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**** 55 DATES LATER ****

**** DRACO ****

I was watching her closely, watching her reaction. Gauging her reaction. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but silence wasn't it.

She was looking at her hand, saying nothing, just staring. Her thoughts usually tumbled out of her in a constant stream, especially when she was excited. However, her silence was unnerving. She looked unsure, not quite knowing what to make of it.

"Grang—" I began, but she held up her other hand, telling me to hush.

The silence stretched on, until finally, finally, she looked up, her eyes wide. "Yes?"

Pansy nodded, "Yes! You felt it!"

"Oh my god! Pansy!" Granger hugged her and pressed her hand back to Pansy's ever-expanding belly, "There is a baby in there!"

Pansy laughed, "I certainly hope so. Otherwise I might have some explaining to do."

Pansy was about 6 months pregnant, and this baby was finally making itself know to the world. Pansy had been telling us for weeks that she'd finally realised what it had been like for Potter to have had someone else living in his head. It was weird, she had tried to explain, slightly freaky, and completely incredible.

Potter's description of having someone inside his head was a little different.

"Pansy, this is amazing," Granger said, her eyes still wide, but she was smiling as she clearly felt Pansy's baby moving.

"You look like you're about to faint, Malfoy." Potter chortled, "Do you need some water?"

Scowling at him, I ignored his comment, and continued to watch Granger. Her face was a picture of delight as she and Pansy ignored both of us and talked animatedly about her pregnancy. It was something we had only discussed once. And that was so early in our relationship, it had pretty much been forgotten. But the current look on her face told me this conversation might come up again soon.

I wasn't completely opposed to the idea of having a child with the woman I loved, but not yet. I was nowhere near ready; the mere thought of having a child scared me to death. Another person to be completely responsible for? That was terrifying.

And we weren't married yet. Not even engaged. We hadn't even discussed anything serious in our future. We were still simply us. Still navigating our way through our newly combined lives.

But now she was looking at Pansy with an expression that I had never seen on her face before. It wasn't jealousy. Longing? Was it what she wanted?

I scratched the back of my neck; Potter may have been right. I suddenly felt lightheaded, the pub felt too closed in, and I needed air.

"Draco?" Daphne was looking at me. "Are you okay? You're very pale."

"Who's very pale?" Ginny asked plopping down into the chair next to Blaise, looking exhausted.

He kissed her cheek, welcoming her after what appeared to be a long day, "Draco is. I think he's weirded out by Pansy's belly."

I tugged at my tie, "I think I need some air."

Granger stood when I did, grabbing my arm and following me out the door. The cool air hit me, and I wrenched my tie from my neck, it felt like I was suffocating. I strode away from the pub, needing some distance, and she had to almost jog to keep up.

"Draco," her voice was alarmed, "What's going on?"

"Is that what you want?" I blurted, turning to face her. "A baby? Is that what you want?"

She looked startled, "A baby? No. Why would you think that?"

I pointed over her shoulder, in the direction of the pub, "You were looking at Pansy like you wanted to hit her for being pregnant because you're not."

"Hit her?" Shaking her head, she placed her hand on my chest, "Draco, calm down and tell me what's going on here."

I closed my eyes, gulping in deep breaths of air, and trying to calm my racing heart. "I'm not ready for that. But I saw how you were looking at her, and..."

I opened my eyes and she was smiling at me.

"And you panicked?"

I nodded.

Wrapping her arms around my waist, she laughed, "Draco, no. I'm not ready either. Not even close to ready. I'm not sure what you were seeing, but it wasn't me wanting that. I'm just excited for them both, that's all."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, you idiot." She kissed my mouth, still laughing. "I'll tell you when I'm ready, but it won't be any time soon."

I exhaled deeply and wound my arms around her shoulders, pulling her to me, "Sorry. I guess I overreacted."

"Maybe a little," her voice was muffled against my shoulder. She was clearly trying to stop her laughter.

I sighed, shaking my head at my own stupidity. "Can we go home? I don't think I can go back in there."

"Sure," she said looking up at me, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Can I just get my bag?"

I reached my hand out, whispered under my breath, and her bag shot out the open window. "You're a witch, remember?"

"I do remember," she said and plucked the bag out of the air. "I taught you that. But I thought it might be polite to say goodnight."

Looking back at the pub, I shrugged, "They'll be fine."

"What's going on with you?" She asked when we appeared back in our flat "You've been fine with Pansy's pregnancy. Why are you suddenly panicked about it?"

I crossed the living room to the bar and poured two drinks, "I don't know. Long day, I guess. Supplier issues."

She snorted a laugh as I handed her the glass. "Maybe if you weren't such a demanding arse, your suppliers would be nicer to you."

I tipped my glass in her direction, "Maybe my suppliers like me to be a demanding arse."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

I laughed and held out my hand, "Do you want to see the stars?"

"Yes!" She said emphatically, and dragged me towards the stairs. Her love of the garden hadn't changed. In fact, it had grown exponentially. She was more often than not found lounging under the arbour, reading, or elbow deep in dirt. "I feel like we haven't been up here in days."

She stopped at the top landing, and frowned at me. "Actually, we haven't been up here in days. Why is that?"

"Ah, well, the fact that you keep dragging me into bed might have something to do with it."

"I think you have that the wrong way around."

I arched an eyebrow at her, "So, it wasn't you who came down those stairs naked on Wednesday night?"

She put her hand to her chest, "Me? No. I would never ever do anything like that."

"And it wasn't you who sent me new pictures for my nightstand on Thursday?"

Her eyes grew wide and she bit her lip, dragging the pink flesh through her teeth. "I have no idea who sent you those."

I stepped closer and ran my nose along her jaw, "And it wasn't you, who, this very morning, woke me up with her mouth wrapped—"

She placed her hand over my mouth, "Maybe."

I kissed her palm and circled her wrist with my hand, "Maybe you could show me that trick again tonight."

"Maybe."

She reached back and opened the door, turning and walking out to the garden. I followed her, wrapping my arms around her waist as she stopped just a few feet down the path, staring in surprise.

"Do you like it?" I whispered.

"Draco, what...?"

I had transformed the entire garden. It was only temporary of course, but it would serve its purpose. Sunflowers had replaced the regular plants, and covered every inch of dirt, and floating above us, the night sky had been bewitched with swirls of blue and white, interspersed with bright bursts of yellow.

"Van Gogh," she whispered.

"There's more," I told her and led her to the arbour. It had also been transformed.

"Draco," she breathed, her eyes going impossibly wider. "This is...This is Trinity College."

She moved forward, running her hands along the books - something she still wasn't allowed to do at the real college - and stared in confusion.

"Why did you do this?"

I reached past her, plucking a book from the shelf. Charlotte's Web. Her childhood favourite. But this version was different. I held it out to her, "This is for you. But to open it, you need to run your thumb along the spine."

She looked up at me, puzzled. I smiled and nodded.

She took the book from me, gingerly, as if waiting for it to explode, and ran her thumb along the spine, gasping when a small click sounded and a tiny hatch opened in the centre of the cover.

Her eyes went wider still when she saw what was hidden inside it.

I took the ring from the tiny hatch. She looked at it, her breath catching, and I knew I had chosen perfectly. A simple, platinum band, with a central diamond surrounded by ten smaller ones. It was classic, 1920's, and it screamed Hermione Granger when I saw it.

"My heart is yours, Hermione Granger." I lifted her hand, noting the tears that had already formed in her eyes. "Please say yes, and marry me?"

She nodded, choking out a yes, and I slid the band onto her finger. She stared at it for several long moments and then looked up at me. She sucked in a breath and then threw her arms around my neck.

"Yes." she said, "Yes, Draco Malfoy. I will marry you."

I lifted her off the ground, spinning us around.

"You're an arse," She said, and I laughed. "It was all an act, wasn't it?"

"And you fell for it." I kissed her, holding my mouth against hers until she made a tiny mewling sound.

The already transfigured arbour changed again and the day bed was back. Clothes were frantically discarded and she dragged me down to the bed, pulling me over her. Her hands smoothed down my back to grip my arse, her knees dropped to the mattress, and I slipped inside her.

I should have told her our friends would be downstairs by now, waiting. Waiting to hear if she said yes. They had been a part of the act, but they could wait.

Hermione Granger had told me yes. She would marry me. She would be my wife. She would spend the rest of her life with me.

Nothing else mattered

Everything could wait.

A/N:

In my real life, one of my clients referred to me as a Rockstar. The comment made me laugh, because I'm not sure that's true, but I'll do the same thing here that I did with that person.

*Says thank you.

*Takes a bow.

*See you next time.