Disclaimer: Marriage should be a good thing. Only a Malfoy could make it a disaster.

Chapter 2: The Happiest Day of a Woman's Life

August 11th, 1997

It was nearly noon on her sixteenth birthday when Ginny Weasley stood among her family saying her final goodbyes to them for who knew how long. She was dressed in creamy white dress robes that belonged to her mother. Actually they were the dress robes her mother wore when she married her father nearly thirty years ago. Her parents never seemed to have a lot of fancy things, however, these dress robes were of the finest quality and Ginny was proud that her parents wanted her to wear them on her wedding day, even under these less than happy circumstances.

The sounds of Molly Weasley's sobs were heard throughout the kitchen of the Burrow. Ginny was preparing to portkey to her new home, when her mother simply broke down once again. She knew this was just as difficult on her parents as it was for her, yet a part of Ginny wished her mother would be a bit stronger. Ginny was a wreck inside, and her mother's reaction was causing her to want to break down as well. Even though the last thing she wanted was to arrive at Malfoy Manor appearing to be weak.

Ginny walked over and gave her mother one last hug. "I love you, Mum. You'll see," Ginny said with a tearful smile on her face. "Everything is going to work out."

Her mother's sobs subsided as she attempted to return Ginny's smile, unfortunately it looked more like a grimace. "Keep yourself safe," Molly eventually croaked out.

With a final look at her large family, Ginny took hold of her trunk and stated the activation word for her portkey. It was time to face her new destiny.

The portkey landed her in a heap in the center of a large hall. Ginny quickly straightened herself as the clicking of heals could be heard coming down the hall. As the man reached her, Ginny realized she was looking straight into the cold blue eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

"It is about time!" Lucius snarled as Ginny took a step back. "Is your family so poor they cannot afford a clock?"

Ginny didn't respond to Lucius's remark which apparently only made him angrier. "Are you too dim to be able to answer your betters?" He spat as Ginny reaffirmed her decision to remain silent.

"Give me your wand, girl," Lucius said with an open hand. Ginny reluctantly took her wand out of the inside pocket of her robe. She had hoped that this wouldn't happen, however, it wasn't unexpected. Taking Ginny's wand, Lucius placed it in his pocket as he turned around and began walking down the hall.

"Come, girl," Lucius said once he realized she was not immediately following him. "We do not have all day. The nuptials are to be performed in three hours."

Lucius led Ginny out of the grand hall and down a series of corridors. After approximately five minutes they reached their destination.

"Narcissa, young Miss Weasley is here for your ministrations." Lucius stated in an almost kind tone. As a striking woman with blonde hair approached, Lucius's eyes began to wonder over Ginny's frame. "I dare say she may not be as hopeless as we originally thought she would be. You will only have two and half hours to work your magic on her."

"That shall be sufficient my Lord," Narcissa simply stated, as she gave her husband a small bow. "Is there anything else you need, my Lord?"

"No, there isn't. I shall see you both later." Lucius swept his eyes over Ginny's frame one more time before leaving the room. Once he left the room her face fixated in a disgusted look as she looked over Ginny.

Narcissa seemed to look down on her for a few more minutes before she impatiently stated, "I need you to remove those robes immediately so you can be fitted for your wedding robes."

Ginny was appalled to think the Malfoys were attempting to control all aspects of her nuptials. "I plan on wearing these robes for my wedding," Ginny said with confidence.

"No, son of mine will marry a woman wearing such filth." Narcissa replied while eyeing Ginny's dress robes. "And you will always refer to me, my husband and your future has either my Lord or my Lady. You are no longer on the farm, dear, you are in civilized society."

Ginny was furious but she attempted to hide her fury. It would do no good to anger the Malfoys now, she would have to learn how to deal with it.

"Let's go now." Narcissa said while clapping her hands in Ginny's face. "Out of those robes, we don't have any time for nonsense."

~*~

Ginny was primped and pampered by Narcissa Malfoy, all the while being looked down upon for being a blood traitor. As soon as Lucius had left, Ginny was practically thrown into the tub were she was bathed with the finest oils to make her skin softer and more delicate.

After she was bathed, a team of three women assisted Ginny in preparing under Narcissa's watchful eye. One styled her hair, while another applied her makeup. The final girl was assigned to maintaining her 'hygiene'. Ginny felt this last girl was highly unnecessary since she always took care of her appearance. However, Ginny's protests did not stop the girl from performing her necessary tasks that included ensuring Ginny's legs were properly groomed for her wedding night.

Her mother's beautiful wedding robes were discarded into her trunk while robes of the softest white silk were forced upon her. The robes the Malfoys had chosen were stunning, however, Ginny refused to give the Malfoys the victory of knowing how much she enjoyed the robes. Instead she kept her head down and refused to comment on them. As stunning as these robes were, she much preferred her mother's wedding robes.

After everything was complete, Ginny looked at herself in the mirror. The woman she saw looking back at her was unrecognizable. Her fiery tresses were curled, her makeup was far too heavy, and the clothing she wore was simply not her. However, her transformation did the trick since Narcissa proclaimed her fit to attend her own wedding ceremony.

That was how Ginny found herself waiting in a small chamber off the side of the Malfoys' ballroom. Her wedding ceremony was about to begin, and she had never been so afraid in her entire life. Ginny knew that a girl's wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Instead Ginny's wedding was anything but.

Not a single member of her family was permitted to attend since they 'refused to see the truth about Ginny and Draco's love'. Honestly, when Ginny figured out whose idea it as to pretend Draco was her secret lover that individual was in for a world of pain.

Unable to sit still any longer, Ginny began to pace the width of the room waiting for her moment of truth. Maybe Professor Dumbledore would be able to pull through for her and find a way to block the union? Or one of her brothers could burst into the room and kill all the Malfoys and rush her away into hiding? Perhaps some dashing hero would prevent her from marrying Draco?

Ginny couldn't help but chuckle at her last scenario. She stopped believing that heroes always save the day when she was a little girl. When Ginny learned that Harry Potter, the savoir of the wizarding world was hurt by the muggles that were supposed to protect him she stopped believing that people could get their fairy tale ending.

"I'm glad to see you are in high spirits." The cold voice of Lucius Malfoy filled the air. "It is time for you to make your entrance."

~*~

The march up the aisle was one of the slowest experiences in her life. As Ginny looked at the guests who were staring at her she barely recognized anyone in the crowd. The only person she was sure she recognized was the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

As she passed Minister Fudge she heard him whispering to Lucius Malfoy. "Why didn't any of the Weasleys attend this ceremony? I was sure they would turn up to support their only daughter's union."

"I'm sorry, Minister," Lucius's snide voice seemed to carry to her ears, even though she had moved away from where the two wizards were sitting. "It appears that Arthur Weasley and his family refuses to admit the love their daughter and my son share. They seemed to have decided to protest this ceremony as a form of condemning their daughter's choice."

Ginny's blood was boiling. How dare that despicable man insult her family in such a way? She knew for a fact that her family attempted to gain access to this ceremony but they were denied permission to enter Malfoy Manor from Lucius Malfoy himself.

Ginny took a deep calming breath before she turned to look at Draco. There was no point in working herself into a frenzy. There was nothing she could do. She could either die or be at the Malfoys' mercy.

Draco walked towards her at in an excruciating slow pace. It seemed to Ginny as though the entire Malfoy family was attempting to prolong the misery she was facing.

As Draco reached Ginny, he leaned into whisper to her, "I'm going to have so much fun showing you want a real man can do tonight."

Ginny's entire body shuddered at the mere suggestion of what could occur that evening. Forcing back her tears, Ginny held her head high as Draco walked with her the last few steps to the minister performing the last phases of the binding.

"Welcome all to this special occasion." The minister said as he began the ceremony. "We are here today to witness the final stages of the bonding between Draco Lucius Malfoy to his chosen Ginevra Molly Weasley."

Ginny couldn't stop herself from closing her eyes at this point, and started to think of anything that would drown out the minister's voice. Perhaps if she ignored the ceremony it would prevent the bond from completing?

But no matter what Ginny tried she wasn't able to completely shut out the voice of the man sealing her fate.

"At this time I shall ask each of the participants of this union to show me their left-hand wrists." The minister continued, as Ginny and Draco extended their hands towards the gentleman.

"Ginevra shows the proper symbol of her participation of the bond," the minister stated before a shocked look overcame his face on inspection of Draco's wrist. "This can't be," the man muttered under his breath before he turned away from the onlookers.

"Is there a problem?" Draco asked in a snide tone as Ginny strained looked towards the wrist that Draco had left exposed. Unfortunately she wasn't able to see anything.

"Yes," the minister clearly responded, as he began to look through an old tome that he had placed on a table near to where Ginny and Draco were standing. "This union cannot go forward."

"What do you mean?" The cold voice of Lucius Malfoy silenced the muttering that had begun at the minister's last statement. "My son and Ginevra may have performed this ceremony behind my back-"

But whatever Lucius was about to say was cut off by the minister. "Your son and Miss Weasley never performed the beginning of the bonding ceremony."

"How dare you?" An enraged Lucius Malfoy asked the minister.

"I dare because I know," the elderly minister continued, as Ginny's hope that this would all sort itself out began to rise again. "Your son never performed the ceremony to bond himself to Miss Weasley."

"Yes, he did," Lucius yelled as he began to march to where the minister was standing. "He and Ginevra performed the ceremony together."

No matter how much Ginny wanted to speak out against Lucius's claims that she participated in the bonding ritual she could not speak out against him. A sudden chill crossed her skin as she considered the possibility that she could be under a curse.

"If your son performed the ritual then he is incompetent." The minister continued even though Lucius's pale skin had taken on an alarming hue of red. "Your son's blood was not used in the bonding ritual. There is no mark on his wrist."

All argument seemed to drain away from Lucius. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," the minister replied. "The Book of Records only records what families the bonded pair come from. Nowhere does it say Draco Malfoy bonded with Ginevra Weasley. The book states 'a male of the House of Malfoy bonded with the female of the House of Weasley; bond must be completed on or before the 11th of August, 1997."

Everyone was silent. Ginny kept trying to process what this could mean, but it facts still would not add up in her head.

"Lord Malfoy, may I see your wrist?" The minister hesitantly asked. Ginny felt her heart drop out of her chest at what the minister's question meant.

"I assure you…" Lucius began but once again he was cut off by the minister.

"I only ask so we can rule you out as the participant of the bond." The minister replied. "I am not insinuating that you are the match."

With a huff Lucius showed his left wrist to the minister as Ginny's heart leap to her throat. Lucius Malfoy was a cruel man who was already married. What would mean for Ginny of his blood was used in the ritual?

"Lucius Malfoy, along with his son Draco are excluded as the bond mate of Miss Ginevra Weasley, due to the lack of the mark of proof of bond." The minister said in an official tone to the assembled before turning to Lucius. "Lord Malfoy, do you have any wards?"

~*~

Nearly a half hour passed before Lucius returned to the room. The majority of the guests had become impatient and started talking amongst themselves. But once Lucius returned they all quickly stopped.

Lucius was no longer the smug confident man he had been throughout the day. If Ginny were to wager a guess she would say he actually appeared a bit intimidated and scared. It could have been due to the fact that all of Lucius's lies had been unwound in regards to the reason she was betrothed to a member of his household. Or it could have been due to the dark haired man that was following him.

The man following Lucius up the aisle was intriguing to Ginny. He was slightly taller than Lucius, but he couldn't have been more than six feet tall. He had incredibly dark, messy hair and his emotionless face had the coldest green eyes she had ever seen. While his appearance did nothing to reassure her that she was better off with this man instead of Draco, the one thing it did was provide her a bit of revenge considering the Malfoys plans in regards to her were completely ruined.

"I've found Ginevra's bond mate," Lucius said in a quiet voice. There was no way for the guests in the back to hear what he had said this time.

"By Merlin," the minister exclaimed. "Is that…"

But the rest of the minister's question went unasked when Lucius's nod prevented the man from finishing his question.

Now that the man was closer Ginny attempted to get a better look at him. The only thing she was able to see was that his clothing was as nice, if not nicer, than the robes Narcissa had given her. Also, from the man's new location she was able to see a light jagged scar that ran from right under his left eye down to the tip of his jaw.

When the man noticed her look at him, she quickly looked away. She was about to marry a stranger that she did not know anything about. Of course she was curious about who he was, wasn't he interested in her as well?

"Well, then," the minster began, bring Ginny back to the matter at hand. "It is time for us to complete the bonding ritual." However, the confident tone the minister had before was gone. "Are you both prepared to finish this bond?"

"It must be completed to keep her alive," the deep voice of the man answered. "So, let's not hesitate any longer."

Ginny was shocked at the man's words. If he had decided not to come forward to finish this ceremony she would be dead. She was in this man, her soon to be husband's debt.

The man exposed his left wrist to the minister and Ginny could clearly see the man had the same marks on his wrist that she did. There was no doubt that he was the one she had been magically betrothed to.

"Please begin, minister," the man stated startling at the minister.

"Right," the startled minister tried to regain his bearings. "We have been gathered here to complete the most sacred of bonding rituals, between this man and this woman who have devoted their lifeblood to their union."

Ginny had to hold back a snort. It should have been clear to every person in the room that she and the man had not devoted anything towards their 'union', that this had been forced upon the two of them. But no one spoke up to counter the words of the minister. It appeared that the minister was merely reciting a script that had been written for their type of a union regardless to whether or not it was true.

The minister's next words were in a language Ginny did not understand. She supposed the language must have been Latin since it did have some sounds that were semi-familiar to spells she remembered from school.

After several minutes of the minister led Ginny and the man forward and handed each of them a long thin candle. As the man continued to chant in Latin, Ginny and the dark haired man were motioned to put their candles together to light a single larger candle.

Once the candle was lit it morphed into a chalice. The minister continued to chant as a liquid suddenly appeared inside the chalice. Ginny was a bit startled by these recent pieces of magic, especially the appearance of the potion in the chalice. No one had informed her that such pieces of magic would perform.

"Now," the minister whispered once his chanting was concluded. "I need the two of you to take turns drinking the potion within the chalice until it is gone."

With those words, the minister handed the chalice to the man, her husband, who took the chalice and held it to her lips for her to take a sip. In return he handed her the chalice and she returned the action that he had performed for her. The action of them providing drink for one another continued until the rest of the potion was gone.

"The ceremony is now complete," the minister's voice rang throughout the room. "May I present to you the new Lord and Lady Potter of the House of Malfoy."

~*~

A/N: Like I said before, short chapters so I'm posting the first two at the same time. Especially since the first chapter is merely setting up the universe. The second is where we learn what is exactly in store for Ginny. A big thanks to zephy. Please review I'd love to hear feedback on this chapter as well as the first.

Foria

Next Chapter: No One Suspects the House-Elf