They stood in front of their fathers, heads hung down in shame. They felt like children, although their "misbehavior" had nothing to do with crayons on the wall, or leaving out their playthings.
And the punishment was much more extreme.
Adam stood speechless. He and Lucius were standing in front of their two grown children. Lucius was frowning, though he had known it would happen. Especially after what he'd done the morning before. He hadn't expected it so soon, though… Perhaps they had been getting to know each other better than he thought.
"What have you two to say for yourselves?" Lucius stared at his son. "Draco?"
He shrugged. "It just happened. This morning, we both knew you had to know, because of the arrangement."
"You're correct. And you broke the terms – so, you must marry." He raised a brow. "Though, I don't quite see what the problem would be now."
Hermione glared at him. Draco placed a hand on her arm, as if to say, Later.
"As you wish, Father," he said. Hermione nodded.
When they left the room, Natalie suggested they go somewhere to get away from the house. They went outside, and Draco said he had the perfect place. They Apparated just outside the local Muggle mall.
He dragged her into a jewelry store. Luckily, his family had plenty of Muggle money in a bank. "What's the best engagement ring you have, sir?" Draco asked the man behind the cases. Glancing at Draco, he knew he was rich and wanted nothing but the best of his wares.
"This one right here would be beautiful for your young lady, sir," he said, eyeing Hermione.
"Yes," Draco said, not paying attention. "She certainly is beautiful, isn't she?" He realized what the man had actually said. "Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, yes, the ring is perfect. Box it, please." He offhandedly wrote a check for the large sum, and took Hermione to the fountain in the center of the mall, tucking the box in his pocket as they walked.
He asked her to sit on the stone bench. "I think I dropped something," he said. She knew exactly what he was doing, but she went along with it.
"Hermione," he said, grinning, "will you marry me?"
She grinned, too, knowing even if she said no now, she couldn't stop it. "Of course," she said, feigning . And there was something in his eyes she couldn't place. It scared her. What scared her even more was the look the might be in her eyes.
He looked up at her, taking her hand and slipping the ring on her finger, and saw her eyes. It made him so happy… and so damned scared. He was going to… marry… her. Hell, even thinking that scared him and pleased him so much.
Needless to say, it surprised him, when he stood after placing the ring on her finger, and embraced her, that she kissed him with such passion. He wasn't expecting that. Sure, perhaps a warm, long kiss. He could hear the hoots and hollers coming from the teenagers and some adults. He could hear some women murmuring what a beautiful couple they made, and commenting on how romantic it was.
When she pulled away from him, there was a smile in her dark green eyes, and on her light rose-colored lips. And he just smiled back. That was when it truly hit Draco, through the jokes, and all his "yes, Father," and everything he had done or thought about or said since he knew they would actually be married, that he was going to marry Hermione Granger. And his smile grew, because he hadn't realized what a beautiful thought that was.