Chapter 5: The ridiculous truth about the contract
I got a headache whenever I thought about the contract between Malfoy and me.
How pathetic I was to agree to something that outrageous. Long story short, it was about a young girl who was forced to sign her life over to that evil, hostile man.
Well, there was no need to summarize the story in one line. Here was how it went.
It was the second day of summer break. I went to Flourish and Blots to see if there were any newest release. I hadn't been reading much after all the craziness happened, and now it was time to recharge my mind.
I remembered holding a vanilla-flavored ice-cream cone, walked into the bookstore more cheerfully than ever. I was even humming tones, though I wasn't sure what exactly I was humming. It was a happy day, and it just got better when I found this set of books about categories and spells and the situations to properly use them.
However, this marked the end of my good mood. My heart sunk after I discovered it was the last day on sale, and better, the only set left. Of course, if I didn't spend anything on the cone, I'd have enough. What was I supposed to do?
'Think, Hermione Granger, you have to think.' I told myself.
I decided to go talk to a clerk, to see whether it could be placed on hold.
"Hi there, can I help you?" The clerk said cheerfully.
"Oh, yes, actually." I said sincerely, "Can you please put that set of books on hold, I'll come back tomorrow to pick them up."
"Well…" She tilted her head a little, clearly not sure what she could do.
"Please, my name is Hermione Granger, if you mention it to the owner, he'll know." I pressured her, almost begging for her empathy.
"Oh Granger, spare your poor acting skills." A cold, mocking voice came from behind, I didn't need to turn around to know who that belonged to.
"It's none of your business here." I glared at him.
"I see." He rose his eyebrow, pointed at the set of books and then said to the clerk, "I'm going to take that, can you please wrap them up for me?"
"Of course." The clerk said quickly, seemed more than happy to get out of this situation.
"Malfoy, are you serious?" I said in disbelief, "What are you doing?"
"I'm buying the books you want," Malfoy smirked, "Isn't it obvious?"
"I understand how you think it's entertaining." I tried my best to be civil, "As you know, I'd really like to buy those books. So, how about you sell them to me on a later date?"
"Are you trying to do business with me?" He acted like he was in shock, "That was unexpected."
This man should not be allowed to exist. It didn't matter how Draco Malfoy was innocent, it didn't matter he was handsome, nor did it matter he was affluent. He was, and always would be, a devil and a madman.
"What do you think?" I suggested again.
"You actually look adorable when you are mad." He laughed, then quickly cleared his throat and squinted maliciously, "But I am sorry, Granger, the answer would have to be no."
"Fine." I sighed, didn't want to start an argument.
I glared at him one more time before I turned around, ready to leave and came into the terms of parting with these books. However, when I was about to push the door open, he called out to me.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye? Where are your manners?" He said slowly in a lazy tone, "Come back, I changed my mind. If you agreed to sign a contract with me, then I'd be delighted to give you the books for free."
And me being the clever self, of course, I turned around and said: "Name it, Malfoy, what contract?"
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Sitting in a café near the window waiting for Draco Malfoy to bring back our coffee was one of those things I've only pictured in my daydreams once or twice. Have I ever had a twisted crush on him when I was younger? Yes, but who didn't. I asked Ginny once if in a world where Harry and she weren't together, who would be the next bachelor she'd pursue.
"Malfoy, no doubt." She said firmly, laying on her back in bed while looking at me at an upside-down angle.
"Why?" I rose my eyebrow.
"Why not?" She sat up, "Sure, he was nothing but despicable before. But now, now is different. He has become a very eligible bachelor nowadays. Not bad looking, quite intelligent and from a wealthy background."
"Don't you think that's too shallow?" I curled my lips.
"Shallow is better than cruel." Ginny said, looked into my eyes, "Forcing someone to be in a relationship just because they are convenient is cruel. I'd rather be shallow."
My heart sunk. Though I avoided her comment, I knew exactly what she meant. But, leaving someone who you claimed to love was cruel as well, was it not?
Unless it was a different kind of love, the voice in my head said, to which I chose to ignore.
##################
"So, here you are." Malfoy sat down across the table from me, pushed a cup of coffee towards me.
"Thank you," I said politely, didn't touch the coffee, "Can you tell me what the contract is about now?"
"Simple." He smirked, took a sip of his coffee, "I want you to pretend to be dating me, until Christmas break."
"Malfoy, you have finally lost your sanity." I tried my best not to laugh out loud, "Did you hear yourself; do you realize how absurd it sounds?"
"I'm sure I know it better than you do." He sneered, "Being seen around in school with Hermione Granger, what a shame."
"And you know I can say the same thing about you." I crossed my arms, "But where did you even get the idea from?"
"After it all ended, the girls have been crazy over me," He sighed, "Stop laughing, Granger. It's really not that funny and you know it."
"I have to admit you are right, though I don't want to." I said, attempted to sound concerned. I did witness how the younger year girls acted around him ever after everything ended. Perhaps they considered him as some sort of hero, though he was nowhere near the category. Or perhaps, Harry and Ron were both taken, and they started to look at the Slytherin way.
"You need to get over Weasley, and I want my solitude." He said bluntly, "We both need some time off from the dating world."
"I never thought I'd say I agree with you." I said bitterly.
"So, what would you say about signing a contract with me?" He leaned forward with a cunning grin, "And the books are yours."
I tapped my fingers on the table, Malfoy was looking at me with a smile, the kind of smile I couldn't tell what his intentions were behind it. The deal sounded fine, minus the part where I had to pretend to be with Malfoy, but how hard could it possibly be? People would say some judgemental words here and there. And I definitely didn't think my friends would take it well, but if I told them after it was over, I believed they would understand, or I would at least hope so. It was not like I'd fall in love with him by the end of it, right? I did need some time away to gather my thoughts and get over Ron, and I believed staying alone would help with that.
"Fine." I agreed without doing much thinking, "We have a deal."
"That was unexpectedly quick." Malfoy seemed surprised.
"You aren't going to take no as an answer anyways." I rolled my eyes, "Now if we were to sign a contract, I wanted to do it on paper and sign our names."
"That seems unnecessarily troublesome. But if you wanted to do it the muggle way, then fine." Malfoy sneered.
"Wonderful." I sat up straight, "I will owl you once I had a draft written, and you need to owl me back with a signed copy."
"Sure." Malfoy shrugged, clearly didn't bother to ask any questions, he looked at the coffee in front of me, then looked at me. He raised his own cup, "Cheers, Granger. To a world where you and I are bound by words."
"Oh, don't try to be poetic." I shook my head and said disdainfully, but still raised my cup, "Cheers, Malfoy, to our pathetic lives."
"Your pathetic life." Malfoy emphasized before took a sip of his coffee.
I rolled my eyes and drank mine as well before spitting half of it out:
"Do you even know how to order coffee? This tastes disgusting."
All Malfoy did is smirking.
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VesperKitsune
VesperKitsune Hi there! I'd like to say thank you for spending your time reading this story and shout out to those who saved it as a collection! I really appreciate it! Please leave a comment if you'd like and stay tuned for upcoming chapters :)
P.S. I hope everyone is staying safe during this difficult time of ours, and take care of each other!
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