a n c h o r

t w e n t y f o u r

"Are you still interested in my company?"

It was September now. Ginny had returned for her final year Hogwarts, Fred and George returned to running the joke shop, Hermione has been with her parents since returning their memories, and both Ron and Harry have been with Arthur at the Ministry.

It wasn't that Alexandra was lonely; she definitely enjoyed spending time with Molly. She was, however, recently forced to consider her future. For a while she had no idea what she would like to do with the rest of her life, but, in each scenario, there was one constant.

"Of course," Draco smiled, happily letting the girl in and closing the door behind her. "I suppose you won't be staying long?" He asked, noticing she didn't have her trunk on her.

"I'll stay as long as you'll let me," she told him, pulling a tiny bag out of her pocket. Hermione, knowing how infatuated Alexandra was with her bag, had given it to her. She didn't have much use for it anymore, and knew she could trust Alexandra with holding onto it.

"Alchemy?" She asked, quickly noticing a large pile of books on a nearby table and beginning to look through them. "Have you always been interested in Alchemy?"

"It's grown on me recently," Draco admitted, joining her. "Simply a hobby, nothing more."

"What else have you been hiding from me?" Alexandra asked jokingly, running her fingers over Draco's handwritten notes within the blank spaces of the page.

Draco Malfoy and Alexandra River were exactly as Dumbledore explained them; a truly unexpected pairing built within the magical and mysterious walls of Hogwarts. In a way, they made each other better versions of themselves; versions that were hidden deep within them and begged to see the light. Now, for the first time in a number of years, both Draco and Alexandra were unequivocally happy.

"Turns out you've been hiding a lot from me," Alexandra said, turning towards Draco as they laid in bed later that evening. Draco smirked, pushing Alexandra's hair away from her face and looking at her with true joy reflecting in his eyes. He did nothing to deserve her. "How would you feel if I became an Unspeakable for the Ministry?"

"Is that what you want to do?" Draco asked, wondering what caused her to ask the question so suddenly.

"There are so many things that are still not understood. I want to be able to understand them, and help others understand them as well," Alexandra explained, not mentioning her recent job offer in too many details for obvious reasons.

"If you won't be able to say a word about anything you do come to understand, how will others understand?" Draco pointed out.

"I suppose you've got a point," Alexandra sighed. Draco frowned, afraid he ruined something she was excited about.

"I will support every decision you make," Draco assured. "But I also want you to be happy with those decisions."

"What do you think I should do?" She asked, holding his hand and playing with the ring around his finger.

"What if you do your own research?" Draco suggested. "Research you can actually talk about, and share with the world. Research you can publish, perhaps. You've always wanted to publish a book."

"I'd love to do that, but I don't have the resources. The Ministry can provide me with what I need," Alexandra persisted. She watched as Draco turned around and reached into his nightstand, pulling an object out of the drawer and turning back towards her. He opened his hand, and Alexandra's eyes widened when she saw something she thought no longer existed. "Where did you-"

"It was my father's," Draco explained, handing her the time turner.

"I can't take this. It's much too dangerous," Alexandra panicked, knowing that chaos would ensue if the turner was placed in the wrong hands. It was sheer dumb luck that Tom used Dumbledore's for nothing more than to visit her.

"I trust you'll use it responsibly," Draco assured, closing her hands around it.

"You're full of surprises today, aren't you?" Alexandra smiled lightly, still in awe at the gesture.

"I suppose," Draco smiled as well, kissing her again.

"Much more romantic than flowers and chocolates," Alexandra stated. "Although, flowers and chocolates have been proven to work in your favor once before."

"A boring gesture compared to the rest."

"It was still lovely," Alexandra smiled, kissing him. They were interrupted when they heard a tapping on the bedroom window. "Mail at this hour?"

"It seems to be yours," Draco pointed out, getting out of bed to open the window. Alexandra admired him from the bed, reflecting on everything that made her love him. He handed her the letter, sitting beside her on the bed as she read it. He watched as her eyes widened, and a smile grew on her face.

"Ron and Hermione are to be married!" She grinned, laughing excitedly. "Can you believe it? Married! Oh, this is wonderful!"

Draco smiled, but his smile faltered for a quick second. He's known for quite a while now that he wants Alexandra to be his wife; since they were students, even. After the events of the war he had planned to ask for her hand, but he was discouraged by her reaction when he asked her to live with him.

"You've been invited to the wedding as well," Alexandra smiled, showing him the letter. "I understand it's a difficult situation, but I hope you'll join me."

Draco looked at the letter to see that he was, in fact, invited. He smiled lightly, truly surprised Ron and Hermione even considered inviting him.

"Is that a yes?" Alexandra asked, noticing his smile. He nodded.

"Of course I'll join you."

"Oh, I'm so excited!" She yelled, practically jumping on Draco as she hugged him.

"I can tell," he laughed.

"I love weddings. Of course, the only one I've attended ended quite horribly, but it was still wonderful. There was so much food, and dancing, and music- have you ever listened to Muggle music? Hermione's had me listen to some, and it's rather enjoyable. She even gave me this-"

"What has gotten into you?" Draco laughed harder, watching as Alexandra practically bounced around the room with excitement.

"For the first time in my life, everything makes sense," Alexandra smiled, returning to her spot on the bed. "I have wonderful friends, a wonderful family, and a wonderful boyfriend that makes me so happy. I realized when I was in that cellar that I took so many things for granted, and I won't make that mistake again."

"Show me this Muggle music, then," Draco smiled, watching as she pulled a very large, bulky object out of her small bag. For the rest of the night, the pair listened to Muggle music together and reminisced about their past before discussing their future.

By the end of the night, all hesitations left Draco's mind as he decided once and for all that there was no use in waiting, and that he was going to ask Alexandra River to be his wife.