The Marriage Decree

Chapter 73: You Could Have Said Nothing At All

Hermione wakes up blissfully the morning of Sophie's birthday. She rolls over, wrapping her arms around Draco's bare chest. He mutters something unintelligible as he pulls her closer.

"What was that?" She chuckles against his neck, making him shudder.

"I love you." He mutters again.

She smiles. "I love you too."

She thinks back to a week ago when she had first confessed her love to her husband. They had gone on to consummate their marriage that night, as well as every night since.

"We need to get up." She tells him. "You have Nott's trial at nine and I told David I would be over to set up at half-past eight." She reminds him.

Draco sighs. "What time is it now," He asks.

"Quarter past eight." She answers, hugging him closer, not wanting him to leave the bed even though they really need to get up.

He groans as he pulls Hermione closer, then kisses the top of her head. "We really need to get up." He sighs.

"Yes." She nods, lifting her head up to look him in the eye.

"If this trial wasn't very important to me, I would stay here five minutes longer." He admits, leaning down to kiss her a few times, then climbing out of bed.

"Is Theo going to be there?" Hermione asks as she follows him to their wardrobe and pulls out her dress robes. She'd bought them, especially for Sophie's party in order to fit the magical dress code. The robes are red with attached cape and gold details on the shoulders. The skirt that falls straight to the floor.

"He said he never wanted to see him again, so I doubt it," Draco tells her, pulling his white dress shirt on and making sure the collar is stuck up straight. "I'm going to visit him after the trial and tell him the outcome so I might be fifteen minutes late to David's." He says.

"It's fine. The party doesn't start until four this afternoon and I've told you I'll help with the magical room. I'll set all the wards up and the food table then you can decorate it how you want when you get there." She assures him. "It's all going to go smoothly." She smiles as she waves her wand over her shoulder to fasten up the corset.

Draco sighs as he pulls on his black dress robe on over his shirt and fastening it up the front. He looks at himself in dressing table mirror shaking his head. The dress robes have longer sleeves than he's used to and the silver details are overly ostentatious, which is something he never thought he would think, taking pride in his own pretentiousness. The one thing, above all else, that he hates is the length of the skirt. He's used to his dress robes falling stiffly to his mid-thigh, not floatingly to his mid-calf. Then when paired with his new leather boots, it all seems too much but Hermione assured him on many occasions that it's so over-the-top that it would be considered normal wizarding costume in the muggle world, which is what they're going for.

"I can't believe I'm wearing this to the trial." He sighs again.

"Stop sighing." Hermione scolds him playfully. "I don't see how this is any different from your usual dress robes. There only a little longer."

"It's floaty, Hermione." He stares at her but she doesn't seem to understand so he steps away and gives her a twirl, the skirt of his dress robe fanning out. "See."

"Well, I happen to prefer these dress robes to your usual ones. You don't look like your father in these ones." She smiles then laughs at the image of Lucius wearing the dress robes.

"Oh, thanks, that's reassuring." He rolls his eyes as he tucks his wand into the wand holster on the inside of his robes. "Lucius was considered a fashionable man in his time, if he wouldn't wear this, then I don't see why I should either." He comments, taking his black cloak out of the wardrobe and throwing it over his arm. "I'm placing a winter charm in the magical room. If I'm expected to wear a cloak in the middle of summer along with these robes, I'm changing the season." He complains as he heads downstairs.