"It's literally been 2 months and they still haven't left us alone"Hermione scoffed as she threw the daily prophet on the coffee table. "Apparently we were supposed to meet up with Jackie Stone to discuss our relationship last night and didn't show up"Draco read, leaning against the wall. Hermione rolled her eyes and got off the couch. "I wanna go eat out, We've been eating the same thing for a week"She said, walking past him and towards the staircase. "I told you 3 days ago and you said you didn't want anyone to see us till we met up with our parents" Draco told. "We're supposed to meet up with them today, they won't have time to publish it till tomorrow. we'll explain to them everything and there you go"she explained. "And what if they cancel on us again?"He questioned. "It's not our problem, we'll just go about it like our normal day, go to the ministry, do our job and then come back here"She said. He rolled his eyes as she headed upstairs to get dressed. If they were gonna be taking photos of them, Hermione didn't want to look dead, having this being the first time in public in weeks. She got her black spaghetti strapped dress and a pale pink leather jacket.
Hermione put her hair in a high ponytail and put her pale pink mirror sunglasses in her pocket. She put on her watch as she headed down stairs. "Dressed up much?"Draco smirked at her. She rolled her eyes at him and walked to the door as he got the car keys. They walked out and were surprised to see the reporters waiting outside for them. "How'd you not see them?"Draco asked, pulling her to the car. He opened the door for her and made her get in quickly before he got in from the other side. "Mr. Malfoy! Mrs.Malfoy!"One of the reporters called as they drove away. "Did they just call me Mrs.Malfoy?" Hermione snapped. She rolled down the window, stuck her hand out and gave them a not very pleasant finger as they turned the corner.
Draco smirked at her again, surprised by her attitude. "I didn't even take Parkinson as my last name, no way am I taking yours"She said. "You'll come around"He promised, squeezing her hand. "In your dreams"She rolled her eyes.
They entered a private restaurant, having been followed by the paparazzi. They got a table for two and waited for it to get set up. "I got a letter from mother when you were getting dressed, they rearranged the time but she didn't say when. And we don't have work so we're gonna go on a little trip" Draco told her. "A little trip, what're you gonna do? Throw me off a cliff?"She questioned. "That's for next week"He said sarcastically. The waiter, who was checking for an empty table for them, gave Draco back his money. "You already have a reservation at a table of 7, you are related to Lucius Malfoy, correct?" The waiter asked. Draco nodded. "What time is the table reserved for?"He questioned. "Right now, the others on the guest list are in dining room 5, table 2" The waiter said. "Who's on the guest list?" Hermione asked. "We have Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Jenny Parkinson, Kevin Parkinson, Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, and Mia Parkinson"He read. The two glanced at each other before heading to room 5. "Didn't they say it was better to meet in private?"Hermione rolled her eyes. "Apparently they changed their minds, again"Draco muttered.
They entered the room, and looked for their table. "You're 10 minutes late Draco" Narcissa Said. "We weren't given a time or place, we just happened to decide to eat here and were told that we had a table saved" Draco explained, sitting down across his parents. "How surprising"Lucius Said as though he were sneering. "Is there a problem?"Kevin asked. No one answered. "Alright then"Kevin continued. "So we've heard quite a few things about your relationship and we'd like to congratulate you on your engagement" Jenny smiled at Draco and Hermione. "What engagement?" Hermione questioned. "We saw you all over the news, we thought you'd tell us before but it's alright"Jenny said. "We're not engaged"They said in unison. "Told you you'd get your hopes up"Pansy muttered to her mother. "I just thought, after all this time, that you'd consider marriage"Jenny told. "And Draco, you know it's Malfoy tradition to get married before the age of 21"Narcissa added. "I'm not getting married this year"Hermione stated. "Neither am I"Draco agreed. "It's traditional, you must get engaged before the end of the year"Jenny said. "You said you're done controlling my life"Hermione replied. "And I told you I wasn't gonna get married anytime soon"Draco told his mother. "I don't know why you're fussing about it, you two are perfect for each other, you've known each other for years and you've been together for nearly 11 months, you must be married before Draco's birthday"Narcissa said. The two looked over at each other, quiet for a minute. "Fine"Hermione muttered. "If we're still together by July, then we'll get engaged"Draco said. "And we'll get married by the end of July too"She added. "Is there a baby date too?"Pansy questioned sarcastically. The two exchanged a look, before saying in unison "August". Immediately, Jenny pulled a piece of paper out, and placed it infront of them. "Confirm it"Narcissa said. "Is this all you brought us here to do?"Draco questioned. "Partly, we want to know what's been happening, how you got together again"Jenny said. "We'll save that for another day"Hermione snarled, getting up from her seat as Draco followed. "It's not appropriate to just leave after arriving"Lucius snapped. "Neither is forcing your child into marriage"Draco said.
They walked out, not having eaten a thing. They headed to the car and sat in it for a bit, not saying a word. "We just said we'd get married by August" Hermione muttered. "If our future wasn't already planned out for us, you would've seen me on my way to get you the best ring out there, being forced into it just ruins the whole mood"Draco explained to her. "Draco we aren't ready to get married, that's the problem. To them, we just took a meaningless break, but it's way more then that. We're still having problems trusting each other"She said. "Well there's no backing out now, we signed the thing, the second it gets to the Malfoy filing, we don't have a choice"He told her. "We only have a month"She muttered.
They headed back to Hermione's house and were surprised to see the door unlocked. They walked in carefully, with their wands out before Ginny ran towards them out of no where. "Careful!"Hermione snapped, hitting Draco's wand in time, having the spell hit the wall rather then Ginny. "Sorry"Ginny grinned sheepishly. "I told her we should've waited outside"Harry said as he walked toward them. "You Usually send a letter Before coming, what's happened?"Hermione asked as she entered the living room. "We came to personally invite you to our wedding"Ginny said, her grin not falling off her face. "You picked a date then?"Hermione questioned and they nodded. "It's 3 days from now, July 3"Harry told. "Congrats"Hermione smiled. "What's wrong with grumpy?"Ginny asked. Hermione glanced at Draco before sighing. "We just met up with our parents, and they want us engaged before his birthday"She explained. "For what?"Harry questioned. "Something about tradition, and we kinda agreed we'd be engaged by July and married before August"Hermione continued. "It took us a year to get everything set up, how're you gonna do it in a month?"Ginny muttered. "No idea, but we already agreed to it" She said. "So you're being forced into marriage?"They heard Astoria's voice from the door way. She walked in with Pansy, Daphne and Blaise, and they sat in the living room. "How'd you get here so quickly?"Draco questioned Pansy. "I left the second you guys did, I didn't want to be stuck with them again"Pansy scoffed. "Wait so they're making you get married and you've barely been back together for a month?"Blaise asked. Hermione was about to answer before Draco interrupted. "Did you just say July is in 3 days?"Draco snapped at Ginny. "Tomorrow but yea-"She said. "We have to go"He told Hermione, getting off the couch. "What do you mean, we just came back"Hermione said. "You stay, never mind, Blaise get your arse out the door"Draco snarled. Blaise didn't question anything, and just left with Draco. Hermione then realized what it meant, having July tomorrow. She thought it was the 20th of June, not the 30th.
"Ginny we have to go too, I promised Molly we'd be back for lunch"Harry said. The two left and The other 4 sat in the kitchen together. "You didn't seem excited to marry Draco, is something wrong?" Pansy asked Hermione. "Of course not, it's just all happening so quickly, we aren't ready for any of this"Hermione muttered. "You'll be fine, marriage is just another stage of a relationship, nothing is going to change between you two"Astoria told her. "I hope not"She mumbled. "Why don't we go out a bit, have some fun"Pansy suggested. "Thanks for coming but I want to be alone for a bit"She said. The other 3 nodded and got out of their chairs. Hermione heard the door close behind them, before she went to her room. She laid on her bed, wondering what to do with the situation.
'Marriage won't be that bad, you'll at least have an excuse to get away from everyone' a voice in her head said. 'But I don't want to get married yet, if I don't agree, Draco and his parents are gonna start fighting' Hermione thought. 'Don't think about his parents, think about you and him, are you ready for this commitment, you're gonna be having a family soon too'The voice said. A family of her own, something Hermione had always wanted. Just imagining children running around the house giggling made her smile. She thought of the engagement and the wedding, and she realized that maybe she was ready for this. She was just scared.
Hermione fell asleep not too long later. She woke up to weight on her waist. She looked behind her and saw Draco sleeping beside her, his arm around her waist. "When'd you get here?"She muttered. "Almost an hour ago"He answered. "What'd you do with Blaise"She asked, sitting up slowly. "We just had something to do"He said, looking up at her. She stayed silent for a bit. "I've been think about the whole marriage thing and..."She began. "I think we might be ready for it, Nothings going to change and that's what I was worried about"She told him. "Then you've decided, we're going through with this?"He asked and she nodded. She saw a smile appear on his face as he sat up In front of her. "Love you Mia"He muttered before pressing his lips on hers.
"Remember that little trip I told you about? Well we have to go tonight, pack your bags"