Having Tiberius' face plastered on the front of the Daily Prophet had been a highlight for Hermione. Finding out who had been supplying and delivering the cursed items had been a highlight for the Ministry. It had turned out to be someone rather innocuous who had incredible skill with curses. The people who sought him out for his "services" were the real monsters and they had all been arrested.

That said, Tiberius had been interrogated endlessly about the curse and its nature. But before that he had been fully assessed by a private (and well-paid) Healer that Harry had wrangled. He had wanted to see what damage had been done before Aurors could get to him. On the outside he had looked perfectly fine. It was a great debate as to whether something had happened to him at all. However, Tiberius' insides were an absolute wreck. It was an advanced bit of magic. A hideously dark piece of magic that had done a significant amount of damage but wouldn't kill him. What made it worse for him was that he could say nothing about it –a bit like a Lip-Locker Curse. He couldn't tell of the pain he felt every time he breathed nor the sharp stabs every time he moved. Nothing. Tiberius would be in agony for the rest of his life.

As for the curse Tiberius had indirectly inflicted on Hermione, it had meant to completely obliterate her chances of having children and to not leave her any options. He had said in his interrogation, with obvious dismay, that Hermione had probably not held onto the frame long enough if surrogacy was still an option. Little did he know that the commissioner of the frame had made the curse at half effect (and therefore potentially removable) on purpose.

"He wanted me to harm the Hermione Granger!" The man had said. "If the money hadn't been good I wouldn't have done it at all."

It turned out Hermione's fame was still good for something. Knowing all of this helped to push her and Draco forward, although both still grieved for what had been taken from them. But a preliminary visit to Healer Hasbrook and discussions on attempted curse removal had brightened their week although there was still a long haul to go. After more tests the following week, they would be speaking with Dr. Lonnegan (the squib), about his thoughts on the matter following Harry and Ginny's wedding.

And speaking of the Potter-Weasley wedding, Ginny was a frantic mess. Harry did his best to help and put his two sickles in (it was his wedding too after all) and tried to tell her that it was alright if they didn't do or have such and such. Stressed and somewhat temperamental, Ginny would frown bitterly and exclaim that she just wanted everything to be perfect for them. And so here they were, just eight days before the wedding, along with Hermione and Ron, trying to finalize what the centerpieces for the tables at the reception would be.

"What about these?" Harry asked, holding up what looked more like a depressing urn than a vase. Both Hermione and Ginny shared horrified looks before he acquiesced and put it down.

Ron went over to this awful multi-colored thing, but Ginny stopped him before he could put his hand on it.

"Honestly, Ron." She huffed. "How on earth would that look as a centerpiece?!"

"That's it. I hate weddings." Ron said as he retreated from the shelf. Hermione laughed.

"Don't you want to get married one day?"

"Yes, of course, but I'm definitely not going to go banging my head against the wall trying to decide if rose or fuchsia would look better."

"No, no, of course not." Ginny grinned maliciously. "That would be for Lavender to bang her head about."

Ron blushed. Yes, he and Lavender were still together. It boggled Hermione's (and everyone's) minds, but she was a newlywed to one Draco Malfoy so she was certainly not one to judge.

"At least you know what to expect." Harry smiled at him before showing Ginny something else and her shaking her head at it. Both he and Ron decided to venture deeper into the shoppe while Hermione and Ginny stayed where they were. It wasn't long before the bride-to-be was squealing.

"Hermione, look!" Ginny exclaimed as she ran over to a shelf and picked up a decorative candlestick set. "This would be the perfect! Don't you think?"

"You're right!" Hermione smiled. "You see? I told you that you'd find something."

"I know." The redhead beamed. "And it only costs…" She frowned as she stared at the base of her prized find. "Two eyes and my soul if I wanted to get enough of these."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." Hermione took the candlestick set from Ginny's hands and saw the price for herself. The only thing she could say was, "Oh."

It was more than pricey. It was absolutely ridiculous. At least for Ginny's wallet anyway. Harry's too in hindsight. She and Harry were saving up for a house since Godric's Hollow was to remain a memorial for Harry's parents and Grimmauld Place was too (to use Ginny's words) horrid to live in. That meant everything they bought and had been buying was on a severe budget. Hermione bit her tongue.

"Listen, if you really want them then I could-"

"No, no, no." Ginny quickly dismissed. "I love you and thank you, but I refuse to be that friend that hits up her rich best friend when she can't afford something." She sighed and continued to eye the candlestick set. "Even if it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Hermione frowned. "If you say so…"

"I do." Ginny replied and slipped the set from her friend's hands and put it back. "I'll just find something else."

"Stubborn, stubborn, and of course, stubborn," Draco droned on with his wife by his side. Hermione shook her head at him.

"Draco, there's nothing stubborn about not wanting to take money from someone. I felt absolutely terrible for even offering, but she really likes them."

Draco huffed. "So what did she actually end up getting?"

"A similar set to the one she wanted, but just a little less…"

"You mean a lot more ugly."

"The term is uglier –not that I agree, just correcting grammar."

Draco suppressed a smirk, both at what she said and at how her mouth fell open at what she was seeing. After spending half the day with her friends, she had met him back at the Manor so that they could start their house hunt. The idea was to find a house and be all moved in by the beginning of March. So, bearing in mind his wife's requests, he had lined up three houses to see this evening. The one they were walking up to now looked even better to him the second time seeing it.

"Mr. Malfoy," the realtor, an enthusiastic and gentle-looking older woman greeted. "Mrs. Malfoy, a wonderful pleasure to meet you. My name is Agatha Tortley. Your husband speaks very highly of you."

Hermione worked her hardest not to blush. "Thank you. Also, thanks for taking the time out to show us this home today."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. So, if you'd like to get started, let's head right inside."

Ms. Tortley used her wand to open the door and once inside Hermione's jaw had dropped again. A high vaulted ceiling immediately met them along with a set of stairs. An archway to their left led to a living room and to their right a dining area. Down the hall ahead of them she could spy several doors, and she assumed at least one might be a bathroom, the others perhaps closet space.

"Seven bedrooms, two of them masters, one half bath, and three full baths," Ms. Tortley said proudly. "If you follow me through the dining area, you'll see that through here leads to the kitchen."

What a kitchen! Hermione thought to herself. Marble countertops, an island in the middle that housed a sink and plenty of cooking space. Black appliances such as the refrigerator, microwave, and stove looked lovely against the dark wood that made up the cabinets. There were two windows, just above the stove, and a glass door near the refrigerator that led to a small patio.

"Through this entrance you end up towards the end of the hall, see?" Ms. Tortley continued. "Ample closet space down here as well as the half bath. And then down this particular hall you'll find one of the master bedrooms, two others, and a one full bath."

"Draco," Hermione hissed in a low tone. "I know I said six bedrooms and all that, but I'm beginning to think that my delirious, depressed side was the one talking. This is massive!"

"I know." He replied joyously. "And to think, we haven't even seen the upstairs yet."

Upstairs held the remaining four bedrooms and two bathrooms. There was also a lounge for entertaining and a study. From three of the bedrooms the backyard could be seen - a huge amount of property, but also another house roughly the same size of the one they were currently in.

"The guest house," Ms. Tortley answered Hermione's unspoken question. The latter turned to her husband who merely shrugged and grinned.

"My mother will be living with us, won't she? She'll want her own space, yet still be able to see us at a moment's notice. Hence, the house."

Hermione was in disbelief. It was so much. It was too much. But she also loved it.

"And where's my library supposed to be?" She asked jokingly.

Draco smiled broadly at that. "I was hoping you would ask me about that."

Hermione blinked. "You're kidding. We've seen the whole house!"

"I asked Ms. Tortley to purposefully leave the basement out of the description." He said proudly. "Can I show her myself?" He addressed Ms. Tortley.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll wait for you out back and then we'll visit the guest house."

Draco took his dumbfounded wife's hand and led her downstairs. There was a door that Hermione had assumed was just closet space, but it turned out to lead to the very basement that her husband had alluded to. They walked down an elegant set of stairs and was met with a space that was the full length and width of the house above. Empty and a few beams here or there for structural reasons, but all Hermione could imagine was what it would look like lined with nothing but bookshelves.

"I'd cast Disillusionment Charms on these," Draco said, his hand on one of the beams. "Another charm to keep you and other people from walking into them, naturally. So? What do you think of it?"

"Well, it's certainly a lot." Hermione chuckled. "It's breathtaking, truly. But do we really need all of this?"

"Let's think of it this way. Since the beginning of January, how many people came to visit us daily?"

Hermione shook her head and grinned, knowing exactly where he was getting at. At least three people a day. If she accounted for an entire week and didn't name someone twice, it was ten to fifteen. If she accounted for the times where some spent the night…

"Oh alright, fine, yes. The extra space would be a good idea. Tell me –the other two homes you have lined up for today? Are they both just as big as this?"

Draco eyes lit up in amusement. "Bigger,"

Hermione laughed as she went over and hugged him around the midsection. "Rich brat,"

"Rich brat's wife," he replied, and kissed her on the forehead.

Since Hermione was in Harry and Ginny's wedding, Draco came to a chilling conclusion: he would have to sit among the guests alone. It wasn't that he needed company. He was a grown man, could handle being alone just fine, and had been doing so post-war. Granted, he had been a bit depressed after the war, but the main assertion still stood. What he meant by alone was that he wouldn't be around anyone he was truly comfortable with. Aside from his wife, his own friends weren't close enough to the bride and groom to warrant an invitation, Hermione's parents (who had been invited) sadly had to decline because of a trip they had booked long before a date had been set, and the bride and groom couldn't be guests at their own wedding.

Draco couldn't help but snort at the last notion. When in Merlin's name did Harry Potter and Ginny Soon-to-be-Potter become tier one preferred company? He rolled his eyes which didn't go unnoticed by his wife who had just come out into the living room dressed and ready to go.

"I saw that." She smiled. "Who are you internally damning?"

"No one," he lied before he laid his eyes on her. His lips immediately turned up when he saw her. She was dressed in a deep violet gown that clung neatly to her waist and flowed gently down to the floor. Her hair was pulled back and held by a violet clip, modest yet elegant makeup applied, and silver bracelets on her wrists to accompany her earrings and necklace. He stood and gave a low whistle.

"So, do I look alright?"

"You look just as beautiful as you did on our wedding day."

Hermione was thankful for the natural blush on her cheeks. "And here I was just looking for a yes." She chuckled.

Draco laughed and went over to take her hand. "The day I start giving you one-word answers to questions like that we should worry about our marriage. Come on, we should get going."

The pair of them headed for the Floo after making sure Anti-Soot Spells were properly applied. The wedding was going to be held at the Burrow like Bill and Fleur's. Nothing could beat the intimacy that a wedding at home could produce. That and the fact Harry and Ginny had made a killing in savings by not having it somewhere else.

"I'm going to head upstairs to see Ginny." Hermione said once they made it through the fireplace. "She's probably going mad up there."

"Fair enough." Draco nodded. "I'll gather you once the ceremony is over."

Hermione agreed and kissed him before hearing the frustrated grumblings of the bride-to-be upstairs. Draco watched his wife disappear before it sunk in that he was at the Burrow without his witch as a buffer. Fantastic…

"Draco!"

A smile immediately graced his face at the familiar voice as well as an internal pang when he saw Victoire running from, he assumed, outside where the wedding would be taking place.

"Well, hello…" he greeted.

"I'm in the wedding just like for you and Aunt Hermione!" Victoire exclaimed with glee as she showed off her flower girl dress. "Teddy is too!"

"I know." Draco commented. "And might I say that you look very pretty."

The little girl's face reddened and she grinned. "Thank you. Will you dance with me again?"

"Of course. As many times as you want."

Victoire was bursting with glee and hugged him on the leg. Draco had several emotions running through him at that –most of them unpleasant. Damn Uncle Tiberius…

"Victoire, love, you're going to break his leg." Molly addressed the girl as she came into the room. "Let go now and head outside with the others."

"Bye Uncle Draco!" Victoire said as she ran out.

Draco stood momentarily stunned at the title, but he supposed it was natural if his wife was "Aunt Hermione." He took a deep breath and suddenly realized that Ginny's mother was still there.

"She likes you, you know." Molly said. "That girl won't give you a moment's peace today."

"I sort of figured." Draco chuckled. "To my surprise kids seem to like me."

Molly caught the far off look in his eyes as he said that and she frowned. He may have noticed that he had been doing something off because he immediately cleared his throat. She had briefly considered addressing it, but seeing as he had brushed it off so quickly she decided not. Instead she broached something else.

"Ginny woke up to a mass delivery this morning."

Draco's smile was back and it was even broader than before. "Did she?"

"Yes," Molly replied, detecting a hint of smugness from him. "It was candlestick sets. Tons of them. Ginny spent a majority of the morning in utter disbelief and then fretting about not wanting to be a charity."

"Leave it to her to fret about a good thing." Draco scoffed. He quickly regretted it after remembering that he was talking to the woman's mother, but Molly ignored it.

"Then she and the rest of us helped her use them as her centerpieces for the reception instead of the ones she bought."

Draco kept his contentment at that on the inside. "Good for her."

"Very," Molly agreed as some tears sprung to her eyes. She blinked them back as she continued. "She was also owled a note from Gringotts. It said that an anonymous banker transferred money into her and Harry's account. Oddly enough it was the same amount for what she had spent on her other centerpieces. It's a wonder how he –or she –managed to find that bit of information out."

"Oh you can find out just about anything with the right connections." Draco said automatically. He paused and then added, "That's probably what he –or she –did."

"I suppose so." Molly beamed. Then she took him by surprise and hugged him. "Thank you for what you did for her."

Draco let Molly get her hugs out before he replied as innocently as possible, "I agree it was a nice gesture, but I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

Molly laughed. "Yes, of course you don't." She sighed happily and hooked her arm with his. "Come, we should get our seats. You'll sit by me and Arthur."

Author's note: I have too many favorites here! However, I think Draco getting Ginny that centerpiece tops it :)

-WP

Replies to Guests

Guest: Thank you! Glad that you liked it!

Liza: Yes, it is. As for how much longer it'll be, I can't even begin to tell you. There's quite a bit more I want to touch on before it's over.