Chapter Three
With five days until the wedding, Hermione was finding less and less time to read. She tried every night to stay awake long enough to read at least half of a book, but the exhaustion was getting to her. At her final wedding dress fitting, Hermione had been thinking desperately of other ways to prove that the wedding couldn't go through.
She was standing in a fancy dressmakers shop in Diagon Alley, on a small raised platform surrounded by mirrors. The dressmaker was bringing out the final wedding dress, and saying to Evelyn, "All the alterations have been made. I dropped the neckline down like you asked, and the waist has been taken in."
"Perfect," said Evelyn, helping Hermione into the gown. "You look wonderful, dear. I'm so happy for you," she added, wiping tears of happiness from her eyes.
"Oh. Right," murmured Hermione, looking in the mirrors. She had to admit that the dress was beautiful, and if she had been marrying someone she loved, this would have been her dream wedding dress. Delicate lace edged the neckline and sleeves, and the waist tapered to a point. She smoothed the silk material over her stomach and sighed at her reflection.
"Don't forget the veil," said the shop owner, bringing out a lacy piece of material. Evelyn smiled and placed it on top of her daughter's head, laying the lace over Hermione's long hair. The mirrors reflected the sharp contrast between the pure white veil and Hermione's dark auburn hair.
"Now," said Evelyn to the shop owner, suddenly very businesslike, "What selection do you have for lingerie?"
"Mother!" Hermione's voice came out louder and shriller than she had intended it to, and she turned her head quickly, making the veil slip off. Her embarrassment flared on her face, making her cheeks flush into the color of deep crimson.
"Oh, dear, don't sound so surprised. After all, Draco will want you to look nice on the first night that you're married." Evelyn bent down and retrieved the veil from the floor, placing it on Hermione's hair again. Her fingers felt the silky fabric and smoothed it onto her daughter's forehead. Evelyn looked at her daughter with a gaze of such absolute happiness that Hermione had to turn away.
Hermione didn't say anything, but tried to calm her breathing down. She had been so caught up in trying to find a way to end the engagement that she had stopped thinking about what would happen if the wedding actually went through.
The dressmaker returned with several different styles and colors of honeymoon wear, which Evelyn made Hermione try on in a closed dressing room. Hermione couldn't believe it, but the possibility that she might actually have to put these on under her gown on her wedding day was growing larger. 'I'm worried about putting these on?' She thought, 'What about taking them off?'
Once they (meaning Evelyn and the dressmaker) had determined that the pale purple and white lingerie would do perfectly, and Hermione and her mother had paid, they left the shop. The way home was quiet, verging on silence, and when they got to the mansion Hermione excused herself from lunch. Alexander and Evelyn exchanged knowing looks, but let her go.
The entire afternoon for Hermione was spent in the Library, going through the last shelf of books. Each useless page that she turned caused Hermione to feel worse, as if a heavy weight was pressing down harder on her stomach with every futile book. When she had been searching for over four hours straight, her eyes began to grow fuzzy and she laid her head onto the table.
Hermione was woken up a long while later by a hand shaking her shoulder softly. She lifted her head to find her father's face smiling down at her. "What time is it?"
"It's past midnight," said Alex, his gaze flitting to the book that Hermione had lain her head onto.
"Oh," said Hermione, trying to shift the books on the table so that he wouldn't be able to see what she had been reading up on. "I was just.. Going through some of my favorite books before the wedding.. Because I wouldn't have them with me once I'm married."
"I see," he said, a note of amusement in his voice. "I didn't know that you enjoyed reading about old court cases and wizarding law."
"Well," started Hermione, knowing that he knew what she was doing. She broke off her sentence once she realized this.
"Hermione, it would have saved you a lot of trouble if you had just asked me if there was anything in our Library that told of when arranged marriages were against the law. I could have told you that there is nothing that can back up your argument. Arranged marriages have been tradition in magical society for centuries. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is," said Alexander with a sad look at his daughter. "We are your guardians until September, and that means you have to go through with the wedding."
"But Father." Hermione's palms became clammy and her head seemed to spin as the realization settled in.
"No buts. I promise it won't be as bad as you expect. The Malfoys are respectable people and Draco will be a good husband. Believe me, Hermione, I wouldn't give you away to just any handsome man who has a rich father."
Hermione nodded her head in defeat, and laid her head in her arms. She heard Alexander leave the Library, and she sighed heavily. There was no possible way to get out of the wedding. She thought desperately of running away, but decided against that at once. She couldn't leave her parents- they were her family. Despite her father's promise that Draco was a good man, Hermione had a gut feeling that he was wrong. Hoping that her bad divination skills from school were still in effect and she was wrong, Hermione stood and left the Library.
[A/N: Hey Hey! I want to thank all the great reviewers who spared two minutes to encourage me. You guys (and girls!) are awesome. A few of you had specific questions, especially concerning whether Hermione's birth parents were muggles or not. As much as it pains me to not answer a question coming from great reviewers, I can't say. Trust me though- you'll find out in later chapters.
Setsuna Bu wanted to know whether Voldemort and the Death Eaters existed in my Alternate Universe setting. They aren't incredibly important to the plot, so I just kind of disregarded that whole aspect. The only thing you will find out about the Dark side is that Lucius Malfoy isn't a very nice man and he will have a rather large part towards the end. I'm never going to really come out and say that he's a Voldemort supporter or a Death Eater, but some things that he will do and say will give you enough information to judge what kind of person he is.
I also want to apologize for the short length of my chapters. I try to make them all at least one thousand words. If you would really like me to make them longer, then you'll have to wait for longer intervals between chapters. Chapter four is about the wedding day and it includes Hermione's first impressions of Draco. If you've made it to them end of this Authors note, why not spend a few more minutes leaving me a comment or two in a review? (Hey that rhymes! Hehe)]
With five days until the wedding, Hermione was finding less and less time to read. She tried every night to stay awake long enough to read at least half of a book, but the exhaustion was getting to her. At her final wedding dress fitting, Hermione had been thinking desperately of other ways to prove that the wedding couldn't go through.
She was standing in a fancy dressmakers shop in Diagon Alley, on a small raised platform surrounded by mirrors. The dressmaker was bringing out the final wedding dress, and saying to Evelyn, "All the alterations have been made. I dropped the neckline down like you asked, and the waist has been taken in."
"Perfect," said Evelyn, helping Hermione into the gown. "You look wonderful, dear. I'm so happy for you," she added, wiping tears of happiness from her eyes.
"Oh. Right," murmured Hermione, looking in the mirrors. She had to admit that the dress was beautiful, and if she had been marrying someone she loved, this would have been her dream wedding dress. Delicate lace edged the neckline and sleeves, and the waist tapered to a point. She smoothed the silk material over her stomach and sighed at her reflection.
"Don't forget the veil," said the shop owner, bringing out a lacy piece of material. Evelyn smiled and placed it on top of her daughter's head, laying the lace over Hermione's long hair. The mirrors reflected the sharp contrast between the pure white veil and Hermione's dark auburn hair.
"Now," said Evelyn to the shop owner, suddenly very businesslike, "What selection do you have for lingerie?"
"Mother!" Hermione's voice came out louder and shriller than she had intended it to, and she turned her head quickly, making the veil slip off. Her embarrassment flared on her face, making her cheeks flush into the color of deep crimson.
"Oh, dear, don't sound so surprised. After all, Draco will want you to look nice on the first night that you're married." Evelyn bent down and retrieved the veil from the floor, placing it on Hermione's hair again. Her fingers felt the silky fabric and smoothed it onto her daughter's forehead. Evelyn looked at her daughter with a gaze of such absolute happiness that Hermione had to turn away.
Hermione didn't say anything, but tried to calm her breathing down. She had been so caught up in trying to find a way to end the engagement that she had stopped thinking about what would happen if the wedding actually went through.
The dressmaker returned with several different styles and colors of honeymoon wear, which Evelyn made Hermione try on in a closed dressing room. Hermione couldn't believe it, but the possibility that she might actually have to put these on under her gown on her wedding day was growing larger. 'I'm worried about putting these on?' She thought, 'What about taking them off?'
Once they (meaning Evelyn and the dressmaker) had determined that the pale purple and white lingerie would do perfectly, and Hermione and her mother had paid, they left the shop. The way home was quiet, verging on silence, and when they got to the mansion Hermione excused herself from lunch. Alexander and Evelyn exchanged knowing looks, but let her go.
The entire afternoon for Hermione was spent in the Library, going through the last shelf of books. Each useless page that she turned caused Hermione to feel worse, as if a heavy weight was pressing down harder on her stomach with every futile book. When she had been searching for over four hours straight, her eyes began to grow fuzzy and she laid her head onto the table.
Hermione was woken up a long while later by a hand shaking her shoulder softly. She lifted her head to find her father's face smiling down at her. "What time is it?"
"It's past midnight," said Alex, his gaze flitting to the book that Hermione had lain her head onto.
"Oh," said Hermione, trying to shift the books on the table so that he wouldn't be able to see what she had been reading up on. "I was just.. Going through some of my favorite books before the wedding.. Because I wouldn't have them with me once I'm married."
"I see," he said, a note of amusement in his voice. "I didn't know that you enjoyed reading about old court cases and wizarding law."
"Well," started Hermione, knowing that he knew what she was doing. She broke off her sentence once she realized this.
"Hermione, it would have saved you a lot of trouble if you had just asked me if there was anything in our Library that told of when arranged marriages were against the law. I could have told you that there is nothing that can back up your argument. Arranged marriages have been tradition in magical society for centuries. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is," said Alexander with a sad look at his daughter. "We are your guardians until September, and that means you have to go through with the wedding."
"But Father." Hermione's palms became clammy and her head seemed to spin as the realization settled in.
"No buts. I promise it won't be as bad as you expect. The Malfoys are respectable people and Draco will be a good husband. Believe me, Hermione, I wouldn't give you away to just any handsome man who has a rich father."
Hermione nodded her head in defeat, and laid her head in her arms. She heard Alexander leave the Library, and she sighed heavily. There was no possible way to get out of the wedding. She thought desperately of running away, but decided against that at once. She couldn't leave her parents- they were her family. Despite her father's promise that Draco was a good man, Hermione had a gut feeling that he was wrong. Hoping that her bad divination skills from school were still in effect and she was wrong, Hermione stood and left the Library.
[A/N: Hey Hey! I want to thank all the great reviewers who spared two minutes to encourage me. You guys (and girls!) are awesome. A few of you had specific questions, especially concerning whether Hermione's birth parents were muggles or not. As much as it pains me to not answer a question coming from great reviewers, I can't say. Trust me though- you'll find out in later chapters.
Setsuna Bu wanted to know whether Voldemort and the Death Eaters existed in my Alternate Universe setting. They aren't incredibly important to the plot, so I just kind of disregarded that whole aspect. The only thing you will find out about the Dark side is that Lucius Malfoy isn't a very nice man and he will have a rather large part towards the end. I'm never going to really come out and say that he's a Voldemort supporter or a Death Eater, but some things that he will do and say will give you enough information to judge what kind of person he is.
I also want to apologize for the short length of my chapters. I try to make them all at least one thousand words. If you would really like me to make them longer, then you'll have to wait for longer intervals between chapters. Chapter four is about the wedding day and it includes Hermione's first impressions of Draco. If you've made it to them end of this Authors note, why not spend a few more minutes leaving me a comment or two in a review? (Hey that rhymes! Hehe)]
