Remain Nameless

Chapter 48

"Erm, uhh... that's fine?"

Her head snapped up and she stopped writing. "You're uncomfortable with this," she stated baldly.

"No! I simply don't... I mean... I've no idea... I mean... Granger, you realize you're having us plan two weddings, yes?"

"I'll do the Muggle one on my own," she claimed quickly. "And actually my Mum will be a big help, she's so excited you know, she's been sending me bridal magazines practically daily, and I think she'd love to bond with me over all the planning—so you wouldn't have to do anything and we could just focus on the preparations for the bonding ceremony on the 14th—and my parents already said they'll cover the costs and it wouldn't be much anyway if we host it at their home—the gardens are so lovely there in late summer and I don't expect you to even want to help—"

Oh gods, they aren't even married yet and he's already disappointing her.

"—it's nothing too odd, I promise, you know there's actually a lot more overlap in cultural wedding traditions than you might think, it's all rather derivative, and I—"

"Granger."

Draco placed a hand on top of her knees in what he hoped served as a gesture of comfort to help stem her anxious babbling.

"I'm not opposed to a Muggle ceremony in addition to a wizarding one. Perhaps it might be best if... if you and your mother do the bulk of the planning? I'll weigh in on things if you like... but I frankly don't know the first thing about Muggle ceremonies."

"It's pretty simple really, well not all of them, but the standard non-denominational ceremonies resemble the basic bonding ceremonies. We exchange vows and rings and there can be a reading or two, and an officiant presides over everything and signs off on the marriage certificate. So really it's very straightforward but obviously no bonding magic or wands needed. Then a reception follows with a meal and some dancing if we want."

She spoke in her small voice. The one she used when unsure of how the information she said would be received. She uttered it as meekly and quickly as possible, as if trying to get the worst of it over and then deal with any fallout. But he'd never want to stifle her cultural customs, even if he couldn't quite grasp how he should feel about participating in a Muggle tradition.

He cleared his throat. "I'm not opposed to it, love." He moved closer and dropped a reassuring kiss to her temple. "I don't know what's expected of me for... that type of ceremony but I do know you're not paying for it either way."

That successfully flared her back to life.

"Absolutely not Malfoy! I have plenty of my own savings and my parents already offered to pay for this!"

Draco snorted. "You are aware of what happens when you marry me Granger? You'll be one of the wealthiest women in our world. A peasant no longer."

"I'm not taking your gold!"

"Hush, it will be our gold. You will have a key to all my vaults at Gringotts and I won't hear another word against it."

Hermione rolled her eyes which Draco took as a sign of defeat and squeezed the tops of her knees in appreciation.

She settled back into planning with new zeal, while Draco wondered which notion aroused him more: that his future wife could not care less about the contents of his vaults or that she wanted to marry him twice.

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March 2010

During their recent Floo call, Draco's group of solicitors and financial advisors raised a rather astute point about updating his will now that he was to be married. Draco agreed with the prudent suggestion, immediately dictating that all his assets be equally distributed between Hermione and Narcissa (should his mother outlive him). Hermione would inherit Franklin House and after deliberating internally for a few minutes decided on a tidy sum each for Crick and Watson.