Cordially Invited

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay on this chapter. I had to finish DH and deal with some personal issues. All is well now and back to normal. Please leave a review. Only one chapter and an Epilogue left after this. Enjoy!!

Cordially Invited

Chapter 25

Hermione had just finalized the guest list for her wedding when she heard a knock at the door. Hermione rushed to the door and whispered, so as not to wake the baby. "Who's there?"

The visitor chuckled and whispered back, "Remus."

Hermione opened the door and gave her old friend with the gentle smile a welcoming hug. "Hi, Remus, how are you? Please, come in."

"Why are we whispering?" Remus asked. When Hermione indicated the baby, he nodded his head. "I need to speak to you about something."

Hermione waved Remus into the kitchen. Setting out the tea, she took her seat. "This sounds serious, Remus. Is everything alright? Is my mother alright?"

Remus grinned. "Slow down. Your mother is fine. I do need to ask you something, though."

Hermione nodded for him to continue.

"You know that I have been seeing her for a while now, Hermione. Your mother and I, well, we love one another." Remus took Hermione's grin as a sign of encouragement and went on.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that she and I aren't getting any younger. She has accepted me and my lycanthropy, regardless of how much I tried to change her mind. She's hard-headed, that one."

Hermione laughed.

"What I'm trying to say – ask is... Hermione, I would like to ask your mother to marry me, and I would very much like your blessing. I know it seems too soon, but like I said, we aren't getting any younger. I, that is, we, would like to start a family together."

Hermione was taken aback. This wasn't at all what she had expected. Sure, she had a feeling that, if Remus and her mother stayed together, they would end up married. But the idea of having a little brother or sister younger than her own daughter was, well, strange.

Remus started to fidget at her silence. Hermione noticed his nervousness and smiled. "Remus, of course you have my blessing. I would be honored to have you as a step-father. You are a kind and gentle soul. My mother is very lucky."

Remus beamed at her. "Thank you, my dear, but I am the lucky one."

"When are you planning to ask her?"

"Tonight. I already have a ring; I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you first. And if she accepts, I am hoping to shoot for next weekend. I don't want to wait too long, and I hope to be married before you and Draco leave for your honeymoon. I don't have to worry about a full moon until the end of the month. I'm actually very excited to help your mother take care of Violet. I haven't had the opportunity to look after an infant since Harry was a baby. Blimey, that was a long time ago."

"You'll be fantastic, Remus. I know my mother will say yes." Hermione's eyes became sad for a moment.

"What is it?" Remus asked, concernedly.

"I've been thinking about my father a lot lately. He was a wonderful man, Remus. Unfortunately he won't be able to walk me down the aisle." Hermione gave Remus a pointed look.

Remus sighed. "Hermione, your wedding will be a beautiful affair. I would gladly do the honors, but your mother will need me. You will not be the only one feeling your father's absence. I'm sorry, Hermione. I just can't leave Susan to herself."

Hermione gave Remus a sad smile. "I understand. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Remus stood. "Well, I must go. I need to see to some dinner reservations. Wish me luck."

"You don't need luck. My mother loves you, Remus."

**********

The following morning, Hermione had just returned from dropping Violet off with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when she heard a tap at her window. She recognized her mother's owl right away.

"Come in, boy." Hermione handed Jupiter an owl treat and untied the scroll. It was simple and said only three words: I said YES.

Hermione beamed. "Well, what do you think of that? My mother is marrying a werewolf. Oh, Jupiter, this world will never cease to amaze me."

Hermione scribbled a quick reply and sent Jupiter on his way. Moments later, there was a knock at her door.

My goodness, I'm popular today, thought Hermione.

Hermione asked who it was and grinned stupidly when she heard Draco's sing-song voice answer, "It's me."

She opened the door wide and threw her arms around him. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. Did you get everything squared away? What's going on?"

"Slow down," Draco said. "Where's Violet? I miss her terribly."

Hermione blushed. "She's with the Weasleys. I had some last minute wedding plans that needed tending to, so Mrs. Weasley offered to watch Violet for a while. I'm terribly sorry. We can go back and get her if you'd like."

"No, no, we'll wait. I can help you with whatever you need helping with."

Hermione beamed at him. "Oh, thank you so much. But, right now, I want to know about your trip."

Draco sat back. He had been in Positano, finalizing the details on the Villa that he signed over to his mother in exchange for the cottage in Hogsmeade. His father had wanted Draco to have both of them, but he felt like the final decision should be his mother's. The cottage was her hideaway, after all. He didn't feel right about taking it right out from under her. He didn't want his father to have the satisfaction of giving Draco something that shouldn't have been his to give in the first place.

"All the details are finalized... Professor." Draco grinned.

"Oh, Draco that's wonder – what did you call me?"

"You know that Hogwarts will need a new Professor for Potions. Now that Severus and my mother will be living in Italy, Severus has decided to retire. They have enough money to live on. Besides, the only reason that Severus was still teaching was because he needed to act as a spy for Voldemort. Now that the little snake is in reptile hell, Sev can do whatever he wants."

"Better not let him hear you call him 'Sev.'" Hermione laughed. "This has really turned into a wonderful day. But, Draco, I think you are being a little presumptuous calling me Professor, though. I need to apply for the job first."

"I'm sure you'll have to fill out a formal application, but Severus has already recommended you for the position."

Hermione stared at him open-mouthed.

"Um, Hermione, you might want to close your mouth. You're creating a vacuum, and my ears are starting to pop." Draco laughed.

Hermione hit him on the arm. "You're joking, right? I mean, Severus Snape has recommended me for the job? I don't believe it."

"Well, it's true. You should be very proud of yourself. You are as clever as you are beautiful, so you will do brilliantly."

"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed again.

Draco wrapped her tightly in his arms. "I better not catch any adolescent, pimply-faced buggers gawking at my wife. I might have to hex someone."

"Oh, Draco, you are so cute when you're jealous. Come on, we have loads to do, and I need to get up to the school so I can talk to Professor Dumbledore."

"That sounds good. We can have lunch at Rosmerta's, and then we can go by the cottage. I really want you to see it. It's spectacular. It's not huge, but it'll be perfect for our little family and, of course, any other children we might want to add to our brood."

"Oh, Draco, do you mean it? You want more children?"

"Of course, I do. I love Violet so much it hurts. I would love to give her a brother or a sister. I never had any siblings, and I was incredibly lonely."

"I know," said Hermione. "I didn't have any siblings either. But, that could change sometime in the near future."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Remus and my mum are getting married. He mentioned that they would like to start a family as well. My mother's only forty years old, so she's still young enough. I think it would be wonderful, actually."

"That is great news. Come here."

"I am here." Hermione giggled.

"No, I mean here," Draco said, patting his lap.

Hermione maneuvered herself until she was sitting across Draco's lap. She turned so that she was straddling him and then wrapped her arms around him again.

Draco brought her face down and kissed her. Soon, the kiss deepened, and Draco wrapped his arms tighter around Hermione's waist.

Draco broke the kiss. "I need to feel you, Hermione. Please, let me feel you."

Hermione's eyes clouded over. She nodded and allowed Draco to pull her t-shirt over her head. Then she, feeling brazen, pulled his shirt off as well. They were skin-on-skin now. Feeling another surge of bravery, Hermione unclasped her bra and let it fall from her shoulders.

Draco, not wanting to miss this perfect opportunity, pulled the bra off of her arms and threw it aside. He gaped at her and whispered, "Beautiful."

Hermione felt her flush creep all the way up her spine. "So are you."

They were kissing again. Draco's hands were all over her. He wasn't sure if she would let him touch her breasts, but he slowly inched his hand toward them. Hermione didn't seem to mind. Quite the contrary – because when he placed his hands on his target, he elicited a soft moan from Hermione.

Draco used the pad of his thumb to rub the hardened nipple of one breast. Hermione protested with a groan when Draco broke free of her mouth. Her moment of exasperation was changed to excitement when Draco trailed kisses down her neck. Draco reached her other nipple, and she squealed when she felt him roll it with his tongue.

"Oh, gods, Draco, I –"

Draco couldn't help but grin. He had rendered the unflappable Hermione Granger speechless. But, Draco knew they had to stop. They had decided they wouldn't have sex until they were married, and he wanted to make sure there were no regrets. He extracted himself from Hermione and looked up at her. His resolve was nearly lost when he took in her disheveled hair and the glazed, passionate look in her eyes.

"Hermione, we have to stop." Draco said, reluctantly.

"What? Why? Don't you, I mean, did I –" Hermione was stammering, and she knew it.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You did everything right. It's just that I made you a promise that we would wait. I don't want to break that promise. I want you, Hermione. I want you so much, but I absolutely will not break my promise to you."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco. "I love you, Draco Malfoy."

"And I love you," Draco said. "But, Hermione you are going to have to get off of me if I intend to keep my promise."

Hermione stood and started to gather their discarded clothing. At that moment, the fireplace came alive, and they both jerked their heads toward the Floo. Before Hermione could make a run for it, Harry's head popped out.

"Hey, Hermione, Ginny's – oh, um, hello, Draco." Harry flushed crimson. "Did I um, interrupt something?"

Hermione had her bare back turned toward Harry, and she squeaked in response.

Draco, on the other hand, was very amused at Harry's discomfort. He slowly walked over to Hermione and took his shirt, which she was clutching tightly to her bare chest. He reached down and picked up her shirt and handed it to her. She nodded her thanks and ran from the room.

"Come on through, Potter."

Draco was slipping his shirt back over his head when Harry stepped through the Floo.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting you to be back until tomorrow."

"It's no problem," said Draco. "Have a seat. What is it that you need?"

Harry sat down on the sofa and frowned. Something was poking him in the leg. He reached down and pulled out Hermione's bra, which had been sticking out from between the cushions. He held it up to Draco. "Um."

Draco turned toward him and grabbed Hermione's bra out of Harry's outstretched hand. Draco took it from him absentmindedly and stuffed it in his pocket. Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Are you sure I'm not interrupting anything?" Harry asked.

"No, we were, uh, finished."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"We didn't do that," Draco spluttered. "Not that I would have to answer to you if we had."

"I didn't say you did," Harry defended.

"Anyway," Draco prompted. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, Ginny finished the design for the invitations. I brought one for Hermione to go over before Gin makes copies." Harry pulled an envelope out of his pocket.

Hermione came back into the room, refreshed and nonchalant. "Did I hear you say you have the invitations?"

"Well, she needs your approval before she copies them." Harry handed her the envelope.

"It was so thoughtful for Ginny to offer to do this for us, Harry. I know Abigail keeps her busy."

"Correction, Hermione: Abigail keeps me busy. Gin was put on bed-rest again, which she hates, so she needed something to do. I swear I'll be glad when this baby is born. I really want my wife back. Sometimes I'd rather have tea with Voldemort than confront a pregnant Ginny. She's right scary, that one."

Hermione grinned at Harry and pulled Ginny's design out of the envelope. She nearly dropped it as tears immediately blurred her vision. "Oh, Ginny."

Draco and Harry exchanged nervous glances. Draco put his had on Hermione's shoulder and seized the invitation from Hermione's shaky fingers.

He noticed the cause of Hermione's reaction in an instant. At the top of the thick parchment, there were two wands emblazoned and touching in the middle. She had spelled them to give a little spark at the wand tips. The wands were drawn in exact replicas of Draco's and Hermione's wands. But, what sparked Hermione's tears were the words that were written underneath:

Mr. and Mrs. Remus Lupin

Please wear a white rose in remembrance of the late John Granger and Lucius Malfoy

Draco froze. "Why would she put my father's –?"

Hermione interrupted him. "It's perfect."

Draco looked into Hermione's eyes, still shining with tears, and smiled. "Yeah, I suppose it is."

A/N: I know – I am a wicked little tease. My husband tells me that all the time.