~Accidentally on Purpose!~

~18~ ~JUST ONE DAY~

Don't worry. I don't own anything. It is the world of JK Rowling. We are just living in it ;) And none of the art except the cover page belongs to me. HAPPY READING!

Hermione was in deep discussion with Susan the next day, when Draco came barging inside her room and interrupted them. "I figured that you would be ignoring me and what happened yesterday, so I came here myself."

Susan looked at Hermione and back at him. Anyone in her situation would think the same. She decided to slither away from the tension and was walking towards the door when he called her out.

"Ms. Bones, good morning."

"Good morning, Malfoy", she whispered and walked outside creating scenarios in her mind of what would be happening inside the room. She suddenly had an idea and skipped the rest of the way to her laptop.

"What else did you expect me to do Malfoy?" she already wasn't in a good mood and this was absolutely not helping. "Come to you in the morning and express my undying love for you?" she spat.

"No, but this is not what I thought. I never expected you to chicken out, after all, you are a Gryffindor."

"Oh! Grow up, Malfoy. You know we can't have anything or did you expect me to run away with you after a kiss. I am here to find you a bride and I'll do so. Nothing more, nothing else."

"Who said I want you to run away with me? I am not Weasley, Granger. I was simply hoping to have a civil talk about the party that I liked both of them but none to the extent that I would marry them."

She had expected something of the sort and now her big plan came in.

"I knew you would say that", she smiled.

"Don't think you know me well, Granger." He grits his teeth and considered his next move. "This is half the thing. I won't say that I hated last night, but you should learn how to knock."

He smirked and turned around after wiggling his eyebrows at the evident blush on her cheeks.

"And you should know how to keep your clothes on!!" she shouted when he was already out the door.

He surely loved riling her up, maybe more than making her smile. That way he could get a glimpse of the Hogwarts' Hermione. But he knew he was walking on dangerous waters.

His feelings were already out of control for the brunette but it was no good to give in. he would fight it out, he always did.

He shook his head and simply went on his way, not expecting the surprise his matchmaker had planned for him.

***

On his way to his office, he was stopped by the sudden descent of a beautiful, ornamented one-seater carriage in his lawn. This particular lawn was covered with gardenia and roses and gave off a very un-Malfoy-like vibe to it. The other grounds were planted with rows and rows of trees....

Wait for a second, he did not invite anyone! So who in the name of merlin's beard was he? Or rather she?

Out of the carriage came a beautiful woman who could make Draco himself look at her in pure admiration and quite laughably with his mouth wide open. She gracefully got off the carriage and was wearing a frock of the lightest grey color. She had auburn hair and striking green eyes which were almost hypnotizing.

She came and stood in front of him and introduced herself and he thought as if they had been dragged back to the 1980s when a lady would introduce herself to the suitor. She surely had those manners.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy. I am Natasha Pierce and I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Your matchmaker, Ms. Granger..."

"You are exactly at the time, Natasha." Hermione interrupted whatever she was saying and looked back at Draco with a scheming expression and a smug smile.

"Hey, Hermione. It's wonderful to finally meet you in person. I m aware of the effort you made to contact me and I apologize for the same. As you already know that I was in Bulgaria and that's why I could not attend the party, last Sunday."

Hermione nodded her head to the response and was sure that the last sentence was not directed at her but Draco. Of course, she was right.

Natasha was looking at Malfoy and was expecting to say something but he had no expressions on his face except a little frown on his eyebrows. He came back to earth and remarked, "no worries, Miss Pierce. It's just that I was unaware of your arrival and all this caught me off guard", narrowing his eyes at Hermione.

"If you ladies don't mind, I am already late for my work. I must take your leave. I will call for Theo to take you to your ....."

"Don't fret, Mr. Malfoy. It's your day today. Your mother had already asked me to clear up your schedule and your appointments are postponed."

"Excuse my rudeness, Ms. Peirce. I will escort you to your quarters so that you both can get ready." He held his hand towards Natasha and took her inside the Manor.

"On whose orders, actually" he forced the word in her face "did he clear up my schedule, Hermione?"

"Mrs. Malfoy's" she shrugged and was walking back towards the door when he called her name again but as a growl this time. "Granger~~~"

"But, it was my request."

"And why would you do that?"

"Draco, listen to me. You need to trust me and give this a chance. She was already my first option. It was just that her schedule was packed up. Just talk to her today and let me know what happened."

"You don't understand, Granger. It's not that I don't want this. Hell, yes I do want someone to love me but I need some time to find the person for myself. This is not correct."

"This is the best option we have Malfoy, I am doing the same and just speeding up the process. I am not forcing you to like someone or marry someone tomorrow. The final decision will always be yours. I am just finding opportunities for you and providing them to you on a platter. You just need to ...."

"Okay, I get it. But if I don't click with her the way you want me to, you'll stop trying. Deal?"

Hermione considered the option for a second and finally shook his hand firmly.

"Deal!"

A/N - Hi Guys, any comments, constructive criticism, or reviews are more than welcome!

Don't forget to comment and vote if you like the story. Stay safe.

~ gK