Author's Note: This fic contains sexual content and is intended for adult readers.
"Granger! I'm surprised to see you here."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she unwound her scarf, before stowing it in her bag as she sat at the stool beside him, nodding in acknowledgment of his greeting. She had flecks of snow in her unruly curls and her nose was slightly reddened from the cold. February in Scotland was miserable. "Malfoy. I'm surprised you thought of me at all."
"Granger, you wound me. I think about you every time you grace the front page of The Daily Prophet."
"Oh, so at least a couple of times a month then." Hermione gestured to the barkeep, pointing at Draco's firewhisky and indicating she'd like one as well. The surly wizard behind the counter nodded in response.
"That's been the pattern I have noticed. Er, sorry to see the last one, though."
She shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "Yes, well. It is what it is."
"True, but divorce is always hard. I'm sorry it happened to you."
"I'm not."
Draco nearly choked on his drink. "That's a less nuanced assessment than I might have expected from you, Granger."
"Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't say I'm coping spectacularly well with the aftermath, but it was the right decision. Not that Ron agreed with me, but that was part of our problem." Granger picked up her drink and smiled at the older wizard in thanks. The barkeep grunted in response.
"Ah. Do you not have other friends to commiserate with tonight? Instead of ending up at the Hog's Heads, talking to someone you hate."
Hermione took a healthy sip of her drink, grimacing at the taste before answering him. "I wouldn't say I hate you, Malfoy. I don't really know you, is all. And other than Harry, virtually the entire rest of my social group are — or were — the Weasleys and their spouses and their children. The only person who still talks to me right now is Andromeda and she's too busy with her grandson to come get sloshed with me on Valentine's Day."
"The Chosen One can't spare a moment for the witch who kept him alive?" Draco struggled to keep his tone even. Granger shouldn't be alone on Valentine's Day a week after getting divorced. What was Potter thinking?
"You can't fault the man for wanting to be with his wife on Valentine's Day, Malfoy. Besides, Ginny's pregnant. She's due in another few weeks actually. The two of them are fine with me at least, but the timing isn't right for them to put a strain on their relationship with the rest of the Weasleys. Molly's out for blood, unfortunately. I'll be fine. I just couldn't stand to look at the bloody four walls of my flat for one more minute and I thought the Hog's Head might have the most anti-Valentine's Day – I don't know, ambiance of all the potential wizarding venues. I mean, could you imagine bringing your date here?"
"That was my thought process as well. I thought it would only be sad old men and one handsome me drinking here tonight. So imagine my surprise when a beautiful witch walked in. And then to my greater surprise, it was you."
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Lying flatterer." She lightly slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand for emphasis. She didn't actually seem angry though. Just a bit irritated.
"No lies, Granger. You seem to have figured out how to stop looking like a walking library and instead look like a witch. It suits you, whatever you've done."
"Mostly, what I've done is lose twelve and a half stone of ginger." Hermione finished off her drink and signalled to the bartender for a refill.
"You're funnier than I remembered, Granger."
"When were you ever in a position to know me well enough to assess that?"
"Fair point. I guess I didn't notice a lot of mirth from you in the past, but that might have been because anytime I was in position to notice, I would have been also there. I assume I would have put a damper on it."
"Eh. That would have been the case some of the time, at least. What brings you here, Malfoy?"
"Well, as you may know, I am also recently divorced," Draco said by way of explanation.
"Yes, I did see that. I'm sorry."
"I'm not."
"Oh, so your assessment also lacks nuance." Hermione smirked at him as she took a sip of her second drink, again wincing at the taste of firewhisky as though she expected it might be different this time around. Which was adorable. Draco fought the ghost of a smile that wanted to appear on his lips and tried to make his expression look somewhat stern instead.
"Granger, unlike you, I didn't have a love match. I had an arranged marriage. She and I were never in love. We tried to make it work, but—" Draco sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Astoria spent the war in France, completely untouched by it. I'm too — I don't know, affected by my experiences to handle someone who is so unserious about everything. I really can't fake enthusiasm about the third new set of drapes for the ballroom in a year, you know? Plus she was fucking Zabini."
Hermione's turn to nearly choke on her drink. "Oh my God, Draco, I'm so sorry!"
Draco raised an eyebrow at her at the use of his first name. Hermione blushed and Draco chuckled lightly.
"Well, I think that if we're just too recently divorced people meeting by happenstance to discuss our shared experiences, we could maybe start over, yeah? If that is okay with you, Hermione?"
Hermione shivered slightly, as she smiled and nodded. "I would sincerely like that, Draco. In any event, please continue with your tragic tale of cuckholdery."
Draco gave her a genuine smile, not bothering to hold it back this time. He truly appreciated that she wasn't sugarcoating anything — not his divorce, not her divorce, not anything. He was so sick of people walking on eggshells around him. Hermione Granger — mercifully, strike the Weasley — was an unexpected breath of fresh air. And he hadn't been disingenuous when he had complimented her earlier. She was gorgeous. He did not remember her looking quite so delectable at school. Of course, the Hogwarts robes really did nothing to flatter any of the witches. It was always a bit of mystery as to what you get, taking one of them into an alcove. And despite idly daydreaming about it a few times — if for no other reason than he thought it might shut her up — Draco had never gotten Granger into an alcove during their school days.
"Nothing more to tell. She stopped gracing my bed after the first year and apparently I am the only one foolish enough to have remained faithful to our vows. She and Blaise really hit it off — he was one of my best friends so we saw him often — and one thing led to another and they ran off to Italy together. My divorce was finalised a month later."
"Oh, mine only took a week."
"I would imagine we had more property disputes."
"Oh, I see." Hermione sat back, ruminating as she chewed her bottom lip. Draco found that gesture unexpectedly distracting. He'd seen the witch do it at least once a day in their classes for seven years growing up and it had never done anything for him before. What was happening?
"Earlier, when you referred to Ron and I as a 'love match?' I don't think that was ever the case."
Draco's eyes widened but he didn't say anything as he waited for Hermione to continue.
"I think my marriage was arranged through the weight of expectations. After the war, I lost the ability to have any relationship with my parents, meaning Harry and the Weasleys were my only family. And Harry marrying Ginny made him a part of that family. Everyone — especially Ron and Molly — expected me to marry Ron. And if I didn't, I'd be alone. And he was my friend and of course I loved him, but I don't know that I was ever in love with him. Not while we were actually together, anyway. I was wildly infatuated with him at different points at Hogwarts, but that had faded by the time the war was over. It was what everyone else wanted and I wasn't opposed to the idea enough to fight the tide."
"What changed then?"
She gave a mirthless laugh. "It was actually after Ginny announced she was pregnant. Ron started talking about our future children and how he wanted to start trying and every problem I had with our relationship stopped being background noise and started being a never-ending klaxon of sound screaming for me to get the fuck out while I still could. There was just always something missing in my relationship with him. I knew if I had his child I'd be trapped. So I left him instead. And now, as predicted, I am alone."
Draco gave her a sympathetic nod. "I wanted children. With Astoria, I mean. I suppose it's not too late for me to have children with someone else, but it was something that I wanted." Draco wasn't sure why he felt the need to clarify his stance on that to Hermione, but he did.
Hermione nodded. "I think I want children. Someday. In the future. With the right person. But what came to me in very sharp relief all at once, was that I didn't want children with Ron. Anyway, it took a bit of time for me to actually pull the trigger on the divorce, but that was the tipping point. But honestly, Ron's a good man. He deserves someone who loves him more than I ever did or could. I hope he finds it."
"My ex found her landing place before she became my ex, so I don't need to wish her well. But I suppose I don't particularly begrudge her actions either."
"Hmm. Are your parents going to try to arrange another marriage for you? Some other pure-blood cousin waiting in the wings?"
"I think I'm out of the marriage game for now." None of the potential prospects his mother had mentioned to him held the slightest appeal. They were all so much like Astoria and look how well that had turned out.
She smirked at him lightly. "Did you parents listen to you when you told them that?"
He scowled. "Yes." No. In fact, his father was being particularly annoying about it.
"Lucius doesn't have a good history of making strategically smart moves. You should be careful he doesn't try to trick you into marrying someone again."
"I should marry you, that would fix him."
Hermione drew back, frowning. "And here I thought we were having a pleasant-ish conversation. Are you suggesting that being married to me is so inherently abhorrent that you could use it to punish your father?"
"No! Merlin Granger, no. I don't think that at all! Marrying you would be a win-win. I could destroy the illusion that blood purity means anything with the brilliant offspring we would have and it would deeply upset my bigoted father. Plus, I'd have a beautiful, accomplished wife. Who's also a war hero. Shit, Granger. That actually does sound perfect. Will you marry me?" Draco felt the words tumble out of him with virtually no thought. Was he serious? He felt like he could be easily talked into being serious about this — what the fuck was happening to him today?
Draco quickly decided that if she said 'no,' he was kidding.
"You seriously expect me to consider a proposal that started with the words 'Shit, Granger?' One week after my divorce was finalised. To a man I have not spoken with since graduation." Granger's expression was incredulous.
"Well, no. I'm not as clear as to what you'd get out of it. However, I'd have nothing but upside, so it doesn't hurt to ask."
Hermione laughed at that. "Where did all this newfound admiration for me come from, Malfoy?"
"It's not new. I've admired you since you broke my nose."
"What?" she asked, her expression sceptic as she frowned slightly. "Why do you insist on lying to me when we have been getting along so well?"
Draco put his hands up in a gesture of supplication. "Every word I've said to you has been the bloody truth, Granger. You stood up to me. And you throw a mean right hook. What's not to admire?"
"Oh, are you a masochist, Malfoy? Because that might explain some things." Granger smirked behind her drink as she took a sip.
Draco put his glass down on the bar and looked down at the cheeky witch. "No! But I have to say, I admire a brave and competent witch. There is no one I've ever met who is braver or more competent than you."
This time he was sure he saw her shiver at his words. She smiled and sipped her drink again. "Well, Draco — I have to say, you hid your admiration well. Too well, perhaps."
"Ah yes, well. It would have done me no good with my father — or our former long-term house guest — if either of them knew how much I secretly admired the Gryffindor Princess."
She took a long pull off of her drink, before looking up at him, her gaze much more intent than it had been moments before. "For the record, I loathe that nickname. Any reason to keep your admiration secret now?"
Draco straightened at her words, sitting up tall in his seat as a swooping sensation flew through his stomach. Was that hope? He tried to play it cooler than he felt. "None at all. See something you admire, Granger?"
"I see someone I am newly intrigued by."
"And where does that intrigue lead you, Hermione? Would you let me take you out to dinner?"
"I don't think I want to date yet. My divorce was just finalised and I really cannot bear to have the press come after me at the moment," she said, biting her lower lip.
"So no dinner," he said, unable to keep the wistful note from his voice. That was disappointing.
"I have a counter-proposal."
Draco tilted his head, starting to feel hopeful as he looked at the determined expression on the beautiful witch's face. "I'm all ears, Granger."
"Come home with me. I've yet to have anyone back to my new flat."
"It's late, Hermione," Draco said his voice low, as though in warning. "What would we be doing in your flat?"
Granger looked at him incredulously for a long moment. "I can explain further, but know that the more I have to explain to you the less I will respect you."
"You're serious."
"Almost always."
Draco threw enough galleons on the bar to pay for both their tabs and then some. "Lead the way."
They left the bar, walked a short distance away and once they were assured they were unobserved, Hermione apparated them into her flat. It was small and somewhat depressing in Draco's opinion, with books piled on every available surface in sight in the living room. He could see why she wanted to get out for a bit.
Hermione looked around and sighed. "I know it's not much, but I didn't really want a big place. At least not at first — this is more of an interim step than a forever home. But I thought my place would be better than yours."
"It's fine. And just so you know, I live in a townhouse in London, not the Manor." Draco felt it was important for her to be aware of that. For next time. If there was a next time.
Fuck he hoped there would be a next time.
Hermione took off her coat and threw it on the back of a chair. Draco followed suit and she turned to him, her expression nervous. She took a deep breath and then spoke in a rush. "So, the firewhisky definitely made me braver than it ought to have. If you want to leave, I understand. We might not be the best two candidates for a drunken hookup."
"Do you want me to leave, Granger?" He walked towards her and she retreated a step until her back was against the wall, her eyes huge and staring. Draco made no attempt to hide how much he desired her and her expression morphed into a mix of nervousness and excitement. He put one hand on the wall behind her as the other reached for her chin, tilting her head up towards him. She shivered.
"No," she whispered.
"Do you want me to stay?" he asked, looking down into Hermione's wide eyes. Had they always been this beautiful?
"Yes," she answered, her voice stronger.
"Good." He swooped down and kissed her, capturing her mouth with his own. She made a small noise and brought both of her hands up, fisting them in his shirt and dragging him closer. She tasted like firewhisky and her curls smelled of jasmine and pine. He groaned and slid his hands down her back until he ran them over the curve of her arse, moving her hips into contact with his — pressing his growing erection into her. She whimpered.
"Can I take you to bed, Hermione?" he asked, breathless from snogging the trembling witch before him.
"Yes, please Draco." Hermione saying 'please' followed by 'Draco' lit something in him and Draco growled as he picked her up by her hips, her legs parting and wrapping around his midsection as his mouth found her lips again. He pulled her off of the wall and turned around, having to break the kiss to see where he was going.
In this small flat, there was only one place where her bedroom could be. Hermione put her arms around his neck and buried her face on his shoulder as he carried her through the door. He laid Granger down gently on the blue floral quilt that covered her bed. Draco looked at her as he removed his shirt, quickly undoing the buttons. She pulled her own shirt off in response, revealing a white cotton bra encasing her glorious tits. He smirked and took off his pants, leaving his boxer shorts on for the moment. He reached forward and undid her pants, feeling her soft abdomen as he did so, before sliding them down her legs, never breaking eye contact. She had raised herself up on her elbows to watch – as though she was captivated by his actions. Hermione removed her bra, tossing it aside and Draco paused for a moment to revel in the sight of her, causing her to smirk back at him in turn.
Mentally shaking himself, Draco came back up and slowly removed her plain white cotton knickers. Either the witch had boring taste in undergarments or more likely, she had solely intended to drink some of her cares away in the relative anonymity of the Hog's Head that evening. Not that it mattered. Granger was bloody gorgeous in them and she was heart-stoppingly stunning now she was out of them — laid out bare before him on her bed.
Merlin, since when was he so lucky?
Draco moved down, placing his hands on her knees, sliding slowly up to between her thighs and parting them. He was about to move to his intended destination when she made a noise of hesitation and he stopped. She looked uncomfortable. He moved back immediately and looked at her, raising an eyebrow at her in question, confused.
She spoke reluctantly. "I — I've never done that before. Or had it done to me before, I guess." Hermione looked embarrassed. Well, Draco had known the fucking tosser hadn't deserved her, but for her to have never had a man go down on her? That was a fucking crime. Absolutely intolerable neglect.
Draco moved his hand on her thigh, soothingly, trying to project an aura of calm that he hoped would rub off on the skittish witch. "If you don't like it, I can stop."
Hermione still seemed flustered. "But, would you like it? You don't have to do something you don't enjoy. Not for me."
Truly, this little window into her previous married life was sad. Thank Merlin she had gotten out while she still could. And thank Salazar she had come down to the pub that evening. Otherwise, he might never have had a chance to show her what she had been missing.
Draco chuckled and dragged her down the bed by her hips, bringing her closer to him as he moved her legs over his shoulders. "Granger, I would love nothing more than to taste you until you are screaming."
Hermione whimpered and then threw her hands over her mouth, embarrassed by her reaction. Draco smirked. "But, if you are ever uncomfortable, tell me and I will stop." She nodded, no longer able to make eye contact with him.
Draco inhaled her first, his mouth watering. She was perfect, her beautiful cunt glistening as her legs quivered. What wizard would allow her to go to waste like that? Leaving her untouched by his tongue?
Certainly not Draco Malfoy.
He liked a stripe from her opening to her clit, only for her to jerk and yelp at his touch. Draco moved a soothing hand on her thigh again. "Too much?"
She put her arms over her eyes and cleared her throat. "No," she said in a small voice. "I just didn't know it would feel like — that ."
Draco's heart leapt. He was going to make her come so hard tonight that his marriage proposal was going to start looking like a good idea to her too. He returned to his task, licking the outer edges of her folds, before moving closer to the centre. Then he began to fuck her with his tongue — slowly at first, before moving in as deeply as he could. She squirmed underneath his ministrations, making soft mewling sounds. Granger had both of her hands pressed over her eyes and she cursed softly under her breath. Draco smirked. Then he brought his tongue to circle around her clit and she inhaled sharply, her whole body seizing up when his tongue first made contact.
Draco was feeling pretty pleased with himself as he slid a long finger into her velvet heat, tongue movements not ceasing, as Hermione moans intensified. He started tracing ancient runes on her clit with his tongue — this being the most practical use he had for that knowledge since he received his N.E.W.T for it. Granger's hands were now in his hair, her hips writhing into his mouth as he slid a second finger in, poking and prodding at her soft inner muscles as she clenched around his fingers and screamed his name.
He only stopped when she stopped spasming, then he planted a soft kiss on her inner thigh before crawling up the bed and taking her still trembling form into his arms. She groaned softly and wrapped her arms around his chest, quaking a few more times before she stilled, still panting.
"Were — were you using your tongue to make the patterns of ancient runes?" she asked, sounding dazed.
He chuckled. Of course she figured it out. "You know you were the only person who beat me in that class, swot."
"It's not a use I had ever conceived of for that particular subject. Are you still going to — do you still wish to proceed?"
Draco let out a laugh and Hermione scowled. She really hadn't had anyone properly shag her, ever. It was a good thing she got out of that marriage — for her own sake of course, but more importantly for his sake. She might have been tied down to the bloody Weasel forever and that would have been such a waste of this amazing woman.
"I very much want to proceed, Hermione. If that is still something you want."
"I do. I do want it. Can I touch you?"
The uncertain and hesitant Hermione Granger was nothing he'd ever expected. Draco felt a need to protect her rise him, along with the desire to fuck her senseless. See how many orgasms it took before she could shut her prodigious brain off. "If you'd like."
"Could — could I reciprocate?"
It's not like Draco was going to say 'no' to that offer. "If you are so inclined. Is that, er, something new for you as well?"
"Ah, not entirely new, but not something I've done often. Before —" she sighed. "— it didn't seem fair for me to be the only one putting in the effort," she said with a sigh, before turning to him with a small smile as she moved off of his chest. Draco helped her remove his boxers, smirking at the slight gasp she made when his hard length was revealed before her. Hermione grasped the base of his erection and leaned forward, tentatively bringing her tongue to his tip with a tentative, kittenish movement as her hand stroked up and down his length. He hissed the moment her tongue touched him and closed his eyes. Her explorations got bolder and he groaned at the sensation of her licking his cock. She seemed emboldened by his reaction and she started to bob up and down his length with increasing speed, her hands working the parts of him that her mouth couldn't reach.
"So good, Hermione. Merlin — you are doing so well."
She hummed in pleasure around his cock and he reached forward to move her hair out of the way, trying to tuck it around her ear to get a better view of her fucking spectacular efforts. Her curls couldn't be contained by her ear — of course — so he kept his hand on the side of head, holding her hair back and gently guiding her as he murmured words of praise and encouragement. Any hesitation Granger had felt about this was long gone and the sight of his cock disappearing and reappearing in and out of her perfect mouth was almost too much. He felt his bollocks start to tighten and he gently pulled her off.
"Are you on the potion, Granger?" he said roughly, so ready to drive himself into her wet velvet depths.
Hermione looked at him and licked her swollen lips before responding. "No. Let me get my wand to cast the charm." She retrieved it from her pants and cast it on her abdomen, before sitting on the bed. Draco reached for her, drawing her into his kiss as she moved her so her back was on the bed. He slid in between her legs as she parted her thighs for him. He held himself in hand as he circled her clit with the head of his cock. She groaned beneath him.
"Please don't tease me, Draco."
"What do you want, Hermione?"
"I want you to fuck me," she demanded, still slightly breathless from his earlier efforts.
"In that case Granger, truly you need only ask." And he slid into her, slowly, trying to memorise the feel of her trembling beneath him and clenching around him as she whimpered. "Relax, love. I will take care of you."
Hermione shivered and he could feel her release her grip on him slightly and he slid in slowly to give her body a chance to adjust to his intrusion. She groaned as he moved into her to the hilt, his hips flush against hers. Draco withdrew slowly as well, before sliding back in. Then he began thrusting into her at a steady pace, before moving faster and faster. She clutched at his shoulders, and he felt the sting of her nails as they dug into the flesh of his back. He moved even faster and she started writhing underneath him.
"Fuck, Granger. You are perfect, Hermione. Better than I could have imagined."
She moaned and clenched around him. Soon she was babbling, incoherent with pleasure as he thrust repeatedly into her wet heat. He slid his hand between them and pressed his palm on her clit. She screamed — her cunt squeezing him so tightly he felt like he was being drawn even further into her. He couldn't hold back his own orgasm any longer and he came with her given name on his lips, holding her close to him as he spilled into her with his final thrusts.
Draco rolled off of her, separating from her body with a groan. He looked at her, a bit sheepish. She also was a tad shy now they were finished. He took her into his arms, hoping to ease the awkwardness. That was the most spectacular shag of his life and the last thing he wanted to do now was make her think otherwise. Especially since Draco very much wanted to do this again.
"Do you want to sleep here tonight?" she asked after a long moment, voice hesitant and unsure. He did. Draco was going to spend every moment he could convincing her to take a serious look at his proposal. Something had been missing from his life for a long time and he was now certain it was Granger. She was so responsive to his touch. Merlin, she was perfect. Perfect for him, at least. He was going to send Astoria a thank you Owl in the morning, for having the good sense to blow up their marriage. Maybe something nice for Blaise as well. No hard feelings, and all that.
"Yes, Granger. I would very much like to wake up with you in my arms." Hermione shivered again and his heart melted a little more. "And I want to do this again."
"Me too. But I'm serious about not being caught out by the press. Can we keep it between us, for now? At least wait until Ron's photographed being indiscrete in a bar? That won't take long."
"I'm happy to avoid the press at present. And if that means I have you all to myself in one of our respective homes for the foreseeable future, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
"I still have my job at the Ministry, Draco. I don't have endless free time to be taken up by you."
"Do you like your job?"
"No. I'm fairly confident that place is designed to prevent necessary reforms."
"Quit," he said dismissively.
"I can't just quit, Malfoy," she said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Sure you can. Find something that makes you happy. Stop doing things just because it's what others expect of you and do what you want to do with your life."
"Is that what you are doing?" she asked, her curiosity written across her face.
"Yes. I set up a lab in my townhouse and I'm taking my potions mastery by correspondence."
"Ooooh. That does sound fun." The sincerity with which she spoke those words was so endearing he reached forward and kissed her forehead.
"I could easily make room for a fellow student in my lab, if you're ever interested, Granger. Work on whatever your enormous brain desires."
"In the last week I divorced my husband and slept with you. I think I need a moratorium on life altering decisions at the moment. I'll need at least 48 hours before deciding to quit my job and set up shop with you."
Draco chuckled as he drew her in closer, content for the moment to simply hold her in his arms.
It was closer to 72 hours, but Hermione did submit her resignation to the Ministry. And she started spending her days working on her own projects in his lab. Once they stopped in the lab for the day, she would go home to get changed before returning for dinner. Then he would take her to his bed and make her scream his name for hours, before they slept in each other's arms, exhausted. In the morning, she would quickly floo home to get cleaned up, before coming back to work in what he now thought of as their lab. Eventually, she asked him if it would be alright if she stayed with him permanently, as the twice a day trek back to her subpar apartment to get changed had become tedious to her. He agreed, having waited long enough for it to be Granger's suggestion. He didn't want to place expectations on her — just opportunities for her to take.
But he was still Slytherin enough to make the opportunities too good to pass up. Draco knew what a rare gift a woman like Hermione was and he wasn't going to blow a chance he never ought to have had in the first place.
They lived together for six months before Hermione asked if he was willing to take their relationship public.
"I've been waiting on you, Granger. Say the word."
"And what is our relationship? For when people ask?"
"We live together." And I'm in love with you, he thought.
"Am I your girlfriend?"
Most days, they literally spent every waking moment together. They hadn't slept apart for a single night since before she officially moved in.
"I think you are more than that, Hermione. But you are at least my girlfriend."
"I love you Draco," she said, apparently unable to keep the words from falling from her lips any longer.
Finally.
"I love you too, Hermione." He brought her close to him and kissed her deeply. When they parted, he smiled down at her fondly. "I actually started to fall in love with you when you sat next to me at the bar on Valentine's Day. Didn't want to scare you off, though."
"Wait — was that a real proposal?"
"Not exactly. But if you'd said yes, I'm confident I would have made it real."
"Before we slept together?"
"Yes. After we slept together I was already in love with you and I've been lying in wait for you to feel the same way."
"So you fell in love with me the first time we shagged?" she asked sceptically.
"First taste, actually." Draco raised his eyebrows at her as he smirked.
She blushed. Fuck he loved that she still blushed when he talked about how much he loved shagging her.
"Do you still — um, do you still want that with me? Marriage, I mean." Her expression was a bit guarded as she asked him, twisting her hands together as she spoke. There was no reason for her anxiety on this score and Draco rushed to reassure her.
"More than anything. But not unless you are ready. And certain."
"Okay. How does New Year's Eve work for you? We could elope in Paris."
Draco's heart leapt. That was only a few months away. "Say the word, Granger and I will make it happen."
She smiled at him, nervousness vanishing. "What will you do when you can't call me Granger anymore?"
"Oh, you will always be Granger to me, love."
And she was. Long after her name actually became Malfoy.