~ Go away ~
The war was over. He had survived and had left everything behind him. He didn't need anyone to remind him what he had done. Especially not her.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, yet again.
a/n: Apologies for the looong hiatus. I hope you're still around and that you'll enjoy reading this chapter.
.
The first meeting of their newly established deal, started off as a complete disaster. Draco entered her bookshop at 11 am sharp, as expected.
However what wasn't expected was his angry posture. He came barging in and as soon as he reached her desk he slammed his fist on it. Hard.
"This.." he started motioning around him "Can't work."
She visibly took a deep breath "Ok.. Why not? What is wrong?"
"Aside from me collaborating with you, which in itself is ridiculous, I have a business to run and you can't expect me to ditch my clients and come and go as you please! Absolutely not." he started, voice raising. "I have plans-"
"Hold it, Malfoy." she cut him off.
"-and you can't demand things from me without asking me -"
"Malfoy!" Her tone was now also somewhat raised, but he ignored her nonetheless.
"-well in advance! I have a fucking schedule -"
"Draco!" She finally called out.
The use of his given name effectively managed to shut him up. She had never called him as such, as he hadn't had her either.
"Give it a rest, Malfoy." She said resorting to last names again. "I was going to tell you the same thing. I have a business to run as well, which I frankly do alone so far. Of course we can't meet on working days and hours. I guess yesterday I was just eager to begin with it, that it completely slipped my mind."
He shifted his stare around her shop. This made his outburst seem redundant and he hated her a bit more for that. Bitch.
"I propose we do some preparation, since we are here and reschedule for tonight around 9pm, if you agree. I can go over any progress I have had to give you an idea of what I've been onto and we'll see where this gets us."
"Contract first." Draco said stubbornly.
She rolled her eyes. "Of course. I got it here; it's not yet signed, because you might want to propose any amendments, but I guess we can sign it right away and I'll pass it on to Kingsley before our next meeting."
He sneered at the mention of Shacklebolt; she seemed to have a good leverage with the Minister.
He then set on to carefully study her terms before he signed to the place indicated, satisfied with the contract. She also told him to use a suitable spell, so as to magically bond the paper to his identity. Granger also signed to her respective box and performed the complex incantation. She then picked up the contract, carefully placed it in a transparent folder and stored it in her top drawer.
"I will give you a copy after it is finalized. Are you ok with the time I suggested earlier?" she hesitantly asked him.
"For now."
"That will do."
.
"Powdered unicorn horn, bezoar, drops of Lethe River Water and most essentially; Jobberknoll feathers." Granger listed at their first meeting the same afternoon.
"You sound so sure about that, huh Granger? But I guess this hasn't worked so far, otherwise I wouldn't be here now."
Her cheeks flushed instantly. "Charming. Of course it hasn't worked; otherwise I wouldn't endure your presence for whatever reason."
"You still don't have to." he insisted "I'm still questioning the fact that I was your best choice for this ordeal." he turned to face her as if he would be able to decipher her interior motives.
Interesting. Granger avoided eye contact.
"You should leave it rest. You have a good background and a clear motive to comply with the task at hand."
"Others though, have a great background and a clear will to do anything for you." he countered.
She blinked twice. "Can you pass me the ladle?"
In other words drop the subject, right. He passed her the ladle thinking about the possible and plausible scenarios for his selection. The only one though that came to mind was again, that some of her friends had for some reason abandoned her. Or the other way around. He wondered why and tossed the idea to ask her in his mind, but he let it be. For now. He would have many more opportunities to interrogate Granger in the forthcoming months.
The noise of a small explosion in her cauldron right next to where he stood startled him and he clumsily cut his left forefinger, while trying to crush the bezoar. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"Fuck it!" he tossed the knife aside and grabbed a nearby towel. Blood flowed freely out of the wound; crimson blotches staining the white cloth.
Granger turned and her expression quickly went from surprised to shocked, but she seemed to gather her wits quickly. "Can I help you with that?"
Not that sodding question again.
"Fuck you, Granger."
But this time, she didn't wait for any confirmation. She simply ignored his comment and casually flicked her wand. "Here. All healed."
For a few seconds he stared at his hand dumbfounded. He felt the familiar rush of magic in his veins and his finger was instantly as good as new. He remembered then the first time she had offered him her help, when he had had the misfortune to through a fit in her presence. He secretly wished that his mental issues could be resolved with a flick of her wand too.
But alas.
.
The first week had gone by in the blink of an eye, marking no progress at all.
"You are doing it wrong. I said stir thrice clockwise, one time anti-clockwise, leave it to rest and then one anti-clockwise and two clockwise. What the hell! Are you not paying attention?" he accused.
She seemed confused and tired at the same time. He, of course, had noticed the black circles adorning her eyes and her slightly paler complexion, but he had brushed it off, because he really didn't care. However he did care to complete the test-potion as he had instructed; he didn't need to dedicate unnecessary effort and time due to implementation errors.
"I..." she stuttered. "I...will… We should stop for now, I will repeat it early in the morning on my own, I think I need some time off."
His nostrils flared. "I don't come here for nothing, Granger. I have a fucking deadline, a deadline you set and I intent to fulfill my deed as soon as possible. If we skip weeks in the process because you just can't concentrate your mind to the task, then let's leave it beforehand." he said scathingly.
"We absolutely don't skip weeks because of my luck of concentration!" she countered "I just need a day off, that's all. There's really no need to act as a brat all the time, Malfoy."
"Sick of me already?" he smirked "Too bad that you are also magically bonded to our contract, is it not?"
"You wish. To be honest I don't mind your peculiar attitude at all. You remind me of some children I used to know; all spoilt and bad-mannered, but in the end all they wanted was attention. From their parents. I wonder-" she started supposedly innocently.
"Don't." he said in a quiet alarming tone; just above a whisper. "Don't you fucking dare go there, Granger." If she dared utter another insinuation about his parents, he swore to Salazar that she would dearly regret it.
She appeared to be seriously contemplating it; to try and annoy him in return as he so frequently did, and she had found one of his weaknesses from the very beginning. Freaking hell.
"Let make another deal, Granger… You don't talk about my parents, I don't talk about yours. How does it sound?" he said through bared teeth.
"I suppose it sounds fair." she said after a few moments and extended her hand. A confirmation handshake; that was what she offered.
He hesitated then. He really didn't want to touch Granger. And not because of the muggleborn issue; that was frankly long left behind. He feared that touching her might somehow infect him, that the feel of her hand against his own might shift the dynamics of their contact. He despised his fear and hesitation, however he couldn't afford to alter anything.
Granger's hand was still raised there, waiting for his own and when he looked up her eyes bore into his as if challenging him to decline. Almost urging him to decline.
He refused to back down. His own hand reached up and firmly met hers, all the while keeping eye-contact. A silent challenge. A common understanding. A secret dare.
The handshake was completed and another mutual deal had just been made.
.
a/n: First of all I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it's fairly shorter than the previous installments, but this is where the scene needed to end. I also consider this as a warm-up chapter. I have been absent for almost a year, for which I apologize, and I needed to connect again with the story and the characters.
To this end, I assure you that I fully intend to complete all my fanfiction stories, even if it takes some time from me and some patience from your side. So, stick with me and let me know your thoughts. Is anyone still here reading this?
Victoria