~ Witch Weekly Issue 15/2005 ~
Calling the Bluff
After the revelation that Draco Malfoy ventured into strange waters – namely non-pure-blood brides – only pure-blood witches have been seen adorning Mr Malfoy's arm on social occasions over the last couple of months.
But this Author will not be misled.
Although nice to look at, none of his conquests seemed to hold his attention. Quite the contrary! Mr Malfoy's reactions ranged from bored to downright annoyed with his companions.
Parading around with one pure-blood prospect after the other is such an obvious ruse it is almost laughable.
Mr Malfoy obviously has something to hide. Most likely, a bride outside the pure-blood circles. You can always rely on a mother to speak the truth. While Narcissa Malfoy is ready to welcome fresh blood to the family tree, Mr Malfoy seems to like playing hide-and-seek.
This Author can't be deceived so easily and will make sure to provide a name for you, Dear Readers, soon. The future Mrs Malfoy won't stay a secret for long!
Hermione was sick and tired of Draco Malfoy. Or, rather, with his visits to her store. His stops at her bookstore had become frequent, as were the speculative articles about his most recent choice of bimbo after any social event he graced with his presence. She no longer wanted to hear about him, much less see him.
On a particularly stressful day, Hermione had sunk to hissing the suggestion that Flourish and Blotts would surely be delighted to have him as a client and also offered a larger selection.
"Sorry to disappoint you there, Granger, but you are wrong." Although he eyed her with an amused look on his face, his voice carried no arrogance. Otherwise Hermione might have finally resorted to hexing him out of her store.
"Flourish and Blotts may have the larger selection of wizarding titles, but your store has a better variety and is the only store that also sells Muggle literature, which I am not averse to, as you may have noticed." She had noticed. From time to time he would wander through the shelves, all of them, even the Muggle literature. He seemed interested in a wide variety of subjects, which fascinated Hermione.
"And while they certainly wouldn't be disinclined to accept my gold, I wouldn't be welcome there as a customer." Malfoy had not looked at her while saying it, much less raised his voice to much more than a whisper. It was at that moment that Hermione had to admit to herself that he had changed. Truly, Malfoy himself was tolerable, civil even, a steady calm presence in the armchair in the far corner of her shop.
All that, however, was forgotten when Hermione thought of his devotees. Every time he imposed his presence on her shop, a few reporters and fans would also sneak in, and Hermione could only drive them away with great difficulty. Fed up with anything Malfoy, Hermione did not even wait for any comments on the article from her friends and fled to her store where she hopefully would not encounter the Slytherin.
The week went by rather uneventfully and Hermione could not be more grateful. She basked in the normality of her store life: opening, preparing pick-ups, helping customers, rearranging shelves, decorating the display for the recommendation of the week. Never had everyday tasks been so blissful to her than after weeks of Malfoy and Co. intruding her store.
Saturday afternoon was going slow, so Hermione used the time to arrange the pick-ups for her patrons in her backroom, which was more like a narrow hallway with a couple of bookshelves leading to her back door. Most customers dropped by to get their ordered books within a week, but there were always some stragglers who tended to forget. She had just noted the names of patrons she would need to send a reminder by owl when the cause of countless headaches appeared in the doorway. It was none other than Draco Malfoy who strode into her backroom like he owned the place.
"Malfoy?" Hermione gasped and crossed her arms. Since the space was very limited, she inevitably blocked his way.
"Miss me, Granger?" He quirked a brow and motioned for her to make space for him to walk past.
Over the course of his visitations to her store, Malfoy had begun to speak familiarly to her, not that Hermione had ever thought to ask him to call her Ms Granger, after all. His remarks, very few in between long bouts of silence, had lost all malice and Hermione never minded when he did seek her company briefly. If he had been like this at Hogwarts, she would probably have got on quite well with him.
Although they had fallen into the routine of cordial - even friendly - banter over the past weeks, Hermione did not feel up for any jokes right then. He had crossed a line by entering her backroom.
"This is going too far, Malfoy. You can't just come back here!"
"Come on Granger, don't be like that. Am I not a loyal customer of your store?" He put on the charming smile she often saw in Ginny's Witch Weekly . That might work for many impressionable witches, but it was time for Hermione to put her foot down.
"Just because you buy two books whenever you invade my store, doesn't give you the right to be back here," Hermione hissed. She pushed against his chest, her hands smacking against him, in hopes he would budge and leave.
He did not.
"Two books, only for you, Granger," he purred, and gently placing his hands on her hips, he turned them so they were both squeezed into the narrow passage. Hermione held onto the lapel of his jacket to make sure he did not just walk past her.
"Feisty one, aren't you?" His eyes had wandered from her hands clasped on his jacket up to her eyes, a mischievous glint gleaming. A broad grin revealed the perfect rows of white teeth as he squeezed her hips.
His obscene comment made her blush and the anger rise in her. Hermione stamped her foot and let out a frustrated, "Just shut up and get out of my sight."
"Let's make a deal, Granger." He had bent down to whisper into her ear. "You let this pass and I will never come near your little store ever again."
"Never?" This was too good to be true. Things would go back to how they were.
"Never," he echoed her and grinned.
"Deal." She released his lapels and stepped to the side. Never had a decision been so easy for Hermione.
He grinned at her triumphantly, all shining white teeth. Hermione would let him have this - her gain was far greater than anything he would get from using her delivery entrance.
"Don't come crying when you miss me, though, Granger." One playful wink and he was gone. With the prospect of never having to see him again, Hermione would have shouted something after him to not let him have the last word, but as it was, she was content.
That night there was a skip to her walk as she happily made her way to the flat tour. The realtor was perfectly pleasant and the flat was just what Hermione had been looking for. It was in her price range and close to her store. It was Hermione's lucky day. With Malfoy out of her life and a signed lease, she felt like walking on clouds all the way home, even making a detour to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour to get Ginny the mint-choco ice cream she craved lately.
"You're in a good mood today." The way Ginny shovelled spoon after spoon of mint-choco into her mouth, she reminded Hermione of Ron. But since her friend was almost three months pregnant and mint-choco ice cream was one of the least disgusting things Ginny began to crave, Hermione forgave her for the horrible display. Even terrible table manners could not dampen Hermione's spirits.
"It's just been a great day. I found a flat. By the end of the month, you will have the house all to yourselves." Her hazelnut ice cream had never tasted better. Hermione closed her eyes as she savoured the taste.
"Congratulations!" Harry and Ginny exclaimed in unison. They were genuinely happy for her and not just grateful to finally have her out of the house.
Her hazelnut ice cream had never tasted better. Hermione closed her eyes as the flavour spread on her tongue. After a delightful chat with her friends in which they shared her excitement for finding the perfect flat, Hermione indulged with a glass of wine and a good book in her bathtub. She deserved to treat herself. The future was bright… for now.