Hermione called out for Luna's House.
"Luna!" She called.
"Hermione! It's so good to see you. So you've made your decision then?" She asked expectantly.
"Yes." She thrust the time turner into her hands.
"Destroy this please." She told her.
"Oh lovely. I hoped my oracle would be correct after all." Luna smiled at her.
"Luna? Do you love him?" She asked, her anxiety rising.
"No." She answered, and Hermione's stomach dropped.
"But I will." She replied dreamily, "someday. Once the nargles leave his brain. I'm quite sure of it you see."
Hermione sagged with relief, squeezed her friend, and ran back to the floo.
—
When Hermione arrived back at the manor, she walked into a bit of a scene.
Draco was on the ground with a comforter wrapped around his body, next to a very angry Ron, and a sad looking Harry.
"What is going on?" Hermione asked, observing them.
"You left me!" He glared at her through his misery.
"Draco, I didn't leave you. I went to run an errand."
"An errand?"
"An errand."
"AN ERRAND!"
"An errand."
"What pray tell kind of errand is more important than discussing your future with your fiancé?"
"The kind that destroys time turners you idiot."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Boys, will you excuse us? It seems there may have been a misunderstanding."
Harry and Ron gave him a hug and then shook their heads at Hermione before leaving the couple be.
"Draco, I owe you an apology. Several in fact." She said sadly as he pulled her into his arms. He started to interrupt her but she hushed him.
"I did a lot of soul searching today. Your father actually offered me some very good advice. So did Ron come to think of it," she paused looking up at him.
"I thought about my future with both of you and then I smelled Amortentia."
"What did you determine?" He asked with a catch in his voice.
"When I smelled the Amortentia I smelled the wind, marinara sauce, and blue agave but in the background very subtlety, I still smelled gardenias, white fruit, and the sea. I've determined that what Theo and I had was young powerful love and a deep connection that I thought meant we were supposed to be together. He helped me through a difficult time, and was the catalyst for me to get my life together. A part of me will always love him because he's a part of me. A part of my past that helped make me who I am today.
But you… gods Draco, you are just everything to me. I can't imagine a life without you anymore. I want to marry you and have your aristocratic babies. I want to argue with you and have rough make up sex all over our room. I want to fly our horses together, and watch countless Leonardo DiCaprio movies and Disney movies because you love them. I want to exhaust every single fantasy on both of our lists and I want to get pissed off tequila. I want to develop deeper relationships with your parents and become a part of your family. I want to be a Malfoy. I want to be your wife, and I don't want anyone else. Will you forgive me?"
Draco looked away quickly from her and tried to hide the tear that slipped out from one of his traitorous eyes.
"That was a pretty good apology. I suppose. But perhaps you should make it up to me."
"What did you have in mind?" She asked cautiously.
"You know what I want," She gulped as he stepped closer to her pining her back against the wall.
"What?" She was breathless as his eyes devoured her face and her body.
"I want to watch Romeo and Juliet staring none other than Leonardo DiCaprio." He grinned and she burst out laughing.
"And then I want to make love to you in my Quidditch jersey."
"Deal," she smirked and gave his arse a squeeze.
—
The next week passed in a happy blur for Hermione. She was busy with her apprenticeship and her classes and of course making love to Draco several times a day. The tattoos had never been happier and oftentimes she would catch her little dragon preening at her with a pleased expression. The vain little thing.
Her relationship with Lucius had shifted completely and now every morning was spent working through the potions on her list and him talking about everything that happened in the last two wars. His openness astounded her and she felt like they were actually becoming friends. Or at least almost friends.
The day before the wedding, Draco had asked Hermione to meet him at a section of Diagon ally she had never really noticed before.
"These are office buildings." Hermione mused.
"Yes, my father bought them."
"Cool?" She mused teasingly.
"He called me into his office this morning, gave me the papers, and told me to bring you to see your future office."
"My future office?" She was confused. Draco rolled his eyes.
"He bought you the building for your new practice Hermione. He showing you that he believes in your dream and in you."
She jumped up and down excitedly!
"Why didn't he bring me here himself?"
"I think he was nervous actually. He really is quite fond of you my dear, and so am I." He kissed her cheek. She kissed him back sweetly.
"I can't wait to thank him, and to cross the last item off my list. I officially get along with my future in laws." She smiled contentedly holding his hand.
"Are you ready for the wedding tomorrow?" He asked her.
"Two drink maximum?"
"Two drink maximum." He confirmed.
"Yes, I'm ready."
—
The wedding was simple but elegant. Harry and Daphne's vows were traditional as was their bonding, but Hermione could see the love and happiness radiating off of the couple.
She was quite pleased all in all with this ministry interference. Who would have thought when the law came out that there would be so many happy matches. She looked around her at the other couples that were matched by the dark parties.
Ron and Pansy were dancing as closely as they could while still being appropriate.
Ginny and Neville were laughing together by her parents, her seeming to have moved on gracefully from Harry.
Blaise and Percy… well she saw them wander off to the coat closet a half an hour ago, so it seemed like things were fine on that front.
Even Lavender Brown was bossing Charlie right around the buffet, him with a grin.
She saw Theo in the corner with Luna and hesitated before making her way over to him.
"I'll just leave you two to talk," said Luna happily as she left Hermione alone with her date.
For a while neither one of them said anything. Hermione looked over to give Draco a smile as he watched them from across the room.
Then he spoke to her. "We're moving to France."
She turned, "you and Luna?"
"Yes. I knew about the time turner... It's better this way." He replied sourly.
"I'm sorry things didn't work out for us, that they ended the way that they did. It was wrong. I never wanted to hurt you you know. It was just too hard. I couldn't do it. Do you think… one day we might be able to be friends?" She asked him nervously.
"Nope." He paused and then continued, "honestly the most I could ever see happening is polite long distance acquaintances." Ouch. Well you can't have it all, she frowned.
Hermione nodded in her understanding. Resigned to what he was saying.
"Do you think you and Luna will be happy one day?"
"She grows on you." He answered with a small smirk on the side of his mouth watching Luna twirl around by herself on the dance floor.
Hermione stood up to make her way back to Draco.
"Thank you for being civil. You really were my soulmate you know. Once upon a time."
"Once upon a time. Aren't those stories supposed to have happy endings?"
"They do, even if it's not always in a way you'd expect." She smiled and then walked back to Draco, leaving her past behind, and reaching out for her future.