Taking Advantage

Hermione still felt a bit dazed as she sat at her desk a few hours later. Had she really just agreed to marry Draco Malfoy? Really? What was she thinking? What were Harry and Ron going to say? She didn\'t bother wondering what Ginny would say. Ginny had always thought Draco oozed sex appeal, so she\'d probably think that Hermione had been lusting after his lean, muscular body for years.



Lean, muscular body? She wondered where that had come from. There was no point in denying it, she supposed. Unless something miraculous happened, she\'d be up-close and personal with that body within the next week and every week after until the next minister took care of business.



She looked down at the ridiculous ring sparkling at her from her third finger. “Imagine a mudblood wearing the famous Malfoy diamond,” she laughed, thinking of the thought of showing it off to the portrait of Lucius Malfoy she was sure she would find somewhere prominent in Malfoy Manor. “I guess I can\'t say there won\'t be perks involved in this whole fiasco.”



At that moment, a young delivery wizard appeared and tried to maneuver a huge arrangement of blood-red roses and a parchment package through her office door.



“What\'s all this?” she asked, surprised.



“Mr. Malfoy sent me straight over from Hornbeck, Lambert & Lyonesse with some documents, miss,” answered the young man naming the foremost wizarding law firm in London.



“And the rest of it?” Hermione questioned.



“Oh, this was waiting at the reception witch\'s desk when I asked for directions,” he replied. “I thought I\'d make myself useful and bring them with me since I was headed here anyway.”



“Thank you so much,” Hermione finished. “The flowers are lovely, and I\'ve been waiting for this package.”



After the young wizard left, Hermione took a moment to breath in the rose-scented air before tearing into the package Malfoy had sent. She didn\'t bother opening the card on the flowers because she already knew he had sent them as well. Before they left the restaurant, they had agreed that it would be easiest to avoid the ministry\'s harassment and scrutiny if they pretended that they weren\'t simply trying to avoid the marriage law. Of course his first step was to send her a romantic gift. There would probably be an owl from Honeydukes any minute, she supposed, and tonight they would dine at some pretentious French restaurant in wizarding London that Malfoy assured her would save them the hassal of announcing their relationship. It would be all over the papers before morning.



Before that happened, though, Hermione had some tasks to complete. She had already owled Harry, Ron, and Ginny and asked them to meet her at her flat at 9:00 that night for an important discussion. Her parents could wait until the next evening since they only subscribed to Muggle newspapers. She was about to thoroughly inspect the pre-nuptual agreement that Malfoy had sent over, make any changes and send it back. If everything was in order, they could be married in only a few days. There was no sense in giving the Ministery a chance to muck up their plans by passing the law early.



Settling into the reading chair she had squeezed into her office\'s brightest corner with the parchments and a red-ink-dipped quill, Hermione started looking for loopholes and talking to herself.



Mrs. Hermione Malfoy will retain control of her personal funds... (Uh huh) Mrs. Malfoy will use her own discretion in making career choices... (Damn straight!) Mrs. Malfoy will honor the sanctity of her marriage... (Reasonable) Mrs. Malfoy will reside at Malfoy Manor (Hmmm, hadn\'t thought of that. Maybe he\'d agree to... No, better just let that one go.)



It went on and on and on, but Hermione saw nothing objectionable.



Mr. Draco Malfoy will settle the sum of 10 million galleons on Mrs. Malfoy on the occasion of their wedding. (Gasp. She guessed he figured that\'s the going rate for his freedom and decided to tell him it was completely unnecessary.) Mr. Malfoy will honor the sanctity of his marriage... (Hmmm, surprising.) Should the marriage end, both parties will retain all property they brought to the marriage with the exception of Mr. Malfoy\'s bride-gift to Mrs. Malfoy and any further gifts exchanged between the two during the course of the marriage.



Again, the documents certainly went on at length, but with the exception of Malfoy\'s ridiculous attempt to pay her off, Hermione saw nothing she wouldn\'t have suggested first had she thought of it. She wrote a short note to that effect, crossed out the pertinent lines, signed and sealed the documents and rose to take them to the reception witch for delivery.