A/N - I've finally been able to update this story after an extremely busy final two months of school. I'm hoping to update weekly or biweekly from here!

Thanks for sticking with this story.

Chapter 13: Surprises

December 6, 2003

Finally. There was hope! Hermione had a recent memory, and it was of Draco! It wasn't all her memories, but it was a start. Relief flooded his veins as she pressed herself to him and ran her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck. His hands traced her sides, over her hips, and rested low on her back. When he slid his tongue past the seam of her lips, she mewled softly into his mouth, and he lost all semblance of control. In one fluid motion, he'd scooped his witch up, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist, and brought them to the sofa. Much like their first first kiss, the unlikely couple was desperate to be closer. It was as if their very souls longed to be entwined.

"Malfoy, I—"

"Please call me by my given name," he corrected her as his tongue suckled the spot just below her ear. For a brief moment, she paused, and he worried she'd stop.

"Draco," she hummed, and he could hear the smile in her voice. Merlin, did he love the sound of his name from her mouth. His fingers squeezed her hips as he involuntarily bucked against her. "More, Draco," she purred in response, arching her back and pushing her perfect, yet unfortunately covered, tits toward his face. He was practically salivating as she slowly dragged herself back and forth against his hardened cock. Just as his hand crept beneath the hem of her jumper, the distinct sound of the Floo startled them both.

"Draco, darling," a very different voice called his name from across the room, stilling them both and immediately killing any chance of furthering their intimate activities. "Have I interrupted something?" his mother asked innocently, pretending not to notice the way Hermione was straddling her only son. The elder witch calmly glided to the other sofa and made herself comfortable.

"Mother, how terribly out of character of you to show up at our home unannounced," Draco drawled, making no attempt to hide his annoyance while Hermione scrambled to jump off his lap. In spite of her flushed cheeks and guilty expression, she looked absolutely delectable. Draco couldn't tear his gaze away from her as she attempted to tame her tousled hair and straighten out her mussed clothing. When he noticed a mark he'd left just below her ear, he had to stifle a groan, bereft of what might have happened had his mother not interrupted them. Reaching for her hand, he brought it to his lips and placed a chaste kiss upon her knuckles. Hermione smiled at him, sliding a bit closer, so he was able to wrap an arm around her shoulders. It was only when Mother sharply cleared her throat that he averted his attention from his witch.

"It seems the only way I might see my son is with the element of surprise," Mother sniffed haughtily. It was true that he'd neglected communication with his mother since Hermione's attack. The situation was delicate enough before she was put in the hospital, so Draco wasn't sure how Hermione might react to his mother when the events of that night were still so fresh in her mind due to her memory loss. He was sure Mother's face would trigger a myriad of awful memories. "Anyhow, I came to check on Ms. Granger since you've not returned my last few owls, darling," she continued, laying on the guilt, "and I thought I might formally introduce myself to Ms. Granger since, in the past, we've met under…less than favorable circumstances," she smiled thinly. Is that how she'd describe her lack of action while Hermione was tortured in their home? Draco was seething mad. How dare his mother offer no apology and present herself as if she were an innocent bystander in the matter?

"I am well, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione replied hesitantly. "Thank you for your concern," she said with wide, questioning eyes. "I wasn't aware that we'd never been," her eyes darting quickly to Draco then back to his mother, "formally introduced as you say."

"As my son's friends have made me aware," her eyes raked over Draco accusingly before turning back to Hermione, "you've lost your memories, and I've no wish to make this process any more difficult for you than it already is, but there is the matter of the wedding."

"The wedding?"

"Of course, dear girl. You didn't expect to become the future Mrs. Malfoy without any pomp and circumstance, did you?" Narcissa offered a thin-lipped smile.

"Not exactly pomp and circumstance," Draco chimed in, knowing Hermione wanted something small and intimate rather than a hobnobbing event disguised as a celebration. "Although you don't recall the terms you agreed upon before, nothing will stray from your original wishes for our wedding day. Right, Mother?" he emphasized as he shot his mother a hardened glare. Of course, she wanted to exploit the Golden Girl being tied to the Malfoy name, but he wouldn't allow his mother to use Hermione that way.

"What terms were these?"

"From the beginning, even when we weren't sure of one another, you said you wanted the guestlist to only consist of friends and family. You insisted on paying for half, although you've already been added to my vaults, so there is no need to squander your separate savings," he rolled his eyes and waved the notion off. What was his would always be hers no matter what happened now. It was silly that she felt she needed to use her own galleons for their wedding.

"It is quite reasonable that I would have wanted to help pay for our wedding. I wouldn't want you or anyone else to think I am with you for your money," she argued, turning toward him with a furrowed brow.

"No one thinks that," Draco replied, rolling his eyes again and taking her head in his hands. "They know you're marrying me because the Ministry is forcing you to do so," he laughed with mirth as he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"That can't be true," Hermione pouted and folded her arms across her chest.

"I know, love," he said seriously. "We may have started out that way, but it wasn't long before we knew there was something here," he gestured between them. She smiled up at him.

"You were saying, dear," Narcissa cleared her throat impatiently. Was his mother trying to anger him? Draco hardly spared her a look and spoke directly to Hermione.

"Additionally, you wanted to choose your own dress—"

"But she hasn't chosen a dress, and that is the matter at hand," Narcissa interrupted, changing course from her original intent to inflate the guestlist and completely hijack all the wedding plans regardless of Hermione's wishes. "I'd like to take you shopping, Ms. Granger, if you are amenable to it."

"Oh, that is…kind of you, Mrs. Malfoy. I—"

"Wonderful!" Narcissa cut off the younger witch's words to Draco's chagrin. "We'll head to the shops bright and early," she smiled widely. A wide smile from Narcissa only meant one thing. Fake. Again, he wondered what his mother might be scheming.

"I'll have to send an owl to a few people, and I'll let you know what time works best for me," Hermione declared with an equally wide smile. Also fake. His mother wasn't used to people disagreeing with her terms. Almost imperceptibly, the older witch's eyes narrowed at Hermione. It was subtle but there.

"Whom might you need to owl in order to come shopping with me?" Narcissa asked curtly.

"My friend, Ginny Weasley, and her mother, who has treated me as if I was her own daughter since I was eleven, might want to come with us to pick out a dress for such an important event," Hermione replied cooly. "Perhaps, even my own mother might also like to be there…" she trailed off. Draco knew this was difficult for her. When he'd told her about her estranged parents, she'd cried, unable to comprehend how they'd not forgiven her for taking their memories during the war after all these years.

"Very well," his mother stood to leave, which caused him to pop up from his seat. Years of etiquette training does that to a person. Mother would have his hide if he didn't use his manners. "I shall await your owl," she dipped her chin toward Hermione with a smile Draco had never seen her bestow upon another person save for him and Father. It was kind, possibly genuine.

"I'll contact them immediately," Hermione returned Narcissa's smile. With a dip of her chin, the older witch crossed the room toward the Floo. Somehow, it seemed his mother respected Hermione's ability to stand her ground.

"Draco, it'll do you well to keep your promise to me that you'll save yourself until your wedding night," she called before disappearing into the flames, stealing any chance of the couple continuing their intimate activities this evening.

December 12, 2003

"It was an absolute nightmare," Ginny laughed, rehashing the shopping trip from the previous weekend to her group of dinner party guests. It was the Nott's first time hosting an event as a couple in their newly decorated manor, thanks to Pansy. Rather than a long banquet-style table, Ginny opted for a large round table for their formal dining room because she thought it would lend itself to easier conversation. No one would be stuck on the ends, unable to hear, a position she'd often found herself in while growing up as the youngest child in a big family. "Every dress Mum liked, Mrs. Malfoy shot down immediately and vice versa. Our poor friend must have tried on fifty dresses that day!" she wiped tears from her eyes. Everyone knew how much Hermione despised shopping. The whole day was nothing short of exhausting.

"Well, you're all lucky I came when I did, or you'd still be there," Pansy chimed in proudly. Apparently, she'd been livid when she found out Hermione had gone dress shopping without her and Floo'd straight to the dress shop. She tore through their pulled selections, sending dresses flying back to the racks and forcing Narcissa and Molly to take a seat next to Ginny while she worked. In less than five minutes, she'd selected the dress, leaving all five women in tears, staring in awe of its perfection as Hermione spun in delight. "Really, Granger, I cannot believe you failed to invite me, your bloody stylist, to shop for your dress," she shot Hermione a playful sneer. "That memory loss really saved you from one of my hexes," she winked across the table.

As luck would have it, Hermione's memories had begun to come back this past week. Not everything, but one by one, they began to trickle into her brain. The worst was when she found out she'd once had drunken sex with Cormac McLaggen. Draco nearly choked when she announced the horrid news at breakfast on Tuesday morning. He'd calmed down when he realized it was years before, but they were both still disgusted with that awful truth.

"That sounds dreadful," Daphne Greengrass added shyly, interrupting Hermione's thoughts. Once Ginny found out about Neville's confession to Draco in the hospital, she insisted on inviting the older Greengrass sister to their dinner party to see if she and Ron might get along.

"Trying on fifty dresses is absurd," Ron rolled his eyes. "As if this poor sod gives a fuckall about what Hermione is wearing on their wedding day," he gestured toward Draco. "He looked like he'd marry her in her hospital gown if she'd let him," Ron shook his head at the memory of visiting Hermione at St. Mungo's while Draco clung to her in his sleep. Daphne giggled next to him, and he grinned sheepishly at her attention. Hermione was glad that she, Harry, and Ginny had forced him to come tonight since he was still angry about losing Hannah to Neville even though the witch was never truly his. He'd finally agreed when Theo showed up at the Burrow with a recent picture of Daphne. After all, she was a beautiful witch. He even promised to be on his best behavior with all his former enemies, a promise he had actually kept thus far.

"We can agree on that," Draco tipped his glass toward Ron, a testimony to how hard he was also trying to get along with all of Hermione's friends even if he wasn't happy about it. The gesture wasn't lost on her. In fact, his maturity turned her on. As she squeezed his thigh, he fixed her with a heated stare before leaning in and snogging her.

"Merlin, how long until you both shag already?" Blaise rolled his eyes, draping a possessive arm across his wife's chair. "They'll practically be virgins on their wedding night," he scoffed. "That shouldn't happen to anyone!"

"Shall we talk about wedding nights?" Draco raised a perfectly sculpted brow toward Blaise, who glared back.

"I'd be delighted to tell you all about mine and Harry's," Pansy smirked wickedly. "We've been practicing for the big day tomorrow," she kissed her fiance on his reddened cheek.

A chorus of dismay rang out around the table and the group dissolved into laughter.

"That's hardly necessary," Harry shook his head, smiling shyly at Pansy and stealing her hand under the table.

"Save the details for your Slytherin nights," Hermione wrinkled her nose, exchanging a disgusted look with both Ron and Ginny.

"We'll pass on hearing about it as well," Theo gestured between himself and Draco.

"Speak for yourself," Blaise winked playfully at Harry as Padma whispered something into her husband's ear. "We need to leave," he stood suddenly, reaching for Padma's eager hand.

"We haven't even served dessert yet," Ginny exclaimed in astonishment.

"Thanks for inviting us," Padma apologized in the direction of the table before locking her eyes back onto Blaise.

"We'll see you all tomorrow at the wedding," he called over his shoulder as they disappeared through the Floo.

"We were hoping they'd be here for this," Theo said sadly, clearing his throat. He glanced over to Ginny and they both smiled at one another before she nodded at him as if they'd been having a silent conversation.

"We have news," Ginny announced before taking a deep breath.

"It's a little sooner than any of us expected, but—"

"We're pregnant!" the ginger witch rushed out with a tinge of pink staining her cheeks.

"Already?" Draco asked dumbly.

"You were just married a few weeks ago," Ron scrunched his nose in disgust.

"You know, babies can be conceived before marriage," Pansy said sarcastically as she turned to Ron, who appeared to have swallowed slugs.

"Yes!" Theo exclaimed. "Babies!" he said too loudly. "The mediwitch heard two heartbeats." He turned to Ginny and forced a smile. They both looked frightened.

"Twins?" Ron squealed. "Like Fred and George?"

"What?" Ginny took another deep breath. "No! No, our babies won't be like them. They're part Theo, so they might be sweet, right?" she worried, looking to her husband for reassurance.

"Oh, God. This is real," Hermione whispered, gripping Draco's leg tightly as he turned to her mirroring her same look of surprise. Of course, they all understood that the point of the marriage law was to make babies, but now it was happening, and they were all so young.

"Congratulations, you two," Harry smiled happily, raising his glass as if this news wasn't scary at all. To him, it probably wasn't. He'd waited his whole life for a family of his own to love.

"Yes, you're both so lucky," Daphne added, raising her glass too and motioning for everyone to do the same. "You've found love and are welcoming two little angels into this world," she said sincerely. "I've always wanted a big family," she smiled sadly, her eyes glassed over slightly.

"Thank you," Ginny said to Daphne as Theo placed his hand over her stomach and leaned in to kiss her affectionately. His touch seemed to relax her as she huffed out a final breath of determination before turning toward Pansy, who was shaking with laughter and had tears in her eyes. "What the bloody hell is so funny?" Ginny demanded.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Pansy gasped for air. "I was just…imagining your…oh, God!" she pointed toward Draco, clutching her stomach as a fresh fit of giggles took over.

"My little ginger babies chasing Uncle Draky around trying to hug him!" Theo howled as he joined in Pansy's uncontrollable laughter. The thought of half Weasley children attempting to hug Draco was rather amusing.

"If one child refers to me as 'Uncle Draky' I will end our friendship straight away," Draco huffed incredulously with both arms folded across his chest. The whole room erupted into giggles. In spite of his trepidation about the Nott children showing him affection, Hermione could picture him with their own children. The truth about Draco Malfoy was that he really was quite affectionate himself even if he didn't like to show it publicly. Very few were lucky enough to see his softer side.

Eventually, their laughter turned into questions about the babies and what Ginny would do about her Quidditch career. Apparently, four of her teammates were also pregnant due to the marriage law, and the Harpies season would continue with subs. It was chaos. All the British teams expected the surge of players that would require medical leave coupled with maternity leave, but the wizarding world would not go without Quidditch.

"Will they automatically give you your position back when you're ready?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to try out again," Ginny replied sadly. "I may have to switch teams or lose my job if I'm not up to snuff...but I will be," she added with confidence.

"It hardly seems fair for them not to hold it for you!" Hermione argued. "Can't they just cancel the season rather than moving players around to and fro all season?"

"Oh, right. Like they'd cancel Quidditch," Pansy rolled her eyes. "That would be as tragic as your outfits when we first became friends four years ago!"

"You were friends before all of this marriage law business? How did that happen?" Daphne wondered.

"I simply saw her and asked if she'd like my styling services, and she said yes," Pansy smiled at Hermione, but this memory had recently come back to her, and that was not exactly how they became friends.

"No, Pansy, you approached me outside the Ministry one day and said, 'Don't take this the wrong way, Granger, but someone with your kind of power should at least look the part,'" Hermione imitated the Slytherin witch's snotty tone.

"Well, what was I supposed to say? You looked like you were in your late thirties when you were only twenty years old!" Pansy defended herself. "And don't get me started on your shoes. I was a godsend, and we all know it," she preened as Daphne his a smile behind her hand.

"You hexed me when I couldn't walk properly in those ridiculous heels you forced me to practice in!" Hermione huffed indignantly as the whole table laughed.

"Oh, is that why you tried to fire me?"

"You also Inscendio'd anything of mine that you didn't like, including a broach my aunt gave me before I left for Hogwarts!"

"That hideous thing was off-brand, and I replaced it with a better one," Pansy shrugged innocently.

"No wonder you hid this friendship from us," Harry chuckled at Hermione.

"You'll see, Potter," Draco chimed in, "Pansy's no-nonsense attitude is all part of her charm."

"I'm not sure what you are all doing wrong, but she's actually nice to me," Harry kissed Pansy on the cheek.

As they continued their banter, Hermione watched curiously as Ron and Daphne began their own conversation. The blond witch laughed at nearly all of Ronald's jokes. At one point, she snorted, clapping her hand over her mouth. The poor witch looked like she might pass out from embarrassment, but he looked so proud of himself that she let her hand drop back down to the table. When he spoke of his work with George, she looked on with interest. Perhaps there was something there.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we may have a match," Draco whispered into Hermione's ear conspiratorially. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Ron stood and politely pulled out Daphne's chair for her.

"Thank you for inviting me," Daphne said to Ginny and Theo. "Ronald is going to…-er… escort me home," she announced awkwardly, reaching for his arm as he offered Harry a wide-eyed shrug. "It was lovely to spend time with all of you," she said with a dainty wave. As they headed toward the Floo, six stunned expressions followed them out.

A/N - Please feel free to comment or share this story if you wish. Let me know what you think of Ginny and Theo's news!