The Perfect Match

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JKR. I am making no money from this.

A/N: Many thanks to my awesome beta, Southern_Witch_69.

This is my response to LOTM's YLC challenge. For rules see the end of chapter one.

Chapter Twelve

The Perfect Match

The three couples turned around to see a very irate Ronald Weasley glaring at Ginny and Draco while purposely not looking at Hermione and Severus. He didn't want to argue with Samantha over Hermione again. They were just now getting back to normal.

Putting her hands on her hips, Ginny demanded, "Not that it's any of your business, but Draco is my date!"

Ron turned his glare solely to Draco, who smirked in reply. "Now, why would someone like you want to date someone like my sister, Ferret?"

Raising an eyebrow, Draco inquired, "Don't you think that she is good enough for me, Weaselbee?"

"On the contrary, I think she is too good. What's the matter? Was your pug-faced shadow not available?"

"RON!" Hermione had had enough. "This is neither the time nor the place for this. What's wrong with you?"

"ME? What's wrong with ME? What's wrong with YOU? Fawning all over that greasy git like some sort of scarlet woman!"

"That'll do, boy," Severus practically growled. "As I see it, it is no longer your concern who Hermione accompanies, and while I am certain you mean well, Miss Weasley is an adult and able to make choices on her own."

Knowing when to pick his battles, Ron simply said, "Fine. I will talk to the both of you at the Burrow tomorrow." Then he turned and stalked off.

"Well," Luna said, "I am glad that I will be in New York and not at the Burrow tomorrow!"

This caused everyone to laugh as she'd hoped it would, and the conversation started again.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Hermione sat at the dinner table at the Burrow slightly pouting. She'd wanted Severus to come to lunch with her, but he'd flat out refused. "Besides," he had told her, "I think with the breakthrough I've had with my calculations, I may be ready to start brewing the Lycanthropy cure this week. I want to stay here and work on it whilst you are gone. Before you go, however, I want to give you something to look forward to upon returning so that maybe your stay will be shortened."

After that, he'd led her to the bedroom and did indeed give her something to look forward to when she would come back. Just remembering the things he had done to her and caused her to feel made her quiver. I am really going to miss Severus when he returns to Hogwarts tonight. Two days is not enough time to spend with him! Speaking of which, why am I sitting here at the Burrow when I could be spending more time with Severus? I need to go!

Coming out of her reverie, Hermione heard Mrs. Weasley saying, "...and had Arthur and I known that you would choose Professor Snape, we never would have talked Gilbert into insisting you bring a date to those balls."

Shaking her head, not sure she'd heard correctly, she asked, "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

Every other conversation at the table stopped, all eyes turning to Hermione and Molly. Molly, realizing her mistake, tried to quickly cover her tracks. "Umm... That is to say... I simply meant that..."

"You mean to tell me that you, not the higher ups at the Ministry, forced me into bringing a date? How dare you!" Hermione was furious.

"Well, honestly dear, you needed a shove! You and Ginny both have been moping around for far too long and..."

"Now, hold on just a minute! Just because I haven't been discussing my social life with you doesn't mean that I don't have one!" Hermione couldn't believe the nerve of this witch.

Molly smirked. "Well, obviously you haven't seen anyone seriously or else you would have brought him by here."

Before Hermione could reply, Ginny spoke up. "Oh, and for the record, I have not been moping! Like Hermione, I've simply kept my dates to myself. However, I will be happy to bring Draco to lunch next week, as he is the man I happen to be dating at the moment."

Before anyone could comment, Hermione quickly added, "I tried my best to get Severus to come with me today, but he wouldn't budge. Now, if you don't mind, I think I will return to him. He is waiting for me at my flat... where he as been this entire weekend. Goodbye."

Harry started to choke on his drink, and Piper slapped him on the back. When Harry started to speak, he got a warning glare from his wife and decided not to say anything. Besides, Ron will not keep quiet about this. I cannot believe Ginny is actually dating Malfoy! And, what is Hermione doing with the greasy git?

As she was walking out, Hermione heard the uproar. No doubt they were yelling at Ginny for her choice in Draco. Hermione wasn't worried; she knew Ginny could handle herself. With thoughts of Severus, she quickly Disapparated home.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Monday morning found Hermione daydreaming instead of working as she should have been doing. Daphne was due to arrive soon, but she couldn't get Severus out of her mind. I haven't felt like this in a very long time, she thought as she sighed happily.

She remembered that after she had returned home Sunday, she and Severus had spent the rest of the evening in bed before he had to return to Hogwarts.

She thought of how he had simply hugged her before he left and how that hug had made her feel giddy for some reason she couldn't fathom. "I am going to miss you, Severus," she had told him.

"I know. I will miss you as well. I have Wednesday night off. Would you like to go out to dinner?"

"No, but I would love for you to come back here and order take out."

After they'd finalized their plans, he'd left, and she'd gone to have a leisurely soak in the tub.

Her musings were cut short when an official owl flew into her window. On the outside of the parchment, she read:

Yenta Livery Company

"Oh! This must be the time for my meeting!" She quickly opened her letter. So, he wants to meet this evening? Good, the sooner the better. Quickly grabbing a quill and writing her reply, she sent the owl on his way. Her only thought now was, Is it too soon in our relationship to try to get Severus to fill out a form? Laughing at herself, she said, "Of course it is, you silly witch!"

"Talking to yourself, Miss Granger? No wonder you need an assistant!"

Blushing, Hermione said, "Daphne! Please come in. I already have a list of ingredients I need researched. I have you a small office just across from mine. Go ahead and get settled, and I will bring your list to you."

Smiling, Daphne told her, "If you don't mind, I can just take the list with me. I want to jump right in."

"Ah, a girl after my own heart!" Handing her the list, Hermione said, "If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask me. I am very happy to have you here, Daphne."

"I am happy to be here. I wanted to thank you for this opportunity, Miss Granger. I won't disappoint you."

"Please call me Hermione. I have no doubt of your abilities. Do you know where our research area is located?"

"Yes, thank you. I will bring this list back as soon as I am finished."

"Okay, that's fine."

As Daphne walked out, Hermione tried to get her thoughts back on her work, but once again, all thoughts led to Severus.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Severus Snape sat in the Great Hall scowling into his breakfast. He missed Hermione, and that bothered him. He was not used to spending the entire weekend with one woman, but he decided that he would like to make it a habit with Hermione. That also bothered him.

It wasn't Hermione that bothered him; it was his feelings for her that did. He sighed, resigned to the fact that he was not interested in any other women. When he first agreed to be exclusive, he'd done it mainly because he didn't want any other men around her. Now, he began to realize that he didn't want to be around any other women either.

Suddenly, an official owl swooped to him with the morning mail. When he saw Yenta Livery Company on the parchment, he thought, Good. This must be a response to the meeting time I requested. Rather than opening his letter in the Great Hall, he left for his office.

He was pleased to see that the time was agreeable to the woman. He wanted to get this meeting over with. Hermione really needs to fill out a form. Not that I am ready for marriage just yet, far from it, but before my feelings get any more invested in her, I need to make sure we are compatible.

Grinning, he started to think of one aspect where they were definitely compatible. When he started to feel a stirring in his loins, he quickly stopped that line of thinking. Noticing the time, he left his office to head to his first class of the day, thoughts of Hermione pushed to the back of his mind, but not completely gone.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Ginny and Draco were both at practice when they received their owls. Draco received two, Ginny one.

George had just released the Snitch, and before Draco could kick off the ground, the Yenta owl flew directly to him. Shite! I hope Ginevra doesn't see this! Draco quickly glanced up at Ginny. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed she had gotten an owl of her own. Shrugging his shoulders, he thought, Hermione must want to have lunch with her today.

He had requested both meetings for tonight, an hour apart. He was happy to see that both witches had agreed.

Ginny was quickly opening her letter confirming her meeting for this evening. Good, it's all set. Hopefully after this evening, I won't have to meet with any other men. Too bad it's not Draco I'm meeting tonight! Ginny laughed. "Like Draco would fill out a form!"

See looked up to watch him fly, a sight she would never get tired of seeing. Due to her meeting that night, she would not be able to see Draco, and she missed him already. She couldn't remember the last time she had spent so much time with one man, but the youngest Weasley was enjoying herself immensely. She didn't want the feeling to end.

Ginny wondered how long it would take Draco to tire of her; although it didn't seem like it would be any time soon. One can only hope, she thought as she sighed.

As Draco was flying, he noticed Ginny watching him with a dreamy expression. He wondered what she was thinking of, but then he smirked. He could well imagine. Hell, he could do more than imagine later on if he didn't have those two stupid meetings that evening.

It was as if he was addicted to her. He just couldn't get enough...didn't want to get enough. She had mentioned to him before practice started about going to eat Sunday lunch with her at the Burrow, and he didn't even think to refuse her. That in itself surprised him. If he was willing to go eat with a bunch of Weasels, then there was definitely something there.

Not that he minded. In fact, he quite liked the feeling. His only worry was if the feeling was reciprocated. Of course she feels the same. She wants me to have lunch with her family! At that moment, the Snitch flew in front of Draco, and he started to chase it. Putting his thoughts of Ginny away for the moment, he sped toward his goal of catching the little golden ball.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Hermione arrived for her meeting twenty minutes early. She wanted to be in the room and waiting when the man she was supposed to meet entered. She had practiced her speech several times, wanting to be firm but not mean. As she started to pace, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said as she thought, Here goes nothing!

Severus knew he was early, but he wanted to get this meeting over with. He wished he had never filled out that bloody parchment. Damn it all to the devil and back! Why did he let Narcissa talk him into these things?

He had finished brewing the potion for the Lycanthropy cure on Sunday night; now, all he had to do was let it sit for five days. He'd decided that after it was properly tested he was still going to let Lupin try it first, as he did not want anything untoward to happen to Narcissa. All he had to do now was get this meeting out of the way so that he could concentrate on Hermione and his budding feelings for his little-know-it-all, who was not so insufferable any longer.

As he came to the door, room twelve, Severus took a deep breath and knocked. When he heard the soft, "Come in," he steeled himself and opened the door. When he walked into the room, the Potions master was so shocked that he couldn't even speak.

Hermione turned to the door as it opened. Gobsmacked was the only word to describe how she felt at that moment. "Severus? What are you doing here? Hang on! Did you follow me?"

"No, I most certainly did not follow you. I could ask the same of you, however. Why are you here?"

"It looks like we both have some explaining to do." Hermione was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"So it would seem."

"Well, I am here because I filled out a form..."

"Why is it that you did not feel it necessary to inform me of this, Hermione? What are you hiding, witch?"

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione was flabbergasted. "Are you or are you not also here? I don't recall you mentioning this to me either."

"I came here to dissuade my match from thinking there was going to be anything more. When did you fill out a form? Are you looking for a husband? Do you wish to marry soon? What are your intentions?"

"For heavens sake, Severus! Slow down! I filled out a form the night we ran into each other at the Leaky Caldron... at Fred and George's insistence. They threatened to fill them out themselves if Ginny, Luna and I had refused. No, I am not looking for a husband per se, but it is nice to know that my time with you is not going to be wasted, as we apparently match. What about you? When did you fill out a form? Obviously, you are not looking for a wife."

Extremely angry, not caring if he was being unreasonable, Severus snapped, "No, I am not looking for a wife, and I have to tell you that I do not like being lied to, Hermione."

"Hold on right there. I didn't lie to you any more than you did to me. Why are you so angry?"

Why am I so angry? I wanted her to fill out a form, and she has done so. But why did she not mention it? Of course, I didn't mention it to her either. "Why did you not tell me of tonight?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, as I just said, I am not looking for a wife, and I didn't want you to get your hopes up."

"My hopes up? You think I am trying to... I see. It's fine. Maybe we should just leave." He will never marry me. Not that I want a husband right now, but eventually... The only thing he wants is for us to be exclusive, but how long will that last? I really need to get out of here to think.

Severus sighed, sensing her disappointment. He decided that he owed her the same courtesy she had shown him in explanation. "I filled out the forms the same night you did apparently, as did Draco and Greg. Narcissa was our enforcer."

"Severus, it's okay." Hermione was hurt by his reaction. It seemed as if he was disappointed it was her waiting in the room and not someone else. "I am just glad I didn't have to turn someone away."

"You never said why you didn't tell me."

This time, Hermione sighed. "Because I didn't want to scare you away by thinking I was husband hunting. I'm not." They stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments. Hermione was the one to break it. "Our compatibility rating was rather high, I think." She didn't know what else to say.

"Yes, it was. I was quite shocked by it to tell you the truth."

"Severus, we can just continue as we were, getting to know one another and such. I am going to let them know that I am happy with my match." As he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she continued, "So they won't continue searching for me!"

"Right, I see your point. I will do the same. I do want to continue getting to know you Hermione. I enjoy your company very much."

Hermione smiled at him in a way that made his stomach tremble. "I also enjoy your company, Severus, and to be honest, there is nobody else I'm interested in meeting right now, as you know."

"I am happy with seeing only you. I like our previous agreement. I wish to remain exclusive."

Hermione cocked her head to the side. "Well then, I am exclusively yours," she told him jokingly, wanting to lighten the mood.

"I believe I will enjoy that. I know I have so far." Looking into her expressive brown eyes, he admitted, "Truly, Hermione, there is no one else I wish to be with right now." Severus was not exactly sure when he'd let this woman get under his skin, but he wasn't as repulsed by the idea as he'd thought he would be.

Inside, Hermione danced a jig. Outside, she appeared calm. This was just one step closer to what she ultimately wanted with this man...in the long run. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I am. I wish to take you out to dinner."

"Okay, let's stop by the desk and tell the receptionist we are happy with each other before we go."

"Lead the way."

As they were exiting the room, Hermione could have sworn she saw the red hair of Ginny Weasley round the corridor ahead of them.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Pansy knew that her meeting time with Draco was not until seven. She wanted to arrive an hour early to set the mood. She had decided to make this meeting a romantic one. She planned to leave this building an engaged witch.

When the door slowly opened, Pansy turned, slightly annoyed her scene had not yet been set, but putting on a seductive smile nonetheless. "Drac..."

"Oh, excuse me," Ginny started, "I thought this was room seven."

"It is room seven! Look, Weasley, I don't know what you think you are doing here, but you need to leave. I am expecting someone."

"Pansy! Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my parchment said to go to room seven."

"Oh, for crying out loud! Just take your stupid parchment and..."

"Ladies! There seems to have been some sort of mistake here." Draco said, looking at Pansy with apprehension and Ginny with amusement.

"Draco!" Pansy exclaimed. "Thank Merlin you're finally here!" Turning to Ginny, Pansy said in a dismissive tone, "You may leave now. Go to the desk and find out where you are supposed to be." I'll be damned if she is going to ruin this for me!

What in the world is Draco doing here? And for some reason, Pansy acted as if she was waiting for Draco specifically. I thought you didn't find out who your match is until you met them here! Ginny turned to Pansy with her fists on her hips, face contorted in anger. "Look, Parkinson, I don't know who you think you are! Maybe you're the one in the wrong place! Why don't you go to the receptionist?" I can think of a few other places I would like her to go to!

"Calm down, you two." As amusing as all this was, Draco knew that they needed to get to the bottom of this. I am not surprised that Pansy has filled out a form, but Ginevra filled one out? Interesting.

Just then, the receptionist knocked on the door once and entered the room. "What is going on in here? I could hear you ladies all the way at my desk!"

Pansy started talking at once. Pointing at Ginny, she told the receptionist, "This woman is in the wrong place and refuses to leave." Turning to Draco, she asked, "Isn't that right, darling?"

Looking at Pansy in disgust, Draco said, "I don't think Ginevra is in the wrong place, Pansy dear, but I do think that you are."

Recognizing that an all out brawl was about to begin, the receptionist told the three, "Let me see your parchments, please."

They each handed her the parchments, although Pansy did so reluctantly. Suddenly, Pansy remembered that Ginny Weasley was supposed to have been Draco's true match. I should have taken care of her before now. I should never have trusted Livingston to handle this.

"Oh, dear, we do have a problem." The receptionist was looking at the three occupants nervously.

"No," Pansy said, "we don't. Please tell Mr. Livingston I wish to speak with him immediately."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"Make it possible! I demand to speak with him!"

"You don't understand, Miss Parkinson. Mr. Livingston received a package last week, and we have not seen him since. He is gone. We do have the Aurors checking into his disappearance, but as for now, he is not here."

Oh, no! This cannot be happening! That ruddy bastard took my money and ran. The stupid git didn't even fix Ginny Weasley's file. No worries, I see that I will have to take care of that little harlot myself! What am I going to do? "Well, one of us is not supposed to be here, and I say it's her!" Pansy screamed as she pointed to Ginny.

"How do you know? Maybe you're the one who is not supposed to be here!"

"Enough! There is a simple solution. I will simply go to my desk and pull up each of your files." The receptionist turned to leave the room with Pansy fast on her heels.

As they walked out, Ginny turned to Draco. "So."

"So."

"Whom are you hoping for?"

"Between the two of you? Why, you of course." Draco smirked at the expression on Ginny's face.

"I think this was obviously a mistake. I'm going to go." Ginny couldn't quite mask the hurt in her voice. As she moved past Draco, he grabbed her arm.

"Don't go. At least wait until we find out who the true match is."

"I have it right here, Mr. Malfoy," the receptionist told him as she re-entered the room. "It says in the files that Ginevra Weasley and Draco Malfoy are at ninety-seven percent. Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy was only a twenty-nine percent match."

"Thank you," Draco said dismissively. As the door shut, he turned to Ginny and said, "Ninety-seven percent. I wonder how accurate it truly is."

"I don't really know, but from what I gather it's supposed to be very accurate."

"Well, the first parchment I received said that I am one hundred percent compatible with Pansy!"

"Well, as we've just found out, that was not correct. I think something is off there, too much of a coincidence and too high a percentage to just be a mix up. Besides, she acted as if she was expecting you." Ginny was positive Pansy was up to something.

Draco came very close to Ginny. "But what about us?" he asked. He didn't want to think about Pansy Parkinson right now. "Do you think ours is right?"

Breathing heavily, Ginny said, "It's almost too high to be believed, don't you think?"

"Yes," Draco agreed as he inched down to lightly brush his lips with hers. "Almost."

"What should we do?" Ginny whispered.

"Get married, of course," Draco whispered back.

*** *** ** *** *** ***

Surprise Wedding Of The Year!

Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune and son of deceased Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, eloped Monday with Ginevra Weasley, daughter of Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts at the Ministry of Magic, after a meeting at the Yenta Livery Company.

Apparently, the couple...whose families are reputed enemies...has been secretly dating. When they fell in love, they decided to take a compatibility test. After seeing the results, which this reporter has learned was an all-time high at ninety-seven percent, they just couldn't wait for a wedding and decided to elope then and there...

Narcissa Malfoy threw the Daily Prophet down in a rage. She very seldom read the paper, but the picture of her son and the Weasley girl kissing on the front page caught her attention.

How dare he think he can elope with that girl and get away with it! Narcissa picked up the parchment needed to send a Howler, but then she thought better of it. "No, I have a better idea."

Walking to her fireplace, she grabbed a handful of powder. When her flames turned green, Narcissa stuck her head in and called out, "The Burrow! When the Burrow came into view, she yelled, "Molly? Are you home?"

Christy's Notes: I want to apologize for the long time in between updates. Real Life got in the way, and then my muse took a vacation. I promise the next update will not take as long.

Southern's Notes: I really enjoyed the Draco and Ginny portion of this. I can't wait to see what Pansy thinks, though, and I'm quite interested in what the mothers have to say to each other.