A/N - Adult stuff. If you don't like it, drop down past the second divider once it gets to that point.
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Chapter 62
"Whatcha doing over here all by yourself?" Ron asked, coming up and taking the seat next to Blaise. Blaise was resting his elbow on the bar, propping up his head with one hand and staring apparently into space with those strangely half-turned eyes, a forgotten drink in his other hand.
Blaise smirked, but didn't look over at him. "Nothin much..."
"Come on, it's almost midnight. Most everyone's left already. Time to head back to the room."
"You two go on ahead. I'll be sleeping in one of the spare rooms tonight." Blaise said casually.
"What?" Ron asked, shocked.
Blaise glanced over at him. "Come on, Ron. You can shag her again. Go. Take her to the room and make me proud. I expect her to be completely contented by morning." He said with a smirk, his eyes going back to where they had been before.
Ron sighed. "Blaise... just because you can't shag her doesn't mean you can't come and be with us!"
Blaise picked up his drink and knocked it back, then sat the empty glass down with a little hiss as the alcohol burnt a fiery trail down his throat. "Nope. Quite frankly, I don't trust myself to be anywhere near her right now. Besides, I'll be happy just knowing she's finally getting some action. It's been murder watching her being all abstinent. She probably hasn't had this long of a dry spell in a good long time. I'll just hang out here for a bit, then wander to a spare room. I'd wager Breanna's room isn't going to be used tonight..." he said with a little smirk, then tilted his head slightly and letting out an appreciative groan.
Ron followed his gaze, but saw nothing more than a shelf of liquor. "What the bloody Hell are you staring at?"
A wicked smirk slipped over Blaise's lips. "Just watching Breanna getting a good hard shagging..."
Ron quickly clapped his hand over his mouth, stifling a burst of laughter. He looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear, then lowered his voice, "Charlie?"
Blaise's grin widened. "And Bill..." He said with a snicker.
Ron let out a little laugh, his eyes going wide. "She talked them into sharing?" He asked, obviously shocked.
Blaise snickered, "Oh don't fool yourself, Ron. Those two have shared before, and more than once. No one could be that coordinated without a lot of practice!"
Ron's jaw dropped. "No way!"
Blaise smirked again, "You kidding? They're teaching me new positions! That one right there for example... saw it in a book once, but I never could figure out how you could really accomplish it in real life without like falling over or hurting someone at the very least... but they seem to be having no problem with it..."
Ron couldn't stop snickering.
"You run along now... you're distracting me from my studying." Blaise said mirthfully. "I'll take notes, and once I'm back to rights, we have got to try some of this out..."
Ron grinned. "Ok then... just don't remind me where you picked it up!"
"Deal." Blaise said, clinking his empty glass lightly against the wood of the bar. A house elf hurried up with a bottle and filled it. Blaise snagged the bottle out of its hand as the elf started to take it back to its place on the shelf. The elf just bowed its head and scurried away.
Ron sighed. "Take it easy on that stuff." He said, eyeing the bottle and wishing the elf had brought one that had less left in it. "I guess I'll see you in the morning then... but feel free to come to the room if you change your mind."
Blaise looked over at him and smiled warmly. "I'll be fine, Ron. All I want you to worry about tonight is Pansy."
Ron sighed and nodded, then slipped off his stool and moved closer. Blaise met his lips eagerly, kissing him passionately before reluctantly releasing him. Ron looked him over worriedly as took a pull on his drink and went back to staring at the wall. He knew Blaise was gagging for some action... he could almost feel the desire radiating from him. Still, he knew how stubborn Blaise could get when someone tried to change his mind once it was made up.
Pansy romped over, looking almost giddy. She, of course, wasn't drinking alcohol, so she hadn't mellowed as the others had over the course of the celebration. "Come on boys! Night's a wastin!"
Blaise looked over at her and smiled. He slipped his arm around her and nuzzled against her before giving her a kiss just as passionate as the one he'd given Ron. Pansy practically purred, melting up against him.
Blaise let out a little moan and pulled back. Ron smirked, seeing Blaise pulling her hand away from the rather pronounced bulge in his pants. He pulled his robes over, draping them across his lap. "Not tonight love. Ron will be attending to you this evening."
Pansy's smile faded. She looked over to Ron. Ron just gave his head a little shake. Pansy gave him a petulant sigh, but had been with him far too long to question him. "Fine." She sighed, then smirked, "But you're going to owe me, Zabini!"
He gave her a smirk. "As you wish, Snape."
She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, then grabbed Ron's arm and all but dragged him towards the door.
Blaise watched them go, then sighed, going back to his 'show'. Somehow it didn't hold quite the same fascination for him anymore.
"Isn't this sad?"
Blaise looked over in surprise. He had thought he was the last one there, but Narcissa was still sitting at the end of the bar, nursing a drink.
"What's sad?" Blaise asked, trying to keep his eyes up on her face. She was around the bend in the bar, but the thick wood did nothing to hide her from him.
"Me. You. Everyone else is off shagging eachothers arses off and we're the odd ducks out. Nothin to do but sit here and get kaylied." Narcissa replied with a smirk, a bit of a slur in her voice.
Blaise smirked at her. "If you're hot to trot, you could always go to Hagrid's room. I'd wager he's in need of a bed mate tonight."
Narcissa laughed, "Don't think I haven't thought about it!" She giggled merrily. "But honestly! That man has to be like..." She held her hands up, a couple of feet apart, then dropped them with another giggle. "Kinda doubt I'd survive that!"
Blaise chuckled. He'd seen Narcissa half-cut before, but never quite this hammered. She wasn't even trying to pretend she was proper (and sober!) anymore.
She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Well, when you start discussing the endowments of giants, it's time to call it a night!" She said with a smirk. She slapped her palm on the counter and nodded. "Definitely time for bed."
She got up briskly... and fell over. "Bloody Hell!" She said, giggling giddily from the ground.
Blaise clapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. When he got his mirth under control he lowered his hand. "You ok?"
"Fine! Just fine..." She said, struggling back up to her feet and holding on to the bar for support. "Must of stepped on the hem of my dress." She said, brushing bits of grass off her skirt. Even she couldn't keep from smirking at the bold faced lie. "Night." She said with as much dignity as she could muster. She started around the bar, her hand darting over to the bar several times to regain her balance.
"Hold up." He said as she got closer. "You need a guide." He looked around, spotting the house elf who had been tending the bar nearby. "Hey you!" He said, not able to figure out which one it was with the confusion of the dual vision.
The house elf hurried over and, scampering up the little ladder at the back to get behind the bar. "Is you wanting something different to be drinking, master?" It asked helpfully.
He waved it off, "She needs a guide back to her suite." He said indicating Narcissa.
"What suite is you being in, ma'am?"
Narcissa blinked, then furrowed her brow, "It's named after... oh I don't remember his name... he was some silly bugger of questionable morality who did something stupid to con his way into the history books." she said with a giggle.
The elf looked thoughtful, "That could be describing any suite we is having here..." He said in frustration. His eyes widened as he realized he'd spoken ill of how his master had named the rooms. He quickly grabbed up the bottle off the bar.
Blaise, his reflexes still quick despite the amount of liquor he'd consumed, snatched it out of the elf's hand as it tried to hit itself over the head with it. "Stop it!" He growled, setting the bottle right again. "You have any idea how hard it is to find good Muggle scotch around here?"
"Begging your forgiveness master!" It replied, reaching for a different bottle.
Blaise batted its hand away irritably, "Enough of that bullshit. The rooms are named stupid. Starting tomorrow I want the bloody things numbered! And another thing, cut out this punishing yourself thing. It's fuckin irritating. Father was the only one who enjoyed it, and he's thankfully dead, so stop it. Spread that around. No more, got it?"
The cowed elf nodded his head fervently.
Blaise got to his feet a bit unsteadily, sighing, "I'll take her. I think I remember where it is."
"But... but master... you is needing a guide..." The worried elf sputtered as Narcissa took the arm Blaise offered her.
"I'll give it a try solo." Blaise said with a smirk, giving him a little salute and leading Narcissa out the door, their path weaving a bit as they took turns keeping eachother upright.
"Is this it?" Narcissa asked after they had wandered around for about fifteen minutes.
Blaise glanced at the wall and chuckled. "Bloody Hell... you're right... even Snape is getting laid!" He stood there for a minute, smirking and staring at the wall. "Wow... if I'd known Granger was so enthusiastic in the sack I might have given her a try..." He took a deep breath and sighed it out, pulling his eyes away and leading Narcissa on. "I really shouldn't watch those two. They're kinda almost my parents in a weird twisted step-family kinda way." He said with a chuckle.
Narcissa giggled. "So you can really see through walls?"
He grinned and nodded. "It's bloody brilliant!"
They looked over as they heard hurried footsteps. They turned and saw Vincent scampering towards them. The elf let out a sigh of relief as he came to a stop. From the way he was panting, he'd obviously been searching for them. "You should not be wandering alone, master."
Blaise smirked, noting the slight grogginess. "They woke you to run fetch me before I managed to fall into a banishing bin or something daft like that, didn't they?"
"Oh no, I was just... yes." He admitted with a sigh, unable to lie to Blaise's face.
Blaise chuckled. "Sorry about that. Tell you what, help me get her to her room and lead me to a free couch somewhere and you can go back to sleep with a clear conscious, ok?"
Vincent grinned and nodded. "Her room is being this way, master." He said, pointing back the way they'd come.
They followed him and within a minute Vincent was opening the door to Narcissa's suite. Narcissa released his arm and started into the suite, but within a couple paces she stumbled. Blaise grabbed ahold of her before she hit the ground, setting her back properly upright. "I'll just walk you to your room then." He said with a smirk.
"You are such a sweet boy!" she said with a giggle, patting his cheek, then letting him lead her over to the door to her bedroom.
Vincent hurried forward, getting that door as well.
"I can't tell you how glad I am that we had the wedding here!" Narcissa sighed as he led her into the room. "Our mansion has too many bad memories for him... and you two have always been so close... I know he always had such a hard time expressing himself, but I always knew he cared for you. Sure he liked Crabbe and Goyle, but how much can you really feel for yes-men? I mean they seemed to have fallen into the same rolls that their fathers have with Lucius as if it was expected of them... but I don't think that was ever what Draco truly needed." She turned to him, smiling. "You told him no. You irritated the Hell out of him. He needed that. There's only so much bowing and sycophantic adoration one can stand..."
Blaise grinned. "That's not the kind of adoration I have for him."
She grinned back, "Exactly! You actually cared for him, and not just because of who he was. He could sense that. I know it couldn't have been easy for him dealing with all the pressures of school and his father on top of that... and I truly believe I have you to thank for getting him through it all. You're a true friend to him, Blaise. Thank you." she said, leaning forward and giving him a little kiss. Her less than steady footing brought her up against him a bit more than she intended. She blushed as she felt something firm pressing against her. Blaise couldn't reign in his desire quick enough, deepening and holding the kiss for a moment before pulling away.
"Sorry." he said contritely, "I should go." try as he might, he was finding it extremely difficult to make himself move away from her.
She was looking at him, a bit stunned. "Um... of course..." She murmured. She bit her lip, then glanced up at him again. "Think you could help me with my dress before you go?" she asked softly.
Blaise took a deep breath, knowing he should turn and go, but found himself rooted to the spot as she turned around, looking back over her shoulder expectantly.
Vincent looked over as he saw movement to the side. Diamond had obviously been woken by the voices. She was standing in the doorway to the closet Narcissa had had made up into an elf-sized room for her. She blinked as she saw Vincent, then looked over at her mistress. They just watched silently as Blaise started undoing the back of Narcissa's dress.
As the dress fell to the floor Blaise couldn't help but brush his fingers down the warm soft skin of her back. She shivered and leaned back against him. He let out a groan of desire, his hands slipping around to caress her breasts as if of their own volition. Narcissa let him fondle her for a minute, then turned, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. His hands slid down to cup her firm rump as he started pulling her back towards the bed, snogging her passionately.
Vincent looked back over at Diamond. Her cheeks had darkened a bit. She looked over at him again, a little grin on her face. She slowly turned and went back into her room... leaving the door open.
Vincent grinned at the obvious invitation, quickly following her in and closing the door.
Blaise didn't even notice. His legs came up against the bed and they fell back onto it. Narcissa sat up, and stripped off her underthings as quickly as she could in her inebriated state, then started struggling with Blaise's pants, not even bothering with the rest.
He took over, quickly undoing them and pushing them and his skivvies down. As soon as they were down far enough for them to be out of the way, Narcissa pushed him back down, swinging her leg over him. Even as uncoordinated as she was, it only took her a moment to position him. Blaise let out a deep groan and pushed his hips up to meet her as she drove herself down on him.
She cried out, quickly getting some leverage and started riding him so hard the bed immediately started protesting. Blaise groaned and panted, thrusting up just as eagerly. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but it just felt so very good! He was barely able to muster enough restraint to keep his hands off of her so he wouldn't accidentally hurt her.
As vigorously as she was shagging him, and as drunk and aroused as he was, he didn't last long. Narcissa's back arched and she cried out, a shudder of pleasure running through her as he drove up into her, spending himself.
After a tense moment, Narcissa slumped down on top of him. She cuddled up to him, kissing him, then rested her head next to his, her liquor scented breath warm on his neck. "Such a sweet boy..." She murmured softly.
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Blaise woke, opening his eyes, then quickly shut them, letting out a pained groan. The light stabbed at his eyes, his head pounding like someone was hitting it with a croquet mallet. Slowly, his head settled down just enough for him to realize there was a warm body pressed up against him. He braved the light, squinting his eyes open a crack and looking down.
He let out a pained groan and forced himself to sit up. He felt shaky, and not a little nauseous, but he fought it down, forcing his eyes open again and trying to remember how the Hell he had wound up in bed with Narcissa. It was slow in returning, but he eventually remembered walking her back to her room... he looked down at himself then, wondered how his clothes had gotten off. He could have sworn he was almost fully clothed, but now he was without a stitch. He took a deep, bracing breath and shifted his eyes over to get a better look at Narcissa. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully... but he couldn't help notice a number of bruises marking her pristine skin... most noticeably the grouping of purpling bruises that were roughly in the shape of his hand on her hip. He could see another bruise barely visible on the other hip. She was laying on it, but he had no doubt it matched the other. As he stared at the bruises he vaguely recalled Narcissa on her knees before him. Little snippets of memories started filtering back and making his mind ache even worse. Within moments, he could recall shagging her in at least four different positions...
"Sweet Merlin... how many times did I shag you?" He muttered, starting to wish he were dead. Draco was going to take care of that for him, of that he was sure.
Narcissa stirred at the sound of his voice, then let out a pained sound and curled up some.
"You ok?" He asked anxiously.
She groaned, then reached her hand back, feeling around blindly until she found the sheet. She tugged it over to cover herself a bit. "Diamond!" She called out, then immediately clutched her head as even the sound of her own voice made it throb angrily.
Blaise looked over, hearing scrambling around in the closet. After a minute, the door opened and the tiny elf emerged in a little robe, scurrying over to a chest near the door and opening it without even glancing at them. She grabbed up two little vials from a rack that had about twenty left in it... and had obviously once held a good number more.
She closed it and hurried over, tapping the side of the bedside table and scampering up the steps that popped out of it. Blaise blushed as she padded across the bed behind his back. She paused when he turned to look at her. She held one of the vials out to him with a little smirk on her face. He took it and watched as she knelt by Narcissa, opening the vial and carefully emptying it into the woman's mouth with obviously practiced ease. She then brushed Narcissa's tousled white-blond hair out of her face lovingly.
Narcissa afforded her a little smile, the pain easing from her face. "Thanks, Diamond. You can go back to..." She had cracked her eyes open, taking in the little robe. A smirk worked onto her lips, "Whatever you were doing..." she finished.
Diamond grinned at her, her cheeks about as dark as Blaise had ever seen an elf's cheeks get. She bobbed her head and quickly scampered back over and into her closet.
Narcissa leaned her head back against the pillow, letting the potion go to work.
Blaise looked down at his own vial. He was feeling like he really deserved to continue suffering, but the pounding in his head was so bad he couldn't even think straight. He sighed in exasperation and uncapped it, downing it in a single swallow. He laid back down as the soothing tingling spread through his mind, easing away the pain. It seemed to be working even better and faster than any of the other hangover potions he'd ever used before. Then again, leave it to Narcissa to find the best in that category...
His eyes sprang open as he felt her shift over, straddling his body and sitting up. She was staring down at him with a wistful smile on her lips. "That was amazing! What I can remember of it that is..." She said, her lips curling up into a little smirk.
He looked up at her incredulously. "Didn't it... hurt?" He asked, reaching up and gently brushing his fingertips over the bruised flesh at her hips.
She followed his gaze, then chuckled softly. "That? Oh that's nothing, dear. You were positively gentle compared to..." Her smile immediately faded, "... What I'm used to..." She finished softly, avoiding his eyes and looking decidedly uncomfortable. She quickly went on, trying not to dwell, "Couple healing spells and I'll be right as rain." Her smiled returned as she settled down on top of him, bringing her face to within inches of his. "Last night was absolutely brilliant. Thank you. I really needed it." she said, darting in to give him a little peck on the lips.
Blaise brought his hands up, scrubbing them over his face and studiously trying to ignore the warm naked body that was draped across him. "Draco's going to kill me!" He sighed achingly.
Narcissa pulled back a little, looking pained. "No... no, it was all my fault and I'll make sure he knows that." She said placatingly, "I won't let him be mad at you... with luck, maybe he won't even find out..." She said, slipping her arms around him and cuddling up. She let out a little happy sigh after a minute, then glanced over at the window. "It's barely dawn... it'll be hours before anyone else is up..." She said, her voice turning decidedly suggestive. "How about one more for the road?"
He shivered as she ground her hips against him. He was suddenly made acutely aware that his body hadn't been ignoring the tender flesh pressed against it like his mind had been telling it to. "Narcissa... I... I really love Pansy and Ron..." He said achingly.
She gave a little sigh. "I know... I know last night was just a drunken one night stand, and it can't happen again... but... well... it did happen... so what's the harm in finishing it off with one last little interlude we can actually remember?" She asked with an imploring smirk.
He knew he should say no... but she did have a point... and who knew when he'd be able to shag freely again? She was probably already full of Re'em blood essence anyway. He was sure he'd shagged her more than enough to get her to 'full strength', so the damage was already done... which meant there was really no benefit to abstaining at this point... Overall, his decision took about five seconds...
He rolled her over and she eagerly wrapped her legs around him. He thrust into her and started shagging her without preamble. He watched her face closely for a moment for signs of pain, but saw none. Her eyes were closed, a blissful look on her face. He picked up the pace, thrusting harder just to be sure. She just let out a moan, undulating up against him. "Yes... yes..." She moaned, "Harder!"
He grinned. It'd been a while since he'd heard that! He closed his eyes and let himself go, pounding into her. As much as he loved shagging Ron, there was just something about being on top of a hot, willing woman... shagging her face to face and feeling her soft, warm body writhing beneath him. She slipped her arms around him, her kisses and light bites on his neck driving him crazy.
Now that he'd sobered up, he lasted much longer. He rode out two screamingly intense peaks from Narcissa before he finally achieved his own rather mind blowing peak. He lay on top of her heavily as he tried to regain his breath.
After he got his breathing back, he gently withdrew, making both of them shudder. The slight ache in his choicer bits made him suspect he'd shagged her even more that night than he remembered. He let out a little sigh, gently kissing her neck, then rolling off of her and getting off the bed. He knew if he didn't leave right away he'd be in that bed all morning. The last thing he needed was for Draco to come looking for his mum and find his best friend shagging her!
He had quite a time finding all of his clothing, as it seemed to be scattered around the room at random. Luckily, he found his wand, and was able to summon the last few elusive articles of clothing from where they hid. He still couldn't figure out how his shirt had found its way behind the wardrobe.
Once he had his shoes on, he looked up, spotting Vincent standing at the door. He looked him over curiously.
Vincent shifted a bit nervously. "You is not saying to be leaving, Master. Vincent is waiting for you."
Despite his anxiety over what was going to happen when people found out about last night, Blaise found himself smirking. He got up and crossed to the door, which Vincent quickly opened for him. He stopped when he reached him, looking down at him. "You might want to tuck in your shirt."
Vincent's eyes darted down and he blushed darkly, quickly starting to tuck in the errant ends of his shirt. "Begging your pardon, master. Vincent is not being used to clothes..."
Blaise patted him on the head affectionately, then glanced back at Narcissa. She was laying there, sprawled out in her full naked glory and looking thoroughly sated. It was a truly magnificent sight...
She smiled warmly, snuggling up to her pillow and sighing contentedly. Blaise couldn't help but smile back.
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Ron woke with a groan as the bed shifted under him. He felt the cool glass of a vial against his lips and instantly recognized the familiar, pungent odor. He gulped down the potion without even opening his eyes. Then the glass was gone and he felt a body cuddle up against him. As the potion eased away the overwhelming aching in his head, he vaguely wondered why the body against him was clothed.
He cracked his eyes open. "Blaise?" he asked, trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind.
Blaise just nodded wordlessly against him, cuddling up to him more. Pansy woke at Ron's voice and sat up, blinking around and spotting Blaise.
"About time you wandered home you little scamp." She giggled, crawling over Ron and pushing Blaise onto his back, straddling him and draping herself across him, cuddling up to him lovingly. Within seconds her eyes sprang open and she sat up abruptly. "You got laid!" She said without a hint of question in her tone.
Blaise blushed brightly and averted his eyes, unable to muster a proper response.
Ron shifted up on his side, looking Blaise over, then smirking up at Pansy. "How can you tell?"
Pansy rolled her eyes. She bounced on Blaise's hips a couple times, then reached over took Ron's hand, slipping it under her. He blinked in surprise. Blaise barely had half a stock. "He's been so horny lately that he got hard enough to drive through a steel beam any time I so much as breathed on him. Not to mention his body was always rigid as a washboard with sexual tension... he's been shagged, and quite thoroughly at that! I mean smell him!"
Ron leaned closer, then smirked. He smelt distinctly like perfume.
Pansy folded her arms across her bare chest, looking down at him suspiciously, "You didn't shag my mum did you?" she asked pointedly.
"No!" Blaise said immediately.
Ron chuckled, "Bill and Charlie beat him to the punch there."
Pansy looked over at Ron, her jaw dropping in indignation. "No bloody fair!" she whined petulantly. "Why does she get two Weasleys?"
Ron chuckled, then glanced at Blaise. "Who'd you shag?"
Blaise bit his lip, more than a little hesitant to say.
Pansy rolled her eyes, "Oh come on... we're going to figure it out sooner or later. I mean lately you don't shag anyone without leaving evidence. Shall I just have Ron challenge everyone to an arm wrestling match?"
Blaise sighed, closing his eyes, "Narcissa..." He admitted miserably.
Ron snorted, trying hard to stifle his burst of amusement. Pansy didn't even try to hide it, letting out a loud peal of laughter.
Blaise blinked his eyes open, looking back and forth between them. "You're... you're not mad?"
Their laughter died down and Pansy tried her best to affect a serious demeanor. "Hmm... you did cheat on us... I mean Narcissa never even asked first!" She folded her arms over her chest again, eyeing him shrewdly. "Not sure if we can just dismiss this... I mean it was a rather grievous breach in trust..."
Blaise looked up at her, not sure how serious she might be.
She took a deep breath and sighed it out, looking over at Ron. "I think this really has to be addressed." After another thoughtful look down at Blaise, she nodded, coming to a conclusion. "Ok, here's what we're going to do. You, little mister," She said, poking him hard in the chest with one finger, "Are going to march yourself into that lavatory and strip. You're going to run us a nice hot bath like a good little house elf, and then we're going to remind you of your place! We're gonna scrub that perfume off of you, then I'm going to take back those hands, and most especially that tongue! Ron here will then have to give you a good hard reminder of who exactly that cute little arse belongs to!"
Ron was having a hard time keeping the smirk off his face. He nodded solemnly, "That should teach him!"
> > > > > > > > > > >
When Draco and Ginny made their way into the kitchen the next day, most of the others were already there. Snape looked up as they entered. He smiled and gave Draco a little summoning motion. Ginny was reluctant to be parted from him... they had barely been out of direct physical contact since they finished the ceremony the night before. Still, she smiled at him and let go of his hand. He glanced over at her, surprised, but then smiled and drew her in for one last kiss, figuring she probably had others she wanted to talk to as well. When he released her, he gave her a playful pat on the rump then started over towards Snape.
"Have a good night?" Snape asked with a smirk as Draco flopped down in the seat beside him, looking thoroughly content.
Draco grinned over at him. "Beyond words..." He sighed blissfully.
Snape's smirk widened into a smile. "Glad to hear it. If there's anyone who deserves happiness, it's you. Of course Ginny's looking rather happy herself..." He said with a little mischievousness.
"Worked very hard to get her that way!" Draco said with a touch of arrogance.
Snape chuckled, then they fell silent. Draco eyed Snape. There was obviously some reason he'd called him over. He just waited, knowing he'd get around to it sooner or later.
They watched the others busying themselves in the kitchen for a few minutes. Delse and Breanna were actually cooking this morning, much to the consternation of the house elves. He could see several of them milling around, obviously not knowing what to do with themselves since their regular jobs were being done for them. The women just stood side by side at the enormous stove, Delse scrambling eggs while Breanna flipped pancakes on the griddle, chatting away merrily, both completely oblivious to the elves. Draco blinked in amazement as he spotted his mother. She was standing there at the counter on the other side of them with her back to him. What he found shocking was that she had a bowl before her into which she appeared to be breaking eggs. His mind boggled as she started measuring out flour. Whatever could she be doing? She'd never so much as boiled an egg on her own to his knowledge!
"I was wondering..." Snape said softly.
Draco broke his eyes away from his mother, trying to shake off his shock as he looked over at Snape. "Hmm?" He blinked in surprise. Snape actually appeared to be blushing slightly.
"That carving..." he said softly.
"The unicorn horn carving?" Draco asked, trying urge him on when he paused.
Snape gave a slight nod. "Would you happen to know where it came from...?" He asked, trying to make it sound casual.
A smile spread across Draco's mouth as he figured out what this was about. "Well... that is a ceremonial object that is actually rarely used in human ceremonies... It originated before recorded history... became traditional amongst certain species... certain ancient varieties of the fair folk mostly... most of those died out long ago of course... I can only guess where Dumbledore might have gotten ahold of such a custom made artifact, even about a hundred and thirty years or so ago..." Draco said leadingly.
Snape's eyes flitted over to Kulia, who was across the room. "Yes... well... just curious..." Snape said, throwing a little smirk at him before rising and casually wandering over in that direction.
Draco chuckled to himself, then looked around. The Weasley boys had all gathered around a small table. Molly had obviously put them to work. They were sitting there chatting and laughing as they folded napkins and peeled and diced potatoes and the like. They all looked to be in good spirits this morning. Very good spirits...
Draco got up and ambled over to his mother, leaning back against the counter beside her as she mixed some dough in the large metal mixing bowl before her. "What's with the domestic thing? Since when can you cook?" He inquired with a smirk.
She looked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Technically biscuits are baking..." She let out a somewhat exasperated sigh, dumping more flour in the bowl, "And besides, it doesn't appear as if I'm being very successful... It looks so simple when the elves do it." She said with a little huff, looking at the open cookbook again. "This bloody book has to be wrong. I just can't get the right consistency."
He grinned, then looked over at the table. "Bill and Charlie look quite chipper this morning... think there's any particular reason why?" he asked significantly.
He jerked in surprise as a hand smacked his shoulder. He looked over and saw Breanna giving him a hard glare. She mouthed "Shut up!" At him, darting a worried look over at Molly, who had just come in to fetch a stack of plates, then quickly turned back to the griddle, her cheeks burning.
Draco clapped his hand over his mouth to muffle a burst of laughter. He quickly composed himself as Molly glanced over at him. He gave her a warm smile and she smiled back, hurrying back into the dinning room.
"Through accusing me of shagging Weasleys?" Narcissa asked softly with a smirk on her face as she started mixing the dough again.
"Ok, so it wasn't you. Can't blame me for being suspicious though... I mean look at you! You're practically glowing!"
She smiled over at him. "My little boy just got married! Not to mention that Lucius will be beside himself with fury when he finds out... I think I have the right to be happy!" She said, lightly patting his cheek and leaving a floury handprint. "Now run along, you're distracting me..." She said, looking back at the book.
"Oh please. Like my presence is why you can't cook..." He said with a snicker as he tried to wipe away the flour.
She rolled her eyes again and flicked flour at him.
Ginny smirked at him, watching from across the room. She watched Bill take a bowl of diced potatoes and onions to Delse. She also didn't miss the little goose he gave Breanna in passing. Breanna just jumped slightly, then blushed brightly again, staring studiously at the griddle with a little smirk on her face.
Draco made his way over to the table with the Weasley boys, pulling over a spare chair and starting to talk to them in low voices. From the way they all shifted forward a bit when Charlie started talking, she could tell it wasn't a conversation she should be privy to. Especially with the way the other boys kept darting glances over at Breanna and smirking.
Ginny watched them for a few minutes, then started wandering over towards Blaise. She noticed the way Blaise's eyes were fixed on Draco. He almost looked worried about something. She was curious, but she had other things on her mind.
"Blaise?" she asked softly when she was next to him. He started slightly, his eyes darting over to her.
He quickly flashed her a smile. "Yes Mrs. Malfoy? Something I can do for you?"
Ginny grinned, her cheeks going red. It was the first time she'd been called that and it felt strange... but not unpleasantly so. She never thought she'd want to give up the last name of Weasley, but she found herself quickly warming to the change. "Um... I... uh..." She didn't know quite how to ask this...
His smile faded, "You ok?" He asked softly so the others wouldn't hear.
She bit her bottom lip, not speaking for a minute. He waited patiently. At last she took a deep breath. "It's about Darien's baby..." She said so softly he could barely hear her.
"The little soul the demon gave you?" Blaise asked, his eyes widening with concern at the worry in her voice.
She gave a slight nod, her eyes dropping to the floor as she started twisting at a bit of coppery hair worriedly. "I'm afraid I might have... lost it..." She said, her voice catching in her throat. "I... I could feel it before, and I can't anymore... I'm afraid it might have disbursed like the demon warned it might... or maybe the ceremony itself did something to it..."
Blaise knew immediately why she'd come to him. He let his eyes change, gazing down at her stomach.
She watched his face nervously. He just kept staring at her stomach, his expression neutral. After a moment she couldn't take the suspense any longer. "Well? What do you see?"
"That's a lovely mark..." Blaise said as a smile slid over his lips.
She huffed impatiently, "Yes, Draco has one too, but that's not what I asked..." She prompted, trying to keep her temper so the others wouldn't notice and come over to see what they were talking about.
He was looking over past her in Draco's direction. His gaze seemed to fix there as Draco stood next to his mother, looking through a drawer for a paring knife so he could help with the food preparation. She shifted over, breaking his line of sight. He blinked up at her with those blank eyes, then blushed slightly, looking a bit out of sorts. He flashed her a little grin, "Oh... um... I wasn't finished."
She rolled her eyes, "Ok then, finish!" She sighed in exasperation.
He dropped his gaze back down. "You're right, there's no little loose soul in there..."
Ginny felt her heart catch in her chest, her eyes stinging.
"But there is a very beautiful little baby..." he said, reaching out and gently touching a spot on her stomach as his eyes faded back to normal.
Her eyes sprang wide and darted down to her stomach. She reached up with a shaking hand, touching the spot as Blaise dropped his hand, smiling at her warmly. She took an unsteady step back and looked for all the world as if she was about to pass out. He quickly got up, "Ginny? You ok?" He asked worriedly.
Ginny looked up at him, then suddenly tossed herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly as she giggled giddily.
Blaise looked up, seeing everyone's eyes turn towards them. He quickly held out his hands up where they could see them. "Hey, way not me!" He said quickly with a smirk. "Little help here?" He asked, glancing over at Draco.
Draco shoved the drawer closed, furrowing his brow as he hurried over. "Ginny?" He asked as he got close. At the sound of his voice, Ginny released Blaise, spun around and tossed herself at Draco. Draco staggered back a couple steps from her enthusiastic momentum, then looked up at Blaise in askance as Ginny held him so tight he had a hard time drawing breath.
Blaise shrugged. "Don't look at me... I just told her she was pregnant and she freaked out on me." He said in a low voice so only Draco could hear, giving him a negligent smirk and a pat on the shoulder as he walked past him. Draco stared wide eyed at the wall before him, too stunned to even think for a moment. Then emotions hit him in a wild rush. He had known before in an abstract kind of way what would happen if he stopped wearing the ring... but even when trying for a baby, the realization of what they were attempting to accomplish had never really sunk completely in. It hit him now in full force. There was a tiny life growing in Ginny's belly that they had created together. He was going to be a father! He kissed her passionately, blocking everything else out.
Blaise walked over near Narcissa as the Weasley boys were making their way over to find out what all the fuss was about. He waited until Breanna had slid the last pancake onto the platter and Delse put the skillet on the back burner, both hurrying over. Narcissa was looking over curiously, stirring the contents of the bowl she was holding distractedly. She looked over at Blaise.
"What's all the excitement about?"
"Ginny's pregnant." Blaise said evenly.
Narcissa's eyes shot wide and her jaw dropped. She spun towards them, but Blaise caught her arm, turning her back.
"Let go!" She said, trying to crane around to see the happy couple.
"Not until we have a word." Blaise said softly.
Something in his voice caught her attention and she looked over at him. "About what...?" she asked warily.
He dropped his eyes and sighed, gently taking ahold of her hand and lifting it to where she could see it. She stared uncomprehendingly at the large metal spoon in her hand, the solid metal handle of which was now a bit malformed, molded to her fingers as if it had been made of soft clay. He gently extracted it from her grasp. "I'm sorry, Narcissa... you have no idea how sorry I am..." He said sadly. "But I think we need to discuss why I'm not allowed to shag Pansy..."
> > > > > > > > > > >
Molly worked her way through the small crowd that had formed around Draco and Ginny. "What's this about then?" She asked, looking at the couple curiously. They were still kissing.
"Dunno." Ron said with a little smirk. "They won't stop snogging long enough to tell us!"
Molly sighed, patting Draco on the shoulder. "Come along now, break it up. What's this all about?"
Draco broke the kiss, glancing around looking a bit dazed, realizing there were other people there for the first time. Ginny released Draco and hugged her mother, "I had the little soul from before, but I thought it had gone so I asked and he said it hadn't gone it had just gotten a body and that's why I couldn't feel it anymore! I thought it was gone, but it's still here and now it's ours and it won't go away!" She said in a jittery, excited rush, the words tumbling out so fast they were almost unintelligible.
"What in Merlin's name are you talking about, dear?" Molly asked, confused.
"I'm gonna be a mum!" Ginny squealed happily.
Molly let out a surprised cry, hugging her daughter tight as the others immediately burst forth with happy exclamations as they converged on them. Draco suddenly found himself being clapped on the back and having his hands shaken and even a few hugs. He was still too shocked to do much more than grin. He found himself being shuffled about by the others as they congratulated him.
Suddenly he found himself in front of Arthur Weasley. He looked up at him, suddenly acutely aware that this man had only allowed him to marry his daughter under great protest, and might therefore be somewhat less than pleased to discover he'd impregnated her at fifteen. He instinctively flinched back slightly as the man grabbed ahold of him, but then found himself wrapped in a hug.
When Arthur finally released him, Draco looked up at him uncomprehendingly. "I... I thought you didn't care for me...?"
Arthur gave him a little smile. "I questioned your sincerity and your intentions towards my daughter before... but if you'll recall, I was at the wedding yesterday... as Dumbledore said, there is no way anyone could refute your feelings for eachother after that... I'm sorry I doubted you. Welcome to the family, Draco."
Draco felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He found himself hugging Arthur again, his eyes stinging. When he released him again, he looked around for his mother, expecting to find her near Ginny, but he didn't spot her. He glanced around and spotted her still over at the counter. Blaise was talking to her quietly and she was leaning with her arms braced on either side of the sink. Even from this distance he could see her arms trembling.
He carefully slipped away, going over to see if she was alright. As he approached, Blaise caught sight of him and straightened, easing away from Narcissa a bit. Narcissa caught the movement and looked back, spotting him. She quickly turned, putting on a smile.
"You ok?" He asked with concern. Her cheeks were slightly flush, which was very unusual for her.
"Wonderful!" She answered a bit too quickly. "Blaise was just telling me about Ginny. I can't tell you how happy I am for you both! A baby... it's just... wonderful!" She said brightly.
Draco looked back and forth between them. "Mmhmm... 'wonderful'..." He said, getting the definite feeling there was something amiss. Blaise wasn't meeting his eyes. He looked back over at his mother. "So... Ginny's pregnant... you're going to be a grandmother... and your only reaction is to say 'wonderful'?"
"I'm... just a little overwhelmed..." Narcissa said quickly, stepping forward and kissing him on the cheek and hugging him. Draco immediately recognized the very careful way in which she was holding him. His eyes fell on the metal mixing bowl in the sink. It was warped with the definite impression of fingers on the side of it.
"You shagged Blaise?" Draco asked in shocked dismay.
Narcissa immediately pulled away from him, her eyes wide and darting over to Blaise.
"Draco..." Blaise started achingly.
Draco reached out and clapped his hand over Blaise's mouth without even looking, his eyes trained on his mother. "How could you, mother?" he asked in a pained voice.
Narcissa's jaw worked for a minute before she was able to utter a word, "It... it just happened, Draco... we didn't mean for it... I mean... we were both drunk and we were the last one's there... he couldn't find me a guide so he led me back to my room... one thing led to another... it's not as if we intended..."
He was just staring at her, his head shaking slightly in disbelief as she stammered on. "So you get drunk and then figure that will excuse what you did?"
She straightened, her face clouding with anger. "Don't take that tone with me!" She snapped angrily. "You act like I molested him! He may be a young man, but he's a man none the less! I didn't tie him down!"
"Oh get off it! You knew full well what a slut Blaise is! He'd shag anyone who'd let him! Like you didn't know exactly what would happen if you laid down and spread your legs! What do you think father is going to do to him if he finds out and gets ahold of him? You might as well have saved him a lot of time and suffering and just hit him with Avada Kedavra yourself!"
Blaise's hand darted out and caught Narcissa's wrist as she lashed out to slap Draco. Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized how much damage her thoughtless reaction might have caused to her own son. Her eyes teared up as she pulled her hand out of his grasp and turned, leaning heavily on the side of the sink again.
"Draco, don't! She's right... she didn't force me!" Blaise said now that he was free of Draco's muffling hand.
"Hate to contradict you..." Kulia said, coming up and leaning casually against the counter a little ways down, picking up a piece of bacon off the waiting plate and picking at it, "But if she wanted it, you had about zero chance of not ending up in the sack. I mean not only are you a complete slut..."
"Hey!" Blaise said indignantly.
Draco rolled his eyes, "It's just a statement of fact, Blaise, not a judgment."
Kulia grinned and held her hand out towards Draco as if he had just proven her point.
Blaise looked between them. "Oh... ok then." He mumbled.
"As I was saying," Kulia went on, "Even if you weren't, you're still a man, as Narcissa herself pointed out, and therefore had about a snowball's chance in Hell of resisting. I mean one sixteenth is still one sixteenth..."
Narcissa looked over at her, furrowing her brow, "One sixteenth what?"
Kulia blinked at her. "Veela blood. I mean even with blood that diluted, get her in heat and..."
"What the bloody Hell are you talking about?" Narcissa asked, looking at her as if she were mad.
"Oh sweet Merlin, don't tell me they never told you?" Kulia asked, looking at her with surprise. Draco was looking back and forth between them in confusion.
Kulia took a deep breath and sighed it out when Narcissa's silence answered her. "Your mother was one eighth Veela, which makes you one sixteenth..."
"Mother wasn't one eighth anything!"
"Ok, maybe I started out wrong... your REAL mother was one eighth Veela. She was apprenticing with me one summer and happened to be there alone when your father came by... It has been a rather popular practice amongst the older pureblood families to mix a bit of Veela blood into their bloodlines, but not so much as to be recognizable... strengthened the magical powers and made for more confident, charismatic and persuasive offspring... so when he found her there and realized what she was, he decided it was his opportunity to add to his bloodline... he molested her, then left me a note telling me to deliver the offspring when it was born." Kulia said with obvious disgust. "I would rather have gutted him, but she didn't want her parents to find out since she was only fourteen, so I kept her with me until after she'd given birth and then she went home, her parents never the wiser. I was going to raise you myself to keep that bastard from profiting from what he'd done to the poor girl, but he called the bloody Ministry down on me. They used that 'Wizardry Protection Decree' to take you away and gave you to him to raise. That's why I refused to get so much as a flubber worm for that bastard to his dying day."
Narcissa and Draco were staring at her in dumb silence. She looked over at Narcissa's utterly stunned expression, "Oh come on! Don't tell me you never noticed you looked nothing like your 'mother'! I mean isn't the hair alone a dead giveaway? There hadn't been a blonde in either family line for a great number of generations... and you and Bellatrix were only eight months apart! That didn't make you wonder at all?"
"They... they said I was premature..." Narcissa said, sounding faint.
Kulia rolled her eyes. "Ok then, tell me honestly... why did you go outside when my gargoyles called?" Narcissa continued to stare at her mutely, "It was because you felt the pull, wasn't it? It was the Veela in you that drew you. How else do you think Draco could have a magical creature as his Animagi form? Think that just happened by chance? How many people have you heard about that can manage one of those? I don't know what percentage he was, but Darien obviously had a bit of the blood as well. They've probably been adding Veela blood into both the Black and Malfoy lines every couple of generations or so for centuries. I mean look at Lucius! He's at least a sixteenth! Though his blood only seems to have gotten him the looks and the wicked temper of a Veela. I personally never found him enticing in the least, though Merlin knows he certainly tried often enough."
Draco found his voice first, "I'm part Veela?" He asked, shocked to his core.
Kulia smiled at him. "At least one thirty second from your mother, and that much or more from your father as well, so I'd say it's safe to assume at least a sixteenth. I think if you really think about it, it will become rather obvious. I mean the hair, yes... and has any girl honestly ever turned you down if you truly wanted her?"
Draco blinked, but didn't answer. His mind was reeling. His success rate did border on the supernatural... could it really be because they were physically unable to resist him? He certainly had gotten more than his share of previously untouchable girls... and even Kulia had eventually given in...
He was still a bit shell-shocked, looking over and only remembering that they weren't alone when he saw the others all watching the conversation silently. Their expressions were unreadable other than of course a bit of surprise. He quickly began to worry about what they would think of him now, knowing he wasn't even entirely human.
Arthur Weasley got over his surprise first, a smirked spreading over his lips as he looked at him. "So much for Lucius' strict wizarding purity!"
A snort of laughter burst unexpectedly from Draco as the thought struck him, breaking the tension. Once started, the laughter quickly spread through the little crowd until they were all laughing merrily, imagining Lucius' reaction if it came out in the open that he was of mixed blood. Even Narcissa started snickering.
After a few minutes, when the mirth had died down a bit, Blaise looked over at Draco with a smirk, "I always knew you were irresistible... just never knew there was a medical reason for it!"
"Shut up, Zabini." Draco said with a grin.
Blaise grinned back, but then his expression sobered a bit. "Are... are we ok then?" He asked a bit tentatively.
Draco sighed, looking back and forth between his mother and Blaise for a moment before letting his eyes come to rest on Blaise. "You do know what my father will do to you if he finds out, right?"
"I don't give a shit if he beats me, rapes me, dices me up and sets me on fire... just as long as we're ok." Blaise said, his expression completely serious.
Draco sighed and stepped up to Blaise, wrapping his arms around him and holding him. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that..." He replied softly. "I don't blame you, Blaise... it's just your nature. I know that... I understand that. It's the same nature that has always let you accept me just the way I am... I wouldn't change you if I could."
Blaise leaned against him, sighing in relief, feeling the twisting, squirming anxiety in his stomach ease for the first time since he'd woken.
After a moment, Draco clapped him on the back, signaling the end of the little hugging session, "Let's just not make a habit of it, ok?"
Blaise grinned and nodded, pulling away.
"Ok?" Draco asked pointedly, staring at his mother.
She rolled her eyes, "I told you, it was just an accident. I mean honestly! He's practically a child. I have no intention whatsoever of repeating the experience." She said as if it was nothing.
Blaise was staring over at her. He gave a little snort. "Child? Please! That was probably the best shag you've ever had and you know it!"
"Possibly in my married life, but that's not saying much. I'll have you know before I was married I knew a man or two who knew how to treat a woman properly, and they at least didn't call me Pansy the whole time!"
Blaise chuckled and blushed slightly, glancing over at Pansy who was giggling and looking rather pleased. He glanced back at Narcissa, who was looking rather pleased with herself. "Ok, I'll give you that... but there's just one thing I want to know..."
Narcissa folded her arms over her chest, sighing indulgently, "What?" She asked in an exasperated voice.
"Who the Hell is Remus?" Blaise asked with a little smirk.
Narcissa suddenly turned a shade of scarlet Draco had never seen on her normally pale face. "I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit..." she said faintly, pushing away from the sink and hurrying from the room.
> > > > > > > > > > >
AN - hope there aren't too many typos. Tired and it's been a while since I updated, so I figure you're all getting antsy. If you see another notification in the next day or two, expect that it will probably just be me fixing some huge, glaring (and probably freudian!) typos. ;P Just check the chapter number on the notification before getting all excited ;)
bigreader - He didn't want Draco giving it to her that night because he didn't want to... well intrude on their special night in a way. I mean to keep Arthur from seeing it, she would have to open it once they got back to their room... and tell the truth, on your wedding night, would you rather be reading a big letter or shagging your new spouse?
pickyvick -Percy didn't go apologize because he figured it would be easier on his family if he died while they were angry at him. Figured they wouldn't miss him as much. I mean who's death would hit you harder - a brother whom you loved dearly, or one you hated and thought was a complete prat and hadn't even hardly seen for over a year and a half? Besides, he knew that if he apologized and they had any inkling he was in danger they would insist on keeping him with them and defend him to the death, and he didn't want them in any more danger than they already were in. Oh, and he doesn't to die... he just sees it as inevitable and is accepting the consequences of his actions. Not without a fight, mind you, but he just it being fatalistically realistic about his chances of survival.
DracoLoverForever -Actually, I believe it's entirely possible that yes, everyone who attended could see the Thestrals. Ok, we'll do the rundown: Blaise - saw his father die; Delse - saw Blaise's father die as well; Draco & Narcissa - were around Lucius for more than five minutes!; Ginny - has not been explained, but we know she can; Ron, Pansy & Hermione - saw Death Eater die in Hogsmeade; Hagrid - he raises them, so we know he can see them; Bill - he breaks enchantments on tombs. I assume at one point or another he probably had a stupid helper who got himself snuffed; Charlie - raises dragons, so you can't tell me none of his co-workers ever got a bit careless...; Kulia - well she's killed a number of people (Death Eaters), and those are just the ones we know about, so there ya go!; Snape - well he'd be a piss-poor Death Eater if he hadn't seen (and caused!) death before; Harry of course can see them because of Cedric (Note here, anyone else notice the little oops in the end of GOF? The 'horseless' carriages took them to Hogsmeade as usual at the end and he didn't see anything, yet next year he comes back and suddenly he sees them because of something that happened BEFORE he left the year before? Just hit me the other day and I thought I'd mention...); Fred and George - same previously unmentioned event as Ginny. I actually had an event in mind, but since I didn't find a way to work it in, I'll leave it unsaid in case the absence of an explanation comes in handy later ;) And finally: Arthur, Molly, Dumbledore, McGonagall & Breanna - though I can't think right off the top of my head of an instance the first four were noted to have witnessed a death, they were all around during Voldemort's reign before, and from the sound of that, I didn't think it was that much a leap of faith to assume they had all at some point witnessed at least one person dying. Not to mention that the first four were also in the Order of the Phoenix, and therefore VERY likely to have seen people die! But I'd kind of assume most anyone who was an adult back then (and many children as well, which might also cover Bill and Charlie) were probably seeing Thestrals before Voldy fucked up and fried himself trying to get Harry. I believe that's everyone. The house elves could probably see them as well. If not just because they are also magical creatures, then... well they all come from the households of Death Eaters, now don't they?
Flower4444 - the unicorn horn... yes it is of course proving the purity of their love for eachother... as for the rings, they had those already. I figured wizard weddings would have some similarities (like the rings) but of course be at the same time very different. The unicorn horn was spelled to form a magically binding marriage between them that none could break. I doubt it was ever a popular method, as your love has to be absolutely pure, and there's no going back. So, of course it couldn't be used for arranged marriages unless they actually truly loved eachother (and I can't imagine that happened often), and most of the 'upper crust' married that way, so I imagine they would want to encourage it to go out of style as it would tend to draw attention to the lack of magical 'proof' or 'validation' in their own ceremonies and cheapen them in comparison.