Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters mentioned in this fic belong to J.K Rowling.

Beta'd and britpicked by Abbi

"Mmm guarh gah"

Dean let out a chuckle as he watched his friend try to talk through a mouth full of crisps. "Can't really understand you, Seamus. Might want to swallow first?"

Seamus swallowed the crisps while brushing away the ones that didn't make it into his mouth off his shirt and onto the cafeteria floor. "I was saying the game last night was amazing. I reckoned for a second that Hufflepuff was going to win."

Dean shook his head, "What channel were you watching? The Ravenclaws were kicking their arses the entire game."

"Scores was so close during the second half that even me blind aunt could see it." Seamus turned towards the redheaded male sitting across from him, "Ron, you agree with me, don't ya?"

Ron did not answer. He was so busy staring fondly at a girl eating two tables away from him, that he wasn't even aware his friends were having a conversation, never mind calling his name. A hand suddenly appeared, waving in front of his face distorting his vision of the lovely female he was staring at. He turned his head and saw the hand belong to Seamus. "What?"

Seamus sat back down in his seat and sighed, "Yar doing it again."

Ron cocked his head, attempted to play dumb, "What?"

Dean gave the redhead a stern look, "Staring at Hermione like some sick lost puppy. Don't even try to deny it. You do it almost every day."

Ron sighed, "Okay, you caught me. I was looking at her again. I just can't help it. She's just so pretty and-"

Dean rolled his eyes, "and smart"

"Gragh mah gah."

Dean turned to Seamus, "Mate, your food."

The boy swallowed, "and perfect."

Dean set his eyes back on Ron. "We heard it all before, Ron. We get it. You like Hermione. Now when are you going to tell her that?"

"Are mad?" Ron could hear his heart pounding against his chest at just the suggestion of talking to his crush. "One does not simply confess their feelings for one of the hottest girls in school. Especially, when that one is me. Let's face it, Hermione would never settle for a bloke like me. Someone like Victor Krum seems more like her type of guy."

"Viktor Krum! He's a fine champion in the making, that one is," Seamus voice was now laced with same enthusiasm he had when talking about last night's game. " He's the best bloody player we've ever had in the school. Seriously fit too. I know I'm a male, but have ya seen the muscles on that bloke. No wonder every girl in the school would like to have a go in his pa-"

The heated glare Seamus was receiving from Ron was enough to melt a glacier.

"What I mean is you could easily get a girl like Hermione," Seamus forced out a chuckle before returning his attention to the food on his tray.

Ron turned his gaze back to Hermione, "Yeah, like her, but not her."

Unbeknownst to Ron and his friends, they were being watched by a shaggy haired stranger sitting in a dark corner of the room.

Harry took out a phone hidden within the pockets of his black khakis. He tapped on the phone's flat screen until he found the information that carried the description of the human he was assign to. Once found, Harry adjusted his glasses as he read the boy's profile.

Name: Ron Bilius Weasely. Age: 16. Appearance: Red hair, dark blue eyes, 175.2 cm, 10.5 stones. Target of Interest: Hermione Jean Granger. (Click to see info.)

Harry clicked on the girl's file.

Name: Hermione Jean Granger. Age: 16. Appearance: Brown hair, brown eyes, 165.1 cm, weight unknown. Target of Interest: unknown.

Harry let out a sigh. The information he was given was practically useless as it told him nothing of the human's personality. Knowing the characteristic traits of people were definitely the key element in creating couples. Without it, a cupid could create thousands of relationships that would end before they even began. What made the information even more worthless was that the love interest for the girl was unknown. Meaning there was a good chance that the girl held no affection for the boy at the moment. That just made his assignment even harder to complete.

Harry looked at the photo next to the boy's profile before staring at the table he had been looking at previously. His eyes keyed in on the redhead. The boy's body and face matched the description perfectly. "Well, at least I found him already."

Harry felt the phone vibrate against his hand. He looked at the device to see headquarters' number displayed on the screen. Harry looked around to make sure no one was watching him before hitting the answer button. The head of an old woman, looking to be in her mid seventies appeared on the phone.

"President McGonagall, why are you calling?" Harry was worried. The president had called him on a mission that he was no more than fifteen minutes into. She never called a cupid so early in a case unless there was something wrong and judging by the hard stare he was receiving from the woman, there was definitely trouble ahead.

"Have you met the opposing cupid, yet?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"I'm worried that once you find out who the anti-cupid is, you'll abort the case."

"Why would I-" Harry noticed wrinkles forming on the president's forehead and her eyes seeming to drift away from his face. Harry knew of only one man that could make the usually strong woman look so troubled. "Don't tell me."

"Yes, the opposing company has assigned anti-cupid, Draco Malfoy, to this mission."

Harry's nostrils flared and his ears began to turn red as the familiar name left the woman's mouth.

"I know you two have bad history against each other. Seeing as how every previous case you two have been assigned ends with him succeeding in breaking up the potential couple."

Harry scrunched his eyes as he felt the stabbing truth of the president's words hit him. Every mission Draco and he were both assigned to always ended with Draco being the victor. Draco would always find a way to create enough drama and tension between potential couples that by the end of the mission the two humans didn't want to be in the same room as each other, never mind falling in love. Of course, there is nothing really wrong with this. Draco is an anti-cupid after all. It's in his job description to try to keep compatible humans apart. Just as it was Harry job as a cupid to try to bring the humans together. In reality, the two were testing the couple to see if their love was strong enough to handle any obstacles thrown at them. Though, in the case of Draco he didn't just create obstacles, he created full blown, impossible to get over boulders.

However, it wasn't Draco's 'boulders' or any other method he used to separate a couple that pissed Harry off. No, it was the anti-cupid's personality that made Harry's blood boil. Draco was arrogant, cocky, and rude. Every word that left the man's lips was either a snarky remark or putdown. In fact the rude comments were so constant that Harry was sure the anti-cupid spent his free time just thinking up terrible things to say to people. Despite Draco's 'charms', Harry would admit that he did feel a slight, only slight, attraction to the anti-cupid every time he laid eyes on him. Of course the cupid labeled this attraction as purely sexual. He just wanted to hear his name screamed from the man's mouth rather than another snide remark. He refused to even think that his attraction for Draco was anything more than lust.

"Harry, if you want. I can take you off the ca-"

"No, that won't be necessary." Harry gave the president a determined look, "I have no problem working with Draco, in fact I want to. I won't let him win this time. I promise you by the end of the week Ron and Hermione will be together."

"Very well. Good luck then," the woman nodded before her image quickly vanished from the phone.

Harry balled his hand into a fist. He could think about nothing else besides getting one over on Draco. He would make sure to bring the two human's together this time and he couldn't wait to see the anti-cupid's face once he did.

The teacher turned her attention to the room full of students. "Class, we have a new person with us today. Please welcome Mr. Harry Potter."

Harry stood in the front of the teacher's desk, he felt sweat beginning to form on his forehead as he took on the students stares. This wasn't Harry's first time being in the presence of humans, he often had to do undercover missions like this one in the past. However, that didn't mean he was comfortable being around the species, especially when he had a group of them staring at him like they were now. Humans were such judgmental and violent creatures. Their personality and actions could change in just a mere second. One really had to watch their back when around them.

"Mr. Potter would like to tell the class a little about yourself?"

"Not really," Harry watched as a few of the students giggled.

"Now, Mr. Potter, there's no need to be shy. We're all friends here. Go on, tell the class a little about yourself."

Harry really didn't want to talk. He needed the humans to know very little about him if he wanted the mission to be successful as well as keep the existence of cupids a secret. Since he was being forced he decided to be as vague as possible. "I come from a place far away."

A girl sitting at the front of class spoke up, "What is this land called?"

The land in question wasn't really a land, but a city built in the sky. Of course, Harry couldn't tell the girl that. "It doesn't matter. You probably never heard of it anyway."

"Oh," the girl turned to a student next to her, "he's a hipster."

Harry cocked his head at the girl but continued. "I live in a house near here with my pet owl and-"

"Whoa, Potter don't get too carried away with your story. You might actually keep someone awake."

Harry eyes widen as he recognize the sarcastic tone coming from the entrance of the room. He turned his head towards the door and saw the familiar blond male staring at him with intense grey eyes and a patronizing smirk on his face.

Harry mouth tense as he glared at the intruder, "Malfoy"

"Potter," Draco hips move rhythmically from side to side as he entered the room. The females in the class seem to take noticed of the blonde's swagger because they stared intently at the man's pants.

Harry mentally cursed as he stared with them.

The teacher took noticed of the male as well, "I'm sorry but who are you?"

"Another new student." Draco reached inside the pockets of his khakis and pulled out a small piece of paper. He stretched his hand across Harry's face, giving the woman the note and 'accidentally' hitting the cupid on the nose in the process.

The teacher read the paper, "Well, look at this class? It seems we have two new students joining our class today. Mr. Malfoy would you like to introduce yourself to the class?"

Harry quickly turned to the teacher, "But I thought I-"

"Gladly." Draco stood in front of Harry, eyes scanning the eager faces. "I am Draco Lucius Malfoy. I am incredibly rich, incredibly stylish, and as you can see...incredibly handsome."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"And, unlike my friend here, I'm actually interesting to talk to," Draco smiled as he watched the classroom breakout in laughter.

Harry resisted the urge to strike Draco, "Why must you twist everything you say into an insult?"

Draco looked back at the cupid, "What can I say, I'm multi-talented. I can talk and piss you off at the same time."

The teacher's eyes shifted between the two males in front of her. "You two seem to know each other. Are you perhaps friends?"

"No," the boys said in unison.

"Ah, well then. Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy. If you two don't mind sitting down so we can begin class." The teacher gestured to two empty seats in the back of the classroom.

Harry walked to the back of the room and groaned once he noticed how close the seats were to each other. He sat down and watched as Draco made his way over. The man was still gorgeous, still cocky as a newborn rooster but with twice the allure and wit.

Draco sat down and turned to give Harry a conceited smirk.

Still a complete arrogant arsehole.

"Look Draco, it's obvious we don't like each other. So, why don't we agree to stay as far away from each other as possible? We'll do our jobs from a distance," Harry said as he ran his fingers though his hair.

Draco felt his hand tingle as he suddenly felt an urge to run his fingers through that shaggy ebony mop.

"Did you hear me?" Harry looked at Draco to make sure the boy was listening. He felt his heart pound against his chest as he felt his gaze linger on the male's grey eyes. As much as Harry hated to admit it, the anti-cupid did possess the most gorgeous eyes he had ever seen.

"Yes, Potter. I heard you. But you think too highly of yourself if you think I would willingly want to be in your presences." Draco turned to look at the teacher but he did a side glance at Harry before focusing completely on the woman.

Harry looked around the room and spotted the human, Ron, sitting in the middle of class. He then spotted Hermione who was near the front of the classroom. Harry took noticed that the redhead was once again staring at Hermione. She was scribbling away in her notebook completely unaware of Ron's gaze. Harry sighed. The love between the two humans seemed completely one-sided. He wondered if the girl was even aware that the boy existed. This case was definitely going to be challenging.

"Last class, I told you that we were going to start our group projects today. I'll explain more about the assignment later in class but first let start out picking partners names." The teacher grabbed a small clear container from her desk.

Inside the container looked to be small pieces of paper, which Harry guessed had the student's name written on them. The cupid's eyes widen as he suddenly came up with an ideal to get Hermione to take notice of Ron. His right hand began to glow, a pink aura suddenly surrounding the cupid's palm.

Draco took noticed, "About to perform a spell I see."

The pink glow from Harry's hand quickly disappeared, "Draco, I swear if you try to do what you did last mission."

"What? Are you blaming me for you misfiring that lust spell last time?"

"Misfire nothing. I had a clear shot until you 'bump' into me," Harry said through tightly clenched teeth.

Draco laughed, "Oh, yes I remember. That dog wouldn't stop humping your legs for days."

Harry cheeks were now bright red as he remembered how he struggled to get the poodle off his leg. "I'm serious, Draco. That was a dirty trick and I don't want any repeats of it happening again this mission."

The anti-cupid waved his hand dismissively at Harry, "Fine, fine. I won't resort to such tactics to beat you this time. Though, it not like I would have to considering how bad of a cupid you are anyway. Go ahead perform your little spell. I promise not to do anything to mess you up. Take it as a freebie. We both know you'll need as much help as you can get."

Harry felt his blood begin to boil. God, how he wish he could just shut the blond up for once.

The teacher began calling out set of names from the pieces of paper in the container. "Lisa Cullen and Winky Crockett, Terry Boot and Hannah Abbott, Nick Alas and..."

Ron paid no attention to the teacher's word. His head was too clouded with thoughts of Hermione to pay any attention to the rest of the world. He really was enthralled by the girl, though many of his friends didn't understand why. They thought she was obnoxious and self-centered which Ron thought wasn't true at all. Sure, at times she can be a little bit of a know-it-all and maybe she prided herself a little too much on her work, but honestly those were the things Ron liked about her. Unlike most girls in the school, Hermione chose books over make-up, pride over Prada. She was also incredibly charitable, always donating or joining some helpful cause. Ron always wanted to tell Hermione what he thought about her. He constantly wanted to shout how he felt about her, but of course he would never get the courage nor gain the chance to do so.

The teacher took out two more pieces of paper from the container. "Ron Weasely and..."

But if Ron did ever get the chance to confess his feelings for Hermione, he would do it in a heartbeat.

The pink aura once again surrounded Harry's hand. As he raised his it slightly he was happy that the teacher had placed him in the back, away from student eyes. It would be terrible if one of the humans saw what he was about to do. The pink aura suddenly shot from his finger and flew into the air like a strike of lightening. The spell was too fast for the humans to see, but slow enough for Harry's cupid eyes to see that it had landed on its target: the piece of paper the teacher was currently holding.

"Zaki-" The teacher adjusted her eyes. She could have sworn only seconds ago that the paper read Zakir Brown. "Um, I'm sorry. What I meant to say was Hermione Granger. Ron Weasely and Hermione Granger."

Ron quickly snapped out of his mindless daydreaming when he heard his name being called. "What?"

Dean leaned over in his chair until he was close enough to whispered in the redhead's ear, "Aren't you the lucky one. You'll get to work with Hermione. Maybe now she'll realize you exist."

Ron looked back at Dean looking both terrified and confused. "What!"

"Mate, weren't you paying attention. You're partners with, Hermione. Look here she comes now." Dean pointed at the the wavy, brown-haired girl who was slowly making her way over to Ron.

The color from Ron's face completely disappeared. He felt his palms beginning to sweat as his throat seem to get drier and drier with each step Hermione took towards him. When she was close enough for Ron to see the chocolate coloring of her eyes the redhead could have sworn he felt his heart stopped.

"Hi, I don't believe we met before. I'm Hermione Granger and you are?"

"Hi, Ron. I'm Hermione." Ron felt his cheeks turn bright red once he realized what he said. "No! I mean..."

Ron watched as Hermione laughed. As he listened he quickly felt the little self-confidence he had leave his body. The redhead couldn't believe it. Not in all his years of high school had he ever been partners with Hermione. Heck, he'd never even had to switch papers with the girl. Now suddenly out of nowhere he had to spend days working on a school project with a person he had a crush on for six years. This had to be fate playing some type of sick joke.

Harry smiled at his achievement. He had successfully switched the names on the pieces of paper just so Ron and Hermione could work together. This would at least give the two a chance to learn more about one another. Though, as Harry watched Ron twitch and stutter just from being in Hermione's presences, the cupid knew it would take much more on his part to get the two to come together as a couple.

Draco turned towards Harry. "Don't get to proud of yourself, Potter. Remember, I allowed you to make that move."

Harry sighed, "Wow, you really can't let me have a single moment of victory. It's like you need to dominate everything."

A mischievous smirk, one suited for a demon, suddenly appeared on Draco's face, "Not everything, Potter."

Harry couldn't fight back the heat that suddenly took over his face. He wondered if Draco knew just how sexual those words had sounded leaving his mouth. If Harry didn't know any better he would say Draco was hitting on him. Of course the cupid knew it was just the blonde's attempt at getting under his skin. "Fine, Draco. You gave me that one. Just remember that after this class we stay as far away from each other as possible, agreed?"

Draco nodded, "Agreed."

"Dean Thomas and Cho Chang." The teacher set the now empty container back on her desk before turning to Harry and Draco. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy because you two are new, I wasn't able to assigned you partners. You two already know each other and I think it would be best if you just work together, okay?"

The two males turned to each other, their heated stares hot enough to burn a hole through the wall.