Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I just happened to come up with the plot for this ship. All credit to J.K for her amazing universe that she allows us to play in.

I also don't own anything else mentioned in my stories.

Warning: Rated M. Cursing, sexual innuendos, lemons and fluff ahead. Basically what you would expect from a romance novel nowadays. However the lemons will be in the middle to end of this story. You're warned.

Music is my muse:
Song for this chapter: She Sets The City On Fire; Gavin DeGraw
Lyrics: Somebody told me, if I am not careful, well this one's going to roll me.
I got my hands full and this one's going to own me and control me.
I'm so mystified.

That's right Draco, watch out!

Riddle This

Chapter 11
A Tisket

Severus poured his own drink and nodded. "If her father doesn't kill her I might. Insolent bit of fluff."

Lucius smiled. "Liar," he said sipping his fire whiskey. "You like her."

Severus snorted. "Say that again and I will avada you."

OooOoooOoooOoOO

Draco Lucius Malfoy sat staring at his father in a mixture of shock and horror.

"Betrothed?" He asked for clarification.

Lucius nodded. "Last summer to be exact."

"To whom?" Draco demanded standing up angrily.

"The daughter of a woman named Diana Karkaroff."

"Some Drumstrang girl?" Draco demanded scoffing.

"No, she attends Hogwarts," Lucius replied calmly. "Karkaroff was her Uncle. When he was captured we discovered she was still alive. Her mother had been murdered by Albus Dumbledore and the child's magic bound. Fortunately, the binding wore off and she is now the top of her class."

Draco frowned sitting back down suddenly very weary. "Which class?" He asked carefully.

Lucius nodded at him. "Yours."

"Granger!" Draco said standing up again his voice echoing off the walls.

"Yes, sit down Draco."

Draco did if only because his legs wouldn't hold him anymore. "I am to marry Hermione Granger?" He asked his voice hoarse. "But- are you sure father?"

"Yes, I am sure. She is my goddaughter and her father agreed to this contract. Although as of now you are simply the only one permitted to court her, something I had to inform Viktor Krum today."

Draco looked up his face reddening with anger. "Viktor Krum asked to court her?"

Lucius nodded. "He did, and she didn't object to his suite, she objected to his mistresses."

Draco snorted at that and looked down at the contract his father had produced for him. "You signed for her," he said curiously.

Lucius sighed. "Her father was unable to ratify the contract at this time. He, however, has ears and eyes everywhere, son. I would not play her false."

"Who is her father? A wizard on our side?"

Lucius nodded steepling his hands. "It is not the time for her to know so you will not be informed. Plausible deniability you could say. However, I would not cross the man, Draco."

Draco studied the contract before looking up at his father his veins going to ice. His father was telling him something and if it was what Draco was thinking, he shook his head, no it couldn't be.

"Yes, it could," was said by his godfather in a soft almost deadly tone behind him. "But do not speak of it until you have permission, do you understand?"

Draco nodded and swallowed his throat suddenly dry. "Does she know?"

"She will start to suspect," Severus said. "She needs to graduate and we must keep this from those who will do her harm and your father was very right about the plausible deniability, I have seen her angry, I wouldn't cross her if you can avoid it."

Draco shook his head dismissing this conversation and moving on to the most obvious problem. "Who will believe we are courting? She spent the summer with Krum!" He was angry over this now and he glared at his godfather. "You left her with that seeker all summer knowing she was mine!"

"Clam yourself, Draco," Severus said his tone annoyed. "She will not appreciate your possessiveness and I assure you I make a wonderful chaperone. They were never left alone and did not even kiss. You know house elves are tasked with such things and hers never left her side if I was not around."

Draco snorted at that and narrowed his eyes at the contract again. "I want this official," he said firmly. "I want it known she is mine, that Weasley slobbers all over her."

Lucius sighed with impatience at his son although a light smirk played at his mouth. "That is not easily done right now, son. You have permission to court her or date her if you choose. I would suggest you start by getting to know her, woe her," Lucius gave his son a calculated look. "She has the right of refusal once she graduates. I wouldn't forget that if I were you."

Draco stood up his eyes flashing with determination. "Where is she? I want to see her?"

"She is with your mother who has purchased three clothing stores for her. I am sure you will run into her as she will be finishing out her holiday here at the manor. We will come up with a cover story for why you are friends by the time you return to school. Perhaps you accompanied Severus to Bulgaria and met with her there?"

Draco nodded and then shrugged. "I don't care, I just want that Weasel to know she isn't available."

Severus snorted as Lucius waved at his son. "That is your battle to fight. The order has no idea she has a magical representative in her father, myself, and Severus. If Weasley attempts to bring forth a suit I cannot block him publically without revealing things we are not ready to declare. However, he will find that he will have trouble with the official records as your suit already exists and is sealed."

Lucius sighed. "The inner circle has been told the news of who her mother is, Bellatrix is still recovering, she worshiped Diana and even searched for her. No one outside of this room and your mother suspect who her father is. If you value your life, keep it that way."

Draco grunted and then gave a swift nod. "Fine, if you will excuse me, I have a fiance to find."

OoOOOoooOO

Lucius turned to Severus as the boy left. "Well, that went well."

Severus snorted and stood up to pour himself another glass of whiskey. "She is going to hex his bollocks off," Severus said with a small smirk.

Lucius leaned back. "Yes, most likely she will. Shame, I did so wish for grandchildren."

The two wizards smirked shaking their head.

OoOOooOoooOooO

Hermione wandered around the grounds of Malfoy Manor feeling rather melancholy. Narcissa had been a total surprise, the woman had bought her not just wizarding robes but Muggle attire as well. Of course, it was the finest Muggle clothing Hermione had ever seen, and none of it casual wear. It had a timelessness to it that made her think it might even be vintage. And she had cried when Cissy had pulled out an old trunk that had belonged to her mother. She was wearing one of her mother's dresses now. It was a beautiful white lace dress that probably had gone to her mother's feet although it hit her at the ankles. It had bell-like sleeves and intrigued her because it was Muggle, her mother had obviously bought it at a muggle store. To Hermione, though it had been the most wonderful thing she had ever seen, it smelled like home, a smell she now knew she must have remembered somehow, it smelled like her mother.

She sat down at the edge of a large pond and watched the pink swans circle about. She turned as someone approached and sighed as she saw Draco Malfoy headed her way, bugger he would come find her when she wanted to be left alone.

She turned back to watching the swans. "Malfoy," she said softly hiding her annoyance, if she was stuck here all summer she supposed she should be polite. After all none of this was Draco's fault, he had been just as ignorant as she had, his mother had confirmed that.

"Granger." He replied sitting down next to her.

They sat for a moment in silence before she sighed and said. "It's not really Granger, is it?"

Draco Malfoy gave her a small smirk and shrugged. "Apparently not."

"Did your father speak with you?"

"He did? Viktor Krum asked to court you?"

She sighed. "He did."

"Do you wish to court him?"

She looked at him surprised that he would ask her opinion, Lucius certainly hadn't. "No, he is a friend, nothing more."

"And Harry Potter?"

She rolled her eyes picking up a smooth stone. "Also a friend. And before you ask, no I am not romantically interested in Ronald either."

Draco nodded his face in a small sneer. "And me?"

She rolled her eyes setting the stone down. "You're usually a prat."

He chuckled and then leaned back. "I don't have to be anymore," he said easily.

She snorted. "I think it comes naturally to you. Please don't try to pretend you ever looked at me in any way romantically before your father told you I wasn't a mudblood and you were to court me." She picked up another smooth rock studying it.

"Actually, Granger, I am not blind. I spent most of the Yule Ball in our fourth year wanting to hex Viktor Krum and have had a crush on you of sorts since you socked me our third year."

Her lips twitched as she turned over the rock in her hand. "You would find that attractive. Didn't I break your nose?"

"Yes, you did," he said stiffly.

"Well, you deserved it." She said back primly and transfigured the rock into a butterfly watching it fly away.

He nodded at her his eyes wide at the wandless, silent bit of transfiguration. "Probably," he agreed handing her another rock. "So what do we do then, about the contract?"

Hermione shrugged cupping her hands and turning the rock into another butterfly, this one bright green. "We do not have to do anything I suppose. I had no intention of dating anyone this year, did you?"

"I happen to like a good snog," he said honestly watching her two butterflies, red and green, land on a lily pad. "And who taught you how to do that?"

Hermione gaffed at him and then shook her head. "Well, I won't stop you from snogging whoever you wish and Professor Snape taught me the wandless magic and Viktor taught me the transfiguration."

"I can't snog another witch betrothed to you, Hermione," Draco said wincing at Krum's name.

"We were technically betrothed last summer and I am sure you have snogged plenty of witches this last year, probably shagged a few too."

Draco frowned at her. "But I didn't know about the contract so they don't count. Now that I know-" he waved at her. "It would be disrespectful."

"Well, thank you," she said sincerely but then shook her head. "But I won't hold you to a contract our fathers stipulated without our permission. When I graduate you are free to court whomever you wish. A pureblood perhaps."

"You are a pureblood," he said indigently.

She sighed. "Not really. I was raised by muggles after all and I have no idea whom my father is. He could be a muggle for all I know." She knew that wasn't true but felt like goading Draco.

"He is a wizard," Draco said firmly.

She smirked, yep, easy to goad. "Possibly not a pureblood though. He might be a half-blood and that would make me not pure and I would sully the Malfoy line."

Draco snorted. "Not possible," he said honestly. "You know there is a reason why my family didn't marry muggle borns?"

"Yes, you thought we were inferior."

"No. Well, okay maybe, but it was honestly not an invalid reason." At her raised eyebrow he continued. "Muggle-borns have too much magic and not enough exposure to our world to learn to wield it properly. They burn out their cores too often and suffer greater miscarriages and Squib births. One of the reasons people like Umbridge go on and on about them stealing magic is because they are so hard to temper. It's almost like the magic fights them. Look at Dean Thomas in your house. He is more likely to blow something up than transfigure it."

She glared at him. "And Crabb and Goyle? Pureblooded idiots the both of them. Dean at least understands the theory of the spell he is doing."

Draco smirked and held up his hands in surrender. "True enough, which is why the families are starting to look outside of the sacred twenty-eight for marriages. Inbreeding is worse than being a muggle born. Look at the Black family."

Hermione nodded wearily and then sighed. "For all I know my father was of the sacred twenty-eight. We could be cousins."

"He is, but distantly. If we are related it's more than a few generations back."

Hermione glared at him. "You know who my father is?"

Draco went pale realizing he had just been led right into a trap by a damn Gryffindor. Shite, she would have done well in Slytherin. He started to back pedal the conversation realizing he would need that plausible deniability. "I have a good guess which I won't share with you until I am permitted and certain."

Hermione huffed. "Fine, keep your bloody secrets. I need to find Viktor and go."

Draco sighed. "He left, Granger. It wouldn't be proper for you to continue to spend time with him now that he knows about our contract."

Hermione closed her eyes utterly woe begotten at this news. "Brilliant, where will I go then? I was staying with Viktor to avoid being locked in headquarters."

He flinched. "The old Black townhome, I don't blame you for wanting to avoid that place."

Hermione sighed. "How did you know that's where headquarters was?"

He smirked but then frowned. "That mad elf told my mad aunt. It's not safe for you there, Granger."

She sighed gesturing at his house. "And your house is? As far as everyone knows I am a mudblood. What will your father's friends think of us courting?"

He sighed wearily, "I am sure they have been informed of who you really are. I know the inner circle has, my father told me Aunt Bella went spare. She worshiped your mother, even tried to find her when she went into hiding."

Hermione flinched and rubbed her temples. "Someone better tell Dolohov, he did try to kill me after all."

Draco gave her a strange look. "He has been dead for over a year, Granger."

She looked at him stunned. "Really? How?"

Draco shrugged. "No idea, maybe he died from his wounds at the ministry."

Hermione frowned and then shook her head. "Or Voldemort killed him."

"If Dolohov tried to kill you that is possible. But it's more likely my own father ended him, he wasn't exactly sane Granger, and by all accounts loved to inflict pain, especially on witches. My father is your godfather, and regardless of what you think of him, my father does not hurt witches."

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. "How can you be so casual about death?"

Draco shrugged. "I guess it saves me having to kill the sick bastard. Truly, Granger, the man was deranged. I wouldn't grieve over him."

"I am not," Hermione said firmly. "But it bothers me you are so blasé about killing someone."

Draco shrugged. "Would you allow someone to harm Potter if you could stop it?"

"Of course not!"

"You are my intended," Draco said firmly. "Think of yourself as my Potter. I have to protect you."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't think of Harry that way."

"Fine, Viktor then."

"He wouldn't need my help," Hermione said watching Draco's face flush with annoyance.

"I think you get the point, Granger." He said tensely.

She sighed. "Fine, sure, whatever." She gave a long-suffering sigh, she was too overwhelmed to deal with this right now. "I am going back to the room with all the clothes your mother bought me which I am assuming is where I am to stay. Lovely chat, Malfoy." And she turned and marched off missing his slight smirk and the way he watched her hips twitch in the dress.

Author Notes:
I think Hermione is a little overwhelmed at the moment. But I love that even with all the changes being thrown her way she can still out talk a Slytherin who was warned to be mindful of what he said. Oh, Draco, you have no idea the merry chase she is going to lead you on.
So Hermione will finish the summer at the Manor... this could be... interesting.

As always you can find me on Isntagram: CrystalJeanRed when I am not updating.

I do hope you enjoyed the chapter and can't wait to hear your reactions to this first little showdown between these two.

Cheers,
Cjean