The Eye Of The Gazer
Chapter 27
A ray of spring sunlight crept around the edge of the curtain, and shone across the face of Cho Chang, waking her. Blinking up at the unfamiliar ceiling, she wondered for a few moments where she was; but it was not long before she remembered both where she was sleeping, and why she was here. She turned her head to see if her companion was also awake, but for the present he slept still, his chest rising and falling gently under the soft downy hairs. Cho admired his strong profile and the silver hair spread over his pillow, and felt a twinge between her legs as she remembered the night before when he had made love to her; at first tenderly, then urgently, so that she had bitten her pillow to prevent herself from crying out at the peak of her ecstasy. For they were guests in this house, and they wished to observe all the proprieties, and draw no unwanted attention to themselves.
Lucius Malfoy had a reputation, even here in France. He had once been a Death Eater, one of the chief followers of He Who Must Not Be Named; although now that he had been dead for some years, many wizards felt that it was finally safe to say the name Voldemort aloud. Lucius had been imprisoned in Azkaban, and there were many who had not forgotten his crimes. But others said he had changed, and was now a respectable law-abiding wizard. He was badly scarred, it was said, caused by saving his daughter from a fire: the man could not be all bad if he had risked his life for his child. Since this incident, few had seen him in public, so the severity of his injuries was a cause for speculation.
Cho knew that he would find today difficult, for he would be an object of scrutiny for many. Lucius Malfoy had once had a reputation that caused many females to deliberately place themselves in his path, and he had always taken full advantage of the delights on offer from these willing witches, until the day he promised Cho that he would try to be faithful to her. Now the females would all be staring at him to see how much his former beauty had been marred. Of course, some witches would find the reason for the scars romantic, and still see him as a desirable man; but Cho knew that Lucius would not believe that he could still be an object of lust, and he was dreading the stares and the whispers he fully expected to follow him.
But Lucius had never cared what anyone thought of his actions, and he still retained his Malfoy pure blood arrogance. He was here, and he would hold his head up high as always, and pretend all the indifference he had previously felt; for this day was not for him. Today he was here solely for his son, and he would play his part perfectly so that nothing would spoil the Beltane wedding of Draco Malfoy and Gabrielle Delacour.
Gabrielle's parents lived in an eighteenth century château in Provence, and the couple were to be married in the grounds. Monsieur and Madame Delacour had offered accommodation to some guests who might wish to stay overnight; and especially to Lucius, father of the groom, and to his consort Cho Chang, mother of Lucius' daughter Bryony, who was one of Gabrielle's bridesmaids.
Cho slipped out of bed. She had a long day ahead. She could not finally relax and enjoy the day until she had made certain that the bridal party was perfectly dressed for the Handfasting, for she was responsible for all the outfits. Each dress and suit had been designed by Cho herself, and hand stitched by Alan or one of her growing team of seamstresses. Cho knew that this was an important day in so many ways: for Draco and Gabrielle, it was their wedding day; for Lucius it was the first time he had appeared at a public event for four years; for Cho, this Handfasting was her first society wedding. The Malfoys and the Delacours were important members of the wizarding community in England and France respectively: this wedding would be featured in the wizard press of both countries and beyond. Witch Weekly was devoting a whole issue to it: Cho had already been interviewed at length, and a team of photographers was expected to capture the event, the fashions, and the glory of the classically designed Provençal château. Rita Skeeter herself would be there to compose her pithy observations on the day.
The hour of the Handfasting was approaching, and the circle of witches and wizards waited patiently for the bridal party to appear. The sun shone from an azure blue sky adorned with cotton wool clouds on this first day of May, the Celtic festival of Beltane. The guests were protected from its rays, stronger here in the south of France than in England, by a canopy of gossamer threads, translucent as dragonfly wings, magically suspended overhead. At the centre of the circle stood a white limestone table, weathered with age.
The buzz of conversation quietened as faint strains of music could be heard. Guests listened attentively, and stretched their necks to see around their neighbours. Now, as they identified the instrument, they saw a single flautist walking at the head of a small procession, the bride and groom following a short distance behind, accompanied by their family and attendants. The flute played a beautiful otherworldly tune, matched perfectly by the player: for she was a Veela, with white-gold hair that caught the sun in the same way as her golden flute, her long pale blue robes floating around her in the slight breeze.
The wizards all found it hard to tear away their eyes from the Veela, but as the bride and groom approached, their attention was captured by another vision, even lovelier than the first. Gabrielle Delacour had never looked more beautiful, and the effect was due in no small part to the gown she wore. The silky white material chosen by Bryony shimmered in the sunlight, and shifting rainbow hues travelled over her body, emphasising her feminine form as she moved. The gown was like a second skin, and Gabrielle, while in reality demurely covered from throat to ankle, looked as if she was almost naked. Her long white-blonde hair was braided around her head, and then fell unbound down her back from a headdress of brilliant blue flowers, whose colour was reflected by her sparkling eyes. Her only jewellery was a pair of teardrop sapphire earrings. Gabrielle's Veela blood, her joy, her inner beauty, and the skill of her dressmaker all conspired together to make every man desire her and every woman envy her on this, her special day.
On Gabrielle's right hand side, her arm tucked into his elbow, walked Draco Malfoy, his pride in his bride evident in the way he glanced at her so frequently. His summer weight suit was of midnight blue, and cut in a manner cleverly combining period and modern fashion, so he had somewhat the appearance of an eighteenth century gentleman. This effect was emphasised by the old fashioned fine white linen dress shirt he wore underneath, his matching linen cravat loosely knotted at his neck over lacy ruffles. Pinned to his lapel he wore a blue flower to match Gabrielle's headdress.
Behind the bride and groom walked another female who also drew the attention of all the men, most of whom began to feel as if they were in a trance in the presence of so much Veela power. This was Gabrielle's older sister Fleur, who was chief bridesmaid, clad in a turquoise blue gown with a gold and white border, and white flowers in her hair. Fleur had her arm through that of a young man who had changed much since his youth, when he had been an overweight, rather dull Slytherin boy who had followed Draco Malfoy around, allowing himself to be verbally bullied and belittled in exchange for the protection and influence afforded to any friend of Severus Snape's favourite pupil. This was Vincent Crabbe, now with the imposing height to carry off the long arms, deep chest and broad shoulders he still possessed, his fat honed to muscle from his regular training sessions as a beater for the Falmouth Falcons Quidditch team. Crabbe, a more serious individual since the mysterious disappearance of his father around the time of Voldemort's death, was Draco's Best Man, and was dressed to match the bridegroom. Every so often, he patted his pocket to reassure himself that the contents were still safe.
Behind them, side by side, were two small girls wearing miniature versions of Fleur's outfit: one was Martine, a cousin of Gabrielle's, fair haired like the Delacour sisters; and the other, who drew the attention of all the witches for the contrast she made, was a beautiful child with dark hair and dark eyes. This, whispered those guests in the know, was Lucius Malfoy's daughter by the woman who was now his mistress; and there she was, walking behind the bridesmaids with Malfoy, included in the wedding party even though they were not married. There were more than a few inquisitive stares at Bryony and Cho, as well as at Lucius himself: for he had been correct when he had guessed that he would be the focus of much curiosity.
Cho would have been surprised at the remarks passing among a faction of the guests. Raised by an extended Chinese family that, perhaps due to the necessity of adapting to a new way of life when they had moved to England, readily accepted modern ideas of living, Cho was unaware how scandalised some of the elderly matrons were by her presence at this event. Most of the gainsayers were British, for Gallic attitude to such matters had always been more relaxed; but the Delacours moved in old-fashioned circles, and even some of the French guests were slightly shocked. Of course they had expected Lucius to be here, he was the father of the bridegroom, but Draco's mother was dead, so he surely ought to have come alone. It was of course well known that he had an ongoing liaison with Cho Chang – "Yes, that's right, she made all the wedding clothes" – but there was no need for him to flaunt her in the face of polite society. Cho herself obviously had no sense of propriety, or she would have declined the invitation. It was also rumoured that she had actually refused an offer of marriage from Malfoy: what sensible witch would turn down the chance to give her bastard daughter a name? And as for having the love child herself as a bridesmaid at the wedding! Mon dieu! said the elderly French aunts, Gabrielle Delacour might have acquired some strange ideas in England, but her family should have insisted that she protect their good name by telling her how misguided was her over-generous invitation.
Most of these scandalised self-appointed guardians of morality were witches: the wizards in general cared less; although, for a quiet life, in the presence of their womenfolk they might pay lip service to old-fashioned morality. For the wizards were today totally under the spell of the Veela, and in the presence of those beautiful creatures their thoughts were anything but pure; more than a few also had mistresses of their own, and they grudgingly admired Malfoy's flouting the conventions by standing proudly beside the undoubtedly beautiful Cho Chang. The wizards also regarded her with curiosity, but of a much more carnal nature.
Lucius and Cho walked proudly arm in arm, side by side with Monsieur and Madame Delacour. Cho had designed for Gabrielle's mother a gown of lavender silk that flattered the older witch's still slender figure, and whose bias-cut skirt pooled in graceful swirls about her feet as she moved. She wore a small matching hat trimmed with violets at a rakish angle on her long white hair: for of course Madame Delacour was half Veela, and age had not lined her face or diminished in any way the effect she had on the wizards present.
Cho herself, blissfully ignorant of the spiteful comments circulating in the crowd, was elegant as ever in a long-sleeved amethyst silk cheong sam, her dark hair pinned behind her ears with violets, and falling in a silken black sheet down her back. She was finally beginning to relax, for all the clothes looked perfect. The rest of the day was now out of her hands. Beside her, Lucius walked erect, his head high. The silver headed cane he had once carried as an affectation was nowadays more than a mere accessory, for Lucius leaned on it as he walked. He had never fully recovered from the injuries he had sustained at the hand of his Dark Lord; indeed the pain worsened with every passing year. But Lucius was a master of disguise, and through sheer determination none but Cho knew what it cost him to appear to be walking normally, while in reality using both the cobra cane and herself for support. Lucius wore a suit cut to the same style and from the same cloth as Draco's, as did Monsieur Delacour. Both wizard fathers also wore the same style of shirt and cravat as the groom, and buttonholes of bright blue. Lucius alone wore an extra ornament on his second lapel: a gold brooch containing a miniature likeness of his late wife Narcissa. For she had asked to see her only son married, and knowing that he owed his life to her even as he had betrayed her love for him, he could not refuse her this one simple request. Narcissa in her turn had promised to remain silent unless addressed, for she had no desire to increase the curiosity surrounding her former husband.
The small procession reached the centre of the circle, and the bridal pair halted before the stone table as the flautist melted into the crowd. From the circle of guests stepped forward a dark haired giant of a woman, towering over those around her, dressed in robes of navy blue silk, and adorned everywhere with sparkling jewels the size of pigeons' eggs: Madame Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy. She smiled at the couple before her, and then at the circle of guests. She placed her wand at her throat saying, "Sonorus."
"Mesdames et Messieurs," she said loudly and clearly in French, "On behalf of the bride's parents, I welcome you to the Château Delacour. I am honoured to have been invited to lead this Handfasting. The couple before you, Gabrielle Delacour and Draco Malfoy, are here today to bind themselves together in the sight of you all.
"Before we begin the ceremony, the circle shall be cast." Madame Maxime raised her wand, and cast a circle at the feet of the guests, with the stone table at its centre. A glowing circular line appeared, separating the onlookers from the wedding party.
"The space shall be purified."
As Madame Maxime spoke these words, four witches and four wizards stepped from amongst the watchers, each carrying a flaming brand. Cho recognised two of the witches and one wizard as members of the group from Beauxbatons who had attended the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. The eight placed themselves, alternately male and female, around the glowing circle. These Guardians of the Circle then performed a graceful figure-of-eight movement along the line, the wizards walking deosil, or clockwise, the witches walking widdershins, or anti-clockwise, until each Guardian was back in their starting place: thus was the circle ritually purified by fire. Each Guardian then conjured up a holder in which to place their torch, and each summoned their broomstick. They then stood before the flames, broomsticks in their hands, symbolically ready to guard the circle from all intruders.
"The couple shall walk the circle."
Draco held out his hand to his bride. Gabrielle took it, and together they walked once deosil around the circle, inside the wall of immovable Guardians, and then back to the stone table.
"Gabrielle, Draco, are you ready for the Handfasting?" Madame Maxime asked.
"We are," they replied in unison.
"Then make your vows. Ring bearer, first place the rings on the table."
Vincent Crabbe stepped forward, taking the wedding rings from his pocket, and stretched out his hand to place them carefully on the stone table. As he did so, two limestone hands appeared, blending into the table at the wrist. They were held outwards, palms upward. Crabbe hesitated, but Madame Maxime nodded her encouragement, and he placed one matching gold ring on each palm. He stepped backwards again to his place beside Fleur.
"Draco, place the ring on Gabrielle's finger and make your vows."
Draco carefully picked up the smaller of the two rings, fashioned from rare Welsh gold, and turning towards his beautiful bride, he slid the ring onto the third finger of her left hand, and continued to hold her hand in his. The crowd collectively held its breath, for the vows were traditionally written by the couple themselves, and could vary from a straightforward declaration to a long eulogy. Their content often revealed much about the bride and groom, and the nature of the marriage.
Draco began to speak, his voice becoming clearer as he proceeded. He spoke in French the words he had practised so often, his English accent lessening as he continued: "Gabrielle Delacour, I, Draco Malfoy, pledge myself to you of my own free will. I declare before this audience that I know of no impediment to our marriage. I promise to care for you always, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live. Your children shall be my children, and bear my name. I promise to care for them and love them if you are taken from me before your time.
"You are so beautiful it makes my heart ache to look at you. You are part Veela, and so I know that your beauty will remain beyond the time granted to other witches, but I tell you that it is not only for your body that I would marry you: you are also beautiful inside. You saved the life of my beloved sister Bryony at some danger to yourself. For this I am yours to command, from now until death us do part. Gabrielle, I tell you in this, the very language of love, I love you."
When Draco stopped speaking, a sigh passed through the guests. Many of the witches could no longer see the proceedings for the tears in their eyes, and many a wizard husband passed his pocket handkerchief to his wife with a wry smile. The eyes of Gabrielle herself were bright with tears, for she had not heard this speech in its entirety before. They had decided together that declarations of love were a private affair, and had agreed on a formal set of vows. Draco had added to the vows they had practised together, and she felt overwhelmed that he loved her so much he had prepared these extra words in a second language.
Her slight daze was broken by Madame Maxime saying, "Gabrielle, place the ring on Draco's finger and make your vows."
Gabrielle took the second wedding ring and placed it on her groom's finger. She took his hand in both hers, and staring deeply into his grey eyes, she spoke: "Draco Malfoy, I, Gabrielle Delacour, pledge myself to you of my own free will. I declare before this audience that I know of no impediment to our marriage. I promise to care for you always, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live. My children shall be your children, and bear your name. I promise that they shall be taught to honour and love their father if you are taken from me before your time."
Gabrielle took a deep breath and continued, "Draco, your words just now moved me beyond anything you can imagine. I am part Veela. Unless I am torn away untimely from this world, I shall outlive you in this mortal form you see before you. I will always remain at your side, for your life is as dear to me as my own. If you should die before your time, I will honour your father in your place; and I will always look to the happiness and safety of your sister Bryony, for she has a special place in my heart, both as your sister and as her own sweet self. Draco, I love you with my head, I love you with my heart, I love you with my body."
The two lovers stood looking at each other as if there was nobody else in the world. They were brought back to reality by Madame Maxime, who, with some tears in her own eyes, asked them, "Do you now agree that your hands should be bound together for the rest of today?"
"We do."
"First you must sign your names. Step forward the witnesses."
Madame Maxime placed upon the table, whose stone hands had now disappeared, a large roll of parchment adorned with the devices of the Malfoys on the right and the Delacours on the left. In Latin it declared the marriage of Draco Malfoy, bachelor, of Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England and Gabrielle Delacour, spinster, of Château Delacour, Provence, France. Each signed their name in turn with the peacock feather quill handed to them by Madame Maxime. Then followed the signatures of the two witnesses, Vincent Crabbe and Fleur Delacour.
"Now, Draco and Gabrielle, join your hands. Step forward, the binders."
Draco and Gabrielle stood close beside each other, and each took the other's hands, right palm to right palm and left to left, interlocking their fingers, thus making the symbol of infinity. Vincent Crabbe was the first binder. He tied their right wrists together loosely with a red cord. Fleur tied their left wrists in the same way with a second red cord. The two small bridesmaids came next, and the couple had to crouch down to allow the children to place their cords. Bryony had spent many hours practising tying knots so that she should be able to do this task, and her proud parents smiled at each other when she succeeded in tying her band unaided around the couple's right wrists. Gabrielle kissed her on the cheek and smiled at her as she whispered, "Well done, ma petite." Martine, two years older than Bryony, was similarly successful with her red band around their left wrists, and also received a kiss from the bride.
Next it was the turn of their parents, and the bride and groom stood once more. Prior to the wedding, Cho had been uncertain of her role, for she was not Draco's mother, and she knew of his previous animosity towards her; although he had been perfectly civil to both her and Alan during all the measuring and fitting for his wedding suit. Cho had sent Lucius to ask Draco what he required of her during the ceremony. She would have been happy to remain amongst the circle of onlookers if he wished. She
had already been assured of an invitation to the Handfasting from Gabrielle, but she had no wish to be the cause of discord on their big day. To her surprise, Draco had said that he was happy for her to stand in place of his mother, as long as Narcissa agreed. So Draco and Cho had both independently consulted Narcissa's last portrait, and the late Mrs Malfoy had been quite agreeable, only asking that they send Lucius to her, for she had a request to make of him.
So now Lucius Malfoy bound the right hands of his son and new daughter-in-law, from whom he too received a kiss of thanks. Draco looked at his mother's miniature portrait in surprise, for Narcissa had sworn Lucius to secrecy. Her normally sardonic gaze had softened, and her eyes were full of tears. She smiled at her son, but said nothing, as promised. Gabrielle was delighted to see Narcissa, and began to greet her, but Lucius smiled gently, and, placing a vertical index finger over his lips, stepped backwards to allow Cho to come forward and place a third band around their left wrists. Monsieur and Madame Delacour followed suit, Monsieur binding their right and Madame their left wrists.
"Now, the couple will jump the broomstick!" announced Madame Maxime, smiling.
One of the Guardians of the Circle stepped forward with his broomstick, and came to stand in front of the newly bound couple. He crouched down, holding out the broomstick horizontally a few inches above the ground. Draco and Gabrielle, tied together both by wizarding law and literally by their wrists, must now co-operate for the rest of the day, for of necessity they must perform every action together. Their first task was to jump the broomstick without touching it, for ancient custom decreed that the marriage was invalid if the couple should touch the broom in any way.
Their first task was to kilt up Gabrielle's long skirts so that they should not catch on the broom as they jumped. The couple's attempts to do this were a source of much amusement for the guests. "Is it permitted to help them?" asked Cho uncertainly, murmuring in Lucius' ear, for most of the weddings she had attended had been according to Chinese tradition, which was different.
"Strictly speaking, it is permitted, as long as you do not touch either of them," replied Lucius. "But of course, the wedding ceremony is also for the guests, and they think it is only fair that they should be entertained a little. Wait. Magic is permitted, so there is no reason why they should not succeed without you. Only the actual jump must be done without magic."
Indeed, after struggling for a while, Gabrielle cast a spell on her skirts, which tucked themselves up so that her shapely legs were now visible. The couple approached the broomstick, conferred, took a deep breath, counted to three, and then leaped together, clearing the broom with plenty of room to spare. The crowd cheered and clapped. Gabrielle reversed the spell, and her skirts fell to her ankles once more in a swirl of shifting rainbow hues as she and Draco embraced . The Guardian stood once more, and resumed his position guarding the circle, his broomstick again brandished before him.
"Now that Draco and Gabrielle are truly married according to wizard custom, there follows the Ceremony of the Wine and Cakes," said Madame Maxime, raising her voice above the cheers. She waved her wand, and there appeared on the table a decanter of wine and a goblet, and a plate of honey cakes. "They will take their first food and drink together as a handfasted couple."
Fleur stepped forward, and poured out a goblet of wine. This she picked up, and offered to the bound couple. The red bands around their wrists were loosely tied, and it was possible for Draco and Gabrielle to turn their hands so that each was at right angles to the other's. "Ladies first," said Draco gallantly. Fleur placed the goblet in Gabrielle's right hand, which she raised to her lips, taking a sip of the local red wine. Unable to wipe her own mouth, her lips remained shiny with the red liquid, and Draco kissed his wife to ensure that no wine ran down her chin to stain the wonderful wedding dress. Gabrielle now offered the goblet to Draco, tipping the container so that he could also take a sip. As her aim was slightly untrue, wine spilled down his face, and she licked it away, also ending with a kiss. Fleur took back the goblet, and offered the plate of honey cakes.
This time it was Draco who picked up a cake, but instead of eating it, he fed it to Gabrielle, who bit off a morsel at a time. The cake made one's mouth dry, so it was necessary to ask Fleur for more wine; and so it went on until each had eaten one small cake and drunk sufficient wine to ease its consumption. In spite of the couple's eagerness to lick each other's faces, they still had cake crumbs around their mouths, and their lips were stained with red wine. Madame Maxime smiled indulgently at them, waved her wand and uttered a quiet "Scourgify."
She then announced that the Handfasting ceremony was over, and the bride and groom would progress to another part of the garden, where the wedding banquet would be served. Everyone was invited to follow the wedding party once they had all left the circle.
"The fires shall be extinguished."
Obediently, the Guardians of the Circle put out the flaming torches with a brief extinguishing spell. Then they all declaimed in unison, "Evanesco," and the torches and their stands vanished.
"The broomstick arch shall be formed."
The Guardians of the Circle lined up, witches opposite wizards, and were joined by more people from the front row of guests, lengthening the two lines. All raised their brooms to form a high broomstick arch that led from the centre of the circle to its edge. Laughing together, and moving a little awkwardly due to their bound hands, Draco and Gabrielle walked under the arch and left the circle. Waiting for them was the Veela flautist, who walked ahead of them playing a well known love theme as they crossed the garden. All those who had formed the arch then rejoined the circle of guests.
Madame Maxime used her wand to vanish the glowing circle, pointed her wand at her throat and said, "Quietus." She then followed the handfasted couple out of the circle. Fleur and Crabbe fell into place behind her, followed by the two small bridesmaids. Next came Monsieur Delacour, the father of the bride, escorting Cho Chang, and lastly Lucius Malfoy, father of the groom, who gravely offered his arm to Madame Delacour. Behind them came the Guardians of the Circle, paired up as for the broomstick arch, and next the other witches and wizards who had made up the arch. When they had all proceeded beyond the site of the circle, the other guests fell in behind, and walked through the beautiful grounds of the Château Delacour to the large lawn on which stood a number of long tables set ready for the banquet.