Chapter 2: Contract

What usually comes first is the contract- Benjamin Disraeli


Hermione decided she did need a drink after all.

But instead of the Charmed Witches, she went to the pub only a few steps from her studio and had a few Bloody Mary's, then stumbled all the way back to her studio. She was certain that she would be horribly hungover the next day, but surely that would be less painful than facing the... how much was it again? £149873257? Merlin, she wanted an adventure, not a godawful debt.

She stepped into the little coffin of a lift and pushed the button of her floor, waiting for the door to rumble close.

Hermione silently watched the orange circles light up floor after floor. She wasn't sure what her next step would be. Go bankrupt?

The lift door opened with a merry "ping!".

"No!" she told herself firmly. Hermione Granger never gave up. She would get herself out of this mess she got herself into. She would show them she could survive. She would show them Hermione Granger was more than just books and exams. Oh yes, she would.

Those thoughts sent an extra spring into her steps. Well, as much spring as she could manage without falling over in her drunken state.

Reaching her white door, with a "S.A.M.E." sign hanging on a nail, she grasped the door knob and turned.

She stopped short when she was about to push the door open.

Something wasn't right. Somewhere in her hazy brain an alarm went off.

What was it? She bit her lips and racked her brain for an answer, but was cut off by a strong dizzy spell.

Wincing, she walked into her studio.

And immediately scrambled backwards and slammed the door shut, pulling on the door knob with all her might.

That's it! she thought triumphantly. Someone had broken into her studio! She always locked her door, but someone had unlocked it!

Hanging on the door knob, she vaguely noticed that it was not quite the conventional way to deal with a burglar, since she was locking him in instead of out. But well, desperate situations called for desperate measures.

"Come in Granger," a voice drawled suddenly, making her jump, but she kept her hands on the knob. "I don't bite."

She furrowed her brow. That voice sounded familiar. That cold, sneering voice with the slight drawl. Hmmm... who was it?

When the answer came to her, she gasped and threw the door open.

"What are you doing in my house, Malfoy?" she all but yelled into the darkness, falling back on the door.

The lights turned on with a click, and she found herself face to face to the one single person... thing that she hated most on the entire planet.

He smirked at her. "Tut-tut. Where are your manners, Granger?"

"My manners?" she scoffed, waving her hands around dramatically. She didn't have that much control over her limbs after a few drinks. "How about my lawyer? I could totally sue you for breaking into my house!"

"Are you telling me this is a house?" He cast a look of disdain around her studio. "It looks more like a rathole to me."

Hermione wheezed angrily. Not that she wheezed often, it was not a very mature thing to do, but considering the fact that she was drunk, she forgave herself.

"Not everyone chooses to live off their daddy's money, Malfoy," she bit out. "Some people can actually hold out on their own."

"Oh yes, I'm sure you are managing quite well," said Malfoy silkily. "After all, you are Hermione know-it-all Granger."

A retort was on the tip of her tongue when he suddenly whipped around and walked to her sofa, and sat down, sprawling across the cushions as if he owned the place.

"Which is why," he continued. "I wonder how you came to the possession of this intriguing letter?"

She must have done a pretty good imitation of a fish out of water as she stared at her Letter of Doom in the hands of Draco Malfoy.

Hermione nearly bowed over as another wave of nausea attacked. She breathed in deeply, and managed not to throw up right in front of Malfoy.

She preferred emptying her stomach on him.

"I demand you give the documents back to me," she said in an admirably firm voice, gritting her teeth. "You have no right to interfere with my private matters, you git."

Malfoy had the nerve to grin. "Then you should've tucked it away safely, Granger."

"Look, will you tell me why you're here now? Besides nosing around my financial accounts?" she mustered enough energy to send him a good glare.

"Aren't you more interested in how I found my way here?"

"I asked you a question, Malfoy, answer it!" she snapped.

"Keep your pants on, Granger," he jeered. "It's not like you have any other activities on your late night agenda, am I right?"

"You're begging me to hex you, Malfoy," growled Hermione. "And I have a great one in mind. Do you fancy a some antlers? They may actually look good with your ferret face. And oh, scientists may even get a clue what a cross-breed of a ferret and a reindeer would look like."

"You can't hex me, Granger," Malfoy faked a yawn.

"Oh yes I can!"

"No, you can't," he deadpanned. Hermione gasped when Malfoy took out her wand from his robes. "Unless, of course, you use wandless magic."

She was practically shaking with anger. "You, you... you-"

"Speechless Granger?"

Hermione's eyes alighted on her pair of extra-large scissors she used to cut out patterns from tougher fabrics.

"No, just busy fantasising your bloody death," she said sweetly, grabbing the scissors and pointing it at him somewhat unsteadily. "Now, answer my question."

"Merlin you mad woman!" he whipped out his wand. "Are you drunk?"

"Yes, I am," she answered. "So you'd better not provoke me, or I won't be responsible for my actions."

"Alright, just put down that- that damn thing," barked Malfoy.

"Scared, Malfoy?" smirked Hermione.

He snorted.

"Give me my wand first," she held out her hand.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said and tossed it to her.

Wrapping her fingers round her wand, she placed the scissors back in its box and asked, "What do you want, Malfoy?"

He stared straight at her, and said one word, "You."

Hermione blanched and to her horror, a blush bloomed stubbornly despite her desperate attempts to stifle it, and Malfoy arched an elegant eyebrow.

"Unfortunately for you, not in the way you're hoping," he said, curling his lips scornfully.

Her mouth fell open. "I'm not... what! You pervert! Oh great, now I really need to throw up."

She felt rather than heard Malfoy cast the sobriety spell on her. Ice cold chills ran through her veins and instantly expelled all the fuzziness in her brain. Thank Merlin for magic.

"Now that you're sober, listen to me," said Malfoy crisply, obviously meaning business, gesturing for her to sit down.

She sighed and complied, dragging a chair from across the room and sitting at a safe distance from Malfoy. "Go on."

"I want to hire you," he continued. "I need-"

"You want to what?" she blinked.

"Are you deaf, Granger?" scowled Malfoy. "I said I want to hire you."

Hermione laughed then. She threw back her head and really laughed.

"What," he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "Is so funny?"

She stopped, and shook her head. "I'm not going to work for you, Malfoy."

He frowned. "Why not?"

She had the urge to laugh again, but stopped at the stern frown on his face.

"Just because," she said, flexing her hand in a "duh" manner.

"How eloquent of you," Malfoy drawled.

Hermione threw him a glare. "Okay, here's the deal. You hate me, I hate you more. How can you expect me to work for you?"

He leaned forward and propped his elbow on his knee. "This is nothing personal, Granger. It's just business."

She stared at him. "Don't tell me you're quoting the Apprentice."

When he didn't answer, she gasped, "You watch the Apprentice!"

After Granger was done with her laughs, she finally listened to Draco's proposal- business proposal.

"So, you want me to design a collection for your company," she concluded, a thoughtful look on her face.

He nodded. "I'll pay your debts, I'll buy up your stock, I'll pay for everything you need."

She was silent for a few minutes. Draco could literally hear the wheels turning in that brain of hers, under the horrendous hair she had tied into a ponytail.

"What's in it for you?"

Draco's eyes snapped up to hers. "Pardon?"

"What's in it for you?" she repeated. "You'll never do anything if it doesn't benefit you in some way."

"You know me too well, Granger," he smirked lazily.

"So?"

"What's in it for me, as you put it, is a new market," he answered truthfully. "Surely you can see the potential in wizarding fashion?"

"So you mean to introduce Muggle fashion into the wizarding world?" Her eyes were so wide that you would have thought she was staring at a freaking five-headed owl.

"Precisely."

"But you hate Muggles," she pointed out bluntly.

"As I said before, it's nothing personal," he replied boredly.

She went quiet again. Impatiently, Draco glanced at his charmed watch. It was near midnight.

"Come on, Granger, we don't have all bloody night," he drawled.

"Why me?" she asked, genuinely curious. "Why not another witch?"

Draco sighed. Damn that I-need-to-know-everything-down-to-the-socks-you-wear Granger. "Because you're Muggle-born. In case you weren't listening, I'm planning on combining Muggle and wizarding fashion to create a new market for my company. Who else do you suggest I hire?"

"How about Parvati? She used to be smitten with fashion when she was in Hogwarts," she recalled.

He felt like smacking her. "Granger, where have you been? Have you completely cut yourself off from the wizarding world?"

"I've been busy," she admitted. "There's enough going on here."

"Well, the Patil twins are now movie stars," Draco informed her dryly.

Granger's eyes bulged very unattractively. "Movie stars? You mean there are movies now?"

"Produced by yours truly," said Draco smugly. "You really need to read up on the Daily Prophet. So, have you decided yet?"

She glared at him. "Why the rush?"

"Because I plan to show the collection very soon."

"What do you mean by 'very soon'?"

Draco was about to explode. "Look, Granger. Either you take the job, or not. I'm not going to ask twice."

Her shoulder sagged as she slumped against her chair. Draco could see that she was fighting quite a battle with herself, by the way her face was set grimly and her fingers were clenched.

It was so quiet that Draco could hear the clock on the wall tick.

"Well?" he broke the silence.

She sat up and held out her hand. "Contract."

With a smirk, Draco extracted said contract from the hidden pocket of his robes, and handed it to her.

She read it silently, no doubt picking apart each and every word, considering just how much she trusted him.

"Why a secrecy clause?" she asked suspiciously.

"The element of surprise is very often the key to business success, Miss Granger," he lectured with an air of a seasoned businessman. "It applies to both parties, of course. I suppose you wouldn't want people to know that Hermione Granger, Hero of the War, has fallen to such a low?"

"Fine," she snapped. "I'll take the job."

Draco hoped she did not see his relief.

"Kindly sign the contract then," he said lightly.

Granger rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Malfoy, do you think I'll sign a contract written by you? It could be jinxed. I'll write another contract, and I'll owl it to you tomorrow morning."

Malfoy shrugged. "Suit yourself. I expect you to start working tomorrow. Where do you intend to move to?"

"Why should I move?" she asked.

He gave her a look. "You mean to work here?"

"What's wrong with my place?"

"What if I need to check up on your progress?"

"Then you can come here! You came here tonight."

Draco got up to his feet. "Oh no, Granger, you're moving and that's final."

She crossed her arms and glared up at him. "Make me, Malfoy."

He simpy held up her letter between two fingers and smiled very unpleasantly at her. "I don't think I need to. Report to me at my office at nine tomorrow morning."

Without another word, Draco left her studio in a flurry of expensive black robes with a satisfied grin on his face.


Edited 28 May 2012

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! It really surprised me that so many of you enjoyed the story. I already have 14 of you on the alert list! I hope I have Hermione and Draco in character in this chapter, it's my first time writing interaction between them and I hope I got it right. Again, if I have made any mistakes, please point them out to me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I will be gone from 4 June to 15 June on a trip to Australia. Don't miss me too much.