I own nothing you recognize.
This is an entry for Dramione FanFiction Forum (18+ ONLY) "Do it your way drabble."
Draco looked down at Hermione, barely glancing at her father next to her or her mother behind her, trying not to cry.
"Granger."
"Malfoy," she responded, glancing over his shoulder at Theo and Blaise. They were, as always, dressed impeccably.
"I was starting to think you changed your mind."
"Bit late for that now isn't it?"
"I guess."
"If I was going to back down I never would have said yes."
"Well, still. I know it wasn't what you wanted."
She snorted. How right he was. Nothing about this wedding was what she wanted... With the exception of her parents being here. Turns out that the richest dark family needing you had certain privileges.
Narcissa had insisted on a full society wedding, inviting every witch and wizard from Durmstrang to Hogwarts and a fair few muggles (who knew about magic of course) as well. Hermione was decked out in a dress that screamed: "the designer has never met this girl." The walk down the aisle took five minutes and they weren't exactly walking slow- there were just that many people.
But here she stood, in front of almost two thousand guests, preparing to marry a man she was barely friends with to help him fulfil a centuries old promise that had been triggered when she was tortured in their house.
They found out about it when she was preparing to adopt a war orphan and they came across a minor snag- her betrothed was required to be present to sign papers. Only, she didn't know she was betrothed, so she had no clue who to call to fix it all. She had spent weeks trying to prove she had a right to the documents. Then another few weeks trying to figure out exactly who the strange splatter on the page was representative of.
There had been a pastel rainbow of hues over the word Intended. She had been told it was a visual representation of her magical signature, the lighter shade meaning she had a strong inclination towards lighter magics. The woman describing it had pointed out how the colours stood for different branches of magic and hers seemed mostly well rounded if only a little short on the divination front.
The other magical signature was vibrant, apparently, her Suitor was more neutral in their magical usage. They also had a lacking divination representation.
In fact, the more she learned about them through the signature alone- the more she wanted to get to know them, even as a friend.
Then she dove into the millions of words spelling out the contract. It was a bit slow going as the language slipped between ancient runes, Latin and Olde English. She had sussed out the general terms- she had been welcomed to some space and then harmed. And of course being a medieval contract the assumed desire for a harmed woman was a respectable marriage to save her name. At least she knew it was a male now... that narrowed her search considerably.
Finding out the identity of her suitor had happened by complete chance. She was running into the Auror's office to see if Harry recognized the symbol used to declare the location. In his position, he had learned mapping symbols and offered to look at it and hopefully recognize it.
Unfortunately for her, Draco was his very snarky partner who took great pleasure in ruffling the golden trio's feathers. That day was no exception- he had snatched the parchment from her hand and held it out of reach. He noticed the symbol looked familiar and Harry confirmed it... That was the first symbol marking the Malfoy land.
Ten minutes after that, it was confirmed- his magical signature matched.
The lone single male Malfoy had been offered as repayment for the broken promise made with simple sarcastic words- Welcome to my home, Miss Granger.
Lucius had, understandably, been upset by the forgotten protection of the manor his ancestors had worked into the blessing of the property. He had spent weeks with the best translators and only found worse news- Draco stood to lose far more if she didn't take the marriage.
He stood to lose the land, the Malfoy name and possibly his magic- depending on how the spell enacted revenge on her behalf.
Draco instantly told Hermione that he would concede to her decision either way- he would've had an arranged marriage either way and he understood that perhaps marriage to him, with their past, might be a bit too much to ask.
Hermione had opted for the marriage- there was too much left to chance with the other option.
Narcissa and Lucius had seen this for exactly what it was- an undeserved act of mercy. Better the devil you know. And so, here she stood- vowing to honour her former enemy to save him from something worse.
Her one requirement had been that the reasoning behind the marriage kept secret- only those who already knew would be told. She refused to let her parents know the circumstances and to keep it from them meant to keep it from everyone. Lucius had taken care of any loose ends as they came up- he was a master at coverup.
Draco had requested that she, in turn, give him a chance and an heir for the family. She agreed to both- after all, her family wanted grandkids. His addition to their agreement had thus-far gone well- she felt she would fall in love, probably sooner than she expected. They got along rather well and he could be quite funny when you weren't the one being picked on.
She offered a tight smile as her father handed her off to the love of her life, telling her how happy he was that she was here- even if the wedding was way too over the top. He missed the hidden meaning of the conversation with Draco and that suited her just fine.