Draco was proud of Hermione. The party at the Manor was this Saturday and she had been preparing herself for it ever since she said that she would go. That meant getting those files from the Ministry again and going through them. This time around she didn't do it alone. Draco was never in the room, but he was always nearby waiting and listening for any signs of distress. That's when he'd run in and breathe with her to calm her down. When Hermione first started doing it, it had been…stressful and painful to see her in such a petrified state. He would've never guessed in a million years that she would have been so affected –even now.

Thankfully, now she was able to go through the files without having a full-blown panic attack. Now it was just a bodily shake, pale skin, and an accelerated heartrate. Still bad, but at least she didn't hyperventilate or start screaming. That would certainly be a sight to see in a room full of people. But true to his word, Draco had things in place should the evening not go according to plan. There were several exits for Hermione to go through should she need one, and although apparating in and out of the Manor was solely reserved for Malfoys only, she was the exception. He wanted her to be okay, and he would do everything it took to make it happen.

There was just one thing left to go through before the party, and Hermione was very moody about it.

"I'm not going to try eating soup with my fingers or something." The brunette grumbled angrily. Draco laughed. Merlin he loved her.

"You are nowhere near an unacceptable social mess, no, but still-"

"Whatever you're going to say, say it carefully."

Draco smirked. "My mother will appreciate the attempt."

Hermione bit her lower lip. If the past couple of months was anything to go by, she didn't care what anyone thought of her or her relationship with Draco. However, this was different. This was his mother. Every woman wanted to get in good with their boyfriend's mother. It was like this...unspoken rite of passage. It just so happened that this particular hurdle was a pureblood, high society witch and Hermione was… Well, she wasn't either.

Hermione let out a groan and crossed her arms. "Alright, let's get this over with."

"Fine. That is the first thing that we're not going to do." Draco said as he uncrossed her arms. "No matter how pissed you get, there'll be none of that. Or making fists. No stomping of the feet either."

She snorted. "What am I? Four?"

"Had I closed my eyes and heard that snort, then I'd say so, yes."

"Just for that comment I refuse to have sex with you for a full week."

It was his turn to snort. "As if you could hold back for a week."

"Hey! You just snorted. Why can't I?"

"Because I can control it. You, on the other hand, cannot." Draco smiled. "Now sit. We have to work on your posture."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do I look like a hunchbacked troll when I sit?" Hermione brooded bitterly. Draco took the time to position his hands on her back and push when necessary so she was in the proper sitting position.

"I could never call you a troll. However, you're still the most beautiful hunchback I've ever seen."

"I take it back. Make that two weeks without sex."

Draco nearly rolled over in hysterics. This was going to be one long and arduous task.

"Tell you what," Draco said as he took a step back and regarded her posture from the side. "Get through all of this and I'll spoil you rotten afterwards."

Hermione cocked a brow and eyed him suspiciously. "How rotten?"

"Massage. Oils included. And food."

"What kind of food?"

"Chocolate, honey, strawberries, cherries, whipped cream-"

"Draco," she couldn't help but laugh. "Those are all aphrodisiacs."

The blond smiled. "You noticed that, did you?"

Hermione shook her head and continued to smile. "Alright, Mr. Malfoy. Let's hurry this up so I can get my special treatment."

"That's Professor Malfoy to you." Draco playfully corrected. "Now sit up straighter. And for the love of Merlin, do not cross your legs at the knees."

Hermione was moaning delectably as well as letting soft purrs escape her lips.

"Lower," she murmured softly. Draco complied and moved his hands down to her lower back. "Draco," she groaned happily. "I swear your hands are amazing."

He smiled. "So you've told me before." Draco applied a bit more pressure then leaned over to whisper in her ear, "And I wasn't massaging your back at the time."

Hermione smirked and awkwardly swatted him with the back of her hand. "Don't be fresh. And do what you did just a second ago with your thumbs."

Draco licked his lips and did what she asked. "My, my, you're bossy tonight."

"After two hours of etiquette hell I deserve to boss you around for a bit."

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad."

"You gave me a lesson on how to drink out of a wine glass! It's no wonder purebloods only marry each other. No muggleborn or half-blood for that matter would subject themselves to that crap."

Draco paused his massage to laugh and to laugh loudly. He even had tears in his eyes. Hermione turned over in time to see the end of his laughing fit and he bent over to capture her lips with his.

"I already know that I love you." He told her after pulling away. "And then you go and say something like that to make me love you more."

Hermione could feel the blush rising to her cheeks. He'd been telling her that he loved her since the start of the summer and even now it still sounded foreign in her ears. Foreign and welcomed and left her stomach in utter knots.

"I guess this means that you don't want a docile, picture-perfect woman for a wi-" Hermione cut herself completely. She was about to say "wife." If Draco had noticed her near slip he didn't let on that that was the case. Instead she quickly corrected herself. "Companion. You don't want that kind of woman for a companion."

The rouge in her cheeks was more prominent now. Draco still thought she looked wonderful bathed in red. Her embarrassment was adorable as well as her shyness. How somehow so strong could have this shockingly timid side to her was beyond him. As he had thought once before, she could have the force of a lion or demureness of a kitten at times. He loved her either way.

"No, I don't." Draco said softly as he let a finger trace the outline of Hermione's face. "I want a woman who's outspoken, much too kind and optimistic for her own good, with brown eyes, bushy brown hair, and the faintest splash of freckles on the bridge of her nose."

Hermione felt her voice catch in her throat. It took three attempts and a swallow before she could get out, "That's...that's oddly specific."

Draco shrugged and kissed her forehead. "I have a type."

The moment Hermione had told him that she was going shopping with Ginny to look for something to wear for Saturday, Draco had immediately made plans to meet up with Blaise. She was bound to spend hours with the redhead and there was no point in him being bored out of his mind while she was gone.

"Liliana picked out her dress last week and made me go with her." Blaise mock shivered. "I never want to see another clothing store again."

Draco snickered as he picked off a piece of his croissant and popped it into his mouth. "I thought you did everything with her. I thought you worshipped every activity she did right down to biting her cuticles."

"Ha ha, very funny. I'll have you know that although I love my wife dearly, there are just some things a man is not built to do. Endless shopping happens to be one of them."

"Luckily Hermione hasn't asked me to do such a thing yet. Thank Merlin,"

"Well, once she's surrounded by a group of estrogen-laden friends I doubt she'll ever."

One of Draco's brows raised. "She only has one true female friend. Two, if you count Weasley."

Blaise laughed. "I thought you were supposed to play nice with Hermione's friends?"

"She's not within earshot, is she?"

"There's that cunning dripping off of you." Blaise smirked. "And I said what I said because of Liliana. She'll be spending a lot of time shopping in London, and not to mention she'd appreciate a friend. Draco, we're moving. Here."

Although Draco had heard perfectly well what Blaise had said, he was still in denial. He took a moment to push his food away from him and to lean forward.

"Don't toy with me now." The blond told him. "You're serious?"

Blaise nodded with a huge grin. "I am. Liliana doesn't have any family in Italy and she knows how close I am to you. She figures here would be a perfect place to live. To live and, well, to raise our unborn son or daughter."

That made Draco knock over his glass of water. He stared at him with wide eyes and a slow curve of his lips upwards. "She's…? And you, you're going to be a…?"

"What did I once say about using your big words, Draco?" Blaise teased.

Draco laughed as he rose out of his seat to give his friend a hug. "Congrats, Blaise. That's really great news."

"Thanks mate. We're really excited." He replied as he returned the hug.

"A father…" Draco repeated in disbelief. "Merlin, you're going to be a terrible influence."

"Hey," Blaise feigned hurt. "You're the second person to tell me that."

"Who was the first?"

"Liliana," Blaise grinned. "Although, if you ask me if anyone's going to be the bad influence it'll be you, Uncle Draco."

Draco smirked. "I think you underestimate me. Besides, Hermione wouldn't let me be that terrible."

"Ah, thinking in future terms with the witch, are we?"

"Don't start."

"Too late." Blaise said as he put some money on the table and urged him to start on their walk. "Has it crossed your mind at all? Marrying her?"

"…I admit, yes, a bit." Draco told him. "But it's too soon. I mean, we haven't even been together for a full year yet. Hell, we only labeled us at the start of the summer."

"One. Week." His friend reminded him. "Compared to that the both of you are taking a millennia."

"Oh, you can't use yourself as a comparison. You're a hopeless romantic and would jump off the roof in an attempt to fly if it meant spending the rest of your life with your soulmate."

"Hmm, well, you are right about that one. And it would be the happiest moment of flight in my life."

Draco sighed. "Blaise,-"

"Draco, listen to me. If there's one thing I can tell you for certain is that time is irrelevant when it comes to loving someone. Now, I'm not telling you to go propose to her tomorrow, but don't dismiss the idea just because you think it's too soon. Besides, you're never going to find a woman like Hermione to love you like she does."

Draco furrowed his brow. "Was that a compliment or an insult?"

"Both,"

"Arse,"

Blaise laughed. "Definitely never finding a woman who'll love you like her."

No, Draco wasn't going to propose tomorrow. Not even next week. But when his mind was plagued with something it had a nasty habit of sticking around until he was satisfied. He couldn't help but wonder about the implications of marrying Hermione. Despite his talks with Blaise and Uriel, he was still worried about it being too soon, but most importantly about her position in his world. Because yes, there was a world, much like Theo had once told him (although he didn't want to admit it). It was strict, aristocratic, and unfortunately, pureblooded. It didn't matter to him anymore, honestly, but her comfort with it all did. That was why he had taken the time to make her go through "etiquette hell." Aside from appeasing his mother with the attempt, it would make any jabs at her less likely (not to mention his need to hex anyone who dared to disrespect her in any way).

Dating was one thing. If it got too much you could easily get out of it, although with a bit of heartbreak. But marriage… That was something else entirely. And yet, that didn't stop him from heading into a jewelry shoppe in wizarding London. He didn't know what he was looking for, but figured that he'd know it when he saw it. And then what? Buy it, hide it, and then propose when he was ready?

It wasn't a terrible idea.

And so he casually browsed. He spotted some that were much too gaudy. Others that were too simple. He couldn't decide if he should just get diamonds or maybe colored stones. Perhaps a mixture of both? All in all it was giving him a migraine. Nothing, however, augmented his headache more when he heard a familiar voice enter the shoppe.

The world is much too small, Draco thought as he spied Ginny from the corner of his eye. She was speaking amicably with one of the workers who went into the rear of the shoppe. That's when the redhead's gaze turned, and she finally spotted him.

She was surprised, to say the least, to find him in a jewelry shoppe. After a couple of seconds she must have realized what the possible reasons were for him being in a place like this. It took one look at the section of the shoppe he was standing in for it to click.

Ginny's eyes went wide. "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I can't believe it!"

Draco scowled. "Come now, certainly you've got a better vocabulary than that."

Ginny seemed to have snapped out of her trance at that and finally zeroed in on Draco. "How are you going to do it?"

Draco scrunched his brows together. "Sorry?"

"Propose, you idiot!" She explained with glee as she stepped a bit closer. "How are you going to do it?"

The blond was struck dumbfounded. He must have stood there with his mouth agape for several seconds before finally gathering his bearings. And even then he was still stumped.

"That's it? That's all you have to say?"

"What else am I supposed to say?"

"Plenty," Draco said with surety. "Anything along the lines of 'over my dead body' is perfectly acceptable."

Ginny, despite herself, smiled. "Malfoy, in case you've forgotten, I invited you to my wedding and you accepted."

"And that means you're okay with me wanting to marry your friend?"

"It means that I can't exactly categorize you in the enemy category anymore." She said with a sincere expression. "You may still a ridiculous, annoying git, yes, but the important thing is that you love Hermione and she loves you back. I have no right to step in the way of that and I'm not going to. Now," she said as she put her hands on her hips. "Are you going to tell me how you plan on proposing to her or not?"

Draco wasn't the only person at the mercy of his mouth as it curved into a smile. He took a deep breath and stuck his hands at the rim of his pockets. "I don't know. Honestly speaking, I just came in here to see what kind of rings they had. I can't really think beyond this step at the moment."

"I can help you find one that she'll like." Ginny said excitedly. "I mean, if you want, that is."

Did he want the help? Did he need it? Draco, of course, would never admit his answer to either of those two questions, not in his mind nor out loud. Instead he motioned with his head for her to join him at the case of engagement rings he'd been stuck at for hours.

"Let's get to it, Red."

Author's note: It's happening! It's happening! I can't contain my own excitement and I'm the one writing the thing lol. And Blaise is going to be a father… Oh my little heart can't take it.

Hope that you liked it!

-WP

Replies to Guests

Guest: Haha, glad that you liked that :). Hope you continue reading!