See...I told you I was almost done with this chapter! I also found myself a beta (yay!) so hopefully we'll get some legit proofing done around here :P

Hermione headed to Harry and Ginny's house before Draco to help decorate the house like she promised. Somehow, Harry managed to find a muggle magician, much to his son's delight, and he was to arrive shortly in order to get his "props" set up for the show. Albus and James were both taking a nap while the three adults set up, so that everyone would be in a good mood for the party. Hermione set the table with the Spongebob plates and birthday hats while Ginny and Harry decorated the doorways with streamers. She thought it was cute how Harry went all out for birthdays when it came to James, and soon, Albus. She assumed a lot of it had to do with never having a proper birthday celebration until he met her and Ron at school. Everything Harry missed experiencing with his parents he always made sure to do for his children, and it was never done halfway.

"It looks good in here," Hermione said. "Very…yellow…but good. I think James is going to love it."

Ginny agreed. "He's going to freak when he wakes up from his nap."

"I can't wait for him to see his cake," Harry said, excitedly. He found a muggle cake shop that made James his very own Spongebob cake. He walked over to Hermione and grabbed the napkins, following Hermione as she set the plates and silverware. "Are things any better?" he asked her. "With Draco, that is."

Hermione shrugged. "He apologized, it's fine."

"You don't sound fine," Ginny said.

Smiling, Hermione waved a hand quickly back and forth. "It's fine. Honestly. He was just in a shit mood all week and it put me in a mood and I just need to snap out of it. I did convince him this morning that I wanted a long engagement."

Harry stared at her. "Really?"

Hermione nodded. "Next March or April. I just want to make sure we really know each other before we make it official. This whole thing evolved rather quickly - not that I'm complaining because he's the best thing that's happened to me - but marriage is a big deal. I'm not one who will ever consider a divorce, so it's only practical to make sure that we have everything perfect before we get married. Our emotions with some issues still need some rewiring, especially regarding our reactions, and I just want everything to be as perfect as possible before it's official. I feel like it just makes better sense that way. Also - I obviously want a better relationship with his mother before we set things in stone. He acts like it isn't nearly as important as it is - clearly evident by his atrocious behavior this past week."

She knew she was rattling on by the bemused look on Harry's face, but it wasn't as if he'd never seen her do it before. As she dropped her arms to the side, Harry hugged her. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder for a minute, her arms staying at her sides. "It wouldn't be you if you didn't have a plan," Harry reassured her. "If it makes you more comfortable, then I say go with it. Draco won't care."

"I don't know," she said, her head still on his shoulder. She pulled away as let go, peeling her headband out of her hair before repositioning it in her hair. "I think that he was kind of, well, shocked when I said I wanted a long engagement. But you saw this week - it was ridiculous."

"I think a long engagement is perfect," Ginny said, moving across the room to give her friend a hug. "You two aren't going anywhere - so it isn't like there needs to be a rush. I agree with Harry - if it makes you more comfortable, then I think your plan is brilliant."

"Thanks, Gin," Hermione replied. "Ugh…let's not talk about this anymore. There's going to be a party, after all and oh! I almost forgot! I figured out a way for you to pull a rabbit from a hat! You can just use a simple conjuring spell. Of course, conjuring something out thin air doesn't really last all that long - but you could also put something into the hat and then transfigure it into a rabbit. But if James is looking for a rabbit he can actually keep, well, you might be a bit out of luck."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "He's not keeping a rabbit. I don't need to take care of two children and a rabbit." She looked at Harry. "He didn't ask for a rabbit for his birthday, did he?"

Harry shook his head no. "All he asked for was a training broom and some dragon model. I said maybe to the training broom."

An awkward silence filled the room for a moment. "There's a training broom in the shed, isn't there?" Ginny asked.

"Only if you want it to stay in there," Harry replied, a bit sheepishly.

"Harry…"

"You worry too much," Harry said, doing his best to get her on board. "Besides - I'm not going to let anything happen to our son. Knowing him, combined with our brilliant broom skills - he'll be a natural. It's not like I'm giving a training broom to one of Hermione's children - "

"Hey!" Hermione exclaimed as both Harry and Ginny laughed. "My future children might not be as terrible at it as I am. Draco's brilliant on a broom."

"Well let's hope that one piece of his genetic makeup goes their way," Harry teased as Hermione stuck her tongue out at him. Harry glanced at the clock on the wall. "The magician should be here momentarily. I'm already fearing this to be a disaster."

Hermione and Ginny laughed. "Well," Ginny said. "The worst thing that can happen is that we have to oblivate him."

"Pray to Merlin that doesn't have to happen," Harry groaned. "Because then I'm going to have to write up a report on it, trying to explain how there were at least four Ministry employees in a room when it happened."

By the time the house was completely decorated, a knock on the door was heard. Hermione and Ginny watched from the kitchen as Harry went to greet the muggle magician he found in the phone book. True to telly form, he came walking in with a black cape, wearing a tuxedo, with a black wand complete with white-capped ends. His top hat was perched on his head, and as he looked up to greet Harry, Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth and ducked out of sight.

"What the bloody hell -" Ginny asked as Hermione yanked her back towards the laundry room. "Blimey, 'Mione, I have children to pick up so I'd appreciate it if you didn't completely detach my arm."

"I know that guy!" she hissed. "That's the guy from the gym. They guy I told you about that got Draco's wand all tied in a knot when I mentioned running into him. That's Mitchell Anders!"

A mischievous grin spread across Ginny's face. "Today just got a whole lot more interesting."

"Shut it," Hermione snapped, stealing Ginny's trademark line. "This is bad."

"Why is it bad?" Ginny asked. "If anything, it's going to give Draco less of a reason to get all uppity if you ever run into him at the gym. He's a pretend magician for Merlin's sake. What a wanker."

"Ginny!" Hermione hissed. "He's a perfectly nice man."

"He pretends to do magic," Ginny stated, rolling her eyes. "Aside from that - didn't you tell Draco he used to eat that gooey substance -"

"Paste, and how is it that you and Draco have so much time to gossip?"

"We have our ways," Ginny teased. "He was my friend first, after all."

"I hate you right now. Just so you know."

"Noted." Ginny and Hermione went to peek around the corner again when Harry walked into them, scaring the three of them into screams. "Who taught you to sneak up on people like that!" she screamed, swatting Harry.

Laughing, Harry snuck a kiss from the lips of his wife. "You. What in the bloody hell are the two of you doing in there."

Hermione quickly explained to him in an incredibly hushed tone, and smacked a hand over his mouth before he could bark out a laugh. "This isn't funny, damn it!" she hissed.

Out of nowhere, Jori popped into the kitchen, her hands fiddling with her dress. "Missus Hermione needs help?" she asked eagerly. "Jori helps Missus Hermione."

Smiling at the house elf, Hermione lovingly gave her a pat on the head. "Jori, can you please do me a favor and tell Draco that when he comes to the Potter's that he needs to apparate into the backyard and come in through the kitchen door."

"Is it because there's a muggle in the other room?" Jori asked.

"How did you…how did you know?" Hermione asked.

"Jori knows lots of things, Missus Hermione," Jori said with a smile. "I will go tell Mister Draco your instructions."

Jori popped out of the room as quick as she entered. "Tell Draco to come in through the kitchen?" Ginny questioned. "That's your brilliant plan?"

Hermione nodded. "This way - I can at lease prepare him because I know if he sees Mitchell recognize me before I say something -"

"Mr. Potter, I have these to pass out for the kids and…Hermione? Is that you?"

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny turned around and saw Mitchell standing in the kitchen, holding a handful of treat bags. "Mitchell!" Hermione exclaimed, feigning shock as she held her hands out. She took the treat bags from Mitchell and set them on the counter. "What a…surprise!"

Mitchell grinned. "A surprise indeed - now I can show off my talents - maybe woo you away from that bloke you said you were with."

Ginny swallowed a laugh, excusing herself so that she could go and check on the kids.

"I'm not sure my fiancé would appreciate that," Hermione said, smiling as held her left hand up near her face, lightly wiggling her fingers. "But I am however, very much looking forward to your magic show."

The grin on Mitchell's face dimmed only slightly at the sight of her ring. "You never know - my magic may persuade you to change your mind. After all, how many people do you know that can do…this!"

Hermione chewed on the inside corner of her mouth as Harry did his best to keep his composure, watching Mitchell as he flourished his wand into a fake bouquet of flowers before chivalrously handing them to Hermione with a small bow. "Pretty impressive, I know. But not to worry - there's more where this came from."

"Oh bloody hell," Hermione heard Harry mutter under his breath. "Right then - we'll take you back in here and get you all…set up…everyone should be here shortly. As for the kids, well, it's just a cousin - nothing too big - mostly grown ups."

"You should take these," Hermione said, handing the flowers back. "So you can, you know, do what you need to do so you can perform the trick again."

Mitchell nodded, retrieving the flowers from Hermione. "A magician never reveals his secrets, but you might be able to persuade me to do so, Ms. Granger."

"Sweet Merlin's Beard," Hermione muttered under her breath as he walked away. Even if she were single, Hermione wouldn't even contemplate dating him. She didn't understand how someone who managed to grow out of being an incredibly awkward boy to a handsome man, yet still be so…she didn't even have a word for it. Of course, the fact that he was a pretend magician just took the cake. Draco is going to have a field day with this, she thought to herself as she watched for Draco in the backyard. A fine way to end this week, her mind chided, sighing before she caught the sight of Draco as he appeared.

Draco didn't even know where to begin. He would have exploded into laughter had he not already been skating on thin ice with her with his antics this past week as she explained that not only was this Mitchell person in the Potter house, but that he was a muggle magician…Draco hadn't seen him yet, but at this moment, he didn't care if he looked like a male model - there was no way his ego was going to wince at the thought of Mitchell Anders anymore. A pretend magician was no threat to his psyche, despite the fact that after this week, had she left him, he wouldn't have blamed her.

With the threat of no sex in his imminent future for any type of hazing or misbehaving, Draco stayed in the kitchen, helping Harry set out food while Ginny and Hermione got the kids ready upstairs. Family would be here any minute. Harry looked like he was chomping at the bit to say something, but he clearly got a threat of some kind from Hermione as well. Finally, he just couldn't take it anymore.

"You should have seen her face," Harry gushed like a girl, his voice low. "I mean…it was epic. I don't even know how she was processing thought."

"I'm almost embarrassed I was jealous," Draco admitted with a barely audible laugh. "I mean, if I saw him on the street - maybe my ego would be threatened. But now…"

"When he whipped out this flower thing out of the end of his plastic wand - I don't even know how I didn't bust out laughing."

"It's because you're just as terrified of Hermione as I am," Draco reasoned.

"Probably," Harry agreed.

Arthur and Molly arrived with Bill, Fleur, and Victorie, knocking on the front door as Harry instructed them so they didn't startle the muggle in the house by appearing through the fireplace. Victorie was a year and a half older than James, and was equally intrigued by this muggle magician idea James had been talking non stop about when the two of them were together at the Burrow. Draco heard the girls come downstairs with the boys. Harry and Draco walked into the living room, watching as James crawled onto his grandfather's knee, waiting patiently as Mitchell set up the rest of his act. Victorie, with her long, strawberry blond hair in braided pigtails, sat on Arthur's other knee, watching with a bit more skepticism than her younger cousin.

George arrived moments later, walking in his girlfriend, Angelina. Draco watched as Harry gave his brother-in-law a warning look the moment they saw the mischievous grin that only a Weasley twin could produce. Hermione walked over, carrying Albus who was in an incredibly good mood, babbling away at everyone who would give him attention. Standing next to Draco, Albus lunged towards his godfather, and Draco willingly took him, kissing the top of his head. He held onto the child on one side and casually slipped his free arm around Hermione, pulling her towards him as he gave her a squeeze.

Mitchell waited for everyone to get settled before beginning a very over the top, personal introduction as "Mitchell the Marvelous." Draco kept a hold of Hermione's waist, as Mitchell seemed to be speaking directly to Hermione, breaking eye contact only briefly to acknowledge James - the actual reason for him standing in the room in the first place. As Mitchell pulled his black wand with its plastic capped end out from the concealed pocket of his cape, Victorie looked back at her parents, who were standing back against the wall near Ginny and Harry.

"I don't think he got that want at Ollivander's," Victorie said, concern evident in her voice. "It doesn't even look real."

"Shush," Arthur gently chided, brining her attention back to Mitchell. "He's about to do a trick."

"With a pretend wand?" Victorie asked as indigently as a five-year-old could.

"Oh, this isn't pretend," Mitchell adamantly said. "This is a magic wand."

Victorie could hardly control the eye roll, which did got go unnoticed by her mother, who scolded her in French. "Soyez gentil, Victorie!"

Mitchell's first trick was the wand flourish into a fake bouquet of flowers, which he presented to Victorie. She took them from him as if they were something to be handled carefully, for fear of it leaving some kind of unwanted affect. James looked at the flowers and shook his head at them and in an instant, the fake pink and purple flowers were real. James' eyes grew wide as he snapped his attention to his father, who smacked a hand to his forehead while Ginny muttered a counter spell quickly to return the flowers back to their faux state before Mitchell noticed. Molly, not wanting to take part in what could possibly happen next, excused herself to the kitchen to make sure the cake was ready.

Hermione watched as Mitchell fumbled through several tricks, and with each misstep, she could see James and Victorie becoming less and less impressed. Hermione looked at Draco, who was looking over at Harry, trying to figure out what to do. As Mitchell managed to get the linked scarves stuck in his sleeve, Hermione covered her hand and muttered a charm so that scarves began to shoot out of his sleeve inconspicuously, much to the surprise of Mitchell and the delight of James and Victorie. The remainder of Mitchell's tricks went off a bit better it seemed, more than likely due to the confidence boost of the charm he was unaware of from Hermione. However, when it came time for the grand finale, James was off of his grandfather's lap and right at Mitchell's prop table, waiting to see if in fact he could pull a rabbit from his hat.

"Well?" James asked. "Are you gonna do it?"

"Do what, Birthday Boy?"

"The rabbit trick!" James exclaimed, as if it was completely obvious.

"Oh…well I uh…I don't do a rabbit trick, buddy," Mitchell said. "That card trick I just did was the big finale."

James' eyes began to water as he looked back at his dad, who was getting a glare from his mother. "Did you not ask if he could do a rabbit trick?" Ginny asked under her breath.

"I figured it was a routine kind of thing!" Harry hissed back.

Draco couldn't help but laugh, until the back of Hermione's hand hit him in the stomach. "Damn it, Hermione," he grunted. "I'm holding a baby here!"

"Galleon!" James and Victorie exclaimed in unison.

"You're fine," Hermione quipped. She quickly glanced around the room until she found a stuffed rabbit over in Albus' toy box in the corner. Retrieving the stuffed animal, Hermione walked over and took Mitchell's top had and plastic wand. "What Mitchell meant to say was that he didn't can't do the final trick without a little help from his special assistant."

"Who's that?" James asked, blinking tears away.

"Yeah," Draco chimed in. "Who's the special assistant?"

Hermione shot Draco a smirk. "Me, of course." Looking at Mitchell, she gave him a sweet smile before pretending to sneeze, coughing out the word confundus, sending Mitchell into a temporary state of confusion. Pulling out her own wand, she placed Mitchell's wand in his hand while he stared off into space, the stuffed rabbit into the hat, and with a swish and flick, said lapifors. "Well, reach in there," she said to James. "See what you find."

James hesitated, before sticking his hands into the hat. Suddenly, his eyes went wide. Victorie leapt off of her grandfather's lap to look as James pulled out a big brown bunny. James spun around and hoisted the bunny in the air towards the adults. "Mummy look! A bunny! Aunt Hermione did it! She pulled a real bunny out of a hat!"

"I see!" Ginny exclaimed, smiling at her son before smacking her husband upside the head. "You're so lucky she paid attention in school."

Harry laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Of course."

Mitchell shook his head, the confundus charm wearing off. He stared at Hermione, who had her wand back in her pocket, and then at James, holding the rabbit. "Great show, Mitchell," she said, handing him back his hat. "Honestly - well done."

He looked confused for a few more seconds before shrugging his shoulders. "I'm glad you liked it. Say - if you ever want to be my special assistant, I'm sure I could work you into my act."

Laughing, Hermione shook her head no as she carefully took the rabbit out of James' hands. Scratching the top of the rabbit's head, she gave him a polite smile and a pat on the arm. "It's a tempting offer…but I'm going to have to pass."

"I still can't believe I didn't think of that," Draco said later that night after rinsing the remaining toothpaste from his mouth. "Of course, you would, a transfiguring charm to conjure a rabbit from a hat."

Hermione held one her legs up out of the suds filled tub, carefully shaving. "Of course I would," she agreed. "I'm brilliant."

Draco rolled his eyes at her through the mirror, wiping his face with a hand towel before tossing it into a wad on the countertop. "You could be my special assistant," he said, mocking Mitchell. "What a bloody tosser."

"You honestly cannot still be jealous," Hermione said, continuing to shave.

"He was hitting on you in front of me."

"And yet here I am, naked in your bathtub."

He turned around, shedding his shirt so he was clad only in his flannel pants. "I can think of another place I'd like to see you naked."

Laughing, Hermione shook her head as she rinsed her razor for a final time in the water, placing it in the basket hanging off the side of the tub. "Not this week." She watched his face as she sunk deeper into the water before he realized what she was insinuating, his face falling. "You're ridiculous."

Draco sighed. "You can pull a rabbit out of a hat but you can't come up with a spell to get rid of…that?"

"That's not how that works," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. "Besides - even if I wanted to, which I don't because I can't, it wouldn't be any fun. My entire lower back is killing me…hence me soaking in the tub. I'm hoping it loosens my muscles so I can sleep tonight."

He made a face. "Well…can I get you anything?"

She smiled, but shook her head no. "Thank you, though."

Draco grabbed her towel from the floor and held it out for her. "Come on," he said.

"You're seriously not getting any," Hermione warned, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm not completely daft," Draco mocked. "Get out - I'll give you a massage."

She pretended to think about his proposal for a second before hoisting herself out of the bathtub. Raising her arms, Draco wrapped the towel around her, holding it closed as his arms wrapped around her small frame, hoisting her from the tub. He gave her a peck on the lips before grabbing her lotion from the counter and handing her a pain potion from the medicine cabinet. She took it without arguing, tossing the vial away in the trash. The stress of the week had her entire body tense and her period wasn't exactly helping the situation. Hermione grabbed a headband from a drawer on her side of the vanity and pushed her hair back away from her face. Growing it out wasn't much appealing to her in this current state of somewhere between too long do anything to it the way she used to when it was shorter yet not long enough to do anything period. Sometime this week, she feared a rash decision in hacking it all off again, and then instantly regret. She missed her long hair, but at this moment, she wasn't sure if the process was worth it. Quickly, she brushed her teeth, hung up her towel, and changed into a pair of thin pajama pants and a tank before meandering her way into the bedroom. Draco had the bed turned down as he sat on his side, fiddling with the cap of her lotion bottle.

Hermione crawled into bed, grinning. "Who knew you could be so easily amused?"

"Funny, Granger," Draco replied. "A regular laugh riot."

"I know," she said, rolling on her stomach, holding the pillow she had her head perched upon and sighed. The moment she found herself almost gone of the constant twinge in her lower back, she realized she was going to have to take her top off if she wanted Draco to use that lotion on her. Grumbling, she pulled the tank off and wadded it up onto her nightstand. "Massage away," she said, her words muffled as she spoke into the pillow.

He shook his head, laughing silently as he made his way to her, straddling her so that his weight was on his knees, dipping into the mattress. He placed a generous dollop of lotion in his hands, rubbing it together before he began to press and knead his hands into her back. Draco could feel the knots in her lower back with his fingers, slowly working the lotion into the skin as he tried to work them out. Hermione moved her head so that she was lying on one side. "You know," Draco said. "This usually works better if you attempt to relax."

"I'm trying," she replied, hissing as Draco's thumbs found a particularly sore spot.

He moved his hands slowly and carefully as she winced, kneading the knot away. "Have you thought about what you want with the wedding at all?" he asked, trying to make small talk as he used the heel of one hand to work the knot away.

Hermione sighed, relaxing the hold she had on the pillow her head and chest were resting on. "I mean…it's been a week. I can't say I've put a lot of thought into it as of yet."

"Right," Draco said, his fingers working her way up to her middle back as he squeezed a line of lotion along the midsection of her spine. "So what they say about little girls who plan their weddings out their entire lives isn't true?"

"Oh I don't know about that," Hermione replied. "Ginny had hers planned the moment she met Harry. Had a book and everything."

Laughing, Draco rubbed the lotion into Hermione's back slowly. "That certainly doesn't surprise me. Ginny usually gets what she wants."

"That she does," Hermione said with a laugh. "Harry knew what he was getting into with her - and he loves every minute of it. He'd do anything for her."

His hands found her shoulders and he leaned down, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck. "I'd do anything for you," he said softly. "You know that, right?"

"Yes," she said, her voice quiet.

"I would," he said again, massaging her shoulders.

Hermione sighed, exhaling slowly as her body melted with each squeeze of his hands. "I worry sometimes that we did all of this too fast," she admitted.

Draco's hands didn't stop. "Which is why we will have a long engagement."

"You're not mad about it?"

"No," he replied. "I was a bit shocked at first, but I think a long engagement would be best…for everyone involved."

"Like your mother," Hermione stated.

"Like my mother," Draco agreed. His hands found her lower back again, his massage a bit lighter than before. "She really is sorry."

Hermione sighed. "I'm sure she is. But eventually, she can't just keep saying it. She has to do something about it."

"I know," Draco replied. "I talked to her."

"I'm going to talk to her," Hermione stated. She twisted, propping herself up on her elbows so she could see Draco as she spoke. "We will come to an understanding."

He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, which she returned before laying back down. "I love you," Draco said.

"I love you," Hermione replied. "Thank you for rubbing my back."

"Consider it one of my many ways I plan on apologizing to you for my actions this past week," he said with a laugh.

"Works for me," Hermione said through a moan as his fingers dug into the muscles in her lower back.

The two of them were silent for a while, Hermione closing her eyes as Draco continued to work her back until there wasn't a tense muscle to be found. Another kiss to the back of her neck, she heard him put the lotion back on her nightstand and crawl off of her. He crawled into bed under the blankets as she found her tank and slipped it back on. She waited for him to get situated, propping himself up halfway with pillows against the headboard before she grabbed her pillow and placed it in his lap. Resting on her back, Draco draped an arm across her, his hand resting on her stomach. Hermione lightly dragged her fingernails up and down his pale arm, grazing over the dark mark he didn't bother hiding in her presence anymore. It was pointless, she told him one day as she watched him mutter the charm before bed. She knew it was there, just like he knew mudblood was etched on her arm - hiding the obvious scars from each other was pointless. Uncovering the scars still hidden, however, was an ongoing process.

Her knees were bent as she swayed them back and forth a tad, her fingernails still lazily dragging up and down his arm. "I had wedding ideas," she said after awhile. "My dad and I used to talk about it. He loved big parties…he probably had the day planned out better than I ever could have imagined."

"And now?" Draco asked.

She shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. I pushed all of these things out of mind when I found out they were dead. Being with you…choosing to be with you, I should say, is the first concrete decision I've made in four years. I work because I'm supposed to, because I'd be bloody bored without it. I moved back because I had no real reason to stay in New York once my job there was complete. There are still days where I feel like as long as I make it through to the end without any major catastrophe, it's a success."

Draco used his free hand to drag his fingers through her hair. "I understand."

"I know you do," she replied, looking up at him. His soft grey eyes were looking straight through her, comforting her. "Our scars aren't so different, yours and mine."

"I agree," he replied.

Hermione sat up, untangling herself from his arm and moved so that she was nestled properly in his arms, her head on his chest as she pulled the covers up over them before killing the light on her nightstand. "We can plan the wedding together," she said through a yawn. "You and me. Exactly what we want."

He looked down at her as she stared at him again. Catching her lips with his, he kissed her softly, holding her tight. "Sounds like a brilliant plan," he whispered, kissing her again.

Even in the dark, he could see her smirk. "Of course it is," she said, cheekily. "Because I am, in fact, brilliant."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Go to sleep, Granger."

She giggled as she felt his arms hug her tighter. "Love you."

"Love you too."