Hi readers! This is my first ever story and this time, I plan on finishing it haha! So first off a little warning, this obviously isn't a Ron/Hermione but a Hermione/OC turned Hermione/Draco so to all Draco-Hermione fans out there, get ready for a real treat! This is a slow paced love story so don't worry about things going too fast (oops that sounded redundunt) but anyway, hope you enjoy!
xx Helena
It was a beautiful Sunday morning as the first rays of the sun shone upon her sleeping figure. Her face was an epitome of chaos: mascara remains streaked her face, lipstick smudged, and what was a day ago a beautiful messy bun embellished with pearls and diamonds now fit for a bird's nest.
"Wake up, sunshine." Ginny gently nudges her. Hermione groans in reply. "You have to eat breakfast." Hermione opens her right eye and closes it just as quickly.
"It's too bright," Hermione complains. "Put down the blinds."
"Herms, it wouldn't make you feel any better to stop eating. Come on." Receiving no response from her, Ginny sits at the foot of the bed. Upon feeling the added pressure on her bed, Hermione slowly sits up, showing the full extent of chaos in her life as of the moment. She hugs her best friend as sobs plagued her heart once again.
"Shh, let it all out, darling. Let it all out." Ginny soothes her.
Hermione weeps on and on as events of the previous night come back to her like little silver bullets to her heart.
It was a beautiful day, to say the least. Hermione stayed up at the bridal suite of the Hilton hotel all day along with her maid of honor, Ginny and her mother, Jean (excluding of course all the make-up artists, and the hired wedding planner.) The designated photographer named Angelica had already started taking still-life photos of the shoes, the wedding dress and other miscellaneous objects. The female entourage was due at the church in less than an hour and Hermione, in 30 minutes. This was a cause of panic to the whole group in the spacious room. People were dashing to and fro to retrieve something from somewhere; back and forth people went. Hermione was sitting there, so still, overwhelmed with all the activity. She remained that way to the minute everyone but her maid of honor and her make-up artist left.
"Hermione, are you okay? We really have to fix you right now." Ginny tells her urgently. Hermione looks up at her and nods her head in approval. They quickly proceed to the bedroom where a chair waits to be seated on, facing away from the big mirror behind. The make-up artist rushes just a bit, but with accuracy and precision. In the artist's head, the bride had to be extremely beautiful; nothing should ruin this festive day.
A few minutes pass and already the make-up is done. "Done so fast?" Hermione worries.
"You look beautiful, darling. Trust the expert." The artist, Rosella, simply states.
Ginny enters the room searching something in her bag but was stopped in her tracks as she stares at the face of her best friend. "Hermione…" she gasps. "You're beautiful!" Hermione, feeling a sense of excitement, turns to have a glance at her face. Hermione too gasps.
Who is that? Hermione asks herself. That couldn't be me. She's too beautiful. The woman in the reflection had on simple make-up. The lips were a soft pink and the cheeks with a gentle blush. A little beige eye shadow made the brown eyes pop. Hermione tries to touch it, to see if it was really herself she was looking it. Unfortunately, Rosella gently slaps her hand away. "Don't ruin it, darling, I'm begging you." Hermione could do nothing but smile a Cheshire cat smile. Already, her happiness was spilling over their limits. She dashes to the dressing room inside the walk-in closet to put on her wedding dress.
Ginny and Rosella wait outside the closed doors, pacing anxiously. Ginny, worried that they might be late, and Rosella, worried that Hermione will smudge her make-up even before they make it out of the bridal suite.
The door slowly opens to reveal what they would have mistaken as a princess at first glance. There, Hermione Jean Granger stands, in a Vera Wang wedding dress. A simple dress with lace that covers her from clavicle to wrist, with a little skin exposed in a v-neck that ends just above her cleavage. The lace continues to a train about a foot long trailing gracefully behind her.
Ginny and Rosella starts to tear up. "Gorgeous, darling. Gorgeous. I guess Mr. Nathan is a very lucky fella, don't you think?" winks Rosella. Ginny walks over to Hermione and gives her a great big hug, careful though as not to ruin her hair and Hermione's hair. Ginny pulls away and smiles at her best friend. "My best friend, finally getting married. I'm going to miss our single moments together, Hermione. I really will" with that, she hugs her best friend once more.
"Don't forget the final piece!" exclaims Rosella, handing the best friend Hermione's veil. Ever so gently, Ginny attaches the comb at the top of Hermione's messy bun and fixes the upper layer of the veil to cover her face. Hermione grabs her bouquet.
"Let's go."
By open carriage, they proceed to the Sacred Heart Church where all their family and friends would be witnessing their eternal bond. The crisp wind blowing from the ocean was enough to cool the anxious Hermione down, but not so much as to ruin her look. The sky starts to take different shades as sunset sets in. The final rays of the sun illuminate leaves from behind, making them majestically glow their vibrant colors. People in the streets would stop and stare at the wife-to be. Hermione smiles and waves at the little girls who tell their mommy "Mommy, look, it's a princess!"
The church grows bigger and bigger as they close the distance between them. Already, the church bells were tolling. Hermione, who was happy one second, suddenly becomes surprised the next. She could see her guests start to file out of the church, family-by-family, and friend-by-friend. Others get into their cars as fast as possible, avoiding whatever might happen. Some people glanced at the approaching carriage and give Hermione those "I'm sorry" look in their eyes. Hermione glances at her best friend who glances back at her, both of them mirroring each other's cluelessness and fear.
Ginny jumps down even before the carriage came to a full stop, risking her life considering how high the carriage door is from the ground. She then risks her heels and runs to the closest group of people to them and fortunately it was Harry and Ron with their other Hogwarts friends Neville, Seamus, Dean, Lavander, etc. Hermione patiently waits in the carriage, staring at the group of friends, trying to make out their expressions hoping that it would give a clue to what was happening.
Seconds pass by and then minutes. Each second passed sounded like a bell toll in her ears. It got louder and louder until she could not take it anymore. She steps down the carriage slowly, and has her friends chasing her as she rushes inside the church. She stares at the altar where her fiancée was seated on the altar steps, his face buried in his hands.
"Nathan." She whispers. Nathan looks up at Hermione, giving away nothing from his expression.
"I can't do it, Hermione. I just can't do it." He says, exasperated.
Hermione was speechless. She started to feel the lump in her throat, that dreadful, heavy feeling in a broken heart and the stinging of her eyes as tears start to well up. "But why?" she whispers, so only Nathan could hear.
"Because I'm not ready, Hermione. I couldn't take it! People were already asking me about children. Children, Hermione! I'm not freaking ready to give away my life, my career to little rascals! I'm not going to sit down anymore and flash that fake smile to everyone who seems to have planned our lives better than we did together. I am not going to pretend to be on the same page as everyone else is." He stands up quickly, surprising Hermione making her take a step back. He towers over her by several inches that Hermione feels so small standing in front of him.
"I thought we already settled this, Nathan." Hermione says, "We should listen but not internalize it, right?"
"Well, I'm sorry, Hermione, but the thing is it is easier said than done. Don't you realize? It's not only our friends and our coworkers. It's also our families!"
"Please, Nathan. You…"
"No, Hermione. I'm not ready to give up my life just yet." And with that, he walks past her. Before he could get out though, Mr. Granger stops him. "You're going to pay for breaking my daughter's heart and wasting my precious time, you hear me, lad?" Nathan stares at him bewildered then just stalks out.
Everyone is silent. It took a minute before anyone could move. All of them turned to look at Hermione, who was already having breathing difficulties. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" she shouts over and over, clutching the thin cloth on her chest. Everyone runs to her aid, Harry supporting her right side, Ron on the left. Ginny holds on to Hermione's hand and whispers soothing words to her best friend. Mr. Granger directs the boys to the car to bring her back to the bridal suite.
All the helpers and the bride enter the bridal suite. Hermione runs into the bedroom, followed by Ginny. The rest were left outside, in the living room, not being able to do anything but wait.
Unfortunately for the abandoned bride, a bottle of champagne sits in a bucket filled with ice atop the dresser. Beside it a single stem Rose and a card that says "Congratulations on your wedding!" Hermione screams the loudest she has ever had in her whole life, causing Ginny and the whole troupe outside to panic. Hermione grabs the bottle and throws it across the room. The smashing of glass alerts the boys who break down the door to see what was going on. The scene was depressing and fear-inducing: Ginny stands at the corner of the room, trying to avoid the objects flying around the room caused by Hermione's uncontrolled magic powered by anger. Hermione was a mess, with her veil falling down in the process of her tirades, the pearls and diamonds that adorned her hair just minutes ago had fallen down one by one due to her excessive moving and her discarded bouquet, with which the petals have shed and left the stem naked.
"Hermione! Stop!" Harry tried to tell her.
"Honey, please. This can't go on forever." Tells her father.
"Herms, please, calm down." Ron soothes looking at his feet, trying to avoid seeing the broken mess that was Hermione Granger. He looks up and ducks just in time as a paperweight heads straight to where his head used to be. "Blimey, Mione. Let us calm you down!"
"Hermione, please listen to us. Please." Ginny says with a shaky voice.
Hermione falls to her knees and starts to cry, letting out all the anger and sadness in those little drops of salty water.
It was all she could do now to numb the pain a little: sleep and cry. Ginny had retreated to the kitchen to get Hermione a glass of water. Hermione decides to take her first step off the bed to see her in the bathroom mirror. The first steps on the tile floor made her go rigid because of its coldness. She walked slowly at first and then faster until she was walking in normal speed. She enters the bathroom and gets greeted by colder tile floors. She steps on the mat in front of the sink and almost broke down upon seeing the figure in the mirror. Hermione was a total mess. A city after a great hurricane had just hit. Her eyes were swollen red, her nose a deep shade of pink, the mascara still on her cheeks, the lipstick uneven. She stays that way for a few seconds before turning on the sink faucet.
The hot water ran so swiftly under the faucet. The sound of it mesmerized Hermione. It was something about the smoothness of its sound that Hermione envied so. Water was so strong. They can save and destroy lives at the same time; they make a new path when their path has been blocked. She wants to be like that. She shapes her hands into cup-like structure and gathers water in the resourceful basin she had just made and splashed the water onto her face. Again and again she did until she felt her face begin to relax.
She stares at her reflection, watching as the water droplets start to race down to her chin then gravity takes over and pulls it towards the sink.
"Hermione?" Ginny calls out.
"I'm in here!" she replies.
"Harry and Ron are here!" Ginny says as Hermione pats the towel on her face to dry. Hermione turns the brass knob and there on the other side of the door stood her two six-footer best friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. She gives them both a weak smile and immediately, she was enveloped in a rib-crushing hug.
"Hey, hey you guys, appearance-wise, you guys already take my breath away. But honestly, I'm not ready to die." She laughs. The two others step back and glance at each other, smiling.
"You're joking!" Ron comments giddily.
"Oh no, no, Ronald. This is just a temporary burst of energy." She tries to joke.
"Oh, Hermione." Ginny sighs and hugs her best friend.
"You know, I looked at myself back there in the bathroom, and I said to myself: "Hermione, you can get through this. You've been through worse, remember?" And all of a sudden, that made me feel a whole lot better." Hermione smiles her best.
The group of four made their way to Hermione's kitchen where plates of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon were sitting, enchanted to stay warm.
"My, my, someone definitely cooked up a storm in here." Ron, true to his word, scans the kitchen. Pots and pans, stacked on one side of the sink, bits and pieces of food left here and there on the counter. The only place free of dirt was probably the windows, but even then he was sure that upon closer inspection, tiny pieces of food would reveal themselves from their camouflage.
"I'll take care of that." Ginny states, and with a swish and flick of her wand, the mess was being washed, wiped and kept in the cabinets by some invisible force.
The four seat themselves and watch as plates, glasses and cutlery start to fly towards their table. A pitcher of orange juice flies out of the refrigerator (which Hermione charmed to work without electricity) and pours its contents in slender glasses on the right of each person. All these movements were discretely orchestrated by Ginny Weasley under the table. Harry Potter, curious of Ginny's tongue poking out which means she's hard at work, peeks under the table and sees the numerous movements of his girlfriend's wand in hand. He chuckles to himself and delight his attention to the dancing objects around him.
Hermione glances all around her, with the movements of all objects so orchestrated, dancing as if this had been rehearsed over and over. She didn't smile the way the others did. Harry was chuckling once in every five seconds or so. Ron was so mesmerized by everything, not even realizing that his elbow is already resting on his plate. Ginny was obviously behind everything seeing as her eyebrows were knitted together, bent down, with sweat beads starting to form on her forehead. Hermione was the silent wallflower in the middle of all the excitement.
"Well, I guess that's enough magic for one day, I'm starving." Declares Ron, who was suddenly aware of the grumbling in his tummy and the amazing aroma of bacon wafting through the air. He grabs the plate of bacon before anyone could even focus their attention to the food and start to shove carelessly onto his plate. He then shoves down the bacon down his throat and nearly chokes. After swallowing a handful of bacon, he brings up the topic of Hermione's wedding present, no matter how much it hurt.
"Hermione, we, Harry and I came here for a reason." Ron starts off.
"Yeah, we just figured that it would be such a waste…" continues Harry.
"…if you ignore the tickets we bought you for your wedding present." Ron then completes.
"Tickets for what?" Hermione silently asks, looking up from her plate of a single pancake. She reaches for the small bottle of maple syrup and pours gently as Harry continues.
"Well, I know how you've been so obsessed with the idea of Romeo and Juliet…"
"…the tragedy of it all." Ron sighs.
"…And after much contemplating on what to give you" Harry stresses, glancing at Ron with the let-me-finish- this-look. Ron understands immediately and quiets down. "We decided to buy you tickets to go to Verona, so that you will finally have your dream vacation over there."
Ginny drops her cutlery and gives a little squeal. She clears her throat, and picks up her cutlery once again. She glances at Harry who mouths that he isn't done yet.
"The bad news is we only booked two tickets." Ginny frowns and gets back to her plate.
"The good news is I got two more." Ginny lets out a laugh of joy and disbelief. Harry, basking in his glory of switching the somber mood in the dwelling was smiling with all his might. He glances at Ginny who's currently shaking Hermione to get her to feel the promising happiness of it all. He then rests his gaze on Hermione who seems to still be having difficulty with the fact that this was supposed to be a wedding present.
"Are you willing to go, Hermione? I can always postpone it, just name the date." He starts, considering Hermione's feelings before others.
Hermione takes a few minutes before looking up and giving a smug face. "Why waste a perfectly good opportunity, right?" Everyone else nods.
Ginny jumps up from her seat and gives a happy dance. The others quickly join in, and all of a sudden, the day was filled with happiness, laughter and music.
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