Hello, everyone! This update is my last hoora before school resumes. I've got a big project that I have been whole-heatedly ignoring, so this is my last bit of fun before I start to actually work on it. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, though there is an OC named Anthea.

Chapter Forty-eight

Anthea came by the school on the weekends when I asked her, and she'd show up unannounced only occasionally. One Saturday she dragged me away from the school and treated me to a semi-casual dinner-from the Wizarding World this time. She was wonderful to have around again. I was more focused and less anxious. My nightmares persisted, but I had someone I could talk with about them, so they didn't affect me as much. Eventually, I even found myself trusting her again.

It wasn't long before rumors spread throughout the school. Some of them were that Anthea and I were simply dating, but others were of a more...risque nature. I suspected that Shaun and my other dorm mates were responsible for those. Anthea spent a while with me in my room as we talked about what happened during the War and the Battle of Hogwarts, but from their perspective, she went into my room, I closed the door and we didn't come out for an hour or so.

Eventually, an image of Anthea and I appeared in the school paper, and I quickly sent an owl to Anthea about it. She responded that she wanted me to at least dispel rumors of us having...intimate relations, and I agreed, but I was hesitant to talk to the school's paper. They would undoubtedly ask about my Dark Mark or if Anthea and I were dating. I wouldn't tell them about my Mark, but I would have no idea how to respond to the questions about Anthea if they asked them.

If I said we weren't dating, I might upset Anthea if we were, but if I said we were dating, I might still upset Anthea if we weren't. I had no idea what our relationship status was. Were we friends, dates, neither? Were girls always this confusing?

Eventually, I got in contact with the school's paper and agreed to talk with them. They were overjoyed to hear that, and they quickly sent that Colin guy who tried to get me to talk to the paper before. It was only an hour after dinner when he knocked on the door.

"So glad you finally agreed to talk with us, Mister Malfoy," he greeted, as he barged in.

These school reporters acted just like the real reporters that constantly nagged Lucius with questions.

I closed the door behind him, and he quickly seated himself on the dorm's sofa. He pulled out a pad of paper and a long, acid green quill. "Don't mind if I use a Quick Notes Quill do you?" he wondered.

"I do, actually," I answered. I didn't know much about Quick Notes Quills, but I did know that they twisted every word into an overdramatic narrative that was more suited for a novel than a paper.

Colin's shoulders sank as I took a seat next to him. "Okay. Not a problem." He took the green quill and stowed it back in his bag, pulling out the same fountain pen he used when I first met him.

"First off, I need to clarify something," I cautioned.

"Okay?"

"I'm not going to answer any questions about Death Eaters or anything similar, okay?"

"That's fine," he agreed, his eyes briefly lowering to the floor. "Guess that leaves you and the mystery woman you've been seen with. Rumors have surfaced that you and this woman have been...enjoying each other's company behind closed doors. Is that true?"

"No, if by 'enjoying each other's company' you mean having sex," I remembered how Lucius answered press questions. He always answered the question as directly as possible before adding anything else. It prevented the reporter from twisting your words.

"Then what do you do with this woman?"

"We talk. Nothing more," I assured.

Colin quickly scribbled on his notepad. "And what do you talk about?"

"No comment." I refused to tell anyone but Anthea what went on inside my head.

"...Okay," he sighed. "So then who is this mystery woman? What's her name?"

"Her name is Anthea, and I'm not going to tell you anything else about her."

"Okay." He scribbled on his paper. "Then, I honestly don't have anymore questions for you. Unless you've changed your mind about the Death Eater topic…"

"I have not."

"Alright then," he sighed, getting up from the sofa.

I stood with him and walked him out. I opened the door for him and shut it behind him, both relieved and terrified that it was over. I did what Anthea asked, but who knows how the school's paper would twist my words.

A week or so passed before the school's paper unveiled the article. As it turns out, Colin was gracious and didn't twist my words around. He didn't make it look like Anthea and I were doing anything inappropriate or that we were talking about the War. He kept it short and simple, writing exactly what I said.

The day the article came out, Anthea visited again. She was glad when I showed it to her and thanked me for disproving the rumors. It was a Saturday, and she took me out again. She took me to play some Muggle game called mini-golf. The positioning you had to use was awkward, but it was fun overall. I actually ended up winning, though I suspected that she wasn't trying as hard as she normally would have.

We were walking back up the path to the school, when she pulled me off to the side. "Come here," she whispered.

I let her take my wrist and pull me into an area that was shielded from the light of the setting sun. There was a small corner that she quickly pushed me into. My back hit the wall, and Anthea came closer to me, my heart racing. If I was reading this right…

Anthea closed the gap between us, placing her lips on mine. My heart jumped, and my entire body filled with an electricity that was, for once, pleasant rather than painful. She was soft and gentle, but my heart was still beating so fast that I couldn't catch my breath.

A bright flash made us both jump and turn towards its source, discovering a handful of people with bright, rapidly flashing cameras. They all shouted questions after question, calling my name at the top of their lungs.

I turned back to Anthea and sighed, feeling my heart instantly slow. "Perhaps you should go."

"Yeah," she breathed, squinting in the flashing lights.

"I'm sorry about this."

"Not your fault," she dismissed with a small smile.

Anthea backed away and fought her way through the crowd of paparazzi that looked to be a lot older than the students here. Their cameras turned on her, flashing faster and faster as she retreated.

"Hey!" I called, gaining their attention.

The press turned on me and surrounded me. "Mister Malfoy, is there anything you would like to say about your relationship with Miss Anthea?" a man from the crowd shouted.

"Only that you should give her the privacy she deserves," I answered curtly. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

I forced my way through the people and their pads of paper, self-inking quills and flashing cameras. I made steady ground until I finally made it through the doors of the school, though I was nearly blinded from the white lights of their cameras. I gladly made my way back to my dorm and was instantly greeted by Shaun and Stanley.

"How was the date?" Stanley wondered.

"And what were those press people doing outside?" Shaun asked.

"The date was fun, but I have no idea why the press are here," I answered. "They wanted to know about Anthea, but I don't know how they heard about it."

"Someone from the school's paper must've leaked information about your relationship to the Daily Prophet or other tabloids," Walter sighed from the sofa, a book in his hands.

"Yeah. Probably," I agreed.

Two days later, a photograph of Anthea and I kissing was on the front page of the Daily Prophet. There were smaller pictures of Ron with Hermione and Harry with Ginny, but the main story was about Anthea and me.

During lunch, I received an owls from Harry, Ron, Hermione and George. The trio of friends had questions, but George was congratulating me on "getting some", as he put it. I tried to answer Harry, Ron and Hermione's questions about how Anthea and I ended up in the paper as best as I could, though I had very little information to go on. I told all three of them about my talk with the school's newspaper, but I told only Harry and Ron about my conversation with Anthea in the Headmaster's office, and I sent an owl to Anthea apologizing again

The school's paper harassed me more than ever after the professionals managed to put Anthea and I in their papers, and the girls in school either avoided me and scoffed with disgust or sniffled and stared after me when I passed. I would be lying if I said the jealous attention from the girls wasn't enjoyable, but I paid them no mind.

I focused on my studies. I had only fifteen days until summer. I had midterm exams to study for and one final essay for the half credit psychology class I had to take. Unfortunately, the subject matter of the essay was how to recover from a traumatic experience, but I powered through it, being as vague as possible.

Midterms went well. I didn't get a hundred on any of them, but I didn't get anything below an eighty on any of them, either. I packed my things and left the school as discreetly as possible. Professional and amature photographers have been hanging around through the halls and the grounds for days, straining to get a comment or picture from me.

I boarded the same bus that brought me to the school and parted ways with my dorm mates at the train station. I opted to sit alone in a separate compartment until two stops later, where Harry and Ron would climb aboard.

I knocked on the window and got them to look up and see me. They waved as they dropped their things off. They walked up the ramp, and a moment later, they appeared in the hall.

I opened the door of the compartment and was immediately greeted by a hug from Ron. "Nice job, mate!"

Ron let go, and I backed away from the door to let them in. "Thanks?" I wondered.

"Told you she still likes you," Harry said as he tossed his backpack onto the rack above us.

"So?" Ron exclaimed as he took his seat.

"So what?" I asked as I sat back down.

"How was it? The kiss," Ron clarified as Harry sat beside him.

I froze at the question as the train pulled free of the station. I never had to answer a question like that before. It was the first kiss I've had since my Fourth Year, so I barely had anything to compare it to. "Hard to describe, really."

"Was it hard, soft…" Harry offered.

"Wet?" Ron added, elbowing Harry.

"What?" I wondered.

"My first kiss was with Cho in our Fifth year," Harry answered. "She was sort of crying, so it was wet."

"And when I asked him to describe it, that was all he said," Ron laughed.

I chuckled at the explanation.

"Enough about my kissing Cho," Harry ordered, hitting Ron on the shoulder. "What about your kiss with Anthea?"

I took a deep breath as I though about it, trying to come up with words to describe it. "It was...intense but...soft. I guess. But then we were interrupted, of course."

"I hate it when that happens," Harry sighed.

Once the train pulled into Platform Eight and a Half, Harry, Ron and I gathered out trunks and met up with Ginny and Hermione in Kings Cross Station. We hugged, and Harry, Ron and I congratulated the two girls on their official graduation from Hogwarts. After a moment or two, Mister and Missus Weasley picked us up and took us home.

Life resumed to the way it was before school. We worked in the garden and around the house, cooking large dinners at noon and eating them as quickly as we could before anyone else ate our share. I spat my toothpaste out the window and shared a room with Harry and Ron.

Hermione looked into taking up a job in the Ministry caring for and regulating magical creatures, and Ginny auditioned for a few professional Quidditch teams, but the most important thing that happened was planning for Ron and Hermione's wedding.

Ron was constantly anxious and kept Harry and I awake every night talking about all the things that could go wrong.

Summer was almost over by the time everything got moving. Hermione, Molly and Ginny fretted over dresses, while Harry and I tried our best to keep Ron calm.

I offered to help Mister Weasley pay for anything he needed to like a cake or a venue, but he refused, insisting that Molly would bake the cake and that they would hold the wedding at the Burrows. I settled for helping Harry and Ron get formal robes and giving Ron and Hermione a few thousand galleons for their wedding present to get them started in their married life.

It was so strange to think that someone-two someones-my age were getting married, and it must have been ten times stranger for Ron and Hermione.

The day the tent appeared in the front garden was the most nervous I've ever seen Ron. He actually threw up that morning. Harry, the other Weasley men and I did our best to calm him down, but nothing really worked.

I remembered a tonic that we made in class as a project meant to calm nerves. I got a hundred on that project, and I spent so long studying the recipe that it was practically burned into my memory. I snuck into a back room and put it together in an hour or so, pouring it into a cup and mixing it with water.

I moved back to the kitchen where Harry was sitting with Ron, who was looking as green as the grass outside. I got out a two more glasses, filled them with water from the faucet and levitated all three onto the table, taking care to place the tonic directly in front of Ron.

"Drinking some water will help," I said, taking a seat beside him.

"Thanks, but just thinking about drinking anything makes me want to throw up again," Ron refused.

"You lost a lot of water throwing up this morning," I encouraged. "Drinking some more will settle your stomach." I took hold of a glass and took a sip out of it, showing him that it was okay.

"Yeah, Ron. Listen to the doctor," Harry agreed.

Ron hesitated but eventually took hold of the tonic-filled glass and took several slow sipps. Luckily, that was all he needed to drink for the tonic to work.

Ron sighed contently and put the glass back down, the colour coming back to his cheeks.

"Better?" I asked.

"Yeah. Loads."

"Good," Harry exclaimed. "Then let's get you dressed."

Ron nodded and got up from the table, wandering towards the stairs.

Harry instantly turned to me. "What did you put in his drink?"

I smirked. "Just a tonic for his nerves. We made it as a project, and I got a hundred on it, so I figured it wouldn't do any harm. Look at him. He's so nervous about this he literally threw up. It'll wear of in a few hours. He'll be fine," I assured, taking Ron's glass and dumping the contents down the sink so no one else could drink it.

Harry and I were dressed in formal black and white suits, and we guided the guests that quickly arrived through the garden and under the tent. There were so many of them. I knew the Weasleys were a large family, but I never imagined that there were this many of them.

Eventually, appearances of the large family slowed and other people arrived: friends from school. Dean, Seamus, Luna, Neville, and even teachers and staff like Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomphrey were invited.

Pomphrey made a point about having me guide her to her seat. "How are your studies going?" she asked.

"Good," I answered, showing her her seat.

"Saw you and that girl on the front page-Anthea, right?-so I'd say they're going more than 'good'," she countered, raising an eyebrow.

I sighed and clenched my jaw at the mention of that front page story. I was still irritated at the press for making a big deal out of it.

"Draco!" a woman called, and I turned to find Anthea-wearing a very nice lavender dress-running up to me. Once she reached me, she pulled me into a tight embrace and laughed. "Good to see you."

"Yeah, you too," I sighed as she pecked me on the lips, only slightly self-conscious of the fact that we were in public. "Got you a seat next to me, by the way, but I've got to be an usher for a bit."

"That's fine," she dismissed. "I can make small talk, you know."

Annthea ran off and talked with another group of girls, and Madam Pomphrey cleared her throat behind me.

I glanced towards her, and she gave me a knowing smirk. I rolled my eyes as she chuckled and took her seat.

Anthea and I sat together with everyone else, waiting for the ceremony to start. Harry and Ron stood up on the raised platform with a man behind them in specialized robes. Harry took deep breaths and repeatedly clasped and unclasped his hands, looking more scared than Ron.

"Ron doesn't look as nervous as he should," Anthea whispered.

"Yeah," I breathed. "I kind of drugged him."

"What?"

"He threw up this morning, so I made him a tonic that calmed nerves, and I slipped it into his drink. It'll wear off in…" I checked my watch, "an hour. Until then, he's practically incapable of being nervous."

"You snake," she laughed quietly as she playfully slapped my shoulder. "You might not be a Death Eater, Draco, but you're still a Slytherin."

Music rose throughout the tent, and everyone stood, turning towards the aisle. A moment later, Hermione appeared in the tent's entrance. She looked gorgeous. Her usually wild hair was tamed into long thick curls that cascaded passed her shoulders. Her sparkling white dress was sleeveless and trailed behind her, the train being carried by a small red-headed girl.

Ginny walked down the aisle, gripping a bouquet in her hand. Hermione followed after her on the arm of a man I've never seen before. The man had tears in his eyes, and he was gripping Hermione's arm tensely. He must be her father.

Hermione's father embraced his daughter at the foot of the platform and kissed her hand. He took Ron's hand and closed it on top of Hermione's. He hesitated before walking off and sitting by a woman that already had a tissue in hand.

Hermione stepped onto the platform and handed her large bouquet to Ginny, taking Ron's other hand.

The wizard behind the pair began the ceremony that passed by much too quickly. Hermione and Ron had said "I Do" and were kissing before I knew it. Pink flower petals fluttered down from the tent's ceiling and everyone stood to cheer, throwing rice as they did.

The chairs were cleared to make room for a dance floor, and tables magically appeared along the edges of the tent as the sun set. The newly weded couple had their first dance, and then the party commenced. The hundreds of attendees danced and drank the entire night away, and it wasn't long before Hermione announced that she was throwing the bouquet.

The unmarried women at the reception instantly gathered together, every one of them waving their arms to catch it. Hermione turned her back to the crowd of women with a smile as I took a seat at a a nearby table. Hermione prepared to toss the bouquet with a few swings before launching it as far as she could behind her.

The girls screamed as it soared overhead, only to gasp as it plopped on a table. My table.

"Looks like Draco's getting married!" George shouted.

My cheeks went hot with flush as Anthea stared at me from the collection of women with a smirk on her lips.

Anthea went back to work, Harry and I went back to school, Ginny tried out for another team, and Ron and Hermione took a few weeks off for a honeymoon that I did not want to hear about.

Anthea continued to visit me on the weekends at school, and though classes got continually more difficult, she was a welcome distraction. She helped me remain focused and cope with all that happened with her kind and sarcastic nature. Our dates became more and more frequent and so did the times we kissed. I managed to slip by the press and keep the evolution of our relationship a secret.

Ron and Hermione returned after a few weeks, and Ginny officially got onto the Quidditch team: Holyhead Harpies.

And after a few more months-almost a year-I started to think about proposing to Anthea.

I brought it up to Harry and Ron during the summer of Ron and Hermione's first anniversary. Though the couple got a hotel room away from the Burrows, they came around during the day. The two boys encouraged me to propose-almost yelled it throughout the whole house, so it didn't take long for George to hear and give me grief about it.

There were so many things to consider that I was almost panicking. I wasn't sure if I should wait or do it before quickly I lost my nerve. I didn't know when to do it or how. Anthea didn't seem like the type of person to want a big, romantic gesture or a large, shining diamond ring that drew attention.

Now I know exactly why Ron was so nervous.

Writing Rominie's wedding scene made me tear up. I glossed over it a bit because I was practically crying while writing it. Romione is my Harry Potter OTP.

Hope you enjoyed chapter 48! Only two chapters left guys! See you soon for chapter 49!