DISCLAIMER : I do not own any of the characters or the series. If I did, Hermione and Draco would already be married with intelligent, curly haired, grey eyed babies. _ !
Hermione stood in front of the mirror, taking in her own reflection. Light sifted in through the window on the second floor of the Burrow. Below, she could hear noises of the tents being set up and people bustling around. Just then, Ginny burst in, carrying a long package wrapped in delicate tissue. She beamed excitedly, "Oh my God, Hermione, you already look so great!"
Fleur and her mother had handled her makeover. Her normally bushy, unruly hair had been transformed into flowing tresses that curled lightly over her shoulder and hung down her back. They'd decided to use a light shade of beige on her face, to suit her skin tone. Her cheeks had been dusted with rose colored blush in a way that it looked natural. Her eye shadow had just a tinge of silver, so it made her eyes sparkle.
Ginny unwrapped the cover to reveal her wedding gown and they helped her put it on. It was a sleeveless white gown that molded against her waist and bloomed at the hem, spreading around her like a pool of fine lace. All three of them gasped at once. "Darling, you look BEAUTIFUL." Her mother said, with tears in her eyes, "I can't believe my little girl is getting married today."
Hermione gulped, trying her hardest not to respond to the emotion in her mother's voice. "Thanks, mom" she whispered, concentrating on Fleur rearranging her hair for the umpteenth time, muttering about some hairstyling tips she had read up on. "Do you need anything, Hermione?"Ginny asked. She'd been the perfect maid of honour so far, attentive to her every need. She'd even got Hermione some Honeydukes chocolate, knowing that it was her favourite and would help calm down any wedding jitters. The door opened with a slight creak, revealing Luna and Harry. "Oh, you look great, Hermione." Luna said dreamily, waving her hand in a gesture that Hermione had to suppose was something to wish her good luck. Harry beamed as he walked up to her and hugged her tightly "You look amazing, Hermione."
"Careful with ze dress, Harry." Fleur pointed out crossly. Harry shrugged apologetically and turned to Mrs. Granger. "Mr. Granger said he needed your help with the camera. Said he lost the roll of film again." She rolled her eyes and marched off to find her husband and berate him for insisting on the century old camera.
"Speaking of which, your husband to be cleans up well. He's got a set of decent looking dress robes this time around too." Harry joked. Hermione felt her heart beat weirdly at the thought to Ron, standing down the aisle, looking at her and smiling his familiar, happy smile. Fleur got up to go and Luna followed her, tactfully leaving Hermione with her two best friends. "So, how are you feeling, Hermione?"
"Nervous. I wasn't even this nervous when I faced a bunch of death eaters."
Ginny laughed, "It's just jitters. It'll be alright when you're standing at the beginning of the aisle and see his face. The whole world melts away then and it's just the two of you." She took Harry's hand and lovingly squeezed it. Her gold wedding band glinted in the sunlight. They had been married for three years now. "You and Ron are perfect for each other." She continued.
"Ron's feeling the same was as you right now. He's nervous too. But Molly's probably the most flustered of us all. I saw her inspecting every single particle of food and making sure that the chairs were turned in the right direction to the correct degree." Hermione smiled weakly while feeling a sinking feeling growing in her stomach as the hour got closer. Below, the sound of the guests arriving intensified and she could imagine Fred, Percy and Charlie ushering them in. Neville and Hannah had already been to see her, as well Hagrid, who had to be lead out of the room by Aberforth while he wept profusely into an impossibly tiny scrap of handkerchief.
She enquired about the wedding arrangements for a while until Ginny glanced at the time. "Half an hour to go!" She squeaked, handing Hermione her bouquet and scrutinizing her appearance, pushing Harry out of room to go check on the guests. One of the flower girls, a red headed Weasely, started wailing loudly when she was told she could not eat the flowers in her basket. While Ginny tried pacifying the child, Hermione said, "Why don't you take her for a walk? She'll calm down and you too. You're too tense! I'm actually telling you this, instead of the other way around!"
Ginny looked conflicted. "I wouldn't mind being alone for a while, as well." She added so that her best friend wouldn't feel guilty about leaving her alone. She sat down and looked expectantly at Ginny.
"Alright then, five minutes. I'll go check on the minister."
Hermione exhaled as she left. She sat still, absorbing the quiet in the room. She'd been up at the crack of dawn, with people bustling around her and watching her every move, Molly especially trying to feed her mountains of food, while fending off Ron's attempts to see her before the wedding. She had taken the whole thing with extreme calm. It was a useful gift, not feeling anything in situations that would make others nervous. It had helped keep her wits about her even during the war. She got up and paced around the room as the band somewhere below struck up a pretty tune.
She was getting married today. She had never had any dreams of a fairytale wedding like some of the other girls had. She'd been far too busy reading but today, she was getting married to the guy of her dreams. Like in the ending of some of the books she had read over the years. He was the person she knew and loved so well. Or was he? She felt a small twinge of doubt and paced faster, as if to shake of her thoughts. Everyone had exclaimed how happy she must be to be getting married but somehow, she didn't feel the way she was supposed to be feeling. Where was the characteristic elation at the prospect of marrying the man you loved?
As the wedding date had approached, the strange feeling in her gut had started growing stronger. It had started out as a small thing, a sudden random thought her subconscious had thrown at her, but now, its existence was too strong to be ignored. The worst part was, every time she tried to talk to someone about it, the words didn't seem to leave her mouth. She felt unsettled and couldn't relax. They all assumed it was the nerves, but she knew herself well enough to know it was something more. She stopped in front of the mirror and looked at herself again.
She had all the right reasons to marry Ron- he loved her, they were best friends as well as well as lovers and she felt comfortable by his side. She loved him, she didn't doubt that. Then why did she feel that it wasn't enough? Why did she feel like she was making a mistake? Was it all happening too fast? No, it had been five years since the war had ended and twelve since she and Ron had first met on the Hogwarts Express.
Shaking her head, it suddenly struck her that if she were standing in front of a mirror, analyzing her feelings just minutes away from her wedding, something was really wrong. As the realization dawned on her, she saw her own terrified expression in the mirror. "I can't do this" she said aloud, confirming her fears. She backed away. She stood, stunned for a moment. Outside, the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder and Hermione felt a sudden overwhelming sense of panic. She couldn't go through with it. She couldn't do it. She grabbed her bag and taking a last look at the door, disapparated, leaving her bouquet to fall to the floor.
A/N- This is my first Dramione fic and my first fic in a loong time. Reviews would be much appreciated !