Title: Arrangement in A or How the Sorting Hat Became a Matchmaker

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: K+, just in case for some language down the road

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, places or situations from Harry Potter, and can only thank JK Rowling for introducing me to them. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me, everything new is mine.

Author's Note: So…yeah. It's been awhile. For anyone that is still reading this, I wish I had a better excuse than real life getting in the way. A promotion, a new puppy and a massive case of writer's block happened. But, I'm back, thanks for Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family last weekend. I'm going to do my best to update on a much much more regular basis (which I realize would be updating AT ALL) and to finish this. If you are reading this, a big thanks for sticking with me; I'm hoping finishing this will get the creative juices flowing and will start some other stories too. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 7

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked Astoria. Even after being removed from the situation and eating lunch, she was still the most shaken he had seen her. Dealing with his father's snide remarks and coldness hadn't caused this reaction; she hadn't spoken more than two words at a time since he had escorted her into the restaurant. None of the verbal gauntlets he had thrown had been answered, which led to him asking the question.

Astoria blinked out of her trance at his remark. She considered the request for a moment then shook her head. "No, I don't think so." She continued to pick at the food on her plate and shook her head again. "No, definitely not."

He regarded her carefully, shrugging his shoulder when he realized she wouldn't be offering more. "We all have exes we aren't particularly fond of. There's no need to get quite so bent out of shape."

Ria frowned. Draco was either telling her she was over-reacting, in which case he could stuff it, or he was being understanding, in which case the world was ending. An hour ago, she had been contentedly working away in her office when Hermione's raised voice had alerted her of her fiancé's presence. She was thankful for the warning as she had not been wearing anything charmed. Her boss's rather loud comment had given her enough time to wave her wand over her bracelet before Draco threw open the door to her office. She knew, Hermione knew and Draco knew his real reason for showing up a day early for the lunch they had scheduled under Narcissa's watchful eyes; he had discovered at the very least that she was using magic to change her appearance to him. The look of disappointment and half-pout he wore as they left for lunch had Ria in good spirits.

Until she had walked through the door of the fancy restaurant and literally ran into Grayson Everest. Her ex-boyfriend.

"Ria, such a pleasure to see you," Grayson said, his voice dripping with false sentiment. "Don't you look lovely." Draco had noticed Astoria's entire body stiffened at his statement, but that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes.

"Grayson," she answered coldly, hoping to keep their interaction as brief as possible.

"And there's that icy tone I've missed. Haven't changed a bit, have you darling?" Ria didn't react to his comment, but she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from doing so. Luckily, Grayson wasn't interested in rehashing the past in public, even though he certainly enjoyed doing so the first six months after their breakup. That might have been because of the gorgeous girl behind him, who did not look impressed at being kept waiting. He continued through the door, exiting the restaurant, but not before giving a parting shot. "Good luck, mate," he said to Draco. "Hope you don't mind frostbite." He threw one last smirk at Ria and left.

Even with two years and lot of introspection as to how bad of a decision she had made, his remarks still bothered her. That had been Grayson's talent though, honing in on her weaknesses and magnifying them, whether real or imagined. She was furious at him for being such an arse and at herself for allowing him to get under her skin after all this time. So she most decidedly did not want to discuss this with Draco.

"That was Grayson Everest, wasn't it?" Draco spoke, again pulling Ria from her inner thoughts. When she nodded her head in agreement, he frowned. "I take it you dated that smug tosser?"

"Unfortunately," she answered, hoping her tone communicated how much she didn't want this discussion to progress. Apparently, her hope was for naught.

"Why in the world would you do that?" he asked, still pursuing the line of questioning. "He's quite possibly the least likable fellow in London."

Ria narrowed her eyes as she stared across the table. "What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' was hard to understand?"

At her response, Draco grinned. "Perhaps you would rather talk about wedding plans then? I do hope you don't mind the color green; I'm sure that Mother has already begun ordering decorations."

She clenched her teeth momentarily before deciding her ex was a more palatable topic than their wedding. "What do you want to hear, Draco? I was foolish enough to believe the charming front he puts up at the beginning and stubborn enough to stay with him for longer than I should have. It didn't end well and I'm still not sure why I ever went out with him." Ria signaled the waitress for their check, wanting to end this outing as soon as possible. "There, is your curiosity satisfied?"

Draco had a surprised look on his face. "What?" she asked.

He shook his head, effectively erasing the previous expression and replaced it with his standard smug grin. "For a moment there, when you were angry, your eyes were almost not dull."

Ria's mouth dropped open in shock. She had moved from her small bout of self-loathing seeing Grayson always caused to being furious with her supposed fiancé. "You arrogant prat!" she hissed as loudly as she could without causing a massive scene in the upscale restaurant.

"Oh stop Astoria," he answered calmly, albeit with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Isn't the fact that I feel that way what you wanted to accomplish?" She froze. She had been so shaken by her run-in with the dreaded ex, she had forgotten how suspicious Draco had been the week before. And now he was accusing her of exactly what she was doing. "Your silence is a bit telling, sweetheart." The endearment, dripping with sarcasm, shook her Ria from her panic.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied. "I was simply surprised and disappointed that you seem to find me so unappealing."

At her comment, Draco threw his head back in laughter. She tried to not notice now attractive the sound was. "You don't have to keep up the charade anymore. I know you're trying to be the worst option of a wife you could possibly be. And I understand. I don't want to marry you either, Greengrass."

"Well then, Malfoy," she countered, "Why don't you floo yourself back to that gloomy Manor and tell your parents you want out?"

He frowned, all levity from before gone from his eyes. "I don't have a choice either, you know. My father doesn't exactly consult me about this before contacting your father. It was discussed with me as an afterthought almost."

Ria chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "I read that contract frontwards and backwards. There's a clause that you're the only person who can cancel the contract. If you decide…"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't be naïve, Astoria. I don't get to decide anything. The only hope we have of this contract being canceled is if my father decides you're completely inappropriate to be a Malfoy."

She waited a minute. "So, your father then. That's who we need to convince."

Draco studied her in silence. "If you are serious about the idea, you're going to have to do more than wear ugly clothes and being nice to house-elves. That would work if we had months before this blasted wedding is supposed to take place, but we don't."

"Then if you really mean that you don't want this marriage either, help me," she implored, going so far as to lean over the table, getting as close to him as she could. "Tell me what I need to do to persuade your father that Astoria Malfoy would be a horrible addition to the family tree."

Another few minutes of quiet stretched as Draco contemplated her offer. On one hand, he didn't necessarily trust the girl sitting across from him; he didn't even know what she actually looked like. However, he definitely didn't want to be married to the girl sitting across from him or any girl for that matter. It didn't take long for him to decide which issue was more important.

"We have to act fast. I suggest beginning with this ridiculous engagement party Mother is insisting on throwing next weekend. I'll brainstorm ideas and owl them to you."

She nodded in response. "We'll have to be careful. My aunt will be at the party and she's suspicious of everything I do."

Draco waved a hand, dismissing her concern. "Don't worry about your aunt. If we do a good enough job, it won't matter what she says about the situation. We will have to beware of Mother; she's much more in tune with my reasons for doing things than I like."

Ria breathed a sigh of relief, probably the first since her father had dropped this news in her lap. Even if it was in the form of Draco, there did seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel that wasn't the Hogwarts Express. "Alright. What's our first move?"

The relief she had felt lessened a bit at the positively evil smirk growing on Draco's face. "First my dear fiancée…I think we need to add a few names to the guest list for our engagement party."