"Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational." – Hugh Mackay

DAPHNE GREENGRASS GETS COLD FEET AT HER WEDDING, ELOPES WITH THEODORE NOTT JR.

Rita Skeeter, an attractive blonde, witnessed with her piercingly beautiful eyes the very act itself! Greengrass hardly made an inch down the flower decked aisle before running off. What caused this Pureblood beauty to run off from her wedding? Was there a previous hidden relationship with Theodore Nott Jr? We assure you more details in the next edition…

The underside of her eyelids seemed to burn. The discomfort aroused Hermione from her slumber, and she blinked to try and eliminate it. Moistening her eyes, Hermione slowly let them slide open.

It took her a matter of seconds to access the situation. Her head was pounding, her throat dry and parched. Though the sun was out and streaming in through the window and directly into her eyes, it felt drafty in the homey room. Hermione clenched her hand to her head. Why did she ever think that being 'reckless' was a good idea?

The only good feeling was the pleasantly warm sensation on her thigh. Her fingers lightly travelled down to the softness of the hand already caressing her. It was warm, the thumb rubbing smooth circles over her exposed skin-

Wait.

What?

With a small scream, Hermione jumped up, landing on her knees and bouncing on the mattress. In the perfect prey position, she narrowed her eyes at the sleeping form of a man beside her.

Well, not just any man. Draco Malfoy, was more like it.

The man in questions lips quirked into that irritating smirk as his eyes easily slid open. Grey clashed with brown for a steely moment. Hermione's hands quivered at her sides as her eyes travelled down Draco's practically nude body. The white sheets were strewn carelessly across his hips, just covering his manhood. The rest of him, however, was very much exposed. Her hormones energized as she noted his tight pecs and perfect abs closely. He was fine cut, trimmed of all fat, but not overly muscular. It was a vain attempt to try and not notice the slight hardening of his pink nipples under her heavy gaze. Dammit, the man was beautiful. Her eyes shimmied down to his slim hips before flashing back up to meet his shining eyes once again.

"Morning," Draco said smoothly, stretching like a cat leisurely and causing every muscle to become even more defined before propping himself up on his elbows. Shivers surged up and down her spine before Hermione narrowed her eyes once again. What was going on? What had happened? She tried to shift through memories as best she could, but found it hard; the light seemed too bright, a hammer slamming her skull, throat so dry it was almost impossible to talk, and that constant slight dizziness.

She hated to ask, but with her own memory so distorted, there was no easier way to rest upon a conclusion. "What happened?" the brunette cut straight to the point. The twisted onto his lips once again.

"Isn't it obvious?" Draco raised a perfect eyebrow, a mixture of arrogance and amusement on his aristocratic features.

Hermione leaned forward slightly, much to Draco's content. "Malfoy, don't play games with me," she stated with as much malice laced in her voice as she could.

"We got a bit rowdy," Hermione's cheeks flared at the proclamation. It couldn't be true, could it? She searched his smug expression for a hint of deceit. She found none.

"Did we…" Hermione made a hand gesture that had Draco's chest bubble with laughter at the child like crudeness of it.

"Fuck?" he supplied, and Hermione clicked her tongue at his use of language. "You're the smartest witch of our age, I'm positive you can work the details," he gestured to her and him, both of whom had gotten wasted the night previous, were flirting at the bar, and were now in this compromising position. Another sharp pain caused Hermione's head to spin.

Anger began to prick at her brain. "Did you force yourself upon me, then?" Draco's mercurial eyes hardened visibly.

"That's not how I remember it," his voice slipped over her like velvet. "If I do recall…" Draco's lips twisted into a shark like grin. "You couldn't keep your hands off of me,"

And for good reason, Hermione thought sinfully. Draco's defined torso was too tempting. It would be too easy to lean over him at this very moment, put her hands on his shoulders and press his muscular back into the mattress, and allow her tongue to explore his body, dipping in to his naval and along this slim hips-

Gads, she couldn't be thinking that! This was Draco friggin Malfoy! Even now with his chin bowed seductively, eyes skimming her under thick dark lashes. Hermione wanted to paw all over him as he lay shamelessly before her. That was quite uncharacteristic of her, and Hermione tried her best to push those thoughts from her mind.

"Like what you see?"

She scowled at him, but it turned into a sappy smile. "You look even more ferret-like than I would have imagined," Draco glared at her.

Hermione once again frowned as curiosity peaked her as well. Forcing her eyes to stay on his own and not wander to other parts of his body, she began to query, "How are you…?" Hermione put a hand to her pounding head as she found she was unable to finish her sentence.

"I handle my drinks well," Draco purred as he ran a hand through his hair, feathering it on the sides. Hermione licked her lips and shifted positions.

"Evidently," a chill crept onto her skin and Hermione crossed her arms across her bare stomach to warm herself.

Bare stomach…?!

Hermione finally looked down at her appearance in absolute horror. With a nasty shriek, Hermione lunged for the closest thing to cover herself. Wrenching the sheets off of Draco, she quickly wrapped them around herself to cover her form.

"What the hell am I doing in this?!" Hermione eyed the lacy black lingerie she was clad in. "I don't even own a pair of black cotton underwear!"

She could hear the smirk in his voice without looking at him. "Trust me, sweetheart, lace is the top buy right now. You'll own plenty of black lacy garments by the time I'm done with you,"

Again with the sexual innudenos. This man would be the death of her.

Hermione lifted her scarlet face to glare at the man, but she faltered. In grabbing the sheets for her own coverage, Hermione had completely taken away small amount was covering Draco. As a result, the blonde's body was displayed, his lower region only covered by a thin pair of tight, black boxers. Her eyes skated up his thighs, coming to rest for a moment not brief enough on the bulge concealed beneath the fabric. This man was coaxing her to get down on her knees before him, and dammit, Hermione was falling to them without so much as a lifted finger in protest.

Clearing her throat defiantly and choosing to ignore his comment and the heat rushing to her barely covered stomach. "How would you know what the 'top buy' is? Unless you're a secret fashion expert," Draco shrugged. "Plus, there is no way I'm wearing any of this," Hermione gestured down at her dress (okay, she admitted it was more of a sexy corset) and immediately regretted the action when Draco's eyes followed. They paused in places where they shouldn't have, and Hermione felt a rush of giddy excitement rush through her, like she was a school girl again. "And don't call me sweetheart" She finished hotly.

Draco's smirk widened. "You will be wearing more of that," his eyes flickered over her body once again, eyeing the top half of her exposed breasts. An attractive blush captured the heart of her cheeks at the action.

"And why exactly do you think I will do that?"

"Because I said you will,"

The look on his face made her want to hop on him then and there.

She decided to change her train of thought before things got out of hand. "And what is this?" Hermione glared at him, fisting the fabric of her lingerie before placing her hands on her hips in a very Molly Weasley type way.

"That is a glimpse of the new Granger,"

Her mouth actually dropped. "Wha-what?!"

There is was, that irritating smirk back in place again. It made Hermione want to snog him and wring his neck simultaneously. "You wanted to get back at the weasel,"

"I thought we already established this…" Hermione muttered, wishing he would just get to the point. That seemed impossible to do with the blonde.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes yes, so when do we start? I'm supposing today," her stomach was doing flips every time his ash grey eyes swept over her.

Draco's eyebrows shot up as he made a face. "Not until later. We aren't doing anything with you looking like that,"

"Excuse me?!" Hermione's voice rose and Draco smirked. What was wrong with her? If she wasn't mistaken, he was the one who was practically having sex with his eyes.

"You, Granger, are going to do a 180 with your life. By the time I'm done with you, our dear Ronald will be kicking his own arse."

Hermione was exasperated. She felt even more vulnerable now in her lingerie. "What makes you think I need to do that?" she was offended to say the least. That pompous ferret!

She received a snort for a reply, and her mouth dropped once again. "Christ, Granger, have you seen yourself?"

The witch was milliseconds away from hexing him into next week. And she would have to if it weren't for the fact that she had no idea where her wand was. Hermione could only grit her teeth and grind out the question, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Draco brushed her off as if she hadn't spoken, making her huff in annoyance. "You'll see. Now, we really must get going if we're going to get this plan rolling. We need a cover story and everything,"

"What exactly does this plan entail?"

A wicked grin spread across his handsome face. "Now, if I told you that, I'd have to drag your dead body,"

Hermione brain began working in overdrive as she moaned, wondering just what he meant. "Well, hell."

"Malfoy, I swear to god if you don't tell me where we're going…" Hermione fumed as she stalked along behind him like a grumpy elf. Walking next to him in public made her feel even more embarrassed about her insecurities. While his long graceful strides carried him elegantly across the ground, Hermione hardly matched him with her short steps. Draco seemed to have a natural sway with his body, making it almost feminine but not quite, that Hermione couldn't match. What was wrong with this picture?

The sweet sound of laughter rang through the air like little bells. "Or you'll what?" his tone was teasing. "Throw books at me?"

Hermione huffed and picked up her pace to try and match his. No go. How did he move his hips like that? "I'll back out of this deal," she thought she had him with this proposal. She didn't.

"You need to get your priorities straight," he gave her a crooked grin that made her heart stop. Her feet forget to keep working for a solid second and another. His words sent her a somewhat painful flashback of Ron. If only Draco knew. Shaking away those memories, she fixed the hereditary 'Granger Glare' on her face. For the rest of the way, Hermione burned holes into the back of Malfoy's head.

The duo had managed to come out alive from the situation that took place that morning. After a sizable amount of a potion to cure the hangover and changing into appropriate clothing; Hermione felt much more comfortable in a pair of old sweats and a baggy sweatshirt; Draco had practically had a heart attack at the sight of her. Apparrantley Draco's view of 'fashionable' was much different than her own. Though, the brunette had to admit, his sense of style worked well for him. She didn't object to the muggle dark wash jeans and tight white tee; if she lagged far enough behind him she got a nice shot of his shapely ass. Not that she was staring. Once having left the Leaky Cauldron, Draco had dragged her down the road in search of an alley appropriate to apparate in. Why they hadn't apparated directly from the Leaky Cauldron or gone by floo to wherever it was they were going; Hermione had no idea. Draco was being oddly mysterious, at least more so than the dark man usually was.

As the sun glared down on them, Hermione let her pace slow to study the man before her. He had changed physically, there was no question to it, but what about on the inside? What exactly lay behind his icy grey-blue eyes, his deep chest and broad shoulders, tempting hair and heart stopping smile? Hermione remembered the deal they had made, but what were his true motives was the question bothering her. Why would Draco Malfoy suddenly reach out and extend a hand to Hermione Granger? It was practically written in the stars that they were enemies.

"Have you finally lost yourself in that big head of yours?"

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts. "You git," she glared at him, partly in annoyance and partly because the sun was blinding her. But mostly on the annoyance half of it.

"I've been calling your name for the past five minutes," he pointed out smugly. She had the urge to slap him, and she didn't know if she would restrain herself from doing so this time.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What do you want then?"

A smirk tugged his lips as he extended his arm to her. "Shall we?" Hermione glanced around. Why had he stopped here of all places to apparate? They were on a deserted street corner before he tugged her into a nearby alley.

"Why didn't we just apparate straight to wherever it is you're taking me?" Hermione posed the question in her usual bossy tone. They continued down the alley and the sunlight began to disappear. Draco threw her a glance over his shoulder.

"You could use the slimming effects of a brisk walk. Besides, it's a nice day out,"

Hermione stopped dead.

Oh no, he did not just comment on her weight. No sane man would ever say anything about weight in front of a woman, or to a woman, at that.

Her hair practically crackled with electricity. "What did you just say?" a growl escaped her throat. Draco gulped.

"Sweet Merlin," he began to back up until his back was touching the brick of the wall behind him. He was really regretting taking her into an alley to apparate now. No one would be able to find his dead and probably castrated body. Damn him and his mouth. Hermione advanced on him, looking deadly as ever, even crazed with her hair flying around her. "Medusa," Draco muttered to himself, cringing when Hermione cocked her head.

She was closing in on him fast. Draco tried to press as far away from her, the cool brick flat against his back. There was no escape. Merlin help him. "I'll have you know, ferret, that…" her voice unexpectedly trailed off. Draco had a moment of confusion, before it was replaced by a different feeling.

He could feel her body heat and her heavy breath against the sensitive skin of his neck. His own heart did a jack hammer trick in his chest, and he prayed that she couldn't noticed how his breathing accelerated. Draco inhaled deeply, her jasmine scent filling his nose and making him dizzy.

She too, seemed to realize the proximity of the two of them. Hermione stepped back abruptly, much to Draco's disappointment. Instead she jabbed him in the chest. "You f-" but thinking fast, Draco grabbed onto her arm. Before Hermione could castigate him, her words were drowned out as he apparated them away.

Never mind, she would kill him later.

Hermione was disoriented temporarily as she scrambled around, prepared to slug Malfoy in the arm. She flung her fist at him, only to catch empty air once she realized he had already briskly walked through a pair of french doors, and was gesturing for her to follow in suit. In confusion, Hermione did as he told, inspecting the area as she did. She first became accustomed to the wall of glass to her left, which overlooked the busy city life below. Where exactly had he brought her? The next thing she noted was the smooth dark wood beneath her feet, and then the exquisite oriental carpet as she walked over it. From the looks of it, it was a sitting room, decorated in shades of cream and cobalt blue and citron. Hermione's eyes travelled into an open door to what she took to be a bedroom. So he had taken her to his personal suite? Fancy that. She couldn't help but admire it, the suite was beautifully designed, with elegance and space, soft furnishings and timber pannelling.

Draco gracefully sat down on the sofa, scooting over to accommodate her as well.

Once settled, Hermione fiddled with her hands on her lap. A day after her break up- which was still unofficial at this point- and here she was, in Draco Malfoy's living space, with said man, whom she had slept with the night before. Hermione mentally face palmed. Where was her head? Her rational decisions?

Hermione lifted her deep brown eyes to find him watching her once more. He lifted one hand and gestured around. "Welcome to my humble abode," he smirked as if he had thought something humorous. "So," Draco made himself comfortable, propping his feet up on the mahogany coffee table. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, lets get down-" Hermione's heart stopped beating. "-to business," Her heart started up again as Draco finished and angled his body towards her.

"What kind of business did you have in mind?" Hermione cringed immediately after she voiced the question. What was it about this man that made her always think of things suggestively? Once again, she thought, Draco Malfoy would be the end of her.

"We've got to make this convincing. Just not too convincing that this whole thing flips on us," Draco explained, leaning backwards. Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"How would being overly convincing turn everything on us?"

She was shocked when Draco seemed to stumble over what to say.

"What are your motives for this, Malfoy?" Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"Draco," he corrected quickly. Her brow knit in confusion, so he further explained. "If we're going to make this believable, you'll have to start calling me Draco- and you Hermione respectably- or else no one will buy it. What couple calls each other by their surnames?"

Realization hit her and she thought he did bring up a good point. "Alright, Draco," she forced out the name, and it sounded slightly awkward on her tongue. "How did your parents come up with that anyways? I mean really, Draco?"

She was astonished when his cheeks turned red.

Draco quickly carried on, "I was thinking we should allow ourselves to be seen together, doing whatever it is that couples do-"

"What do you mean 'whatever it is that couples do'? You were just dating Astoria!"

Draco chuckled darkly. "I assure you that we won't be doing the things that Astoria and I did together," Hermione's eyes widened and a blush graced her cheeks.

"Oh," she mumbled, pushing a stray curl behind her ear. Coughing slightly as Draco smirked at her in amusement, Hermione tried to force the mental images that were being created by her overactive imagination out of her head. "Back to the subject at hand…"

"We should make a few public sightings, just a little at first to arouse everyone's interest, maybe allow a few pictures to be taken by the press. Once everyone accepts the idea, we go for gold," Draco suggested, and Hermione nodded slowly, suddenly nervous.

"Do you think this will really work?" she inquired cautiously, staring at the blond man across from her.

Draco shrugged.

"That's comforting," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Now if we're done here, I really must get going-"

"Do tell, Granger, where do you have to go? You don't have a home to go to," Draco raised an eyebrow, only a hint of amusement in his tone. Hermione gritted her teeth and slowly readjusted herself in her seat.

"Hermione," she growled first. "And I do have friends I can stay with-"

"Yeah, at the Burrow or the Potter's? But you're not going to be a burden on them, are you?"

"I am not a burden, their my friends!"

"I'm just saying-"

Hermione hissed. "What are you suggesting?" she squinted slightly in her attempt to glare at him because the sun was streaming through the large window opposite her. It made her look remarkably unthreatening. Great.

"Do you want to stay here with me? I have an extra room,"

Hermione's jaw dropped open. "W-what?" she continued to gape at him until Draco reached over and lightly pushed upwards on her jaw, effectively closing her mouth. "You'd do that…for me?"

"Evidently," Draco pronounced every syallbel and sounded remarkably like Snape.

"Just as roommates?"

"Well, it would certainly help our appearance for this plan,"

"So you want people to think we're sleeping together, then?" frustration began to seep into her pores. Gads, this man had a one track mind!

"We already have, Granger," Draco gave her a wolf like grin and a wink that had her insides churning pleasantly. "But that wasn't my intention, actually. If we both live together, as roommates only, but the public needn't know that- it would enforce our relationship. Face it, Granger, people are going to doubt us. I mean, really, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, the top bachelor in Europe? Who would believe that?"

"Oh, and he's modest too," Hermione muttered.

"So is that a yes?"

If she accepted there was a chance that her friends might turn on her. It would appear as if she had been cheating on Ron as well if she was suddenly cozy with Draco Malfoy. Did she really want to risk losing all her friends?

Oh, what the hell.

"Yes, yes it is."

Hermione sighed tiredly. She knew she was throwing herself into this plan so that she could try and forget her heartbreak. And it worked, most of the time, unless she had ample time to herself to give way to her thoughts. Mournfully, she began tugging a hairbrush through her hair, sitting in front of the armoire in the room Draco had provided her. Her eyes shifted over to the shut bathroom door which separated the two bedrooms. In a moment of mercy, Draco had agreed that they could start her transformation the next day. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long, as she wanted to have a chance to visit her friends and let them hear what she had to say, not what that awful Skeeter boasted about. Then of course, she would have to talk with Ron and get things sorted out properly. But Draco had insisted that she not see Ron until she had completed the '180', as he was calling it, with her life.

Placing the hairbrush down, Hermione rung her wet hair again and made her way over to the bed. She flung herself unceremoniously onto the soft material, sighing as she hit the comfortable surface. With her face pressed into the pillow, Hermione sighed deeply, taking in the scent that was distinctly Draco. Hermione's head snapped up. Since when had she memorized Draco's unique scent? She face palmed before flipping herself over and sinking into the sheets.

She had been thinking about this plan all day. Was it a rash decision? Yes. Would it come back to bite her? Certainly. She wasn't sure why she was doing it. Deep down, she knew that it wasn't just to get back at Ron, but to prove herself as well. But then what of Draco's motives? It hadn't hit her until later that evening that he had successfully avoided answering that question. Hermione frowned in thought. He was a Slytherin, so maybe his actions were purely for revenge on Astoria, but perhaps not? The man was a puzzle. Just when she thought she had him all figured out he did something that completely astonished her, throwing her for a loop again.

It was all too much to think about, and after today, Hermione decided that she should get some well deserved sleep. Who knew what Draco had planned for tomorrow. As she watched the city lights dance below, sleep became to overcome her, and Hermione soon fell into a deep sleep, thoughts of cheaters and Slytherins slipping from her mind.

Hello again! I hope you all enjoyed this third chapter! I typed it pretty quickly so I hope their aren't any mistakes. Shoutout to greatEXpectationz, foreverkake, tatrawrzilla, and shaymars for the reviews, they're greatly appreciated!

Oh and since I didn't put this at the top- Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Review :)