Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I'm too lazy to think of something clever.
This idea was given to me by my amazing friend Eva. I'm still playing with it, don't know for sure if I'm going to continue.
You could call this a companion to my other fic 'A Little Bit of Loony for the Lonely' but you don't need to read it to understand this, although if you like this pairing, it's also DracoxLuna, so you might want to check it out.
The Mother-In-Law Misadventures: Wedding Gift
"I was thinking sun colors," Luna said, looking out the window of the Malfoy Manor.
Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Neville sat in silence at the large ebony table in the dining room, and Draco Malfoy across from them, spinning his wand on the aging surface.
"Father prefers sun colors at weddings, it's for good luck, you know," she said, and then paused, turning around to face the awkward company. "What do you think, Draco?"
He sighed, "I'm fine as long as I don't have to wear yellow dress robes."
Harry snickered, and a smile played across Ron's face.
'No, I think yellow would suit you, Malfoy," Ginny said in a sugary-sweet voice, smiling.
Draco glared at her, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his wand.
Luna looked at her, "You think so?"
Ginny was about to respond when Hermione cut her off.
"What you could do, Luna," she looked at her, completely avoiding the Slytherine's gaze, "is have the ceremony in the traditional colors, but then have you and maybe your bride's maids dressed in sun colors.. I think the contrast would work quite well."
Ron looked at her chastisingly, and whispered violently, "Spoilsport, I was dying to see a Draco-omelet."
Draco kicked his chair violently back and stepped out of the room, his hand gripping his wand and muttering something about tea.
Ron, Harry and Ginny communally laughed at this.
Luna looked at where her fiance left with a concerned expression, "Oh dear. Something must have upset him."
Ginny shoved her fist in her mouth, and Harry looked away.
Neville's eyes shifted around the room nervously, no doubt trying to forget the events that took place in that very room the last time he was there.
"Something wrong, Neville?" Luna said, her eyes still looking anxiously at the egress of the room.
Neville coughed. "Um.. well.. Luna, how.. er-" he hesitated, and then started up again with more confidence, "How could you-" he paused, embarrassed, "em.. never mind."
Ginny sighed, "What Neville is trying to say is, how the bloody hell could you marry somebody like Draco Malfoy."
Luna smiled, cocking her head to the side, "Because I love him," she stated simply.
There was a brief silence, and the Ron spoke, "I've got a better question. How the bloody hell could you love somebody like Draco Malfoy."
The blond's too-high eyebrows lowered in a combination of frustration and confusion, "The same way that you love Hermione, and that she loves you. It just happens."
Ron shook his head, "How can you forget all that he's done to us? All that his family's done to us?"
There was a moment of silence, in which Neville shuddered, and looked uncomfortably at the door.
Luna cleared her throat, looking at Harry somewhat apologetically as she spoke up again, "How can you forget all that Sirius's family has done to us? Does that mean that we have to hate Sirius too? Of course not. I appreciate Draco for who he is, not for who is family is."
Ron snorted, "Even if Malfoy's aunt just so happens to be the cruelest person on earth."
"Ron!" Hermione said, jabbing her husband in the gut.
Neville shuddered again. Harry winced then muttered, "And Sirius's cousin..."
He mumbled apologies in Harry's direction, but he wasn't sorry.
--
Draco wandered over to the East Room, aggravated and craving some quiet. He really cared for Luna, he wasn't lying when he said he loved her, but this whole wedding thing was turning out to be more work and grief than it was worth. Why couldn't they just go and get married? No dress, no cake and no trouble. But Luna insisted on having a ceremony. She wanted her friends to be there. And he had agreed, because he couldn't say no to her. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. There was no way that this could end well, he knew that they all hated him, and with good reason, but they wouldn't buy the whole 'he's different now'-spiel that Luna intended on presenting to them. They were just as static in their opinion of him as his used to be of them. He doubted that he would ever like them, but he was willing to tolerate them, for Luna's sake, he just hoped that feeling would become mutual over time, preferably before the wedding. Another thing he didn't understand is why they had to help plan the wedding. Why not just invite them to the ceremony? Just a painless two or three hours of being in their presence?
He didn't know, and the wedding process was making his head hurt as it was, and the addition of Luna's crew was only making it worse. He hoped they could cover everything on their own with just an 'I do' from him, because this whole thing wasn't his idea, really. Well, the idea of getting married was, but the wedding was all her.
Malfoy kicked his feet up onto the other end of the couch, and closed his eyes hoping that he would wake up on the day of the ceremony with it all planned out for them.
He awoke to the sound of his fiance entering the room. Luna sat down at the end of the couch and sighed heavily, "Sorry about that," she said lucidly.
He sat up, and then moved to sit next to her. "It's fine."
She shook her head, "I was hoping that you guys would just fall into place, but it looks like they decided to pick up where you guys left off instead."
Draco shrugged, "It's you I'm marrying, not them."
She smiled, and then laced her fingers into his, "Still, I just wish that there was a way for me to prove to them that you've changed."
"Maybe one day they'll notice, and maybe they never will," he said, squeezing her hand.
Luna didn't respond, just leaned her head against his bony shoulder and closed her eyes. His eyes wandered over her face briefly and then he closed his eyes and leaned ino the sofa, settling into what should have been a nice, quiet, and private cuddle, but their peace and quiet was soon interrupted by the familiar sound of an owl tapping the window with it's talloned foot. Draco grumbled and looked up at the window to see a large and yellow-eyed owl staring out him.
"I'll get it," Luna said. Draco was about to protest but by the time he had opened his mouth she was already advancing towards the window. The black frame protested briefly, but then slid easily open and the owl perched itself on the wood. Luna made to remove the letter from it's foot, but as soon as she reached out to it, the owl lodged it's beak into her index finger.
She squeaked in surprise, and Draco came to her side, and approached the owl with caution.
"You okay, Luna?"
She nodded.
He held out his arm, ready to receive the same gash as Luna had, but was surprised to see the large owl hop obediently onto his hand. Cautiously, still wary about the owl's temperament, he took the envelope from the owl's beak, and then it flew back out of the window, presumably returning to it's owner.
Luna stared airily at the window, "That was odd."
Draco nodded, not quite sure if he was at all comfortable with the owl's suspicious behavior.
Luna turned to face him, "Who's the letter for?"
"Uhh... Me," he said, still looking perplexed as he stared at the return address.
"Well I guess that explains why it didn't like me much, but still, it didn't have to be violent," she pouted, "Who's it from?"
Draco stared at the top left corner, hoping that the black calligraphy letters would rearrange themselves, or that the owl was mistaken, and had delivered the envelope to the wrong person. But there was no mistake in the ink on the page, he knew it was for him.
"Draco?" Luna said, her voice slightly panicky, "Who's it from?"
He ripped it open, and was horrified to see his fears confirmed. His eyes widened a little in surprise and, his voice was raspy as he spoke, "It's from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
She swallowed, "The Wizengamot?" she whispered.
He nodded, "My parents are coming home."
So, what do ya think?
Yes, I love cliffhangers. Guess what else I love? REVIEWERS.