The air around him was crackling. His body seemed to radiate a strong repelling charm, so strong that even the reporters, who had converged on him as soon as they realized who he was, didn't dare to thrust their wands in his face or ask him questions that burned their tongues. The whispers, that went up around the room went up by several levels, kept on creeping higher and higher as more people realized that Draco Malfoy was in the room. He registered that his mother's expectant look to approach her turned upside down after waiting for a few minutes for it to happen. Those who observed him enter the ballroom would say that he had no hostility on his face when he walked into the room. If somebody had asked 15-year-old Carmela Fawley, who was feeling particularly bored with the proceedings, she would have sworn that she saw the pale wizard stop and take a couple of breaths before entering the room with the fearful hesitancy a first year muggleborn exudes while entering the great hall at Hogwarts.
Draco stood in the middle of the Hall/ballroom, scanning the inquisitive eyes that burned his skin. Why did he choose this day to appear in public again, he asked himself, which he thought was the unspoken question that echoed around the room. He had completely vanished from the public eye after the Wizengamot trial where Harry Potter's testimony helped Draco to get off with a punishment of house arrest for 18 months and probation for 3 years. He had moved out of Malfoy manor with immediate effect and the details of his house arrest were sealed with a need to know basis. He did not show his face in public neither when his mother was acquitted in the aftermath nor when his father passed away five years later. In the aftermath of the trial, Draco's picture was routinely plastered on the front of Daily Prophet linking him to random conspiracy theories on how he had convinced Harry Potter to testify on his behalf and managed to get away with a "slap on the wrist". It was rumored that these stories stopped after Rita Skeeter was attacked by an unknown assailant by a particularly strong bat bogey hex that confined her to the bedside for 4 weeks. The lack of news articles meant that Draco Malfoy slowly faded from public memory as they moved on from the chaos of Second Wizarding War. So, what prompted this recluse's reappearance at such a public gala as a pureblood wedding?
Only two people in this room knew the answer, and one of them was "the answer". Standing silently in a corner, with minimal makeup and hair in a messy bun, was a young brunette. Her almond shaped eyes were currently closed as if in a trance as her lips moved wordlessly as if she was repeating something to herself. Her exquisitely tailored black dress robes were arranged on her shoulders to highlight her beauty. Her neck was left bare as no jewelry would be able to accentuate its inherent beauty. She wore pearl earrings that were simple and elegant at the same time, a perfect representation of her personality. With her lips moving silently as if in prayer, she was rocking on the balls of her feet giving the distinct impression of someone caught in the dilemma of doing something wholly inappropriate to the occasion. After what seemed like a lifetime, her dark eyelashes fluttered open and looked focused on 10 feet behind the blonde wizard. The deep blush on her high cheekbones was the only indication that she acknowledged his presence who, as it seemed, forgot the rest of the world since his eyes found her across the room.
Pulling himself out of the trance, Draco made a beeline to the only one he was here for. Clasping her dainty hand in his calloused one, he pulled her into a kiss. "You came", she whispered as she rested her forehead on his chest, as if she was unable to believe that he was ready to been seen in a public place because she asked him to do so. He pulls her closer "I was never ashamed of being seen in public with you Astoria. In fact, it is the reverse". Her temper flares as the old argument is revisited and starts to pull away and her voice begins to rise "You bloody well know by now that I do not care….". She falls silent as Draco drops to a knee pulling out a box, one that is so ridiculously decorated that it can be Malfoy heirloom and nothing else, and opens it towards her with an expectant look. His whisper of "Marry me" seems to reverberate across the ball room that seem to have fallen unnaturally silent. Draco starts feeling very hot under his ridiculously expensive robes and begins to say something when she pulls him by the hand and starts sobbing on his shoulder. His voice is full of doubt when he asks " Is it a no"? She chuckles and replies " A thousand times Yes" in a soft voice while offering her hand to him. When he finishes fumbling his way into putting the ring on her finger, she pulls him into a kiss that signals an endless cacophony of whispers, sobs in the background (most likely their parents) and a piercing whistle followed by a thwack and a muffled groan (most likely the groom) while the newly engaged couple continue to smile at each other oblivious to the rest of the world.