The warmth of the sun radiated through Draco's entire being as he and Hermione lay by the banks of the lake, which they had been doing for a couple of hours now. After Easter, the rest of the semester had flown by. The N.E.W.T tests for all of their subjects had been surprisingly easy after all the rigorous homework, essays, preparation, drilling, practicing, charming, planting, and transfiguring they had done. Even Hermione hadn't completely freaked out right before the tests, and Draco himself had almost let out laughter after seeing how easy the test questions were.

Of course, there were the hard parts, especially when it came to the technical parts of the exam. The most challenging aspect for Draco was producing a Patronus charm. Although he had had plenty of practice with Hermione for this greatest weakness of his, during the actual test, his fox had appeared for only a moment, and then dissipated. That was pretty much the only difference between Draco and Hermione's technical performances for their N.E. . He was sure they were about neck and neck for the written portion, but since he had been less than spectacular with his Patronus, he conceded defeat to Hermione.

The most interesting part of the test, though, was when they faced the Boggart. The examiners had found it most amusing when the Senior Boy's most dreaded fear was a dead Senior Girl, and immediately after, the Senior Girl's Boggart turned out to be a dead Senior Boy. Zacharias and Ginny had laughed so hard when they heard the story from other test-takers who had witnessed the scene, and wasted no time in teasing their friends.

Now, though, Draco and Hermione were alone. It was their last day at Hogwarts. Graduation had happened just this morning, and both had their Hogwarts diplomas safely stowed in their trunks upstairs. Although Lucius and Narcissa had appeared for the ceremony, everyone would be taking the Hogwarts Express back to London, so after seeing Draco and Hermione make speeches and receive Salutatorian and Valedictorian awards, respectively, they had left the school grounds and Disapparated to London, where they would wait to escort the graduates back to Malfoy Manor.

Many other people had shown up, as well. The Weasleys (without Ron) and Harry had all arrived for Ginny, and were still inside the Great Hall celebrating. Hannah and Neville, as well as Teddy and Andromeda, had come just to visit with other families who came. Some of Draco's friends from the Easter party had shown up as well, cheering for both Valedictorian and Salutatorian as they received their diplomas. Hermione had had a lively exchange with Daphne and Blaise after the ceremony, and Draco had talked to Theodore, Greg, Ron, and Harry enthusiastically.

But after a while, Draco had noticed Hermione growing less and less energetic from talking to reporters, congratulating their friends, especially Heather, Luna, Harper, Zacharias, and Rolf, and greeting the autograph-obsessed parents of their fellow graduates, and so therefore excused them both for some fresh air. They had ended up near the lake in their regular school robes, and now Hermione's head lay on Draco's chest, both of them feeling the soft earth underneath them.

"You're going to miss this place, aren't you?" Draco asked softly, stroking Hermione's fluffy brown hair. Neither of them had tried to look special for the event, wishing it to be just another day of school. But it wasn't.

"I can't believe we're leaving." Hermione replied simply, and Draco thought he could hear a sniffle. "For seven years, it's been our home, our life. And now it's time to say goodbye."

I was right. Draco thought. She's really upset about this. "Hey, we can come back and visit all the time! McGonagall wouldn't care; we can make speeches and stuff to motivate students like Harry, Ron, and Greg! And there's always those class reunions, remember?"

Hermione grunted. "But our home, Draco-"

"-is at Malfoy Manor now, Hermione. Honestly, remember what Mother and Father said before we left after Easter? 'As soon as you two get married, you can take the East Wing Suite for yourselves. Until then, Hermione is a family member, but you two can't be anywhere close at night.' Relax, Mione. As soon as you start your job in August, you won't even think about Hogwarts anymore."

Hermione sniffed. "You're right, I guess. Although I don't think Junior Undersecretary in the Being Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is going to keep me distracted in the least. However, I might get bored to death."

Draco rolled his eyes. "So optimistic, darling. You can promote 'spew' while you're in it! And Rolf's going to be working there, too. You'll have a friend in your department!"

Hermione gritted her teeth. "It's S.P.E.W, Draco. And yes, at least I'll be able to help the house-elves get some rights. But I won't see Rolf, anyways. He's Junior Undersecretary for the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. We'll hardly ever come into contact."

"That's what you think." Draco replied. "Knowing you, you'll find some way to chatter away to a friend, so I should probably warn Rolf before August. Well, you could get promoted quickly once your N.E.W.T results come in. I bet you'll only be stuck in this job for a year before you get transferred to another department."

Hermione giggled. "We'll see. But I'd rather stay in this area of the Ministry and work my way up to a higher position within it. I wish you could work with me, too."

Draco chuckled. "I would, love, but I'm not built for office work. I'm far too amazing for that. Business is the way to go."

"Oh Draco." Hermione laughed. "You could've been brilliant in the Auror department with Harry and Neville! Instead, you turn down the job offer after you worried for weeks about how your interview went, and now you're setting off to create a Potions enterprise!"

"So is Zach, we're partners in this, remember? We're investing seventy-thirty and reaping the rewards seventy-thirty. And, I'm pretty sure Neville's quitting his Auror job in a couple of years. Professor Sprout intends on retiring soon."

"But Zach is also the new Junior Assistant to the Minister starting in July, Draco."

"Which is why he is investing less, and it's only because I need some of his money due to the less-than-astounding amount of gold currently in the Malfoy Fortune. Don't worry, Mione. I know for a fact how important nice teeth and dentistry are to you, so how could you possibly be against me starting up 'Granger's Glorious Gums?' After all, it'll be right next door to George's store in Diagon Alley, and you'll be the face of the company! My plan is fail-proof."

"Mother agrees with me that you should find a real job first, Draco." Hermione replied. "Maybe even work for another company first and get some tips on business before branching out on your own. We all know you lack experience, and your customers won't miss that fact, either."

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I've already brewed a potion that's a treatment for cavities. You know how good it is; you saw how nice Harper's teeth looked after taking that for a week! It's going to be a real money-spinner, and I'm spending all of July working on new potions for burning away bits of food stuck between your gums, and another one for helping babies control their teething! It'll be perfect, Mione. Father's already converted the dungeons at home to an enormous Potions laboratory with offices for you and me, and Mother's given us a set of keys to the Malfoy Townhouse in London! We can both go to work from there when it gets busy, and go home when things are calm! What do you say?"

Hermione smiled and leaned over to kiss Draco's nose. "It does sound fairly ideal, Drake. Heather's opening a perfume shop, too, so you're not the only one risking a lot. You two can help each other, and I guess that reassures me some. And you're right; we'll be able to see each other a lot this way. We can be in London and Wiltshire at the same time. However, it's still not the same as seeing each other at work every day."

"But," Draco countered, smiling mischievously, "we can spend many nights at the Townhouse, alone, and not have to be under Mother and Father's eyes all time."

Hermione laughed again. "Yes, that does sound nice. But you've already heard my view on this, Draco. It's always been my belief that the best wedding present a man and a woman can give each other on their wedding night is each other's virginity. Remember?"

Draco huffed. "Yes, I know, dear. But you still won't marry me, and I've asked you about a dozen times already."

Hermione smiled. "When you propose to me at the right time, there's no way I will refuse you. However, right now, we're both too young, and you yourself only turned nineteen less than three weeks ago."

"Who cares?" Draco retorted. "We'll be going to New Orleans next week, so let's just have the wedding there. We already look like an old married couple anyways, what with you constantly nagging at me and me making witty responses."

"Oh Draco." Hermione chuckled. "Let's focus on our careers for a while first, alright? You're thinking way too fast. Soon, you'll be begging to have children."

"Don't think I haven't forgotten about that." Draco said, kissing Hermione's hair. "I've already been thinking of baby names for a while. Actually, right after we took our N.E. . Class does get boring when we've already learned everything we needed to for the test."

"You mean you haven't been paying attention to classes for the last week?" Hermione gasped, horrified.

Draco shrugged. "What? It's not like we'll ever need it again. Come to think of it, I don't even remember what we've learned throughout the course of this year anymore. Thank Merlin for that. Now I can fill my brain with other things."

Hermione smacked Draco's arm lightly. "Draco Malfoy, with that kind of attitude, don't even think about having kids anytime soon!"

"Hey, I still remember Potions!" Draco protested. "Since that's the only thing I actually need to know for my career! Mother made me take all those other N.E. just for show, remember?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Remind me to not have children until ten years from now, when your views on the importance of all education have changed."

"You're making me a father when I'm twenty-nine?!" Draco cried in horror. "Never! I'll get Mother and Father to pressure you. Merlin knows they've been dreaming about a new heir to the Malfoy line since I was twelve."

At this moment, his stomach gave a monstrous roar. Hermione looked up at her boyfriend's face, wide-eyed. "Didn't you eat enough during lunch?"

"Your memory's going, Mione." Draco replied, propping himself up on his elbow. "We never ate lunch, remember? After we came down here, we sat in silence for a few hours. And we only started talking about half an hour ago, which brings us pretty close to the Leaving Feast. And, of course, Gryffindor House winning the House Cup, Quidditch Cup, and life. I don't think I'm going to be able to clap for Ginny when she goes up there."

"Oh. Sorry." Hermione responded sheepishly, patting Draco's muscled stomach. "But you should be happy for Ginny, Drake! I guess I was too caught up in my thoughts when we first came outside. You're right; I'm going to miss Hogwarts so much."

"I am, too." Draco replied, pulling himself and Hermione to their feet. He glanced at his watch, the one Hermione had given to him for his birthday. It was beautiful, and a perfect match to Hermione's locket. Made of silver, there was a catch on the side of the clock, which allowed the face of the watch to be pulled open. Inside was the same picture of Draco and Hermione that also resided in the locket on Hermione's chest, as well as the loving inscription. It was, in a sense, the fraternal twin of Draco's gift to Hermione.

As the couple walked back up to the castle Draco thought about how lucky he was to have returned to Hogwarts this year, and spend the best year of his life with the woman he loved, as well as make friends with his old enemies. Hermione had made him new again, had given him hope. Before coming back to school, he had had no idea about what to do after graduation. But after hearing her tragic tale about her parents, he had decided to honor in his own quiet way the people who had brought Hermione into the world by focusing his career on their area of expertise. She had made everything perfect for him. And now, his future was bright, and his family was going to become complete.