Shorter chapter...but considering how long the last one was, I was ok with this. Hopefully you guys like it - because it might be one of my favorite chapters yet. Also...I've had several people tell me that the last chapter would have been a good ending. I, of course, want to continue, but if you think the story has found it's ending and a sequel should begin, well, I'm open to suggestions.

"Stop fidgeting!" Hermione hissed under her breath.

Draco stopped moving, shooting Hermione an apologetic look as the two of them stood with Ginny, Kingsley, Mr. Barre, Mr. Eschkov, and the rest of the committee compiled to tour the three schools and their facilities. They started the morning in Bulgaria, taking an early morning port key so they would arrive at eight in the morning their time. Hermione felt that while touring Durmstrang that Mr. Eschkov, much like the rest of the committee, was less than impressed with the presentation. Harry and Draco, of course, probably on Kingsley's orders, had a bit too much fun as they pointed out all of the reasons as to why it was an unfit facility. The school and their facilities needed some serious tending too. Some parts of the school looked nearly as bad as Hogwarts did before they rebuilt the castle. Hermione instructed the two to rein it in a bit when they arrived at Beauxbatons Academy, though once all of the seventh year girls began to fawn all over Harry, Ginny bluntly told the two of them that they could go back to being asses.

"They're just silly school girls," Hermione whispered in Ginny's ear, but she was hearing none of it.

"Does this look like the face of someone who cares?" Ginny asked. "They're hitting on Draco too - not that he'd notice. What in the bloody hell is he twitching about?"

"I don't know, but I'm half tempted to petrify him," Hermione scoffed. "It's like he has ants in his pants or something - it's been like this all week and I'm about to strangle him."

"You want me to beat it out of him?" Ginny asked as they toured the inside of the academy, looking to see where the visiting students from the schools would be housed. "Because I will."

Hermione linked arms with Ginny as they followed Mr. Barre. "If it comes to that, I will gladly accept your services."

Beauxbatons was decent, and Hermione noted on her checklist that their facilities were more or less satisfactory for the event. She was concerned about the lack of an area to house the magical creatures that had yet to be determined. They would, however, need a place to stay until they were used. Beauxbatons was without an area like the Forbidden Forest in Hogwarts. From what Hermione had seen, she didn't think Kingsley had anything to worry about. This committee was going to have no choice but to choose Hogwarts as the host for the upcoming tournament. Then again, when a war completely devastates an area like Hogwarts, the school had a better advantage as the majority of the school had been rebuilt, and most of the facilities were better than ever.

When the committee arrived at Hogwarts, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Draco stood back a bit in the court yard while Professor McGonagall, now Headmaster, welcomed the group to the school before passing them off to Professor Flitwick for the official tour. Hermione didn't think she looked at all different as she approached the four of them, a rare smile on her face.

"Here's a crew if I ever saw one," she said, opening her arms. Harry hugged the woman first, then Ginny, and finally Hermione. Professor McGonagall looked to Draco and gave him a warm nod, and he did the same. "Mr. Malfoy, I hear you've charmed one of my favorite students. Is this true?"

Draco cleared his throat. "Um, yes, Headmaster, though I believe she charmed me first."

Hermione blushed as Professor McGonagall's lips twitched upward. "It's a Hogsmeade day, so there aren't many students roaming about at the moment. Feel free to take your own tour. You're all a welcomed sight back into these halls. Now if you'll all excuse me, I have a committee to woo." She was halfway between them and the door before turning around again. "Also - there is a certain groundskeeper who is expecting a visit."

Harry and Hermione's eyes lit up at the thought of Hagrid. "Come with us," Hermione said, grabbing Draco's hand."

He smiled, but politely shook his head no. "You and Potter go. I'm going to…explore a bit."

"Ginny, you coming?" Harry asked.

"You two go," Ginny said quickly. "I'll keep Draco company."

Harry kissed his wife soundly, tucking strands of her long red hair back behind an ear. "Ok. We'll meet back up in a bit."

Hermione and Harry scampered off towards Hagrid's hut. Draco watched as a tear escaped Ginny's eyes and how she did nothing to wipe them away. Draco moved to stand next to her, staring at the entrance of the Hogwarts courtyard. "You…want to talk about it?"

"No," Ginny said. "Are you going to bloody ask her so you'll stop twitching? She's about ready to hex you."

Draco blushed. "I'm just…trying to find the right moment."

"Find it already," Ginny stated. "Because you can't marry her if you're petrified."

"Is that what she's threatening?"

"Yes." She finally wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her coat.

"Why didn't you go with them to see Hagrid?"

Ginny sniffled. "The last time I saw Hagrid…I was standing in this very spot, and he was carrying Harry. We…we all thought he was dead, and I felt like someone had forced their hand into my chest and ripped out my heart." She wiped her eyes again. Draco offered her the handkerchief from his pocket, which she accepted. "My hormones are still a bit out of whack since Albus was born. I just didn't want to go down there and be a blubbering mess."

"Hormones or not, I think the emotion here…is unavoidable," Draco offered, rocking back and forth on the balls and heels of his feet. "I think it's still pretty raw, the scars, anyway. We all have them - some deeper than others."

Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand for a moment. "We've come a long way though, don't you think?"

"I do," Draco replied.

"Speaking of I do - ask her already."

Draco barked out a laugh as the two headed back inside, where it was warm. "I will. Promise."

It was as if the steep grassy hill remembered the rushed and jubilant footsteps of Harry and Hermione as they two raced down the hill as they did countless times before. The two of them were laughing, their feet finding the makeshift steps their feet no doubt embedded into the ground over the years as Hermione trailed right behind Harry. It was if the magic of Hogwarts - the magic that Hermione had long forgotten - was filling her soul. They saw Hagrid walk out of his hut, a grin hidden under his burly beard.

"'Arry! 'Ermoine!" Hagrid exclaimed, his arms open as he walked down the steps of the hut, embracing both of them at the same time.

"Hagrid!" Hermione and Harry exclaimed in unison, hugging their old friend.

Hagrid pat their backs. "Well stand back now, let me take a good look at you…'Ermione! You're hair's all gone!"

Laughing, she played with the hair at the base of her neck. "Yes, well, I thought I'd try something different for a bit."

"And you," Hagrid said to Harry. "I hear you got yourself two little ones now."

Harry nodded, beaming at the mention of his children. "James will be four in a few days, and Albus is almost five months."

Hagrid grinned. "Well, I supposed we should go inside - it's a bit cold out here I reckon."

The two of them shivered as they followed Hagrid inside his hut. Nothing had changed, a comforting thought to Hermione as she took a seat on a wooden bench with Harry while Hagrid sat at a chair by the table. Fang lay at Hagrid's feet, as if he was uninterested in the familiar faces. He offered them both a butterbeer, which they politely refused, as they were technically working. Technically being the loosest of terms as the three of them caught up with each other. Hagrid beamed with pride as Harry told him all about his work as an Auror, and how he was hoping for a promotion over the next several months. Hermione told him in the vaguest of terms about her and Ron's falling out, and with a little more detail, her relationship with Draco. Hagrid looked skeptical as he listened, but with an approving nod from Harry, his demeanor softened a bit.

"Never thought I'd hear that," Hagrid remarked. "But me ears have heard worse. Just as long as he takes care of you."

Hermione nodded. "He does, doesn't he Harry?"

"He does a pretty good job," Harry admitted.

"Well if he has 'Arry's stamp of approval, he can't be that bad…anymore."

"Indeed," Hermione replied.

Draco wasn't sure how he made his way up to the Astronomy tower, but that's where he found himself. The wind at the higher altitude whipped through the spire, but Draco didn't notice. He and Ginny found themselves separated as she ran into some girls who were in their younger years when she was their quidditch captain, so they were off catching up in the Great Hall. He paced around the spot where he stood several years ago, nervously pointing his wand at Dumbledore. If he closed his eyes, he could feel his aunt's breath on his neck as she told him to do it. He dug his shoulder into his neck, as if to get the feeling to subside, and quickly. Draco had no idea how he even tolerated himself, thinking back to those days when he was insufferable towards everyone. Of course, he was surrounded by it - his father made sure of that.

He remembered Snape, appearing out of nowhere, and how guilty he felt when relief washed over him. Of course Snape would protect him. Draco could hardly believe his ears when he heard Snape took an unbreakable vow. Of course, he discovered the real reason years later from Harry, but Draco still knew that Snape cared for him, and if he hadn't, he never would have done what Dumbledore asked Snape to do - protect him.

"You know, Mr. Malfoy, there are far warmer places in the castle to clear one's head."

Draco spun around to see Professor McGonagall, bundled up in her coat and plaid scarf, standing with her glove-clad hands clasped together. "Uh, sorry, Professor. Lost in thought I guess."

"I know you probably think that Professor Dumbledore didn't care for you much, but it's quite the contrary," she said. "A bit misguided, maybe, but he worried about you."

He nodded, biting the inside of his lip. "Standing here, remembering that day…it haunts me."

"You were just a boy," Professor McGonagall reminded him.

Draco let out a sarcastic laugh. "That's what Granger says. I was just a boy. Still doesn't mean I didn't know right from wrong."

"You thought what you were doing was right," she stated. "Dumbledore knew this. It's why he asked Severus to protect you."

He shook his head. "It doesn't make it right." Draco dug his hand into his pocket and handed the ring box to Professor McGonagall. "I've been carrying it around for weeks," he said as she opened the box, admiring the ring. "It's her mother's, and before that, it was her mother's. I have everyone's blessing - from Potter, to Ginny, to Mr. Weasley…and every time I get ready to do ask her I can't."

Professor McGonagall's face softened a bit, her lips poised to speak. "It is a remarkable ring," she said after a moment. "Maybe the only person left to get approval from is yourself."

"Excuse me?"

"I can't say I've been prouder of a student as I have been of you," Professor McGonagall spoke, handing the ring back. "I have heard so many positive things about you, and I wasn't shocked when I heard rumors of a relationship with Ms. Granger. I always thought you two would have been quite the match had you both found a way to see each other for who you both truly were. But maybe you can't find a way to ask her because you haven't given yourself a blessing - the approval - that you deserve to be happy."

He exhaled slowly, his hand tightly wrapped around the box as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat. "I love her," he stated. "I love her, and when I'm with her, it's like the old me never existed. She's bloody irritating when she's right…this smirk that overcomes her face as if she's taunting you because she knows her knowledge is endless. Or how she wears these ridiculous shoes and then complains when she hobbles home because her legs are sore - if you're so bloody smart, change your shoes, I say, but she shrugs her shoulders and says she wears them because she likes to feel tall. What kind of an answer is that? It isn't one - that's what. But when she sad I want nothing more than to steal it away from her, and when she's happy, I want nothing more than to feed off of her energy. I want to spend the rest of my life with this mad, lunatic of a woman, and I can't figure out how to tell her."

Professor McGonagall stepped closer to Draco and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "I imagine you don't have many fond memories of Hogwarts."

"Not unless you count the many ways I thought as to how to make Potter miserable," Draco half sneered, half joked.

"Might I suggest then, making a new memory, a happy memory perhaps, here? Something to lift the burden if you will, of the less than pleasant memories I'm sure you both share here," Professor McGonagall suggested before walking away. As she descended down the stairs, she called out to him. "Mr. Malfoy - do see that you get inside. Madam Pomprey likes to reserve her pepper up potions for actual students, not grown adults who lack the decent sense to get out of the cold."

Chuckling, he nodded, heading towards the stairs. "Of course, Professor."

Draco walked into the Great Hall and saw a crowd of students from all houses around Harry, asking him for his autograph while grilling him if the rumors of his days at Hogwarts were school. Hermione stood next to Hagrid and Ginny, arms crossed against her chest, laughing as Kingsley poked fun at the calamity of it all. Mr. Barre and Mr. Eschkov were standing with the committee near the wall, their faces in defeat as it appeared a discussion was being held as to which school would host the tournament. Peeling his gloves from his hands, he shoved them into his pocket as he walked down the center aisle.

Hermione excused herself from Hagrid and Kingsley, and pushed past some of the students, making her way towards him. "You disappeared," she said, approaching him as she placed her warm hands to his rosy cheeks. "Blimey - you're freezing!"

"I'll warm up," Draco said, playfully rolling his eyes. "Don't worry so much."

"It's a reflex," Hermione said, keeping her warm hands on his cheeks a moment longer before retreating. "Where did you run off to?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I was just…roaming, thinking, reminiscing a bit."

A small group of students gathered around the two of them. One of them was a young girl, who had a dark brown, bushy ponytail and she stood there with her Gryffindor uniform. "You're Hermione Granger," she said, stating a fact as opposed to asking. "I've read about you. I was wondering if I could get you to sign my copy of The Tales of Beetle the Bard."

Nodding, Hermione took the book and the quill, scribbling her name on the inside. She handed the book back. "There you go…"

"Harper. Harper Eppson. I'm a muggle born witch - like you."

Draco wrapped an arm around Hermione as he looked at Harper. "I'll bet you're the smartest witch in your year," he guessed.

She nodded. "How did you know?"

He cracked a wry smile. "Oh…I just have a sense about those things. I knew a girl like you once."

Draco could see by the look on Harper's face she knew who he was alluding to. She blushed before skipping away, showing her friends Hermione's autograph as they looked back at the two of them and laughed. Hermione turned into him and kissed him lightly on the lips. "You knew a girl like her once, did you say."

He kissed her nose. "I did. I didn't like her as a girl…but somehow…everything changed." He sucked in a deep breath through his nose. He caught Professor McGonagall standing by the head table, giving him a knowing nod. "The funny thing is," Draco said, letting go of her as he took a step back, a hand in his pocket, wrapped around the box. "I used to torment the girl," he confessed, using his free hand to wipe a few strands of her hair away from her eyes. "I was dreadful, really. As I stand here, in this school, the only reason our paths ever had a reason to cross, I realize that I don't have a single fond memory of this place that involves you. Of course, I know that isn't true for you - you were a bit gleeful during third year - breaking my nose and all."

Hermione bit back a giggle, covering her mouth with her hand. "I feel really bad about that," she said, a bit muffled by her hand.

"Yeah, I can tell," he playfully snarked. "You're positively heartbroken. Lucky for you, I've found a way you can make it up to me."

She arched her eyebrows. "Oh really? You best keep it appropriate then because we're…inside a…school and..." Before she knew it, he was down on one knee, holding a ring box to her in his outstretched arm. The commotion of a war hero like Harry in the midst of all the students dulled to nothing as gasps and stares formed in the opposite direction. She heard Ginny shriek in the background, but she couldn't move to see her reaction. As he opened the box, tears spilled from her big brown eyes as she recognized the ring - the only ring she wanted.

"Hermione Jean Granger," Draco said, his voice slightly wavering. "Marry me. Marry me, and make this moment the best memory that either of us will ever have of this place that shaped us…into the people we've become. Marry me, because I love you, and I can't imagine the rest of my life without you."

Hermione didn't trust her voice. A hand clapped over her mouth, she tried to say yes but it was stuck in her throat. Instead, she shook her head quickly, sniffing as he took the ring and slid it onto her left ring finger. She felt her heart fill with an energy she'd never felt before. Everyone in the Great Hall cheered as Draco stood, Hermione's hands grabbing his face as she pressed her lips to his. "I love you," she whispered, laughing a bit at all the commotion surrounding them.

He brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "I love you."

They were soon surrounded by their two best friends, Ginny and Hermione hugging and squealing while Draco and Harry shook hands, trying to act as manly as possible before pulling each other into a congratulatory hug. Kingsley came over and shook Draco's hand before kissing Hermione on the cheek. Hagrid stood off to the side, trying to hide a tear as Professor McGonagall stood next to him, patting his arm soothingly. Draco held Hermione in his arms, and as she hugged him tighter he realized that he was undoubtedly the luckiest man alive. He may not have deserved it, but Draco was fine spending the rest of his life never taking her for granted.