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).
Special Thanks to: Everyone! I really enjoyed reading your review(s)
Chapter 10
Draco grinned cockily as he headed to the library the next morning. The news of Oliver Wood losing his memory had spread quickly through the school and Draco now knew that nothing could keep him from Hermione.
It was weird really, how he'd come to need her so much. At first he thought it was a passing fancy because, while she was definitely pretty, she wasn't the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Over time, he'd come to realize that something wasn't right. He realized that, although Hermione was indeed a mudblood, she was more brilliant than half the purebloods around.
He never allowed anyone to know his dirty little secret, that he was silently falling in love with a mudblood. He continued to be rude to her, if only to have her talk to him or stare angrily at him. He hadn't been able to see another way to get to her.
Then, in their fourth year, she'd shown up with Viktor Krum and had almost broken his heart even though she'd looked so breathtaking. He'd almost forgotten how he was suppose to behave and had caught himself before he went to ask her for a dance. He knew the wrath he would face should his father or Lord Voldemort ever find out about his betrayal of the heart, but he couldn't fight it. He couldn't help who he fell in love with and he truly felt that if anyone could save him, Hermione could.
He didn't know if he wanted to be that dark. He didn't know if he wanted to be a Death Eater, but he did know he wanted Hermione.
He took a deep breath as he neared the library doors and let it loose as he entered. Hermione would be in there, he knew. Searching for a cure for her beloved Oliver.
"Come on," Hermione muttered as she flipped through the book, that lay on the table in front of her, frantically. She'd gone to the library as soon as it had opened to search for answers about what had happened to Oliver. She had read about a case like his before, but she couldn't remember anything about it for some reason. She growled in frustration as she reached the back cover of the book she was flipping through and pushed it away.
She stood and turned to go to the back of the library to get another book. The answer was so close that she could feel it. However, the only thing she felt within the next few moments was a solid body knocking into hers.
"Sorry about that," came a soft voice. Hermione looked up and winced. Draco Malfoy stood smiling down at her disarmingly. "I wasn't watching where I was going." Hermione just nodded slowly before backing up. Draco moved towards her a bit nervously. "I heard about Wood. I'm sorry."
"You are?" Hermione asked clearly confused.
"Yes, I know you really like him. He is, after all, your boyfriend," he said the word 'boyfriend' a bit forced, but then smiled softly at Hermione.
"Right," she said slowly. "Well, um, excuse me. I've a lot of work to do." She moved to brush past Draco, but he reached out and gently grabbed her arm.
"Hermione, wait," he said quietly. Hermione stopped walking and looked down at the hand that still gripped her arm. She then looked up to Malfoy to see him being completely earnest.
"Can we talk?" he pleaded. "Just for a moment? I'll be good, I promise."
"What do you want from me?" Hermione asked him still confused.
"I'll tell you, if you talk to me." Hermione thought for a moment before nodding hesitantly.
"Fine," she said. "Follow me." She turned and led him to the back of the library where they were hidden from view and could talk without fear of being overheard.
"What do you want?" she asked as she sat down in a chair. Draco followed suit.
"I just wanted to talk to you, but I'm not sure how I can go about it now," he said with a nervous laugh that was nothing like the old Draco she'd known. "Look, Hermione, I really, really like you," he admitted. He'd held off telling her about his love knowing that it would probably frighten her so much she'd go into shock. "I know I'm nothing like the person you should be with, but I do like you and I want to be with you." Hermione stared at him with her mouth open.
"This is too weird," she said slowly. "Who are you and what in the seven hells have you done with Draco Malfoy?"
"Harry?" Ron asked at breakfast that morning. He turned to his dark haired friend uneasily. "Do you feel like something's happening right now? Something really big? Something so big it could change our lives?" Harry shook his head in amusement.
"Ron, the question is, when do I not feel that way?" Ron nodded.
"Good point. Besides we're still young, what could happen to us?"
"Ron, the last time you said that I ended up getting attacked by your garden gnomes." Ron shrugged.
"You said you knew how to handle them after helping us clear the garden in second year."
"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd get Bill to shrink us so we could follow them into their holes! Do you know how many times I wake up screaming, 'Gnomes are biting my butt!'?" Ron began laughing.
"It's not funny," Harry insisted with a huff. "I still have teeth marks in my bum."
