Disclaimer: obviously not mine. Why would it be on a fan fiction site?
Chapter twenty-threeDraco Malfoy proposed to Hermione Granger exactly one week after getting out of hospital. They planned to have the wedding quickly, before the media could find out and make a scene of it.
After two weeks of being engaged, they set a date (two days before school resumed) and wrote up an invite list (close friends and family only).
The wedding was to be held on the Hogwarts grounds, over the other side of the lake with the magnificent castle in the background.
It was the morning of the big day when Hermione found herself in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by giggly bridesmaids and female well wishers.
Parvati had just finished doing her makeup and had stepped back to admire her thoughtfully.
"Where's a mirror?" Hermione asked, a squeamish feeling rising in her stomach.
Ginny conjured one up. Hermione took one look at herself and gasped.
"What, don't you like it?" Parvati asked hesitantly, twisting a white cloth between her fingers.
"No… I love it!" Hermione stood up and twirled so she could see her neatly curled hair, tied with white ribbons and flowers at the top of her head.
The portrait burst open at that moment and Gail and Clarisse came dashing in.
"Come, Hermione!" Clarisse said, clapping her hands together joyously. "Your groom is waiting! Put on your dress! It is time for your wedding!"
Hermione, grinning from ear to ear, stepped into the traditional white wedding dress that Gail had made her.
It was strapless and fitted to her waist where it finished in a V and fanned out across the ground.
"Lets go!" Hermione looked at herself in the mirror once more, the at her two bridesmaids, Ginny and Parvati, both wearing scarlet dresses before taking hold of her bouquet of white lilies and leading the way out the door.
Hermione's father met the group of women at the door and he led his daughter and her two bridesmaids to a white carriage drawn by the finest white Arabians money could buy.
The carriage took them slowly around the lake towards the ceremony.
"All set?" Alfred asked, squeezing Hermione's hand as Ginny and Parvati, both smiling broadly, stepped out of the carriage and began the long walk down the isle.
"I think so" she replied in a shaky voice, linking arms with her father as he helped her out of the carriage.
About ten rows of seats, already filled with people, were set before the alter. Large cloths of white silk were held above the guest, ensuring shade and comfort for all.
It took Hermione a double glance to realise that the cloths were being held aloft by tiny sparkling fairies.
The walk down the isle seemed to take forever. Hermione was dimly aware of the guests standing to watch her, and the heavenly music playing softly in the background, but her main thoughts were on the man standing at the alter, waiting with a ridiculously happy grin on his face.
Hermione finally felt her father releasing her and in the next moment Draco had taken her hand in his and given it a gentle squeeze.
"Ready?" he whispered as the guest settled back into their seats.
"Ready" Hermione said firmly before grinning back.
"We are gathered here today" began the Priestess "To witness and celebrate the uniting of Draco Lucius Malfoy and Hermione Clarisse Anne Granger in holy matrimony. If there is anyone who thinks this couple should not be married, please speak now or forever hold your peace" she paused a moment then smiled, gesturing at Draco who took a deep breath before beginning to speak.
"I, Draco, take you, Hermione, to be my friend, my lover, the mother of my children and my wife. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity."
"Draco, do you take Hermione as your lawfully wedded wife, until death do you part?"
"I do" Draco turned and took a diamond ring from Blaize's outstretched hand and slid it onto Hermione's finger.
It was now Hermione's turn. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding, and smiled.
"I Hermione, take you Draco to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live."
"Hermione, do you take Draco to be your lawfully wedded husband until death do you part?"
"I do" Hermione took a plain gold band from Ginny and slid it carefully onto Draco's finger.
They paused then both began speaking simultaneously:
"Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you, for where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May Merlin do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me."
"Draco" the priestess said with a small smile. "You may now kiss your bride"
Cheers erupted from the crowd as Draco swooped in on Hermione and kissed her, longingly, hungrily and very unceremoniously.
The reception was held in the great hall and, after the many speeches by the best man, the bridesmaids, mothers and fathers, a wonderful feast was served by house elves wearing smart little suits and carrying silver trays loaded with foods of every kind from all around the world.
After the first dance of the bride and groom, some of the guest, mainly the ones with young children, and older ones who needed rest, left for the night.
This left Hermione, Draco and most of their friends. This was the same time the wine was put away and the spirits where brought out.
The band, now finished playing classical, started up with a bit of rock'n'roll.
"Well, my dear wife," Draco said, sitting down beside Hermione who was watching Ginny fight with a house elf for another shot of firewhisky. "How does it feel to me Mrs Hermione Malfoy?"
"Its not to bad… could be worse… I'm kidding, silly!" she added with a laugh when his face fell.
"I know you are" he leant in to kiss her as Dumbledore and McGonagall danced by, the only two 'oldies' left in the room.
Moments later there was a loud explosion on the floor above them. A few people screamed but most were quite used to explosions and were already pulling out their wands, dreading the worst.
"Not now" Hermione groaned, pulling out her wand "not tonight" with a wave of her wand she transfigured her pretty white dress into a set of white robes.
A few people saw this and mimicked her, changing their dresses or suits into more combat friendly robes.
Heavy mass loads of footsteps had now replaced the explosion and were running downstairs towards the great hall. All wands were soon trained on the door, waiting for someone (or something) to burst through them… but no one came.
"Albus?" McGonagall asked in barely more than a whisper.
"I know, Minerva, I know"
What Albus knew, of course, did not become apparent because at the moment the doors burst open and waves upon waves of death eaters swooped into the room.
It was only now that Hermione noticed Harry, standing behind the rest of the crowd, doubled over in pain, clutching frightfully at his scar.
"He's- He's here" Ron stammered, watching Harry fighting fiercely with the demons in his head. "You-know-who is here!"
The people standing closest to Ron and Harry looked around in horror, expecting the murderous wizard to simply step out of the crowd.
"Get him, kill him!" one of the death eaters, obviously the ringleader, screamed, brandishing his wand furiously.
Hermione automatically moved to stand in front of, and protect, Harry, as did Ginny, Ron and the Weasley twins.
But the attack didn't come on Harry, instead the fifty or more death eaters lunged, howling threateningly, at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore seemed to be expecting this because, with one large swish of his wand, he sent the first couple of rows of enemies flying backwards.
Though this technique, and many guests were using it now, seemed quite affective, it still wasn't enough to stop the relentless hoards of death eaters, hell-bent on killing Dumbledore.
Harry suddenly straightened up, looking wearily around him.
"He's gone"
"No he's not, Harry!" Dumbledore called from across the room where he was surrounded by a large mass of hooded figures but was having no trouble fighting them. "Brace yourself, he's in the room!"
Harry suddenly ducked as a jet of green light shot over his head, aimed at him from a lone figure standing near the door.
Voldemort slowly slid back his hood and advanced on Harry, smirking loathsomely.
"Well, Potter, I'm going to kill you now and all your precious Dumbledore can do is watch…" he jerks a finger at Dumbledore who now seemed quite frightened. All the other guests were fighting their own, private battles against the remaining death eaters.
Harry raised his wand slowly in a shaking hand.
"Don't!" Hermione screamed, no longer peeved at the intrusion but terrified for Harry's life. "Don't touch him!" without and sense of what she was doing, Hermione flung herself across the room at Harry, wrapping her arms protectively around him.
"Get out of the way, silly girl!" Voldemort hissed at the same time as Draco screamed:
"HERMIONE, NO!"
"Hermione, get off, I have to fight him!"
"No, Harry" she whispered, clinging to his robes as tight as she could. "If he kills someone trying to protect you then you get that sacred love barrier!"
"And you're willing to die for it?"
"Yes"
"No, Herm, get off"
But before Harry could push her away someone crashed into them from the left, then someone from the right.
Ginny and Parvati and come sliding in, also ready to sacrifice themselves for Harry.
Ron, on the other hand, had decided to take Voldemort head on.
"You wont hurt Harry! Cru…"
"Arvada Kadavra" Voldemort flicked his wand almost lazily in Ron's direction.
Ginny screamed as the green light shot towards her brother. But before the deadly curse could hit him, Ron was jerked from the ground and strung up in the air by invisible ropes tied to his ankle.
Dumbledore had struck again.
The elderly wizard had finally managed to discard the group of clingy death eaters, all of who were frozen on the ground, and was now striding purposefully towards Voldemort.
"Though I have patiently been awaiting a visit from you, Tom, tonight is not the best night to drop in"
"Shut up, Dumbledore" Voldemort hissed, sending a warning curse in Dumbledore's direction.
"I don't like to be spoken to in that manner, Tom" Dumbledore deflected the curse and sent it back at Voldemort who, in turn, sent it sneakily towards Harry. Harry was just able to duck in time leaving poor Ginny to take the curse in the chest. She immediately collapsed.
"You don't stand a chance, Dumbledore… look around, your surrounded!" Voldemort waved a bony hand at the room where Death eaters were stepping out of the shadows, forming a tight circle around all the guests, awake and out cold.
"Murder or be murdered" Harry mumbled from somewhere behind Hermione. She spared him a glance before turning her attention back to Dumbledore and Voldemort.
As horrible and terrifying this situation might be, Hermione couldn't help but be fascinated, and slightly intrigued, at how these two powerful wizards regarded each other.
"You may be surrounding us, Tom, but, and it is now my turn to play a card, you are surrounded also" this time it was Dumbledore who waved a hand at the room.
There was a flurry of activity and suddenly spells of all types came flying from invisible people in the darkness, each skilfully hitting a death eater until only Voldemort was left standing.
"Harry" Dumbledore said lightly. Hermione turned to watch Harry walk forward but he was no longer behind her. He was now behind Voldemort. How he had gotten there, she had no idea, but the position was defiantly to his advantage.
Harry raised his wand defiantly and the ripple of an invisible curse thundered through the air, hitting the dark lord squarely in the back.
Voldemort's eyes widened in pain and fear and he gasped loudly before staggering sideways. Harry waited a moment longer before lifting the curse.
Voldemort turned to face Harry, his wand held limply at his side. Harry lowered his wand ever so slightly so he and his enemy could stare each other in the eye.
"Dumbledore wont be here forever to protect you, Potter" Voldemort hissed before waving his wand in a huge arm. For a split second the hall fell into total darkness and silence. When the lights re-ignited the hall was back to normal, void of all dark lords and death eaters.
Everyone stood still, holding their breath and bracing themselves for another attack.
Seconds passed, then minutes and finally people began to speak, asking each other if they were ok or declaring their opinions on what had just happened.
"I think it would be best if everyone went back to the safety of their houses" Dumbledore exclaimed, watching wearily as Harry and Ron knelt beside the fallen Ginny.
"Thanks for coming" Draco mumbled to a few guests passing close by on their way to the door. "Sorry it had to end this way"
Hermione was still standing in the same spot, staring avidly at Dumbledore and the spot where Voldemort had once stood.
She had been close enough to feel the power surging between them and for some strangely terrifying reason she felt as if she were connected to them, as if she were as powerful as they…
Dumbledore's gaze shifted from Harry to Hermione and the two of them stared at each other; Hermione with a puzzled expression on her face, Dumbledore with one of thoughtfulness on his.
Draco's hand closed across her wrist and she felt a shiver run down her spine as she turned to him.
"Ginny's ok" he said quietly, his worried grey eyes searching her face eagerly.
"That's good" Hermione said, suddenly feeling the pressure of his glare and turning her eyes on Ginny who was sitting up with a wiry smile on her face. Hermione felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She had been to busy pondering on the power of the wizards to even spare a thought for Ginny who must have been close to death.
"I suggest you two start your honeymoon now… I've arranged a carriage for you… we'll be fine to finish up here"
"Where are we going?" Draco asked, suddenly perking up. They'd left the honeymoon arrangements to Dumbledore who had seemed eager to surprise them. His eyes suddenly sparked up in their trademark twinkle.
"Ah… California I believe…"
Draco couldn't have left faster, dragging Hermione along with him.
"We'll see you guys when we get back" Hermione called over her shoulder. Her friends waved and smiled before vanishing from sight behind the door.
The carriage that Dumbledore had suggested was slightly larger than the one that had drawn her to the wedding but it was being pulled by the same white horses.
"Today was perfect" Draco muttered huskily in Hermione's ear as the carriage set off down the drive. "Well… apart from that mishap at the end of course…" he corrected himself with a smile.
Hermione grinned and kissed him on the forehead before turning to stare out the window as the carriage became suddenly airborne.
Draco stared at the back of Hermione's head, privately admiring how beautiful she was.
What he didn't see was the flash of red that passed across her eyes and the cruel smile that curled at the edge of her lips.
Yes, power was a wonderfully, addictive thing…
Done and Done! That was the final instalment! I am going to write a sequel… I haven't started yet but it'll be called QUEEN HERMIONE so look out for it in the new two weeks or so…
Please review for this chapter… I know you want to!
Til then…
Em