~ CHAPTER FOUR ~

The Shooting Star was one of the fanciest restaurants in wizarding London, standing ten stories high and overlooking the River Thames. Parking was scarce, so Ginny had to park several streets away. Malfoy walked behind her and Harry, his right hand resting near his wand and his eyes drifting periodically across the swarm of pedestrians and traffic. Now that they were out of the car and Ginny had exhausted her curiosity, the awkwardness that Harry had feared was creeping up on them. Ginny fidgeted with the clasp of her purse, and Harry ran his fingers through his hair, hoping that Malfoy hadn't noticed the shift in atmosphere. What was Harry supposed to say to her? "Sorry our date was ruined and we have to bring this git along with us"? "Sorry somebody's out to kill me again"? "Sorry we can't ever have a normal date together"?

Luckily, it didn't take long to reach the restaurant. The entrance was disguised to look like a dingy laundromat, its windows boarded up and a sign on the door reading, Closed Indefinitely: Unstable Infrastructure. Do Not Enter. Malfoy glanced around, making sure nobody was paying attention before pushing open the door. If any Muggles were brave enough to get this far, they would be sorely disappointed. The inside of the laundromat lived up to the sign. Broken machines lined the small room, spider webs hung from ceiling, and the floor was encrusted in dirt. As they reached the back wall, however, the door to the restaurant materialised. The Shooting Star was written on it with fancy calligraphy, and beyond the glass, they could see a hostess station and an older couple waiting to be seated.

Malfoy opened the door.

"After you," he said.

"Since when do you hold doors open for people?" Harry said sceptically, crossing his arms.

"Funny you should ask, Potter," Malfoy said, raising an eyebrow at him. "You see, there's this thing called manners that pure-blood families teach their children, and that includes holding the door for one's inferiors."

"Sod off."

"Ooh, I feel special. That's the second time you've said that to me today."

"Would you two stop bickering?" Ginny said, rubbing her forehead. "You're going to give me a headache. I didn't agree to dealing with this tonight."

"Trust me, neither did I," Harry assured her, shooting a glare at Malfoy, who was still holding the door and pretending to be a gentleman. The prat.

Malfoy raised his eyebrow again and smirked. "So, are you going to enter or what?"

"Or what," Harry retorted. He wasn't even sure why he was acting so childish; there was just something about Malfoy that brought out the worst in him.

"You know what, I don't have the patience for this today," Ginny said exasperatedly, taking Harry's hand and pulling him through the doorway. "We're going to miss our dinner reservation at the rate you two are going."

Harry scowled at Malfoy over Ginny's shoulder. Malfoy gave a winning smile in return.

As the entered the restaurant, Harry's stomach dropped. It seemed as though tonight was destined to worsen; next to the hostess station stood two tall wizards in Auror uniform. However, his stomach lifted as they turned around and a familiar voice said, "There you are, mate!"

Ron Weasley strode towards them with a friendly grin. Besides being Harry's best friend, he had become one of the best Aurors in the department since the war. Behind Ron was his partner, Anastasia Williams, who was a tall witch with long, black dreads and a warm smile. She was both a skilled dueller and a Healer, with the ability to get along with even the most difficult clientele. Harry couldn't have felt more grateful to have two talented, loyal Aurors guarding his back, even if he felt that the protection was unnecessary.

"Good to see you, Harry," Ron said, clapping him on the back. "We thought you'd never make it. Ana and I were worried that you'd been intercepted on the way and we'd have to go looking for you."

"What, no hello for your younger sister?" Ginny joked.

"Don't worry, I wasn't going to leave you out, Gin. Malfoy," Ron added, jerking his head stiffly in the blond's direction.

"Good to see you, too, Weasley," Malfoy said, sounding amused. "Nice to see you, as well," he added to Ana, bowing slightly and kissing her hand.

"Urgh. Let's go find your table before I throw up," Ron said, wrinkling his nose. He turned and walked up to the hostess station. "Table for two under the name Potter, please."

The witch raised an eyebrow at their motley crew of an entourage. "I'm sorry, sir, but there seems to be five of you...?"

Ron, Ana, and Malfoy flipped out their Ministry badges at the same time. Behind them, Harry's hand twitched instinctively towards his inner jacket pocket. Noticing his movement, Ginny took his hand and gave it what he was sure was supposed to be a comforting squeeze, but it just made him feel more frustrated. He wanted to rip his hand from her grip and shout that he was a Ministry official, too. Instead, he gave Ginny what he hoped looked like a grateful smile and squeezed back.

"Ministry of Magic, Auror Department, madam," Ron said, flipping his badge back into his Auror robes. "We're here on official duty."

"I'm sorry, but...I don't know if I can let you in," the witch said hesitantly. "I'll have to talk to my manager."

Harry groaned inwardly. However, before the witch could do or say anything else, Malfoy stepped forward smoothly and pulled a bag of coins out of his inner robes pocket.

"Will this cover it?" he said, giving her a charming smile.

Her eyes widened as they flickered from his face to the bag to his face again. "Um, I...I d-don't know..."

Malfoy pushed it towards her with a finger, his eyes trained on her face. "Before you say that, don't you want to know how much it is? I'll give you a hint: it's thirty Galleons."

The witch bit her lip, her eyes locked with Malfoy's. Harry's hand twitched in Ginny's and she squeezed his hand again, as if she thought that he was worried that Malfoy's ploy would fail or wanted to reach for his wand. However, that couldn't be farther from the truth. He knew exactly what Malfoy was doing, and he could see that it was working. What was bothering him was the fact that it was working, although he wasn't exactly sure why.

"That's much more than the average customer is willing to tip, no?" Malfoy said, lowering his voice in volume and pitch. "Don't you think an intelligent, beautiful witch like you has earned it?"

Harry's stomach clenched as the witch's mouth twitched up in a flirtatious smile. After a few seconds, she dipped her head and took the bag from Malfoy, making sure that she brushed her hand against his during the exchange. "Let me show you to your table," she said, flashing Malfoy a jaunty wink before sauntering away.

"Damn. Even I have to admit that that was smooth," Ron said to Harry.

"Yeah, smooth," Harry muttered, his eyes trained on Malfoy. Oh, what he wouldn't give to wipe the smug smile off the bastard's face with a well-aimed hex...

Ron set off for their table first, while Malfoy and Ana walked behind Ginny and Harry. They were quite the odd sight, especially when the witch showed them to a small booth on the top floor clearly meant for two people. Ron and Ana split off to cover the exits and keep an eye on them from a distance, while Malfoy smirked at Harry, who was already sliding into the booth.

"So, Mr Lovebird, how do you want to swing this? Would you rather sit next to your girlfriend or across from her? Because I've got to sit somewhere, you know."

Harry gritted his teeth to keep from making a snarky comment.

"What would you like?" he asked Ginny, his eyes trained on her so that he didn't have to look at Malfoy's infuriating face.

"Um...I suppose we could sit next to each other," Ginny said.

Malfoy nodded and slid into the side of the booth across from Harry, winking at him before grabbing a menu. This time when Ginny squeezed his hand, Harry was grateful. He was going to need all the support he could get if he wanted to make it through this date without hexing Malfoy or wrestling him to the ground.