Hey guys! I told you I would try to update tonight, but after this I probably won't be able to update till next weekend. This is an extra long chappie! Don't say I didn't warn you. I have big plans for this story!!!

--Love and More Love

The classical music echoed around the Great Hall.

It was decorated extravagantly. The ceiling resembled the dark night sky. The moon was full, and the sky was littered with stars.

There the were three tables set up. One set up at the head of the hall, where the Staff table usually was; it contained tiny finger sandwiches and various snacks and candies.

The table to its right, the Slytherin tables spot, had bowls of punch and butterbeer. There were glasses of wine and firewhisky. This is where Draco stood when Hermione Granger walked in.

The table to the left of the Staff table, where the Gryffindor table usually sat, had a bunch of plastic boxes on it. Inside the boxes, were dozens of hard cover books.

Hermione and Beth walked toward the Great Hall doors. Hermione had a strong grip on Beth's hand, which made Beth grumpy. She didn't like being dragged along. She had tried to protest, but her mother had begged her to behave and told her that she would let go as soon as they reached the Great Hall.

Beth had shrugged, but urged her mother to hurry because she wanted to see Dawn again so badly it hurt.

Draco waited impatiently. Dawn was on the verge of tears, thinking that Draco had lied to her when he said Beth would be here.

He was trying to reassure her, when the doors to the Great Hall banged open.

Hermione stood there awkwardly, knowing fairly well that the humongous noise had been of her making. She blushed and shut the doors quietly. Her classmates stood in silence, staring. Then, a few low whistles echoed around. Mindless chatter started up.

"Is that Hermione Granger?"

"Damn."

"I can't believe it!"

"Merlin, why do I have to be married?"

"You worthless piece of--!"

"Hermione!"

"Mum, why are all these people staring at you?"

"Beth!"

"Dawn!"

The crowd merged around the two Granger girls, engulfing them in dozens of conversations they didn't want to be a part of.

"How are you?"

"What do you do with your hair now?"

"Your suite, or mine?"

"Is this your daughter? She's so cute!"

Hermione guided Beth through the crowd by the shoulders. They stumbled their way into an opening, where Beth disappeared, leaving Hermione alone with her old roommates, Parvarti and Lavender. Hermione sighed and grabbed a glass of firewhisky. This was going to be a long night.

From across the hall, however, Draco was trying desperately to keep his mouth shut. It had been a long time since he had felt the need to gape at a woman, not since Daphne, actually, and it was proving very difficult.

Hermione was wearing a dress with a single, thick strap over her right shoulder. It was tomato red and had a three-inch band around her middle. It clung to all the right curves and below the band resembled a pencil skirt, falling three-quarters of the way down her thighs. He set his firewhisky down on the table and approached her slowly.

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"So what did you and Malfoy talk about on your walk?" asked Lavender curiously, taking a sip of her water with a straw (it was one of her pregnancy cravings. She couldn't drink anything without a straw. Parvarti gave Hermione a strange look.

"You and Malfoy?" she asked disbelievingly. Hermione shrugged.

"He fixed up my daughters scraped knee and then his daughter and Beth became friends and Beth started screaming when we tried to put her on a carriage so me and Malfoy walked to the castle instead. Lavender's just making a big deal out of things, as usual," Hermione emphasized. She smiled at Lavender in a sickly-sweet kind of way and Lavender looked around the room as if to say 'Who, me?'

Hermione felt someone tap her shoulder and she just barely saw Parvarti's jaw drop before she turned around. Draco grinned at her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked kindly, holding out his hand. Hermione smiled and took his hand.

"But of course, Malfoy," she accepted, setting her drink on the table. She faced Parvarti and Lavender, who were both gazing at her in disbelief. Lavender was smirking, and shaking her head. "You'll know where to find me," she said, winking.

As she walked away she could Parvarti yelling, "Did you see that? She winked at us! When did Hermione become so naughty?" Draco chuckled as he led her out onto the dance floor. Of course he picked the middle of the Great Hall, where everyone could see them together. Hermione put her hands around his neck and he put his hands on her waist.

They swayed to the music, and he twirled her while she laughed. "Your pretty good at this Malfoy," Hermione said when he twirled her again. "I think I may have doubted your dancing skills." He laughed.

"I think I could say the same thing," he said, dipping her. "You look really good tonight, Granger," he said truthfully. Hermione looked at him puzzled.

"Thank you?" she laughed. Draco laughed too.

Ron appeared behind Malfoy, clapping him on the back a little too hard. "Mind if I cut in," he said, glaring.

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Beth and Dawn sat over by the 'Gryffindor' table, looking through one of the books, sipping their pumpkin juice every few minutes.

"Look, there's my mummy and daddy," said Dawn, pointing to a moving picture of Daphne and Malfoy sitting under a tree outside of the school. They were laughing, and it wasn't at something cruel, it was something genuinely funny.

Dawn and Beth sighed. "They were so pretty together," said Dawn, sniffling a little. Beth looked at her.

"No, no, don't cry," she said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "You know who's even prettier?" Dawn shook her head. "My mum and your dad," she replied, pointing in their direction. Hermione had tilted her head back and was laughing at something Malfoy had said, her curly hair falling down her back. Malfoy was simply smiling down at her, something thoughtful glistening in his eyes.

"You're right," said Dawn sniffling again. Her voice was stuffy, and Beth gave her a comforting hug.

"Well, look who it is. Little Dawn and her new best friend," said a voice from behind the two girls. Beth turned around in outrage. Dawn stared straight ahead.

"Go away, Nicholas," she said simply, standing up. Beth stood up too, and Nicholas looked her over.

She was wearing a strapless red dress that reached the floor. Around her middle was a silver sash that tied in the back. Her hair was loose and unruly, and it suited her. The only thing he didn't like about her appearance was that she was glaring at him. His brother, Jason, was standing next to him, gawking. She was quite pretty for a five-year-old.

"Do you know him, Dawn?" she asked coldly. Dawn took a breath before answering

"Yes, he's Nicholas Zabini. And that's…Jason," she replied hesitantly, nodding at the boy standing next to Nicholas.

"Can we help you? She asked, irritated. Nicholas narrowed his eyes. Nobody had ever spoken to him like that.

"Yeah," he said curtly. "You can move. My brother and I want to sit there," he said, nodding toward the place where Dawn and Beth had just been sitting. Beth looked down at her shoes, took a deep breath, and looked back up.

"Sorry Nicholas, but you'll have to find someplace else to sit. We were here first." She said, gesturing to her and Dawn and then the floor they stood on.

"I was born first," he said.

"On what planet?" Beth retorted. "Now leave your bothering us." She said, placing her hands on her hips.

Nicholas took a few leisurely steps towards Dawn. "Come on, Dawn," he drawled, "can't you convince your friend here to move." He tugged on one of Dawn's curls, and she winced. Beth saw red.

She stomped the few steps to Nicholas and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to her level, which was a few inches shorter than his. "Listen up, Nicky," she hissed, "we were here first. And you will never hurt Dawn again, unless you want me to kick you where it counts." Nicholas briefly looked down. "Do you understand?" He nodded. "Good, now beat it, and leave us alone." She let go of his collar and shoved him away.

He stumbled into Jason, who looked rather frightened, and together they ran off toward their parents.

Beth's face was flushed. "Thank you," said Dawn quietly. Beth shrugged.

"Don't mention it." She replied, sitting down again, sipping her pumpkin juice. Dawn sat down beside her, smiling to herself.

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Draco looked at Hermione uncertainly. He was about to hand her over to Weasley, when Hermione stopped him.

"No," she said, looking at Ron annoyed. "I'm having fun Ron. Go dance with your wife," she urged. Ron looked at her shocked.

"'Mione, come on, plea--,"

"I feel like a drink, Draco, let's go get a drink." She said, narrowing her eyes at Ron and dragging Draco in the opposite direction of the drink table. Hermione was fuming.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked her as she straightened her dress. It had ridden up on her thighs while she was storming away from Ron, making a scene. Draco tried not to stare.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, looking up and grabbing one of the books sitting in a bin. She flipped to the first page. 'Hogwarts Class of 2005'popped up in shimmering letters. Hermione beamed, and Draco walked around to the other side of her, reading over her shoulder. "It's a magical yearbook," she whispered, flipping the next page. Pictures of students sat in rows. They were moving pictures, and it showed each student, at different intervals, arriving, taking their name plate, written in their handwriting, and sitting down on a stool, holding up their name plate, and smiling at the camera.

Draco and Hermione were mesmerized. "I'm keeping this," she said aloud. Draco looked at her strangely, though she couldn't see it.

"Are we even allowed too?" he asked. Hermione turned to him.

"Since when does the infamous Draco Malfoy care about the rules?" she asked. He looked up thoughtfully.

"I suppose you're right," he said. He grabbed the year book out of Hermione's hand and flipped to a random page.

Hermione looked over his shoulder, standing on her tippy toes. "Oh, Malfoy!" she exclaimed. He looked at her in alarm.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked. She merely shook her head, shaking with silent laughter, and pointed at a picture.

He looked at the picture that her finger was directing him to. He scowled. It was a picture of when Hermione had punched him in third year. His face flushed.

"Oh, Malfoy," Hermione sighed, before doubling over in a fit of giggles. Draco crossed his arms, waiting until she got quiet. She stood back up, taking a few deep breaths. She touched his cheek then.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "Did I hurt you?" She looked him over, as though expecting to find a bruise, though the event in question had happened years ago.

"Be reasonable, Granger," he said scoffing, grabbing her hand and holding it up for his examination. Her hands were tiny, and her nails were long and painted fire truck red. He shrugged. "I don't think you could hurt me if you tried."

She stomped on his foot with her red, satin pumps and he cried out in pain. She raised her eyebrows. "I take it back, Granger. You can pack a punch." She pressed harder on his foot, putting all her weight on it. "Ow! And you are the most beautiful, brilliant woman I have ever met and that has ever walked this earth!" he cried, and she stepped off.

He put his hands on his knees and heaved a couple of big breaths. This was when Hermione noticed the emptiness of the Great Hall, and the time. It was nearly one in the morning.

Beth and Dawn approached, holding hands and rubbing their eyes. "Mummy," was all Beth had to say before she was scooped up into Hermione's arms. It was the same with Dawn and Malfoy.

Hermione turned to Draco, tucking a yearbook under one arm. "Thanks for the great time Draco," she said. And she kissed his cheek. "Goodnight." Draco watched her walk away, before grabbing his own yearbook, and walking to his suite.

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Draco lay in bed that night, flipping through the pages of his yearbook. There were a couple of pages dedicated to each member of the Golden Trio, he saw from the table of contents. He automatically flipped to Hermione's pages. Hermione Jean Granger was written at the top of the first page in gold, loopy letters. There were a couple of bad pictures of her from first to third year, when her teeth were still too large for her face and her hair was still unmanageable.

But the first good picture of her that he saw was at the Yule Ball. She was wearing those magnificent dress robes and her hear was managed into tight curls pulled into a side ponytail. She was watching Viktor dance with Pansy Parkinson with a smile on her face. She was talking to whoever was holding the camera. Suddenly, she looked over and kissed the lens. When she pulled back she was laughing.

The next was probably later in the year, when she had pulled out of the lake after the second task. Krum was hugging her as she sat in his lap. He was whispering things to her that were making her smile and blush.

Another one was when she was probably around the age of fifteen. She was sitting next to Ron. He was laughing. Potter sat on the ground next to them and was also laughing. Hermione suddenly leaned over and kissed Ron's cheek. Then she pulled back and rubbed the lip gloss off, so it wouldn't be noticeable. Draco saw himself in the background.

He remembered when this picture was taken. He remembered feeling incredibly jealous.

The next picture was Hermione in Hogsmeade eating ice cream. It was melting and she was trying to lick it off the cone. Harry and Ron were laughing at her and she told them to shut up. She shoved Ron's ice cream cone in his face and he looked startled. He sneezed a bunch of times in a row and Hermione fell out of her chair she was laughing so hard.

The last picture was at the graduation ceremony. Hermione was the valedictorian, and she was smiling at everyone in the crowd. She had made a speech about not holding grudges now that the war was finally over and all that. Draco remembered that he had ignored most of it. Hermione whipped her cap up into the air and it gracefully floated down back to her podium. She gave the camera a teary smile, and wiped her eyes.

Draco laid the book open on his chest and sighed. He caressed the spot on his cheek where Hermione had kissed him. He was extremely excited for the following weeks.

So what'd ya think? I hope it made up for not updating a while. Be grateful. I love you! Reviews are X's and O's!!!

--Katy