"Hermione Jean Granger, you get your butt out of bed this very second or I am going to hex the living daylights out of you." Ginny threatened, yanking the thing violet sheets off of Hermione's sprawled out figure.
Hermione let out a strangled groan and rolled from her stomach on to her side so she could glare at the seething redhead before her.
"I don't want to." She growled, managing to make herself sound surprisingly menacing.
Ginny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well I can't say I'd be too thrilled to be marrying a Malfoy today either, but that's the way it is."
Hermione glared at her.
"Up." Ginny commanded one last time before storming from the room.
Hermione shuffled from the bedroom and down the hall to the one bathroom in the Burrow. She stood under the scalding shower water for upwards of 20 minutes before she remembered to actually soap herself up. Emerging from the shower, she walked begrudgingly across the tile, dripping water with every step, and wiped a small circle of steam off the fogged-up mirror.
Malfoy really isn't that bad. Hermione thought to herself. In fact, the two of them had managed to get along quite well in the weeks leading up to their impending nuptials.
Am I really even old enough for this? Mature enough? I can't have a child in under a year's time! What sort of nutcase thought this up? Hermione could feel her breathing quicken and felt herself in danger of losing consciousness. Just then, there was a loud bang on the bathroom door that drew her out of the depths of her own mind and back to the present, which was her standing there wearing absolutely nothing and dripping all over the floor.
"Are you alright, Hermione dear?" Molly Weasley's kind voice asked, laced with concern.
Hermione blinked rapidly and looked around her. She quickly yanked a towel off of its rod and wrapped herself in it.
"O-of course." She stuttered, opening the door a crack so the woman could see she wasn't bleeding from the ears under all the stress.
Molly gave her a quick once-over to be sure she wasn't going to pass out and give her a short, approving nod.
"Narcissa's here to help you get ready. Go grab a robe and I'll send her up." She said matter-of-factly before closing the door quietly.
Hermione quickly grabbed a second towel from the rod by the sink and quickly patted her face dry, being sure to clean any excess mascara that had pooled below her eyes. She threw the towel in the laundry hamper by the sink and tiptoed hurriedly back to the bedroom she and Ginny shared.
Ginny was sitting at the small wooden vanity between the girl's beds brushing out her long, red hair, humming dreamily to herself.
Hermione quickly grabbed the thin cotton robe from the footboard on her bed and tied it around her body.
She plopped heavily down on her bed and exhaled loudly. Ginny snapped out of her trance and turned to smile sympathetically at her friend.
"It can't be too bad. It's not like he's at all unattractive." She joked.
Just like Ginny. Hermione thought to herself, stifling a small laugh as she shook her head. As long as he's not ugly, he's okay.
Just then, Narcissa Malfoy poked her perfectly groomed, white-blonde head into the room and smiled warmly at Hermione.
"Good morning, dear." She greeted, excitement practically radiating off of her body. "Are we ready?"
Hermione offered up a weak smile and rose to her feet. "As ready as ever."
Narcissa's eyes darted quickly towards the vanity Ginny was occupying.
"Gotcha." Ginny muttered, scooping up her hair products and shuffling out of the room.
Narcissa grabbed Hermione's hand and led her delicately over to the vanity stool, resting her thin, bony hands on Hermione's shoulders once she was seated.
"Alright then. We're going to start with just a dash of concealer…." Narcissa began, and within moments, Hermione was whisked away into a world of eyeliner and lip-gloss and hair curlers.
God knows how many minutes, hours, or even days had passed when Molly Weasley finally entered the room. Narcissa swiveled Hermione's chair around and stood back with her friend to admire her work.
Mrs. Weasley took in a deep breath and tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Is it really that awful?" Hermione asked, her hands going up to cover her face.
"No, dear." Molly sniffled. "You're absolutely a vision."
Hermione turned to see herself in the mirror but was quickly stopped by the firm grasp of Narcissa's hands.
"Not yet! You still have to get dressed." She chided. As she asked Molly to fetch the dress from the downstairs closet, she was practically bubbling over with excitement.
About 20 minutes and 200 buttons later, Hermione Granger was fastened into her wedding gown. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, afraid that she would lose all composure should she open them.
When her audience, which now consisted of Narcissa, Molly, and Ginny, finally coaxed her out of her own head and got her to open her eyes, Hermione was breathless.
This woman in the mirror looked nothing like her – there was no way she was this beautiful.
Her thick brown hair was tied in an intricate knot with soft, delicate waves falling around her face – and, oh, what a face! Her complexion was perfectly smoothe with a slight bronze glow and her round, chocolate eyes were rimmed with a deep gold liner smudged with a smoky shadow.
Her dress hung from her body in the most delicate fashion imaginable. Each stitch on the lace seemed to be more beautiful than the next as it clung flatteringly to each of her curves. There was a slight sweetheart neckline, beaded with small pearls and crystals, that led to a set of draped off-the-shoulder straps that rested daintily on her upper arms.
The dress trailed about a foot and a half behind Hermione as she walked over to her future mother-in-law. The champagne silk beneath the lace overlay seemed to shimmer with every step she took and the result was breathtaking. The silhouette was fitted, though incredibly modest.
Narcissa reached for Hermione's right hand and squeezed it tightly. She pulled a small drawstring bag out of her pocket and withdrew from it a small strand of pearls. There was a small, deep blue sapphire between each pearl, which matched the dazzling sapphire studs in Hermione's ears, and had a delicate silver clasp at each end.
"This belonged to my grandmother." Narcissa explained as she connected the two ends around Hermione's wrist.
She held her hand tightly for one last moment and then allowed it to drop to Hermione's side as she backed away to look at her son's future bride.
Hermione was in utter shock as she looked at Narcissa and was only able to whisper a soft 'thank you' before Molly clapped her hands together.
"We're going to be late!" She exclaimed, ushering Narcissa and Ginny from the room.
"You'll do splendidly, dear. Don't be nervous." Molly whispered to Hermione reassuringly.
I know, I know. I suck. The actually wedding is coming up later today.