The Perfect Girl

by slytherin-nette

Hunting season has just begun and Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy line, starts his relentless pursuit of the perfect bride with high qualifications. No girl matches up to his standards. Until fate creates one for him! Draco/femHarry. FINALLY COMPLETE!

26. Girl Stuff

Title: The Perfect Girl

Author: slytherin-nette

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters but I own the plot and the concept of the 'Hunting Season'. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

Pairings: Draco/girl!Harry, Blaise/Hermione, Neville/Luna, Ron/OC

A/N: Fast update eh? :grin: To those of you who have been asking, there will be a sequel to this story and it will center on Draco and Jaimee's married life. :giggles: And yes, Ron will get Lorraine in the end. This story will have about six to seven more chapters depending on how things progress so I hope you guys keep a look out for that! Anyway, enjoy this one!

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Chapter 26 – Girl Stuff

"Harry?! Are you done yet? We're going to be late!"

"Piss off! Stop rushing me!"

Draco sighed and checked his watch for the tenth time that morning from where he sat on one of the lush couches in his dorm room. Drumming his fingers impatiently on the table, he held back a growl when he heard Harry's muffled complaints from behind the bathroom where she was changing, checking his watch once more and noting that they had less than five minutes to get to breakfast.

"I'll be right out! God, your bathroom is too damn clean that I can barely find where everything is!" She growled loudly, causing Draco's left eye to twitch in irritation at the very idea of her disorganizing everything.

"Yeah well you'd better not make a mess in there, Potter or you're going to spend the entire morning cleaning everything up!" He growled back, running a hand impatiently through his hair. It was after a couple more minutes that the bathroom door finally slid open and he turned around, ready to snap at the Gryffindor for taking so long.

As soon as he saw her, however, his jaw dropped open. He stared – wide-eyed and gaping – at the awkwardly blushing, beautiful girl that stood before him. Harry was biting her lip as she waited for his reaction, watching the awe and desire glowing in his eyes.

"I—I thought I'd try something different today for a change…H—How do I look…?" She asked nervously, her hands twisted behind her back and her eyes focused shyly on her feet. Draco didn't answer as he stood up and walked over to her, his eyes roaming up and down her form.

For the first time since the season started, Jaimee looked like…like a girl…Draco thought, his eyes glazing over in admiration as he inspected her appearance. Instead of her usual attire of wearing male slacks, she was wearing a short, red and gold pleated skirt that ended several inches above her knees and showed off her long, gorgeous legs.

Allowing his eyes to trail upwards, Draco noticed with a smirk that the bandages that bound her chest together were gone and this was confirmed further when his eyes dropped and he noticed that her large, oversized male school shirt had been replaced with a snug-fitting school blouse – its top two buttons left unbuttoned to provide a generous view of her tempting cleavage.

Her tie hung cutely from her neck and he followed this upwards until he eventually reached her face. He was surprised further when he noticed that instead of tying her hair back or wearing it up as she usually did these days, it looked like she had actually brushed it and let it cascade elegantly and very femininely down her shoulders, the dark tresses framing her face perfectly and contrasting well with the pale skin of her rose-tinted cheeks.

Finally, he let his eyes rest on the beautiful diamond ring that now sat prettily on her finger and he felt a surge of pride welling up in his chest, knowing full well that the beautiful creature in front of him was finally his and his alone.

Mine…Draco thought unconsciously, a genuine smile gracing his handsome face as he took several steps toward her, raising a hand and playfully running his fingers through her hair.

"Well, well…Potter, is that you…? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look like a girl…What happened?" He teased, smiling when she blushed again and she shifted uncomfortably on her feet, purposely avoiding his eyes.

"Y—You don't like it? Do you think I look stupid? I didn't have an extra girl's uniform with me so I transfigured mine into one…Do I look completely ridiculous?" She asked self-consciously, suddenly feeling embarrassed under his scrutinizing look.

Draco shook his head and gave her a reassuring grin, wrapping his arms around the curve of her waist and pulling her close against him until their foreheads were pressing against each other. "You look gorgeous. A girl…but gorgeous…But…What brought this on all of a sudden?" He asked curiously, pulling away and meeting her warm eyes.

Harry laughed and blushed again, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "W—Well…I thought about what you said last night…About how I shouldn't try so hard to be myself…And about how it doesn't matter whether I'm wearing a skirt or pants…" She began uncertainly, looking up and waiting until Draco nodded for her to continue.

"And I figured…I wasn't really accomplishing anything with my cross-dressing…I suppose…I was just so scared of losing my identity…But…" She stopped and finally looked up at him, meeting his warm gaze with a beautiful smile.

"It's pointless to pretend to be a boy when I'm not… I am a girl now…But at the same time, I am still Harry…It isn't one way or the other and I finally understand that…Thank you, Draco…You helped me find myself." She finished, wrapping her hands around his neck and pressing her lips briefly against his in a sweet, affectionate kiss.

When she pulled back, Draco looked a bit dazed and she laughed lightly, shaking her head at his reaction. "So…No more bouts of denial? No more identity crisis or sexual confusion? Well I have to say that makes you a bit boring now, Potter..." Draco mused, giving her a fond, teasing smirk which she easily returned.

"Well… Let's just say I'm giving you the responsibility of being man enough in this relationship for both of us from now on…And boring?" She scoffed, looking amused at his words.

"If you think I'm going to be your perfect, pristine girl, Draco… You've got another thing coming." She pointed out and with that, she pointed to her feet and he finally noticed the scruffy and worn-down dirt-stained sneakers that clashed horribly with her skirt.

"No matter what happens, nothing on earth is making me wear anything with heels again."

Draco blinked once, watching in shock as she winked at him, reaching one hand and coyly plucking his Head Boy badge right off his robes and pinning it to her own. Then, giving him a flirtatious smile, she tossed her long hair in a purposely exaggerated feminine manner over her shoulder and stalked out of room, leaving the Slytherin gaping after her.

He stared at the closed entrance door of his dormitory in silence for a long moment before he finally shook his head and burst out into amused, heartfelt laughter, his shoulders shaking in mirth as he hurriedly walked out of the room after her.

"Potter, you git! Come back here and give me back my badge!"

---

"…You really think she's okay…?"

"For the last time, Hermione! This is Harry we are talking about! I'm sure she's fine!" Ron admonished in exasperation, sighing and shaking his head at her persistent questions as she continued to crane her head around the Great Hall in search of their best friend during breakfast that morning from the end of the Gryffindor table.

More and more groups of sleepy students poured into the Hall and headed for their respecting tables – nearly each one carrying a thick set of books and quills for their upcoming exams that morning. Beside the Head Girl, Blaise Zabini was smirking at their concern and was happily ignoring the stares he was receiving from the other Gryffindors at the table, eating his breakfast in silence.

"Well you said wasn't in bed all night! And that's bad too considering Snape's practical Potions exam is this afternoon! I doubt she had any chance to study for it!" Hermione thought out loud, her eyebrows fused together in worry as she looked intently at the Great Hall entrance.

Her eyes widened briefly at the sight of a slim, black-haired girl but she sighed when she realized that it wasn't Harry, shaking her head and turning to face Blaise's helplessly amused grin. "Relax Granger…I'm sure Potter's fine. Draco wouldn't hurt her…too much…" He added as an afterthought, a horde of dirty images entering his mind and making him chuckle.

As though hearing his thoughts, Hermione gave a disapproving screech and slapped him hard across his cheek, causing him to growl in indignation. "What was that for?! You're the one thinking dirty, not me!" He snapped, turning to glare at her as he rubbed his sore cheek.

Hermione gave another indignant humph and turned away from him, avoiding Ron's bemused gaze. "Remember you're at the Gryffindor table this morning so you have to behave yourself. You're not in Slytherin territory anymore." She huffed, causing Blaise to roll his eyes and groan as more Gryffindors took the seat beside him.

"Don't remind me…I can already feel my 'hot and devilishly sexy' image dropping several notches because I'm sitting at the goody-goody table. How degrading." He mumbled, this time causing Ron to growl and give him a look that would have sent anyone else running.

"Hey watch your mouth, Zabini…Don't think that just because you and Hermione are 'trial-dating' or whatever the bloody hell you call it means that I won't punch you senseless!" He threatened, causing Hermione to wince at their dispute and Blaise to scoff in derision.

"I'd like to see you try, Weasel."

"What did you just call me, you stupid slimy git?!"

"I called you a Weasel, you pathetic Gryffindork—"

"Is that Harry?!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, interrupting Ron and Blaise's argument as she stared in surprise at the beautiful black-haired girl Gryffindor that jus entered the room. As if on key, about a dozen male eyes had redirected their attention to the girl in question and most of them widened dramatically at the change, the expression in them imitating the shock on Hermione's face.

"Bloody hell…S—She looks like a girl!" Ron gasped out, his eyes moving from Jaimee's short, pleated skirt all the way up her female curves to her long hair. Blaise had a similar look on his face though his eyes lingered a bit too long on Jaimee's legs for Hermione's liking and she glared at him, causing him to wince and offer her a sheepish smile.

Before she could scold him for checking out her best friend, her eyes fell on Harry again and seeing the other girl wave nervously at her, she finally smiled and waved back – her suspicions confirmed. "It is Harry! She's finally stopped her ridiculous cross-dressing nonsense and came to her senses!" She rushed out, jumping up from her seat in relief when she saw the other girl walking slowly toward them, a faint blush on her cheeks.

Eager to escape from Ron and Blaise's senseless bickering and wanting to praise her best friend on her feminine appearance, Hermione rushed from their table and ran toward her, making the other girl jump in surprise when she had thrown her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Harry! You look beautiful and more importantly, you look like a girl! How are you feeling? How did everything go? Are you—"

Hermione's voice ended in a pathetic squeak of surprise when her eyes had fallen on the other hand that was wrapped around Jaimee's slender waist and following up the pale limb, she found herself gaping into the bored, sneering face of one very handsome Draco Malfoy.

Seeing the other Head Student gaping stupidly at them, the boredom on his face gave way to smug amusement and he smirked at her, ignoring Harry's admonishing glare. "Granger, I would appreciate it if you take your hands off my fiancé and close your mouth. It isn't polite for a debutante to gape like that." He drawled and at his words, Hermione instantly pulled away and her mouth snapped shut, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"I—I…U—Uh—"

"Well…Ehehe…Hermione, I guess that answers your question, huh?" Jaimee awkwardly blurted out, her voice sounding forced as she tried to gauge the reactions on the other girl's face. The brunette nodded wordlessly, her eyes still wide as her gaze flickered back and forth between Jaimee's pink cheeks and the beautiful diamond ring on her finger.

"YOU LOST TO MALFOY?! YOU'RE ENGAGED?! AND WHY ARE YOU WEARING A SKIRT?!"

Both Harry and Hermione cringed at the sound of Ron's screeching voice. The redhead ran across the room towards them, his face flushed not with embarrassment but with disbelief and anger. Harry took a deep breath before she answered, looking at Ron with a calming smile.

"I am wearing a skirt because I am a girl, Ron. I finally accept that now and I would appreciate it if—"

"I can't believe you, Harry! I thought you hated the prat, he's the reason you're in this body! I mean – not that it isn't a very nice body – B—BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!" He hastily rushed out, purposely interrupting her and failing to see Harry's narrowed, twitching eyes at his rather lewd comment.

"Ron—"

"He's the reason you're a girl and you're just going to let him marry you like that?! Th—That's...Well…It's MALFOY!" He sputtered incoherently, interrupting her again and causing Harry to sigh even louder and bury her face in her hands as more and more students had stopped and were now watching them in interest.

Draco, however, seemed to be enjoying Ron's little tirade and smirked, pulling Harry closer against him, his hand resting possessively on the curve of her waist. "Yes, it is a nice body, isn't it? For once, we seem to agree on something, Weasel…Although I must say that if you ever stare at it or make a comment about it again, I will have you fed to a Hungarian Horntail." He threatened, his eyes narrowing dangerously with anger.

Ron's jaw clenched and he raised his chin, stepping closer to the blonde Slytherin until they were meeting each other's icy glares. "Stop calling methat, ferret-face! You call me that one more time and I'll—"

"Congratulations, Drac…You finally got her. Your parents will be thrilled. To be honest, I didn't actually think you could do it – you look bloody great, by the way, Potter! You should dress appropriately for your gender more often." Blaise chimed in a deadpan voice as he stepped between them, purposely placing himself between the two angry men before they started a fight.

Choosing to ignore his remark about her clothes, Jaimee flashed him a weak smile of gratitude as Draco was successfully distracted, turning to give the other Slytherin a self-satisfied smile. "I'm disappointed that you would think so low of me, Zabini…You know I always get what I want." He commented arrogantly, causing Harry to give him a glare.

Ron turned a pale face to Harry and snatched up her hand, eyeing the diamond ring in distaste and denial. "Y—You're not actually serious, are you? You're really marrying him? Holy Merlin, look at the ring on that diamond!" He suddenly blurted out, holding Harry's hand up close to his face and inspecting the jewel in awe.

Draco smiled arrogantly at his words but this soon dissipated into a vicious snarl when Ron's followed his comment up by muttering something to Hermione beside him, his snide voice intentionally loud enough for both Draco and Harry to hear him.

"Malfoy probably thinks giving her a big diamond will make up for his smaller assets…"

Blaise actually burst out into laughter when Draco's face flushed a deep, angry red and he lunged at the redhead in blinding fury – held back only by the strong grip Harry kept around his arm. "Nothing on me is small, you good for nothing son of a bit—"

"Draco!" Harry snapped, forcing the blonde to bite back his nasty retort and glare silently at Ron's amused smirk. Unfortunately, he failed to anticipate the next quip that spilled out of Ron's grinning mouth.

"That's for sure. Your head is probably the biggest."

This time, even Jaimee couldn't help but bite down a laugh as she held the blonde Slytherin back once again – turning to give Ron a weak, reluctantly amused glare. "Ron, shut it. You're almost as bad as Draco is, sometimes." She told him pointedly and Ron looked horrified at this, shaking his head in denial.

"Draco? Ugh…That's going to take some getting used to." He muttered to himself, shaking his head in disgust as he conceded and took several steps away from the Malfoy heir.

At this point, Hermione finally blinked and spoke up, directing everyone's attention to her. "Did he really beat you fair and square, Harry? Are you happy…?" She asked, causing Harry to blink and look intently at her, noting the serious tone of her voice.

Draco looked completely livid at Hermione's question and opened his mouth to snap at her when Blaise nudged him sharply, indicating for him to keep quiet. Harry was looking at Hermione in silence, smiling at the earnest expression on the other girl's face.

She looked briefly at Draco's face, watching the cold silver eyes soften before she turned back and smiled at the brunette, nodding her assent. "Yes…I conceded, Hermione…It was a fair fight. And I am happy…" She assured her, causing Hermione to smile in relief and nod, surging forward and hugging the black-haired girl once more.

Before Ron could make another sarcastic comment, Blaise spoke up again – drawing their attention to him and causing Hermione to give him a smile of gratitude. "Well…Since all that drama's been settled…Can we possibly go back to our meals now? I don't know about all of you but I have a truckload of exams this morning and I'm not about to skip out on breakfast." He drawled, causing everyone to nod in agreement.

Smirking, he allowed Hermione to drag him back to the Gryffindor table while Ron followed grumpily after them but not before giving Draco another taunting glare. Draco smirked at this but his eyes narrowed in slight irritation when he saw Harry following after them.

His reached a hand out and clasped hers by her wrist, yanking her back into his arms and causing her to gasp in alarm. "Draco! What—?"

""You're eating breakfast with me this morning, Potter. I'm going to introduce you to some of my friends now." He quipped when he pulled away, finally causing Harry to blink herself out of her shock-induced daze for a minute before she managed to raise a single eyebrow in mild interest.

"You have friends? I thought all you had were royal subjects and bodyguards…" She mocked, causing the Malfoy heir to grin at the deadpan tone in her voice as he dragged her by her hand to the Slytherin table across the room.

"Same thing."

As they walked hand in hand, Draco felt the deadly glares of nearly all the other males in the room burning holes into his back, noting with smug satisfaction that they were eyeing the ring on Harry's finger and were cursing under their breath in helpless defeat.

It felt like he was prey walking across a closed room filled with packs of savage beasts that were just waiting to feast on his dead carcass and instead of intimidating him, he relished the feeling immensely, chuckling at the cold responses of his fellow males.

Fortunately enough, Harry seemed completely oblivious to the increased levels of tension and testosterone around the Great Hall and allowed Draco to lead her by her hand to where the Slytherins sat. Most of them eyed the Gryffindor in cold dislike while some were looking at her with amused smirks on their faces.

Seeing the obvious lack of space for her to sit beside him at his usual seat, Draco snapped his fingers once and Crabbe sat up, easily picking a timid-looking Slytherin second year up by his collar from his seat. The brown-haired boy squeaked in surprise and fear, wincing as he was deposited at the end of the table.

Then, giving her another sexy grin, Draco indicated for her to take the now vacated seat, causing Jaimee's left eye to twitch in frustration. Her jaw clenched, she raised a single fist and slammed it right across his jaw, causing him to stumble backwards a few steps and a couple of Slytherin students to bolt up from their seats in indignation, ready to lung at her for her blatant attack on their leader.

She ignored them and glared pointedly at her so-called fiancé, watching as he clutched at his now sore jaw and gave her a demanding glare. "What?! I was just offering you a seat, Potter! Why did you punch me—"

"You forced that younger student right out of his seat, Malfoy! Will you grow up?!" She snapped at him, shifting her glare to Crabbe as the other Slytherin hesitatingly sat back down, more than eager to move himself from Harry's line of vision.

Draco's icy gaze held hers for a long moment, keeping the expression on his face guarded. Then, he surprised his housemates further by raising a single hand to signal the other Slytherins surrounding Harry to sit back down and leave her alone.

However, this did nothing to ease the anger out of Jaimee's face. She stepped right up to him, intending to stare him down and since she was a good deal shorter than he was, she had to tilt her chin up to meet his gaze face to face. After a couple of minutes of this, Draco finally broke away first and scowled as he sat back down, purposely avoiding his friends' amused smirk.

"Fine…I'll stop…when you're around." He had muttered the last part of his sentence under his breath so she wouldn't hear, hiding a smirk when this seemed to satisfy her and she nodded, taking the seat next to him.

Unfortunately, it seemed she forgot that she had been wearing a skirt and she winced in embarrassment when Draco growled and hastily adjusted her legs, much to the other Slytherins' heavy amusement.

"Sorry…I keep forgetting I'm a girl…Ehehe…" She quipped, offering the blonde a sheepish smile. Draco wasn't amused but nevertheless, he turned to the watching group of Slytherins around them and finally spoke up, gesturing to the ring on Harry's finger.

"I'm sure you've all figured it out by now. This is my fiancé, Jaimee..." He drawled, the superior smile on his face never wavering as he watched the mixed reactions of his housemates. Theodore Nott had simply narrowed his eyes while Malcolm shrugged in defeat and nodded his head to them in inclination. Crabbe and Goyle said nothing, rolling their eyes at each other as though unsurprised before returning to their breakfast.

Highly amused, Harry let her eyes travel over to the girls and she couldn't help holding back a laugh when she saw the obvious contrast in their reactions. Pansy Parkinson's eyes were red and watery and she sniffed every five seconds while trying to glare the diamond ring off of Jaimee's finger. Millicent had glared threateningly at her before wrapping her arm tighter around Goyle's arm, obviously signaling her to keep her hands to herself.

"That will not be a problem…" She muttered under her breath so neither of them would hear, shaking her head at the thought. Averting her eyes away from Millicent, her eyes came upon Daphne Greengrass and she was surprised to see the other girl giving her a reluctant smile – or rather a smirk – which seemed like the closest thing to a smile for a Slytherin anyway.

"So do we start taking orders from her too? Do we call her 'Lady Malfoy' or something like that?" Crabbe asked bluntly before shoving an entire slice of bread into his mouth. Harry stared at him – cringing at the term 'Lady Malfoy'.

"What? Lady Malfoy?! Are you serious?!" She gaped in a high voice, her head flipping back and forth between Draco's haughty smirk and Crabbe's bored, inquisitive glance.

"Vince, I appreciate the sentiment but you don't have to follow me or anything. Quite frankly, I don't need you to." Harry rushed out before Draco could answer, much to her fiancé's obvious disappointment.

"You're no fun, Potter. What's the point of having friends if you can't order them around every once in awhile? And don't call him Vince! His name is Crabbe." Draco said with a scoff. Jaimee glared at him – much to the disbelief of the other Slytherins watching.

"Oh I don't know, Draco…Did you ever get the idea that maybe friends are not supposed to follow you around like a pack of bodyguards? Why don't you start by calling Vince and Greg here by their real names?" She pointed out, causing the smirk on Draco's face to fade into a scowl as Crabbe looked at them in amazement.

"Potter, shut it…I will allow you one moral lecture per day. Nothing more. You already used up your limit so just eat your breakfast and stop nagging me!" Draco threatened but before Jaimee could argue with him, Goyle finally spoke up, redirecting both their attention to his amused laughter.

"I like her, Draco…She's able to fight against you the way we never had the guts to. That's definitely Potter alright." He mused, causing Millicent to chuckle lightly beside him at the implication of his words. Draco didn't seem to appreciate their amusement at his expense and he shifted his glare towards them.

"Goyle, why don't you shovel more food into your mouth before I do it for you and make you choke on your own—"

"So…Harry…How is Draco in bed? Is he any good? Pansy and I have always wanted to know…" Daphne spoke up, cutting through Draco's angry tirade and forcing all the attention on Harry. The Gryffindor's eyes widened in surprise, obviously caught off guard.

"Leave her alone, Daphne. Just because you and Pansy never got into Malfoy's pants, doesn't mean you can go torturing Potter like that." Malcolm drawled lazily, turning and giving Jaimee an amused grin. She returned it with a grateful nod, avoiding the interested and slightly suggestive stares she was receiving from some of the Slytherin boys waiting for her answer.

Draco glared warningly at them and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to him. He was just about to answer Daphne's question for her when he saw the devious gleam in Harry's eyes as she turned back to give the other girl a very Draco-like smirk.

"He actually likes it rough. I'm bruised all over." She answered simply, shrugging nonchalantly amidst Draco promptly choking on his water beside her. It was Daphne's turn to blush now as her gaze averted from Harry to Draco until it dropped to the floor in embarrassed shock.

Seeing Daphne – the tactless girl who seemed to have no limits in asking the most intrusive questions – now blushing and gaping at the floor in embarrassment was all too much for the other Slytherins and they all burst out into sniggers, hiding smirks behind their hands and giving Harry an appraising grin.

Draco didn't appreciate her open admission and glared at Jaimee in silent anger, causing her to smile back innocently at the heavy blush on his face. "What? Your friend asked me a question and I answered it for her. I'm not going to blush over sex, Draco…I was a guy once too." She told him and he shook his head, burying his face in his hands.

She was just about to tease him further when she felt a dainty hand yank hers forward, causing her to yelp in surprise and look up to see Pansy holding her hand up to her face to inspect her engagement ring up close. A scowl was visible on her pug face as she stared at it, much to the growing impatience of Harry as she found that she was unable to eat with only one hand.

"Parkinson, unless you want to ask for myhand in marriage, can you let me go so I can eat?" She asked calmly, tugging her hand free and watching in amusement as Pansy simply huffed and slinked back down on her seat but not before giving Harry another hateful snarl.

"O-kay…What's her problem?" Jaimee asked curiously, turning back to look at Draco and she was surprised when the Slytherin winced and shook his head in dismay. Millicent answered for him, tilting her head briefly to the girl beside her in distaste.

"She's just disappointed because if Draco hadn't found a wife of his choice by the end of his hunting season, he would have been forced to marry Pansy." The slightly chubby girl answered, causing Pansy to snap her head at her and give her a scathing glare.

"Why don't you mind your own business you fat, oversized pig?! Do something useful for a change! Like go on a diet!" She mocked loudly, much to Harry's shock as Millicent looked highly insulted and looked away, avoiding the amused sniggers Draco, Malcolm and Theodore were trying, and pretty much failing, to hide behind their hands. Even Daphne was trying to muffle a couple of giggles and Pansy sneered widely at this, obviously proud of herself.

Goyle also looked as though he wanted to say something against Pansy's outburst in defense of his girlfriend but looking at Draco's amusement, he began thinking twice about speaking out lest he brought the Malfoy heir's wrath upon them. Almost as though she read his thoughts, Harry spoke up for him – speaking above Draco's laughter.

"Pansy, I would suggest looking at a mirror before you start insulting other girls. If there's anything I've learned, it's that it certainly isn't easy to be one…Being a girl all your life, you should be aware of that. You have no right to think so highly of yourself when you seem to be marketing the face of a pug." Harry piped in snidely, causing Millicent to blink up at her in surprise and Pansy to inhale a sharp intake of breath in shock.

The other guys around them fell silent and Draco seemed to look up at Harry with a reluctant smile as she turned back to Millicent and gave the girl a knowing wink, which the Slytherin returned with a weak, speechless nod. "Besides, back when I was a guy…I thought Millie here was actually quite cute in a modest sort of way. Congratulations to you, Greg." She nodded, looking up into Goyle's blinking face.

He seemed to look at her as though she had grown an extra head for several seconds before he nodded and grinned, turning to give Millicent a kiss on the forehead. "Yes, she is…And I hate to say this, Malfoy…But I believe you just met your match." He added further, causing the group around them to erupt in another round of laughter.

Draco's face paled in sudden realization and groaned out loud, burying his face in his hands.

"Bloody hell…I am engaged to Harry Potter…"

---

"(A)…Acceptable? Tss…"

Sighing in exhaustion, Jaimee turned around at the sound of Ron's voice to see him approaching her with a grim look on his face. The sweltering heat of Snape's classroom didn't help their mood and they both collapsed back into their seats in silence, watching as the rest of their classmates lined up to take their practical midterm exam near the front of the room.

For the first half of the period, Snape had made them all line up in front of his desk one by one and had instructed them to narrate and perform the steps for making a specific potion he would select for them – during which he graded their skill, memory and precision.

She had been among the first to finish her midterms and needless to say, she was rather unsatisfied with the results. She had gotten a single letter grade higher than Ron – an (E) for Exceeds Expectations instead of the (O) she was hoping for.

Applications for the Auror department at the Ministry would begin in a couple of weeks and Snape was not making it any easier on her. She needed a final average of (O) in all her subjects that year for her to qualify as an Auror and Potions was the one subject she needed to keep track of.

To add to her insult, Snape had been relentless enough to assign her to make a Veritaserum potion – the very potion he had messed up with the Cirrisserum at the beginning of all this. When the Potions master had seen the Malfoy insignia imprinted clearly on the diamond ring around her finger, he had sneered in distaste but said nothing, his lips curling into a mocking sneer.

This same expression on his face hadn't changed the entire time she was taking her exam and only flickered into a derisive scoff and a mocking laugh every now and then when she stuttered or whenever it seemed like she had made a mistake with her narrated steps – which she later found out was actually correct.

She grumbled under her breath and watched with a displeased scowl as Draco proceeded to the front of the line to take his exam. Much to her annoyance, Snape greeted his godson with a smile and nod, watching proudly as Draco began narrating and making his assigned Potion with perfect ease and confidence.

Feeling a bit put out at this, she looked away from the depressing sight and turned in surprise to see Hermione taking her seat to her left. The Head Girl looked highly disappointed as well, meeting Jaimee's concerned look with a frown.

"The exam didn't go so well for you too, huh?" Jaimee asked, giving the other girl a consoling pat on the shoulder.

Hermione cringed and shrugged it off, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "I said all the right steps and made the potion perfectly! I don't understand how or why he only gave me an (E)! An (E) for Merlin's sake! I never get an (E)!" She complained loudly, her eyes tearing up in frustration and Ron rolled his eyes at this, looking irritated at Hermione's endless perfectionism.

"Get over it, Hermione! You probably got higher than everybody else around here! I only got an (A) and I'm relatively satisfied." He reasoned and Harry winced as Hermione snapped at them both, causing the two Gryffindors to slouch down in their seats.

"That's you, Ronald! You're always satisfied with mediocrity! I, on the other hand, need top grades if I want to be accepted into the CISO Department of the Ministry!" She snapped at him, causing Ron to look at Harry in confusion.

"Since when? What's CISO?"

"Central Intelligence and Strategic Operations. It's the brain behind the Ministry. Hermione has been dying to get in ever since McGonagall told her about it during her career counseling session last week." Harry whispered to him, hiding another cringe when Hermione sighed and dropped her forehead on her table in defeat.

When the brunette looked up at her with a forced smile, Harry relented and leaned down to stroke her best friend's hair in a gesture of reassurance and comfort. "Hermione, relax…Don't worry. You're going to get in, alright? We both are…I promise that one day, you'll be the Head of CISO and I'll be the Head of the Auror department. You'll see." She promised, winking at the other girl.

Beside them, Ron feigned a frown and looked at them with wide, puppy dog eyes. "What about me? I want to the Head of a wicked department too." He kidded, causing both girls to laugh at his expression.

"To be honest, Ron…You never told either of us what you wanted to be after Hogwarts…What are your career plans?" Hermione asked him curiously, their Potions grades finally forgotten. To their surprise, Ron suddenly reddened and he gave them a mischievous grin, reaching a hand into his bag and pulling out a small pamphlet.

Harry's eyes widened when she saw the cover, reading the title of the brochure out loud. "Department of Finance and Inter-Magical Investments…Really, Ron? You're into Finance?" Harry asked in surprise, her eyes darting to Ron's embarrassed grin as he laughed and ducked his head sheepishly in admission.

"Actually…Bill talked me into it just a couple of months ago and I decided to look into it more by asking around. Professor McGonagall gave me this during my career counseling session." He began, blushing darker when both Hermione and Jaimee leaned in closer to listen to him.

"Apparently, this department is responsible for interacting with all of Wizarding England's biggest companies and financial institutions, as well as coordinating them with the Ministry of Magic and other magical companies around the world. If I get accepted, it has a huge starting salary and I'm hoping to use it to earn enough money until I can eventually start up my own company one day." He told them and to this, Jaimee grinned and gave him an affectionate punch on the shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan to me, freckles. Go for it! Personally, I think this is right up your alley. You've always been pretty good with money… Well, a lot better than me obviously." She kidded, causing Hermione to laugh in agreement.

"I agree with Harry, Ron…I think that's great and we're both really happy for you. Plus, it'll be interesting that we'll be seeing each other often in the Ministry. Maybe we can have lunch and dinner everyday." She added, winking at the both of them and giggling when they grinned back.

"Of course…That's on the days that Mrs. Malfoy here doesn't have to 'leave work early to have tea with the family'." Ron finished the last part of the sentence in a high-pitched, snobby drawl that caused Hermione to giggle and Jaimee to flush and glare at him in annoyance.

"Don't call me that! I'm not married to him yet! And what did I tell you both about me being a housewife?! Ugh! Imagine me…Harry James Potter…wearing an apron and cooking all day long in a kitchen?" She shuddered, growling when her two best friends began to snigger louder and desperately tried to muffle their voices behind their hands lest Snape heard them.

Once their laughter was in check, Hermione spoke again – this time giving Harry a sincere smile. "Seriously though, Harry…I'm really happy for you. If all those things you said Draco did are true…Then I'm sure you'll be happy with him. Even if we still think he has the biggest head to walk this planet." She added as an afterthought, causing Jaimee to roll her eyes and Ron to smirk in agreement.

"Says the girl who is 'trial-dating' the big-head's best friend." He piped in, causing Harry to turn and raise a single eyebrow at Hermione's blushing face. "Trial-dating? What does that even mean?" She asked pointedly, causing Hermione to stare blankly at her, struggling for the right words to say.

"W—Well…It means we're testing our differences and checking to see whether we're compatible together as an actual couple or not…" She explained testily, watching as Harry and Ron turned to face each other blankly in confusion.

"I don't get it." Ron blurted out in a deadpan voice, causing Harry to smirk and nod her head in agreement, giving Hermione an incredulous look.

"I agree with Ron, Hermione. It's either you're shagging the guy or not. It's that simple. That's the beauty of the way a guy's mind thinks. Girls make it too complicated." She told her and in spite of herself, a ghost of a smile flickered on Hermione's face.

She would have said more but that was when Seamus interrupted their conversation by exclaiming rather loudly and rushing over to them, slinging an arm around Jaimee's shoulders and giving the three Gryffindors a beaming smile.

"I passed! I bloody passed! I barely scraped by with an (A) but I passed! And to think I stayed up all night cramming for this exam! Woohoo!" He cheered in happiness, much to Jaimee's amusement as she laughed and attempted to shrug his arm off her shoulders.

"Happy much, are you?" Ron complained, rubbing his sore ears from Seamus' loud outburst. He rolled his eyes and looked up at the Irish boy's grinning face. "I barely understood half the rubbish I read last night, Ron! Of course I'm bloody happy! I guess Snape finds me completely and shaggably irresistible after all…" He added in thought, waggling his eyebrows suggestively up and down and causing all three teenagers – Ron, Harry and Hermione – to groan out loud.

"Seamus, stop shouting! Snape's already glaring in our direction! A little more and he'll give us detention." Dean cut in as he joined them, his eyes moving down to glare pointedly at the arm Seamus still had wrapped around Jaimee's slim shoulders.

Jaimee looked slightly uncomfortable at this and tried to shove him off but Seamus only seemed to grin wider at Dean's jealousy and proceeded to wrap his other arm tighter around Jaimee's shoulders from behind, leaning down and resting his chin on top of her head.

"What's the matter, Dean? Five months into our relationship and you're still jealous whenever I hug someone else, aren't you?" He teased but he didn't get the reaction he was hoping for as Dean merely chuckled and shook his head, crossing his arms smugly over his chest.

"You know what, Seamus? Just for that, I won't even try saving you out of this one." He commented with a smile, watching the confusion etching onto Seamus' face. "Save me? Save me out of what?" He pressed further, regrettably unaware of the angry presence that was now approaching dangerously behind him.

Still smirking, Dean looked over Jaimee's shoulder and both she and Seamus followed his gaze, turning around slowly just in time to Draco looming dangerously over them with a cold glint in his harsh, gray eyes. Seamus gulped and laughed nervously, watching the Slytherin's lips curl into an angry sneer as he glared at the hands Seamus still had yet to unwrap from Harry's shoulders.

Without saying anything, Draco cocked a single eyebrow at the Irish Gryffindor and Seamus instantly yanked his hands away from Jaimee as though she had caught on fire – knocking himself clumsily to the floor and stumbling noisily into a few tables as he hurriedly backed himself away into a far corner of the classroom.

As soon as he had gone, Dean sniggered and strode after him, leaving Jaimee grinning nervously up at her fiancé. Ron and Hermione both quickly tore their gaze away from the strange couple and buried their noses into their Potions books, pretending to read while at the same time, straining to listen to their conversation.

"H—Hey, Draco…How was your exam? What grade did Snape give you?" Harry asked casually, trying to divert Draco's attention before the blonde could ask her why Seamus was actually hugging her in the first place.

It seemed to work as Draco finally turned to her and rewarded her with his winning smile. He looked particularly pleased with himself as he answered, reaching over and dusting Jaimee around the shoulders where Seamus had touched her. "It was alright. I got an (O)as usual. What did you get?" He asked, smirking when he noticed the angry flush on her face.

Hermione heard this and her eyes snapped up to glare at Draco as well, much to the blonde's amusement. "You got an (O)?! That is just so unfair! This is a classic case of favoritism and I can not believe that Snape would—"

"Oh give it a rest, Granger. No matter what you do, you will never outrank me." Draco mocked loudly, giving the Head Girl a cold sneer before he turned, planted a kiss on Harry's forehead and headed back to his friends, leaving her helpless at the mercy of Hermione's fierce, death glare.

"Now, now, 'Mione…I'm a victim here too. We got the same grade…You should get angry at Malfoy and not—OW!" Harry's sentence ended in a cry of pain when Hermione's hand had landed a rather sharp slap on her face. She stumbled against the table, snapping her head back up and glaring at her best friend in anger.

"Why did you slap me?! Mione! That hurt! I'm not exactly a guy anymore so my face is no longer made to be slapped! You could have slapped Ron!" She argued, rubbing her sore cheek and looking back to Draco to find him smirking at her from across the room.

She shot him a poisonous glare before she turned back to find Hermione sulking in her seat. Ron was protectively covering his face with his thick Potions book, his shoulders shaking in obvious laughter at the scene he had witnessed.

"I wanted to slap Malfoy and since you're going to be one soon, I figured you'd do." Hermione muttered darkly under her breath. Harry's cheeks colored even more at her words and she groaned out loud, clutching her aching cheek in pain.

"Brilliant…Haha. Very witty, Hermione. That makes me feel loads better." She mumbled, sighing and turning back to the front of the room as everyone began to take their seats, signaling the end of their midterm exam and the beginning of second period.

At the front of the room, Snape was still seated at his desk and was cleaning around, re-organizing the ingredients back into their proper place. Letting her eyes trail around the room, Harry noticed that Draco had gone back to the corner of the room where he sat with Blaise and some of the other Slytherins.

Seeing her looking at him, he gave her a playful wink before he began setting up his cauldron and gathering his materials, turning back to face the front of the class. Following his gaze, Jaimee's eyes narrowed in deep thought as she saw Daphne Greengrass walk right up to Snape with a coy smile on her face, twirling a strand of her hair flirtatiously around her finger as she tried to indiscreetly ask him to make a consideration on her grade.

Sheesh…The things girls are capable of doing to ask for what they want. She actually thinks she can flirt her way around her grade. It's despicable…It's vile and wrong…It's… Jaimee's eyes snapped open and her eyes darted wildly from Snape's adamant glare and Daphne's disappointed pout, the wheels in her mind already ticking away in another one of her Slytherin-ish schemes.

It's BRILLIANT!

She smirked inwardly as she observed Daphne's failed seduction ploy – noting to herself exactly where the Slytherin girl had failed in her attempts to draw Snape's attention. Not enough skin, Greengrass! Honestly, silly girls…They don't know the first thing about what seduces a man…

But…Jaimee let her thoughts trail off, a devious smirk already working its way onto her face.

As Daphne walked away with slumped, disappointed shoulders back to her seat and Snape began to spell the curtains closed to begin his lecture, the sneer on Jaimee's face settled into a very sexy smile and her hands dropped down, unbuttoning the top buttons of her shirt.

Giggling behind her hand, she pulled her skirt up higher on her waist and very slowly eased herself out of her seat. Ignoring Ron's surprised question, she began walking towards the teacher's table, a sexy smirk on her face and a definite seductive sway to her hips.

But 'I' do…

---

What does that little minx think she's doing walking like 'that'?! Draco thought furiously, gritting his teeth in anger as he watched his supposed girlfriend sauntering very sexily up to the front of the class to where Snape was leafing through a thick Potions book at the teacher's table.

The short Gryffindor skirt did nothing to hide the pale skin of her legs and as she walked to the front, Draco literally felt his vision go into slow motion as he watched just about every virile male in the room turn their head to watch in avid fascination at the lustful sight. Her hair fell into gorgeous, sexy waves down her shoulders – bouncing as she walked and the top of her blouse was suddenly left open, exposing a tantalizing view of her full breasts.

She stopped upon reaching Snape's table and leaned down, resting both her palms on the table's surface and bending forward ever so slightly so as to allow the male students behind her a teasing view of the skin of her legs just below her arse.

"Professor…?"

Her voice was low and sultry, successfully making her male classmates' eyes darken in arousal and drawing Snape's attention as he snapped his head up from his book to glare at her.

"Potter, you insufferable nuisance! Go back to your seat before I make you swallow all these potions in one—"

He wasn't expecting her to be so close, however, and his angry retort was halted immediately on his lips, his eyes involuntarily snapping downward to her exposed cleavage.

That…bitch! Draco thought, his eyes narrowing when he realized what she meant to do. He would have stopped her but he felt himself getting aroused as well as he watched, his eyes trailing up and down her legs and resting on the patch of skin that was exposed just below her waist.

As though sensing his eyes on her, Jaimee seemed to smirk wider and bent down a bit more, causing the hem of her blouse to rise up higher and expose more of her pale skin to the hungry eyes of about twenty watching males behind her – her gaping best friend and her furious fiancé included.

Her palms lay close to each other on the table, forcing her breasts together as she leaned forward. She held back a laugh as Snape's usually pallor face reddened and he leaned away, raising one hand to loosen the collar of his robes.

"P—Potter, what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?! Cover those…things…up at once and go back to your s—seat!" The once eloquent Potions master stuttered, unable to look away from the gorgeous sight and Jaimee prevented another laugh as she leaned closer, setting her lips into an adorable pout designed to make any man melt.

Evil, conniving bitch! Wait till I wrap my hands around that pretty little neck! Draco thought again, his hands clenching into fists and his face set into an angry growl as he found himself unable to stand up from his seat due to the now obvious bulge in his pants.

"Professor, I was hoping you could help me out with something…" She coyly trailed off as she bit her lip, letting her voice fade in a soft whisper that sent a shiver down Draco's spine. It must have had the same effect on Snape as the black-haired man backed away even more until he was pressing against the backrest of his seat, beads of sweat breaking out onto his face.

"P-Potter, the grade I gave you is f—f—final! I c—can't go around changing s—students' grades—" His voice broke off into a high-pitched meep and his book fell from his hands onto the floor, causing a feigned look of worry onto Jaimee's face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor! Here…Let me get that for you…" She drawled in a low voice, her eyes fluttering seductively up at him before she turned around and bent down slowly to pick up the book – smirking wider when she felt about ten pairs of eyes on her arse and about another ten roaming up and down the legs exposed by her skirt.

Bitch…Bitch…Bitch! Draco cursed helplessly in his head again and again, his fingers tightening around the now mangled quill in his hands as he watched his fiancé pull herself back up and hand the book to Snape with another gorgeous smile.

Behind her, Hermione was watching the entire scene unfold with curiosity and confusion while Ron's jaw was hanging and he sputtered incoherently – reminding Draco very vividly of a large-mouthed fish he had seen in his grandfather's aquarium.

"P—Potter…C-Cover yourself up right now and g—get the b—bloody hell away f—from me…And I will b—bump your grade u—up from an (E) t—to an (O)…Happy?! N—now, g—go back to your seat! NOW!" Snape finally exploded as she handed him back his book, pulling himself away from her only to erupt into another loud, high-pitched scream.

In his wild attempt to get away from her, his seat keeled backwards and he stumbled noisily onto the floor, sending more parchments and books crashing with him and scattering around the room in disarray.

Draco watched, his jaw now hanging open in disbelief and indignation as Jaimee smiled sweetly at the poor, stuttering man who had once been their Potions Professor before sauntering back calmly to her seat, turning just in time to smirk tauntingly at him and blow him a mocking kiss.

"Bitch!" He hissed sharply at her, growling louder when she merely winked at the angry blazing of fire and lust in his eyes. Purposely turning away from him, she ignored the fact that a seething red Hermione was already reaching out for her neck and turned to Ron instead, meeting Ron's appraising grin and thumps-up sign with a wide smile.

Harry grinned widely at him.

"You know…I could really get used to this girl stuff."

---

"What's this all about, Cartwright?" Anton Malfoy drawled lazily as he walked into the elegant sitting room of the Cartwright estate in France, his blue eyes immediately drawn to the gown-clad figure standing near the windows.

Feigning a look of surprise, the figure turned slowly and he found himself staring expectantly into the beautiful face of his ex-fiancé, Elisa Cartwright. She flashed him a smile that didn't reach her elegant green eyes and Anton squinted as the light reflected from her diamond earrings blinded him slightly in the eyes.

"Anton, darling…I'm so happy you could make it on such short notice." She greeted cheerfully, turning around fully and allowing him to see the full effect of her expensive gown and jewelry. He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly bored and unimpressed and waited impatiently for her to explain herself.

Chuckling at his suspicious glare, Elisa sauntered over to him in her usual graceful steps and pulled him down to sit on one of the lush couches before taking the seat beside him. "You always were such an impatient man, weren't you? No matter, I'll get right to my point." She said sweetly, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small, crumpled sheet of paper.

Anton rolled his eyes and checked his watch, his eyes narrowing in irritation at her deliberate stalling. "Elisa, I don't have time for this. If you've asked me here for another diamond to compensate for our broken engagement, that's fine. But I promised to meet my mother for dinner and—"

Without saying a word, Elisa's eyes narrowed and she quickly handed him the slip of paper in her hand, silently urging him to read it. Sighing in exasperation, Anton took the slip of paper and held it up to the light, his eyebrows fusing together as he read the slightly faded and rumpled words.

After a couple of minutes, his face had suddenly paled and he looked up at her in shock and disbelief, his eyes widening in dismay. "Wh—What is this?! Cartwright, where did you find this?!" He demanded, surging up from his seat and glaring at her in disgust.

Elisa shrugged and gave him another sweet smile, crossing her legs daintily in response. "Some of my friends from Hogwarts found it off the school grounds and sent it to me. The minute I read it, I knew we could both benefit from it…So what do you think? You want to help me? We show that to Draco and we can kiss their little engagement good bye." She mused gleefully, flicking a hateful gaze over at the morning's tabloids laid out on the coffee table in front of her.

There on the front page was a picture of both Draco and Jaimee Potter's profile pictures, under which the title "Prime Match of the Season" was written in clear, bold letters. The news had come out just that morning and the minute she had seen it, Elisa knew she had to take action. She wanted to be the next Malfoy heiress! Not that boy-turned-debutante-disaster!

"You're going to help me, right? I know you want Jaimee Potter and I want Draco…We'll both get what we want, won't we?" She spoke up cautiously as Anton paced the room, running a shaking hand through his blonde hair.

Anton turned wide, worried eyes to her and hastily shook his head, his jaw tightening in resolute indignation. "No! I don't want to do this! I don't want anything to do with this anymore, I'm done! I played him once, that's enough for me! Draco's still my cousin and that is my family you are talking about, Elisa!" He growled at her, causing the girl's eyes to darken as she shot up from her seat.

"What are you talking about, Anton?! Since when have you been all morally righteous about all this?! I thought you wanted more attention from your family?!" She screamed at him, trying to yank the slip of paper from his grasp but Anton shook his head firmly and shoved her away, forcing her back onto the couch.

"I did…And I have that now! I won't do this anymore, I've had enough! I'm sorry, Elisa. We're done here." He hissed coldly, stuffing the slip of paper into his pocket. Seeing this, Elisa's eyes widened in fury and she shot up again, attempting to snatch the paper away from him.

"I'm taking this back to Grandfather…I'm really sorry. I'm not going to help you." He finished, already making his way towards the door. Elisa chased after him, linking her arms around him and yanking him towards her.

"You bastard! What are you doing?! What is the matter with you?! Why are you being so righteous all of a sudden?!" She shrieked, her attempts useless as once again, Anton shoved her back down onto the couch, shaking his head in disbelief at her futile attempts.

He buttoned up his jacket and turned to walk out of the room, stopping just in front of the exit and turning around to give her one last, look of disgust. "Let's just say…I'm indebted to do this. Good bye, Miss Elisa." He drawled, smirking at the look of confusion on Elisa's face.

After he said this, he finally turned and walked out of the room, leaving her glaring hatefully at him as she stood back up and flung the glass of water on the table towards him, watching it shatter into pieces as it hit the door.

"YOU BASTARD!"

---

"Draco, no! You can't make me go in there! You can't!"

Draco sighed in exhaustion as he dragged Harry by her hand down the long corridor heading towards the Headmaster's office where his family was waiting for them. They had been at this for hours and he was tired of chasing her every couple of seconds.

"Malfoy! Let me go!" She screeched again and just as Draco distractedly glared at the concerned students passing them in the corridor, Harry managed to wrench her arm out of his grip and dash off towards the opposite direction.

"Damn it, Potter! Stop running!" Draco yelled impatiently as he tore off after her, shoving past several students as he chased her through a couple of corridors. Looking over her shoulder at him, she grabbed a random, hardbound book from a Gryffindor first year and hurled it at him, causing the Head Boy to curse in annoyance when the book hit him painfully on his shoulder.

"Potter! Get back here!" He growled, forcing himself to run faster as Harry rounded the corner and accelerated her speed, silently thanking the gods that she had been smart enough to wear her sneakers that morning instead of her proper school shoes.

She whirled around again and cheered silently when she saw that she had lost her adamant fiancé and that he was no longer behind her. Just as she grinned at the thought of making it back to the safety of her common room, her eyes widened when she looked ahead and found herself heading straight for a large wall.

It was only about a half-second before impact that she noticed the wall was actually Crabbe and Goyle.

"YEOW!"

Harry grunted as she tumbled ungracefully onto the floor, her bag falling off her shoulders and spilling out messily onto the ground. Groaning and clutching at her aching head, she looked up to find that both Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be holding back a laugh as they grabbed her by her collar and lifted her up from the ground, keeping her in place.

"PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW! THIS INSTANT! I MEAN IT! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ARSES! SERIOUSLY, PUT ME DOWN! WHAT DID I TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT BLINDLY FOLLOWING ORDERS?!" She raged at them, trying in vain to unclasp the large hand Crabbe had around her collar.

She began struggling and screaming in frustration as Crabbe placed her bag back on her shoulder, waved farewell to Goyle and began walking back to the Headmaster's office, holding her up by her collar as though she was a mere kitten. He smirked in amusement as her feet did nothing but dangle and kick around madly in mid-air in her attempts to break free.

Several students they passed looked on in amusement, laughing at the sight of the girl-who-lived and the savior of the wizarding world being manhandled by Vincent Crabbe of all people. Seeing this, Harry glared threateningly at them and gave them a fierce, hideous snarl.

"Oh yeah?! You all think this is funny?! I'm going to remember all your faces and the minute I break free, I will hunt you down one by one! Do you hear me?!" She snapped at them, resuming her kicking but when Crabbe simply grunted and held her up higher above the ground, the students watching laughed harder, shaking their heads at the comical sight.

As they rounded a corner and Jaimee caught sight of a handsome, smirking blonde leaning one shoulder along the entrance to Dumbledore's office, her kicking ceased and she groaned out loud, sighing helplessly in defeat.

"Sorry, Potter…It's out of my hands. Good luck in there." Crabbe muttered under his breath as he set her down in front of Draco, chuckling as he turned and sauntered off, leaving a heavily breathing Jaimee glaring at her smirking fiancé with murder in her eyes.

Draco gave her an impish grin and straightened himself, gesturing to the entrance. "Shall we—" His voice broke off as she whirled around and broke off into a run again but this time, he had anticipated it and he wrapped both his arms around her waist from behind, holding her struggling against his chest.

"Let me go! Draco, I am not ready to play family right now! Especially with your family so please let me go so I can—"

"Shh…It's alright…It'll be okay…" He whispered soothingly into her ear, tightening his arms around her waist and leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on her soft cheek. Sighing in exhaustion, she finally allowed her muscles to relax and collapsed against him, closing her eyes as she felt his hands going up to caress the skin of her arms.

Chuckling gently, he turned her around so that she was staring up into his eyes and he smiled, reaching up and taping her playfully on her cheek. "Half of my family already loves you, Harry…You have nothing to be scared of. They just want to meet you, that's all. I promise, it'll be fine." He reassured her, watching the panic slowly seeping out of her lovely face.

After a couple more minutes of breathing slowly and looking up into Draco's encouraging smile, she finally nodded and buried her face against his chest, inhaling his familiar scent. "Alright…But if they start talking about children and pregnancy, so help me, I swear I'll—"

Laughing, he squeezed her once before planting a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll stop them, don't worry." He promised, tilting her chin up to reward her with a chaste kiss on the lips.

When he pulled back, he took her hand and intertwined their fingers together, squeezing it in comfort as he began leading her to the entrance. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Harry watched him muttering the password out loud before the doors swung open and they stepped inside, both of them yelping out loud and ducking when a large goblet of pumpkin juice instantly went flying at their faces.

"CISSA! HOW DARE YOU HURL YOUR DRINK AT ME?! I WAS STILL TALKING!"

"Sirius…?" Harry asked meekly, her voice cracking as she recognized the distinct growling voice of her godfather.

She and Draco rose back up and stared blankly up at the scene in front of them, their eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. Sirius Black was right in the middle of it all – arguing very loudly with a pink-faced, scowling Narcissa Malfoy who was currently fanning herself in an attempt to remove the flush from her cheeks.

Behind her, Lucius Malfoy was pouring over a stack of parchments and beside him – seated on Dumbledore's vacated desk – Lawrence Malfoy was watching the entire scene with a calm, amused smirk. An elegant woman in her early fifties sat beside him, her eyes flicking upwards to meet Jaimee's in warm welcome.

Around the room, Harry could make out several more familiar faces – a smirking Byron Malfoy seated calmly near the entrance, a slightly cringing William and Reginald Malfoy who were both watching the scene with relative concern a couple of feet away. Two beautiful women about Harry's age – one blonde, one brunette – held the arms of William and Reggie respectively and seeing Jaimee there, they smiled warmly at her in greeting.

Forcing an awkward smile back, Jaimee turned her attention back to her godfather and nearly choked when she saw him lunge forward and seize Lucius by the front of his robes, jostling the other man as he growled.

"I told you, Lucius! I will not sign this bloody engagement seal unless I talk to my goddaughter myself and she confirms that your son beat her because to be brutally honest, I have doubts that anyone can beat my Jaimee—"

"Sirius! I'm here!" Harry rushed out, drawing all adults' attention on her as she rushed into the room. Sirius' eyes immediately whirled on her and he gaped upon seeing her intertwined hands with Draco, a familiar fire bursting in his eyes.

Draco saw this and began to back away, a nervous laugh escaping his throat. "H—Harry…He's doing that weird look again…G—get him away from me before he—YARGH!" Draco stumbled backwards as Sirius attempted to attack him again, held back only by Lucius' grip on his robes.

"You will keep away from my only son and heir, Black." He said calmly, keeping Sirius firmly in place as he turned and greeted Draco with a cordial smile. "Draco, I believe you have some important news to tell us. Why don't you inform Black here of your successful overture?" He prompted, drawing all the other Malfoys' attention to his son.

Draco nodded and held up Jaimee's hand, indicating the engagement ring on her finger. "Last night at around eleven, Jaimee conceded in battle. My chosen bride has accepted to be my wife and to be the next noble heiress of our family. We are to be married as soon as possible." He recited the formal words right out of memory from their family's tradition, failing to see all the blood rushing out of Harry's stunned face.

"M—Malfoy…Heiress?"

No one heard her as most of the Malfoys in the room applauded at the familiar words, eyeing Jaimee with a warm, approving smile.

"H—Heiress? M—Married as s—soon as p—possible?!"

Draco didn't hear the desperation in her voice as Narcissa rushed forward and pulled him into a tearful hug, planting kisses all over his face. Byron had stood up and walked over to him, giving him a punch on the shoulder while Reggie and William grinned at him, patting their older cousin on the back.

Lucius smirked and turned to Sirius once more, holding up the engagement contract with a smug smile on his face. Growling, Sirius snatched it from his hand and bent down to the table to sign it, muttering under his breath about 'cheating Malfoy bastards'.

Amidst all this, Harry was still in shock – her eyes glazed over as Draco's words echoed over and over again in her head. Malfoy heiress…Marriage…Soon… A soft whimper escaped her lips and she collapsed back down onto the vacated seat behind her, failing to notice the elegant woman beside Lawrence smiling at her from the Headmaster's table.

"You'll do just fine, sweetie…" She told her, finally rousing the distraught girl from her thoughts as she looked up into the woman's exquisite features. She smiled again as Jaimee stood back up and hastily smiled back in embarrassment, unsure of what to say.

When the woman noticed her hesitation, she laughed and checked herself – walking over to gather the uncertain girl into a warm hug. "I'm terribly sorry for my rudeness. I'm Draco's grandmother, Genevieve Malfoy. I'm delighted to meet you, my dear. Lawrence has already spoken of your fierce spirit, I can't say I'm not a little eager to get to know you better." She admitted, watching as the tension in Harry's face relaxed and she finally allowed a genuine smile.

"You're Lawrence's wife…? Well…I have to say I was expecting someone a bit more—"

"Cold and distant?" She supplied for her with a knowing smile, causing Jaimee to choke in shock. Genevieve laughed at this and shook her head, looking amused at the girl's reaction. "Yes, my husband is known to be rather insufferable sometimes but I consider myself a…Well, let's just say a misfit in the Malfoy family." She told her, shaking her head and at this, Harry rewarded her with another friendly smile.

"If you were a misfit, Mrs. Malfoy, I can only imagine how I'd be—"

She would have liked to talk more but at that moment, Sirius had approached her and yanked on her elbow, forcing her to excuse herself from Genevieve and whirl around to face him. Wincing at his irate features, he pulled her into a corner of the room away from the chattering Malfoys and began to speak – his voice coming in a low, angry hiss.

"We don't have to go through with this, you know! I know you made a deal about how you have to marry the one person who beats you but nobody should be forced into a marriage like this, Harry! I'll fight for you, I'll tell them that you're infertile! Or—"

"Infertile?! Sirius! I—"

"What?! It's the perfect excuse, they'll let us go in an instant!"

Harry sighed and shook her head, giving her godfather a calm look. "Sirius, I am not being forced into this. When Draco said I conceded, I really did concede. I wanted to lose to him." She explained, nearly causing a vein to pop in Sirius' neck.

"What?! Why would you want to do that?!" He demanded, his voice rising and Harry had to shush him again when Draco turned around to watch them in curiosity.

"B—Because! I…I actually…I love him…" She admitted in soft voice, a blush rushing into her cheeks but Sirius's eyebrows rose up in confusion, leaning closer so he could hear her better.

"What?! Sorry Harry, I didn't quite catch that. You'll have to speak a bit louder." He replied, bending down so that she could whisper to him. Blushing darker, Harry obliged and leaned forward, whispering the phrase once more into his ear.

When she pulled back, Sirius' face was flushed pink and he stared at her as though she had admitted to having a crush on Voldemort, his jaw dropping open in disbelief.

"You WHAT?!"

Flinching at his voice, Jaimee looked behind them in embarrassment to find that the Malfoys were all staring at them in confusion – watching as she laughed nervously before turning back around and kicking Sirius sharply in the shin.

He winced but he didn't lower his voice as he shouted again, causing her to jump in surprise. "Are you INSANE?! You—Y—You willingly accepted this marriage?! Wh—Why?! I—it's Malfoy!" He croaked out, grabbing her by the front of her robes and jostling her for an explanation.

It was then that he noticed her attire and he froze again, his eyes darting down to widen at her appearance. "And you're dressed as a woman! Why are you dressed like a woman?! Did he make you do it?! Did he force you to dress like this?!" He demanded, his angry eyes flicking from her wincing face to Draco's angry expression.

"N—No, Sirius! He didn't! I decided this! I—"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Harry gasped and stepped back in shock as her Godfather's now petrified form fell forward face first onto the floor. As he fell, Jaimee looked up to see Draco stepping up in front of her, a smug smile on his face and his wand held up in his hand.

"There…Now that's taken care of…To more important matters." He drawled, shoving his wand back into his pocket and turning to give Harry an all-too-innocent smile. She cocked an eyebrow as he put an arm around her waist and led her forward right into the battlefield, gesturing first to the familiar blonde man smirking near the Headmaster's table.

"Jaimee, you remember my father – the head of the family – Lucius Malfoy." He began, pushing her gently towards him and she managed a nervous laugh, taking Lucius' offered hand. It looked as though the Malfoy head was bending down to give it a kiss but out of nervousness, Harry shook it firmly instead, forcing Lucius to stop mid-bend and give her a strange look.

"H—Hi Mister Malfoy…H—How are you? I—I h—haven't talked to you since s—second year! Of course back then you were trying to kill me but—Oh! But that's not important!" She suddenly rushed out, silently screaming at herself in her head when she saw the scandalized look on Lucius' face at her senseless rambling.

The Malfoy head dropped her hand and shoved his back into his pocket, the friendly smirk on his face faltering into a forced smile that looked more like a grimace. In her nervousness, Harry forced herself to rant on, trying to salvage the situation.

"I—I mean, it was important! Y—You were trying to kill me but that's done now with you being a spy and all and well – Anyway! Ehehe! I mean, who hasn't wanted to kill someone every now and then? I remember how I wanted to kill my godfather's house-elf, Kreacher loads of times! He's nothing like Dobby, your house-elf, sir! You remember him! He was yours and…I…freed…him…" Harry's eyes widened when she realized her own words and her eyes darted to her side, blinking rapidly when she saw Draco cringing and shaking his head frantically at her.

Lucius looked questioningly at Draco and the Malfoy heir gave his father a forced smile, to which Lucius responded to by raising a curious eyebrow. "Charming…" He managed to say, his voice sounding restrained as he turned back to the stuttering Gryffindor.

His eyes looking half-irritated, half-amused, Lucius managed another tight-lipped smile and bowed his head once to her in inclination before taking a step backwards and allowing Draco to move on. Biting his lip, Draco hesitated as he turned her to his Grandfather and he was slightly surprised when he saw the heavy amusement in the older Malfoy's eyes.

"This is my grandfather, Lawrence Malfoy…Grandfather, I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Jaimee Potter." He continued, his eyes narrowing in confusion when Lawrence merely nodded his head once as though in recent familiarity. Jaimee smiled back at the man albeit uncertainly, her hands fidgeting nervously behind her back.

"Wait…Have you two already met or something…?" Draco asked as he watched the expressions on their faces, his suspicions rising further when Lawrence merely smiled in response. "Oh I may have come across her face once before…" He drawled and both he and Jaimee left it there, falling into a heavy silence.

When neither of them said anything else, Draco hesitated before he spoke up again and pointed Jaimee in the direction of his grandmother. At the older woman's warm eyes, Jaimee managed a genuine smile this time and Draco didn't even finish his introduction when she already allowed herself to be pulled into a hug, blushing in embarrassment when Genevieve planted a kiss on both her cheeks.

"I think she's absolutely charming, Draco. Not at all like all those superficial, giggly girlfriends you used to have all the time – how many girls did you date again?" She suddenly asked, turning to her embarrassed grandson.

Smirking, Harry turned to the blonde and was surprised to see him sticking his tongue out playfully at his grandmother before answering. "Grandmother, it's just like you to purposely embarrass me like that." He kidded, causing both his grandmother and mother to laugh.

"How many girlfriends did you have, Malfoy?" Harry muttered under her breath at him but Draco just grinned at her and turned away, obviously avoiding her question. Before she could ask him again, he finally turned her to his mother, holding back a laugh when he already noticed her scrutinizing Jaimee's appearance from head to toe.

"Lastly, Jaimee…This is my very beautiful mother, Narcissa. I believe you've already seen each other once at the Quidditch World Cup. Back when – as you say – my father was still trying to 'kill' you." Draco teased, causing Harry to flush and glare warningly at him.

She would have told him off but he had already backed away when Narcissa stepped forward and inspected Jaimee's face up close, raising a single hand and running it disdainfully through the younger girl's hair.

"U—Uhm…It's a p—pleasure to meet you Mrs. Malfoy—"

"Oh! No, no, no, no, no! This absolutely can not do!" The blonde woman exclaimed loudly as she took a step backwards away from her in panic, gesturing wildly to the meek-looking assistant behind her hastily writing down her words.

Confused, Harry raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Draco. The Malfoy heir was biting his lower lip in nervousness and was discreetly trying to back away from her, desperately trying to avoid being seen by his mother.

"Draco, what—?"

"No, no, no, Jaimee! You absolutely should not be seen in public looking like that! This is going to take a lot ofwork! I'm going to have to contact tailors! Dressmakers! Beauticians! Party planners and caterers! Oh and honey, we have got to do something about those hideous shoes! In fact, I'm taking you to Hogsmeade right now to go shopping!" She rushed out, shaking her head furiously at her panicked assistant.

"Annabelle! Helena! You are both going with us!" Narcissa added after a moment of consideration, turning to the two girls seated beside William and Reggie. As if on cue, the beautiful women seated next to them stood up and walked over to stand behind Jaimee, smiling nervously at the Lady Malfoy in front of them as she barked out more orders to her poor assistant.

"Jaimee, this is Annabelle and Helena. They're William and Reggie's fiancés. Don't worry, we'll make this a way for us to get to know each other better, won't we girls?" Narcissa spoke up again, the sharp, business-like brusque of her voice betraying the seemingly inviting implication of her words.

Offering her a weak, friendly smile, the blonde girl Jaimee knew to be Annabelle spoke up, her dainty features looking a bit nervous. "Auntie Narcissa can be scary sometimes…But I guess she means well. The last time she dragged us along a shopping spree, we spent an entire day shopping around London." She told her, laughing nervously when Helena groaned out loud in agreement.

Jaimee felt all the color drain out of her face when she heard this, looking up and watching in horror as one by one – all the Malfoy males in room began to leave and walk towards the fireplace, more than eager to leave the women alone.

Sensing Narcissa's growing vehemence, both William and Reggie bid their fiancés a goodbye kiss to their cheek before they hastily followed their grandfather and Lucius to the fireplace, disappearing about a second after.

Laughing madly, Byron walked up to Jaimee patted the girl consolingly on her shoulder, leaning down to whisper something briefly in her ear. "I'm sorry but this is something even I can't help you out of, Harry. I'm out of here." He said, giving her a saucy wink before he followed his cousins out the fireplace, leaving Jaimee staring helplessly at his retreating form in growing panic.

Sensing her distraught features, Genevieve walked up to her and gave her a farewell hug, a look of sympathy etched into her face. "I'm sorry, dear…I would love to go with you and keep my young daughter-in-law in check but I'm an old woman, you see… And I can't shop around with you as much as I used to." She said, sighing and patting Jaimee gently on the back.

Giving all three ladies one final smile, she finally turned and followed after her grandsons, leaving Harry staring after her in dismay. "Merlin, help me. I'm going to be dragged around shopping with women all day long…Oh bloody hell…" The soon-to-be Malfoy heiress muttered under her breath, already feeling the beginnings of a nervous breakdown erupting in her chest.

Turning around, she saw Draco hurriedly waving his wand at Sirius' petrified state, causing the marauder to jump to his feet and immediately wrap an arm dangerously around the Malfoy heir's neck.

"Malfoy! I can't believe you petrified me! I am going to snap your neck in half and feed you to a pack of wolves!" He growled out loud, oblivious to the now male-free, half-empty office.

"And of course, we'll need to buy jewelry! And lots and lots of beautiful new skirts and dresses for you! Oh, I'm so excited! I think I'm going to call my personal beauticians already!" Narcissa continued, taking Jaimee by the shoulder and shoving her towards her assistant to take her body measurements.

"D—Did y-you say…beauticians???" She whimpered, turning wide, furious eyes to Draco and Sirius and growing even angrier when she saw both males smiling nervously at her with sheepish expressions on their faces. Sirius still had his arm wrapped tightly around Draco's neck but his efforts at choking the Malfoy heir had seized and he was now gaping at his cousin as she circled his goddaughter like a hawk about to devour its prey.

"Here's can idea, Black! You can break my neck all you want…after we get the hell out of here and before my mother drags us along into this. How about it?!" Draco offered nervously, gulping when he saw the look of pure murder on Harry's face.

Directing a weak, disarming smile at Harry, Sirius' grip around Draco's neck loosened and he nodded frantically, the two of them slowly backing away from the growing fire in the black-haired girl's narrowed green eyes.

"What a wonderful suggestion, Malfoy… I was just thinking the same thing." Sirius agreed, his voice shaking slightly as his eyes darted repeatedly from Harry's face to the door behind them.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, YOU TWO! DON'T YOU DARE—"

"You run first, I'll pretend to chase!" Sirius rushed out to Draco, shoving the blonde towards the door. Not one to disagree with that, Draco turned and bolted noisily for the door with Sirius right at his heels, both men crying out in pain when Harry's sneakers came flying at their heads.

Narcissa was still rushing out orders to her secretary and failed to notice all this happening behind her, turning to give the three girls a speculative look. "Hmm…Oh, schedule a full body wax for three as well. I believe all of them would appreciate it for tomorrow's party." She told her assistant, failing to notice the looks of horror both Annabelle and Helena shot at Harry.

Terrified, the boy-turned-girl shot a horror-stricken back to the closed entrance door and screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing down the long Hogwarts corridor through which two men – one blonde, one black-haired – were running for their lives.

"DRACO MALFOY! SIRIUS BLACK! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU BOTH!"

---

Ugh…I hope it rains so I won't have to have a picnic with that arrogant, pureblooded prat. Lorraine thought moodily as she waited outside for her family near the entrance of the castle, looking up at the sky with a scowl on her face. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sighed and leaned back against the door behind her, checking her watch and noting that it was exactly around fifteen minutes before Philippe would be there to pick her up for their picnic.

She knew her family had come to Hogwarts after hearing news of Draco's engagement to Jaimee and though she was more than thrilled for him, she had been reluctant to return to Hogwarts with them. Sure enough, her Grandfather had persuaded her to come along and had even managed to arrange for her and Philippe to have a picnic near the grounds afterwards.

Instead of following her family inside the Headmaster's office, she chose to wait outside and sulk – glaring unhappily at all the other Hogwartian debutantes hanging out by the lake's edge. Shaking her head, she turned around and was about to walk back into the castle when a familiar voice behind her spoke up, causing her to freeze in shock.

"Lorraine…? Is that you?"

Tense with anticipation, she turned slowly and inwardly groaned when saw Ron's blue eyes staring back at her as he walked up the steps towards the entrance. Several other Gryffindor boys were behind him and they watched curiously as the redhead stopped in front of her, giving her a small, disarming smile.

She glared back at him, her eyes narrowing icily in anger but he simply smiled and gestured for his friends to go on ahead without him, turning back to give her an unreadable look.

Neither of them said anything for a long time.

Ron's eyes dropped down and he shoved his hands into his pockets, shuffling his feet nervously on the ground. Lorraine wasn't any better off as she looked away from him and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly at the cold air around them.

Noticing this, Ron's lips quirked into a weak smile and he shrugged his thick jacket off, offering it up to her in silence. She glared at him, refusing to take his jacket until he sighed and slung if over his arm, walking over so that they were standing face to face.

"Look…I'm glad you came back here. There's—"

"I didn't come back. My family just came here to talk to Draco about his engagement. Besides, I'm supposed to be meeting Philippe here in awhile for a picnic so you may want to salvage your ego by ignoring me and walking away." She said snidely, causing Ron to wince at the harshness of her tone.

Managing a weak grin, he lifted one shoulder up in a half-shrug, looking half-amused and half-nervous at her words. "I guess I deserved that one…" He mused, ducking his head sheepishly behind his hand.

Rolling her eyes, Lorraine let out a heavy sigh and straightened up from the wall, wrapping her arms around herself and giving him a suspicious glare. "What do you want, Ron? Do you want me to say I forgive you so you can leave me alone? Okay. 'I forgive you'. Now go." She snapped, turning around and making to walk back in the castle but Ron placed a hand on her shoulder and held her back, a pleading look on his face.

"Please, Raine! I'm sorry, alright? I was wrong! I said a lot of awful things about you that I shouldn't have and I'm so sorry! Just…Tell me what I have to do to make things alright between us again and I'll do it! Please!" He rushed out, his hand moving downwards to clasp hers, squeezing her fingers gently with his.

In spite of herself, Lorraine stood perfectly still and listened to him, keeping her face guarded carefully lest her emotions showed on her features. Ron stepped closer to her, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as he ran his hand furiously through his tousled red hair.

"Look…I'm not very good with apologies. All you have to know is that I'm a very…very insecure person, alright? I've been best friends with Harry Potter for seven years, you have to understand that! I'm sorry… I shouldn't have taken it out on you." He explained further, looking up into her face and watching the emotions in her eyes.

She blinked up at him in uncertainty and forced herself to look away, her bottom lip making its way between her teeth in thought. He took this as a refusal and continued, his voice sounding more and more desperate as he spoke.

"I'll do anything, Raine. I'll do anything for you to forgive me…Alright? I'm sorry I called you materialistic, I'm sorry I called you a monster, I'm sorry for everything! What can I do for you to forgive me?" He demanded, placing both his hands on her shoulders and jostling her gently for an answer.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips as she angrily shrugged his hands off her shoulders, finally meeting his eyes with a hard glare. "I'll forgive you when you can make it rain, Weasley." She hissed at him, shoving him away from her and heading back towards the castle.

"B—But that's impossible—"

"Exactly." She cut him off sharply, her heels clacking noisily against the stone floor as she walked away from him.

To her surprise, however, he didn't seem to be following after her as she expected. Just as she reached the front doors, she whirled around in mild curiosity, her eyes widening when she beheld the scene before her.

Where she had stood near the steps, Ron was now hopping up and down on one foot and holding his hands up high over his head in an awkward position, a speculative look on his face as he looked up into the sky with fierce determination in his eyes.

One of her eyebrows raised higher than the other, Lorraine stared at him in speechless stupor as she stood rooted in her place. She watched with reluctant smile as he began humming an indistinct tune under his breath and he began hopping in a small circle while holding his position, ignoring the strange looks he was receiving from many of his fellow students.

After a few awkward minutes of watching him continue this, she finally couldn't take it anymore and approached him cautiously, fighting the laugh that was threatening to spill from her lips.

"Er…Ron…? What are you doing…?"

Jumping slightly in surprise, he whirled around and gave her a mischievous grin before hopping up on one leg again and resuming his bizarre activity.

"I'm doing the rain dance, Lorraine. What do you think I'm doing?" He answered easily, giving her another smile before turning around again, raising his arms up higher above his head.

She stared at him for another long moment of stunned silence, watching in helpless amusement as he pranced around her like a humming lunatic with an infectious grin on his face. Finally, after what seemed like hours of her speechless staring, she finally caved in and clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling the giggles that were threatening to escape.

Failing to notice this, Ron continued his deranged dance and began to hum louder, switching his hopping leg before resuming his movements. In spite of her efforts, Lorraine couldn't help herself and her lips began twitching madly in laughter, her giggles growing louder and more uncontrollable.

Hearing this, Ron stopped immediately and turned around, smiling when he saw Lorraine laughing genuinely for the first time in months. She was covering her mouth to restrain herself but that proved useless as he winked at her before resuming his dance, causing her to laugh harder.

After about three more minutes of this, he finally stopped and joined her laughter, walking up to the giggling girl and wrapping his arms around her to pull her close to chest. They both laughed against each other softly, his fingers going to caress the smooth strands of her hair.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. Allowing a genuine smile to grace her face, she looked up at him and pressed her lips very gently against his, causing a faint blush to color Ron's cheeks.

Pulling away about a second later, she giggled again when she saw the flushed, sputtering expression on his face. Feeling a little mischievous, she reached up and poked the bridge of his nose, forcing him back to his senses as he blinked and stared down at her in amazement.

Seeing the teasing sparkle in her eyes, he smiled back and he would have leaned down to kiss her again when they both heard a faint rumble above them, causing both teenagers to glance up in surprise just in time to see dark, gray rain clouds beginning to darken the skies.

Lorraine had just raised an eyebrow at Ron in amazement right before they both cringed as rain began to pour down on them, drenching them both with big, cold raindrops. He began to laugh again as he looked down into her beautiful smile, blushing when she reached a hand up and pushed his drenched bangs away from his eyes.

"You're such an idiot, Weasley…"

When he couldn't force himself to say anything, he reached up and cupped her cheek instead – the both of them ignoring the screaming students passing them as they ran back into the Hogwarts castle to avoid being drenched from the rain.

Pulling away to place his jacket over her shivering form, he pulled her closer against him and wrapped his arms around her waist, their bodies melting against each other under the pouring rain.

"I think…I'm in love with you, Lorraine…" He whispered into her ear and he immediately felt her shoulders tense as she pulled back and stared wordlessly up at him, her jaw hanging open in shock.

"Wh—What? Ron, I—"

"Shhh… I know. You don't have to say anything right now. Please." He whispered gently, his voice muffled into her hair. She nodded wordlessly, hugging him tighter and sighing when she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling of immense happiness bursting from her chest.

They stayed in that position for a long moment, relishing in the warmth seeping from the other's body until a familiar, mocking voice eventually broke them out of their trance, causing both teenagers to stiffen in panic.

"Well, well… Lorraine…? I expected more from my fiancé than this…"

Gulping, she tore herself from Ron's embrace and found herself staring right into the face of a very angry looking Philippe and an equally irate Draco behind him. The two pureblooded males were glaring accusingly at her with narrowed eyes – Philippe with anger and Draco with disappointment.

Paling in fear, she took a step backwards and offered both men a nervous smile.

Now what…?

---

A/N: I apologize but I found that this was probably the best place to end this chapter since it was hellish long already. :giggles: A little Ron/Lorraine action in this one since most of you have been asking about them for a while now. Before I forget, thanks to all those who reviewed my last chapter! I especially want to thank those who left long reviews. You have no idea how much you all inspire me to keep writing this story. I'm glad you all enjoy it and I hope you'll all keep reading even when I start on its sequel. :wink:

Next Chapter: More Malfoys, Auror training, The Engagement Party

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW AND HELP ME OUT! MWAH! CHEERS!