She stood near the huge picture window in the library, gazing out to the flower garden. The garden was one of her most favorite places in the whole manor. Lucius had planted it for her after she told him how much she loved flowers of all types. The fact that he had planted it right outside of the library, her other favorite place, had warmed her heart. She could often be found strolling through the garden, a book in her hand and a smile on her face. She loved being able to breathe in the sweet scents of bluebells, azaleas, and columbines, among others. Now, however, looking out at the garden filled her heart with sadness. She knew she should be feeling something more like rage, and she had felt that in the beginning. In fact, she had almost taken her wand to the entire garden, but Draco had ended up stopping her before she could do any damage. The rage had, however, left her completely wiped out and now all that she was left with was sadness. She still had none of the answers that she wanted, so her extremely taxing trip to Azkaban yesterday had been a complete waste. Well, maybe not. After all, she did learn her entire relationship had been a lie, in that Lucius' feelings for her were never genuine.

A soft cough roused her from her musings, and she turned to see Draco standing in the doorway.

"Back so soon? I told you I would be fine."

"Yes, because you are looking quite fantastic right now, Hermione. Have you slept at all?"

Her answer was in her silence, and Draco let out a soft sigh.

"You really should let me brew you something. There are a few options that are safe to take during pregnancy."

"I know, but I'll be fine. Thank you though; I really appreciate all the help from you and Luna throughout this. But don't you have a job to go to?"

His reply, which she was sure was going to be sarcastic, was cut off by the arrival of an owl. Taking the letter from the owl in exchange for an owl treat, she ripped open the letter and quickly read it through. Its content caused a brief flare of rage to flash in her eyes before she sighed warily.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up sharply at the sound of his voice, having almost forgotten he was still there.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

The look he gave her, complete with a cocked eyebrow, told her clearly that he did not believe her. He was right, of course; it wasn't nothing. She debated to herself if she should tell him or not, knowing he would most likely not take it well.

"Hermione..."

"Fine. Just... don't get mad, okay? It's from Ron. He's been sending me letters about every other day or so, starting from the week after Lucius was... after he was... Anyway, it's not a big deal. He's just being a bit more persistent than I thought he would be, especially since I've told him no each time he owls me."

He said nothing in reply, merely holding out his hand for the letter. She hesitated, wanting to tell him to fuck off, that it was none of his business. In the end, she handed him the letter, knowing that he was just concerned for her safety. His face betrayed nothing as he read the letter and then calmly placed it down on a table behind him.

"You should tell Potter about this."

Both her eyebrows shot up, she was not expecting that reaction.

"Draco, that's completely ridiculous. I'm not going to go running to Harry with something completely harmless. Ron is just being a sore loser. I'm sure he, for some reason, convinced himself that I would go running into his arms and when that didn't happen he changed tactics. He might think that sending almost constant owls is going to wear me down, but it's just annoying. And that's all it is, Draco, an annoyance. It's nothing you need to worry about, I promise. Now go to work before I floo-call Luna and tell her you are the one annoying me."

The panicked look on his face at her words had her fighting back a giggle, but they did the job and Draco left. As soon as he crossed the threshold into the hallway, she slumped down into the nearest chair. While she really believed that Ron was harmless, she wasn't lying when she said he was getting on her last nerve. How many times did she have to tell him that she just didn't see him in that way before he would leave her alone? She sighed, this time quite loudly, wishing (not for the first time) that Lucius was still here with her. He would have intimidated Ron into leaving her alone as he had no patience at all for the youngest Weasley boy. In fact, he was often the topic of their disagreements.

"I don't approve of the way he looks at you, Hermione! Why can't you see that?"

"You don't like the way any wizard looks at me, Lucius. What am I supposed to do, gouge all their eyes out?"

"Don't be ridiculous. That is hardly necessary."

"I'm not the one being ridiculous here. That would be you. Ron is my friend, and I'm not going to just stop seeing him because you don't 'like the way he looks at me'," she parroted back, mimicking his aristocratic tone.

"I do not sound like that. I wish you would just consider my opinion on this issue, Hermione."

"Just because I don't agree with your opinion, doesn't mean I'm not considering it! This is an absolutely absurd conversation, and I'm leaving! Owl me when you come to your senses."

She was about halfway across the library floor when she heard him calling after her. She ignored him, determined as she was to leave. The next words out of his mouth, however, had her coming to an abrupt stop. Whirling around to face him, she stared at him, slack-jawed.

"What... what did you just say?"

"Marry me, Hermione."

"I... you can't just... what?"

He approached her then, elegantly (as if Lucius Malfoy could ever be anything but) dropping to one knee.

"I love you, Hermione. I promise that you will want for nothing, including my love and protection. The thought of not having you besides me always is a thought of despair. Be my wife."

The slack-jawed expression still having not left her face, she just stared at him, searching his face for his sincerity. She could see it shining in his eyes and knew he was telling the truth.

"Damn it, Lucius! I'm mad at you!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"You complete... and utter... Slytherin! I love you too. Of course I'll marry you," she said as she launched herself straight into his arms. His lips caught hers in a passion filled kiss and they proceeded to celebrate their engagement. Much, much later, she would turn to him and say, "I'm still mad at you." His answering smirk had her throwing a pillow at his head.

Cocky bastard.

He really was a cocky bastard, she thought, tears running down her face as she roused herself from that particular memory. The promises he made that night were broken, had probably been broken the moment they fell from his lips. She had to force herself to stop this wallowing as it couldn't possibly be good for the baby.


Meanwhile, a wizard sat in a darkened room, staring at a picture of the witch he loved. A wide grin slowly crossed his face because he knew it would only be a matter of time until he had her in his arms. Once his plan came together and she would finally see, everything would be perfect.

Just perfect.


A/N: Thanks to erbkaiser for betaing. Just a FYI, this story is short. Since it was originally a one-shot, I don't have any plans of dragging it out so we are looking at maybe 2-3 more chapters. As for Lucius proposing during an argument, during a conversation between myself and Raybe, we both decided that was something he would totally do. :)