CHAPTER FOUR
When Hermione and Flora arrived back at the manor, it was just gone half past twelve. Two house elves named Dusty and Mitzi took Hermione's new clothes up to her bedroom for her while she and Flora joined the rest of the Malfoy family in the dining room for lunch. It was a very similar scenario to breakfast, however Lucius was now reading some paperwork rather than a newspaper. However Narcissa dropped the silence and engaged in conversation.
"So, how did the shopping go girls?" She asked, glancing between Hermione and Flora.
"Very well, though I don't think Hermione liked the shopping assistant in Klassy Lady." Flora giggled. That in itself was an understatement. Hermione was crossing everything she possibly could in the hope she'd never see that woman again. However, she knew she'd most likely end up getting dragged back there. She just hoped she'd have someone different next time.
"Well at least the shopping went well. I can't wait to see what dresses you've picked Hermione. We'll have to ask Colette to design your wedding dress, she's a very skilled young woman." Narcissa smiled, taking a sip of her tea. Hermione simply nodded, even she had to admit she did admire Colette's fashion sense. She seemed to know instantly what colours Hermione liked and what she'd feel most comfortable in. Though she'd definitely be having words with her about her recommendation to Klassy Lady. That shop assistant had really put her off.
"Draco, remember you're going to be going into the gardens with Hermione today to talk about layout and décor." Lucius piped up, glancing over at Draco slightly.
"How could I forget, that's the tenth time you've told me." Draco scoffed.
"Draco, manners." Narcissa sighed, which instantly caused Draco to become mute once again. She then reminded Hermione they'd be talking about the people she wanted to invite to the wedding before she met up with Draco in the gardens.
After lunch, Narcissa guided Hermione into a very elegant looking room. It had two black leather corner sofas on either side of the room at the very back, a large fire place in the center of the room, opposite the wall the sofas rested upon and there were several forms of entertainment within the room such as; a grand piano, a chess board, a small shelf of books and an old fashioned, vintage vinyl player to listen to music. Narcissa sat down on one of the sofas, which had a coffee table resting in front of it and patted the spot beside her gently, gesturing for Hermione to sit down. She did so quickly, smiling politely.
"Now, I know you'll be wanting to invite your parents to the wedding, but tell me who else and I'll add their name to the list." Narcissa smiled, picking up a small book and a quill. Realising she'd have to use last names, since Narcissa probably wouldn't know some of her friends, she named the people she wanted to invite slightly slower so Narcissa would have time to write it down. She'd take a gap between three people, pretending to pause and think for a moment.
"Well Harry Potter, Ginny Potter and Ronald Weasley definitely. Lavender Brown since she's dating Ron. Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbot. Oh, Luna Lovegood too. Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan." Hermione started, listing the people closest to her. Even though they wouldn't be happy about the wedding, they were her friends and she didn't want them missing her wedding day, since it would be the only one she ever had. Narcissa nodded as she took down the times, her handwriting was beyond beautiful. Italic and elegant.
"And who do you think you'll want to be your bridesmaids? You can have as many as you'd like." Narcissa asked, looking up at Hermione when she finished writing down all the names, which had included some of the Hogwarts teacher's Hermione had grown close.
"Well, Flora definitely. I mean, I've only known her for one day but she's been so welcoming and I feel it wouldn't be right to not include her. Then Ginny, Luna and Lavender as well." Hermione stated, feeling happy with her decision. Narcissa smiled brightly and wrote it down.
"I presume you'll be wanting Miss Potter as your maid of honour. I know how close you two are." Narcissa inquired, the smile still on her face, to which Hermione nodded. She herself had been Ginny's maid of honour at her wedding, so declining Ginny the chance to be her maid of honour seemed unfair. Besides, there was no one else she'd trust with the job.
"She'd kill me if I picked someone else." Hermione giggled.
"Well, I think that's everything for now. If you think of anyone else you want to invite, please let me know. I'll show you to the gardens so you and Draco and talk about décor, then I'll get started on writing the invitations." Narcissa smiled, then got up and guided Hermione through the long corridors of the manor until they reached a large double door made of mahogany.
"I'll see you later for dinner, I'll show you the invitations then." Narcissa stated, then opened the door for Hermione who thanked her and walked out into the gardens.
She was almost speechless at the sight she saw. The gardens were huge. There was a large round pond at the far right of the garden, probably the size of a Olympic swimming pool and no doubt had hundreds of beautiful fish living within it. There was a large gazebo made of white wood with pink roses entwined all around it at the back of the garden but right in the middle. Sitting there would give you a direct view of the entire gardens and the back of the manor, or you could gaze out onto the horizon and watch the sun set. There were also several fountains and flower arrangements dotted around evenly, as well as some beautiful pink rose trees. At the far left of the garden, right in the very corner was the biggest willow tree she'd ever seen in her life. It's branches and leaves fell down almost to the ground and were so thick they'd block out everything except the sun light, meaning if you went inside you'd have complete privacy and wouldn't be seen by anyone unless they came inside too.
"Ah, Hermione we were wondering when you'd join us." Lucius Malfoy suddenly stated, interrupting her study of the garden. She looked to her right to see Lucius and Draco sitting at a large circular white table with six chairs resting around it. It was covered by a open glass conservatory that was attached to the manor. She stepped inside and sat down opposite them.
"I've had Mitzi go and fetch you two some tea while you look through these catalogues. I'll be in my study if you need me." Lucius informed them, then stood up and left the conservatory, returning inside the manor. There was a long and painful silence between Hermione and Draco, which was only ended when Mitzi returned with the tea Lucius had told them about. Hermione thanked the house elf, who smiled shyly then rushed off to get on with her jobs.
"Look, I know this is hard on you Draco. I know you're not happy about the situation, believe me I'm not either, but our mothers are counting on us to be grown ups about this." Hermione sighed, glancing up at Draco who was looking down at the catalogues. There was a long silence between them before he finally spoke up. Hermione had expected him to yell at her, tell her he didn't care about the wedding at all. What he said instead truly shocked her.
"Can we keep it traditional?" He asked, looking over at her. She stared at him in shock for a few moments, trying to let what she'd just heard sink in. She'd actually managed to reason with Draco Malfoy and he was willing to help her plan the wedding. Smiling softly she nodded.
"Of course." She then stood up and moved over so she was sitting in the chair beside him. Glancing down at the catalogues she noticed all of them had been opened onto a traditional white wedding setting, with a few variations in the décor here and there.
"I know most girls dream of marrying prince charming, unfortunately you had to settle for me. So, I want the wedding to make up for that fact." Draco muttered.
"You're not that bad Draco, you're willing to help me with this so that says a lot." Hermione smiled and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He rolled his eyes, chuckling slightly.
"So, we're having a traditional white wedding. But I'm thinking we could add our own little twists here and there. Too much white would be a bit too much." Draco mused.
"How about green and pink? It's obvious from the pink roses and all the pink flowers your mother likes pink, and then the green goes with it, as well as representing Slytherin." Hermione suggested, pointing to a page in one of the catalogues which had the bridesmaids dressed in pink. She seemed to think it worked well.
"But then there'd be nothing representing you." Draco pointed out.
"I like pink. Besides, I'll get to pick my dress and the dress the bridesmaids will be wearing. That will represent me." Hermione shrugged, looking at him with a smile on her face.
Two hours later Draco and Hermione had finished going through the catalogues and had picked everything, décor wise, they wanted for the wedding. Surprisingly, Hermione found she and Draco had similar tastes. She didn't want anything too bold and neither did he. Just something for close friends and family to attend. Now the two were making their way over to the dining room when Hermione suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, covering her mouth with her hands. The concern in Draco's eyes was genuine as he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Hermione, what's wrong? Are you alright?" He asked, his eyes searching hers for an answer.
"Crookshanks. I left Crookshanks." She muttered, looking up at him with wide eyes full of guilt.
"Dusty went to retrieve him this morning. Don't worry, he's fine, we're just keeping him in one room for now so he can get used to this place." Draco stated reassuringly. Relief flooded Hermione's entire being and she hugged Draco tightly, thanking him hundreds of times before letting him go. There was a faint blush to his keeps, but he nodded and continued making his way to the dining room where the three other Malfoys were waiting for them.
"I trust you've both made up your minds about the décor?" Lucius asked, not glancing up at them, keeping his eyes fixed on his paper work.
"Yes father. The order form has been filled in and is on your desk." Draco responded, sitting down next to Flora. Hermione sat down next to her too, giving her a quick smile.
"Next on the agenda is catering. I'll be helping you both with that tomorrow." Narcissa stated.
"Thank you." Hermione nodded politely.
"Anytime my dear. I have the invitations here if you'd like to look at them before dinner arrives." Narcissa smiled, passing Hermione a small pile of cards. They were white and had all the writing written in gold. There were also pink roses added in the top left corner and bottom right. From the looks of it Narcissa had made each rose herself and sewn it onto the card.
"They're beautiful." Hermione smiled back, admiring the beautiful cards Narcissa had created.
"I'm glad you like them, I'll have them delivered by owl tomorrow." Narcissa stated, taking the cards back when Hermione handed them over to her. She simply nodded, but knew as soon as Harry and Ron received those invitations, all hell was going to break loose.
They finished dinner not too long later. Hermione had no idea what it was, but it had been divine. It was definitely something she could get used to, now that she was living with the Malfoys. And as much as she wanted to go and see Crookshanks, Narcissa insisted it would be better if she did so after breakfast claiming the cat wasn't quite used to the new environment yet. With hesitation, Hermione agreed to wait and made her way to Draco's bedroom. When she arrived she found a pair of her old pyjamas folded neatly on the Ottoman, causing her to smile slightly. At least they weren't making her wear the stupid night gowns they wore. She was also pleased to find the bathroom door had been left unlocked, so she stepped inside and got changed, then brushed her teeth before returning to the bedroom. When she walked back in, she found Draco already sitting on the bed, wearing some pyjama bottoms and nothing on his torso. She blushed slightly but walked over to the bed and climbed in under the covers.
"You know when Harry gets that invitation he's going to storm over here and demand what's going on." Hermione stated, looking over and Draco.
"I know." He sighed.
"And he's going to bring Ron with him."
"I know."
"And they're not going to be happy about this at all. Someone's going to start throwing punches. All hell is going to break loose." Hermione added.
"Well, we'll just have to explain everything before one of them damages my handsome face."
First off can I just say thank you so much! I mean, this story hasn't been up that long, and currently this is only the forth chapter, but it's already got 53 follows and almost 1,500 views. I am so grateful to each and every one of you who took the time to read this! It means so much to me that there are people out there who are enjoying this.
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