Note: Muggle/Modern!AU, Canon Divergence

Pansy looked around the brightly lit pub as the MC described the rules of the night. The men were standing against the wall, all of them looking at Pansy and the other women that were seated at the tables.

"Remember fellas, you only have three minutes to make a lasting impression on these women!" the MC said.

Drumming her nails on the table, Pansy contemplated whether she was going to stay put and play along with this speed dating madness or leave the pub and strangle her friend for signing her up for this rubbish.

She glanced over at the men again, grimacing when she saw that one of them had sweat stains on their shirt. Disgusting.

She then looked at the timer displayed on the wall. Three minutes. She could do this. She'd survived boutique sales crazier than this.

"Ladies get ready!" the MC announced. "A night of mingling awaits!"

Pansy ran a hand through her hair. All she had to do was smile and nod. She watched as the MC held up three fingers, dropping them as he counted down to the game beginning.

"Begin!"

Pansy took a deep breath as the men on the wall moved around the room, finding empty seats across the other women. Her attention was shifted when a burly guy took a seat across from her. He had a faded haircut, his cheeks puffy from the finger foods he'd grabbed at the bar.

"I'm Vincent," he greeted, but it sounded more like gibberish with all the food in his mouth.

Pansy couldn't hide her sneer of disgust. "You can talk after eating," she said.

He nodded dumbly, and Pansy tried to appear pleasant as she waited…and waited…and waited.

"Switch!"

Vincent had taken the entire three minutes to eat his food.

She gave Vincent a half-ass wave as he stood up to go to another table. As soon as Vincent was out of Pansy's sight, she ran a hand through her hair again, effectively ruining it. At that point, she didn't care. She hoped the next guy wouldn't be as inconsiderate as he was.

When a blond man took the seat that Vincent previously occupied, Pansy looked him over appreciatively. He was dressed nice, had striking blue eyes and a charming smile, but it wasn't fooling anyone. Pansy's had her fair share of prats to know that he was full of himself.

"What's your name, gorgeous?" he asked.

"Pansy," she replied, perching her chin on her hand. "And you are?"

"Cormac McLaggen. I'm sure you've heard of me."

Pansy shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

He made a strangled noise from his throat, but he tried masking it with a chuckle. "You must not get out much, sweetheart. I'm one of the top football players England has ever seen!"

"Mmm…" She tilted her head. "I've never heard of you."

It was a mistake to say because Cormac took the last bit of time talking about himself and his success. Pansy should have ordered a double shot of something on the rocks if this was all she had to look forward to tonight.

"Switch!"

Cormac raised a finger as if attempting to stay with her longer. Pansy shook her head quickly and snapped her fingers.

"Rules are rules," she reminded him.

Cormac stood up with a shrug and a wink. "Your loss."

She returned the wink with a glare. If the next guy that sat in that chair was an arse, Pansy was leaving. She crossed her legs and drummed her nails on the table again when a redhead sat across from her.

He looked down at the table sheepishly, his hair falling into his eyes a bit as he did so. Pansy thought it looked dorkish and adorable.

She snapped her fingers in his face, and their eyes locked.

"S-Sorry," he said. "I don't normally do this kind of thing…I'm R-Ron."

Pansy raised an eyebrow at him. He seemed more out of place than she did.

"Why are you here then?" she asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "My best mate thinks I should get out more," he confessed in a mumble. "Says I can't spend the rest of my life beating other blokes in chess."

"Maybe it takes a woman to beat you in the game."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Perhaps."

He grinned, and the conversation continued. Time flew way too fast.

"Switch!"

Pansy grabbed Ron's his wrist before he left. She wanted to break the rules now.

A/N: Written for The Houses Competition

House: Gryffindor; Year/Position: Year 4; Category: Drabble (200-750); Prompt: [action] speed dating

Word Count: 747