Draco looked in the mirror and smoothed out the unseen wrinkles with a trembling hand. The dress robes were impeccable, as expected, and nothing was out of place except the depressed expression on his face. What am I doing? he asked his reflection once again. Choosing a life that would have made your parents happy, but not you, was the usual reply.
A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts and he plastered on his best smile. "Yes." Blaise entered, looking very dashing in his own dress robes. "It's time." Draco nodded and turned back to the mirror. "I will be down in a minute." Blaise regarded him for a moment before nodding and closing the door as he left.
Draco pulled out the necklace from under his shirt, willing away the tears that wanted to fall. A small silver key hung from a chain and reminded him that he thought this was a stupid idea, but had been too afraid to follow his heart. Clinging to time-honored traditions was familiar and kept him safe in a world that had been turned upside down after the war.
He pressed a kiss to the key and tucked it back under his shirt. It would have to be all that he had to keep him happy through this marriage.
Pansy put the second diamond earring in her ear and looked at her reflection. Under the make-up and glamours, were puffy eyes and tear tracks. The beautiful gown and veil did nothing to comfort her. Is this really for the best? That question had haunted her since she and Draco had decided to marry six months ago. She fidgeted with the silver bracelet with the heart pendant, her lone comfort through all of this.
Daphne was bustling around in the room, making sure everything was as it should be, and couldn't understand why Pansy was so down on her wedding day. Anyone would be happy to marry into the Malfoy family. "Pansy, you look wonderful. Draco will hardly be able to control himself." Pansy wanted to roll her eyes and explain that Draco would be perfectly able to control himself.
Pansy's mother arrived, tears gathering in her eyes. "Pansy, you look beautiful. I am so happy for you." Pansy smiled as best she could and hugged her mother, willing her own tears to remain at bay. "Thank you, mother. I guess it is time." Her mother nodded and then Daphne helped her gather the copious amounts of fabric as they headed to the garden.
Harry and Luna quietly took seats in the back of the gathering, both unsure why they had been invited. It was made perfectly clear six months ago that they would not have a place in this world of high class pure-bloods. They had spent weeks debating to come, but in the end wanted to see the couple one last time, broken hearts be damned.
Unfortunately, Harry Potter was still a subject for gossip, so his arrival did not go unnoticed. There was a wave of hushed voices travelling through the group gathered and all eyes watched as he guided Luna to her seat. It was common knowledge that Harry was civil, if not quite friendly, with the two getting married, but to be sent an invitation had perfectly manicured eyebrows raised. Luna gripped tighter to Harry's hand as the voices travelled and feared that it would reach the wrong ears. They tried to ignore the whispers and waited for the ceremony to begin.
Draco and Blaise entered from the side, both looking the part of young, wealthy pure-bloods. Blaise smiled brightly at the gathering, but Draco's smile seemed a bit off. He scanned the crowd and his heart leapt to his throat when he spotted the two guests trying to blend into the back of the crowd. He didn't think that they would actually come.
His heart shattered, once again, as he met her eyes and they began welling up with tears. It was entirely his fault, he could admit that, and now wondered what had possessed him to come up with this crazy idea. Before he could do something foolish, Blaise nudged him in the back and motioned for him to look as Pansy stood at the entrance to the garden.
Draco watched as she, too, scanned the faces of the group gathered and barely managed to contain her surprise at the guests in the back. Pansy's heart thudded wildly in her chest and tears began to gather in her eyes, causing her forced smile to falter. She finally caught the eye of the much whispered guest and a few tears leaked out at the sad look upon his face.
The rest of the gathered guests looked between Pansy and Draco, at first smiling at the beautiful pair, then looking worried as it appeared they were not ready to start. The music had begun playing, but Pansy had not made to head down the aisle and Draco seemed unwilling to go and fetch her as they both stared at each other, appearing to having a silent conversation.
All the tension was lost as Harry and Luna suddenly exited their seats and headed into the manor. After a few stunned moments, many whispering about the nerve of some people, jaws dropped again as Pansy and Draco followed after them.
"Luna, are you alright. Do you need me to get anything?" Harry stood outside the bathroom door, violently running his hand through his hair. He had been against attending, but Luna had wanted to see him one more time. Harry supposed the stress and her condition had got the better of her; she had not been this sick for a couple of months.
"Just give me a moment, Harry." He sighed with relief at hearing her voice. He would have hated to create an even bigger spectacle by having to break into the bathroom. He placed his head in his hands as he heard the sink running, trying to calm his own nerves. He was startled by the sound of two sets of footsteps rushing in his direction.
Pansy and Draco had stopped just around the corner, both staring wide-eyed and Pansy covering her mouth with her hand. She had tears openly falling down her cheeks and Draco looked to be not far behind given the shine in his eyes. Harry instantly stiffened and prayed they would leave before Luna came out. They had been hoping to avoid actually having to speak with Draco and Pansy, planning to leave after the ceremony and not attend the reception.
Pansy took a few steps forward, wanting to rush to Harry, but had to stop and choke back a sob as Harry took a few steps back from her. "Harry." He used all his strength to not give into that voice, but instead shook his head. "Congratulations. We didn't mean to cause a scene." Pansy tried to take another step forward, but Harry closed his eyes and shook his head again.
The sound of the bathroom door unlocking and opening startled everyone, Harry clearly panicking. "Harry, I think that…" Whatever Luna was going to say, was cut off as she noticed their company. Draco clenched and unclenched his fists as Luna began trembling and took hold of Harry's hand. "Are you alright?"
Luna narrowed her eyes and looked from Pansy to Draco, making them both visibly shudder under her gaze. "I would like to go home, Harry." Draco took a few steps forward to protest, but Luna held up her hand and he stopped. "Congratulations, Pansy and Draco." Harry pulled her toward the entrance to the manor, leaving Pansy and Draco visibly shaken, and apparated home with a loud crack.
Harry was rubbing Luna's feet in their flat, not quite enjoying the silence that had descended upon them since they left the wedding three days ago. They had apparated home and shut themselves up in their respective rooms for the rest of the day. Harry would have tried to wallow in his heartache if not for Luna.
He had managed to pull himself together enough to make them meals. The rest of the time was spent reading or staring into the fire or out the window. Neither had spoken of what happened at the wedding, but Harry was pretty sure that Luna was just as heartbroken as he was.
To make matters worse, Pansy and Draco had called off the wedding and there was much speculation as to the reason. The papers did not forget to mention that Harry and Luna had attended and that the couple to be married had rushed out to see them just before returning to explain to the confused guests that they were not going to be married.
"Are you hungry for dinner, Luna? I don't want you to miss any meals." Luna turned her eyes away from the window she had taken to staring out and smiled at Harry. "I think that we should order take-out. I don't care what the Healer says, I want something tasty." Harry gave the foot he was holding squeeze and smiled. Luna had been to St. Mungo's about a month ago when she began bleeding and had been told to lower her strenuous activity and monitor what she ate.
"I will order Thai if you promise to remain on the couch until bedtime. We can watch any movie you want." Luna smiled widely, giggling at the thought. Harry only let her watch any movie she wanted if he thought it would keep her still. He usually did not like her choices. "All right. I want to watch 'Beauty and the Beast'." Harry groaned at Luna's obsession with all things Disney, but nodded his head and went to retrieve the phone.
They had just settled onto the couch with dinner, wrapped in a light blanket, and ready to start the movie when there was a knock at the door. Harry and Luna, desiring a more private life after the war, had not connected their flat to the floo and warded it such a way that they were the only ones allowed to apparate in and out, thus requiring all their guests to come to the door. They usually had a few visitors, mostly Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville. They were friendly with their neighbors, but were not very social outside of their tight-knit circle.
"I wonder who would be showing up. I thought that Neville and Ginny were out of town and Ron and Hermione were with her parents." Harry nodded his agreement and grabbed his wand on his way to the door. He waved his wand and glowing gold words announced the names of their visitors. Harry groaned and Luna covered her mouth, tears wanting to fall again.
Harry looked to Luna to see if she was up to seeing their visitors, but was met with shock. Another knock startled them and Luna finally gave Harry a nearly imperceptible nod. He opened the door, wand drawn, making the couple take a few steps back from the door. "Can I help you?" He hadn't meant for it to come out so harshly, but his emotions were never under much control around this couple since that day six months ago.
Pansy winced and took a step back as Harry glared at the two of them. She and Draco had been debating if they should come and visit, but in the end decided that they needed to explain themselves. Since Pansy had clearly lost all nerve to speak, Draco took it upon himself to begin. "We needed to see you, Harry. To explain."
Harry's magic was beginning to leak from his carefully constructed walls, licking angrily at Pansy and Draco. "Harry let them in. You're hurting me." Harry closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and managed to gain control of the magic again. He opened the door wider to allow Pansy and Draco to enter. "Sorry Luna."
They took a seat in the love seat next to Luna. Harry came and sat next to her, reaching for her hand under the blanket to calm himself. Pansy began leaking more tears at the gesture while Draco ground his teeth together. He really had no right to be upset, but he was jealous. "What do you want?" Pansy wiped a few tears away, blinking at the harsh tone she had never heard from Luna.
"We came to apologize." Pansy held up her hand to stop them from protesting before they could get everything out. "We apologize. We treated you both horribly and for no reason other than we were scared. We are sorry that it took seeing you both at the wedding for us to realize we had made the biggest mistake of our lives by giving up on what we had with you. We understand that you are angry and hurt and may never want to see or talk to us again, but we want to start over. We are ready to be with you the way you wanted us to in the beginning."
Luna deliberately put her left hand, the one holding Harry's, on top of the blanket and waited for Pansy and Draco to notice the large ring. The twin gasps were all the confirmation she needed. "Harry and I are getting married in a month." Harry gave her hand a squeeze and nodded. They had talked and talked about it and came to the conclusion that they would rather have each other if they couldn't have the one's that they truly loved. Plus Luna needed Harry to be a father.
"But…" Draco didn't think his heart could shatter any more, but it did. Pansy was crying in earnest now, looking between the two of them. "However…" Both Pansy and Draco looked worriedly at Harry as he began to speak. "If you can prove to us in this month that you are serious, we will not get married. You must be willing to show us you aren't afraid to be seen with us."
Both of them nodded vigorously, looking as though their heads might fall right off. "Very well. Pansy, let's go into the kitchen. Will you be alright, love?" Luna smiled at Harry, but narrowed her eyes at Draco as she nodded. "Yes. I'll call if I need you." He stood and placed a kiss to her head then led Pansy into the kitchen.
"Harry, I'm so sorry. I…" Harry held up his hand to stop her. "I know the reasons Pansy. Did it not occur to you that I had the same fears? Why do you think that I was willing to marry Luna? She was comfortable, familiar and safe. We would have eventually fallen in love, but it would not have been you. I don't think I would have been as happy. Would you have been happy with Draco?"
Pansy wiped a few more tears from her eyes. "He was safe and familiar, but I would not have been as happy. I cannot tell you how much I have missed you, wanted to come back to you. Draco and I both questioned the insanity of the past six months, but were too afraid to do anything. I'm not going to hide from the world. I want everyone to know that you are what I want and I am what you want. I will do anything to be with you again."
Pansy nearly fainted with relief when Harry took her hand. His hand seemed to be shaking as uncontrollably as hers. "I was serious when I said you have one month. Luna and I are heading into the Ministry for a quiet civil ceremony. No one knows right now, so it won't look like I'm cheating if I do go out with you. However, Draco also has to step up. If he fails Luna, I will still marry her. I will not leave her alone. Do you understand?" Pansy nodded and prayed that neither of them would mess this up.
Draco watched with worry as Pansy and Harry left for the kitchen. Sitting alone with Luna had immediately brought him back to the last time he was in the flat. She was crying hysterically while he was falling apart. He was surprised that she hadn't tried to convince him to change his mind, but she looked as though she had expected something like that to happen.
However, the cold stare he was getting wasn't much better than the uncontrollable crying. Hopefully he could get her to smile and that would be able to replace the horrible memories. He fidgeted with the cushion, wondering how to begin. He could feel her eyes boring into him, waiting for an explanation.
"I'm sorry, Luna. I was afraid and overwhelmed. You are so good and wonderful and beautiful, I was so sure that everything was going to fall apart eventually. When you said you loved me, I panicked. I didn't think I deserved to be loved. So Pansy and I decided that we would rather live a safe, familiar life." Draco let a few tears fall, not the first time since he left her six months ago.
"Draco, I know. Did you not consider that I may have been afraid? Loving someone is always a risk. I understand our situation was different than others, but I loved you just the same. It didn't matter what had happened, I wanted a future with you." Draco watched as she stood, surprised she looked a little wobbly on her feet. She walked to the window and let out a huge sigh as she tugged on a lock of her hair. That was the one nervous gesture he had ever seen from her.
"Are you alright, Luna?" She turned to him, closing her eyes, as she ran her hand over her body, melting the glamour. Draco's eyes nearly popped out of his head at her protruding belly. Luna watched the shocked expression so openly cover his entire face. She was worried that he might get angry and accuse her of being with Harry, but he seemed unable to move from shock.
"Draco, look at me." He looked at her eyes, which confirmed his theory – it was his. "Why didn't you say anything?" Luna narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if he took her for an idiot. "Would it have changed anything? You would have married Pansy anyway, probably hoping that we would never see each other again, but hoping that I would let you be a part of your son's life."
Draco looked to the floor, running his hands through his hair. She was right. She was always right. "I'm sorry. I want to make it up to you. You said I had one month. I will do anything for you and our son. If you find I am still worthy, I would like to marry you before our son is born. Please." Luna stretched out her hand to him and he sprang to his feet to take it. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.
"You have one month. You and Pansy must show us you are serious. If one of you cannot, than Harry and I will still get married. I will not leave him alone." Draco nodded and buried his face in her hair, all tension leaving his body.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." Harry smiled widely, leaning in to kiss the love of his life. He didn't think he would ever be this happy, but someone must be looking out for him. He pulled back from the kiss but rested his forehead on hers, his smile nearly blinding.
"It is my honor to introduce, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter." As soon as the Minister announced them a loud squeal erupted from the front row, the small blonde haired boy waving his hands wildly around. Harry smiled at his two month old godson. "I think he gets that from Draco. I don't see Luna needing to be the center of attention at all times."
Draco glared at the back of Pansy's head. "I heard that. You are lucky that you are newly married and my best friend." Luna took his arm as they followed the newly married couple back down the aisle. Luna shook her head in amusement at her husband's frown. "Draco, just admit it; you like being the center of attention. I don't mind. I love you."
Draco sighed, knowing a lost cause when he saw it, and smiled at his wonderful, perfect, beautiful wife. "I love you, too. I suppose that Alexander will have to learn to share the spotlight if Harry is his godfather. No one hogs the spotlight more than the Boy-Who-Lived." Luna pinched his arm, but couldn't help the small giggle that escaped.
"Let's collect him from Hermione before Ron fears she might get ideas of her own." Draco smiled at the memory of handing their son off to Hermione, smiling widely and looking wistfully at the small bundle. Ron was not quite as keen to be near one so small and began to sputter about when Hermione said she couldn't wait to have a baby.
Harry and Pansy stood under an archway of flowers, wanting a few moments alone before they had to face the guests. "I love you, very much Harry. I'm glad that Draco and I came to our senses." She kissed him deeply, eliciting a groan and sending Harry's mind into inappropriate places. "I love you as well. Luna and I are glad that you did. Now, let's mingle as much as we need and then be off. Two weeks alone will probably not be enough time. We will need to make the most of it."
Pansy took his hand as they walked into the crowded room of guests. Draco and Pansy shared a relieved look at each other, glad they had what they wanted.