Draco strolled the streets of Diagon Alley with a hastened pace, wanting to avoid the crowds as much as he possibly could. He had just left Twilfit and Tattings, where he had taken his formal robes to be altered for the ball. One of the buttons on the tailcoat had become loose, and needed repair. Draco had also purchased a new set of cufflinks, featuring an engraved floral motif similar to that of Hermione's engagement ring. He had seen sitting in the display case and decided that it was a reasonable purchase.

Pulling the hood of his cloak closer to his face, Draco tried to shield himself from the intensity of the chilly October wind. Walking past a group of gaggling witches, he kept his head down. He passed Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, where the ridiculous statue popped a rabbit from its hat with sporadic movement. Draco rolled his eyes at the facade.

Continuing past the colorful storefront, Draco turned onto one of the smaller side streets of Diagon. He knew a shortcut to the jewelers, where he was picking up a bracelet for Narcissa. The clasp had been broken, and his mother had requested it to be fixed before the ball. As Draco ventured deeper into the small street, he couldn't help but notice the overwhelming feeling that someone, or something, was following him.

His time as a Death Eater had trained his senses to a higher level of vigilance. The feeling became almost unbearable, so Draco stealthily placed his left hand on the wand that was strapped in a leather harness at his side. Looking back in the corner of his eye, Draco's suspicions were confirmed. A cloaked figure followed behind him a distance, as least ten paces behind. Not wanting to cause a scene, Draco quickly ducked into an alleyway and awaited his tail.

When the figure finally passed Draco in his hiding spot, Draco withdrew his wand with lightning speed. Pressing his wand into the back of his stalker, his voice was firm as he spoke.

"Reveal yourself, or I will hex you seven ways from Sunday. Your choice." Draco's command was steady as he dug the tip of his wand in between the shoulder blades of the cloaked individual.

"I wouldn't threaten me if I were you, Malfoy. Threatening an Auror is a serious offense." Ron Weasley's nasally vibrato rang clear as he spoke, pushing the dark hood from his head. His shock of red hair was vibrant against the dark brick of the alleyway. Draco pulled his wand from Weasley's shoulder blades, dropping it to his side as the other wizard turned to face him.

"What the fuck are you doing, Weasley? Why are you following me?" Draco was accusatory with his questions, wanting to know exactly why the redhead was tailing him like a suspect.

"I want to know exactly what makes you think that you have the right to force Hermione to marry you. She would never agree to this. Not without you or your disgusting family doing something to force her hand. I know about the dowry claim, but there has to be something more. Something darker. So what is it, Malfoy?" Ron bombarded the Malfoy heir with a series of questions and accusations. Draco grew angrier with each word that Ron spoke, but knew he had to keep his temper in check.

"First off, Weasley, I would like to correct you on your assumptions. I, nor any members of my family, in any way, have forced anyone's hand. All decisions in regards to my engagement were made willingly by all parties involved. Our betrothal contract is a legal testament to that. In reference to the Dotis Nomine claim, we are working to resolve it for Hermione's sake. Now, is that all? I do need to be going. I have an appointment to attend." Draco's expression and tone were neutral as he spoke his piece. Weasley's face grew redder and redder with every word that the blonde wizard spoke.

"I know you're lying, Malfoy. I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ron threatened, and Draco had to keep himself from growling in frustration.

"I am not lying, Weasley. I have answered your questions honestly. Now, if you will excuse me, I really must be going." Draco pushed past the redhead, who did not take kindly to such an action.

"I didn't tell you that you could go." Weasley spoke, and Draco stopped, a sigh escaping from his lips.

"What else is there that you could possibly need?" Malfoy spoke, and Ron's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he answered.

"You called her Hermione. Not Granger. You've always called her Granger." Ron observed, and Draco was actually a bit impressed by the normally clueless imbecile's perception.

"We decided, mutually, that calling each other by our given names was probably a good idea. Considering we are getting married. Is that all?" Draco was more than annoyed now. He was going to be late for his appointment at the jewelers, and he hated being late.

"You don't deserve to call her that." Ron muttered, shifting unsteadily on his feat. Draco couldn't understand what he was saying.

"What was that?" He asked for clarification.

"I said, you don't deserve to call her that." Anger seemed to be rising through Ron's veins, and Draco instantly noticed the change in the weasel's physical demeanor. He knew that he needed to deescalate the situation as soon as he could.

"I understand your frustration, Weasley, but my relationship with Hermione is her and I's business. Not yours. So I ask you now to please, walk away." Draco was calm as he spoke, but Ron's face continued to tint itself scarlet.

"Stop calling her that! Keep her name out of your mouth!" The redhead cried, removing his wand from the pocket of his cloak, and aiming directly at Draco with a menacing glance. Draco raised his hands in protest.

"I know you don't want to do this, Weasley. Think of Granger. What she would think of this, what you're doing right now." Draco tried to reason.

"I don't care what she would think! She's lost it! She's agreed to marry a Death Eater. The Hermione I knew is gone." Ron was nearly at tears, and Draco was trying to keep himself from hexing the Auror standing in front of him.

"The Hermione you knew is still herself. She agreed to marry me to save me. Isn't that the most Hermione thing she could do?" Malfoy offered.

"Stop saying her name! She's always been a Mudblood to you anyway." The words escaped Weasley's lips.

Within seconds, Draco's fist connected with Ron's cheek with a sickening crack!.

Then all hell broke loose.

—00000—

"That's ridiculous!" Hermione laughed as she conversed with Amelia, who was talking about the date that she had had over the weekend. The wizard she had gone to dinner with had left to go to the restroom and never returned, footing Amelia with the bill and a sense of broken pride.

"I know! And I haven't heard from him since." Amelia sighed, flicking a loose auburn curl behind her.

Hermione and her colleague were enjoying a spot of coffee in the Ministry's indoor courtyard during their lunch break. There were still people staring and whispering, but Hermione was quickly learning how to tune out the white noise. Amelia had once again insisted on treating Hermione to lunch, and the witch had finally given in. It was nice to chat to someone who was uncaring about her impending wedding. Amelia was kind that way, which made Hermione enjoy her company even more.

The two women chatted aimlessly, until Hermione spotted a familiar face standing in the corner of the courtyard. Hermione motioned for the individual to join her, and Harry nodded before approaching the table. He arrived at the cement table and chairs with an awkward look that was unusual for him, and Hermione immediately knew something was up.

"Hi Harry. What's up? You seem peeved." Hermione asked her oldest friend, and Harry gave her a forced smile.

"Oh, just something. Hi, I'm Harry Potter, by the way." Harry gently extended a greeting to Amelia, who was watching the interaction between him and Hermione with an interested glance.

"Oh I know who you are. I'm Amelia Blanchet. And from what I can gather from the very strained look on your face, I'm going to leave you two to your conversation. I'll see you back at the DMLE, Hermione. Nice meeting you, Harry." Amelia gathered her belongings before heading back to the office, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.

"Alright, what's up? You look like you got an earwax flavored Bott's Every Flavor Bean." Hermione asked as Harry slid into Amelia's vacated seat.

"Well, there seems that there was an…altercation of sorts." Harry answered, and Hemrione arched her brow, looking for an elaboration.

"An altercation?" She asked, prodding for details.

"An altercation. In Diagon Alley." Harry continued.

"An altercation in Diagon Alley. Okay? How does this apply to me?" Hermione was getting annoyed now.

"It does concern you, I promise." Harry reassured her. Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry had always been cryptic when there was more of the story to tell.

"How, Harry? How does it concern me?" Hermione pushed, her tone heavy with irritation.

"Well…" Harry dragged.

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione snapped, completely done with her friend's antics. With the use of his full name, Harry finally broke.

"You might need to go bail your fiance out of jail."

—00000—

Draco looked at his bruised knuckles with a satisfied smirk. He had always wanted to deck the weasel, and he finally did. He just didn't expect it to land him in a holding cell in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. But apparently that is what happens when you punch an Auror. Even if it was for a justified reason.

Ron Wealsey had no right to call Hermione such a word. And as she was his fiance, it had been up to Draco to defend her. Even if it did cost him a trip to jail.

Draco heard footsteps coming down the hall. A jingle of keys in his cell's lock made him look up from his damaged extremities.

"Seems that you've been sprung, Malfoy. Come on." Seamus Finnigan pulled the door of Malfoy's cell open with a squeal. He motioned for the blonde wizard to follow him as they headed down the corridor of cells identical to the one that Draco had just occupied.

Approaching a large steel door, Finnigan removed his wand from his standard Auror uniform issued trousers and cast a spell, opening the door. He once again motioned for Draco to follow him. The pair walked down another hallway, where a row of lockers stood against the wall. Seamus opened one of the small units and removed a bag, which Draco assumed was his personal effects.

When he had been arrested, they had removed his wand from his person, as well as his rings and cloak. Seamus handed him the bag of his belongings, before opening another door.

"Here you go. Your ride is waiting in the lobby. Stay out of trouble, will ya, Malfoy? I don't like ya, and I really don't need to see ya again here." Finnigan ushered him into the chair-filled room, warning him to stay away before closing the door behind him.

Clutching his bag of belongings like a lost child, Draco searched the room for a familiar face. He figured that his mother would have been the one to post his bail, or Mr. Jespers. He knew his parents were going to be furious with his actions. But Hermione deserved better. She deserved the best. And if punching Weasel represented that, Draco would do it again in a heartbeat.

It was the familiar shock of caramel curls that surprised Draco when he spotted them. Next to the wild locks of Hermione were the jet black shag that was Potter, and Draco knew then and there he was about to get the lecture of his life. Hermione turned to face him when she heard the slam of the door, an unimpressed look on her heart-shaped face.

Approaching the pair, Draco prepared himself for a battle of wits.

"Well, I see you're in one piece." Hermione remarked, sarcasm lacing her voice.

"Hermione, please. I think you should give the guy some slack. Ron deserved this one." Draco was a bit shocked to hear Potter come to his defense. And for that, he was thankful.

"There is no excuse for getting into fights, even if someone deserves it or not!" Hermione argued. Potter shook his head, but turned his attention to Malfoy.

"While I don't appreciate you decking my best mate, I know he was the one who approached you unprovoked. While you were brought in for assaulting an Auror, the charges have been dropped. There will be nothing on your record. You're free to go." Potter explained his terms of release, and gave a still stewing Hermione a squeeze on the shoulder before departing.

Draco looked at Hermione, who still would not meet his eye. He could tell that she was more than angry. She was pissed. So he did the only thing he knew to do. He apologized.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have punched Weasley." Draco admitted his sins. Hermione turned to him, obviously not completely satisfied with his apology, but pleased enough to acknowledge his existence.

"You should be! Draco, you cannot go around punching people just because they say distasteful things about me." Hermione was stern in her reprimand.

"He called you a Mudblood, Hermione. I couldn't let that go unpunished." Draco defended his actions.

"I don't care if he called me every name in the book! With your past, your reputation, this could have gone a lot worse than it did. You're lucky Harry was here to handle this. Otherwise, you'd be awaiting trial." Hermione kept her voice lowered when she mentioned Draco's past.

"Leave it to Potter to save my ass again."

"Well he's apparently good at it, so don't resent it. And don't make it necessary again. You only get so many chances, Draco. Don't burn your bridges before you cross them." Hermione's eyes were serious as she stared at her fiance. They needed to tread carefully.

"I won't." Draco agreed, and the pair was silent for a few moments.

"Good. And thank you for the dress." Hermione mentioned his gift, making Draco smile. He knew that she would like it.

"You're welcome."

"Alright. I need to get back to work. Will you please go home, or somewhere where you can stay out of trouble?" Hermione asked her fiance, and Draco nodded. It was only three, which meant he could still fetch his mother's bracelet from the jewelers.

"Good. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Hermione offered, and Draco nodded again.

"I'll stay out of trouble, I promise. But let's agree to keep this between us?" Draco asked, and Hermione laughed.

"I think that's an agreeable term. Your mother would have an aneurysm if she knew that I had to bail you out of jail." Hermione shook her head at the thought of Narcissa's reaction.

"She'd hex me into next week." Draco laughed. Hermione couldn't help but admit that his laugh was attractive. A few beats of quiet passed before Hermione spoke.

"I know I said that it was wrong to punch Ron. But thank you. For defending me." Hermione gave her fiance a small smile, and Draco shook his head.

"I would do anything for the woman I am going to marry. Know that Hermione, and never forget it. You're going to be my wife. I'll protect you with my words, my body, and my magic. No matter what. You're my family. And family is forever."