Touch your heart (Severus Snape)

Chapter 43

Before I knew it I was discharged from the hospital, - thank god -, and I continued with the wedding preparations.

But I sensed something different about Severus. For almost two weeks he was never on our chambers, except at night. And when I asked him where he was he would say he was doing "headmaster' stuff", when in fact he was not even on Hogwarts. I didn't want to seem paranoid, so I didn't ask him why he was lying to me.

Anyway, Minerva and I scheduled a day when we would see wedding dresses, but I decided to invite Hermione and Ginny - maybe it could give them ideas, smooth.

"No, try this one." Ginny was excited, grabbing all the beautiful dresses she could find. "No. Definitely, this one." And I complied with all the suggestions they made. 

Dress after dress, I liked the actual one more than the previous, but I didn't buy any of them. As much as they insisted, I wanted to try that one, the one that I've been thinking about in the previous weeks. The one I thought it was too much.

"Wow..." Hermione gasped when she saw me leaving the fitting room, dressed in white, in a mermaid-laced dress with a long tail. The dress enhanced my light hip and ass curves, with a generous laced-cleavage with two thin straps that ended on my backless waist. The dress was thread-embroidered designed with flowers and sparkling beading.

Minerva had tears falling down her eyes and Ginny had a huge smirk and was clapping happily.

"I think this is the one," Hermione stated.

"Isn't it too much?" I asked honestly, studying my figure on the mirror.

"You're right, wait," Hermione said, walking towards the lady from the store and whispered something in her ear. The lady smiled and disappeared quickly, returning with a veil matching my dress, which she put on my hair carefully, ordering me to open my eyes and look to the mirror.

"Wow..." I was speechless. I thought for a second that I could be dreaming and that, in an instant, I would hit my head against the bedside table and wake up back to my room in the dungeons. I shook that feeling away. - This wasn't a dream, I never had dreams so good as this.

"So, what do you say? Is this the dress you wanted?" The lady asked, smiling at my bewilderment.

Since no words came out of my mouth as I tried to conceal the tears, Minerva spoke for me. "Yes, I do believe this is the one. Would you please prepare everything? It is her size, no adaptation shall be needed." The woman nodded and helped me out of the dress. "Oh, oh, and one more thing, you do have lingerie, don't you? Could you show us?"

I stared at Minerva shocked with her - until now -, hidden bold-side. She chose the most provocative lingerie she could find and showed it to me with her mocking expression.

"Now darling, you'll have a honeymoon in Egypt. It is a magical place. You might want to surprise your future husband with something more beautiful than the pyramids." She winked and I widened my eyes and my mouth, completely shocked.

"Minerva! The girls are listening." I muttered.

"We're not kids!" Ginny pouted and I rolled my eyes.

"Come on. You don't think I was a single old lady my whole life, do you?" Minerva asked, already packing up the lingerie and the rest of the ornaments for the dress.

"Sometimes I just wish I was deaf." Ginny murmured.

"I beg your pardon?" Minerva asked, looking back at her.

"Ah, nothing, just thinking with my buttons." She tried to avoid Minerva' gaze as she turned to me. "You gonna need shoes too, don't you?"

"Yes, yes. I think I will." I said very slowly as my eyes landed on someplace else. Or someone. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Severus getting out of a house on our way back to the Diagon-Alley, talking with a well-dressed dark-haired woman. They were shaking hands and she planted a slow kiss on his cheeks instead, like she was flirting or something.

The rest of the girls didn't pay attention to where I was looking at since they were guiding me to a shoe store unaware of how my mind started with racing thoughts about what I just saw. Come on, it's Severus. Don't be a jerk. Ask him tonight what he was doing there and end of story. Certainly, he was doing some kind of important business and I misunderstood what I saw.

But still, there was that voice deep down that was trying to make me doubt things. - I tried to shook it away and enjoy my girls' out.

Eventually, we ended up at the Three Broomsticks drinking butterbeer and gossiping about stuff. 

"I heard Draco was released of all charges. They said he was under his parents' orders and only acted by fear. I say it's bullshit." Ginny said.

"Ginny, I don't think it's bullshit... Draco was indeed obligated to follow his parents' beliefs. He showed several times he has a good side." I answered her. "People aren't born evil."

"You didn't follow your parents' beliefs. He could have done the same." She protested.

"No, I didn't. So I suffered for that. Ginny, I'm not saying he is not guilty - He did have a choice after all. - I'm saying that he needs a second chance. I truly believe he will be different for now on."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Angel. I didn't mean..." She apologized but I smiled.

"No need for that. I must say I turned out pretty well after all." I looked at all of them. "I have friends. Great friends. I have a family like I never knew I would have. And I found love. What more can I ask?"

"And you're getting married" Hermione stated.

"Yes, and I'm getting married."

"So I propose a toast," Minerva said with her cup in the air. "To Angel. And to love. Cheers."

And we hit the cups against each other, drinking them immediately.

"I still think Draco needs a second chance. And if he was released from all charges, we should do the same. Let's see how he will behave for now on. Maybe we'll have a surprise."

"I hope you're right," Hermione stated. "We need peace."

"Yeah, we do... So, Hermione." I looked at her with a mischievous look and she moved uncomfortably on her chair. "How's Ron?"

She blushed and looked at Ginny by the corner of the eyes.

"It's ok. I'm not like my brother. I don't get mad when I heard a friend talk about their relationship with someone from my family." Ginny said rolling her eyes.

"Is Ron still giving you a hard time for being with Harry?" Hermione asked intrigued.

"I don't mind him much. He is starting to accept it." She said.

"Yeh, bloody hell he will! " Hermione answered bothered.

"Well, I see you're two are getting well," I stated and she smiled, her cheeks flustered.

"Actually, we are."

I and Ginny made an "AWWWWE" sound, hugging her in a mocking way and she threw us a napkin, but we just ended up laughing, until Minerva opened her mouth.

"Am I the only one who won't have a date for your wedding?"

We looked at each other, uncertain of what to say. Something occurred to Ginny and she had a mocking expression. Battling herself either she should share the thought with us or not, she opened her mouth anyway.

"Hagrid is single too."

Her shocked face was priceless and we all burst out laughing.

"Alone it is, then."