A/N Hello! Just a quick thing, "Luxia" is pronounced "loo-sha" (there's a reason she's named this)
Hermione sat curled up on her couch watching the evening news. She wasn't really paying attention though; her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about the bill of house elf rights she was proposing, which book she should read next, and her wedding. Ron had proposed to her a month ago at midnight on New Year's Eve and they had set the date in early August. She was just thinking about the dress she wanted when she heard a familiar *fwomp!* come from the fireplace behind her. She turned and saw Luxia Silverman step out, her platinum blonde hair grey with soot. Luxia had been Hermione friends since sixth year. Luxia had transferred to Hogwarts during the middle of sixth year from her school in the U.S.
"I see you finally got your own place!" she said, her blight silver eyes looking around the room.
"Yeah, I thought it was about time to move out of the burrow. How'd you find me, anyway?"
"I asked Mrs. Weasley, but she didn't know you apartment number. You have no idea how many fireplaces I had to go through to find you." She shook the soot out of her hair and sat down next to Hermione.
"Hope you didn't frighten anyone too much." Hermione said chuckling, imagining the faces of her paranoid neighbors.
"Thankfully nobody saw me." She stared at Hermione's hand and smiled. "I see he finally proposed. When's the wedding?"
"August." she said proudly. "Speaking of weddings, when's yours? And can you finally tell me who your mystery fiancé is?" Hermione asked eagerly. She had learned that Luxia had a fiancé in Hogwarts towards the end of sixth year when she had to read Luxia's mail to her because she was temporarily blind from an accident in potions. She had relentlessly pestered her for information about the mystery man, but Luxia didn't give up much information about him, other than the fact that she hated the thought of marrying him.
"On one condition, you marry him." She grumbled.
Hermione laughed, "He can't be that bad."
She looked at Hermione, "I'm serious, I want you to marry him."
Hermione examined her face and realized she wasn't kidding.Why can't you just skip work or a meeting like a normal person? she thought. "I can't, I'm kind of engaged," she held up her hand showing her diamond engagement ring. "Why do you want me to marry him anyway?"
Luxia sighed, "Because if I marry him, then some things about me will come to light and I'll have a huge target on my back."
Of course. Hermione thought. This was a recurring theme every time she asked someone to help her, she always had some form of impending doom upon her everytime she asked someone to take her place for a period of time. "What 'things'?" she asked, knowing she wouldn't answer. Luxia never answered any questions about her escapades until they were over or she was in trouble.
"Things nobody needs to know right now." She sighed, "Look, Hermione, I'll tell you everything later, but right now I just need you to do this for me. Please."
Hermione sighed, "Fine, how long will I have to pretend to be his wife?" she said, knowing Luxia wouldn't back down until she agreed.
Luxia smiled, "About a week so I can get everything straightened out."
"Ok, when's the wedding and who's the groom?"
"The wedding's in a week."
"Ok, so who's the groom?" she bent down to scratch Crookshanks who was rubbing up against her leg. He purred loudly.
"Do you promise you won't back out when I tell you?"
She thought about it. He couldn't be that bad she thought. "Yes," she said finally.
"It's Draco Malfoy."
"What?" Hermione yelled, stunned. "I can't marry him! OW!" Startled, Crookshanks had scratched her and scampered off. "Luxia I can't live with him, Ron would never agree to it."
"I'll pay you a thousand galleons a day" Luxia said quickly
Hermione's jaw dropped. 7,000 galleons? She thought, That's more than enough!
"Please Hermione, I'm begging you!" she pleaded.
Hermione could see how desperate she really was and she knew how much she needed the money. "Fine," she said, "but only if Ron knows."
Luxia pursed her lips, "alright."
l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l
"Ron, what would you say if I told you I was getting married soon?" Hermione asked, clutching a steaming mug in her hands. Thinking of every possible way he could react to the news.
"I'd say, six months isn't that soon." He said smiling, "Why?"
"Luxia had asked me-" she was interrupted by Luxia exiting the green flames of the Weasley's fireplace, coughing loudly.
"You really should clean that," she waved her wand and the soot on her flew back into the fire place. She sat down next to Hermione.
"Why don't you just apparate?" Ron took a sip from his mug.
"Because I'm not legally allowed to do it in the U.K. until I take the test." She sighed, "It's so annoying, yesterday I tracked soot all through Hermione's apartment!"
"You've been here for so long, why haven't you taken it yet?" Hermione asked summoning the Daily Prophet.
"Because the standards are stricter here! I have no idea how any of you guys passed. Anyways," she turned to Hermione "did you tell him yet?"
"Tell me what?" he asked.
"I was just about to tell him." She said examining the front page headline "Malfoy Marriage! Details on page 13." Is it really that big of a deal? She wondered.
"Tell me what?"
"Can we just assume you did? That would make life much easier. You know that he'll just argue with you."
"I'm right here!"He said loudly. They both looked at him. "What is it?"
She set the paper down, "Luxia wants me to marry her fiancé."
"Why?" he asked turning to Luxia. He was used to hearing Hermione talk about Luxia's many escapades, many included people taking her place in events while she was off doing something not approved of by her family.
"Personal reasons. Don't worry she just has to live with him for about a week so I can get everything straightened out." Luxia explained. "I'm going to be paying her a grand a day."
His eyes widened, "Seven thousand galleons? Is he really that bad?"
"He's not that bad," Hermione snorted, "the money's for my reasons. So, would you be adverse to it?"
"No as long as she only has to live with him, so who is he?" He took a sip from his mug.
"Draco Malfoy." Hermione whispered.
Ron almost spit out his tea, "That Ferret? NO!"
"You do realize we weren't asking for your permission." Luxia said picking up the paper and flipping though it. She smiled and shook her head.
"Doesn't matter! Hermione you won't marry him!" he commanded.
"You can't tell me what to do Ronald!" She said angrily standing up. "Besides how else do you suppose we pay for our wedding? I can barley afford my rent and you're making next to nothing!"
"We'll mange! You're not marrying him!" he stood up also.
"I'm marrying Malfoy and that's the end of it!" she yelled.
"Did we miss something?" a voice said from behind.
All three turned and saw Harry and Ginny standing in the doorway, "Hermione is there something you want to tell us?" asked Harry.
"I'm just gonna go now," Luxia said edging towards the fireplace, "See you at my place tomorrow?"
"Sure," Hermione said, her eyes fixed angrily on Ron. Luxia disappeared in the roaring green flames.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters (excluding Luxia) depicted in my story and no money was made from this.