Chapter 12 The Wedding.
At long last Saturday August 5th 1998 arrived. The day of Hermione and Draco's wedding. They were having a Muggle wedding ceremony with a Wizard binding afterwards. This is because Hermione wanted a Muggle church wedding, and Draco had wanted a wizard wedding, and this was the best compromise. Afterwards Hermione, Draco, and 200 guests – both Muggle and wizard would have a meal, and later a disco and buffet at a beautiful golf club in Kent. On the morning of the wedding Hermione woke feeling excited but relaxed as well. Draco, on the other hand was a nervous wreck. "What if she doesn't turn up", he muttered pacing up and down. "Draco relax", said Harry (since Hermione and Draco had begun dating he and Harry had become good friends and Harry was Draco's best man), "she'll be there she loves you", Harry reassured him. He was so nervous that eventually Ron got up and went to the drinks cabinet taking out 8 glasses, poured out 8 measures of Fire Whiskey. 1 for Draco, 1 for Harry, 1 for Draco's father Lucius, 1 for Hermione's father Robert, and 1 for each of the 4 Ushers – Neville, Dean, Seamus, and himself. They drank them and immediately the atmosphere at Malfoy Manor was calmer. The girls were at the Grangers home half an hour from the church along with Narcissa – Draco's mother. The girls were singing and dancing as they got ready and when Chapel Of Love came on the CD player everyone sang along "Because we're going to the chapel and we're gonna get married…." (Chapel Of Love by The Dixie Cups) they sang loudly enjoying themselves.
The bridesmaids were divided into ages – the youngest four Sammy, Kayleigh-Anne, Sophie, and Annabella were wearing ivory dresses with pink trimming. The older bridesmaids were Chloe, Luna, Parvati and Lavender, and they wore long pink satin dresses and pink mid-heeled sandals to match/ Ginny of course was Hermione's maid of honour and she had opted for a lilac dress as pink would of clashed with her red hair, and made her look to pale. Hermione's dress was Ivory Satin with a full skirt, it was strapless and fell to a Train at the back. It had pink and lilac crystals embroidered on it, and Hermione looked breath takeingly beautiful in it. She had her hair elegantly styled and an ivory veil, and crystal tiara adorned her head. She had her jewellery from Draco on, and a simple pair of gold and diamond earrings. Once ready the bridesmaids climbed into 2 cars – one for the little ones, and one for the older ones, and Hermione climbed into the awaiting Rolls Royce with her Father (he'd driven back from Malfoy Manor), and they set off for the church.
Once they arrived at the church the organ struck up and the bridal march began playing. Hermione, her father, the eight bridesmaids, and Ginny walked down the Isle to where Draco was waiting. Once they had reached the Alter, the organ struck up and everyone joined in with the first hymn. After some prayers, Draco and Hermione joined their right hands whilst exchanging their vows. "I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, Draco Lucius Malfoy do take thee Hermione Jayne Granger to be my lawful wedded wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part", recited Draco. Hermione then recited "I call upon these persons here present to witness that I Hermione Jayne Granger do take thee Draco Lucius Malfoy to be my lawful wedded husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part". After some more prayers and the creed, they moved onto holy communion, and the eucharistic prayer. This was followed by the Nuptial Blessing in which the guests were invited to pray for Draco and Hermione.
Draco, Hermione, their parents and their witnesses then proceeded onto the altar to sign the register and make the marriage official. Whilst they were doing this put on some music for everyone to listen and to remind everyone of the glory and beauty of love. Once the music had finished the register was signed Hermione and Draco were officially Mr and Mrs. D. L. Malfoy (in the Muggle world), and the Muggle part of the wedding was nearly finished. After the priest had said the final blessing, and dismissed them the last hymn would be sung and then the minister for magic would step forward and say a few words, which would make the marriage official in the magical world. He would then cast the memory modification spell over the Muggles so that they would have no memory about Hermione being a witch and Draco being a wizard. This was so that the magical community could be kept secret from the Muggles, like it had been for so long. The priest then invited the congregation to the final blessings, after which the organ then struck up once again, and everyone joined in the final hymn.
After that the Minister Of Magic stepped forward and said "Friends, Mr Draco Lucius Malfoy and Miss Hermione Jayne Granger have married and become one in a Muggle ceremony, and made their relationship officially eternal in the Muggle world. However they now need to make their marriage official here in the Wizzarding world. You have already promised to look after one another, and to love and to cherish each other, but do you plan to fight the good fight never to look to the dark side, and to stay true to what you believe in each other for ever. Do you promise to abide the laws of the magical community, and do you consent to your love binding each other protectively against dark magic, and he – who- must-not-be-named. Once consented to this you must never betray each other, or break the bond, otherwise danger and harm may come to you. Once this bond is complete your love can protect you from anything and the closer you are the stronger it will be". Hermione and Draco each replied "we do, and our love shall be strengthened daily, we consent to lead good law abiding lives and to our love being bonded to protect against dark magic and the dark side". The minister for magic then waved his wand, and a golden light rose from it showering Hermione and Draco with tiny stars. He then asked them to raise them wands and repeat the following. "Draco/Hermione I love you, let my magical powers and love bind me to you always and to protect you and our family from harm. Let me never ever stray to the dark side and betray you.", with this the wands shot gold and sliver stars and they connected in the air, and then bound themselves around Draco and Hermione, binding them in love and ancient protective magic. The minister for magic then said "Draco and Hermione I now announce you officially husband and wife within the magical and non-magical communities, you may now kiss each other to seal the bond". With that Draco pulled Hermione into a deep and passionate kiss, whispering "I love you Mrs Malfoy, my queen", and she whispered back "I love you Draco, my husband, my darling, my everything".
Once the wizard binding had finished, everyone climbed into their card and drove to the reception venue, where on arrival were handed a glass of champagne. However the children, and Hermione (because of the pregnancy), were handed a glass of alcohol free champagne. This is so that they could join in the celebrations without putting themselves at risk. They then proceeded with the welcome line where every guest was greeted by Draco, Hermione, Jayne, Robert, Lucius, and Narcissa. After this they went and sat at the tables they top table was made up of the following people in this order from left to right: Ginny, Lucius, Jayne, Draco, Hermione, Robert, Narcissa, and Harry. The other bridesmaids, and the ushers were sat on other tables. As this was a Muggle venue magic was not allowed, but the (magical) guests didn't have to worry about magically requesting their food as the waiters and waitresses soon appeared with the starters. Once everyone had eaten as much as they could, the speeches began.
Harry stood up, and banging his spoon on his glass announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time for the traditional wedding speeches, and so without further ado may I present to you the father of the bride Mr Robert Granger". With that Harry sat down, and Robert stood up to make his speech. "Welcome friends and family", he said, "today is a really special day for everyone here in particular my wonderful daughter Hermione and her new husband Draco our new son in law. This is the proudest day of my life second only to my own wedding, and the day the Hermione was born of course. Hermione has been a fantastic daughter through the years and I look forward to the birth of my first grandchild. I would like to thank you all for coming, and helping make this day very special, and I would like to welcome Draco to the family. Thankyou also to Narcissa and Lucius for accepting us into their family, and accepting Hermione as the daughter they never had. This scene before me is a picture and a picture paints a thousand words, so we now move onto Mr Lucius Malfoy". Once again Harry stood up, and said "Ladies and Gentleman Mr Lucius Malfoy". With that Harry sat back down again, and Lucius stood up and said "thankyou for those kind words Robert. When Draco was born I never imagined he'd marry someone like Hermione, but now we've got to know her Narcissa and I am glad he did. Hermione welcome to the Malfoy family and I hope that you and Draco have many happy years together. I will now give some advice, marriage is like the weather sometimes hot and sometimes cold, but never go to bed without making up an argument, treat other well and this will last for ever. Hermione you will be a wonderful wife for my son, and Narcissa and I are proud to accept you as the daughter we never had, I now hand you over to my son Mr Draco Lucius Malfoy". With that Lucius sat down and Harry stood up again and said "Ladies and gentleman the groom Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy". Harry then sat back down again, and Draco stood up and began his speech. "When I first Hermione we disliked each other, I thought she was a bossy know it all, and she thought I was obnoxious, self-centred, selfish, and arrogant. However as time progressed I matured and realised that in-fact Hermione was intelligent, caring, humorous and bought out the best in people. I loved her for those qualities and am so glad I got to know her better. This is the happiest day of my life and I'd like to thank Robert and Jane for having a wonderful daughter, and allowing her to come to Hogworts, so that in turn I might meet her. I'd also like to thank Robert and Jane for accepting me into their family so easily, and for putting up with me a son-in-law." At this point Robert laughed and said "we could do worse Draco".
Draco then continued his speech and said "This is a wonderful day for everyone, and so may I say thank-you to everyone for coming and helping make this day special. To all our friends and family on behalf my new wife and I may we have many more happy times together. I now have a few thank-you gifts to give out, so please bear with us. When all the thankyou gifts were presented, Harry stood up and made his best man's speech which caused lots of laughter and amusement he told everyone some of their stories from school including when Draco was turned into a Ferret. Then everyone toasted the newly married Mr and Mrs. Malfoy, the bridesmaids, Mr and Mrs Granger, and Mr and Mrs Malfoy senior (Lucius and Narcissa). Once Harry's speech was over, Hermione and Draco cut the cake, and then the disco began. People danced to some fast numbers to get warmed up, and everyone was really enjoying it.
After a while the DJ announced that there would now be 5 slow dances. Everyone cleared the dance floor and Hermione and Draco took to the floor. They danced in each others arms and told each other once again how much they loved each other. Whilst dancing with her father, Robert smiled and said "'Mione darling I'm so proud of you, my special girl all grown up and about to have her own special child, remember no matter what you do you love your children more than anyone or anything. Never forget that, I love you daughter of mine", to which Hermione replied "I love you Daddy", just like she had done every night when she was a child. Before they knew it though the song had finished and Hermione had to change partners again and dance with Lucius her new Father–In-Law. "Welcome to the family, Hermione ", he told her. "Please Lucius call me 'Mione, like Draco and all my friends do it's much less formal and more relaxed". Lucius smiled "ok 'Mione my new daughter".
Finally it was Harry's turn to dance with Hermione, by now their many couples dancing together including Mr and Mrs Wesley, and the twins with their girlfriends. Harry and Hermione swayed in each other arms and Harry told her how beautiful she looked. They also talked about everyone, and the old times and they hoped there would be many more happy times together in the future. Towards the end of the song, however Harry went very quiet, and checking that no one was looking, took Hermione by the hand and led her outside, and across the golf course to a little bench by a hedge. Hermione immediately sensed something was wrong, "Harry what's the matter ?", she asked him. "nothing will ever be the same again 'Mione, our trio is extended and it's not the same I thought that the trio would remain the same forever. Perhaps with Ron marrying Luna, and I thought that well the rest of us would be the same forever". "Harry come one we will still see each other everyday you and Ron are my best friends. We are after all we are the trio we've been through so much together we have a special bond which even Draco can't break." "Mione what if I wished that you weren't married to Draco what would you think of me ?. What if I told you Draco is the luckiest man alive and I'm really jealous of him. What if I told you I waited too long, and you slipped through my hands once, and I can't bear if I lost you completely ?." "Harry what do you mean, are you saying what I think ?", she asked, "for Goodness sake 'Mione do I have to spell it out to you, I'm in love with you, always have been and always will be". "Oh Harry I love you but not in that way, but not like a brother either, just as a friend – a very special friend though", said Hermione seeing the disappointed look on his face. She gave him a friendship hug, and they promised that they'd always be friends. They turned to rejoin the party, knowing that they always be there for one another.
That night many friendships and relationships were strengthened and some new ones were formed as well. Everyone danced the night away and the Muggles taught the magical community every dance from the birdie song, to the can-can, to agadoo and the twist. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, who had a wonderful time. Towards the end of the evening though there were a couple of slow dances, and at midnight the DJ announced "Ladies and Gentleman that concludes the disco part of the evening but their will now be karoke for your enjoyment. So please welcome to the microphone the bride and groom, Mr Draco and Mrs Hermione Malfoy". Everyone clapped and cheered and Draco and Hermione stepped up to the microphone and began to sing. The karoke lasted until 4AM because everyone wanted to sing a song. The karoke ended with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Draco and all off their friends from Hogworts singing together. Once they'd finished singing they said their goodbyes to one another, and everyone headed home.