Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to the brilliant JK Rowling.

The next morning, Draco decided not to leave the room like he normally did. The night before, he had come back from the library with two books; one for Granger, and one for himself in case he wanted to stay. Draco was always awake before Granger. He flopped back the luxurious blankets of the large bed and tossed his feet out the side. Sitting there, he looked over at the sleeping form on his sofa. Granger had curled herself into the blankets but seemed peaceful, her brown hair sprawled around her head on the pillow. Draco smiled. Even when she slept that hair was wild.

Slipping off the bed, Draco placed the new book on the small table by the sofa, grabbed some robes for the day, and headed into the bathroom to shower and change. Standing under the hot water, he tried to clear his mind so he could actually enjoy it. That was far too much to ask. His mind never gave him any peace, especially now with this whole arrangement with Granger. He would soon be married to her. Draco was having a hard time wrapping his head around this. What did he really know about her now? She was the Dark Lord's daughter, she loved to read books, she enjoyed learning, she liked this strange Mexican food. Not a whole lot to go on if she was going to be his wife. Then it struck him. What was he supposed to call her once they were married? He had been calling her Granger since their first year at Hogwarts. He supposed she was technically Hermione Riddle right now, but that was just weird. After the wedding, she would be Hermione Malfoy. Hermione Granger, a Malfoy. He shook his head. This was all far too strange for his liking.

Draco turned the shower off and dried himself with a towel before slipping into his robes. Turning towards the bathroom door, he realized this was his last chance to change his mind about staying in the room that day. No. He was finished hiding from this, from her.

He pushed open the door to see Granger just waking up. She was sitting up on the sofa, reaching her arms above her head in a large stretch. Draco took the book he had brought for himself and sat in one of the armchairs.

"You aren't leaving?" Granger asked, sounding surprised.

"No, I decided that I wanted to relax in my own bedroom today. Is that alright with you?" He replied sarcastically. The witch just rolled her eyes and stood up, heading for the bathroom. Why was he staying again? Draco had to remind himself. Right, no more running from everything. He had promised himself that he would try to be decent and start this thing right.

When Granger finally came out of the bathroom, she was smiling. Without saying a word, she picked up the book and sat cross-legged on the sofa.

"What are you so happy about?" Draco inquired snidely.

"Nothing really. I haven't had any company other than the couple of minutes a house elf is here to drop off some food, and even they won't talk to me. It's just been lonely is all," she explained.

"Oh," he replied dumbly.

Over the next few days, Draco started to spend more and more time in the bedroom. He even began eating with Granger at meal times. The only exception was dinner, which he had to spend with his parents. Each day, the two spent their time gradually getting closer both physically and emotionally.

The first day had been slightly awkward; not a lot of talking, just reading, and on separate sides of the room. The next day, Draco sat in the chair that was closest to the sofa and spent breakfast and lunch with the witch. Throughout that day, somehow, Draco had ended up on the opposite side of the couch from where Granger was sitting. After that, he realized he actually didn't mind spending time with her. They read their books, talked, ate meals together, and by that next night, Draco found himself sitting next to Granger on the sofa, just far enough away so they didn't touch.

They talked mostly about light subjects to attempt to distract themselves from the seriousness of their situation. They discussed things such as favorite colors, animals, time of year, whether they liked the warm or cold, and other small details. They still had their share of petty arguments, but surprisingly, the time went by with quite civil conversations.

The day they both wanted to forget about was fast approaching. This was one topic that neither of them touched on during those few days, though it was inevitable that the discussion had to come.

"We have to talk about tomorrow," Granger said, turning to face him.

Draco sighed. He had known this was coming, but he supposed she was right.

"I can't believe it's tomorrow already," he murmured.

"There is no way to get out of it is there," the witch stated.

"No. There isn't."

"A lot is going to happen and we have to be prepared for it," Hermione insisted.

Draco simply nodded. They looked at each other. No words were needed to describe the worry they both shared. Firstly, they would have to kiss, and in front of a bunch of death eaters. Then, they would have to dance together, and finally, the thing that neither of them really wanted to think about was what they had to do that night. In order to finalize the marriage bond, they would have to be intimate with one another.

"Tomorrow we will be bonded by magic that can only be broken with death," Draco told her. She nodded slightly, lips in a firm line.

"I just wish I had a choice in all of this," she spoke sadly.

"We both do," he assured her. But now that he thought of his current situation, he knew that this was slightly different for him. He could finally see why his parents thought this could be a good thing for him. Yes, he could get any girl he wanted while he was in school, but now, since the Dark Lord had won, he was a feared man by many. He found that he was glad that Granger was not afraid of him.

"I wish that I could have a least been involved in the planning of my own wedding. I always dreamed of shopping for the dress, the cake, looking at decorations and flowers," she explained.

"My mother is doing most of the planning so I know it is going to be lovely," Draco said, attempting to assure her of this. Granger simply shook her head sadly.

"It just isn't the same. You wouldn't understand."

Draco didn't like being told that he didn't understand something, but maybe in this situation, he didn't understand completely, so he let it go.

"I wish my parents could be there, that my father, the father I grew up with could walk me down the isle. I wish my friends could be there. No matter what, I always wanted Ron and Harry…" she trailed off at Harry's name and Draco could see that tears had formed in her eyes. "I always wanted them to be there. And Ginny should be my maid of honor. Everything is just all wrong." She could no longer contain herself and the tears rolled down her face as her shoulders shook.

He didn't know why, but Draco got the sudden urge to comfort her. He had never really been comforted when he was upset. His mother was not allowed to and his father didn't even care. He feared he didn't know how. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She didn't pull away so he assumed he was doing something right. She dug her face into his robes as she cried. Draco hadn't realized how much this wedding would affect her. It was a pretty big event in her life and having the death of her best friend still so fresh probably made this whole situation even worse for her.

Draco sat stiffly, holding her until her vigorous shaking turned to deep breaths. She pulled away and wiped the tear stains from her face. She looked embarrassed and ashamed. He probably would have felt that way too if he were her, crying all over the one you were supposed to hate. Draco didn't say anything.

"Do you know how everything is going to happen tomorrow before the wedding?" she asked trying to ignore the crying incident.

Draco played along. "My mother will take you to another room to help you with your hair and makeup, and the dress, and stuff," he explained awkwardly. "The wedding is being held in the gardens so you will be brought out there once you two are finished."

The next morning, Hermione was woken up early by a small, wrinkly house elf.

"Mistress needs you in the dressing room now," the elf croaked.

Hermione sighed groggily. It was time.

"Should I bring anything?" she asked.

"No. Come," the small creature commanded.

Without any more questions, Hermione stood up from the sofa and followed the elf. She was led to a large room that contained an enormous mirror with a small stool in front of it, a bath tub already filled with water, and a chair in front of a counter with yet another mirror. She stood in awe.

"You have bath first," the elf said. Then with a pop, it was gone.

Hermione looked at the water and tested it with a finger. It was warm. She looked around, seeing a towel and a bathrobe lying beside the tub. She decided that she was supposed to get in the bath now, so she took off her sleep clothes and sunk beneath the surface. The water was much deeper than she had thought, coming comfortably to the top of her shoulders. She lay in the luxurious bath until the water began to get cold. Because with magic it is possible to make the water stay warm forever, she guessed that she was supposed to get out now.

As soon as she left the water, the cool air of the room nipped at her skin and she quickly wrapped herself in the soft towel before pulling on the bathrobe. Just as she had done so, she heard the door open and Narcissa Malfoy entered the room.

"Hermione. A pleasure to meet you under, pleasant circumstances," Narcissa greeted. She was referring to the previous time they had come face to face while her sister Bellatrix tortured her for information about the sword of Gryffindor.

Hermione nodded. She wouldn't necessarily call the current situation pleasant, but it was definitely a lot more so than the last time.

Narcissa Malfoy was much less intimidating than Lucius Malfoy, though with much of the same superior attitude. She moved over to Hermione in graceful, fluid motions, seeming to examine every inch of Hermione's body, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. She kept mumbling, "what might work with that hair." Narcissa guided Hermione to the chair by the counter and began working on taming her morning frizz.

It did not take nearly as long as it had for Hermione to do it herself. With the help of a few charms and many hair pins, it was just under an hour. She looked at herself in amazement. Her brown, normally quite bushy hair was pulled back into a neat bun with a braid on one side, and a small bit of hair hanging like a frame, curled, by the side of her face. She had never before seen her hair look as beautiful.

Next came the makeup. With some smoky eye shadow, a thin line of eyeliner slightly winged out to the sides and some mascara, Hermione thought she looked like a princess. It was strange having a woman she barely knew touching her face like that, but she was definitely pleased with the way it turned out.

Next came the dress. Narcissa summoned it from a different room and Hermione's jaw dropped at the sight of it. It had a strapless a-line bodice that was covered in a white floral-like design. It dipped out around the hip and changed to a thin white mesh-like material. Narcissa helped her into the dress and adjusted to fit perfectly to Hermione's form. Standing in front of the large mirror, she could see Narcissa smiling behind her.

"My Draco will be amazed," she told Hermione.

Hermione couldn't help but smile too. She had never seen herself this way before; beautiful.

"Here, put these on," Narcissa said, holding out a pair of silver strappy heels. "Everybody is already outside now. It shouldn't be long."

Taking the heels and putting them on, Hermione had one last time to look in the mirror before being swept off into the hallway, heading towards the garden.

The Garden was beautifully set up with chairs along each side of the aisle in rows surrounded by patches of flowers. At the end of the aisle was a small stone platform covered by an archway of vines. The vines themselves were flourished with large pink flowers. It seemed strange to see all the death eaters sitting in the decorating white seats, almost laughable if she wasn't so nervous.

Hermione stood some ways behind everyone, but she could see Malfoy standing at the end already. He really did look handsome in his dark dress robes. It was a sunny and warm day and perfect for the outdoor wedding. Hermione wondered if somebody had used magic to make it that way.

To her utter horror, Hermione saw Voldemort himself walking to her side. She had not seen him since he had made her have dinner with him. To say she was surprised would be an understatement, but she guessed that she was technically his daughter so it would make sense for him to be the one to 'give her away' so to speak. He couldn't just let her have this day for a little peace, he had to go and ruin it with his presence. Hermione had hoped that he wouldn't be there, but that was obviously too much to dream of.

"Daughter," he greeted coolly and held out his arm for her to take.

Hermione tried hard not to grimace. She did not want to touch him, but she also did not want to experience his wrath right now, so she just took the arm extended to her and hoped for it all to be over soon. She looked at the ground in front of her to avoid the snake man's scrutinizing gaze.

The wedding music began playing in a slow tune that sounded to Hermione like a death march. Slowly, the Dark Lord led her down the aisle. All eyes were on her, but she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to see all the death eaters ogling her, so she concentrated on Malfoy standing alone on the stone platform. Wait. Why was he alone? Wasn't there supposed to be somebody up there with the authority to marry them? Then it struck her. Voldemort was going to pronounce them husband and wife! Of course, he would make himself the top authority of such an event if only to make it more miserable for the people involved. She stared straight at Malfoy, trying to block out everything else, and noticed that he was also staring at her. His mask slipped just a bit so that she could see his impressed expression before he went back to being completely neutral.

Hermione was surprised when she actually felt a sense of comfort in Malfoy's eyes. Being the object of attention of all the people who previously wanted her dead was extremely nerve wracking and uncomfortable. The long train on the dress dragged behind her through the grass as she slowly stepped in time with the music.

Finally reaching Malfoy, he held out his hand for Hermione, who took it and gratefully stepped away from Voldemort. The Dark Lord moved behind them and began the vows. Hermione barely seemed to register what was going on around her. She focused hard on Malfoy's eyes, on the strength in his hands as they stood facing each other, both of her hands clasped in his. Voldemort was speaking and she was repeating, but she didn't fully understand the words. It was like a fog shielded her from any stimulus other than the man in front of her. She guessed it had something to do with the marriage bond forming.

"I do," she said as the vows were becoming complete.

Voldemort spoke again and she heard Malfoy say "I do," across from her.

Rings were presented and Malfoy slipped the large silver band onto her left ring finger. The ring had an emerald stone in the center, surrounded by many small diamonds. It was beautiful, but much too Slytherin for her liking. Hermione was given another silver band to put on Malfoy's finger. Voldemort's wand came into view and the ring grew quite hot, though not altogether uncomfortable and a tingling sensation flooded through her body.

"You may now kiss," Voldemort completed.

Malfoy's hands slid up Hermione's shoulders and brought her closer to him. She was so close that their noses brushed and she felt the warmth of his breath on her face. Hermione looked up into his eyes as their lips met and the energy that had been coursing through her body finally exploded and surrounded them with a pink glow. She closed her eyes and felt the bond connect them in a way she had never before experienced. Everything else was blocked out except for the bright light that was still visible behind her eyelids, and Malfoy's soft lips against hers. Slowly, the light faded away and the two separated.

Everything around her now seemed amplified, as if Hermione had just surfaced from being underwater. There were a few claps from the characteristically dark audience and Voldemort spoke once more.

"The bond will be completed after uniting in sexual relations tonight," he announced. That was an exceedingly strange phrase to be said by the Dark Lord himself. There were multiple things at the wedding which seemed more than a bit off, but Hermione had bigger issues to worry about.

There was a sudden burst of movement as people lined up on either side of the aisle with their wands drawn. A long archway of golden light formed above their heads as Draco and Hermione made their way back up the aisle. Malfoy kept a tight grasp on her hand as he led her away from the party of death eaters.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"The rest of the wedding will occur in the orchard. We have our first dance and then you can go change into other dress robes more appropriate for the meal," he told her.

"Oh," she said.

Soon, she found herself under a canopy of green leaves. There were several tables covered in white tablecloths arranged in a large semi-circle. In the empty space was the band that would be playing for the dance. People began arriving shortly after them, sitting around the many tables. Hermione spotted Malfoy's parents arrive and take their seat at the center table, opposite the band. Narcissa's eyes were noticeably watery. She could tell that Narcissa had been attempting to control her emotions in the presence of the death eaters and would not allow herself to cry, and show that weakness. Hermione thought this was very sad; that she wasn't allowed to be emotional at her own son's wedding.

Once everyone was seated, the slow music began playing again and all eyes returned to the new couple. This song was different than the one earlier, but still held the sad tones it seemed to Hermione.

Hermione hated being the center of the death eaters' attention and it made her visibly more nervous.

"Just focus on me," Malfoy whispered into her ear as he brought her close.

His hands came to rest on her hips while Hermione's wrapped around the back of his neck. They both stepped in sync with the music. Her heart raced with adrenaline. Without the effect of the bond beginning to form, she could feel the pressure of many eyes on her. She tried to focus simply on the man in front of her but it was proving to be a difficult task.

It seemed to take forever before the music finally came to a stop.

"I'll walk you back to the manor," Draco offered.

"Thanks," Hermione replied. She would have argued this offer had she not known that she would have gotten lost had he not been there. Plus, she didn't trust the other death eaters.

The celebrations continued with food, music, and dancing, but Hermione did not enjoy any of it. She was still frightened at the prospect of being among so many death eaters, even though she knew that she was off limits for them, at the moment anyways. She stayed rather quiet throughout the event, only speaking when asked a direct question. Finally, the occasion came to a close and Malfoy led her back to the room for the last time that night.

Her stomach was in knots. It seemed that Malfoy was feeling the same way as his face was hard and grim. They had both been dreading the moment that was now upon them. The kiss hadn't been that bad, in fact, Hermione had to admit that she had found it quite pleasurable, but that also could have been the bond being formed.

She took a deep breath as they entered the bedroom. This was it, their future together awaited.

Author's Note:

I know a lot of you were anticipating this chapter so I apologize for taking a bit longer! For some reason I was having a bit of trouble writing some parts. Oh well, I hope I did it justice for you guys! Please tell me what you think!