Heir Of Gryffindor

Chapter Eighteen

Three months. That's how much time had passed since the day Dumbledore was murdered. Draco, Bian, and Snape all fled with the rest of the death eaters and I cried for a whole month about it. Harry couldn't look at me. He couldn't believe I was in love with his enemy. He couldn't seem to wrap his fingers around the concept. Bia sent letters once a week and in each one she told me Draco was being too stubborn to face me. He thought he wasn't good enough for me anymore. Ron and Hermione were civil with me, but they did their best to ignore me when I was in the room. We were all staying at the burrow and for the first time in the longest time, I felt like a complete outsider.

Since the beginning of July, Mrs. Weasley kept us busy. Fleur and Bill were getting married tomorrow and we had all been helping with wedding preparations. Every member of the order was staying with the Weasley's. Harry didn't get here that long ago. Ron, Fred, and George all saved him from our horrid relatives. Ginny was the only person who didn't treat me differently. She yelled at Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the twins for me. The five of them promised to never leave me, but here they were judging me for being with Malfoy. I appreciated Ginny defending me, but I could only imagine my reaction if one of them loved one of our enemies. I understood why they were acting the way they were, but I needed them.

I was helping Molly finish altering Fleur's wedding dress, and Fleur smiled down at me. She told me to stay put, and I did what she said. She came back with a box, and told me to close my eyes and undress. I didn't question her, and she slipped something over my head. I opened my eyes, and stared at myself in shock. I was wearing a dress the same red color as Gryffindor. It stopped above my knee and hugged my body like a second skin. It was beautiful, but Fleur was still holding something. She put it on me, and I tried not to cry.

"Harley, I don't care who you love, and no one else should. This dress is going to represent you. The red for Gryffindor, and the snake belt for the boy you love."

I hugged her tightly, and she smiled down at me. She left the room after she changed back into her clothes, and I continued to stare at myself in the mirror. Elizabeth and James were coming to the wedding but wouldn't be here until tomorrow. Sitting in Beauxbatons seemed like a lifetime ago, but I tried not to think too much about it.

I changed back into what I was wearing, and began walking downstairs. I heard people yelling at each other, so I ran down the rest of the stairs, and outside. My brother, Ron, Fred, and George were taking turns yelling at someone. I ran closer, and my heart jumped to my throat when I saw familiar blue eyes pierce mine. I ran into the center, and everyone quieted down. Harry went to say something, but I cut him off.

"You all ignore me for the past three months, act like I don't exist, give me dirty looks, talk about me when you think I'm not listening, and listen as I cry myself to sleep each and every night, yet think you have the right to yell at Draco? I love him. Go ahead and hate me for it, but while you five had better things to do, he was there. He didn't make me feel stupid, or unwanted. He accepted me, and I accepted him. Fleur and Bill invited him, so he's welcome, and if you have a problem with him being here, then both him and I will leave."

I went to turn away, when someone muttered a comment about him being a death eater. I lost it, and the wind picked up. I looked at Ron, because I knew he said it, and everyone looked at me incredulously.

"He had no choice Ronald. If you seen half of what I have, you wouldn't question where his loyalties lie. He'll do whatever he can to make sure I'm safe and happy. And that includes protecting all of you idiots, because you may hate me, but you're all still my family, and I hope one day you'll grow the hell up."

I grabbed Draco's hand, and led him inside. Everyone got quiet, and the group from outside pushed past us on their way in. Fleur broke the silence, and hugged Draco. He was confused but reluctantly hugged back. The tension seemed to die a little, but Draco was still wary. I led him outside, and we walked in comfortable silence. We stopped, and before I could say anything, he kissed me. I forgot what I was going to say, and kissed him back. We hadn't really been together in months. Our kiss was desperate and hungry. I felt that the minute my lips left his, he'd just disappear. We both pulled back, and I rested my forehead against his. He was silently crying, and I wiped away his tears. We didn't need to talk. Our kiss and our touches said enough.

We walked back to the house hand in hand, and Molly split us up. She had Draco help the men with setting up the tents, and chairs, and all that good stuff, and she had me helping her hem some of the girls' dresses. Ginny's and Fleur's dresses were fine, but I had to hem Gabrielle, Fleur's sister's, dress, and Hermione's. I didn't want to hem the latter, but I had no other choice. Gabrielle's was simple, and only took a minute to fix. Hermione walked in, and we both were dead silent. I went to work on fixing her dress, and we still said nothing. She started sniffing, and when I looked up at her, she was crying. I grabbed onto her, and hugged her tight. We both cried and said sorry about a hundred times each. She pulled away, and we both wiped our eyes.

"I trust you Harley, I just don't want you to get hurt. If you love Mal- Draco, I'll support you, but if he hurts you, I hurt him."

I laughed and nodded my head okay. I finished her dress, and she squeezed my hand for support. At least I still had her.