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"Beginnings are the most exciting, middles are perplexing, and endings are a disaster."
The Beginning:
The first time Hermione and Draco were at the same pub quiz night, it felt electric. She’d been purposely avoiding him. She was well aware he and Harry were Auror partners and had become friends. But, the first few times Harry mentioned he’d be joining, she’d found excuses not to go. She hated missing the weekly pub quiz, but the idea of seeing him in a social setting felt strange, wrong. She knew he wouldn’t call her a slur and he probably wouldn't insult her hair, but she just didn’t know what their new dynamic would be. Eventually, though, she gave in, she wouldn’t let him keep her from seeing her friends.
She walked into the Leaky Cauldron and found Harry, Ginny, and Neville at their team’s usual booth. She waved to them as she walked over and settled next to Harry at the wooden table.
“Thanks for the drinks mate,” Harry called out. Hermione followed his eyeline and spotted the poncy git himself walking over with the first round for the table. She wasn’t sure how she’d missed the shock of blond hair when she’d first walked in. Malfoy got to work handing out the drinks, Butterbeers for her and Ginny, Gin and Tonic for Harry, Fire whiskey for himself and Neville, and an ale for Ron, who seemed to be running late, as usual.
Draco shrugged, responding to Harry’s thanks. “It was my turn to buy, but you are up next,” he said looking at Hermione.
Draco’s eyes met hers now. She’d never noticed just how strikingly gray they were before. If he were any other man, she’d even say they were attractive. But he was him, so they weren't. “Why is it my turn to buy?” she asked incredulously.
He looked at her his eyes pitying, “She’s lost her brains since graduation then?” he asked the table.
Harry laughed openly, Ginny tried to hide her giggles and Neville just glanced away, trying to avoid conflict.
“I haven’t ‘lost my brains’ as you put it, I just don’t see why I should get moved up in the rotation when I haven't been here. I always buy after Ginny.”
“Yes and as you missed the last three weeks, you’ve not bought after anyone in far too long so you are up.” He sat down across from her. His long legs barely managed to fit under the table and his knees bumped up against hers. She waited for him to apologize or pull his legs back, but instead, he just smirked and bumped her knee again, on purpose. She was just about to pull out her wand and hex his knees off his stupid body when the quiz host walked to the front of the pub with an announcement.
“Hello, I am Chester Borgin, and welcome witches and wizards to the Thursday night Pub Quiz!” He’d cast a Sonorous on himself to amplify his voice over the crowd gathered for the quiz. “We have answer sheets and self-inking quills up at the front table. Send up the team captain to collect the materials and we will begin shortly!”
Draco stood at the same time as Hermione. Ginny looked at them, laughing as they both froze. She sighed, wiping her tears of laughter aside, and explained to Draco, “Normally Hermione is our team captain, and she gets the material and writes the answers,”. She turned to Hermione. “But in your absence, Draco had taken over,”
Hermione frowned.
Draco did not sit or retreat. “I’m closer to the host’s table,” he pointed out. “How about I just go and collect the materials then?” He had a fake smile plastered on his face.
Hermione sprung into action, scooting out from her side of the booth, her skirt annoyingly riding up her legs as she tried to squeeze past. “No, thank you,” she said in her most sickly sweet voice, walking towards the front. She could feel him racing right behind her, trying to beat her. But Hermione was small, she was able to slip through the crowd more easily. She reached the table just a moment before he did and felt his body crush against hers as the momentum carrying him forward propelled him into her. She ignored the slight pain from their collision and called to the host.
“Team We’re not Lion. There are six of us.”
“Actually, since I joined we go by team Dirty Lion Snakes,” Draco corrected from just behind her, his body still pressing against hers from chest to hips. “It’s the same pun, just more fun,” he explained, his breath fanning over her ear.
“Yes, I understood the wordplay, thank you,” she said, rolling her eyes, despite Draco being behind her and unable to see the gesture. She pushed forward trying to get him off of her back, but it just pushed her further into the table, her hips pressing into the wood, as she felt his strong chest warm and solid behind her.
Chester just stared at them, not sure which name to write down. Hermione huffed. “Write down his stupid name, just give me the sheet for recording our answers. I am the team captain.”
Chester did as he was asked and Hermione turned, only to find herself now chest to chest with Draco. The people in this pub needed to learn about personal space. he was a good foot and a half taller than her, and she had to gaze up into those too-lovely gray eyes again. She looked down, instead taking in his expensive-looking light blue oxford and the black trousers he wore that were perfectly tailored to his thick thighs. It sent an excited thrill through her, one she did not want to inspect further. He cleared his throat, and the noise shook her out of her less-than-professional assessment of him. She slipped to the side, finally breaking the contact between them before making her way back to their booth. Draco was only a few steps behind and sat down right after her.
Ron had decided to finally show up, sitting in the chair next to Draco, sipping on his ale. Draco greeted him like they were old friends, patting Ron on the back and joking about his inability to be anywhere on time. Hermione looked at Harry, an eyebrow quirkedHarry just chuckled and leaned in to whisper, “It came out of nowhere. They hated each other and then suddenly were thick as thieves.”
Before Hermione could ponder that for too long the quiz was getting started and Chester was asking the first question:
“Category 1 is history! What is the name of the Egyptian wizard who created the star catalog that advanced our understanding of Astronomy?”
Hermione knew the answer. Not waiting for the team to look at her expectantly as they always did, she wrote Ptolemy and took a sip of her drink.
But when she looked up, Ron was speaking to Draco. “Is she right?”
Hermione nearly choked on her butterbeer. “Of course I’m right,” she spat.
Ron’s eyes stayed locked on Draco, who was looking so Godric damned smug.
“Yeah, mate,” Draco told him, “she’s right.”
She was going to throttle them both.
Chester’s voice boomed around the room again. “ What country was the first to sign the Magical Cooperation Act of 1783?”
Hermione picked up her quill.
“France,” Draco said.
Hermione looked up at him, her eyes full of fire, “I know that.”
He shrugged. “Just making sure.”
“What year did the statute of secrecy go into effect?
She wrote down 1689, but when she looked up, Draco was pulling a face. “What? What is that face for?” she demanded.
“Well…It’s just that the statute of secrecy was passed in 1689.”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Yes, which is why I wrote that down.”
He smirked, and Hermione wanted to wipe the look off of his face with a slap. Or possibly a kiss.
“But that is when it was passed. It didn’t take full effect until 1692.” He was fighting back a full smile.
She thought back to the question…it had been worded to ask when it went into effect not when it was passed. Darn him. The smug little prick.
She glared at him before crossing her answer out and writing his down instead, even though it pained her to do so.
He just sipped his whiskey and chuckled to himself. Harry, Ginny, and Neville all looked stunned. Ron patted Draco on the back, the traitor.
The entire history round was some variation on that theme. Hermione and Draco fighting to supply the answer faster than the other and pointing out small errors in the other’s knowledge. Meanwhile, the rest of the table just observed them as if they were watching a tennis match.
When the round was done, Hermione took the sheet up to get their points tallied and to grab the next one. Mercifully, Draco remained seated this time. She certainly did not want his body pressed up against hers while she tried to talk with Chester again.
When she returned to her seat, Draco smiled at her and she instantly felt suspicious of him. “What?”
“What, what?” he returned, eloquently.
“Why are you smiling at me? I don’t trust it.” She narrowed her eyes.
He shrugged. “I’m just having fun. Is that acceptable Granger?”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected that. It seemed - even with his snarky comment tacked on - he was being honest. She didn’t know what to make of an honest, happy Draco Malfoy. She stared at him for a moment. And then the cheeky prick winked at her. It gave her stomach a little flip.
The Middle:
Hermione looked at herself in the small mirror hanging on the back of her office door. She’d freshened up her makeup and touched up her hair. She was loath to admit it but she knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to look good for him. She didn’t know what was happening between them, they’d been circling each other for months now and she wanted him to look, wanted him to want. It mattered for some reason. She’d chosen the tight red pencil skirt that morning thinking of him. The white silk blouse with the keyhole cutout she’d paired with it was chosen because it made her feel good, but maybe a little bit for him as well.
When she walked into the pub, her eyes sought his right away. When she found Malfoy, leaning up against the bar waiting for the drinks, he was already looking at her. He wore that adorable smirk. The one he seemed to save just for her. She felt her heart speed up and her feet carried her to him before she could think better of it.
His eyebrows raised. “Hello, Granger. We’re at the usual table.” He tilted his head in the direction of their booth, where Hermione could now see Harry, Ron, and Neville were already seated.
She felt her cheeks turning pink. “Oh, uh, just thought maybe you could use some help carrying the drinks?” It was a weak excuse. They always just levitated them, but it was all she could come up with.
His smirk widened, almost becoming a full smile. “Alright.Thanks, Granger.”
She released the breath she’d been holding, relieved he didn’t push her on it. The pub was packed again and as they waited for the bartender to serve them, Hermione was jostled by the patrons walking behind her. Draco kept his eyes forward, focusing on the drinks as they were made, but his hand slipped to her lower back, steadying her. It was large, spanning the width of her, and warm, his body heat easily seeping through the delicate silk to warm her skin. Her stomach fluttered, a feeling she was all too familiar with when near him. When the drinks were placed before them, she began to mourn the loss of the hand, sure he’d remove it. but he simply cast the levitating spell with his free hand and guided her back to the table, his protective press continuing, sending sparks down her spine and lower, between her thighs.
Hermione sat in her normal space next to Harry, but instead of settling across from them, Draco filled in right beside her, taking the extra space from the mysteriously missing Ginny. She caught the look Ron and Harry exchanged, they were not very subtle. But she decided to ignore both of them.
She felt Draco’s thigh against her own, he was so close. His unique scent of leather and mahogany distracted her, making her want to bury her face in his neck. Merlin, what was happening to her?
Ginny walked up. “Hi all! I just had to dip to the loo.” She took the seat across from Harry not even acknowledging the change in seating arrangements. Hermione felt distinctly as though some plotting had been going on behind her back. She just wasn’t sure why…
“Hello Hello Hello! Chester Borgin back with you again for another pub quiz Thursday! Team captains, head on up to register the teams and grab the answer sheets and quills.”
Draco stood and Hermione went to follow him.
“No, you sit,” he said “I’ll get it. Don’t worry I’ll still let you do the writing.” Her heart fluttered and her head spun. He walked off before she could say a word.
“Alright, what did you all do to Draco? Why is being so nice tonight?” She eyed the table, pinning Ginny and Harry specifically.
Ginny giggled. “Mi, we might have played with the seating arrangements a bit, but everything else is all him. I think the real question is what did you do to Draco to make him start being so nice?”
Harry nodded. “And don’t act like this is the first time either, you two have been getting along better and better ever since that first time.”
She looked to Neville, hoping he at least would agree that something was up.
Neville smiled back at her. “Your hair looks nice tonight Mi. Did you do something different with it?”
The traitor.
She glared at him. “I had some important meetings this afternoon. Just freshened up for them, that’s all.”
Ron rolled his eyes. “Sure, Mi.”
Hermione had to accept her little crush had been found out. But surely none of her friends would have betrayed her and told Draco, so did he feel the same? Or had he figured out her feelings as well and now he was being kind out of pity? Her heart dropped at the thought. Goddrick that would be mortifying.
Soon, Draco was back and his thigh was against hers again and she let her worry drop away as she just enjoyed their newfound comfort with each other.
“Tonight’s first category is Geography! What are the 5 cities with the largest magical communities!”
“London!” Ron shouted, loud enough for any other table to hear. Ginny and Harry both shook their heads at him but Draco and Hermione were too busy debating the less obvious answers between themselves to really notice Ron.
“I’m telling you Granger, Salem Massachusetts,” Draco whispered emphatically, his breath caressing her neck.
“I’m not disagreeing, I just know there is a Salem Oregon too and I am having trouble keeping them straight. America is so big.”
Draco grabbed her hand. “Trust me, it's Massachusetts.”
Her eyes met his and she could feel that this mattered to him. “Ok, I’ll trust you.” She wrote it down next to Hannover, Germany, Lima Peru, and finally, Siquijor, Philippines.
When the answers were read at the end of the round, their table erupted. They’d gotten every single one right. Ron and Draco fist bumped and Ginny and Neville clinked their glasses together. And then time stopped. Draco’s hand was on her thigh, light, tentative. “Great work. I wouldn’t have known about the Philippines.” He gave her thigh a squeeze and then his hand was gone. And she could breathe again, but she’d preferred it when she couldn’t. She realized she had to say something back, anything.
“You did great too,” she nearly shouted at him, very cool Hermione. “I mean, we’d have missed Salem without you.”
At the end of the night, everyone seemed to disappear without telling her. First Neville went to grab a drink and didn’t return, then Ron began chatting up a girl at the bar, and finally Ginny and Harry mentioned something about not keeping the babysitter too late and slunk off. And then she was alone with Draco. And for the third time that night, she was certain something was going on but she just wasn't sure what.
She turned to him and found again that he was already looking at her. She arched her brow. “What is going on?”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.” He wore a mischievous grin and Hermione felt that annoying little flutter that he always evoked.
“But as long as I have you here,” he continued, “ I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out sometime. To eat. With me. As a…date.”
Hermione had never seen him this unsure and flustered. It was delightful. Suddenly, all of the perplexing moments from the night began to make sense. Ginny helping him sit by her, the looks everyone was exchanging, the extra nice behavior and everyone slipping off to give them alone time.
She pinned him with a look. “You planned this.” It wasn’t a question.
He rubbed the back of his neck, and his ears pinked slightly. “I mean…yeah. Ok, yeah I planned this. But don’t look so mad about it. I just thought I could use a little backup. We only see each other here and we’re always surrounded by people and I needed some help to get you alone. They may have embellished my plan, but I have to say I rather enjoyed sitting next to you. Thought I was making progress. Guess I was wrong. At least I tried.” He shrugged and began to stand.
She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt pulling him back down. “Wait. I…yes.”
“Yes?” he asked.
“Yes, it wasn’t a no, I was just putting the pieces together, that’s all. It’s a yes,” she explained.
His eyes widened and his smile boomed and he leaned in close. “Really?”
She laughed. “Is my answer that hard to believe?”
“I mean,” he began, “kinda yeah. You looked so angry when you realized I’d conspired with your friends and even before that it was a long shot. You are so far out of my league Granger. You’re brilliant and kind and beautiful and so fucking fit. And good. Just way too good for me.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss right there in the middle of the pub. She didn’t care who saw. She’d wanted to do this for ages. His lips tasted of whiskey and she licked at them, desperate for more. It took him a moment to register what was happening but soon he took control of the kiss, pressing into her and nibbling her bottom lip. His hands traveled to her hips, holding her as she moaned into him. The sound made him squeeze her hips, encouraging her.
A wolf whistle from the bar startled them apart. She looked over and spotted Ron, still with the girl he’d been chatting up (was she the younger Greengrass maybe?), watching them. “About time you two!” he yelled and raised his glass in their direction.
Hermione buried her face in her hands, laughing and feeling her face turn bright red. When she peeked between her fingers, she saw Draco flicking Ron off, but he laughed as he did so.
Draco pulled her hands from her face and held them in his own. “Can I walk you to the apparition point?” he asked.
She nodded.
They held hands for the short walk and laughed about Ron and the plot that everyone was in on other than her. And when he kissed her good night, just before she disappeared with a pop, she could feel her heart telling her, this was the start of something good.
The End:
Hermione paced the small area in front of the table that had been theirs for 4 years now. She was wearing a rather fitted white dress that clung to her calves making pacing difficult but she couldn’t stop herself. She had checked and double-checked and triple-checked that everything was ready and she was sure it was but she was just as sure that something was going to go wrong. She couldn’t place her finger on it but knew she’d miscalculated somewhere.
Regardless, her time to figure it out was up and she just had to hope she could catch any issues in the moment. Neville grasped her arm as she paced by him another time. “Sit. It will be fine. He’s going to be here any minute and you need to stop looking like a crazy person if you want to pull this off.”
She sighed. “You're right, Nev. Thank you.”
Harry and Ginny walked in next, she greeted them both with a hug and Ginny shot her a cheeky wink.
When Draco entered, she felt her heart race. He looked fantastic, as always. He still wore his leather wand harness and those damned trousers, displaying his thick thighs to their best advantage. But now he was so much more distracting. Because now she knew what his thighs looked like out of those trousers. Knew how his chest rippled under that harness. He caught her staring and chuckled. She just rolled her eyes. The man needed a bigger ego like Hagrid needed another pet dragon.
“We work in the same department, man. How did I get here 20 minutes before you?” Harry teased.
Draco sat, draping his arm over Hermione’s shoulder. Their comfort with one another, now second nature.
“Yeah, well my damned Auror partner left early to go to an appointment with his pregnant wife so I got stuck doing all the paperwork. Can you imagine?”
Harry laughed as Ginny rubbed her tiny bump.
Hermione shook her head. “How did the check-in with the healer go, by the way, Gin?”
Ginny smiled widely. “A healthy growing baby. James is so excited to be a big brother. He was so cute at the scan today.”
Harry chimed in. “Yeah then he asked to come to the pub with us, said he's going to be a big brother now so he can stay up late.” Hermione laughed. She loved that little boy.
Ron and Astoria came in finally, just before the host made his welcoming announcement.
“Late as always,” Draco teased. “Tori can’t you at least make this man be somewhere on time?”
“Ha!” Ron laughed. “She is worse than I am. She changes her outfit fifteen times before she is ready to leave the flat.”
Astoria sat by Neville, greeting him with a smile. “And I look fabulous. You are all welcome.” She was teasing, but she did look very nice. Her small frame was dressed in an off-the-shoulder top and a long flowy skirt. Her hair was teased on top of her head and she looked like Bridget Bardot, not that she knew who that was. Ron was grinning widely at her. He was so smitten, that it made Hermione happy.
“Welcome one and all to the Thursday night Pub Quiz at the Leaky Cauldron! I am your host Chester Borgin! Team captains come on up…”
Hermione tuned out the rest of the announcement, she knew all of the relevant information so instead began reviewing the plan in her head again.
Draco shot her a concerned glance. “Are you alright? You seem worked up.”
She shook her head, sending her curls bouncing. “Everything is fine.”
He laughed and kissed her temple. “If you say so.”
He walked off to grab the materials as always. With him gone Hermione shot everyone at the table a look. “Everyone knows their jobs?”
Ginny saluted. “We’ve got it General Mione, don’t worry. Nothing is going to go wrong.”
“That’s what I keep telling her,” Neville replied. “But she is convinced there will be some sort of disaster.
Harry and Ron shared a look. “She was like this during our Hogwarts days too,” Ron said.
Hermione glared at them both. “Yeah and my paranoia is the only reason we were prepared for the world's worst camping trip so, you're welcome.”
Astoria chuckled behind her hand. “She’s got you there.”
Draco was on his way back to the table, so they went back to idle chit chat and Hermione felt they had played things pretty cool. Draco certainly had no idea what she was up to.
“Alright teams,” Chester began, “the first category tonight is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
Draco narrowed his eyes. “Bit specific of a category, but alright,” he said to the table as a whole.
Ginny shrugged. “Seems normal enough to me,”. Everyone else nodded. Hermione worried their acting skills were leaving a bit to be desired.
“Question 1: How many staircases does Hogwarts castle have?” Chester’s voice boomed around the packed pub.
Draco smiled at Hermione. “Well, I think someone who’s read Hogwarts: a History as many times as you should know this one.”
She laughed and wrote down 142. The first category was a breeze, and between her knowledge and his they were able to get all 10 questions right.
“Great job with the first round everyone!” Chester announced. “We are moving on now to Category 2: The Ministry of Magic! Which Minister of Magic established the Auror Program?”
Hermione looked to Draco. He was looking at her with suspicion but didn’t seem to have put it all together yet, so she tried to stay calm.
“I assume you know this one, Mr. Auror?” Hermione asked him.
He smirked “I mean, I do, but we have another Auror and an ex-Auror at the table,” he said, indicating Harry and then Ron. “Should we ask if they know?”
Ron sipped his ale, and then wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “Mate, I was only an Aurror for a couple of years and never one who knew things like that.”
Astoria handed him a napkin but was laughing good-naturedly.
Draco turned to Harry next. “It was a Diggory wasn’t it?” Harry tried.
Draco smiled and turned to Hermione, always letting her write. “Eldritch Diggory, love,” he whispered to her. When she was done writing he placed a tiny kiss on her cheek and for just a moment her nerves floated away as she just let herself be loved by him. When time was finished on the round, Draco walked up and turned in the answers. She noticed he seemed to be asking Chester a few questions and it made her nervous. But he was back at the table quickly and seemed none the wiser.
“For our final category, we will be answering questions about famous wizards and witches,” Chester announced. “Question one, who was the youngest witch to ever receive an Order of Merlin First Class.”
Draco looked a bit mad at that question, and Hermione didn’t know why. She bumped his shoulder with his. “Hey, I think we know this one,” she joked.” He smiled back and let her write her own name down.
“Question two, what are the names of the two Aurors who took down the largest muggle artifact smuggling ring in Europe just last year.”
Harry puffed out his chest a bit for that one and fist-bumped Draco from across the table. Hermione recorded their names. The entire round was questions about Draco, Hermione, and other notable figures in their lives. Hermione thought it was rather sweet.
Soon the round was over and Draco walked up to submit the final answers and everyone began to scramble into place while his back was turned. Ron ran to the bar to grab the tray of champagne, Neville summoned the flower arch he’d created, Harry was poised to cast the indoor fireworks and Ginny found the ring in her bag to give to Hermione.
But something was wrong, Draco was yelling something at the pub quiz host.
“I don’t know what kind of stunt you are trying to pull, but we are private citizens, and asking pub quiz questions about where we went to school and where we work and then actually about my girlfriend and I is not ok. We didn’t ask for this.”
Harry must have realized that something was wrong. He slipped his wand back into its holster and began rushing over to explain. But in his rush to put his wand away, he triggered the fireworks. Everyone jumped as the bangs and whizzes filled the crowded pub. The purple gold green and blue lights lit up the space making the room sparkle and flash.
Draco turned just as Harry was racing towards him. But Harry wasn’t watching where he stepped and crashed right into Ron holding the tray of champagne flutes. The drinks flew through the air, splashing the fizzing drinks all over a table of strangers before the glasses rolled to the ground and shattered. Behind her, Hermione could feel heat prickling her back, she turned and found the arch of red and white roses had caught fire from the “perfectly safe” Weasley Wizards Wheezes fireworks.
A hand landed on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder to see Draco behind her now. He quickly put out the fire on the rose arch and then banished the fireworks. He wrapped his arms around Hermione’s waist and settled his chin on her shoulder. “Hermione love, is there something you need to tell me?”
She sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. “I was… well… you made a whole plan with everyone the first time you asked me out, and I was trying to do the same. I was trying to make a grand gesture,” she admitted.
He turned her around so they were face to face, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “So the quiz questions being about us?”
She felt a few tears start to stream down her face. “It was supposed to be romantic! You weren’t supposed to get mad at him”.
“And the champagne?” he prompted.
“We were going to have a toast in our honor,” she sobbed.
“And the fireworks and the arch?” he added.
“Setting the mood!” she whimpered.
He smiled down at her and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “That is very thoughtful, love. Do you wanna make your gesture now? Without all the rest of it?”
“Well, it’s all ruined now.” She looked down at her feet feeling defeated.
Just then, she felt Ginny discreetly slip something into her dress pocket. The red-head gave her a smile before slipping back beside Harry.
Draco continued, not noticing the movement. “Nothing is ruined, all I need is you. Please tell me what this is all really about. I promise I will love it. What could be more grand than setting a pub on fire for a man?”
She giggled despite herself and shoved his shoulder before she let out a loud sigh. “Draco Lucius Malfoy, I have been in love with you from the very first time you corrected one of my answers at our first pub quiz together. And though I tried very hard to deny my feelings for you, you snuck in like the snake you are and wrapped yourself around my heart. You are thoughtful and funny and so brilliant. I will never forget the first time you asked me out. We were at another quiz night just like this. The moment I realized you had orchestrated that whole night just so you could speak with me alone, I knew I was destined to spend the rest of my life with a cunning Slytherin man. So, Draco, will you please marry me?”
Hermione took out the ring box from her pocket and opened it to display a white gold wedding band.
Draco was the one crying now, a few tears slipping down his cheek. Hermione reached out to take hold of him but he stepped back, not letting her.
“Hermione,” he began, “you have always been one step ahead of me. So I don’t know why I thought this would be any different.”
She didn’t understand what was happening. Was he saying no? Was she asking too soon?
Draco knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said: “Hermione Jean Granger, before I answer your question, I have one of my own I'd like to ask. You are the best thing to ever happen to me. You make every day brighter and more fun with your smile and wit. I would be honored to spend the rest of my life grabbing quills for you and watching you be the most brilliant person in every room. So, Hermione, will you marry me?” He opened the ring box to reveal a large emerald-cut diamond ring.
She nodded, unable to speak, as her tears began flowing in earnest.
“Yes?” He asked. “Me too, I mean I say yes too,” he said, laughing.
She bent down and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. The pub exploded around them in cheers. The night was a beautiful disaster. And Hermione’s life was forever changed for the better thanks to some luck, some planning by her friends, and a pub quiz.