Hindered Love (A Severus snape love story)

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Hestia awoke beneath the silky blue covers, hair splayed across the pillow. Her dress lay abandoned on the floor a few metres from the bed and Hestia inwardly groaned when she checked beneath the covers to find that she wasn't wearing a thing.

She fumbled across the bedside cabinet with her hand, searching for her wand. Her hand clamped firmly around the cold wooden structure and she pulled it towards her, sighing with relief when she cast a spell that threw underwear onto her shivering body.

She stretched her arms slowly, savouring the relaxing feeling she always felt when she slept in so late. Late? She grabbed the clock and saw the glowing screen display the words 5:30am. Five thirty? It felt far later, the sun was already streaming through the tall windows, curtains hanging abandoned on either side. It was as she was going to pull the covers off that the door swung open and smashed loudly into the wall.

"What do you think you are doing?" Lucius snarled, startling Draco who was suddenly awake and staring at his surroundings before grinning sheepishly when he realised where he was. Hestia grabbed the covers and pulled them tightly around herself, feeling her cheeks burn a bright crimson. "You only had to wait a few hours, but you couldn't even manage that could you?" He sneered and Hestia looked confused. A few hours? but that meant that the wedding was-

"Today is your wedding, so I suggest that you get up, you don't want to be late." He grunted like we were idiots. He stood in the doorway still watching us before growing impatient. "Well? What are you waiting for?" He growled, frowning slightly.

"We..uh...aren't wearing any...uh.. clothes.." Draco managed to say before his cheeks flushed deep pink. Lucius glared darkly at him before slamming the door shut and storming down the corridor. Draco turned and grinned at Hestia who wouldn't meet his gaze and instead pushed back the covers and tried to find something casual enough to wear before she had to get dressed later.

She carefully opened the wardrobe door and peered into the darkness. The only thing hanging from the rail was a delicate white dress. Her wedding dress. That was when the enormity of the situation managed to sink in and she swallowed loudly before collapsing to the floor.

"Hestia? Hello?" Draco asked, having pulled on underwear and his trousers he leapt over to Hestia and lifted her from the floor before lowering her back onto the bed.

"I can't do this Draco." Hestia muttered almost immediately after her eyes had snapped open.

"Of course you can. You have to do it, remember. It won't be too bad." Draco soothed her whilst pulling on his creased white shirt. His usually immaculate white blond hair was sticking up in rather cute clumps, making him look derranged.

"Draco, you might not mind but I do. I have to be stuck as some labouring house wife for the rest of my life whilst you get to work." She grumbled and Draco shook his head, laughing softly.

"You honestly think that I would make you do that? We may have to get married, but who said it has to be conventional?" He grinned, grabbing his shoes and heading to the door.

"I will see you later... at the alter I guess." He laughed, ducking when Hestia threw a pillow at him, before stepping through the door. She sat in silence for a while, contemplating what was going to happen very soon, when she was made jump by a large black tawny owl pecking at the window.

She stepped cautiously over to him, trying to wrench the rusty window open enough for the owl to drop the letter it was carrying through. She managed to wriggle it so that there was just enought room, so she poked her fingers out and snatched the letter from the owl's beak, to which it responded by biting her on the finger.

"Ouch, stupid owl." She hissed, sucking her finger as she threw the letter on the bed and slammed the window shut, scaring the beautiful bird away.

She threw herself onto the bed and grabbed the letter. It smelt familiar, like an intoxicating cologne and a hint of... bitter spices? It smelt like Professor Snape's office, and was strangely comforting. She carefully turned it over in her hand, re-reading the address and tracing her finger along the slanted, scribbled writing.

She gently peeled open the envelope and slid out a small piece of parchment with a small inscription written in dark, smudged ink.

I will save you.

Her breath caught in her throat as she read the four words repeatedly. It was certainly from Severus, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to be saved by him. Anyone but him really.

A few tears dripped onto the parchment, smearing the rushed writing until it was unreckognisable as letters, let alone words. She sighed before ripping it up into small pieces that she continued to throw over herself. Confetti. How ironic.

Those words echoed through her head, drilling into her brain.

I will save you

I will save you

Will you? She thought. Will you save me in time? You are pushing your luck a bit. Only a few more hours until she became Mrs Draco Malfoy. Was that such a bad thing? Maybe it was better than living with the feeling that she and Severus could be together. They obviously couldn't. Ever.