Chapter 11
Hermione scowled at Narcissa who was insisting she get dressed up for her wedding. Hermione didn't like the idea but Narcissa had woken her up on Boxing day to take her wedding dress shopping anyway. So, she was standing in muggle wedding dress store with a pounding headache courtesy of the hangover from hell.
"Every girl needs to be fancy for her wedding. No matter what the circumstances are." The blonde woman was hovering around her trying to force her into a rather frilly looking wedding dress. Hermione glanced around the store slightly afraid of getting caught anywhere near the frilly concoction.
"I don't need this, Narcissa. We are just signing the contract and being done with it." Hermione crossed her arms and Narcissa frowned slightly.
"This is your first time being married. It should mean something to you. You aren't getting the fairy tale wedding that I know you must have wanted as a child. I've managed to throw together a few decorations and a few Weasleys and the Zabini family wanted to be there. I've invited Isabel and Draco's secretary, Maricela is coming."
Hermione grimaced. "But I told Malfoy that I wasn't going to get dressed up." Narcissa waved the sentence away.
"He's a boy, he won't care. Please Hermione this will make me feel much better about the situation." At the older woman's pleading blue eyes Hermione sighed.
"Fine, but I won't wear anything with frills, bows, sparkles, or that has a large amount of poof in the skirt." She uncrossed her arms and Narcissa beamed up at her. The older woman turned to find a sales associate when Luna walked around the corner into the changing room. She looked up at Hermione with an absent minded smile. Hermione nearly fell backwards at the sight of her friend.
"Luna! I didn't know you would be here." She quickly walked over and gave Luna a hug.
"Oh, neither does Mrs. Malfoy. But I figured you would need some help finding a wedding dress. After all I'm the maid of honour." The blond looked around the store with a small frown. Narcissa returned with a sales associate, who took one look at Hermione's hastily put up curls, blue jeans and old pullover and frowned with distain. She dismissed her with a tilt of her chin and looked Luna over. The absent minded blond was wearing a rather nice blue sundress with low high heels. The brunette beamed at her.
"Is this the bride-to-be?"
Luna shook her head. "Oh no. Hermione is." She waved at Hermione who scowled at the sales associate. "She's getting married to Malfoy. I just think it's so romantic. He came in and swooped her out of that horrid conversation and whisked her away to the Manor." Hermione scowled and Narcissa looked between the two women curiously.
"And who told you that, Luna?" Hermione's hands were on her hips as she tried to glare down the unfazed blond.
"Oh, Ginny told me. She says Harry feels really bad about it and that he wants to talk to you." Luna drifted over to the dress racks and left Hermione to mutter under her breath.
"That git can talk until his tongue falls off. I won't listen."
"What was that, Hermione?" Narcissa looked at her expectantly and Hermione forced a smile on her face.
"Oh, nothing, Narcissa."
Narcissa nodded. "Okay. We should find you a gown." The sales associate stuck out a hand to Hermione.
"I'm Jewel. I will be helping you find a dress for you wedding."
Hermione ignored the woman's sneering tone and took the hand. Her wedding band catching the light. Once again Hermione felt the ring was too obvious as the woman's eyes immediately glued themselves too it.
"Your fiancé must have good taste... in jewelry." The woman dropped Hermione's hand with a tight smile. Narcissa smirked at the woman nastily and Hermione leaned away slightly.
"Yes, very good taste and he happens to come from a very wealthy family that doesn't appreciate people looking condescendingly at their soon to be daughter-in-law. We want you to pick out a wedding dress, not for you to show your opinions." Narcissa glared at the woman who blushed red and practically ran off. Narcissa let out a small smug smile. "It feels good to do that every so often. Good taste in jewelry indeed! That woman obviously doesn't know a real gem from a fake one and you Hermione are a real gem. We just need to make you shine." Hermione felt her eyes burn with sudden tears. Narcissa reached into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief. She held it out to Hermione, who took it gratefully.
"Thank you, Narcissa." Hermione dabbed at her eyes with the square piece of cloth and Narcissa smiled at her.
"There is no need. You are part of the family now and I, for one, will treat you as such." Narcissa watched as the still red faced Jewel returned with several dresses. Luna walked over and looked at the dresses.
"Those won't do. If I know Hermione, she hates frills, despises bows and would burn anything with sparkles before she would put it on. Find something else." Luna smiled at Narcissa. "Hello, Mrs. Malfoy." Narcissa gave the woman a small smile.
"Hello, Mrs. Zabini. How are the children?" Narcissa led Luna over to several offered chairs and sat down. Hermione watched them sitting with a bit of envy. Jewel came back with several dresses that she practically threw at Hermione before running off. Hermione just shook her head and pulled the curtain closed. This was going to be a long day.
Two hours later a very hungry and tired Hermione Granger viciously pulled back the curtain. Luna beamed at her and Narcissa quickly got to her feet. The curly haired witch scowled at both of them, wishing she could hex someone. Preferably the tall brunette named Jewel.
"Give us a little spin, Hermione dear." Narcissa made a twirling motion with her hand and Hermione did as was directed. She sighed and waited for the rejection of the dress as she had for the last hundred or so dresses. "It's perfect! Come down here and look in the mirror." At her words Hermione's eyes snapped open and she carefully lifted the skirt of the silk dress. She walked down the two steps from the changing room and moved to stand beside Luna and Narcissa. She let the dress drop and looked in the mirror.
Despite her tired looking eyes and her pale face, Hermione was surprised to see she looked rather nice. The dress hugged her waist and hips before falling to land in a pool of silk at her feet. The silk cut off at her chest, covering her breasts and lace went from the top corners of the silk to over her shoulders. The lace went down into sleeves that flared out at Hermione's elbows. The tops of the sleeves ended at Hermione's knuckles and the bottom of the sleeve brushed against the pads of her fingers.
Hermione looked at herself in the mirror and a small smile crossed her face. Luna smiled at her dreamily and Narcissa looked absolutely overjoyed.
"Turn around, Hermione. Look at it all." Luna made a twirling motion with her pointer finger and Hermione followed the direction. She turned around and looked over her shoulder. The lace sleeves connected together just below the back of her neck, before wrapping around her sides, to join with the lace below her arms. The back of the silk dress was stooped down to just above the curve of her hips. The rest of her back was bare.
"Draco's going love it." At Luna's absent minded words Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't go that far, Luna."
Narcissa waved her hand at Jewel. "Bring me the veil from that last dress."
Jewel looked around. "I'm not sure if-" Narcissa turned to glare at the woman.
"Either you do it or you get someone else who will." She watched as the woman walked over to the rack of discarded dresses before turning back to Hermione. "Okay, let's just let your hair down." Narcissa expertly removed the elastic and bobby pins. She let Hermione's hair drop, where it hung around mid-shoulder.
"Luna, darling, could you put up her hair properly for me?" Narcissa moved over to the dress rack to browbeat the sales associate.
Luna gathered Hermione's hair in her hands and gave it a few quick twists before putting the elastic in. "Narcissa has absolutely no patience but that poor woman needs to be less judgmental and slow." Narcissa returned triumphantly with the long veil. She quickly put it in Hermione's hair and fanned it out.
"Perfect. Isn't it, Luna?" Narcissa looked at her work with a proud smile. Luna nodded at the clear veil that hung down to the ground. It was beaded in such a way to make it look like falling leaves. The beading was thick on the bottom of the veil which lay on the ground. Narcissa gave another little nod.
"Okay, Hermione go get changed and we will buy the dress. Then we will head to lunch and afterwards I still need to get the menu for the reception and dance for after the ceremony."
Hermione let out a rather drawn out groan. "Narcissa. This was supposed to be a simple ceremony. Just the signing of the contract and being done with it. Not a full-fledged wedding." She picked up the hem of the dress to walk up into the changing room once more. Narcissa chuckled.
"Hermione, darling. If it was a full-fledged wedding, half of the wizarding world would be invited and it would definitely be a bigger wedding than the one Draco had when he married that gold-digger."
Hermione closed the curtain and sent a quick prayer skywards that, that wasn't the case.
Draco sat at his office desk trying to fight off the beginnings of a headache, when Maricela walked in with his mail.
"There is a letter here from your ex-wife. A note from one Narcissa Malfoy. Several letters from some business associates and some rather short looking notes from a few school buddies, I am thinking." The grey haired woman raised an eyebrow. Draco scowled and waved his secretary over.
"Burn the letter from Astoria, read the ones from my business associates and figure out what to do with them. And the others... just give them to me." He held out his hand and Maricela gave him his wanted mail before retreating from the office. Draco looked over the notes from his schoolmates before setting them aside with a disgusted look. It was all the same. We should get together some time and talk about the past. Draco didn't want to talk about the past. That wasn't an area of his life he wanted to get into. He opened the note from his mother and raised an eyebrow.
Draco dear,
Don't listen to whatever Hermione says.
She's just a little miffed at me at the moment.
Oh and be a dear and get that fancy
black suit of yours cleaned for New Year's
Love you,
Narcissa Malfoy
Draco let the note fall to his desk before the little lioness jumped onto his desk and batted at the paper he had put down. He looked at her for a second before it turned into a familiar note.
Malfoy,
Were you aware that your mother is planning, not
just a wedding ceremony, but a dance and reception
for afterwards? This morning, she took me wedding
dress shopping and yes, I am slightly angry at her
because I am well aware that she has sent you a note.
I can only imagine that it states not to listen to me
because I am slightly 'miffed' at her. Thought you
should know.
Granger
Draco let out a rather nasty curse and scowled. "Mother just can't keep away from these things can she? She just has to meddle in my affairs." He looked over Granger's note again and had to admit the witch was quite perceptive. The note turned back into the lioness who curled up on the desk with a content purr. Draco absently rubbed her head.
"Maricela. I have some business I have to attend to. I probably won't be back again today." Draco left the notes on his desk before grabbing a handful of Floo powder and stepping into his fireplace. "Malfoy Manor." He disappeared in a flash of green fire.
Hermione was sitting at the large table Narcissa had enlarged for the reception after the wedding. The ballroom was beautiful and the marble floor shined as people walked about setting up tables and chairs but Hermione wasn't really into the beauty. Narcissa was going way to far overboard with the whole wedding thing. Hermione watched as Narcissa directed people in putting up soft, lacy decorations that seemed to correspond with Hermione's wedding dress. The overall look was beautiful but Hermione couldn't stand this becoming the wedding of the year.
Hermione's ears caught a sound and she sat up straighter in her chair looking at the wide double doors that out of the ballroom. She smirked when she saw him and quickly glanced over at Narcissa, who had her back turned to the table. Hermione quickly stood up and rushed over to Draco.
"You have to get her to stop! At first it was the dress and inviting a few friends, now she's got a band and is inviting no less than four photographers!" As Hermione ran over Draco looked at her with surprise. "Your mother has gone nuts with this wedding! It's not even supposed to be a wedding!" Draco gave a nod and Hermione scowled at her soon-to-be mother-in-law. She fell into step beside Draco as he made his way across the marble floors towards the unsuspecting witch.
"Mother!"
Hermione nearly smirked as the tall blonde witch jumped and whirled around her blue eyes wide.
"Draco! You aren't supposed to be here till later." She gave him a wide smile and tried to ignore his glare.
"What is this I hear about a wedding? And dragging Granger to find a wedding dress. Four photographers? A band?" Draco crossed his arms and scowled at his mother. "This isn't supposed to be a big affair, Mother. Just the signing of the contract and that's it. This means people will talk about how I eagerly dumped my wife so I could go and jump in bed with Golden Girl, Hermione Granger!" Draco looked at Hermione. "No offense."
Hermione shrugged. "None taken." Both turned to Narcissa, who tried to look innocent.
"But every girl needs to have the big white wedding. Hermione has yet to be married. She deserves to have her wedding!" Narcissa looked at Hermione with pleading eyes. "Please, Hermione."
"Mother, don't try and guilt trip her. No more. I won't be paying for what is here as it is."
Narcissa suddenly smiled. "I'll pay for everything! I'll pay for everything that is here and I won't add any more details." Draco frowned.
"It isn't about that, mother. It's about how we are lying to the people in attendance, they will think we are a happy couple. Two people who are in love. We aren't. True, Granger and I can have a decent conversation without drawing wands or shouting at one another. I respect her as a witch, but I have no other feelings for her other than that." Draco sighed and rubbed his temples.
"I didn't love your father when I married him. I respected him, Draco. We are still married thirty years later. Respect can be the basis of a marriage." Narcissa was certainly grasping straws and Hermione stepped forward.
"Narcissa, you need to understand that after the year is up, Malfoy and I will go our separate ways. We aren't going to stay together. We aren't like you and... Lucius Malfoy. This is purely business." Hermione placed her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Don't create an illusion that we will fall in love and be a perfectly happy couple." Narcissa nodded.
"I know, Hermione. It's just I-"
"You are wanting to create what you and father no longer have." Draco's tired voice made Hermione turn around. He was shaking his head. "Stop it already. We will go through this sham of a wedding, then go through this sham of a marriage and then part our ways." Narcissa's bottom lip trembled and she nodded.
"I just want you to be happy, Draco."
"I am happy! I'm happy to be away from my ex-wife and I am happy that Granger has put the past away to help me keep my son! And having this situation go away would make me even happier!" With that he turned around and stalked towards the ballroom doors. Hermione shook her head at his retreating back as he slammed the ballroom doors on the way out.
"It's okay, Narcissa. After this thing is over he will be fine. We will both be fine." Hermione patted Narcissa's shoulder and looked out of the ballroom and to the charmed balcony. A dark sense of foreboding clouding her thoughts. No matter what would happen in the long run, she would not be fine. This would only end in disaster for her.