Some People Should Just Not Get Married

Hermione Granger

The wedding was in two days. I was nervous as anything… mostly about seeing Ron. No. My mind taunted. You're nervous because you don't want to see Malfoy all dressed and ready to get married. I shook the thought away.

"Stella? Luna?" I called the girls through their door. They each have separate bedrooms, but a living area and bathroom are in between. I found them playing some wizard board game that I never quite got the hang of.

"What?" Stella asked with a bit of annoyance. I knew it was only because she hated Elizabeth and was bitter about the marriage.

"I was just going to invite you to a party I'm having in my room later." I said with a smile. It wasn't really a party… I only wanted the girls to come for a sleepover. I figured we could do nails and spa stuff to prepare for the wedding.

"A party?" Luna's eyes lit up. Stella looked skeptical.

"What kind of party?" Stella asked with interest.

"A sleepover… exclusive to the three of us." I said. "We'll do our nails and other girly beauty things." I explained.

"Really?" Stella asked, knocking over Luna's blue piece. I assumed this was part of the game. "And could we have pillow fights and stay up all night, too?" She asked, hopeful.

"Wizards do that stuff, too?" I asked, surprised. I thought it was mostly a muggle thing that Hogwarts-aged girls adapted.

"No." Stella said, shaking her head. "Our one of our half-blooded nannies made us watch all these Disney movies."

I laughed. "Well, if you want to do those things, we can."

"Can we tell ghost stories?" Luna asked, grabbing one of Stella's red pieces.

"You promise you won't get scared like last time?" Stella asked bitterly.

Luna scowled. "I'm a whole year older, now." She said proudly.

"Maybe I'll tell one ghost story." I offered. They smiled and went back to studying their game board. Stella moved a green piece and took away Luna's yellow one. I was a bit lost.

"Well, I'll let you play that capturing game or whatever." I said, leaving the room.

"Capturing Pieces." Stella and Luna corrected simultaneously.

"Oh." I said. "Right."

"We'll come to your room after dinner." Stella said as I left.

"Okay." I closed their door and went back to my room. I had some things to prepare!

I closed my living room door and got to work. I set out three sleeping bags on the ground. Then I took out some large bowls to fill with snacks. I decorated with balloons and ribbon and confetti. (Ah, the power of magic!)

As for all the spa stuff, I took some nail polishes out of Stella and Luna's bathroom. They had a million! I had brought some exfoliating creams with me when I moved. I also had some face masks and lotions.

I felt like the girls needed to look and feel better for the wedding. They seemed kind of down about it, and I hoped they would have some fun.

----

After dinner, we all went back to my room. Stella made a sign to put on my door to keep everyone out. It read "No boys allowed! (Not even you, Daddy)" I thought it was very cute, so I tacked it to the door. Malfoy saw it when I was hanging it and rolled his eyes.

We ate popcorn and pretzels as we did each other's nails. I painted Stella's fingers pale yellow and her toes were dark red. Luna painted my toes, and she surprisingly did a decent job! In about an hour, we all had manicures and pedicures.

After that, we put on the face masks. Luna thought Stella looked like a monster with the green gunk on her face. And I guess Stella didn't help much, because she chased her sister around the room.

"Watch your nails, girls!" I ordered. "I'm not doing touch-up jobs!"

"I'm the monster from the scary lake!" Stella screeched at her sister.

Luna screamed and ran about the room like a madwoman. "Girls!" I scolded. "Calm down!"

They stopped their game and sat on their sleeping bags.

----

"Now that Luna's asleep, we can have some big-girl conversations." Stella whispered to me. I smiled.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, thinking maybe I'd regret it.

"What did you really think of my dad when you were younger?" Stella asked mischievously.

I thought about that. Should I be honest with Stella? I mean… she was seven! I took a deep breath and decided to confide in her. "I thought your father was gorgeous." I gulped.

Stella sat up, and even though it was dark in the room, I could see her wide smile. "Really?" She breathed.

"Yes. I also thought he was a stubborn git and I hated him. But no matter how awful and insulting he was to me, I still thought he was the most handsome guy at Hogwarts."

"And what do you think of him now?" Stella hinted.

Oh, she was so evil! "I think he's changed a lot since Hogwarts, but I won't lie—he still is very good-looking." I said slowly.

Stella smiled. "Then why don't you go out with him?" She asked.

"Because he's getting married!" I exclaimed.

"So if he wasn't getting married you'd go out with him?"

"No!" I said a little too quickly.

"But when I asked why not, you mentioned the marriage. So, I assumed that if he was not engaged then you would date him." Stella said cleverly.

I frowned. "That's logical… but I still wouldn't date your father." It was a total lie, I knew, but I couldn't tell Malfoy's daughter what I really thought of him!

"Well I wish it were you marrying him, Hermione." Stella said slowly. "Elizabeth is downright awful."

"I suppose that's true, but I think she'll warm up to you eventually." I lied.

"Yeah, right!" Stella whined. "She hates us!"

I sighed. I couldn't argue with that.

"Anyway," Stella steered the conversation away from Elizabeth. "Why were you in bed for a week a few months ago? Daddy said you were sick… but I know that's a lie!"

"Oh, that." I frowned. She was referring to the week I took off when I broke it off with Ron. "After the party, my fiancé sent me a letter."

"You were engaged?" Stella asked with shock. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I shrugged. "Anyway, he said he was staying at a hotel, so I went to surprise him, and…" My words caught in my throat. "And I found him with another woman." I finished.

"Ouch." Stella said sympathetically.

"Yeah." I sighed. "But I'm over him now. And I hope he avoids me at the wedding."

"He's coming?" Stella asked with irritation. "Whose brilliant idea was that?"

"Elizabeth's," I said bitterly.

"It figures!" Stella exclaimed.

"Well, all I can hope is that he finds someone to dance with and forgets about me." I said sadly. Somewhere deep down, it still kind of hurt that Ron was so cruel. I wondered how long it had been going on. I pushed the thought away. "What to hear a ghost story?" I asked Stella.

"Yes!" She jumped up from her sleeping bag. "My sister's still asleep, so she won't get scared. You can bring on the gruesome details!"

I smiled. "Have you ever heard the one about the three-headed ocean creature that ate the pirates?"

"Uh… no." Stella blinked.

"Okay, well, once upon a time, there was—"

"That's the most common and clichéd way of starting stories, Granger."

I spun around to find Malfoy standing in the doorway, smirking.

"Daddy!" Stella scolded. "Didn't you read our sign?"

He shrugged. I wondered how long he'd been there… how much of our conversation he'd heard.

"I just wanted to see what you were doing." He said, entering the room and closing the door.

"What's on your face?" He asked, looking at me.

"Face mask." I said nonchalantly.

"Well, what does it do?" He asked with curiosity.

"It clears the pores, takes off dry skin, and leaves your face feeling clean and smooth." Stella recited from the box.

"Right." He said with subtle confusion. "Anyway, it's two in the morning." He announced.

"So?" Stella asked. "Do you think anyone sleeps at a sleepover?"

"Wouldn't that make sense?" He asked with confusion.

"Actually, sleepovers really just mean that you sleep at someone else's house. Or room, in our case." I corrected.

"But the word sleep is still in there, Granger." He pointed out haughtily.

"But no one actually sleeps. Until maybe three in the morning." Stella said.

"What kind of crazy ideas are you filling my daughter's head with?" He asked, looking at me.

"It wasn't Hermione, Dad," Stella said. "It was Hilda."

Malfoy made a face. "Hilda was a mistake… I shouldn't have hired her."

"Agreed." Stella said, nodding. "She made us watch these wholesome muggle films."

Malfoy scowled. "Well, tomorrow is the day before the wedding, and we have a rehearsal dinner and practices in the morning to attend." He said. "Stella and Luna are going to be flower girls."

Stella smiled. "Can I throw flowers at people?" She asked with excitement.

"I'd prefer using the term 'lightly tossing them into the air,' but sure." Malfoy said slowly.

I laughed. Then there was an awkward silence. "Well," I said casually. "I think it's time for us to kick you out, seeing that you are a boy, and there are no boys allowed."

"Oh, but I wanted to hear the story about the three headed sea monster!" He whined, rising from his seat.

"Good night." I called after him.

"Sweet dreams." He muttered sarcastically.

I guess this was how things were going to be for a while.

----

"No, no, no!" Elizabeth yelled down the aisle. We were at the chapel where tomorrow's wedding was going to be held. "The girls are not going to throw flowers like that!"

"Elizabeth," Draco said dangerously. "I told you how important their involvement was."

"And I told you that this was a mature, grown up wedding… child participation is so... so… standard." She winced.

"Look, it's my wedding, too, and I don't want you to ruin it!" Malfoy bellowed.

Stella and Luna looked at the ground. Luna looked sad, and Stella looked like she was planning on wringing Elizabeth's neck.

"Some people should just not get married, don't you think?" I looked to see who my new bench mate was and saw Narcissa Malfoy whispering to me.

"It's not really my business." I said softly.

She shook her head. "It's not really mine, either, but I can't help but tell Draco that his fiancé is totally wrong for him."

I didn't answer.

"And what is that?" Elizabeth cried, interrupting my thoughts.

"What?" Malfoy snapped, looking around.

"That!" She pointed at the alter; at the giant organ. "That is not staying there!"

"Yes, it is!" Malfoy insisted. "That organ is a practically a priceless antique! It's the chapel's! We can't just throw it out!"

"Why the bloody hell not?" Elizabeth asked incredulously. "It's hideous!"

"Look, Elizabeth," Malfoy started with a sigh. "We have to stop fighting."

"I suppose you're right, dear." Elizabeth said, walking towards him.

"I'll try to give in to some of your demands, but I'd appreciate it if you would at least let the girls and organ stay." Malfoy pleaded.

"Alright." Elizabeth said with a smile.

Malfoy kissed her quickly on the lips. I didn't let the pain in my stomach bother me.

Elizabeth pulled away, smiled, and began to walk off in the other direction. When her back was turned to him, Malfoy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy," I whispered to Narcissa. "Some people should just not get married."

Author's Note: Another chapter! I'm glad you all reviewed so much! It made me want to update faster. Anyway, I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter. I liked the last two paragraphs most.

AS FOR THE LEGNTH OF THIS STORY: There are… counts… 1, 2, 3 and maybe 4 more chapters! I'm not sure if I'm combining these two together or not. Who knows? I may be totally off and there might be like, 8 more! Ha, ha.

NEXT CHAPTER SPOILER: It's in some of your favorite character's point of view… Stella Malfoy! She's running away from the rehearsal dinner and she hides in the bathroom. While she's there, her memory floods back to her. What does she do with the information? Well, nothing in this chapter. Stella goes back to the dining room where Luna tells her Hermione and "some guy" got in a fight. She goes to investigate and finds a hysterical Hermione with her father comforting her. Then "some guy" grabs Stella and asks her all these questions. It's a pretty dark chapter. Look for it in two days, most likely!

REVIEW RESPONSES:

Sayaku-chan: I'm sure you got my reviews. I really like your story so far!

KitArchivist: I'm glad you see it that way. I really like how Narcissa is pretty much a flat character... it allows me to really push the limits of her personality and interpret her as I want.

wisteria walk: Thanks! But sorry, I don't speak Spanish in the slightest!

TO THOSE WHO SAID THEY LOVED IT AND WANT AN UPDATE: Thanks so much! I hope I don't let you down at all!

TO THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW IF DRACO GOES THROUGH WITH THE MARRIAGE: Well, that would be the ultimate spoiler, so I'm not telling you that… yet, anyway.

TO EVERYONE: Thanks for reading my story! All of your reviews mean a lot to me and I seriously will take any criticism to heart. When I write more chapters, I think of any thing negative—anything at all—that someone's said, whether it be something like "too short a chapter" or "I spotted a few grammatical errors." Anything and everything you say I read and consider. I've gotten a few ideas from my reviews, and I really appreciate ALL of them! Please review so I can continue to improve my writing skills.