Hey everyone! Well, this was meant to be a one-shot, but this idea came to me randomly! Now, just to warn you, I've never really written something like this before, so if it sounds kind of…off…let me know! I don't think I'll continue this story, but hey, that's what I about the first chapter, so who knows! :D Enjoy!
Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy,
You are cordially invited to attend the wedding ceremony of Mr. Ronald Bilius Weasley and Ms. Hermione Jean Granger, which will take place on the 25th of May at 3:00 p. RSVP if you wish to attend. We hope to see you on this special day!
"Can you believe that that blood-traitor and that Mudblood are going to get married? It is absurd" scoffed Astoria. She had just entered the kitchen where her husband, Draco, sat finishing his breakfast. She dropped the letter on his plate and sat at the table.
"I told you to never say those words, Astoria" growled Draco. He looked at the invitation and felt his heart sink down to his stomach. He stared at Hermione's name next to Weasley's.
"Well, whatever. Can you believe they had the nerve to invite us?" said Astoria as a House Elf placed a cup of tea in front of her. "As if they think we'll actually consider going." She took one sip of the coffee and spat it out immediately. "This coffee is practically freezing! How can you serve something so disgusting? Take it back, Smokey, and make me a new, fresh cup of tea! Now!"
"I's sorry, Miss. I's bring you another cups, Miss, right aways" said Smokey. Before he took the cup, he went over to the cupboard that held the pots and pans, took one out, and began to beat himself with it. Draco stood and went over to the House Elf.
"Smokey, stop punishing yourself! I've told you many times before that you will not punish yourself if you've made a mistake!" said Draco. The House Elf stopped hitting himself and put the pan down. A purple bruise was already beginning to form on his forehead.
"I's sorry, Master" said the Elf, looking down at the ground.
"Don't worry about it, Smokey. It's not your fault Astoria is so damn picky about every little bloody thing she eats. Just reheat the pot you already made, no need to throw it out. Also, take an afternoon off, Astoria and I must head off to Diagon Alley to look for a wedding present."
"Yes, Master. Thank you, Master!" said the elf excitedly. He ran off to heat the pot as Draco went back to reading the wedding invitation. Astoria looked at him as if he had gone mental.
"You're not considering going to the wedding, are you? Have you lost your mind?"
"No, but I'm pretty sure you've lost yours a long time ago" muttered Draco. "Hermione was my best friend and my girlfriend before I was forced to marry you. I have to support her, even if I want to curse Weasley into oblivion for wanting to marry her."
"Well, I refuse to go. I would rather drop dead than enter a building full of blood-traitors and Muggle-borns–"
"Must you emphasize every other word that comes out of your gigantic mouth? Speak like a normal witch, will you?" said Draco, rubbing his temple. "And no one is making you go, Astoria. If you refuse to attend, then by all means, go on wasting your day walking about the mansion and complaining about every little thing like you do every day. I, on the other-hand, will be attending a wedding that day."
Astoria looked affronted. She regained her composure and sneered at Draco. "Yes, go! Go to a wedding where everyone will judge you for who you were and where no one wants you. The only person who will be glad to see you will be the bride, the 'love-of-your-life', and she will be getting married to someone else! That'll be a pleasant day for you, I'm sure."
Draco stood up and towered over Astoria. "It'll be damn more exciting than sitting in this hell-hole, prison cell and listen to you whine all day long" he growled. "Now, will you be accompanying me in finding a wedding gift, or will I be going alone? The latter would be preferable."
Astoria stood and tilted her chin upward, looking defiant. "I will accompany you, Draco. And I will accompany you to the wedding, but I will not enjoy it.'
"No one is asking you to. Come on, let's go." Draco went to stand in the middle of the kitchen. Astoria went to stand next to him, snaked her arm through the crook of his, and they Disapparated.
...
Draco and Astoria entered the marquee that was going to hold the ceremony for Hermione and Ron's wedding. They walked around, looking for seats, and avoiding eye-contact with everyone around them. They heard many gasps and whispered conversations as they passed by, and they even caught a glare or two. Just as they were about to sit down, George Weasley quickly blocked their path.
"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" asked George incredulously.
"I was invited here, Weasley" said Draco, glaring at George. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get to my seat."
"You were invited? Let me see you're invitation, then" said George, holding out his hand. Draco searched in his pockets and pulled out the invitation he had received. George looked at it as if he had never seen anything like it before.
"You've got to be joking" he mumbled. "Who in their right mind invited you to the wedding?"
"I did, George" said a soft voice behind Draco. He turned to see Hermione standing behind him, looking more beautiful than Draco could have ever imagined. She was dressed in her wedding dress, which hugged her form nicely, showing her soft curves. Her dress swept down to the floor, and her hair was piled up on her head in an up-do while loose curls fell and framed her face. She looked up at Draco and smiled.
"I'm glad you came, Draco. And you as well, Astoria" she said, smiling at Astoria, who merely grunted in response. "I invited the Malfoys to the wedding. If you recall, Draco was my best friend. I wanted him to be here on my special day."
"Right," said George, looking slightly confused. "Well then, enjoy the ceremony." He walked back to where the Weasleys were sitting, all who were looking at Draco with distrust and suspicion.
"Thanks for inviting us, Hermione" said Draco.
"I couldn't let my best friend miss my wedding, no matter how…rough…things are between us at the moment. Can I speak with you? In private?" she asked.
Draco nodded and turned to Astoria. "Go find us some seats. I'll be back in a moment."
Astoria glared from Draco to Hermione, but left and walked briskly down the rows of seats. Hermione took Draco's hand and led him to the Weasley's house. They entered the still house and went up a flight of stairs to an empty room. Hermione closed the door behind them and, after a moment's hesitation, turned to face Draco.
"Thank you for coming to the wedding, Draco."
Draco just nodded in response, not able to say anything. He stared at Hermione, who stared back. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Why did you invite me? I thought…I thought you hated me for marrying Astoria."
Hermione stared at the floor. "I did hate you. I hated you so much. I felt like everything we had meant nothing anymore. And then…seeing you at your wedding–"
"I didn't think you would come."
"I didn't want to come," said Hermione, looking up at him, "but I felt I…couldn't stay away. After seeing you kiss her though…I couldn't stay any longer."
"I saw you leave, I had to chase you down."
"You weren't supposed to see me" she said, tears starting to fall from her face. "I wanted closure, to move on from you, but I couldn't. I started to go out with Ron, again. He helped me go through everything, and I thought I finally moved on."
Draco walked until he was mere inches from her. "Did you?"
Hermione stared into his dark gray eyes, and shook her head.
"Then why are you marrying him?" asked Draco.
"I can't continue living my life loving someone who is married to someone else" whispered Hermione.
"What if that someone is still madly in love with you?" asked Draco softly. He closed the distance between them and kissed Hermione softly. Her eyes widened with shock, but they slowly shut as she kissed him back.
The kiss began to grow fiercer as they put every emotion they were feeling into the kiss. After a while, they both came up, gasping for air.
"Draco," Hermione gasped as he planted little kisses on her neck, "I- we can't do this."
"Don't think, Hermione," whispered Draco in her ear, "just go with it." He put his mouth on top of hers again. His tongue licked her bottom lip, asking for entrance, which she permitted. She moaned in pleasure as their tongues danced around each other, and a growl escaped his throat. His hands slid from her face to the back of her neck, then, even more slowly, they slid down her back. When he noticed she did not resist his touch, his hands roamed her body. She pulled Draco closer to her, so that their bodies were meshed together. Their kiss became more passionate as Draco pushed Hermione against the wall. Many things were said in the kiss, many unspoken words were understood.
At that moment, a knock at the door made them freeze.
"20 minutes until the ceremony starts, Hermione!" said a voice Draco recognized as the female Weasley, Ginny. Hermione covered Draco's mouth with her hand and shouted back, "Thanks, Ginny! I'm almost ready!"
As Ginny's footsteps died down as she walked away, Hermione uncovered Draco's mouth and softly pushed him away from her.
"I think you should leave now, Draco" she said, looking down at the floor again.
"What if I don't want to" he said huskily, still panting from the kiss.
"I'm about to get married to someone I don't love. Don't make this harder than it already is" she said, tears streaming down her face. He made to brush the tears away, but she pushed his hands aside. "Just go, Draco."
He looked at her tear-stained face and thought, she never looked more beautiful. "You look…beautiful" he said.
"Goodbye, Draco" she mumbled. He looked at her one last time before walking past her to the door. He made sure there was no one around before leaving the room and closed the door behind him. He heard a great gasp coming from the other side of the door, and knew Hermione was trying to collect herself before she walked down the aisle. He walked out of the house and into the Marquee where he found Astoria sitting by herself and went to join her. When he sat down, she turned to glare at him.
"Where were you?" she hissed. He returned her glare.
"Hermione was just showing me where I could leave her wedding gift."
"Then why are your cheeks and your lips red? You know what I think? I think you were with the Mudblood, alone, snogging each other before the ceremony. Who does that little whore think she is? Snogging my husband right before she is to be wed!"
"Shut your mouth about Hermione" he hissed, not wanting to cause attention to themselves. "Never call her a Mudblood, never call her a whore, and what is it to you if I did snog her? Who was the one who slept with Theodore Nott the night before our wedding?"
Astoria, looking shocked, raised her hand to slap him, but Draco caught her hand in his before her hand could make contact with his cheek. "Nice try, but you wouldn't want to cause a commotion now, do you? Now just sit here quietly like a good girl and enjoy the ceremony." Astoria opened her mouth to speak, but was instantly silenced when the music began to play and Hermione began to walk down the aisle with her father. She smiled around at the crowd, and when she caught Draco's attention, her smiled widened. Draco found he couldn't keep his eyes off her, that is, until Astoria began to speak again.
"Since you have obvious feelings for that witch, Draco, then I want to file for a divorce."
Draco turned his face from the ceremony and looked at Astoria. "You want a divorce?"
"Yes, I do. Why would I stay with a man who obviously loves someone else? I don't care about our parent's agreement, or even the fact that we were betrothed since birth. I don't think I could stand another day being married to you."
Draco grinned down at Astoria evilly. "Sorry, darling, but you heard what the presider said. We are bonded for life. And I don't think I want to miss a day of torturing you and making your life a living hell. It'll help me survive the next 50 years or so being married to a hag like you. So just relax, dear, and enjoy this ceremony while it lasts. Ha! If you thought this past month was hell, wait until you see what I have in store for you for the rest of our lives."
Just wanted to say thanks to I'm-a-muppet-of-a-girl for reviewing! Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Please R&R! The reviews…they mean…so much…ever so much…to me! :)