HEY THERE. :D
This oneshot is loosely based on Julia Quinn's On the Way to The Wedding (thus, the title?) And I loved it so much. Anyways, this is my first try of fanfiction, please be kind.
DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and all its characters are not mine. JK Rowling owns it.
His lungs were on fire.
Draco Malfoy was running. Through the streets of London, shoving passersby that were staring at him as if he was some sort of a madman.
Ah, maybe he is. The woman he loves is about to be married to a nut who doesn't even measure up to her intelligence, that insufferable, perfect know-it-all.
He was counting his steps but he lost track. Hell, who would want to count steps anyway? She could have said "I do." in any minute and here he is, wondering how many steps he took during the long, long run to the church.
The church.
He had to get to the church.
Before all was too late.
How long had it been? Five minutes? Ten? Thirty? He didn't know. All he knew that he must get to where she is currently being married.
The church. Why did she even accepted the proposal of that muggle, anyway?
It had started at eleven. This ceremony that shouldn't have even started at all. But she'd done it anyway. And he had to stop it. He had to stop her! What even did enter her mind and befuddled all of her sense and accepted to marry him? He had to stop her, he didn't know how, just that he has to. Merlin, he's a muggle, apparently not suited for my Hermione.
Hermione. Her name tastes like honey.
She had to know that marrying that muggle will be the biggest mistake of her life.
She was his and she knew that. She even acknowledged that. They belong together. The know-it-all turned to a fool for even interacting with that man.
How long did a wedding ceremony take? Five minutes? Ten? Thirty? An hour? Of course in Wizarding World it would only take more or less than ten minutes. All the couple has to do was bind their hands, say the spell, and forever they will be joined till death do they part. No contract was needed. Words were enough.
He skidded around the corner, bumping angry onlookers, apologizing to half of it. He even knocked a woman carrying a large case. Normally he would've stopped and help the woman, but not now. Not when he needed to stop a wedding.
The church. Across the road. The sign says stop and Draco would give anything, anything for that sign to be green. Damn this bookworm, after all. Taught him muggle manners and such, muggle laws. Muggle punishment was surely less painful than The Kiss, but it is painful still.
Damn.
The sign said go and he set off running again. It feels like his feet is being dragged back. The crossing seemed to take an hour.
He could see and smell the flowers outside the church. Lilies, her favorite. Children, street urchins outside the church seemed to be joyful but this, for Draco Malfoy, is not a happy day. It was not an event to be celebrated.
So he had to stop it.
He slowed down so he could ascend to the steps without tripping and falling flat to his face. And then he wrenched the door open, and just the sight of her made his heart drop.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, but isn't she always? Those curls that fell perfectly. That slender body. Those molten chocolate eyes that he wanted to drown into forever. She was wearing a perfect gown, a perfect veil, and this would have been the perfect wedding if it wasn't for the man she was holding hands with. That should be me, Draco thought with a wry smile, and that could be fixed.
The church went silent, the priest stopped his drone, and every spine in every pew turned to look at who interrupted their beloved's wedding.
Their eyes focused to him.
"Don't," he gasped, out of breath it was barely audible. He saw the bouquet slowly slip her hands.
"Don't," he repeated, looking at her best friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, for help. "Don't do it, Hermione."
She said nothing, but her mouth was wide open with shock. And he knew, for some reason, that she stopped breathing.
"Don't do it," he said yet again, gaining speed to close the distance between them. Still she didn't speak. Her parents was as shocked as she, and her betrothed seemed to watch them as if this was an everyday scene. He really looked like he didn't mind at all.
"I love you, Hermione." He declared, and a few gasps were heard. Shortly, a few whispers followed. To Dementors with them. He would not make this a secret.
He would not let her marry the wrong man. He would not let her unless she states that he never owned her heart.
"I love you," he said again, glancing at Potty and Weaselbee—Harry and Ron—who looked at him with pity. Their wives were much the same. They knew his pain and they felt it.
"Don't do it, Hermione. Don't marry him." He begged, coming closer to her.
"Draco," she finally whispered, "Why are you doing this?"
"Have you been listening to what I had said? I love you, infuriating as you may be."
Her eyes glistened with tears. His breath caught. She looked to the man she was about to marry. He shrugged, as if saying, "It's your choice."
Draco sank to one knee. "Marry me, Hermione," he said with his heart in every word. "Marry me."
He stopped breathing. The church stopped breathing. He swore that if the whole London saw this event, they would stop breathing, too.
She closed her eyes and opened it again. They were big, they were shining, and they were full of pain.
"Marry me," He said one last time.
She opened her mouth and sighed. She closed her eyes yet again, tears evidently streaming down her face, and the next time she opened her mouth she said…
"No."
A/N: Poor Draco. *sighs*
Well, I wanted it to be a happy ending but I guess I can't.
Do review. I accept creative criticisms. :]
Thank you for reading!
xStastrax