Me again, Claire! Original author! Natalie has lost her enthusiasm for this story so it will be more of a team effort until this story finishes. Don't worry, there is still plenty more to come! I was going to updae this tomorrow but I just watched Doctor Who, and I definitely need some cheering up since David Tennant has regenerated : ( *bites back the tears* Let's hope all you lovely people cheer me up, even if you have no idea why i'm depressed right now!
Thanks to: voldyismyfather, cyn23, kama674, VoiletDhaliwal, Vampire love and then broken, sweet-tang-honney, tfobmv18, okami no kidzukare, Sarahcaleb01, x8jessica8x, sexxydemon, reina13, Sarah The VAMPIRE, NiraliSkye, missygrace101, 4herprince, evergreeneyes, Alice-Rathbone-is-my-real-name, GlaudioseGoddess and crazey logic 13. Also, everyone who has reviewed previous chapters welcome aboard! I hope you review again. It means the world.
Previously: "Hermione, I love you with all my heart. Without you, I can not breathe, move, or live. You are my oxygen and my sun. You are my star, my one and all. My heart belongs to you, you will belong to me always and we will live happily ever after. If you stay with me, I will love you for eternity. Hermione Jean Granger, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
Chapter 17: Sordid Details
Hermione stared at the ring. It was exactly like the ring she had seen in London, which Draco had said he would get copied. It was a simple platinum band, with three beautifully cut diamonds set into it. The largest diamond was in the middle, with the two smaller ones beside it. It was completely stunning, and when Draco slipped it on her ring finger, it fitted perfectly.
"So? Will you marry me?" Draco asked earnestly. He knew the answer would be yes, but he wanted to hear it from Hermione.
"Of course I will," she beamed.
Draco whooped and hugged Hermione so hard that they crashed to the ground. He kissed her sweet lips hungrily, never wanting this moment to end.
"I love you," Hermione whispered when they broke for air.
"And I love you too," Draco replied, kissing her on the nose.
"Let's go and show everyone else," Hermione said, pushing Draco off her. His weight had become too much. Draco vanished the blanket, picked Hermione up and ran up to the castle. Nothing could ruin his mood at that moment.
"You can put me down Draco," laughed Hermione as they reached the moving staircase.
"Good, you were killing me," smirked Draco and dodged a punch from Hermione.
"Just because I agreed to marry you doesn't mean I'll put up with your 'jokes'," Hermione teased.
Draco put her down and then shouted, "Last one to the top is a flobberworm!"
Hermione gasped behind him and started climbing the stairs as quickly as she could.
"No fair," she whined, "you had a head start!"
"Sore loser are we?" Draco said from in front of her.
"No!" Hermione lied.
Draco laughed, "of course you are. Doesn't mean I'm going to let you win though."
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh as Draco continued to race up the stairs.
Finally, they both got to the top.
"Yay! I won, what's my prize, love?" Draco crowed.
"Your prize is you get to sleep in the same bed as me tonight," Hermione teased.
"But I do every night," Draco frowned.
"Yes but you could always sleep on the couch," Hermione replied sweetly. Draco groaned and kissed her forcefully. He ran a hand through her hair and he felt Hermione relax. Once he heard a whimper, Draco stopped. He smirked and started to walk to their door. Hermione opened her eyes and yelped. She ran to catch up with Draco but stopped at the room status board.
"Hey!"
Draco stopped and turned.
"Again, are you going to finish that sentence or just leave me hanging?" he asked her. Hermione laughed and pointed to the board.
"Just thought I'd let you know that we're in first place!"
"What? But how?! We have Harry and Pansy in our room!" Draco ran to check. Hermione was right. They were ahead by six points. Draco beamed and in his happiness picked Hermione up and twirled her around. Hermione giggled as he carried her to their room. They said the password and opened the door.
What a sight it was. It was like they had entered an alternate reality. The four of them were sitting on the sofas listening to the wireless and laughing. Yes, the four of them, that meant Pansy as well.
"What in Merlin's name happened here today?!" Draco asked, so astounded he dropped Hermione. Then, realising what he had done, Draco picked her up again before she protested.
"I could ask the same thing about you," Harry chuckled.
Suddenly Ginny screeched.
Draco and Hermione jumped back as the red haired girl ran towards them.
"You didn't?" Ginny asked Draco.
"I did," he beamed back.
"Oh my God!" she cried, and then dragged Hermione into her room.
"What's got into you?" Hermione asked, once again bemused.
"He proposed to you! You're wearing a ring!" Ginny cried.
"We were already engaged Ginny, you seem to have forgotten that," Hermione laughed.
"I haven't forgotten that, but he actually proposed the engagement to you, that means he loves you and wants to marry you! Harry and Pansy are technically engaged, but they aren't even friends yet. You're truly engaged, it's sealed with a ring!"
"Why does everyone have such great logic?" Hermione moaned, "But yes, he proposed. Ginny, it was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me."
"That can't be too difficult; you've only been out with Victor and Ron."
Hermione playfully slapped her arm.
"I don't care. I never thought I could be this happy Ginny. With, Malfoy of all people. I guess we really are suited to each other."
"Duh! Anyone can see that, you too glow when you're together. It would be painful to watch if I wasn't so happy with Blaise."
"Ooo, care to share? I sense some gossip in the air," Hermione giggled.
Ginny laughed, "Not really... You know everything there is to know!"
"OK, just tell me once you've done the dirty deed. I'm sure once you're married that-" Hermione trailed off when she saw Ginny blush.
"Ginny Weasley! Don't tell me you've-"
"Shh! Don't make it sound so bad Hermione!"
"But- but- you-" Hermione spluttered. She was in shock. Ginny and Blaise...
"I know what you're going to say but I don't care. We're in love, and we didn't feel there was any point in waiting for the inevitable."
Hermione stood there for a moment, taking it in. Of course it made sense...they were perfect for each other. And obviously if Ginny was happy, Hermione should be happy as well.
"Well then, I guess congratulations are in order! If you're happy then so am I," Hermione smiled and embraced her best friend.
"Thanks. Don't feel bad for me. Can't believe we waited so long..."
"Ginny. Just because I'm happy for you doesn't mean I want to know the sordid details."
"Right. Sorry. Anyway, what about you and Draco?"
Hermione gasped, "Please. I may have said yes to his proposal, and I love him dearly, but I do not want to think about that just yet."
"Fair enough. Well, let's go back outside. Draco will be wondering what I've done with you."
The next day Hermione woke to Draco's arm splayed across her chest. She tried to move but his arm was too heavy. Hermione grunted and soon gave up. She decided, in light of Ginny's revelation, to have some fun with the sleeping Slytherin. She trailed her hand up his arm and lightly stroked his back.
"I'm up, I'm up!" Draco groaned, removing his arm from her chest. Hermione giggled and attempted to get up from the bed. It was a wider bed now, in light of their secure relationship. They each had two pillows and a feather soft duvet big enough for both of them. The walls were white which rich blue furniture. It suited them perfectly.
"Draco, let go of my arm. I need a shower," warned Hermione.
"You think I'm going to let you get away with your teasing," muttered Draco whilst pulling her back down to the bed. Hermione laughed, but made no effort to move. Draco rolled onto her, making sure not to hurt her with his weight. He kissed her passionately on the lips, slipping his tongue inside her mouth. She tasted splendid, so feminine. She wasn't like all the others he had kissed. He moved to her neck and found a sweet spot which had a faint taste of vanilla. Hermione gripped onto his hair and silently begged him to continue. Pleased his work was done, Draco moved away.
"You tease," whispered Hermione once she got her breath up.
"Don't pretend you don't love it," Draco replied before kissing her on the forehead and allowing her to enter the bathroom. He lay on his back, still basking in the afterglow. He never thought he would have felt this way about Hermione. Throughout all their years in school, he had viewed her as the muggle-born know it all. But she was so much more than that. She made him feel good about himself. Honestly, he didn't think he deserved her. But he wasn't going to let her go now. He loved her too much.
He awoke again to Hermione slapping his arm.
"You've changed your tune 'Mione. What's got your knickers in a twist? Want some more loving before breakfast," Draco laughed.
"Today! It's today!"
Draco frowned, "what's today?"
"Hogsmeade trip! Your mother! It's today!" Hermione cried.
Draco groaned, "of course! Well, what's wrong about that? Don't you want to meet my mother?"
"Of course I do. I'm just...what if she doesn't like me?" Hermione asked.
Draco sighed and pulled her into his lap. "She will love you, because I love you. She won't want to see me hurt. You've made me a better person Hermione, and I hardly doubt she will want me to go back to how I was. Now, stop worrying and go pamper yourself. Do you want me to get Ginny? Isn't she meeting Blaise's mother today as well?"
Hermione nodded. Draco kissed her hair and pushed her gently off. He put on a robe, he didn't think his best friend and fiancé would appreciate seeing him semi naked, and went across to their room. He knocked on the door and before they answered he walked him.
"Ginny, Hermione wants you to...MERLIN! What in blazes are you doing?!" The couple broke apart and Ginny hid under the duvet.
"DRACO! DON'T YOU KNOCK?!"
"I DID KNOCK! YOU CLEARLY DIDN'T HEAR ME!"
Ginny yelled from under the cover, "Stop shouting you two! You don't want to wake up-"
"What's going on?" Hermione asked from the doorway, "Why are you shouting?"
Draco turned to her, unable to sneak.
Blaise sighed, "Draco didn't bother to wait for us to tell him to come in. And the consequence of that is he saw some things he'd rather never see in his lifetime."
Hermione looked at Draco, who was nodding furiously. Then she burst out laughing. Draco frowned.
"What did you say Hermione wanted, Draco?" Ginny asked, her head appearing from the duvet.
"Well, I'm meeting Narcissa today...and I wanted your help getting ready. Aren't you seeing Blaise's mother as well?"
"Of course I'll help you...could we have some privacy first? And we'll see you both at breakfast..."
Draco moaned, and left the room quickly.
"I don't think there has ever been a time when Draco was speechless...it was a lovely sight to see! We'll meet you at breakfast...I'll umm let you get back to what you were doing earlier," Hermione blushed.
She closed the door and ran to the sanctuary of her own room. Fortunately, each room had a small silencing charm, which could be activated when the owners wanted it. Clearly, Ginny and Blaise had used it that night. And thank god they did.
"My eyes..," moaned Draco. "I'll never look at them the same way again."
"Stop being such a baby. We're meeting your mother had the three Broomsticks at 12 aren't we? Therefore I'll need to start getting ready at ten...we have no time to waste! We don't want to miss breakfast," Hermione replied. She quickly slipped into a pair of jeans and a purple dress top and brushed her hair. Thankfully it had smoothed out of the years, and it wasn't such a nightmare to control.
Draco went into the backroom after her and showered before dressing.
They made their way down to breakfast and saw Harry and Pansy, along with Neville, Hannah, Luna and Ron already sitting at a table.
"You took your time!" Harry smiled, making room for the newly engaged couple to sit down. "Where are Ginny and Blaise?"
Draco groaned and Hermione shushed him. "They'll be a while. Don't ask."
Hermione picked out a piece of toast and the newcomers to their table gasped.
"Is that?" Hannah asked.
Hermione glanced down. They were looking at her ring.
"Draco proposed last night," she smiled. Hannah and Luna girls squealed and demanded to see the ring. Hermione chuckled and showed it to them. Pansy had already seen it the night before, but she smiled happily at Hermione. Neville swore under his breath, and hoped Hannah wouldn't want a showy ring like that. He had already bought her a ring, it only had one diamond but Hannah had been thrilled with it.
Luna smiled dreamily and said, "Did you make sure it wasn't cursed by the Jorglers?" Hermione and Draco blinked.
"Excuse me?" Draco asked, he wasn't as used to Luna's outlandish statements like the rest of them.
"Jorglers curse rings to try and break up a happy couple," Luna stated, "have either of you been thinking bad thoughts about the other?"
"Of course not. We're the happiest couple ever right now!" Draco said loudly.
"Except for Ginny and Blaise perhaps..." Hermione smiled. Draco paled.
"Don't mention them Hermione, it's still fresh in my mind!"
"What? Why can't she mention them?" Ron asked curiously. It was his little sister after all.
Hermione blushed, "well...umm...it's kind of a private matter..."
"I caught them in a compromising position this morning and it's scarred me forever," Draco declared dramatically.
"Compromising position," laughed Ron, "what does that....oh" Ron paused, then realisation dawned "...no, it doesn't mean...they can't have!" He buried his face into his hands as Luna patted him absentmindedly on the back.
"This is why I said it was a private matter," Hermione scolded Draco.
"Come on! He was bound to find out sooner or later!"
"I'm sure Ginny would have rather told him herself than you declare it at the breakfast table!" Hermione replied. She was mad at Draco, it wasn't his secret to tell and she felt sorry for Ginny as now her private life had been divulged.
"Umm," Harry coughed, "we won't mention it to them...Ron will, but we won't. I don't think Ginny would appreciate us knowing that." Neville, Hannah and Pansy nodded.
"Here they come now! We better make a move on. We're going to go to look for engagement presents in Hogsmeade...come on Hannah, let's get out of here," Neville said quickly. The couple smiled at Blaise and Ginny, looking quite happy as they arrived at their table.
"Hey," Blaise greeted them, "is Ron alright?"
Ron looked up.
"YOU!"
Blaise looked alarmed, "me?"
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?!" Ron raged, obviously feeling protective of Ginny. Harry and Pansy slipped away, not wanting to get in the middle of the soon to be argument.
"Ron! Calm down, he didn't do anything!" Ginny hissed, trying not to cause a scene. Some of the students around them had already begun to eavesdrop.
"Ron, be quiet! You don't want to make this worse for yourself," Luna said.
"You've only known each other since last month! Ginny, you can't-"
"Can't what, Ronald? Can't think for myself? I love Blaise, and he loves me. What we do in private is exactly that. Private. I don't know why you know about this but I can guess who blabbed," she glared at Draco who looked at the table. "But I don't need protecting anymore. You're my big brother, and I love you. But I'm an adult now. I can make my own decisions."
She grabbed a piece of toast and pulled Blaise out of the hall.
Ron spluttered profusely. Luna shushed him and gave him a glass of pumpkin juice.
"He'll be alright once he's calmed down," Luna said reassuringly. Hermione and Draco, both stunned, only nodded.
"That was an eventful breakfast," he said to Hermione once they were walking back to their dormitory.
"Yes, it took my mind of your mother for a while, but now I'm back to being a nervous wreck..."
"Well that's just silly, what's not to like," Draco replied, ruffling her hair.
"Don't touch my hair! You'll make it knotty again," she whined.
"Stop being a girl!" Draco complained. Hermione stopped, and burst out laughing.
"What?" Draco asked.
"Well I'm sorry if my gender annoys you but you're stuck with me like this," she replied, still laughing.
"Oh...ugh!" Draco said, before storming off ahead.
Hermione continued to laugh, clutching her sides in agony. A few minutes later when she had calmed down, she made her way to the dormitory. She found Draco inside, snacking on a chocolate frog from the kitchen.
"I'll leave you alone while you get ready. I think Ginny is waiting for you. Please don't be too long, I'd like to have time to myself as well," Draco told her, smoothing his pale blonde hair back. Hermione smirked before kissing him on the cheek. Draco held the small of her back and kissed her properly. Hermione relaxed, and tried extremely hard not to melt. This was difficult; she had never had someone kiss her so expertly. It was like he was reading her mind at that very moment.
"Get a room you two! Hermione, come on. We only have three hours until we have to be in Hogsmeade!" Ginny called from Hermione and Draco's doorway. Hermione continued to kiss her fiancé for a few more minutes until Ginny walked up to her and pulled her away.
"Honestly, you have plenty of time for that later!" Ginny remarked as she pushed Hermione into the blue and white room. "I thought you didn't want to think of Draco that way! You said it was too soon..."
"Just because I don't want to sleep with Draco yet doesn't mean I can't take joy from kissing him. He is a marvellous kisser-"
"You don't want to hear about me and Blaise; I certainly do not want to hear about you and Draco."
"Sorry," Hermione said, "do you want to get ready first or help me first?"
Three hours later, the door opened. Draco had stormed in to collect his clothes, announcing he'd get ready in Blaise's room two hours previously. The two Slytherin's were waiting in the living area, glancing every few minutes at the clock on the wall.
Ginny appeared first. She was wearing a strapless blue dress with frills on the bottom. It had no pattern, the revealing top was enough. Blaise swept her up in his arms and kissed her. It was plain he wanted to do much more than kiss his fiancé but restrained since Draco was there. Ginny had curled her hair so it fell in waves down her back. She looked beautiful, in Draco's opinion.
Then Hermione walked out. He had forgotten how stunning she was in the rich purple dress. Her hair had been straightened, it looked glossy and sleek. How Draco wanted to be alone with her, but he knew that time would soon come.
"Don't our girls brush up nicely," he commented to Blaise.
Ginny punched him and said, "Behave."
Draco opened his arms and hugged Hermione, breathing in her flowery scent. She had sprayed some rose fragrance, as Draco had told her Narcissa liked roses.
"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear. He felt Hermione shudder with happiness.
"Let's get going then. I asked McGonagall if we could have a coach into Hogsmeade, it saves us walking in these shoes," Ginny said, and then the four of them walked down to the entrance. McGonagall was there, and was pleased to see them look so happy.
Ginny and Hermione sat opposite Blaise and Draco and the coach made its way down to Hogsmeade, and the three broomsticks. Draco had made sure to hire tables in the private area upstairs. He didn't want the student population to witness this important event.
Five minutes later, they arrived. They wished each other luck, and made their way into the warmth.
I got carried away with the whole Blaise/Ginny thing, but obviously, Narcissa will meet Hermione next chapter! And also, the announcement will be made at dinnertime for Harry and Pansy : )
Leave your suggestions of the assignment in your review, I want to know what you lot think Harry and Pansy will have to do ; )
Please review! And Happy New Year!