Chapter Eleven

A/N: Thanks to dream-on-sunday for reviewing! By the way, just as fair warning, this is by far the longest chapter I've ever written. Enjoy!

The day had finally arrived, the day that the Wizarding World had been anticipating for months. The day Lucius Malfoy that would finally marry the love of his life, Narcissa Black.

To the dismay of her family, however, especially that of her mother, Narcissa had entrusted all plans for the ceremony and reception to Lucius, due to the fact that he wanted to surprise her. The only things that Narcissa had actually had any imput in were the guest list and the selection of the bridesmaids and, bar the date, time and venue, the eighteen-year-old was completely in the dark.

It was a brilliant idea, but Narcissa had always had a dream of how she wanted her wedding to be and sitting around waiting for news on her wedding morning featured no part in it. All that the bridal party of Narcissa, her mother, Bellatrix, Carolyna, Viola and Amorette could do was wait.

At last, at about nine o'clock in the morning, the ring of the great doorbell resounded through the Entrance Hall of Black Manor. Druella, being very impatient to get her youngest daughter ready to be married, went to answer the door, leaving the remaining girls in silence, looking at each other as if asking the silent question they all wanted to have answered; Is it him? Is this it?

Their question was answered when Druella returned, several dress bags enveloped in her arms. Almost all of the girls rose from their seats, smiles lighting up their faces as they took their individual dress bags and ran to Narcissa's dressing room, leaving the girl herself alone with her mother, who had taken the largest dress bag and hung it on the front of her wardrobe. Narcissa didn't doubt for one moment what it was.

"This is it, Mother." breathed the younger blonde, swaying a little as she thought of the piece of fabric laying behind the pale leather barrier.

"That it is, darling. Do you want me to open it for you?" asked Druella, noticing her daughter's brief faint spells.

"Yes, please, Mother. I don't think my nerves would stand it if you didn't." jested Narcissa, raising her hands slightly to emphasise the point and noticing that they were shaking violently. Druella took note of this as well and stood beside her daughter, taking both her hands in her own to sooth the both of them. She did for only a few seconds, a dozen at the most, before making her way to the dress and pulling the zip down, casting a glance towards her youngest daughter as she did so. She hadn't even reached the bust line when the bridesmaids arrived and so stopped, in order to admire the womens' dresses.

"Well, Lucius has definately pulled it off on this one, I have to admit!" laughed Viola, ruffled her skirt slightly around her.

He certainly had. The bridesmaids were dressed identically in floating silver chiffon dresses, the hem of each one sweeping the floor as they walked, revealing silver strapped sandals. With the defined A-line shape and the curving strapless neckline, complete with an almost diamond studded waist and bustline and a lacy white shrug, it was nowhere near what Narcissa had chosen, but she had decided that she loved it more than anything she could've possibly done.

"Alright, Cissy, your turn." laughed the chief bridesmaid, who was fooling around with the few loose dark curls that had escaped from her hair.

"I suppose so. I just hope that Lucius got my dress as right as he got all of yours." responded Narcissa, taking the dress bag from its place on the front of the wardrobe and following her mother into the dressing room. The bridesmaids, naturally, could not resist a gossip as they waited and settled upon the topic of the wedding, seeing nothing more important to talk about.

"So, the all important question; do you think he's got it right?" asked Viola, ever the conversation starter, looking around the room quickly in an attempt to guage the reaction of the other women.

"I do not have a clue, as I do not really know the man, but I know how much he loves our Cissy and so I would think he would know." Amorette stated, her Calais accent light and airy, yet laced with a slight tone of worry all the same.

"Oh, I don't know. Lucius may love her, but that doesn't mean he'll choose what she wants and not what he does." countered Bellatrix, her voice laced not with worry, but with venom.

"Oh, I don't know. I think he'll pull it off." Carolyna said, nodding her head slightly as if to reinforce her opinion. Well, their question would be answered momentarily, as the final bow was tied and Druella appeared from behind the curtain seperating the two rooms, holding it open for the beautiful young bride. And not even Bellatrix could stop a tear streaking down her face.

Narcissa truly looked beautiful. The shrug around her shoulders drew little attention, as it was identical to the ones her bridesmaids were wearing, bar the one silver rose detailed into it, neither did her understated pink make-up gain much interest. Her shoes were silver, strapped and high-heeled, as was the bejewelled tiara set in her elegant golden chignon bun, holding in place the pure white veil, gems dotting it every so often as it fell past the silver silk lacing across her back. But the dress, the dress was what brought tears to their eyes. It was a stunning gown, fitted at the bodice and adorned with silver roses, a precious white gem set in the centre of each, while the skirt spread out around Narcissa in layers of tulle, the lower ones falling straight, while the topmost fell in ruffled layers.

"Oh, Cissy." breathed Bellatrix, quickly attempting to wipe the tears from her face before they streaked her make-up.

"Cissy, you are absolutely beautiful, sweetheart." cried Amorette, who was doing the same as her elder cousin, smiling at the younger.

"Yeah." was the only word Viola and Carolyna could really manage, though seemed to be able to manage to speak in unison nonetheless.

"Mother?" Narcissa questioned, turning to see the proud elder blonde with her silk-gloved hand to her mouth, blinking her eyes repeatedly in an attempt to clear them of the crystal tears they were filling with.

"Stunning. Absolutely stunning." Druella whispered. This made the younger blonde's smile increase tenfold. Suddenly, a knock sounded at the bedroom door. Narcissa was hurriedly shooed behind the curtain of her four-poster bed by her sister and cousin, lest the visitor be her future husband and her luck be thwarted by his seeing her. From behind the curtain, Narcissa could hear a pair of hushed voices. Then the curtain was swept back and Narcissa saw her father standing in the doorway, a white rose thread through the top buttonhole of his light grey suit.

"Are they ready for me, Father?" Narcissa asked, her normally light and uplifting voice weighed down by worry and fear.

"Yes, darling." he replied, his voice sounding only a little less emotional than Druella's, though his face showing a lot less than his wife. His daughter then nodded, delicately plucking a bouquet of white roses wrapped in a silver ribbon from a glass vase on the table that Bellatrix, Carolyna and Amorette were sitting at and turning it thrice in hand to admire the crystal detailing.

"Then I suppose that this is my time." Narcissa sighed contentedly, taking her father's arm. At this moment, Druella and the bridesmaids dispersed from the pair, ready to Apparate to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa and Cygnus shared one last glance before doing the same.

The wards of Malfoy Manor had been taken down temporarily, so that the bridal party could arrive from Narcissa's manor in Somerset without chance of soiling their clothes via the Floo system. Surprisingly, Narcissa had only visited Malfoy Manor once, for her debutante ball and thus did not know the house well at all, relying on her mother, who had visited the place far more often, to guide her to where she needed to be.

When the group reached the vermeil patio doors at the far end of the ballroom, Narcissa gasped at the view from the window. The whole of the rolling grounds of Malfoy Manor were covered in a sparkling blanket of snow. Silver decorations and white roses filled the trees, which themselves covered a large group of people, sitting on silver-backed chairs, with a large, white aisle running through the middle. It was the end of the aisle that Narcissa was delighted by the most, however, as standing there, beside his identically dressed best man, Severus Snape, was Lucius, his light grey suit covering a silver waistcoat, with a white rose through his buttonhole, the silver decoration identical to the ones in her own bouquet. The whole setting was perfect and Narcissa could barely believe that Lucius could have chosen it all so well.

Narcissa's thoughts were interrupted, however, as a piece of music began to play outside and the bridesmaids stepped forward through the doors together, Bellatrix giving her younger sister one last kiss on the cheek before she went. Narcissa's eyes widened slightly when she realised what the music was. The song that Lucius had chosen for Narcissa to walk to him to was Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Narcissa's favourite piece of music in the world and the piece that the pair had danced to at Narcissa's debutante ball for that reason, barely half an hour before he proposed. The piece held a special place in Narcissa's heart and she was overjoyed that Lucius had taken note of that.

At the moment when the beginning of the piece occured, Narcissa clutched her father's arm, giving him a kiss on the cheek as the grand doors opened and the music swelled to a higher pitch. Each and every pair of eyes turned to the woman descending the staircase, including those of the man she wanted to see the most. As opposed to the cold wind Narcissa had expected to feel, the air was still and relatively warm, which Narcissa suspected was another thing of Lucius' doing.

Once she reached the end of the aisle, where two ice sculptures, each one bearing the insignia of the houses of Black and Malfoy, her father gave her a kiss on the cheek, a familiar thing, before taking her hands and placing them in Lucius'. These pair then turned their heads slightly towards the Ministry representative, a man named Tiberius Ogden, who was to be the Binder for the ceremony. Ogden raised his hands for quiet and silence fell, all eyes resting on the three people at the front of them all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, families and friends, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of a man and a woman in love. The pair, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and Narcissa Cassiopeia Black, have chosen to proclaim their love by the ancient rite of marriage. So, Mr. Malfoy, if you would take Miss Black's hands and read your vows please." Lucius did as instructed, clutching Narcissa's hand in his own and placing a kiss upon her engagement ring before beginning to speak the words he had rehearsed in his mind for years.

"I, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, do take you, Narcissa Cassiopeia Black, to be my beloved wife. I shall stand by you through light and through darkness, through joy and through sorrow, through both our lives and for eternity. I take this ring and bless it, so that we may live happily together and in love for the remainder of our lives and forever more." Lucius conjured his ring from thin air and placed it on Narcissa's finger. It was a sparkling silver band, with two rose intertwined all the way around it, with a small heart-shaped emerald set in the centre of each flower. Narcissa smiled at its beauty, knowing even further than Lucius knew her so well.

"And Miss Black, if you can do the same." spoke Ogden, nodding his head in Narcissa's direction. Narcissa smiled and began to read the words that she too had dreamed of saying all these years.

"I, Narcissa Cassiopeia Black, do take you, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, to be my beloved husband. I shall stand by you through light and through darkness, through joy and through sorrow, through both our lives and for eternity. I take this ring and bless it, so that we may live happily together and in love for the remainder of our lives and forever more." Narcissa too conjured a ring from thin air and reached out to slide it onto Lucius' ring finger. It too was silver, but the metal was shaped into two intertwined snakes, two emeralds on each to represent eyes. He seemed to also have brought his own taste into the rings, but keeping hers in there as well.

"Lucius and Narcissa have proclaimed their love and have promised their lives to each other. These proclamations are now sealed 'til death do they part." Ogden waved his wand and a golden tongue of shimmering fire escaped from each emerald on the ring, surrounding the pair with its glow.

"You may now kiss the bride." Ogden finished with a smile. Lucius waited no longer, pressing his lips softly to Narcissa's, while his arms wrapped around her waist, her arms in turn wrapping around his neck. Applause surrounded the tent, but all the two Malfoys could really think of was each other, surrounded by a shining golden glow.

The reception went on strongly, the celebrations lasting well into the evening, but Lucius and Narcissa actually both had the same idea after it had finished. Both had stepped out onto the snow-covered staircase that Narcissa had descended earlier that day, overlooking the grounds that now belonged to both of them, as Abraxas and Annetta had moved earlier in the week to their new home in Calais.

"Great minds think alike." chuckled Lucius, stepping into the snow to find his new wife already outside, the silver detailing of her dress shimmering in the moonlight.

"Yes. I suppose they do." she smiled back, turning her head towards Lucius, who took the hint and wrapped both arms around her, both of them now facing the beauty of the gardens beyond.

"So, this is the beginning of our new life together." Narcissa sighed in contentment.

"Yes. I can't believe that it's finally happened."

"Lucius, we will be alright, won't we? We'll be fine?" Realising her meaning, Lucius wrapped his arms further around Narcissa, holding her closer to his chest.

"Of course we will, sweetheart. After all, Narcissa Malfoy, I have you and you are all I need."

A/N: Sorry for the late update, but I would have rather got this right and took a while than rushed it and ruined everyone's anticipation of it. The reason I did a silver and white theme is that Narcissa is often referred to as an ice princess, as she was the youngest and born in winter. Also, because silver is a Slytherin colour and I wanted Slytherin in there, but without green, because they wouldn't have really had a colour scheme like that. Please let me know what you think!