The wedding of Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson had become the highlight of the social year. All anyone could talk about anywhere they went was the wedding: where was it going to be? How many people were going to come? Would Pansy's parents be present?

As it happened, these questions quickly became a moot point as it was discovered that the guest list would be extremely limited. Pansy and Harry had decided to get married on a beach in the Caribbean, with only their closest friends and family in attendance. Of course, their closest friends still included quite a significant number of people, but no one on the final guest list would have ever done anything to leak the details of the event to any member or the public or the press.

That was how Hermione found herself sitting in a folding white chair on a beautiful beach, staring at her best friend and his new wife as Harry bent Pansy backwards over his arm. The hoots and cheers that had sounded from around her had made her smile, and she leaned into Draco.

Pansy's parents had, in fact, not been invited to the event. Even though the social-climbing couple had realized the boon that would come to them from their daughter's marriage to Harry Potter in the days following the announcement of their engagement, Pansy had refused any and all attempts of reconciliation on their part. She had told Hermione that she had a family, and the one she chose was vastly superior to the one she had been born into.

So, instead of her father walking her down the aisle and giving her away, Draco Malfoy had stepped into the role. Hermione had watched with tears in her eyes as her boyfriend had handed her over to Potter, beaming with pride while simultaneously threatening the Savior of the Wizarding World with bodily harm should he harm his friend.

Now, sitting together and watching the happy couple, Hermione couldn't fight the feeling of utter contentment that welled up inside of her. She looked around at the people that surrounded her: at her family.

Theo and Daphne sat beside her and Draco, and Theo was currently wrestling their one-and-a-half year old son into submission. The little boy, with his wide blue eyes and dirty blonde hair, had attempted more than once to run straight into the ocean ahead of them and had been chased down and swooped up by his father no less than four times during the short ceremony.

Across the aisle were Ginny, Blaise, Hannah, and Neville. Hannah and Neville had eloped shortly after Harry and Pansy's engagement: both were too shy to want the publicity that came along with the engagement of one of the heroes of the Wizarding war and their families had been too shattered by the war for them to desire a big affair. The duo had simply gone into the Ministry of Magic on a Tuesday morning and emerged husband and wife. Ginny and Blaise were currently planning their own wedding that would be taking place the following month and, while nothing had been said, Hermione had not missed the way her friend's hand continuously strayed to her flat stomach.

Behind Hermione sat Luna, Dean, Seamus, and Padma. Luna and Dean's long engagement had culminated in a wedding that took place in the backyard of her father's home eight months earlier. The setting had been ethereal and bizarre, just like the witch herself, but Hermione had found it beautiful and perfect for the couple. She and Dean had become even more inseparable following their nuptials, and it was almost impossible to get one of them out for an evening on the town without the other following alone.

Padma had finally gotten that good shag she had so longingly spoken of in the hallway outside of Hermione's flat. It seemed that the only people that had been surprised when she and Seamus had gotten together had been Padma and Seamus. Everyone else in their group had only muttered statements along the lines of 'It's about damn time' or 'Thank Salazar, now we can all stop pretending' when the couple had come out as public.

The other guests comprised Harry's extensive family group that he had adopted during his thirteen years in the wizarding world. Minerva McGonagall sat awkwardly patting Hagrid's massive arm as the man blubbered into a handkerchief the size of a small tablecloth. Next to the stern Headmistress of Hogwarts was Andromeda Tonks, with Harry's godson sitting in the seat closest to the aisle. Teddy had grown up so much in the past few years and, now closing in on six years old, was a perfect blend of Remus and Tonks. Sometimes it hurt Hermione's heart to see how much he looked like his parents, and when his hair would flame red during his temper tantrums, Hermione couldn't help but think of Nymphadora at the table in Grimmauld Place, distracting them all from talk of war with the metamorphmagi skills that she had passed along to her son.

Predictably present was the entire Weasley clan – sans Ron. Molly sat dabbing at her own watery eyes with a handkerchief that Arthur had given her, and a huge smile was on her face as she watched, tucked securely into her husband's side. George and Angelina Weasley sat beside them with their son, Fred Weasley II, sitting on George's lap and their newborn daughter, Roxanne Weasley, cradled in Angelina's arm.

Charlie was there, his hair long and unkempt but with a huge grin on his face as he watched the ceremony. In the next row sat Bill and Fleur with their two daughters, Victoire and Dominique, sandwiched between them.

Percy had even come with his family, although to say he looked uncomfortable being there would be an understatement of epic proportions. Hermione had met his wife, Audrey, a few times and, while not necessarily full of personality, the witch was likeable enough. Their daughter Molly sat primly between them, and Hermione had to stifle a giggle at the thought of how similar Percy's daughter was to hm.

She was drawn from her musings as Harry and Pansy made their way down the aisle and to the open-sided marquee that had been erected behind the ceremony site.

"Time to start the party!" Draco said, eliciting a laugh from Hermione.

Draco watched as Hermione dropped down onto the chair beside him, panting with exertion. While the first dance, and any slow dances, had been reserved for him, it seemed that there was no shortage of guests that wanted to dance with his witch. Theo had swept her onto the dance floor while Draco had danced with Pansy, and Draco had watched as Theo had made her laugh until tears of mirth were running down her cheeks.

Next had come every single Weasley male, even Percy. Not surprisingly, each of their friends had wanted a dance with her, and she had been passed from Blaise to Neville, then to Seamus, who had handed her over to Dean, who had graciously passed her into the groom's care. Now, she was flushed with the dancing and the tropical heat, and stray wisps of brown curly hair was sticking to the sweat on the nape of her neck.

Draco was certain that she had never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment. The joy in her eyes made the amber orbs twinkle in the light of the setting sun. Her light blue dress fit her perfectly, enhancing the tan undertones of her skin while the ruffles at the bodice brought his attention to her breasts, which were still heaving with the effort to catch her breath.

He knew that he was the luckiest bastard alive. He had meant the words he had said to Weasley in that club, over a year and a half ago: he knew we wasn't good enough for this witch, but he was staying right by her side until she told him to leave.

He looked around the tent and locked with vivid green eyes on the opposite side of the dance floor. Harry Potter nodded at him in encouragement and Pansy, tucked into her husband's side, winked. At their prompting, Draco took a deep breath for courage before rising to his feet. The music changed to a soft, slow ballad and Draco held out a hand for Hermione's.

"Dance with me?" he asked softly, and in spite of her tiredness, Hermione smiled radiantly at him and allowed him to pull her to her feet and onto the dance floor. They swayed together for a few moments while Draco gathered his thoughts. Then, the music abruptly stopped, and he dropped to a knee in front of Hermione.

"Granger," he began, and watched as her beautiful amber eyes widened in disbelief. "If anyone had told me when I was eleven years old that this is where I would be, I would have sent them to St Mungo's to get their head examined. Not because of the thought of me wanting to be with you. That is not the unbelievable part. I've always wanted you. No, the thought that would have been so beyond my ability to comprehend would have been that of you wanting to be with me.

"I know that, over my life, I've done little to prove my worthiness of you, but I thank my lucky stars every single day that you decided to give me a chance. Now, more than a year and half later, the thought of spending a single day without seeing you or holding you in my arms makes me physically recoil. I need you – by me, beside me, to guide me – every day for the rest of our lives.

"Hermione," he said, and smiled at the way she sighed when he said her name. "Will you marry me?"

Hermione was dropping to her knees in front of him before he could finish the question. She threw her arms around his neck and he could feel her nodding her head from where it rested in the crook of his neck.

"Yes!" she said, voice muffled by his skin, but he heard it all the same.

He rose to his feet with her in his arms and spun her around him. They were suddenly mobbed by hands as everyone huddled around them to congratulate them. Draco pulled back from her slightly to pull a ring from his pocket, and he slipped it onto her finger. The diamond was a large, princess cut that more than met the expectations of the Malfoy house and wealth, but it wasn't why he had picked it for her. No, he had chosen this ring for its setting.

The band had been intricately worked and manipulated by the goblins that had created it until it resembled the vines of a flower. The metalwork continued upward and around the center stone until the entire piece resembled a flower: an aster, to be more precise.

He saw the moment her eyes realized what the shape signified, and she sighed happily before leaning closer to him to press a kiss to his lips.

"I love you, Draco Malfoy," she said simply, the five words full of more love and longing than he could have ever dreamed of possessing.

"I love you, Hermione. Always."

As he watched their friends gather around them, he found himself smiling contentedly. While he never would have imagined this would happen when he walked into that muggle pub almost two years ago, it had. And the life that had bloomed from that was more beautiful than he could have dreamed.

He couldn't wait to see where they went from there.

And it's over.

I hope you all enjoyed this one. I know it was mostly fluff but, after the past few stories I've written, I was excited to do something a bit more lighthearted for a change of pace.

I do already have a new story that is in the beginning stages, and that I plan on beginning to post once I get a few chapters in. It will be very different from my other stories - very mature for sure - so I want to make sure I know where I want it to go before I start posting so I don't get overwhelmed with the how of getting there.

Hopefully you all stick with me for the next one. As always, thank you so much for all of the favorites and follows, and especially to those of you who have taken the time to leave me comments. It really does make my day to read your thoughts.

See you all at the next one!

sbz