A/N- Wow, I'm finally updating! Amazing, isn't it? Oh, sorry about Cho
being a tad OOC, but I couldn't help it, it just fit. R/R!
"So what do you think?" Cho asked Lucius after explaining her plan. Lucius smiled maliciously. "That is the best bloody idea I have ever heard," he said, running a hand through his ever-so-prized blonde hair.
Cho grinned. She had never thought she would be in this position. Blind Date really made people think. And apparently, it gave them crazy ideas. But seriously, she was brilliant to think of this idea. When else would she get the chance to show up someone who had called her a safe bet, while getting Draco Malfoy embarrassed, making other guys jealous, AND having a hot date with Lucius Malfoy? Never, that's when.
"Alright, so here's what we do. Didn't you used to have that house elf who works in our kitchens?" she asked Lucius, who nodded. "Yeah, I think his name was Knobby. Or Lobby. I don't know! Anyway, yes I did, why?" he asked curiously.
Cho grinned another evil grin. They were almost becoming second nature to her now! "Well then, YOU are going to go down to the kitchens and get the- supplies," she said, going over the plan in her head, "I'm going to go talk to some people to work out the finer points of our plan."
Lucius smirked as he headed down to the kitchens. He hadn't been expecting to see Dobby, but he had to admit, it would be fun to gloat about how well the Malfoy family was doing without him. Tickling the pair in the fruit basket on the wall, he walked in.
"How is we being of service to you today?" an elf asked, bowing humbly to the blonde. "I need some whipped cream, some chocolate sauce, a jar of cherries, and two bananas. Oh, and a quart of whatever flavor ice cream you have lying around," Lucius drawled.
The house elves gave him a few strange glances, but willingly got him what he had asked for. Dobby was the elf who brought over the bananas and cherries. "Here you is- Master?" he asked incredulously, tennis ball eyes goggling at him. Lucius sneered, grabbing the fruits from Dobby's hands.
"How's Hogwarts, elf?" he asked snidely as he walked toward the door. Dobby shook his head. "You is being very odd. I is getting worried. I is leaving now. I is not going to ask what you is wanting with these things. Dobby remembers Master's- ideas. I is going now!" Dobby repeated, and back away, leaving Lucius laughing like an idiot.
While he was down in the kitchens, Cho was on her way to talk to the headmaster. She didn't get very far, however, because she was hailed down by numerous couples, both happy and unhappy.
"Cho, could you come here one second?" Hermione asked from the refreshment table, where she was standing unhappily with Draco. Figuring "why not?" Cho walked over. "Cho, would you please tell Malfoy here that just because he's rich doesn't mean he's above everyone else?" Hermione said exasperatedly, gesturing to Malfoy, who had a smirk on his face and a glass of punch in his hand.
"Um," Cho said, caught by surprise, "Sometimes it might, but in Draco's case, it definitely doesn't. But anyway, I'm glad I ran into you, Mione. I need to ask you a favor." Hermione walked over to her, Draco following a very small distance behind. Cho explained her and Lucius' plan, and asked Hermione if she would be willing to have a part.
"That sounds great Cho, really. I mean, Narcissa Malfoy totally deserves it, and I can't wait to see the look on Draco's face either. But I'm not going to ask that question in front of the whole school. Why don't you ask Parvati or someone?" Hermione suggested.
Cho shrugged. To her, it didn't matter who the accomplice was in her plan as long as her goals were achieved. So she walked off to find Parvati, leaving Hermione feeling a little bit better about the evening, and Draco looking very bewildered and not quite so sure of himself.
"What the bloody hell was that about?" Draco asked, looking angrily at Hermione. She shrugged. "Oh, Cho was just telling me about a game of Truth or Dare we're going to be playing later on," she said, telling the truth. Of course, it wasn't the whole truth, but she wouldn't want to give away Cho's plan.
"I don't believe you one bit," said Draco, trying his best to look like he didn't care that he didn't know what was going on. "Okay," Hermione said easily, and took another sip of Butterbeer.
Meanwhile, Cho walked on, looking for Parvati. Who she found were Ron and Pansy. "Hey guys, have you seen Parvati?" she asked perkily, not catching the scowls on both of their faces. Ron looked at her, sizing her up.
"I wish we had," he said, "the sight of a friendly face would be nice after having to stare at the Ice Queen for half an hour. Just don't tell Hermione I said so." Cho looked at him questioningly, not getting what he meant.
"What Freckles here is trying to say is, he thought he would use me to make the Mudblood jealous. That way, she would want to go out with him. So if you told her that, his plan would be a big flop," Pansy said, explaining for Ron, whose face suddenly went as red as his hair.
"Oh. Okay then," Cho shrugged. She hadn't had any plans to tell Hermione, but she tucked this away in the back of her head anyway. "Well," she continued, "good luck you two, I'll be going now."
Pansy shook her head, beckoning her back. Cho turned around, wondering what more Pansy wanted. "Why are you looking for Parvati anyway?" she asked out of pure curiosity. Ron also looked like he wanted to know.
"Oh, I was just going to invite her to play Truth or Dare later," Cho said, half-lying, "You two are welcome to join in too." Pansy smirked, looking at the expression of nervousness and embarrassment on Ron's face. "We'll be glad to," she said, and let Cho continue on her way.
Finally, she found Parvati standing with Sirius Black and Professor Lupin. Unfortunately, they were standing with Professor Snape, Professor Sinistra, and good old Cissa herself. They all seemed to be talking about something, some more vehemently than others.
They quickly shut up though, when Cho walked up. "Hey Cho," Parvati said happily, "What's up?" Cho glanced around at the aforementioned circle of people. "Um, could I talk to you and Sirius alone for a second?" she asked as smoothly as she could.
Parvati nodded, and she and Sirius were about to start walking away when Cissa grabbed Sirius's semi-long hair, which was in a ponytail. "Ouch! Jeez Cissa! What are you trying to do, make me bald?" asked Sirius, rubbing his head. "No. What's your name- Cho- why do you need to talk to Sirius and Parvati?" Cissa asked, not letting go of Sirius's hair.
Cho thought fast. But when Cho thought fast, she thought just a little bit dumb. "Er- I just wanted to- give them some advice," she said unimpressively, "On- um- being- careful?" Sirius almost snorted with laughter, and Parvati grinned at the idea. Cissa hesitated, not quite believing her.
But supposing she didn't have much choice, she let go of Sirius's hair in annoyance. "Fine. Sirius being Sirius, I suppose they need it. But make it quick, we're in the middle of an *important* discussion," she said, glaring at Cho with distrust.
Cho nodded that she had heard her, and walked a little away with Sirius and Parvati. "Okay, what's up? I'm assuming you didn't really call us over to give us- advice," Parvati asked questioningly. Sirius grinned at the thought, but remained quiet as Cho talked.
"Look. Lucius and I are really annoyed that Cissa thinks we're both safe bets. We came up with- I came up with- a plan to make Cissa jealous and Draco embarrassed. Everyone else will either be really jealous or dying of laughter, and both are good," here Cho paused for breath, then continued,
"So we're going to get a big game of Truth or Dare going on. Sirius, that's where you come in. I know you wanted to play Truth or Dare in the first place, so you go ahead and suggest it. Then Parvati, when you eventually get to dare someone, you dare me. This is what you dare me."
Cho broke off, and whispered something in Parvati's ear. Parvati burst out laughing. "Oh my god, that's going to kill her! And Draco! And I can't wait to see that!" she said, agreeing to the plan whole-heartedly. She whispered what it was to Sirius, who started laughing hysterically.
"Now listen, don't tell anyone, okay? Sirius, just start it when the timing is right, I'm sure you'll be able to find a good time. And if Cissa asks what I told you, I was- um- giving you advice about- protection," Cho said, laughing at the pathetic excuse.
Sirius grinned. "Not a problem," he easily, and he and Parvati walked back to the "powwow" to join Remmie, Cissa, Sevvie, and Ally. "What the bloody hell was that about?" Cissa asked, clearly not in any a better mood than since Sirius and Parvati had left. Parvati blushed, and Sirius answered happily, "Cho was just giving us some advice on protection!"
As Cho looked back on the group, she saw the look of horror on Cissa's face, and knew that she didn't suspect a thing about her actual plan. However, she couldn't stay and linger, because she had another mission to take care of.
While Lucius was still making his way back up to the Great Hall from the kitchens (it must have been a very long walk), Cho had yet another person to talk to, and his name was Professor Albus Dumbledore.
Being a Prefect, and not wanting to hurt her chances of possible Head Girl- ship, she didn't want to intentionally break a million rules without asking the Headmaster. It sounded like a dumb plan, but she knew she had to do it. Talking to Hermione had made her even surer of that.
Finally, she found him, standing with Professor McGonagall up where the staff table would usually be. "Excuse me Headmaster, could I talk to you for a second?" she asked, trying to be the epitome of polite to improve her case. Professor Dumbledore glanced down at her. "Certainly. Professor McGonagall, cover your ears," he said laughingly.
"Okay, well here's the thing," Cho began. She then went on to explain her whole idea, making sure to emphasize why they were doing it. When she was done, her face was pink with embarrassment, and Professor Dumbledore was chuckling. "So what do you think?" she asked nervously, looking hopeful, but expecting failure.
"Let me get this straight. Basically, you are asking me if you can endorse age gaps, jealousy, and ridiculous muggle secret games, while in effect getting back at people who have "pissed you off", and giving everyone a good show, a laugh, and a taste of covetousness?" Professor Dumbledore asked incredulously.
"Erm- that just about sums it up," Cho said, hanging her head in defeat, "Well?" Professor Dumbledore, to her surprise, grinned. "There is nothing the school needs more than a good laugh. I think that's a hilarious and fabulous idea," he said, eyes twinkling merrily.
Cho gasped, clearly not expecting this reaction. "Wow, thanks Professor Dumbledore!" she said, smiling widely as she turned and walked off to tell Lucius the new news.
Professor McGonagall then uncovered her ears, which she had not really been covering very carefully. She had, of course, been eavesdropping, and had heard everything. "Albus!" she said, looking appalled, "You just gave Cho Chang- and Lucius Malfoy- permission to exploit each other in front of the entire school! What were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking," said Professor Dumbledore calmly, not worried, but amused by the look on Professor McGonagall's face, "that it's about time this school had a little spicing up."
"So what do you think?" Cho asked Lucius after explaining her plan. Lucius smiled maliciously. "That is the best bloody idea I have ever heard," he said, running a hand through his ever-so-prized blonde hair.
Cho grinned. She had never thought she would be in this position. Blind Date really made people think. And apparently, it gave them crazy ideas. But seriously, she was brilliant to think of this idea. When else would she get the chance to show up someone who had called her a safe bet, while getting Draco Malfoy embarrassed, making other guys jealous, AND having a hot date with Lucius Malfoy? Never, that's when.
"Alright, so here's what we do. Didn't you used to have that house elf who works in our kitchens?" she asked Lucius, who nodded. "Yeah, I think his name was Knobby. Or Lobby. I don't know! Anyway, yes I did, why?" he asked curiously.
Cho grinned another evil grin. They were almost becoming second nature to her now! "Well then, YOU are going to go down to the kitchens and get the- supplies," she said, going over the plan in her head, "I'm going to go talk to some people to work out the finer points of our plan."
Lucius smirked as he headed down to the kitchens. He hadn't been expecting to see Dobby, but he had to admit, it would be fun to gloat about how well the Malfoy family was doing without him. Tickling the pair in the fruit basket on the wall, he walked in.
"How is we being of service to you today?" an elf asked, bowing humbly to the blonde. "I need some whipped cream, some chocolate sauce, a jar of cherries, and two bananas. Oh, and a quart of whatever flavor ice cream you have lying around," Lucius drawled.
The house elves gave him a few strange glances, but willingly got him what he had asked for. Dobby was the elf who brought over the bananas and cherries. "Here you is- Master?" he asked incredulously, tennis ball eyes goggling at him. Lucius sneered, grabbing the fruits from Dobby's hands.
"How's Hogwarts, elf?" he asked snidely as he walked toward the door. Dobby shook his head. "You is being very odd. I is getting worried. I is leaving now. I is not going to ask what you is wanting with these things. Dobby remembers Master's- ideas. I is going now!" Dobby repeated, and back away, leaving Lucius laughing like an idiot.
While he was down in the kitchens, Cho was on her way to talk to the headmaster. She didn't get very far, however, because she was hailed down by numerous couples, both happy and unhappy.
"Cho, could you come here one second?" Hermione asked from the refreshment table, where she was standing unhappily with Draco. Figuring "why not?" Cho walked over. "Cho, would you please tell Malfoy here that just because he's rich doesn't mean he's above everyone else?" Hermione said exasperatedly, gesturing to Malfoy, who had a smirk on his face and a glass of punch in his hand.
"Um," Cho said, caught by surprise, "Sometimes it might, but in Draco's case, it definitely doesn't. But anyway, I'm glad I ran into you, Mione. I need to ask you a favor." Hermione walked over to her, Draco following a very small distance behind. Cho explained her and Lucius' plan, and asked Hermione if she would be willing to have a part.
"That sounds great Cho, really. I mean, Narcissa Malfoy totally deserves it, and I can't wait to see the look on Draco's face either. But I'm not going to ask that question in front of the whole school. Why don't you ask Parvati or someone?" Hermione suggested.
Cho shrugged. To her, it didn't matter who the accomplice was in her plan as long as her goals were achieved. So she walked off to find Parvati, leaving Hermione feeling a little bit better about the evening, and Draco looking very bewildered and not quite so sure of himself.
"What the bloody hell was that about?" Draco asked, looking angrily at Hermione. She shrugged. "Oh, Cho was just telling me about a game of Truth or Dare we're going to be playing later on," she said, telling the truth. Of course, it wasn't the whole truth, but she wouldn't want to give away Cho's plan.
"I don't believe you one bit," said Draco, trying his best to look like he didn't care that he didn't know what was going on. "Okay," Hermione said easily, and took another sip of Butterbeer.
Meanwhile, Cho walked on, looking for Parvati. Who she found were Ron and Pansy. "Hey guys, have you seen Parvati?" she asked perkily, not catching the scowls on both of their faces. Ron looked at her, sizing her up.
"I wish we had," he said, "the sight of a friendly face would be nice after having to stare at the Ice Queen for half an hour. Just don't tell Hermione I said so." Cho looked at him questioningly, not getting what he meant.
"What Freckles here is trying to say is, he thought he would use me to make the Mudblood jealous. That way, she would want to go out with him. So if you told her that, his plan would be a big flop," Pansy said, explaining for Ron, whose face suddenly went as red as his hair.
"Oh. Okay then," Cho shrugged. She hadn't had any plans to tell Hermione, but she tucked this away in the back of her head anyway. "Well," she continued, "good luck you two, I'll be going now."
Pansy shook her head, beckoning her back. Cho turned around, wondering what more Pansy wanted. "Why are you looking for Parvati anyway?" she asked out of pure curiosity. Ron also looked like he wanted to know.
"Oh, I was just going to invite her to play Truth or Dare later," Cho said, half-lying, "You two are welcome to join in too." Pansy smirked, looking at the expression of nervousness and embarrassment on Ron's face. "We'll be glad to," she said, and let Cho continue on her way.
Finally, she found Parvati standing with Sirius Black and Professor Lupin. Unfortunately, they were standing with Professor Snape, Professor Sinistra, and good old Cissa herself. They all seemed to be talking about something, some more vehemently than others.
They quickly shut up though, when Cho walked up. "Hey Cho," Parvati said happily, "What's up?" Cho glanced around at the aforementioned circle of people. "Um, could I talk to you and Sirius alone for a second?" she asked as smoothly as she could.
Parvati nodded, and she and Sirius were about to start walking away when Cissa grabbed Sirius's semi-long hair, which was in a ponytail. "Ouch! Jeez Cissa! What are you trying to do, make me bald?" asked Sirius, rubbing his head. "No. What's your name- Cho- why do you need to talk to Sirius and Parvati?" Cissa asked, not letting go of Sirius's hair.
Cho thought fast. But when Cho thought fast, she thought just a little bit dumb. "Er- I just wanted to- give them some advice," she said unimpressively, "On- um- being- careful?" Sirius almost snorted with laughter, and Parvati grinned at the idea. Cissa hesitated, not quite believing her.
But supposing she didn't have much choice, she let go of Sirius's hair in annoyance. "Fine. Sirius being Sirius, I suppose they need it. But make it quick, we're in the middle of an *important* discussion," she said, glaring at Cho with distrust.
Cho nodded that she had heard her, and walked a little away with Sirius and Parvati. "Okay, what's up? I'm assuming you didn't really call us over to give us- advice," Parvati asked questioningly. Sirius grinned at the thought, but remained quiet as Cho talked.
"Look. Lucius and I are really annoyed that Cissa thinks we're both safe bets. We came up with- I came up with- a plan to make Cissa jealous and Draco embarrassed. Everyone else will either be really jealous or dying of laughter, and both are good," here Cho paused for breath, then continued,
"So we're going to get a big game of Truth or Dare going on. Sirius, that's where you come in. I know you wanted to play Truth or Dare in the first place, so you go ahead and suggest it. Then Parvati, when you eventually get to dare someone, you dare me. This is what you dare me."
Cho broke off, and whispered something in Parvati's ear. Parvati burst out laughing. "Oh my god, that's going to kill her! And Draco! And I can't wait to see that!" she said, agreeing to the plan whole-heartedly. She whispered what it was to Sirius, who started laughing hysterically.
"Now listen, don't tell anyone, okay? Sirius, just start it when the timing is right, I'm sure you'll be able to find a good time. And if Cissa asks what I told you, I was- um- giving you advice about- protection," Cho said, laughing at the pathetic excuse.
Sirius grinned. "Not a problem," he easily, and he and Parvati walked back to the "powwow" to join Remmie, Cissa, Sevvie, and Ally. "What the bloody hell was that about?" Cissa asked, clearly not in any a better mood than since Sirius and Parvati had left. Parvati blushed, and Sirius answered happily, "Cho was just giving us some advice on protection!"
As Cho looked back on the group, she saw the look of horror on Cissa's face, and knew that she didn't suspect a thing about her actual plan. However, she couldn't stay and linger, because she had another mission to take care of.
While Lucius was still making his way back up to the Great Hall from the kitchens (it must have been a very long walk), Cho had yet another person to talk to, and his name was Professor Albus Dumbledore.
Being a Prefect, and not wanting to hurt her chances of possible Head Girl- ship, she didn't want to intentionally break a million rules without asking the Headmaster. It sounded like a dumb plan, but she knew she had to do it. Talking to Hermione had made her even surer of that.
Finally, she found him, standing with Professor McGonagall up where the staff table would usually be. "Excuse me Headmaster, could I talk to you for a second?" she asked, trying to be the epitome of polite to improve her case. Professor Dumbledore glanced down at her. "Certainly. Professor McGonagall, cover your ears," he said laughingly.
"Okay, well here's the thing," Cho began. She then went on to explain her whole idea, making sure to emphasize why they were doing it. When she was done, her face was pink with embarrassment, and Professor Dumbledore was chuckling. "So what do you think?" she asked nervously, looking hopeful, but expecting failure.
"Let me get this straight. Basically, you are asking me if you can endorse age gaps, jealousy, and ridiculous muggle secret games, while in effect getting back at people who have "pissed you off", and giving everyone a good show, a laugh, and a taste of covetousness?" Professor Dumbledore asked incredulously.
"Erm- that just about sums it up," Cho said, hanging her head in defeat, "Well?" Professor Dumbledore, to her surprise, grinned. "There is nothing the school needs more than a good laugh. I think that's a hilarious and fabulous idea," he said, eyes twinkling merrily.
Cho gasped, clearly not expecting this reaction. "Wow, thanks Professor Dumbledore!" she said, smiling widely as she turned and walked off to tell Lucius the new news.
Professor McGonagall then uncovered her ears, which she had not really been covering very carefully. She had, of course, been eavesdropping, and had heard everything. "Albus!" she said, looking appalled, "You just gave Cho Chang- and Lucius Malfoy- permission to exploit each other in front of the entire school! What were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking," said Professor Dumbledore calmly, not worried, but amused by the look on Professor McGonagall's face, "that it's about time this school had a little spicing up."
