that's why I broke up with him right after the battle. But every few months he pops back around and forcefully proposes to me. He came here two days ago and tried to force his ring on my finger, I suspect it had a permanent sticking charm on it. He tried to hex me, I shielded myself and he stormed out. I suspect he will be back. But enough about me, did you have any other petitioners?" Draco shook his head, as if to shake away bad memories. "Yes actually, Pansy Parkinson and Astoria Greengrass petitioned for me. Their fathers actually sent me large sums of money to entice me to marry their daughters. I sent the money straight back, I won't be bribed into marrying someone. Although I am still good friends with both of them." Hermione nodded and hung her head lower "Draco you know I can't offer much if we are to marry, I don't make as much money as you, and I have student loan debt from the muggle university I went to after Hogwarts." Draco put a finger under her chin and lifted her face so her gaze met his "Hermione, it's fine. If you were to marry me, money would never be an issue. You would have anything and everything your heart desires. The Malfoys are the most wealthy family in the wizarding world, with the Zabini's being a close second. You will never want for anything and I would be honored to pay for your education; past and present." Tears were still leaking from her eyes "What about your parents? Would they accept me, after all I am a mudblood." Draco wiped away her tears "First of all never call yourself that again please? As a personal favor to me. You are not a mudblood, you are a muggle born with respect for wizarding tradition. You are the brightest witch of our age. My parents will not be thrilled, but they will eventually come to respect you, if we are to marry we will be the next Lord and Lady Malfoy. What of your parents, will they accept me? I'm most certain you told them about me and how I used to treat you in school." And for once that evening he looked vulnerable and afraid, but fresh tears fell from her eye's "Before the war started, I obliviated my parents and sent them to Australia to start a new life. They do not know I'm their daughter. I havent seen them in since the summer before sixth year." Draco did something he never thought he would do, He took Hermione Granger in his arms and hugged her tight, soothingly rubbing her back. After a few minutes they pulled back from each other and sat in silence. Taking a deep breath Hermione brought up her biggest issue with this law "Draco I don't say this to hurt you, but I don't love you. I feel like we already have a good relationship as friends, so I think we have the best chance to work." Draco nodded before conjuring a tissue for her "In truthfulness I don't love you either, but yes I consider us friends. In this situation I can see myself being happy with you. And I'm willing to give this a try, if you are." Hermione wiped her face, trying to get rid of the tears and thought for moment "I could see myself being happy with you too, and I'm willing to try and make this work. But if you could just not propose tonight? I don't think I could take it." Draco laughed and shook his head "Don't worry I wont be proposing tonight. Let's have a few more dates before that." The settled into a conversation about what each of them had been doing since Hogwarts when about an hour later there was a knock on her door, Hermione went to answer it "It's probably Ginny, I promised her I would tell her how tonight went, but I haven't talked to her today."

Opening the door she was surprised to see Ron Weasley standing there, ring box in hand once again. Hermione had opened the door wide enough so that he had a full view of her flat and he was able to see Draco Malfoy sitting on her couch. Rage filled his features and he raised his arm and back handed Hermione across the face, causing her to stumble backwards several feet. "Why the hell is the ferret sitting on your couch? You'll entertain him, but you won't marry me?" He raised his hand to strike her again, Hermione raised her arms to try and protect herself when out of no where a bright red light knocked Ron to the ground. Hermione turned around to see Draco standing a few feet behind her with his wand out and pointing at her ex who was still laying on the ground. Draco pulled her further away from Ron and looked at her face, brushing her hair back revealing a red hand print forming on her delicate skin. Fury bubbled inside Draco as he hugged her to his side when Ron's voice shattered their moment "Get your hands off her you ferret!" Both of them turned to see Ron slowly getting back to his feet and starting to pull his wand out, but before he could get a spell out Draco had pointed his wand a shouted "expelliarmus" Ron's wand flew out of his hand and Hermione caught it in midair. "Give me my wand back." Ron snarled as he started to take a step forward, but stopped when Draco advanced towards him with his wand pointed at Ron's throat. "Listen and listen well Weasley, you are not to come back here, ever again. That will be the last time you ever lay hands on Hermione, because if you ever do it again I will personally beat you with my bare hands." Ron's eyes were bugging out of his head "Are you going to let him speak to me like that 'mione?" Hermione nodded her head "Yes Ron I am, you don't need to be here. I don't want to see you again, now leave." She said as she threw his wand down the hallway of her apartment complex. Ron turned to go get it, while Hermione slammed the door shut and locked the door and then applying heavier and more advanced wards so that no one could disturb her again.

Once finished with her wards, Hermione just stood there cradling her face as tears fell down her face; the sting from Ron's hit still causing her pain. Draco approached, took her in his arms and led her to the couch after she was done "Wait here." Hermione nodded her head and hung her face as heavier tears began to fall from her face . Not more than a minute later Draco returned with some ice wrapped in a kitchen towel. Softly he pressed the ice filled towel to her face. Hermione whimpered quietly, but when he went to remove it, she covered his hand with her hand "No please keep it there, it feels good." Draco nodded and kept the ice on her face for several minutes before taking it away. "Your face will be red for a few days, but I don't think it will be bruised." Hermione nodded "Thank you, and thank you for coming to my defense. I'm sorry you had to see that." Draco smiled softly and looked directly in her eyes "You're welcome. And I promise that as long as you are with me no man will ever put his hands on you again, including but not limited to Ron Weasley. This may not be the time to ask. But would you like to have dinner with me again next Saturday? I'd like to take you out to a fancy restaurant." Thinking for a moment before smiling she replied "I'd love to. Just owl me what time." Draco smiled and as she walked him to the door he took her hand and lightly kissed it "Until next time Hermione." He said as he walked out the door and disapparated away. She closed the door and re applied the wards again. Going to her room and changing into a pair of shorts and tank top, Hermione fell asleep with a small on her face "It was a good evening despite, Ron's appearance." She whispered to herself as she fell asleep and dreamt of her evening with Draco.

Early Sunday morning, before the sun had even risen, Hermione was awoken by a wrapping on her bedroom window. Turning over she saw an owl pecking away urgently at the glass panes. Turning on a lamp, she hurried to the owl and took the letter from him. Unrolling the tiny scroll Hermione came across Harry's untidy writing

Hermione,

Sorry to bother you, so early. But we have found a body that was damaged by an unfamiliar potion. Please come the ministry so you can attempt to identify it.

Harry

Hermione hurriedly dressed in muggle attire, jeans and a long sleeve shirt and sneakers before grabbing her wand and apparating to the ministry. As soon as she rematerialized in the entryway of her work place, she was met by her friend. He looked at her apologetically "I'm sorry to call you in so early and on a Sunday none other, but I feel like this may be crucial." Hermione smiled at her friend as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and stepped into her lab "It's not problem Harry, please bring me the remnants of the potion you found on the body. I'll try to deconstruct it." Harry nodded and about twenty minutes later he returned with a small vial filled with a green potion with a slight lavender scent and Hermione set out to identify its components. Slowly but surely Hermione began to name off the names of the ingredients listed in the poison in front of them. "Hmm, lets see; Angels Trumpet, a full twig of Baneberry, a splash of Boomslang, cowbang, essence of daisy root, Dragon blood, essence of lavender and one final ingredient, but what is it?" Hermione turned and looked through all her notes; murmuring quietly to herself and shaking her head every so often. Nearly twenty minutes later she turned back to Harry "I'm sorry but there's not enough trace remnants of this last ingredient for me to decipher what it is." Harry frowned but seemed to understand that Hermione was trying her best "Well despite that is there anything you can tell me about the ingredients you have found thus far?" Hermione brushed a few loose hairs out of her face before reading through her notes again, only out loud this time "Well I think the essence of Lavender is just there to give the poison a pleasant scent, if you were to add it to ones coffee or evening tea then you wouldn't suspect anything was amiss." Harry nodded and mused out loud with her "Yes, I know a number of people who quite enjoy lavender in their tea; my wife included. What about the other ingredients?" Hermione sighed and listed them again "Angels Trumpet, Baneberry, splash of Boomslang, cowbang, essence of daisy root and dragon blood. Harry do you remember anything from potions class at Hogwarts?" Harry looked sheepish for a moment and smiled innocently "Not really 'mione. Potions was never really my best subject, you were Snape's apprentice; not me." Hermione smiled kindly at him "I know and its ok. But these ingredients? They are all poisonous in their own right, but you mix them together and the resulting poison would be unusually strong. And let's not forget there is still one ingredient I haven't been able to identify." Harry smiled ruefully and patted his friend on the back "I know and thank you for trying your best, homicides are rare in the wizarding world since the end of the war. Let's hope this is a one off. It's early Hermione, why don't you go on and head back home?" Shaking her head, Hermione held her up her notes "Thanks but no thanks. I'll go ahead and finish my report on this and maybe I'll be able to identify this unknown ingredient." Harry nodded and left her to her work.

Hours late Hermione was still hunched over her cauldron. The report on the unknown potion was as close to completed as it could be, without knowing what the unknown ingredient. Her hair was a mess, her eyes bloodshot, sweat running down her face and she was coming to the end of her very short rope "Blast it all to hell! Why can't I figure out what this ingredient is?" Hermione all but yelled. And was surprised to her a voice respond to her outburst "Now Miss. Granger, what was the first lesson I taught you as my apprentice?" She whirled around to face the entrance of her lab and was shocked to see her former mentor standing in the doorway "Professor Snape! I thought you were doing some research in France?" Severus Snape strode through the door to her lab and smirked down his long nose at her "I was, I just returned a few hours ago. And was walking these halls when I heard your outburst. Now Miss. Granger, I believe I asked you a question. What was the first lesson I taught you as my apprentice all those years ago?" Hermione smiled and stood straighter with her hands clasped behind her back "The most important thing for a potions master OR mistress to remember is to always keep a level head when working with potentially volatile potions." Snape nodded in approval as he pulled a twig out of her now messy hair and offered her a soft smile "I would've thought you had learned that when you brewed the potions that saved my life during the war." Hermione nodded solemnly as she remembered how she had found Professor Snape mere seconds after Nagini had attacked him. He was very near death, bleeding out profusely and being affected by the snakes venom. Luckily she had had the foresight to keep a potion makers kit in her magically expanded bag, working as quickly and even headed as she could Hermione had broken down a Bezoar, the cure for most common poison, into a potion to cure all known poisons that may affect the human body. It was hard and difficult work, and even with her expertise in brewing, the potion had taken the better part of an hour to complete and Hermione had had to keep shoving Blood Replenishing potions down her mentors throat to keep him alive. By the time the Bezoar potion was complete, Snape was barely conscious. Finally when she thought it may have been to late, with tears running down her face, Hermione poured the Bezoar potion down his throat while she massaged it. Five minutes later Snapes eyes flickered open and his color started to return as the bleeding stopped and he said "Stop crying you foolish girl." Those snarky words had breathed new life into Hermione, as she knew that they meant she had saved her mentors life.

"Miss Granger?" Hermione snapped back to the present and saw Professor Snape still standing in front of her, however he had removed his travelling cloak "Perhaps if you stop thinking about the past and tell me about the current poison you are trying to identify, we could actually get some work done." She smiled and set about explaining what she had identified in the potion so far, surely with Snapes help they would uncover the unknown ingredient. He had agreed with her on everything she had uncovered so far, but two hours later both of them combined were unable to figure out the missing ingredient. Snape let out a frustrated sigh "I'm sorry Miss. Granger, but even I am unsure what this compound is. There just is not enough trace elements left behind to truly uncover what it is. But I do agree with you that this potion was created to cause extreme pain before the intended victim dies." Hermione nodded and admitted defeat for the evening "Thank you for assistance Professor Snape, I guess we will have to wait for another victim. Although I hope one does not turn up." With that both adults dressed in their travelling cloaks and went their separate ways, Hermione apparated back home to her flat. It was late Sunday evening and she had just spent all day in the lab at work after a rather emotional and trying day at work. Walking to her front door Hermione noticed a small square box which was lavender, her favorite color. Bending down she picked up the box and pulled out a card from under the lid and read aloud

"Thank you for last night I had a great time. I'm sorry you got called into work today, please enjoy these. You've earned them. Draco"

Hermione smiled at his thoughtfulness as she opened the box and found an assortment of chocolates, choosing one at random she popped it into her mouth and chewed "Mmmm, caramel. Thank you, Draco." She whispered softly as she let herself into her flat. It already had been a very long day, as she did not get a full nights rest the evening before, Hermione made it as far as her couch that night before she fell deeply asleep.

The next morning as usual found Hermione bent over her cauldron in the potions lab at the ministry. She was once again attempting to stabilize the Cruciatus potion she was trying to create, but every ingredient turned it in an explosion. Hermione didn't understand what she was doing wrong, she was just missing one crucial ingredient but she couldn't figure out what it was! Taking a deep breath she ran down the list of ingredients she already had in her potion. "African Sea Salt, four beetle eyes, Essence of Comfrey, two bundles of Goosegrass, Horklump juice and Lethe River Water. Now why does every ingredient I add to this mixture cause a volatile reaction?" Hermione hadn't had had this much trouble with the three potions she had created for her mastery, but this one was proving to be quite a challenge.

The week went by uneventfully, with Hermione's research into the Cruciatus Potion progressing very slowly. But every day she had entered her lab, there had been a small gift on her desk; each one had a small note with a Calligraphed "M" and she knew that it was from Draco. On Monday he had left her an everlasting white rose, that was very fragrant and beautiful. It now held a spot of honor on her report writing desk in an unbreakable glass vase. Tuesday's gift had been a rare first edition of Advanced Potion Making, that had made Hermione smile and she had devoured it, falling asleep with the book open in her lap that evening. Wednesday Draco had left her another box of chocolate, but every flavor was caramel as that was her favorite "How he knows that, I don't know. But I'm touched at his thoughtfulness." She had whispered to herself as she popped one in her mouth and smiled. Thursday there was an enchanted painting of the night sky, the stars and the moon twinkled and moved, the plant life waved as if a light breeze was blowing over them. Hermione had gasped when she initially saw it, but quickly fell in love with it and now it hung proudly over her fireplace in her flat. Ginny had squealed when she came over that evening for dinner, but said nothing more besides giving Hermione an approving glance. Friday morning she walked into her lap excitedly and saw a small box sitting on her desk. With shaking hands she picked it up and opened it only to reveal a black diamond choker in the shape of the constellation Gemini hanging in the middle of a black platinum chain. It was neither to small to be seen, or large enough to seem extravagant; it was just the right size and it was beautiful. With the jewelry had come a note that read "I know you will want to refuse this gift, but I must insist you keep it. I saw it and it reminded me of you." Hermione laughed aloud to herself, shaking her head. Even she who had grown up with muggles knew that jewelry like this signified a courting gift; meaning if she put this necklace on, she would be announcing to the world that she was being courted. But without thinking, with her trembling hands picked up the diamond choker and clasped it around her neck, the constellation nestling in the hollow of her throat. It was not uncomfortable or awkward, in fact it felt right. Conjuring a small mirror, Hermione looked at the constellation around her throat, fingering it lightly; now anyone who saw this would know she was being courted, but they would not know by who. Realizing she was crying, Hermione wiped her eyes and vanished the mirror before returning to her research.

Friday afternoon as she was getting ready to leave the lab and head home Harry and few other Auror's came in carrying what looked like a very badly injured Draco Malfoy. "Hermione you have to help him, your lab is better stocked with healing potions than the ministries infirmary." Harry shouted as they came in the door, Hermione dropped her clock and cleared off a space on the main table "Put him here guys. Harry get my essence of dittany. Han, get the blood replenishing potion from that cabinet there. Quickly now!" The men scrambled to do her bidding as she took stock of Draco's injuries "Several lacerations to his chest and face area, internal bleeding and a cracked rib." Harry came back first with the Essence of Dittany, grabbing it she said "also get the Murtlap Essence." Draco's eyes fluttered open "Hermione, help." He said weakly. Hermione brushed his hair out of his eyes "Shh I'm here don't worry. This will hurt, I'm sorry." Taking her wand she pointed it at his rib and calmly said "Episkey" a sharp crack was heard and Draco howled in pain, but did not pass out. She went to work putting Dittany on all of his wounds, Draco whimpered in fresh pain but refused to scream aloud. Harry returned with the Murtlap Essence, handing it to Hermione she started dabbing the sticky substance on the remaining wounds, which seemed to heal the wounds almost at immediately. "What happened Harry?" Hermione asked as she assisted Draco in drinking a blood replenishing potion, as he had lost a fair amount of his own blood even before he had gotten to her lab. Slumping in one of her lab chairs "We went back to the last crime scene. We wanted to try and find some more trace elements of the potion for your analysis. In fact it was Malfoy's idea to go back, he wanted to help. All was well, then the floo lit up and we were instantly in the middle of a fire fight. One man managed to hold his own against all of us and right before the assailant apparated away he shot a sectumsempra right at Draco and all of our attention was instantly diverted to him, to try and stop the bleeding so we could get him here." Hermione nodded as she muttered some healing charms over Draco's wounds, before lowering her wand "There. The internal bleeding has stopped and his blood has been replenished. He will have scars and he will be sore for a few days, but he will live." Harry nodded, "Good we are going to brief Kingsley, stay here with him Hermione. Write your report, when he wakes up make sure he is well and send him home. And good work." Harry hugged her, but when he pulled back he noticed the black diamonds on her neck and he raised his eyebrows at her while nodding his head towards the man laying on the table. Hermione lightly touched the necklace and nodded. Harry smiled and kissed her cheek as he left. She smiled at her friend as he left her lab, taking a few minutes to clean up the mess that had become her lab, Hermione straightened it back to its normal state.

Sitting in a chair beside the man laying on her potions table and started to write her report for the incident that had just occurred. A mere five minutes later Draco began to stir "Hermione?" She dropped her report and went to his side, without thought picking up his hand "I'm here Draco, how are you feeling? Any pain?" He shook his head, but slightly winced "No pain, I am just sore." Hermione smiled and touched his cheek "I'm glad, you are going to have scars now, I couldn't reverse that damage." Draco looked down at his chest and went even paler when he saw the scars that marred him and looked into her eyes "Would you still want to marry me? Even with these scars?" Hermione was shocked that his first thought was of her, which made something stir deep inside of her "Listen to me Draco, I want to marry you because you are kind and considerate and because you have been my friend for the past year. A few scars will not change my opinion of you, they just tell me that you are a very brave man." Draco smiled and slowly sat up and put his shirt back on "Thank you for that. Now our date, shall I pick you up tomorrow around 7?" Helping him off the table and walking down the hall to apparition point Hermione nodded, "yes that sounds great. Muggle? Wizard? Formal? Casual?" Draco smiled at her train of thought "Wizard and formal. I must say I am glad to see you wearing my choker, it looks very good on you." Hermione blushed yet smiled as he finally caught the sight of the jewelry she as wearing. "I love it Draco, really. I've never had anything so lavish. Thank you for giving it to me." Draco kissed her cheek before replying "You know what it means then I take it?" Hermione nodded "Yes it's a courting gift, signifying to the world that I am being courted by a young man of means and money. I am proud to display it to the world." She said with pride. With that he lifted her right hand to his lips and lightly kissed her hand "I'm glad you are wearing it too. Until tomorrow Hermione." Her suitor said before spinning and disappearing into mid air.

Hermione went home that evening and took an extremely long and very hot shower to wash away the blood sweat and tears that she had experienced today. She was still rather shocked that Draco's main concern after seeing his scars was for her, and weather or not she would still find him attractive enough to marry. The Malfoy she had known in school would not have cared about her feelings, in fact he would've done everything in his power to use her feelings against her and make Hermione feel weak, small and insignificant. But once again she had to stop herself This is not the little boy she want to school with, this was the man she had worked with. It is a big difference. The Draco Malfoy she had known for the past few years at work was kind and thoughtful and helpful, if a little distant sometimes. Maybe he had turned a new leaf, but one thing was for certain; before she accepted any proposal from him Hermione would have to ask him why he was so rude to her while they were at Hogwarts.

The next evening Hermione found herself standing in front of the mirror in her room. She was dressed in a form fitting black witches dress that went to her knees. She had chosen a sheer silver robe to cover the dress; it went to her ankles, three quarter length sleeves, the robe clasped shut right under her breast bone. The only jewelry she wore was her new black diamond choker that Draco had given her yesterday, the way the diamonds glittered in the light completed her outfit for the evening. Her brown hair was twisted into an elegant bun, a light lip gloss and some dark brown eye shadow made the outfit complete. Instead of sitting and waiting on the couch for him, Hermione was pacing back and forth across the living room, rubbing her hands together. To say she was nervous was an understatement. Truly this was her first real date with Draco Malfoy, even though he hadn't proposed this was the man she was going to marry, to create a life with. The thought alone scared her because this was never the way she saw her life going, when a knock on her door startled her. Taking a deep breath Hermione opened the door to find Draco standing there in a very handsome set of black wizard robes. His hair was still loose and slightly wild but it suited him. Again he showed up with a bouquet of white roses. Handing them towards her he said "For you, But may I say you are even more beautiful than these flowers." Hermione smiled as she took the roses and put them in water before grabbing her wand and replying "Flattery will get you no where Mr. Malfoy. But thank you, you are to kind." Draco smiled and offered her is arm "Of course. We will have to side along apparate to the restaurant." Hermione nodded and took his arm, looking curious "Ok, but where are we going then?" Her date smirked and winked with amusement "That is a surprise, hold on tight." With that they both turned on the spot and a mere second later appeared right outside a restaurant in Paris! Hermione looked at Draco in shook but he merely smiled at her while leading the way into the building. A waiter dressed entirely in black, including the apron greeted them "Monsieur Malfoy, what a surprise!" Draco nodded and shook the waiters hand "Bonjour Phillipe, my usual table please." "Of course Monsieur, please right this way." Phillipe, as he was called, lead them to a private corner of the restaurant, which was lighted with two candles and set for two people. "Thank you Phillipe, we will be ready to order shortly." Phillipe bowed deeply and slipped away into the shadows. Draco helped Hermione into her chair and the two of them regarded their menus before the waiter reappeared to take their orders "For you Monsieur?" Draco looked at the menu once more before replying "I will have the shrimp and chicken alfredo with a side salad and please bring us a bottle of your best white wine." Taking his menu with a flourish, Phillpe responded "Excellent choice sir, and for the lady?" Hermione smiled at him before replying "I'll have the Lasagna and side salad for me as well." Phillipe bowed, disappeared and reappeared with the bottle of white wine. Draco poured them both a glass and both of them raised their glasses in a silent toast. After taking a sip, Hermione set her glass down "Draco before we go any further I have to ask, Why were you so horrible to me in school. What did I do to you to deserve that?" Draco sighed and set his glass down looking nervous and afraid again "How I was raised was different. I was taught to look down on anyone who was not a pureblood. Half bloods were acceptable, but muggle borns were completely forbidden for me to associate with. I had had private tutors in every subject before going to Hogwarts for first year, I was sure I would be the top in every class. My parents expected it of me, I was a Malfoy." Hermione nodded and offered him a small smile and he continued "But when I got there, while I was a very good student. Someone else was beating me in every class. You. Hermione Granger, a muggle born. In fact you were the first muggle born I had ever spoken to in my entire life. Suddenly my world was thrown into a tail spin because someone who wasn't a pureblood was beating me at being a wizard. My parents were furious, I was yelled at constantly, I had even more and even better instructors brought in, but still you beat me. At first I could convince myself that it was because the professors were biased because you were Harry Potters Best Friend, but eventually even I knew that was a lie; even though I would never admit it. I was furious. My parents were furious. I had been raised to believe purebloods were the best at everything and all of a sudden I wasn't. After the war my views slowly started to change, I worked to undo the damage of my past. I was put on probation, and after that ended I was allowed to enter the Auror program. I sought salvation and I found it in Harry Potter, who I later learned allowed me come work in the at the Ministry office. And that's when I sought to become your friend, to repair the damage I had done in the past." Hermione took a sip of wine and was silent for a few moments as she digested everything that the man sitting in front of her, before replying "I was wary of you when you first came to the ministry and started being nice to me. I thought for sure you had to have some ulterior motive. But I decided to try and give you a chance, I gave you the benefit of doubt. I found that I liked this version of Draco; you are kind, sweet, funny, caring and sympathetic. I only wish I had got to know this version of you in school." Draco grabbed her hand "Hermione I promise you I will never treat you like I did at Hogwarts again. You have my word on that." Hermione pointed at her neck "Draco to me this necklace signifies me forgiving you for all you past wrong doings, accepting you for who you are and getting ready to move froward with our lives together." Draco looked as if he was about to cry but cleared his throat, as she picked her glass up and toasted them again "Well enough about our unhappiness in school, Tell me about happy memories from your childhood." Draco's eyes lit up as he told her funny story after funny story from his childhood, and Hermione was pleased to see him talk about happier times. Clearly he had fond memories of his mother, I'll have to work on cultivating a relationship with her as well, it would be very important to him should we get along. The thought alone scared her, from what she remembered Narcissa Malfoy was a frightening and powerful witch.

Dinner was divine and before either of them had known it they had been talking for three hours and it was 10 pm. Helping Hermione to her feet he walked her outside and apparated them back to her loft. The two stayed in each others arms for far longer than necessary, but neither of them wanted to step out of the embrace. As much as Hermione was a scared to admit it, she was becoming attached to Draco. "I had a wonderful time, thank you Draco." He nodded and lifted her chin say that her eyes met his "You are most welcome Hermione." Draco lowered his head slowly, slowly enough to give her a chance to say no, but she didn't and their lips met in a sweet kiss. He tasted of wine, his lips were soft and gentle, he was not pressuring her in anyway. The kiss lasted for just a few seconds, but it was a wonderful end to a great evening. Kissing her cheek Draco said "I can't wait to see you again, I'll owl you next week. Sleep well." Draco stepped backwards and apparated away, leaving Hermione staring dreamily at the spot he had stood a mere second ago.