Fabulous, a chapter has finally been uploaded after a week of being offline; whew. Honestly, I'm not too happy about this chapter, I just didn't feel it, y'know? Anyway, this chapter is more about Draco Malfoy finding more about himself and witnessing his options of marrying Hermione Granger; there's a tinge of Draco/Luna, but that only lasts for about a paragraph or so. I had a really fun time deciding the attire for this chapter. If you want to see the attires I've chosen, it'll be at the end, just because I don't want to give you guys a spoiler before reading this ;] Anyway, thanks for being so patient, you guys :] Read, enjoy & review.
Oh, for goodness sake; where in the world did I apparate to? Well, obviously the Gryffindor Palace, but gracias, this place was huge – the garden was much too large, it took too much space of the real estate - the castle, of course. I slipped my wand into the inside pocket of my cloak. I looked up, and then gave a long stare at the area around me – a castle wall to my left, hundreds of bushels around that corner, the road into town to my left, and a small lynx scurrying to my right.
I walked past the little patch of a rock garden and turned the corner of the wall into the bushels of flowers. I saw her. Her white-blond hair tumbled down the spine of her back, matching so well with her white sundress. Her long and slender fingers touched the red rose ever so slightly; it was wondrous, the way that single rose contrasted against her white skin. She patted the dirt ground and stood up to get her watering can. As she turned around to return to the rose bushel, she stared straight into my eyes as if she was peering into my subconscious; I suddenly felt invaded for some reason – angry, perhaps? Her expression never changed and she tore her gaze from me, and continued to water the bushel, then walked away from me. I reached my hand towards her as if she could see it, she didn't. I wanted her to come back, for her to repose herself into that position next to the bushels.
I turned towards the ledge and saw a sunhat; was it hers? Had she forgotten it? – Who cares, it was the only excuse I had. I picked it up and ran towards her, just about a hair's length of grabbing her shoulder when she turned around, "Avis."
Her wand exuded an immeasurable amount of doves, pushing me back in the process. Gracias, what in the world?!
"I thought Queen Monica informed you that I refused the marriage proposal, Prince Malfoy."
She what? She refused? She refused a marriage-alliance from me? Is she serious? I looked up at her expression; it was rather difficult – her eyes seemed to stare into nothing, yet holding so much. Wait, that means I'm still engaged to – Oh, blast it! I got up from the stone ground and stood at a reasonable distance from her – three meters, perhaps. I felt my brows grazing together, scrutinizing the girl in front of me.
"I'm afraid my mother had not informed me of this, after all, it's still early morning," I spoke with disdain.
I still couldn't believe the fact that I was still engaged to the mudblood; such a thought angered me, and to make matters worse, Luna Lovegood refused to marry me – it's an absurdity, all of it.
"Yes, better late than never, I suppose," she replied, "Would you care for a cup of Gurdyroot Infusion while you're here?"
I stared at her; what was she talking about? Gurdyroot Infusion? Sounds more like poison; was she trying to kill me?
"I'd rather at least a glass of pumpkin juice, but if you have firewhiskey, I'd gladly accept it as well," I muttered.
She waved her hand towards me, signaling for me to follow her. Reluctantly, I strolled behind her, taking in the sights of the Gryffindor grounds – too many flowers.
"There's too much plant-life here," I stated.
It was more of a stated thought towards myself. I had wanted to add in her name at the end, but I didn't feel it necessary.
"We of the Gryffindor Kingdom adore the plant life, Prince Malfoy; I cannot get rid of the flowers simply because you think there's too much of abundance."
We walked up a slightly upwards hill and I saw a little terrace not too far from the garden behind us. It had a nice tea table for four; it looked as if it were already set up.
"Were you expecting company?"
"No, I always prepare more than enough in case anyone decided to drop by; it's usually the princess, but today she's out of castle grounds."
She sat down and waited for me to sit down with her. I dragged the chair across from her outwards and sat down while she poured what looked like pumpkin juice from the kettle into two glasses. I sat up and took hold of the glass – pumpkin juice, indeed – and took a small sip.
"The mu – princess is out of town?" I asked.
She stared at me; she must've noticed my almost-slip in words.
"No, she's in town, just out of the castle. I believe she went to her personal tailor for the wedding dress. Have you decided on an attire yet, Prince Malfoy?"
Wedding dress? – She went out to get a wedding dress? Does she wantto get married? How I dreaded this arrangement, how I just wanted to get out of this wretched life; life used to be fine before all this came into play. To make matters worse, my only source of escape from the mudblood is sitting across from me when she clearly refused the marriage – this world is ridiculous.
"No," I began firmly, "I haven't picked out an attire."
"You haven't, or you won't?" she asked.
"Either way I won't have it 'til I'm forced to have it."
"Prince Malfoy," she took a sip of pumpkin juice, "Do you not want to be married to Princess Hermione?"
I spat, "I don't even want to be engaged to her! I dislike her with a hard passion!"
She picked up a packet of sugar, poured it into her juice and stirred it gently, staring at me intently; it really did seem like she was staring through my subconscious – I didn't like it, she's reading me too much.
"Why?"
I snapped out of my train of thought, "What do you mean? I hate her with a passion."
"You put so much emphasis on those words, Prince Malfoy," she played the spoon atop of the plate, "but do you actually mean them?"
My brows furrowed together, how could she ask that question – the answer was obvious! I hated her. Period. That was all. I just hated her.
"Of course," I looked out towards the garden, trying to avoid her gaze, "She's stubborn, rude, cruel, and not even pretty; completely not my type," I choked on my words, taking a sip of pumpkin juice to relieve it.
"Why do you hate her?"
"Why do you refuse to marry me?" I retorted; it was a mistake, I hadn't meant for it to slip out – I regretted it.
She gave me a crooked smile and looked up into the horizon, "I'm staying true to my father; I'll be the only woman by his side and he'll be my other man at my side," she paused for a brief moment, "Ever since my mother died, we made a promise that there'd be no one better than her and no one would ever take her place. I'm staying true to my promise and keeping my memory of my mother alive for my father."
I flinched, staying true to her father. I thought of my father, Lucius Malfoy. It was then I realized we were more similar than I had thought, but we had our differences. She didn't want to go against her father because she wants to; I, on the other hand, won't defy my father because I'm, dare I say it aloud, frightened to be punished by the consequences. Am I a coward? – No, of course not, I'm being rational; I mean, anyone would live rather than die, right? It's completely logical.
"Why do you hate her, Prince Malfoy, but you don't have a problem with myself? Is it the blood lineage?"
The glass dropped from my fingers and spilled onto the grass, soaking into the soil. My eyes flicked towards it, but my gaze still continued on her white skin.
"It's alright; it's good for the vegetation," she stated.
I bent over and picked up the glass, placing it back upon the table, next to the tea kettle. Why was it filled with pumpkin juice when it was a tea kettle, anyway?
"Prince Malfoy?"
"What," it was more of a rude statement rather than a replying question.
"Do you hate her because of the blood lineage, I asked," she questioned once again.
My fists clenched, "Yes, it is; I hate her because of her blood. She's impure, Luna; she's not like us – we're purebloods, which is why we are compatible to be engaged compared to the mudblood. How can you stand to be with her? She's a Muggle-born, she probably just got lucky with the magic incident! Why do you bother with her? Just because she is the heir to the Gryffindor throne? She's not pureblood, but her parents are; you'd think the king and queen would have more sense than to adopt such a child!"
Her expression remained un-phased – it was disturbing me greatly now.
"Why do you hate her because of her blood lineage? Do you truly hate it because it's bad? Or is it what your father believes in, Prince Malfoy?"
I flinched, my father? So what if my father also thought mudbloods were horrid? It's probably just a mere coincidence we share the same hatred towards a common species, no?
"You're being quite persistent, Luna; do you think I actually like the mudblood?"
"I don't think you hate her or like her – yet. If you hated her, you would kill her, but you didn't. If you liked her, you'd treat her with respect, but you've yet to do such. You probably tolerate her at the very least."
"I would kill her."
"But you didn't, Prince Malfoy."
"My mother was apparated in when I was about to kill her," I stated, not remembering if really had wanted to kill her, but it was the only response I had for this woman.
"If your mother didn't apparate, would you've killed her?"
"The murder would cause my kingdom's reputation to decrease, and I'd be jailed."
"What if you and the princess were normal Muggles, would you have killed her?"
Drat, I hate all of her questions! I'm starting to hate her as well! What was it about this woman that wanted to question me constantly? Can't she just accept the fact and move on with her plant-watering life? Jeez.
"Yes," I swallowed, "I would."
She continued to stare through me before taking the final sip of her pumpkin juice and pouring herself another glass.
"You should break off the marriage, Prince Draco; if you cannot provide what Princess Hermione wants, you shouldn't marry her because your father said so. You're old enough to decide on your own," she gave me an intense stare before taking a breath, "If you won't love her, don't marry her."
I was immobilized. She had a point – a very sharp and good point. Would I be able to defy my father though? Would I be able to suffer the consequences? I thought deeply for the first time since I sat down on this terrace. The wind swept my across my face and tousled my hair.
"I'd rather marry her than die, I'll tolerate her, but I won't love her," I muttered under my breath.
It was the only response I had; I truly did want to marry her than to die because I defied my father – I value my life too much. I may seem shallow, but I'd rather live than die at this age. Would I love her? Would I grow to love her? Honestly, until I'm proven wrong, I will refuse to love her. My morals will remain strong, even if they are just my father's morals, I will remain true to them because it's what I believe in as well.
"Luna! Oh, Luna, where ever are you? I've picked out the nicest dress from the boutique, it's simply dazzling!"
I heard her voice from the courtyard in the front of the castle grounds. I looked over towards Luna, and she smiled slightly, "You should leave, she doesn't know you're here."
I nodded and took out my wand, just about to apparate, but before I did, I saw her come around the corner of the garden, just passing the foot of the hill, staring at me with slight surprise and shock. Her lips were agape, her eyes widened. Her hair was wavy, tied up half way and let gently down, gliding past her shoulders and ending at her waist. A sterling silver tiara with an amethyst embroidered on the center rested on her head, clipped into her hair, I suppose. Strands of hair fell from the sides of her head and tumbled down her sides of her cheeks, resting on her shoulders. Her chocolate brown hair matched her eye so well, and it looked even more wondrous when the sunlight hit it just right, giving it an alluring feel. She wore an off-the-shoulder ivory ball gown that would have swept the ground if it weren't for the assistance of her two friends tailing behind her with their wands at the hems of her dress, obviously using magic to keep the dress from dirtying. It was a simple white ball gown, and yet, it looked stunning; the way her figure just curved with the dress splendidly – it was magnificent. Below, on her feet, she wore white shoes with a small heel and a ivory-white bow at the toe; simple and classy.
Honestly, she looked, dare I say it, quite dazzling, fit for a bride. In a word, I was immobilized; my wand froze in my hand, my eyes on her as she gazed into mine. She stopped a few feet from where Luna and I sat with a questioning expression on her face – it was actually quite priceless, I nearly laughed, but I couldn't. She stared at me, then at Luna, looking very suspicious of the two of us – as if Luna and I did anything but talk, ha! Luckily, I came back to my senses and looked away from her, my cheek facing her, "The groom isn't supposed to look at the bride's attire before the wedding," I spoke before I apparated home.
Okay, as I promised, here are the links to Hermione's wondrous dress :]
The hair: w w w . brides . com/beauty/hairstyles/gallery/editorspick/detail/169404?f=582%3a2027&f=585%3a3135&f=588%3a589&offset=3#_chip=0 Delete the spaces between the W's, the Bride, and the [dot] com.
The dress: w w w . brides . com/fashion/dresses/gallery/wedding_dresses/vendor/detail/168299?f=106%3a111&offset=22#_chip=0 Delete the spaces between the W's, the Bride, and the [dot] com.
The shoes: w w w . onewed . com/bridal-shoes/bridal_shoes_93. html Delete the spaces between the W's, the Onewed, the [dot] com, and the [dot] html.
If you want, you could also post what you want as your choice for Hermione's wedding attire; regardless, I won't change what I have in this story, but it's fun to see what you guys think :]
Make sure you delete all the spaces in the web address. If they don't work, check the bold print again; I know it works, and if it doesn't, I'll send you a link by E-Mail if you really want to see it :] Now, before you give me your feedback, remember, I wanted to make this as realistic and true to the time period as possible. After all, I also had to make all these things match up with one another, which was a really big workout, ha ha :] Nonetheless, I had loads of fun :D
Also, I've realized this story is going to be quite long, so if you don't want to bother with longevity, delete this from your alerts, but if you will read it, regardless of its size, I love you :D ! It's just that it'll take a long time to develop Hermione and Draco's relationship with one another; I mean, who wants a story that has Draco and Hermione love each other from the start? - There has to be some kind of action that provokes it. So again, it's going to be longer than I had expected.
Gimme some feedback on the attires and this chapter, okay? Thanks! Stay tuned for the next chapter :D Thanks again for reading! :]