CHAPTER TWO

"I cannot tell you," the minister began warmly, "how truly proud I am to be the one to preside over this ceremony. For some of you, it may seem that this is very sudden, but I, for one, have been looking forward to this day for a very, very long time. Today, we join together two souls destined to be as one. Fate has endeavored to keep them apart, but true love cannot be denied."

Ginny's wedding day. It was without a doubt, the happiest day of her life: she was finally marrying the man she loved above everyone else, and she was sure that he felt the same way about her. Ginny looked at Draco with total adoration and was rewarded with a guarded look of devotion from her husband-to-be.

They'd proven to everyone that their love was real, and even Ginny's family didn't oppose their relationship anymore, or at least not as openly as they had when Ginny and Draco first began dating. Draco's family…well, Draco's mother, as Lucius was still in Azkaban, had been delighted at having her in the family. Despite her cold appearance, Narcissa Malfoy was a charming woman, totally devoted to her family and fiercely protective of Draco. She valued Ginny's love for her son.

The minister smiled and bowed to the couple standing in front of him. "Your vows, please."

"Ginevra Weasley," Draco's voice cut through the silence, steady and cold as always, "I stand here today, in front of all these people, to tell you that I love you more than life itself." He sounded composed and maybe a little uninterested, but Ginny knew better. She could see all the emotions reflected in his gray eyes. "I always thought that phrase was a silly cliché, but seeing you now, I know it's not. I would gladly give my life for you, and that used to be a scary thought for a man like me, but things have changed since I met you. You taught me the real meaning of love, and now I know I cannot live without you by my side. You're my strength." Ginny's eyes filled with tears. Draco took her hand and slid a ring onto her finger. It was made of white gold and held a small diamond in the middle. A flame in the shape of the letter M burned brightly within it. "You're mine now, Ginevra Weasley, mine forever from this day forward. You can be sure that I'm yours too." The last part was just a whisper, and Ginny wasn't sure if anyone besides her heard him.

Ginny couldn't stop herself from smiling at the satisfied smirk that decorated Draco's face now that he knew for certain she was officially his and that no one could take her away from him, ever. It was her turn to say her vows.

"Draco, my whole life I was told that there was no Prince Charming who would come and rescue me. I didn't believe it. I knew that one day, I was going to meet someone who would love me so much it would hurt." Draco squeezed her hand and Ginny could see all the love he felt for her in his gray eyes, even if his face remained impassive. "And then I met you. It took me some time to know the real you, but knowing you as I do right now, I can say without a doubt that you're my Prince Charming, the one I've been waiting for my whole life. You're the man I love beyond reason." Ginny slid the ring on Draco's finger without losing eye contact. Although it was not as delicate as hers, it was still a captivating sight. The ring was mostly smooth, with no stones and no marks but the letter M burning in the white gold. "I promise you that I will be by your side forever. I don't know where life will take us, but I can promise that even if everything else fails, I'll still be yours."

Ginny blinked away tears, and Draco's hand brushed them lightly and tenderly away. She knew that gesture from the countless times he'd done the same, and knew that Draco wanted nothing better than kiss her tears away. The minister smiled down at them.

"Please join your hands."

As they did, the minister raised his hands and started chanting in an ancient language. From their joined hands, bright green flames started to rise, weaving themselves around their wrists and fingers like vines. This happened in all the Old Marriage Ceremonies, the flames binding the couple's souls forever and making it impossible to break the bond. The Malfoys' customs required the heir to have an Unbreakable Marriage as a way of protecting the family fortune and keeping with tradition. Ginny and Draco had agreed wholeheartedly to have such a ceremony performed on their wedding day.

When the green flames died out, they knew they were married for good and nothing could ever tear them apart. There would be no such thing as a divorce or even a separation. Their union would be really forever.

"You may now kiss your bride, Mr. Malfoy."

"Finally," Draco couldn't help saying, grinning openly and winking at her. It never ceased to amaze her how young Draco looked when he grinned, like a boy with no worries, problems or responsibilities. Usually, his grins were reserved only for the ones really close to him. He slowly lifted her face up to his, smiled tenderly and kissed her.

Ginny's world stopped. The guests attending their wedding ceased to exist and the only thing that mattered then was Draco, his strong arms, his intensity and the fierce kiss that set fire to her blood and told her she was his forever, sealing the promises they'd made to each other. She was more than happy to belong to that man and could not imagine any other place she'd rather be.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the minister suddenly said, "Mr. and Mrs. Draco Lucius Malfoy!"

Ginny heard applause and felt Draco reluctantly pulling away from her without letting go of her hand. He looked very pleased with himself, and even if he didn't show his emotions openly, someone close to him could have noticed the unadulterated happiness that was radiating from him.

They slowly turned around to face the guests and to receive their greetings. Molly Weasley was the first to approach the couple. It was evident that she had wept during the ceremony.

"My baby girl! I'm so happy for you and Draco! The ceremony was beautiful, and your vows were really touching. I wish you both all the happiness in the world!" Molly hugged her daughter hard. Ginny could see Draco from the corner of her eye; he was talking animatedly with the twins, the only siblings of hers who had really befriended him.

It was hard to know that it didn't matter that Draco had proved his loyalties many times or that he had put all his resources at the Order's service. Almost every single member of the Order of the Phoenix was still weary of Draco's presence. Ginny knew that the lack of confidence and sometimes even open distrust form the Light side towards Draco had a lot to do with the animosity Harry still showed. Despite the civil tone with which The-Boy-Who-Lived managed to talk to Draco, his actions were contrary, and as Ron and Hermione usually supported Harry's decisions and actions, it was all the more difficult to convince the whole Order that Draco was really helping them when The Golden Trio acted as if he had the plague.

Through the greetings, Draco never let go of Ginny's hand, not even when Molly had enveloped him in a bear hug, so when The Golden Trio approached them, Ginny could feel Draco stiffen. There was an awkward silence, nobody really knowing what the right thing to say was. Finally, Harry, always the brave one, attempted to put his best foot forward.

"Congratulations, Ginny, Malfoy." He barely acknowledged Draco, all his attention centered on the gorgeous redhead. "I hope you get all the happiness you deserve." He looked disappointed and didn't mean anything he said.

"You can be sure that my wife will be happy, Potter, thank you very much," Draco cut in, his tone barely polite.

"You don't have to act like a prat, Malfoy!" Harry spat venomously, and Hermione instinctively put a hand on his arm as if asking him not to make a scene, but Harry didn't seem to care. He kept glaring at Draco.

"Ginny, you know I wish you only the best in your life," Ron interjected. "I know how happy you are, and how much you love Mal--Draco." He turned to look at Draco. "And it doesn't matter if I liked you in the past or not, the only thing that matters to me right now is the happiness you've brought into my sister's life, so…welcome to the family, Draco." It was clear that Ron was making an enormous effort to call Draco by his name, and Ginny loved him for doing it only to make her happy.

"Thank you Weas--Ron," Draco nodded. Well, at least Ron was not the only one making an effort.

"Oh Ron," Ginny said, throwing herself in her brother's arms. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I love you, Gin-girl, and the only thing I want is for you to be happy," Ron said, his voice trembling a little. He tried to compose himself and hugged Ginny tighter so he could whisper directly in her ear without Draco hearing him. "But really, Ginny, did you have to choose the ferret?" Ginny laughed and returned the hug.

It was Hermione's turn to express her well wishes.

"I'm so very happy for you both. I admire the courage you've shown deciding to get married in the middle of the war, and I hope your union will be really forever," Hermione said without realizing that the ceremony she'd witnessed was one for an Unbreakable Marriage. Draco couldn't let that go unnoticed.

"Of course it will be really forever, Granger. Weren't you paying attention to the rites? This is an Unbreakable Marriage," he explained patronizingly. Despite helping the Order in its war against Voldemort, Draco had never accepted Muggle-borns and he despised Hermione Granger especially because he believed that no matter how intelligent the witch was, she would never understand all the wizarding traditions. There were some things that you couldn't learn from a book, Unbreakable Marriage being one of them.

Ginny decided to ignore Draco's comment. This was the happiest day of her life and she was not going to let a silly word exchange with The Golden Trio ruin it.

"Thank you, Hermione, Harry," she said, and another awkward silence followed her expression of gratitude. Fortunately, it was soon broken by Narcissa calling her son.

"Draco, darling, are you ready for the other ceremony? It must be performed before you can go to your wedding celebration, and the guests are waiting." Narcissa's voice was cold and distant, like Draco's.

"Of course, Mother." Draco shot a last glance towards The Golden Trio, nodding only at Ron and making clear that the conversation was over, but they didn't take the clue and Draco sighed, exasperated. "As entertaining as talking to you can be, we must attend some other urgent business, so you must excuse us. Feel free to go to the reception with the rest of the guests. We'll join you later." Always the gentleman, he offered his arm to Ginny, and as she was about to take it and leave, Harry decided it was a good moment to voice his wishes.

"I'd like to talk to you, Ginny…privately."

Draco's eyes clouded with a barely contained rage so evident that Ginny could sense his anger. She knew how much Draco hated that Harry was still in love with her and that he tried to find every opportunity to make love declarations to her, not caring about her relationship with Draco.

"If you want to talk with my wife, Potter, you will do it certainly not in private." His voice was cold and distant, the tone unmistakably aristocratic, but underneath there was a clear warning.

"Does she need your permission to talk, Malfoy? You're not even an hour married and you're already behaving as her lord and master?" Harry's fury was also evident, and not even Hermione's hand on his arm had prevented the outburst.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Harry," Ginny said. She kept her voice low, trying to avoid a scene, but she too was displeased. Ron tried to intervene, but that only made Harry angrier.

"Come on, mate, you know it's not like that."

"Sorry, Ron, but I want a word with your sister."

"My wife, Potter, and you'd better keep that little fact in mind." Draco's tone was feral.

"Listen, Harry," Ginny said, "if I wanted to talk to you, I would do it, but the point is I don't want to. There's nothing you can say that I can be possibly interested in." Harry looked stricken at Ginny's harsh words, and she sighed in annoyance but nonetheless softened her voice just a little. "You know that I love you as a brother and that there's no other way I can love you. You don't want to understand that my place is at Draco's side and that now we're married, so there's nothing I have to discuss with you. Please stop talking as if I don't have the right to voice my opinions; you know better than anyone that Draco is not my lord and master, as you so foolishly put it, but the man I love." She sighed again and took Draco's arm so he could lead the way.

As they were leaving, Draco looked back once, above Ginny's head, and sent Potter his most satisfied smirk, making the other wizard seethe.