Author's Note: New chapter, guys. New chapter!

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"I can't believe Gabrielle didn't even bother to show up," Hermione complained, flipping a pancake and pouring more batter into the skillet. "She could've, at least, sent a letter explaining why she was no longer interested."

"Do you think something happened to her?" Harry asked, squeezing more oranges.

"Fleur would have warned us if that was the case," Ginny said, grabbing plates and cutlery. "Gabrielle's very young, perhaps she was just excited about the novelty and, now that it's gone, she gave up."

"I know, but she sounded so sincere when she told me about the mating feelings she was experiencing!" Hermione exclaimed. "But no Veela would give up the opportunity of meeting its possible mate like she did. Perhaps she was just that good of a liar."

"Don't feel bad." Harry set the juice pitcher on the table, throwing the shells away. "You couldn't have known. She has been living with Veelas every day since she was born. Is not hard to imagine why she is this familiar with their mating habits."

"I don't like feeling fooled, that's all. Fleur is family, Gabrielle should've known better than to play with something as serious as this," Hermione said, flipping more pancakes. "Maybe we should write to her and ask for an explanation."

"Just leave it alone, Hermione," Ginny said. "It's best if we wait and see how she'll behave on this matter. Is not like it makes a huge difference in our lives. I'm not so sure I would've been okay with a girl so young, anyway."

"I gotta agree with Ginny, baby. She is terribly young," Harry pointed out, grabbing some strawberries to chop.

"I know, but who was I to deny a Veela the right to meet her possible mate?" Hermione disputed, carefully placing chocolate chips on top of the pancake batter.

Harry heard somebody landing on the living room floor seconds before Blaise and Pansy walked into the kitchen.

"I brought the vodka," Blaise announced proudly like he always did.

"I'll never understand why you guys have to drink the milkshake with vodka," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"Well, milkshake without alcohol is barely a milkshake at all," Harry answered, grabbing the ice cream from the fridge.

"You clearly haven't been to McDonald's." She disputed.

"Why are we having breakfast so damn early?" Pansy complained, sitting in her usual chair and pouring herself some juice. "This isn't an honest time to be awake on a Sunday."

"We wanted to talk about yesterday, as soon as possible," Ginny explained, placing croissants on the table. "We're anxious."

"Where's Neville and his fatter half, then?" Pansy demanded.

"Good one," Blaise complimented, pouring an obscene amount of vodka into the blender.

"Not if Susan ever hears you," Ginny warned, grabbing four different kinds of jams. "I swear the pregnancy has made her that much more inclined to curse the first person she sees in the morning."

"Which is odd, considering that the baby is Neville's child. He's the most laid-back person I know," Harry interjected.

"Who said is Neville's?" Blaise scoffed, with his back turned, and so, unable to see Susan and Neville walking into the kitchen right in time to catch his question.

"Did you just imply I cheated on my husband?" Susan demanded, hands on her hips and frown already attached to her face.

Blaise froze, probably because he knew how precarious his situation was. Nobody sane wanted to get on the bad side of a pregnant witch.

"Of course not. I just implied that maybe you guys wanted the paternity to be a surprise?" He half asked, half affirmed.

It was a terrible save, very unconvincing under any circumstances, but apparently enough for Susan. She just nodded and sat on the table.

"Oh, croissants!" She dug in happily, spreading peach jam on it without a care.

"That's it?" Neville foolishly questioned. "You're going to accept that answer?"

"Why Neville, I'm a hungry woman," She responded, ignoring the snickers around her. "And I never did affirm the baby was yours. You just kind of assumed," She added, grinning smugly.

"What?" Neville walked forward and sat too. "Who is it then?"

"Who knows? I'm an adventurous woman," She replied, shrugging and making everyone laugh.

"See if I'm getting you more chocolate tonight," Neville threatened, mumbling something under his breath.

"Think of it that way Neville, maybe if the baby isn't yours, it will not have you weird face," Blaise said, very unhelpful. "Hogwarts years will be much easier."

"Fuck off." Neville hit him.

"Ok boys, cut it out," Hermione interrupted, placing the pancakes on the table and sitting next to Harry. "I want to know about yesterday. How did it go for everyone?"

"I have some interesting information to share," Pansy informed, leaning forward and looking ready to spill. "You guys know that Demelza is a half-blood, right? So, while we were talking, I found out that her parents are loaded. Apparently, her father — the muggle one — is the owner of a big electronic company and is filthy rich."

"So?" Hermione asked, frowning. "What difference does that make for us?"

"Think, Granger," Pansy snapped. "If her father is really such a big deal in the muggle world that might attract attention towards her marriage. Their gossiping world is huge, and the wizarding world can't afford that type of in-depth perusal. Especially in a weird situation such as this one."

"I hadn't considered that," Hermione admitted. "And it's true. I don't think we can deal with any more paparazzi than we already do."

"But it would be extremely unfair to not considerate her only because of her background," Ginny protested. "I talked to her for a relatively long time, and she seemed like an interesting person."

"Is it 'cause she's a Quidditch player?" Hermione asked, not impressed.

"Do you really think I'm that shallow?" She responded, equally as unimpressed. "For your information, we talked about travels we had in common."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were shallow," Hermione apologized. "I'm just a little freaked out because I listened to Katie talking to Delmeza about Quidditch for an hour, non-stop!"

"They are players, my love. Of course, they'll want to talk about it with their peers," Harry comforted. "It doesn't mean that's all we'll ever talk about in our house."

"I guess," She conceded.

"How did it go with Flora, Ginny? I saw you two talking," Susan asked, curiosity shining.

"Better than I hoped," The read-head admitted, shrugging. "To be honest, I couldn't see Carrow in her, at all. She seemed like a decent human being and was very apologetic about what we suffered under her father's command. I never blamed her, but it was nice to get an apology nevertheless."

"She talked to me as well," Neville added. "It reminded me of so much I try to forget that, for a moment, I just wanted her to disappear. But, I agree, it was nice to receive some sort of apology. Even though it was never her fault."

"It was terrible seeing her, I have to admit," Harry said, looking at his glass of milkshake. "I couldn't stop associating her with her last name."

Ginny squeezed his hand and rubbed his leg, under the table. He knew she understood what he meant.

"I..." Hermione started, in a rare moment of lack of words. "I ran away from Vasilisa all night."

"Hermione..." Blaise spoke, in his own rare moment of tenderness.

"I know, it's stupid." She continued, not looking up. "I just felt my heart racing every time I saw her coming close. I don't blame her for what happened, not at all, but I just feel like running when she approaches me anyway."

"You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to, Hermione," Harry affirmed.

"I think the question is whether I'll be able to speak with her or not," She explained, rubbing her chest on the place where her scar lay.

"I got to say, Hermione, I'm surprised by that information. I didn't see you running at any time, all I saw was you and Viktor sister practically mooning over each other," Pansy admitted, smiling behind her teacup.

"Yes, I saw it too," Neville agreed, raising his eyebrow. "We were at the same table, and yet, somehow, I got the feeling we weren't having the same conversation."

"I was not mooning over Lisa Krum, that's absurd," Hermione defended herself. "She's just an interesting person, that's all. We spoke about the different legislation regarding the werewolves in Bulgaria and here in Britain. Lisa works at the Bulgarian Ministry."

"Lisa? You are on first name basis already?" Pansy pressed, happy to embarrass Hermione.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that." Although the words came effortlessly out of his girlfriend's mouth, Harry saw the blush rising in her face.

"Should I be worried?" Ginny asked, caught by surprise.

"No!" Hermione denied. "That's ridiculous, we just spoke. I thought we were supposed to mingle?"

"I wouldn't call what you two did mingle," Susan spoke.

"You seemed excited about Krum too, Susan," Harry intervened, passing the honey to her before she could reach forward to get it. "Were you guys talking about your pregnancy? 'Cause I thought that was supposed to be a secret."

"Yes, actually," Susan confessed, rubbing her belly. "I said something about it accidentally, and, after that, we spoke a lot about babies and what we expect for the future. Lisa was very respectful of my wishes and vowed to remain silent about the pregnancy."

"That's sweet of her," Ginny commented, sipping Harry's milkshake like she always did. It was kind of a tradition, Harry would offer her a glass, and she would always refuse it, only to later monopolize his cup.

"What about you, Ginger?" Blaise questioned, throwing a biscuit at her. "Don't think I didn't see you practically on my sister's lap."

"I tripped, you idiot," She answered, grabbing the biscuit mid-air and throwing it back at him. "Don't be a pervert."

"Tripped?" Neville asked, incredulous. "I don't see you doing that very often."

"I was wearing a new pair of heels, geez. Lay off," She complained. "Hermione said I looked sexy wearing them. What is this, the high inquisition?"

"But you were talking to her," Hermione said, bringing the conversation to focus again.

"I was," Ginny confirmed, nodding her head. "I spent most of the night talking to Alessa, Katie, and Delmeza, on the bar, and I have to say something. Delmeza's boobs are so incredible that I had trouble concentrating."

Harry choked on his juice for a second before he began laughing with everybody else. He could always trust Ginny to make such comments.

"I told you she had double D's," Blaise said smugly.

Hermione was beginning to frown, so Harry kicked Ginny under the table and subtly nodded in Hermione's direction.

"I'm just kidding, baby," The read-head rushed to say, leaning forward to kiss their affronted third.

"You are not," Hermione contested, rolling her eyes and relaxing. "But never mind. What did you think of them, other than the great pair of boobs?"

"Please tell me you hated my sister," Blaise whined, still unhappy with his sister's decision.

"Oh, shut up, Blaise!" His wife slapped his arm. "Do grow up."

"Thank you." Hermione was always smiling whenever Blaise was put in his place.

"Actually..." Ginny sounded a little uncertain, and that didn't bode well for anyone. "She's great, but I got the feeling she was excited to be with Harry... Only Harry."

"Did she say that?" Harry demanded, a little angry.

"No!" She rushed to explain. "Of course not. I just got that feeling from the way she spoke."

"I'm not terribly surprised," Blaise admitted. "She only ever dated men, as far as I know. I'm not even certain if she is attracted to women."

"That's gonna be awkward," Neville said, pouring Susan more tea. "How do you ask someone if they are bisexual?"

"With your mouth," Pansy recommended. "Don't be such a Hufflepuff, Longbottom."

"Hey!" Susan protested, in between bites. "There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff."

"Of course," Pansy said, winking at her. "Don't get crazy on me, mama."

"Fuck you," Susan added, laughing and rolling her eyes.

"Anyway," His girlfriend continued. "I thought she was wonderful but clearly more invested in being Harry's girlfriend than anything else, and I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"It is weird," Harry commented, munching on a biscuit. "I only spoke with her very briefly, when she arrived and when she left. But I didn't observe anything worth notice."

"What about Katie and Delmeza?" Hermione asked, already tensing a little.

"I wanted to talk about Katie, to be honest," Ginny admitted, playing with a grape in her hand. "She sounded great to me. We spoke a lot, and she was funny and calm. And before you freak out, let me say, we did talk a lot about Quidditch, but she initiated several other topics without my incentive. If I had to choose someone today, it would probably be her."

"Other topics, you say?" Hermione sounded contemplative, and Harry wasn't sure if she liked what she heard or not.

"Katie got points with me when she got food for herself but allowed me to steal almost half of it," Susan added. "And she doesn't even know I'm pregnant."

"You only think about food, Merlin," Pansy mentioned. "Being pregnant doesn't give you the right to become bigger than Hogwarts, you know?"

"Neville says I'm beautiful," Lady Longbottom replied, lifting her chin.

"Does he?" The Slytherin provoked, looking ready to start an argument.

"Don't start, Pansy," Hermione scolded, clearly not happy. "Save your venom for Zabini."

"What about you, Blaise?" Harry asked, trying to defuse the situation and curious to know his opinion. If there was one thing he valued about him was his honesty, and in that case, it was very necessary. "What did you see?"

"I walked around a little to see everyone else talking and interacting, but saw nothing too interesting until I saw the huge reunion table Pansy had somehow arranged." He started his tale, happily. Blaise was a talker, everyone knew it. "Carrow, Davis, Dunbar, Lovegood... it was a great opportunity to see them all at the same time, so I sat there and observed."

"I saw you sitting there too, Harry," Hermione questioned, confused.

"Yes, but I didn't stay long," He didn't say it was because he craved a smoke like crazy.

"So, what did you find out?" Neville asked, apparently curious too.

"Tracy changed a lot, which is good," Blaise continued, crossing his arms. "She used to be Daphne's shadow and nothing else, no personal opinions or any real personality that I could perceive. I guess she was forced to grow up when they fought and went separate ways. Now, as a healer, she seems more confident."

"Carrow owns a bookstore specifically for potions books, which gets her many points with me, honestly. She's very passionate about the subject, and I can definitely relate to that. I thought about you, Hermione, a lot of times during the conversation, as she spoke about some rare books she has been collecting over the years. Can you believe she got her hands on Arsenius Jigger's book?"

"No way!" Hermione denied, incredulous.

"I could barely believe it myself," He confirmed, eyes shining. "Imagine all the experiments he did and never published, all in a single book... It's unbelievable."

"Did she allow you to see it?" Hermione leaned forward on the table and demanded, looking as though she was about to run to the bookstore and steal the book herself.

"She said she could be persuaded, which means I'm getting my hands on that book sooner or later."

It was weird seeing Blaise and Hermione speaking so passionately about the same thing, but potions was an interest they shared, and it was important enough to make them put aside their differences.

"That's an incredible opportunity, I'm amazed," The brunet gushed like a fangirl.

"It is," Blaise confirmed, looking a little dazed.

"Aside from the book, Blaise," Ginny interrupted, impatient as always. "We can't choose someone only because she has an impressive book collection."

She was right, of course, but Hermione and Blaise looked about to disagree with her reasoning.

"Nice voice and a great ass," Blaise added, shrugging. "Overall she seems fine, nothing wrong, yet."

"Dunbar confuses me, though. She's an unspeakable and, therefore, full of secrets — which already leaves me uncertain about her. But the really creepy thing is that, in the interview, she was almost robotic — no expression whatsoever — but last night she was laughing and telling jokes like a normal person. It's strange."

"I thought I was the only one who noticed that," Hermione interjected. "It was strange to see her so different... almost like a whole other person."

"She seemed normal to me," Harry said, not understanding.

"You didn't see her in the interview," Neville explained. "I mean, nothing against her, she seemed nice last night. The abrupt change is weird, that's all."

"What about Padma?" Harry asked. "She looked a lot different from what I remember."

"Well, she's going to deliver my baby, so try not to upset her until then," Susan demanded, not making any sense.

"Susan, you're two months pregnant," Ginny explained, foolishly trying to reason with the hormonal individual sitting in front of her. "By the time you are ready to deliver, the meetings will be over."

"What if my baby is premature?" She questioned, frowning a little.

"Four months premature?" Ginny insisted, rolling her eyes. "I don't think so."

"Nobody is going to upset Padma, so no need to worry," Harry intervened, patting Ginny's leg under the table. "Who talked to her?"

"I did," Hermione said. "Neville and I, actually. We bumped on our way to the bar and decided to sit and catch up a little. Apparently, Parvati got married and moved outside the country, but is quite unhappy. I think that her sister's marriage made her realize how important it is to find a healthy relationship."

"I thought so too," Neville agreed, nodding his head. "I got the feeling that the hospital is her entire life and only now did she notice how lonely that is. Padma told me she always wanted to have a dog, but her life is so rushed she didn't have the heart to leave a dog alone all day."

"I could relate to that on so many levels," Hermione affirmed, rubbing her eyes. "How easy would it have been for me to get obsessed with my job if I didn't have this?" She gestured to the table.

"She seemed okay, like all the other contestants, Harry." Neville summarized, grinning a little. "You've got your work cut out for you."

"Great," He mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Do you think we'll be able to choose when the time comes?" Hermione whispered, sounding more confused now than she had been at the beginning.

"Look, this was only the first meeting, let's not panic yet, okay?" Harry tried to calm her down. "We'll do our best to find the right girls."

"And if you don't?" Pansy asked, leaning against Blaise.

"I don't know," He responded. "Maybe we'll make a new life in France."


AN2: Guys, don't leave me hanging! I want to know your opinions about the girls as well. Which five girls would you pick?

Don't forget to vote!