Daphne and Draco's Wedding; Malfoy Manor [DGM, DM, DuG, RL, NBM, TD, HA, other NPCs] WHO: Daphne, Draco, Duncan, Rabastan, Narcissa, Tracey, Hannah and NPC officiant WHERE: Malfoy Manor WHEN: 18 December, 1999; 6:30 p.m. SUMMARY: The wedding ceremony. LOG. RATING: PG
Daphne took a deep breath, pausing before the door to the garden. It was time, she knew it was, but she could hear her heart pounding in her neck and she was nervous, so nervous beyond belief that she didn't know if she could actually make the step outside of the door.
"It's time now, Daphne."
Her father's deep, solid voice stirred her, and she gave him a shaky smile. Straightening her shoulders, she tightened her hold on him and walked through the door.
In. Out. Smile at Mother. Draco could do this, he could. In. Out. Watch the bridesmaids come down the side isle. He had this under control. In. Out. Pray Allyssa didn't latch on to him. In Out. He was king of cool and collected.
And then he saw Daphne. Oh Merlin. All those deep breaths had been for naught as he felt his breath whoosh from him at lightening-fast speed. Dark hair and glittering gems and ivory and green and blur, just blur, after that one clear shot of her that would be etched in his mind for the ages.
He must have swayed, as he was vaguely aware of Rabastan steadying him, but he did not react. He could not react. There was no place in this for doubts and recriminations, only the bone-shattering fear of stark realization. He was going to marry this woman. He was going to be ultimately responsible for her for safety, happiness and well-being for the rest of his life.
He was going to faint.
Daphne locked her eyes on him almost immediately, her own breathing unconsciously echoing his, trying to slowly breathe in and out and walk down this impossibly long aisle and not trip or fall or embarrass him or his...no...THEIR family. "Steady..." her father soothed her quietly.
She saw Draco sway minutely, and Rabastan steady him. Suddenly, the nervousness faded dramatically, though it didn't go away entirely. This was still just Draco, the prat who got drunk and tried to woo her with his slurred 'hi,' the man who tried to move heaven and earth to visit her after the attack, the idiot who had nearly canceled the wedding and then reclaimed her with such a possessiveness that her head was still spinning. This would work because they had been through so much that if it was destined to fail it would have done so already. Fixing him with a brilliant smile, she started moving more confidently down the aisle. "That's my girl..." her father praised softly.
Seeing Draco sway, Narcissa's hands folded tightly in her lap, resisting standing or reaching for her wand and doing anything to keep him upright. After all, Rabastan was there to steady him. But, when he grew paler still, she knew without him needing to do more that he was going to faint. She half-rose from her chair, but at a discreet head shake from Rabastan, followed by a slight incline of his head toward Draco, as though saying he had it under control, she settled back in the chair. The only continuing hint of her anxiety at seeing her son possibly fall face-first in front of the gathered guests was the slight wringing of the green handkerchief in her lap, blending mostly with the vivid green of the gown she wore.
He was going to faint. In front of friends and even possibly enemies, Draco knew he was going to faint. But then Daphne smiled, boldly and brilliantly, and his vision cleared a bit. Things were still blurry in the peripheral – basically anything beyond her – but he could see her and the invisible fingers cutting off his air were gone, leaving him breathing unsteadily, but at least getting air in and out again in a sustainable pattern.
Oh Merlin. She was close enough to touch. He wanted to, but the officiant was speaking and he needed to pay attention. They weren't to the touching part yet. She hadn't even handed off her flowers yet to have free hands.
“We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of Daphne Isolde and Draco Alastair. There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls has come our way through all paths of belief and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to Life, posterior to Death, initial of Creation and the exponent of Earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be this.”
“Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection,” he intoned solemnly. “As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of this, Draco and Daphne have come here today to be joined as one in marriage. As a woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken, I ask if she comes of her own will and if she has her family's blessing.”
“Daphne,” he said, focusing on her, “is it true that you come of your own free will and accord?”
Daphne could feel him. He was so close that she could positively feel the emotion radiating off of him (though she couldn't decipher whether it was nerves alone or something else) and she wanted to touch him. It wasn't time yet. Her mind searched through the ceremony that they had picked, trying to figure out what was going on and what was next. Thought he officiant had seemed to have a calm, attention grabbing voice when they had chosen him, she could barely hear him now, no thanks to her state of heightened emotion.
"Daphne..." Her head turned from Draco to look at the officiant, slightly startled to hear her name. Oh...he was asking if she came of her own free will. She knew where they were in the ceremony once more, was that what a wedding was all about, losing ones sanity and place in the overwhelming emotion of the day and then finding it again--or was that just how she handled it? "Yes, it is true." She said, her voice quiet but firm. She turned her head back to Draco, giving him a shy smile from beneath her lashes as the officiant turned to her father, asking whose blessings would accompany the couple. His low voice once more comforted Daphne as he answered the officiant, assuring that Daphne came with the blessing of her family, especially his. Though it had not been rehearsed, she leaned up, kissing Duncan's cheek before letting go of his arm and handing her flowers to Tracey. One step forward...now this was truly to begin.
Having passed her own flowers to Hannah to take Daphne's and better assist with moving and adjusting Daphne's train, Tracey took the flowers Daphne handed her and stepped back.
“Please join hands with your betrothed and listen to that which I am about to say,” the officiant said to the two.
Finally, he could touch her. Draco reached forward, closing his fingers over hers. It was something he had done a million times at least, holding her hands, but everything right now felt vaguely surreal. Her hands were cold, almost as shockingly cold as his own and he wondered if he should not have insisted on a winter wedding, at least not one outside. There were warming charms, ones woven into fabrics, surrounding chairs and shrubbery, forming an unseen barrier overhead, but one to mutter to warm her hands himself eluded him. Dammit. Beside them, the officiant spoke, but he heard little of it.
“Above you are the stars, below you are the stones, as time doth pass, remember... Like a stone should your love be firm, like a star should your love be constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage, let the strength of your wills bind you together, let the power of love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable. Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they will pass quickly. Be free in giving affection and warmth. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for your love for each other is with you always.”
He turned to Draco. “Draco, I have not the right to bind thee to Daphne, only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in her finger.”
Draco chafed Daphne's hands between his, running over charms in his head yet still coming up blank. However, the friction between their hands was beginning to warm each other, but before he could pay that much mind, his name was being spoken. Oh. Right. What was he supposed to be doing again?
Rabastan began to get worried when Draco didn't turn to him to get the rings or respond to the officiant right away. He turned himself toward Draco, pressing the rings into his hand, thankful to have them in the boy's possession instead of his, because he was half afraid he'd be responsible for their loss before the ceremony was over.
Rings! That's what came next. Giving Rabastan an appreciative nod, he took both rings, handed the one for him to Daphne and kept the one meant for her, sliding it on her finger. He could still hear his mother's warning to go slowly and, if there was resistance, leave the ring and let Daphne finish to avoid breaking her knuckle in being too forceful. The ring slipped on easily, clicking softly with her engagement ring in a way that seemed so loud when no other sounds had readily penetrated his self-labeled idiot stupor.
"It is my wish," he said a bit huskily, once he remembered that part was actually supposed to go first. Dammit.
The officiant turned to Daphne. “Daphne, I have not the right to bind thee to Draco, only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in his hand.”
Daphne felt as though all of the air was sucked out of the room. There was no need to breathe, no need to think, no need to do anything but watch, seemingly paralyzed in anticipation, as Draco slid the ring onto her finger. She had heard horror stories from her friends, stories about rings suddenly not fitting or overzealous new husbands who pushed too hard on the ring and made the moment uncomfortable, but this? This was magical. Too soon the officiant was speaking to her again, wanting action, and so she followed Draco's lead. He was her husband now, the future patriarch of their own family, why would she not follow him over all others? Carefully she slid his ring onto his left hand, allowing herself a moment to marvel at how natural it looked there before she spoke. "It is my wish."
The officiant again turned to Draco. “Repeat after me: I, Draco Alastair Malfoy, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, Daphne Isolde Greengrass, to my hand, my heart and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.”
Despite his self-decided deficiencies, Draco managed to not only repeat the words, but truly say them, his lips quirking wickedly at the 'possess' part. He likely should not be having that sort of thought derailment right now, of that he was certain. As he spoke, her ringed hand held in his similarly ringed hand and his wand loosely held in his other hand, glowing strands left the end of his wand and curled around their joined hands, wavy but with a definite end and beginning.
Daphne's smile spoke volumes as he said the words of joining to her, promising a good many things to her (including one thing that she felt certain he was already looking forward to that made her blush with her own anticipation.) Then it was her turn. Oh Merlin, but she hoped she still had enough wit about her to get this right.
She repeated after the officiant, repeating his words carefully but pausing before she started, so that she too could really mean the words and say them with her own emotion rather than like a puppet. When she was finished her wand shot its own glowing strand, winding itself lightly around his own strand. She grinned at him, still in awe at the process that would bind her to him for the remainder of their lives.
The officiant smiled at them both. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light unto you.” He nodded. “You may seal the covenant.”
Smirking now, the awkwardness suddenly shed in knowing it was over, that despite it all, he had done this and he did want this, Draco slid his wand into his robes. He raised their joined, magically circled hands to heart level between them and pulled her close with his free hand snugly at her waist. A second later, his lips were on hers.
Daphne kissed him back quite eagerly, only restraining herself from fully pouncing on them because their entire group of family and friends and a few enemies. It was ONLY that fact, but her kiss was still a bit more intense than was perhaps entirely proper. She gripped his hand hard, only breaking the kiss when she felt that they had little alternative. She almost didn't notice their strands of magic joining to form one circle, save for the warm, powerful way that it made her feel. "I love you Draco Malfoy." She whispered softly against his lips, still not pulling away.
Draco did not say it often, but it needed to be said right now, he wanted to say it right now. Hid lips curled upward and he returned the words in kind, lip to lip, breath to breath. "I love you too, Daphne Malfoy."