Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my characters—if there will be any—and general plot. Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling, and the idea of a Private Actress belongs to Michiyo Akaishi, a mangaka.

Private Actress

Chapter 1: Prologue

Tonight was a beautiful night. The place was perfect, the band was great, the food was delicious, and the decorations were certainly in line with the fairytale theme that screamed 'happily ever after.' The people were dressed up like dolls, dancing at the center, swaying with the music, and others were mingling with the other guests, talking about how lovely the newlywed couple looked together.

You people guessed right, I was attending this lovely couple's wedding. Do you know what was strange in this situation?

It was that I don't have an inkling of relation to those two lovebirds up there in their own table. I knew a lot about them, sure, but they didn't know me at all.

You must wonder why I'm here in the first place. Well, you'll find out soon enough.

A woman was continuously tapping her wineglass with her fork to get the attention of the guests. The band stopped playing, and she waited for everyone to settle down and give their attention to her. When everyone seemed ready to listen, she started to speak on the makeshift stage. From what I remember from the wedding, she was the maid of honor who was also the host of the entire wedding reception.

"Ladies and gentlemen. As you all know, we are here to celebrate the marriage of Krizia and Martin," she paused for a while because of the audience's applause and catcalls upon hearing the names of the newlyweds. The aforementioned couple smiled widely, with a tinge of red staining their cheeks from slight embarrassment.

"But sadly, this evening is nearing its end, and we could tell that Martin is eagerly waiting for his wedding night," she winked at the couple and earning a few laughs from the guests.

"Let us end our evening with the traditional throwing of the bride's bouquet of flowers, and the groom's garter. You know what happens to the people who caught them, right?" she said, looking mischievous.

"All the young single ladies, please go to this side of the room," she pointed at the right side of the room. "And all the young single gents gather first because the throwing of garter will be after the throwing of the bouquet." And all of those mentioned gathered together.

I was one of the ladies here that fit the criteria of 'young and single', so I should be one of the people trying to catch the bouquet. There was an old myth that the person who catches the bride's bouquet will be the next one to be married. Of course, I don't believe in it, but it was pretty funny how some people take it seriously and reach for the bouquet as if their life depended on it.

It was time. The bride was in front with her back facing us, and the ladies surrounding me were anxious to catch the bouquet. I appeared to be anxious too. After all, I should appear like I was a real guest in this wedding.

"3…" We clenched our fists, itching to get it.

"2…" We raised our hands halfway.

"1!" Another split second and she threw the bouquet backwards, towards us.

Every single one of us looked like idiots trying to catch it. Everyone was flailing their arms, trying to push others around them. Some even tried jumping to get it, and it seemed that everyone wanted to catch it. Well, except me, of course, but I needed to act like I did. It was pretty funny, if you ask me.

Since I knew I had a lot of competition for the bouquet, I wasn't expecting to get it. After all, I didn't want it in the first place. So when I felt something touch my hand, and I involuntarily clutched it, I unexpectedly became the 'lucky' person who had caught it. When that fact finally dawned on me, I quickly tried to give it to someone else, but it was too late.

"The lady with the red hair, please come up here," she said. That was unmistakably me as I was the only redhead in this crowd. It was too late to back out now.

I went in front, on the stage, holding the cursed bouquet in my right hand. I smiled and waved at the guests, appeared to be looking pleased with having caught it. I was in for it now.

"Now it's the men's turn. Gentlemen, fight for the garter! This lovely woman is definitely waiting for you!" She laughed. I just smiled at them, even though I didn't like what she said about me.

Then the whole process started again, but this time, they were men, not women, vying for the garter.

"3… 2… 1!" The groom threw the garter backwards, towards the anxious gentlemen.

I didn't know what was funnier: the women pushing each other for the bouquet, or the men fighting each other for the garter. They, being men, were more 'active' in trying to get the garter. I didn't know why they wanted it in the first place! Not only did they push those around them, some were pushing others down to push themselves up to get an advantage. I didn't think they were that eager to catch it. I mean, it would make more sense if the women were fighting to catch the bouquet, than men fighting to catch the garter.

I was on the stage, trying hard not to laugh for the sake of politeness, but the woman beside me—the host—was laughing to her heart's content.

"Gentlemen, who was victorious?"

"I am!" A man with black raven hair and hazel eyes that hid behind his round glasses said, sporting a triumphant grin as he raised the garter. He looked disheveled because of the 'fight' he had gone through to get it. He looked familiar to me for some reason.

"Then please come up the stage, and we'll proceed to the final event of this tradition,"

I blushed. This handsome—yes, he was really good-looking, I admit. Kind of my type really—man would be raising the garter up to my thigh.

A chair was placed in the middle of the stage for me to sit in. I felt really embarrassed.

"Don't be shy, dear," the host said to me. I bet she was laughing inside. I could feel it.

Suddenly, someone took my free hand—I was holding the bouquet in my other hand—and led me towards the chair. I looked at him, and he just smiled at me, like he wasn't bothered with anything that is and will be happening. Okay, so he wasn't bothered. I bet, like any other hormonal male, this would be the perfect opportunity to feel someone up. Just like he was reading my mind, he said…

"Don't worry, I won't feel you up. I'm a gentleman to beautiful ladies," I didn't know why, but I believed what he said, but on the latter part, he was just plainly flirting with me. I looked at him straight and gave him a charming grin. I was not the kind of woman who backs down easily.

As I sat in the chair, I noticed everyone was staring at us, and they were quiet. Maybe they could feel the tension between us. I was certainly feeling it, but maybe it was the chemistry between us. We were quite the pair.

I slowly lifted a part of my dress up until my mid-thigh, and he kneeled in front of me. It seemed like we were in our own little world as we looked into each other's eyes.

With his deft fingers, he removed my shoe and placed it on the floor. He put the garter through my foot, and slowly raised it higher. He was taking his time. I looked at him the entire time, and I was feeling pleasurable tingles on where his fingers touched. The garter was up to my calf, slowly raising it to my knee, and finally my thigh.

It seemed that for the whole time he was raising it up, I held my breath and released it when he finally finished. He looked up to me, and smiled. The guests, our audience, applauded, whistled, and catcalled when he was done. I didn't notice them, honestly.

Part of the tradition was not only raising it up, but also pulling it down from my leg afterwards. Oh, it will be pure pleasurable torture again!

Just he was going to pull it down, the host stopped him.

"Let us do this the old fashioned way," she smiled mischievously again. "Pull the garter down using your teeth,"

After she made that announcement, another round of whistles and catcalls were heard from our audience. I blushed at the idea. He looked at me with a glint in his eye, and his mouth was forming a wide grin. I blushed harder. This will definitely be something to remember about tonight.

Everyone was silent again. His face slowly moved closer to the garter. I could feel his breath over the skin of my thigh. I was definitely feeling the tension.

His teeth caught the edge of the garter, and he slowly pulled it down. My face was red from embarrassment and from something else. His breath on my skin made me feel those pleasurable tingles again, only this time, it was even more pleasurable.

The garter was down to my knee, slowly pulling it down my calf, my ankle, and finally pulled it out through my foot. He placed the garter in his wrist and put on my shoe to my foot, like I was Cinderella in Disney fairytales.

Another round of whistles and catcalls was heard, and we were pulled out from our own little world. He offered his hand so that I could stand, and we smiled at each other.

"Thank you for attending the wedding. I hope you had fun, especially in our last event. Let us again congratulate the newlywed couple, Martin and Krizia!" This cued a deafening applause from the guests. "May you live happy lives together, and create beautiful children. Have fun on your honeymoon!" She shouted over the din. When the guests settled down, the groom began to speak.

"Thank you, Lissa, for everything, and making the wedding a success. We would be taking our leave now, and the car is waiting for us in front. Thank you for attending our wedding!" He and the bride hastily made their way to the exit, where the car was waiting for them. They looked so happy together, and it was moments like these that make these assignments bearable and satisfying. The event was finally over.

Since the couple had my attention, I didn't notice that my 'partner' for the last event was still beside me. I just noticed him when he took my hand and did something totally unexpected.

He kissed the back of my hand.

After that, he smiled and winked at me, then walked away. I was glad he did it when the attention wasn't all on us. Everyone would see how red I would be! That would definitely be embarrassing. He still looked familiar to me though. He would be a fond memory of this assignment.

Everyone was going home, including me. I just had to make one call first. I went to a secluded part of the room and called someone.

"Hey, the assignment is done. It had gone through perfectly without any glitches,"

"Thank you for doing this assignment. It was probably easy for you to act as a guest,"

"I needed money right now, so, why not? Please transfer the money to my account. Thanks,"

"Will do," I hung up the phone, and went home. I was too busy thinking about that man that I didn't notice a pair of eyes following me as I hailed a taxi to go home.

Hello there! If you reached this part of the story, then thank you. You had read the whole thing. I loved the whole bouquet-garter thing. I looked it up in the internet, and it was too adorable that I had to use it. I also wrote their first romantic encounter just for fun. Haha!

I hope you liked it! The idea was from a manga that some of you might know—Private Actress. I love that manga. I do not claim the idea as mine, so don't sue me, ok?

Read and review please! I want to know what you think. I do not accept flames though. If you didn't like it, then don't bother reviewing!

If you liked this story, why not read my other fic, Loving You. Thanks!