Hermione lay on her bed in the massive suite that Narcissa had given her. It was the night before her wedding and it had been decided that everyone involved in the nuptials would spend the night in Malfoy Manor. That meant aside from Draco, Blaise and Liliana were here as well as Uriel and Lydia. Ginny was her maid of honor, and she had only just left her suite to head to her own bedroom with Harry so that the bride could "get plenty of rest." Her parents were here too seeing as there was no muggle way for them to reach the Manor if they were to come on their own. Bill and Fleur had politely turned down the invitation to spend the night. Angelina was here sans George lest the inappropriate Weasley let something loose around the Manor during the night. On a bright note, Andromeda and Teddy were here and it had warmed Hermione's heart to see her and Narcissa speaking amicably, however slightly strained it was.
Breakfast would be in the morning at 7 a.m. –two separate ones, Narcissa had been precise to say. Hermione would be eating in a dining hall with all the women residing in the Manor and vice versa for Draco and the men. Ginny had offered herself up to do her hair and makeup. The wards around the Manor had been altered so that only those who had sent in a RSVP would be allowed to apparate in for the day right onto the grounds where the wedding would be taking place. Guests would start arriving around 11 a.m. to be greeted and ushered to their seats by house elves.
The area for the ceremony had been decorated beautifully. White bricks had been inlaid on the grass in the shape of a massive heart. All of the seats had been gathered together in the curves of the heart, and Hermione would walk down the aisle on rose-colored bricks to where the halves came to a point. Enormous bouquets of flowers were in vases on top of ornately carved white pedestals that outlined the entire heart. And above? Magic was beautiful because mini chandeliers would be hanging in the air above the guests.
It was going to be a wedding Hermione had never once in a million years she thought she would be having. And yet here she was. She felt like she wanted to cry and well, hell, she might as well do it tonight. There would be no tears tomorrow (Ginny's words) unless she wanted to face the wrath of her makeup artist.
And so, Hermione got her box of tissues ready, but was interrupted when there was a knock on her door.
"Hermione, it's me." Draco's voice sounded. The brunette's eyes widened when she saw the doorknob turn and she quickly brandished her wand to keep it shut and lock the door.
"Are you mad?! You're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!"
Draco's laugh made it past the expensive wood. She even swore she could hear him smirking. "You do realize that's only a muggle thing, don't you?"
"Oh? Then why has your mother insisted on two different breakfasts then?"
"Because it'll ruin 'the effect' of when I see you walking down the aisle. If it makes you feel better, it's only eleven-fifty-four."
Hermione looked at the clock in her room and yes, it was that time. With a sigh she flicked her wand and the door was finally opened with a cheeky-looking Draco entering her room.
"What would you have done if I had just apparated in here?" Draco asked.
"Made you close your eyes and then throw you out." Hermione said promptly. Draco smiled as he crawled onto the bed with her and pulled her close. She relished in his warmth and the way he nuzzled his nose in her neck. She could fall asleep this way –it wouldn't have been the first time.
"Have you been practicing your Italian for the honeymoon?" Draco questioned her. Hermione grinned and then shook her head.
"I'd rather be taught, thank you very much. We both know how my French lesson went."
Draco chuckled before moving on to nibble on her neck. "And yet you still know nothing."
"Draco…" she said as felt his hand moving down across her thigh.
"Hm?"
"It's eleven-fifty-eight."
Draco pulled back and, believe it or not, he pouted. "Are you serious?"
Hermione laughed and kissed him before pushing him off the bed. "Yes. Out you go."
Draco groaned and rolled his eyes before getting to his feet. "You owe me."
"I know."
When Draco woke up in the morning he couldn't eat breakfast. He was terrified that he was going to upchuck everything.
"Weren't you nervous, Blaise?"
"Me? No, not at all. I was marrying the love of my life. Why would I be nervous?"
Draco huffed and then turned to Mr. Granger. "How about you?"
"Well, the Missus and I ended up eloping." He chuckled. "Kind of hard to be nervous when you're two giddy young adults."
Sweet, but not helpful.
"Uriel?"
"I guess I was a little shaky, yeah. Especially because some of Lydia's more unsavory family members were there so there was a good chance I'd get hexed."
Draco's face paled terribly. He groaned then and grabbed a handful of his hair, tugging it as hard as he could before he let it go and turned to Harry.
"You, Potter. Aren't you nervous? Your wedding is two months away."
"Right now? Not really. But when the day comes I'll probably be just like you." Harry smiled. "Maybe even worse. Feel better?"
"No."
Harry laughed as Draco leaned back in his chair, his breakfast plate still as full as when he had pieced it together while Blaise was having a grand ole time at the scene.
"At the very least try to be as joyous as this little guy." Harry said.
By "this little guy" he meant Teddy who had qualified as a man today and was eating breakfast with the four gents. This was the first time Draco was meeting his little cousin (second cousin, if he wanted to be precise). It had been a first time meeting with his aunt as well. The boy, four years old just like Victoire, was a happy little kid and his hair showed. He was a metamorphmagus like his mother, and his hair tended to change colors depending on his mood. Considering it was bright yellow, so he'd been told, Teddy was ecstatic.
"Come on, Teddy." Harry encouraged. "Tell your cousin Draco that everything's going to be alright."
Teddy looked up from his half-eaten sausage and then grinned. "Everything's o-kay!"
Draco couldn't help it. A kid who sometime last year probably couldn't even talk properly, currently with his cheeks stuffed with food and syrup dripping down his chin, was giving him encouragement with a wide, goofy grin.
"It's official," Draco said. "Kids cure everything."
"Hermione Granger, if you cry I'll be forced to hex you!"
"But you're crying!"
"I'm different." Ginny sniffed. "My makeup isn't done yet and yours is almost finished. Now, not a single tear woman!"
Hermione took long, deep breaths and sucked in a lot of air in order to keep herself from crying. Honestly it was hard. Last night she'd had a few sniffles, but that was okay. This morning she was greeted by several faces grinning at her like mad and then excitedly pulling her out of bed. Breakfast had been ridiculously elaborate and held in a "small" dining hall a small ways from her suite. Aside from the fact that the breakfast was perhaps the best she'd ever had, the most memorable part about it was hearing Narcissa and Andromeda speak to each other and using shortened versions of their names –Cissy and Andy.
It was back in her suite, however, where Hermione felt her resolve crumble. She had taken a bath with expensive oils and soaps. When she came out, she had stopped dead at her wedding dress. The last time she had seen it had been at a final fitting last week and the finishing touches hadn't even been done yet. Madame Marcel had brought the dress over while she had been in the shower and it was just…beautiful. Simply beautiful. A sweetheart neckline with a corset bodice completely embroidered in tiny pearls. From her hips down it was a lovely soft and light chiffon white fabric that went straight to the floor and left a much too long trail that enhanced just how wonderful the dress really was.
It was enough to make any woman fall into a fit of crying hysterics.
"Done," Ginny announced as she settled her hands to her side sand stepped back. "And your hair is top notch if I don't say so myself. You look amazing, Hermione."
"And you will look even better in your dress." Narcissa said with a small smile. "We mustn't doddle. The ceremony beings in less than an hour."
"Less than an hour…" Hermione repeated to herself. "Alright, okay. Oh! Wait, I need something borrowed, blue-"
"Old and new," Mrs. Granger finished as she held a pair of earrings to her daughter. They were teardrop diamond earrings that Hermione recognized instantly and her heart soared.
"Oh…these were nana's."
"Yes, and you'll make her very happy by wearing them."
"Your something new are the bracelets!" Lydia beamed as she handed over two silver, partially diamond-studded bracelets. Hermione didn't know about her nana's earrings, but these bracelets Narcissa had hand-delivered from a jeweler's. She didn't even want to imagine what these cost.
"Here's the blue." Ginny grinned mischievously. Hermione couldn't help but laugh as she slipped the rather racy blue underwear from her friend's hand. She was also blushing like mad considering that her soon-to-be mother-in-law was within eye-shot.
"Gin, I'm already wearing underwear."
"Then change."
Hermione rolled her eyes and then turned in Narcissa's direction when she gently tapped her on the shoulder.
"Something borrowed,"
Hermione's mouth fell open. So did Andromeda's when she realized what her sister had given her and she smiled broadly.
"Oh, Cissy, that's perfect."
"Yes, I thought so." Narcissa said proudly. "It belonged to our mother. Passed down to daughters who are about to be wed. And not to worry, I've checked it thoroughly for any forms of potential...malicious intent."
Mrs. Granger furrowed her brow. "Malicious intent?"
"A joke, mum." Hermione said quickly. She chuckled nervously before her eyes settled back on the magnificent drop necklace –a multitude of small and semi-large diamonds culminating to a single pendant that, when she put it on, hung just above her neckline.
"Into the dress you go, Hermione!" Angelina ordered. "We've got about a half an hour now. With how big this place is it'll take a millennia to make it outside."
Hermione agreed and headed over to the cherry on top that would put her entire look together.
Thank Merlin for Warming and Repelling Charms…
It had begun to snow about an hour ago. Uriel, Merlin bless him, had worked hard putting up several charms to block against the impending snow on the grounds as well as the walkway that Hermione and the rest of the wedding party would be walking down.
There was no more than five minutes before the ceremony would begin and Draco was a wreck. He looked out on the guests who had arrived and, quite honestly, he was surprised at the turnout from his side of the family. Hermione's family and friends wouldn't dare to disappoint her. And while Draco was quite sure that his friends, extended family and acquaintances were sorely disappointed, they most likely came because his mother would wreak havoc in their lives otherwise.
Suddenly there was a hush throughout the audience and Draco stood even straighter than usual. His mother stood in the back, orchestrating everything, and gave the okay to a nearby house elf to start the music.
Soft melodies were dancing in the air as Victoire, the little girl who had insisted that she and Draco dance not once, but three times last month, came walking down the aisle. She was tossing out flower petals as she went, smiling like the adorable little thing she was. Teddy walked in after her, carrying rings that floated neatly just above the small pillow he was holding. After him was Blaise and Liliana with her wearing a rose pink, floor-length gown and her husband in a tux to compliment Draco's –a pink tie to match the wedding theme.
"You look more wound up than a toy." Blaise playfully hissed at him once he came to stand beside him. Draco grumbled.
"Yes, well, we've already established you were full of bliss when you got married."
Blaise smiled. Then he leaned over and whispered, "I was so out of sorts that I lost Liliana's ring and spent the last few minutes leading up to the wedding looking for it. How's that?"
Draco chuckled and shook his head at him. "Much better, thank you."
Uriel and Lydia came down the aisle next. After that it was Harry and Angelina. It still made Draco laugh (not to mention take an enormous chunk of his pride away) to have Harry Potter in his wedding. But it was more out of Hermione's wishes than his own, seeing as she had three bridesmaids and each one needed someone to walk down the aisle with. Ginny walked down the aisle alone, and once she had made it to the front, Draco felt his heartrate accelerate. He knew that Hermione was next and, when everyone stood, that's when he was sure.
Draco would've fell to the floor in a puddle if he wasn't so rooted to the spot. That and the fact that Blaise had put his hand behind his back to keep him steady. Hermione was… Beautiful was an insufficient word. There was nothing that he could say.
"Mate," Blaise said to him. "You're not breathing. Suck in some air, will you?"
He hadn't even realized, to be honest. Mr. Granger kissed his daughter on the cheek before shaking Draco's hand and turning to sit down with his wife. Up until this point, the wedding ceremony had been a very muggle one. In a normal wizard ceremony there weren't bridesmaids or maids of honor or anything of the sort, but for Hermione's sake (and to Narcissa's delight that there could be more extravagance to this Malfoy-Granger affair) it was done. Without it, marriage ceremonies tended to be very short with only the vows to be taken.
The vows were reminiscent (and somewhat horrifyingly so) to an Unbreakable Vow, but these were more symbolic than anything else. What made it special was that the vows were written beforehand by the couple in question.
"Thank you all for coming." The marriage official began. "We're all gathered here today to witness the marriage of Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy to Miss Hermione Granger. Now," he addressed the pair. "If you'll take each other's hands please."
Draco and Hermione smiled at each other as they held each other's hands. Hermione didn't know about Draco, but her heart was beating out of her chest. She didn't know why she was so nervous. What was so hard? Agree to the vows and kiss at the end. And yet here she was about to go completely weak-kneed. At least she was until Draco squeezed her hands and gave her an encouraging nod.
The marriage official raised his wand and a gold shimmery strand wove around their hands, locking them in place.
"We shall now begin the vows. Let it be known that these vows were written by the bride and groom."
Hermione and Draco kept their eyes trained on each other as each vowed was said and a new strand wrapped around their hands.
Do you promise to love each other until death?
Do you promise to lift each other up when obstacles come your way?
Do you promise to protect each other?
Do you promise to stay devoted to each other for the rest of your lives?
"I do." Draco and Hermione said together. They watched as the strands disappeared into their skin and the marriage official lowered his wand.
"The rings, please?"
"Here you go!" Teddy said happily as he raised the small pillow up to Draco.
Draco grinned broadly as he took the one that would belong to Hermione while she took the one that would belong to him. They each held the respective ring in hand and waited for those next set of words.
"Please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed."
Hermione almost fumbled putting on Draco's ring because she was too distracted by him slipping on hers. She even almost missed when the official had pronounced them man and wife and given the okay to kiss each other. Draco hadn't, and she found herself being kissed by him and hearing the whoops and hollers from her side of the audience and the slow, disapproving claps from Draco's. Naturally she didn't care about the latter. All that mattered was that she was married. They were married. And it didn't matter what anyone thought. It didn't matter what anyone did. She had Draco and he had her and damn it they would fight to keep that.
"George Weasley, I'm going to murder you!" Hermione grumbled at him as he laughed and hid behind his girlfriend.
"Oh come on," George grinned widely. "You've got to admit that it's pretty funny."
Hermione rolled her eyes and looked to the area of the ballroom where there were several angry Malfoys trying to charm their voices back to their normal pitch. Somehow, some way, George had slipped a potion into their drinks to change their voices to an annoyingly high screech. But, considering that one of said Malfoys was the incredibly rude Uncle Tiberius, Hermione couldn't be too upset with George.
"No more pranks for the evening. Do you promise?"
George smirked. "Not at all. Hugs and kisses, my dear."
Hermione smacked her hand to her head and sighed. Some other mishap was going to happen tonight. She knew it. However, instead of focusing on it she turned to the tap on her shoulder and smiled at Ron.
"I know you're going to say no, but-"
"Yes, we can dance." Hermione cut him off and dragged him onto the dance floor. Ron was pleasantly surprised and took up the customary dancer's position.
"Huh. I thought I would have to fight you a little harder for that one." Ron chuckled. Hermione shrugged and smiled as her eyes caught sight of Draco once again dancing with his favorite three-foot tall child.
"I'm a bit desensitized to dancing at this point. Draco's dragged me out plenty."
"Oh, I bet. You'll be getting dragged out plenty more. You're a Malfoy now. Queen of the social elite. Future mother to the Malfoy heir."
"Wow, Ron, you seem really excited for me." Hermione smirked as he gave her a little twirl.
"I'm not jealous."
"Never said you were."
"It's just…unreal. That's all." Ron said as he took a moment to look around them. The mixed company. The massive ballroom they were in. The rings on his best friend's finger that he wouldn't have been able to afford in his lifetime. "I never thought we would end up here."
"Neither did I." Hermione replied. "Just last year I had started my redo Year at Hogwarts. And now I'm married to someone who once hated me. Life is…"
"Weird,"
"Unpredictable,"
"I think I like my word better." Ron grinned. He grinned even more when Hermione laughed, but he soon became distracted when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
"May I dance with my wife, please?" Draco asked. Ron could do nothing but nod and concede and he let Hermione go so that she could fall into her husband's arms and dance around the room.
As he watched, he had determined to stick with his position.
It was bloody weird.
Author's note: WEDDINGS! I kind of like the idea of those bricks. I might have to keep that in mind for myself if I can ever afford it lol. So many parts of this I liked. Can't pick a favorite. Although, Teddy was sweet :).
So! We've gone from distant students to married and 38 chapters. I honestly can't believe all of this came out of a one-shot! Now, I'm not saying that the story is over just yet because there's still a few major moments that I want to write out. I will, however, be cutting out chunks of time after maybe a chapter or two. As much as I would like to detail every moment of their lives, it's not practical and would end up being pure filler.
Until next time!
-WP
Replies to Guests
Guest: Yey! Glad that you liked it! Hope this one made it to your expectations too :D
Karlie: Weren't they adorable?! If I can swing it, maybe I'll throw some more of them together :)