Chapter 2

Hermione woke to a knock on her door.

"Granger, wake up," Draco called from outside.

Hermione sighed in defeat as she collected her pillows and buried her head under them, trying to mute his voice in her ears.

"Granger?" He knocked again, impatiently.

Another set of knocks followed again after the other, perfect to ruin her morning, and then she heard the door open.

"Granger— wake up. We're going for fitting today," said Draco, his voice sounding more audible and nearer.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked, her voice muffled as her face was still under her pillows.

"It's eight-thirty," said Draco, glancing at his gold wristwatch.

"Five more minutes— please," she bid and nestled herself with her warm sheets.

"No more five minutes today, Granger. We have lots of things to arrange and several places to visit today," said Draco, taking one pillow away from her to clearly hear her remarks.

Hermione knew she can't argue with him, he had always been the one to tell her orders. She sat on her bed with her hair dishevelled and her face painted with the aftermath of her slumber.

"Go get ready. We will wait for you downstairs," said Draco.

"We?" She repeated.

"Yes, we. Pansy and Theo are also here to assist us— mother will come with us as well," replied Draco.

"Parkinson and Nott? What for?" She asked. Her morning voice was flat, toned unmotivated.

"Pansy will be your Maid of Honour, and Theo will be my Best Man. Daphne and Astoria will be your Bridesmaids as well, so as Blaise and Gregory will be my Groomsmen," he explained as he fixed the cuff of his left sleeve.

"Bridesmaids? And one of them is your ex? No thanks. I'll be fine without bridesmaids," she added and crawled off of her bed.

"Ex?" Draco asked confusedly.

"Astoria, your ex. I simply could not imagine how you told her to be involved in this pathetic wedding arrangement," said Hermione as she went to her closet.

"What do you mean 'my ex?' She is not my ex. Anyways, this is the biggest wedding they have all been waiting for. You definitely need a few to assist you," explained Draco as he walked towards her full-body mirror, checking if he looked presentable.

"Oh, is that so? My bad, you seemed pretty close back then. I thought she was your girlfriend."

"No. I only see Astoria as my younger sister. We kind of grew up together, and I witnessed her grow up. She's pretty fragile and needed someone to protect her," said Draco as he recalled the times when he fulfilled his 'older brother duties' to Astoria when they were younger.

Hermione chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked.

"I didn't know you had that in your mind. I honestly believed all you have in your head is blood superiority," she added, intentionally dropping offensive tones.

She could see how Draco's facial expression changed in the mirror after what she said. A part of her celebrated in joy witnessing how her words affected him.

He became silent and continued fixing any crease on his shirt.

"Get ready quickly, Granger. We wouldn't want the temperature to drop deadly before we leave the Manor," said Draco, stealing cold glances at her.

"Wear something warm," he instructed and left her bedroom.

As the door shut closed, Hermione felt heavier in her chest. She will have strangers as her bridesmaids for the wedding which she never looked forward to. How fate went too far in playing with her life.

Tears betrayed her once more, and she wiped them off immediately and marched to her bathroom to get ready.

The bathroom felt warmer than outside. An excellent place to cry indeed, but she needed to finish the day as soon as possible. No time for crying in the bathroom. The only thing closest to comfort for her was her bed, she needed to end the day early to be able to huddle herself on her warm sheets and think about her life.

She washed her face and body, not minding that the water was as cold as the winter breeze outside. She brushed her teeth and applied make-up to look like there was still a hint of life inside her.

She wore a white turtle neck under her powder blue coat and a black pair of trousers. She also wore a black woolly hat and, a pair of black ankle boots.

"Granger? Are you ready?" Draco asked from outside.

"Yeah, coming," she responded as she put on her black woolly hat, and she was ready to start her day.

Draco stood in front of her door wearing a grey coat over his black button-down shirt. His black winter boots and a grey scarf around his neck.

"Let's go," he called and went down the stairs to the Manor's great hall, where his friends and mother were waiting.

She followed him as they walked down the stairs. The heels of their boots filled the reigning silence. Hermione could barely see the view outside as the winter had begun to heavily frost the newly cleaned windows.

She walked behind him quietly with her eyes settled on the frosty window. She fell into early morning despair when she saw an elf with a cleaning tool defrosting one of the windows. The elf was trembling to the cold as she cleaned. She must've been terribly freezing, especially with that thin and torn pillowcase as her clothes.

"Oooh... The bride is here already. Good thing," said Pansy as Hermione arrived.

Hermione seized her attention but then what made her more uncomfortable was the look that Narcissa gave her.

"What took you so long?" Narcissa asked irritably, raising a brow at Hermione.

"Mother, please," interrupted Draco, hoping to ease the tension and stop his mother to blabber.

"What? I'm just saying that a proper bride must be responsible for her responsibilities. You can't just walk around and expect everyone to wait for your preferred time. We barely have time to prepare for this and—"

"Mother, let's go. She's here now," Draco cut his mother's rants off.

"Should we use the floo? Or should we apparate?" Theo asked as he wore his green and grey striped scarf.

"I think we should apparate. We'll get there sooner, and it won't ruin my hair and outfit." Pansy suggested.

"Mrs Malfoy?" Theo asked for approval.

"Let's apparate," Narcissa replied and threw Hermione a glare before she marched towards the door.

"Where's Kristell?" Hermione asked Draco in almost a whisper.

"Come again? " asked Draco as he did not hear her clearly.

"Kristell. Where is she?" Hermione asked again.

"She asked for a day two days off to visit her sick sister," Draco answered.

"She has a sick sister?"

"She has a younger sister. Five years younger than her. Their parents died from the battle, and now she had to attend to her and provide for her,"

"Oh."

"Why? Do you need her?" Asked Draco.

"No, never mind," said Hermione and proceeded towards the door, following Pansy and Theo.

"Do you need her?" Draco repeated, "I can tell her to come back for today."

"No. No, it's fine. Her sister needs her more," Hermione replied, not looking back at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

It was snowing rapidly outside, covering the newly shovelled walkway. Another elf stood there to wait until the snow thickens and if it's time to shovel the walkway all over again. If only she could give orders and let them keep warm inside the Manor, but she was prohibited as that was the first instruction to her when she arrived at the Manor.

"Fuck it's cold!" Theo exclaimed when he stepped outside, meeting the cold winter breeze on his cheeks.

"Obviously, it's freaking winter, Theo," Pansy said sarcastically and adjusted her scarf to cover her lips and nose.

She let Draco walk past her then she walked behind him. It had been a habit of hers whenever they needed to walk together.

As they walked the pathway towards the large gates, Hermione hugged herself and rubbed her hands together as the cold winter breeze welcomed her. Her coat alone seemed not enough for the low temperature that day. She did not expect it to be that cold. She looked up to see Draco unbothered by the cold, his ears were red from the cold yet he walked unbothered like he was walking under the summer sun.

Draco turned to glance at her, but she instantly pointed her gaze somewhere else.

She walked pretending to be unbothered by the cold, with her eyes fixed on the frozen water fountain on her left when she bumped into his broad back.

She did not even have enough time to think of what to say when Draco grabbed her cold hands and removed his black gloves from his hand.

"No, I'm good—"

"Stay still," said Draco as he put his gloves in her cold pale hands.

Hermione was about to protest, but he already turned his back on her before she could do so.

"Keep up Granger," he said without turning.

Hermione sighed in defeat, walking briskly but carefully not to slip on the slippery walkway.

As they reached closer to the huge gates of the Manor, she felt unreal. It was the first time she'd get to walk out that gate since she got there. She wondered how would it feels like to walk out that gate to claim her freedom.

Upon the wave of Narcissa's right hand, the gates opened.

Not so far away from the Manor gates, Hermione spotted the old oak tree where she landed after the apparition, the day Draco brought her home. The nearest apparition point from the Manor.

They walked up towards the old oak tree.

Narcissa apparated first, and Pansy followed.

"See you there Draco," said Theo and apparated away to their first destination.

Draco nodded in response.

"Ready?" Draco asked as he offered his arm to Hermione.

She looked at him and nodded and held his arm.

"What's wrong?" Asked Hermione when Draco stared at her like he was waiting for her to do something.

She just stared at him with a complete puzzled mind.

Draco sighed as he pulled her closer by the waist, she could feel his mint breath on her red flushed cheek.

"Hold tight unless you want your arm snapped off by the travel," said Draco.

Her apparition license has been taken down by the Ministry, and her magic is temporarily suspended meaning she has to depend on Draco's magic.

Awkwardness filled the space surrounding them. The winter breeze whistling around them added weight to the moment.

"Ready?" He asked again.

"Yeah," she replied and they got whisked away by Draco's apparition.

Hermione stumbled and felt nauseated from the travel. It's been a long time since she last travelled through apparitions, and it felt new to her. Two years ago, when Harry died and the Ministry hunted all the muggle-borns from Hogwarts, she knew she had to quit using magic and went running and hiding without magic for safety. Even the day she used apparition to help Ron and the order, and the day Draco brought her home through the apparition, she wasn't able to stand up for almost three days as her body was too strained by its strong requirement for strength.

Good thing Draco was there to hold her and assist her balance, preventing her face to fall flatly on the shiny marble floors of the store.

"Daphne!" Narcissa greeted Daphne Greengrass who walked in from another room of the store.

"Mrs Malfoy, it's nice to see you!" Daphne replied and hugged Narcissa.

Hermione stood there beside Draco, wandering her eyes around, observing the place.

There were lots of dresses worn by porcelain mannequins. Some were hung and displayed on the shop's huge glass cabinet.

"Hey, Daph," greeted Theo and hugged her as well.

"Hi, Theo!" Daphne greeted back.

"Daphne Greengrass, welcome home bitch!" Pansy greeted.

"Pansy! How are you?" Daphne greeted excitedly and also went to hug her friend.

"When did you arrive? How's France?" Pansy asked as they pulled away from the hug.

"My and sister arrived two days ago, and I tell you, France is great! I got accepted at the fashion school I applied for," Daphne announced happily.

"Oh my Merlin, we need to celebrate that!" Pansy exclaimed.

"We'll arrange that one soon," Daphne whispered and they giggled.

"So, uhm... How is the groom doing?" Daphne asked as she anchored her eyes on Draco.

"Fine," answered Draco and smiled at his friend.

"And the bride?" Daphne asked as she glanced at Hermione, smiling at her.

"She's good," Draco answered as Hermione only responded with a quick smile and avoided Daphne's gaze.

"That's good to know. So, you're looking for a dress and suit? This way please," said Daphne, leading the way to the other room.

Hermione just realized that the Greengrass family owns a known fashion house named after their surname. Of course, the Malfoys would purchase there.

"As soon as you called Mrs Malfoy, I and my staff had prepared these for you to pick from. This is one of our recent batch of wedding dresses and suits," Daphne explained as they entered the other room with mirrors and dresses everywhere.

"Who designed this specifically?" Narcissa asked as she checked the dresses they prepared for their fitting.

"Most of these were designed by mother, some of them were designed by Tory and me."

"Astoria's into fashion too?" Theo asked as he walked over to the pinned sketches on the bulletin board.

"Yes, she'd been designing for six months now," Daphne confirmed, sounding proud of her sister.

"These sketches are so good," said Theo.

"Aww thanks, I'll tell her that you said so," Daphne said as she laughed.

"Hermione?" Narcissa called, pointing all eyes at her.

"Yes?" Hermione answered.

"Come here," Narcissa called while checking the dresses one by one.

Hermione was hesitant to come toward Narcissa, but Draco put his hand on her back and walked with her.

"Have you found one mother?" Draco asked, his hand still on her back.

"I think this one would fit the theme of the wedding," said Narcissa, as she held a dress in front of Hermione to at least picture how it would look on her.

Daphne sent a staff to help hold the dress in front of Hermione as it was too heavy due to its layers and crystals.

"You think you could walk properly in this?" Pansy asked Hermione, raising a brow at her.

"I—"

"You can tell us if you don't like it," said Narcissa, "choose something you think you'd look presentable and comfortable, so we won't waste galleons on it," said Narcissa and gave the dress back to the staff.

"What do you want?" Draco asked.

Hermione felt pressured as all eyes were on her and she could see Daphne holding parchment and a quill, taking notes of her possible interests.

"I'd like a dress that's not too heavy to wear and— I just want something that is not too attention-grabbing—"

"Granger, you're the bride. Of course, most of the attention's going to you," Pansy said and rolled her eyes.

"She's right. Even if you wear a sack to that wedding, the attention will always go to you. This is a grand wedding. You can't just wear—"

"I want that one," said Hermione, cutting Narcissa.

Their eyes followed her finger, pointing somewhere.

"I want that one. I think it would fit the theme," said Hermione, pointing at that one dress in the corner, worn by a mannequin.

It was a backless ballgown-type wedding dress. It had beautiful, intricate patterns sewn with crystals. It had several layers of silk and silk organza that added volume to the dress' skirt. It was probably one of the elegant dresses in the shop.

Pansy's jaw dropped and looked at Hermione with disbelief.

"She wants that one. We'll take it," Narcissa said with approval.

"See? I told you Hermione has good taste. Don't you Hermione?" Narcissa added as she strode closer to the dress with a smile.

Hermione's pettiness compelled her to select that dress. Never in her life had she desired of wearing such a dress, but the pressure they put on her kind of pushed to it. She felt remorseful about it when she saw the back of the dress. The wedding would be held in the middle of winter. For sure, the cold would consume her bare back, making her more uncomfortable that day.

"How much is it?" Pansy asked Daphne.

"Five hundred thousand galleons, to be exact," Daphne responded.

"Holy shit—"

Hermione felt more regretful about her decision when she heard the price of the dress she chose.

"Are these crystals hand-sewn? Individually?" Narcissa asked as she ran her hands softly on its patterns.

"Yes, and the fabric was exported from China. This is our Melody Wedding Dress. There's only one of these in our entire collection, and this only exists on our main branch here," said Daphne.

"And the designer?" Narcissa asked.

"Tory designed it," Daphne replied.

"Wow, I badly want to see the sketch of this," said Pansy.

"We'll take this one," said Draco.

"Alright, now that it's settled, why don't we go shop for your suit, son?" Narcissa suggested.

"This way please," said Daphne, leading the way to another room where they stored their limited-edition suits.

"Oooh! I already see one that I like," said Theo and chuckled.

"We'll shop afterwards for ours. Daphne designed dresses and suits for us bridesmaids and groomsmen," said Pansy as she jokingly nudged Theo to move out her way.

"Where's your most expensive suit?" Narcissa asked as she arrived in the room.

"Linda? Would you please show Mrs Malfoy our recent designs?" Daphne asked her staff.

They waited for the staff to present the most expensive suit collection.

"Thanks, Linda. So, here's our recent and most expensive collection in the house. Most of these weren't promoted to the public yet. You'll be the first to see this actually," said Daphne.

"I want my son to match his bride. I think this one's the closest to it. Do you like a white suit, Draco?" Narcissa asked.

"I haven't seen Draco wear a white suit ever in my life. I'm used to seeing him in black or grey," said Theo.

"Well, what do you think son?" Narcissa asked her son again.

"Yeah. I'm not really into white, but if to match Granger's dress, I think it's fine," said Draco.

"Wow Draco, you sound madly in love, aren't you?" Teased Pansy.

"Shut up, Pans," Theo scolded jokingly.

"So, you're fine with this?" Narcissa asked again.

Draco nodded in response, while Hermione was thinking of ways to tell Draco that she wanted to change the dress. She felt too uneasy just by the price of the dress. It's too much for a wedding she never wanted.

"Yes, that's fine," Draco answered.

"We'll take this too," said Narcissa.

"How much is that one?" Pansy asked Daphne in a whisper.

"Five hundred thousand galleons as well," Daphne answered.

"That's not going to take a big piece out of Draco's money though. He's one filthy rich bloke. He could buy twenty of those dresses, and still, his money won't move that much," said Theo.

****

"Son, go try this on and see if it fits perfectly. Same to you Hermione." Narcissa ordered.

"But isn't that bad luck?" Pansy asked.

"That's old school Pans. How are they supposed to know if it fits them well if they don't try it on?" Theo replied.

"But wouldn't that ruin the excitement?" Pansy protested.

"Do they look excited? See Granger's face? She already looked too downhearted and look at Draco. He looks casual, like this wedding and all is just work for him," Theo whispered.

"Well, where's the lie, though? This wedding is definitely just a job for him to satisfy the Dark Lord. I wonder why he has to marry her," Pansy whispered back.

"Linda? Could you please help Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger with their fitting?" Daphne asked her staff.

****

Hermione stood in front of the full-body mirror inside of the fitting rooms while waiting for the staff to bring the wedding dress inside. She could hardly identify what emotions were swirling inside her chest as she stood there.

"Ms Granger? Here's your dress. Would you like me to help you put this on?" The staff asked from outside.

"Y-yes please," answered Hermione, swallowing a lump in her throat.

The staff came in with a smile on her face.

"I think this would look gorgeous on you Miss Granger," the staff cheerfully said.

Hermione took her top off and slid inside the dress. Putting it on was such hard work already. The crystal patterns felt rough on her skin, and she had to be careful not to ruin a half-million galleon wedding dress. The dress was heavy, and the patterns irritated her skin. It was so uncomfortable to wear.

The staff helped her zip her dress up and arranged the skirt to display its details and designs.

"There. You do look lovely on it!" The staff squealed in excitement.

Hermione remained staring at herself in the mirror. She can't help but imagine Ginny and Harry outside waiting to see how she'd look in a wedding dress for her dream wedding with Ron. She can't help but imagine Harry's sugarcoated remarks and Ginny's brutally frank comments on every dress she tries on. Her heart clenched at how her imagination sounded like a distant memory in her head when she knew it will never ever happen.

Hermione sighed heavily and wiped her tears with the back of her hand while the staff was too distracted by the dress.

"Is she done? I would like to see."

Hermione heard Narcissa's voice from outside her fitting room.

"She's done," said the staff and let Narcissa inside.

Complete awe was drawn on Narcissa's face as she studied how the dress fit Hermione too well like it was destined to be worn by her.

"Turn around," ordered Narcissa.

Hermoine turned and could barely spin around as the dress was weighing her down.

"Perfect. We're definitely taking this one," said Narcissa and left her fitting room to go and check her son.

Hermione was left alone and wondered why would they plan such a big grand wedding for an arranged marriage between a muggle-born girl and a rich pureblooded boy. It felt too eccentric.

****

Draco sat on a settee of the shop together with Hermione. They had just finished their fitting and Hermione was absolutely exhausted by the dress. The staff offered them champagne, but Hermione declined. The others were busy trying on their dresses and suits, while the soon-to-be-wed couple sat there for a moment because Hermione complained about her feet being painful due to the cold. Little did they know she just staged that so she could sit and be alone with Draco for a while to discuss her concerns regarding the dress she chose out of pettiness.

"Malfoy—"

"Hmm?"

"Uhm..."

"What is it?" Draco asked, his eyes fixed on the magazine he was reading.

"About the dress..."

"What about the dress?"

"It's pretty expensive. Do you think I could still choose another one?" Said Hermione, fidgeting her hand, hoping for his answer to favour her.

Draco closed the magazine and placed it on the table in front of him.

"I thought you like that one?" He asked as he crossed his arms and leaned his back on the settee.

"I- I do like­—" she lied.

"But?" Draco asked, raising his brow.

"It's too costly for me to wear," she confessed.

"Never mind the price tag, Granger. Besides, you're the bride to the only heir of the Malfoys. You at least deserve that," said Draco as he pulled out a cheque book from his coat's pocket and grabbed the quill he found on the table.

Hermione seems to shiver from all his sudden bragging.

"But—"

"Excuse me?" Draco called for staff.

"How may I help you, sir?" The staff asked.

"Could you please give a total price of everything we purchased, including the ones my friends and mother would choose?"

"Right away, sir," said the staff and ran off to her boss Daphne.

"But—"

"No buts, Granger."

The staff came back together with Daphne.

"Hey, are your feet better, Granger?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hermione replied.

"Great. Anyways, here's your total amount," said Daphne, showing Draco her clipboard where all the prices were written. "Sign here, please?"

Draco signed the papers and signed the cheque that he pulled out earlier.

"Thank you. I'll have those delivered at the Manor right away," said Daphne and went out the room.

"There it's settled," said Draco and looked at Hermione, sitting there on the settee, defeated.

"Draco? Let's go?" Narcissa called from outside.

"Let's go. We need to shop for several things today," said Draco, offering his hand to Hermione, but she stood without accepting his hand.

She just realized that she had to suffer wearing that heavy dress for a whole damn day.

"Where are we going next?" Draco asked his mother.

"We need to buy shoes for the both of you," said Narcissa as she rummaged her leather bag for something.

"What about the—"

"The venue is done. The food is done. For the pictorial arrangement. You'll be taking photos tomorrow. The decorations are settled. The wedding organizers already sent the invites today— Goodness, your mother is stressed out about your wedding, son," said Narcissa as she sighed tiredly.

"You do look tired, mother. Why don't we eat first? I haven't had any breakfast this morning. Have you Granger?" Draco asked.

Hermione shook her head in response.

"Let's eat then," said Draco and led the way.

"Good. I'm hungry after trying on those suits earlier. They barely had a size for me," Theo complained as he walked out the door.

Pansy laughed at his remarks and followed him out.

****

"Have you seen that girl on the other table besides us?" Pansy asked Theo as they walked down Diagon Alley.

"Yeah, why?"

"She keeps staring at you," said Pansy.

"Really?" Theo chuckled as he took a sip of his hot coffee.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Pansy asked as she rolled her eyes, just her usual sassy habit.

"It is obvious. Can't blame her, though. I mean... I'm fucking attractive," said Theo and laughed.

They laughed together and joked over it. The lunch was over, and the four of them strolled at Diagon Alley for some few things they needed to pick up. Narcissa went home when one of her elves came to the restaurant to tell her that she has visitors.

The door chimes rang as Draco opened the door. He tapped his boots covered with snow on the rug at the entrance of his mother's favourite jewellery shop.

"Ah! Young Master Malfoy! Welcome! Welcome," the old man at the counter greeted.

"Hello, Mr Carl," greeted Draco.

"It's been so long since you visited our shop," the old man said.

"I've been very busy with work," answered Draco.

"Yeah, such busy work you do. Good thing you have this time, Young Master Malfoy. I heard the news, that's why I'm assuming to know why you're here with... Miss Granger," said the old man as he peeked behind Draco where Hermione stood, observing the place.

"This way," said the old man as he guided them towards the settee in his shop.

He offered them seats and left to get his latest ring collection.

"Here's our recent designs, or perhaps you want the rings to be personalized instead?" Offered the old man.

"What do you think, Granger?"

Hermione fell blank about what to say. It felt new to her that she has a say on these things for the wedding.

"I— uhm. Whichever you want is good," said Hermione, hauling the awkward silence after her remarks.

Their eyes were all on her, except for Draco, who was holding his patience in place. She could see his jaw clenched. He was clearly aggravated by her indecisiveness. But do they really expect her to thoroughly choose her dress, rings, and other things for the wedding that she didn't want?

"Okay... Well, I'm considering having it personalized. What do you think?" Draco asked as he flipped the pages of the magazine in his hands. "Would you like to see some designs?" He again asked, passing her the magazine.

"It'll probably take us a long time if I choose—"

"We'll have it personalized," said Draco, cutting off her indecisive excuses.

Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat as she heard the shift in his tone.

"Would you like to consult with our designer? Or would you prefer to send in your designs?" The old man asked.

"We'll send our designs by tomorrow. Do you think you would have it done a week before December 25th?" Draco asked.

"Of course, Young Master Malfoy, no worries about that."

"Great, thank you for your time," said Draco as he stood and shook hands with the old man.

"Thank you for choosing our shop for such a big event, Young Master Malfoy. Truly an honour."

They left the shop, and the aura between Hermione and Draco just got denser.