It was nearly 10 pm and Harry and Ginny had managed to escape the celebrations. They wanted to be alone for a bit. They wanted to celebrate their own relationship. They wanted... each other.

There was a secluded part of the garden that contained the only gravel path for miles around, lots of wonderfully scented flowers in full bloom and benches hidden in alcoves formed by box hedge.

They were sitting on a bench, kissing each other senseless. Nothing would stop them. They would spend this night like their best friend was going to do, engaged in passion without boundaries or common sense. They would be finding in each other what they had been looking for. Tonight was the night!

Raised voices were drifting to them on the wind. They didn't hear them. Footsteps approaching on the other side of the eight feet high hedge alluded them. The world contained only two people, Harry and...

"Will you stop running away, for Merlin's sake!"

"I'll run as much as I like!"

"Oh, no, you are not running away from me!"

Struggling could be heard. There was the sound of somebody shrieking. Somebody female.

"Let go off me!"

"I don't think so!"

Harry slowly surfaced and was wondering for a moment, if he could be dreaming about somebody fighting next to him while kissing his girlfriend at the same time.

"You are my wife!"

"Yes, but not your prisoner!"

His eyes met Ginny's. She was also back in the cold world of reality and looked at him with alarm written all over her face.

"You are not going to spend our wedding night at Weasel's house!"

"I'll spend my nights where ever I want to."

"Oh, no, you are not!"

"Watch me!"

More struggling, bordering on a fight by the sounds of it.

"Let me go or I'll..."

"What? What will you do? Hex me?"

"Bite you."

A male voice suddenly yelped in pain.

"How dare you bite your husband?"

Ginny was still looking at Harry. They could both see what the other was thinking, Hermione and Malfoy? Fighting already?

"I never chose you. I never would!"

"Your father seemed to think that I was okay."

"You weren't even born when your mother bound me to you."

"You are still mine."

"In your dreams..."

A rather ominous silence fell. The couple forced to listen carefully faced the hedge behind them. Both wondering what was going on behind the green barrier.

"Are you telling me that I haven't been in your dreams? That you haven't been all too willing to welcome me and my..."

"That's disgusting!"

"You might think that, but I assure you that you will be asking for more once I have shown you would it means to..."

"I'll never EVER do anything like that with you!"

"Oh, yes you will. If not tonight, then tomorrow or the night after that. It won't be long and you will be begging me to show you the secrets of married life."

"How would you know about married life? Have you practised? With Pansy probably?"

There was a growling sound. Two heads turned to check the moon with anticipation. It wasn't full moon. Sighs of relief.

The hedge was shaken as if somebody was pressed into it.

"You are my wife and as such you have to share my bed."

"We don't live in the Dark Ages any more. I'm not your property. Or your slave!"

"Your love for me will chain you to my bed."

Gasping.

"I knew it was a mistake to tell you that I had any feelings for you."

No reply. Harry was surveying the pebbles on the path. There was no way they could just quietly slip away. They would be heard in any case.

"But you can't deny that you love me! And you can't deny that you have been wanting to shag me senseless."

Another gasp.

"How dare you!"

"I am bound to you for the rest of eternity and I will have you. In my life and my bed!"

"I couldn't care less what you want! I am not going to spend the rest of my existence in that House of Horrors you call home. Whatever you say I'll not spend a single night there!"

"You'll go where I go. You are my wife."

"I seem to have to repeat myself, Malfoy, but I am NOT your bloody slave."

"If you truly loved me you would want to be with me. Regardless of where that should happen to be."

"And if YOU truly loved me, you wouldn't behave like a Neanderthaler and take my feelings into consideration. It would be important for you to make sure I'm happy where you want me to spend my wedding night."

"What is so special about this night anyway?"

There was no answer.

The listeners were wondering what was happening as a rather calmed down Draco was heard saying, "You should have told me."

"Why?" The answer was as soft as barbed wire.

"I would have..."

"No, you wouldn't! It wouldn't have made any difference whatsoever. You would have behaved exactly the same way. Pushing your weight about and trying to intimidate me into submitting to your sordid games. I got news for you, it didn't work! You can't intimidate me any longer. You might have been able to do that at school, but after that day... Your number was up."

Silence.

"Please, Hermione."

Was his voice actually sounding like he was pleading with her?

"I'll find a divorce lawyer and get this farce annulled right now! I must have been out of my mind thinking there might be something worthy enough in you for me to make the effort to try and find it."

The hedge was moving again. Somebody was extracting herself or himself from it.

"You are not worth my time, Draco Malfoy!"

There was a sharp -crack- of somebody apparating and then nothing but silence. Until the very quiet sobbing started.

Harry got up slowly pulling Ginny with him.

"We need to check on Hermione." He whispered.

"Are you sure, it's her on the other side?" Was the murmured answer.

He looked at her, then at the hedge.

"You don't think that's him, do you?"

She shrugged.

"Draco?"

Another female could suddenly be heard. The young wizard recognised it as Mrs. Malfoy.

"Let's go!"

They walked as careful as they could through the flowerbeds. The last thing the needed after having had to listen to the row of the newly wed couple was the groom sobbing and probably being given a piece of her mind by his mother.

Harry and Ginny didn't even made it back to the celebrations before they were ambushed by Mrs. Weasley, who demanded to be told where they were thinking they would be going. Neither was quick enough with an answer and so the they found themselves assigned to assist the older members of the family to floo or side along apparate safely home. Nothing they tried made any difference. They were told, that they had had their share of fun for the day and would no be make themselves useful.

"And there was me thinking I could have you alone for a bit." Harry complained as they were looking for great-uncle Norris.

"We should have gone to my room as I suggested." Ginny shot back.

"And being found by Hermione and Malfoy? No thanks!"

"Why do you think they would be going to spend the night here?"

Harry sighed.

"We know now that that is not going to happen, but I would have bet that them two would have been way too keen and would have tried to just find a room to... be alone..."

Before Ginny could answer they had found the man they were looking for and for the time being forgot about their best friend, her fight and anything else as they were trying to persuade the drunk as a skunk eighty year old that it was time to go home.

Narcissa Malfoy had seen her son and new daughter-in-law slip away a while ago. She was now looking for them to see, if she could say goodnight to them before she left or if they were to occupied with each other.

The garden seemed to be a compartmentalised attempt to taming the wilderness surrounding the Weasley family home. On her left was an eight foot hedge, on her right an array of flowerbeds, the path in the middle was covered in shredded bark. It muffled any sound her steps might have been making otherwise.

She smiled to herself as she was thinking of the fact that her boy had finally got somebody at his side. Over time the young witch would make him see what had been missing in his life so far. She would teach him... Sobbing interrupted her thoughts. She tried to penetrate the dim light created by the occasional lantern. There was a figure slumped down on the path some twenty feet ahead of her.

"Draco?"

The sobbing grew louder as she approached. Now she saw that it wasn't her son but daughter-in-law that was huddled there amongst the greenery.

"Dear?"

The older woman bent down and gently caressed the back of the sobbing girl before her.

"What has happened? What has he done now?"

Hermione looked up and was surprised to find his mother bent over her. She scrambled to her feet trying to smooth her dress down as much as she could. Two hands were placed lightly onto her shoulders. She didn't know what to say.

"You have had a fight, haven't you?"

She could only nod. To her surprise she felt herself pulled into a gently embrace. Her mother-in-law seemed to understand what had happened.

"He has been trying to either push, bully or intimidate you into doing something you don't want to do. Am I right?"

It was uncanny how good this woman knew the son, she had tried so hard to protect all his life.

"He has ordered me to stay at the Manor with him." Hermione swallowed heavily. "I can't do that. Not after what happened."

"I suspect, he has been trying to convince you otherwise in his less than subtle ways."

An exhausted nod was the only reply.

"I think, we should have a talk. Don't you?"

Hermione wasn't sure, but at least as long as she was with his mother he couldn't suddenly ambush him and try to force her to accept his decision after all.

The two women walked a short distance to the next bench. Sitting down, the shadows swirling around them could have made the casual observer miss them sitting there all together.

"My son is far too often behaving too like his father. He has never really been privy to the subtle and intimate interactions that normally happen between a couple. He has never seen the way a loving couple acts. I was alas never able to teach him. His father saw to it. After I saved my son from his clutches he never let me have any real part when it came to the upbringing of his precious heir. He despised the fact, that Draco would be a free man or as free as a bound man could be.

Lucius had already decided that his son would be marrying the daughter of his dear friend Parkinson. Even before he was born, plans had been made for the life of my son. I couldn't allow that. You were a gift sent to protect my son. Alas you turned out to be a witch and not the Muggle girl I had hoped for."

Narcissa sighed.

"I have been trying to tell him time and again that he will sooner or later have to face the world again. That he should go out and meet people, meet girls. He refused. After they took his father to Azkaban he didn't really want to go out any longer. He declined all and every invitation that ever came for him. He was determined not to get involved with the world. He didn't want to be involved with anybody, especially not any girls.

I suspect that is due to the fact that he knew only the pureblood high society kind his father made sure he met. He might have been more inclined to date, if he would have had somebody like yourself as an acquaintance."

Hermione coughed.

"Draco would have never wanted anything to do with me. I was so far beneath him. He always looked down on me."

"Oh, he had to change his mind about you some years ago..."

The young witch looked at the older one.

"Did he?"

"Of course, dear. He has been punched only once by a girl. Only once..."

He had changed his mind about her after that punch? That really was years ago!

"You see, he had to face up to the fact that you were his equal. He wasn't used to that. It has riled him quite a bit over the years. It kept him on his toes. You will be fine as his wife, dear. If anybody can tame my dragon, you can."

Was there pride in her voice? Hermione wasn't sure. She still tried to come to terms with the fact that her mother-in-law actually thought that she was the right girl for Draco. It was a really odd situation. She was talking to his mother and not him. She was being encouraged to stick it out and make sure he didn't do anything stupid like leaving her.

"Mrs. Malfoy..."

"Please, dear, don't call me that! It reminds me too much of the days when I had to content with a heartless husband and a name I didn't want to bear. Call me...," she hesitated, "Mother if you can or Narcissa, if you can't."

Silence. Hermione wasn't capable of to answer. There must have been some kind of alternative universe that had swallowed her without her noticing. She tried to get her head around what she had just been told. She was allowed to call Mrs. Malfoy, the wife of Lucius Malfoy and the mother of the heir to name, estate and fortune of the House of Malfoy Mother?

"I... thank you." Was all she finally managed to mutter.

"You are welcome..." There was a pause. "May I call you Hermione?"

"Of course."

"Thank you and now I think it is time you go and find that reluctant husband of yours."

Hermione was about to say that there was no way to entice her to look for the twisted bastard, but she found herself suddenly alone within the garden. She blink. Where had her mother-in-law vanished to? She had been here a minute ago...

She sighed. Might as well turn in. She was halfway back to the Burrow when she realised that this was supposed to be her wedding night. She was supposed to enjoy passion and unbridled physicality with her husband. Husband! She snorted. Regardless of the hopes of his mother Hermione was determined to get their marriage annulled tomorrow morning first thing. At least she could claim it never having been consummated. That should speak in her favour, if nothing else did.