The Contract
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter in anyway, shape, or form(though I wish I did because J. K. Rowling has to be one of the richest people in the world by now).
Chapter 4
"I don't buy it," Ron whispered to Harry that afternoon in Divination. They were supposed to be reading tea leaves again, hoping to glance into the near future once more. "I mean, Hermione would have told us about Wood, don't you think." Harry nodded distractedly.
"We can't do anything about it anyway," Harry whispered back. He stopped talking as Professor Trelawney walked by their table murmuring to herself as though she were seeking something. He began to speak once she'd moved on to Lavender and Parvati. "If Oliver and Hermione are pretending to go out, then it serves us, right?" Ron smiled and nodded. Then he frowned.
"Sorry," he said. "I'm not following you."
"Well, if they're pretending to go out, then that keeps Hermione from really dating and it keeps us from worrying about her." Ron nodded and smiled again. Then, again, he stopped.
"Sorry," he said. "But being in here turns my head to mush. I don't get what you're saying." Harry sighed.
"Hermione will not be bugged by boys to date if Oliver is her 'boyfriend' and the girls won't bug us to make Hermione date. Really, it works out for all of us."
"Oh!" Ron said loudly causing the entire class to look his way. He cleared his throat as Professor Trelawney looked at him suspiciously. "Um, I see the grim!" He said in a large theatrical voice. He squinted into the cup. "He will come for me soon! I'm not exactly sure when, though. It seems he has a list of people to visit and I'll just have to wait my turn." He turned to Professor Trelawney with an apologetic shrug as Harry shook with silent laughter. "What can you do?"
"That insufferable, loathsome, vile, disgusting," Hermione muttered to herself during free time that afternoon. She had an hour before dinner and she'd spent it in the library studying, muttering, and being angry. She heard the doors to the library open and wasn't surprised when a shadow loomed over her.
"What do you want, Wood?"
"I'm not Wood," a silky voice informed her. Hermione's eyes widened as her head shot up. She was looking into the cold eyes of Draco Malfoy.
'Shit,' Hermione thought. 'I'm really going to have to find a new place to hang out.'
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Draco shrugged and sat down across from Hermione.
"Just to talk to my favorite Mudblood." Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"Gee, thanks," she responded flatly. "Now what is it that you really want." Malfoy avoided Hermione's eyes before looking up at her with such an intensity that she lost her breath.
"If I told you what I really wanted, Granger, you'd run away and never look at me again." Hermione frowned.
"Look, Malfoy, I don't know what you're up to, but my boyfriend will be here soon and I'm sure he won't like me talking to you." Malfoy reached across the table and snatched Hermione's hand into his and began caressing it.
"That's just it," he said too earnestly for Hermione's taste. "I don't believe he's yours, Hermione."
"What is wrong with you?" Hermione said suddenly trying, in vain, to snatch away her hand. Malfoy held tight. "Are you up to something? Do you have Crabb and Goyle hiding behind a bookcase waiting to hex me while you're the distraction?" Malfoy shook his head.
"Then what in the bloody hell has gotten into you?"
"I don't know," Malfoy said softly.
"What do you you know?"
"This," Malfoy responded and he dragged Hermione across the table and into his arms. He lowered his head and kissed her softly, luring her into his world. Hermione found herself giving into Malfoy's surprisingly gentle kiss before she came to her senses.
"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" she shrieked earning a reprimanding look from the librarian as she pulled away from Malfoy. Malfoy looked shocked himself and could offer no explanation.
"I-I don't know," he stuttered uncharacteristically. Hermione looked up at him and realized his eyes were glazed, his hair ruffled from where she'd grabbed it without knowing, and that his chest was heaving.
'So not good,' Hermione thought. 'What am I going to do now?'
She got her answer as a second later Malfoy jumped away from her as three Slytherin girls walked into the library, hissing to one another. Hermione gathered her nerves and her books and practically ran from Malfoy without a backward glance.
"I can't believe that just happened," Malfoy said softly to himself with a sigh as he watched Hermione run. "What the hell has happened to me?"
'I did not just kiss Malfoy, I did not just kiss Malfoy, I just kissed Malfoy!' Hermione thought as she walked hurriedly back to the common room. 'Why did I just kiss Malfoy. Wait a tic, Malfoy kissed Me!' Hermione stopped dead in her tracks as she thought about this. She made a face at her next thought. 'But why?'
