A/N: I beg your forgiveness, O Worthy Readers! This one is a little more...sweet...than I normally write...but I was listening to sappy songs...whaddya gonna do? Reviews please!

Chapter Eleven

Serenity Shattered

I know your attention to the monotonous details of the small matters in your mother and my life bore you, my daughter, so I will try and skip over that. Though the wedding gave me great joy, it was no different than many others before ours and many others after. We were married in a church, to please her parents and her parents alone. Some of Hermione's friends showed, but not many. Our voices echoed loudly in the empty church, the vows twice as loud as normal. I kept my gaze on her the whole time, not wanting to turn around and see my empty pews. There was no one for me. No one who came to see me wed my beloved. My father, had he even known, would not have been there. He would never have approved…

That night, I took her into my arms and we expressed our love in the fullest way possible. The ring on her finger glinted in the candlelight and confirmed the fact that this was the right thing to do. My fears of the night before had vanished, leaving only a sense of peace inside of me that I needed. There had been this hole inside of me for as long as I could remember, and I had thought that my hate and anger would fill it. In fact, it had only made this hole deeper, cutting into my twisted heart and poisoned mind. It was Hermione who soothed me. She didn't give up on me when I was at my worst. Even through everything, she had stayed by my side. There was nothing I wouldn't do for her. Nothing. If possible, I would have given my soul to see her smile at me. In one of those moments, it was as if we hadn't been through anything. My mother was back and the lives had returned to the bodies of the fallen. There were such wonderful dreams in her eyes and smile, it was easy to see why I wore her ring. The question still plagued me, however; why did she wear mine?

As we lay there in my bed, I stroked her hair while she breathed lightly on my chest.

"Hermione?" I stared at the wall in front of me, memorizing every line and every small curve.

"Mm?"

I started to reply, to ask her what her reasons were for choosing the man who had tortured her for years. But the words wouldn't come out. I didn't want to know. It didn't matter to me, suddenly. I knew Hermione. She was not one to rashly make decisions without painstaking, and often agonizing, thought. And besides, I trusted her enough to not care.

She sat up a little, looking at me with sleepy eyes. I realized that I had been hesitating in my answer and I gave her a sheepish smile. Shrugging, I lightly traced my thumb across her cheek.

"I love you…"

She laughed a little and shook her head, resting her head on my chest again. I welcomed her warmth happily and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She was already asleep.

I stayed up for a few hours longer, simply watching her sleep. But my eyes became too heavy for me too keep open and I temporarily succumbed to the darkness that wanted me so badly.

I awoke before she did. The house elves were scurrying around my room trying to do some last minute packing. I glared at them and they scampered off, leaving us in peace.

"You should be nicer to them, Draco. They do a lot for you…" a husky voice chastised from beside me. I blinked, looking down. Hermione was laughing at me in that silent way that she had so perfected. I smirked and curled up around her, kissing her neck gently.

"You're right. They do a lot…like burn supper. And run around aimlessly. And make me look bad…"

Hermione shook her head and moved out of my grasp, rising from the bed. I lay back, placing my hands behind my head.

"They also pack your clothes, make your bed, dust, keep house, and make food for us…things like that. They're not useless," she argued, finding a pair of jeans and pulling them on. I kept my eyes on her for a long moment before I shrugged.

"I don't want to fight with you about them. Now isn't the time for things like that…" I stood up as well and found my own pair of pants to put on. She glanced over to me and softened. Throwing on a light blue blouse, she went to our closet and brought out a shirt for me. As she slipped it over my shoulders, she took a deep breath.

"Are you nervous about the flight?" she asked me, coming in front of me to button up the shirt. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked down at her.

"Of course not. I'm looking forward to trusting a bunch of bloody Muggles and their…technology…with my life," I told her with an anxious grin. She looked down and took my hands, leaning against me. "I still don't see why we just can't Apperate."

"I just wanted this to be a time away from magic, Draco. I know we both need it…"

I squeezed her hands and nodded.

"Of course… Now, let's go. The plane will leave without us if we don't go now…"

She took a few steps back and walked out the door, probably to help the house-elves. I sighed, reaching to take my watch from the nightstand. Instead of the cold metal, however, I felt an uncommon roughness. Looking down in curiosity, I froze. A sheet of parchment lay there innocently, though I pulled my hand away as if it burned. It is just something simple, I told myself, taking calming breaths. It is nothing to be worried about. No harm comes from paper. Perhaps it is a list of Hermione's. With that chant reverberating in my head, I reached for it again. Picking it up, I unfolded it and began to read the handwriting I knew so well. There were only a few simple sentences, but I knew exactly who it was.

Draco,

This disgrace has gone too far. You have betrayed me enough. The name will not be carried by a Mudblood…

I crumpled the note in my hand and hurled it against the wall, gasping in frustration and anger. It exploded in silent flames before it hit and only the ashes rained down on the carpet. I buried my face in my hands and let out a quiet sob. Who was I to try and turn my back on my past? Especially when it came in a form such as him. I couldn't win. There was no way to beat him. He had proven who was the stronger between us many times. The scars had healed, but I was always wounded by him. His voice was enough to incite fear, and consequently, blind worship.

But I took his words as a threat against Hermione. He obviously knew about us being together and about the wedding. The thought, however, that he was in my room only served to infuriate me…and humiliate me. I couldn't even keep her safe, it seemed, if my father could simply appear anytime he wished.

Hermione came to the door and quirked a brow.

"You were the one complaining about being late, and here you are just sitting there." She frowned, seeing my expression and taking a blind guess to the reason. "Everything will be fine, Draco, you'll see. Even if something happens on the plane, we will both have our wands…"

I nodded, allowing her to think that it was the plane that was bothering me. I took my watch from where it had been sitting and looped it around my wrist.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I led her out the door and to the driveway where the limousine awaited. I would not let threatening notes from my father dampen my already shaky spirits.