Wedding Bells.

Beth was feeling the nerves as she got ready to get married. She could hardly believe that she was sitting in one of the guest rooms at the Malfoys villa in the south of France, preparing to marry the love of her life. The last few years had been a whirlwind for Beth following her first meeting with Voldemort at Blueback Ridge. True to his word, he'd helped her master the dark arts, but he'd also brought love into her life. The spark had been there from the beginning, but she hadn't been sure it was going to develop into anything more. Now here she was, getting ready to marry him.

Voldemort had proposed a few short months ago, and since they didn't want a fancy wedding, they'd pressed ahead with a small, intimate ceremony. Their only guests would be Lucius and his wife, Narcissa. The young couple had kindly allowed Beth and Voldemort the use of their villa for the ceremony and short honeymoon.

Beth had been taken aback by her friendship with Narcissa, given who her sister was. From the moment she'd arrived in England, Bellatrix had taken against her, and Beth had expected Narcissa to be the same. However, she'd soon found that Narcissa was the complete opposite of her sister. She was completely welcoming towards Beth and the two witches had struck up a strong friendship over the last couple of years.

As a result of Beth's friendship with Narcissa, Lucius had been given the chance to get into Voldemort's inner circle. Beth knew Voldemort had already earmarked Lucius as his most promising young Death Eater, but as the pair had come into more contact over the last few years, a friendship had also started to build between them. Beth suspected Voldemort wasn't quite ready to consider Lucius a friend, but in a few years she suspected that her husband to be would class Lucius as a friend – just like she already classed Narcissa as a friend.

"How's it going?" Narcissa asked, poking her head around the bedroom door as if summoned by the direction of Beth's thoughts.

"I'm so nervous," Beth confided as Narcissa entered the room, looking gorgeous in a deep plum dress.

"It's only to be expected," Narcissa said with a smile. "I was a bag of nerves before I married Lucius."

"Were you nervous about marrying him, or nervous about the actual wedding?" Beth questioned. When she met Narcissa, she and Lucius had just been married and Beth knew it had been a big society wedding.

"A bit of both," Narcissa confessed with a smile as she sat down next to Beth. "Our wedding was massive, and I was nervous about making a fool of myself."

"At least I don't have that to worry about," Beth said with a slight chuckle.

"I guess not," Narcissa agreed with a smile. "But whether you're getting married in front of two people or two hundred, it's still a big thing."

"And then there's the marriage itself," Beth said quietly. She was in no doubt that Voldemort loved her, but she had to admit she had her doubts that he was ready to be a husband.

"You don't think The Dark Lord loves you?" Narcissa asked with a frown.

"I know he loves me, I just don't know if he's ready for marriage," Beth confided. "I know he doesn't want to lose the standing he had with his Death Eaters, and I'm afraid that I might infringe on that. I don't want to lose him because he feels he can't be with me and still get the power he craves."

"I'm sure if anyone can juggle the two lives, it's The Dark Lord," Narcissa said gently. "He wouldn't have asked you to marry him if he wasn't sure. He's not one for rash decisions. Especially not ones that will change his life forever. You have to trust he knows what he's doing."

"I do trust him," Beth said with a nod. "I just want this to work."

"And it will," Narcissa reassured her. "Just have faith."

"You sound like my grandmother," Beth said with a sad smile. "The very last thing she said to me was to have faith, and that one day I would get the life I deserve."

"Sounds like good advice," Narcissa said with a nod.

"It was," Beth agreed. "And that reminds me, I have something that she gave me."

Getting up from where she was sitting, Beth walked over the bag she'd brought with her and pulled out a small wooden box. Taking the box back over to where Narcissa was, she sat down next to her friend and ran her fingers over the dark, smooth wood.

"What is it?" Narcissa asked.

"My grandmother gave it to me before she died," Beth answered. "She said it was a family heirloom and it passed down the generations when each witch got married. She never got a chance to give it to my mother, but she gave it to me and made me promise to open it on my wedding day."

"So open it," Narcissa urged.

With a small smile, Beth flicked open the box and found a stunning emerald bracelet nestled on black velvet. With trembling fingers she plucked the bracelet out of the box and examined it. It truly was stunning, and although she was no expert, she thought it was made from genuine emeralds.

"Do you want me to help you fasten it?" Narcissa offered.

"Thanks," Beth said, handing her friend the bracelet, which she promptly fastened on her wrist.

"It's lovely," Narcissa said.

"It is," Beth said. "And it feels as though I have my grandparents here with me. I'm ready to get married now."

"Let's go then," Narcissa said with a chuckle as she got to her feet and smoothed down her dress. "Do you have everything?"

Walking over to the mirror, Beth checked that she wasn't missing anything. Instead of going for a traditional wedding dress, she was wearing a mid-length, figure hugging ivory dress. She teamed the dress with a beaded shrug and a pair of ivory sandals. Her brunette curls had been tamed and pinned up on top of her head, and before she'd placed the bracelet on her wrist, the only jewellery she was wearing was a pair of diamond earrings that had been a birthday present from Voldemort the previous year.

"Are you sure I look okay?" Beth asked, wondering if she should have gone more traditional with her outfit.

"You look lovely," Narcissa replied honestly. "The perfect bride."

Beth chuckled lightly at the compliment, and after checking her appearance one final time, she left the guest bedroom with Narcissa. Together the two witches walked down the stairs and out to the poolside, where the ceremony was due to take place. Voldemort and Lucius were already waiting with the minister Voldemort had arranged to preside over the ceremony.

"You look amazing, Beth," Voldemort said with a low whistle.

"Thank you," Beth replied, smiling at Voldemort, who was looking very handsome in a set of black dress robes.

"So are you ready to become my wife?" Voldemort asked, holding out his hand.

"I am," Beth replied, taking hold of her fiancé's hand.

While Lucius and Narcissa took their places to watch the ceremony, Beth and Voldemort stood in front of the minister. Exchanging small smiles, they held each other's hands as the minister began his spiel about marriages and what they entailed. Finally it was time for the vows, and both Beth and Voldemort said a few words about how much they loved each other before they exchanged rings and were pronounced husband and wife.

"Thank you," Voldemort whispered as he held onto Beth.

"What for?" Beth asked with a frown, looking up at her new husband in confusion.

"Making me the happiest wizard in the world," Voldemort replied, keeping his voice low. He may have just exchanged heartfelt vows in front of Lucius and Narcissa, but that was more than enough emotion to be showing in front of anyone other than Beth.

"Snap," Beth replied with a grin. "Because I'm the happiest witch alive."

Grinning down at his wife, Voldemort swept her into a searing kiss as they sealed their marriage in sensational style. When they finally tore themselves away from each other, they sorted the formalities with the minister and signed the appropriate paperwork, with Lucius and Narcissa as witnesses.

"I'm trusting you to bury this, Lucius," Voldemort said, handing over the official documentation to his follower.

"You can trust me, My Lord," Lucius replied with an incline of his head. "No-one will find out you're married."

"Thank you," Voldemort returned. "And thank you for everything you've done to help this wedding happen."

"It's my pleasure," Lucius said with a small smile. "I hope you enjoy your honeymoon."

"We will," Beth answered with a wide smile.

With the ceremony over, and the paperwork sorted, the minister, Lucius and Narcissa said their goodbyes and made their departures. Left alone in a luxury villa in the South of France, Voldemort and Beth then got to work on celebrating their union. For almost two weeks they remained at the villa, enjoying a romantic honeymoon, before they returned home to begin their new life together as husband and wife. Together they were going to rule the wizarding world, and woe betide anyone who stood in their way.