3

"Right this way." Mallory said before opening the door as Hermione began stumbling and fell forward on her hands.

And suddenly, Draco walked over to her.

"Ms. Granger, are you all right?" Draco asked her.

"Uh...yeah, I'm alright." Hermione nervously said as he helped her up.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy." He said.

"Hermione Jean Granger, um, Miss Weasley got a flu, so she asked me to fill me in." Hermione said as they both shook their hands.

"Ah, I see, so you're studying journalism as well?" He asked her.

"No, English Lit. Ginny's my roomate." Hermione said to him.

"As I said, I only have ten minutes. Please, have a seat, Ms. Granger." Draco said as he took a seat behind his desk while Hermione took a seat opposite.

Hermione realized that she forgot her pen at her apartment, she noticed that Draco had pencils on his desk, as he got up picking up one of the pencils and gave it to Hermione.

"Thank you. Ready?" She asked.

"Whenever you are." He answered.

"Uh, okay." Hermione nervously said as she looked down at the paper with her questions on them.

"Um, so this is for the special graduation issue of the student newspaper." Hermione said to him.

"Yes, I'm giving the commencement address at this year's ceremony." Draco said as she looked straight at him.

"You are? I mean, um...I know." Hermione said before looking down at her questions.

"Uh, you are very young to have amassed such an empire. To what do you owe your..." Hermione said as she couldn't find the right words before Draco asked "To what do I owe my success?"

"Yep." Hermione said popping the "P" word.

"Seriously?" Draco questioned.

"Yes." Hermione nodded.

"Business is about people, and I've always been good at people. What motivates them, what incentivizes them, what inspires them." He explained to her.

"Maybe you're just lucky." Hermione grinned.

"I've always found that the harder I work the more luck I seem to have. The key to my success has been in identifying talented individuals and harnessing their efforts." Draco added.

"So you're a control freak?" Hermione questioned in a curious tone looking up to him again.

"Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Granger." He smirked as Hermione nodded before looking at her questions again.

"Okay. Um, uh, your company is involved primarily in the telecommunications sector. Yet you also invest in numerous agricultural projects, including several in Africa. Is that something that you feel passionate about? Feeding the world's poor?" She asked him.

"It's a smart business." He said to her as she looked at him disapprovingly.

"You don't agree?" He questioned as he could tell that Hermione disapproved of what he answered.

"I don't know enough about it. I just wonder if perhaps your heart might be a bit bigger than you want to let on." She said.

"There's some people that say I don't have a heart, at all." Draco said to her.

"Why would they say that?" Hermione asked him.

"Because they know me well." He answered "Go on." He added signaling her to continue as she nodded looking at her questions.

"Um, do you have any interests outside of work?" Hermione asked him.

"I enjoy various physical pursuits." Draco answered as Hermione nodded before looking at her notes.

"You're unmarried...oh, you are the only son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy." Hermione said.

"That's a matter of public record." Draco said with a serious tone.

"I'm sorry I didn't..." Hermione said before Draco asking her "Do you have an actual question, Ms. Granger?"

"Yeah, sorry." Hermione said apologetically looking down at the questions.

"Are you gay?" Hermione asked before realizing what she's just read as Hermione chuckled nervously before looking at him "It's written here, I'm just..." before Draco cut her off "No, Hermione. I'm not gay."

"I apologize, Mr. Malfoy. Ginny can be..." Hermione said nervously before Draco questioned "Intrusive?"

"Curious." Hermione finished.

"What about you?" Draco asked as he took a seat next to Hermione "Why don't you ask me something that you want to know?"

"Earlier you said that there are some people who know you well. Why do I have the feeling that that is not true?" Hermione said to him.

Just then, Draco's secretary Mallory opened the office door.

"Mr. Malfoy, your next meeting is in the conference room." She reminded him.

"Cancel it, please. We're not finished here." Draco ordered.

"Yes, sir." Mallory said before closing the door.