The wedding march begins. Fear engulfs me. I hold my bouquet of baby's breath, red roses and white spider mums higher and begin to walk down the aisle with my head held high. Upon spotting Draco, my fears melt away as my heart races.
We go through all the steps almost mechanically...until it comes to the vows.
Draco turns to me, holding my hands in his. His already piercing blue eyes bore into mine with a gaze so intense, it's hard to look at him, but even harder to look away. They hold me still in their magnetic force and I barely keep myself from trembling. His sharp features suddenly look so soft; So soft, in fact, that I just want to bury myself in the comfort of him. I can't do that right here right now, no matter how desperate I am. I fear I am about to shatter when his lips part to speak the vows he wrote.
"Collette, we've been through a lot together. At times, you've hated me with a passion equaling my constant love for you, but we've gotten past it. I've loved you forever and I almost never thought this day would come." He removes one hand from ours and I snap back to reality. I only then notice the tears stinging my eyes and cheeks. His hand reappears with a golden band, the lights shining off of it like a beacon saying, "She's mine." He positions the ring just at the tip of my finger, paused before slipping it on as he finishes. "I ask you to be mine forever and for always. I'm ready to change who I am for you. I'm ready to give you all I have. I beg you: wear this ring in proud declaration that you will have me as a husband." I nod, my throat constricted with too many tears, and he slides the gold band around my finger.
My heart skips a beat, so I take a deep breath and gulp before starting my vows. "Draco, I'll admit I'm afraid of this kind of commitment. I never saw myself as the type who would marry. I honestly didn't know I was capable of feeling a lot of the emotions you've made me feel during our time together. However, just because I didn't think I was capable of these feelings doesn't mean I don't know what they are. What I feel for you now, standing here with your ring on my finger, I know that this is unconditional love. Seeing your face today melted my heart. I love you and I want to be with you always. I know we are meant to be." Locating the second ring, I slip it onto his finger, mine trembling with the joyous tears and anticipation. I don't see anyone else but him and I don't even hear us pronounced husband and wife. The next words, however, resound through my ears: "You may now kiss the bride."
Draco forcefully grabs my hips and pulls me towards him. I slam against him and instinctively wrap my arms around his neck as our lips meet. He swings me around and dips me as the congregation claps and cries. They are merely a dull resonance as Draco Malfoy clouds my senses with his being. He brings me upright and we part, the full extent of our surroundings buffeting us.
"'To have and to hold,'" he teases. Our foreheads connect and our noses touch.
"'As long as we both shall live.'" He plants on my lips another kiss before picking me up bridal style and carrying me to the waiting, white limo.