Chapter 10
"Where's my bouquet? Oh no, Hermione, I lost my bouquet! Hermione?!" Pansy exclaimed as she searched all over the room for her flowers.
"Pans! Calm down, I have them right here, see?" Hermione said handing the bouquet over to the nervous bride.
"Oh, thank goodness. You're a lifesaver, Hermione."
"You're too kind, Pans." Hermione laughed.
Just then there was a knock on the door followed by the turning of the doorknob. Narcissa Malfoy walked in, in her always-elegant dress, looking just divine.
"Well, let me look at the two of you." Narcissa said with a smile on her face. "Come on now, do a little spin." She nodded in approval as she examined the two girls in front of her.
Hermione wore a light lavender halter dress made of the finest silk. It fit her very well and showed off her curves nicely. Her hair was in light waves and pulled up on one side of her face with a small lilac pinned at the top.
Pansy wore her ivory A-line princess gown, a corset top with beads sewn in at the top and the bottom of her dress poofed out in many layers. Her hair was charmed to be longer than normal and curled just like Hermione's, but she had it half up unlike Hermione's one-sided. Pansy definitely looked like the belle of the ball at that moment.
"My, my. You two look absolutely gorgeous!" Narcissa clapped in happiness.
"Thanks, Mrs. Malfoy." The two girls smiled.
"And thanks again for letting us use the manor for our wedding location." Pansy added as Hermione helped her put her veil on.
"Oh, but of course, dear. No need to thank me." Narcissa patted Pansy on the shoulder for assurance. "I better start heading down there, the ceremony should be started in a few minutes, so you girls don't take too long, now."
Narcissa gave each of them a hug before heading down to the garden where the ceremony was being held. Pansy and Hermione stood next to each other in front of the mirror with a smile on both of their faces. Hermione held on to Pansy's hand.
"Ready?" Hermione asked.
"No."
Hermione laughed.
"Come on, Pans. You look gorgeous. There's nothing to worry about."
"What if I fall flat on my face? What if I'm so nervous I can't talk? What if-"
"Pansy, don't. Nothing like that is going to happen if you just calm down and relax."
"Okay," Pansy took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm ready."
Hermione smiled and led her out the door and downstairs towards the ceremony.
The garden was absolutely divine. Narcissa definitely went all out with the décor. Thousands of white roses covered the already flower-cluttered bushes. The whole place was brilliantly decorated. There were so many people there, which didn't help with Pansy's nervousness.
Hermione gave Pansy a final hug before the music started and she began to walk down the isle. As she walked down, she looked around at all the smiling faces that were fixed on her and her heart began to race. Hermione began to feel nervous, herself, but when she looked straight ahead and saw a certain blonde, who looked quite handsome in his tuxedo, standing next to the groom, she felt herself begin to relax. He smiled at her, which made her heart flutter. She never knew Draco could make her feel this way.
As she arrived to the front, she gave a Blaise an assuring smile before taking her place on the side. Then, the music changed as all the guests stood up. Pansy nervously walked down the isle with the biggest smile plastered on her face. If she was nervous, no one noticed. Hermione looked over at Blaise and saw him with a smile just as big as Pansy's.
Draco looked over at Hermione, then, to see her looking back at him. He gave her a slight grin and a wink before looking back to Pansy. Hermione giggled a little just as Pansy made her way to the front.
The ceremony went wonderful despite Pansy's worry from before. A couple of tears were shed from the guests through the vows and Hermione found herself getting a little teary-eyed, too. The ceremony ended with loud cheers from the guests as Pansy and Blaise kissed for the first time as a married couple and walked back down the isle, both smiling like mad.
Daco walked over to Hermione and offered his arm to her, in which she politely accepted. They followed the bride and groom down the isle and into the manor where the guests would be having some wine and appetizers before the actual reception. Pansy and Blaise made their way up into the room for some alone time before they had to come down again to greet their guests.
As the guests started to file in, Draco escorted Hermione to the wine table and handed her a glass. She smiled at him and took the glass, taking a quick sip.
"You look gorgeous, Hermione." Draco said to her.
"Thank you." Hermione felt herself starting to blush as she took another sip of wine.
Draco was about to say something to Hermione when one of the guests came and began chatting with him. Hermione excused herself and walked over to where Harry, Ron, and Ginny were standing.
"Hey guys!" Hermione greeted them all with hugs. "I'm glad you all came."
"We're only here for the food." Ron joked and received a light slap on the arm from Hermione.
"Wow, this wedding is amazing." Ginny said in awe. "I hope my wedding will be half as nice as this…"
Harry's eyes grew big and suddenly changed the subject.
"So, where's the bride and groom?" he asked, trying to make it seem unnoticeable that he was uncomfortable.
"They're up stairs, resting before the reception. Knowing Pansy, she'll need a little recovery time." Hermione giggled.
The four of them talked a little longer before Hermione realized it was almost time to start the reception. She told her friends to take their seat in the dining room before going upstairs to find Pansy and Blaise. She walked into the room she was previously in before the ceremony to find Draco already there with them.
"There you are, Hermione." Pansy said once Hermione stepped into the room. "Draco was just about to go look for you."
"Are you guys ready? The reception should start soon." Blaise said, standing up from the chair he had been sitting in and adjusted his tux.
The four of them walked down to the dining room where the reception was being held. Hermione and Draco walked in first to a clapping crowd of guests and stood at the sweetheart table. Pansy and Blaise followed in after, receiving a huge applause and a 'you lucky man!' could be heard from within the guests. They made their way to the table and sat in the middle while Hermione sat on Pansy's side and Draco on Blaise's. Blaise stood standing.
"Thank you all for coming." Blaise began. "This day is really important to Pansy and myself and we are thankful that you are here to make this day even more special than it already is. Enjoy the feast!"
The guests clapped just as the food appeared in front of them. Dinner went wonderfully and everyone seemed to be enjoying himself or herself. It was such a great sight to see smiling faces. Everyone was having a great time, everyone except Draco.
Now, don't get him wrong, he was absolutely happy for his best friends and the wedding was going great. The only thing that was bugging him was the person sitting two seats down. He knew he was going to tell Hermione about his feelings for her that day. He had made up his mind that today was the day he was going to tell her. He knew that today was the day when he saw her walking down the isle looking like the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. She was perfect. And when she smiled at him, he knew. The only problem, now, was how he was going to tell her and how he was going to get her alone. The answer to his problem was closer to him than he thinks.
The music was getting louder. The dance floor was getting cleared of tables and chairs. Guests began to get a little, okay, very drunk from the alcohol. Loud music, dance floor, drunken guests all add up. Before anyone knew it, the dance floor was filled. Draco opted to not dance and was sitting at the table watching from the sidelines. He had been watching Hermione dance with her friends and couldn't help, but smile.
He was distracted when a little boy came up to him and asked him if he could show him where the loo was. Draco looked around to see if anyone was there to help him out. No one. With a sigh, Draco got up and took the little boy by the hand and escorted to the nearest bathroom. When he returned to his previous seat, a new body was there to accompany him.
"I didn't know you had a soft spot for children." Hermione smiled at him.
"Well, I couldn't just leave him to do his business all over the floor." Draco smirked. Taking a seat next to her, he draped his arm around the back of the chair Hermione was sitting on.
"Why aren't you dancing?"
"Don't feel like it."
"Why not?"
"I've got a lot on my mind."
"Want to talk about it?" Hermione began, but automatically knew it was a mistake. Draco was never one to talk about what goes on in his mind, especially to her. "Or is it too personal?"
"Actually Hermione, you're just the person I need to talk to about this."
"Oh?" Hermione raised her eyes at him. Now, she was truly curious.
"Let's go outside." Draco stood up and held her hand as he held her to the garden.
It was now much darker than it was during the ceremony, but the light from the stars and the light from inside the manor lit up the garden and all its flowers. Hermione watched as Draco walked near the miniature waterfall where the rose petals floated along the stream and led to a larger pond. Draco turned around with a smile on his face and motioned for Hermione to walk over to him. She was definitely confused, but she didn't care. She was hypnotized. His smile and the glow from the lights surrounding his form was as if a force was pulling her. His force was pulling her in.
Once she was close enough, Draco lightly held her hand and sat her down with him on the edge of the water fountain. Hermione stared into his cool eyes as he stared into her warm brown ones. She frowned slightly and Draco let out a chuckle.
"You're probably wondering why I dragged you out here to talk…" Draco started.
"Is it obvious?" Hermione laughed. When Draco didn't respond, Hermione continued. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me about it, Draco."
"No, I need to tell you, now." Draco said staring right at her.
"Okay…well, what is it?"
Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He knew this was going to be hard and he had prepared himself for this, but once in the actual moment with Hermione there looking at him, everything that he did to prepare for this moment fly out of his mind and left him at a blank.
"Draco?"
"Hermione, I…I've never felt this way about a person before and I don't know what to do."
"Oh, is this about that girl you were talking to me about a few days ago?"
"You remembered?" Draco asked, genuinely surprised.
"Of course I remember! And I also remember telling you that you should let her know about your feelings for you. So, did you?"
"Sort of…"
"Sort of? What do you mean 'sort of'? She either knows or she doesn't."
"Okay, okay. She knows that I have feelings for…someone, but she doesn't know that it's her."
"What? Draco, you're confusing the poor girl! You need to just say it, tell her straight forward that you-"
"I have feelings for you."
"Yeah, like that! You need to go right up to her and te-"
"Hermione."
"What?"
"I have feelings for you...and I have for some time now."
"Um…Draco you're supposed to tell the other girl, not me."
"No, Hermione! There is no other girl. It's you! It's always been you!"
"Me?"
"Yes, you, Hermione!"
"No, it can't be…"
"Can't be? Why would I be telling you this if it was a lie? Do you realize how hard it has been for me? And then when you assured me that if I told this mystery girl about my feelings then I would feel better. But you know what? I don't feel any better. And do you know why? Because you are sitting here telling me 'it can't be'."
Draco, who had stood up and began pacing, suddenly sat down again and laid his head in his hands. Hermione was absolutely speechless. Never would she have thought that Draco would feel this way towards her even when they got closer a lot closer over the past few days. She did admit to herself that she felt something for him, but didn't expect him to return it. An odd emotion filled her. Happiness filled her. Suddenly, Hermione realized something.
"Draco?"
"What?" Draco asked, but was slightly muffled by his hands.
"I…I have feelings for you, too." Hermione said barely above a whisper.
"What?" Draco said again in a surprised tone. This time it was his turn to be confused as he popped his head up and stared at her. "Are you serious?"
Hermione nodded her head and looked down to her feet. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed. She shouldn't be since she wasn't being rejected or anything, but there something about confessing her feelings to Draco Malfoy that made the situation much more awkward. Hermione began to fiddle with her hands until she felt strong arms grab her by the sides and flung her around in a circle.
She laughed as Draco spun her around in his arms, a huge smile gracing his lips. He set her down and they stared into each other's eyes. A huge weight had been lifted from both of them and nothing felt better in that moment…except one thing. Draco didn't know what took over him, but at the moment he couldn't control himself. In one swift move, he bent down and brushed his lips against Hermione's.
He began to panic, thinking it was the wrong thing to do, but when Hermione began kissing back and wrapped her arms around his neck he couldn't help but smile. Snickering coming from behind them caused the kiss to break up. Hermione whipped around to see Pansy and Blaise standing at the door watching them and laughing.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Blaise said with a sly smile on his face.
"Mind your own business, Zabini." Draco said, but the smile never left his face.
"It's about time!" Pansy exclaimed, which cause everyone to laugh.
"What is going on back here?" Narcissa said coming from behind Pansy and Blaise.
"Nothing!" Draco and Hermione said at the same time. Narcissa looked to the bride and groom for an explanation, but received two shrugs. She knew something was going on, but decided to just leave it…for now.
"Well, let's get back inside. Pansy, Blaise, it is almost time to cut the cake." Narcissa said before retreating back inside followed by Blaise.
"Don't stay out here for too long, you two. There's still a wedding going on inside. My wedding." Pansy gave the new couple another sly smile before following her now-husband back inside.
Draco and Hermione let out another laugh. Draco offered his hand for Hermione and she gladly took it as they walked back inside. The rest of the wedding night went wonderfully. Pansy and Blaise couldn't have been happier with how their wedding turned out. But, it was a beautiful night that left everyone happy. Especially Draco and Hermione.
A/N: Regarding one of the comments I got about holding my fan fictions "hostage", I'm really sorry if it seems like that's what I'm doing. I mean, I never intended to make it seem like that, but I after I thought about it I realized that I am. I just wanted to gain more of a response for my fic to see what my readers are thinking because it helps me out with my writing and stuff like that. I never want you to think that I'm forcing you to review because really, no one can force anyone to do anything over the Internet. So again, if it's a problem then I'll stop asking for reviews.
Thank you to those who continue to read and review. They make me happy :]
Keep reading and be on the look out for the chapters coming up because I have some exciting stuff planned and chapters will be getting longer!
Oh and this chapter is dedicated to KourtneyCullen. Where's my 20 bucks? ;]
-CHIBZ