Older And Non-The Wiser
By ILUVRONWEASLEY
Disclaimer: I do not own anything apart from the plotline and a few selective characters that you should have never heard of before.
A/N: Hello, and thank you for choosing this fanfic to read! A few things I wanted to mention:
1) Voldemort isn't going to be an important part in this fic.
2) This was started back in 2004 – after Order of the Phoenix, but before Half-Blood Prince. That means no spoilers! Also, Draco's hair is still gelled back, unlike how it was in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie.
3) I put this fic under the rating of Teen, because there isn't any detailed violence, sex, or foul language. However, there will be reference to sex, and some not good English (and by that, I mean along the lines of 'damn' or 'bloody'). I thought it would be good to mention it; that was all.
4) OOC. The original idea for this fanfic was from a dream, so I guess it was harder to write the characters well when the plotline and ideas were already there.
Thank you and sorry for the long Author's Note, but I promise it'll be the only one. Please enjoy reading!
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Chapter One.
Draco Malfoy was now a fully-grown twenty-one-year-old. He was tall, handsome, and rich as well. He could have anything he wanted. Anything. But that was before he got married.
About a year ago, Harry Potter had finally defeated Voldemort and now the dark wizards that once terrorised the wizarding world were either in Azkaban, in hiding, or, like Draco, acting innocent – although Draco was indeed innocent. His father had insisted that he committed no crimes unless it was necessary – that way, if Lucius got sentenced to Azkaban, Draco could still carry on the family name.
However, Lucius Malfoy had died when Draco was twenty – from a fatal illness that had no cure. Draco always knew that his father was stubborn. He had seen him drink many homemade potions in an attempt to prolong his life, but he had refused to see any sort of healer.
He found them annoying.
In his will, Lucius had clearly stated that his son was to be wed to a woman by the name of Eudora Ethan, whether Draco agreed to the marriage or not. The woman was rich (almost as rich as the Malfoys) and she was not ugly. There was only one problem. She was more than triple of Draco's age; in fact, she was sixty years old. To make matters worse, she had an eighteen-year-old son, who was named Hugh Ethan. This boy was the worst part of marrying this woman.
He was nearly as tall as Draco, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes as well as a well-built body, but it was his attitude that annoyed Draco the most. He was snobbish and impolite and he didn't treat Draco with the respect that Draco thought he thoroughly deserved.
In simple terms, Draco and Hugh did not get along.
It was two o'clock and Draco was watching BWTC – the British Wizarding Television Company - an indulgence that only the richest of wizards could afford to have. He could hear the front door creak open and he knew immediately who had entered.
Hugh.
"Your mother wanted you back home at midnight, not two," shouted Draco, sipping at his glass of elfin wine, the newest and most expensive brand of wine there ever was.
"Hugh! Stop it! At least wait until we get into your room!"
Draco rolled his eyes. Hugh had come back drunk once more and he had brought back someone with him - again. It was like this every Saturday. He would sleep with the girl and then in the early hours of the morning, he would kick her out and his mother would be non-the wiser. Then, he would still be the charming, brilliant and innocent son that she had always adored.
To be honest, Draco didn't know why he didn't tell Eudora that her son wasn't as innocent as he seemed. She might die sooner that way.
Contrary to popular belief, Draco did not despise his wife. It was just that he didn't like her either. He switched the WT (wizard television) off before heading up to his bed, where his wife was already sleeping soundly.
-
"Good morning, Hugh," said Eudora, smiling happily as she walked carefully to her chair. "Good morning, Draco."
"Good morning, mother," Hugh yawned. Draco could see the after effects of his activities last night in his facial expressions.
It was sickening.
He was beginning to get tired of seeing Hugh bring woman after woman home every week. Sure, most of them were fairly decent, but it wasn't fair that only Hugh got the pleasure, while Draco simply got to sleep next to an old woman who was (hopefully) nearing her death bed.
"I think I might skip breakfast today mother," said Hugh. He prodded his scrambled eggs with his fork for a while, before getting up and tucking his chair in. "I can get the house-elves to bring some food up when I'm hungry."
He left in silence. Eudora calmly drank some orange juice. She slowly turned to Draco and gave him a smile. "You know, Hugh is getting older now, Draco. I think it's time for him to settle down."
Draco did not reply immediately. Just because he was married to the woman didn't mean that he had to talk to her. He let her continue with what she was saying.
"We should find him someone nice, intelligent; someone who shows respect, manners, charm. Oh, and it would be a bonus if she was young and beautiful."
Draco nodded as he began cutting his bacon into small chunks. After all, it would be rude of him to not respond at all.
"Maybe you could find someone who you think would suit Hugh?"
At this, Draco looked up at the old woman's face. She expected him to choose the right woman for Hugh. He stood immediately.
"I think I might go for a walk."
-
Draco stared at the trees near the Ethan Manor. He knew many wizards that enjoyed nature - looking at flowers; trees; studying the creatures that muggles adored. Personally, he thought those people were daft. Didn't they have better things to do than sit and 'enjoy mother nature's work'? He thought that the world should move much faster and therefore, get much more done.
The only reason he was sitting on a bench in a muggle park, staring at a tree he didn't find particularly interesting, was because of the problem Eudora had tackled him with.
Finding a willing and suitable woman for Hugh to spend the rest of his life with was impossible. No woman who had a brain that could think for itself would stay with someone as ignorant as Hugh – that was...unless they wanted him for his money.
Draco smirked to himself as he thought of any woman he knew that would take his oh-so-delightful stepson. But alas, all the women he knew were either the wrong age, not loyal enough, or downright dumb. He tapped his fingers against the wood of the bench, thinking hard for someone appropriate - until something hit him in the face.
He frowned and picked up the paper aeroplane that had been thrown at him.
"Hey Mister, I need my plane back."
Draco looked at the child that stood before him. She had long locks of ginger hair (plaited) and lots of freckles matching the colour of her hair. Draco inwardly groaned. This girl was a Weasley.
"Be polite, Trixy!"
"Yes, Aunt Hermione."
Draco froze.
Hermione.
That name was all too familiar. He hadn't had any contact from anyone at Hogwarts since he had graduated (with the exception of a select few people that he did business with) and he didn't want to keep contact with people. Pansy Parkinson had tried, of course, but he had simply said that he was too busy with his new position as a husband.
He turned to Hermione and saw nothing surprising. A scowl was what she sported.
"Draco Malfoy," she said, the words rolling off her tongue. "What a lovely surprise. I was hoping that I would never see you again."
"Likewise." He replied.
They stared at each other for a while before Draco had a sudden idea (and a brilliant one at that). Throwing the paper plane back to the Weasley girl that he couldn't remember the name of, he turned back to Hermione.
"Aunt Hermione, is it?" Draco smirked as he leant back on the bench he was sitting on. "I thought you would have gotten married to Weasley. Or maybe it's Potter that you're after?"
Hermione deepened her scowl and watched as Trixy ran away with her plane. "No, Harry likes being a bachelor and Ron's married, with a child, as you can clearly see."
"So, are you going out with Longbottom then?"
"No. If it shuts you up, I'm single."
Draco's smirk widened. This was exactly what he had wanted to (and expected to) hear. Indeed, Eudora had said she wanted someone intelligent for her son - as much as Draco hated to admit it, Hermione was very intelligent. She wanted someone 'beautiful' and Draco, being truthful, would say that she wasn't bad.
Although hell would freeze over before he ever told her that.
He looked her up and down. She saw him looking.
"Excuse me, but aren't you married? Why don't you spend your time looking up your wife instead of me?" She gabbled indignantly, her cheeks turning slightly red.
"Don't worry Granger, I'm not checking you out. If you saw my wife, I bet even you wouldn't want to look at her that much."
Hermione looked at Draco suspiciously, trying to decide whether she could trust him or not.
"Come Granger," said Draco, patting the space beside him on the bench. "Sit."
Hermione gave him a look that clearly said she thought he was mad. First eyeing her up and then telling her to sit next to him on a bench that, in her opinion, was far too small, was not her idea of 'sane'. Draco watched her as she reluctantly sat.
"Granger, are you in any need of money, by any chance?"
She thought about it. Her mother and father were getting old now and they were in need of someone to take care of them, but as Hermione had to work, it was hard to look after them herself and it was too expensive to hire someone decent. Plus, her job as manager of Flourish and Blotts didn't pay all too well and she felt guilty if she asked to borrow money from Harry.
"I guess I could do with some extra money…but hang on a second, what are you trying to get at?"
"I have a position for you, Granger."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. Draco sounded too serious. She laughed bitterly. "What? As your gardener or something?"
"No, one much more luxurious than that," Draco smirked as he edged closer to Hermione and found that she was edging away from him. "My dear wife has a young son, well, almost as old as you and I, to be precise, and my wife thinks that it is about time he settles down and marries –
"Stop right there, Malfoy," interrupted Hermione. "You're asking me to be your stepson's wife. Well, seeing as how you turned out, he's probably nothing short of a spoilt, annoying, little brat, so pray tell me why I should even consider this position?"
"Because, my dear Hermione," began Draco, smirking all the more as he felt Hermione shudder at the sound of her name coming from his lips, "I shall pay you five hundred galleons per day if you agree to marry him and I shall make sure that you live a life of luxury, surrounded by books, books, and more books. And anyway, I'm sure that even you get lonely sometimes without your dear Weasley or Potter to keep you company."
Hermione thought about this as Draco watched her. Well, she would get more money, enough to afford a servant for her parents and enough to buy a decent house for them too...but, wouldn't that be the same as selling herself?
"Don't be so dignified Granger. Live a little."
Hermione sighed. She supposed he was right. Ron was happily married and hardly had time to meet up with her or Harry anymore. Harry did try to meet up with her occasionally, but it was hard to be around him in public and have a semi-decent conversation when he was a well-known celebrity. Would they mind if she took on such an offer from Draco?
She closed her eyes in disappointment and knew that she would probably regret it later.
"Fine, I'll do it."
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A/N: I hope that was okay. Please review and tell me what you think! All constructive criticism welcome!