Chapter 5

~Chimera~

I sighed as I heard the giggles again. Merlin, new girls were so inexperienced. Didn't they know that men hated that sound? It irked them. And it had the same effect on me as well. I turned my eyes in the direction of the sound, and wouldn't you know it, whom else to find there, but playboy extraordinaire, Draco Malfoy in the middle of three young girls, all of them draped over him. He was a regular, a high man in society, Voldemort's right hand man after his father's death in the war. He came there every night, and spent it with a different girl, or apparently, girls. I had escaped his clutches thus far, only because I avoided him like the plague and because I had regulars, namely Theodore Nott and Adrian Pucey, both Slytherins, both Death Eaters, but despite those attributes, both wonderful men.

Adrian was two years older than me. I had never exchanged any words with him until after the war, but we had been meeting since my first time at the house, and so, over the years I begun to care for him. He was a kind man that never treated me like a whore, unlike others, he was always tending to my needs. We would often have long conversations about anything and everything, between our love making. He respected me, even if only in private.

Teddy on the other hand was every bit the child I had known him to be in school. He was perpetually asking me to leave Adrian, he was immensely jealous. We would fight almost every time we saw each other, which would lead to hot, steamy sex, and end with me reading to him while he nuzzled into my breasts. He loved the sound of my voice apparently. I attributed all of this to the fact that he had lost his mother at a young age and had been raised by a death eater of a father that would mostly leave him in the company of his army of elves.

I knew that unlike my mature relationship with Adrian, Theo was slowly falling in love with me, and although I cared for him immensely, I just couldn't feel such things for him, nor would I want to, seeing as I would most likely be found dead in an alley were I to nurture such feelings. There was this verbal law that no prostitute was supposed to either fall in love, or have less than two lovers. If either of these things happened, we would be immediately terminated by either the matron or the family of the lover.

So it was that, come winter, I found myself at an impasse.

'She stepped into the room only to find…'

'I'm getting married' he interrupted me.

I put the book down and sighed, circling my arms around him. I had known from the start something was off with him that day.

'Who?'

I felt his huff of annoyance against my bare skin and I shivered.

'Daphne Greengrass' he said rolling the name, as though tasting its sound on his tongue.

I understood his distress, Pureblood weddings were very harsh, the contract stipulated that both partners be put under a fidelity charm for two years, given the fact that getting pregnant seemed to be quite the problem among purebloods at that time. After two years, either the child would be born and the spouses could resume their previous life, having their duty to their families fulfilled, or, they would be deemed unable to procreate, thus leading to an annulment.

'Is she nice?'

He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling 'I guess? I liked her a bit in school, but she's changed, plus, she's head over heels in love with Draco, but he has his eyes on her little sister, Astoria.'

I took a moment to pity the poor girl that would most likely end up with Malfoy. It wasn't that he was bad looking, because sincerely he was far from that, with his strong features and lean body. No, the problem lay in his personality. It hadn't changed much from the one he had in school, aside from the fact that he didn't use his father's name to ignite fear in others, but his own, seeing as he was, at that time, the most powerful man in society aside from Voldemort himself.

I reached over and ran a hand through Theo's hair. I myself was scared, this meant that I had to take another lover. I had grown accustomed to Teddy, it would be difficult to move past him.

'I'm sure she's wonderful, plus, I'd pick you over Malfoy anytime of the day. Maybe things will work out for the two of you'

And even though I care immensely for Theodore, I really hopped it was true. He deserved to be happy and loved. And unfortunately I couldn't offer him any of that, seeing as I myself was in dire need of both.

His head quickly snapped to me and he fixed me with pain filled eyes 'I will see you after two years' he demanded somewhat childishly.

I wished the words that left my lips weren't true

'I'm not going anywhere'.