A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! This is the last chapter and I really hope that you enjoy it - it's one year on from the last one. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. If you enjoyed the pairing, I have written it a couple of times, so you can check out my profile for more of that. Beta love to mojowitchcraft, who I am so thankful for reading this over!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter eleven and the story!

Hermione looked in the mirror while she put in her pearl earrings, putting her finishing touches on her evening look. They had been a gift from Marcus for her birthday, but they were really far too elegant to wear for anything other than formal events. They did pair perfectly with her slinky, silver dress, and she hoped to wow her boyfriend of just nearly one year when she finally emerged from the bedroom they now shared.

Part of her envied how little time it took him to get ready, even for something as fancy as the second annual Children's Quidditch Fundraiser Gala. It had been such a smashing success the year before that they had decided to hold it again, and received almost double the number of RSVPs as the prior year.

Hermione was proud to be a part of the small contribution to something as wonderful as the Children's Quidditch League.

She had worried that it would flounder without Marcus's constant presence, but she was pleasantly surprised at how it had done once he had taken a role as an assistant coach with the Falmouth Falcons.

She couldn't understand why he would want to leave, but he had assured her that he would never actually leave his baby (as he called it) behind. Adrian had helped him during contract negotiations that he could continue to coach one team at all times.

That's not to say that he could do both. His new job did necessitate Marcus taking a step back from the Children's Quidditch league, but with their substantial increase in funding, they were able to hire people to run it better, and get some new talent. Graham Montague and Terrance Higgs were hired on as coaches, and Millicent Bulstrode (who turned out to be Marcus's cousin) was hired on to lead the business side of things.

Hermione was a little skeptical at the time that it was little more than nepotism at first, but Millicent proved to be an excellent businesswoman. She was so friendly and welcoming with the families, but absolutely ruthless when she needed to be. Hermione was impressed to say the least, and felt like the business was being left in good hands.

Marcus had tried to persuade her to stay on and help run the financials, but Hermione knew that it wasn't quite what she wanted to do. She wasn't ready to say goodbye to it completely, having grown fairly attached to Marcus's project. She agreed to head the committee that would plan the annual fundraising gala, although to be honest, it wasn't too much of a committee so far.

No, Hermione knew that her calling really was at the Ministry, and she eventually took a job in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She was heading a fledgling little division now that was meant to help muggleborns bridge the gap between the magical world and the muggle.

After catching enough people's ears about how unsettling it was to not know anything of the magical world, or even that she was a witch, until she had turned eleven, she was able to convince people of the need to begin introductions sooner. And, while she'd had a very compassionate Minerva McGonagall to explain to her parents about Hogwarts, she did not think that that duty should be left to untrained Hogwarts professors.

She was lucky that the Minister and Wizengamot had agreed, and decided to make changes to the way that the wizarding world would welcome muggleborns. Currently, they could expect a visit by the time children were due to start primary school. Hermione was hopeful that younger muggleborns might soon be able to participate in things like the Children's Quidditch League to better integrate them into the magical society, but she was taking baby steps.

Now that she was working at the Ministry, Hermione had the dubious pleasure of being cornered fairly frequently by Cassius Warrington, who was always keen to tell her the latest gossip. Hermione was just glad that Marcus's friends seemed to like her well enough.

She was also able to have lunch with some regularity with Harry, which was nice. She would never grow out of enjoying spending time with her good friend. Hermione and Marcus would join him and his sons for dinner just about every other week as well. James was over the moon that they were dating, and was constantly pestering Hermione about when he could start calling him Uncle Marcus.

The thought always gave her a little thrill.

If she was honest, Hermione hoped it happened soon. They had moved into Marcus's flat together after only dating for three months and she'd never felt as content in a relationship as she did with him. There was something about her big, burly Marcus that made her heart race, and there was something in his secret soft side that made her feel secure. She was desperately in love with him.

Once she was confident that she looked perfect for the night's events, Hermione stepped out of the bedroom to present herself to Marcus. She found him waiting in his new dress robes, drinking a firewhiskey.

He stood up when he saw her, his grey-blue eyes opening comically wide. "Wow, you look...do we have to go to the fundraiser?" he asked, not hiding the hungry way he looked her up and down, definitely appreciating the dramatic slit up one leg. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh Marcus," she said, pulling her wand out. "You've messed up your hair," she groaned, knowing that it was just about the only thing he'd spent any time on that evening.

"Honestly, I'm finding it a little hard to care about anything other than getting you back in that bedroom right now," he said with a chuckle. He made short work of the distance between them and pulled her into his arms.

She pulled back so that she could see his face. "You know that we have to go to the Fundraiser," Hermione said with a wry grin. "Even if you don't believe me, you are part of the draw. I promise."

Now that he was a very promising coach in the professional Quidditch League, Marcus was having to contend with a new found popularity. People wanted a chance to talk to him, as it was no secret that Falmouth went from a lower to mid-table team to finishing in the top four once he'd joined and brought loads of young new talent with him.

Marcus let go of her and offered his arm. "You're right," he agreed without much of a fuss. "We should go."

"I am?" she asked, feeling a little perplexed that he'd given up on seducing her so quickly. Maybe her dress wasn't as spectacular as she thought.

"Yeah," he said, waving off her concern. "The sooner we go, the sooner we can leave, the sooner I can get you back in my bed."

"Our bed," she corrected, before letting him lead her to the fireplace.

The party was in full swing by the time that they arrived. They were quickly intercepted by Oliver Wood, who wanted to donate some of his time and teach one season with the wee ones, as he said it. Hermione thought it was a wonderful idea and pointed him in Millie's direction.

Next, they were waylaid by Harry Potter, who had brought a very pretty looking Daphne Greengrass as his date this year (a match Hermione truly did not see coming). Harry practically begged Marcus to give him a dance with her, so Hermione found herself being passed off like some kind of farm animal. She would have minded it more if she didn't like Harry so much.

He kept her for two dances, but then she begged off, knowing that she really couldn't leave Marcus alone with these vultures for too long. They were probably boring him to tears!

She went to look for him, but as she was walking off the dance floor, she found herself waltzing right into Adrian Pucey's arms.

"You are looking exceptional tonight, Granger," he quipped. "I'm surprised Marcus even let you out of the flat tonight."

"Ha, very funny Pucey," she answered, but was happy to dance with him. Of Marcus's friends, Adrian was the smartest, but he was also the sneakiest and the most ambitious, too. You could never let your guard down too much with him.

They settled into a discussion of one of the Ministry's latest proposed laws all the same. Adrian took her around the room and before she knew it Hermione had danced three songs with him. "I should really find Marcus. Don't want him to be jealous," she told him.

"Oh, just one more song?" Adrian asked, spinning her again so that he could look over her shoulder.

Hermione's eyes narrowed at the former Slytherin. "Pucey, why do I feel like you are trying to keep me away from Marcus?" she questioned, suddenly feeling very suspicious.

"I'm not keeping you away from him," he answered, trying to seem offended. "Only...I just remembered, he asked me to have you meet him in the old office."

Annoyed that he had forgotten to give her the message, Hermione left Adrian on the dance floor and headed off in the direction of the old shed. A new office had been built to accommodate the growing staff, but Marcus still kept his old office for when he was working. She was wondering why everyone was acting so odd, and she could only hope that Marcus didn't think she'd stood him up.

The shed was completely dark when she entered. "Marcus?" she called out. Getting no reply, Hermione figured that her boyfriend had probably returned to the party. Cursing Adrian, she turned to leave.

But then, dozens of tiny fairy lights lit up the little shed, revealing Marcus's hulking form, down on one knee in the middle of the room. It was oddly reminiscent of the time that he came into her flat and begged her to help him save his Quidditch League.

Hermione gasped, excitement filling her veins and anticipation making her heart pound. Was this it?

Marcus struggled with the pocket of his dress robes before he liberated a tiny, velvet box. "Hermione Granger, you gave me my dreams back and now I find myself wanting to fulfill a daydream of yours," he said, before opening the box to show off a glittering engagement ring. "Will you marry me, and find out what our children look like?"

Hermione choked on a laugh, tears in her eyes. It was just perfect. "Yes, yes, of course I will!" she agreed enthusiastically. "I'll marry you, Marcus Flint!"

She crossed the room, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in for a lingering kiss. Then she pulled back, eager to get the ring on her finger. "It's gorgeous," she whispered, before kissing him again. "Screw heading back to our own bed — want to do it here? We never actually christened your office," she enticed him, knowing how much she wanted him.

He looked at her with fire in his eyes, before he groaned, standing up. "As much as I'd love to finally take you on my desk, we do have dozens of people out there who want to congratulate us," he answered. Standing from the floor, he shook his head. "Salazar, I wish I would have thought that through better."

"So they all knew?" she asked. "Merlin, I knew Adrian was up to something, that little snake!"

He gave her one last kiss. "Later, I promise," he said, before he led her out of the shed, holding hands.

A crowd of smiling faces and shouts of congratulations met them. Hermione wasn't able to keep herself from smiling. Champagne was passed around, and the newly engaged couple were happy to spend the evening celebrating the next chapter of their lives together.

"I can't believe you did all this," Hermione whispered to him as they snuck away, eager to do some celebrating on their own.

"I had some help," Marcus revealed. "But I wanted to make sure you knew how much you mean to me, and how much I love you."

"More than Quidditch?" Hermione teased.

"Much more than Quidditch," Marcus agreed, leading her through the fireplace and back to their flat.

"Good," Hermione answered, although he didn't doubt him. "Because I love you too. And I can't wait to be with you for the rest of my life." She was so lucky that she'd found Marcus. Who would have thought that something good could have actually come out of Quidditch? Certainly not her, but she was glad that she'd made that insane promise to James because it had given her the love of her life.