I know house elves do not speak like this one will. There is a reason, I just don't want you to know what the reason is yet.

This isn't as long as I would like, but it will have to do. The continuation really deserves a new chapter.

Set the up…

Blaise looked up as Hermione entered the common room, sliding his comm. book closed and slipping it into the side of the couch in one motion. He was about to stand up and give her a hug, as he had done every day this week, when he noticed the small smile and glint in her eye. He decided to remain sitting.

"You look rather happy. Has a certain stalker, or better yet minister, died recently?" He was certain that she had not discovered Susannah and Cassandra would have told her about Fudge but it was a way to start the conversation.

"Sadly no, but I do believe that some people may get a bit sick tomorrow. Maybe the stalker will be amongst them. By the way, apparently Ginny will be studying late tonight and will miss most of breakfast in the hall tomorrow so I thought we might push our breakfast back and have her join us. Do you mind?"

"Should I have breakfast with a thousand eyes glaring at me in the Great Hall or a slightly later breakfast with two beautiful women smiling at me? What a tough decision, whichever shall I choose?"

"Would it help you decide if one of those beautiful girls you mentioned made it worth your while?"

"Just how would she do that?" Blaise was actually intrigued.

Hermione walked as sexily as she could behind his chair. She placed her hands on his shoulders and bent to whisper in his ear. "With some chocolate, sprinkles, ice-cream and hot fudge."

Blaise turned his head to face hers. "And just where will these treats be placed?" Blaise murmured just as softly.

"That is for me to know and you to find out." Hermione moved her face a bit closer as she answered. There was only five centimetres between them now.

"I suppose I could be persuaded to sleep in."

"Good." Hermione said as she moved back. Standing properly she went to back to her normal tone of voice. "I'm off to the kitchen."

"I should get back to my essay myself. How that idiot got hired is beyond me."

"Muggle Studies?"

"Yeah. A five foot essay on how World War II influenced the invention of computers due tomorrow. I'm not sure if some of the first years have reached five feet yet."

"How much do you have at the moment?" Hermione couldn't see any links between the two events except that modern war generally would spark the ideas for new inventions.

"Two. But I've just been outlining the basics of the war, who, what, where, why and when in the broadest sense. At least that part of the essay is easy."

"Do you know how the events are related?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, do you?" Blaise teased. He knew she hated it when someone withheld knowledge.

"I can't say that I do. Will you enlighten me?" Hermione managed to hold onto her patience. She had been on a high all evening and was determined to win this battle.

"Think of it as an enigma. Weren't you going? Our curfew starts at half past and it's five to now." Blaise answered.

"I don't have to get you that chocolate you know. You can eat in the Hall." Hermione replied, going out the door.

Blaise waited a moment to be sure Hermione had left before he took his book out again.

'Sorry angel, Hermione came in. She seems better, not entirely back to normal but no longer depressed. I actually think that she may be planning something for breakfast tomorrow. Could you arrange for some of our agents to be absent during breakfast? Perhaps some training exercise or a sweep for intel. in the towers?'

'It can be arranged. Any idea about the change, she was wallowing for a while, it would take something big to snap her out of it.'

'Just like it would take something big for you to say Hermione's name again, I guess. Why are you so reluctant to say 'Hermione'? You had no trouble with Voldemort.'

'I try to avoid saying any names, as you should know. She has no code name.'

'You've written my name, several times actually. Thinking back, you wrote my name earlier today, and yesterday as well. Do you have another excuse?'

'You used to trust my judgement. Bye.'

'Don't be angry, my angel. I'd trust you with my life. Of course, you are my life but that just proves how much I trust you. I trust you to keep us safe, just as I hope you trust me to keep us both safe.'

'I trust you too, I just don't trust her.'

'I'm watching her. She doesn't have a clue, and I'll make sure that she never does.'

'You aren't going to tell her about me, or about Incognito? You promise?'

Blaise was starting to feel guilty. He hadn't meant to tell Hermione about Cassandra but Hermione did have a way of drawing things out of him. Cassandra was a major part of his life, it was inevitable that Hermione would find out about her but he should have gotten Cassandra's permission first.

'Angel, Hermione will be a part of my life for at least the next three years. She would eventually find out about you, it would be best if I told her about you first. I mean, if she suddenly found out that I was meeting another woman every night, she might get the wrong impression and it might draw the families attention onto you.'

'We've been meeting together for over ten years and your mother never found out. If you can keep a secret from our mother for ten years, why can't you keep it from her for three years.'

'You got the fist syllable right, now just work on the next three. I can keep our meetings from my mother because she never slept with me. It's a bit harder to keep midnight meetings from someone who is sleeping in the same bed that you are.'

'You aren't actually sleeping with her are you? Eww.'

'We will be married, Angel. And the contract starts that we must try for a child. That would require sex, which would be more comfortable in a bed and more convenient at night before sleeping.'

'I'll miss our nights together. I always sleep better when I'm with you.'

'You'll still have me during the day.'

'Incognito has always done some training at night.'

'You can manage Angel. I better say goodnight before Hermione comes back. I love you Cassandra.'

'I love you too, Blaise. Sleep well.'

Blaise closed the book after logging the interaction and pulled out his parchment. He, like Hermione, really missed his laptop but unfortunately, unlike Hermione, he didn't have an alternative readily available. He pulled out his draft, making notes on what parts sounded too advanced for the typical seventh year student the got to work re-writing it.

At the same time

In the kitchen, Hermione had drawn aside a small house elf and was speaking softly to her, the elf nodded.

"Yes, Mistress Hermione. I can do that."

"You must be very discrete. Don't tell the other house elves."

"I know. I won't tell them, I won't tell Miss Ginny and I won't tell Master Blaise."

"Have you talked to Blaise?"

"No, Mistress Hermione. I must, when you are married but I doubt you want him to know so I stay down here until you both are in class."

"Thank you. Can you get me a hot chocolate, and I promised Blaise a sundae, with hot fudge, shaved chocolate and sprinkles. Feel free to add in whatever treats you can imagine would taste good."

"Of course Mistress Hermione. I will be back in a moment."

As promised the house elf was back a minute later bearing a large mug of hot chocolate and a dish containing the sundae, and with two spoons.

"In case Master Blaise feels like sharing." The house elf explained when Hermione looked at the spoons.

Hermione just shook her head and left the kitchens.

Back at the suite

Hermione entered the room frowning again.

"I think we should have gotten a spoken password, this new system is a bit annoying."

"You just have to trace a pattern, how annoying can it be?" Blaise replied without looking up from the parchment.

"Very." Hermione snapped. She sighed, "I brought back your bribe."

Blaise looked up, "With two spoons. Traditionally when offering a bribe, it is to be used at the total discretion of the person being bribed."

"I didn't want the house elf to beat himself because I expressed my disapproval of the spoons. If you don't want me to have any, I won't, it is your bribe."

"Feel free to dig in, but I get at least half. I worked hard for that bribe."

"Yes, that sarcasm you had to dredge up from the very bottom of your soul must have been so hard to find. I could never have thought of such a very original comment."

"See, I deserve the majority of that sundae." Blaise picked up a spoon and offered it to Hermione who took it with a laugh. Blaise picked up the other spoon and dug in.

"Have you done anything like this before? Spent the night flirting with a boy while eating ice-cream?" Blaise asked curiously a few seconds later.

"Yeah, Jet and I would spend the weekends together during the holidays. Sammy would make a big desert like this one and give us two spoons. We would talk about school and complain about our parents. We would practice flirting but since we are cousins it was never serious. We both knew it was practice. The first holiday when I got back from Hogwarts it was horrible to be told that Jet didn't want over that weekend. My parents started taking me around Europe to get my mind of it, or maybe it was to get me away from Death Eater activity in Britain. They said it was because of Jet, but apparently they have been lying to me all my life so how can I know for sure?"

"You can ask, or you can accept that it either way it was to save you from pain. You're parents seem t be good people Hermione."

"A priest can seem like a good person too, until you find out that he has been molesting the children of his congregation. Appearances are deceiving Blaise."

"I'm well aware of that Hermione." Blaise whispered. He took another bite of ice-cream.