June, 2006

"So, are you nervous?" Hermione asked Draco. Draco quickly shook his head as they continued their walk. They were walking around the park –Central Park in New York to be exact. Draco had told her that he wanted a change of scenery and so Hermione had agreed. Ron was busy with Harry (Quidditch match) and Ginny was going to be working late at the Daily Prophet that night, so why not go somewhere a little far from home? Hermione was more than surprised, however, when she heard accents unlike her own and a place she had never been. It was a lovely place; especially when the sun was setting slowly.

"What's there to be nervous about?" Draco asked. "You stand in front of a marriage official, hear a few words, say a few of your own including 'I do' and then…that's it. You've got a wife."

"Wow, I can't believe it." Hermione chuckled. "Only you can make a wedding sound unromantic. But, you'll change your mind. Once you see Astoria walking down that aisle, you'll be speechless. Your heartrate will be going mad, you'll feel weak, and you may even forget what you want to say-"

"Gee, Hermione, thanks-"

"And you'll be the happiest you've ever been." Hermione said as she stopped their walk. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. "It's a big day, Draco. I just wish that I could be there to see it."

"Are you sure you want to?" Draco smiled as he snaked an arm around her waist and resumed their walk. "You'd watch the love of your life get officially taken off the market."

Hermione laughed. "How easily you forget that I have a boyfriend."

"Irrelevant,"

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "If there's one thing that I'm sad about with this whole marriage thing is…the fact that I'll see you less."

Draco glanced at her in confusion. "See me less? Come on, Hermione, you'll still see me."

"Oh really?" Hermione scoffed. "So what do you tell your future wife when she sees you leaving in the middle of the day or night?"

"Tell her I'm going to lunch or dinner with a friend, of course."

"And when she asks, 'What friend?' I'm sure she'll be okay with her husband having a meal with a young woman every week." Hermione shook her head at his nativity. "Astoria won't like it, Draco; nor would I if it was me. It's easy now because you two don't live together. It'll be downright impossible once you do. And neither of you have jobs? You'll need your own invisibility cloak to get away from her, for Merlin's sake."

Hermione, unbeknownst to her, had suddenly grown completely red in the face. Draco, who had been staring at her from a side glance during her tirade was all smiles. As silence ensued he could do nothing but laugh, and laugh hard.

Hermione stared at him bemused. "What on earth is so funny?"

Draco continued to laugh. They stopped their walk as Draco doubled over in hysterics and Hermione grew more annoyed the longer his funny-fit went on.

"Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry for laughing, but," Draco told her as he wiped a tear from his eye. "You've really thought about this. You're afraid that we're not going to be able to see each other anymore."

Hermione frowned and crossed her arms. "Why aren't you?"

Draco smiled and placed two fingers on the corners of her lips to force a smile onto her face. "Because I'd give my right arm to see you. You're my best friend, and nothing is going to stop me from doing that. Besides, you live with Weasley and you still manage to slip away to see me. And I hate to say this, but you're the least bit stealthy. Imagine how much better I can get away?"

Hermione laughed. She hugged herself and sighed. "Fine. If that's the case, I pick where we have dinner when you get back from your honeymoon."

Draco nodded and linked his arm with hers. "As you wish."

….

"So, what'd you do to entertain yourself for the night?" Ron asked as he climbed into bed. Hermione had already been there, book in hand, reading just "one more chapter" after having promised herself to be in bed two hours before.

"I spent it here." Hermione lied. "Got a little rest after work, something to eat, and just read."

Ron smiled. "Sounds like a night you would have."

"Merlin, that means I'm boring." Hermione rolled her eyes as she set her book aside. Ron laughed. He pulled her close to him and she held onto him tightly.

"Not at all. It means you enjoy the simple things in life. It's one of the things I love about you."

Hermione grinned and gave Ron a kiss good night. He fell asleep quickly, but Hermione was awake for a little while before following suit. The simple things in life? Yes, she did enjoy being at home with a good book. Eating something she prepared herself instead of going out. But there was a side to her that neither Ron, Harry, nor any of her friends knew. She loved exotic places. She enjoyed the occasional expensive trinket. Both of those things Draco had always been the one to indulge her with. Now Ron was by no means poor, but he was hardly wealthy enough to do what Draco did for her. And even if he was Hermione wouldn't have wanted him to. That side of her belonged to Draco, and Draco alone. Hermione didn't want those two worlds to combine, and she'd fight hard to keep them separate.

Not that it would be that hard now that Draco was getting married. As much as Draco promised that things wouldn't change between them, Hermione knew that it wouldn't be as easy as he said it would be to keep their friendship strong. Hermione was used to sharing Draco with other women. She had no right to be jealous since she had never been his girlfriend, so she fought down any impulses that came her way. At Hogwarts, Draco flirted mercilessly with any girl who would have him. That meant most of them. Pansy was the lucky one who garnered most of his attention despite how much Draco had complained about her. But by the end of the summer the year they graduated, Pansy's time with Draco had run its course. Between her and Astoria, Draco's soon-to-be wife, Draco had had women galore. But he had always told Hermione that she would remain his number one girl. She had believed him. And she still believed him, despite the traps of marriage he was about to step into.

…

Sneaking away to Draco's wedding wasn't exactly a James Bond kind of feat. It had involved one lie and enabled her to leave the house in full view of Ron who wished her a good time with her mother. Hermione had smiled and kissed him goodbye, but felt her smile falter once she was sure that the emerald Floo flames had properly obscured her. She had always felt bad lying to Ron and her friends, but she could imagine the rows and confused looks to be shot her way if any of her actions involved Draco in any manner. And so, two weeks in advance Hermione had told her lovely boyfriend that she would be spending her Sunday with her mother whom she hadn't seen in a while. Now that wasn't a total lie. Hermione really was going to see her mother, but not until later that day. So in terms of guilt, she didn't feel too awful.

Unlike other weddings Hermione had been to, she didn't need a fancy gown. She had Flooed to her mother's, but the house had been empty as she knew it would be. From there she took out her wand and stood in front of her mother's bedroom mirror to make sure she was completely invisible and blended into her surroundings. Hermione smiled triumphantly although she couldn't see it and apparated to an apparation spot a few meters from Draco's home. The spot wasn't exactly "legal" to have as Draco had paid someone very handsomely to set it up for him. Only a select few were allowed to use it and, of course, Hermione was one of those few.

Draco hadn't lived in Malfoy Manor with his parents for some time now, but where he lived now was just as big. It was a magnificent piece of property and it looked even more wonderful decorated in pure white. White ribbon, white flowers, white bricks inlaid the night before as the wedding aisle. Draco was dressed in a dazzling white suit and even the guests matched the white theme. In all honesty, when Draco had told Hermione of an all-white wedding, she had been a bit skeptical as she adored colors. But, having now seen it all put together, Hermione thought it was lovely.

Hundreds of chairs were lined up outside and Hermione stood at the back of the crowd. Despite being so far away she could clearly see Draco's facial expression. It was as though the realization of what he was about to do had etched onto his face. His hands were in his pockets and Hermione knew that he was fidgeting his fingers terribly. No, it wasn't because her vision was that good. It was just because she knew her Draco well, and that's what his fingers were always doing when they found themselves in his pockets.

As the music came on and the wedding began, Hermione slowly realized that this was it. Draco officially wasn't going to be just hers anymore. She watched Astoria stand in front of him. She listened to the marriage official. She heard Draco and Astoria exchange their vows. And she watched as they sealed everything with a kiss. Hermione took a deep breath and clapped along with the other guests, sure that her applause would be indistinguishable from the others. As the newlyweds grew closer to her position, she noted a true look of happiness on Draco's face that replaced the initial horror of his future actions. As they passed, Draco's expression faltered for just a moment as his eyes glanced in Hermione's direction before being brought back by Astoria's voice.

Hermione knew he couldn't have seen her. If he had, everyone would've and then the wedding would've turned into a hanging. Long after the wedding, however, clarification of that moment came to view. Two weeks after the wedding Hermione found a letter on her desk at work. The cursive, she knew, belonged to Draco and she expected a long-winded detail of the honeymoon he and his new wife had taken to the Virgin Islands. Instead, Hermione read something else that made her smile.

Thank you for coming to my wedding. Your classic vanilla-scented perfume never fails…

Draco xx

….

Author's note: Well, here goes chapter 2! Thanks for reading and for all those who are following, favorited, and/or left a review. It really means a lot :D. Hope that you liked this one just as much!

-WP