"Hermione? Is that you?" asked a short Italian woman with long black shiny hair and piercing blue eyes.
She looks a lot like Blaise, she must be Carolina Zabini. Thought Hermione as she arrived at Zabini Manor.
"Yes, it's me. You must be Carolina Zabini... my mother" Hermione managed to choke out.
Carolina rushed across the room and wrapped Hermione is a tight hug, although Hermione felt awkward she also felt something else, deep down she felt relieved to have a family again.
"Oh bella I barely recognized you with the glamour charm, your hair is so much different" Carolina said as she pulled out her wand and removed the charm.
Before Hermione could say a word she started to feel very strange, her usually brown bushy hair became sleek and black just like Carolina, and she began to grow taller and more voluptuous- also like her mother. She had yet to look at her face but she could feel that it too had changed. Without being asked to, Carolina brought forth a mirror so that Hermione could get a better look.
"Merlin, I look just like you and Blaise" Hermione said as her, now bright blue, eyes fell on her changed face. She essentially looked the same, her face just looked better. Her cheeks were more defined and her lips where now red and pouty.
"Speak of the devil; I'll leave you two to get better acquainted. Show her to her room when you're done okay? " said Carolina as Blaise came running down the stairs and pulled Hermione into a bear hug
"Ouch mom, you wound me with your words, of course- hopefully you like your room, if not we can totally change it. Don't listen to her sis- I'm going to be the best brother ever to make up for all the years apart" Blaise said chuckling
" he he okay bro, oh I'm Hermione by the way, Hermione Granger...well Hermione Zabini now I guess" Hermione said throwing her shoulders back and preparing for Blaise to say something rude
"Oh wow Hermione, I want you to know that I never really believed a lot of the Slytherin pureblood bullshit it just seemed that the only way to really fit in was to go with that but I'm so sorry for what happened to you and for whatever part I had in that. I really hope you forgive me because I was serious about making up for all the years apart"
Hermione ran into his arms and he picked her up and spun her around
"I forgive you Blaise, you're my brother after all- where would we be if you didn't screw up every so often" Hermione teased and she gently punched him in the shoulder
"Okay well if you're done beating me up I'll show you to your room" he said winking at her as he started leading her up the long winding staircase.
The house was beautiful to say the least; it was tastefully decorated in a surprisingly modern black and white color scheme and was a lot more welcoming than she expected
"Nice huh? Mom knows to marry guys with money" Blaise said casually as he led her to what she hoped was her bedroom- because it was the most beautiful room she had ever seen. With rich red walls, black closets and a gorgeous four poster bed it had already become HER room in her mind.
"I'll leave you to unpack; you probably want a bit of space so you can process this whole situation. Oh, by the way I have a friend coming over later, he'll be staying with us till the beginning of school next week and then joining us for our last year at Hogwarts, so I figured I'd give you advance warning" He said as he walked towards his room right across the hall.
"Wait! Blaise who is he? Do I know him or something? Why would I need advance warning?" Hermione asked confused
"Oh you definitely know him, but I want to make sure he's here to witness how pissed off you get" He muttered as he closed his door quickly to avoid further questioning.
That's strange; I wonder why I'd be pissed off? Maybe Blaise is worried about how I'll act around his Slytherin friends. Oh god it couldn't be Malfoy could it? No, there's no way that ferret would show his face at Hogwarts for his final year he's probably off with his tail between his legs hiding with his family's money. Hermione mused as she unpacked her bag .There was a large black bookshelf that was more than capable of holding all the books she brought along the wall that led to her bathroom.
Well that's a nice change, a big enough bookshelf AND my own bathroom. I could get used to this. She thought smirking. Suddenly a cute little house elf popped into the room
"Hello miss. I'm Minnie; Minnie is your house elf now. How can Minnie be of service?" The little house elf asked, she seemed happy enough but the idea of having her own house elf still irked her.
"Can I ask you if you're happy working for the Zabini family? Wouldn't you rather be free?" Hermione asked- her S.P.E.W days not forgotten for a single second.
"Minnie is very happy working for Mrs. Zabini and little Master Blaise. They treat Minnie right- not like some families. Minnie is too loyal to Mrs. Zabini to leave, Minnie helped raise Mrs. Zabini since she was a little sprout" Minnie replied smiling from ear to ear. Minnie was happy to once again be serving a girl and not a married woman.
"If it is okay with miss, Minnie can do your hair and makeup and find a new dress for miss all before dinner" Minnie cheered enthusiastically. Hermione couldn't help but giggle and nod at the sweet house elf as Minnie jumped up and down and led Hermione to the bathroom to get started.
An hour later Hermione emerged looking beautiful in a black and white polka dot halter dress that came just to her mid-thigh. It wasn't something Hermione would usually wear but in her true Zabini body she felt confident enough to rock it.
As she knocked on Blaise's door she felt very happy to finally have a family and to discover a fresh start. Blaise opened the door a fraction and kept the rest of his room blocked by his tall figure. Then suddenly he pulled the door open wide to reveal the last person Hermione had hoped to see, causing her to scream out in surprise.
" MALFOY!"
A.N. Hey guys, thank you so much for those following this story- I hope to update often. This is my first story so please review with suggestions and plot ideas you'd like to see. The next chapter with basically be all Hermione and Draco hashing out issues, with Blaise getting very defensive of his little sister ;P I hope you all like this.