To The Contrary!

By Emma

Chapter 12: If That's What It Takes



Hermione shrugged, "Letting you prove yourself to your friends."

His eyes went bigger than saucers, "You're offering yourself to me? Hermione, that...are you sure that..."

Hermione sighed and looked at the ground, then at him again, straight in the eye.

"Draco, I'm offering myself to you because I love you. If you take this and let your friends win your bet then you'll have conquered me. So you'll have me chicked off your list. The catch is, if you bed me tonight, you'll never have a chance with me. Ever again."

He stared at her, "I don't think I understand."

She ignored that, "I've got some muggle condoms. Some are black."

"That's very considerate," he narrowed his eyes at her, "But I still don't understand."

Hermione lowered her eyelids, "You'll have to spend your entire life knowing what you walked away from to get something better that will last a lifetime if you wait. If you bed me tonight, don't expect me to act as though I've even heard your name tomorrow. If you're willing to wait, then I'll hand you the moon if thats what it takes to keep you for the rest of my life. If you're not, then I'll just let you have your cheap thrill and me have mine. We owe each other that if we're not going to be together."

Draco stared at her. She was smarter than anybody he'd ever met in his entire life. Not just book smart as he'd always known...something else. He felt a surge of something else...could it be love? Had he finally met the girl that changed him, that made him love like he'd never loved before? Somebody who would teach him eventually what lovemaking was? He knew the answer before he asked himself the question.

"Hermione," he said after a moment of silence had broken between them, "I have to tell you..." he strode slowly towards her, looking her straight in the eye, "that I've given this a lot of thought..." he reached for her halfway unbuttoned pajama shirt, "and..." he kissed her softly on the mouth. When he pulled back, her buttons were both done up again.

She looked down at her shirt, and a smile played at her lips. She raised her eyes to him and wiggled her eyebrows, "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

He bit his lip, concealing a happy smirk, "I think that I'll wait. After all, what good is a bet if the participant wins the instant prize but never the lifetime full?"

Hermione threw the condoms across the room, grinned and pulled him to her, "Now that's what I like to hear."



~*~*|*~*~





Hermione and Draco outted themselves as a couple to the entire school. Oddly enough, nobody was that surprised.

"It's just like when that hot guy Spike got together with goody goody Buffy on that muggle tv show that I saw at my cousin's house one time!" Lavender had squeaked, "Except that Buffy was blonde....and you guys don't constantly hump like rabbits....Ew! That's disgusting, don't reply to that!"

The Slytherins might have gotten angry at Draco except for the fact that Draco had snagged one of the hottest girls in the school, who as a bonus was smart and destined to make him money. Not that Draco cared, but they could think what they wanted, in his opinion.

Hermione graduated as Valedictorian, and they were named unofficially as "Cutest Couple".

On graduation night, Draco proposed to Hermione with a rock big enough to signal in a ship. He also revealed to her that no, he hadn't used his father's money but while they were separated in the summer before, he'd gotten a little job. She, of course, said yes.

Hermione studied hard alongside Draco, Ron, Harry and Neville and they all became first class Aurors.

A week after they received their licenses, Draco and Hermione were wed. Hermione taught Draco how to make love, and in the process got pregnant.

Nine months later, Hermione gave birth to a gorgeous little girl with blond wavy hair and brown eyes full of integrity. They named her Sylvie. Sylvie grew up and married the son of Ginny and Harry whose name was Cedric.

Hermione and Draco lived their lives to the fullest and to this day, they are co-teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.



Ta da! Sorry if you didn't like. Wow that took a long time. *sighs with relief it's over* lol. Review people. By the by, if you don't think Hr and Dr will flirt with each other, don't read their fics. And Lucius wasn't mentioned because this is lovey dovey angst, not horror and stuff. So yeah. Bye now lol. Hope you enjoyed it. Love Emma