Author's Note: Tonight is another double upload! Our couple's first obstacle, and the next chapter a reward for all the encouragement I have received this far. Thank you so much for sticking around!

—Chapter 5–

Accompanying Music: Broken - lovelytheband

The rest of the week had flown by in a blur and Friday's randevu at The-Boy-Who-Lived's house brought with it a storm of emotions.

To say she was ill prepared for tonight was an understatement. The knot that had formed in her gut had begun to rival the morning sickness and Hermione found herself confined to the house for the duration of the evening leading up to their expected departure time. She braced herself against the marble countertop with a white knuckle grip as she stared absently into the running water. Every terrible thought and scenario had run through her head throughout the course of the day.

What if they never spoke to her again?

What if she lost the only family that she had left?

What if what little progress her and Draco had been making came tumbling down?

Was the foundation of their unity enough?

She took in a breath as another wave of anxiety crashed into her, her vision swimming as the world around her began to blur.

Familiar arms encircled her waist, grounding her once more to the world around her. The feeling of light fingertips skimming her sides pulled her back from the brink. His voice was gentle but a lifeline from the raging seas of her mind.

"Are you certain you are alright?"

Slowly she turned in his embrace, her arms looping around his shoulders. In that moment, he was everything she found herself unable to be. Her own mind weighed heavy on her heart and her eyes were unable to conceal the turmoil that it was wreaking. Where her shoulders sagged and her grip was loose, he was a firm rock that held her afloat. His eyes showed no hint of weakness, no doubts, only the confidence she had hoped she would have had.

"How are you not worried," her voice was soft, finding her throat suddenly dry.

"Worried about what? Potter?"

She could only nod in response.

"Only half of the Potters could actually terrify me, and it certainly isn't Harry," he smirked at his own joke and pulled her in closer. "We could always reschedule."

"No." Hermione shook her head to emphasize her point and took a deep breath. "I am tired of hiding this from them. They are my family, and I'm not ashamed of us. There is no reason to keep them in the dark."

"For what it's worth," Draco moved a hand, gently tipping her chin up to look into her eyes, "you are the most stunning person I have ever met, inside and out."

And in that moment, Hermione found the clarity she had been searching for. He wasn't the boy that teased her growing up, and he certainly wasn't the other boys she had been with. He was strong when she couldn't be. He put her needs before his own and was a constant and a reassurance. He was there for her, and people like that shouldn't be taken lightly. He wasn't perfect, but Merlin knows she isn't either.

But he was here, and he was trying more than she had even begun to give him credit for.

Her body crashed into his sending them both into the wall behind him, lips capturing his in a searing kiss. The spontaneity of the act caught him off guard and Draco's mind and body struggled to catch back up. Her fingers combed up through his hair, using her grip in it to angle his face down towards hers and give her better access to him. The tip of her tongue traced the edge of his bottom lip, begging for passage.

With a groan, Draco relented. His lips parted and tongue clashed with hers. Hermione's body pressed more firmly to his as a fiery passion began to work through her core. One hand had managed to disentangle from his hair without notice and began to make quick work of his belt and button.

"Hermione—" he groaned, a futile attempt to pull away before once more being captured.

Her fingers had managed to grant her access and her hand dipped into the front of his pants. With a fluid motion, she smoothed her palm over the growing bulge that strained against his boxers. A predatory growl escaped her against his lips as she gave him a firm squeeze through the thin fabric.

A hiss escaped Draco's lips and, against his best wishes, he reached down to gently grab her wrist. "Darling," his voice was strangled and his mind had begun to fog.

"Draco," she pleaded, normally not one to beg but the need growing in her was becoming painful.

Freed from her grip, Draco took a breath to center himself. "We have to be logical. We cannot show up to Potter's reeking of sex. I thought we were easing this on them."

Hermione whimpered, but relented to the voice of reason. Her body parted away from his slowly, reluctantly.

"I'm sorry that I,"'she paused, searching for the right word, "assaulted you."

"It certainly wasn't how I anticipated our first kiss," he chuckled, straightening out his attire once more.

"Technically, it wouldn't be our first."

Draco took her hand in his and slowly led her from the bathroom. "We are going to be late."

He gathered up the bottle of wine for the hostess of the evening, gently kissed Hermione's cheek and tossed floo powder into the fire.

"Everything will be fine," his voice was smooth, and, in that moment, she believed him.

"You WHAT!" Ron's roar broke the stunned silence.

The bottle of Merlot that Draco had offered to Ginny now lay shattered at her feet, the pool of liquid spreading across the wooden floorboards. The explosion of glass and sudden outburst caused Hermione to flinch.

A nervous laugh escaped her as she attempted to regain composure, her grip on Draco's hand now vice like.

"Surprise?" She managed barely above a whisper.

The roar of her two male companions that followed became an outright cacophony of noise. Luckily, no wands had been drawn, but the amount of seething rage that came from the two of them caused Hermione to bristle. While normally able to keep her emotions in check, her vision quickly began to swim.

Damn her hormones!

She anticipated a bit of backlash from Ron, but from Harry too? He worked with Draco, for Merlin's sake! He was the one that said so many nice things about his partner!

"Oi! Hermione! Have you lost your damn mind!? Are you under the Imperius? Clearly, you aren't as bright as everyone seems to think if you aren't!" With each spiteful word from Ron, she felt the tears threaten to spill over.

"He's changed, he-" she managed to weakly choke out before being cut off.

"I had said he changed, not he is a completely different person and deserving of my best friend." Harry's retort was quieter than his prior protests as he noticed the tell-tale signs of a panic attack stirring in Hermione.

But Ron would not back down once his temper reached its breaking point, and he was far beyond that.

"You wouldn't even have given thought to marrying me, but Ferret-face here comes along and you're suddenly throwing yourself at him? After all he's put you through? You're a sodding fool if you think-"

"Ronald Weasley this has nothing to do with you! He's actually a perfect gentleman and intelligent and charm-"

"Oh, so that's all it takes to get in your pants anymore? We were together for three years and you still were the same prudish-"

"You never even tried! All you cared about was Quidditch! You couldn't be bothered to-"

"So because I'm not 'smart' enough for the bookworm, she gives up on all basic standards for the next bloke that saunters by?"

"Are you even listening to me?" Her voice was rising, becoming shrill and shaky as she reached her breaking point.

"I am, unfortunately! All I am hearing is excuses for why you decided to shack up with this disgusting-"

"ENOUGH!" Her voice broke through his rant loud enough to startle everyone into silence once more. The tears spilled freely down her cheeks as she quickly fled from the parlor and into the kitchen.

Ginny, silent and observant for once, shot both men a dangerous glare before following after her friend.

"Well, I hope you're satisfied with what you've done to her, Malfoy," Ron barked out at him. His voice was no longer a bellowing roar but still held it's edge.

Draco did not raise his voice, but the authority that his tone commanded spoke volumes. "The two of you are supposed to be Hermione's best friends, the ones that she has always known to be there through everything for her. She came to you with some of the happiest news of her life and this is how you talk to her?" He gestured towards the kitchen door where soft, muffled sobs could be heard. "We assumed there would be some amount of resistance to our news, but to blatantly have no regard for her feelings is completely uncalled for."

"And we assumed Hermione wasn't so stupid, but here we are." Ron simply shrugged with his words.

"My fiancé," Draco gritted out, the brewing rage threatening to explode, "is anything but stupid. She is the brightest witch of her age, the brains of your little group, and the sole reason you two are alive to this day. She is the reason you passed your classes. She is the reason that you did not fail your damn suicide mission to defeat the Dark Lord. To not trust her actions is a downright insult. I am her fiance, and I will continue to be by her side until she says otherwise."

The two that stood before him averted their gaze, looking anywhere but at the stern face before them as he continued. "I am incredibly ashamed of the two of you for how you treated her, and should you ever hurt her again," his voice dropped to an incredibly low, dangerous tone, taking a step towards the pair as he continued, "I will make you regret it more than you could ever imagine. She deserves better than this. She deserves far better than what you two just displayed."

His threat seemed to have sparked a newfound rage in Ron, who stepped forth. Both hands had balled at his side, but, in the blink of an eye, he brandished his wand, the tip aimed at Draco's chest.

"Oh, please. What are you going to do? Hex me?" The laugh that accompanied Draco's words brought a crimson tint to Ron's cheeks.

"Why is it that you think you even deserve her?!" Magic crackled along Ron's fingers as his emotions reached their climax.

"It's simple," with a sad smile, Draco laughed, "I don't." He combed his fingers back through his hair. "Listen, I know I am not good enough for her. No one is. No one deserves her, but she chose me." He shook his head in disbelief at the words that poured forth. "Hermione deserves the world. She always gives her everything for everyone else until there is nothing left for herself. She is the most selfless person I have ever met."

He paused, a genuine smile gracing his features once more. "But I want to be the one to try. I want to be the one to give her everything she could ever hope for. As long as she will have me, I will use my last breath, my last sickle, my dying wish to make sure that she is the happiest woman in the world. I know that I am not good enough, you don't have to remind me, but she makes me feel like one day maybe I could be. That maybe I, too, am worth saving. That maybe I do deserve love, and I have never felt as alive or as in love as I do when I am with her."

With a flick of his fingers and a bit of wordless magic, the bottle on the floor reformed to its original state. Draco carefully picked it up.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I need to see my fiancé."

He stopped, looking back to them. "Say what you will about me, but leave Hermione out of it."

The silence that Draco left in his wake was palpable. Ginny and Hermione had gathered in the doorway at some point during his speech. Hermione's hand clasped over her mouth to stifle her sobs as tears freely flowed down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, love. I never meant for it to happen like this." Draco drew her into his arms, her face buried against his chest. Gently, he smoothed his palm along her spine.

"I have to hand it to ya, Malfoy. I was worried about your intentions, but it seems she's in good hands."

He managed to shoot Ginny a faint smirk in response.

"We can leave if you would like," he murmured into Hermione's hair, his body coating her like a protective cloak.

She shook her head. "No," she managed to choke out, "I'll be alright."

Draco placed two fingers under her chin to tilt her head up to meet his gaze before brushing his knuckles across her cheek to chase away the stray tears. Carefully, he tucked a stray lock of hair back behind her ear.

"I am sorry for how they reacted, I would never wish that on you. You deserve so much better than this and I will do anything it takes to improve the evening for you," he whispered before pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek.

Hermione offered him a smile. What he did was a small gesture, but it meant the world to her. She had been defended before, there was no doubting that, but no one had ever stood up to Harry and Ron for her or in defense of her. They were the untouchable guardians in her life, and Draco was a dragon willing to fight to the death to protect his princess.

He wasn't the same person she had known before and tonight had done more than proved that.

Ginny, who had silently disappeared from their side, returned back to the couple, with two sheepish looking boys on her heels.

"'Mione…" Ron started.

"We're happy for you. Genuinely. We were just caught up in the heat of the moment," Harry finished for him before Ron could add his signature flair to muck up their apology.

"We just hope you know what you're doing," Ron muttered.

Ginny spun on her heel, her knuckles colliding with the flesh of his upper arm with enough strength to send Ron staggering.

"Oi! Ginny, what the hell!"

Another swift punch landed in the same place as the last.

"You're a sodding git, Ronald Weasley!"

Draco could get used to Ginny, and perhaps her brother he could at least be cordial with.