Rating: PG (might be PG-13 in later chaps)
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Summary: Draco is running an undercover business operation at Hogwarts and Harry is about to find out…
Disclaimer: I still own nothing. I'm not even sure I own me at this point.
A/N: Here is the next chapter, in which we find out how their friendship came to be. Enjoy and please review!
Chapter Three: The Golden Trio, They're Not
The year before, unbeknownst to the rest of the school, Ginny had befriended Blaise and Draco. Ginny had been going through what seemed to be an impossible situation, and Blaise had been there to help. It seemed that Seamus had no interest in the opposite sex and Dean did. Unfortunately, Dean was who Seamus was interested in. And poor Ginny got stuck in the middle. Dean wanted to date her and Seamus wanted Dean, though he refused to say anything. Reluctantly, Ginny dated Dean while trying to console Seamus. Eventually, Seamus decided to look elsewhere, specifically one Hufflepuff by the name of Justin. As he pursued his new interest, Dean woke up. One day he went up to Ginny and broke it off with her, explaining his problem. He had no interest in girls, but did have an interest in a certain Irish boy who could never possibly want him in return. Now Ginny was really stuck. Fortunately, she had some help. It seemed that Blaise, being the sly, cunning Slytherin he was, had noticed the situation as it had played out. So one day he approached Ginny and told her he knew.
"Weasley." he called to her as she came out of transfiguration. "Come here."
Ginny rolled her eyes and moved her hand to her wand, just in case. "What do you want Zabini?" she asked, wondering where this was going.
"I know." he replied simply, causing Ginny to look at him in confusion.
"Know what?" she asked.
Blaise smirked and walked over. "I know all about the Leprechaun and your ex." he leaned in and whispered.
Ginny's eyes went wide. "How?"
"I have my ways." he said cryptically.
"Fine." Ginny sighed. "What do you want?"
Blaise laughed. "Nothing of value, I assure you. I simply have a proposition for you."
This intrigued Ginny. "Go on."
"Well, I want to get them together." he said, and then rephrased it. "Draco wants to get them together."
Ginny looked shocked. "Are we talking about the same person? Draco Malfoy?"
Blaise nodded. "Yes, the very same."
"The amazing bouncing ferret?" she clarified.
"Sure, if you like." he answered casually.
"Oh." she finally said, not sure what else to say. Then she added, "But why?"
Here Blaise grinned, and then looked around to make sure no one could overhear. "Not many people know this, so don't go spreading it around, but Draco likes to play matchmaker."
"Really?" Ginny asked, a grin on her own face. "Is he any good?"
"Very." he verified. "You remember that incident last year, around Christmas?" he asked.
"You mean the one with the head boy and head girl?" she checked.
Blaise looked smug. "The very same."
"People were talking about that for ages!" she exclaimed. "Nobody ever thought a Gryffindor and a Slytherin would get together. Especially not two that hated each other as much as those two."
"Draco did." Blaise boasted.
"You're right." she conceded. "He is good." she then thought for a moment before adding, "Alright Zabini, you have yourself a deal!"
Over the course of the year, the three worked together to set Dean and Seamus up. Although they did not realize it, they were quickly becoming friends. Blaise and Draco found that not all Gryffindors were what completely obnoxious. Especially not Ginny. And Ginny realized that not all Slytherins were bad. Well, not evil at any rate. Blaise could actually be nice. Draco, while not necessarily nice, was not the slime everyone thought. That was not to say he did could not be a git on most occassions. The three found they could count on each other. And it was nice.
And then it finally happened one morning over breakfast as the students were nearing the last month of the term.
Seamus was talking with Terry Boot over at the Ravenclaw table. It seemed the thing with Justin had not worked out. Dean was glaring daggers at Terry at the Ravenclaw table. It seemed that Dean was very jealous.
Ginny glanced over at the Slytherin table and connected glances with Blaise, who gave a slight nod. It was too late to turn back now. Getting up, Ginny walked away from the Gryffindor table and went to leave the Great Hall, knowing that Draco was set to make his entrance any minute.
Walking into the Great Hall, Draco knew what he had to do. He walked right into Ginny, making sure they were located near Dean for this performance. "Watch where you're going Weasley." he said with a sneer.
Ginny glared in return. "Me? Why don't you watch where you're going Malfoy? This is all your fault!"
"Take that back Weaselette." Draco demanded, knowing his moment was coming up.
"I don't think so, Malfoy." she stated, holding her ground.
Draco then took out his wand and pointed it at her, gaining the attention of the entire hall. "I think so." he said with a smirk. "Who's going to stop me? Your boyfriend? Oh, that's right, he broke up with you because he's queer." he said with distaste, secretly hoping this performance was not going to get him killed.
Ginny noticed the entire hall switch their attention to Dean. Looking over herself, she saw that he looked horrified. She then looked over to Seamus and saw him seething. 'It's working.' she thought to herself.
"Malfoy!" Seamus finally yelled, sending everyone's attention his way.
"Yes?" Draco drawled lazily.
Seamus jumped up and stormed over to him. "Leave Dean alone." he hissed, getting right in his face.
"Why should I?" Draco questioned, now fearing for his life.
"Because if you don't you'll have to answer to me." was his reply. He then went over to Dean, who was looking at him in awe.
"You alright?" he asked, obviously concerned.
Dean could only nod. Then, after a moment, he managed to speak. "Why?" he asked.
"Because." Seamus said, as though that explained it. Then he added, "Because of this." At that point, he leaned in and kissed Dean, causing the Great Hall to break out in cheers.
Ginny saw the whole thing and smiled. She then looked over at Blaise, who gave her the thumbs up. Now it was time for them to finish the act so that the student population did not try to skin Draco alive. "Good job Malfoy." she said, sounding reluctant.
"What?!" Ron, and a few other Gryffindors, practically screeched.
"Oh, didn't you know?" she asked innocently. "What Malfoy said up there was an act."
"Why?" Seamus asked. The two had stopped kissing when they heard her compliment.
Ginny laughed. "I've been trying to set these two up for a long time now. Malfoy here helped."
Ron's mouth dropped open. "This git actually helped? Now I've seen everything."
Draco glared at him. "I'm a Slytherin. Slytherins do not help, they hinder." he clarified. "And Weaselette here blackmailed me." he quickly added.
The Gryffindors all started to laugh. "What'd you get on him Ginny?" Seamus asked between laughs.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked with an evil grin.
At that moment, Harry entered the Great Hall. Walking towards the Gryffindor table, he realized he had missed something pretty important. "Um, guys? What'd I miss?" he asked, taking a seat next to Ron.
Hermione finally looked up from her reading. "Seamus and Dean got together." she replied casually.
"Oh." Harry replied. Then, "Seamus and Dean?" he asked, eyes going wide.
Ron and Hermione looked at him incredulously. "Oh, come on Harry! It was so obvious!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Yeah, even I saw it coming." Ron added.
"And Weasel here is as dense as they come." Draco remarked before sizing Harry up. "I wonder what that makes you, Potter?" he inquired.
Ron glared. "Not helping Malfoy."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Uh, hello? What did I just say? We don't help, we hinder. Hinder." he emphasized. "Now I know for you Gryffindors that must be confusing, seeing as they both start with an H, but it's really quite simple. Just take the concept of 'help' and turn it around. Then you might have something."
"Fine, then go hinder somewhere else." Ron suggested, shooing him away. "Like the library. I hear there are some Ravenclaws there that hate being disturbed."
"I think you finally got it Weasel." Draco replied with a smirk, walking away from the group and heading towards the Slytherins.
Ron shook his head. "I hate that git!"
OOOOO
Blaise sighed as he thought back to that day. He had known that nothing would change between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. That was pretty much a given. However, he was surprised to find that his friendship with Ginny had continued. Even more surprising was that Ginny and Draco were still getting along. A grin formed on his face as he thought back to that night...
"So is this it?" Ginny had asked. They were meeting in their usual meeting place, the Room of Requirement, one last time before parting ways. "Do we go back to how things were?"
Blaise shrugged. "I don't know. Draco?"
Draco tried to appear as though he did not care. "It doesn't matter to me one way or the other."
"Well, I had fun. And I'm not sure I want to go back to hating you two." she honestly replied.
"I know what you mean." Blaise agreed. "What we did out there, it was fun."
They both looked at Draco to see if he was going to say anything. After several moments he sighed. "I suppose."
"Draco." Blaise chastised.
"Fine." Draco said in surrender, an actual smile on his face. "It was fun. It's always nice when a good plan comes together."
Ginny laughed. "Did Draco Malfoy just say nice?" she teased.
"Yes." Draco admitted. "But that never leaves this room, understood?" he warned.
"I doubt anyone would believe me anyway." Ginny replied with a smile.
Blaise looked at them questioningly. "Does this mean what I think it means?" he asked.
"I'd say so. Draco?" Ginny asked, already knowing his answer.
Draco smirked. "I don't see how you'll get by without me, seeing as I'm the brains of this operation."
Blaise grinned. "Oh, we'd manage."
"But we're glad you decided to join us." Ginny finished, also smiling.
"Just remember, nobody knows about this." Draco warned. "I do have a reputation to uphold."
"Of course." Blaise remarked. "Can't let people think you're soft."
"Exactly." Draco said, crossing his arms with a grin.
The three had met once a week for the remainder of the school year to discuss who they were going to set up next, and just enjoying each other's company.
"Hey Blaise. What you thinking about?" Ginny asked, suddenly appearing next to him.
Blaise snapped out of his reverie. "Just remembering the time we set up Dean and Seamus." he replied, a small smile on his face.
Ginny returned it. "I remember that." she said fondly. "That was just last year. I wonder if that has something to do with why Draco asked us to meet him down here."
"Who knows? I hope he shows soon, though. Breakfast will be ending soon and we have potions next." he said, noticing the time.
"And we know Professor Snape can't have that." a voice drawled. from behind them.
Turning around, they saw Draco. "So, what was so important that you owled us last night?" Ginny asked inquiringly.
Draco's eyes sparkled. "I have a plan that you won't believe."
A/N: Just so we're all clear, this was more of a flashback/background chapter. Where we leave off with Draco catches us up to where he was meeting with Blasie and Ginny in the first chapter. Ok, now that the confusion is hopefully cleared, please review so I know what you thought and if I should continue this fic.
Also, thanks to SpiderLily for the review! It was greatly appreciated and made me feel happy inside. As to the polyjuice, you'll have to wait and see :)