The next morning came with a bang, literally, Astoria shooting up in bed when her bedroom door slammed open.
"Up! Get up!"
It took a moment for her to register who it was speaking to her, her eyes still blurry with sleep as they tried to focus in the dimly lit room. But when her window drapes opened and let the light in she realized it was her sister standing at the end of her bed looking at her, the look of impatience obvious upon her face. Before Astoria could even say anything Daphne spoke, her tone telling her she meant business.
"Get up Astoria! We have so much to do and only a little time to do it." Astoria watched as Daphne walked around the bed to stand beside it, looking almost ready to pull her out of bed if Astoria didn't move. "Jeez! Did you get any sleep?" Daphne asked, sighing in slight annoyance before turning and walking towards the door, "Get up and showered, I'll be back in 30 minutes so hurry!" She said as she walked out her door, slamming it shut in her wake.
Astoria groaned and flopped back down into bed. It just couldn't be possible; it couldn't be that day yet. She had dreaded this day for the past two months and now here it was, and she couldn't do a thing about it. Astoria knew she had things she had to do, her family to represent, but she couldn't find that important at the moment. Shouldn't it be important for her to savor these last moments of peace? These last moments she'll have alone? She felt like her life was going to end, being stuck spending it with someone who couldn't trust her. Didn't that mean her life was ending in some way? Astoria sighed before slowly sitting up, scooting herself to the edge of her bed.
No, she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before; her sister had been right on that fact. Between her thoughts keeping her awake and her nightmares interrupting her drams sleep had been rather elusive for her. But Astoria knew Daphne could do wonders with make-up and hair so she wasn't too worried. She slowly stood up and stumbled to her bathroom, knowing her sister was serious when she said she only had 30 minutes. Soon she was standing beneath the warm water, her mind concentrating on the simple things; washing her hair, shaving, washing away her worries. Too soon though she was shutting the water off and stepping out of the warm shower. She was in the process of drying off when her sister burst back into the room.
"Good, at least you listened to me." Daphne said when she saw Astoria, before walking over to the counter. "Finish drying and put on your robe, then sit." Daphne said, pointing to Astoria's robe before pointing to the chair she had magically produced there before turning back to the counter and cabinets. With a sad sigh Astoria finished drying as she listened to different items being placed upon her counter, sliding on her robe before sitting reluctantly in the chair Daphne was standing behind. Astoria retreated into her thoughts as Daphne spent the next hours on her, neither of them saying a word.
Daphne seamlessly moved from one thing to another, her mind seeming to be focused on the task at hand instead of creating any form of small talk. Astoria watched in the mirror as Daphne used her wand to curl her hair into ringlets before pinning them up into an elegant cascade down her back. Her eyebrows were soon plucked creating that perfect arch without any effort from her. Daphne ended standing in front of Astoria, make-up in hand as everything from blush to eye line to eye shadow to powder was applied to Astoria's face. When Daphne finally stepped away and Astoria could look at herself properly she couldn't believe the sight. She had to admit her sister certainly knew what she was doing, for Astoria's previous night of crying and lack of sleep weren't anywhere to be seen on her face.
"Now, do you think you can manage to get dressed while I go get dressed?" Daphne asked, Astoria looking up through the mirror to see Daphne hanging up the bag on the back of the door before walking out of the bathroom without waiting for an answer. Astoria listened as she heard her bedroom door close, leaving her alone for the first time in hours. She took a deep breath as she stood up, looking over the items on the counter. At the end of the counter she spotted the lingerie her sister had set out for her to wear. The pure white corset and matching lace panty sticking out on her dark counter top. Astoria debated whether she should wear it or not, before deciding it may be best to wear what her sister had set out for her.
With a sigh she slipped her robe off and onto her chair before taking the few steps to the items. Easily she slipped the panty on before holding the corset up to her chest and reaching for her wand. With a few flicks the corset started to tighten itself, Astoria soon standing straight as the corset cinched her waist in and pushed her breasts up, the tightness enough to push a gasp from her before it tightened another inch her gasp had revealed. She didn't look at herself in the mirror, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to stand the sight at that moment. Taking as deep of a breath as she could she turned away from the mirror, walking slowly over to the hanging bag.
Carefully Astoria unzipped the bag, her white dress revealing itself with each inch. Once the bag was fully unzipped Astoria slipped it off, leaving only her dress hanging there in front of her. As she slipped the dress off its hanger she couldn't help but admire how beautiful of a dress it was. The strapless bodice corseting in the back, the tulle billowing out where her hips would be, even a layer of silver tulle laid beneath the white, giving it a shimmer in the right light. It really was a gorgeous dress, Astoria thankful that at least her sister knew what style she would like since Astoria never gave an opinion on it.
Cautiously Astoria undid the corset, stepping into the dress before pulling it up. She grabbed her wand off the counter again, giving it a quick flick like she had moments earlier to corset the back, pulling it tight. If she hadn't already had a corset on the dress wouldn't been horribly tight, but already having one on made the dress more bearable. The corset of the dress didn't loosen though, Astoria knowing it wouldn't loosen because that wasn't how it was meant to be. As she looked into the mirror she held her breath, the lace bodice corset giving her the perfect hourglass figure, the tulle doing exactly what it should and billowing down from her waist to her feet. Astoria was still looking at her reflection when Daphne walked back in, the short, emerald green bridesmaid dress looking magnificent on her.
Daphne gasped when she saw Astoria, a small smile coming to her face as she took a few more steps forward. Neither of them said a word as Daphne carefully helped Astoria balance as she put on her shoes, not able to easily sit down and put them on herself with the corset. Once Astoria was stable on her own two feet Daphne walked over to the counter, opening a worn box, Astoria remembering what was in it just before Daphne pulled it out. Soon Daphne was standing in front of her, placing the Malfoy tiara on the top of her head, nestling the back into her curled ringlets.
"There," Daphne said softly, "perfect. Now just put a smile on your face and you'll be perfect." She saw a look of sympathy flit across her sisters' face, Astoria remembering then that her sister was in an arranged marriage too. A bit of guilt about the way Astoria had been acting flitted through her. She certainly didn't remember Daphne acting the way she had during the days leading up to her wedding. Astoria slowly sighed, looking down in shame for a moment before looking back up at Daphne.
"I don't think I can do this Daphne." Astoria said softly, her voice cracking at the end.
"Sush Astoria, you have to do this. You'll be fine. Everyone's waiting down stairs and soon enough it will be the reception than you'll be off for your honeymoon." Daphne said, grabbing Astoria's hands as she spoke. "I know what you're going through; I know what you're thinking. I know it's not fair, but it gets better, you just have to smile through this show and it will get better from here." Daphne sighed then, dropping her sisters' hands before adding, "We should get down there, everyone's outside now so the downstairs is empty. No one will see you."
Without further words the two sisters walked arm-in-arm out of Astoria's bathroom and out her bedroom, walking down the stairs and into the foyer. As they walked silently through the house Astoria could hear a slight murmur of voices coming through the open windows from the backyard, Astoria's nerves skyrocketing at that moment. She couldn't help but to suck her stomach in and stand up straight, even though the corset was doing that for her anyway making her attempt a pointless one. Once they made their way through the manor and was standing in the back room Daphne left Astoria standing there alone for a moment, walking to the doorway to signal to the band they were ready.
With a small gasp Astoria heard the music start playing, the music covering up the previous murmur of voices. Daphne looked at Astoria, handing her a bouquet of white lilies and green daisies and silver roses before speaking.
"Breath Astoria, you'll do fine, just concentrate on your steps and concentrate on Draco. Believe it or not he'll help your path down the aisle. Now once I step through the door wait 16 counts before you round the corner and step out, I should be up the aisle by that time so you'll have all the attention on you. Just remember to smile and breath, it will be over before you know it." Daphne said this all as calmly as she could before giving Astoria a brief kiss on the cheek.
Astoria watched as her sister walked in front of the door and stepped out into the sunlight, barely giving her a chance to remember to count the sixteen counts. Astoria didn't feel ready for this, her breathing wasn't calm, her stomach was a mess, and she just knew she was going to trip down the aisle with everyone watching her fall. But Astoria's feet, or her common sense, seemed to override what she was feeling. Her sixteen counts were soon over and she was standing in front of the door, stepping out into the spotlight. As everyone turned to look at her Astoria followed Daphne's advice and concentrated her gaze upon Draco.