AN - I felt bad about not reviewing in such a long time and then updating such a short chapter so I worked extra hard today to update another chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Before I go ... I just wanted to say that since the release of the Half Blood Prince, this story is now going to be AU, I hope you still decide to read it!

Chapter Ten

An Unlikely Proposal

When Hermione trampled into Draco's office two minutes later, she found him at his desk, gingerly tasting a cup of coffee.

"Hermione! What a pleasant surprise!" He greeted happily, putting down his cup.

"Cut the crap Malfoy. Where is my report?" she growled, walking up to his desk and poking him in the chest.

"Ahh ... you're a feisty one, aren't you? I rather like that," he winked.

"I won't ask you again Malfoy. Where poke is poke my poke report?" The last word was followed by a particularly hard poke, which cause Draco to wince.

"Ow! There's no need to get rough ... unless you like that sort of thing. I mean, I'm open to just about anything as long as we end up shagging."

"MALFOY!"

He smirked. "There's no getting around you, is there?" he leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head with his feet on his desk. "I'm afraid you'll have to do something for me if you want your precious report back."

"That's extortion! I'll just summon it if you're going to act like such an ass!" She pulled out her wand. "Acci-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She glared at him. "Acci-"

"You really should listen to me you know."

"Why won't you just let me finish summoning it?"

"Because it's a bad idea," he replied haughtily.

"And why, is it a bad idea?"

"Well," he replied slowly, as if savoring the fact that he knew something she didn't, "if you summon your report, you'll find its burnt ashes covering your bits."

Needless to say, Hermione began to blush quite furiously. "How dare you! You're so damn perverted Malfoy!"

"On the other hand," he began, "you SHOULD summon it. I'd fancy seeing your bits, even if they were covered by ash."

Hermione's blush did not go away at the least. "Fine," she replied, gritting her teeth, "what do you want?"

"I want you to go to the ball with me," he said, grinning.

"Absolutely not! You're not conning me into going to a ball with you! It's preposterous!"

"Of course," he replied, his facial features darkening, "I could ask you to do something else ... like ask who the father of your daughter is perhaps?"

Hermione paled. "Malfoy, you're an asshole." She turned around and walked towards the door. "I want my report Malfoy!" she exclaimed as she walked out of his office.

Draco just smirked and waved his wand, the report magically appearing on Hermione's desk.

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Three Weeks Later

"You don't think this dress is too ... trampy, do you Gin?" asked Hermione tentatively as she examined herself in the mirror. She was wearing an emerald green floor length gown. (I put links Hermione's dress at the end of this chapter if you want to see it!)

The dress had two straps and had a knot that met between her cleavage. It was form fitting and sensual, but at the same time, simple and classic. It was perfect.

"Hermione, you look gorgeous!" replied Ginny happily. Ginny was sitting on Hermione's bed, applying a fresh coat of gloss on her already shiny lips. "Draco is going to be absolutely stunned by your beauty!"

Hermione laughed, "Ginny, you're such a romantic! Where are you off to anyways?" She asked, eyeing Ginny's sultry outfit with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I've got a few plans for myself tonight too," replied Ginny secretively.

"Fine, don't tell me," replied Hermione, "You're lucky I'm running a bit late, otherwise, I would've pressed further."

"What time is he coming?" asked Ginny.

"At about 7:30."

"Hermione! It's 7:28!" shrieked Ginny, checking the muggle watch Hermione gave her last year.

"WHAT? Oh no! Alexia's still here!"

"Don't worry, maybe he's running late ..."

"DING DONG!" rang the doorbell, sounding Draco's arrival.

"BLOODY HELL!"

"Don't worry Mione, I'll floo Alexia to your parent's house for you."

"Thanks a bunch Ginny! Alexia! Darling! I'm sorry, but you have to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house with Auntie Ginny right now."

"Okay Mummy," replied Alexia, turning off the TV and grabbing Ginny's hand.

"Say good-bye to Mummy Sweets," said Ginny as she picked up Alexia, allowing her to kiss Hermione on the cheek.

"Bye Darling," replied Hermione, returning the kiss to Alexia, "Thanks again Ginny," she said, giving Ginny a hug good-bye.

"DING DONG!"

"Hermione, are you there?" asked Draco, his voice slightly muffled.

"No problem Hermione. Now go answer the door before Malfoy breaks it down!"

Ginny and Alexia stepped in the fireplace and flooed away just as Hermione answered the door, revealing Draco Malfoy, looking a bit impatient.

Draco was wearing a black tuxedo with his hair slightly slicked back, though not as nearly slicked back as it had been when they were still in Hogwarts. Instead of looking childish, he looked handsome and slightly devilish.

"You look absolutely delicious," he said with a smirk.

So do you, thought Hermione silently. "Alright, let's get this over with. Hold on, let me just get my purse. Just please, PLEASE stay out here, don't go in." Hermione went to her room and got her purse. When she got back to the front door, Draco wasn't there. He was in front of the mantle, looking at a picture of Hermione and Alexia at the beach. Ginny had taken the pictures. It showed Ron burying Harry in the sand in the background while Hermione and Alexia were holding hands in the foreground, cautiously approaching the water.

"Draco...?" asked Hermione.

"She's gorgeous," he said quietly, hold the picture and looking at it intently, "You never did tell me."

"Tell you what?"

Draco turned around and looked at her. His grey-blue eyes were fixated on hers. "Who the father is."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's any of your business," she replied coldly.

"You're lying to me. She looks exactly like me," he said, amazingly calmly, "We had sex five years ago, and she looks five. That's not some strange coincidence. I'm her father!"

"You're wrong! She's not yours! Do you actually think that you're the only man I've ever fucked? I'm not the same prude I was in school if that's what you think! Why are you so determined to find out who the father is anyways? It's not like you care!"

For a moment, Draco seemed shocked. It wasn't everyday that Hermione Granger swore. A second later, however, he regained his composure. He crossed the room in five long strides. He grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him roughly, sending Hermione crashing into his chest.

"What in the bloody hell are - " Hermione began, but she never finished her sentence because she was promptly cut of by Draco's lips crashing into hers.

The kiss was rough and filled with passion unlike any other she had ever felt. It was by no means the kind of kisses she shared with other boys while still in Hogwarts. Those were the kinds of kisses that were appropriate near your Grandmother, the shy, chaste kinds. This was the complete opposite. This was the kind of kiss where there was only one thing in mind: Sex. By the time he broke away, they were panting.

He placed his forehead in hers and stared deep into her eyes, his hands caressing her cheeks, their bodies still pressed against the other. "You're wrong Hermione, I care VERY much. Do you know how much I've thought of you these past years? Do you think that night in 7th year was just a fling? I was completely fascinated by you ... I still am. I wasn't going to die serving Voldemort without spending one night with you. You didn't resist, so I didn't stop. I thought after that I would get over you, but I didn't. I even looked for you after the war, but Potter and Weasley are very protective of you. They didn't make the job easy. It took me forever to find you with them watching me. They told me that you were married and that I should just go away. But I had to see you one more time. I thought once I saw you with your family I would get over you and move on. But you didn't have a husband ... so I thought I had a chance. Why do you think I went to work for Fudge, an office away from you? I don't need to work Hermione. My father left me enough money to live extremely extravagantly. I wanted to be near you."

He tucked a piece of her wavy hair behind her ear, "Did you cast a spell on me?" He whispered, playing with her hair, "Why am I so enthralled by you?"

"Draco ..." started Hermione, shocked.

He swooped in for another kiss. This time, a more gentle, loving one. "Come on, we have a ball to go to Hermione."

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Hermione and Draco walked into Fudge's ballroom, Draco's hand was around Hermione's waist possessively. The ballroom was, in a single word, magnificent. The marble floors were polished and the crystal from the rather large chandelier shone happily. Fudge had expensive taste.

"Ah! Hermione! Draco! My two senior undersecretaries! Welcome!" greeted Fudge jubilantly.

"Good Evening sir," replied Hermione, "Congratulations to you and your wife."

"Thank you my dear! Now go enjoy yourselves!" he added with a wink.

Two hours later, Hermione and Draco were dancing to a slow melody, inches apart.

"I meant what I said in your flat you know," said Draco quietly.

"Do you?" asked Hermione. Hermione had not forgotten what he had said. She had, in fact, been thinking about it all night.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." he replied, tightening his hold on her.

"Do you think we'll ever celebrate an anniversary with each other like this?" he asked after a few moments.

"Is that a proposal?"

"It could be."

Hermione sighed. "You have to understand, this is all very sudden. To tell you the truth, I still see you as the spoiled, arrogant boy from school. You can't blame if if I don't fall for you, or even believe you immediately."

"Will you at least let me see her? And don't even try saying she's not mine."

"... Yes. Yes, of course I will."

"Thank you," he replied, kissing her on the forehead.

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"So ... he's in LOVE with you?" asked Ron, plopping down on the couch, sending several pieces of popcorn flying out of the bowl he was holding. Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were all sitting in Hermione's living room, watching a movie. "That git actually said that?"

"Well, he didn't say that exactly," replied Hermione, opening a bag of chips. "But it was along those lines. Besides, that's not what matters right now!"

"Hermione! Draco Malfoy just confessed his love for you!" exclaimed Ginny, throwing a popcorn at Hermione, "What's more important than that?"

"Harry and Ron knew about it," she replied, taking a sip of soda.

Harry and Ron nearly choked on their popcorn. "What are you talking about Herms?" said Ron, "We never knew that idiot was in love with you!"

"But you did know that he was looking for me after I gave birth to Alexia."

Harry and Ron tensed. "Listen Hermione," began Harry seriously, " he came looking for you after about a month after Alexia was born. We suspected that he was the father, after seeing how Alexia looked. Before you told us, we thought it might have been rape. It took all of our self control to not beat him to a bloody pulp. We were only trying to protect you and Alexia. You know how much we love you two."

"Yah Mione," said Ron, "Please don't be mad at us."

Hermione smiled, "Of course I'm not mad at you two. You guys mean the world to Alexia and I. I love you guys too much to stay mad at you. Did he ever mention why he was looking for me though?"

"No, but he was pretty upset when we didn't tell him where you were," replied Harry.

"Upset is an understatement," added Ron, "he was pissed off. He looked like he was going to beat US up! Mind you, he's lucky we didn't beat HIM up!"

"It all makes sense now. It was really eerie how determined he was to find you," said Harry gravely.

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Hermione's Gown :

IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER GOWN, PLEASE LOOK IN MY PROFILE! It won't let me give out links here ...