Week 2 Trope: Fake Dating
Rating: T
Word Count: 400
Warnings: Main Character Death
Result: 3rd Place
The Ending
They'd always had an ending.
As a candidate, Hermione needed his money. As a businessman, Draco needed her ear. Their match was made not in heaven, but in an attorney's office, signed before lawyers paid well for their discretion, weeks after they'd negotiated the terms.
The Prophet pounced on their first campaign appearance: the fiery future Minister and her reformed bad-boy beau. But they'd considered that, too, hiring a press secretary and an expert public relations team to quell the too-true rumors of a ruse.
Draco hadn't expected it to be so easy. Credit to her foresight: Hermione hadn't risen through the Ministry by leaving risks unmitigated.
He'd planned ahead, too. Every issue was an opportunity, and Draco took full advantage. When the media hammered her on taxes, he positioned himself as a small business advocate. When they pressed her on education, he played on their empathy as a widower and a single father.
When they questioned her stance on war reparations, still collected after over two decades, he veered off message.
He remembered the subtle squeeze of Hermione's fingers. How her confusion had melted into gratitude as he answered with not the boilerplate of a contract, but the beliefs of his heart.
That was when things shifted. When dinners lingered longer and touches occurred in private as well as public.
Still, they'd agreed. No sex. No emotions. No future.
Then came the first assassination attempt.
She'd argued with him from her hospital bed—purely precautionary, as the curse had missed by inches. It was nothing; it was a good thing. It proved that her message resonated.
Draco had wanted to shake her but settled for tripling her security detail. He swore to protect her; she'd only rolled her eyes.
Yet his fear eclipsed reason. He moved her into his house, then his bed, and finally his heart. He vowed to look after her children, eventually convincing her to sign a different sort of contract.
But they never had the chance.
The second assassination attempt failed its primary objective, but allowed Draco to fulfill his oath. She was safe, and that was enough.
Hermione told him beautiful truths about love and gratitude. She promised to adopt Draco's son. To raise him, love him, and never let him forget. The thought warmed him, even as his body grew cold.
They'd always had an ending.
He never imagined it would be like this.