Authors note: SO, SO, SO sorry that this is a week late. Let me tell you, things have been hectic. I've had a college interview and four exams this week. I haven't even had time to walk my bloody dog, let alone post this! Honestly, how hard it is being in your last year of High school!

Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, and thank you to everyone who's reviewed! I haven't had the chance to reply to everyone, but I will get around to it eventually. Well, I hope! We now have 229 reviews! WHOOP! (; Let's try and meet the 250 mark by next chapter, shall we? ;)

Read on, M'lovlies!

Chapter Eleven:

Sunday 20th September 1998. (Words: 3604.)

Hermione woke the next morning the someone pounding on the front door.

Wincing at the sudden brightness, Hermione sat up, shielding her eyes.

She let her eyes wander to the empty space in the bed next to her and sighed. She had hoped that the previous night had been a dream. She had hoped that she would wake up, a huge grin on her face, and see her husband snoring softly beside her.

When there was another round of pounding at the front door, Hermione finally snapped herself out of her thoughts and climbed out of bed.

She shuffled over to the vanity table and looked briefly in the mirror.

Her hair was stood up at all angles, her face was blotchy and her eyes were puffy and red.

"Great," she sighed before standing up straight once again, walking swiftly out of the bedroom door.

When she reached the front door, she stopped and took a deep breath, preparing herself. She half expected Draco to be on the other side, ready for round two. She didn't know if she could cope with that … not right now, any way.

"Hermione, I know you're in there… don't ignore me!" a shriek came from the other side of the door. "Hermione!"

Wait - that wasn't Draco's voice!

Swinging the front door open, Hermione let out a sigh of relief.

"Ginny!" Hermione said, forcing a smile on her face. "Sorry, I thought you were…"

She trailed of and tried to swallow the lump that was rising in the back of her throat.

"What? Your glorious husband?" Ginny bit out. The redhead stormed past her friend and into the living room.

"Come in, why don't you," Hermione muttered sarcastically, swinging the door shut.

When Hermione spun around, she noticed Ginny sat on the sofa, arms crossed.

"What can I do for you, Gin?"

"You want to tell me why Draco came storming into our flat at who knows what time this morning?"

Hermione's stomach dropped.

"Ah, that."

"Yes, that," Ginny said, eyebrows raised. "And by the way, you owe us a new sofa."

"What? Why?" Hermione said, completely baffled.

"Because your delectable husband blew it up beyond repair!"

Hermione's eyes widened. Draco had blown up their couch? Hermione brought her hands up to run them over her face.

"Jesus, Ginny, I'm sorry," Hermione apologized, sitting beside her.

"Don't worry about it," Ginny said dryly, waving her hand. "Now, you want to tell me why he blew it up in the first place?"

Hermione bit her lip. What would Ginny think when she told her? Would she think Draco was being stupid and overreacting? Or would she think that Hermione was being stupid and overreacting?

"Well…" Hermione started hesitantly. "Everything started off brilliantly!"

"You mean the - you know - sex?" Ginny said, coughing awkwardly afterwards.

Hermione flushed bright red.

"Yeah …"

"Was it any good?" Ginny said suddenly, grinning wildly.

"Gin!" Hermione gasped, and if possible, flushing an even brighter shade of red. "You can't ask me that!"

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"And why ever not? I want to see if his reputation upholds him."

"Well I'm not going to tell you!" Hermione said, glaring slightly.

Ginny chuckled.

"So what was it then?" Ginny inquired.

"Well, he asked who my first time was with," Hermione muttered. "And I didn't particularly want to enlighten him."

Ginny shot her an understanding look.

"You're going to have to tell him eventually, Hermione," Ginny said after a moments pause.

Hermione shot her a weary look.

"Tell him? How the hell can I tell him? He already went loopy when I wouldn't tell him who it was…"

"I know, Hermione," Ginny said gently. "But you can't have a marriage based on lies. It's immoral."

Hermione gave Ginny a scathing look.

"You sound like my mother."

Ginny rolled her eyes once more.

"By the way," Hermione said, looking at Ginny's clothing. "What are you wearing?"

The redheaded girl was wearing a light green, silk strapless dress. Her hair was on the side in a nice, fancy looking bun, and she had light green dust on her eyelids.

Ginny gave her a blank look.

"What do you mean, what am I wearing?"

"Well, you look all dressed up -" Hermione started, nodding at the other girl.

"Hermione, it's Harry's wedding today!"

Hermione slapped a hand to her mouth and her eyes widened comically.

"Oh my goodness!" she shrieked. "How could I forget such a thing?"

"Well," Ginny said, standing up. "By the sounds of it you've had a lot on your mind. Now, come on."

Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and all but dragged her from the sofa, leading her into the latter's bedroom.

Just over half an hour later the two girls left the Malfoy's flat and began walking down to the Room of Requirement.

Hermione had decided on a black halter necked dress with small, white polka dots all over it and a little black bow around the middle. Her hair in a curled up-do.

"Do you think Draco's going to be there?" Hermione whispered as they approached the door.

Outside were a few guests, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

"Obviously he's going to be there, Hermione," Ginny said in a slightly exasperated voice. "Pansy's one of his closest friends."

"Right," Hermione said, nodding. She gulped loudly as they entered the room.

After looking around for a few seconds, the girls finally spotted Harry, Ron and Blaise at the front of the room, stood right beside the alter.

Hermione's heart raced ever so slightly when she couldn't find Draco's familiar platinum blond hair any where in the pews.

"Harry!" Ginny said when they approached, causing Hermione to

snap her head towards the boys. She hadn't noticed that they'd already approached them.

"Hermione, Ginny!" Harry grinned, pulling them both into a tight hug. "It's great to see you!"

"It's wonderful to see you, too, Harry," Hermione said, smiling at him. "Are you nervous?"

"Only a little," Harry said, shrugging. "Where's Malfoy?"

Hermione's face paled and she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. What was wrong with her?

"Hermione?" Harry said, shooting his friend a worried glance. "Something the matter?"

"Nope," Hermione said, shaking her head forcefully. She wasn't going to ruin Harry's day whining about her own problems. "Nothing's the matter. He'll be along shortly, I expect."

Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. Just as Hermione finished her sentence, the doors to the Room of Requirement opened once more and Draco strode in, a confident air about him.

Hermione's eyes locked with his. There it was again. The cold look. No emotion. Merlin, he hated her, didn't he? He wanted a divorce. God, he was going to live in the Muggle world just because he couldn't stand to be with her.

"Harry," Draco said when he approached them, his eyes firmly on Hermione's face. "How're you feeling this morning?"

Hermione shot her eyes to the ground, unable to look into his eyes any longer. She hated seeing that look.

"I'm feeling great… excited as hell!" Harry beamed.

"Good - that's good," Draco said, quietly.

After a awkward silence, Hermione raised her head, looking directly at Harry.

"I'm going to take a seat," she said quietly. "Good luck."

With that, she spun around and walked away, wedging herself in-between Mrs. Weasley and George, leaving no room for her husband.

Hermione's plan to avoid Draco, however, failed miserably when he took a seat directly behind her.

She could feel his eyes on the back of her head as Astoria and Daphne Greengrass and Millicent Bullstrode made their way down the isle in their matching dresses.

Why wouldn't he stop staring at her? Did he detest her that much that he had to prove his point by gawping at her? No, that didn't make sense. If he detested her, then he'd try to avoid her as much as possible. That's what any normal person would do. Then again, Draco Malfoy wasn't exactly a normal person, was he?

Hermione jumped slightly as the wedding march began.

"Are you all right, dear?" Mrs. Weasley whispered from beside her.

"Fine," Hermione choked out, forcing a bright smile on her face. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just look a little tense is all," Mrs. Weasley said, shooting her a worried glance.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione smiled before turning back to the front, where Harry was now stood next to Pansy.

When the ceremony was over, the same procedure was done. The bride and groom was rushed into the abandoned classroom for the reception, hundreds of photographs were taken and they were shoved onto the dance floor for their first dance.

Draco Malfoy, however, was sat at the back of the room, downing a glass of fire whisky with Blaise.

"Just go and apologise to her, mate," Blaise said, noticing the blonds gaze had once again drifted to the bushy haired Gryffindor.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Draco mumbled, pouring himself another glass of whiskey.

"You haven't done anything wrong?" Blaise said, shooting him an incredulous look. "So first you shout at your wife for not telling you who she first ever slept with, then your storm into our flat and blow up the couch? And you're now refusing to talk to her."

Draco turned to glare at his best friend.

"I am not refusing to talk to her! It's her! She won't even spare me a glance, Blaise."

"Because you've clearly hurt her feelings! Even a blind man could see that!" Blaise said, exasperated. The other Slytherin really was an imbecile sometimes.

Draco looked back at his wife once again. She was talking quietly to Ginny, a frown on her face.

"I'm not apologizing," Draco said stubbornly.

It was better this way. Maybe she would begin to hate him so much she would demand a divorce, wanting to instead live in the Muggle world. It would be safer for her that way. That was he couldn't get to her.

"You're such a prat, mate," Blaise said, shaking his head before standing up.

Draco downed his drink once again, looking at the table miserably.

"He's staring at you again, Mione," Ginny said for what seemed like the hundredth time in an hour.

Hermione squirmed uncomfortably.

"What kind of stare is it?" she muttered, not wanting to look.

"What do you mean, what kind of stare is it?" Ginny said, raisin an eyebrow at Hermione.

"Well," Hermione said, looking at Ginny. "Is it an angry stare? Or a stare of loathing? Or a stare of -"

"It's a stare of complete and utter misery," Ginny grinned gleefully.

Hermione shot Ginny a look.

"Do you enjoy watching other people's misery?"

"Maybe a little," Ginny shrugged, still grinning.

"Should've been a Slytherin, I swear," Hermione muttered.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Hermione said, feigning innocence.

Ginny glared at her, standing up.

"I'm going to get another drink… you want anything?"

"No."

"Miserable bitch," Ginny mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Hermione sat in silence for a few minutes, staring into space.

Why was Draco looking at her with a miserable look on his face? Was he miserable that she was avoiding him? Or miserable because she hadn't cracked yet and wasn't bawling her eyes out?

She felt like it, she honestly did. She hated fighting with Draco. A year ago, it wouldn't have bothered her in the slightest. In face, it was common occurrence that she, Harry, Ron and Draco were in some sort of confrontation. But it was all different now, wasn't it?

"Ah, you must be the new Mrs. Malfoy, am I right?" a voice from beside her said. Hermione, startled, looked up suddenly. Sat in the recently vacated seat beside her, was a woman with a pale face, delicate features and well kept, brown hair.

"Uh, yes?" Hermione said, smiling politely. She was an awfully beautiful woman, Hermione decided. She also looked oddly familiar.

"My name is Camilla Parkinson," the woman said, holding her hand out for Hermione to shake. "I'm Pansy's mother."

That's why she looked familiar!

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Hermione smiled brightly. And it was. She and Pansy had become close friends over the past few weeks, and Hermione thought very dearly of the Slytherin girl.

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine!" Mrs. Parkinson said, smiling softly. "It's really wonderful to be here today. I've been out of the country for a while now."

Hermione knew this, of course. It had been in the Daily Prophet a month or so after the war had ended. Mr. Parkinson, however, was spending life in Azkaban with the other of Voldemort's inner circle followers.

"But I just had to come to my darling's wedding - I simply couldn't miss it!" Mrs. Parkinson said, smiling fondly at her daughter who was dancing cheerfully with her new husband. "I'm thrilled she's found someone, you know. It's never been easy for her - well, the both of us, really. What with Jerome, my husband, being such a willing follower of the Dark Lord."

Hermione frowned slightly.

"So I take it you didn't exactly agree with the Dark Lord's regime then?"

"Agree with it? Heavens no!" Mrs. Parkinson said, shaking her head. "I didn't want anything to do with the fiasco! It was doomed from the start, if you ask me. But I wasn't alone in my feelings, though."

"How do you mean?" Hermione asked curiously.

Mrs. Parkinson gave her a look.

"There were many other wives of Death Eaters in the same position as me, dear."

"There were?"

"But of course! Lady Malfoy herself often told me of her dreams to be neutral."

"Narcissa?" Hermione said, disbelief etched into her voice. "Narcissa didn't want anything to do with the war?"

Mrs. Parkinson shook her head softly.

"No, none of us did."

"But then - why did you stay?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Because we had to!" Mrs. Parkinson said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What do you think would happen if we went swanning off, taking our children with us? We could hide, of course… but for how long? They'd have found us eventually."

Hermione couldn't believe she was hearing this. Mrs. Malfoy and all the others didn't want to be a part of it all. Hermione was beginning to see them in slightly a different light. Unless -

"You're not just saying this to earn the respect of a War hero, are you?" Hermione asked, scrutinizing the other woman. "Your reputations have, after all, been tarnished."

Mrs. Parkinson gave her an understanding look.

"I understand completely why would feel this way. But if you look at it this way … you weren't the only one's trapped in that god forsaken war."

Hermione hummed, nodding slightly. After a few moments of silence, Mrs. Parkinson spoke again.

"He looks sorry, you know," she said, causing Hermione to look up.

"Who?"

"Young Draco, of course," Mrs. Parkinson said, smiling. "During our whole conversation he's had his eyes planted firmly onto yourself, an apologetic air about him."

Hermione chanced a glance towards the table Draco was sat at and saw that he was indeed staring at her with strong intensity.

"He's a stubborn boy, that one," Mrs. Parkinson's voice broke through Hermione's thoughts. "Always has been, even as a child. But he means well."

Hermione snapped her eyes away from Draco and dropped her gaze once again to her lap.

"Don't be to quick disregard the situation, Mrs. Malfoy," Mrs. Parkinson said, standing up. "Thank you for your time. I see an old family friend over there I've just been dying to talk to! It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you, too, Mrs. Parkinson," Hermione said, standing up to give the older woman a polite hug. "Goodbye."

When Mrs. Parkinson was gone, Hermione stood still, watching her friends. Harry was chatting merrily to Pansy and an Elvin looking woman, Ron and Luna were yapping away to Neville and Astoria, while Ginny and Blaise were cuddled happily in a corner, conversing only to themselves.

She was happy for them. Happy that they had been able to get over past prejudices and find peace and maybe even love. She wished she could have that. She knew she didn't love Draco. Not yet, anyway. And she knew that he would no doubt never love her in return.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione turned around and strode towards the door, smiling politely as she passed joyous guests.

She walked absently through corridor after corridor, finally finding herself in the Astronomy Tower.

Everything went wrong there. Professor Dumbledore had died. The war would have no doubt been over a lot quicker if he were alive to help Harry, Ron and Hermione in their hunt for the Horcruxes. This was where Draco was nearly forced to commit murder; scaring himself for life.

But it was also such a beautiful place. Standing at the ledge of the tower, you could look across the whole of the school grounds, and could even see parts of Hogsmeade.

"It's such a memorable place, isn't it?" a voice said from behind her.

Hermione spun around, startled. Stood at the top of the spiral staircase was Draco, his familiar platinum blond hair waving softly in the wind.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Hermione said, her voice cracking ever so slightly.

"Look, Hermione -" Draco started, breaking off. He frowned, and looked as though he didn't quite know what to say.

He shuffled forward, sighing.

"Look," he started again. "I overreacted, okay? I'm an idiotic, melodramatic fool."

Hermione chuckled ever so slightly.

"I was just going to say that you overreacted, but hey, you added the insults," she tried to joke.

He gave her a half smile.

"Why did you overreact, though?" Hermione asked as he made his way towards her.

"Because - I was just jealous," he muttered.

"Jealous?" Hermione asked, frowning. "Why would you be jealous? You got to marry me, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did, but -" Draco said, stopping again. "I don't know. I think it's just a guy thing."

They didn't say anything for a few minutes, instead stared out at the night sky in silence.

"It was Ron," Hermione said after a few minutes. She felt liked she owed it to him to tell him.

"What?" Draco said, confusion laced in his voice.

"Ron, he was my first time," Hermione explained. As soon as she said it though, she regretted it. She didn't even have to look at him to see he had tensed up. "It doesn't matter, though -"

"How did it happen?" Draco said, glaring moodily out at the sky.

"What?"

"How did you sleep with him? You're his best friend, are you not? It's like me sleeping with Pansy. It's not something most people do with their best friends."

Hermione could feel one of his temper tantrum's coming on. Temper tantrum, she mentally snorted. It made him sound like he was four.

"We were celebrating after the war. I had one to many to drink -"

"So he took advantage of you, then?" Draco said, spinning around to face her.

"What? No! He was drunk too, we both were! Draco, you're overreacting again!" Hermione said, an exasperated look on her face.

She couldn't believe him sometimes!

Draco took a deep breath, calming himself, Hermione thought.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he said after a few minutes. "It's just the thought of Weasley getting there before me."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You still don't like him? I thought things were slightly better with the pair of you now?"

"It is - kind of."

"Well, you great idiot, it needs to be better than kind of, if you're going to be married to me for the rest of your life," Hermione said, scolding him playfully.

"Oh, the horror!" Draco said, slapping a hand across his forehead. "However will I cope?"

"Oh shut up, you idiot!" Hermione laughed, slapping him lightly on the arm.

Draco surprised her, however, by grabbing her quickly around the waist, pulling her flush against him.

"I really am sorry, you know," he whispered down at her. "I don't like sharing."

"Well you're gonna have to learn, Draco," Hermione said, looking up at him. "They are just as much part of my life as you are. They're my family."

Draco sighed, resting his forehead against Hermione's.

"Wait until my father hears that I'm getting chummy with the boy who lived and his army of blood-traitors," Draco muttered.

"Wait, your father? But he's in Azkaban. Surely he won't -" Hermione started, frowning.

Draco shot her a soft smile, that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I know, I know," Draco said. "Force of habit, worrying about my father. But I don't care about him. I care about what happens here and now."

"And what is happening here and now?" Hermione inquired, a soft, suggesting smile on her face.

"Well, I was thinking about going for a late night match of Quidditch with Potter, but if you have other things in mind, then I'm sure I can reschedule."

Hermione giggled, rolling her eyes.

"The day I let you and Harry go for a late night match of Quidditch is the day I want to arrange a funeral - which is never, might I add."

Draco put a fake look of disappointment on his face before shrugging.

"Hmm, suit yourself," he told her, swooping his face down, his mouth resting gently against hers.

Hermione sighed, loving the feeling. How wonderful it felt to be kissed by Draco Malfoy.

End Authors Note: There we have it! They've officially made up! WHOOP! ;) But it's no bed of roses, is it, M'dears?

Next Chapter should be up next weekend. Probably Sunday, though, because I'm going camping on Friday and Saturday night! ;D! Won't be back till Sunday ;D! LOVEYOU ALL! ;D Don't forget to hit that little review button! ;) x!