Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you to julymorning for betaing this story, to drcjsnider for her endless encouragement, and to my reviewers for egging me on!

Hermione & Draco's Plan, Part 1 – "Establish Existence of Mutual Attraction"

Hermione and Draco met at the café approximately two weeks after what had now been dubbed by the elder Malfoys and Weasleys as the "Disastrous Dinner". Each carried with them a bag containing two decorative bottles. Their plan was simple: step one, establish that Rose and Scorpius were attracted to each other. Once that was established, step two would be to dose them with a potion to get the ball rolling. Draco and Hermione had each spent time brewing different potions for the first step of their plan. Hermione had brewed the Scent Synthesizing Solution, which was designed to be used as a cologne or perfume and would take on the scent of the object immersed in it. Draco had brewed Amortentia, the powerful love potion, which would smell like whatever the person sniffing it found attractive.

"How did everything go Draco? Any problems with the potion?"

"None at all. I have it right here. You?" he said, placing the two bottles on the table.

"Everything went smoothly," Hermione said, placing her two bottles on the table. "Did you get a piece of his clothing?"

"Yes, I asked one of the house-elves to bring me his shirt from yesterday."

"That will do nicely." Hermione took the proffered shirt, poured the potion on it, and then siphoned the potion back into the bottle and stoppered it. Once complete, she gave Draco the solution she had made earlier with Rose's shirt from yesterday. Draco in turn gave her one of the vials of Amortentia.

"Don't go playing with that once you are done. I'm not sure the Weasel's heart could take the side effects," Draco said, adding an eyebrow waggle for effect. Hermione just rolled her eyes at Draco and promised to get back to him with the results of the experiment.

Draco approached Scorpius later that afternoon. "Scorpius, I need your opinion. Which of these two perfumes do you think would be better for your Mum?" Draco handed each vial to Scorpius.

"Well, Dad, they are very similar. However, the first one, in addition to vanilla and lilac, smells a little like bacon, which is odd in a perfume. I'm not sure either is right for Mum. She tends to enjoy a spicier scent over the more flowery ones."

"You are absolutely right; I wonder what they were thinking by adding the bacon odor?"

"I don't know, but it is certainly a wonderful scent. I think I'll ask Bitsy to make me up a BLT," Scorpius said and wandered off towards the kitchen.

Bacon, Draco thought and hollered after his son, "Have her make one for me, too!"

Hermione determined to get her results as quickly as possible was able to take Rose aside after dinner that evening. "Rosie, could you help me for a moment? I'm trying to recreate this particular scent, and I'm having the hardest time. Your nose is better than mine; what am I missing?"

Rose sniffed each vial. "Dirty socks and baking bread."

"What do you mean, 'dirty socks and baking bread'?"

"The difference between the two scents. The first one smells a little like baking bread, while the second has the unmistakable addition of dirty socks. If it weren't for that, they would be identical. Whom are you making that for?"

"Hugo. He's always trying something new. I thought I might be able to make something more to his liking for his birthday."

"Well, other than the dirty socks part, it is very nice for a man's scent. It seems a little fancy for Hugo, though. You might want to replace one of the spices with clover to bring in some of the outdoors."

"Thanks, Rose. I'll think about it. I may scrap the whole plan, though, you never know."

Early the next morning, Hermione Flooed the Malfoy summer home. "Good morning, Astoria. Is Draco available?"

"Good morning, Hermione. I believe he was just getting ready to start brewing. Why don't you come on through?" At Astoria's invitation, Hermione stood and walked through the fireplace.

Hermione greeted her friend with a hug, and Astoria led her into the foyer and started down the hall towards the back of the house.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley. Not here on official business, I hope?" Scorpius said jokingly, coming down the stairs.

"Of course it's nothing of the sort. I just Flooed Astoria this morning regarding getting some fresh herbs from her garden for a project I'm working on. Since my first meeting of the morning with the Junior Deputy of the Improper Use of Magic office isn't until 9 am, I figured I had a few minutes to collect them and enjoy a cup of coffee."

"Erm, well yes," Scorpius blanched. "I'll see you at 9 am sharp, Director."

"I expect so," Hermione responded. With that, the two witches watched Scorpius enter the room that they had just left. Hermione motioned for Astoria to remain where she was and stay quiet while they waited for him to Floo to the office.

"Bugger!" They heard from the room, immediately followed by, "Ministry of Magic".

"Oh, I love watching you work, Hermione," giggled Astoria. "You certainly know how to scare them out of their shorts!"

"Well, one must take pride in one's work," Hermione said, breaking down into laughter.

"And what may I ask is so funny?" Draco said, entering the hall.

"Hermione, intimidating her underlings, dear. She has nearly the same flair for it as you do."

"Well, we had an excellent teacher," Draco said, thinking of Professor Snape, whom he tried to emulate when being intimidating.

"That we did," Hermione solemnly agreed. "On to brighter subjects; Rose passed the test brilliantly! I thought I was in trouble when she detected the odor of dirty socks, but since I told her I was making cologne for Hugo, I think she wrote it off as my handling some of his things while making the concoction. How did Scorpius do?"

"As expected. I'm going to start the second potion this morning. It should be ready in two weeks' time."

"Wonderful. That will coincide perfectly with Rose's birthday. I'll start planning the party."

"Why don't you let me do that, Hermione, seeing as that is all I've been able to add to this venture so far?" Astoria offered.

"Are you sure? You do have a much better flair for it than I do."

"Think nothing of it."

"In that case, we should probably head out to the gardens. I actually do want to collect some herbs. Rose had some excellent ideas to improve the scent for Hugo. I'd like to try them out before giving up completely and buying him a present for his birthday. Oh, before I forget, Draco, do you want the Amortentia back? I have no need for it, and I really don't want to leave it about the house. I hate to dispose of it if you can use it for something."

"Give it to Astoria when you meet for lunch. I'm sure I can find it a good home."

Ron's Plan (augmented by George) – "Stick them together, literally" plan

Rose and Scorpius were sitting in Rose's room, trying to figure out what their parents' next move would be and how to foil it. They were getting nervous; other than Rose's mum's unusual visit to the Malfoy homestead a few days earlier, things had been quiet for over two weeks. So engrossed, they were caught completely by surprise when Rose's Uncle George knocked two times quickly on the door and poked his head in her room.

"Perfect, two test subjects! May I come in?"

Rose looked to Scorpius for an answer; he shrugged his shoulders in assent, and Rose invited her uncle in.

"What can we help you with, Uncle George?" Rose asked.

"I've been working on improvements to some of my existing products, but I need to test them on someone other than myself. I was hoping you would agree," George said.

"I don't know, Uncle George. I'm pretty happy with my overall color and the size of my appendages as they are."

"No need to worry, Rosie. This is a puzzle, guaranteed not to change you one bit."

"A puzzle, hmm. Well, I guess so. What do you think, Scorp?"

"Sounds like it might be fun," Scorpius replied.

"Excellent! Alright, both of you please stand." Rose and Scorpius stood, and George quickly cast Obscuro; two blindfolds appeared over their eyes. He repositioned Rose quickly and said, "Don't worry; I'll remove the blindfolds in a moment. Now Rose, please cross your arms in front of yourself as if you were hugging your arms for warmth. Perfect! Now stick out your index fingers. Okay, don't move."

"Scorpius, I'm going to need to shift you about a bit; take one step to your left. Now two steps forward; I'll help you. Alright, arms loose, index fingers pointed." Scorpius heard some rustling noises, and then George grabbed his right hand and placed what felt like a tube over his index finger and then gave a little tug. This action was repeated with his right hand. Next both hands were lifted by whatever was attached to his index fingers, and some more rustling was heard and tugging felt. Scorpius tugged a little himself now and found that he couldn't lower his hands back to his side.

"Right. Finite Incantum," George said. "So, have fun. You'll need to work together to solve it. I've set a timer; come get me when you're loose, and I'll give you both a five-Galleon gift certificate." With that, George turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Both were dumbfounded for a second: Scorpius was standing directly behind Rose; she had her arms wrapped around her, and neither could clearly see what was attached to their fingers. What was clear was that Rose's Uncle George was now in on the planning, and they were definitely going to have to step their game up a notch if they wanted to avoid future traps.

After several minutes of tugging, name calling, and swearing, topped off with tripping and falling onto Rose's bed, Scorpius took several deep calming breaths and finally begged, "Rose, please stop wiggling!"

"I will as soon as I get comfortable. Something in your pocket is poking me in the bum."

"Rosie, I guarantee you, if you stop wiggling, in a few minutes, it will stop poking you."

"What? Oh! ... Scorp, all of this matchmaking stuff, it isn't having an effect on you, is it?"

"No, Rose. The only thing having an effect on me right now is a wiggling, sexy witch. Now LIE STILL!"

"You think I'm sexy?"

"For the love of Merlin, Rose, do you really want to have this conversation RIGHT NOW?"

"No, I suppose not, but it's not over, either. Now that we are in this position, can you see what my uncle put on our fingers?"

"Not really, but if you move a little closer to me, your left hand should have enough freedom that you should be able to see it for yourself."

Rose tried to ignore how good it felt to be wrapped in Scorpius' arms, and the distracting feel of his erection on her backside, while she stared intently at the purple and fuchsia woven bamboo tube attached to her finger. "I've seen this before; Uncle George sells them in his shop! Dad got his fingers stuck in one when I was little."

"Well, he's free now, so how do we get these things off?"

"I have no idea!"

"Well how did he get out?"

"Dad Flooed Uncle Harry, and once he got done laughing, he grabbed the middle, said Voila, and Dad was able to pull his fingers free."

"VOILA ISN'T A MAGICAL WORD!"

"I KNOW!"

Hugo walked in to find out what all the yelling was about, saw the couple in their predicament, and nearly fell over from laughing.

"How on earth did you two manage to get caught in Chinese finger cuffs attached to each other? And in such a compromising pose," Hugo laughed.

"Uncle George did it. He said it was a puzzle we needed to solve together," Rose grumbled.

"Oh, well, in that case, I'll let you solve it on your own."

"Hugo Weasley, if you know how to get us out of this mess, you will help us right now!"

"And interfere with all of the plotting that has gone on to get you here? I don't think so, at least not without some photographic evidence. Back in a flash!"

A few minutes and several photographs later... .

"HUGO, JUST GET US OUT OF THESE THINGS!" Rose bellowed.

"Gee, Rose, and they say you have dad's temperament. He's not nearly as scary as you are when you are mad." Rose gave Hugo a look that promised retribution. "Okay, push your fingers together, let me grab the middle, and voila! You are free." Hugo smiled.

"Voila isn't a magical word! Why did you say it? And how does this work?" Rose asked.

"I said voila for flourish, and because it would annoy you. Now, simpletons, shall I reveal the secret to you?"

With the secret revealed, Rose and Scorpius stared, gobsmacked, at the Muggle device. Some quick spells revealed that the only thing magical about it was that the fibers had been reinforced such that the trap wouldn't wear out, break, nor could it be opened by pure strength alone. They played with them for a few more minutes, successfully releasing themselves while attached to each other or just alone. When they went to see George, he gave them their gift certificates and said they could keep the finger cuffs. Rose didn't have much use for hers, so Scorpius kept them both.