A/N: More drama to follow….enjoy ;-)

The next morning Draco, once again, woke up to find he was in bed alone, only this time he hadn't spent the entire night shagging, much to his distress. Hermione had stayed out in the front room with a crying Astoria, but promised she would follow right after him and then they would shag until the sun came up. From what he could tell the sun had already been up for at least twenty minutes.

He grunted before climbing out of bed. He opened the window and let a screeching Polly out of her cage before heading into the living room. Astoria was sprawled out on the sofa with her arms hanging over the edge while Hermione lay uncomfortably on the floor. Both were still asleep.

Draco tiptoed over to his bride-to-be and carefully scooped her into his arms. Her eyelashes began to flutter and she looked at him with droopy eyes. "Draco, wha -"

"Shh," he said. He carried her into their room, dropped her onto the bed and quietly shut the door. Within a second he was on top of her and kissing her hungrily.

"Draco, we have to get ready for work," Hermione said between breaths.

"I can be quick," he said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How terribly romantic." But she didn't stop him. She let him take off her top and played with the seam of his pajama bottoms - which he was only wearing for Astoria's benefit. She had just begun to trail her hand inside of them when, suddenly, there was a knock at their front door.

"Oh, what now?" Draco's nostrils flared. "Someone's going to die today."

Hermione pulled her top back on while he headed for the door. In the living room Astoria was just sitting up on the sofa and rubbing at her groggy eyes.

Draco threw open the door and was surprised to see Ron standing on the other side. His eyes narrowed immediately. "You," he said in an accusatory tone.

"Uh, yeah, me. Is Astoria here?"

Before he even finished asking, Astoria was off of the couch and pushing Draco out of the way. "Ron," she said, putting her hand on the doorframe and trying to look casual. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I talk to you? Alone," he added as Hermione walked into the room.

She scowled at him before taking a seat on the sofa. Draco went over and sat on the arm behind her, pulling her between his legs and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Hermione knew he was doing this on purpose to get a rise out of Ron - as he so often did - but right now she didn't care. She was too mad at him to worry about his feelings.

"Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of them," Astoria said, putting her hands on her hips.

Ron looked over at Hermione and sighed. "Fine." He stepped inside and Astoria shut the door behind him. She leaned against the other arm on the sofa and waited for him to continue. "I'm a git. I know I am."

Draco chuckled loudly. Hermione hit his knee.

Ron didn't take his focus off of Astoria. "I know I shoulda offered to have you stay with me, considering you kinda let your dad disown you for me and all, but we've only been going out for not even three months, and I just don't think I'm ready for that."

"You could've just said that, you know. There was no reason for you to just take off like you did. I wasn't trying to pressure you or any -"

"Yes, I know that. But everyone else was."

Hermione fidgeted uncomfortably between Draco's legs.

"Look, I've only ever really had one other girlfriend that counts," his eyes darted ever-so-slightly towards Hermione, "and we moved in together right away. I know our relationship was a long time coming but I really think moving too quickly is one of the mistakes we made."

Astoria glanced over her shoulder at Hermione. Clearly, everyone was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"It's not that I'm not over her, you know," he said, recognizing that look. "Because I am. It has nothing to do with that at all. But I'm not going to lie and say when you drag me to her engagement celebration it doesn't affect me."

Hermione's hands began picking at her hair. Draco grabbed them and held them still.

Astoria cast her eyes to the ground. "I just want you all to be friends so you can move on already."

Ron chuckled lightly. "But I have moved on. I told you, it's not that. But, being friends with your ex, it's weird. As much as everyone likes to pretend, things are never going to be the same."

Hermione looked up and the two locked eyes. It was sad but true. Their friendship would never be like it was. Too much damage had been done. Maybe one day things could be normal again but, for now, they would just have to settle for awkward.

"But none of that is why I'm here. What I came to say is that I'm a git, you're great, and while I'm not ready to live together I would really like it if you stayed with me. You know, until you figure out what to do next. There's no reason for you to be sleeping on a really uncomfortable looking sofa when I have a perfectly good bed you could be in."

"This sofa is not uncomfortable!" snarled Draco. "It's from the Scorpio Levitan collection and is very expensive. Something you Weasley's could never -"

Hermione pinched his lips shut. "Price doesn't always equal comfort, Draco."

Draco pushed her hand away. "Well, I didn't see you complaining when we shagged on it the other night."

"I accept!" Astoria shouted suddenly, throwing her arms around Ron's neck. "Just get me out of here before the sexual tension causes Draco to spontaneously combust," she whispered into his ear.

Ron chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "No problem. Should we head down to corner store and buy you the basics?"

"Good idea. Can you believe someone as anal as Hermione doesn't have a spare toothbrush lying around?"

"Really? She always had extras when we lived together, even though people rarely stayed over."

"Maybe everyone just likes our extremely comfortable sofa better than -"

"Excuse me, but Caroline stayed here for a few nights last week when she and her boyfriend broke up, again, and I am sorry I have not had time to go out and buy more toothbrushes," snapped Hermione. "Besides, we weren't exactly expecting company."

Astoria and Ron looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Thanks for letting me stay here last night." Astoria grabbed Ron's hand and headed out the door. "I'll see you soon!" she shouted back at them before slamming it shut.

The second they were gone, Draco whipped Hermione around and pushed her onto her back before pouncing on top of her. "Draco, what are you doing? We have work."

"Then we'll be late," he said, tearing off her top. "I still plan on basking in the afterglow of our engagement on our very comfortable sofa."

"That's not a thing," she laughed.

Draco raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, it's a thing. Want me to prove it?"

"For some reason I get the feeling that was already your plan."

Even though their time was limited, Hermione quickly learned that the engagement afterglow was, in fact, a thing.

XXX

Several days later, Draco was busy at work in his office when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up and was surprised to find Goyle standing in his doorway, carrying a suitcase.

"Going on a trip?" he asked, not even bringing to light the fact that they hadn't seen or talked to each other since Goyle and Daphne left the Leaky Cauldron with Mr. Greengrass.

"No. It's for Astoria," Goyle said, walking in and plopping it onto the desk. "It was all Daphne could get out before her dad torched everything. He's seriously po'ed. I've never seen him act so irrationally before."

"Shouldn't you and Daphne be moving out of there soon? I thought it was just supposed to be temporary until you found a place."

"It was, and we've found several places, but Daph won't commit to any of them. She always finds something wrong. The windows are too wide, the fireplace is too narrow, there are too many stairs. I mean the complaints go on and on."

"I don't think it's the houses she's not ready to commit to, Goyle," Draco said bluntly. "You knew that when you entered into this so-called marriage. That's what happens when you let your father make your decisions for you."

Goyle slumped into a chair. "Not all of us are as brave us you, to go and defy our parents and marry a Mudbl -" Draco shot him a sharp look. "Muggle-born. Sorry. Old habit."

"So what would you have said the other night if Mr. Greengrass hadn't shown up before your turn?"

Goyle shrugged. "Dunno. Didn't think about it much. I suppose I just woulda said something about you seeming happy. Don't know her very well. Probably never will at this rate."

"That's your choice."

"You're right, it is," he said, standing up. "Made that choice when I married Daphne. What stinks is that Astoria was the only one of the lot of them I could stand. She's the only Greengrass who's real, and now she's gone. Make sure she gets that, will you?" he asked, motioning to the bag. "And tell that Weasel he better treat her right. If it turns out he's not worth it I won't hesitate to use a killing curse on his arse."

Draco chuckled. "Will do. And, Goyle, if you change your mind -"

"I know where to find you." He grinned before disapparating.

When he was gone Draco continued to stare at the spot he had just been and frowned. He and Goyle had only restarted their friendship in September and now, because of Weasel, they were forced to end it again. Now, more than ever, Draco realized that his old life truly was gone. As much as he loved Hermione, sometimes it still felt like he was missing part of himself. But it seemed that unless the entire wizarding world got over their prejudices he just wasn't going to get it back. Astoria was officially his last tie to his old life, and he didn't even really know her back in his Slytherin days.

With a sigh, Draco picked up Astoria's bag and put it behind his desk. While Goyle had once been a good and loyal friend to him and he hated to see him go, Hermione was worth it. Now if only he could convince his parents of that.

XXX

The following evening, Draco and Hermione sat at a table set for four in one of the nicest wizarding restaurants in town, waiting for his parents to arrive. Hermione kept tapping her foot against his leg while chewing on her nails nervously. She looked over and noticed how relaxed he was, a bored expression plastered on his face.

"How are you so calm?" she asked, almost angrily.

"Because this isn't a big deal, Mione."

"Not a big deal? You're about to tell your chauvinistic parents you're marrying a Muggle-born. You know how many Malfoys are probably turning in their graves right now?"

"All of them," he smirked. "But do you seriously believe my parents don't already know? I've had strangers coming up to me all week and congratulating me on being so brave. At first I wondered how they knew marrying someone as high-strung as you required bravery, but then I realized they were talking about the whole Pureblood, Muggle-born thing."

Hermione smacked his arm. "If I didn't love you I'd hate you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "But I know what you mean," she added. "The Ministry has been abuzz with this news ever since I came in with a ring on my finger. And I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Greengrass sent your parents an angry owl or two after he found out you weren't actually dating his perfect daughter."

"Do you mean perfectly disowned?" He laughed. Hermione scowled at him. "Too soon?"

Before she had time to scold him properly for his insensitivity, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy walked in the door. They spotted their son immediately and headed over to his table. As they approached, Draco and Hermione rose from their seats.

"What is this?" Narcissa asked, motioning in front of them.

Draco and Hermione looked down and then at each other. "A table," Draco answered, sounding puzzled.

"Well obviously," spat Narcissa. "What I meant was why are we sitting at this table? The maître d' here knows that when a Malfoy comes to this restaurant we always sit at the table in the back near the aquarium."

Hermione turned and looked over her shoulder at the table in question. It was very much occupied by a young couple snogging.

"Is that why we always sat there?" Draco asked dazedly. "I just figured it was a coincidence."

Hermione frowned at him before saying, "It's my fault, Mrs. Malfoy. I made the reservation under my name so the maître d' had no way of knowing you would be dining here tonight." That was very much a lie. The reservation was definitely under Draco Malfoy. The Malfoy name just wasn't as powerful as it used to be.

The maître d' came over. Looking directly at Hermione, he asked, "Is there a problem?"

"There most definitely is a problem!"

Hermione's cheeks flushed. Narcissa had successfully gotten the attention of the entire restaurant. Draco and Lucius seemed used to it, but she wasn't. "I hate to be a burden, but is there any way we can switch to the table back there by the aquarium?" she asked, pointing at the table Narcissa wanted. The couple, who was no longer snogging, immediately realized she was talking about them.

"You don't have to give in to her ridiculous demands, Hermione. There is nothing wrong with the table we're at," said Draco. He and his father exchanged smirks.

"Excuse me." They all turned to see the young couple standing next to them. It was the girl who had spoken. "We would be honored to give our table up to the Hermione Granger. That is, if you wouldn't mind signing my boyfriend's chocolate frog card."

"I carry the golden trio with me wherever I go," he said, holding out his card with Hermione's moving picture on it.

"Certainly," said Hermione, taking the card from him and using her wand to mark it with her signature. "We really appreciate this."

"Oh, it's no trouble," said the girl, taking a seat at their new table and pulling her squealing boyfriend down with her.

Narcissa raised one snarky eyebrow at Hermione before following the maître d' back to their new table.

"So sorry for the confusion, Ms. Granger," he said, pulling out her chair for her. "We won't let it happen again."

"Really, it's quite all right. Next time I will make sure we remember to request it."

"You're so humble," said Narcissa, taking a seat in the chair her husband pulled out for her. It definitely wasn't a compliment. "You know, I have a hard time believing Draco let you make the reservation. I raised my son better than that."

"You're right, mother. She was being nice," admitted Draco. "I made the reservation, and the people here could care less where the Malfoy's sit. If Hermione wasn't with us we would have been laughed right out of this place."

"Oh, so is that why you keep her around?" she asked. "I admit, it is the quicker way to bring the Malfoy name back up in the wizarding world, but it definitely isn't the way I would have chosen."

Draco's face went red with fury. "How dare you," he spat.

"How dare me? How dare you, Draco! I am no fool. I know why we're here. I had to hear my own son is engaged to a …" she looked at Hermione for a moment and weighed her options. It was immediately clear what direction she was going to go. "… Mudblood," she hissed, "from bloody Arron Greengrass. Can you imagine the embarrassment?"

Draco's fists clenched around a napkin while steam literally shot out of his ears. "Don't-You-Ever-Call-Her-That-Again."

"What? Mudblood?" she baited. "But she's my future daughter-in-law. I have earned the right to call her whatever I please."

Draco was about to explode. Hermione put a gentle hand on his leg to calm him, looked at Narcissa and said, "This time it really is my fault. Draco wanted to owl you right away but I thought it would be better to tell you in person. With our busy work schedules, his especially, Saturday evenings are really the only time we have available. I'm sorry we weren't able to arrange something sooner." This wasn't exactly a lie. They were really busy, but they could have found the time if they wanted to. After all, they'd seen her parents right away, but they were far less frightening.

"In person really is better, Cissy," Lucius said in an attempt to calm his wife. "We should take this time to celebrate, not create future issues to discuss in wizard family therapy."

"A year ago you would have been on my side!" she snapped.

"A year ago I was on the verge of insanity, so I don't believe my opinion would have mattered much."

"Some might say that you are more insane now than you were before."

Lucius raised his eyebrows. "Cissy, I tried to kill our son's girlfriend because a house-elf dressed like a Dementor told me to."

"I thought you thought he was a Death Eater?" questioned Hermione.

Lucius shrugged. "My mind is still a bit obscure when it comes to my dark days." Looking over his shoulder, Lucius raised his arm and called over the waiter. "Your finest bottle of champagne, please. Tonight we're celebrating the Malfoys. Present and future."

"Right away, sir," said the waiter before hurrying off.

Hermione smiled at Lucius. She had to admit, he was trying. But being accepting of her didn't exactly make up for him trying to kill her last summer. She knew he hadn't been in his right mind at the time, but that was hardly an excuse for attempted murder.

He had gotten out of the hospital a little over a month ago and seemed to be doing well, but it was hard to say exactly how well considering Draco was her only connection to him, and he had only seen him once since his release, which was right now.

Narcissa shook her head at her smiling husband before turning to Hermione. She stared coldly at her for a moment before rolling her eyes and holding out her hand. "Let me see."

Without hesitation, Hermione held out her left hand to her future mother-in-law and showed her the engagement ring.

"It looks a lot like my grandmother's ring," she said, running her finger across the diamond.

"I know," said Draco. "That was partly why I chose it."

"The cut is different though," she said, releasing Hermione's hand. "It is much more modern."

"Things are often modernized between centuries."

"Don't get smart with me."

"Don't call my future wife a Mudblood."

"Oh look! The champagne is here!" Lucius looked overjoyed as the waiter reappeared with four glasses and a bottle of bubbly. Everyone remained silent as he popped open the bottle and poured. As soon as he was gone everyone took a glass. Lucius raised his into the air. "To new beginnings," he said. Everyone clanked glasses and took a sip. Hermione crinkled her face as the bubbles tickled her nose. She didn't like champagne much but seemed to be drinking a lot of it lately.

"So have you set a date yet?" asked Lucius, trying to carry on a fairly normal conversation.

Hermione and Draco looked at each other. "We were thinking sometime in June," she said. "Around the time of our first anniversary."

"Do you really think you should be getting married so soon? There is nothing wrong with a long engagement," explained Narcissa. "In fact, many people these days even prefer it."

"A short engagement suits us just fine, mother. Besides, we aren't going to have a very elaborate wedding anyway, so months of planning won't be necessary."

Narcissa's eyes went wide. "Not elaborate?" she repeated as if she had never heard something so absurd. "And I suppose you won't be having it at Malfoy Manor either? Despite family tradition."

"Of course we won't," Draco said. "Dad made sure of that last summer, didn't he?"

Lucius turned even whiter than usual. "I took the clock in the drawing room down as soon as I returned home," he said, looking at Hermione. "I heard what the ticking does to you. You don't have to be afraid."

"It's not fear that keeps me from going back there, Mr. Malfoy."

"Please, call me Lucius."

Hermione smiled lightly. "All right, Lucius. What I mean is, I am not afraid of Malfoy Manor. It's more about the memories that place holds. I have no fond ones."

"Well, perhaps you would if you got over yourself and brought my son by every once in a while."

Hermione turned sharply to Narcissa. "Well, perhaps if you hadn't let your sister torture me there I'd be more inclined to do so."

"Excuse me?" Narcissa said, her eyebrows clenching. "What gives you the right to speak to me in such an inconsiderate manner?"

"I'm the inconsiderate one?" Draco could see by the look on Hermione's face that she had finally snapped. He smirked satisfactorily while leaning back in his chair. This was going to be a fun show. "You've been nothing but rude to me since the moment you got here. I don't appreciate being patronized."

"And I don't appreciate being talked back to."

"Well that's too bloody bad because, with me in your life, that's exactly what you're going to get. You can't speak to me that way and not expect me to retaliate."

"You don't deserve to hold the Malfoy name, Mudblood."

That was the last straw. Hermione slammed her glass down on the table, stared Narcissa straight in the eye and said, "Let me tell you something, Cissy. I love your son. Even though his aunt tortured me and left me with scars I have to hold onto forever." She held out her arm and showed the entire table the word 'Mudblood' that was permanently scrawled on her arm. "Even though his father tried to kill me not even four months ago." Lucius cowered in his chair. "Even though his mother is cruel to me and will never accept me, I still love him. And if it wasn't for me constantly pushing him you wouldn't even be a part of his life right now. But, if you don't lighten up, all I have to do is say the word and he will be out of your lives forever. Now, I don't want it to come to that, but if you call me that word one more time I just might be tempted to play that card."

"Are you threatening me?" Narcissa asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes," Hermione spat. "It's your son and me or nothing. The choice is yours."

"I have never been more attracted to you than I am right now." Draco stared adoringly at his future wife.

"Should we order now?" asked Lucius, holding up a menu.

"No thanks. I've suddenly lost my appetite," said Narcissa, scowling at Hermione. "Draco, please tell this insolent little girl that there is no way in the underworld you would ever give up your family for her. Someone needs to put her in her place."

"No, someone needs to put you in your place, Mother," Draco said, finally sitting up in his chair.

Narcissa's jaw nearly hit the floor. "What did you just say to -?"

"Hermione's right. She says the word and I'm out. I nearly lost her once because of the two of you. I won't make that mistake again."

"You are honestly telling me that you would never speak to me or your father again if this Mudbl -" Narcissa, noticing the way her sons fists clenched, took a deep breath and corrected, "girl says so?"

"Yes, that is what I am telling you. I love her, and I am marrying her in June. With or without your blessing."

Hermione tried really hard to hold back the snarky grin she could feel spreading across her lips, but was only about half successful. Lucius noticed this and raised his eyebrows at her. She blushed slightly, which made him chuckle. The two exchanged a fairly pleasant smile while their significant others continued to argue beside them.

"I don't have to sit here and take this!" yelled Narcissa, rising to her feet. "Lucius, we're leaving right this -"

"Sit down, Narcissa," Lucius said sternly, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on Hermione. "We're not going anywhere."

"I beg your pardon? Have you not heard the way your son has been speaking to me?"

"Yes, I heard."

"And do you really not see a problem with this?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"While I do not think our son should take such a tone with his mother," he moved his eyes to Draco, "I cannot argue that you did not provoke him. I really only see one problem with all of this."

"And what is that?" she scowled.

Lucius finally moved his eyes over to his wife and smiled. "The Malfoy men are drawn to very opinionated women. Which wouldn't be such a problem if your opinions coincided every now and then. Unfortunately, you and Ms. Granger here -"

"Call me Hermione."

Lucius looked back at her and winked. "All right. Unfortunately, you and Hermione here are from different worlds. Your opinions will never mesh. Despite that, you're going to have to learn to coexist. Draco has made his choice and he inherited your stubbornness, so I think it is safe to say he will not budge on this matter. I didn't defy the Dark Lord to have my son drift away from me, and I don't think you did either. I suggest you put your ego aside for one night, take a seat, and discuss wedding plans with our son and his bride-to-be, who reminds me a lot of a young Narcissa Black."

The other three's eyes bulged and their jaws dropped.

Hermione's nose crinkled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Disgusting."

"I am not sure what you remember of me Lucius, but I don't recall ever being a tarty little know-it-all."

"Draco, was that a compliment or an insult?"

"Disgusting."

"And I also don't recall ever trying to steal a boy from his family."

"I have not!"

"Disgusting."

"To be fair, dear, your name was on my parents list of approved future brides, so stealing wasn't necessary. They gave it to me at the beginning of my third year, since that was when they assumed I would start dating."

"Yes, and little did they know you snogged your first girl when you were a mere boy of eleven."

Lucius gave a satisfied smirk.

"Impressive father," laughed Draco. "Even I was thirteen."

Hermione cringed at the thought of a thirteen-year-old Draco snogging Pansy Parkinson. He turned his eyes to her expectantly. She looked back at him for a moment before rolling her eyes and saying, "Fifteen."

Everyone looked over at Narcissa, who was still standing beside her chair. She huffed before taking a seat and saying, "I was also fifteen."

"Very good, dear," Lucius said, rubbing her slender shoulder before putting a menu in her hand. "Now, if we could please place our orders. I think it would do us all some good to have food in our stomachs."

Lucius wasn't wrong. After they ordered and their salads came the conversation went from completely unbearable to mildly tolerable. Mainly because Narcissa didn't speak much. She still couldn't believe her precious baby boy would never speak to her again if some Muggle-born witch said the word. While she was happy the Dark Lord was defeated, there were times when she felt maybe the world had gone a bit too far forward.

Draco and Hermione shared what little details they had of the wedding so far. They were still deciding on a venue, but knew they wanted to get married around their anniversary. It would be a small wedding, somewhere between thirty and forty guests - which would be far less if Hermione didn't insist on inviting all of the Weasleys. Whether they would all come or not was another matter entirely.

"How many, uh … Muggles will be attending this event?" asked Lucius a little skeptically. While he was trying, he was not devoid of his biases.

"Just my parents," answered Hermione. "We want to have a wizard wedding so no one else I know would really be allowed to attend. Both of my parents were only children, and I only have one grandmother who's alive and she's a bit loony so it's not a big deal."

Both Lucius and Narcissa let out sighs of relief.

Hermione pursed her lips and looked at Draco. He nodded before turning to his parents. "If it's not too much trouble, Mr. and Mrs. Granger have asked if they could meet you before the wedding happens. Like, say, next week?"

Eyes bulging, Narcissa and Lucius both gasped. "Certainly not!" she proclaimed.

"Now, wait a moment. Let's think about this, Cissy," said Lucius, placing his hand on hers. "We're going to have to meet them sooner or later and, knowing you, we won't want it to take place in front of all of our son's wedding guests."

"Are you seriously considering this?" she asked, appalled.

He nodded. "I am." Then, looking at his son, he added, "Perhaps we could have more than a week to process?"

Draco looked to Hermione, who said, "Certainly. We can revisit the idea next year."

"In that case, I should let you know now that I will not be coming home for Christmas," said Draco.

"What?" asked Narcissa with a quivering lip. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger have asked us to spend the holidays with them and we've accepted. You were invited too, of course, but since we are not revisiting the idea of you meeting them until next year that isn't really possible, is it?"

"You're honestly telling me that you would rather spend your holiday among Muggles than with your own mother and father?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at Hermione.

"I suppose I am. Spending time with Hermione's parents has been great for my job."

"Yes … the company that 'specializes in utilizing Muggle technology'," quoted Lucius from a pamphlet Draco had sent him on the company shortly after accepting the job. "I recall. How is that going?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't feel much like discussing business tonight."

Their main courses came and they went back to talking about the wedding. That is, until something started buzzing.

"What is that?" Narcissa asked, looking all around.

Draco and Hermione shared a look before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ringing cell phone. "It's Phil," he said to Hermione.

"Is that horrid noise coming from that small contraption?" asked Lucius.

Draco nodded. "I have to take this. Hermione, explain cell phones to my parents while I'm gone, will you?"

As Draco got up and walked outside he could hear Hermione saying, "Well, Muggle cell phones are a wonderful source of technology where a person in one location is able to speak with someone at an immeasurable distance …"

"What's up, Phil?" he said, answering the phone with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"How goes the dinner?" Phillip asked on the other end.

"'Ello Draco!"

"Sophie says hello."

"Hi Sophie!" he called back. "Dinner could be worse, but I wouldn't exactly say it's going well either. My mother used the M word one too many times and Hermione threatened to keep me away from them if she didn't stop. It was actually quite hot."

Sophie let out a shrill, "Ha," and said, "I love our leettle firecracker."

"So why are you two calling exactly? Somehow I doubt you actually want a play-by-play of our night with my parents."

Phillip and Sophie laughed. "You're right. You can give us those details tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Draco repeated.

"Yep," said Phillip.

"So that will be three Sundays in a row now?"

"Unfortunately."

"But Hermione and I are supposed to research potential wedding venues tomorrow. She's going to kill me. And you. Maybe even Sophie."

"Ooh, wedding venues! Phillipe, let 'im take ze day off!"

"Sophie …"

A pause.

"We really need you to come een tomorrow, Draco," she murmured unhappily. "Wedding venues will 'ave to wait for another day."

Draco groaned. "Fine. I will see you tomorrow." He hung up the phone and took a few moments to catch his breath before heading back inside.

When the table was in view, Hermione looked up and locked eyes with him. She was immediately able to tell what had happened and said, "I'll kill him."

"I told him you would," he said, leaning down and kissing her cheek before returning to his seat.

"It's okay," she said, taking several deep breaths. "We have plenty of time."

"Mind if I see this 'cell phun', son?" asked Lucius, eyeing the contraption that was still in Draco's hands.

"Phone, Father," he corrected, handing it to him.

Lucius spent the rest of dinner playing with the phone while Narcissa refused to even look at it. She wanted nothing to do with Muggle technology.

Before they were even finished with their entrees Hermione was already contemplating dessert. When she spotted the cart on the other side of the restaurant she immediately got up to investigate.

"Why don't you go with her, darling?" Narcissa encouraged while rubbing Lucius's arm. "Draco and I could use a moment alone."

Lucius looked at his wife. "You want me to stand up and look at a dessert cart?" he asked absolutely appalled. Narcissa nodded and he skeptically stood up and joined Hermione at the dessert cart.

As soon as he was gone, Draco looked at his mother and said, "Whatever it is I don't want to hear it. I'm marrying her in six months whether you like it or not."

Narcissa huffed. "You two are fools if you truly believe I am your biggest obstacle."

"What do you mean?"

Looking into her son's stone-cold eyes, she said, "Let me be clear about something, Draco. I don't dislike your bride-to-be. If she had been born a pureblood she would have been on my top list of matches for you, but she wasn't."

"I still don't understand what you're getting at."

Narcissa glanced over at her husband and sighed. "It seems that your father's attempt to make good has him blind to the big picture."

"Which is?"

"The wizarding world isn't ready for a Malfoy to marry a Mudbl - Muggle-born," she quickly corrected. "Maybe when your children are your age things will be different but, right now, we are still recovering from the war. The Dark Lord may be gone but wizards and witches with his same beliefs are all around us. You come from two very important families, Draco, the Malfoys and the Blacks, and she is the most famous Muggle-born witch in the world. If you go through with this wedding you are putting both of your lives in danger."

"We are aware of the risks and we're willing to take them. The world will never change if people are too afraid to fight for what they believe in. Even if our marriage ignites an outrage and least we will have made a difference."

"You're playing with fire, Draco."

"And Hermione is worth any burns I might endure."

And with that, Narcissa went silent. Nothing more was said until Hermione and Lucius returned to the table. A minute later the waiter came by with a tart, a crème brulee, a mousse, and a giant piece of chocolate cake, which Hermione would not share. Narcissa did not touch any of it, so Draco gladly stole the tart the waiter had put in front of her and fed a bite to Hermione just to taunt her.

Even though he was more than willing to defy his mother and marry the girl he loved, he could not get the idea out of the back of his mind that she was right. The wizarding world was not ready for a high-profile witch and wizard with opposite backgrounds and beliefs to get married. But, despite all of that, they were going to do it. Come June everything was going to change, whether people wanted it to or not.