A/N: I've edited this chapter and am in the process of going over the rest. It seems I'm having some sort of love affair with commas and long sentences because my writing is littered with them, so I'm trying to tidy things up a bit.

I also realise that there are literally hundreds of Draco/Hermione stories out there but I promise that this one is different and I hope you give it a go.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not a figment of my imagination, that would be J.K Rowling's.

Summary: It was as if a heavy load had been dropped upon her shoulders and she couldn't stop the tears streaming from her eyes. Legally bound...There was a sharp intake of breath from behind them. "Is it, is it...are they?" Narcissa said, rising from her chair and stepping towards the window. "Yes. They are married."

This story is non HBP & DH compatible, as much as I loved the books. It's Harry, Ron and Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore is still alive, as is Voldemort. The idea just popped up in my head this afternoon and I thought I'd give it a go, so here it is.

Prologue

Rain was lashing down against the windows. A crash of thunder shook the building as a fork of lightening streaked down from the storm clouds gathered far above. A tree burned in a field in the distance, smoke rising up and merging into the darkness, an omen in itself.

The room was one of grandeur, yet under the cloak of darkness it was cold and menacing. Shadows lurked in the corners and a draught was spilling in from the fireplace, biting at their toes. For some reason no one was in a hurry to light a fire.

A figure shuffled nervously from foot to foot in front of one the rain soaked windows, his outline stark against the backdrop. There was a distinct sound of a cough as someone cleared their throat, as soon as it had been heard it vanished just as quickly into the thick silence that lined the walls. "S-shall we begin?"

Another flash of lightening illuminated the room, and the speaker jumped once again with anxiety. His head was bowed as if he were afraid, perhaps chasing a band of renegade Blast-Ended Skrewts was more appealing than what he had to do now.

"Yes, yes, minister," came a voice from the shadows as Lucius Malfoy emerged from the darkness, his cloak swishing out behind him. "Lets just get this questionable charade over and done with. And quickly," he added bitterly. His lips were curled in obvious distaste, he made no attempt to hide it.

The minister nodded eagerly in response, clapping his hands together. His head bobbing up and down like that made him look like a rag doll. "As you wish, Mr. Malfoy," he said with a small bow. "Now before we proceed, there are just a few legal matters that need to be s-settled," he said, faltering as he made the mistake of looking up. Four pairs of unblinking eyes were staring back, large crystal orbs in the moonlight. "It is standard practice. You do, of course, want this union to be legally binding in the eyes of the Ministry, do you not?

The question hung in the air. "Of course, minister." Narcissa's answered eventually, her voice quiet but firm. Her pale face was passive, her long hair hanging like a shining curtain around her face. Her hands fidgeted absent-mindedly in her lap, but her gaze kept straying to one of the cloaked figures, her precious son.

More thunder crashed and the minister spoke in hushed tones with Narcissa and Lucius, as if for the time being they had forgotten of the two standing behind them who heard every word. She'd been watching it all, hardly believing that it was happening, that she was here in the home of her enemy. She couldn't even begin to process what was supposed to happen next.

The moment was stretched long and thin; an endless piece of string. The hood itched at her face and her hands trembled, probably blue from the cold. It felt like an eternity before they had finished their agreement.

"Fantastic." The minister beamed as he removed a wand from his robes. There was a small flash of light and a small table appeared between them all. "Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy, if you two could just step over here for a moment please?"

It wasn't a request, but an order. He seemed to have more confidence now that things were underway.

The two remaining figures that had yet to move stepped forward abruptly from the back of the room where they had been waiting silently. Hermione felt her heart beating against her chest like the death march of a drum. It hammered in her ears and she thought she might go deaf.

"Now I need both of you to sign..."

The rain lashed harder against the window and Hermione shuddered, trying to ignore the nauseating feeling rising from her stomach as his words washed over her. She dared not look anywhere but at her feet, wondering if she just thought hard enough that a hole would open underneath her and swallow her up, so she could avoid what it was she was about to do.

She felt him move forward, heard him exchange words that she did not understand, and then the fatal, faint scratching of ink against parchment.

A quill was thrust into her hand, someone wrapped her fingers around it and she forced herself to look up. An unfamiliar pair of blue eyes that were far harder than the voice gave reason to belief met her own. There was no hole to take her away, she really had to do this. She'd promised. But that didn't mean he had to do it.

Please, she thought desperately as she stared into his eyes, hoping he could understand what she couldn't say, please don't make me do this.

But the minister looked away quickly, ashamed, and all her hope was lost.

Hand quivering, and exerting more control than she knew she possessed to stop herself from bolting, Hermione shakily bent down over the table, signing on the line that a finger was pointing at. She took her time writing her name slowly, hoping for the chance that she would be able to read exactly what it was she was signing. But a shadow prevented her from reading anything and she was lost in the dark, left to wonder.

The moment she was done, the parchment was snatched from under her fingers and with a muttered word and the flash from his wand, it disappeared into thin air. The quill slipped from her fingers and clattered on the table.

It was as if a heavy load had been dropped upon her shoulders. Legally bound...

There was a sharp intake of breath from behind them. "Is it, is it...are they?" Narcissa said, rising from her chair and stepping towards the window, her eyes now fixed on the smallest cloaked figure, on Hermione.

"Yes."

She nodded quickly, a watery smile spreading across her lips. "Good. Good," she muttered again, more firmly than she had the first time.

Hermione didn't flinch as the older woman came to stand in front of her, but she couldn't stop her shoulders from shaking. It was so cold. Please don't be true, please say it's not so. That couldn't have been all there was to it. She'd been expecting so much more, it couldn't be over yet. There had to be more before it were true.

"Show me your hand."

Obligingly, Hermione lifted up her left hand, not daring to look. Maybe, just maybe-

Narcissa gasped. "Lucius, Lucius...the ring!" Her eyes slammed shut as she willed the tears to disappear. She couldn't bear the thought of them seeing her crying. She was made of stronger stuff than that.

"Well what did you expect," Lucius said coldly from in front of the window, a glass of fire whiskey twinkling in his stiff hand. "Our son, and the mudblood Granger are now married." He spat the last word out, and then downed his whiskey in one. The glass smashed against the wall exploding in a reflection of his anger, and without another word, he strode from the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

Married. The word swam around in her head like a torrent. She felt dizzy, disgusted, but more than anything scared. She willed herself to look up to the cloaked figure that stood motionless beside her, but Draco Malfoy did not look down at her. Instead he remained as he was, stood as still as a stone statue - she wouldn't have been surprised to find that he had died from shock.

Aware that his mother was watching her, Hermione returned her gaze to the floor and wondered what would happen next.

Narcissa spoke first. "I think a drink is in order minister, don't you?" She called for a house elf before he could protest and moments later four glasses appeared on the table in front of them, along with a round bottle of a violently red liquid that Hermione had never seen before. For once, she didn't protest about house-elf rights. S.P.E.W seemed like a childish hobby compared to what she was facing now.

An expression of confusion flicked across the ministers face briefly, the situation was more bizarre than he had anticipated, but he dared not insult Narcissa and he replaced it with a diplomatic smile. He kept his eyes fixed on the glasses as he poured, not sure if he had done the right thing. There was good reason, he kept telling himself. There had to be.

They each took a glass each, and Hermione lifted it to her nose finding it to smell quite pleasant, like honey and vanilla.

"A toast," the minister said raising his glass, "to Mr and Mrs Malfoy." He inclined his head towards Draco and Hermione, then downed his drink in one as lightening flashed fiercer than ever behind him. The others followed suit, Hermione didn't even flinch as it trailed down her throat like icy daggers. It was the beginning of the end.

The drink had revived Draco from his silent revirve. "Mother," he said, his voice hoarse and more strained than Hermione had ever heard it, "would you get her" his empty glass indicating to whom he referred, "out of my sight. And you," he snarled at the minister as he poured himself another drink from the bottle, "had better get out of this house before I do something I won't regret."

Hermione stood motionless as his words hit her, but before she could protest or say anything in retaliation that she too was just as angry, if not more than him, he had turned his back on her. Narcissa grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the room. She let herself be led, one foot falling silently in front of the other down a dimly lit corridor, wondering for the thousandth time how she, the cleverest witch in her year, had found herself married to Draco Malfoy. Worse, with no idea why.