A/N: this is just a one-shot, spur of the moment thing to get out the frustration of a busted telephone.
It might be cliché, but who the hell cares?
This is post Hogwarts. I do hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry potter and co. bla bla bla bla bla…
ForeverBy: Sapphirechrystal1438
It was a beautiful winter's night. It seemed like so long since I've stepped foot in Hogwarts. 10 years in fact. Coming for my 10-year reunion brought on a wave of memories and nostalgia.
When I came in through the huge doors into the entrance hall my first year… each stone seemed to possess a fond memory for me.
Looking out, I saw the lake. All the time I spent studying or just sitting next to Harry and Ron.
Memories I'd rather have forgotten also came to mind. The beginning of the war. So many lives had been lost, just because of a man corrupted by evil.
The second pair of doors opened up for me and I marveled at the castle's splendor. For this occasion, the tables were put off to the side, leaving the center for dancing. I remembered the Yule Ball with a soft smile on my lips. How Ron fumed when he found out I was dancing with Viktor Krum.
The Triwizard tournament. The dragons, the lake…
Suddenly, I realized that I was standing there like an idiot. I searched the crowd for Harry and Ron. Seeing a shock of red hair, I headed in that direction.
"Hermione!" Harry cried seeing me. Ginny ran up and hugged me. I noticed her bulging belly.
"Ginny! What have you and Harry been up to?" I gave her a half smile.
Harry stepped up to us and put an arm around Ginny.
"You know I've always wanted a huge family, 'mione" he said. We all laughed.
Ron joined the conversation, " someday gin's going to look just like mum."
Ginny pretended to punch him. " Say something like that and you'll find out I'm WORSE than mum." She said in a voice strikingly similar to Mrs. Weasley's thundering tone. Ron lost his smile.
I laughed. "It's been too long." I sighed.
Suddenly, the room darkened and a slowly revolving disco ball started reflecting colors all around the hall. Music started to play.
"May I ask you for a dance?" Ron asked me with a lopsided grin.
"Of course." I replied. We headed out to the dance floor, waving goodbye to Harry and Ginny, who were slowly revolving on the spot where we left them. The love in their eyes was evident.
"They look so happy together." I told Ron.
"They do. Do you know they're expecting triplets? 2 boys and a girl. They plan to name them James, Sirius and Lily. I swear they're trying to outdo mum and dad." He gave me a cheeky grin.
"Really? How far along is she?" I asked him.
"About three months." He replied.
We talked a bit more about what had been going on the past 10 years.
Before we knew it, the dance was almost over. Harry stepped up behind Ron.
"May I cut in?" he said.
"Sure. I want to spend some quality brother-sister time" he replied.
"Too late. Ginny's dancing with Severus." Harry said.
Ron cringed. "Are those hormonal imbalances affecting her brain?"
We all laughed again. I had missed Ron's overacting remarks.
"Severus has been a lot better towards us since the end of the war. I think he finally put the demons of his past to rest." I commented.
"I agree to that. A moment ago, he actually called me Harry! I was so shocked I just nodded." Harry stated.
"But he still hasn't lost his touch. He loves those billowing robes too much to ever part with them. And I have noticed that students avoid him as he entered the great hall…" I commented.
"Some habits die hard, I guess…" Ron told me.
Harry then turned to me.
"So what about that dance, miss granger?" Harry offered his arm.
"Go on, just leave me here. I'll find something to do." Ron said, in an effort to produce a pathetic voice.
We rolled our eyes and I put my arms around Harry. He still has that messy look but he finally got rid of his glasses, which made his eyes sparkle like emeralds.
Life had been tough for all of us, but even more so for Harry. It was only fair that Harry finally had a shot at happiness.
"I'm so happy for you Harry." I told him.
"Thanks. I think I can finally put the past behind me." He said in a soft voice.
"Has Ron found anyone special yet? I noticed he didn't come in with a date." I asked him.
"Not yet, but I think he has an eye on Luna, if you know what I mean." He replied. We laughed again.
"I heard from a little bird that you made head auror." I said with a cheeky grin.
"Who told you that?" he asked.
"Ginny. She couldn't wait to say how proud she was of her husband." I stated.
"It's not that big of a deal." He told me sheepishly.
"But it is Harry. You finally have everything you've always dreamed of. You've landed your dream job. And soon, you're going to have a family!" I told him with a smile.
"I already do have a family. You, Ron, Ginny and the rest of the weasley clan. You all are and always will be my family. Nothing can ever change that," he told me.
"Now enough about me. What's going on in your life?" he asked me.
"Well, I've been traveling around the world for the ministry, promoting international co-dependence. It's one of the things I've always been passionate about." I told him.
He snorted. He must have remembered the SPEW incident.
"Don't worry. I've finally put SPEW behind me. It took me a lot of pondering and millions of hate letters from house elves to finally see the light. I now realize that they're happy where they are, and though sometimes there are the odd ones like Dobby, most of them love serving us. But I still am against abusing them." I told him. He pretended to sigh in relief. I pretended to be angry, swatting him with my hand.
The dance ended. We headed back to Ginny and Ron.
Ginny pretended to look jealous. "You guys looked too good out there. I was starting to get jealous."
"There's no one else I'd rather be with than you, love." Harry whispered to Ginny. They started to kiss.
"Eew. Once at your wedding is enough for a big brother to handle." Ron complained.
We all laughed and Harry and Ginny reluctantly ended their kiss.
The ball went on like this for some time. We danced with several other seventh years, some, I never thought I would share a dance with. I was so surprised when Blaise Zabini asked me for a dance.
We headed out to the dance floor. As we revolved around the room, we made idle chitchat.
"I had never really gotten to know you, Hermione. May I call you that?" he asked me.
"Of course. May I call you Blaise?" I replied.
"It's a fair trade. I never thought I would be able to share a dance with the smartest witch in Hogwarts." he told me.
"We were really stupid back then, don't you think? With all the rivalries and animosity." I commented.
"There was a lot of prejudice back then too. And I'm sorry that a lot of the slytherins didn't see you back then for what you are." He told me.
"It's also my fault. I judged you all because of the actions of one slytherin. It wasn't until after graduation that I got to know others really well." I told him.
"Like my wife, pansy?" he said with a smile.
"I didn't know pansy was married. I didn't see a ring on her finger when we met in France." I asked confused.
"We were still gong out back then. She couldn't make it tonight because of her sickness. We're expecting a girl." He informed me.
"Congratulations! I wish you all the happiness in the world."
"Thank you."
As the last strains of the dance played, he asked me the most surprising question of all.
"So I expect an invitation to the wedding?" he asked with a small smile.
How did he know?
"Who do you think is my best friend? Who else is going to be your best man?" he informed me with a smile.
As the dance ended, he told me one last thing. "Pansy and I are so happy for you both Hermione. We've been waiting for so long for him to finally realize that you're the one for him."
"Thank you Blaise."
I returned to the guys and Ginny. There only a few dances left. I waited anxiously for him to arrive.
As I brushed my hair behind my ear a flash of light reflected off the ring. Ginny caught it.
"Mione! I didn't know you were engaged!" Ginny hugged me.
"You hid this from us?" Harry asked me. Ginny hushed him.
"Who, when, where and how?" she asked me bluntly.
"I'll save who for last. And to answer Harry's question, it was going to be a surprise. I'm owling the invitations when we set a date. Okay we met in Spain. He's an auror too, but he works for the international safety branch. We started talking and then started dating. He asked me last year during a romantic candlelight dinner in Hogsmeade."
I sighed, remembering the most romantic night of my life.
Flashback:
Music was softly playing in the small, but cozy restaurant Draco took me to.
He looked very tense on this date. He kept fidgeting. It was as if he wanted eh dinner to be over quickly. I started to get worried. What if he wanted to break up with me?
"What's wrong, love?" I asked him.
He let out a deep breath and got down on one knee.
Was he going to do what I think he's gong to do?
"Hermione, you have given me the most happiness that I've ever felt in my entire life. You lit it up when I thought it was going to remain clouded forever. I don't want it to remain like this forever."
He cleared his throat.
"Hermione Elizabeth Granger, will you make me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?"
I was out of breath. I felt like I couldn't speak. In a shaky voice, I replied,
"Of course I will, because I love you so much. Ever since I met you, really met you, I couldn't imagine life without you by my side."
He stood up and put the most beautiful ring in my right hand. He lifted my chin and bent down to kiss me passionately.
"Hermione…"
End of flashback
"Hermione…" Ginny was waving a hand in front of my face.
"You look like you were in a trance. Well?" she asked me.
"Well what?" I replied, still clearing my head from the memory.
"Who is it?" she asked me.
Suddenly, I caught a shock of white-blond hair. My heart lit up, along with a smile.
"Wait for a moment. I'll bring him here." I left them and headed to the direction of the blond hair.
For a moment, I lost my way through the many dancing couples. Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind. I was about to strike him when he suddenly kissed me. I recognized him instantly.
"Draco!" I sighed happily.
"My love." He replied.
"Come. Ginny wants to meet the man who gave me the beautiful ring." I told him
"They know? I thought you wanted them to be surprised." He asked me.
"Word got out." I gave him a smile.
We headed over to the gang. Ginny's eyes were wide and Harry's and Ron's mouths were hanging open.
"Guys, you're catching flies." I smirked at them, something I learned from Draco.
"Blimey. You're engaged to Draco Malfoy?" he said in shock.
"Yes Ron." I replied.
"Congratulations man." Harry said, with a twinkle in his eyes telling me he knew more than he let on.
"Wait a minute. You knew about it didn't you?" I accused him.
"Okay, okay, I admit it. Draco and I became friends during one of our auror missions. You know how good I am at keeping secrets." He gave me a cheeky grin.
"Congratulations Hermione. I wish you the best. You're so lucky girl! You caught the man every girl here has been dreaming of," exclaimed Ginny.
"Don't let him hear you say that. It would inflate his already over-large ego!" I said in a stage whisper. We all laughed.
Draco pretended to be mad and grabbed me from behind.
Harry pretended to be jealous of what Ginny had remarked.
"Don't worry love, you're my dream come true," she whispered to Harry.
The emcees came up and announced that it was time for the final dance.
The beginning notes of "For you I will" started to play.
Draco said softly, "It's our song, Hermione."
Yes it was. It was the song we had danced to when we first met at a ball given by the minister in Spain. It was also the song playing in the restaurant when he proposed to me.
Ron sighed. It was obvious he was uncomfortable at the couples around him.
"Go on. Leave the fifth wheel behind." Ron stated. He went to join Parvati and Lavender near the refreshment tables.
Harry and Ginny went out to dance.
Draco turned to me. "You promised to save me the last dance, Hermione."
I smiled and took his arm. "Yes, I believe I did."
We stepped out into the dance floor. Many couples were shocked to find us dancing together. They started talking amongst themselves. I heard bits and pieces of conversation.
"It's so romantic!"
"Now that's one unexpected couple"
"They look so good together"
"Weren't they enemies back then?"
I shut them off and concentrated on the man in front of me. He was so dreamy.
"What are you thinking about love?" he asked me.
"The most wonderful man in the world." I replied.
He smiled. Knowing his inflated ego, I decided to tease him, saying,
"Isn't Santa just amazing?" I sighed.
Draco growled and out of the blue, he kissed me. Hard.
I nearly swooned.
"Who's the most wonderful man in the world now?" he asked me with his trademark smirk.
"You have the largest ego in the world, do you know that?" I told him.
"And you love me for it." He replied. I laughed.
"You're such…" but before I could retaliate, he kissed me again.
"An amazing kisser" I finished instead.
"I love you." He told me.
"More than words can say…" he finished.
He bent down to kiss me again.
I sighed happily.
At that moment, all was right in the world…
I was in the arms of the most wonderful man in the world…
The man I always and forever will love.
I wished the dance would never end.
Because I was right where I belonged…
Where I wanted to always stay…
In the arms of the man I love.
Forever…
Promise you…
For you I will…
Forever…