Hermione's POV:

"'Mione? 'Mione?" Ginny snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Are you ok?" 

"Fine!" I squeaked. "Come on. We're getting the results today and everybody else is being paired up. What will they do with the other couples who haven't been tested yet?"

"They already went. Kingsley actually came back for them and said it would be best to do it now..." Ginny trailed off. "Anyways! We gotta look good!" I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"I'm going to guess you've already picked out my outfit?" I sat up, and there was Ginny, holding an outfit. "Oh dear, should I be scared?"

"You should be thanking me that's what you should be doing!" Ginny huffed. "Now take these, they aren't the lighted things! By the way, I coordinated with Luna and the Slyther-girls,-that's my new name for them, do you like it?-and we'll all match again!"

I took the outfits from her and walked into the bathroom.  "Of course you did, Gin!" 

I looked over the outfit. It was actually..pretty nice. It was a short-sleeved, black and white plaid cami dress with a red shirt underneath. There were black leggings and black sneakers to go with it. I put on a little bit of red gloss and walked out. Ginny wore the same outfit as I, just with a golden shirt. 

"Hey!" I chuckled. "We look good!" I grabbed her hand and skipped down the stairs. I heard a whistle.

"Lookin' good there lassies!" Seamus commented. Dean walked over and kissed his cheek. 

"Not as god as us though!" Dean shook his hips a bit. "We're red carpet ready!" 

Ginny giggled. "As always, Dean!" 

Harry and Ron walked down the stairs. Both had black jeans (my god, black jeans, again!?) and Gryffindor themed shirts. Ginny hopped onto Harry's back and declared, "To the Great Hall!" Harry laughed, adjusted his hyper girlfriend, and walked out the portrait. I curtsied. 

"Bonjour, Monsieur. Shall we?" Ron laughed at my horrible French. 

"We shall, Madamoiselle!" We ran out the portrait together. 
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Upon entering the Great Hall, McGonagall asked for all students who weren't in their seventh year to get to class. Kingsley stepped up to the podium.

"Thank you all for being-somewhat-cooperative." There were several snickers at this remark. "One issue I forgot to address, all those in the LGBTQ+ community, we at the Ministry see and respect you. You will not be forced into a heterosexual marriage. Whether or not you produce an heir is up to you. We got the results from all the testing in. All girls, please line up on the right side of the hall." 

Kissing Ron on the cheek one last time, I made my way over to where all the other girls were standing. Ginny, Luna, the Slyther-girls, and I started gossiping at once.

"Neville's had his eyes on you for a while Luna, hopefully, you two are together!" I squealed. 

"I like Blaise...I hope I get him!" Astoria fretted.

Ginny laughed. "I'm confident that I'll get Harry. We were destined for each other!" Some girls agreed, but other girls grumbled "we'll see" and turned back to Kingsley.

"I will call up a female and she will take a sip of a potion. She will then wave her wand, and a string will connect her to her soulmate. Are we ready? We shall begin! Tracy Davis..."

I zoned out. I was starting to stress. I knew that I loved Ron, but I was scared. What if we didn't meet the requirements!?

"Lavender Brown!" Lavender walked up and sipped the potion. A bright red string flew out from her wand and connected her to-

"BLOODY HELL, MATE!" Ron stepped forward. He looked at me. Lavender noticed this interaction and tried to object. 

"The potion is never wrong. Miss Brown, please join Mister Weasley." I burst into tears. How could this happen!? Ron and I didn't pass, and even worse, he was with his ex! Ginny gave me a tight hug. Lunna patted my shoulder and told me that it would be alright, but I could only feel heartbreak. 

"Astoria Greengrass." Astoria shot me one last glance before sipping the potion. A dark green string smacked Blaise in the face.

"Jesus, woman!" He exclaimed. Pansy, Ginny, and Luna cheered. I offered her a small smile. She beamed and ran over to Blaise, who was still trying to detach the string from his face. 

"Ginny Weasley." Ginny nervously stepped up. I started panicking. What if she didn't get Harry? I didn't have Ron, this would all be too-

"Told you, Love!" Harry called. He held up his hand. He was holding a golden string. Ginny ran into his arms and they embraced. My heart only broke more. I let out another silent sob. Ron and I were supposed to have that. I looked over at Ron. He and Lavender weren't talking. Lavender looked greatly disturbed, but Ron looked blank. 

"Luna Lovegood." Luna walked up to the podium. She took a whiff of the potion. 

"It's nargle infested, Minister!" She hesitantly drank it. She gave her wand a small wave and a pink string floated across the room until it reached Neville.

Neville's face was a crimson red. He kind of gawked at Luna who took his arm and lead him to a table near the back. They walked over to Ron and Harry. I looked for Ginny, but she was on the other side of the room with Lavender. Another wave of heartbreak hit me. His ex! 

Pansy looked at me. She wiped a tear from my cheek and spoke to me, in an oddly soothing voice. "Listen, Hermione, I know that this is horrible, but the potion is never wrong. I know that you'll find love with the person who gets smacked with your string." She gave me a tight squeeze before her name was called. She confidently strutted up, drank the potion, and waved her wand. A violet string whizzed across the room and knocked Theo to the floor. Pansy smirked and walked over to him. "Get up, you over-sized ostrich!" Theo choked but obeyed. I leaned against the wall and cried, waiting for my turn. 

"Hermione Granger." Kingsley boomed. I walked up to where he stood. In a quiet voice, he whispered, "I'm very sorry, Miss Granger." I nodded at him. He handed me a cup full of a disgusting looking green liquid. I closed my eyes and drank it. I waved my wand and dropped it to the floor, not daring to look at who the string connected to. I heard everybody gasp.I quickly opened my eyes. 

"Malfoy!?" 
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Lavender's POV:

I sighed. As soon as the fact that I was basically now engaged to Ron set in, I felt horrible.

Ron and I had dated for a while, but it didn't really work out. I know that he had been in love with Hemione for a while,  but just for once, I wanted to feel needed. Now that I had basically torn apart their relationship, again, I felt tears pricking at my eyes. I walked away from Ron and towards Ginny. A tear slowly escaped from my eye as I approached her.

"Ginny? I asked. 

She looked up from Harry's arms. "Yes?"

"C-can we talk?" I pleaded. "Just for a m-minute, p-please?" 

Ginny shoved Harry away. "TALK TO RON!" She screamed at him. She studied my face. She pulled a small pack of tissues from her purse and dabbed at the corners of my eyes. "What's going on, Lav?"

I sniffed. "I just feel h-horrible th-that I-" I sobbed.

Ginny smiled at me. "Take your time, Lav."

"Broke up their relati-tionsh-ship-AGAIN!" I howled. 

She smiled sadly. "Lavender, look, I know that this is really unfortunate, but we need to move on. It's horrible that they aren't together, but he was obviously chosen for you for a reason. Give it some time, and you'll be able to make each other really happy." She pulled out a bar of chocolate. "Here, you'll feel better."

I sniffed and bit into the chocolate. "Hermione Granger!" Kingsley boomed. Hermione, tears still streaming down her face, walked up to the podium. They exchanged a couple of words, and Hermione drank the potion. She waved her wand but did not open her eyes, so she didn't see the glowing silver string that attached her to Malfoy. I gasped. 

"Malfoy?" Ginny seethed. "We only just made a truce yesterday!" 

I made a very un-intelligent sound, somewhere between a cough, hiccup, howl, and snort. Ginny burst into a fight of giggles. "I'm serious! The girls are actually really nice, you should meet them!" She beamed. "They also have a super good fashion sense!" 

I looked back up at Hermione who jerked her eyes opened. She slowly stood up, then dashed out of the room. The bang from the doors echoed throughout the room. Everybody looked at Malfoy, who calmly walked over to Blaise, Astoria, Pansy, and Theo. I looked at Ginny. "We sh-should talk to the b-boys!"

"Agreed," Ginny whispered. She then pulled me across the room. Ron and Harry's mouths were on the floor. Luna was looking for the Slytherin girls and Neville's eyebrows were high up on his forehead. "So..." Ginny looked at the group. "That was...unexpected to say the least." 

I cleared my throat. "P-perhaps us girls should look for her?" I questioned. Everybody nodded in agreement. 

"I think I saw Pansy comforting 'Mione earlier, we should get the Slyther-girls," Luna commented. She walked away, presumably getting the "Slyther-girls". 

I obviously looked really confused because Neville explained, "Ginny's name for Pansy and Astoria. For some reason, she's become good friends with them."

I giggled. "Gossip, romance,  and fashion truly can bring you together!"

Ginny laughed. "Exactly!"

Luna returned not a moment later with Astoria and Pansy. 

"She's probably in the library, right?" Astoria looked at me. "Nice to meet you, Lavender." She shoved her hand towards me. "Right, Pansy?"

I shook her hand as Pansy said, "Yes! Definitely! I hope we can become great gossiping buddies!" She smiled at me. "Now, are we going to find that damsel in distress or what?"