"Blaise, will you please just leave me alone!"
"No, Hermione, I won't. At least not until you give me five minutes to put my case across." He replied obstinately.
Hogwarts' Head Girl, Hermione Granger, and Head Boy, Blaise Zabini, were currently stood in an abandoned classroom not too far from their shared Dorm. Hermione had her arms crossed in front of her chest thinking about how much Blaise was holding her up and was desperately trying to refrain from hexing him.
He had been harassing her all day; it had started innocently enough first thing that morning but he hadn't let up with the exception of when they were in lessons and Hermione had finally had enough. She was just one lecture away from exploding and from the look on Blaise's face, that lecture was about to be delivered.
"Look, Mione," Blaise said wheedlesomely, hoping that Hermione would soften at the use of her nickname. "Everybody knows that we were never friends when we started school, it is universally accepted that Slytherins and Gryffindors were enemies, and everybody knows, now, that we are as close as the Golden Trio ever were."
Hermione's eyebrow quirked - her relationship with a lot of the Slytherins had changed after the war had ended. Sure, a few of the more devoted Slytherins had come slinking back with their tale between their legs and begrudgingly accepted the happier, more care-free aura of Hogwarts, but on the whole the bad eggs had been exposed for what they were and so dealt with accordingly by the Ministry. All that was true, and yes, her and Blaise were as close as her and Harry and Ron, but that still did not mean that she had to be friends with all of Slytherin.
"Blaise- " she started to interrupt, but Blaise merely held up his hand and carried on.
"I trust you with my life and I wish you would trust me as much,"
Hermione started, "You know that I do-" but he once again held up his hand, silencing her.
"And I like to think that you do. But why – if you do – do you ignore everything I say when it comes to Draco?"
Hermione pouted at this. It wasn't like she totally ignored him. She listened to Harry and Blaise about how Draco had changed and how he really was a decent guy, but she just couldn't shake the past six years from her memory; for the best part of it he had been totally insufferable and mean to them. Of course, she had reasoned with herself that he had made amends for his actions during the war, and she was always ready to forgive and forget Malfoy, until she actually physically laid eyes on him.
Something in the way he existed made her want to argue, and from what she had picked up from him, he felt exactly the same way.
Harry, Ron, Blaise, Draco, Pansy, Ginny and Hermione often spent time relaxing in the Heads common room as a group; they went to Hogsmeade together, they snuck down to the kitchens together and they sometimes even plotted adventures together. The had formed an alliance and house unity had flourished because of it. But Hermione found Draco's entire being infuriating and it never took long for one of them to explode at the other.
Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose – she was stressed and didn't want to be having the same argument with Blaise all over again, especially not when he was preventing her from completing her duties as Head Girl. So far as she was concerned, nothing that he told her was new; she knew it all and still she couldn't find it in herself not to rise to Malfoy's baiting. Particularly when it involved her cookies.
Blaise saw her face darken and knew what train of thought her brain was boarding… it was the cookie express and it was never good - he needed to derail her. And fast.
"Ginny herself told you what a good guy he is and, Herms," Hermione's head shot up. Blaise winced; that was not a good move using that particular nickname - he wanted to distract her, not get himself a black eye. "He only winds you up because he wants your attention! You know he cares!"
Hermione raised an eyebrow in sceptical response.
"Deep down," Blaise continued, "Real deep down."
He sighed deeply. He cared about them both and everybody could see that there was more between them than just arguments. There were feelings that both of the were hiding and it frustrated Blaise no end to be able to do nothing to help his two friends realise it.
"Just think about it, Hermione, that's all I'm saying. The next time you feel like yelling at him just think about everything he did for Harry, think about what he did for all of us."
"I hope you're not trying to get Herms to like me, Blaise, that would spoil my fun."
Hermione and Blaise spun round - a guilty blush spreading across Hermione's already flushed features. Silently she prayed to anyone who may be listening that the one who had just caught them was not the subject of the conversation. She silently swore to herself as she looked up and winced at what she saw.
Draco Malfoy leant against the doorjamb nonchalantly, looking back and forth between to two – his infamous smirk now accompanied by an inquisitive eyebrow.
Blaise was the first to gather his wits and turned back to Hermione, clearing his throat lightly, "Well, I think my job here is done." He smiled knowingly at Draco before darting quickly past him, "And, Draco, please don't aggravate our little Gryffindor – she's on her period."
Throwing her hands in the air, Hermione shrieked. "Where did that come from!"
Chuckling softly, Blaise backed away further into the corridor. "Aw, Mione, I had to give the guy a sporting chance. It's only fair to equip him with all the facts before he starts to dig himself into some other hole." And with that he was gone.
Hermione just stood there with her mouth wide open.
Draco took in her gawping features before sifting through his cloak pocket and pulling out a small bag, offering them to her with a particularly smug smirk, "I hear cookies are good for PMS."
Blaise laughed openly to himself as he ran down the corridor – he had only managed to get halfway down it before Hermione's scream of rage had echoed down after him and he couldn't help it, his mind was once started plotting a way to get them to be honest with each other. There was such passion between them that they truly proved the proverbial thin line between love and hate. He continued to run but with an even bigger grin alighting his face. He and Ginny were in the middle of concocting a plan and he was eager to finalise it and put it in motion before either of them killed the other.
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A/N: I know, clichéd, but bear with me! Will get funnier but I needed to set the scene someway. Let me know what you think – ideas are always welcome! xx