Pride and Pretenses. (Dramione)

Epilogue I

Six years later...
The Ministry of Foreign and External Affairs has just announced its new ambassador to continental Europe. Hermione Granger, Head of Transportation for the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Harry Potter's best friend, beat out several high-ranking candidates to become the youngest witch to hold the prestigious position. Working her way up from an intern, Ms. Granger was pivotal in the success of... (for more details turn to page 3)
Hermione looked at her picture in the front page of the Daily Prophet as she took a sip of her coffee and sighed contentedly.
So much has changed in the six years since the fall of Voldemort. Harry and Ginny just had their first child, James Sirius, of whom they named Hermione, Fred, and George as the godparents. Ron had surprisingly listened to Hermione and told Harry everything. After a few weeks, Harry eventually forgave Ron but the friendship between them inevitably changed. Despite the falling out, Harry and Hermione remained close with the rest of the Weasley clan and they were now on civil terms with Ron.
In order to make a life (and a name) for himself on his own terms, Ron decided to move to America two years after graduating from Hogwarts. There he became a successful food critic; travelling around the country to rate various wizarding restaurants for the National Pensieve, the American counterpart to the Daily Prophet.
To their chagrin, Genevieve returned for their seventh year and took her position as Head Girl. Upon her return, Draco wanted to give up the Head Boy position but Hermione convinced him that it would be better for him and for the school if he stayed on. It was no secret that Harry, Draco, and Hermione didn't like her so for the most part, Genevieve stayed out of their way.
The Malfoys moved back to the villa in France as soon as Draco had recovered from his coma. The first years after Voldemort's death were a bit tumultuous as wizarding Britain tried to rebuild itself. While there wasn't an all-out war, the Death Eater infiltration within the Ministry and wizarding society ran deep and it took a while to restructure everyone's daily lives. Narcissa wanted to protect Sophie from the chaos and backlash as much as possible. As a result, Sophie grew up in a happy home surrounded by people who loved her without experiencing any of the hate and stigma that surrounded her family.
Hermione smiled as she remembered the way Sophie's face lit up when she received her Hogwarts letter two weeks ago. Living in France, Sophie received a letter from Beauxbatons as well but there was no question as to which school she would choose. She wanted to follow in her brother's and Hermione's footsteps for as long as she could remember. Besides, Hogwarts had been her home once and she couldn't wait to make it her home once again. The only question that remained was which house she would be in. Even without the Malfoy name, Sophie had the makings of a Slytherin since the day she was born. Though kind and generous, Sophie was intelligent, cunning, and ambitious. She had a knack for getting into trouble and she was not above using her charm and beauty to get what she wanted. No matter what she did, it was difficult to stay mad at Sophie when she put on what Draco called, her 'innocent angel' look. Therefore, Sophie (and Hermione) knew that she would be in Slytherin. However, it was too amusing to let Draco think otherwise so the girls teamed up against him. They enjoyed watching him get riled up at the thought of Sophie in Gryffindor so whenever they were together, Hermione would talk about how great it would be to be in Gryffindor while Sophie spouted off facts about the House, its common room, its history, etc. Much to Draco's horror, Sophie had also taken to wearing nothing but red and gold for the past two weeks. Though he took it in stride and with good humour most days, there were times when Hermione saw just how much it would mean to him for Sophie to be in Slytherin. It was in these times that Hermione wanted to give in and drop the act but it was way too much fun. So instead, she would just catch his eye, put her arms around him, and give him a kiss. That usually put the smile back on his face.
With his family safe in France, Draco bore the brunt of the Malfoy backlash when he returned to Hogwarts for his seventh year. As difficult as it was, he found that as long as Hermione was with him, he really couldn't care less what anyone else thought. The animosity eventually blew over when people realized that their saviour and his best friend stood by the former DeathEater.
"That picture did not do you justice."
Hermione's musings were cut short as the object of her thoughts walked up to her table. She looked up from the paper and smiled.
"Good morning," she greeted, leaning up for a kiss.
After a while (and a few stares) they eventually broke for air.
"So, do you have time for me today or are you too busy now Ms. Ambassador?" Draco asked as he sat down.
"No, I don't start until Monday so I'm all yours today," Hermione answered with a laugh.
"Good because I wanted to bring you somewhere today."
"Oh? Where?"
"It's a surprise."
oOoOoOoOoOo
After finishing their breakfast, Draco instructed her to close her eyes as he apparated them to a different location.
"Open your eyes."
Hermione looked around and found herself by the river in the Forbidden Forest - Draco's secret spot and the place of their first kiss. It was also the place where Draco told her he was about to get the Dark Mark. Worried, Hermione turned to face him.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.
"I love you," he replied before giving her a tantalizingly sweet kiss.
"I love you too," Hermione replied when they broke apart. She noticed that Draco seemed kind of nervous. "Draco, are you alright?"
"Yes," he answered with a soft smile. He took a deep breath and lifted his hand to caress her face. "Hermione, the day your parents forced you to leave Hogwarts was one of the worst days of my life. It was the first time when I became truly scared of losing you. When I finally held you in my arms the night you returned, that was when I knew I loved you." He paused.
"I loved you since then, but for the longest time I wouldn't allow myself to truly feel it. I was always thinking ahead, making decisions soaked with fear. Today, because of you...what I learned from you; every choice I made was different and my life has completely changed. Hermione, if not for you I wouldn't be who I am today... So thank you for giving me a chance... thank you for letting me love you and thank you for loving me."
Hermione opened her mouth to reply when Draco gently touched her lips.
"Please let me finish," Draco whispered as he looked intently into her eyes.
"The first time I held my wand, I knew...It felt right, like it had been made for me...It's a part of me and I'd feel lost without it. That's how I feel about you.
I promised myself a long time ago that I would protect and look after you. But it works both ways. I look after my wand because it protects and looks after me...And together we're stronger. Since the night you left, there have been too many times when I thought I lost you. I don't ever want to feel like that again."
"So," Draco took a deep breath and went down on one knee. "Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"
Hermione was stunned. For the first time in her life, she was truly rendered speechless.
"Draco," she began after a moment. "Of every single man in the world...you are the only one – "
"Is that a yes?" Draco blurted.
"Will you let me finish?" Hermione asked.
"Sorry, bit nervous," Draco said with a rueful smile.
"The only one," Hermione continued trying to hide a smile. "Who would...propose...by comparing me to a piece of wood." A small laugh escaped her lips.
"Is that a no, then?" Draco's face fell. He slowly stood up. "I...I just thought this would be a good time... now that your career has settled. I didn't want to slow you down or distract you from your goals."
"You thought you would be distracting?" Hermione asked, trying to keep a straight, serious face.
Draco was so let down by what he thought was rejection that he missed her playful tone. "Well, I thought...I had hoped – "
Hermione finally caved and interrupted him with a searing kiss.
"Yes," she breathed when they came up for air. "A thousand times, yes!"
"Yes?"
Hermione nodded with a beaming smile, too overwhelmed for words.
Luckily, they didn't need words as Draco exultantly captured her lips once more.