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His fingers drummed anxiously on the white cloth of the table he sat at, unable to contain his nervous energy. The black velvet box burned hotly in his pocket as he exhaled shakily, and observed the elegant restaurant setting before him. A small table adorned with a clean white table-cloth set with two settings of fine china. A small centerpiece of two roses with a lit candle in the middle complemented the mood perfectly, and the bottle of wine he had requested sat in the ice bucket his server had brought him.

Everything was perfectly in place. That is, everything except for her.

The woman he so desperately tried not to fall in love with. He had tried so hard to get her to hate him through hurtful words and actions. But, after she had saved him from the fate of the dementors kiss by testifying for him at the trial, he had fallen hopelessly in love with her. He knew that if he couldn't have her, he would have no one. Hi mother had immediately taken notice of his actions, or lack thereof, and had pestered him until he had confided in her. He told his mother of the woman who so enchanted him, of how she was the brightest witch of her age, beautiful, and everything he could ever want. Except, she was muggle-born, and he knew his family would never tolerate that. A fling, sure, but not an actual relationship.

His mother had laughed at him in response, going on to say that things had changed, thank Merlin. That she wasn't like the man locked up in Azkaban, her husband. She only cared for her son to be happy, and if this muggle-born made him happy, then he should most definitely go for it.

Now, just because his mother had approved didn't mean the witch he loved so dearly accepted him. It had taken time, and a lot of patience, to convince the girl who so enamored him to give him the benefit of the doubt. Through time, and a fair bit amount of sharing and learning about each other, she had fallen completely in love with him too.

She was so beautiful with her honey caramel locks that curled so magically, no pun intended, around her face. The way her deep brown eyes captured him in a warm blanket of love and happiness. And here she comes!

A smile bloomed across his face as he observed the beautiful woman in a simple blue dress. She's truly the epitome of beauty.

She sat down across from him, and their eyes caught. Warm brown eyes met melted silver, and the candle light shone softly between them, reflecting the glow each felt when near the other. A silence settled peacefully over the pair, and no words were needed. They were replaced by tender glances, gentle caresses, and meaningful gazes.

The silence was only broken when the pair ordered their food, but their gaze never drifted from the person opposite them.

''Draco'', the woman said with a smile.

''Hermione'', he replied.

The words, simply each other's names, meant so much to the couple. There was, after all, once a day when they had acknowledged the other only by their last name, and that was when they were actually being civil. Now, to accept each other enough to use their first names, it meant the world to them.

The food came, and with it, conversation. They talked about work, quidditch, and friends. It was familiar, and they both reveled that they could be so comfortable as to talk about mutual friends.

Finally, the time came.

The desert, a delicious chocolate melting cake topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, had long since been cleared from their shared plate.

Now, it was time for his proposal.

A silence lapsed around them, and Draco seized the opportunity.

''I love you.''

Hermione laughed, and he smiled at the sound. ''I love you too, Draco.''

''Will you marry me?''

Well, that wasn't how he had planned to propose at all! He had prepared an entire speech about how he loved her more than anything in the world. He would say that he would give up all of it, his money, job, hell, even his own free will, just for her. The speech would leave Hermione crying silent tears of joy, and she would nod mutely, and then Draco would slide the ring into place on the correct finger before diving in to kiss her senseless. But Draco just had to put his foot in his mouth, and blurt it out. Oh well, too late now.

Draco looked at Hermione's face to gauge her reaction. Her chocolate eyes were wide with surprise, and she had one hand covering her mouth. He dug his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the velvet box that encased the engagement ring.

''Well?'', he asked, presenting her with the ring he had designed for her. It was gold, and the right side was a long serpent curved to create half the ring, while the left half was a lion. The mouths were open where a beautiful diamond was held in their jaws.

''Yes'', she breathed, and wound her arms around him, burying her face in his neck.

Draco let out a breath of relief. He hadn't actually thought she would say no, but that didn't make it any less nerve-wracking. He slipped the ring onto Hermione's finger, and they both observed the uniquely beautiful ring sparkling there.

Six months later, they sat at the bride and groom table, and observed their friends and family enjoying their wedding reception. The cool band of gold around his finger reminded Draco of how far he had come, and how much they had both changed since their Hogwarts days. And, as Draco gazed lovingly at his new wife, he can't help but thank every deity in the world for the goddess sitting next to him with her hand entrapped in his own.

He thought of the inscription they had chosen to place on their wedding bands, and marveled at how true the word seemed to be for them. Changed.

For anyone who is following my other fics, I am still writing, and hope to post a chapter for Secondhand Scars and Hope sometime within the week.

This is just a one shot that popped into my head at around 2 am last night, and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it out. Thank you for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed. Please review.