A wedding proposal cliffhanger?! How could someone be so cruel?

I abhor cliffhangers, so of course I couldn't leave it at just that.

As I had mentioned, I may have been working on this for quite some time. I love that I am not the only one enjoying this so far. Please continue to let me know what you think! I love the feedback I have been receiving so far.

-Chapter 3-

Accompanying Song: Let Go - Frou Frou

The pure unadulterated shock that hit her with those four words left her mouth gaping. There were few times that Hermione ever felt herself at a loss for words, but this was definitely one of them.

"What," she managed to stammer out, not masking the incredulous tone toward what had just transpired.

"I said," he kept his tone even, "will you marry me?"

"Why on Earth would you want to marry me?"

"Well, if we are to be parents together, why not see this out completely? Together?"

Her eyes narrowed with scrutiny as she searched his face. Something did not add up. Why would he taint his family name by ending the pureblood legacy with her? He could walk away and ignore all of this! He could pretend neither of them existed! There had to be a catch.

"Why." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Malfoy rocked back onto his heel, his free hand combing back through his hair.

"Hermione, I want to be there for you and our child. The best way to do that is if we are bound. There are many magical protections woven into the marriage ceremony that would benefit you and our unborn child." He stated this calmly and factually, as if it were evident to anyone. "Besides, there has never been a Malfoy born outside of wedlock."

There it was.

Hermione groaned. "You couldn't have just stopped while you were ahead…"

"I will not have my child born a bastard, but that does not negate what I said. It would be highly beneficial for the both of you."

"This has nothing to do with our well-being and everything to do with your social status!" Her voice had begun a sharp crescendo, the disbelief that this is why he wanted to meet threatening to put her in hysterics..

"I fail to see why this is such a bad thing. We can compromise on the specifics of what the marriage entails. I am not asking you to relocate or do anything that you are currently not doing. I am simply asking you to put the wellbeing of our child first."

"How would this be beneficial to my child," she snapped.

"Granger, please. Imagine the news of a Malfoy heir was born, a child that would end the Malfoy line being pureblood. The war may be over, but that does not mean there isn't danger out there still. My father has been missing for months now. The marriage ceremony could protect you from dark magic, from his magic." Hesitantly, he had reached out and covered her hands with his. His eyes were pleading. Honest.

Hermione silenced, nodding in agreement at this as her anger began to simmer. How could she deny her child the protective charms and spells that came with a legally binding marriage? Being a Malfoy would be a double edged sword, though.. Sure, they were a powerful and wealthy family, but that did not come without a tarnished reputation and those that vehemently opposed them for their lenient sentencing post war. They still weren't completely redeemed after the war. What if someone targeted their child simply for being a Malfoy if she did coparent with him? This wasn't something she had given thought to before.

She leaned forward and carefully, hesitating for only a moment, lifted the box from his hand. "Alright,"

Draco balked, shocked at her willing agreement to his proposal.

"But," she handed the ring to him, a simple silver twisted band with one large diamonds flanked by two emeralds, shockingly something not gaudy and that she could have imagined in her own jewelry collection, "I have my own list of demands."

Draco's brow arched at this, willing her to proceed as he slipped the ring onto her dainty finger where it magically constricted to fit snuggly to her.

"First, I have my own doctor. She is a muggle and I wish to continue to see her."

"That doesn't seem unreasonable." Draco simply shrugged at this request. "I do not know enough about the pregnancy process to doubt your own knowledge."

"I wish for you to see her with me for certain milestones."

"I will be at your beck and call." His palm crossed over his heart as if pledging this to her.

"Second, you are to meet my friends, this includes dinners at the Burrow-"

Draco's mouth opened to cut her off, but her hand lifted to stop him.

"Non-negotiable. Third, we will not be moving into the Manor." She raised a finger to still him as he once more attempted to speak and pushed out the final request in a single breath. "Fourth, I do not want our child raised by some stuffy nanny, I want them to attend a daycare while we are at work and interact with other children. Should the risk run too high, I'll ask Molly. She already watches Teddy and James and they are developing right on schedule." She leaned back, arms crossing across her chest as she surveyed his reaction. Daring him to defy her.

With a deep breath, Draco stood up and brushed off the front of his dress pants. He moved to take a seat in her lounge chair and sprawled out, dragging out the moment before he would speak as if mulling it over. "Fine, but I have a few… requests of my own." He glanced up to meet her gaze. "I would like you to make an effort to befriend my mother, and I would like us to use our given names to refer to one another."

He paused here, mentally preparing for the pushback he might be met with and weighing his final request. As she nodded in agreement, assuming he was finished, he continued. "I would also like us to have dinner every night, to get to know one another. You may pick where we go, should you agree."

None of these requests seemed too outlandish or overbearing, though she hardly found having to give up every night of her life to be fair. However, he had uncharacteristically agreed to all of her demands without so much as a whimper of protest and she found herself feeling generous in exchange. Perhaps she had jumped to conclusions when it came to his character. Of course he had some of those outdated pureblood ways and that obnoxious superiority complex, but perhaps she could find herself friendly as opposed to just civil towards him one day.

"That seems hardly unreasonable. I assume that your mother is going to take over preparations for the wedding itself?"

"As the circumstances have forced my hand and I'm unable to properly court you, I would like to ask your parents permission, then announce our engagement to your friends prior to any wedding planning. You're not far enough along for anyone to know at this moment and I feel your safety to not be at stake. I would like some pretense of normalcy."

The ring on her finger flickered before fading from sight. A simple concealment charm.

But those words hung in the silence between them.

Her parents.

"Malfoy-Draco.." she started.

It was always such a hard topic for her. There were very few that knew the truth of what had happened to her parents during the war and, regardless how many years had passed since, they were her parents and a piece of her heart was missing with them.

"It's just that-" Her voice cracked, her nervous, shaking fingers fumbling with the hem of her shirt. Why was this such a complicated thing to admit?

Without another word, Draco had slipped from his seat and enveloped her into an embrace. The gesture alone startled her and shook her already jumbled thoughts. Was Draco Malfoy attempting to comfort her? Her heart thundered in her ears as she found the knot that had formed in her throat releasing it's grip on her.

You can do this she reminded herself.

With a shuddering breath, she tried to collect her thoughts.

"Promise me," she whispered, "no secrets between us?"

His head nodded and she continued, another deep breath to steady herself before she began to talk. She started with the beginning, with the trio being on the run during the war. They were targets, and many muggleborn children were losing their families to death eaters. It was the hardest decision of her life, one she would never recover from, but it was the most selfless thing she could do to protect them. She had used a memory charm on her parents and sent them to Australia. She would not risk the chance of them being killed or worse. When the war had ended, she had attempted to reverse what she had done, but she wasn't able to. The brightest witch of her age, unable to undo a simple memory charm.

Yet, they had been so happy with the life they now led. Hermione wasn't even sure if she had ever seen her family so at peace. Who was she to take that away from them and tell them all the horrible things that they couldn't protect her from? The wizarding world was something they had never been able to understand and this would have been even harder for them. So, they continued their life in Australia and she watched them from afar, only interacting with them as family friend.

When she finally grew quiet, Draco reached down to gently roll the pad of his thumb across her cheeks, brushing away the moisture that had collected.

"You are braver than I could ever be," he murmured against her hair, pulling her in tighter.

With a wet laugh, she bumped her shoulder into him. "Was that a compliment, Malfoy?"

"Draco," he corrected, "and of course it was."

She fidgeted in his embrace, craning her head back to steal a glance up at him. "You know," she hesitated, forcing herself to use his given name, "Draco, you're much different than you were in school. Old you wouldn't have even been on the same piece of furniture let alone wipe away my tears and console me."

There was a small upward tug at the corners of his lips before that stoic expression took over once more. "Though I may have been raised to believe something, that doesn't mean that I haven't seen the fallacies with those notions and haven't worked to correct it. It has been seven years, Hermione, and you of all people had shattered my belief of pureblood superiority."

Now she was sure he was polyjuiced and she had just bared her soul to a stranger. She pushed off him and searched his face with furrowed brows. "Me? How?"

His laugh was like honey and she felt a pull in her navel. "You always bested me in every subject. How was the pureblood ideals of muggleborns being vastly inferior to hold any weight with the fact that despite all training and practice I had of my entire life, you walk in and master magic in a way I never could. You belong in this world."

A light heat had crept into her cheeks and tainted them a soft crimson. "I believe that is the nicest thing I have ever heard you say. Did you hit your head on one of your Auror missions?"

There was that smooth laugh again, one she hardly heard him ever make, and it was for her. She was the one causing that handsome smile and-

Wait. Malfoy? Handsome?

Of course, she could be an adult and admit it. Everyone had always swooned over him at Hogwarts. So what if he was a little attractive?

Nimble fingers tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and a swarm of butterflies took flight in her stomach. "Unfortunately, I must get going. I'm sorry to leave so fast, it's just that mother expected me to be back to the Manor over an hour ago…"

"That's alright," she quickly dismissed it as he began to ramble. "Tomorrow night will be our first dinner as a-as a couple, though?" She stumbled over the words, a thought so foreign in concept when it came to her and him. A couple.

"If you would be so kind as to see me again," his voice light and warm breath tickling her cheek. "If you wouldn't mind, I would still like to announce our engagement, in person, to our friends and my mother,"

"Of course," she managed in a barely audible whisper.

His long fingers curled under hers, lifting her hand to brush his lips across her knuckles. "Until tomorrow night, mon cheri," with one last lingering kiss on her ring finger, he disapparated.

Hermione collapsed back into her couch, her mind reeling. Not only had he been more than civil, he had been quite charming. Malfoy. Charming.

Not Malfoy. Draco.

Her fiance, Draco.