Look at this! Infinite Inficio's on fire! She's been updating stories quicker than usual! Well, that's because I'm going to go to school soon, so I've been typing like mad.

Anyways, it's already Chapter 20! It seems like ages ago when Lavender announced her "true love" Blaise Zabini, doesn't it?

Matchmaker's going to end in a few more chapters, but there will be a sequel. I think. I hope so.

Okay, to summarise this chapter: Daphne gives Blaise the pity date he asked for. Snape directed the Romeo and Juliet play well, and it was a success. Finally, the dreaded ball arrived, but how come Ron's unable to come? And why did Hermione and Blaise end up arguing?

(The whole thing is in happy fun Nobody's POV)

'Blaise, I am NOT going to give you a pity date! There are loads of better girls out there!' Daphne denied.

'Come on, Daphne, you're my next choice!' Blaise pleaded. 'Anyway, the girl I asked is going with her friend, so why can't I go with you?'

Daphne sighed. 'Fine. But don't complain when you've realised how wrong your decision was…'

'Thanks a lot, Daphne! Hey, if you wanna get paid, don't hesitate to ask,' Blaise said.

'Blaise, I am not a prostitute. Now, are you sure you want to go with me?'

'Do you have to keep asking that?'

'I'm just giving you the chance to redeem yourself. Imagine, a Zabini needing a pity date!'

'Please, Daphne! Then it won't be a pity date; it'll be a friendship date. What do you say to that?'

'Fine, Blaise, if that's what you want… I've already said yes before, anyway.'

'No backing from the date, okay?'

'Alright…'

'Yahoo! Thanks, Daphne! Now I can stuff it to her face that I can get someone to– Never mind…' Blaise cheered.

As Blaise walked off happily, Daphne made a face. 'There's something seriously wrong with that boy…'

It was the week before the Free Week. Theodore, Derek and other volunteers were preparing to do the Romeo and Juliet play on Wednesday.

'…When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds, and sails upon the bosom of the air…' Derek said, and looked towards Theo.

Theo cleared his throat, and then looked at the next sentence of the script. 'Derek, I can't read this.'

'Just do it, Theo. You read it lots of times, and you always hesitate to read it.'

'Er… O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet.'

Derek burst out laughing. 'Alright then… Shall I hear more? Or shall I speak at this?'

Theo scoffed. 'This but thy name that is my… Bloody hell! I'm not reading anymore of this sh–' He stopped when he remembered that Snape was watching.

'Blimey, mate, it's not that hard to read the script!' Xerxes said.

'Well, you got it easy, I'm Juliet. You're just Mercutio…'

'Get on with the play, boys!' Snape told off, and banged a long stick on the table next to him, which made a loud noise. 'Even my grandma can remember lines faster than you lot!'

(Later on…)

A seventh-year Slytherin boy by the name of Eric Marshall said, 'Come, come with me, and we will make short work; for, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone 'till holy church incorporate two in one,' as Friar Laurence.

'Alright, that's enough practice, you can all go now. But work on your lines, for Merlin's sake! The play is only a few days away!' Snape told off.

Derek, Theo and Xerxes stormed out.

'Man, who would've thought that Snape could direct a play? And since when did he volunteer to direct any play?' Derek commented.

Xerxes shrugged. 'Maybe he got bored and decided to do it. But it's still curious, why did he offer to do Romeo and Juliet? He said that some students suggested it to him. Whoever they were, I'm so going to do them in…' Xerxes cracked his knuckles threateningly.

'Yes… of course…' Theo said guiltily, and looked away. Derek found it hard to look at Xerxes now, too.

'Uh… what do you say we play another round of chess when we get back? Winner can go against me…' Derek said, distracting Xerxes from the Romeo and Juliet topic.

Xerxes beamed. 'Okay, bring it on, Juliet!'

Theo smacked him on the head for that.

Finally, the day of the play arrived. Lavender and Parvati were crying when the play almost ended.

'A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head:
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.'

Most of the girls clapped more enthusiastically (with some crying just as hard as Parvati) than the guys, even though the guys cheered at the prospect of Theodore Nott cross-dressing. Theo received a lot of "Nice dress you got there, Nott" and "Where did you buy that wig?" comments when he walked off, in his proper clothes, of course.

'Galloping Gorgons… I'm not joining any plays in a while…' he muttered to himself. 'Much less act as a female character…'

But then…

Harry and Ron were casually walking towards the grounds, and saw two Hufflepuffs in their year talking.

'Yeah, I couldn't sprout legs on those darn things… How come you can?'

'Wait, let me see how you do it.'

The other Hufflepuff muttered the spell quietly, and swirled his wand fashionably. Suddenly, three little Gryffindor first-years ran across the corridor, and bumped the Hufflepuff trying out the spell.

'Oops…' the spell-trying Hufflepuff (second Hufflepuff) said. 'Oh no…'

'Oi! No running in the–' Ron started, but the spell hit him. Nothing happened.

'He's not sprouting legs,' the first Hufflepuff observed. 'You definitely pronounced it wrong.'

Suddenly, Ron fell unconscious, and dropped down onto the floor.

'Yup, you definitely pronounced it wrong…'

The second Hufflepuff poked Ron with his wand. 'Is he dead?'

The first Hufflepuff took out his own wand, and tried to Revive Ron.

'It's no use. Um… do you think Madam Pomfrey can fix damages from wayward spells?'

'Hermione! HERMIONE!' Harry yelled across the Gryffindor Common Room.

'What is it?' Hermione asked.

'It's Ron! He had just been hit by a wayward spell in the third-floor corridor, and he would stay unconscious for another week! He's in the hospital wing right now, so if you want to visit…'

'NO!' Hermione said. 'You can't be serious, Harry, I don't want to be a loner at the ball!'

Especially when I rejected Zabini already… she thought.

'I'm sorry, 'Mione, but it wasn't Ron's fault. Maybe there's still someone who needs a date still! You could ask someone who might know the names of all the dateless guys…'

'As a matter of fact, Hermione, I do know the names of those guys. But I've already got one, of course. Ernie MacMillan, since Hannah Abbott fainted…'

'That's great, Lavender, now who are the leftover guys?'

'Actually, there's only one, unless you'd like to ask a third year or something… He's too haughty to ask anyone, and is waiting for someone to ask him. Would you like to give him a chance?'

'Aw… what the heck, who is he?'

At long, spooky, frighteningly, full of tension last, it was the day of the ball. Thankfully for her, Hermione didn't have to use a gallon of Sleakeazy's Hair Potion, since Viktor Krum did a charm for her to keep it nice and wavy, with curls at the end.

She went into the hall nervously, alongside her last-moment date. Then she spotted Blaise, along with Daphne Greengrass, who waved frantically at her.

'Hermione! Here!'

She didn't like the prospect of meeting her and her ball date Blaise (she can see his dress robes "matching" with hers), what with him ignoring her for the past few days.

'Daphne, I didn't know you were going with Zabini!'

'Yup, she gave me a pity date I asked her for,' Blaise said, and Hermione felt a bit guilty.

'I'd prefer if you don't call it a pity date. Call it a favour from a friend...' Daphne added, but Blaise wasn't listening.

'I thought you said you were going with Weasley, Granger,' Blaise commented. 'Now, he doesn't look like Weasley at all.'

'He… uh… got hit by a wayward spell…' Hermione explained.

'So he morphed into some random Hufflepuff?'

'Look, don't joke around Zabini, you know he's not Ron. Ron got hit by a spell and is now unconscious!'

Feeling the tension rise up, Daphne picked the exact moment to get away. 'Uh… I'm just gonna get some drinks now… Butterbeers, you know…'

Hermione's date spotted one of his friends, and decided to leave as well.

'You rejected me for him? Him?' Blaise said, disbelieved.

'Look, I didn't plan to go with him, if Ron wasn't unconscious, he would've been standing here by now!' Hermione replied angrily.

'Excuses, excuses. But of course, he's (Blaise glared at Hermione's date) way better than me. I mean, of course, what with him being in the Quidditch team…'

'How dare you! Look, I didn't want to come here without a date, okay? What do you suggest? You think that I should come here looking like a useless lonely girl?'

'Well, maybe you should! I'd rather you do that than to strut around with your Quidditch player boyfriend… Especially that stuck-up Zacharias Smith… how did you hook up with him? Have you had any snogging sessions after Quidditch training? In the broom cupboards, perhaps?'

'You're only saying all this crap because you didn't get into the team! Whose fault is that, huh? Mine?'

'Yes it is! Everything's your fault, okay?' Blaise said off-handedly.

'And why is that, Zabini?'

'Because it is! I don't care how, I don't care why, but you've screwed up my mind!'

'What's that got to do with anything?' Hermione replied, and it seemed like she was on the verge of tears.

'It's got to do with EVERYTHING!' Blaise said loudly, attracting attention.

'I can't believe you! Just because I walk in with a date, you're upset now? Because I've rejected you, maybe? Well, sorry Zabini, but I didn't plan for Ron to lose consciousness right on the day of the ball!'

'Whatever, Granger. I mean, I totally don't care about what you think about me!'

'And I suppose you're upset because of that,' Hermione said.

'SHUT UP! Just SHUT UP, YOU MUDBLOOD BITCH!' he yelled out, and then gasped. 'Look, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean–'

Everyone else gasped as well. Hermione's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out any moment, before she regained her calm look.

'No, no, I know exactly what you mean. Well… it's… surprising to know that you've always thought of me that way… Well then… I don't think I'm gonna stay around you any longer…' Hermione walked away to exit the hall.

But she turned around for a while. 'You've pushed the limit, Zabini,' she said coldly, and resumed walking again. Everyone stared at Blaise in astonishment. Bad astonishment.

Once she was out of everyone's sight, Hermione started crying.

Professor McGonagall approached Blaise, and narrowed her eyes at him. 'Mr Zabini, we need to have a little talk.'

Heh... how was this chapter? Too... eugh? Too much tension? Too curious on what will happen? Well, if you are (for the last question), wait for the next installment of Matchmaker!