hello bubsss!!! the amount of giggling, freaking out, and silently screaming i did while writing this chapter 😭 honestly idk why i keep writing such long chapters but i'm vibing with it so oh well 😜

the song for this chapter is indeed "Sway" by Michael Bublé ;)) (iykyk)
^i would suggest playing the song when everyone starts dancing at the wedding reception btw

but enjoyyyy 🤭

As I wake up the next morning, I notice a strange feeling in my gut. A feeling like something was going to happen. Surely it must have just been anticipation for the wedding being today.

The whole wedding crew is given robes to wear as we get our makeup and hair ready, and with some convincing toward Ralph, I'm able to sneak Pansy into the room with me. I really didn't feel like sitting alone in a room for hours while people I didn't want to talk to pampered me.

Pansy and I are sat in chairs next to each other in front of a large mirror. The room was almost purely white with small gold accents in the furniture. It felt like the perfect place to get ready for a wedding.

"What's the plan for your hair today?" The woman behind Pansy's chair asks her, giving her a polite smile.

As Pansy explains what she wants done to her hair, I attempt to make small talk with the woman working on mine. "I suppose I don't get a choice?"

She laughs quietly in response, continuing to work on my hair while speaking. "The wedding planner was quite strict about how the bridesmaids' hair was supposed to be."

"Ah, so you've met Ralph as well then?" I give her a playful smile, making eye contact through the mirror.

She returns the smile, clearly understanding my intent in the question. "Indeed I have," A small laugh leaves her after she speaks. "Was it just me or did he mention the whole 'Broadway besties' thing to you as well?"

I laugh in response, nodding my head. "What a strange thing to feel the need to tell everyone of,"

"I couldn't agree more," She laughs along with me.

Over an hour later Pansy and I's makeup and hair is complete,  and luckily the process of it all was not nearly as bad as I had expected.

My hair actually looked quite lovely with pearls scattered throughout it, along with red gems and ribbons placed in it, matching my dress perfectly.

Before leaving the room I make a small comment towards my hair and makeup artist about how maybe it was a good thing after all that Ralph was in charge of the hair decisions. This earns quiet laughter from the both of us.

Pansy and I walk back to our room, now needing to change. She lets out a small squeal as we enter the room, clapping her hands together with excitement.

"I LOVE the process of getting ready!" She says, pure excitement radiating off of her as she takes her dress out of the wardrobe.

I laugh quietly in response to her enthusiasm, picking up my own dress as well. "I can't lie and say I'm not excited to wear this dress myself"

My hand roams over the velvet fabric, admiring the beauty of it.

"How cute is it that people can get so excited over such small things?" Pansy says, a sweet smile formed on her lips.

"What do you mean?" I question, turning my head to look at her.

"I think it just shows the pure innocence and soul of a person when they have their own little things they get excited about." She shrugs, smiling at her words before she enters the bathroom to get changed.

A small smile forms on my lips as I process her words, glancing back down at the dress. I suppose it was quite a beautiful thing.

Once Pansy is changed I then swap places with her and slip my dress on. I walk outside of the bathroom to look in the full length that leans against a wall in the room.

My hands once again roam over the velvet fabric, feeling my body inside the dress. I was never really one to give myself much credit when I looked good in a piece of clothing, but I couldn't ignore how beautiful I felt right now.

"Oh lovely you look gorgeous," Pansy pouts with admiration, standing beside me and leaning her chin on my shoulder.

I link her elbow with mine, resting my head against hers. "Can't tell if I'm wearing the dress or if the dress is wearing me," I joke.

She laughs in response, meeting my eyes in the mirror. "I think it's a bit of teamwork."

I smile in return, letting a moment of silence follow before speaking again. "Pans, thank you for being here through all of this,"

She smiles back at me. "There's nothing to thank me for,"

I place a small kiss on her head and she returns the action by also placing a kiss on my temple.

"Oh shit I got lipstick on you!"

My eyes widen with panic, immediately letting go of her arm to check in the mirror. Right before I  attempt to wipe the lipstick off, I realize my panic was completely unnecessary as she was joking.

"Haha very funny," I glare at her smug smile, softly nudging her arm.

She grins back at me, walking over to her side of the room to grab a small purse. "Thank you I thought so too,"

I check in the mirror one more time, glancing at my hair and makeup. "You ready?" I ask, turning around. In the moment I believed I was asking Pansy the question, though after saying it and hearing my words I realize it was more of a question for myself.

"Mhm, you?" She asks, a reassuring smile on her face.

I attempt to return the smile, inhaling deeply through my nose. "Yes, I am." I respond, exhaling away the small bundle of nerves in my stomach.

The two of us walk with linked elbows down the stairs of the mansion and out to the backyard patio where we find the three boys waiting for us.

We all greet each other as we usually do so, my eyes taking a certain liking to the blond across from me. He was wearing his usual black suit attire, although rather than a black button-up, he wore a dark green one. Something about suits and Draco seemed to always go very well together. It reminded me of the teamwork Pansy mentioned my dress and I sharing.

That suit was surely doing everything Draco wanted it to do, but it's not as if the suit could pull anything off without the fine figure underneath it.

His eyes had found mine instantly as Pansy and I walked out, and they stayed there throughout everyone's small greetings to each other.

I attempt to look away from him but I can't help but notice the way his eyes slide down my body, taking in my own formal attire. A smirk forms on his lips as he does so, his tongue poking at the inside of his cheek. He looks away a moment later, shaking his head slowly. Clearly Pansy and I weren't the only ones who liked the dress.

I play with the ring on my necklace as the group starts a conversation, anxiously glancing at the shed where the wedding crew was preparing. Guests were arriving every minute now and the seats in the garden were filling up, making me feel the need to go to the shed to prepare as well.

"You guys should probably go get some seats, I have to head to the shed anyway," I tell the group, dropping my hand from my necklace once I realize I was playing with it.

Draco notices this, glancing at my hand and then the necklace before meeting my eyes again.

Pansy glances behind her at the garden. "Oh that's true, it is filling up. Well good luck," She says, giving me a tight hug before whispering to me, "Rock that runway for us."

I smile in response. "I will."

Theo and Blaise both give me quick hugs, wishing me luck as well. Walking down an aisle and standing in the front of a room for a bit really wasn't something you needed much luck with, though I still appreciate their kindness.

"You coming Malfoy?" Blaise asks as him, Pansy, and Theo begin walking toward the garden. Draco doesn't follow with them, but instead walks over to my side.

"I'll be there in a minute, I'm gonna walk Y/n over," He responds, avoiding my confused glance at him.

Blaise gives him a quick thumbs up before the three of them continue toward the garden.

"I feel almost offended you think I can't walk to the shed by myself," I joke as we begin slowly walking.

"What? A man can't do nice things for a pretty lady anymore?" He teases back, sliding his hands into his pockets as his eyes meet mine, a playful spark in them.

His compliment catches me off guard, causing my brow to quirk up. A corner of his lips rises into a side smile at my reaction. I break our eye contact after a moment, instead looking at the nature around us.

"I suppose it's alright for a handsome man to show etiquette to a very very pretty girl," I return the compliment teasingly, clasping my hands behind my back.

"Ohh is that the case?" His eyebrow quirks up.

"Yes," I say, turning my head to meet his eyes again. "It is."

Our eyes stay locked for a few quiet moments, the distant sounds of the wedding's crowd and the birds chirping near us in the background.

"Fair enough," He replies softly, our eye contact finally breaking as we arrive at the shed.

"Y/n! There you are!" Ralph spots me, quickly walking up to us. He smiles brightly at me before his eyes move to Draco. "Oh how lovely this is, I didn't know Draco was your date to the wedding,"

My eyes widen in response to his words. "Oh- we're not here together," I say, glancing at Draco who seems to have a satisfied smirk on his face.

Ralph's smile falls, a bit of concern showing in his eyes. "Well, what a beautiful couple the two of you would be," He pouts.

I laugh awkwardly in response, not quite sure what else to do in the silence that fills.

"Anyway! Come come, we're all getting into places," Ralph speaks again, urgently gesturing for me to come inside.

I give Draco a small smile as a goodbye before obeying Ralph's request and walking inside to the chaos of the shed. This small building was definitely not an ideal place to get a whole wedding party ready for walking down the aisle, though I suppose it was the only place to do so.

Each of us were paired up with the people we'd be walking with and lined up in the order we were meant to go in.

I was paired with an adult man, looking to be around the age of my father. He was polite as we introduced ourselves, though no conversations happened between us for the rest of our time together.

After about 15 minutes of waiting for the wedding to start, Ralph shushes everyone as the music begins playing. I watch as each couple walks at their own time, trying not to get nervous as my turn gets closer and closer.

There's a spark of anxiety that rushes through me as we take our first few steps down the aisle, though after those first few steps, everything feels fine.

The wedding ceremony goes by quickly, my eyes avoiding looking straight at my mother and her fiancé. I knew it'd look bad if I completely avoided the area where they were so I instead kept my eyes on the flowers that flowed gracefully through my mother's veil.

I could only hope that my face looked at least pleasant as I stood among the other bridesmaids.

Once the cheering and clapping for the newly married couple finishes, I meet back up with the man I was paired with as we walk back down the aisle together and exit the garden.

All the bridesmaids and groomsmen huddle excitedly around the bride and groom, giving them hugs and congratulations.

I avoid entering the huddle, standing by myself a few feet away as I watch the crowd slowly disperse from the garden. I try to spot my friends, attempting not to look awkward as I continue to stand alone.

We find each other at the same time a few moments later, a grin appearing on my face as Pansy excitedly runs up to me, engulfing me in a hug.

"You looked so beautiful up there," She says as we sway side to side while hugging.

"Nice work Y/n, I knew you wouldn't fall." Blaise smiles proudly, giving my hand a quick shake.

My brows furrow with confusion, glancing at Theo who seems to be taking money out from his pocket.

"You made a bet that I would fall?!" I scoff, watching as Blaise happily takes his money.

"Look you never know what can happen," Theo nonchalantly shrugs.

I quickly pinch both of their arms before we all begin making our way toward the giant greenhouse that the reception would take place in.

The building fills up quickly with all of the wedding guests, the bundle of nerves in my stomach seeming to spark up at the realization of how many people would be watching Draco and I's performance.

At the rehearsal dinner the night before, the crowd was much smaller as only family members and people who were going to be apart of the wedding came. Because of this I guess I never fully processed that a crowd like that wasn't a realistic comparison to the crowd we'd face today.

Our group finds our assigned table near the front of the room after walking rather slowly through the crowd of people. It wasn't our fault we were walking slow, I just suppose everyone here felt the need to chit-chat with everyone else, which in return forced us to walk the speed of a newborn baby crawling.

Once we're all sat down in our seats, I rest my chin against my hand, chewing the inside of my cheek as I inspect everyone around us. I've never been a fan of crowds, though looking around knowing that all these people would be watching me soon enough made it all the worse.

As my eyes glance in all different directions, I feel a small squeeze of my hand. My head darts to the side to see the cause, a small smile forming on my lips as I realize it was Pansy. She gives me a reassuring smile and my hand another quick squeeze.

I didn't necessarily like when people were able to read my emotions, but I felt safe knowing that Pansy was able to.

"Now Theo, I must warn you that once you ask our server for fire whiskey and they look at you like you're absolutely insane, we will all have nothing to do but agree," Blaise teases the boy to his left, his lips forming a straight line as he shrugs.

Theo narrows his eyes in return before suddenly searching through the pockets of his suit and pants. "I seem to have lost something— oh no, here it is," He says dramatically, pulling out his middle finger from a pocket. "Just for you." He smiles innocently at Blaise.

A small smile forms on my lips at his childish action.

"Nice one mate, did a second year teach you that?" Draco adds, cocking his head to the side as he jokingly acts interested.

Theo mumbles gibberish in a high pitched tone, mocking the blond's words as we all smirk and silently laugh at the question.

A few minutes later our food is brought out to us and then many minutes later after that, the speeches begin. I feel as though I can really admire and appreciate the speeches now that they don't all include the same joke.

I wasn't completely sure how many speeches there would be before Draco and I went up to perform, though as time goes on it becomes obvious that it'll have to happen soon.

Draco seems to notice this as well as he turns from his position of watching the person who was giving a speech to instead look at me. My eyes find his immediately in the same way that a magnetic thing traps a magnet.

He searches my eyes for a moment, clearly trying to get a read on me. I didn't know if it was showing, but my nerves and anxious thoughts were rising by the minute at this point. I knew it was coming and it was almost torturous to have to sit and wait for it.

A small comforting smile appears on his lips, his eyes refusing to break from mine. "It's okay," He mouths silently.

I can't help a small smile from growing on my lips as well. "I know," I mouth back.

He smiles at me for a moment longer before turning his head back to the direction of the speech giver.

I can see a small smirk on the lips of the girl next to me from my peripheral vision, causing my gaze to move to her. Pansy quirks an eyebrow as she looks at me before moving her eyes to Draco, then back to me. She apparently had seen our small interaction.

I glare at her as her smirk grows, the interest and suspicion practically radiating off of her.

My eyes move away from her soon after, my brain now going wild with thoughts as Ralph walks up to the front of the room with a microphone, placing it into it's stand as he invites Draco and I up.

Everything seems like a blur as the two of us stand up and walk to the front of the room, Draco taking his seat in front of the piano and me taking my own stance a few feet in front of him. I can visibly see my hand anxiously shake as I place my fingers around the microphone, feigning a smile at the many, many people staring at me.

The piano begins playing before I feel ready, though I don't think any amount of time would make me feel ready to do this. I inhale deeply, imagining each string of nerves leaving me as I exhale.

And then I'm singing.

I'm singing the words to La Vie en Rose with Draco's beautiful piano playing in the background, my eyes fluttering closed as I focus on the beauty of what we were doing. There was always a special feeling I felt when we'd made music together, though something felt extra special about today. It felt special that we both were nervous, and we both were scared, yet we fought those feelings and were now here, doing it together. Fighting our fears together.

My heart dances at the thought and my smile grows wider. I liked that.

Something in me told me that if Draco hadn't been the one playing the piano right now, I would've had a lot more trouble coming up here and doing what I did.

But I did do it, and it ended up flying by quite quickly. In the middle of the song, my mother and her new husband walk out onto the large empty space in the greenhouse, beginning to slow dance to our music.

Once Draco and I had finished, the whole crowd began to clap, most of their eyes now on the happy couple, though that didn't bother me.

I take a small glance back at Draco, giving him an excited smile. He responds with a charming wink before my gaze moves forward again.

We walk back to our table together, our friends all excitedly affirming us of how well we did once we're sat.

New instruments begin to play as the music continues and every guest is invited out to the dance floor to dance along side the newly weds.

"May I have this dance?" Blaise politely asks Pansy, standing in front of her as he holds his hand out for her to take.

She smiles in response before taking his hand, lifting herself off of her chair. I admire their happiness as they walk to the dance floor together, a small smile growing on my lips at the sight.

There wasn't really a word to describe how beautiful it was to watch two of my closest friends fall in love. They both deserved it so much, they really did.

"I think I'm gonna go get drunk and humiliate myself by hitting on women twice my age," Theo sighs dramatically, jealousy laced in his words as he also watches how happy our friends look.

I scoff quietly at his words as he stands from the table, walking away to where the drinks were being served. Once he's gone, I focus my attention back on all the couples dancing.

There were couples of all ages dancing around, some old and familiar with love, some young and just figuring out what it means to love another so deeply and passionately. It was a beautiful thing, really. Not to only feel yourself but to also watch others feel it too.

My heart warms as I