I own nothing, but the plot!

He was searching the house for his father. His hands were shaking because he was afraid that his father had raced off again. When he opened the drawing room doors, his fears were alleviated.

He placed a blanket over his father, who had fallen drunkenly to sleep on the room's floor. His father gave a thunderous snore in appreciation.

"How am I supposed to bring a wife into this situation?" He muttered aloud when he stopped to lean heavily against the doorframe on the opposite side of the room.

A series of knocks on the manor's door echoed loudly down the hallway. He quickly closed the room's door before the sound woke his father. He walked at a quick pace toward the door as the tea towel wearing house-elf opened the manor's front door.

Blaise Zabini swept into the entryway after the house-elf stepped to the side. "This is not good. This arranged wedding business is no good! What is the bloody Ministry playing at?"

"I take it that you have opened your letter from the Ministry. Is it as amazing as we suspected?" He asked dryly earning an obscene gesture from Blaise. "Who are you going to wed in holy matrimony?"

Blaise threw the offending letter at his friend, "I am being forced to marry a Patil twin. Pavarti Patil to be exact. She is not even the good looking Patil twin!"

"How can you say that?" He answered his friend. "Those two gals are identical. The only way we could tell them apart was their House Crests on their robes."

"Pavarti was a Gryffindor! I have to marry a Gryffindor!" Blaise spat back. His friend shook with quiet laughter. Blaise shot another obscene gesture his friend's direction as they started walking down the hall to the kitchen. "Well, who did you get?"

"I do not know yet. My owl has not come." The house-elf was putting together a tray of tea and scones for the two men. "Maybe I will not have to participate."

Seconds later, a Ministry Owl soared through the kitchen window. Blaise snatched the letter from the air before his friend could catch it. Blaise opened it quickly. "Well, at least you will have a smart one."

"What? What are you going on about?"

"It looks like we will be in-laws." Blaise said waving the parchment around with a smile. "Should we go to the memorial and celebration at Hogwart's to introduce ourselves?"

"You really are a masochist, Blaise Zabini!"

Blaise was convinced not to go bother their intendeds at Hogwart's, but in turn convinced his friend to head to Diagon Alley while the two finished their late breakfast. The two Slytherins were strolling down the busy shopping street earning many glances just because of their associations to Voldemort through Draco Malfoy.

Blaise pulled his friend into a non-judgmental apothecary. Thousands of potion ingredients lined the walls, sat in aged oak barrels around the floor, and dried grains and grasses hanging from the ceiling. Blaise started making his way around the room gathering this and that for his mother's special potion. A scoop of lace wing flies slid into a bag while three banana slugs slithered into a breathable glass jar.

"You own me a great deal of favors for this!" Blaise muttered as he placed the lid carefully on the banana slug jar. "I hate these little buggers, especially touching them! They are pricey being flown in from the other side of the states, California."

"I will cut them for you." His friend responded with a smirk.

"I do not need them cut." Blaise explained. "I need three days of three banana slugs' secretions collected. It is very gross business."

"I will help with that."

Blaise slapped his friend on the back. "Thanks, mate. I just need a few more items before we can leave. I have a need for some of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream."

His friend headed over to the shop's window to gage the crowd outside. "That might be a bad idea, mate. Potter and the Weasley's are searching the alley. It is probably a good idea to floo straight to your place from the shop."

DuckiBelle