𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝟑.𝟏 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰

"You said yes?"

Hermione's voice was muffled by both the foamy toothpaste in her mouth and the bathroom door that separated you. You grumbled at her reaction and flopped back down over Ginny's bed. You weren't supposed to have told anyone about your predicament in the first place, having been sworn to secrecy up until the official wedding date. It hadn't even been a full day and you'd broken one of their many rules. 

 After the disaster that was your marriage proposal, you decided to leave for the Burrow a few days earlier than anticipated. You didn't even stay for dinner and champagne, but you doubted you would be missing much. The only person who appeared to be in a celebratory mood was your father.

As soon as Draco begrudgingly slipped the golden wedding band onto your finger, you began packing your trunk. To avoid causing a scene, you traveled through the Floo network using the old fireplace in the upstairs study. The only thing that made you hesitant to leave was the idea of abandoning your owl with a house full of Death Eaters. 

You hadn't known at the time that Hermione was also staying with the Weasley's. The two of you were in Ginny's bedroom on one of the top floors of the Burrow. The youngest Weasley child was downstairs talking with her mother in the kitchen. 

The news of your new engagement was bubbling inside of you all throughout dinner and for the rest of the evening. You were unable to keep everything that just happened to yourself so you took Hermione aside after being excused for bed and told her every last gritty detail about your summer. Unsurprisingly, she was especially hung up on that last bit.

"I had no choice!" You groaned, a hand resting over your eyes. The sound of the faucet shutting off sounded from the connected bathroom and you glanced up through your fingers to see her standing in the doorway that divided the two rooms. Her toothbrush was still in hand and she brandished it like a sword at her hip.

Her disbelieving expression fell and she exhaled, crossing over to sit down beside you. "Don't worry, (Y/N)," she smiled and patted your hair in a motherly fashion. "I'll find a way to get you out of this. You have until the end of the year, yeah?"

You nodded with a pout. The adults already decided that in exchange for allowing you to go to Hogwarts one last time, the wedding would commence in the summer following your sixth year. You wouldn't be allowed to finish school to graduation, however, and that was what troubled you most. You couldn't even bear to think of it; sixteen years old and about to be married. The word itself sounded vile on your tongue. Married.

"You can't tell anyone, Hermione. You're the only person I trust to know about this."

Hermione smiled sadly at your desperate plea and combed your hair out from in front of your face. She looked like she was about to say something before her gaze traveled downwards and her lips puckered. "Is that the ring?"

You took one of your hands and began fiddling with the thin silver chain around your neck. Before leaving for the Burrow, you swapped out the original emerald pendant and threaded the ring through the chain instead. It was more discreet that way, although you figured that was the opposite of what they wanted. "Yeah," you mumbled, taking your hands away to prop your head on the pillow.

"It's gorgeous," Hermione's eyebrows knitted together as she eyed the piece of jewelry hanging from around your neck. She almost seemed conflicted, unable to determine if something so beautiful could possibly be tied to such a grim situation. Too focused on that, she barely noticed as you pulled the pillow out from under your head and lobbed it as hard as you could against her head.

When she pulled it away from her face with a stunned, blank expression, you began to laugh. She joined in and you both gave into your giggle-fit for a few moments until you heard a sudden commotion from down the stairwell.