Chapter 10

Hermione sat tucked in the corner of the couch, a pillow clutched to her chest, as the latest edition of The Daily Prophet was spread out on the coffee table. The headline staring up at her declared the date for the upcoming nuptials of Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass. A tear slid down Hermione's cheek. Not because she believed the libelous words, but out of fear that the situation she currently found herself was becoming too good to be true.

The Purebloods of the wizarding world were a ruthless people, hellbent on always having things go their way. Hermione knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that both families would put into action any plan they could to separate her and Draco. Rita Skeeter was having a field day, describing each step of the wedding planning process that Hermione herself knew to not be happening.

With a small nudge from her big toe, the paper fell off the coffee table and onto the floor. She didn't want to have to see the offensive article any more than necessary. Just as the paper fluttered to the floor, the front door opened and slammed shut. Hermione was sure that she heard two distinct sets of footsteps near her. The sound of laughter floated through the hallway, stopping only when Draco spotted Hermione.

"Hi," he greeted her happily, placing a sweet kiss to her lips. Hermione made no reply, staring at the girl behind him. Draco noticed her where her gaze led, and turned back to the blonde. "Love, this is Astoria Greengrass."

"Pleasure," Hermione replied flatly, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes darted back to Draco, expressing her desire for an explanation. He turned back with a polite smile, and excused Hermione and himself.

Once they reached the kitchen, Draco sighed. "She wants to help," he stated, leaning back against the counter. Hermione scoffed, taking a seat at the small kitchen table. "I told you she doesn't want to marry me. We're trying to figure out a way to get our families to let us out of this."

"Last I checked, you're already married," Hermione muttered. From the corner of her eye, she saw Draco push away from the counter and take the seat beside her. She trained her focus on the window in front of her, intent on not looking at her husband.

Draco rested a comforting hand on her forearm. "I am aware of that too," he replied softly, trying to keep his usually short temper at bay. "I love you. I picked you, Hermione. You were the one who stood by my side during sixth year when my whole world was falling apart. I may not always be the best guy, but I swear I never want to do anything that will hurt you."

"I know," she whispered softly. Though her gaze remained on the window, her hand came up to rest atop the hand that he had placed on her arm. Her thumb moved in lazy lines across his soft skin. Finally, she allowed her eyes to shift to her right, catching sight of Draco. "I trust you. It's just your family and her family that I don't trust."

"Believe me, I feel the same way," Draco muttered. He pushed back his chair an inch and stood. The hand that had rested on Hermione's arm gave it a tug, making her stand as well. "We should probably get back to the sitting room. Wouldn't want to look rude."

Hermione leaned into his embrace, resting her forehead against his chest. "Or we could just stay in here and snog," she suggested coyly, earning a chuckle from Draco. His lips pressed to hers before he led her back to the sitting room.

Astoria, in all her pureblooded, blonde glory, sat perched on the edge of the sofa with a nervous smile plastered on her aristocratic face. She stood as soon as the couple entered and nodded politely in greeting.

"So, Draco says you could be of some service with this little arranged marriage mess," Hermione said, making it clear with her tone that she was skeptical.

Astoria, whose eyes seemed trained on the tall blonde before her, snapped them quickly over to Hermione. "Oh, yeah," she replied with an uncharacteristic waver. Quickly, she righted herself and produced a more definitive, confident "yes."

Hermione scoffed, noticing where the other girl's attentions lay at the moment. From the corner of her eye, she saw the expression her husband wore. It was an expression that told her to play nice, and that she would not be happy if the old, angry Draco reappeared. The brunette rolled her eyes in his direction and moved to take a seat on the sofa beneath the bay window. Draco took a seat beside her, and Astoria sat on the vacant armchair adjacent to them.

"So, what's the master plan?" Hermione inquired shortly. She scowled at Draco's touch, as he draped his arm around her shoulders and gripped her upper arm just hard enough for her to know that he was patience with her was beginning to wane.

Astoria seemed not to notice, or at least she pretended not to. "I think you two need to make your relationship public," she said quietly. "Perhaps if the rest of the wizarding world knew that Draco already married, our parents wouldn't be able to enforce our own marriage."

"And you really think that would deter your families from breaking us up and continuing on with their grand plans of a union between you two?" Hermione inquired, truly believing that the plan spouted off by the blonde was complete rubbish.

"I happen to think this could work," Draco interjected, flashing Astoria a kind smile that Hermione couldn't help but loathe. He turned to his right to look at Hermione, softening his expression as he spoke again. "This could work, love. If people knew about us...a divorce would only serve as a further embarrassment in my mother's eyes. So, if we go public, it might make her think twice about forcing you and me apart."

"What if that doesn't work?" she asked him, a touch of fear in her whisper.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Draco replied. "And if all else fails, we'll run away and change our names and live happily ever after," he added jokingly.

"Be serious," Hermione chided, pushing away his arm from her shoulders.

He told hold of her wrist, his thumb rubbing comforting circles against the soft skin. "I am being serious," he told her, all traces of humor gone from his face. "I would run away with you tomorrow. Just name the place and we're gone. I do, however, think that Astoria's plan is a good one. One worth trying before we skip the country."

Looking up through her eyelashes, Hermione felt tears begin to form. "Okay, let's do it," she decided.