Chapter Three: The Ball that Refused to Get Rolling
"You're a bloody tosser, Zabini." Harry groaned against the ice pack pressed against his face.
It was Sunday. The night after the Zabini gala and coincidentally, a week after the second meeting of Operation Set-Up Swotty Bookworm and Albino Ferret. The group has congregated once more at 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Not my fault you got hexed again, Potter. Where have those world-famous Quidditch reflexes gone?"
"Shut your trap and hand me the Pain-Relieving Potion."
Harry closed his eyes as the soothing liquid washed over his system, when suddenly his girlfriend plopped down on the couch beside him.
"What did I miss?" Pansy asked.
"Other than the moaning Harry Potter? Not very much."
Pansy raised her eyebrow, "I think I've seen that already, thank you very much." She said saucily.
"Gee, thanks for the mental image, Pans."
"Let's get down to business shall we?" Lavender Goyle said impatiently. "We've got an eight o' clock appointment with Healer Davis."
"You should try asking the Widgederdimples for blessing in your pregnancy, Lavender. They like babies and wouldn't hesitate to help you out in childbirth if you asked." Luna said conspiratorially.
"Er, thank you, Luna."
Astoria clapped her hands to get their attention. "We really should get started." She said. "We're really behind schedule if we want them to be halfway decent to each other by Pansy and Harry's wedding."
The aforementioned wedding was in a month's time. Hermione was one of Pansy's bridesmaids, having formed a bond with the girl during the past few years. Draco was one of the groomsmen. He and Harry became close not only through Auror work but through a mutual hate for the Falmouth Falcons Quidditch team.
"Thank goodness they're not partnered at the entourage." Pansy sighed with relief. The bridal procession consisted of an entourage of bridesmaids and groomsmen partnered together before finally reaching the bride.
"Um, well, Pans, about that," Harry cut in sheepishly.
Pansy did not like the way Harry said that. "What?" She snapped.
"First of all, woman, remember I'm still injured." Pansy looked like she was about to strangle him. "Draco and Hermione are paired up at the entourage." He said very quickly it was a miracle somebody managed to catch what he was saying at all.
"Excuse me?" Pansy said coldly. "I thought you said Draco and Hermione are partnered for the entourage." Harry replied with a quick nod.
Pansy's face reddened with anger. "Are you trying to destroy our wedding, Potter?"
"I'm sorry!" Harry said with his palms up in a submissive gesture. "But there's no choice! It's not like these gits," he gestured at the people gathered at his living room, "would go with anyone else other than their own partners!"
"Calm down, Pansy." Luna said, "I'm sure Draco and Hermione have already gotten together by your wedding."
"Gee, I'm sure too." The Slytherin girl replied sarcastically. "I mean, after what happened last night, everything's bound to sail smoothly from now on."
Everybody cringed at the thought of what happened the previous night. The evening had started fairly well. Hermione was dressed in a silver dress robes that was cut low at the front revealing an ample amount of cleavage. Her hair was put up with a few loose tendrils and her make-up was impeccable. All in all, Pansy and Ginny did an excellent job.
When they arrived, the party was already in full swing. They dragged the unsuspecting Gryffindor to the buffet table where their friends, including Malfoy, were chatting. The atmosphere was light and Draco and Hermione seemed to have gotten over the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries the previous week. This was one of the instances where the Auror partners were being friendly to one another and even exchanged a joke or two. The dancing soon began and everyone felt it was a good opportunity to test the waters.
By the second song, Hermione was wrapped in Draco's arms, swaying softly to the music. The scheming women looked at the pair and sighed happily. The men looked at each other and grinned. The night was turning out to be perfect.
The next thing they knew, Hermione was pushing Draco away from her and running towards the opposite direction.
Harry and Ron took after her immediately but Hermione was lighter and quicker. They lost her as soon as she entered the vast Zabini gardens. The pair wandered about, looking for their female friend. Suddenly, Harry was hit by a jet of gold light knocking him backwards.
They have stumbled upon the center of the garden, the stone plaza, and at the middle stood Hermione shooting spells at random to release some steam. It was one of her habits to cool down her temper. Which means whatever happened between her and Malfoy at the dance floor wasn't good by any measure.
"Did you try asking Draco what happened?" Astoria frowned. "They seemed to be getting along fairly well at first."
"He really didn't give any of us much of a chance as he made a beeline toward the floo as soon as Granger went bolting the opposite direction." Crabbe replied.
"Pig went home today a few pounds fatter but without a reply from him. I swear the owl feed he gives Attila is too much." Ron said.
"Fancy interrogating him tomorrow at work then, Potter?" Blaise asked with a grin to which Harry winced.
"I don't want to risk an angry Auror venting out his frustrations at me, thank you very much."
"Well, what about Granger then? Did she say anything?"
"Nothing other than the standard 'Draco Malfoy is a sodding git and should go to the fiery pits of hell' spiel." Ron reported dutifully.
A moment of silence passed as everyone contemplated on what to do next. Luna suddenly spoke up. "Has anybody already gone to the Poisoned Apple?"
The group looked at Luna strangely. The Poisoned Apple is a sketchy strip club in Knockturn Alley. Despite the favorable outcome of the war, it was still a place for dealings that involved exchange of Dark items. The owner is a dodgy old man who, despite the amount of evidence stacked against him, always manages to slip out. Currently, there is an open case at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that deals on having it closed once and for all.
"I heard that there were quite a few good leads that might lead to its closing once and for all." Luna continued while looking pointedly at Harry.
Confused on how the girl knew, Harry cleared his throat. "Well, yes. In fact, we're supposed to have an operation there later this week." He said, failing to see where this is going.
"Oh, good. I was thinking maybe you could send Hermione to do it."
Harry was taken aback. "The dealings at the Poisoned Apple are a bit serious, Luna. Nothing compared to the small-time hubbub at the Department of Mysteries last week. And given how badly that one turned out, I don't think it's wise to send Draco and Hermione on a mission for matchmaking purposes again."
"But I'm not asking you to send Draco." She said innocently. The rest looked at her like she's off her rocker.
"Draco is Hermione's partner, Lulu." Crabbe reminded her softly as he held her hand.
"But surely, there's nothing wrong with switching partners, right, Harry? I've heard that this kind of thing has been done before." To which Harry nodded uncertainly. It was true the partners were switched from time to time depending on the situation.
"Well, I think it's a good idea to send Hermione and Theodore on that particular mission then." Luna declared.
"Excuse me?" Lavender butted in. "But wouldn't that be defeating the purpose of pushing Malfoy and Hermione together?"
Luna waved her off a bit impatiently. "Given how they explode at each other the past few days, I'm pretty sure Harry would agree with me in separating them from each other for a while."
To this, Harry had to agree. The girl thought in a weird way but her cleverness was all Ravenclaw. "Luna does have a point." Harry began slowly. "Hermione is the best Auror for this job but I can't jeopardize the mission in case one of them blow ups. And Nott is certainly second to Draco in terms of skills on the field."
"That's great! See you next week then, same time same place?" Luna replied standing up as if getting ready to leave.
"We're done?" Astoria asked. "That's this week's plan? How is that even going to get them together?"
"Oh, it will." The Ravenclaw said as she took Crabbe by the hand to the floo. "I'll ask the Nargles to make sure of it." With that, the couple disappeared through the fire.