Disclaimer: Any thing you recognize in this story is not mine.
WANTED:
HUSBAND FOR HIRE
£500,000 FOR A YEAR AND A DAY
CALL 256- FOR MORE INFO
Qualification Note:
Age Range: 25-30; Profession: Business
Other: to be discussed through interview
CHAPTER 01
One year and one day.
That was the agreement.
But one year and one day ado, I did not know that my feelings would be changed.
One year and one day ago, I stood here, at this very same spot, and agreed to an agreement I now wish I had not made.
A year and a day ago I agreed to a desperate plea and now I have to let go.
You see, one year ago, I attended a family reunion, with relatives, coming from all parts of the country to see each other.
It was there that I realized, all of my cousins were married, engaged, or half way there.
I was the only one left from my generation without a ring, fiancé, or boyfriend.
I was twenty five, had just graduated with a BA in History and Business, and jobless after leaving Wizarding world.
Throughout Hogwarts and university I never once thought about dating a guy. I was too busy caught up in what I wanted to be, what I wanted to study and what my parents expected of me, to really care about getting into a relationship.
My last relationship or close to a relationship was in fourth year at Hogwarts with Viktor Krum, which was nothing more than a few walks around the grounds and a dance at the Yule Ball.
And when I saw all of my cousins walking around and conversing about their significant other, I felt lonely.
"When are you going to get married?"
"Have anyone special in your life?"
No.
I felt disappointed, in myself, and in letting my parents down.
And it was then and there that I decided I wanted to do something about my disappointment.
I wanted to show everyone else that I was happy and not alone.
So I did something that I never thought I could have done: I lied, "Yes, I have someone."
"What's his name?"
"How old is he?"
"What does he do?"
"Handsome?"
"Someone we know?"
"Who?"
I smiled politely at my relatives while trying to come up with answers to all of their questions.
"He's my age and a self-made businessman. Very handsome, and I'm not sure if any of you have met him yet."
"But what's his name?" My Aunt Lena asked, intrigued.
I smiled hesitating, hating myself for lying, "Can't tell."
"But you have to tell us! Tell us more about your mystery man." I shake my head.
"So," my cousin Brenda says with a twinkle in her eyes, "Little Mya has finally got someone."
I laugh at their eager expressions for more, but I shake my head again, "Mum's calling me."
I hurry away from the group, sighing in relief. No one else asked about my "mystery man" as the reunion continued and once it was over I quickly headed home, burying myself in self-pity.
It would have never occurred to me that I would be waking up to pounding on my flat door when I went to sleep the night before. Still half asleep I walked out of the bed to open the door, only to be pushed back inside, the door closing behind someone standing before me. I was wide awake then when I looked up to see a very handsome man staring down at me.
"Hermione Granger."
My eyes widened in surprise and I gasped, I must be dreaming. I took a step back as I continued to stare. Draco Malfoy was standing inside my flat. I wanted to scream, wanted to call for help, but all I managed to do was start at him.
"W-why are you here?" I asked when some sense came back into me. He smiled then, showing his very white and very straight set of teeth. I don't think I have ever seen him smile.
If I said before that he was handsome, I had obviously not been awake. He was magnificent, from head to toe, like one of those heroes you read about in romance books. Tall, maybe 6'1 or 6'2. He filled up the suit he wore, which meant he was well built. And his eyes, his eyes were like a wolf's, gray and cool, as if he could see into your very soul.
"Well?" I whisper.
"I hear that you are my wife; for the moment." I stared at him.
"You? You're my husband?" The last was whispered in a shaky voice.
"At your service Madame."
"I must be dreaming," I said quietly and turning away from him, making my way to the couch. I must be dreaming.
It had only been a week. One week since I had called the private line, asking for a husband. Maybe I was acting too desperate, or maybe my imagination had run away with me the night I had returned from the family reunion. I was not about to believe that the husband I had supposedly hired was standing inside my living room. And it was Draco Malfoy. What was he doing in Muggle London?
"You're not dreaming Hermione."
I whirl around to face him, and this time I am standing very close, too close for comfort. "W-what do you want?"
He raised an eyebrow leaning down so that our noses almost touched, "What do you want?"
I shake my head, "N-nothing. Who are you?"
He sighed, pulling back to take out a pack of cigarettes, but before he could take one out I snatched it away from him.
"You can't smoke in my apartment," I say, forgetting why he was standing in my apartment and what was happening.
It was his turn to stare at me, and then his firm lips twist upward and he began to chuckle. He was laughing at me!
I frowned, "What are you laughing at?"
"You're still the same as you were during Hogwarts."
My frown increased, "What do you mean?"
He ignored my question, and instead he took his pack of cigarettes back, "If I can't smoke inside your apartment, we're going outside for a walk."
And before I could protest or process the fact that Malfoy listened to me, he left me to stare at his back as he opened my apartment door and walked off. There must have been something in my food the night before, I told myself, as I headed into my room to change into a pair of jeans and sweatshirt to follow him outside. Why else would I be talking to Draco Malfoy inside my living room and now following him outside?
He stood on the sidewalk waiting for me, a cigarette already lit. As soon as I step onto the sidewalk he began to walk across the street toward the park across from the apartment building. I sighed and hurried after him.
"Why are you here?" I ask again, even though I already knew the answer.
He looked down at me with another raised brow, "You already know why I'm here."
We had stopped to sit on an empty bench underneath the shade of the trees.
"I was only joking when I called in asking—asking for a .."
"Husband." He supplied.
I nodded, my hands twisting on my lap, my eyes staring straight ahead.
"And I was only joking when I called asking for a wife."
That made me turn to look at him. He was looking at me, his gaze sharp and observant.
"A year and a day."
I stared at him, startled. "What?"
"Let's do it, what is there to lose?"
I must be hearing things. "What?"
"For a year and a day you have a husband."
I really must be hearing things.
"A year and a day?" I hear myself whisper.
He nodded, "That's what the ad said."
"But, why? You know who I am. Hermione Granger, the mudblood war hero."
"I know who you are and I don't care about your blood status. You get your husband and I get my wife."
I remained silent, still staring at him as if he had just sprouted wings.
"How about it?"
I remained still, "Why a year and a day?" I asked, kicking myself in the arse for asking the stupidest at the moment.
"I was wondering that myself," He said, the amusement back in his eyes, "But then again I've got some Scottish blood in me somewhere, and a year and a day seems reasonable."
"Oh." I frowned, "but I was hiring a husband."
"And I was hiring a wife, but I guess they threw us two together."
I nodded and then shook my head, "I don't have £500,000."
He threw back his head and laughed. I could only stare. Did he always laugh like this before.
"You really haven't changed have you? I had expected to see you a little different when I knocked on your apartment door," he said as he smiled at me and then, without any warning, leaned down to tap the tip of my nose with his finger. "What say you, wife?"
"Yes," I said before I could stop myself, blinking up at him in wonderment.
"Good. I'll see you at six then." He said and stood up to leave me seated on the bench. I stared after him; he turned back to wave, and then walked away without another glance.
Did I just say I'll be Draco Malfoy's wife?
AN: I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!