When the Stars Fall

Sixteen: An Uninvited Guest

The first, second, and third years grumbled indignantly, but left to return to their common rooms as everyone else headed toward the Great Hall, Hermione and Draco walking, hand in hand, ahead of everyone else. The couple walked into Great Hall and their mouths fell open. The room was decorated in soft tones of lavender and pale green, white and lavender roses filled the room. A five tiered white wedding cake, punch, and other refreshments were set up on a table, and music seemed to fill the hall, soft classical muggle music, much to Hermione's relief. The rest of the room was cleared for dancing.

Albus entered the Great Hall followed by students from fourth year and above, as well as the other wedding guests. He smiled and then said, "I believe it is a tradition that the couple cut the cake and share in the first piece. Please proceed, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."

Hermione blushed and Draco looked at her devilishly. They took the knife that was by the cake and together they cut a piece from the top layer. Draco placed the piece of cake on a napkin and took a small piece of the slice in his hands and held it to Hermione's lips. She smiled and allowed Draco to put the bite size piece in her mouth. Her lips lingered on his fingers and her tongue gingerly licked the icing from his fingertips, and then she took a piece of the cake and smiled. She held it and he leaned down and took the cake and her fingers into his mouth. He smiled as he looked into her face and then let her fingers go.

"The cake is so much sweeter from your fingers," he whispered.

Hermione blushed, then he took another piece of the cake and before she knew what was happening, he managed to get icing on the tip of her nose. She looked up at him sharply and he laughed and then licked the icing from her nose and kissed her. He put the cake down on the table, and wound his arms around her. When they went up for air, they were breathless, and the room was full of applause.

"Well, one must assume that the cake is delightful, but one can expect no less from the oven of Molly Weasley," Albus spoke, his eyes twinkling ever the more mischievously.

With that Albus announced the first dance of the night, and Draco took Hermione's hand as they began to dance to a familiar song. Hermione's heart leapt as the familiar song and lyrics filled the air:

"I wanna touch you

I wanna hold you

I want to love you

But not to mold you

I wanna feel you

I want to kiss you

I wanna leave you

So I can miss you..."

Hermione leaned into Draco's chest and sighed, "How did he know about this song?"

Draco leaned down, his lips against the shell of her ear as he whispered, "I thought you'd want it to be the first dance, since our first dance was to this song."

They continued to sway to the music as the song slowly drew to an end:

I wanna hear you...whisper softly,

Say you love me...say it softly.

Please, show me the way you are,

Show me the answers to how I can start

Show me the way

Show me the key that will open the door,

Show me the way you are.

Show me the answers to how I can start

To find a way to your heart..."

As the last note of the music rang throughout Great Hall, Draco leaned down and caught Hermione's lips in a soft kiss and then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to meet the eyes of one Richard Granger.

"If I may, I would like the next dance with my daughter," He said.

Draco nodded and then handed Hermione's hand to her father's. Her eyes sparkled at Draco's and then her father swept her up into a waltz as another song, "Unchained Melody" filled the air.

She leaned against her father and sighed. He looked down at his only daughter and couldn't hide the smile on his face as he spoke, "He does make you happy, doesn't he? I didn't realize how much he loved you, until I saw how he looked at you tonight, honey. It was a beautiful ceremony, and now I'll have to accept him, seeing as to how you've had a proper wedding in our witness. Just remember if he ever does hurt you, although I doubt he will, I can handle him."

"Oh, Daddy," she said with a laugh, "Thank you."

"Anything for you, as long as you're happy, baby girl. Just know your mother and I love you," he said and then they stopped dancing as the music ended. Hermione noticed Draco had been dancing with Molly Weasley and he looked ashen and worse for the wear. She wondered what the matriarch of the Weasley family had told him, and stifled the laughter. As the next song started Ginny swept Draco away from her mother and Hermione felt long fingers tap her shoulder as a deep voice asked, "May I have this dance."

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she was spun around and faced none other than Severus Snape. Her eyes widened as he took her hand and began to dance with her. She wasn't the only one in shock. Nearly everyone in Great Hall looked on as the surly Potions Master dressed in the green silk shirt and black suede pants from the ceremony, danced with the blushing bride. Many mouths hung open, including that of Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and the rest of the Hogwarts' students. Even the teachers stared in open-mouthed astonishment.

Severus Snape moved around the floor with a grace that Hermione had never witnessed with the Potions Master unless he was working on one of his potions, and she was shocked that he was dancing with her. He looked down at her with a smirk and said, "Really Mrs. Malfoy, you look as though you've never seen a man dance before. Are you feeling quite all right?"

She nodded and managed to close her mouth. He chuckled and as the music ended he leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek as he whispered gently, "Congratulations, and I'm glad your Gryffindor bravery held out. He's a lucky man. Very few Gryffindors would have given a Slytherin the time of day."

Hermione looked up at the man, her brow furrowed in thought and then she blushed and said, "Thank you, Severus."

Soon Hermione was swept into the arms of her husband again, and then twirled into the arms of Harry, and Ron with the beginnings of a new song. She even danced with Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Arthur Weasley, and Neville Longbottom, as well as Dumbledore. After awhile she took a rest and then found herself dancing with Draco once again, until long cool fingers tapped on her shoulders to cut in.

Hermione was swirled around into an elegant embrace and was swept around the room. Still something felt strange. The man that danced with her was wearing a cloak and the hood was drawn. He swirled her towards the doors leading to the garden, then something flashed through Hermione's mind. She wasn't supposed to go through those doors and into the garden. She stopped suddenly and her strange dance partner stopped and chuckled. Something about that chuckle sent shivers down her spine. It was cold and pitiless.

"Haven't you an ounce of respect for your new father-in-law?" a cold, deep, melodious voice from the hood spoke.

His fingers grasped Hermione's wrists tightly and he continued, "Join me in the garden, now mudblood. Don't make a scene."

Hermione tried to snatch her arm back and snapped, "I'll go nowhere with you!"

Her voice drew the attention of everyone in the room. Draco rushed over and noticed the hand that held his wife's wrist, and then he grabbed the hood and drew it back to reveal the face of his father. Lucius Malfoy looked at his son, anger and hatred filling his eyes.

"Ah, Draco, when were you going to tell me that you married such a charming young woman?" he asked.

Hermione tried to snatch her arm again, and spat, "Only a few moments ago I was nothing more than a mudblood to you!"

Snape appeared by Draco's side and his black eyes darted to Lucius' around Hermione's wrist. Snape put his hands on Draco's shoulders and squeezed them, to prevent the boy from doing something foolish.

Snape looked at Lucius and said, "It's rude to disrupt formal proceedings that you were not invited to. Honestly, Lucius, I thought you had better breeding. Perhaps it would be in your best interest to release your son's bride. This is in rather poor taste and what would people think if you bruised your own daughter-in-law?"

Lucius' eyes blazed cold steel as he threw Hermione's wrist down and then spoke with a voice filled with the chill of an arctic wind, "No son of mine would marry so low as a mudblood. Of course, knowing Narcissa as well as I do, I doubt the bastard has an ounce of Malfoy blood in him."

"What makes you think I would want any of your blood?" Draco snapped.

Lucius' eyes bore into the blue eyes of the boy glaring hatefully at him.

"As I said, you're no son of mine, your mother had a score of lovers. Any one of them could have fathered you," Lucius spat.

With that Severus released Draco's shoulders and stepped toward Lucius. Draco took that opportunity to put his arms around his wife and they both backed away from Snape and Lucius, feeling the tension building between the two men.

"You've gone out of line, Malfoy, now leave," Snape hissed.

Lucius smiled, a wicked glint in his eye, "Severus, still woe be gone on an old school crush? Honestly, don't you ever move on from anything? You always were a sentimental fool."

"You never deserved her," Snape growled.

"You're right, no self respecting man deserves to be stuck with a whore," Lucius spoke nonchalantly and then looked directly into Snape's eyes.

Before anyone realized what happened, Snape had moved, his fist reared back and came into contact with Lucius' nose. A sickening crack filled the room, and blood spurted from Malfoy the elder's nose. Lucius grabbed his nose and then spoke in a distorted voice, "This is not over."

With that he pushed through the crowd of people and left Great Hall with an air of pompous dignity that no one could expect from a man who'd just received a broken nose.

Everyone stared after him, and then the attention turned to the bride and groom, who were surrounded by her parents, their friends, and McGonagall, and then the attention focused to the Potions Master who was shaking his hand and talking in hushed tones to Dumbledore.

While the attention focused away from the bride and groom, Penelope Granger leaned toward her daughter and asked, "Who was that awful man?"

Draco was the one that answered, "The man married to my mother."

Penelope Granger's eyes widened and she turned to her husband and then back at their daughter and son-in-law. "Is he your father?" Penelope asked gently.

"I don't know if he's my father... But I hope not," Draco spoke through clenched teeth.

With that the questions ended. Draco performed a healing charm on Hermione's wrist, as it had begun to swell, and soon it was well again. No one surrounding the couple really knew what to say.

They all turned to Albus, when the old wizard cleared his throat and then spoke after gathering everyone's attention:

"It is most unfortunate that our festivities have been cut short by so unfortunate an event. However, we shouldn't dwell upon unhappy moments. This is the night of a wedding, and as being such; we should see the young couple off. Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, a room has also been prepared for you to stay the night. I assume you'll have no trouble as the room is on the first floor, so you'll not be dealing with our trick y staircases."

Taking that as his signal, Draco gathered Hermione in his arms, and looked down into her toffee brown gaze, the previous disturbance forgotten. She couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up as he gathered her into his arms and carried her off, out of the Great Hall.

Snape's eyes followed the young couple and he almost smiled, but he didn't as he remembered that a room full of his students surrounded him. He couldn't help the swell in his chest as the memory of what he'd heard Draco say to the Granger's returned to him.

"I don't know if he's my father... But I hope not."

Those words gave Severus hope, if it was true and Malfoy wasn't Draco's father, then maybe there was hope. Maybe he did have a son. After all those years he'd been so sure that Narcissa had miscarried their child. Was it possible that he'd just witnessed his son's wedding, and gained a brilliant, albeit annoying, daughter-in-law?