Hermione

I can't believe that arrogant arse! He insulted me all through school, he watched me tortured under the Cruciatus curse, he switched sides about a thousand times in that final battle at Hogwarts, and he wanders in here expecting me to employ him? Granger Advice Service is all about helping people, and we have a reputation of trustworthiness and fairness to uphold. We don't need self-centred, entitled people like him.

I must stop dwelling on Draco Malfoy and his insufferable, conceited, ferrety face.

Now, I need some more details on the Smiths' case…

I got caught up in work and was late to meet Ron. He wasn't best pleased; I believe his exact words were: "You need to stop thinking your time is more important than anyone else's."

Which isn't quite fair, since I make better use of my time than most people. But I have kept him waiting quite often lately.

Still, I had made us miss our reservation, so we ventured into muggle London to find a pub away from the prying eyes of the Wizarding public. Rita Skeeter finally registered as an Animagus, back amidst all the confusion after the defeat of Voldemort. I expect she worked out that if I reveal that she was unregistered for a long time, I could well be in trouble for concealing the crime myself. Just last week she ran an article:

When's the Wedding?

Will Ron and Hermione ever tie the knot? Rita Skeeter reports.

Following the spectacular wedding of Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley earlier this year, eyes have been on the pair's close friends and long-term couple, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ronald is Ginevra's brother, and he and Miss Granger were at our Chosen One's side throughout much of the last war against You-Know-Who. The two reportedly got together sometime around the Final Battle at Hogwarts, just over five years ago.

Hermione, 24, and Ronald, 23, are older than their now-married friends, and have been together for a similar length of time, which begs the question, will they be the next to get hitched? And if not, then why not?

No engagement has been announced yet, nor have there been any indicators: no sneaky jewellery shop visits by Mr Weasley, for instance. We must wonder, perhaps this delay hints at trouble in paradise.

Miss Granger, always top of her class at Hogwarts, spends a great deal of her time at the office – a typical sign and sometimes cause of relationship strain. She runs her own legal agency, Granger Advice Services, better known as GAS. Ronald Weasley has recently left the ranks of the Aurors to run his brother's joke shop, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. This is unlikely to be a career change that his high-flying girlfriend approves of.

Of course, they may simply be keeping an engagement under wraps, to avoid stealing the limelight from the Boy-Who-Lived and his new wife. If that is the case, this reporter thinks they have waited long enough.

It's not especially vitriolic, but nonetheless very irritating in true Skeeter style. I'm not sure if Ron's read it; I hope it doesn't prompt him to do anything stupid. Such as proposing, just because people expect it. Oh goodness, that's just the sort of thing he might do. I think I'll talk to Harry and make sure he discourages Ron if he mentions anything about it.

We ended up having dinner not too far away, at the Shovel and Ship, and the last person I expected or wanted to see was there. Well, he was just leaving actually, supporting a rather inebriated Blaise Zabini. If he hadn't looked so startled when he saw me I'd swear he was up to something.

Wait, this is Malfoy. Of course he's up to something. Trying to work for me, visiting a muggle pub, that is all very suspicious behaviour. I'd better keep an eye on him, just in case.

AN: Reviews encourage the author - whether constructive or complimentary.