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 13
Hermione sighed to herself as she headed to lunch. How did she get herself into these messes? She knew good and well that she could have handled her dating problem without going to such measures, but something made her agree. Somehow she thought it would've been easier to just go along with Oliver's plan.
Now she was stuck, possibly falling for him, and there was nothing she could do about it. Ugh, it was times like this where she wished she still had that time turner. She would go back and write a letter to herself or something, to keep this whole thing from happening.
"I'm such an idiot!" she muttered as she opened the doors to the Great Hall. Harry and Ron were already seated, waiting for her. She headed over towards the table and sat beside Ron.
"How's, Wood?" Harry asked as Hermione reached for a piece of fish. She paused in the middle of her action and turned to glare at Harry.
"He's fine," she said tightly. Harry shrugged at Ron, showing his confusion. Ron rolled his eyes and mouthed, 'PMS' at Harry. Harry hid a smile and went back to his food.
Wood lay in his bed in the infirmary sound asleep. He was taking a nap before having his lunch. He tossed and turned, occasionally, moaned, and mumbled words as he slept. Madame Pomfrey ignored this as she knew he was slowly regaining his memories through his dreams, courtesy of the potion she forced down his throat every morning.
Dream……………..
Oliver watched as he approached Hermione in the common room. He was dreaming, he knew that much, but he wasn't sure if it was a memory also. It was so real. He stopped thinking as he began listening to the conversation between himself and Hermione.
"Have you thought about what I asked you this morning?" Oliver saw himself asking Hermione. They were in the Gryffindor common room.
"Yeah." Hermione responded.
"And?" he asked in anticipation.
"And I'm still thinking about it. Are you even sure this is a good idea."
"Yep. Don't you?"
"Honestly? No. There's so much that can go wrong with your plan. What if you find someone else?"
"Then we break up."
"What if I meet someone else?"
"Then we break up."
"What if we just get on each others' nerves?"
"We don't have to spend every moment together. All we do is put in the occasional appearance here and there." Hermione took a deep breath and looked skeptically at Oliver.
"Why me?"
"Huh?" Oliver seemed to be caught off guard. This was one question he hadn't thought she'd ask.
"Why me?" she repeated slowly. "You must have a slew of girls that would kill for this."
Oliver moaned as he turned over in his sleep. The dream was so real and so familiar to him.
Madame Pomfrey watched him with pursed lips. With any luck Oliver would have his entire memory back within a few days.
"Because you're the only one I can trust. You won't get all clingy on me or anything," Oliver told Hermione.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, you understand how I feel. You won't get possessive. We'll be able to save each other the constant stress of flocks and fleets of the opposite sex hitting on us. And we might even get to be real good friends."
'What kind of idiot am I?' Oliver asked himself as he watched himself in his dream. He wondered if he had really said that to Hermione. He shook his head as he wondered why he would put himself in that kind of position. He had just basically told Hermione that he didn't see her like someone he would date. 'I should be committed.'' Oliver asked himself as he watched himself in his dream. He wondered if he had really said that to Hermione. He shook his head as he wondered why he would put himself in that kind of position. He had just basically told Hermione that he didn't see her like someone he would date. ''
"…I've made out a contract." Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of stapled papers. She handed them to Oliver.
Oliver's eyes widened. "A contract?"
'And this is where it all goes to hell,' Oliver mused mentally. So this was him before his accident. He snorted to himself. He had been kind of cocky come to think of it.
"'I, Oliver Wood, do hereby agree to pretend to be Hermione Granger's spouse until the time that either of us should tire of the others company or find someone else.'" he read in astonishment. "This is a bit over the top, don't you think?"
"No. This is just to make sure that there's no mistake about what we're getting ourselves into."
"'No sex, no kissing, no fondling'," he read becoming more and more confused with each word. "'PDA allowed only if necessary.' What is this?"
"Just laying down ground rules."
"Ground rules for what? Celibacy?"
"No. Just since this is pretend we should know what we can and can't do."
"This is ridiculous. Why can't I fondle?" Hermione rolled her eyes. Oliver laughed. "Just joking. You drive a hard bargain, but okay." He signed the contract ignoring the nagging doubt in the back of his mind.
'I knew I shouldn't have signed that damn thing,' Oliver thought. Something had told him it was a bad idea, but he'd been so happy to get Hermione to agree that he hadn't thought about it. He honestly never thought he'd fall for her. He'd never fallen for anyone and had assumed that he just wouldn't, but this girl had turned his world upside down.
She'd put him in his place more times than he could count and she could care less about his stature as Quidditch captain. She didn't see England's next Keeper or dollar signs when she saw him. She saw him for what he was. An egotistical prick really. Oliver could feel himself smiling. He loved that about Hermione. Whatever she thought about you was what you'd hear.
She had no trouble telling Oliver that he was a prat over and over again and he didn't mind hearing it because it was honest. Sometimes he was overly egotistical just to see if anyone would call him out on it. They never did, they were just too happy to be seen with him during his glory days. Hermione could care less. When she felt Ron or Harry's head was getting too big, she'd deflate them for them.
Oliver hated to admit it, but he wanted Hermione to do that for him too. He wanted her to be around to pull him back to earth when his head got big, but not like she did for Ron and Harry. He wanted her to keep him grounded because she liked him as more than just a friend.
