A/N I love everyone's reviews! I just wanted to let you guys know that the more I'm planning, the longer this story is looking to be (sorry for everyone hoping for a big confrontation soon). Hope you'll bear with me, I've got some surprises in store ;). A thank you to my Beta partialtopotter- if you guys like smutty craziness, you should check out her story Mistresses of the Manor.

Chapter 33

At the same time

Hermione settled on one of the Ministry lobby benches, crossed her legs and unwrapped the turkey sub Ginny had bought.

" Thank you so much," Harry did the same, kissing his wife on the cheek.

" While I've got you all here," Hermione's eyes swept the crowd for any errant friends of Malfoy's, " I need to talk to you."

" About what?" Ron said around a mouthful of tuna salad.

" Has something bad happened with Malfoy? You ran away so quickly this morning when I asked about…" Ginny caught herself just in time, " Malfoy."

Ron's brow furrowed, " What did he do?"

" He didn't do anything!" Hermione swallowed, " We were just talking last night, before um-" She felt a little pink seep into her cheeks.

But she couldn't finish her thought because, Harry almost choked on his sandwich, prompting his wife to hit him hard on the back,

" After you were all panicked it would be a one night stand, that's good that you're seeing him again, " Ron forced a grimace, " For the disgusting plan and everything."

" It is. I think… I think things are progressing nicely. I'm trying to spend more time with him, build up more of a rapport," Hermione took a deep breath, " But that's beside the point. I think we need to find out more about the prophecy that caused the ministry to enact the marriage law. There's too many holes, I need to know clearly what I'm up against."

" Well… I don't know much how things work in the Department of Mysteries…" Harry screwed up his face in concentration, " But I'm sure there must be some way of getting the information."

" It's restricted though, isn't it? If it's not about you, that is?" Ginny added.

" Why not ask the bloke who showed you yours?" Ron waved obligingly at some protesters.

" Or, better yet, ask Malfoy, trying to learn about his job can only help you at this point," Ginny offered.

" Well he's only a junior clerk, I doubt he could really explain how it works," Hermione took a bite and looked up at the ornate ceiling of the ministry lobby thoughtfully.

" Don't be so snobby, 'Mione, I'm sure he could tell you something of use," Harry countered, hitting her with a glob of tuna as he gestured with his sandwich.

" Since when do you defend Malfoy?" Ron sipped deeply from his soda.

" I'm not defending him," Harry pressed his glasses back up his nose, " I just mean that you shouldn't disparage the junior clerks. Sometimes they know much more than the people on top."

" Well I can probe Malfoy a little I guess," She allowed.

" Disgusting," Ron muttered.

" What's wrong, Ronald," She grinned, " Having trouble imagining Malfoy and I all naked and-"

" Ah-hem," A voice behind them interrupted quietly.

They all turned and Hermione felt her face growing extremely hot.

Blaise Zabini grinned down at them, his 'Marriage Laws are for Madmen' badge winking from his expensive-looking dark green scarf. Next to him was Daphne Greengrass, looking like a beautiful ice queen in a pure white turtleneck dress and white boots, perfectly made up. Hermione instantly wished she was wearing something more glamorous and less grubby. Somehow the joke she'd made seemed worse when she knew she was saying it with frizzy hair, wearing a transfigured variation on last night's clothes. She hadn't stayed over at Malfoy's, sensing that it would seem very out of character, but she had fallen asleep in her clothes she was so exhausted. Luckily, she'd had an extremely deep sleep, as she had the last time they'd slept together.

" Just thought we'd come over and say hello," Blaise's teeth were so brilliantly white they almost hurt to look at. He seemed to be getting a perverse little joy about having caught her talking about Malfoy.

God, she hoped they hadn't heard more.

" Nice to see you all again, Daphne Greengrass, I'm working with Granger on a special project," Greengrass nodded at them all politely.

" Nice to see you again as well," Ginny said magnanimously, " And you, Zabini."

He smiled graciously, " I couldn't help but overhear you speaking about a mutual friend."

Hermione knew her face was scarlet, " That was completely unprofessional, Greengrass, and I'm so sorry you had to hear-"

" Unprofessional for the setting of lunch with your friends? It's unnecessary for you to apologize," Greengrass waved her hand delicately, " If anything, I'm glad to know Draco's finally moved on with his life."

Zabini laughed, " They're just hooking up, Daph."

" Well whatever," She pushed her glasses back on her slim nose, " As long as there's something actually going on with him. He was turning downright tragic spending all his time locked up in that horrible house, visiting his father in Azkaban and glooming up the place."

Hermione laughed politely, " His house was quite beautiful, actually."

" Well, now it is," Daphne sniffed, " But I'm being so rude. I hear that congratulations are in order, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

" Oh, thank you so much," Harry smiled warmly.

" I saw the pictures in the prophet," Greengrass continued, " A beautiful child."

Ginny beamed, clearly warming to someone who spoke their mind but also thought her child was beautiful.

" So Weasley," Zabini leaned rakishly on the back of the bench, " You haven't responded to my note."

Ron was as red as a beet, " I was still thinking it over."

" Good," Zabini grinned, widely, " I'm glad to know you didn't just dismiss me because we were in different houses at school."

" Of- of course not," Ron stuttered.

" Then I can look forward to your answer?" Zabini put his hand down on the back of the bench just centimeters from where Ron's hand rested. Ron promptly turned beet red.

" I think so," Ron said quietly.

Zabini smiled, and turned back to the group, " Potter, I like your jacket, where did you get it?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed slightly. There was no way someone that handsome and smooth could be good, and that was the end of it. Hermione couldn't help it, Blaise's reputation as a manwhore preceeded him.

" I'm not sure, I think my mother-in-law got it for me," Harry responded.

" Granger, I'm afraid we didn't come over just to chat. Well, Blaise did- but I need to talk to you quickly about the party," Greengrass smiled at the rest of them, " The headmaster agreed to our date, but I can't decide between a few invitations, I hoped you might be able to lead me in the right direction." She pulled a beautifully bound book out of her briefcase, and began rapidly flipping through.

" Oh, I'm not really one for-" Hermione tried to wave her away, but the book was shoved under her nose.

" The black band feels funereal, but all white is too bridal… and any color just doesn't seem to fit the theme," Greengrass gestured helplessly to the bookmarked invitations.

" I told her to go with a grey," Zabini cut in.

" Blaise," Greengrass rolled her eyes dramatically, " Grey just isn't special enough. It's a fallback, and everyone who receives this invitation will know it."

Hermione flipped through the book hopelessly. This was one test she was sure never to pass. It was worse than when Ginny had to more or less pick her yule ball gown because she was panicking. A process they would probably have to repeat for this ball.

" This really reminds me of the good old days, when our mothers would gather together and have fits over some stupid charity ball or another that no one cared about," Zabini laughed at her.

" Don't be catty today, Blaise, I had a bad morning," Greengrass said swiftly, " So, what do you think."

" I… I'm not so good at this taste stuff, Greengrass. Maybe Ginny could help you," Hermione handed the book back.

" What's the theme?" Ginny offered.

" Rosine's day… sort of a chess theme, really," Greengrass shot Hermione a questioning look.

" I think the white with a black border is classy, I don't think it says funeral," Ginny offered, " Especially a very thin band."

Greengrass frowned, " Maybe you're right, maybe I'm overthinking it."

" What party is this?" Ron asked, trying to take a more reasonable bite of his sandwich than he usually did.

" The minister asked the Department of Education to host a charity event inviting people to donate to the refurbishment of Hogwarts," Hermione answered.

" You're all on the invitation list," Greengrass smiled, " I hope you don't mind me giving you a sneak preview."

" On the contrary," Ginny smiled back.

" Oh you needn't pretend with Daph that you love the minister," Zabini laughed, tucking his hands into the pockets of his leather coat, " She's more up in arms about the ministry law than maybe anyone else."

" This ball is just his sad attempt to curry some favor," Daphne agreed, folding up her book and putting it back in her bag, " I wanted to join in on the protesting, but I'm just a processor. It wouldn't really do to take off work too often."

Hermione pushed her hair behind her ear nervously, " Well we thank you for your support anyway."

" Yes, thank you," Harry offered.

" Well, I'd hate to interrupt your taunting Weasley about shagging my best friend," Zabini grinned wickedly, " Not that I disagree with him. We'll be going."

Daphne nodded, " Sorry for the interruption, it was nice to see you all."

" Nice to see you," Ginny responded promptly.

The slytherin pair nodded, and headed off towards the street entrance, presumably to go eat something for lunch.

" Wait!" Hermione jumped up, handing Ron her sandwich and following, " Greengrass!"

She turned, " Yes, Granger."

" I'm sorry about this morning. I told Nott where your office was, I hope that was alright," Hermione blurted.

" Oh no, it's quite alright," Greengrass smiled, " He would have found out someway anyway. He's smarter than he looks."

" Well, as long as you don't mind," Hermione bit her lip, " Have a good lunch you two."

They nodded, and disappeared into the crowd.

Hermione walked back to her friends quietly, and just to be safe, settled a silence charm around their area so no one else could listen in.

" Do you think they're dating?" Ginny asked as they watched them go.

" No," Hermione sat and renewed her interest in her sandwich, " I don't think so."

" They would make a handsome couple," Ron was still beet red.

" Don't think you're going to throw us off the scent, mate. I saw that flirting," Harry grinned, and punched his best friend on the shoulder.

Ron openly demured, looking away.

Ginny laughed, " So are you going to go out with him then?"

" Probably," Ron muttered, " I don't know. But what was up with Greengrass? Christ, every time she smiled I didn't know if I was in love with her or terrified of getting my neck snapped."

" She can be a little intimidating," Hermione laughed sympathetically, " But she had a bad morning."

" What happened?" Harry sipped his wife's soda.

" Her ex was looking for her around the office. They got matched in their Maritare charm and she was not happy about it," Hermione supplied.

" Who is it?" Ginny asked.

Harry laughed, " He must have done something bad, to deserve a mood like that."

" Theodore Nott," Hermione answered, " And from what I gather, he did."

" What'd he do?" Ron asked, mouth full of tuna.

" Tried to make her jealous," Hermione laughed, " Which always backfires."

Ginny smirked, " Isn't that what you did with Malfoy?"

Hermione gasped, " I did not."

" Well that's what it sounded like this morning," Ginny's voice dripped with humor.

" No, I didn't explain. We were talking about Ron, and he accused me of being hung up on him, and got jealous all on his own," Hermione defended herself, " And besides, it ended up well."

" What did?" Ron gulped down a huge bite. It was amazing that her ex could be so intuitive when it came to Daphne's bad mood, but so oblivious when it came to Hermione. But then again, she knew that nothing changed.

" Malfoy and I decided to not sleep with other people as long as we're together," She bragged, " We can date other people, but sexually we're exclusive."

" Wow, that's…" Harry's brow furrowed, " Is that a good thing?"

" Yes!" Ginny rolled her eyes, " It's the first step to something more romantic, if he's admitting to being jealous."

" So what's next then? Trying to make him jealous of some bloke for real?" Ron blathered.

" No, that will never work," Hermione scolded, " What did I just say?"

" Well he said you could date other people. Maybe if he thought of you as more datable he'd think about dating you," Ron mused.

" Are you saying I'm not datable?" Hermione asked crossly.

" Not in Malfoy's eyes," Ginny agreed with her brother.

Hermione scoffed in response.

Ginny continued undeterred, " He's already admitted to being jealous, which at least slightly implies a connection. Pushing the dating issue would exploit that connection and maybe bring him closer to you."

" I think the more time we spend together, the closer he'll be," Hermione argued.

" So what will you do when push comes to shove, to make him admit he wants to date you?" Ginny insisted.

Hermione's mind went blank, " Harry what do you think?"

" No way, leave me out of this," He held his hands up in surrender.

" Come on, you must have an opinion," Hermione pressed him.

" I think tricking Malfoy in the first place is enough subterfuge," Harry said gruffly.

" Not the question," Hermione corrected.

" I think… I guess Malfoy isn't going to just admit he wants to be with you without any impetus," Harry admitted, " I mean, it's Malfoy."

Ginny grinned triumphantly, " See, even Harry thinks I'm right."

" I don't think you're right, I just understand that viewpoint more," Harry qualified.

Hermione looked down at her sandwich. Honestly, she saw their point, but Theodore Nott's story was still in her head. She was honestly surprised Malfoy hadn't already seen through her. Every encounter she was on pins and needles to present herself a certain way. Desirable but a little untouchable, mysterious, even fascinating. But he kept smoking her out, bringing out bad behavior, making her say things she had no business thinking. Every time she remembered ordering him to say her name she turned scarlet.

" Where would I even find someone to make him jealous?" She muttered.

Ron tucked a piece of lettuce between his teeth and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully, " Maybe Zabini knows someone."

Ginny smacked him, " Look at you, with your crush."

Ron didn't even look abashed, just grinned, " We'll see."

Hermione rolled her eyes and took a hearty bite of her sandwich.