Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter or any of it's contents, I only own this plot.

After She Wakes – Chapter Ten – Morning Of The Dreaded

Not two weeks later saw Hermione and Draco on the morning of their wedding. They had been given the whole day off to get ready for the event, which was to take place in the afternoon. The rest of the school were off-timetable for the afternoon as well so Hermione and Draco only had the peace and quiet of their dormitories for about four hours.

"I don't believe I'm doing this Ginny." Hermione said pacing the room back and forth. Ginny had been given the day off too seeing as her parents and Mrs. Weasley couldn't make it to the school until lunchtime. Draco was sitting with his own mother and father in the Slytherin dormitories.

"Don't worry Hermione, it'll be fine. I mean I know you are getting married to Malfoy, but think of the benefits!" Ginny told her taking a hold of Hermione's arms and sitting her down on the bed besides her.

"Benefits? What benefits! There is absolutely NO good that can come of this marriage!" She cried hysterically.

"If Malfoy wasn't your 'true love' then you wouldn't have woken up when he kissed you." She said making air quotes with her hands. Hermione visibly shuddered when she was reminded of that awful day not even a month ago when Malfoy had been forced to kiss her. Harry, Ron and Ginny had told her the story in detail after she had been told that she was to marry Malfoy.

"Ginny, it was like the kiss from the devil. Anybody with any taste and morals would have woken up when that that THING kissed them. I would rather lay in a coma now than have to marry the enemy!"

"Hermione!" Ginny cried shaking her friend by the shoulders, "You don't mean that, think of me! Think of what Ron and Harry would do without you."

"I know, I know but oh my gosh I can't believe I'm doing this, I'm too young to get married, I wanted to get my own apartment, maybe move to another country; I wanted to make sure I had a stable job and career before I even considered getting married. Even considered dating seriously!"

There was a knock at the door and Ginny rushed to open it, seeming pleased for the distraction from Hermione's moaning. She had stayed up half the night with her, trying to calm her down as she hyperventilated and cried into her pillow. She saw Professor McGonagall standing outside holding a box and looking rather uncomfortable.

"Miss Weasley, I need to see Miss Granger," She said gesturing to the bag in her hands.

"Of course, Hermione and I were just about to start getting ready." She said opening the door further to allow the head of Gryffindor into the dormitory. Hermione had stretched across her bed and now lay with her face in her pillow.

"We were not!" came a muffled voice, "I am not getting dressed up to marry that that…"

"Perfectly respectable individual who may I remind you is a fellow Prefect of yours?" Ginny offered quietly as she noted Professor McGonagall's expression at seeing her star student having a tantrum on her bed.

"No! And please we all know why he is a prefect - Snape. No! What I mean to say was Troglodyte! That's what he is! Nothing more than an evil, ferrety, malicious… Professor McGonagall!" Hermione cried in a much more civil and optimistic tone, "I didn't know you were here." She glared at Ginny and sat up and straightened her blouse and hair out.

"Yes well, Professor Dumbledore wanted me to give this to you, he said that perhaps you could wear it for luck." She said sympathetically. Hermione caught onto this and nodded gratefully. She took the box from her and opened it, inside was a necklace. Gasps left Ginny and Hermione's mouth. It was what looked to be a solid white gold chain and on the end lay the pendant of a bronze eagle. The precision and detail in the pendant was incredible and Hermione and Ginny found themselves lost in the winding engravings on it. The eagle's eyes were made from a midnight blue jewel.

"It was Rowena Ravenclaw's. You reminded him, and I so much of her. Her creative talent, sharp wit, wisdom and intelligence. It's a wonder the Sorting Hat didn't place you there, not that I mind of course."

Hermione's eyes welled up at the compliment she was receiving from her head of house, she had the sudden urge and temptation to reach put and hug the older woman, she of course refrained from even attempting to do so, even in the midst of a particular soft and deserving moment.

"Thank you Professor, this means so much to me." Was all that Hermione managed to say. Ginny was still staring down in awe at the jewellery piece.

"Well, I will leave you to get back to getting ready, we will see you soon I suppose." She nodded towards Ginny before saying, "Miss Weasley."

"Professor." She waved a hand in the direction of the door as a farewell. As soon as it clicked shut a squeal elicited from Ginny.

"Oh my gosh Hermione, have you seen that thing! It's huge!" She cried still holding the box and taking the pendant out of its casing to inspect it closer.

"I know I'm touched, but it doesn't change the fact that I have to marry Malfoy in about six hours."

"Right! Of course, and it's going to take at least five and a half to get ready, we should get to work." She told her putting the necklace back in the box and carefully placing it on the bed besides Hermione.

"I don't see why I should, I mean seriously, dressing up for Malfoy? I don't think so!"

"Hermione, you bought the dress, you have to wear it! You picked it out and everything! You seemed to want it at the time."

"I wasn't thinking clearly, I mean people get dressed up at weddings for the one they love. I don't even dislike Malfoy, hate is the right word."

Ginny narrowed her eyes and grabbed her make-up case and brush and walked to the bathroom connected to the dormitory. She came back out glaring at Hermione.

"Bathroom!" She said pointing to the door. Hermione looked questionably at her, noting that her tone was not a happy one, she opened her mouth to respond but Ginny got there first. "Now!" Hermione shut her mouth and obeyed her younger friend by walking to the bathroom and sitting at the vanity as she wanted.

101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010

"… should be illegal!" came the angry voice from the Slytherin dormitories. Lucius Malfoy was pacing the room while his wife carefully fixed the tie round her son's neck.

"Lucius, please, calm down." She pleaded calmly with him. She looked up at the distressed look on her son's face and she knew that he was bothering him.

"That old fool wouldn't even speak to me, I have a good mind to speak to the ministry about this, I mean he should make a point of being able to speak to concerned parents whenever they need to!"

"Lucius." She said a bit more fiercely this time. She brushed the blonde hair the same shade as her own out of Draco's eyes and smiled gently at him, hoping to coax a smile out of him. It didn't work; the same miserable scowl had been planted on his face for the past sixteen hours.

"Do you not care Narcissa? Our son, our son, is being forced to marry a mudblood! And a friend of Harry Potter's at that!"

"Lucius, you know how I hate that word." She told him wincing when he spat out 'mudblood'.

"His life is ruined! Ruined, ruined, ruined!" He cried practically jumping up and down with rage.

"Lucius!" Narcissa shouted, Lucius glanced at his wife only mildly surprised, he had known it was coming, from the start of his rant he had known that he would get himself get so worked up about it that his wife would eventually snap.

"You are not the one being forced to marry this girl, Draco is, so I have no idea why you are moaning more that he is. Secondly, his life is not ruined! He can still go on to do what he wants, marriage doesn't force anybody to do anything."

Narcissa moved to the bed to sit besides her son, he was staring at his hands, he hadn't said a word to them apart from 'Hello' since they had arrived earlier that morning. She was worried about him, the realization that he was getting married to a girl he didn't even love was being ground in to him, a lot more harshly than he would have liked.

"Draco?" She asked. He looked up at her, his eyes seemingly emotionless to any other person, any other person than his mother. She knew that he was sad and disappointed; she knew that despite other people's beliefs, her son wanted to marry a woman that he loved. She also knew that underneath it all, there would come a time when Draco and Hermione Granger would learn to accept each other. She didn't expect either of them to realize it now, but in time she knew that they would learn to live with each other and maybe even love.

END OF CHAPTER TEN

Authors Notes – Wow, February? That was the last time I updated? I am sooooo sorry; the good news is I updated I suppose though. I originally planned to have this chapter paired with the actual wedding chapter but then halfway through writing this I realized it would be far too long and it would take me far too long t update so the next chapter will be the wedding ceremony. I decided to like Narcissa in this ff so she isn't evil, I don't think I want to make Lucius as evil as he is portrayed to be either but I'm not sure about that yet.

Please review, I love reviews, it's reading those that make me want to update more.

Thank you so much to all of those who reviewed, I love you all.

Hope you all are well;

LJ

X x x x