XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Chapter 40: The Vows:

The Officiate began speaking, but Hermione and Draco neither one heard a word he said. He asked them if they had anything to say. Draco was not prepared for this. He barely had time to prepare a wedding, much less vows. He looked at Hermione, and said, "I really don't have anything to say, do you?"

She said, "Yes, I have something I would like to say."

"Please begin," the man said.

"Draco, before yesterday, my life was at a standstill. No longer moving, it was stale, and stagnant. I felt a heaviness everyday of my life. Just getting up and moving each day was a chore. I felt complacent, and I was resigned that my life was going to be that way forever. Then, I made a decision. I decided to come to Ron's wedding. In the beginning, I never intended to come to Ron's wedding. I thought it would be too painful. I was right, for it was incredibly painful." Hermione had to stop for a moment, to wipe her eyes. Draco's father passed her his handkerchief.

She continued, "But I plucked up my courage, and I came to his wedding, because I was so tired of living my life with regrets. I wanted to stop standing still. I wanted my life to have momentum again. I came, I saw, and I conquered. It was difficult, and I barely survived. I now know it was the best decision of my life. After the ceremony, everyone left, and I remained here, because this was my chapel, and that was my wedding, and my heart shattered into a million pieces, and I thought I would never be whole again."

"So I sat back there, in this very chapel, in that last pew, just yesterday. And as my heart was breaking in two, you walked in and you gave me my life back, without even knowing what you were doing." She had to stop again, for she was crying harder. Almost everyone was crying. Draco was close to tears himself, but he was going to stay strong, for her.

"You came in here, and without even knowing it, you picked up the shards of my shattered heart, and in less than a day, you made me whole again. I will owe you all the gratitude in the world for that. You made me love again. You made my life continue to move, when I thought it would forever stand still. As crazy as this has all been, it has been the single most important event of my life. Knowing you, loving you, being with you for the last twenty-four hours has been the single most important thing I have ever done. I hope I can make you as happy as you've made me. If I can give you a tenth of the love that you've given me, then that's more than I can ever wish."

"My heart feels as heavy today, as it felt the day before, but today it's heavy because it's filled with love for you. Please, believe me when I say I will never hurt you, I will never doubt you, and I will live all my days just loving you, if you will let me." She took two deep, ragged, breaths, and shut her eyes for a moment. She opened her eyes again, and mouthed, 'I love you'.

Draco said, "Well, hell, I can't top that."

Everyone laughed. Even Hermione. It was good to laugh, for it alleviated some of the tears that were flowing from the guests, and the bride.

"Okay, here's the thing, Hermione," Draco began, "I knew you were having a hard time at the wedding. I sat behind you, and I heard you quietly crying, and I saw how you could barely even watch as Ron and Pansy exchanged their vows, and as much as you say your heart was breaking, well, so was mine. However, mine was breaking for you. I think that was the moment I knew I loved you."

"And, let's be truthful, Granger, and call a spade a spade. We hated each other in school." Everyone laughed again. "As you know, there is a thin line between love and hate, and I crossed that line yesterday, right here in this chapel. Therefore, I waited for you, and I pounced on you the second I could. I was determined that you would not regret not marrying Weasley. I was determined to make you see there was another bloke out there for you, maybe someone like me. I can't say I planned to marry you twenty-four hours later, well, if we're being truthful again, more like twenty-five or twenty-six hours later, but that doesn't matter. When I told you yesterday that I loved you, I knew in my heart I did. When I asked you to marry me, I knew in my soul it would be forever. When he made love," she blushed, and he touched her cheek, "and we planned our family," he turned to the guests, "two sons, two daughters," he turned back to her, "I knew that was what was going to happen."

"I will never regret anything I have said or have done in the last two days. These last two days were preordained. They were written in the book of our lives, long before we were even born, and who are we to mess with fate. You are my future, my life, my love. I want nothing more than to spend every moment, of everyday, showing you how much you mean to me. Love me, Hermione. Marry me, Hermione. Be my wife, and the mother of my children, and make me the happiest man on the face of this planet, for after all, my dear, doesn't everyone deserve happiness, even you and I?"

"Take my hand in marriage, and in return I will give you my heart," he concluded.

Hermione was no longer crying. It was not that his words were not moving, for they were. She was too happy for tears. "I will take your hand, and Draco, I don't have to offer you my heart, because you already have it."

The Officiate said a few more words, which once again, the bride and groom were oblivious. He finally pronounced them husband and wife. He said, "Draco, you may kiss your wife."

"Do you hear that, Hermione, you're my wife," he said lightly. "What do you say about that?"

She smiled, and said, "It's about damn time." Everyone cheered and laughed, as Draco took her in his arms, bowed her low, and kissed her. He stood her back up, his hands on her cheeks.

"That kiss was for them, now one for me," he said. He brought her face closer, and with his thumbs, he rubbed away the remnants of tears from her cheeks. He kissed her right cheek, then her left, and then he rested his mouth on hers. He moved his lips slowly, and with all the love he felt for her, he kissed her, and for the first time in his life, he knew what unconditional love was, for he felt it for her. He moved his hands down her arms, grasped her hands, and lifted his lips from hers.

"I love you," she said.

"You better," he said back, "or this would have all been a massive waste of time."

They turned toward their guests, and everyone was still standing and they had begun to applaud. Hermione smiled widely, turned to Draco, and said, "On to the next twenty-four hours."

"We have a reception first, then we can continue with the next twenty-four hours, deal?" he said. They were walking slowly down the aisle, and when they reached the end, Draco turned around and said, "Everyone join us at the Burrow, and let's end this day right!" He turned to Hermione and said, "Ready, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Oh, about that, I intend to keep my name, Mr. Malfoy," she laughed.

"I could not care less, but you're the one telling my parents that little piece of joyful news," he laughed back. He took her hand, and they both disapparated back to the place where their story really began, back to the Burrow.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX