Crescendo

"So..." said Artemis, a huge smile refusing to leave her lovely face, as she stood in bridal suite of the hotel. The establishments owner, had provided Artemis and Draco with the bridal suite so that they could relax after the ceremony, and prepare themselves for the reception.

"So... wife," replied Draco, loving the way it rolled off of his tongue.

"I didn't think you'd cry," said Artemis, teasingly, as she disappeared behind a changing screen. Draco's eyes widened in surprise. He knew that they would have to have sex that night, but he hadn't expected it to happen this soon. Quickly, Draco followed Artemis behind the changing screen, just in time to see her slipping out of her elegant wedding gown. Placing a light kiss on her bare shoulder, he wrapped his arm's around her equally bare waist.

"What the hell are you doing!" shouted Artemis, forcefully shoving Draco from behind the screen, causing him to fall onto the nearby coffee table.

"I thought you were undressing for me," replied Draco, rubbing his, now, sore back, as he pulled himself up from atop the solid wood table.

"What?" exclaimed Artemis, still shielded by the screen.

"What was I supposed to think! You were undressing!" laughed Draco, terribly confused by the situation.

"I was changing into my dress for the reception!" she snapped, gesturing to the ivory colored, antique chantilly lace mini dress, that was hanging on the edge of the screen. "If I was undress for you, why would I go behind a screen?"

"Well... I hadn't thought about that," laughed Draco, as he straightened out his own attire.

Once Artemis had changed into her dress for the reception, she emerged from behind the screen. Draco's jaw dropped at the sight of his wife. She looked amazing. Her new dress was made of the same, thick, non-transparent lace, that her gown from the ceremony was made of. Unlike her wedding dress, this one had long, off the shoulder sleeves. However, his favorite part of her new gown, was hands down, it's short length. While her wedding gown had been long, with a sweeping train, the bottom hem of her reception dress only came to mid thigh, her sky-high stilettos making it look even shorter.

"Wow... that's some dress," whispered Draco, sure that his mother would have a heart attack when she saw it.

"I thought you'd like it. You're mother had a hell of a time talking my mother into letting me wear it," explained Artemis, checking her reflection in the mirror, one last time, before extending her hand to her husband. Draco couldn't believe that his mother had actually had a hand in the selection of that dress. He would have to remember to thank her.

"Would you come on," chided Artemis, a slight smile playing at the corners of her lips. "We're going to be late."

"Ha, Ha!" joked Draco, taking his wife's extended hand, pulling her towards him and kissing her softly.

"To the party!" she declared, dragging him towards the door.

888888888888888888888888888888888

"It is my esteemed pleasure, to introduce to you, for the first time ever, Mr. And Mrs. Draco Malfoy!" exclaimed the best man, Blaise Zabini. The door's of the reception hall opened, and Draco and Artemis walked into the hall, hand in hand with genuinely excited smiles, on their faces.

"We can't thank you all enough, for all of your well wishes and support through out this entire situation. Every single one of you have helped to ensure that our big day was truly a memorable event," gushed Artemis, addressing their friends and family.

"It mean's the world, to the both of us that you've all taken time out of your busy schedule's, to be a part of the biggest day of our lives," agreed Draco, truly meaning every word.

After addressing their guests as a whole, Lucius requested that his son and new daughter, circle the reception hall and personally thank several of their more prominent guests. Most of the more important attendees were Lucius' business associates, and Draco was less than thrilled at the prospects of wasting his time shmoozing.

"Father, this is my wedding reception, I don't want to waste it, talking shop with your business contacts," whined Draco, taking Artemis by the hand and attempting to lead her away from his father. A large, strong hand, grabbed him by the shoulder, halting his escape.

"Draco, my business partners will be your business partners, in a very short period of time. Therefore, I suggest that you take a few minutes to go and acquaint yourself with them. After all, they all still remember the shy, young boy that they used to know, not the promising young man you are now," said Lucius, firmly. "It won't take long." As much as he hated to admit it, he could see where his father was coming from. If Draco was to head up the advertising department of Malfoy Enterprises, he would be working closely with many of these people, so he would need to begin building a good rapport with them.

"All right, Father," said Draco, kissing Artemis on the cheek before turning to leave.

"Draco!" called Lucius, successfully getting his son's attention. "Take your wife with you."

888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Shortly after making their rounds, dinner was served. The elaborate six course meal, took nearly three hours to finish but, much to Artemis and Draco's dismay, the meal did end. Both knew that supper would commence with a speech from the best man, and neither was looking forward it. Unfortunately, the best man was Blaise Zabini, and he had already had several glasses of champagne.

"Excuse me, may I have your attention, please?" requested a snickering Blaise, tapping his glass with a fork, jolting everyone from their individual conversations. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am the best man, so in time honored tradition, I will now do my best to give Draco the most uncomfortable five minutes of his life. For the record, the most uncomfortable five minutes of Artemis' life will be coming later on this evening, courtesy of Draco." As the words came out of Blaise's mouth, Draco cringed and blushed a deep shade of red. His wife, however, was too busy laughing uncontrollably, to notice. "Now, I have been told that I should take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reveal to you all of my best friend's past misdemeanors. Unfortunately, I have played a part in most of these incriminating events, and I really don't want to tarnish my impeccable reputation. So instead, I'll just have to fast forward to the more boring, none Blaise filled, stuff. Yes, yes, I know. It's sucks, but alas it must be done."

"Draco," whispered Artemis, "please make him stop."

"Oh, I wish I could," hissed Draco, starring daggers at his best man.

"Draco and Artemis' romance seemed to blossom at an alarming rate. Within moments of meeting, they were having proper rows. But seriously, they are very well suited for one another. They complement each other perfectly. Artemis is ambitious, industrious, highly-motivated and loves a challenge. And Draco is that challenge." The entire room, erupted with laughter. Apparently, they all agreed with Blaise's statement. He would indeed be a challenge, for the young woman. Draco rolled his eyes, horribly annoyed by his best friends rambling, and even more annoyed by everyone else's laughter, especially, Artemis' and his parents. Draco hoped, more than anything, that this speech would be over, but of course, Blaise was far from finished. "Personally, I've always known that if anyone was to tie my dear friend down, she would have to be a strong willed, ambitious woman. And Artemis is just that.

So much so, that she had done the impossible. She has changed Draco Malfoy. The pre-Artemis version of Draco, is not actually that different from the present version. Both have been described as arrogant, tight-fisted and, on the whole, pretty miserable. And let's face it, his mother would know."

"Blaise Zabini," chided Narcissa, trying desperately to hide her laughter, but failing miserably.

"Now in all seriousness," amended Blaise, raising his empty champagne glass towards the couple, "these two are now united, in martial bliss, and it's obvious they make each other happy. She's a great girl and he's a great lad... trust me, he's my best mate, I would know. Now, admittedly, as I explained earlier, he has a few faults, but he makes the most of what he's got. These two have it all. Individually they were successful, and not that they are together, they can accomplish anything. There really is no stopping them, now."

"Aww," cooed, Cosette and Abigail, who sat to Blaise's left.

"Yeah, I know it was good," whispered Blaise, winking at the two girls and sending them one of his trademark grins. Draco and Artemis just rolled their eyes, knowing that the best man would spend the rest of the evening chasing the bridesmaids skirts.

"There are not many best men, who can describe both the groom and the bride, as true friends, but in that, I am lucky. It is an honor, albeit a most terrifying one, to have been asked to be the best man. But I do feel a certain relief to see the end of my duties in sight, as I am completely certain that Draco will never have any need to ask me to be his best man again. Therefore, I would like you all to join me in wishing, Draco and Artemis, the very best in their journey together." Just as Blaise had requested, all of the guests raised their glasses and toasted the happy couple. Relieved that the best man's speech was over, and had not been nearly as bad as they had expected, Artemis and Draco stood to thank Blaise.

Now that all of the wedding formalities, including dinner and all speeches, were done, the party could finally start. Both Artemis and Draco, were big fans of the Weird Sisters, so Lucius had arranged for them to play at the wedding reception. This was kept secret from the bride and groom, as Lucius wanted to surprise them. This surprise, was only one, of several that the elder Malfoy had planned for the newlyweds. The hotel had set up a dance hall, separate from the reception hall, and the Weird Sisters had taken the stage in there. When Artemis and Draco walked inside, they were floored. Neither had heard a word about having a band play, so when they saw the stage, they were confused. Once the band took the stage, both just stood, rooted to their spots, unable to fathom why they would be there.

"Just a little gift," whispered Lucius, as he leaned down between Artemis and Draco, positioning his mouth right next to their ears. Both children stared at him dumbly, finally realizing just how powerful and influential Lucius was. It was nearly impossible to get the Weird Sisters to play private venues, yet low and behold, there they stood.

For hours the newlywed's and their guests, danced and chatted, stopping briefly to enjoy the enormous wedding cake. It was nearly ten o'clock, and both knew that they would need to leave the festivities soon, but they hadn't expected Lucius to request that they leave so soon.

"But Father, its still so early. After all this is our party, shouldn't we get to enjoy all of it?" asked Draco, annoyed by his father's orders.

"Draco, there is a very important matter that must be handled by midnight. It is now ten o'clock and I don't think it should be put off any longer," hinted Lucius, hoping his son was following him.

"Oh," whispered Artemis, who had been listening to their conversation. "There's a time limit?"

"Well, the marriage must be consummated on your wedding night, and the wedding night ends at midnight, so I guess you could say that there is a time limit," supplied Lucius, slightly uncomfortable with the topic. He was completely comfortable talking about sex with Draco, but speaking to Artemis about it, made him terribly nervous.

"Right then," said Draco, taking a hold of Artemis' hand and dragging her towards the stage. As the Weird Sister's finished their song, he waved the lead singer over, requesting the floor.

"If I could just have your attention for one moment," said Draco, successfully getting everyone's attention. "This evening has been absolutely fantastic, even more incredible than we could have ever expected. But it has not been the luxuries and trimming that have made this wedding and reception so enjoyable for Artemis and me, it has been being able to celebrate this momentous occasion surrounded by our friends and families. So we cannot thank you all enough for coming. And with that said, my wife and I, bid you ado, as it has been a very long and tiring day. But do feel free to stay and enjoy the rest of the festivities." As the groom finished his goodbye speech, the guests applauded loudly, shouting out their well wishes at the newlyweds.

"I think they're going to go make some babies," laughed Blaise loudly, just as the pair were leaving. "You let her have it, you Stallion." The entire room erupted in laughter, as most of the guests had been present at the engagement party where Draco had declared that he was infact, a Stallion, they knew exactly what the best man was referring to.

888888888888888888888888888888888

As he opened the door of the carriage for his wife, Draco could barely contain his excitement. He had waited so long, and finally the time had arrived. Once Artemis had seated herself inside, Draco entered the luxurious compartment as well, seating himself beside her. The entire ride back to Malfoy Manor, was made in complete silence, neither able to come up with any sort of meaningless banter.

Artemis had been nervous on many different occasions throughout her short life, however, this moment, topped them all. She knew that she would have a hard time getting through the evening with her nerves intact, but she hadn't expected to feel as bad as she did. For a moment, she thought that perhaps her feeling sick, was due to the movements of the carriage, but the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed, as she had never suffered from motion sickness before. The closer they got to the manor the worse she felt, and as they rode down the hill that led the house's long driveway, it became too much for her.

"Stop the carriage," she whispered, grabbing onto her husbands forearm frantically. "Make them stop!"

"Hey!" shouted Draco, banging on the interior wall of the carriage, signaling the driver to stop. Immediately the carriage halted, the momentum forcing the pair forward in their seats. As soon as they had come to a complete stop, Artemis barreled out of the compartment door and dashed across the road, before bending over to heave. Realizing that his wife was ill, Draco dashed out side to tend to her. When he reached her, Draco drew her hair away from her face, holding it at the nape of her neck. After several long moments, Artemis ceased getting sick and slowly took several deep breaths.

"What's the matter?" asked Draco, concerned by her sudden illness.

"Just a bit of motion sickness, I guess," replied Artemis, trying to quiet her stomach, which was threatening to force her dinner back up, again. "I... oh dear, I think I'm going to be sick again." No sooner than she had finished her sentence, she did just that.

8888888888888888888888888888888888

"What took you so long to get back?" questioned Lucius, as his son finally arrived back at Malfoy Manor. The ride back from the hotel only took ten minutes, so when Lucius arrived home and discovered that the children were not back yet, he began to worry. Narcissa had told him not to fret, that they had probably just gotten distracted, but Lucius didn't really believe that Artemis would lose her virginity in the back of their carriage, regardless of how luxurious it was.

"Artemis wasn't feeling very well. Motion sickness, she said," replied Draco, as he walked into the sitting room.

"Well, where is she?" asked Lucius, worriedly.

"Oh, well she puked a lot, so she said she was going to grab a quick shower, brush her teeth," said Draco, giddily, as he plopped down into the empty arm chair that was right next to his father. Several moments passed by in complete silence, Lucius just stared at his son, stone faced, while Draco stared back at him, a huge smile on his face.

"Yeah!" said Draco happily, "gonna have sex tonight. High five!" Lucius stared at his son's raised hand, dumbly, wondering where he had developed the annoying habit of asking for a high five. Realizing his father has no intention of acquiescing, Draco slowly lowered his hand.

"There is something seriously wrong with you," laughed Lucius, unable to maintain his stone face, when forced to stare at his son's goofy grin. For several moments, both men just laughed at nothing in particular, until Narcissa entered the sitting room.

"What's so funny?" she asked, confused by their behavior.

"Nothing," both Malfoy men said in unison, cracking a smile as the word left their mouth.

"Artemis should be down soon, she was just finishing up her shower when I went to check on her," informed the young mother, happily, as she prepared herself a cup of tea.

"I didn't know Artemis suffered from motion sickness," said Lucius, addressing his lovely wife.

"Oh, that wasn't motion sickness. She was just horribly nervous about tonight, and who would blame her for being a mess. I remember my first time..."

"Ahhh, la la la la la la la," shouted Draco, quickly slapping his hands over his ears, to shield himself from hearing about his mother and sex. However, Narcissa was unfazed, she merely rolled her eyes and continued her story.

"I was a nervous wreck. Your Father kept laughing at me. Said I ought to handle it like woman and not a little girl, after all, I wasn't a little girl anymore..."

"Father!" pleaded Draco, his face turning bright pink, in embarrassment. "Make her stop!"

"Narcissa, please stop, your scaring your son," joked Lucius, winking at his beautiful wife.

"Oh, fine," agreed Narcissa, her face lighting up when she realized that they had company. "How are you feeling dear?" Narcissa rushed over to her new daughter, who was freshly showered and dressed in her silk bathrobe.

"Better, thank you," assured the young woman, looking around the room towards her husband and father in law, both of whom were smiling at her awkwardly.

"Artemis, if you'll just take a seat, there is something that we need to discuss, quickly in fact, as it is already quarter of eleven and you'll need to, um... be getting on with... things," said Lucius awkwardly, once again uncomfortable speaking to the young woman about sex. Quickly, Artemis took an empty seat next to Narcissa, steering clear of her husband, who was behaving rather oddly.

"Um, well, I know that this is a rather... um, sensitive matter," faltered Lucius, still unsettled by the topic.

"Lucius, why don't you let me handle this," laughed Narcissa, enjoying the embarrassed look on her husband's, slightly pink face. Lucius nodded in agreement, relieved that his wife was taking over. "Here." Narcissa handed Artemis a small vial filled with metallic blue liquid.

"What's this?" asked Artemis, scrutinizing the vial's contents closely.

"Oh, that's contraceptus," supplied Draco, waving it off with his hand, as if it was nothing important.

"Professor Snape brought it by today. He wanted to make sure you have a highly effective drought, instead of some over the counter knock off. As I'm sure you already know, Severus is highly suspect of other Potion Master's abilities," laughed Narcissa, signaling Artemis to drink the potion. After drinking the vials contents, Artemis had expected something to happen, so when nothing did, she began to worry.

"I don't feel anything," she said.

"Oh, you're not supposed to," assured Narcissa, the ever present smile still on her face. "Now, it's five till eleven now, so you'll have just over an hour to see that matters are handled." Narcissa winked at her ecstatic son, before shooing the new couple off to bed.

88888888888888888888888888888888888

Artemis had tried to draw out the walk from the sitting room to their bedroom, for as long as possible, but Draco had nearly dragged her up stairs. As they crossed over the threshold of their bedroom, Draco quickly shut the door behind them, and began hurrying out of his suit. In no time, he had managed to remove his jacket, shirt and shoes, leaving him clad in only his slacks. Artemis stood there watching him, slightly amused by his rapid undressing. As he began unfastening his trousers, his wife started to panic.

"Draco!" she exclaimed, halting his hands just as he finished unzipping his pants.

"What's the matter?" he asked, slightly out of breath.

"Slow down. I'm not going anywhere."

"But times a wastin', my sweet," joked Draco, as he approached his wife, wrapping his arms around her, as he leaned down to kiss her. As they kissed, Draco slowly led her over to the bed, leaning forward so that they fell onto it when he felt their knees bump against the edge. When they hit the bed, the force of their impact made them bounce back up a bit, causing both of them laugh.

"You're gorgeous, you know that," declared Draco, as he stared down at his wife, gently shifting her hair off of her face.

"You're quite pretty self," she joked, suddenly nervous again. Slowly Draco lowered his mouth to her's again, rolling onto his back and bringing her up on top of him, so that he didn't squish her. For several long minutes, the two just lay there, kissing, neither making any attempt at moving things along. Which was fine with Artemis. She had always enjoyed kissing Draco, it was anything beyond that, that caused her any anxiety. As if he knew what she was thinking, her husband rolled her over onto her back, positioning his slack covered hips between hers, without breaking their kiss. Try as she might, Artemis couldn't ignore the rather persistent prodding against her inner thigh. Nor could she ignore the way her husband was grinding his hips against hers.

"So beautiful," he muttered, trailing his lips against the soft skin of her neck, his hands deftly untying the belt of her robe, as his hips continued their slow circular motion. "Oh... god," he muttered, his body suddenly going ridge and completely still. Several moments later, Artemis felt something damp against her thigh. It took a few moments, but as soon as she looked up at her husbands bright red face, she knew exactly what had happened.

"Um, I'm not exactly an expert, but isn't that supposed to happen at the end?" asked Artemis, trying desperately to stifle the smile that was threatening to appear.

"I.. I.. Oh, god," muttered Draco, disentangling himself from his wife and scooting up towards the top of the bed, all the while avoiding looking at her. "This is so embarrassing." Artemis had planned on joking with him about it, but thought it best not to, once she saw how embarrassed he was.

"So, um, that's it, right. Do we just try again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow... No. Why would be wait until tomorrow," questioned Draco, frantically. "I don't think we can. We've only got forty five minutes until midnight."

"Well, I don't know what sort of turn around time your thing has," laughed Artemis, suddenly feeling as if she and Draco, were on more level playing fields.

"I just need a few minutes. Ten, fifteen, then we can... try again," huffed Draco, absolutely mortified by the situation. This had never happened to him before, and he wasn't quiet sure how to deal with it.

"Do I have time to get a cup of tea?" she asked, standing and approaching the door, the cool air hitting her skin, signaling that her robe was opened. Without haste, she closed her robe and waited for Draco's response. Though he said nothing, he nodded at her, and Artemis rushed down the hall towards the kitchen. Once outside the bedroom, Artemis couldn't help but laugh. Mr. Experience, himself, was quick on the draw. 'Who would have thought,' mused Artemis silently, as she poured her cup of tea.

"What are you doing down here!" shouted Lucius, as he came skidding into the kitchen, carrying an unfamiliar parchment in his hand. The abrupt entrance of her father in law, startled Artemis, causing her to spill her tea on the counter.

"I was just getting something to drink," she informed him, as she wiped up her mess.

"But... there's no time! You've got to consummate the marriage... now. You do not want this charm to force you and Draco to seal your marriage. It's a nasty curse. It will not be pleasant," said a frantic Lucius, shaking the unknown parchment in front of her face.

"First of all, it's not my fault that we haven't consummated our marriage yet. And second of all, how in the hell, do you know we haven't done it already?" she questioned angrily.

"Do you see these seals?" asked Lucius, laying the parchment down on the counter and pointing at the Malfoy and Fowlington family crests, that were embossed on opposite sides of the bottom of the sheet. Artemis nodded, as she looked over the paper. "Once you and Draco have met the terms of the contract, the two seals will combine and form your new family crest. Your marrying my son, has conjoined our two families, as you are both our only children. Therefore, the Malfoy family is the same as the Fowlington family. The separate crests will cease to exist after your father and my's demise."

"Oh... wow," replied Artemis, shocked at just how much was riding on her and Draco's union.

"So, why are you down here, instead of upstairs, having sex with my son?" questioned Lucius, failing to hide his annoyance.

"Well, you see, Draco got a bit... over excited and he... you know," stammered Artemis, hoping that he was following what she was trying to say. "Anyway, he said he needed a few minutes, before we could try again. God this is embarrassing."

"What did you do!" shouted Lucius, in denial over his son's seeming lack of endurance.

"I, didn't do anything. Hell, he's still got his pants," muttered Artemis, annoyed by Lucius' assuming that she had done something to cause Draco's earlier malfunction.

"Well, whatever you didn't do earlier, make sure you don't, don't do it again. There's no time for it," admonished Lucius, taking her cup of tea from her hand and setting it down, before grabbing her by the shoulders and leading her towards the stairs. Halfway upstairs, Artemis turned back to her new father, a suspicious smile on her face.

"So, are you going to go sit in your parlor and stare at the parchment until the crests have joined?" she asked, already knowing the question.

"No, I am going to sit in my study and stare at this contract," laughed Lucius.

"Good to know. Kind of creepy, but good to know."

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Lucius was nervous, and for good reason. When the contract had first been drawn up, the Charms Specialist had explained just what would happen if the charm was to take effect, and he swore that he would do everything he had to, to avoid having to put the children through that. So as he sat in his study, the minutes quickly ticking by, Lucius did something that he had not done since he was a young boy. He bit his nails and he continued to bite them until they bled. It was already five till midnight and the crests were still separate.

"Come on, come on," muttered Lucius nervously, as the sound of his heart pounding, echoed in his ears. Just then Narcissa walked into the study, gently resting her chin on her worried husbands shoulder, before placing a kiss on his cheek. No sooner than her lips touched his skin, the two seals began to glow, as they moved from opposite sides of the parchment and met up in the center, forming a completely new crest.

"Yes!" shouted Lucius, louder than he had intended, "Yes. For the love of Merlin, I'm going to kill your son, for procrastinating." Narcissa laughed with her ecstatic husband, as he waltzed her around his study.

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

POOR DRACO. THAT'S GOT TO BE EMBARRASSING. LUCKILY, IT EASED ARTEMIS' NERVES A BIT. I TOLD YOU IT WOULDN'T BE TOO BAD. I LIKED THE IDEA OF ARTEMIS HAVING SOMETHING TO HOLD OVER DRACO'S HEAD. AFTER ALL I DON'T THINK HE WOULD WANT BLAISE TO GET A HOLD OF THAT LITTLE TIDBIT.

ON A SIDE NOTE, I LOVED BLAISE IN THIS CHAPTER. THOUGH, I WOULD HATE TO HAVE HIM AS BEST MAN AT MY WEDDING.

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888