Chapter One
Draco Malfoy's heart raced with anticipation as he stood waiting for his parents to come meet him in the entryway. The rain outside mirrored Draco’s mood.
Today at exactly 3 p.m, Draco would come face to face, for the first time, with his future bride.
This day had consumed his every thought for months on end.
While waiting for his parents, Draco thought back to the moment a couple of months ago when he first heard her name.
The overwhelming surge of emotions that flooded him was too much to bear, forcing him to run to the bathroom where he proceeded to throw up. When he left the bathroom, Draco hastily assured his concerned mother that his sickness was purely nerves, nothing more. Satisfied with his explanation, his mother refrained from asking any further questions.
Now that the day was here, he felt like throwing up again. Luckily, just as he was going to head to the bathroom, his mother and father made their way into the entryway. “Are you ready to go?” his mother said in a calming voice.
Draco just smiled and nodded, fearing his shaky voice would give his true feelings away.
As the trio made their way to the carriage, Draco looked around him. The rain was still coming down. He tried to focus on the scenery but that wasn’t a very good distraction.
The whole way to the Greengrass estate, no one said a word.
While this wasn’t out of the ordinary, Draco had wished that his father would have talked business or maybe his mother could have brought up her book club. The carriage ride wasn’t very long, about 10 minutes.
Draco tried to count how many times he heard a hoof hit the ground, but he kept having to start over because he would start thinking about Astoria again. Draco caught himself thinking about how his future wife had only lived 10 minutes away this whole time.
Had he ever seen her while out shopping with his mother? Maybe he had crossed paths with her when they were younger. These thoughts did not make him feel any better.
When they arrived at the Greengrass estate, Draco thought it was a cute house. It was definitely smaller than the manor but he liked it. His father led them up to the big doors.
After he knocked twice, a man wearing a very large bowtie who couldn’t have been any older than Draco answered.
“Hello, may I help you?” the bowtie man said. Lucius cleared his throat,
“Yes, hello. We are the Malfoy’s. Mr. Greengrass was expecting us.”
The large bowtie man stepped aside and with a wave of his hand, ushered the family inside.
Draco was in awe from the moment he walked into the Greengrass estate. It was nothing like the manor he had grown up in. This house was bright and filled with color. Family photos were everywhere. Even though it was gray and rainy outside, the big windows let in so much natural light, there seemed to be no need for lamps. As he looked around, he felt a sense of calm wash over him. If he could use one word to describe the Greengrass estate it would be “cozy”.
He heard a voice clear behind him and turned to look. “Welcome Lucius and Narcissa. It’s been too long since we have seen you last," a woman, about the same height as his mother, came walking towards them, "This must be Draco."
He had to admit, the woman was very beautiful.
His mother smiled and held her arms open so she could hug the woman.
“Hello, it is so wonderful to see you! This day has been in the making for quite some time.” Draco had heard about Mrs. Greengrass briefly from his mother.
Draco held out a hand to his future mother in law, “Hello, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The woman grabbed his hand and gave it a firm shake. “It’s very nice to meet you also, Draco. I hope the journey over here wasn’t too much of a hassle.”
Draco could tell that this woman was very kind. She had a very light energy about her.
Mrs. Greengrass continued talking, “Theo setup tea for us in the parlor. Let’s make our way there now before it gets cold.” The large bowtie man, now known as Theo, smiled and led the way to the parlor.
“Will you need anything else ma’am?” Theo asked as everyone found a seat in the parlor.
“No, I think that’ll be all Theo. I’ll call if we need anything. Thank you.” Mrs. Greengrass said with a gentle smile. Theo backed out of the room and shut the doors quietly. “I do have to apologize for Astoria, she is still getting ready. I swear, she could have started getting ready last night and still not be done.”
A small laugh escaped Draco’s lips. This made him feel a little better, maybe Astoria was as nervous as he was.
As his parents made conversation with his mother-in-law, Draco sat quietly, smiling and nodding when appropriate. He practically jumped out of his seat when the door opened again. It wasn’t Astoria that walked in though, it was Mr. Greengrass. Draco had seen him a couple of times at Malfoy Manor. Lucius and Mr. Greengrass had been business partners on a couple of projects throughout the years. Draco had never really talked to him outside of a greeting here and there when they passed each other in the hallway.
They had arrived almost 30 minutes ago and there was still no sight of Astoria. Draco felt more nervous as more time passed. When there was a lull in the conversation, Draco finally got the courage to speak. “Excuse me, where would I find the bathroom?”
His mother got a concerned look on her face, she probably thought he was going to throw up again.
Mrs. Greengrass rang a little bell and a couple seconds later, Theo appeared. “Theo, dear, can you please show Draco where the bathroom is?” Theo smiled and nodded, “Sure thing. Follow me please, Draco.”
The walk to the bathroom wasn’t very long. Draco was thinking to himself that he didn’t even really need Theo to show him where it was, he could have found it on his own.
“Can you find your way back to the parlor or would you like me to wait for you?” Theo smiled a tight smile as he spoke.
Draco cleared his throat, “I should be able to make it back. Thanks though, Theo.”
Theo nodded and turned on his heels. Draco entered the bathroom and shut the door.
He looked at himself in the mirror. He had a weird feeling wash over him as he was staring in the mirror. Draco was feeling fear. Fear that Astoria wouldn’t like him. Fear that he wouldn’t like Astoria. Fear that their marriage would be unhappy.
Draco turned on the skin and splashed cold water on his face. “I can do this.” Draco said aloud to no one but himself. He readied himself to open the door. He kept his eyes on the floor as he walked out.
As he did, he heard someone coming down the hall.
This someone was speaking in whispers to someone else so Draco couldn’t hear exactly what was being said.
As Draco looked up, his eyes fell upon one of the most beautiful women he’s ever seen. The woman was a vision of grace and poise. She had chestnut hair that fell into loose curls down her back. It almost looked like she was walking on air. Draco couldn’t breathe, he felt like all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. The woman was walking and whispering to Theo. It seemed like the conversation they were having was private. Draco immediately felt like he was intruding and tried to walk away quickly. As he was trying to make his escape, he heard Theo speak.
“Mr. Malfoy, wait a moment, please.” Draco turned around and Theo continued, “I think this would be a great time to introduce you to your bride. This is Astoria Greengrass.”