Double Dare

It was finally Christmas Day. Most of the women burst into my room; my mother, Narcissa, Bellatrix... They hauled me out of bed and pushed me into the bathroom.

"Come on darling! Get ready! It's your wedding today!"

I sighed and looked around the bathroom; how could I forget? I was reminded every moment of every day leading up to it, either by everyone in the mansion or my wedding dress hung up in my room. It was beautiful, black and grey. I jumped into the shower and got clean. Once I was done I pulled my nightgown on and joined all the women in my room again.

"Come here dear; we need to do your hair and make-up" Narcissa said forcing me down in the chair in front of my dresser. They all began fussing over me. I sighed and just looked at my reflection in the mirror.

"Merry Christmas" I mumbled silently to myself. My head was jerked all over the place as they pulled my hair. Once my head was done Bellatrix grabbed my dress and thrust it at me.

"Go put this on"

I nodded and went to the bathroom to get changed. It was a corset dress so I needed someone to lace it up at the back. Bellatrix did it, pulling it as tight as possible, my waist lost around 5 inches. I thought that would be it for a while and I'd get to relax, but more was still to come. They put on all of my jewellery, shoes, small things like gloves. I was eventually left to my own devices, everyone filed out of my room, leaving me in a slightly startled state. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked around. It was still quite early, I didn't know what time the ceremony was, or where it was. Just then there was a meek knock on the door and Draco came in. He smiled at me.

"You look nice"

I shrugged; "you're so lucky you're not getting married...It's actually quite painful"

"Well...Even though we're supposed to be exchanging gifts later AFTER the wedding, I thought I'd come give you yours now"

He held out a small box. I smiled and took it. Inside was a locket, with pictures of me and him inside. I grinned and hugged him tightly.

"It's fantastic! Thank you Draco!"

He smiled; "glad you like it"

"...Do you know what time the wedding is?"

He shrugged; "no, sorry"

I sighed; "the anticipation is killing me!"

"Well...Don't you think this is the best Christmas ever?"

I smiled; "maybe..."

"Maybe? C'mon! You're marrying the guy you love"

I nodded; "yeah...I can't show too much excitement, I can't ruin the dress"

He laughed; "poor you"

Just then Lucius shouted him. He sighed and smiled meekly at me.

"I'll probably see you at the wedding"

I nodded; he hugged me quickly before running off downstairs. I sat back down on my bed and looked at the locket Draco had given me. Time went by so slowly; then again it always does when you watch the clock. Eventually someone knocked on my door and came in. It was my dad, he beamed when he saw me.

"You look stunning sweetheart" he said gathering me in his arms. I smiled as he kissed the top of my head. "Anyway, we should get you married!"

"I think so too"

He picked up my coat and helped me into it.

"Come on then"

He slid his arm round my shoulder and escorted me downstairs and outside to the cars. The windows were tinted so I couldn't see where it was we were going. My dad looked extremely nervous.

"What's wrong dad? I thought I should be the nervous one"

He smiled meekly; "I just don't know if I've done the right thing..."

"I'll be fine! Seriously! I probably know Snape better than you do, he'll be good to me"

He took my hands and squeezed them softly.

"Well...As long as you're sure"

"I'm quite sure...Not that I have much choice either"

It went silent. I stared at my reflection in the window. Finally the car stopped. My dad got out of his side, someone opened the door for me and helped me out. My dad rushed round and took my arm.

"Come on dear...It's time"

I smiled and walked happily up to the church. For something planned so promptly, they'd done a good job. The walk up the aisle was longer than expected, at the front Severus was smirking looking very handsome in his casual suit. Everyone else was dressed in their very best - except Voldermort. When I got to the alter my dad kissed my cheek and held out my hand for Severus to take it. He slid his arm round my waist and pulled me closer. I smiled and held onto him. All through the ceremony I didn't listen to the unimportant things, instead I just soaked in the situation. I was marrying Severus Snape! I looked up at him and smiled sweetly; the vicar-person was also smiling at us.

"I do"

Severus grinned and squeezed me softly.

"You may now kiss the bride"

He slid his arms further round my waist, pulling me closer. I kissed him deeply, making sure to cut it shorter than it would have been if we weren't surrounded by everyone we knew. Everyone began applauding. I buried my face into his chest, looking out over the crowd; Draco was shaking his head and pulling a face of disgust. I laughed to myself and looked up at Severus. He smiled and pushed me away slightly.

"Come on" he said quietly. I nodded and took his arm, he hurried down the aisle to the car. Everyone followed us. My mum rushed over to us, hugging me tightly.

"How are we feeling?"

I smiled; "fantastic"

"Look after her Severus, she's my baby"

He smiled and nodded; "I will"

I looked up and kissed his cheek. He squeezed me softly. Everyone was crowding us, a photographer was snapping pictures, people were congratulating us. Just then Lucius stood in front of us, holding his arms out.

"Come on now everyone, stop crowding them, you can do that when we get back to the Mansion!"

Severus gave me another squeeze before letting go of me. A random guy jumped in between us and opened the car door. Snape took my hand and helped me into the back seat before going round the other side to get in himself. I smiled and snuggled up to him. He held me extremely close and kissed the top of my head. I sighed happily and looked up at him.

"I love you"

He kissed ne softly; "I love you too"

I snuggled up to him, sliding my arms round his waist.

"When I get home I can get out of this lung-capacity-restricting thing"

He laughed and stroked my cheek; "even though everyone who sees you are themselves totally breathless?"

I giggled at his cheesiness and looked up; "you're so sweet, it's actually scaring me"

He laughed again and kissed my forehead; "apologies, I'll stop"

"...You don't have to"

He smirked and gave me a soft squeeze.

"Actually...Could you loosen this corset? It's really hurting"

"Of course"

He turned me so I had my back to him and fiddled about for a few seconds before I could feel my lungs fill with air.

"There you go"

I snuggled up to him again, holding him tightly; "thank you"

When we got back to the Malfoy Mansion, some more pictures were taken before we could all go get changed. The majority of them stayed as they were, only the ones in expensive dresses got changed into more casual ones. I knew the attire for the day was supposed to be smart, so I threw on another dress and took off some of the jewellery, replacing the necklace with the locket Draco had given me earlier. I glanced down at my left hand and smiled at the ring that fit snugly on my finger. I changed my shoes and joined everyone downstairs. The living room was off limits - for now, so everyone was milling about in the library, hallway or garden. Severus was stood at the bottom of the stairs talking to my mum and Lucius. He smiled when he saw me and slid his arm round my waist.

"So...How are we?" Lucius asked. I smiled and snuggled up to Snape.

"I'm great"

They both smiled.

"It's lovely to see you two happy"

"Yeah...When's dinner?"

They all laughed.

"Bless you! It'll be in an hour"

I nodded and looked up at Severus; "shall we go for a wander?"

He smiled and nodded; "sure"

I took his arm and pulled him off outside. We wandered around the garden in a comfortable silence, holding each other close. When we got to the bench at the bottom of the garden I sat down and pulled him down next to me. He wrapped an arm round me and pulled me close.

"So...Will we ever get to be alone?"

He chuckled and nodded; "eventually"

"Eventually? That's not good enough!"

"Well...We'll be back at Hogwarts sooner than you think"

"I guess so..."

He kissed my temple and stroked my shoulder with his thumb.

"At least I get to sleep in your bed now"

He smirked and nodded; "I know. I hope you don't have any bad sleeping habits"

"I don't snore if that's what you mean! I sleep like an angel"

He chuckled and kissed my cheek; "good"

"...Though I do sleep in the foetal position...Though I'm sure sleeping next to you will change that"

"I think I could survive you being curled up in a ball"

"...Do YOU have any habits?"

"Certainly not"

"You'd better not"

He smirked and kissed my temple again.

"Just because you're now my wife doesn't mean you can speak to me with a tone!"

I laughed; "I think you'll find, as your wife, I can speak to you how I want!"

He laughed too and squeezed me tightly; "oh really?"

I smirked and kissed his cheek; "yes"

"Well...I'll have to show you what's what"

"I'm sure you will"

He laughed again and pulled me onto his knee.

"I hope there's no innuendo behind that"

"No, and if you found one then you're disgusting!"

He shook his head; "immature"

"I'm not!"

He looked at me sceptically; I grinned and kissed him softly. He smiled and rest his forehead against mine.