Katie awoke surrounded by the arms of her fiancé. It had been a long time since she had awoken in a man's embrace, and she was surprised at how good it felt.

She stretched, luxuriating in the slippery feel of silk sheets, and her movements woke Marcus.

He tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"I was right, princess, you're exactly what I wanted."

"Isn't that a relief?" Katie asked, laughingly. Gently, she pushed herself out of his embrace and slid from underneath the covers. Standing up, she glanced over her shoulder, unsurprised that Marcus was watching her naked form move through the bedroom towards the bathing chamber. "We need to get cleaned up, and then it's time to go to brunch with the Weasleys."

Marcus groaned, thinking about spending the day with their families, hers for brunch and his in the afternoon. He'd much rather spend the day exploring their new intimacy, preferably staying within the bedroom. Unfortunately, with the wedding only a few weeks away, he was not going to be granted that luxury.

With a sigh, Marcus pushed himself off the bed and followed his witch into the bathroom, intent on joining her in the shower.

When Marcus and Katie arrived at the Burrow the weather was lovely, and they could hear a lot of noise coming from the back garden.

Walking around the house, they found the entire red-headed clan and their assorted partners setting up a long picnic table under a large old tree, while Molly and Ginny brought out heaping bowls of food.

Katie grabbed Marcus's hand and dragged him over to her normal spot, nudging Angie and Allie to scoot apart and make room.

The former Gryffindor Chasers moved as requested, but not without giving the tardy couple a knowing grin.

Hermione was seated across the table from Katie, an empty spot next to her that Marcus assumed was for Draco.

"Molly didn't notice until a little while ago that you didn't come home last night."

Katie tried valiantly to control her blush, but failed miserably. "We were out late with Marcus's parents and I didn't want to disturb the whole house."

"Hmm…" was Hermione's only response. Marcus smirked at her, and Hermione broke out into laughter. This caused the whole table to turn and notice the blush gracing Katie's features.

Katie was saved from further embarrassment by Draco's arrival.

Hermione got up and met him as he entered the backyard, taking his hand and leading him to their place at the table.

Everyone present noticed their comfort with each other, but no one seemed to want to comment. For once, even Ron managed to control his temper, restraining himself to death glares, but keeping any comments under his tongue.

Marcus felt a bit less of an outsider once the other Slytherin sat down at the table, although he was unsure if the relief came from Draco being there too, or the fact that with Draco there he was seen as the lesser of the two evils by the rest of the family….

Finally, Molly brought out the last of the dishes, and chaos reigned as the family dove into the large meal.

Draco eyed the eating habits of the Weasley family and couldn't help but wonder if they i all /i had to be invited to the wedding. Percy didn't seem too bad, and the girls were fine, but most of the boys had atrocious table manners. Unfortunately, though, he had a feeling that while Hermione might agree with his assessment of their manners, she wouldn't allow him to exclude them from the festivities.

Sighing, Draco hoped the meal would end soon so that he could get out of there. He might find Hermione a good choice for a wife, but her adopted family left a lot to be desired.

Finally, all the plates were clean, full, happy stomachs were patted, and people began excusing themselves from the table.

"Ginny, Lav, Angie, Allie… before you all go," Hermione began, "Katie and I had something we'd like to ask you."

There was a sudden silence as all eyes turned to the two girls still seated at the table. Slowly, people sat back down, ready to hear what Hermione wanted to say.

Katie picked up the thread, "Well, I know it's kind of short notice, but well, as you all know, Marcus and I are getting married in a few weeks, and Hermione and Draco are getting married a few weeks later. We were kind of hoping that you would agree to be our bridesmaids…."

Lavender let out a loud squeal. "Of course we'll be in your weddings!"

All the girls jumped up and went to hug the two brides-to-be.

"So, when are we going dress shopping?" Allie asked, causing everyone to pause in their conversations.

"Um, today?" Hermione said hesitantly, looking at her friends. The rest of the girls broke out into laughter at the look of uncertainty on Hermione's face.

"Ohhh, it'll be so fun! Just wait, Hermione," Lavender said, flushing with excitement so that a casual observer would think she was the bride.

"Molly, will that work for you?" Hermione asked, thinking how much she hoped Molly would be available on such short notice, knowing that Narcissa Malfoy would rather die than help her get ready for this wedding.

"Of course, dear. Just let me get the dishes started and let me change into some clean robes, and then we'll be all set to go."

"If you don't mind," Katie said to Molly and Hermione, "Marcus and I will go and get his mother, Emily, and meet you in Diagon Alley."

"That will be fine," Hermione said, trying to hide her hurt at seeing her friend seemingly getting along with her future mother-in-law.

Katie stepped up to Marcus and put her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her as he bent over and gently kissed the top of her head. With his lips still resting in her hair, he Apparated them away.

Allie and Angie looked at each other, seeing the interaction between the one-time Quidditch rivals, and smiled. They wouldn't say anything to Katie, but they had been really worried for their long-time friend. That small gesture of affection reaffirmed their growing hope for Katie's future happiness.

"Draco, is your mother going to join us in Diagon Alley, also?" Molly asked, innocently.

"Ah… no… not today," Draco stammered, clearly unsure how to respond to the question. He had assumed that Hermione would tell her friends and family about meeting his mother the previous night, but apparently she hadn't. Now Draco was at a loss for how to deal with the situation; it gave him an unsettled feeling he was completely unaccustomed to having.

Seeing his hesitation, Molly quickly put the information together in her head and made the leap from two to twenty. Even so, she was tactful enough not to embarrass the poor young man further and refrained from commenting on Narcissa and her reaction to the pending nuptials.

"All right, then, let me go and change and we'll head into town."

It didn't take long for the red-headed matriarch to change into a clean set of robes, which although frayed around the edges, were still respectable. She quickly gathered the girls together and the group headed into the kitchen to use the Floo. She smiled when she noticed Draco gently take Hermione's arm and escort her courteously.

oooOOOOoooOOOOooo

The ladies and Draco arrived at Gladrags to find Katie and another witch looking through samples of formal robes for the bridesmaids. Marcus was sitting on a chair by the door looking bored. Draco immediately went to his friend and the two of them talked in low tones before Marcus stood and approached Katie.

"Katie," Marcus began.

She turned and looked at him questioningly.

"Draco and I were wondering if you and Hermione would be all right with these ladies for a bit while we took care of some business."

She looked at him, knowing that he had been bored while he waited for Draco, not much caring about the robes the other women were going to wear so long as they were tasteful. Katie had insisted that he wouldn't see her robes before the wedding, so she hadn't even begun to talk to the saleswitch while he was in the store.

"No, I don't mind at all."

"Shall we meet you for tea?" Marcus asked, fully aware that girls and robe shopping could take hours.

"All right. Where?"

"Mother, do you have a preference for tea this afternoon?" Marcus asked, turning to his mother who had been eyeing their interactions with glee.

"How about Victoria's?" she suggested. It was a lovely tea salon that Marcus's father never wanted to visit with her.

"Fine," Marcus said. "We'll see you there at four."

Again, he bent and brushed a gentle kiss on Katie's forehead before walking to the door and stepping out, clearly waiting for Draco.

Draco looked at Hermione and saw that her attention was divided between her friends and Marcus and Katie. Walking over to her, he gently took her elbow and pulled her towards him.

"Hermione, I am going to have the shop put all the robes for our wedding on the Malfoy account. I'll let you tell your bridesmaids. If I do it, they'll be insulted. But I don't want the Weasleys to have any hardships associated with being in our wedding."

Shocked at his sensitivity, Hermione felt her jaw dropping. Quickly, she shut her mouth, turning to look Draco in the eyes. "Thank you, Draco. I will make sure they understand the offer as an act of generosity, not arrogance."

"Good. I'm going shopping with Marcus while you look at robes. We'll meet up for tea with the others."

"All right." Hermione watched Draco move away and talk to the saleswitch.

The witch watched him coming, and Hermione noticed her unobtrusively wet her lips and lean toward Draco as he began to talk to her. Hermione smiled inwardly to see him draw back from her obvious attempts at flirtation, although she seemed just as pleased with the news that for one of the parties, money would not be an issue in selecting robes.

With a smile at Hermione, Draco left the shop and the group of witches chattering about fabrics and styles and colors. Marcus was standing right outside the door.

"Well," Marcus said in his gravelly voice, "where to?"

"First, I need to go to Gringotts."

"All right."

The boys headed off towards the bank, each lost in their own thoughts.

They entered the bank through the massively imposing front doors, and walked along the rows of goblins until they reached one not currently engaged.

After a moment, he looked up at them and asked, "Can I help you?" His voice was a strange mixture of threat and obeisance, a combination that always caused an atavistic reaction in Draco.

"Yes. I need to make some changes to my accounts."

The goblin looked up his long nose at the young man. He studied Draco's expression for a moment before nodding to himself.

"Very well. Follow me."

The goblin moved from his desk through a door that was partially obscured in shadow. As Draco and Marcus entered the room beyond, they looked around avidly. Neither of them had even been into one of these private rooms before, rooms where the most delicate financial negations occurred, something that appealed strongly to their Slytherin nature. The goblin waited patiently while they took chairs before seating himself at the head of the table.

"Mr. Malfoy, what can I do for you today?"

For a moment Marcus was offended that the goblin didn't bother to address him as well, but he quickly got over it as he realized that he didn't yet hold the title of Head of the Family.

"I'm getting married soon," Draco began.

"Congratulations," the goblin intoned. Marcus realized it hadn't yet told them his name.

Draco nodded his response in his most patrician manner. "I wish to add my fiancée to the family accounts, both here at Gringotts and for the account Gringotts manages for the various wizarding establishments where we shop.

Marcus felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Draco was going to give Hermione full access to his money even before the wedding? He was shocked. Marcus looked over at the goblin and thought the creature was having an equally difficult time controlling his expressions at this news.

"Indeed?" the goblin finally managed to ask.

"Yes. Further, I wish you to set up a special account for my fiancée and Molly Weasley to be used for wedding expenses."

At this, the goblin couldn't even manage a response, and Marcus wondered if it was because Draco was going to give a Weasley access to any of his money. It couldn't be because the goblin was unfamiliar with the Weasley family. There were too many of them for him not to know the family, they were too prominent, and Marcus had thought that at least one of the sons had worked for the bank… one of the older ones….

"Mr. Malfoy, with all due respect," at this, the goblin's tone betrayed his doubts as to how much respect this young patriarch deserved, "are you sure this is wise? Have you discussed this with your mother? Or with your financial advisors?"

Draco's demeanor, which had already been reserved, became downright chilly with these questions. "I do not i think /i it wise, I have decided it is what I am going to do. Either this bank will comply, or I will be forced to take my business elsewhere."

"Mr. Malfoy, as you know, we are the only wizarding bank available—"

Draco cut the goblin off. "I am marrying a Muggle-born witch. I'm sure she and I could move my investments into the Muggle world without too much trouble."

If anything, this suggestion made the goblin splutter harder.

"That will not be necessary," the goblin assured Draco.

Again, Draco only nodded in response. Marcus was impressed with how cool he was playing this. Marcus had thought of Draco as a younger brother for years now, and at that moment, he was quite proud of him.

"I will set the accounts up this week."

"You will set the accounts up i now /i , while I wait, so that I can give my fiancée her keys when we meet for tea."

With a swallow, the goblin nodded and hurried from the room.

"That went well," Marcus said in a light-hearted tone designed to break the tension that had stayed in the room even with the goblin's departure.

"Didn't it, though?"

With a smile, they sat and waited for the goblin to return… with keys to the oldest and largest wizarding vault, to be given to a Muggle-born witch.

oooOOOOoooOOOOooo

"Now what?" Draco asked Marcus as they left the bank. "Leaving the ladies was your idea."

"I want to get Katie a ring."

Draco stopped dead in his track. "Gods, we really did do this unconventionally, didn't we?"

"Yeah."

"All right. Lead on, Marcus."

They went into a small jewelry store that Draco knew had been the shop his father had utilized for his mother's gifts.

As they entered, an older man came from a curtained-off back area to wait on them.

"Gentlemen, what can I help you with today?"

"Engagement rings," Draco said.

"Plural?" Marcus asked his friend.

"Do you honestly think I want the future Mrs. Malfoy to have to deal with society functions and not have a ring to show off?"

Marcus chuckled at the mental image that conjured. "No."

The saleswizard smiled as well, although he was probably smiling at the thought of his commission check.

Eventually, they each found a ring that pleased them. They were both unusual, and Marcus and Draco each thought that the ring he had chosen suited his witch. Katie's was platinum. Solid and substantial, like Marcus, it was set with a large diamond surrounded by smaller emeralds. The band was decorated with a delicate pattern that was reminiscent of Celtic knots and reminded Marcus of how intertwined their lives had become.

Hermione's was also set in platinum, but instead of begin ornate, Draco had opted for classic simplicity. It was the opposite of traditional Malfoy engagement rings, and Draco had chosen it to because its very normalcy appealed to him. He thought it would appeal to her, too. Draco knew that one of the reasons there had been such animosity between him and the other children at Hogwarts had been due to his need to flaunt his family's wealth. If he had anything to say about it, that wouldn't be a trait carried into the next generation, and he was quite certain that Hermione would agree.

oooOOOOoooOOOOooo

The girls had been enjoying their shopping at Gladrags, although there had been considerable debate on the bridesmaids' robes.

As a group, they had decided to pick robes for Katie's wedding first since… well… it was first.

The first debate had been over color.

Emily had wanted to get a lovely peach color, since the roses that were planted outside the manor would match it perfectly.

"But Katie, dear, the color would be simply stunning on your girls, too. They all look wonderful in that color," Emily said, trying her best to get her way.

"Well, Emily, that's true, it does look good on all of them. But Marcus and I agreed we wanted the main wedding color to be blue."

"Oh," Emily said, her face falling. "Well, blue and peach do look lovely together, I suppose."

Katie tried valiantly to hide a smile at her future mother-in-law's crestfallen expression. She noticed her friends were doing the same. Even Molly.

"So," Katie began, trying to cheer the woman up, "what style do you think would be most flattering on the girls?"

"Well, dear, they are all lovely, so I'm sure they will be beautiful in whatever we pick. Why don't you girls start looking for styles you like?"

Emily was right, the girls were all lovely. Most of them had played Quidditch for years and had toned muscles to show for it. Hermione and Lavender had been toned by the war.

It didn't take long for the girls to agree, and even Emily found nothing to criticize in their selection. It had a deep sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves, and a drop-waisted full skirt that went to the floor. It had a beautiful detailing of embroidery, but the overall impression was of simple elegance.

Katie turned to the saleswitch. "That's it," she said with finality. "Now we just need to pick the exact color of blue. What are our choices?"

With a smile, the slender girl brought out a large book of fabric samples. "We'll need to find one that suits all of their complexions, and one that Madam likes, to go with the roses," she said, hefting the book onto a low table.

Emily wasted no time in opening the book and beginning to look through the swatches. She quickly found one of a soft blue-green that, while it had more green than Katie preferred, certainly would look lovely with peach roses. Not wanting an argument, or really caring all that much, Katie acquiesced and the bridesmaids stood one at a time to be measured for their robes.

"Now dear," the saleswitch started, "when is the wedding?"

"In four weeks," Katie answered her, absentmindedly.

"Four weeks?" the girl exclaimed.

"That's right. Is that a problem? We are being married under the marriage law, and so don't have a lot of time."

"Well, usually we need at least 3 months for bridesmaids' dresses."

Emily, used to placating shopkeepers, stepped over to the girl and began talking to her in a low, comforting voice. Katie couldn't hear what she was saying, but it probably had to do with extra galleons for a rush order…

Deciding to let Emily deal with it, Katie turned her attention to finding her own wedding robes. As the girls finished being measured, they came over to help her.

It didn't take long for her to find exactly what she wanted. It was a bit more ornate than the bridesmaids' dresses, but over all it seemed like it was made to go with them. The same low-cut sweetheart neckline, the same cap sleeves, the same drop waist. It had a fuller skirt, with more lace and pearls, and a train in back, and Katie knew as soon as she saw it that it was perfect.

Katie stood and submitted to the measuring tape, and noticed that Emily was drabbing at her eyes. It seemed she approved, although Katie wasn't sure if the approval was for the dress or for the fact that Marcus was finally getting married.

Once the robes for Katie's wedding were chosen, the girls turned to figuring out what to do for Hermione and Draco's wedding.

Not having a future-mother-in-law to please, Hermione found what she wanted very quickly. For her wedding, the bridesmaids would be wearing simple sheath dresses that looked elegant in an understated way. She picked a deep forest green material of raw silk, and while the girls all looked at her strangely for choosing green, they all admitted it brought out the natural sheen of the nubby silk.

For her own robes, Hermione chose another a-line dress, although hers had a full skirt and three-quarter length sleeves. Emily tried to protest her choice for a moment, because it was completely plain with no lace or other ornamentation except for the pearl buttons, but when Hermione slid the sample dress on, it was obvious that it was perfect for her. The natural silk reflected the light onto her skin and she glowed.

"Beautiful," Emily breathed.

The rest of the girls just nodded in agreement.

"Well, that was easier than anticipated," Hermione laughed as she got back into her own clothing. "We're done just in time to meet Draco and Marcus for tea."

They all glanced at watches and saw she was right. Smiling at the saleswitch, they made sure they had all their things and headed off to Victoria's to meet the boys.

The group of witches arrived at the tea shop and were quickly seated at a large table by the window. Talk amongst the group, unsurprisingly, was all about the upcoming weddings; not only Hermione's and Katie's, but also Lavender's.

"Molly," Emily started, "I don't know how you manage. I mean, you have how many children? And all of them have gotten married in the last couple of years? It's amazing, really."

"Well, they have been a handful, but we've mostly had smaller weddings with family and a few friends."

"Yes, Katie had mentioned something about that the night we met her. She's a lovely girl. I'm so pleased that Marcus chose such a charming young woman. I must admit, when this law passed, William and I were quite concerned who he'd end up with, since he had to marry a… ah… Muggle-born. Of course, that probably didn't concern you and your husband as much."

Molly took a moment to calm herself before she answered. "No, Emily, it didn't concern us. Arthur and I have long thought that the obsession with blood-status was silly. Of course, in our case it didn't matter, as all of our boys were already dating Muggle-born witches. The only children of ours it affected were our foundlings."

"Foundlings?" Emily asked.

"Katie and Hermione."

"Oh! How did they come to be such a part of your family? You treat them like they're your own."

"Well, Hermione and Harry became friends with Ron as first years. Neither had grown up in the wizarding world, and so ours was the first wizarding home they saw. For a while we had hoped that Ron and Hermione would make a pair of it, but it never worked out. Katie we didn't know as well when they were in school. She played Quidditch with Fred and George, and later with Ron and Harry. And her best friends married the twins. But it wasn't until her parents and siblings were killed by Death Eaters that we really got to know her. She was left alone after that attack, and we had some room, so… well… she just came to be part of the family."

"It's so good of you to have taken them in. It's horrible how they lost their families. I know that Katie has been really missing her family lately. I think planning the wedding has made her feel their loss all over again. It's one of the important family milestones, after all. I'm sure that's true for Muggles, too."

"Yes, and while I'm more than happy to stand in, it really isn't the same for them," Molly said sadly.

Just them, Marcus and Draco wandered in and took seats next to their witches.

"So, did you find robes?" Marcus asked, looking at Katie and then at his mother.

"Of course we did."

Lavender giggled. "Of course we did, Marcus Flint. Not only that, but we found robes we all liked!"

Katie started laughing at that, and was soon joined by the other girls at the table. Molly and Emily looked a bit confused at the hilarity, and the boys traded looks of complete incomprehension.

"Cracked, the lot of them," Marcus said to Draco, a teasing tone in his voice as he looked at Katie.

"Not at all," Allie cut in. "It's just that usually, bridesmaids' dresses are hideous."

"What? Why?" Draco asked, completely confused.

"Well, the joke is that it's so no one pays any attention to them, so the bride can be sure she looks the best. So Muggle bridesmaids usually have dresses in some ugly color with puffy sleeves and bows on the arse… horrible, really, to do that to your friends…." Angie said, still laughing.

"Well, I'm glad you will all look nice. Even if you're all married, my friends would kill me if I paired them with hideous women," Marcus said, jokingly.

A moment later, tea was served, and the group fell quiet, ravenously hungry after their arduous day shopping.

When they had finished, the group broke up once again, returning to their homes.

Molly turned to Emily before they left. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Emily. We should get together again soon and talk more about the wedding."

"Oh, yes, definitely. You and Katie should come to the manor for tea sometime and we can make sure things are all set for the big day."

"That would be lovely. Send us an owl." They shook hands with a smile before Apparating away.

Soon, only the two couples were left.

"Well," Katie said, "it's been a lot of fun, but I really should go back to the Burrow and get some rest. I have a long week ahead of me."

Marcus looked down at his witch. "All right, but we'll get together tomorrow. I didn't get to spend any time with you today."

With a blush, Katie gave him a kiss and left with a pop. Marcus looked at the air where she had been for a moment before turning to Draco. "I'm off, too. See you soon?"

"Yes, I'll have you over for drinks soon."

"Sounds good," Marcus said, before he too left.

Draco turned to Hermione. "Are you leaving, too?"

"I really should."

"I have something I'd like to talk to you about first."

"All right."

"Will you come to the manor with me?"

Hermione looked at Draco, wondering what he wanted to talk to her about that badly, but only thought for a moment before she shrugged in acquiescence.

Draco stepped towards her and opened his arms, and after a moment's hesitation, Hermione stepped into his embrace. As soon as she did, she felt the squeeze of a Side-Along Apparition.

oooOOOOoooOOOOooo

A/N: Huge thanks to Gardengirl for betaing this!