Truly Madly Deeply

Chapter Nineteen - The Wedding Planner

~ The Great Hall ~

"What about this one?"

"No, that's too blue."

"How about this?"

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?? Not blue, nothing blue. Green. It must be green!"

"Okay, calm down Draco, this one is green."

"Eugh, no, that's lime green."

"O-kay. Well, when you've worked out which shade of green you want, let me know."

Harry threw the book of material swatches onto the Gryffindor table they had covered with wedding paraphernalia and observed his lover sitting opposite him. Draco was being such a goddamn perfectionist but he did look cute the way as he scrunched up his face in concentration as he flipped through different styles of invitations. There were still a couple of months to go until graduation and their wedding but Draco insisted that they had to start planning now if they wanted the day to run smoothly.

Narcissa bit back a laugh. Her son and his fiancé were just like....well not like her and Lucius....but how she imagined couples who loved each other dearly might plan their wedding. Harry clearly had no idea of what Draco wanted but he was eager to please anyway. She reached over for the abandoned material book and flicked through the available colours.

"How about this one, darling," she said, holding one up fo Draco to scrutinize. His gaze quickly flickered between the deep emerald material and Harry's eyes and back again.

Harry suddenly realised why lime green was so offensive but wondered why on earth everything had to match his bloody eyes.

"It's perfect!" Draco announced sounding pleased at last.

Harry shot Narcissa a smile and a grateful look.

"Now we just need to decide on the style," Draco said as Harry groaned. This was just getting worse by the minute. If I'd known how much trouble a wedding was, I never would have.....no, he thought, I still would have proposed. It will be worth it in the end. I hope.....

"They're just robes, Draco. Although I really don't understand why we're even wearing robes, when we hate them," Harry replied. That stopped Draco in his tracks.

"I don't either," Draco replied, chewing on his lip in that adorable way that Harry loved. "What do you suggest we wear? But if we're getting married here perhaps we should stick with convention and wear robes."

"Since when have we ever been conventional?" Harry laughed. "Leave our clothing to me and you just worry about the rest of the arrangements. You know better than I do what we need for the wedding so I'll just-"

"Sit! You are not going anywhere! This is our wedding and we are going to plan it together," Draco said sternly, glaring at Harry as if daring him to try to worm his way out of this.

"But Dray-co," Harry practically whined, "We don't have time for this. Have you forgotten our exams coming up soon? The N.E.W.T.s?"

Draco's face fell. "Shit. What the hell are we supposed to do then? I can't get all this done, and study and do exams."

"You could always hire a wedding planner," put in Hermione, who had just joined the group. She dropped a pile of books on the table with a loud thunk.

"Where's Ron?" asked Harry amiably.

"He's drilling Neville out on the Quidditch pitch. I think Dean and Seamus are practicing too...well, hitting bludgers at each other at any rate," Hermione said with a wry smile.

"You know that's not a bad idea, Hermione" Draco said thoughtfully.

Harry looked startled, "What? Hitting bludgers at each other?"

"No! Hiring a wedding planner. We definitely need help with this. There's just too much to get done in so little time," Draco clarified.

Narcissa cleared her throat. "Darling, I'd be more than willing to help. I've really got nothing else to do and I'd welcome the opportunity to stay here for a while."

Draco beamed at her and looked questioningly at Harry who nodded.

"My mother knows everything there is to know about planning the social event of the year, no the decade, hell, the century!" Draco said with a flourish. He and Harry gathered up all their wedding plan bits and pieces and dropped them in front of Narcissa.

"Thanks mother," Draco called out as he and Harry ran out of the Great Hall to God Knows Where.

Narcissa sighed and looked down at the mess in front of her. "I asked for that, didn't I?" she said with a touch of irony.

Hermione giggled. "Yep!"

~ A Deserted Corridor Somewhere In The Castle ~

Harry crept along the corridor with a stealth that even Mrs. Norris would have envied. He stopped beneath a painting of a young Rowena Ravenclaw. He glanced around the dark desolate corridor for a sign of life. He jumped back into the shadows as he heard footsteps approaching.

"Harry?" A voice called as the footsteps neared.

Harry reached out and pulled the person back into the shadows with him.

Narcissa Malfoy stared at Harry in surprise. "Why are we meeting here?"

"Shh," he whispered. "No one's supposed to know we're meeting like this!"

"Sorry," she whispered back. "I guess that answers my question."

"I don't want Draco to know," he hissed, as if this should have been obvious.

"He's going to find out. You can't hope to keep this from him," she retorted softly.

Chapter Nineteen - The Wedding Planner