I'll Always Be There for You...

I'll always be there for you...

In the car, I remain composed and confident. And it was working really well, I could tell. People looked at me in the passing by cars and I felt happy.

Before, no one looked even twice at me, but now people stared at me and kept staring.

We made it to George fashions, where my first shoot was. I got out of the car, feeling confident and sure of myself.

Inside, a woman greeted us. "Hello, I'm Stella, the manager for the Spring time fashions here at George."

"I'm Draco Malfoy," said Draco. Wait...had I just called him Draco? Yeah, I did, but for some reason it sounded way better than Malfoy. 'Malfoy' sounded like I was referring to his father, whom I didn't like, even though you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead.

"And I'm..." I started to say, but then Draco inputted, "'Mione."

I stared at him. "Mione?"

He just squeezed my hand. "Yeah, Mione."

"Cool," said Stella. "It's nice to meet you. Now, if you could follow me, I need you to sign the contract."

I followed her, with Draco beside me. Stella showed me where the shoot would take place and what several people were doing.

There was an office in the back and Stella took out a copy of the contract. "Here," she said, handing it to me. "You'll need to sign right here. I'll let you read it over."

She left us, and after she shut the door to her office and I blurted out, "Mione?"

He shrugged, taking the contract from my hands. "Every model needs to have a media name. Hermione's too...old fashioned and not easy for people to remember."

I had to agree with him, but I was rather fond of my name. I mean, it was pretty unique and I was the only girl I knew with the name 'Hermione', well except for the character in one of Shakespeare's plays, but she wasn't real.

"Play along," he said, his lips moving from reading the contract. He took out his wand and muttered, "Reveal all that's hidden."

A few lines at the bottom that were tiny made themselves bigger and Draco read over them.

"They were planning to sell your pictures to others," he mumbled, almost talking to himself, "but I know a way to fool them."

After Draco was done reading the contract and making sure there were no more tricks in it, he took out another contract from his pocket. "You have to sign this as well. It's a two week contract."

Oh great, I actually had to read this contract myself. I didn't trust Malfoy.

I skimmed over it and then tried the spell I heard Malfoy say, but of course nothing appeared. I should have known he would have done something more complex.

I looked up at him and it was as if he knew I know. He smirked at me, his grey eyes twinkling.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Ha ha, very funny, Draco. Anyways, I trust you. It should be ok." I took a pen and signed both contracts.

I handed them both to him and he took them.

He looked over them to see my signature, but then put them on the table beside him. He then strode over to me and grabbed my waist, pulling me towards him.

My breathing quickened as I felt his muscular arm wrapping around my waist. "Are you sure you trust me?" he asked.

Before I have a chance to answer that, he pushed a loose strand of hair behind my hair. "By the way, you look pretty."

My eyes widened in shock, but before I can respond to either thing, the door opened and Stella barged in.

Very quickly and discreetly, Draco removed his arm from around my waist and lightly pushed me away from him. This happened very fast, before Stella even noticed what was happening.

"All done?" she asked.

Draco nodded and handed the contract to her. She flipped over a few pages and then smiled, "That looks fine. Now, please follow me."

As I started to follow her, Draco held onto my arm and said, "I'll be back when you're done."

"Which will be when?" I asked.

"In a round two or three hours," he said, and then he left.

I followed Stella to a room in the back that had a sign on the door, 'Wardrobe' it read.

Inside was chaos. It was full of racks of clothes and five cubicles at one end.

Stella led me to a woman who introduced herself as Marie. I nodded hello to her and then she went on to explain the genre of the clothes.

"We're going for a Victorian-inspired look," Marie said. "Not completely old fashioned, but bring the Victorian look to the clothes by adding lace and frills."

I nodded after I glanced at a rack of clothes nearest to me. They were a set of pants, skirts, jackets and shirts. They were the most beautiful clothes I had ever seen. It reminded me of how much I loved the Victorian era and studying it. I especially loved the clothes from that period.

I was suddenly looking forward to the shoot. After talking to Marie, I was made up and then dressed in the clothes that they needed to be modeled.

The first outfit was a dress that went up to the knees and had layers and bell sleeves. My hair was styled in an actual Victorian fashion; in a tight bun with a few loose curls falling out.

I was then led to the set, a variety of Victorian style furniture. First a swing, then a couch, and then a chair.

The next outfit was a pair of Capri pants with ruffles and lace on the bottom and a tweed jacket with a lace camisole under. This time my hair was left out under a thin hair band. I was made to stand in a still shot with pretend rain coming down behind me, with an old Victorian umbrella in one hand. But it wasn't opened; instead it was closed and I was leaning on it, as it was very tall.

The next shot, I ditched the umbrella and then stood in front of this door, my hand poised to open it. The one after that was where I sat some porch steps, looking as if I was waiting for someone.

The last outfit was my favourite. It was a cream coloured skirt with net all over and the red camisole that had the same net lace edging on it. On my feet I wore a pair of boots, as the skirt only went just past my knees. For this one, I sat down on a chaise and then after, I laid down, with a book in front of me, my eyes sideways.

By the time I was done, I was extremely tired. I hadn't gotten any sleep the whole night and had been at it since morning. By now, it was three o'clock.

Draco hadn't come back yet, so I waited on the chaise, which was actually very comfy.

During the shoot, I had found out that I was scheduled for two more days of shooting with George. The next one was the day after tomorrow and the one after that was a few days after that.

While I waited, I talked to some of the people who had helped me shoot. They told me that they liked my professionalism and they liked my quick learning skills, as I was a new model.

I was pleased to hear this and I was even more pleased to see Stella with a handful of clothes for me.

"These are all the outfits you wore today. You can have them," she said, handing me the bundle of soft and silky clothes.

"Thanks!" I said, overjoyed to receive them. Then I remembered my cool demeanour, because I then said, "Right. Thank you."

She smiled and said, "I would give you the rest as well, but we need them for you to wear them on the days of the shoot."

I smiled and told her it was fine. Fifteen minutes later, Draco wandered in and told me it was time to go.

I waved good-bye to everyone and followed Draco out the door. When we were in the car, with my bundle of clothes safely in the back, Draco asked me, "How was it?"

"Great," I said. "Perhaps because you weren't there to leer at me."

I was joking, but he answered seriously. "Probably."

"Anyways, I was waiting for half an hour. You could be more specific next time when you say how long you'll take."

As we got onto the road, he said, "I was getting you another job."

"Another one?" I said. "Today?!"

He nodded. "It's vital that you get out there as much as you can now to get a good start. Otherwise people will forget you before they even know you."

"I'm tired," I stated.

"So am I, but you don't hear me complaining," he said. I looked at him and saw that there were circles under his eyes. This was the first time that I had heard him say something about how he felt.

"How many more today then?"

"Just one."

"And tomorrow?"

He turned the wheel to the left. "Three. You'll have to get up at six."

I inwardly groaned and threw him a look. He saw it and said, "You're lucky you only got that much. Some models have five to do."

"Oh," I said, glad that I didn't have five shoots.

"I'm having some trouble finding you shoots," he said, giving me a side look. "Because of the way you look," he added, in an undertone, but I heard him.

"Excuse me, but I do believe it was 'the boss' who wanted to go with the chubby look and wanted me to stay 'normal'," I stated.

He nodded. "I do. Others don't though. Many people still want only certain look. So the shoots I'm getting for you right now are small companies."

I yawned. "Whatever."

Twenty minutes later, we reached wherever we were going which turned out to be 'Queen's fashions'.

I spent six hours there, doing a shoot and thankfully for them I didn't have to come back again. The clothes for this company were much more casual and laid back.

I got back to the Agency (or my home, if I dared to call it that) at nine thirty and found the place to be nearly empty.

After the last person left and Draco finished dealing with them, I demanded Draco to get me something to eat.

"Do it yourself," he said, looming over some papers.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I believe since you have taken the responsibility for me, you should do the kindness of getting me something to eat."

He glanced up for a second. "And I believe you're old enough to feed yourself, Granger."

"Well, considering I am working for you and you are supposed to pay and haven't yet done so, that kind of is impossible. And if you want me to remain chubby and not become an Anorexic like your darling Pansy Parkinson, then you better give me something to eat soon!"

He didn't even look up from what he was reading. Fine! If he was going to ignore me, then I would ignore him too.

I threw him the dirtiest look I could muster and then turned on my heel and stomped up the stairs.

At the end of the flight of stairs, my feet hurt. Of course I didn't think of it at the time, but walking up cement stairs in a pair of four-inch stilettos really killed.

It took me a half hour to finally get ready for bed. I had to change out of dress and hang it up in my closet. Then I had to wash my face to free it up makeup and change into some sweatpants and a t-shirt. I was still upset that Draco hadn't gotten me anything to eat, so to make myself happy, I started taking out my brand new clothes and hanging them up in my closet by magic.

I hadn't realised that I had missed my magic throughout the day, because as soon as I got my wand out, I felt as though I was seeing an old, long lost friend again. This no magic life, living as a Muggle, was actually pretty good, because no one knew my past or who I knew or where I came from. The only glitch was the actual not using magic bit. I mean I was a witch and it was necessary for me to use my wand for magic; like I use my leg for walking.

When I was done putting my clothes up, I turned around to look at my bed, which had a plate of food on it.

Unable to help myself, I smiled as I sat down on my bed and saw the delicious dinner that awaited me; a chicken leg, a slice of garlic bread and asparagus. It was all very healthy (except for the garlic bread) but nonetheless very filling.

After brushing me teeth, I went to bed soon after.

The next few days passed by in a blur as I was so busy, doing one shoot after another, day after day. I had several shoots with small time companies that weren't too famous. Draco and I had several small fights, one that ensued in a battle of the wands.

'My big break' as they like to call, came one day when I was finishing my last day for George fashions.

I was just finishing my skirt shoot when I overheard Stella talking to another manager in hushed tones.

"It won't be possible, believe me," she said.

"We have to try," said the man, the manager. "I mean it's already a scandal as it is."

"I know..." said Stella, hesitating. "But normally, they're already booked months in advance. It would be asking for a near miracle..."

The voices stopped though before I could learn anymore and I continued trying to look coy in my black crinkled skirt and black lace shirt, sitting cross-legged on a chair.

When my last shoot was done, I packed my bags and got ready to wait for Draco, who seemed keen to pick me up and drop me off personally to every shoot for some reason.

As I took off my makeup and clothes in Wardrobe, there was a knock on the door.

Stella entered with the manager, Jerold.

"Hi, 'Mione," she greeted me, shaking my hand.

I shook her hand and then Jerold's after. "How can I help you?" I asked, being polite but distant.

"We have a proposition for you..." started Jerold, but just then Draco entered, wearing a navy blue shirt and black pants with a black tie. I still wasn't used to seeing him with black hair so every time I saw him; I was in shock.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We have something to ask you," said Stella, eyeing the manager wearily. "And we realise it's a tight spot to be put in and we completely understand if..."

"What is it?" he demanded. I was glad he asked for me, otherwise I knew how long it would take for Stella to get to the point.

"We were wondering if 'Mione would be interested in doing another shoot with us tomorrow," spoke up Jerold. "We know it's short notice, but our six month contracted model Marilyn ran away to some foreign country to get married and didn't even tell us until this morning. Normally we would sue, but we cannot get in touch with her and we really like the work 'Mione's been doing and would be honoured if she would do this for us."

"Can't you find someone else?" asked Draco.

I gave him a look. The fact was that I didn't have any shoots for tomorrow, because I suspected that not many people were going for my look and didn't want to hire me.

But Draco completely ignored me and I knew he wanted to make it appear as if I was really busy when I wasn't, to make it more worth our while. He really knew how to play his cards.

"No, it's much too short notice," said Stella. 'The truth is, it's for Vogue magazine and we were to send someone on behalf of us for a shoot tomorrow and they don't actually care who it is, but everyone else is booked. We thought you might like this, because you're new."

Draco appeared to be thoughtful. I knew he was calculating.

"I'd need some details."

"Of course," said Jerold. "It's a full day shoot, and I know that sounds touchy, but we'd pay you triple what we have now for all three days so it'd be worth your while. Also, it's on our Victorian look, so it wouldn't be much too different than what we're doing now. It would probably be about 4 pages of colour photos in the magazine and then a one page write up on us and maybe a few lines about 'Mione. I would say it's a win-win situation."

"And we really do like the way you're so professional and reliable," said Stella. "Never once late or absent. And such a quick learner!"

I smiled at her and then glanced at Draco.

"It's tough," Draco said. "But I'll see what I can do. I'll have someone call you by six at the latest."

Stella nodded and Jerold thanked us for the consideration.

I followed Draco out the door and to the car. He didn't say anything on the way back to the studio.

We went back to the studio and I hung around, watching some of the other models while Draco worked.

At exactly 5:55, Draco gave George fashions a call, saying that I would be able, in fact, to make it after all.

Even though Draco wouldn't admit it I knew this was a big deal. I mean it wasn't every day that I got into Vogue, which was a prestigious and well-known magazine.

I didn't know why, but I felt like maybe this was my big break. I kept hoping and praying it would be.

Draco let me off early for the night, saying that I needed to prepare for tomorrow, which was pretty important.

I went to bed at around ten, my mind reeling with all the information that Draco had just told me.

As I snuggled under my covers, I remembered something I had heard Lavender telling Parvati in our dorm room. She had said that if you could get into the Muggle Vogue that you could get in anywhere. She had also said that it was near impossible to get into it, because it was so high class.

I, of course, hadn't been listening at the time, just letting it go in and out of my head, feeling that it didn't concern me. But now I recalled it clearly, as if it was just two minutes ago, because I was hoping it would be true.

The next morning, I woke up feeling rested and refreshed. My shoot was to start at eight, so I had to wake up at six to get ready.

I brushed my black hair into a thick, wavy ponytail and then slipped into a peach sundress. Monique had come early to do my makeup herself, which was just light peach coloured eye-shadow, a little bit of eye liner and a swish of lip gloss. She told me that even though Vogue was high scale and really big and famous all over the world, they had a thing for models who didn't overdo it.

I valued this piece of advice and kept it simple with a pair of matching sandals with straps.

Draco drove me to George fashions, where Stella would drive me personally to the Vogue studios.

I got out of the car, careful not to ruin my dress. I found Stella waiting for me inside, with a contract in her hands.

"Hi," she said.

I greeted her back and then she said, "Here's the contract. Now something's come up and the cover model for Vogue, which was Bridget from Bee fashions broke both of her legs and neck in a horrible accident so they asked us if you could be the cover model."

My eyes widened. "Cover model? I was told I was just to have some two page coverage and a couple of pictures."

"I know," said Stella, smiling apologetically to Draco, whose mouth was set in a straight line, "but all the other models are not exciting enough to be on the cover, so they asked us if our model, meaning you, could do it. I know it's very weird, but hey, stranger things have happened."

I stole at a look at Draco. For some reason, this seemed like too much of a coincidence for a girl who couldn't find a single shoot two days ago because of the way she looked.

I smiled quickly at Stella and then said, "If you don't mind, I'd like to speak to my agent very quickly before we leave."

Looking uneasy, Stella nodded. "All right."

Swiftly, I grabbed Draco's arm and led him to a corner.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

His acting, I must say, was out of this world. He raised an eyebrow and went, "Excuse me? What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" I said. "Maybe what I mean is why am I suddenly on the cover of Vogue when just yesterday no one wanted to hire me, least of all Vogue."

He shrugged. "Beats me."

It was my turn to raise my eyebrow at him. "Don't give me that."

He just smirked. "You're a smart girl, Granger. What do you think?"

"I think you set this up," I said, pointing my finger at him.

He shrugged again, raising those big shoulders of his. "So what if I did? Didn't I tell you all's fair in fashion and politics?"

"No," I said, getting tired now.

"Well, basically, I told you that we might need magic on our side," he said, looking nonchalant. "So I just removed a few obstacles out of the way to make it easier."

I was outraged. "Obstacles, Malfoy? These are people we are talking about! Not mere pieces of rubbish in our way that we can just pick them up and throw them away."

"Says who?" he asked.

"Says...Uhhh!" I groaned. "It's just unethical! And not to mention wrong!"

"Look, don't get your thongs in a knot," he said.

My mouth literally dropped open. "I do not wear thongs!" I hissed. And then I realised the ridiculousness of the situation. I was discussing what kind of underwear I wore with Draco Malfoy, my arch-nemesis. This surely was a sign that I had fully lost whatever brain I had had. I mean it was one thing to befriend such a git, but to talk about thongs with him?! I had fully lost my mind, I was sure of that.

He was smirking again, but I didn't even want to know what was going on in that sick mind of his.

"Just forget it," I said, pushing the strap of my purse up my shoulder. And with that, I turned on my heel and started to walk out, except I didn't see the white ceiling to floor marble column that was there. I crashed into it and almost screamed with pain.

Stella, who came up to me just then, didn't notice (thank god), because she said, "Are you ready?"

I nodded, not even looking behind me at that devil's face and rubbing my forehead where it really hurt.

I strode out to Stella's car; not even waiting to see the look Malfoy gave me.

*****

We got to Vogue Studios at around seven thirty. Stella helped me out of the car and led me inside the studios, which were bigger and more professional than any studios I had ever worked in, which weren't that many.

A man came up to us and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Billy. And you must be Stella from George. And you are...?" he added to me, holding his hand out.

"'Mione," I said, shaking his hand. "'Mione...just 'Mione."

"Cool," he said, grinning. "Well, I'm in charge of this shoot, which will mostly take all day."

Then he went on to explain the rest of the information to me. I would be there until eight at night and would get three breaks. Basically I would have to do three separate shoots, two for inside the magazine and one for the cover. Someone from the writing department would also interview me so that there would be a page about me as an aspiring model and also a page about George fashions, which Stella would give them the info for. I would also have Stella by my side, which I was glad about because I already knew her style so that was great. I also found out that all the accessories I wore and also the clothes would all be mine in the end, and they were all designed by famous French designers, except for a few that I would wear on behalf of George.

I got started at exactly eight. I was rushed into hair and makeup where they added more makeup for under the lights and a bunch for stuff. My hair they apparently loved, so they left it the style it was, except left it out.

I then went into Wardrobe where I got dressed into my first outfit and then onto the set, which was antique furniture. I was made to sit on an old writing desk, cocking my head to one side, and doing various things.

Hours passed by like minutes and before I knew it I was off to do the cover shoot.

The cover shoot was one of the hardest things I had ever done. They placed me in several settings but claimed that it didn't feel right.

Finally, a man named Amir asked me where I wanted to be placed, somewhere that felt authentic.

So I told him that while we had been shooting in the little library, I had seen a beautiful fountain out back of their studio, which looked really cool.

So he agreed and led everyone there to the massive fountain that had vines everywhere.

It was really cool and for that shoot, I had this gorgeous gold dress, which was really like a gown because it was covered in lace and netting. It was strapless and a tube top and made pure silk with lace covering it.

It was such a beautiful dress, but I knew I would never wear something like this again. For one thing the bodice was way too tight and plunged way too deep.

But in this world and reality, where I was 'Mione and not Hermione, I could do anything and I was ready to do this. The reason why was because I felt like I was living in a book and not in real life. In real life, I would be too timid to do something like this, but in this alternate world, I couldn't wait.

I felt like a princess in the dress sitting on the edge of the fountain; like a princess I read about in some of my favourite books.

First I sat on the edge and did various poses. Then I stood in front of this vine-covered wall that was made of old stone. I did many other shots, because for some reason the photographer and the rest of the crew had fallen in love with me. They kept telling me to do other things, which I would follow to the letter and they would be so happy.

I was there for so long that I went over my eight o'clock deadline.

For my absolute last shot, I had a great idea to lie down on the edge of the fountain with the skirt of my dress falling on the ground.

Amir loved the idea, but Billy reminded him that that shot couldn't be used for the cover because it would be a long shot, but I told I just wanted to do it for fun.

In the end he agreed and helped drape my skirt over the edge and my hair over my bare shoulders. Night had almost fallen now and the sky was turning darker by the second, but little twinkle lights around the fountain had turned around causing it to have a warm glow.

After that shot, I still had to stay for the interview; even though it was getting late now. I had told Draco that I would be back at George by eight, but it was already eight thirty.

I explained this to Amir, and he told me to go ahead and call Draco, but I didn't have my phone anymore on account of not wanting anyone from my past to call me and also because I didn't know Draco's number.

So I went ahead with Amir into a little room, feeling all revved up after the shooting all day and answered the interviewers questions to the best of my ability. Billy even ordered us dinner while we chatted and Amir reassured me that I would be compensated for my extra time. I had changed out of the fancy dress and was feeling more at ease.

By the time we were done, it was nine forty five and Amir personally offered to drop me off to George fashions along with Stella.

After saying good-bye to Amir in the car and watching Stella dash to her car, I looked around for Draco. I knew he couldn't be inside, because the building was closed.

So I turned every which way looking for him, when I saw a dark figure sitting on the ledge of the garden.

I walked towards him slowly, afraid that it wasn't him. It was him after all. He was sitting on the ledge of where the plants grew, with his jacket in his hands.

"I am so sorry," I said. "I didn't know it would take that long. I was going to call you, but..."

"But what?" he said hoarsely.

"But I didn't have a phone and I didn't know your number," I said. "I am sorry though."

"You're an hour and a half late," he said, in that voice.

"I know and I'm sorry," I said again. "It really wasn't up to me."

He just stared at me. "That's no excuse."

"Well, I said I AM sorry," I said, getting angry now. "It wasn't up to me and may I remind you, you've been late picking me on several occasions."

He didn't say anything; he just walked to the car and started the car. I followed him and sat down and he drove to the studio.

When we reached the studio, I started to get out, thinking he would follow me, but he didn't.

"Aren't you coming in?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Don't worry though; the doors have a special charm that they'll only let you in."

I suddenly noticed that he looked really tired, so tired that he had dark circles under his eyes.

He leaned over and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. My breath caught in my throat as he did that, because I thought he was going to kiss me, but of course he didn't.

But his finger remained behind my ear, with the loose strand of hair. His face was incredibly close to mine and so was his body.

He seemed different tonight, I don't know why. He wasn't mean for some reason, but I could tell there was something wrong with him. His eyes seemed out of focus.

"Hermione..." he began to say, but didn't finish because the next thing I knew his lips were on top of mine.

It took me a second to realise what was happening before I responded. His lips felt so soft and sweet on top of mine that I didn't want to stop. He pulled me closer to him so that our bodies were pressed together. My heart fluttered but I pulled away because of the intensity of it. It reminded me of someone else and what had happened between us.

"I'm sorry," I said, as I undid my seat belt and bolted from the car, jumping up the stairs to the studio and locking the door as I went through the door. I ran up the stairs to my room and peeked through the curtains just in time to see Malfoy pulling out of the driveway.

I changed into my pyjamas and brushed my teeth and washed my face, but couldn't get the sweet taste of his lips off from mine.

I kept on touching them, thinking that perhaps they felt different, but they didn't.

As soon as I was done, I got into bed and shut off the lights and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up feeling rather apprehensive and wondering about the meaning of the kiss.

I had kissed Draco Malfoy. It finally dawned on me. My arch-enemy since forever. The thought was just too much to bear so I pushed it out of my head as I got dressed and went downstairs.

A few people were getting ready for shoots, but I found Draco standing in a corner talking on the phone. As soon as I saw him, my heart starting hammering and my breath caught in my throat. I felt really nervous.

I just stood there and waited for him. He finished his phone call in a few minutes and then walked over to me.

I was staring at the ground, not wanting to say anything.

"Listen, Granger," he said, "I'm sorry about last night. I wasn't...myself."

I looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

He ran a hand through his black hair. "It was kind of...drunk, you could say. And it was wrong what I did. So I'm sorry."

"You're apologizing?" I asked, dumbfounded.

He nodded, appearing solemn for once and not cocky. "I felt bad."

My eyes widened. "Oh. It's ok I guess."

"And I had no right to get mad at you. You were right. You don't have a phone and I didn't give you my number. But that shouldn't be a problem anymore," he said, taking a cell phone out of his pocket and handing it to me. "This is yours from now on. And the first number programmed is mine. You do know how to use it right?"

I took the phone from him, not really letting him off the hook from yesterday. 'Of course I do. I'm sure you recall, I am a Mudblood."

He blinked at me for a second, but didn't say anything, and I was surprised. This new Malfoy was strange to me and I didn't know how to perceive him.

I took the phone from him and said, "Well, what's the plan then?"

It was Malfoy's duty every morning to tell me what my shoots were. He handed me a list and I saw that there were a few bigger names on the list.

Over the next few days, I was busy with medium sized companies who seemed impressed with me. As for Malfoy, I tried not to speak to him too much, except for when I had to.

By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was in the middle of my second week of my trial period.

On Wednesday morning, I got a phone call early in the morning from Vogue.

"We've got this month's Vogue in," said Amir. "We're having a party tonight for everyone to take a look at it and to congratulate every one who worked so hard on it."

Amir kind of sounded distant and I had a bad feeling about the whole thing. Billy had told me offside that if my pictures didn't come out right, they could just end up using someone else. So that was what I thought had happened.

So after eating my breakfast, I told Malfoy rather timidly about the party. He nodded and said that he already knew about it.

I then told him that he was also invited and he probably would have to take me there anyways and he told me that he would be coming too.

So that evening I got dressed up in hot pink dress that barely reached my knees. It had two thick straps and I wore my hair half up in a pink ribbon.

Malfoy and I arrived at the party at exactly seven thirty, exactly a half hour late.

I was nervous as I got out of the car and walked up the steps to the banquet hall where the party was being held.

As we stood outside the doors, behind a group of people going in, Draco stood next to me looking really hot in a black suit and tie with his black hair gelled like it used to be done in school except it used to be blonde before.

Right before our turn came, Draco turned to me and said, "We have to go in together."

"Ok," I said, thinking that he meant at the same time, but then noticed that he had his arm out. So I felt myself flush red and took it.

"It's just that the agent and model have to look like a couple," he said, steering me forward.

Suddenly I became aware of how short my dress really was. I flashed him a quick smile and followed him through the doors after he gave our names to the man.

When I entered the great hall before me, I thought I was dreaming for a second. I blinked several times to make sure I was seeing what I really thought. I slowly let go of Malfoy's arm and my mouth dropped open.

What I was staring at what was a huge picture of me wearing the gold dress on the cover of Vogue magazine.