Title: Challenge

Author: LilyAyl

1) Ron or Harry being naked
2) A proposal (from anyone to anyone)
3) Apple juice has to be mentioned 4) Someone has to choke on home-made cake/pie
5) Blaise's mum has to make an appearance

Hermione Granger swatted Blaise Zabini's hand as he reached for the door knob.

"What?" he asked her, perturbed. Hermione held one of her fingers to her lips and shook her head. She pressed her ear carefully against the wooden door and closed her eyes. After a few moments of straining to hear anything through the heavy oak, Hermione's eyes opened suddenly. Was that laughter?

She pulled Blaise's head down and held his ear to the door. Blaise listened, more to please Hermione than anything else, but then he began to grin.

Hermione pulled him away and down the hall a bit. "What was that?" she hissed.

Blaise kissed her chastely on her forehead and started walking away. "That, my dear, was Draco Malfoy laughing."

Hermione bit her lip and stared back at the door. "Maybe we should let them out, then."

Blaise walked back and took both of Hermione's wrists in his. "Don't worry, love. If they're getting along, let them."

"But Blaise... they are Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley, they aren't supposed to ever get along," Hermione argued as she allowed Blaise to tug her back downstairs.

"Then why did you send them there in the first place?"

Hermione shook her head. "I had hoped that one would leave or that Ron would kill Draco. I wasn't exactly being logical."

Blaise chuckled quietly and they re-entered the dining room. Harry and Luna sat on the furtherest end of the table, one on each side with a high chair between them at the head. Luna was cutting up some carrots for the child and placing them on the high chair tray and Harry was refilling the child's glass with apple juice.

The little baby girl, Tegan Rae, threw one her toys down onto the floor where it bounced and started to hum Brahm's lullaby. Harry quickly capped the apple juice, gave that to Tegan, and reached down for the still-humming toy. As he reached down, Tegan threw one of the carrots Luna had cut for her. The soggy vegatable fell right into Harry's hair. Harry sat up, pulled the carrot from his hair and sat it beside his plate. Tegan laughed.

"Now Tegan-love, I know you think it is very important to check at all times that the world is still in order, but you just tested gravity a few seconds ago with this," Harry held up the now-silent rattle. "You don't need to run another test so soon. Wait for a while until gravity thinks it is safe to stop working, then you can throw something else." He placed the rattle by his plate next to the carrot.

"Mine!" Tegan shouted reaching for the toy. Luna batted her hands. "Not yet, Tegan-love, you have to eat your carrots first. If you do not eat enough carrots you will never be able to see Nocturnal Quewls. You have to have really good eyesight to see them. Your daddy never ate enough carrots as a kid, and you don't want to be like him do you?"

Harry protested and Tegan ate a carrot. Luna laughed.

Next to Luna was an empty spot where Draco had been sitting earlier that night and next to the seat was Ginny.

Ginny glanced up as Hermione and Blaise sat down. "How are they?" she asked.

Blaise picked up his knife and fork. "Laughing," he said.

Ginny choked on her mashed potatoes. Hermione nudged her glass toward her and Ginny took a long drink. When she was done, she looked to Hermione next to her. "Laughing?" she asked.

Hermione glanced across the table to Blaise and nodded. "Yes, I had wanted to see why, but Blaise demanded I return."

Blaise rolled his eyes and then realized that both the seats next to him were empty. "Where are Pansy and my mother?"

"Pansy took Mrs. Zabini to find a restroom," Ginny answered.

"What?" Blaise asked, "My mother knows her way around this house, she's been visiting for years."

Ginny shrugged. Hermione stared at the empty seat at the head of the table. "I don't like this Blaise. Your mother and Pansy have been sneaking around all day."

Blaise nodded. "It is a little odd. I mean, I'm not surprised that they talk so much. My mother always considered Pansy as a surrogate daughter, but they've never snuck around like this before."

"As thrilling as this mystery may be," Ginny interrupted, "Do you think you could go retrieve my fiancee and brother? I do not fancy either one maimed."

Hermione nodded. "I will. Harry?"

Harry glanced up, a carrot was stuck to one of his glass lenses, "Yes?"

Hermione stifled a smile. "Do you or Luna need anything?"

"Besides a straitjacket for my darling girl? No. Luna?"

Luna shook her head and jammed another spoonful of apple sauce into her daughter's closed mouth.

Hermione nodded and left the room. As she passed the kitchen, she thought she could hear Pansy Parkinson's voice, but that would impossible. Hermione climbed up the stairs and walked back to the room in the hallway.

She repressed the urge to shove her head back against the wood to listen and opened the door. Neither Draco nor Ron noticed. They were laughing.

"She actually did that?" Draco asked mid-laugh.

Ron nodded. "Yeah. Mum was absolutely pissed, but of course she blamed the Twins and Gin never corrected her."

"How did that girl ever not make it into Slytherin?"

Hermione smiled. So they had found a way to form a truce on the only common ground they had, Ginny.

Hermione tapped her knuckles on the door. Draco immediately sobered and Ron stopped laughing as well. He looked decidely guilty.

"What have you two been doing?" Hermione asked, attempting to be stern.

Draco glanced over to Ron and drawled, "We were discussing whether or not I should break off the engagement with my lovely little fiancee to take on this prat who has repeatedly assured me that he is twice my size."

Hermione's eyes widened and she glanced to Ron, checking for the traditional signs of anger. But instead of turning a lovely shade of puce, Ron just shrugged and added, "But then we decided that he should stick with Ginny because with me he'd never be on top and with Gin he might actually get a chance."

Draco snickered. Hermione looked back and forth between the two and shook her head. "I don't want to know." She walked back out the door. "Come on; Ginny is missing you."

The two young men followed her back to the dining room. As Hermione passed Blaise to her seat, she bent down and whispered, "Don't tell Luna but, I think this is an alternative universe. They were joking together upstairs. And I think I heard Pansy's voice in the kitchen."

Blaise chuckled. "If this alternative universe continues to assert itself, I say we run before we're infected. We can take your Jeep." He kissed her hand and Hermione returned to her seat.

Ginny leaned over. "What was that about?"

Hermione guestured to Ron and Draco. "Draco insulted Ron and Ron didn't get mad. He insulted Draco back and Draco laughed."

Ginny stared at her brother and fiancee and muttered, "Dear God, the world is ending."

"What was that, Ginny?" Harry asked as he polished off his glasses.

Ginny shook her head. "Nothing."

"Hey, does anyone know where Pansy is?" Ron asked.

"She left with Mrs. Zabini nearly 20 minutes ago," Luna answered.

Ron turned to Blaise. "Blaise, where is your mum?"

"With your girlfriend."

"I thought I heard her in the kitchen," Hermione said.

"Impossible," scoffed Draco, "Pansy would never lower herself to cook."

"Not unless she was really desperate," Luna said from Draco's left, "People do odd things when desperate."

"Really?" Blaise asked, leaning over his plate, "Sounds like there is a story there."

Luna smiled and shook her head causing her chime earrings to clank together. "No, Harry would kill me if I told you about the time he wrapped himself naked in a Christmas box for me a few years before we married."

Everyone except Harry burst into laughter. "Why, Potter?" Draco asked at the same time Ron asked, "Was this the year that Luna decided that she was going to enter a convent?"

"A convent?"

"Why Luna?"

"What color was the package?"

"Ahem." Mrs. Zabini tried to get everyone's attention. However everyone was more intent on finding out the details of naked-Harry-in-a-box.

"Do you think we could market that? A guarranteed nude Harry in every box?"

"We'd be rich!"

"No!"

"Ahem!" This time the table quieted.

"Mum," Blaise said once he noticed her, "Where have you been?"

Mrs. Zabini ignored her son. The short woman bowed slightly to everyone in the dining room and said, "Dessert is served."

"But I didn't make a dessert," Hermione started to protest but a quick glare from Mrs. Zabini quickly quieted her. The short older woman had never ceased to intimidate her.

Mrs. Zabini stepped aside and took her seat at the head of the table. Behind where she had been in the door way stood Pansy Parkinson holding a cake.

"Where did you get that?" Ron asked.

Pansy smiled. "I made it."

"Then I don't want--" Draco shut up as soon as Pansy stared at him. 'Don't screw this up,' she mouthed, and Draco leaned back.

"Shall I serve?" Pansy asked. She pulled a knife from one of her pockets. She began to cut the cake.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Ginny asked.

"Damaris taught me," Pansy replied.

Blaise looked at his mother. "Is that true?" Mrs. Zabini nodded. "Hm... well do you think you could give Hermione lessons some time?"

Hermione stared at Blaise and kicked his hard beneath the table. "Blaise, love," she hissed, "can't we discuss this later?"

Blaise shrugged and looked to Pansy. "So this where you've been all day then?"

Pansy nodded. "Took forever. We couldn't use magic because then you'd notice."

"So you cooked the Muggle way?" Luna asked.

"Yes."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"I wasn't cooking for fun."

"Then why were you cooking," Hermione asked.

Pansy just smirked. "You'll see." She began to cut and pass out the cake. She gave the largest slice to Ron.

"Hey, no fair playing favorites, Pans," Draco protested.

"Shut up, you," Ron replied and he cut a large bite of the cake. "Thish ish exshellent, Panzhy!"

Pansy flushed slightly. "Shut your mouth and chew, Ron." She passed out the last of the cake. Ginny had just taken a bite when Ron yelled, "Ow!" Ginny jumped at the sudden loud noise and started to choke on her cake. Draco thumped her on her back and handed her a drink. She coughed, drank, and swallowed the thick, chocolate cake.

Ron pulled out the offending bite and put it on his napkin.

"Oh, Weasley, that's disgusting."

"Yeah, Ron, stop teaching my little girl bad manners," Harry added.

Ron frowned. "I bit onto something hard."

He picked a small ring out of the half-masticated mess and cleaned it off. "What's this?" he asked.

Pansy glanced over. "Oh that?" she asked, "That's my engagement ring."

"Your what?"

Pansy shrugged. "I got tired of waiting you to ask me, so I thought I would prompt you."

Ron just stared at her and twisted the dainty ring in his hands.

"Well?" Pansy asked, "Are you going to ask me or not?"

No one at the table, not even Tegan, spoke. Pansy sounded rather nonchalant, but she was tearing her napkin into pieces in her lap and chewing her lip. Ron glanced at the ring and sat it on the table. Pansy looked like she was about to bolt.

Ron stood up, walked behind Pansy, pulled a small box out of his pocket and sat it in front of her. He leaned over and kissed her, his arms around her shoulders, holding her in place. "Cariad, you must learn to be more patient." He reached and opened the box, inside was an engagement ring. "Will you marry me?" he asked in a bare whisper.

Pansy just nodded.

Hermione glanced across the table to Blaise, wondering if he had known what Pansy had planned to do. She'd known Ron had planned to propose after dinner. If she'd known about Pansy she could have told Blaise to tell her to not worry.

But she and Blaise hadn't really spoken for a long time. As Hermione twisted her own wedding ring and watched Pansy kiss Ron she resolved to fix that that very night.

She glanced back to Blaise who was then staring at her and smiled. 'I love you,' she mouthed.

Blaise looked a little shocked for a second, but then grinned and mouthed his reply. 'Et tu.'

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