Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any rights to Harry Potter, and do not claim such. J.K. Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter characters, but has let us all use her characters to keep our creative juices flowing. Thank you.

A/N: Hello readers! I haven't written anything in 6 years, so constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames will be used to roast marshmallows. I have 6 Beta Readers. They have all agreed to allow this chapter to be published. Can you believe this only took me 18 hours from start to finish? I guess I really needed to get back to writing. Thank you to my 6 Betas: Matt, Heri, Stephan, Stephanie, Jessica, and Grama. Please enjoy this first chapter.

Miserable

A Hermione Granger/Blaise Zabini story

Chapter 1

The pounding of the bass in her ears was killing her. The obnoxious love fests going on in the corners of the Great Hall were starting to tear at her heart. Ron had cheated on her, again, with another one of HER admirers. Yes, she had found out he was having an affair with not another woman, but another man. It would not have hurt her so much, or so she kept telling herself, if he had cheated on her with another woman.

The only reason she was even at this party was because her friends had insisted she stop moping around about her ruined engagement to a man who liked other men. She really just wanted to be back at her apartment, eating Chinese take-out, and taking a nice warm bubble bath before reading her favorite book Tuck Everlasting, and finally falling asleep so she could go to work in the morning. Besides, it did not feel right being back at Hogwarts without Professor Dumbledore being there. The battle not only took lives, but also friendships and personalities. The Golden Trio split after Ron's last bedroom escapade with one of Hermione's admirers.

Ron had proposed to Hermione about a year after The Battle at Hogwarts. Ron walked into the little bookshop in Diagon Alley. He heard that Hermione had started working there after the Reconstruction, which is what he told her a few months later. Ron pretended not to notice Hermione stocking the bookshelves with Horace Slughorn's new book on his everlasting friendships with the Potters'. Both past and present, of course. Ron grabbed a copy of the muggle book Tuck Everlasting, and headed to go check out. Hermione stood behind the counter trying to get Ron's attention.

"Hi Ron. How have you been?" she asked politely. He looked up from the book's back cover to her. "Oh! Hermione, didn't see you there. You work here? No one ever told me. How long have you worked here?" he responded, seemingly shocked to see her. She smiled at him, "I've been working here for about 7 months now. It's nice to be around books. They can't look at you like you are a God. Or whisper behind your back about you. Unless it's a book written by Rita Skeeter. Anyways, you like muggle literature? This is my favorite book."

"I do like muggle literature. I developed a liking for it when I travelled to Muggle America on vacation. Tuck Everlasting is my favorite, too. So how much for the book?" he asked. "Oh, sorry, I was a bit distracted. That will be 12 Sickles and 21 Knuts." she replied. Ron dug around in his pocket, and brought out the requested amount of money. Hermione took the money, "It was nice seeing and talking to you again, Ron. I'm glad you're back. Maybe we could catch up together sometime?" Ron smiled at her now, "Of course! When are you off work?". "I finish up here at 5pm." she was excited about catching up with her long-time crush. Ron's ego inflated a bit, "So I'll pick you up here at 5 for dinner then?" Hermione giggled at him, "Yes that should be just fine."

Hermione and Ron dated like that for a few weeks before Harry's birthday party. It was held at a nearby wizard's club. Hermione was with her friends, and Ron was with his. Hermione had a few men come up to her, but she let them know she was taken and they would walk away looking defeated. Hermione never drank at these functions. After a while, she went looking for Ron. He probably had one too many Firewhiskeys and passed out in one of the back rooms.

She found Ron and one of her male admirers naked in a bed together. "Hermione! It's not what it looks like, I swear!" he shouted, embarrassed at being caught with another man. Hermione's jaw slackened, "If it isn't what it looks like, then please explain why you are naked in bed with another man?" Ron jumped out of bed and ran over to Hermione, "He was an accident, I swear. He means nothing to me. I have no idea how he even managed to talk me into bed with him. Just give me a minute to get dressed and we'll leave the party." Hermione let him get changed, watching the two of them closely.

The man in the bed kept his body covered with the blanket while he glanced around the dark room. The room was meant for excursions like this. The King sized bed sat in the middle of the room. There was a couch facing the bed, like it was meant for an audience to the room's sexually unhealthy occupants. Hermione was shocked and disgusted. How dare he cheat on her? Ron finished getting dressed and grabbed Hermione's elbow to steer her out of the room and to the main party. They walked up to Harry, wished him a happy birthday, and left the party.

Hermione and Ron talked it over and they decided that it was a drunken mistake. Hermione forgave Ron that time. A week later, they went out to Dinner together. Ron proposed to Hermione there. She said yes to him. It was one of the only times in her life that she made a mistake. That night, she was happy. She never thought she could love Ron more than in that moment when he proposed. She was right. She usually is right. She started to look at white wedding dresses and maroon bridesmaid dresses. She looked at and compared prices of water lilies, roses, baby's breath, and colored daisies. She started interviewing caterers, wedding planners, and even asked the Minister of Magic if he would preside over the wedding vows. They would have the biggest, most festive wedding in the hopes of cheering up the people of the wizarding world after the effects of the war destroyed their lives.

The wedding would be in April. It was July, there was little time left to get everything arranged. A spring wedding would be nice. Ron and Hermione's color scheme was Maroon and Gold, Gryffindor house colors being Ron's favorite. Hermione agreed, wanting Ron happy with everything at the wedding. Her wedding dress was already ordered, her first fitting would be in two months time. Ron was going to rent his tuxedo, along with his groomsmen. The bridesmaids were going to buy their dresses. Women like pretty dresses, and red ones were always meant to be kept and worn again later.

August came and went for Hermione. She and Ron were so busy; they rarely had time for each other. Hermione was head over heels in love with Ronald Weasley. So when September, October, November, and December came and went with only minimal contact from her Fiancée, Hermione figured that he was busy working and paying the caterers in advance. Ron does so love food. They were having an open buffet along with an open bar. Never-ending food would be the highlight of the wedding for Ron, she was sure of it.

January made Hermione a bit antsy. She had called the caterers and asked how the preparations were coming along. The first few caterers were confused, no one had paid them in advance to start making the menus up. The last one, funded by Malfoy Enterprises, already had a menu put together and approved by Ron. She was a little relieved that Ron had done something, but why had he not approved other menus and paid the other caterers? Hermione asked Ron one night and he said that he thought the Malfoy Enterprises catering company had better tasting food and booked only them for the wedding. Hermione was shocked; she thought that Ron hated Malfoy and anything to do with him and his family. If Ron approved of them, than she approved as well.

A week before the wedding, Hermione brought some last minute material swatches over to Ron's apartment for him to look at and approve. Travelling by floo is the most effective way to get a hold of Ron in person, anyways. He didn't have to work that day, so he should be at home. She looked around his living room, no sign of him anywhere. He wouldn't be in the Kitchen because his cooking would kill a Mountain Troll, so maybe he is taking a shower? She heard the shower running so she knocked on it and waited for Ron to open the door for her.

Ron opened the door in nothing but a towel. "'Mione, what are you doing here? Don't you have more wedding plans to see through?" he asked. Hermione smiled at him, "Of course, that's why I'm here. It's really important. What swatch do you like better for the balconies? This one, or this one?" she asked holding up two very similar swatches. Ron picked one. Hermione looked at him in shock, "That one? But it won't look right with the swatch picked out for walkways!" Ron heaved a sigh at her, "Alright then, the other one. Now is that all?" Hermione smiled and said yes, when she noticed an outline of a person walking towards her from behind Ron.

It was Draco Malfoy. "Oh, Granger, want to join us in the shower? I'm sorry to say that we have been in there so long, the water is starting to get cold." He greeted while rubbing his hand on Ron's side from behind. She watched him kiss on Ron's neck eliciting a low moan from him. Ron nudged Malfoy off of him. Hermione was shaken. Shocked. Flabbergasted. There really were no words to put to this situation for her. "I'm calling off the wedding Ron. You think I'd be okay with you sleeping with Malfoy of all people? Another man, again?" she asked. Ron apologized while Malfoy smirked at her. "We rarely sleep together, Granger, give the man a break. Why would he sleep with you anyways?"

Hermione ran crying out of his apartment. She returned home and sent off letters telling everyone that the wedding was called off on account of 'irreconcilable differences'. She received hundreds of letters apologizing about the way things turned out for them. She burned them all. She paid the caterers off, the wedding planner, and tried to pay the Minister of Magic for getting his hopes up. He refused her money and told her she should use that money on herself. She did. She bought a whole new wardrobe, new makeup, accessories, and after all of this, her views on the world even changed. She saw the world for what it really was. Hell. That brings us to why she is at this party now, two months after that incident.

It was the two year anniversary of the ending of the last wizarding war. Everyone was invited, but especially 'The Golden Trio'. Which means that Ron and his boyfriend, Draco Malfoy were there. Of course they couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Hermione was sickened by them and their lack of class. She stomped over to the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. She never drank at functions like these, but for this occasion she could make an exception. She downed her first and second, and reached for her third when her hand was stopped.

It was Blaise Zabini. "You really should take it easy, Granger. Wouldn't want to be a stumbling drunk, now would you?"

Hermione was offended, "Are you implying that I can't hold my liquor, Mr. Zabini?"

He chuckled at her, "No, that is exactly what I am saying, not implying. I just thought you would like to slow down and not make a fool of yourself in front of your ex and his new boyfriend."

She grabbed her full glass and drank it down. Blaise laughed again. "Okay, have it your way. If you would like to drink as much as you would like without having to apologize to the whole of the wizarding world the morning after, you can come to my place with me." Hermione considered his offer, and in her buzzed state, agreed. They both walked out of Hogwarts together. They walked all the way to the Apparition point, and side apparated to Blaise's house.

They landed in the foyer together; Hermione had to be held by Blaise in order for her to not fall over. Blaise escorted Hermione to the Parlor and offered her a drink after she regained her balance. She took the gin and tonic without hesitation from him. Than another, and another, and another. Until she was just drunk enough to realize that they were alone, and that Blaise was very attractive. She stumbled over to him, "Thank you for the drinks and the private place for the moment. How should I properly thank you?"

Blaise stopped her now roaming hand from reaching its intended target, much to the owner of the hand's disappointment. "Granger, I would never sleep with a Mudblood like you. It's beneath me." Hermione smirked at him, "I could be beneath you in just a minute if you would like. Stop pretending to think I'm disgusting. I see the way you looked at me all night."

Blaise realized she had a point, even in her now drunken state her mind was still in tip-top shape. "Granger you can have a guest room for the night so you aren't randomly popping up in front of large groups of Muggles. I'll take you to your room so you can rest. You look like you need it." Hermione pouted at him, but conceded. They walked up a flight of stairs, down a couple of hallways, and ended at a room big enough for Hermione's entire apartment to fit into. Hermione grabbed a hold of Blaise's robes and firmly tugged him into the room before slamming and locking the door.

Hermione smiled at Blaise triumphantly. "Hermione, I thought I told you that I'm not going to sleep with you?" Blaise asked. Hermione grinned still, "That's fine, and you don't have to. I just want a one night stand…that's all." Blaise thought on it a moment before agreeing. "Alright, but we won't have a relationship after tonight, got it?" Hermione nodded her head at him. She began to strip down in front of him, before she walked over to his fully clad body and pushed him down on the King sized bed.

Hermione took off his button up shirt with her teeth. She pushed the two sides of the shirt off of his body. Her hands started roaming over his sculpted abs, Quidditch really was a great sport, she had to admit. Her hands moved down to his zipper, and unzipped his slacks. She pulled the slacks down his lower body, slowly, teasingly slowly for him. Blaise had never had a woman this wanton in his life. He couldn't help the low moans escaping his mouth as she placed him in hers. She sucked the precum off of him before kissing up his body to his neck and grabbing on to his shaft. Blaise was in heaven.

After a few minutes, she straddled him and took him fully inside her. Together the two forgot about their past hatred, not really knowing each other, and they just did what humans are good at. They forgot. Hermione forgot about Ron and Draco, while Blaise forgot about his family and his burning desire for men and women. Blaise got up and left Hermione's room to go to his once she fell asleep.

Hermione woke up a little before dawn and got dressed. She remembered everything from last night and was appalled by how she behaved with Blaise. She apparated to her apartment, locked the door, shed her clothes, and took a scalding shower to get rid of the memories she shouldn't have about a man she shouldn't know that way.