My Magzilla helped me, once again! No Draco in this chapter, rules are being set - as it were, levelling the playing field. But worry not this is the silence before the storm, lol.

Chapter Two

It was a quarter to ten, and Hermione was already set with fresh parchment, a page or two filled with questions and suggestions, quill and ink waiting impatiently for the whole team to arrive.

Ron, for his part, paced around whistling, checking out the view from the window; the masses of wizards and witches minding their business, hurrying to arrive at their destination. This whole meeting didn't faze him at all, but he insisted in it to so Hermione wouldn't be outdone by the snakes.

A person at a time, the invited ones arrived, Pansy last, fashionably late for the most dramatic entry. As usual.

"Now we are complete." A sarcastic stab towards the witch, "We can finish what we came to do."

"Granger, can we move on without the stings, please? I come in peace but I have a thing with being punctual." Pansy waved her off.

"Ladies, let's get along." Ron calmed the mood, after setting the drinks before everyone's noses, with Michael's help.

Hermione shoved a rebel curl behind her ear, "I want to start with my original suggestion, the speed dating. I do realise that if we see each other the main idea of no preconceptions will be useless."

"We can do it blindfolded?"

"Weasley, good suggestion, but a rather barbaric tactic." Blaise sipped his firewhiskey.

Hannah added, "We have to make sure we don't see each other during those dates."

Pansy inclined her head, "Women can see each other, it will be too weird otherwise, but we can't see the men." China clanged when she set her cup back on its saucer. "Can you raise some type of divider, Granger?"

"Piece of cake, Parkinson. Anyone against dividing the tables?"

"Tables?"

"Muggle concept of speed dating is: every five-ten minutes men shift from table to table, sit down and the couple asks each other questions. In the end, both parties note down if they want to see each other again. If it's so for both ends than further information is given. Otherwise, it's one-time only."

Padma remarked, "Maybe we should organise two of these speed dates to confirm our first assessment?"

Hermione remarked, "But not if there are wizards that we absolutely don't want to see again."

"The belly-feel is important, but sometimes the second time readjusts your opinion." Ernie pondered, "I think you shouldn't exclude anyone during these questioning phases."

This was a unanimous decision, Hermione confirmed, "Two rounds of blind speed dates, after the second do we reveal each other's identity?"

"No, we could combine some extras before that," Hannah proposed. "Those questions are the first hurdle, maybe add a few things to mix and only in the last phase reveal each other's identity."

Ron grinned, rubbing his tummy, "A cooking test?"

Blaise submitted, winking, "A sex test?"

Pansy added, "A beauty pageant contest."

Padma dreamed, "Yes, men in their underwear."

Hermione wrote it all down, frowning at Blaise's submission, but grinning at all the others. But before she could add her two knuts, Hannah threw her idea in, "Job-shadow a house elf."

Men huffed, the women broke into a laugh. "Good one."

"Not in a million years."

"No sex test." Hermione decided, throwing that one out. "That's for the couple to decide if they want to test their talents in bed. But I will not include such a category as part of speed dating."

Again agreement between the ladies, the men less optimistic but the logic was irrefutable. Blaise mumbled, "It was worth a try."

"Do we do all this blindly?"

"It can't work with dividers, though…" Ernie mentioned the first problem.

"No, but…" Hermione thought, frowning. As she saw the solution, Pansy beat her at it.

"Let us say that during the questions, we can't see the wizard, but during all the rest we can…"

Hermione finished, "But not his number."

"Number?" All eyes turned to the brunette. "Well, if we can't use names, duh… then we need to use numbers to identify our mystery man."

"Gryffindor wins," Blaise announced, and Ron cashed in.

"Always, snake." Fraternising could happen over details too…

"So we have the questions round - two of them - what then after?"

"The cooking!"

"The job-shadow!"

"Showing off the goodies!"

"I'll write it down according to this sequence." Hermione smirked, "First a taste of the men's cooking talents…"

"And women's too, Granger."

"Yes, Blaise, I agree, witches should know how to cook too… then we add doing the tasks of a house elf - we must include a nappy change in there…"

Pansy doubted, "Why?"

"For in case, your elf is inaccessible. The father should be able to perform such a simple task as well, right?"

"Hermione, witches too, sweetheart."

"Oh, damn, my nails will get dirty."

"Pansy... imagine it's your own son."

"Doesn't change a thing, Granger." The idea nauseated her already, but she conceded.

"As for last, a beauty pageant with its final moment, the revelation of each others identity."

"Perfect!" No one opposed.

"And very last, a sex test." Blaise tried again.

"Your mind is a one-way street, I guess." Except for Pansy, who was used to his antics, the remaining girls side-eyed the Slytherin.

"What if we really don't agree with the end result?" Padma spoke in a little voice.

"Wait, how do we know the winner?" Michael rubbed his chin.

Hermione nearly lectured, "No one will be forced to accept the outcome, you're still free to ask the Ministry for help. And Michael, the winner will be the number you wrote down the most, obviously not?"

"Hmmm. Who assigns the numbers?"

"The girls here? do the witches, you the men, will do the wizards," Pansy stated in a boring voice.

Padma advised, "Hermione, the names should be registered somewhere so no one can mess with their number."

"Like the list for the DA?" The Golden Princess elaborated to clear the confusion, "All the members for the Dumbledore's Army were registered and I added a hex to ensure loyalty. Remember Edgecombe?"

"Ahhhh. Do such a list without the hex."

Pansy sipped her tea, "Wait, Abbott, not a hex to hurt but the list must force the number."

"The list will ensure no cheating is possible. Do we vote?" Hermione inquired.

"Nope. We all agree." Blaise finished the deal.

Hermione asked the last question, "How do we make this public? When do we start and where?"

They ended with agreeing to make it known through the Houses and by hanging an announcement on the public boards at the Ministry. Enrolment was required.

The whole circus was to start next week Saturday, location for the first encounter: The Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione thought, "May the odds be with me."