She isn't dressed in gold and green when the vows are said; the only thing that remotely ties her to her Slytherin Ancestry is the silver ring Tom procured for her in a haste after eloping from their small village. He, also, is not showing his wealth today. They look common, Merope guesses, but what can be common of a woman with eyes pointing in different directions and the handsome man of aristocratic features who accompanies her?
A muggle judge is marrying them, which fits the situation very well. He is of filthy blood and she a traitor to all she once believed in. What is the duty of keeping a bloodline pure compared to the sweet embrace of a loved one? Merope has no problem leaving her past behind her in the dingy hut she never considered home.
The future is bright ahead.
"I now declare you husband and wife under the eyes of the law," the tone of the judge makes clear he doesn't believe in this marriage, but Merope doesn't listen to him the same way she won't listen to Father or Morfin anymore. She is free, and she belongs to the man enchanted by her potion. The love serum will hold the same as the Veritaserum endures when her father is submitted to interrogation.
"You are mine," her shrill voice calls out for Tom. His face is hot under her touch; maybe he will need more potion soon. "Are you thirsty? Have a drink of this sweet wine, my love."
Tom leans into the kiss of a bottle filled with the potion that binds him to Merope, not knowing the truth that it hides.
"Aren't you happy we are married?" he asks him with a soft voice; she wants Tom to have the best memories of her, the most happy times at her side, and the greatest years of his life with her.
That way, when Merope thinks the time has come she'll cease to give him the Amortentia, and all the sweet things they have lived together will keep him with her.
"I love you, Merope," he tells her with the devotion of an imprisoned man feeling the sun for the first time, and his eyes are wide and glossy with a subtle hint of confussion. "How could I be anything but happy? I am your husband."
"And I am your wife," she says playfully, trying to keep her hand in his even as they walk through the crowded streets of London. "Forever."