I know it's short, but what's wrong with short? I'm short! My height has nothing to do with anything except not being able to reach things, and I'm veering off course here. Thank you all so much for reading my story!

Epilogue

"Happy three hour anniversary," Draco commented as he came up behind his wife. Hermione stood on the balcony of their hotel room, looking out at the rolling waves as the sun set.

Grinning, she turned in his arms and kissed her new husband. "Today was perfect," she told him. Three hours earlier, they had been married on the beach they now looked down upon. Surrounded by their families, the couple exchanged vows and rings, and were bonded for life by the minister. After the short ceremony, their guests entered the beach-side resort where the reception was held. After only a few hours of eating, mingling, and dancing, the newlyweds slipped away for some alone time. "Do you think they miss us?"

Draco shrugged. "Probably," he replied, "but it's our day. Is it not our prerogative to do as we please today?"

The new bride laughed. After a year and a half of planning, their wedding day had finally come. The couple had spent 18 months listening to Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy debate locations, colors, dresses, and food. The young couple allowed the mothers to have their input, but were quick to veto any decisions they didn't like. It had been the equivalent of pulling teeth when they pitched a beachside wedding. Narcissa complained about sand. Molly worried about the wind. But the engaged couple would hear no objections. They would have the wedding they wanted, and the mothers could deal with the rest of the details.

"So, if we wanted to stay up here for the rest of the night?" she asked, biting her bottom lip in a way she hoped was seductive.

"I would be very, very happy with that," he replied, his lips a hairsbreadth from her own. He had just moved her from the balcony to the bed when they heard a knock at the door. Groaning, he very reluctantly left his wife to answer it. "I'm going to kill you," he declared, seeing his best man on the other side. "Slowly, painfully kill you."

Ron laughed as if he had received the threat numerous times. "You're adorable when you say nice things like that," he retorted. "Mum wanted me to let you know that they're turning in for the night, and they'd like to see the two of you before they do."

Reluctantly, the newlyweds complied. They met outside the hotel's ballroom while Ron and Harry, who had served as Hermione's man of honor, stood by. Molly gushed over what a beautiful bride Hermione made, while making the couple promise to be safe on their honeymoon. When the Weasleys retired for the night, Narcissa approached. "I like her," she decided.

Draco laughed at what he considered an absurd comment. "You spent the last year arguing with her over flowers," he said. "But I'm not going to complain that you like Molly."

"You're not the only Malfoy to overcome your childhood prejudices," she remarked. "Give your mother a little credit."

He had to admit that he didn't expect his mother to change after decades of disliking the Weasley family, but he appreciated the effort she had made since the couple announced their engagement. The mothers happily worked together, and Narcissa mentioned that they already made plans for lunch the next week. It made him happy to know that his mother finally had a good, decent friend who didn't thrive on gossip and putdowns.

"I think it's great," he told her.

Hermione stepped forward to hug her new mother-in-law. "Thank you for everything," she murmured. "Really, without you and Molly, Draco would have attended the ceremony in his underwear. Thank you for making today possible."

"It was my pleasure," Narcissa replied, holding her new daughter close. "I appreciated the opportunity to be a part of it. I know our family hasn't always treated you well, but at least I now get the chance to spoil you as I would have done to my own daughter had I had one."

Draco rolled his eyes and attempted to halt his mother's plans. "Not jealous, I hope, that you're no longer the center of attention," Hermione joked, for which she earned a poke in the ribs.

"I'm suddenly envisioning my son sleeping on a sofa tonight," Narcissa quipped before saying goodnight.

Finally, they were alone and could return to their suite. "Your mother was wrong about you sleeping on the sofa tonight," Hermione commented as she kicked off the shoes she was desperate to remove hours ago. Though the pair had managed to go barefoot for their ceremony, the mothers insisted that they had to wear shoes in the ballroom. "In fact, I insist that I fall asleep beside you every night."

She worked open the buttons of his shirt, and Draco smiled. "I'm not going anywhere," he swore, kissing his wife with a loving tenderness that expressed exactly how he felt for her.

"Thank you for not getting bored of me once there was no threat to protect me from," she said, leading him towards the bed.

Draco smirked as he laid her down. "You've yet to give me a chance to be bored," he replied, resting his hand on her stomach. "And with this little one of the way, I doubt we'll ever be bored again."

The End