Chapter Twenty Two
It's starting... The wedding... *G*. Next chapter's going to be the actual ceremonies and all that jazz. Want to know something strange that I just realized? Chapter Twenty Three of Least Likely of All was Lily and James' wedding - Chapter Twenty Three (next chapter) will be Harry and Cassandra's wedding. Hmm. :o)
Aimée
I woke up just as the sun started streaming through the windows to find Draco had left me in the middle of the night, leaving a soft hollow where he had lain. With a heavy sigh, I turned over and glanced at the clock, stretching my sore muscles.
That was one hell of a night.
I had slept in far too long for idle thoughts, however, so the moment I noticed the time – 11:08 – it was three long strides into the shower and less than ten minutes to dress and prepare myself before I Apparated over to my parent's mansion, where the wedding would be taking place.
The moment the foyer came swimming into view, I was knocked aside – accidentally, I assume – by a rather large, beefy man with greasy black hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
"Watch where you're Apparating, kid!" He grunted, "Guests aren't supposed to be arriving yet, you're early, but the family said to instruct everyone into the drawing room – to the left, through the hall, first door on your right."
I smirked, "It's actually the room to the right, but I suppose that doesn't matter, does it? Harry Snape."
I stuck out my hand for him to shake, which he did, albeit rather tentatively.
"Gil Harrison, nice to meet you. Congratulations on landing such a lovely woman, sir. Mr. Lupin and his son are waiting for you in your father's study."
"Thank you, Gil," I patted the man firmly on the back and went right, making my way through the drawing room and into Dad's study, where I saw Remus sitting at his desk, talking to –
Draco. Of course.
Took you long enough.
"Harry!" Remus exclaimed, standing up to give me a hug, "How are you? Excited? Nervous?"
I shrugged, grinning as I glanced briefly at Draco through the corner of my eyes, "Neither, really."
"Really now?" Remus smiled, "That'd good to know – I was terrified the day I got married, truly shaking in my boots."
He was – I think I saw him wet himself during the ceremony.
I remember… That was wild, wasn't it, Draco?
Extremely.
"Your Mum and Cassandra are upstairs getting ready, and I think perhaps Glory's with them. Ethan actually came, and he's currently directing traffic outside along with Drake. The twins are upstairs with the house elves playing I believe." Remus gave me a run down in one long breathe, his eyes focused slightly to my right as he forced his mind to remember the information.
"What about my sisters and Dad?" I asked, fully expecting Khalida and Dea to have skipped, but Dad and Dakota were completely different stories.
"Dea and Dakota decided to stay at Hogwarts – well, Dea mainly, from what I can gather, and Dakota didn't want to go without her. Convinced the whole affair would be one big bore," he grinned, "Khalida – well, I'd be almost as surprised if she showed up as when Ethan did. Your Dad is currently at Hogwarts; apparently, he came up with something called the Cure last night and was far too eager to show it to McGonagall and the Potions Master, but he promised he'd be back in time for the wedding."
"The cure for what?" I asked stupidly, going to sit down in the armchair across from Draco.
Think about it, Harry. A cure – what would your Dad be so excited about to even just think up a way for this 'disease' to be cured?
…Werewolf!?
Bingo.
Remus shifted uncomfortably, "Well…"
"Never mind," I grinned, "Dad's found a cure for werewolves?"
"Supposedly, at least he came up with the idea for it." Remus answered, a look of relief washing over his face. "He promised he'd be back in time for the ceremony, don't worry."
What if he's not? Then what'll happen?
Feel free to dump her on the alter, Harry. I'm sure not too many people would mind.
Draco! You know I'd never do that!
Yes Harry, I'm quite aware of that fact, unfortunately.
While Draco and I conversed, Remus looked fairly uncomfortable with the silence; he kept checking his watch, and refused to make his body stop fidgeting. A quick mental check concluded it was closer to the New Moon than the Full, so I deducted the movement as being lunar.
He's nervous, you wanker. Everyone is… Except for you, of course.
I'm nervous!
Not nearly as much as the rest of us.
What on Earth do you have to be nervous about?
What I'm going to do without you. I haven't quite figured that one out, Harry, and the moment you say 'I do', I'll be alone in the world with no one to depend on except a middle age werewolf and half-sister who rarely sees me.
Draco… you know I'm always going to be here for you, Cassandra isn't going to change that.
You'll be with her, not me – that makes all the difference.
You know I love y—
Don't say it, Harry! Don't say it and then go turn around and marry someone else. I never want to hear that from you again, you hear? As long as you're with that bitch, you're not with me, and you don't love me. If you truly did love me nearly as much as you said you do, you'd walk out of this room with me right now with no hesitation and no looking back.
You have no idea how much I want to… How much I'd kill for the freedom to do that. I can't though, Draco, don't you see? I'm going to lose my family – as much as I hate even thinking about the idea of such a bigoted group – if I stay with you. You've always said family first, haven't you? I'm never going to leave you, I'm always going to be with you.
You left the moment Cassandra came into your life.
I will never, ever leave you behind, don't think you've been abandoned. If I could turn back time right now, I would – and I'd never tell my parents about us. It'd kill me to do so, but I would, if it meant keeping you. You are everything to me, Draco – Cassandra will never, ever change that. No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you. Don't you see? I love you so, so much – I don't love her, not at all.
Then why are you going this?
I don't want to fall in love with anyone else, Draco. I chose her to be with because I know I could never love her. I could look past her faults, yes, I may be able to stomach sleeping with her – but it's all for the sake of us.
"Boys, I'm going to go see how Ethan and Drake are holding up. Harry, you have less than an hour, so please make sure you're all ready by then. I'll be back within fifteen minutes." Remus announced, and he then got up and opened the French double doors and stepped out, closing them behind him.
Without so much as a thought running between us, Draco and I both stood up and walked towards each other, meeting in the middle of the room. He set his hand on my arm, squeezing it reassuringly.
"We'll be all right," he whispered, meeting my gaze, "We have to be…"
"We will," I nodded, "Nothing's ever going to change that, Draco. Ever."
He leaned forward just as I did, allowing our lips to meet between us with more force than usual. It was exactly what I wanted in life, just the two of us alone, together, and completely, utterly in love.
It was our last kiss before the wedding.
So lately, been wondering
Who will be there to take my place
When I'm gone you'll need love to light the shadows on your face
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all
Then between the sand and stone, could you make it on your own
If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
And maybe, I'll find out
A way to make it back someday
To watch you, to guide you, through the darkest of your days
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all
Then I hope there's someone out there
Who can bring me back to you
If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
Run away with my heart
Run away with my hope
Run away with my love
I know now, just quite how
My life and love my still go on
In your heart, in your mind
I'll stay with you for all of time
If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go*
*The Calling, Whereever You Will Go
(The BEST song on the radio right now - I was driving around today and in the course of ten minutes, I heard this song on three seperate radio stations. I was ecstatic :o) I'm one of those weirdos who sings along [loudly] with the radio while driving. It's fun!!)
Cat Samwise: Very, VERY good for picking up the Christmas Cookie hint. You're one of the first people I know picked up on that little hint... :o) Great job. Question is, how? My driver's test... I had to do it in while it was snowing, raining, and hailing (you know that sort of weather... the type where sane people avoid driving in). I lost one point, and that's on parallel parking (where I couldn't see out the back window at all). Thanks for the luck, it definitely helped! :o)
Klee: Of course you can kill her! Feel free. Yeah, Draco has the Gift now, so you're right - the wedding WILL be interesting. Could you image Draco thinking dirty thoughts to Harry while he's standing in front of a million people? And did I mention the reporters? *G*
Mange-Nagini: It'll be even better, I promise... Something no one will expect, except for the three people I've told. I told one of my betas and she, quite literally, gasped and dropped the phone, if I remember correctly, so you're all in for a bit of a shock. :o) Laughing shall be in order, I believe.
Morien Alexander: Aww, thanks, I love you too. Last chapter was a bit... pornish... sorry. :o)
oracle: Pissing bigoted readers off is great... pissing off loyal readers, I don't like doing that. I don't care about it being well-received. I killed off Harry in LLOA! :o) But anyway... thanks for reviewing :o)
*drumroll* That's all, folks! Feel free to review... :o)
It's starting... The wedding... *G*. Next chapter's going to be the actual ceremonies and all that jazz. Want to know something strange that I just realized? Chapter Twenty Three of Least Likely of All was Lily and James' wedding - Chapter Twenty Three (next chapter) will be Harry and Cassandra's wedding. Hmm. :o)
Aimée
I woke up just as the sun started streaming through the windows to find Draco had left me in the middle of the night, leaving a soft hollow where he had lain. With a heavy sigh, I turned over and glanced at the clock, stretching my sore muscles.
That was one hell of a night.
I had slept in far too long for idle thoughts, however, so the moment I noticed the time – 11:08 – it was three long strides into the shower and less than ten minutes to dress and prepare myself before I Apparated over to my parent's mansion, where the wedding would be taking place.
The moment the foyer came swimming into view, I was knocked aside – accidentally, I assume – by a rather large, beefy man with greasy black hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
"Watch where you're Apparating, kid!" He grunted, "Guests aren't supposed to be arriving yet, you're early, but the family said to instruct everyone into the drawing room – to the left, through the hall, first door on your right."
I smirked, "It's actually the room to the right, but I suppose that doesn't matter, does it? Harry Snape."
I stuck out my hand for him to shake, which he did, albeit rather tentatively.
"Gil Harrison, nice to meet you. Congratulations on landing such a lovely woman, sir. Mr. Lupin and his son are waiting for you in your father's study."
"Thank you, Gil," I patted the man firmly on the back and went right, making my way through the drawing room and into Dad's study, where I saw Remus sitting at his desk, talking to –
Draco. Of course.
Took you long enough.
"Harry!" Remus exclaimed, standing up to give me a hug, "How are you? Excited? Nervous?"
I shrugged, grinning as I glanced briefly at Draco through the corner of my eyes, "Neither, really."
"Really now?" Remus smiled, "That'd good to know – I was terrified the day I got married, truly shaking in my boots."
He was – I think I saw him wet himself during the ceremony.
I remember… That was wild, wasn't it, Draco?
Extremely.
"Your Mum and Cassandra are upstairs getting ready, and I think perhaps Glory's with them. Ethan actually came, and he's currently directing traffic outside along with Drake. The twins are upstairs with the house elves playing I believe." Remus gave me a run down in one long breathe, his eyes focused slightly to my right as he forced his mind to remember the information.
"What about my sisters and Dad?" I asked, fully expecting Khalida and Dea to have skipped, but Dad and Dakota were completely different stories.
"Dea and Dakota decided to stay at Hogwarts – well, Dea mainly, from what I can gather, and Dakota didn't want to go without her. Convinced the whole affair would be one big bore," he grinned, "Khalida – well, I'd be almost as surprised if she showed up as when Ethan did. Your Dad is currently at Hogwarts; apparently, he came up with something called the Cure last night and was far too eager to show it to McGonagall and the Potions Master, but he promised he'd be back in time for the wedding."
"The cure for what?" I asked stupidly, going to sit down in the armchair across from Draco.
Think about it, Harry. A cure – what would your Dad be so excited about to even just think up a way for this 'disease' to be cured?
…Werewolf!?
Bingo.
Remus shifted uncomfortably, "Well…"
"Never mind," I grinned, "Dad's found a cure for werewolves?"
"Supposedly, at least he came up with the idea for it." Remus answered, a look of relief washing over his face. "He promised he'd be back in time for the ceremony, don't worry."
What if he's not? Then what'll happen?
Feel free to dump her on the alter, Harry. I'm sure not too many people would mind.
Draco! You know I'd never do that!
Yes Harry, I'm quite aware of that fact, unfortunately.
While Draco and I conversed, Remus looked fairly uncomfortable with the silence; he kept checking his watch, and refused to make his body stop fidgeting. A quick mental check concluded it was closer to the New Moon than the Full, so I deducted the movement as being lunar.
He's nervous, you wanker. Everyone is… Except for you, of course.
I'm nervous!
Not nearly as much as the rest of us.
What on Earth do you have to be nervous about?
What I'm going to do without you. I haven't quite figured that one out, Harry, and the moment you say 'I do', I'll be alone in the world with no one to depend on except a middle age werewolf and half-sister who rarely sees me.
Draco… you know I'm always going to be here for you, Cassandra isn't going to change that.
You'll be with her, not me – that makes all the difference.
You know I love y—
Don't say it, Harry! Don't say it and then go turn around and marry someone else. I never want to hear that from you again, you hear? As long as you're with that bitch, you're not with me, and you don't love me. If you truly did love me nearly as much as you said you do, you'd walk out of this room with me right now with no hesitation and no looking back.
You have no idea how much I want to… How much I'd kill for the freedom to do that. I can't though, Draco, don't you see? I'm going to lose my family – as much as I hate even thinking about the idea of such a bigoted group – if I stay with you. You've always said family first, haven't you? I'm never going to leave you, I'm always going to be with you.
You left the moment Cassandra came into your life.
I will never, ever leave you behind, don't think you've been abandoned. If I could turn back time right now, I would – and I'd never tell my parents about us. It'd kill me to do so, but I would, if it meant keeping you. You are everything to me, Draco – Cassandra will never, ever change that. No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you. Don't you see? I love you so, so much – I don't love her, not at all.
Then why are you going this?
I don't want to fall in love with anyone else, Draco. I chose her to be with because I know I could never love her. I could look past her faults, yes, I may be able to stomach sleeping with her – but it's all for the sake of us.
"Boys, I'm going to go see how Ethan and Drake are holding up. Harry, you have less than an hour, so please make sure you're all ready by then. I'll be back within fifteen minutes." Remus announced, and he then got up and opened the French double doors and stepped out, closing them behind him.
Without so much as a thought running between us, Draco and I both stood up and walked towards each other, meeting in the middle of the room. He set his hand on my arm, squeezing it reassuringly.
"We'll be all right," he whispered, meeting my gaze, "We have to be…"
"We will," I nodded, "Nothing's ever going to change that, Draco. Ever."
He leaned forward just as I did, allowing our lips to meet between us with more force than usual. It was exactly what I wanted in life, just the two of us alone, together, and completely, utterly in love.
It was our last kiss before the wedding.
So lately, been wondering
Who will be there to take my place
When I'm gone you'll need love to light the shadows on your face
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all
Then between the sand and stone, could you make it on your own
If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
And maybe, I'll find out
A way to make it back someday
To watch you, to guide you, through the darkest of your days
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all
Then I hope there's someone out there
Who can bring me back to you
If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
Run away with my heart
Run away with my hope
Run away with my love
I know now, just quite how
My life and love my still go on
In your heart, in your mind
I'll stay with you for all of time
If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go*
*The Calling, Whereever You Will Go
(The BEST song on the radio right now - I was driving around today and in the course of ten minutes, I heard this song on three seperate radio stations. I was ecstatic :o) I'm one of those weirdos who sings along [loudly] with the radio while driving. It's fun!!)
Cat Samwise: Very, VERY good for picking up the Christmas Cookie hint. You're one of the first people I know picked up on that little hint... :o) Great job. Question is, how? My driver's test... I had to do it in while it was snowing, raining, and hailing (you know that sort of weather... the type where sane people avoid driving in). I lost one point, and that's on parallel parking (where I couldn't see out the back window at all). Thanks for the luck, it definitely helped! :o)
Klee: Of course you can kill her! Feel free. Yeah, Draco has the Gift now, so you're right - the wedding WILL be interesting. Could you image Draco thinking dirty thoughts to Harry while he's standing in front of a million people? And did I mention the reporters? *G*
Mange-Nagini: It'll be even better, I promise... Something no one will expect, except for the three people I've told. I told one of my betas and she, quite literally, gasped and dropped the phone, if I remember correctly, so you're all in for a bit of a shock. :o) Laughing shall be in order, I believe.
Morien Alexander: Aww, thanks, I love you too. Last chapter was a bit... pornish... sorry. :o)
oracle: Pissing bigoted readers off is great... pissing off loyal readers, I don't like doing that. I don't care about it being well-received. I killed off Harry in LLOA! :o) But anyway... thanks for reviewing :o)
*drumroll* That's all, folks! Feel free to review... :o)