Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, shouldn't that be obvious by now?

A/N: Okay, I'm going to start with saying that the sixth book was awesome even though it screwed up who knows how many things for my story to happen. So if for the rest of my story we can just pretend that it didn't happen, that would be wonderful. Keep in mind that I wrote up to chapter 49 before I even read HBP, so none of it is influenced by the book.

And, for the four or five people that asked me if Hermione is pregnant,please to me a favor and smack yourselves right now. She has been pregnant for, oh, 20 chapters now. She is already three months with Ron's baby, remember? Thank you for the insight on my comment though and I'm sorry that I haven't mentioned that little fact in a while.

All right, and one of my reviewers left me a flame and I would like to give them a piece of my mind for a moment.

To blahblahblah, I think you need to read a person's entire story before you criticize it. Don't tell someone that their story sucks on chapter 3, because I know my story sucked on chapter 3. As for the amount of people in a grade. You say that there are 100 or 200 per grade. I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible. And then you name off 10 people and that's supposed to show me that there can be 100 or 200 people per grade. Okay, let me name off everyone in their year. Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Mandy Broklehurst, Lavender Brown, Millicent Bulstrode, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Seamus Finnigan, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Morag MacDougal, Draco Malfoy, Ernie McMillan, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Moon, Theodore Nott, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, Pansy Parkinson, Sally-Anne Perks, Harry Potter, Dean Thomas, Lisa Turpin, Ron Weasley, and Blaise Zabini. There, that's a total of what, 26 people? Okay, I might have missed one or two but how does that make 100 or 200. I think you should take a math class before reading more of my story, if you even got this far. And you know, I would've sent you an e-mail about this but you were too much of a chicken-shit to leave an e-mail. Have a good day!

Thank you for listening to me everyone.

Enjoy!

Chapter 39

The Answer and the Three-second Scourgify

Hermione stuck her fingers in her ears, twirled them around a bit, then took them back out, knowing that she was hearing things. He had just said Merry Christmas, right? He couldn't have possibly said marry me.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked.

"I said marry me," he growled, holding his chocolate covered chest against hers.

Hermione's face contorted with concentration. He had actually asked her to marry him as she was half-naked and covered from head to toe in chocolate syrup and whipped cream. He had asked her to marry him while he was half-naked and covered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream. He had asked her to marry him.

Draco was worried with Hermione's reaction. He was afraid that she would say that it was too soon, that they knew nothing of love, that they were too young. But when he saw love he knew it, and he knew that he could never spend another minute of his life knowing that she wouldn't always be there to share it with him.

Hermione thought for a couple more seconds about what was truly happening to her. Her love, her Draco, was asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. Even though she was a mudblood and he was a pureblood, even though she was in the Order and he was a Death Eater, even though she was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin, there was so much love between them that he could still get past all of those barriers and ask her the one question that everyone girl in the world looks forward to the day of. He had asked her, Hermione Jane Granger, to marry him.

Draco was retreating a little from her, waiting for the lecturing on how they were too young, how they could never be together. He was almost out of her reach before she grabbed his hands and pulled him close to her. She wrapped him in a huge embrace and whispered five words into his ear and kissed him hard on the mouth.

Harry awoke the next morning to the light shining in from his window. He arose slowly, he looked around his empty room; Dean, Seamus and Neville had all gone home for the holidays. He looked at the foot of his bed and found a small pile of gifts. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was already ten o'clock and he was up really late for the Christmas breakfast. He hurriedly unwrapped his gifts. From Blaise, he got a book of Quidditch players from the Ireland team over the years. From Ginny he got something that looked remarkably like an ecstasy potion. From Hermione he got a bottle of chocolate syrup with a small note attached that said 'Have fun.' Hermione's been spending too much time with Malfoy, Harry thought, grinning as he went to open his next gift.

From his horrible aunt and uncle he got Dudley's old Smelting Stick. Harry looked at it with unease, he remembered this stick, and was sort of afraid to touch it. He remembered what Dudley and Piers had done to him with that thing.

Harry carefully set it aside and got up and got dressed. He ran downstairs to see Pansy, holding her gift under his arm. They had agreed that they would give their gifts to each other in person instead of by owl post.

He arrived in the close-to-empty Great Hall a couple of minutes later. He ran over to the Slytherin table that contained Pansy, Blaise and a couple of first years. He sat down next to his girlfriend and kissed her. "Sorry I'm late," he breathed.

"It's alright, I just had to sit here and make more than polite conversation with Zabini here," Pansy said sarcastically.

Ginny came in a moment later and instead of sitting down, she pulled Blaise up from his seat. Harry heard Blaise's attempts to stay. ("But we haven't eaten breakfast.") and Ginny's reply to the comment. ("I've got breakfast for you upstairs.") Harry smirked at her as he remembered the potion that Ginny had given him and also wondered if Hermione got something like what she had gotten him for Ginny.

Harry turned to Pansy and set her gift on the table. The box was about a cubic foot in size and it was wrapped in green paper with red trimmings. Pansy smiled at him and picked up the present, she carefully lifted it up and put her ear to it.

"Oh, just open it," Harry said.

"Fine," Pansy said, pulling a loose end of the red ribbon and letting it fall. She then grabbed at the paper and ripped it open. There was a small silver box with a lid. She opened it as well. She looked down into the box and then back up at Harry, her eyes were slightly teary and she hugged him.

"Thank you," she said. "It's beautiful." She put her small hands into the box and pulled out a tiny black kitten, who was purring.

"You're welcome," Harry smiled. Pansy just sat there for a long while, petting the kitten that matched her hair and snuggling it against her cheek. Harry just sat and watched her, content with making her happy. He really had to write a thank you note to Hermione and Malfoy.

"Oh, your present, I almost forgot," Pansy said suddenly. "Come on, it's in my room, it was too big to bring down here."

Harry got up from the table and followed his girlfriend out of the Great Hall and towards the Slytherin common room. When he got there, he found that it was almost completely empty and he stopped as Pansy started up her stairs.

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

"I'm not allowed up the stairs," Harry said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"The stairs turn into a slide when the guys try to go up them," he said.

"Oh. They don't here. There were so many girls that wanted to have guys up with them that all of us put together our cunning brains and dark magic skills to block the wards."

"Wow, I'm impressed," Harry said, following her up the stairs to her room.

Pansy laid down next to her bed and reached under it to grab Harry's present. It was a long red box, and it was tied up with green ribbon. She lifted it up and set it onto her bed.

"Open it," she said happily.

Harry walked over to the box and pulled the ribbon loose. He opened the lid of the box and was amazed at what he saw.

He pulled the broom out of the box and looked at its sleekness. On the handle he was the engraving that said Firebolt X, the newest and best broom not on the market. They were advertised in the quidditch magazine that Harry got.

"How did you get this?" he asked her.

"I have my ways," she said, smiling.

"I love it, Pansy," he said as he set it back down and crawled across the bed to give his girlfriend a kiss.

"My, my, Severus, you have proved your skills in potion making very well," Albus said as he looked down on the many couples in the Great Hall.

"I am tapering down the dosage so that it is not just the potion anymore, but it seems as though they don't mind falling in love with each other," Severus said.

"The two houses compliment each other so well, how did you get this idea again?" Minerva asked.

"It was young Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger. When I found of their exploits I found that they did compliment each other very well. I decided that it would be good for house unity if there were inter-house relationships based on more than sex," Severus explained.

When Remus looked confused, Minerva leaned over. "Love," she explained.

"But is it really love if it is fake?" Remus asked, looking back over to Severus.

"Yes, because in order for a love potion to work, you need to feel something for the person that is in question," Severus explained.

"I must say that there could be two sides to this experiment, Severus. With all of the Slytherins and Gryffindors in love, the Slytherins may join the light side to be with the ones they love," Albus said.

"But the Gryffindors may join the dark side," Minerva finished cryptically.

"That is a chance that we have to take, my dear Professors," Albus finished, getting up from his chair and signaling the end of the conversation.

Draco woke up in much the same manner as Harry with the shaft of light peeking in through his bedroom window. He opened his eyes and found his arms around his fiancé. He was still amazed at it. Hermione was not his girlfriend anymore, now she was his fiancé, his betrothed, his love, his. Her words kept echoing in his head, over and over. "I love you, Draco. Yes."

Those five words he would never forget. He could not believe that she was his; he could not believe that he had Hermione Granger. That it was him that she said yes to, that it was him that she was going to spend the rest of her life with...him.

Hermione roused also, feeling Draco's breathing against her neck. She felt his strong arms around her and the unfamiliar weight of her engagement ring on her finger. She could not believe that this was actually happening. She wasn't even sure when they were going to get married, but just the fact that they were going to get married at some point made her happy.

She felt hungry as she squirmed in Draco's grip. She wanted some breakfast—real breakfast—but she could not imagine looking at the table that they had done so many sinful things on the night before. After he had slipped the ruby engagement ring on her finger, they had made passionate love on the table—twice.

Hermione realized after that how messy and sticky they were, so she suggested a shower. It was already two in the morning by the time that they made it upstairs to the bathroom to shower. In the shower he had taken her hard once more with the water cascading on and around them, finally they made it to the bed where they spent the next three hours making each other scream out in pleasure.

Hermione could think of nothing better than just melting back into Draco's body and sleeping the day away, but there came a knock on the bedroom door. Hermione looked at her watch and noticed that it was already twelve thirty. The knock came again.

Draco groaned and pulled the comforter tighter around their naked bodies. "Come in," he yelled to the door.

Velvet opened the door and peeked her head inside to see her brother and his girlfriend curled up under his covers. "So, I'm guessing last night went well," Velvet said happily as she stepped into the room.

"Very well," Hermione said.

"I'm glad to hear it," Velvet said, walking further into the room, "But you two have to come downstairs and open the rest of your presents.

"We'll get ready, Velvet. Just give us a couple minutes," Hermione said.

"Okay, ten minutes. Which means no snogging," she said as she left the room.

Hermione smiled and detached Draco's arms from her body. "We have to get dressed and I think I need another shower."

A smirk crossed Draco's face. "I'll join you," he said.

"Velvet said no snogging," Hermione smiled as Draco got up after her to follow her to the shower.

"I wasn't planning on snogging, I was going for shagging," he smirked.

Hermione just giggled and walked into the bathroom with Draco close on her heels.

Velvet smirked as the couple made their way into the den that held the Christmas tree. There was a small pile of presents by the base of tree. Draco took Hermione's hand in his and led her to the couch across from Velvet. She sat down and Draco walked over to the tree to get the gifts for them. He came back with a small pile of gifts for Hermione. Then he went back to the tree to get his smaller pile.

"So, am I allowed to know what you got her now?" Velvet asked her brother.

"She can show it to you if she wants," Draco said distractedly as he ripped open his gift from Blaise (handcuffs).

"Show me Hermione," Velvet said, looking at her brother's girlfriend.

Hermione was distracted as well, she had just opened her gift from Harry. It was amazing, she picked it out of the wrapping and let the silkiness of it glide over her fingers. This was by far the strangest gift that she would ever think to get from Harry. It was plain and simple, and silk button-up shirt. A green silk button-up shirt.

She got the crazy thought that she would probably wear this to bed tonight, if she wore anything at all.

"Hermione!" Draco said more firmly.

Hermione was pulled out of her daze and looked up at Draco.

"Yeah?" she asked, completely confused at what was going on.

"Show Velvet what I got you for Christmas," Draco said.

"Oh," Hermione said, shaking her head and holding out her left hand to her future sister-in-law. Velvet looked confused for a moment, wondering why Hermione would be thrusting her hand in her face, until she saw the ruby ring on her finger. The ring had a gold band, with a huge ruby in the middle, surrounded by a circle of diamonds and emeralds.

"Oh my gods!" Velvet screamed, grabbing Hermione's hand and looking at the engagement ring more closely. "Dear sweet Merlin," she said softly to herself, seemingly hyperventilating. "Is this why last night went so well?" she asked.

"Partly," Hermione said as she failed at trying to suppress a smirk at her fiancé.

"Well, I did notice this morning that you two left quite a mess on the table, whipped cream cans everywhere, ice cream melted all over the carpeting," she shook her head while scolding. "It took me a whole three seconds to mutter the scourgify charm. So why couldn't you do that last night so I didn't have to know of your little escapade?"

"Velvet, you bought the stuff for me, what did you think I was going to do with it?" Hermione asked seriously.

"Make sundaes," she said in a mock innocent voice.

A/N: Hope you all liked that chapter, next one up soon. And if you are all wondering about when Lucius gets back, get ready, I think it's in the next chapter.

Love and Lemons,

Brittany.