DISCLAIMER: I do not have any ownership rights over Harry Potter, Miss Congeniality or any of the beauty pageants mentioned (Miss Universe etc) other then Miss Magick. If I did, then I would buy a house, airplane ticket and travel around the world.

THANKS: to ereos, wasu, Nymphie07, Justice's Quill, sweet-tart33, CKLCKL, cosmopolitan and Angelwendy for reviewing my last chapter (keep em coming guys!) and the people who added me to their fav author/story/story alert.

I got the inspiration for Miss Magick while watching Miss Congeniality, as my reviewers have pointed out :)

CHAPTER 2: Undercover at Miss Magick

'Harry- wait!'

Harry Potter turned around to see Hermione run frantically towards him, her hair flying behind her, as she dodged oncoming Auror's as though she was in a rugby match trying to score.

'What's wrong 'Mione?'

'I've figured it out!' she replied, her face bright, as she waved a piece of parchment in front of Harry's face. 'It's so logical that it's brilliant! It's like in first year, with Snape-' she stopped at the look on Harry's face; the final moments of Snape's life clearly coming back to his mind. '- oh, well, during mathematics at muggle primary school, they teach you about…'

'Shouldn't you be at a desk, Granger' Hermione's face dropped at Ernie's comment, and she gave the piece of parchment that she had previously been waving in Harry's face to Harry before walking away.

'I don't want to sound rude, Ernie. But that was really…'

'We've intercepted an anonymous letter which was intended to be delivered to Gregory Goyle this morning, in the same paper as the parcel that Goyle had during the raid, hinting at where the next attack might be. It's-'

'The Miss Magick pageant?' Harry suggested, reading Hermione's neat scrawl on the parchment that she had given him.

'What?' Ernie stood beside Harry to read what Hermione had written.

The numbers 41 and 23 (in the first line), 67 and 67 (second line), 41 and 2 (third line), 17 (fourth line), and 23 and 5 in the final line were all circled with black ink. Underneath, Hermione had written out the English alphabet above the numbers. Ernie pointed at the numbers and said, 'they're not from one to twenty-eight. This is very-'

'Logical,' Harry interrupted. 'If they were from one to twenty-eight then the code wouldn't work' he glanced at Ernie's confused face. 'The numbers that are circled are prime numbers. The other numbers are just random digits that are just there to confuse people…'

'So using this code' Ernie motioned towards the parchment. 'The next attack will most likely be at the Miss Magick pageant' Harry nodded solemnly. 'Yes, well, that's what the letter hinted at also. We'll have to get the other Auror's involved immediately. I'll organise a meeting in ten minutes and we can decide what our plan of action will be then. Good job Harry! I knew that I could count on you to decipher the code…'

'Hermione' Harry said.

'What?'

'Hermione deciphered the code'

Ernie just looked at Harry before mumbling 'ten minutes' and walking away.

'All Auror's are to report to the conference room immediately'

Ernie's voice was magnified ten times his normal volume, and more noise followed this announcement as 'pop' sounds echoed throughout the Ministry of Magic. The Auror's that disappeared apparated inside the main conference room in the Auror unit.

Harry Potter was standing at the podium at the front of the room, watching as more and more Auror's filled up the hall. His eyes landed on Hermione's, who was sitting at a side-table near the front of the room (where she had been relocated after the mission. Her office was now being used by another Auror) and he winked at her. A small smile appeared on her face as she went back to doing her paperwork.

Once the last Auror on duty had apparated into the room, Harry distributed copies of the code that Hermione had made. He also gave Hermione one, and Harry chuckled gently as he saw realisation dawn on her when she recognised what the copy was of. At the top of the parchment that he had given her, Harry had written good job and then his writing faded. Hermione was about to put it down when she saw Harry's writing reappear; this time she read you will be involved in this mission, regardless of what Ernie says…

Silence fell on the room as Harry re-established himself at the podium, and began to address his colleagues.

'As all of you should know, on Sunday night a team of Auror's including myself conducted a raid-' behind him, Harry projected an image of the note. '- in front of you is the code that was found; solved by Miss Hermione Granger.'

Parchment ruffled loudly as the Auror's looked over their copies of the code. Harry went on to describe how the code was discovered, and then allowed the other Auror's to give their suggestions on what should happen.

'I think that all of the Auror's should go there to protect the contestants'

'I'm sure the lovely ladies wont mind!'

Anthony Dinnege and Scott Harper, the Auror's that had offered their suggestions, gave each other a high five.

'Actually, I'm sure that the contestants would mind as the majority of Auror's in this unit are men. I believe that it would be more beneficial for all parties involved if…'

'You could lose you voice, Granger?' Harper suggested, looking a bit down trodden that both his and Dinnege's suggestions were shot down by Hermione.

'That was uncalled for Harper' Harry intervened. 'Apologise to Hermione'.

'You're joking, right?' Harper questioned, earning himself a scowl from Harry.

'It's alright, Harry' Hermione gently told him. 'He just proved my point- if the contestants were surrounded by heaps of Auror's like Harper then I doubt that they would cooperate with us' at this, Harper looked dumbstruck, and most of the Auror's were exclaiming 'ooh's and 'ouch's. 'But, as I was saying before I was interrupted, we should contact the organisers of the pageant as we will definitely need their cooperation at some stage'

'Good idea, 'Mione. Let's begin with that…'

'Hold on a minute Harry' Ernie interrupted. 'You should organise a team for this mission first…'

'Shouldn't we have a plan before teams are organised?' Hermione asked.

'Miss Granger…' Ernie warned.

'I know, I know- paperwork…'

'Actually, I agree with Hermione' Harry stated.

'Of course you do' Ernie mumbled, taking a seat in the front row. Harry ignored him, but Hermione was fuming. Harry then asked the crowd of Auror's:

'Does anyone know anything about the Miss Magick pageant?'

The room was silent, before an explosion of explanations answered his question.

'Witches from around the world-'

'- Very exotic-'

'- sexy women in bikinis!'

Hermione was growing uncomfortable at the male Auror's comments, mainly due to the fact that she was the only one of seven female Auror's on duty at the Ministry of Magic London Auror Unit.

'I meant, does anyone know about the actual event and organisation that runs it?' Harry explained. No one offered any answers to these questions, although Harry could tell that Hermione was struggling to prevent herself from answering him. 'Right- Harper and Dinnege- you can do both do some research on the organisation. Get as much information on it and the companies manager as you can. You have fifteen minutes and then I want you back here' Harper and Dinnege left. 'Finnegan- you can do some research on the event. I trust that you won't spend your time looking up previous winners of the pageant. Just a brief outline of the schedule and the time duration would be fine. Fifteen minutes'. Seamus left with a 'pop'. 'Yes Hermione?'

Hermione looked up from her paperwork quizzingly, 'sorry?'

'You know something about the pageant, don't you? If you would please offer-' Ernie attempted to say something, but Harry silenced him with a glare. '- your comments would be most appreciated'.

Harry motioned for Hermione to stand beside him on the podium, which she did albeit hesitantly.

'Well, I've read that the Miss Magick pageant has been running since the medieval ages; in fact, Rowena Ravenclaw who is one of the founders of Hogwarts was the first winner of the pageant. The actual pageant has been organised through a family company and has been passed down from generation to generation. The competition is similar to the muggle beauty pageants, such as Miss Britain, Miss World, and Miss Universe; however, the Wizarding Worlds version is called 'Miss Magick'- due to obvious reasons. The major differences between the muggle versions and wizarding versions is that magic is involved, and the witches who wish to compete and represent their country don't have to compete in a pageant prior to Miss Magick to get a place in this pageant. They just have to send a virtual entry form, statement of intention (for entering) and photographs of themselves to the manager of the competition. The manager will then select the contestants who will represent their country and attempt to be crowned Miss Magick-' Hermione was interrupted by Ernie.

'Who is the manager of the company?' he asked.

'I'm not sure. All that I know is that the company that runs the pageant is family owned and has been passed down for generations. I have come up with a few assumptions on the family; I believe that they are pureblood, wealthy- as they obviously own their own company-'

'Which is called Malfoy Enterprises' Harper stated from the doorway, cradling a stack of parchment. Dinnege was behind him, also holding quite a stack of notes.

'Malfoy? As in Draco Malfoy?' Hermione asked, not completely shocked. Dinnege nodded.

'Malfoy Enterprises' Harry repeated slowly. 'Since when did Malfoy get his own company?'

'Since his father died in Azkaban just over a year ago' Dinnege read from a piece of parchment. Harper and Dinnege placed their piles of information on Hermione's desk, causing her neatly stacked paperwork to become messed up, and nearly making her yell at them for their carelessness. Harry seemed to sense this and patted her back comfortingly.

'What do we know about the company?' Harry enquired, trying to calm Hermione.

'Malfoy Inc. controls over 90 of the wizarding world's media, as well as a chain of book, wand and magical equipment stores. There have also been assumptions that the Malfoy's were heavily involved in the Dark Arts-' ('That's not an assumption- that's a fact' Hermione whispered so only Harry could hear her, causing him to softly chuckle). '- and owns a series of Dark Arts stores, although there have been no solid evidence of this. Draco Malfoy himself is…'

'A great big git!' a voice contributed from the doorway.

'Ron!' Harry exclaimed, rushing to his mate's side, as did all of the other Auror's. Except Hermione. She looked at Ron's pale and skinny body, and felt her guilt overwhelm her.

She watched as the Auror's patted Ron's back and talked animatedly to him.

Hermione walked over to her desk, gathering her paperwork, before looking at Ron again. He caught her eye and a smile appeared on his freckled face as he brushed aside the other Auror's and started making his way over to his girlfriend.

But his smile faded as he saw Hermione shake her head in an attempt to hide her tears, before she mouthed 'I'm sorry' and disapparated.

PUNCH PUNCH KICK JUMP KICK

The punching bag in Hermione's flat was getting another thrashing.

KICK PUNCH PUNCH ELBOW

'I just avoided my boyfriend- who actually had risk his life for mine- and I repay him by ignoring him. Great girlfriend I am…'

PUNCH PUNCH KICK KICK

'Maybe I'm not meant to be someone's girlfriend. Maybe I'm meant to grow old, grey and alone…like a spinster… I can't believe that Malfoy owns his own company!'

Kicking the bag one last time, Hermione walked into her lounge room and plonked onto her couch, turning on the television with her wand. Like most muggle equipment, the television had slowly made its' way into wizard society; Hermione preferred it to the wizard version (when the show plays over a qualfle sized ball as a hologram), especially after she had left it on when she had been working in the lounge room and fell asleep, waking up to a strange holograph of a man wondering around her lounge room.

'Malfoy is in control of 90 of the Wizarding Worlds media' she remembered Dinnege saying, as she channel surfed.

She stopped at channel 1045 (passing 1044 channels of pure crap).

A jingle had just come on the channel, with four beautiful witches in robes cooing "Miss Magick" and prancing around in their quite-tight robes, which was followed by a male announcer's deep and quite sexy voice:

'For generations, the Miss Magick pageant has fascinated wizards and witches worldwide- and this year will be no different. Now under the management of Draco Malfoy; a trained mediwizard and graduate of the top wizarding university "Scholar Wizards" in Britain, Mr Malfoy is also a prominent businessman who is in control of a series of successful franchises' a person with platinum blonde hair then appeared on screen, the witches nearly falling over the hems of their robes as they tried to get closer to him.

"But that's enough about me" Draco Malfoy said jokingly, flashing a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "I'm here to inform you about the-"

"Miss Magick" the girls jingled.

"-pageant. That was lovely ladies," he said to the witches causing them to blush. "The entrants are in and the countries representatives will be known next Saturday when Miss Magick commences". Shooting flames created patterns in the sky behind Malfoy.

'Fireworks?' Hermione noted, as she watched the muggle invention fade behind her old school enemy.

"This year, Miss Magick is set to be bigger and better then ever before, with the winner being crowned at a secret location in Scotland- a place close to my heart. So to witness this once in a lifetime event" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Send a request to Malfoy Enterprises by owl post, and one of my friendly staff will respond to your mail with more information. But be quick as these tickets are sure to sell out fast"

Hermione wondered where exactly the finale would be held. Somewhere close to Malfoy's heart? Does he even have a heart?...

"However, if you miss out on getting tickets to the finale there's no need to fret, as you can always attend one of the semi-finals or watch the event which will be broadcast on all of Wiz TV's entertainment channels. So you will not miss out on seeing which witch will be crowned…"

"Miss Magick!" the girls gave one last speal before a light flashed on screen, leaving the four witches wearing nothing but bikinis and stilettos.

'Very tasteful Malfoy' Hermione remarked as the commercial finished. 'I don't know who honestly enjoys watching witches prance around with barely any clothes on, who have fluff for brains'… although one red-haired Auror came to mind…

Hermione shook her head before commencing her homework. She spent one hour, then two hours going over her paperwork but, occasionally, would glance at her television when the Miss Magick commercial would come back on.

Hermione was, once again, sitting at her desk and working her way through a new stack of paperwork from Ernie that just happened to materialise overnight, while ignoring Harry and the other Auror's who watched as he went through a list of female Auror's on the Ministry of Magic Auror Department (MoMAD) database.

The day before, after Hermione had left the building, Harry had thought up a plan; to send a female Auror undercover in the Miss Magick pageant. Ernie agreed.

Now, Harry was sitting beside Hermione and using her computer in an attempt to find a suitable candidate; but with only six female Auror's to choose from (as Hermione wasn't allowed on the mission) Harry struggled to find who he was looking for.

"Wow" Harper whispered behind Hermione, as a witch with blonde hair, big boobs and a thin waist appeared on screen in a 'uniform' that she had used on her previous mission. Hot pants and a crop top, complete with six-inch heels.

Harry shook his head.

"What" Harper asked. "She's perfect!"

"Yeah, and pregnant" Harry replied. Hazard of the mission, going undercover? Hermione wondered, as Harper became silent.

"Hiya everyone" Ron greeted, apparating beside Harry. "I need to talk to Hermione and Harry. Alone" Ron's appeal was met by grumbles.

"Now!" Harry's commanded; this was followed by movement- albeit reluctant- from his team. "Watch this mate" Harry said as he clicked on a name which made a photo of Ernie in his Auror uniform appear on the computer screen. Another button was pressed and Ernie was wearing a bikini, causing Harry and Ron to double over with laughter.

Hermione let a small giggle escape her lips but, as she looked at Ernie's photo, she felt like he was once again accusing her of causing trouble.

"I'm so sorry Ron" she suddenly exclaimed.

"Mione…" Ron stopped his laughter at once and attempted to hug her but she just shook her head.

"It's all my fault" she continued. "I should not have put you at risk. I should have just followed orders. I do not know what I would have done…" tears were falling freely down her face.

"Mione" Ron hugged her and kissed her briefly on the lips. "It's not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it is Ernie- he should've stepped in earlier. And, just so you know, I also disobeyed orders. I refused to listen to Ernie when he told me not to help you- you're my girlfriend and one of my best friends and there is no way in Hades that I would let you face big hairy men alone!"

"But…"

"We don't blame you for your actions Mione, and neither should you" Harry contributed, also joining in the hug. "I would've done the same thing if Ernie wasn't breathing down my neck".

Hermione broke down in tears again. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes!" both Ron and Harry all but shouted. Hermione smiled before pulling them both in a tighter embrace, and placing a folded piece of parchment in Ron's pant pocket, which he felt as her hand touch his thigh. Ron looked at her questionably, but any queries were prevented by another person joining the trio.

"What's going on here?" Ernie asked, appearing beside the trio. Harry quickly had to click on another name to get rid of the incriminating photo of Ernie in a bikini. "Have you found anyone to go undercover yet? We're running out of … who's that?"

A beautiful woman with thick brown wavy hair and chocolate eyes appeared on screen. She was wearing a simple yet elegant strapless dress that was black and fell just below her knees. Her neck was adorned with a long silver necklace; while on her feet were silver stilettos.

"Previous undercover assignment: socialite" Harry read from the screen. Hermione shifted awkwardly as Ernie peered over her shoulder to get a closer look at the woman on the computer.

"She's perfect" Ernie said, "When did she last go undercover?"

"Five months ago when she first became an Auror" Harry replied, hiding a grin.

"Excellent. Bring her in" Ernie said, about to disapparate. "Send in…err- what's her name?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other with smirks on their faces, while Hermione pretended to read a piece of parchment, unconsciously holding it just as Luna Lovegood had done in the carriage ride during their fifth year at school. (The parchment was upside down.)

"Hermione Granger".