Marriage to Draco Malfoy
Chapter One: My Wedding to Draco Malfoy
Disclaimer: I wish... I don't own Harry Potter or its series or movies and am not making profit out of this!
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My fingers twitched against each other, rubbed up against each other until I was sure a blister would appear by tonight's end. As the sun passed by in the sky, the grease on my skin and hair increased even though I made sure I had taken three showers today. It was after a very important day. Very important day. Yes. If I could, I would sigh out loud but mother said that sighing made me look unladylike and if I looked unladylike, my nerves would fray and then if I knew my nerves were frayed, I would acquire perhaps a more self-conscious posture, which might wrinkle my outfit, thus making me more nervous and then again, more self-conscious to the point where I might lose my mind. Ha! Lose my mind? I'm perfectly fine! Yes, fine!
Stop! Calm down…I cursed myself to a million limbos for my incessant lines of nervous thoughts.
"Do you Jane Heartridge take Draco Malfoy to be your husband?" the man in white asked.
Draco Malfoy, who stood next to me, elbowed me after a few moments.
"A-ah! Yes! I-I d-do!" I stuttered. After more mumbling from the man in white and a few words from Draco, the dreadful man muttered something I had entirely forgotten about.
"You may now kiss the bride," the man said.
I was jolted as Malfoy's long fingers curled around my shoulders and pulled me forward for a rushed kiss. I had forgotten that at weddings, grooms kissed their respective bridges. I had never before been… kissed and well, to say the least, it was a bit disappointing how soon it ended. His lips pressed against mine and that was it. There was no curling of the toes or the breathless passion I had read about in romance novels, sad to say. I had heard Draco had dated many girls. He had to have experience kissing, based on his reputation.
Why… I didn't or rather couldn't feel much from his kiss had me wondering…perhaps we simply didn't have, what was that word again…chemistry.
His fingers then curled around my wrist abruptly, in which he pulled me down the hall. I could not see his face fully but strange enough, a bright red seemed to paint his cheeks. Did he have a fever? If anything, his cheeks, when embarassed, turned... pink. How odd.
Draco then pulled me to the side of the car, "Get in, Jane."
I turned to look at him and opened my mouth. However, before I could say anything, Draco's hand tightened around my wrist with alarming pressure and he pulled it up to the side of his face.
"GET. IN."
He threw my wrist to the side of the car and went over to his side. I tried to hold back the tears that were manifesting, as he did this every time Draco and I were forced to be together. It was nobody's fault but my own for crying and being weak, but did he have to be so needlessly vile?
I got into the car, wedding dress and all, sniffling all the while as we drove. If he noticed my crying, he didn't say anything. If anything, Malfoy seemed even more annoyed as his face hardened into a frozen mask. It took only fifteen minutes to drive but by the ninth minute, Draco Malfoy had had enough of my sniffling.
"Enough of your sniffling. We've appearances to keep still," he said. I wiped away my tears as I almost forgot that we were supposed to still appear at the after wedding party.
"You d-don't have to be q-quite so cruel, Malfoy," I wept.
"Dry your bloody tears and I won't say such cruel things," he grumbled.
Draco and the Malfoy family had soured, Draco especially, right before Dumbledore's death and even more so after Vodelmort's. After Vodelmort's resurrection, my family nearly took me out of Hogwarts. Instead, I stayed until Dumbledore's death and shortly thereafter left. Without him, everyone knew it was no longer safe. The entire world was less safe without Albus Dumbledore and Vodelmort revived.
"When you c-cried in the Room of R-Requirement, I was t-there to comfort y-you," I whimpered as I wiped away my tears. Draco was such a sweet boy until he met Vodelmort.
He pushed on the breaks in an abrupt manner, twisting his head to give me a worthy glare. We had arrived at the after wedding party.
"I thought I told you to never mention that again," he said.
"It doesn't m-matter now, does it? You d-didn't k-kill Albus Dumbledore with your own w-wand, Malfoy. Let's g-go," my hand went to the handle of the door. His fingers, yet again for the tenth time today, squeezed into my arm. I tried not to show him how uncomfortable his touch made me and turned to look at him with my tear-ridden cheeks.
"As your husband now, I demand only one thing: respect. Remember that, Mrs. Malfoy," he hissed before he threw my arm to the side and left through his own door, slamming it with a force I knew him quite capable of.
I decided to close my door and wait inside the car. My husband could deal with the guests. I needed to calm myself before showing myself. I n-needed to… fix my makeup no doubt. I took a deep breath in and let a larger one out as hiccups began to tremble along my chest.
W-why had I mentioned that horrible n-night?
Draco Malfoy, my secret intended, sneaked his way into the Room of Requirement. He thought himself unobvious to others and though he neglected his friends more often than not, Draco did more so lately. He didn't trust them. How could he? Especially when they were a bunch of pea brains, ready to lay down their loyalty to anyone with power. He was surrounded with friends and goonies that would more likely slit his throat than share themselves and what was worst? Draco knew it better than anyone in all of Hogwarts.
Yet something had changed with Draco Malfoy, beyond his arrogance and his mischief and bullying. Draco Malfoy, my bully of a betrothed, was deeply paralyzed with fear. Well...Draco was always afraid and often more than not, followed the rules, manipulating and stretching them as far as possible but he hardly ever broke them as Harry Potter seemed to do. However, the recent attempts on the life of Dumbledore and Draco's biting distance from everyone, including his goons, made me on edge.
There couldn't be a connection surely.
He went deeper into the Room of Requirement, until he came to stand in front of what looked like a large wardrobe. He looked around, unable to sense my presence, fade in the background as I was. Satisfied, he pulled the cloth over the wardrobe and revealed it. Opening the door, he placed inside a song bird. It was a pretty little thing, small and fragile. To see him handle the bird in such a way though was what surprised me.
Draco's face and hands were almost… tender to a bird?
Draco was a coward, always sniveling in his father's presence but always ready to get back onto his feet should he be humiliated, which was often, especially due to Harry Potter's obvious hatred. He was the underdog of Hogwarts, Gryffindor's favorite kid to pick on but if there was anything Draco kept, it was that strange will power of his. When knocked down, he would always dust himself back up with an eager and confident smile. It was adorable sometimes... pathetic mostly.
A couple of hours passed and I watched as Draco paced back and forth. What was he waiting for?
He suddenly then opened the door to the wardrobe. I studied the expression on his face. Confusion painted him, then shock and then horror and suddenly, a sob wrenched itself from the rut of his chest, piercing my ears at an alarming rate. I could see it now, in his hands, the crushed songbird.
Sobs tore at his throat and I could only watch as my bully found himself on his knees, the bird lifeless in his hands. My hand covered the own sob clawing at my throat. Draco was a proud creature, too soft for his own liking and always wanting to prove himself. It had to be something large for him to breaking down like this. I took a step back and before I knew it, made a sound that echoed to Draco's ears.
"Who's there?" he cried in his worn-torn state.
I revealed myself to my intended, "D-Draco."
"Oh, it's you, is it?" he laughed bitterly. "Here to poke fun, is it?"
"N-no! I m-mean…is i-it d-dead?" I came forward, trying to reach for the bird. He pulled it back from me, his red eyes lined with something akin to fierce protectiveness.
"What are you doing, you nitwit? Go away, Heartridge!" he said as he pulled the bird close to him.
"I c-can h-help it, if y-you'd just l-let me," I tried to be defiant.
I don't know what it was. I don't even really know how I got through to him. Something in his eyes softened and his postured became lax, almost defenseless. It was strange to see Draco so vulnerable, especially around me. He tended to act cold with me.
"It's dead. C-can you fix it?" he stammered, almost like a pouting boy. My lips slightly curled as I came forward to look at the unmoving bird.
"It d-doesn't work o-on h-humans but…" I whispered a spell, twirling my wand and waited, hoping it wasn't too late. I had learned about in a special book my mother had given me on healing animals.
We waited, holding our breaths for a bird that we knew nothing of… and waited and waited. After what seemed like eternity broke her head waiting for us, Draco let out a tired sigh. He sat down on a random chair, loosely still holding the bird. My eyes wandered over to his ashen face, studying the gauntness of his cheeks and the sags of his eyes. I sat down next to him in another chair. I turned to look at him.
My mother always said that sorts of things worked for children. What was Draco to me but an overgrown child? A bully, yes… sometimes needlessly vile and maybe almost pathetic but he was like a large dog with a loud bark and a toothless bite.
"D-Draco," I whispered.
He turned his head to look at me. I pulled his neck towards me and gave him an awkward hug. I began rubbing his back, hoping that this wouldn't make him angry. He hated being treated like a child.
"I h-hope that w-whatever hexes you goes a-way. The Draco I know w-will f-find a w-way when h-he needs to," I tried to smile.
Draco, for once, didn't push me away. In fact, I think he began to rub his nose into my neck and shoulder. His free hand found my back, surprisingly, and rubbed it. He said nothing to me. How could he? Draco would no doubt be dying of embarrassment at the moment if he was actually aware. And when Draco was embarrassed, he acted as a child would: in anger.
I left the car after applying my makeup. I went to the bathroom and changed into a more fitting pale pink dress. If I stalled any longer, Draco might be furious, being left to handle the guests with our parents.
The rest of the after party went smoothly, from the guests laughing at the timed jokes to the wines down our throats.
I'm sure my eyes were glazy with emotion, though others might think it because I was getting married. No… I was wondering how Ron Weasley was doing. Perhaps he had finally confessed to Miss Perfect Model Student Hermione Granger. Not that I hated or even disliked Miss Granger. Far from it – a lady ought never have such strong emotions of any sort for anything. We were above such animalistic and human things.
Yet… perhaps I was not so perfect. I had been raised and trained to be the perfect lady and yet, Ron Weasley disarmed my strongest defenses. From his wonderful laughter to his stupid goofiness, he seemed to me the most perfect boy. How amazing it must be to be as free and carefree as him.
Despite being Draco Malfoy's betrothed since our birth, we hardly spoke at school. I doubted anyone even knew that we knew each other. As it were, our marriage was in fact a surprise to everyone but family. Yet it was due to this fortune of mine that I met Ron Weasley.
Ron Weasley… who saved me from bullies during our first train ride to Hogwarts while Malfoy simply stood and watched. I didn't expect Malfoy to protect me. He viewed me a weak little girl, unworthy of my pure blood status. Draco was right of course. I had nothing much to offer but a vassal for pureblooded children.
Of course, Ron Weasley didn't even know my name after that small little event in our first year. He probably didn't even know how much I stalked him after that day. I didn't dare look at him or converse with him. I c-could hardly even articulate myself in front of those close, how d-dare I try to speak to the wonderful Ron Weasley? Yes, he wasn't classically handsome or as intelligent as others but his undying loyalty for his friends as well as bravery made up for all of it.
His father, Lucius and mother, Narcissa, were exceptionally kind to me. They were kind people, despite Lucius's discrimination against Muggles and Mudbloods.
"Are you listening, you half-wit?" someone sneered into my ears.
I was given a fright, nearly jumping but someone's long fingers clawed into my elbow. I winced at the pain but turned to look up into ice clear diamond eyes. His eyes always seemed to smolder colder when he was a rage.
"Snap out of it, Jane. We've to cut the cake," Draco Malfoy sneered again into my ear. I nodded out of habit and obedience.
"Y-yes, of course," I stuttered.
Perhaps the main reason why Draco hated me so much was that… he wasn't allowed a choice in a bride, but to be given a damaged bride who stuttered… his Malfoy pride couldn't stand it. He saw himself a laughingstock, being chained to someone like me. I was surprised that Mr. Malfoy even allowed our betrothed to continue after my… defects were revealed but if anything, the Malfoy's pride valued honor and kept their promises.
I found myself being seated next to Draco and given a plate of food. People were toasting us, from our parents to friends to enemies. I didn't quite care to listen as my thoughts began wondering back to Ron and Hermione. They were probably snogging at this moment, weren't they?
I tried shaking those thoughts and instead thinking about his amazingly kind eyes. He was a benevolent soul, sparkling and fresh… like peppermint toothpaste and fields of wild flowers.
"Jane? Snap out of it, will you?" again I found myself snapped outside of my thoughts.
"Y-yes?" I replied to an indignant Draco.
"The guests are leaving. Mother and Father will take to them. We're to depart for our honeymoon, wife," Draco snapped.
The honeymoon… I dreaded it. H-how could I have forgotten it so soon?
His long pale fingers snapped around my elbow as he pulled me up, smiling at all others as though we were fine and we walked to the car. Draco opened the door and then glared at me with those diamond eyes, "Are you getting in or do I have to shove you, Mrs. Malfoy?"
My back straightened and I bit my lips in nervousness as I entered the car and went inside the luxurious car. I didn't need to be told twice by Draco, after all. He probably would shove me in, just for testing his patience.
Aimlessly, my thoughts found themselves back on Ron Weasley. I hadn't seen the red-haired boy for quite some time. I doubted we would ever see each other again. Of course, my silly fancy for the Weasley, if it were to be discovered by others, would be laughed at. Our stations were far from each other… and more so, I was Draco's bride. Draco, probably learned from his father, hated the Weasley family. They would be disgusted with my infatuation for Ron.
We were on an island resort that my family owned. Draco had never been to it… and perhaps had never had a natural tan in his life. However, I wanted to comfortable during that time and I felt that somewhere I've been to a million times was the safest option.
We arrived at the island shortly. Our things should have already been sent here prior to today. Draco and I landed at the entrance of the resort main house. The sun began to beat down on our backs. I turned to look over at Draco to see if he would combust into flames. Strangely enough, he didn't.
"Of all places to choose," he muttered as he walked forward. He was still wearing his outfit from the wedding. Draco checked us into the master suite, hastening away to get out of his clothes.
We entered the room, in which Draco immediately dove for his things, taking out some clothes and his 100 SPF sunblock lotion. I tried to quell my giggles as his insanely high SPF sunblock lotion, but couldn't stop it quite before he returned from his bathroom trip.
"What are you laughing at?" he scowled at me.
"Eh… n-nothing," I tried immediately to cover it up.
"I need you to apply this on my back," he kept his scowl while handing over the sunblock lotion. I blinked several times at the offered item in Draco's hand. His scowl deepened as I failed to understand what he wanted.
"Take the sunblock lotion, you nitwit!" Draco shook the thing at me.
I took it, in which he then proceeded to sit on the bed.
"Well? I'm waiting," he said as he pulled his shirt over up to his neck. The expanse of his pale back sent me into shock. W-was I supposed to touch h-him? W-was D-Draco trying to tell me t-t-that now… he w-wanted us to –
Draco turned around to glare at me, opening his mouth and studying my expression, but he must have realized the horror on my face. He shut his mouth and stared at me with something akin to understanding and pity.
"I won't attack you, you know. You don't have to worry about such a thing. I imagine we'll get to the deed in a couple of months when we're much more comfortable with each other," he replied in a matter of fact tone.
"I s-see. Thank y-you. How c-considerate," I looked away with blushing cheeks. To speak so f-freely of it! Withmenontheless!
"Unless…" his eyes took on a mischievous light.
I gulped and asked a stupid question, "Unless w-what?"
"You want to do it, don't you? You're curious," he laughed at me with those diamond eyes of his. "Poor little virgin Jane! No man's ever even kissed you before me, has he?" He began to throw back his head and laugh, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he ever heard! Well! I didn't think it was so funny to be twenty and a virgin! It was quite normal!
The sunblock lotion smacked into the floor, sputtering out onto the carpet at the indignity of being dropped. I didn't care for the bloody sunblock lotion's pride HOWEVER! Draco has been a spoiled brat all day! On our wedding day! I couldn't take it anymore! How indelicate and uncouth of him to demand me to rub sunblock lotion on him! And then to accuse me suchperversions! If I were less tolerant, I would h-have turned him into a f-ferret! I stormed out of the room and down the stairs.
When I reached the floor of elevators, I found myself running into a wall… or a chest. I fell, quite ungracefully I might add, onto my buttocks.
"Blimey, watch where you're going!" a familiar voice cried.
"She didn't mean to, Ron!" a more feminine voice called out.
I looked up from the bottom of the floor into those eyes and at that red hair. I blinked at the object of my affections and my eyes traveled down to the ring on his hand. I turned to look at the woman, Hermione Granger and the ring on her hand. I connected the bloody dots and saw purple.
"You're… Jane Heartridge, aren't you? From Ravenclaw?" Hermione asked.
All I could do was nod my head as I tried to hold back the tears. We weren't children anymore, were we? We were all married… and having honeymoons and demanding others to rub sun block lotion on each other's backs! My hands clenched at my side, before I pushed myself up, dusting myself.
"Are you vacationing here as well?" Hermione smiled at me.
She was a sweet girl, she really was. Perfect… intelligent and beautiful. Sometimes I even caught Draco looking at her. How could anyone not fall for someone so clever and just? How could my Ron not have fallen for the girl? They'd been friends all of their years at Hogwarts. It was bound to happen. Fate… that they were together. Not my fault… it was not my fault that I didn't try to grab and hold his attention. The tears were threatening to spill.
"Are y-you crying?" Hermione pointed out. She moved closer to study me. I visibly jumped, holding my arms and hands against my frame. I studied Ron's reaction to me and found him concerned… in a way that people were for strangers. He didn't recognize me. Of course he didn't. I wasn't very noticeable.
"Ron, apologize. You've made her cry," Hermione elbowed her husband.
"Gee, alright Hermione!" he rubbed his side.
He stepped forward to put his hand on my shoulder and opened his mouth, "I'm s– "
"Jane!" Draco rushed down from the stairs. Everyone turned to look at his loud entrance. Draco's eyes snapped to my tears, to the hand on my shoulders to its owner Ron and it narrowed dangerously. He came forward and shoved Ron's hand off my shoulder. I moved forward to stop Draco but I couldn't stop his mouth.
"What are you doing to my wife, Weasley?" he demanded.
"Your wife?" Ron sputtered. "If I had known it was your wife, I would have knocked her down!" His face contorted into a rage, the same way it had been when he had protected me on our very first train ride to Hogwarts. Draco took me into arms, as if Ron were a monster of some sort. Things were so different now, weren't they?
"Don't go sniffing around her, Weasley. If I find out that you've laid even just one finger on her, you're dead," he threatened the shorter man.
"You're threatening me now are you?" Ron's face heightened to a new shade of red. He came forward as if to punch Draco. Years of hatred between could not be squelched by their shared victory of Vodelmort's death.
"Boys!" Hermione stood in the way of her husband.
"Hermione! You're supposed to be on my side!" Ron whined.
This was not how I wanted Ron to see me… after two years of not seeing him, I thought I would rot away. After loving him for nearly a decade, I knew I could never be happy. I knew, even back then, deep down, that he loved Hermione Granger. Well, she was Hermione Weasley now, wasn't she?
I pressed my head against Draco's chest and pulled on his shirt. He must have noticed because his stance became lax and calm. I could feel his heartbeat slow down for me.
"Let's g-go," I whispered to him.
Again, something happened where Draco just listened to me. Without question, without any reason that I understood, he obeyed my command. He rolled his eyes at Hermione Granger, turned around and took me out of there and onto the elevator that opened up and back to our suite. I looked back, just for a second mind you and carved Ron Weasley's look of disgust into my heart.
"I hate those red-haired freaks," Draco muttered under his breath. We were back in our suite. The sun was setting and we didn't even have time to go to the beach or enjoy the day.
"Of c-course," I said to myself.
"Seriously, of all! Are you sure he didn't do anything to you? I swear if he did!" Draco was furious. Why… I didn't really know. Perhaps he was using me as an excuse to get back at his former enemy.
"I'm p-positive," I almost gave into a sigh.
He seemed to calm down as he looked over me, slumped over on the edge of a chair. My posture must have looked preposterous. What would my mother say? I straightened up under Draco's scrutiny. He must have realized my mistake. How awful of me to reveal such bad manners, especially when my husband was talking.
"Why are you so disheartened then, Jane? Was it instead that awful Granger?" he asked me, a touch of concern dotting his voice.
"N-no…I just w-wanted to g-g-go to the b-beach," I let out a sigh, even though it was so unladylike of me. They were married! Married!
"Oi, is that it then?" Draco seemed highly relieved.
"I s-suppose I-I'll just… take a b-bath," I nodded to myself, standing up.
"Yes, you do that," he replied as in a trance. I glanced at the usually pale boy to find his cheeks entirely red. I came to only one conclusion.
"Is this w-weather too much f-for you? Perhaps w-we should l-leave if the weather's too h-hot for you to h-handle," I put my hand on his forehead. Draco, the vile thing, slapped my hand away and turned around.
"Take your bloody shower, will you!" he yelled.
I went into the bathroom. I began disrobing and folding my clothes, putting them into a basket. After that, I pulled the shower curtain aside and stepped in. I turned the water to the hottest level and gave a sigh of relief as I began washing myself.
It felt so wonderful to take a shower! Despite the three I had taken earlier today!
When I got out of my shower, I found Draco sleeping on the King sized bed.
I looked around and decided that I would change the decor of this room after I left. The style was simply too old. I dropped my towel on the floor, deciding not to care as Draco was asleep. Going through the drawers for my undergarments naked, I glanced in the mirror above the drawers. I nearly jumped and screamed when I realized that Draco was not asleep.