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Chapter 17

"Draco, we need to talk." Pansy's voice was quiet, frail and trembling. Her normally full figure was gone, and she stood before him, thin and pale, a haunted and frightened look casting a shadow over her once-pretty features.

Gone was the arrogant and gleeful woman the blond had last seen at Blaise's trial. Instead, she stood before him looking lost and defeated. As much as he hated himself for it, Draco couldn't help but feel a small twinge of sympathy for the brown-haired witch standing before him.

Oh how the mighty have fallen, Draco thought as a sneer curled around the edges of his mouth. Bristling, he folded his arms and scowled at Pansy; he was not about to let her get out of this easily.

"And why should I listen to anything that you have to say, Parkinson?" She flinched at his harsh tone, her bottom lip trembling. "In case you hadn't noticed, Pansy, you're one of the people who has gone and ruined a lot of lives recently. Give me one good reason as to why I should give you the time of day?"

"I know what I've done, Draco," his former girlfriend muttered, wrapping her coat tightly around her thinning frame. "And that's why I'm here. I won't be able to tell you everything – the Vow won't let me – but Draco, if you will just give me five minutes, I'll be able to tell you something that will help you in getting her back."

"What?"

The implication of Pansy's words had left Draco reeling; his mask of anger and cool indifference slipping away as a surge of hope fluttered in his chest.

"If you let me in, I'll try and tell you as much as I possibly can. I'm tired of going around in circles, Draco; I can't let the past consume me anymore. It's time that this all stopped."

She gazed imploringly up at him, her blue eyes wide, honest and open. Even though every inch of his body was screaming that she couldn't be trusted, Draco couldn't help but believe Pansy's words – they rang with an honesty that echoed of Hermione.

"Very well," he sighed, taking out his key and sliding it into the lock. "Come in then."

He opened the door and stepped inside, the pale witch quick on his heels. He flung down his keys on the table, walked briskly into the lounge and over towards the fireplace, grabbing a pinch of floo powder from a pot that stood on the mantelpiece. Emerald green flames burst into life as he through it, knelt down and stuck his head into the grate.

Minutes later the fireplace sprang to life yet again, and out stepped Harry Potter, who was quickly followed by Ron. For a few seconds all was silent, both Gryffindors slightly confused by the scene that met them.

"What is she doing here?" Ron snarled, glaring at the quiet frame of Pansy, who was sat cautiously on the edge of the sofa. "After all she's done, why earth have you let her into your house?"

"She says she's got information," Draco replied. "Information that will help us with Granger."

"And you believe her, do you, Malfoy?" Ron gaped incredulously at the blond.

"Yes, I do. Just look at her – the Pansy I know would never be in such a state like that if something wasn't bothering her. And do you remember what your sister said a few months ago?"

"Not really, no."

"Gin said that she'd seen Parkinson that day, remember?" Harry said, eyes narrowed as he tried to recall the conversation. "Apparently she looked terrible – and still does, if this is anything to go by."

For a second Pansy glared reproachfully at the three men, clearly insulted by how they were talking about her so openly whilst she was in their presence, before reverting back to her comatose and docile state.

"Well, serves her right, doesn't it?" Ron answered, gesturing at the witch.

"Be that as it may, Ron," Harry told his friend, "Parkinson has come here on her own accord. Clearly she's got some form of conscience. Now, if you can't be nice, perhaps it's best if you left this to Draco and I. We'll come and get you afterwards."

For a second, Ron glared at Harry but conceded defeat by the dropping of his head. "You're right, Harry. And I am sorry for acting like this but y'know…" he gestured wildly in the direction of the Slytherin witch.

"I know, Ron," Harry agreed, sitting down next Pansy. "But right now, we need all the help we can get."

/

Hermione winced as the book she had been carefully lifting out of its hiding place fell with a slight thump onto the carpeted floor below. She counted to three with bated breath, nervously glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping figure of Zabini, who let out a snort and rolled over in his bed. She sighed in relief.

Slowly standing back up, the Gryffindor witch crept over to the bedroom door, quietly twisted the handle, opened it and stepped out into the hallway of Zabini Manor. All was eerily silent, the pale moon filtering in and creating a sinister glow as its light settled on the corridor through the massive windows at either end.

Still moving quietly, Hermione made her way to the far end of the hallway and took the door to her left. She flicked her wand and dimly turned on the lights; it was enough for her to read by without her causing attention if Blaise were to wake up and find out that she wasn't in the room.

The room she had chosen was sparse, near empty. Hermione guessed that it had once been a study, for an antique-looking desk was placed on one side of the room, an empty bookshelf next to it, and a grand-old looking arm chair stood by the window. This was where Hermione made herself comfortable, legs curled up beneath her.

She rested the book, which was entitled The Marriage Spell: Details of the Contract, on her knee and opened it to the chapter titled Infidelity. She had borrowed the book from Ron determined to read through this particular tome herself, despite the fact that he insisted there was nothing useful within. Apparently, as the title of the book suggested, it did nothing more than allow you to know what the spell in question did, thus ensuring that both parties knew that once they were married under this particular spell, there was no going back.

"Honestly, Hermione," Ron had told her incredulously after she had insisted on reading the book herself. "You're wasting your time. There is nothing in there."

"Oh Ronald," Hermione sighed, her mouth twitching up at the corners as she began to read.

/

"Alright, Parkinson, get talking."

Pansy flinched at Harry's harsh tone, her blue eyes widening. She dared a brief glance to the blond who sat beside him, but his face was just as guarded and full of dislike.

"Blaise made us take an Unbreakable Vow," she whispered, downcast. "You're going to have to ask me the questions, and I'll answer them as honestly as I can."

Ron scowled and muttered "typical," under his breath. Harry didn't look too pleased either, but pursed his lips and nodded his head in resignation. Draco's nostrils thinned, but he too remained silent.

"Okay," Harry finally breathed, running a hand through his hair. "How long had Zabini been planning his – um – er – wedding before he actually initiated it?"

Pansy looked as if she were struggling with something for a couple of seconds, and the trio knew that it was the effects the Vow she had undergone coming to life. "I can't say," she whispered.

"Right," Harry's face fell, as he realised how difficult this interrogation was going to be. "This is going to be –"

"How old were you?" Draco asked, thinking quickly.

"I had just turned twenty-two," Pansy replied with ease.

"Okay, so we're looking between the months of October and November 2001 then," Draco explained to the others. "If I remember correctly, Pansy's birthday is the 14th October. It fits, Hermione and I got together around the end of September of that year."

Ron and Harry looked at each other, silently impressed by Draco's skirting of their direct question, so as to get an answer from Pansy.

"Why did you agree to Zabini's plan?"

"Revenge, hatred," Pansy replied honestly. "We were all very angry and bitter at the time – Blaise and had been discovered, Granger and Draco had grown close because of it and, well, we felt cheated. You have to realise that, despite him cheating on her, Blaise loved Granger – he's obsessed with her still, as you can clearly see."

"You felt cheated?" Ron spat incredulously, rolling his eyes. "Oh the irony of that statement."

"Shut it, Weasley," Draco snapped, the tension getting the better of him too. "Your remarks aren't necessary. Hold your tongue or, as we said earlier, you can leave."

"He's right, Ron," Harry agreed, though kinder. "You're not helping the situation. Please, try and calm down."

The red head glared at his two companions, acknowledging their logic by falling silent, though he still continued to glare at Pansy, who had started to silently cry once more.

"Is the marriage between Hermione and Zabini valid?"

"Yes," Pansy said with ease.

Draco felt his stomach twist in knots, and the urge to vomit at Pansy's words made his throat clench painful. He saw Weasley's face fall too, but Harry, who was trying to ignore the sudden sinking feeling in his chest, persevered through.

"Can the validity be changed? Is there a way for Hermione to escape?"

Pansy shook her head, her eyes widening in indication that she couldn't say a direct answer. She paused for a second, took a deep breath, and began to speak. "I have a cousin who works in the marital department of Wizarding Relations at the Ministry, Azalea Parkinson, and she can be incredibly helpful when you need her to be."

Draco raised an eyebrow and shared a pointed look with Harry and Ron. This fresh revelation was very helpful indeed.

"How does that help?" Ron asked, still slightly confused.

"Think about it, Ron," Harry said. "Parkinson's cousin works in Wizarding Relations. She could have easily forged or slipped in a document for Zabini if it were necessary."

"But that doesn't change anything though, does it? Hermione's still married to the git. Her marriage is still valid and legal – Parkinson even said so."

"You don't get it, do you?" Pansy whispered, exasperated.

Silence ensued, as the three men began to think through all that Pansy had been able to tell them. As Hermione had guessed all those months ago, the central point of Blaise's plan had been on the idea of a marriage and from the brief information they had been able to glean, Pansy was perhaps implying that the marriage was not as it outwardly appeared to be.

"Please Pansy, I know you can't openly say it, but you've got to give us a bit of help here if you can?" Draco's voice sounded desperate, as the stark reality of everything coming to a close dawned upon him. "Just one more clue, and then we may be able to sort out this mess."

For a few minutes, the brunette witch didn't speak. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she nervously worried her lip, as she thought through an answer.

"Tell me, Draco," she breathed, her blue eyes rising up to meet his. "After Granger's marriage to Blaise, were the two of you ever intimate?"

/

Horror and dread filled Hermione as she read and reread the paragraph on the page before her. Disbelief, anger and realisation coursed through as each word became permanently etched in her mind, and she silently kicked herself for not having realised what had happened sooner.

With Valentina Lovelace's creation of the Wedding Spell in 1859, the act of infidelity was no longer a problem within Wizarding Marriages. Beforehand, it was common for many wizards and witches to have extramarital affairs, and these would only come to light if the witch in question fell pregnant with a child that did not belong to her husband.

Before this time, the Abortion Curse was an incredibly popular form of punishment on the witch in question. However, many agreed and opposed the curse, including Lovelace, who ensured that her spell would curtail any chances of being unfaithful whilst married. Any signs of affection that breached the formalities of friendly conduct immediately alerted the husband or wife of the unfaithful, by a charm that was placed upon their wedding ring during the ceremony itself. It would also leave the husband or wife infertile to anyone who wasn't their partner, thus making the Abortion Curse invalid.

Her hands shaking, Hermione placed them both on the small bump protruding from her stomach. For the first time in nearly five months, Hermione allowed herself to truly smile as a massive weight fell from her shoulders. Though she and Draco still had a long way to go before they could finally be together again, Hermione knew that she was finally going to be free.

"I can't believe it," she whispered, a tear running down her cheek.

Suddenly the book she held flew out of her hands, and Hermione gasped as she looked up to find Blaise standing over her, his expression mutinous. All thoughts of freedom disappeared as the knowledge that she was in danger seeped into every pore of her body.

"Hello darling," he spat out angrily, his face inches from hers. "Find anything interesting to read?"

Author's Note: Oh my days, this is it guys! We're coming to a close. I think there's going to be about 3/4 more chapters now, and then I am done with Awfully Wedded.

So, as you can see, it's all be kind of revealed now as to what's happened and how Blaise managed to marry Hermione etc (though it will be explained in full in the next chapter or two so it'll become even clearer then). Some of you, I think, did guess it correctly (I'm thinking back to your reviews) and if so - well done and I really hope it's not much of an anti-climax. I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless, and I'd really appreciate your feedback on it - plus, be proud of me, I've actually updated pretty quickly for me which is amazing in itself :P haha.

Reviews would be lovely! Until next time,

:)

VickytoriaGreengrass