A/N: So this and the next two chapters after it are a sort of transition in order to place Hermione and Draco in the next stage of their crazy life. This chapter is a little on the short side, but I like it just the same. This is for all the Draco obsessed fans.

On a side note, have you all seen the pictures from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 from the epilogue? WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THE GODDAMN BEARD? And does Daniel Radcliffe look like a grandfather or what? Let me know what you think about this because I was a little freaked out by it.

As always, thank you to my lovely reviewers: semantics, SlytherinPrincessxXx, TomorrowsMorbidSunshine, Alexybath, pardonnez and xenaz3.

Chapter 28: Bossy Wives and Redheaded Mania

Draco: One Year Later

They say getting married is a drag, but a year in I'm still quite entranced with my wife.

For the most part.

Sure, the novelty of calling her Mrs. Malfoy has worn off a tiny little bit, but that's to be expected I'm sure! Life hadn't changed much after we got married. I'm not sure what we were expecting to happen honestly. A whole new perspective on life? A new person? I'd already known everything about her before we had taken the bullet (I mean vows...). She was still the same old Hermione and I sure as hell didn't go through an overnight transformation.

Life was... pretty much the same, really.

I still got irritated when she didn't organize the clothing properly after it was washed, and she definitely still yelled at me for being secretive about my...personal affairs. We still bantered, we still played and the sex was definitely just as good as it always had been.

The only thing that didchange, and had to have changed, was the way we lived. Appeasing two governments that wanted you around and promoting their was, as well as the inconvenient situation of having businesses across oceans meant exactly that – travelling across oceans to appease hoards of people.

I didn't particularly mind this, however. Spending too much time in one place started to be a drag after a while. So, we had taken to travelling between New York and London as our schedules saw fit. Sometimes, we would travel back and forth for a few weeks, other times whole months at a time.

If Hermione found this to be annoying, she gave no indication. I, on the other hand, was enjoying my work, my life and everything in general. I had finally found friends (even though they were technically Hermione's friends at first – but no one can forever resist the Malfoy charm!). It was surprising. I mean, these people actually gave a damn about my well being and weren't completely cold hearted. It was a very warm niche to have settled into and it only validated my choices.

Sure, there was a whole pureblood community that called me a blood traitor, but now I understood why the Weasleys hadn't minded those slurs even a little bit. It was worth being labelled a blood traitor by a bunch of cold hearted murderers and be loved and cared for than to be stuck in bloody boring pure blood society that would cast you out the minute you wore the wrong robes to an event.

Perhaps I was being a little harsh in my assessment, but I was done with my old life and everything that it had made me suffer through. It was time to move on, and that's exactly what I was doing. Blood traitor or not, I was finished and Hermione was my ticket out.

If my parents had been alive, they would have disowned me. As it was, I was a rich bad arse son of a bitch, and I wasn't afraid to let everyone else know it. In the politest way possible, of course. My wife was not completely open to the idea of rubbing your wealth in other people's faces.

Ah well, there's time for everything.

We had been planning to settle down for a few months in London. It couldn't hurt, really, five or six months. Especially if it meant having an extravagant apartment to annoy Hermione with.

She seemed happy, and that was all that I could ask for. It seemed she had everything she was looking for at the moment, so I could rest happily and be selfish with my own needs. She had to come first, in my mind. It was a method I used to keep sane. If she was there, there was no need to dwell on the past. She was my compromise. If I could please her, my past would be pardoned.

It was a safe bet to make of course.

Women outlive men. Look at Mrs. Zambini, for example. She's onto her eighth husband already. Although... that probably isn't the best example to have given. Regardless, Hermione wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. It was alright to use her as my Raison d'être.

At least, that was what I had hoped.

/

It was a going to be a sunny day in May when I was woken up at five in the morning to be told that it was time to get up and get ready.

Not only was it a Sunday, but it was first day I had off where I was supposed to have nothing to do but sleep in. That is, until, Harry fucking Potter decided to get married. Damn him and his bad timing! I suppose I couldn't hold it against him. After all, I had asked him to come to my wedding as well.

I supposed he had had to wake up at an ungodly hour as well on my wedding by his redheaded overly excited girlfriend who had decided to play wedding planner. Why didn't women understand? Men don't like to help with all that decorating crap.

Nevertheless, I got up and dutifully ate my breakfast, which was a lumpy porridge. I wondered if she realized that the porridge was lukewarm at best and extremely... unsavoury, politely put. She was busy dealing with her hair in the mirror and I wondered if she had even bothered to eat any breakfast herself.

Typical women.

Sighing, I left the bowl half full and went back to bed to catch maybe ten more minutes of sleep. Ten minutes, unfortunately, turned into twenty five and she caught me clearly not getting ready.

"Draco! What the hell! I told you, we have to be at the flower shop first thing it opens!" I grunted in response and I knew she was mad at me. "I told you to go to sleep early yesterday," she shouted from what mysteriously sounded like my home office. Thinking that she couldn't possibly have gotten past the wards I'd put up, I continued resting my tired head on my pillow.

That is, until, my wand started buzzing, alerting me that someone – by the name of Hermione Malfoy, presumably – had broken through the wards in my office.

Grunting, I pulled the pillow over my head. I had placed more wards around the cabinet that held all of the drafts of my book that she so desperately wanted to read. She couldn't possibly get past those too, could she? Not possible. It was too early in the morning for anyone to get past wards...

Until, of course, my wand started buzzing again, indicating that she had indeed managed to get past those wards as well.

That is when I jumped out of bed and raced to my office, finding her standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and tapping her foot. Behind her, the door to my secret cabinet was standing wide open behind her, the papers noticeably untouched. I cringed, realizing that she had played me. She was glaring at me and pointed to the door, indicating that I had to go shower now.

When I finally managed to shower and get dressed (which was a feat in itself), Hermione was waiting for me, rather impatiently, pouring coffee in a mug to go. "We're so late, Draco! This is all your fault. You better tell Ginny this was your fault! She's going to be so worried..."

By that time, I was already ignoring her, attempting to find my socks. She continued to mutter, putting things away, mixing cream into my coffee and handing it to me. She saw my bowl of half eaten porridge on the kitchen table, rolled her eyes and picked it up.

Picking it up and taking a bite of it, probably because she was starving, she made a gagging sound and spit it all back into the bowl. When I stared at her, she looked flustered.

"This is lumpy and uncooked! Couldn't you at least have said something before I ate it?"

What a woman...feeding me nasty porridge and then blaming me for her horrible breakfast experience. I completely ignored her and instead, made my way to the door to her exclamations of "don't you ignore me, Draco Malfoy!" but I was too tired to do anything but cling to her arm and let her apparate us to the flower shop.

/

After picking up a million flowers, decorating the room with said flowers in just the right position, attending to the bride's last minute dress adjustments, and organizing the catering, music, tables, seating plans and the cake order – it was finally all over and all I had to do was stick with the groom.

Actually, the more specific instructions were: "Don't leave Harry's side or I will cut your head off, got it? Don't screw this up! We've worked so hard!" To which I wanted to say – YOU? I did all the heavy lifting and organizing! You just stood there and bossed me around!

However, much to Harry's delight, I did no such thing, but just nodded and allowed her to go into the next room to check on one thing or another.

Collapsing into a chair while Harry adjusted his dress robes in front of the mirror, I almost fell asleep. This was harder than running the entire empire that was Malfoy Industries. How the hell is that even possible?

"You look more tired than I do," Harry called over his shoulder, quite gleefully too, the bloody maggot.

"Don't you worry," I responded, irritated. "You'll be just like me in a few weeks time. Welcome to the married couples league."

Harry snorted and I let out a chuckle or two after my glare melted. He wasn't a bad mate to have around. I wondered how it would have been like if I hadn't been such a pureblood bigoted jerk back in first year and he had actually been my friend. It could have been possible, if I hadn't been a prat. We would have had our differences, we still have our differences, but he can be considered trustworthy.

Not to mention, having the head Auror as a friend can get you in quite a few places.

"It's not so bad, really," I found myself saying. "It's just like it was before." I yawned. "But on second thought, she's a lot bossier now than she used to be."

"You would know."

"You wouldn't?"

"Nah. She loves me too much to see me be bossed around," he said, grinning at me through the mirror.

"Bastard!" I replied, my grin as equally wide.

He smiled, genuinely this time. "Prat!"

/

All in all, Hermione's work seemed to have paved through. The planning had been impeccable, the staff almost deadly organized, and the venue quite pretty indeed. The marriage itself, I almost did sleep through. If I had been sitting in a chair instead of standing near Potter I would have fallen asleep. As it was, Hermione would literally have killed me if I had, so I maintained my posture.

Not that it was easy or anything.

When it was all over and done and we had each congratulated the married couple, I was more than ready to apparate home and go back to sleep. Instead, Hermione had me go over with her to the Weasleys' house. The Burrow or something like that. I'm not sure I remember what it's called – especially not in this sleepy state.

Instead of letting me fall asleep on the couch, the family wanted to talk to me. Why had I charmed them into liking me? Why wouldn't they all just let me alone? If I couldn't sleep, at least they could try not attempt to stimulate my overly tired brain!

Common courtesy! Where has it gone?

After a lot of delectable food and chattering which Hermione insisted that I be a part of, I was walking dead on my feet but no one seemed to notice. At least, they didn't care, even if they did notice. But I suppose it wasn't my day to be coddled after. It was Potters.

But wait. EVERY day is Harry Potter day!

I tell you, life is not fair to Malfoys.

Eventually, the party moved into the living room. I was followed to sit next to the cozy fire by a very quiet George Weasley. The man had become very subdued at the loss of his twin. Sure, he could still cause a riot and speak his mind when he needed to, but he certainly was not as flamboyant as I recalled him from school.

It was as if he had lost a part of himself with his twin's death. I knew how he felt, I had seen it before. Goyle behaved in a similar fashion after he had lost Crabbe to the flames of the Room of Requirement. It had not been a pleasant sight to behold.

"You're tired," he noted, quietly. I simply shrugged.

He pushed a chessboard between us and I almost groaned at the thought of having to put thought towards winning a chess game.

He chuckled. "Not to worry," he whispered. And then he cast a spell. "This is a cheating chess board. I invented it because Ron... I mean, someone had been getting on my nerves." I visibly cringed and he nodded his head, accepting my unspoken apology for his second lost brother. "Your side will play for you. I've put a digusment charm on you, so to them..." he gestured to the rest of the room and staring pointedly at me.

"It looks like I'm playing chess! That's kind of you."

He simply nodded and pointed to the pillow behind me. Smiling, I lay down, very much aware of the fact that the lone twin was watching me get comfortable. With a grateful sigh, I took my very much needed half an hour nap.

From that day on, I never looked at George Weasley the same ever again.

A/N: Unsigned Reviews

Alexybath: Thank you as always for your review! Your enthusiasm really made me laugh. Riddle is hilarious, and I have to congratulate you for guessing right. *WINK*! I hope this gives you a partial answer for what's happily ever after like for a Slytherin and and Gryffindor. Though, maybe the next few answers will change your mind.

Xenaz3: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. I also really, really, really, REALLY enjoy communicating with my reviewers. For most author's it's kind of like crack. So thank you so much for giving me my daily dosage. Draco and Tom really are quite sexy indeed. :p