all characters belong to JKR

Another Week in the Life

(A Sequel to "A Week in the Life")

By

Anne

Saturday, Day One

Saturday Morning, 9 am:

Sometimes their apartment just seemed too small for one person, let alone two. In fact, Hermione actually felt like the walls were about to close in on her. She was suffocating and drowning, at the same time, and no one could hear her scream for help. It was not that she did not want to live with him. It was just that he was driving her up a wall; and in this cramped little apartment, and there was not even a spare wall for her to climb.

They had been living here together for four months now. Four months of his excessive neatness, four months of his whining about her books, and her cat, four months of his leaving the toilet seat up. She felt if she had to spend one more second in this tiny little flat with him, then she was going to turn her wand toward her own heart and in a puff of smoke just disappear. That's what was happening. She felt as if she was disappearing, and it was entirely his fault. When he first suggested that he come live here with her, she thought he was crazy. He could afford any size flat they wanted. They could have tons of room and some to spare. However, he wanted to live here. Idiot.

Draco was sitting in the living room on the couch. He no doubt had cat hair all over his expensive black trousers. For someone who only wore black, it was not a happy arrangement to live with a big, orange fur ball. He opened his paper, to find that she had torn out half of page two. How many times had he asked her please to leave his paper intact until he had read the entire thing? Granted, he always read it twice, and maybe she thought he was done with it, but more than likely, she was just being inconsiderate, and did not care if he had read it yet.

He was going batty living in this little one bedroom flat with her and her cat. She always left dirty dishes lying around everywhere. She threw wet towels on the bathroom floor. Draco was somewhat of a neat freak, so that drove him crazy. She refused to let his house elves come live here, though granted, where would they stay? The place was that damn small. Unbeknownst to her, he had them come in once a week to clean the place. Sure, he could afford for them to live in a much bigger place, but he thought it would be quaint and sweet for them to live here together. Gee, was he ever wrong.

Hermione knew he hated her cat. He told her it defied the laws of nature that Crookshanks was even still alive. True, he was really, really old, but he was no bother to anyone. He ate, slept, and went to the litter box. At least he didn't leave the toilet seat up, or refuse to put his shoes in the closet.

When Draco found out that she had access to the attic of this building through her apartment, he was thrilled. He thought that maybe they could renovate, and make some more space. Imagine his horror when he discovered that she had already put that space to use. Yes, alert the media, Hermione Granger had the entire attic filled to the brim with books. Books! It was wall to wall and floor to ceiling, books. No one in their right mind would need that many books. No one in their wrong mind would need that many books.

Speaking of closets, one of the things Hermione originally loved about this flat was that the bedroom had two large closets. Well, imagine her surprise when Draco moved in along with all his clothes. For someone who only wore black, he had so many clothes! She originally, out of the goodness of her heart, gave him one whole closet for his things. Now, somehow, four months later, he had taken up over half of her closet as well. This was getting out of control.

The bloody girl didn't even know the meaning of privacy. For instance, Draco could be minding his own business, taking a bath, and she would just walk right in the bathroom and start brushing her teeth, or shaving her legs. For goodness sakes, for a woman that was once afraid for him to go to the bathroom in front of her, she certainly wasn't modest anymore.

Therefore, on this chilly December, Saturday morning, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were both contemplating their current living situation at the same time, but unknown to the other. She walked into the living room, with the ugly orange beast in her arms, and he said, "Granger, how many times have I told you to leave my paper intact until I've read it all."

As she put the cat down on his lap, HIS LAP, she grabbed the paper from him and said, "Malfoy, how many times have I told you not to lock my cat outside at night? The poor thing was half frozen and starving when I found him."

Draco gave the cat the dirtiest look he could give a cat, and said, "Shame he didn't freeze to death." Then he pushed him off his lap to the floor.

Hermione took the paper she had just rolled up, and hit him over the head with it. Not just once, not just twice, but three times! Bop, bop, bop, right on top of his head! "What the hell?" he asked.

"Listen, Malfoy, we need to talk about our current living arrangement," she began, throwing the paper to the floor. She sat on the coffee table so she was facing him, and he sat back on the couch and gave her a weary look as she began. "This place is just too small for two people."

"So, you want me to move out?" he assumed.

No, that was not what she meant. "No, it's just; I wish you hadn't sublet your apartment to your cousin. I mean, I know we had no idea we would be living together, but that place was massive, and we would have had tons of room. I just think we need to get a bigger place."

Draco was not about to tell her the reason he sublet his apartment was that he had hoped they would move in together. "We could move to the Manor," he suggested.

"Oh, yes, I can imagine calling that 42 room mansion 'home sweet home'. I don't think we need THAT big of a place," Hermione drawled.

He pulled her from the coffee table and held her on his lap. With his arms tightly around her waist he said, "Let's go make love."

She hit his arm, and stood up. "Honestly, the attention span of a flea!" she said to herself, but hoping he would hear. She went to walk out of the room, when he stood up and grabbed her arm.

"Don't you want me around anymore?" he asked.

"Honestly, Draco, I told you that wasn't it! You can't tell me this whole situation isn't driving you crazy as well, because I know it is," she said exasperated.

He looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes, which on Draco, just looked like his usual smirk, and when she narrowed her eyes and looked like she was about to punch him in the jaw, he decided to change tactics.

"Fine, Granger, We'll find a solution to this problem. I love you and I want you to be happy," he said in all seriousness.

"I love you too, Malfoy, and I want us to be together, but I want us to be able to have some alone time as well. You know, some privacy." She walked up to him, put her arms around his neck, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Can we go make love now?" he asked again.

She hit him on the chest, and bellowed, "If you don't give me your full, undivided attention for a few moments, then we may never make love again!"

"It's not my fault, its little Draco's fault. He just really fancies you sometimes, and he talks with his head, not his heart." He laughed, and so did she when she realized his double entendre. "Fine, Granger, I guess we are encroaching on each other's personal space, so I think I have the perfect solution," he decided with a smile.

"So, we're of the same mindset then?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"Let's move!" she said at the same time that he said, "Let's get married."

She heard him, but shook her head in disbelief. "What did you say?" she asked.

"What did you say?" he asked back.

"Well, I said let's move, but it sounded like you said 'let's get married'."

"I did say that." He frowned.

"How will getting married solve our problem?" she wondered.

"Listen, Miss Granger, are we or are we not engaged?" he interrogated her.

She held up her fourth finger of her hand, on which there was a rather large emerald and diamond ring, and pointed at it with her index finger of her other hand as her answer. Then she held up two other fingers to him, to put him in his place. That wasn't necessary.

"So, if we're engaged," he continued, ignoring her rude gesture, "then why don't we get married, and then move to a bigger flat, or maybe even a house."

"Why do we have to get married before we move?" she asked plaintively. He walked over to her, and took her by the hand to the bathroom. He stood with her in front of the mirror, which held both their reflections.

"See that woman in the mirror? I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. What do you see in the mirror?" he asked.

She stared at both their reflections for a moment, and then leaned closer to the mirror and said, "I see that there's a crack in the plaster on the wall behind the toilet." She whipped around and pointed, in all seriousness, and she looked up at him and said, "See it, Malfoy, right over the toilet? We should tell George about that." He gave her a death glare, and he walked out of the bathroom.

She couldn't help changing the subject. She did that every time he mentioned setting a date. The thing was, she really did love him, but she didn't know if she wanted to get married yet. In fact, she didn't know if she ever wanted to get married. She didn't want to lose him, and if she admitted that to him, he would leave her, and rightly so.

He walked up to the front door, and was about to storm out of the flat, when she ducked under his arm, and leaned her back against the door to close it. He was still staring at her with half-closed eyes that relayed his anger, when she put her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. She put her lips on his, and gave him a long and passionate kiss. He did kiss her back, thinking 'but that doesn't mean this is over'. Damn 'little Draco'!

They moved to the bedroom slowly, still kissing. She tore off his shirt, and then she reached down and tore off her own. She unbuckled his trousers and pushed him on the bed. She jumped on top of him, and removed her bra. She was just about to give him another big kiss, when he suddenly sat back up, picked her up by her waist, deposited her on the bed, stood up, buckled his slacks and grabbed his t-shirt off the floor. She sat there in disbelief, as he slammed the front door behind him as he left.

Saturday, Noon:

He was gone for two hours. When he got back, Hermione was at the kitchen table, feverishly working on a piece of parchment. As he entered, she put her quill down and said with a small voice, "Hi."

Draco nodded his head, and sat down opposite her. "What are you writing?" he asked.

"Before I tell you, let me apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to dismiss your feelings like that, I really was trying to use sex to distract you, and that was low. I mean, that would be low even for you," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her and asked, "Do you want to marry me?"

She thought for a moment, and said, "Truthfully, I don't know." She looked down at the floor, afraid to make eye contact with him. She looked back up finally, and she saw that he had a frown on his face, and he was staring at her intently.

"Do you want to marry me?" she asked.

"Yes, I thought I made that plain. What do you want me to do, write it in blood and seal it with a kiss?" he retorted.

"What?" she asked, "Are you daft? Just tell me why you want to get married."

"Because that's what I want," he surmised.

"That's not an answer," she pointed out.

He sighed, dropped his head on the table, and asked, "Are you ever going to want to marry me?" He didn't look up, mostly because he was afraid that her eyes would reveal the truth, even if she lied to him. When she didn't answer, he looked back up, and saw she was again writing on the piece of parchment. "Can't you stop what you're doing for a minute, Hermione, and answer my question," he pleaded.

"Oh, I just had something I had to add in my 'pro' column," she said, while still writing.

"What are you going on about now?" he asked as he moved the parchment toward his side of the table. Sure enough, there in big bold letters was a pro and con list, aptly title, "Reasons Malfoy and I should get married" He began to read the list, and he said, "I don't think number three on the 'con' side is a valid point." He continued to read and laughed at one point and said, "Only you would put number seven as a 'pro', Granger." When he had finished reading the list, he took her quill from her, and wrote something under the 'pro' side and handed it back. He wrote, "Because he loves me."

Underneath what he wrote, she wrote, "Because I love him". She handed the paper back to him and said, "You do see that I have twice as many pros as I do cons."

"So, what does this mean?" he asked.

"I guess we're getting married," she replied matter of fact.

He grinned, an almost wicked grin, and actually got up so fast from his chair that he knocked it over onto the floor. He grabbed her and said, "Let's go finish what we started earlier. We can even do number eleven on your pro list, if you want." She giggled and ran with him to the bedroom.

Saturday, afternoon:

They stayed in bed most of the afternoon. Finally, they decided to take a bath together. Hermione had her back up against Draco's chest, and he was using a big sponge to wash her arms. He leaned her up and started moving the sponge in small circles up and down her back. It felt like heaven. He reached over for the shampoo, and started to lather her hair. Taking a bath with Hermione was one of the most erotic and sensual things he felt they did together. He felt closer to her in the bath than he ever did anywhere else. It was where she was the most vulnerable and where she was the most upfront and open. He felt they were more intimate in this setting than any other, so while he had her in his clutches, her guard was down, and she was utterly relaxed, he decided to tell her his plan.

He continued to lather her hair and said, "I think we should get married pretty soon, don't you?"

"Hhmm?" she hummed.

"I said we should get married soon," he continued, as he took a large cup and started to rinse her hair. He rinsed it three more times, then pulled her back against his chest, and held her in his arms. He started to kiss her neck, and she put both her arms above her head to reach around and hug his neck. From this position, her breasts were raised, they seemed full and glorious, and he could not resist putting both hands on them and giving them a squeeze. She turned around in the tub and gave him a hard and passionate kiss.

He was beginning to wonder if she was trying to use sex to avoid discussing their upcoming wedding again, but after their passionate kiss, she pushed away from him, sat with her back against the opposite end of the tub, and said, "So, when do you suppose we should do it? I mean, how soon is soon?"

Stalling, he took her foot, and rubbed her toes, before he gave the bottom of her foot a kiss, and then a bite, to which she splashed him, and then he said, "I think next Saturday would be perfect."

She pulled her foot from him, and looked at him in total shock. Did he seriously say next Saturday? Before she could ask him if he was crazy, he spoke. "I'll plan everything; the only thing you'll have to do is get your dress. I'll find the place, send out the invitations, find the Officiate, plan the rehearsal dinner, plan the reception, the honeymoon, the bachelor party, everything," he said without taking a breath.

She stood to leave the tub, but he pulled her back down to him. She was straddling his lap, and she had a terrified look on her face. He didn't want to give her time to respond, so he said, "If we're really going to do this, there's no time like the present."

"How is us getting married in a week going to solve our initial problem that we started with this morning; that being, that we need to find a bigger place to live?" she asked, while pointing out the obvious.

This time, he stood to leave. He stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his waist. She was still sitting in the water, glaring at him, and he pulled her up and wrapped her in a towel as well. He lifted her out of the water, and finally said, "Let me amend my previous statement. Not only will I plan the whole wedding, reception, bridal party, rehearsal dinner, etc, etc, but I will also find us a place to live."

"IN A WEEK?" she yelled.

"Do you doubt my abilities, Granger?" he gleamed.

She cocked her head to one side, and said, "I never doubt your abilities, but this is a lot to undertake." She padded to the bedroom, all the while drying herself. She went to the closet to pull out some clothes so she could dress. She pulled on a pair of knickers and then put on a matching bra.

He stood in the doorway, in only his towel, and said, "So, are we doing this thing, or not?"

"If I say yes, Malfoy," she began, as she slipped a shirt on over her torso, and then wrapped her hair in the towel, "then it's all up to you. It's your baby. You take care of everything. I'll get my dress, find someone to be my maid of honour, and someone to walk me down the aisle. I don't want to be involved with any other details of the planning, is that understood?"

He grinned so large that his mouth looked like it stretched from ear to ear. He ran to her, swung her around, and kissed her soundly on the mouth, as the towel that was covering her hair fell to the ground. "I promise that I'll take care of everything. The only thing I request is that you take the next two weeks off work. Week one, to pamper yourself before the wedding, because I'll be doing all the work, so you might as well have all the fun, and week two, for the honeymoon," he said as he kissed her neck.

"Do you really think this will be possible, Draco?" She looked worried.

"You worry too much, Granger. Just sit back and enjoy the show," he laughed as he put on a pair of jeans.

"By the way, Malfoy, in case you thought I was deaf in the bathroom, you will not be having a bachelor party," she said as she pulled on her own jeans.

"I most certainly will, Granger," he said stubbornly.

"No, no you won't," she said adamantly.

"Listen, you won't be telling me what to do during this wedding, or this marriage, Granger. I'm a grown man, and I always do what I want," he said again.

She actually stomped her foot on the floor, in which his response was to raise one eyebrow and smirk. She always wondered how he managed to do both of those things at once. Then she got a wicked idea. "Fine, Malfoy, have your little bachelor party. Have strippers, and whores, and alcohol, and unprotected sex, and all the other cliché things they do at bachelor parties. But know this; if you get a bachelor party, then I get a bachelorette party."

He gave her a hug and said, "There's no such thing you silly little witch".

He started to walk away from her and she said, "They're quite the fashion in the Muggle world, and being a Muggle-born, who am I to go against tradition?" She walked past him with a sashay of her hips, plopped down on the sofa, and picked up a book.

"What do Muggle women do at these bachelorette parties?" Draco asked, seeming concerned.

"Well, they drink alcohol, go to bars and watch male strippers," she said, while she continued to read. "They probably have lots of unprotected sex, as well. I'll have to get back to you on that one," she added, with her nose still in her book.

He grabbed her book and threw it across the room. "No fiancée of mine is going to watch a bunch of men take their clothes off, and you're certainly not having lots of sex with anyone but me!" he said in all seriousness.

"Well, that's the deal. If you get a bachelor party, then I get a bachelorette party. Take it or leave it." Now she smirked.

He glared at her, crossed his arms around his chest, and stood up. He was going to call her bluff. "Have your little bachelorette party, Granger. It won't bother me at all. Nevertheless, you have to plan it yourself. Now, I have a lot of work to do. I need to start making up the guest list, planning the food for the reception and rehearsal dinners, and make up our timeline. I need to get in contact my house elves, to make sure they can handle all the food. Where did you put that parchment and quill?" he asked as he left the room.

'My, God!' Hermione thought, 'I think I'm getting married to a poof'. He was acting like a little girl planning her first tea party. She stood up and walked to the kitchen, where he was sitting at the table, making his all of his 'lists'.

Still trying to goad him, she said, "I really am having that bachelorette party."

He didn't even look up from his list as he said, "Yeah, yeah, male strippers and alcohol, lots of sex, you'll have tons of fun. Now, leave me in peace for a while, I'm busy."

She picked up the closest thing to her, which just happened to be a wooden spatula that was lying on the stove, and threw it at his head. It hit him on the back of his head. When he turned around to see what hit him, all he saw was Hermione storming down the hall, and then he heard the front door slam. Oh well, no matter. He needed some peace and quiet to work anyway.

Saturday evening:

Hermione went to Ginny and Harry's house to tell them her news. They were both shocked, to say the least. Harry didn't want to admit that Hermione's relationship with Malfoy was even real. Ginny kept hoping that Hermione would soon come to her senses and end it all, and now she was telling them that she was getting married.

"I suppose we should go out tonight to celebrate," Ginny said, while giving Harry an incredulous look. "A sort of engagement party," she added.

Ginny contacted Ron and Lavender, and Neville and Luna. Harry sent an owl to the George, and then he used the other fireplace to contact Dean and Seamus. Hermione said, "Someone should tell Draco."

To which Harry responded, "Does he have to come?" Both girls gave him a confounded look, before he realized what he said. "Oh yeah, he's the prospected groom." He then laughed, because he really did forget for a moment, and he said, "Hermione, you go tell Malfoy, and then met us at the bar at 8:00 pm."

Hermione apparated home, and entered the flat, calling out for Draco, "Hey, Malfoy, are you home?" He didn't appear to be home. Where could he be? He couldn't very well be out 'planning' this time of the evening. She went to change her clothes, and left him a note to tell him to meet them all at the bar for an impromptu engagement party.

When he arrived home, shortly after she left, he saw the note. He frowned. An impromptu engagement party thrown by a bunch of former Gryffindors was not exactly his cup of tea. Well if she was going to have her friends there, then he would invite some of his.

Hermione and her friends sat around a very large table at a very posh bar in the middle of Diagon Alley. When Harry arrived, he looked at Hermione, who was sans Draco, and said, "I was kidding when I told you not to invite him." She playfully punched his arm and told him that he would be there shortly. As least, she hoped he would be there shortly. She hoped that he saw her note.

After about 30 minutes, she really had given up on him, and none of the rest of the members of this little party seemed very concerned by his lack of attendance, so she decided to be 'unconcerned' as well. Therefore, when George Weasley asked her to dance, saying that she was not an old married woman yet, and therefore technically still single, she agreed to a dance, but she added that it was only one dance.

She was dancing with George when she saw Draco arrive. He looked glorious - she had to admit. She smiled and then she thought, 'He's mine.' Then she mentally slapped herself, because it was degrading to think of the person you loved as your possession. As he walked toward their table his eyes scanned the length of it for her, and she noticed that he was not alone. With him was quite a few faces from their past. Not only was Blaise Zabini there, but so was Theodore Nott, Crabbe or Goyle (she still didn't know which one was which), and a couple of people from work, including Scott Cohn, Hermione's boss, and Scott's wife.

Draco started shaking hands with a few of the more familiar faces, Seamus, Dean, etc, and he introduced the less familiar faces from his group to the others. Hermione told George, "Draco's here, I should go to him."

George complained, "The song's almost over, just wait a few minutes." The fact was, it was a slow dance, and while she was not particularly paying attention to either her dance partner or the song, she was painfully aware of the fact that if Draco saw her dancing with George he would be more than a little upset. As she was musing over these very thoughts, his eyes scanned the dance floor and she saw Neville pointing toward her and saying something to Draco. 'Gee, thanks Neville', she thought.

Draco saw Hermione dancing with one of the Weasleys and all he could think was, 'How dare he - she's mine.' Draco knew that Hermione would cringe if she knew he thought of her as one of his possessions, but there you are, he couldn't change how he thought. Draco walked over to the dancing couple and as he approached he said, with a frown, "May I dance with my fiancée, Weasley?" George looked up, and merely nodded. He kissed Hermione's hand before he handed it to Draco.

Draco took Hermione in his arms, and pressed her closely up against him. She was so close that she could not see his expression. However, while she could not see his face, she knew from his body language that he was, without a doubt, peeved. When the song ended, he took her hand and without a word, led her toward the table.

They sat down, and everyone started asking them questions like, "Why are you getting married so quickly?" and, "When did you decide all this?" and other such rubbish. Malfoy, who seemed perfectly charming to everyone at the table, answered most of the questions. However, Hermione could tell he was still angry with her, for when she tried to reach for his hand under the table, he pulled away.

'Honestly,' she thought, 'I was just dancing with George'. He was like a brother to her. She was still very quiet, when Blaise Zabini came up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Would you care to dance?" She looked at Draco, who was attempting NOT to pay attention to Hermione, but who had whipped his head around when he heard his former housemate ask his fiancée to dance. She thought if he was already angry with her for dancing once, she might as well dance again. She turned to Blaise to grant her consent when Draco stood up, pushed Zabini, without elegance, to the side, and said, "Do not trespass upon my future wife, Blaise. There are plenty of single women here for you. Dance with one of them." He took Hermione by the hand and led her once more to the dance floor.

As they were dancing, silently again, Hermione finally spoke. "Are you going to be angry with me all evening, or are we going to enjoy and appreciate this little engagement party that my friends are throwing us?" She turned her face to the side and he turned his to look down at her. He thought she was so pretty when she was angry. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, as a way of saying "sorry", and they continued their dance. Hermione put her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek on his chest. He held her in his strong arms, enveloping her within their recesses, and she felt that all was right in the world.

He kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you. I'm sorry I was jealous. What a strange little emotion, jealousy. It causes men to feel envious and possessive."

"Is that the dictionary definition, Malfoy?" she inquired as she looked up in his eyes.

"Well forgive me for trying to enlighten the already extremely knowledgeable and enlightened Miss Granger," he said dryly.

"Let's get something to drink, Malfoy. I'm parched," she begged.

He took her hand and led her once again off the dance floor, but this time to the bar.
"What would you like?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders, and he rolled his eyes at her indecisiveness. He ordered two whiskeys and handed one to her. She took a big gulp, and then coughed and sputtered, her eyes watering. He actually laughed, then took her glass from her, and ordered her a butterbeer. He told her, "That's what you get when you don't clearly state what you want." He finished his drink in one gulp, and then finished the rest of her whiskey as well. He ordered one more, then took his drink and hers and motioned to her to follow him back to the table. He was halfway to the table when he saw that she had not followed. He put their drinks down on the table and walked back to her.

She had a glassy, almost distant look to her. "Granger, what is it?" he asked with a bit of concern.

"Malfoy, do you realize that by this time next week we'll be married?" she exclaimed loudly.

"Gee, one shot of alcohol made you finally realize that, Granger?" He laughed.

"This is serious. It's not a laughing matter." She looked around, lost and forlorn. She said, "I don't think I can do this, Malfoy," and she ran to the woman's room. He looked around, in a bewildered sort of way, and then followed her to the bathroom.

There were at least two women at the vanity and some more in some of the stalls. A few of the women smiled at Draco and a couple yelled. He knocked on a couple of the stalls. When he couldn't locate her, he bent down on the floor, to find her feet. When he located them, he went up to that stall and said, "Granger, do you realize that we're in a lady's room?"

"I'm a lady, what's your excuse?" she said back.

"Listen, on that point I am well aware," he smirked back. He smiled at a couple of the women who were either pointing at him, or staring at him. "Granger, come out and let's talk," he pleaded.

"I need time to think," she said.

"In a lady's room?" he asked.

"Yes, I thought we already established the fact that I am a woman, so it makes sense that I would come in here. As I remember, you once took me to a men's room! Now go away, and let me think." She hesitated and then added, "Please."

"Listen, Granger, I need to know right now if you're seriously having second thoughts, because I can't go back out there until I know for sure." He pressed his face up to the crack between the door and the wall and stared at her. She opened the door and pulled him in with her.

"I don't know what's happening to me. Maybe this is all happening too fast. I mean, seriously, Draco!" she said as she pointed her finger at his chest. "We're getting married in only a week. ONE WEEK. I think I'm going to throw up." She turned toward the commode and leaned down.

He didn't know what to do. If she was this anxious then maybe, they should call it off, and postpone it, or at least wait a while. There wasn't really a reason to rush into this was there? They could still find a bigger place to live, and continue to live together, and get married later, couldn't they? The thing was, though, Draco didn't want to wait. He had wanted to marry her since their first date four months ago. Why should he let her little insecurities and worries keep him from what he wanted? Why should he always give in to her? She didn't even know what she wanted to drink, how could she decide something this big by herself?

"Listen, Hermione," he said, trying to sound calmer than he really felt, as he turned her to face him, "everything will be fine. You'll be fine. I'll take care of everything. You don't need to worry." He held her in his arms, and rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"I feel like you're forcing me into something I'm not sure about, and you once said you would never force me to do anything I didn't want to do," she stammered.

"Damn you and your good memory!" Draco retorted. Then he added with anger,
"Do you seriously want to go out there and tell all our friends that our wedding, which we just announced a few hours ago, is now called off?"

"Don't try to guilt me into this, Malfoy," she said, with just as much anger.

"Fine, don't marry me!" he yelled. He pulled open the stall door, walked out of the bathroom, and stormed out of the bar. Hermione was close on his heels though, and stopped him outside before he could disappear.

"Stop acting like a spoiled brat!" Hermione spat at him, as she whipped him around to face her.

"And you stop acting like a simpering, whining, little girl, who can't decide what doll to play with today. This is my life too, Granger. Don't I have a say in it?" he demanded.

She was about to storm away, but then she knew he was right. It hit her like a ton of bricks, and as much as she always hated to admit when someone else was right, this time, she had no choice. He was right.

"Listen, Malfoy," she said while pushing him rather roughly, against the wall, "you're right, do you hear me? You're the biggest git in the world, but you're right. I'm acting like an indecisive schoolgirl. You said I couldn't even make my own decision about what to drink back there, and you were right. Therefore, I'm going to trust you on this one, mister. You go ahead and make all the plans, and force me into this, but then it had better be the right decision. It better all work out, because if it doesn't, I'll hex your arse from here to kingdom come!" She glared at him and actually had him by the collar of his shirt.

He almost wanted to laugh. Was she serious? He decided to play along. "All right, you have my attention, and I've been warned. If this whole marriage thing doesn't work out, you can hex me, all right. Although, I would recommend divorcing me over hexing me, because you would get a lot more money, and wouldn't get your arse thrown in jail, but whatever you decide is right for you, I'll go along with, okay?" He kissed the tip of her nose in a condensing way. He was just humouring her, she could tell.

She gave him one last dirty look, and said, "Let's get back in there; it's our engagement party, after all."

He started to follow her in, but then pulled her back for a moment. "Before we go back in there, just make me a promise, Granger," he said, as he looked down at her, suddenly very serious.

She sighed, but when she saw the concerned look on his face, she softly inquired, "What?"

"If you ever do have any serious reservations, I mean, if you really do decide you can't go through with this, just tell me before the wedding day, okay? Please, don't leave me at the altar." He looked so sad all of the sudden and she realized that there was probably a reason for that look, because whether of not she would ever intentionally hurt him, she knew as well as he did that leaving him at the altar was probably a real possibility.

Her extended silence scared him more than it should have, but finally she said, "Draco, I make a solemn vow to you, right now, that if I have a true change of heart, I'll let you know before the wedding day, and I'll never in a million years leave you at the altar. I swear this on my own life." She said this with all seriousness, so he believed her. He smiled at her, and hugged her tight. "I love you, Draco," she said softly.

"I love you, Hermione," he said in return. They walked back into the bar, arm in arm, to go join their friends at their engagement party.

-End of Day One-