Chapter 10

Harry and Ginny's wedding day was perfect. The sun shone, the birds and butterflies abounded, and flowers seemed to spring up everywhere. Even Bill seemed to have thawed a little with Hermione. Not that he was nearly as friendly as before, but at least his coolness was a step up from starring daggers at her. She hadn't seen Ron yet at all, probably by his design. She had mixed feelings about this as she both wanted to see him to verify that he was okay, and knew it wouldn't be fair to either of them to try and strike up a friendly conversation. And words between them at this point were more likely to be awkward and painful than friendly, anyway.

She came back up the stairs at the Burrow with the circlet of white roses Ginny had prepared for her hair. When Hermione reached the door to the bride's room, a house elf cracked into existence in front of her.

She stepped back in surprise, clutching the hair decoration to her chest. As he bowed in front of her, she recognized the house elf who had opened the front door at the Zabini mansion when she had visited the previous week.

"Hermione, what's keeping you?" Ginny's voice asked from inside the room. "I heard you come up the stairs."

"Just a minute." Hermione turned back to the elf as the bedroom door opened and Luna poked her head into the hall. She glanced up and met Luna's gaze, then returned her attention to the elf again as he offered her a large black velvet box.

"Miss, Litty has been instructed to give yous this from the master. Master says," he paused and squeezed his eyes together as if trying to remember the exact words, "he hopes you find it as beautiful as you is." He opened his eyes and beamed. "Yes, Litty remember right, that's what the master says."

"Thank you, Litty. I appreciate it. Tell the master I said thank you." She took the velvet box and Litty bowed, then snapped his fingers and disappeared.

By now Ginny had her head poked through the doorway too. "Ooh, is that from Blaise? He sent you jewelry?"

"I don't know." Hermione felt dazed as she looked at the heavy box in her hands. It was at least a foot square, and several inches deep, large enough to hold something far more ornate than a string of simple pearls or a chain and pendant. She allowed Luna to pull her into the room and remove Ginny's flowered circle from her hands.

"Open it," Ginny admonished.

Hermione still hadn't taken her eyes off of it, but now she pried the lid open—and gasped. Nestled in the silk lining was a masterpiece of a necklace. Diamonds and emeralds dripped and swagged from the chain, and a pair of incredible matching earrings sat snug in the middle of it all. The whole ensemble matched her engagement ring and dress. She felt breathless and dazed. "I'm going to go blind from the glittering." She heard the awe in her voice and thought that it really ought to be stronger, considering how dazed this gift made her feel.

"Oh, my! Are you serious?" Ginny pounced on the necklace, lifted it from the box and came around Hermione to lay the cool stones against her throat. The chain was only a little longer than a choker, clasping securing in the back while the stones flowed down her chest with the largest one at the bottom nestling in the valley between her breasts.

When she looked at herself in the mirror, Hermione nearly swooned. And then Luna lifted the matching earrings to her lobes. The shone and dangled and tantalized from their perch there, calling out like sirens. Hermione couldn't get a handle on Blaise. Ke just kept surprising her. "I can't believe . . . This must have cost a fortune. I'll lose them for sure."

"Don't forget this," Luna said, pulling a folded piece of parchment from the box and handing it to Hermione.

Hermione opened the note and recognized Blaise's even scrawl from the few notes he had sent her.

Dear Hermione,

I wanted you to have something beautiful to wear with that gorgeous dress. Something nearly as beautiful as you are, and appropriate to your new station in life. Unfortunately I didn't have time to commission anything else, so this will have to do. It belonged to my great-great-grandmother along with the ring. There is a charm on the set so anyone can put them on, but only the wearer or one carrying Zabini blood can remove them. It prevents them from being lost or stolen, so wear them with confidence. I know I'll spend the day fantasizing about what you'll look like in your dress. You'll outshine the bride.

Blaise

Hermione's knees felt weak and she grabbed a nearby chair, sliding into it. This had come from her Blaise? The one who told her she had to be what he expected, the man who only a week ago, had seemed determined to find fault with every aspect of her? Whose compliments had been so full of back-handed insults she had thought they would never in a million years find happiness together?

She wondered if a pod person had taken over his body—it couldn't have nee polyjuice, she would have recognized the hip flask. If it was a pod person, did she really want the old Blaise back? Nope, no, she didn't. She much preferred this confusing, distracting, sweet man to the snide and bitter one she ran into a couple of weeks prior. She really hoped this wasn't all for show and that he wouldn't revert as soon as the wedding vows were spoken.

"That's just about the most incredibly sweet and sexy thing I've ever heard of," Ginny said after she snatched the letter from Hermione's lifeless fingers and read it. "Is he for real, or is he only playing a game to please your friends?"

"I wish I knew. I hardly know what to think." Hermione touched the jewels at her chest again, then pulled herself back together. She shook her head and tapped the box with her finger. It shrunk small enough she could slide it into the tiny purse she had bought to match her dress. Then she took back the note, which both Ginn and Luna were pouring over, and slid it into the purse as well. She really needed to pull herself back together. "Now we need to get moving. Harry's probably wondering what happened to us." She lifted the circle of flowers to Ginny's head and pinned it on, rearranging the ribbons that flowed down the back so they were straight.

"Well, one thing's for sure. He was right," Ginny said. "In those rocks you do outshine the bride."

"If you really think that, I'll take the necklace off," Hermione offered. This was Ginny's day, and she didn't want to take away from it. Besides, though the jewelry was gorgeous, it was more than a little ostentatious and rushed across the line into gaudy. She'd never known before how much she liked gaudy.

"No way. You're wearing it all day. It deserves to be shown off, and you know it probably hasn't seen the light of day in decades. From what I've heard of Patrizia, it's probably not elaborate enough to please her. Just stand back an extra step from me and keep the rocks out of direct sunlight so you don't blind Harry with the sparkling, would you?" Ginny teased.

Hermione touched the necklace again, appreciating the glint and coolness, the sheer beauty and thoughtfulness on Blaise's part. She was still reeling from the tone of his note and the fact that he thought about the jewelry at all. Had it been simply for her friends' benefit? A demonstration to Ron of everything the red-head couldn't provide? That thought nearly had her taking the thing off, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

When they lined up to lead the bride into the wedding, Hermione was grateful that Neville came to her side. "Ginny had planned for me to escort Luna instead, but under the circumstances, asked me to switch."

She looked over and saw Ron staring at her, pain in his eyes. Neither of them spoke, though, they just held each other's gaze for a long, painful moment before he looked away. She was grateful Ginny had rearranged the procession. If she'd had to enter on Ron's arm, it would have been nearly unbearable for them both. As it was, she felt uncomfortable in his presence. He put on a good show at acting unaffected by her—he had obviously learned quite a lot over the past three years—but she had known him too long to be fooled. And the flash of hurt in his eyes when he had looked at her necklace made her wonder if Blaise had intended it at a taunt.

As she stood near Ginny at the front of the wedding, she thought about what her own hopes and dreams had been. She had wanted to belong to this family more than anything—the camaraderie, the wild chaos that always ensued when everyone was home. Being teased by all of the brothers—other than Percy, who was still a bit too proper for such things.

She allowed herself a moment to cry as Harry and Ginny exchanged vows. After all, lots of people cried at weddings, and she was very, very happy for her friends as love radiated from their eyes when they looked at each other. She was resigned to her own life with Blaise. It might end up happily enough, she supposed. That was more positive than she'd been even a few days before. Still, she didn't love him.

Would she ever?

The wedding went perfectly and the reception was flawless. Nothing like the day Bill and Fleur were married, which was interrupted by Death Eaters and hastened the young trio's lives on the run.

Hermione enjoyed the good food and conversation, making the rounds to talk to everyone there. She and Ron stayed on opposite sides of the room as if repelled by like poles of two magnets. For the first time since the news of the betrothal, she was not the main topic of conversation, though her jewelry did draw plenty of extra attention, and more than one person asked where Blaise was.

As the evening began to wane, she came across Neville talking with Padma Patil. "Come join us. I haven't talked to you since your betrothal became public," Padma said, motioning to Hermione. The truth was, they hadn't spoken much at all—ever. But Hermione wasn't about to quibble over details. "That is the most incredible jewelry. Is it an heirloom?" Padma asked, eyeing Hermione.

"Yes. Apparently it's been in Blaise's family even longer than the betrothal contract." Hermione rolled her eyes and sat with her friends. She asked Neville about his apprenticeship at the school to take over for Professor Sprout, and Padma about her training with St. Mungos.

"I'm learning so much," Padma declared. "I've been working with this Healer who has really innovative ideas. We're both learning and researching er, unorthodox methods for healing. I've been training at another facility to help me."

Padma had always been rather a socialite, even if she was brilliant enough to be a Ravenclaw. Hermione couldn't imagine her whole life was devoted to medicine. "And do you have time for men anywhere in all of this study?"

Padma smiled secretively. "There's no one interested in me, as far as I can tell. Well" she added with a private smile, "no one I dare show interest in myself. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be a good thing. But sometimes I think maybe, someday." She looked at Hermione and laughed. "I'm just dreaming." She changed the subject. "Your wedding is coming up fast, isn't it?"

Hermione smiled and answered all of Padma's questions—at least, all of the ones she actually knew the answers to. She hoped for Padma's sake that the man she was crushing on wasn't already married or something. Divorces were not simple things in the wizarding world, and Hermione couldn't see the beautiful woman intentionally coming between a husband and wife. Thank Merlin.

It was good talking to her school friends, but Hermione was grateful when the bride and groom finally left and she could say her own goodbyes without worrying about drawing comment.

As she walked to the Apparition border, she debated her destination. She fingered the necklace, reveling in what it could symbolize between them. She didn't want to give Blaise the wrong idea, but such generosity definitely deserved reward—that was, if he meant what he'd said about the dress and jewels and wasn't just trying to play nice. She wasn't sure which Blaise was real. Was it the disdainful pure-blood or the sweet, attentive fiancé? She had her doubts about the second choice, but wasn't sure she knew enough to guess.

She was exhausted. It had been a long day, but she thought she could stay up an extra half an hour. A moment later, she stood in front of Zabini Manor. The short walk to the front door gave her a moment to appreciate the beauty of the yard and gardens, even in the moonlight. She decided she would spend hours in the gardens at night in the future. The scent of honeysuckle floated on the breeze and she smiled. Leave it to Patrizia to have a plant blooming so totally out of season. There were some definitely advantages to magic.

She barely had time to knock on the door before Litty opened it for her. "Oh, Miss! Litty is happy to see you. The master is hoping you would come." He bowed her in, and then jogged ahead of her, leading her through twisted hallways to a door on the west side of the house. At least she thought it was west. She may have gotten turned around in the corridors. She made a mental note to request a map of the place before she was married so she wouldn't get lost.

Litty knocked on the door and when Blaise called for the guest to enter, Litty opened the door for Hermione and waved her in.

Blaise sat in a huge blue sitting room with white accents. The walls were painted with murals, there was a large bank of windows against the far side, and a fire roared in the grate to the right, even though it was plenty warm in the house. Several doors led from the room, which had tasteful, elegant, but sturdy looking furniture built to suit both men and women. When Blaise looked up from a book he was reading, he focused on her, then blinked. Without taking his eyes off of her, he shut the book and set it to the side. He stood and walked toward her. He circled a finger in the air. "Turn around so I can see the back too," he said.

Feeling herself blush, Hermione did as he asked, too flattered by the pleasure showing on his face, and the nondemanding tone of voice he used. "After you sent the jewelry, I thought it would be a shame for you not to see it on me."

"A real shame," he said from only a foot away when she completed her circle. "I must be the luckiest wizard alive to be marrying such a lovely witch."

Again, she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "Thank you for the necklace and earrings. They're beautiful."

"I'm glad you like them. And I'm glad you wore that dress today so I had an excuse to give them to you early. Did you pick the outfit, or did Wea—Ginny?"

"Ginny."

His smile widened. "Remind me to thank her and to tell her what great taste she has when we see her next." He pulled her near and pressed a kiss to her lips, drawing her closer and deepening the kiss.

She reciprocated and they spent several long minutes tasting and experimenting, kissing and holding back from more before she drew away, though every part of her being begged to continue.

"Are you sure you have to go back to your own flat tonight?" he asked as his fingers stroked the soft skin of her neck, sending shivers up and down her spine.

Only if she wanted to retain a modicum of control over herself. She didn't know if she could hold back from this suddenly sweet man if she stayed even a minute longer—not with the enchantments yanking them ever closer. "I'm sure."

His eyes seemed to burn right through her skin and his voice was husky. "So you just came by to torment me?"

"I thought it was supposed to be a reward," she teased.

"Oh, it was. And a torment. I know Mum has a load of places for you to visit tomorrow, though, so I suppose I ought to let you go." He peered down into her décolletage and sighed. "Just don't let Mum convince you to get rid of that dress, baby. I definitely want to see it again."

Hermione sighed as she thought of the social engagements Patrizia had planned and hoped they wouldn't last too many hours. She didn't want to fall asleep at her Mum's. "Tomorrow night my parents invited us to dinner." She teased a curl at his nape, loving the softness of the hair in her fingers. "We're having some friends over—people I've known forever. It's kind of a joint birthday party. They're all dying to meet you."

Blaise pressed a soft kiss to her cheek and disengaged from her. "Sorry, I have things of my own." Neither his words or actions were unkind, but he gave off the impression of one who couldn't be bothered with trivialities. "Apologize for me, would you?" He ran a finger along the necklace, bringing goose bumps to her skin, teasing the swell of her breasts. Then he sighed and stepped away.

Apparently their interlude was over, Hermione thought. Though she really expected no better—much worse, actually—she was still disappointed by his blatant disregard for her Muggle friends and relatives. Not that she really expected him to be thoughtful or considerate, but a girl could always hope. "All right."

"I know today is actually your birthday, but I'll take you out to celebrate this week. We can go anywhere you want. Okay?" His gaze looked sincere enough.

"I don't care what the paperwork says, as far as I'm concerned, my birthday is still the nineteenth. It would be nice to go out together. Thanks. I'll let you know." She allowed him to press a soft kiss to her forehead.

As she left, her lips still tingled from his kisses, and she felt warm all over from his embrace. At the rate things were going, she might not hold out until the wedding, but she was glad she waited tonight. It was still happening too fast.

And she really wished he would give her family a chance.