So I added one last chapter to this because of positive feedback, so this is the end. Thanks, please review!

Strange, how a few days ago Draco had never been inside Hermione's room, and here he was, waking up from a fantastic night of passion in her bed. He shifted silently, as not to wake her, to look around and study her room. There was more gold than he had expected. The furnishings were odd, they were in the style of Rococo, which references a French art period that focused in on the French aristocracy and is iconic for it's over embellishment of gold and pastels. But unlike the palace of Versailles, Hermione's room did not include pink and blue pastels or cherub imagery, instead it was gold curls and leaves with bright, strong red and detailed lions all over the place. He had always pictured her in something more Victorian. The strange Rococo revival furniture was in stark contrast to Draco's room, which was closer to Chippendale style, an American bread furniture period that was more conservative compared to the exuberance of French Rococo. His room was dark, dark mahogany wood, dark emerald drapes, dark sheets, and some silver embellishment in details. But this room didn't seem to fit her personality, but in some strange way it almost did.

"This room is a little too fussy for me." Hermione said, rolling over and noticing that he was studying her surroundings.

"I never took you as a Rococo person."

"What is Rococo?" Hermione said, sitting up and a little annoyed that Draco just used a word that she had never heard before.

"Oh, it's a period in art history and furniture style. My mum is really into antique furniture and as a kid I picked up all of the furniture books she had and read them. So I have a lot of knowledge about chairs and stuff that's kind of useless."

Hermione frowned.

"No. You can't know things that I don't know." She responded, still kind of asleep and lying back down on the bed again. Draco chuckled.

"You know, I looked through these books a lot when I was like three to five just to look at the pictures, and I remember how excited I was when I could read them and know what all of their words meant. It was a pleasant distraction from my father's anxiety which he passed on to me."

"What was your father anxious about?" Hermione said waking up more.

"He had just gotten through a war when I was born. He would get visions of battle randomly and go berserk. For the first nine or ten years of my life, he was paranoid you-know-who would come back somehow. For a while, when he was actively helping you-know-who come back, his anxiety was a lot better, because he seemed to know what was going to happen. That didn't last long, because everything went to hell when you guys broke into the department of mysteries… then he was worse than ever before."

Hermione was silent as she heard him. She was scared to say anything because at this moment they were becoming as intimate emotionally as they were physically.

"I understand why you didn't like us." She said finally, sadly.

"It made it so hard to like you, I mean I did anyway, but I was really conflicted and angry. Before fifth year, I had been told to hate your kind and be as rude to them as possible, so I was. Then when you slapped me in the third year I saw you in a whole different way. I was so infatuated with someone who finally didn't put up with my shit. And then I was only mean to you in a weak attempt to suppress those feelings but also get your attention, because secretly I wanted you to slap me again. Then when the prophecy thing happened… everything was different because I got this horrible assignment that I was supposed to fail. Then I was too ashamed to even speak to you, much less put effort into taunting you…" Draco said lightly suppressing tears, "but then I'll never forget that day, when you three arrived at the house and I had to watch what my aunt-my own mum's bloody sister- hurt you like that. I was the worst day of my life, even worse than when Harry used Snape's curse on me, even worse than the day I let them into the castle…"

Hermione pulled herself in closer to him, and cuddled herself into his chest while they both gave near silent tears.

"You know what I'll never forget about that day?"

Draco was afraid to answer.

"I'll never forget the moment when they asked you to if you could identify this guy as Harry. I could see it in your eyes, from across the room, all of the fear and anguish you had felt and then the look of recognition when you saw us. In that moment I had no hope. I thought fear would overtake you and you would do anything they asked. It was the only moment I was truly happy that I had erased my parents' memory of me, because it meant that they would never find whatever would be left of my body. And I saw you open your mouth and I was ready for you to tell them to summon Voldemort, but then you didn't. I've never been so surprised with anyone in my entire life. I was so proud of you."

Draco coughed through bittersweet tears and pulled her closer so he could whisper in her ear.

"Do you think of it much now, what she did to you?"

"Sometimes it comes back in flashes," she breathed, "or sometimes I'll smell something and it will all come back to me. I sometimes get night terrors. But I think more about how much worse it would have been if you hadn't saved us. You really are my hero, Draco."

Speechless, he kissed her forehead hard and tried to bring her even closer.

"Did you ever find your parents?"

"Yes, this summer I did."

"Could you restore their memory?"

"Yes."

"I'm so happy for you, happier than I've ever felt about myself."

Hermione couldn't remember anyone ever telling her something that felt as genuine as that was.

"What about your father?"

"Azkaban, but in some ways I can't feel sorry for him, I just can't emotionally handle it. My mother, on the other hand, aside from the flashbacks and loneliness, is doing much better. Her skin has a warmer tone that I've never seen before. I think its relief that everything is finally over."

Hermione felt like this was the time to tell him the phrase that had been ringing in her head for the last few days. One part of her was terrified of his response, but the other part wasn't scared at all.

"I love you like nothing else."

Draco pulled himself away and looked at her queerly. Hermione froze in fear with the beat of no response.

"I can't believe I didn't say it first." He said obviously a little upset.

She let out a deep laugh, tipping her head back. It felt so great. She had been doing a lot of that lately.

"What? I wanted to be the one to say it first! It was going to be the next sentence out of my mouth! I can't believe you beat me to it!"

Only then did she laugh harder at this whole dumb situation. The tears had not dried on their faces, and here they were, one laughing the other kind of upset, about saying how much they love the other.

"You are a ridiculous person!"

Draco was now smiling.

"But you find it charming, right?"

"Of course I do!"

Draco kissed her happily, only to stop her laughter. They both thought momentarily about this is what they were born to do. They were created for the soul purpose of loving the other with every fiber of their being. And it was perfect.

"Let me marry you." Draco said sweet and lowly as he broke apart.

Hermione's eyes went wide in slight panic. Maybe she had just misheard him.

"What?" She said softly as Draco pulled more away.

"Hermione Granger, I want to spend every waking moment with you for the rest of my life. Let me marry you. I want you to be mine. I want you to take my name." He said in the same light-hearted tone.

Hermione went tense. This was all happening so fast, they had only moments ago said they loved each other for the first time. They had only had sex for the first time days ago. There was no way she was ready to make a life commitment this soon.

"I think you're letting your emotions get the best of you. This is a little rash, isn't it?"

Draco sat back, his face turning sad.

"You just said you love me more than anything."

"I do Draco, but you have to understand, this is so fast, I'm nowhere near the thought process of marriage."

As he heard those words, his face and whole body looked like they were in a silent pain. He swallowed hard.

"I don't understand-"

"I'm just not ready, we're only 18 for Gods' sakes. Please just take a breath and think things through. And even if I were to marry you, I would keep my name."

"What?" He said, in equal pain. "Why would you do that?"

Draco wasn't even sure a woman could do that.

"I am my parent's only child and I intend to carry on my family's name."

"You don't love me enough to take my family's name?"

"Draco that has nothing to do with it! That conversation isn't even necessary because we are not getting married anytime soon! We have so much time for married life, why would we do anything now?"

Draco got off the bed in anger and started shouting.

"Time?! TIME?! I thought you, above all people, would understand mortality at this point. I've seen so many people die in the last four years of my life to know that we could die any moment."

"But we're not." Hermione said in a calmer voice. She was surprised that this proposal was brought on by such morbid thinking.

"You have no way of knowing that!" Draco shouted back, infuriated. His anxiety was in full gear, and his mind was currently racing through all of the scenarios of how one of them would die tomorrow and regret never getting married for the rest of their life. She could slip and fall on a knife or something. He could crash on his broom and die. Then what would they have? A few days of good sex and a fight to live on? They could both die so easily.

"I won't listen to what you have to say until your voice is as calm as mine is." Hermione said smoothly. She had taken a babysitting course on how to deal with riled up kids; that was one of the lines a babysitter would say while a kid is throwing a tantrum. But so far she only used the knowledge she learned in that course on her peers. It was useful nonetheless.

Draco took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned red in embarrassment. He was acting like a child, or at least a neurotic one. When he opened his eyes, he saw her with an understanding look on her face. It calmed him instantly. That whole marriage thing was really just a decision made in panic, and he couldn't be upset about it now. And all of the sudden, he wasn't all riled up. Instead, he was at peace.

"Let's put on some clothes and we can chat during breakfast." Draco said, his voice as calm as hers was.

"Good." She said smiling up at the former enemy. With a quick nod, he exited the room and left her alone. Later, much later, she probably would marry him. It all seemed so clear now. They'd be alright in the end.