Title: What She Did For Love
Author: Miz Thang
Characters/Pairing: Blaise Zabini, HG/BZ, HG/DM implied
Rating: FRM
Word Count: 513
Warnings: Angst.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the little story's idea. Everything else belongs to who it belongs to.
Summary: Hermione did something for love. He doesn't know, or understand. For 30hath's March 25th-to be worthy of love.
She takes a seat on the only available surface and looks at him. Her brown eyes are sad, nearly vacant, and she looks at him as if he's a utter and complete stranger. Maybe he is.
He lips part and a single word falls from her lips. "Why?"
"Why?" He echoes, watching her just as carefully, eyes described back in his school days as unique and beautiful now dull with the weight of life. "Why does anyone do anything, Hermione?"
Her eyes flutter shut and he knows he's done the one thing she hadn't wanted him to do; he affected her.
"'For their own personal gain.'" Hermione murmurs. "You told me that."
"I did, didn't I?" He asks softly. He notices the way she tenses when he takes a step forward. "Don't tell me you're scared."
"I'm not scared. I'm tense…prepared, if you will."
He notices, because there's rarely anything else to, that her curly hair, slightly on the bushy side, is pulled back into a loose ponytail. He likes when she does that, if only because her face can't be hidden by any one strand.
"I don't believe that."
"Tough." She replies quickly.
He laughs, and he knows she's watching him as his mouth stretched into a wry grin and he chuckles a bit.
He stops abruptly, "What do you want, Mrs. Malfoy?"
Any emotions on her face drain away and she stands. "Why do we have to go through this?"
"Because it's a fact, Hermione." He says. "It's a fact that you went and married Malfoy when things got complicated."
"That is not what happened, Blaise – "
"And the funny thing is? The entire time we had together, I was wondering, questioning if I deserved you." He stares directly into her eyes. "I only wanted to be worthy of your love."
"Could you listen to me - ?"
"And now, when I think of it, I realize that I fell in love with the wrong person." Blaise says bitterly. "I fell in love with a person that didn't trust me when I said I was innocent."
"I did believe you!" She exclaims loudly and Blaise can imagine that the others holed up with him are straining to hear this conversation.
He turns away from her, because he doesn't want to look at something he can no longer have.
"You believed me?" He asks. "Then, why is it that you're married to Malfoy, and I'm here?"
Hermione doesn't immediately answer and Blaise nods, satisfied and confident in believing that he's right on this.
"I did it…" she starts, but doesn't finish. He sees her swallow out of the corner of his eye. She tries again. "I'd rather have you imprisoned, in Azkaban," she says slowly, "Than have you dead, in a cemetery."
He doesn't turn to watch her walk away, though he wants to. He can only bring himself to listen to the click of her likely expensive heels as they meet the concrete. He strains to hear the click long after it has finally disappeared and she's gone. Maybe forever.
Fin.