Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England – 24 December, 2012, Evening

"I knew I'd find you here."

Hermione turned suddenly at the familiar voice, and accidentally bumped into a bushel of Wisteria hanging low from the vine above her head.

"Did you expect me anywhere else on tonight, of all nights?" she quipped back, smiling.

Coming to her side and gathering her into his arms, Draco held her to his heart, giving her his abiding warmth once again. "I hate parties, too," he admitted with a sigh. "I'd much rather stay out here with you."

She chuckled. "This time, though, it's not just a simple Christmas party we'd be ducking out on, but our own wedding reception. No matter how I may share your sentiment, husband dearest, we can't leave our guests waiting on us for too long."

He leaned back and started down at her with those lovely grey eyes that were the same colour as the moonlight far above their heads. "Sod them," he smirked, waggling his eyebrows. "I intend to make you mine right here. You're my wife now, and this place, this Christmas Eve... it's all ours."

His words made things in Hermione's belly flutter with excitement, and she feeling a bit reckless, she nodded eagerly. Yes, sod their guests… they could wait a little longer for them to arrive and cut the cake. The world outside was something to be ignored just then, especially within the fantasy of the Wisteria garden, anyway. Here... here was where magic happened, and anything was possible.

Reaching into his robes, Draco pulled out his wand, and with a wave and a spell spoken under his breath, the loose Wisteria petals were gathered together from all up and down the tunnel to form a soft bed for them to lay back into. That done, he tossed his wand aside, and pressed a kiss to Hermione's lips - one that stole her breath. It was a claiming, mingled with the promise of forever, and she couldn't help but wonder for just a second if this was the kiss that he might have given her that night back in their sixth year at school, if things had been different between them then...

Slipping her fur wrap off her shoulders, and her silken wedding dress up her thighs, Draco claimed her for the first time as her husband, right there, under the enchanted blossoms of their Wisteria garden, on the most magical night of the year.

Christmas Eve would always be theirs.

~FIN~