Disclaimer: I own nothing, all credit to J.K Rowling for the creation of the Harry Potter universe. I just found a plot for this ship.
Warning: Later chapters will contain adult themes. There is an M rating for a reason. The story will NOT contain rape or sexual violence. Lemons and fluff expected. Basically what you would expect from most romance novels nowadays.
There will also be the use of profanity.
Music speaks to my muse. I usually have songs on repeat or a playlist for stories as I write and edit them.
This chapters song was: Mr Brightside, The Killers
Lyric of choice: It's just the price I pay. Destiny is calling me.
Updated by Ihrin 4-2-17 Grammarly 7-17 Edited for story: 4-10-18
Charmed to You
Chapter 6
The Price We Pay
Hermione flushed and tried to blink back her tears of frustration as she walked beside Draco Malfoy. Yes, she knew that she was going to have to get used to being touched. She hadn't meant to flinch, but she was having what felt like a mental breakdown. Where he was touching her burned as if she was on fire; she had never been touched by Draco Malfoy before. She wasn't sure if she had ever been this close to him before. He smelled like sage and sandalwood as well as a scent that seemed to be uniquely his. He was taller than her now, by rather a lot. Unsurprisingly, he looked quite dashing in his suit.
They moved through a long hallway and into a formal dining room. She flushed as everyone turned to look at her and then flushed brighter when Draco pulled out her chair for her.
She had only ever dated Ron, and he would have never done that for her. A memory tickled her: Viktor had. He'd pulled out her chair for her at the Yule Ball and she'd been enchanted. It irked her that Draco Malfoy had just inadvertently won over a small part of her heart that had remembered how lovely that had been.
She thanked Draco softly, who nodded at her regally and then took the seat to her left.
Andromeda was seated across from her, next to her sister, with Lucius Malfoy at the head of the table. The older man snapped his fingers and the meal magically appeared on the table. A house elf bustled in as if to make sure everything was satisfactory, and Hermione carefully picked up her spoon to test her soup. It would appear that they would be having a five-course meal. She hid her long, suffering sigh behind her most pleasant expression.
OooOooOooO
The soup was excellent and the salad was crisp with a lovely poppy seed dressing. When they got to the end of the main course, a chicken dish with asparagus and roasted purple potatoes, Andromeda cleared her throat.
"I am sure you realize that I am here to represent Hermione."
Her sister nodded, her voice formal. "Yes, of course. She has no family to do so?"
Hermione flinched and said softly. "I am sure you realize my family is entirely Muggle. This would greatly upset them, so I am not telling them anything about the law. I would be grateful if you kept this part of everything from them. They will simply think I am getting married and, as the ceremony is ancient and protected, they can't be there for it anyway. I was hoping we could have a muggle wedding ceremony and reception where they could invite their friends. It's common in my world and usually done in a church. My parents' friends won't know that you are wizards, of course, but I am my parents' only child. They are Dentists. It is rather expected that their daughter's wedding is attended by their friends and associates."
Andromeda rushed in to clarify. "Her parents are well-respected healers in the Muggle community."
Narcissa nodded after a bit, frowning at them. "We have a castle in the south of France. The village is very old and there is a church on the property that would work very well for a Muggle ceremony. We will, of course, make sure that anyone your family invites is brought over for the festivities. We can hire a-" she paused, frowning at her son. "What did you call that thing, Draco?"
Draco gave a regal nod. "An aeroplane, mother, and yes. We can certainly do that, as a portkey would be obviously out of the question for any muggles attending."
Andromeda nodded slowly while Hermione sat back with a slack jaw, shocked. Were they going to charter an aeroplane to fly muggles to her wedding? Had someone slipped her a potion during dinner?
Narcissa was tapping her hand on the table. "We can't have them staying in the castle, of course. We will have to make sure we can house them in the village. They have a large hotel; I don't see that it will be a problem to put all the muggles there and the wizards in the castle. It's certainly spacious enough."
Hermione cleared her throat when she noticed Lucius's frown. "I- I understand your friends may not wish to attend a Muggle ceremony."
The older wizard cut her off, his face showing his displeasure. "No one would refuse to attend if they were invited. We are too well respected in our community and the ancient ceremony will be small. We had planned to throw a large reception in order to accommodate all our guests."
Hermione nodded and felt her throat tighten a bit as she tried not to imagine how many 'guests' they were talking about. She reached into her clutch, which had an enlarging charm on it, and pulled out a few books and magazines.
"I have some things for you to look at- things my parents would expect. I, well, I don't know much about wizard weddings but here are some examples of Muggle ones."
Narcissa took the book, as well as the magazines with pictures of the royal wedding, and frowned.
"This is their Prince, is it not?"
Hermione flushed. "Yes, that's Prince Charles. My mother is a big fan, so I took her magazines."
Narcissa frowned at the picture of Princess Diana. "I don't care for her dress," she said simply.
Hermione found her first smile. "No, neither do I." She pulled out a few modern bridal magazines and handed them to Narcissa. "This was more what I had in mind. My mother will want to take me shopping for the dress. You are welcome-" she cut herself off, going a little pale. She was about to invite a Death Eater ex-sympathizer to meet her mother.
Narcissa looked up and Hermione flushed, embarrassed, and decided that she was in for a pound now. "You are welcome to come, but please don't show Draco the magazines. It's considered bad luck for him to see the dress."
Draco snorted. "A Muggle custom, I take it?"
Hermione flushed not looking at him and nodded.
Narcissa put the magazines in her lap immediately and nodded at Hermione, a slight smile on her face. Hermione had to hide her surprise. She turned as Andromeda cleared her throat and said,
"About the price of the ceremony- Muggle fathers usually pay for this."
Lucius Malfoy's eyes narrowed but it was Draco who spoke up. "No."
Hermione looked at him in shock. "Oh, but Malfoy- they had an account set up."
He stared at her for a long moment and then said very firmly, "They can purchase the typical Muggle things, your dress for example, but I will be paying for the rest."
Hermione bit her lip and looked at Andromeda, who slowly nodded and raised her eyebrows. Hermione blinked and then nodded as well and the tension in the room dissipated a bit.
"Now, it's typical for couples to meet each other's family before a wedding. Hermione would like for you all to have dinner at the Leaky Caldron-"
Narcissa hissed and Andromeda frowned. Hermione sighed, Andromeda had warned her that the Malfoys would find that to be a slight.
Draco spoke up, his voice firm. "There is a French restaurant in Diagon Alley that should do well for such an event," he said firmly. "I will make the reservations for a week from today if that is suitable."
Hermione flushed. Goodness, this was moving fast.
Andromeda nodded and chimed in, "The Minister said the binding ceremony could be performed in as soon as ten days."
Narcissa nodded. "Do we hold the Muggle ceremony first, then?"
Hermione flinched. "I don't think we could possibly-"
Draco, however, spoke up again. "I think that we should do them at the same time. I don't see why we cannot perform the binding ceremony afterwards. Then, we will honeymoon in France."
His father was looking at him but gave a short nod. "She will have to change between ceremonies."
Draco snorted softly. "Obviously."
Hermione flushed at the mere thought. The binding ceremony required enchanted robes to be worn. Then, the couple would be basically locked together for four days, but unable to use magic. She couldn't meet Draco's eyes as she remembered what had to happen in those four days. Well, it actually had to happen immediately after the binding. The magic was... very strong. She felt Draco touch her knee briefly and gasped, turning her gaze up to him. He was giving her a long look, his face a bit troubled.
Andromeda was answering her sister's rapid-fire questions about everything that would be needed for a Muggle ceremony. She assured her sister that she herself would make sure that all the Muggle merchants they would need would work with them in a timely manner. Hermione knew that she should probably interrupt that assumption, but she couldn't break away from Draco Malfoy's gaze.
OooOooOooO
Andromeda, however, brought them sharply back on topic. "The last thing to discuss is children."
Draco's eyes flashed for a moment and then narrowed. Hermione felt her stomach start to flip again and knew that she wouldn't be able to finish any more of her dinner.
"What is there to discuss?" asked Lucius in a harsh tone. "The law clearly states, once they are married, they should reproduce as soon as possible."
Hermione flinched and then bit her lower lip, ripping her gaze away from Draco's to stare at her plate. When did he become Draco and not Malfoy?
Andromeda's tone was strong. "Hermione wishes for her children to know both the muggle and the wizarding worlds. She wishes for them to attend a Muggle preparatory school before they attend Hogwarts at eleven."
Draco spoke up, his tone hard. "I am not sending my children to a muggle boarding school."
Hermione looked up in shock. "No, it's not a boarding school. They would come home every night."
Draco's eyes narrowed and she could hear harsh breathing from his father. His mother seemed to have been reduced to a stunned silence.
Draco inclined his head, his eyes narrowing at her. "I will not refuse this request outright, but I also will not agree."
Hermione felt her heart beat rapidly. That was more than she had expected. She couldn't look away as Draco considered her, his face unreadable, and his eyes flashed brightly.
"I think that we should wait until we know our children before we decide on what to do with them before Hogwarts. Don't you agree, Hermione?"
Hermione felt her eyes go wide and her breathing halted. She'd never heard Draco Malfoy refer to her as anything but "mudblood" or "Granger." She nodded slowly at him and then looked, a bit panic-stricken, at Andromeda, who gestured back to her encouragingly.
Draco let out a long breath, sounding tired. "Is there anything else? Are we to name our children before we have them as well?"
Hermione flinched, there was Malfoy's signature surliness. "No," she said firmly.
Andromeda looked between the two of them and then back to her sister, who was smirking a bit.
Hermione felt herself flush, she had used a rather firm tone just then and it embarrassed her. She was, after all, a guest in her home.
Andromeda cleared her throat. "The floor is yours," she said softly.
Author Notes:
So, at this point in the HP universe, Prince William hasn't married Catherine, so the last major royal wedding would have been The Prince of Wales and Princess Diana. To me it would make sense that Hermione's mother would have been a bit gaga over this event in British history. Hermione, who was not the type to sit around collecting magazines and planning her wedding as a girl, would have borrowed her mothers' magazines to show Narcissa. I would assume she grabbed a few modern ones as well, but being the sort of girl who thinks more is less, she brought them all for Narcissa to look at.
Yes, it will be a Muggle ceremony, but this is the Malfoy's, so…
AN: A guest reviewer brought up that I changed Hermione's parents to 'Doctors' instead of 'Dentists'. I actually had not. Dentists are Doctors to me. So, when I said, 'doctors' that meant 'dentist' but to not cause confusion I went ahead and changed the verbiage. But, just to be clear, they were always dentists and we call our dentist, 'Doctor' or 'Doc'! 4-10-18
Next Chapter we hear from Draco and more Niffy!
It should be out this week. It's rather a long chapter so I am working on editing.