A/N: Chapter Twelve!
Glossary:
Pishtaq: In Muslim or Persian architecture, a monumental gateway marking the entrance to a mosque, palace, madrasah or mausoleum. The arched style has since been popularized in various parts of Asia, including the Indian Subcontinent (Taj Mahal, Red Fort, etc).
Diya(s): An oil lamp, usually made from clay, with a cotton wick dipped in ghee or vegetable oils. Clay diyas are often used temporarily as lighting for special occasions, while diyas made of brass are permanent fixtures in homes and temples. Diyas are native to India, often used in Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Zoroastrian festivals, such as Diwali (Festival of Lights).
Biryani: A rice dish from the Indian subcontinent. It is made with spices, rice and meat (or vegetables).
Chai: A flavoured tea beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs.
*Definitions brought to you by wikipedia, because I'm a lazy bitch. Just for clarification, I'm Indo-Canadian. It's not cultural appropriation, if it's my own culture, right? lol
*Let's assume there are close to no limitations regarding the Room of Requirement. It's more fun that way!
"Are you serious?" Ginny asked, snorting with laughter. "Blaise asked you to go on a double date with Astoria and Malfoy, and you agreed?"
Hermione shrugged, taking a look at herself in the mirror. It was an hour to dinner, during which time she agreed to meet the Slytherins in the Room of Requirement, for an evening of drinks and dining.
"I don't see why it's such big deal," she reasoned, changing out of the girls' uniform and into a rosewood cocktail dress. "They're his friends."
Ginny tossed her a knowing look. "They're Slytherin."
"So was Merlin, and he turned out to be the greatest wizard of all time."
"Please don't tell me you just compared Ferret Boy to Merlin…"
Hermione laughed, turning around. "Okay, fair enough. Malfoy has given me every reason in the world not to trust him, but Astoria and Blaise aren't like him. You know that as much as I do."
"Well, they are…different, I suppose."
"Exactly," the brunette agreed, tucking her wand into the band of her black stockings, before veiling it beneath the skirt of her dress. "On the off chance that something does happen, I think we've already established the fact that I can defend myself against Malfoy."
Ginny nodded, laughing at the image of their Slytherin adversary walking about the corridors with a red handprint on his left cheek. "Good times."
"So, what do you think?" Hermione asked, glancing down at her dress, and the matching heels. "Is it too much?"
"Only in the best way possible," the redhead inserted, shooting her a quick wink. "And by the way, I expect a full play-by-play when you're back."
"Definitely."
It was difficult enough convincing Astoria to help him out one last time but he now had the added constraints of having to do so, under close watch of his best mate, whom he'd been cleverly avoiding for the past week, and the only witch in school, apart from Astoria, with enough natural intuition to know when he was up to something. Suffice it to say, his evening wasn't going to be the laid-back revision session for which he had hoped.
Draco took one last look in the mirror, before meeting with his date outside the Slytherin boys' dormitory.
"You owe me big time," Astoria mumbled to him, sliding her arm into his, as he ushered them away from the dungeons and toward the large, moving staircase. "I'm talking Potions homework for the rest of term."
"Oh, come off it…" he admonished, lightly. "I'm not doing your homework no matter how ravishing you look tonight."
She glared lazily. "If that was your attempt at buttering me up, you'll have to try harder. Unlike the woman of your dreams, I don't need to be told I'm hot, in order to believe it."
"I don't recall using that adjective," he quipped, smiling down at her.
She smirked, snaking her arm out of his and walking ahead a couple steps, allowing the soft sway of her little black dress to accentuate the curve of her arse, as well as her long, toned legs. It didn't hurt that the dress she had on was backless, thus providing evidence that she wasn't wearing a bra, and giving view of the runic tattoo between her shoulder blades.
With one glance over her shoulder, the young, raven-haired witch decided to go for the jugular, tossing her date a half-lidded, borderline sinful look.
"You were saying?" she asked, caressing the words between her lips.
Draco narrowed his eyes, smiling. "Sweetheart, don't make me seduce you with my rugged masculinity, because you know I will."
Astoria burst from the seams, linking arms and laughing with him, as they carried on to the Seventh Floor corridor, wherein the Room of Requirement was located.
Within seconds, the enchanted door materialized before their eyes, bidding them entrance into the room beyond.
Draco held the door open and bowed to his date. "After you, my lady."
"Why thank you," she voiced, walking past him and into the room, during which time her movement came to an abrupt halt. "Well…I think it's safe to assume Blaise is looking to get his dick sucked tonight."
Without the faintest clue as to what she was talking about, Draco closed the door and turned. "Holy shit," he mouthed, wheeling a look around.
Inside, the bewitched room seemed to have taken the likeness of an opulent south asian palace, consisting of red sandstone walls, black marble floors, a dome ceiling with sun motif, and an assembly of arched pishtaq doorways to frame the central hall, in which there was an ornately carved table of the deepest, darkest wood, with four matching chairs; one for each person.
Beyond the arched doorways was a massive wraparound balcony, with an intimate, gorgeous view of the setting sun and the ocean below. It seemed the palace was floating above the Indian Ocean, where the breeze carried in the distinct aroma of soft, wood burn incense.
Draco blinked, hard. "If she doesn't suck his dick — I will."
Astoria couldn't laugh. She was too busy taking in their surroundings, with an almost childlike sheen about her eyes. "Er, do you think we should take our shoes off?"
"Probably."
Without a moment to spare, the pair of them slipped out of their shoes and set them near the enchanted door, before exploring the central hall.
"Look at this…" Astoria whispered, following the etiquette of an ancient temple or museum, talking in hushed tones as opposed to normal volume.
Draco followed her line of vision and stood with her, studying the intricate designs along the walls. Plant motifs and Indian calligraphy, accented with touches of gold.
"Can you believe this place?" she asked, tilting her head in his direction, without looking away from the walls. "Blaise must have visited India in the summer, because there is absolutely no way he imagined all of this without firsthand experience."
"Come to think of it, he did mention traveling through the south of Asia…" Draco remembered. "Lucky bastard."
Astoria turned to him, landing on a single thought. "Draco, you know I'm your mate, but…unless you have a view of the solar system from Saturn's rings, there is no way you can compete with this…"
Something hitched in his chest.
"It's worth a try…" he choked out.
Astoria patted him on the shoulder. "No worries, mate. When this is over, we'll crack open a bottle of fire whiskey and drown your sorrows away one shot at a time."
"We should really…head in there…" Blaise voiced, kissing down his date's neck, with one hand through her hair and the other on her arse.
Hermione breathed out, moaning as he ran his tongue down her throat. "I think…you need to finish what you started…"
He smiled against her neck. "Oh, I plan on it, Granger. Believe you me."
She bit her bottom lip, arching herself towards him as he pulled away. Her body was pressed against the exterior wall of the palace, where she and her date escaped out onto the balcony for a quick snog. Granted, it was more of a dry hump than a snog, but she didn't mind one bit. Reluctant as ever, the brunette opened her eyes and straightened, acutely aware of the voices that echoed from inside.
Blaise adjusted his clothes, which consisted of fitted indigo dress robes. On another man, those dress robes would probably have come off as too much, but they suited him just fine. He had that way about him.
"So are you sure you want to follow through with this?" he asked, referring to the purpose behind the double date.
Without a second of thought, she nodded. "Yes, absolutely."
Twenty Minutes Later
The illusory skies beyond the palace were enveloped in hues of purple and orange by the time dinner started. Inside, the sandstone walls of the palace were aglow, illuminated by decorative clay diyas placed on and around the table. It was quite an intimate setting, for a double date. Though, Hermione was too preoccupied with the delicious food and drink to notice. She and Astoria sat on one side of the table, whilst the boys sat on the other.
On occasion, Blaise would shoot a quick wink in her direction, when Draco and Astoria weren't looking. She would then hide the blush on her cheeks, by focusing on her food, taking delicate amounts and eating, waiting until no eyes were on her before shoving entire mouthfuls into her gob.
"Mmm," Astoria moaned, having consumed a mouthful of biryani. "Blaise, this was a fantastic idea. Have I mentioned that?"
His shoulders shook with laughter. "A few times."
"Well, once more couldn't hurt…" she decided. "This was a fantastic idea."
Hermione couldn't agree more. She was already on her third serving. Still, there was a lot of food leftover and plenty of chai. She poured herself a cup and blew on it, as her eyes wandered around the table.
In an instant, her eyes fell on the Slytherin witch. She couldn't help but ogle at Astoria's dress. It was beautiful, backless, made of black lace, with long sleeves and a plunging v-neckline. Having matched the dress with plum lipstick, vintage earrings and luscious black hair, it was safe to assume she looked ravishing.
Seated on the other side of the table was Blaise, dressed in his indigo robes; the coat of which he had taken off and draped over the back of his chair. It really is quite hot in here…Underneath, he wore a crisp black dress shirt with an indigo waistcoat and matching trousers, as well as a necktie — loosened as the evening progressed.
Hermione smiled inwardly, thinking about how much fun it would be to relieve him of that shirt, that waistcoat…those trousers.
Around that time, her attention drifted to the fourth person at the table. To her surprise, he had been relatively quiet for most of the evening, choosing only to speak when he was spoken to. His attire was simple, consisting of a tailored black suit, a white dress shirt and an emerald ascot.
"So, I was thinking," Blaise cut in. "It would be an absolute shame to let this venue go to waste. Maybe we should invite some more people up here and get a bit of music going."
Astoria nodded in full agreement. "I was just about to suggest a party."
"Count me out," Malfoy inserted, drawing their attention to his end of the table. "Slughorn nearly had an aneurism the last time I broke school rules."
Hermione and Blaise met eyes with one another, exchanging a quick look.
"Oh, come on…" Astoria reasoned, looking to her date with knowingness. "It's not like we're going to invite any snitches. Slughorn and McGonagall will never know you were here."
"She's right," Blaise agreed. "But on the off chance the school admin do find out, you'll have the Head Boy and the Head Girl on your side. We'll vouch for you, no questions asked. Right, Hermione?"
She opened her mouth, blanking for a moment. "Er — right."
Blaise shot her a quick wink. "There you have it," he furthered. "Sorted. I'll clear the dishes and figure out what to do for music; Astoria, you can pass the word around; and Hermione, you can keep lookout with Draco. Sound good?"
"I'd rather keep lookout on my own," Ferret Boy inserted, rather pointed in both tone and demeanour.
"Why is that?" Hermione asked. "Do you not trust me?"
"Why should I?" he inquired, adjusting his cuff links without bothering to look at her. "You snitched last time. I'd be an idiot to think you wouldn't do it again. As soon as we step out into the corridor, I'm sure you'll go running to the Headmistress' Office with your nose in the air."
Her eyebrows shot up. "I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me."
"Oh, hell no…" she scoffed, setting her napkin down. "Weren't you the one who spearheaded the Inquisitorial Squad specifically to snitch on me and my friends? If anyone here is untrustworthy, it's you."
Blaise stared between them. "Er —"
"That was two years ago."
"So?"
"So, do yourself a favour and move on," he advised, dryly. "Here I thought Weasel was the worst at holding a grudge, but you might have him beat."
Visibly startled by the mention of Ron, she froze for a moment. "You —"
"I think that's enough sparring for tonight," Blaise interjected, bouncing his attention from one to the other. "Here's an idea: Draco, you go on and join Astoria, whilst I keep lookout with Hermione. Once the guests are here, we can kick back, enjoy the music, and pretend that two of us don't want to rip each other's throats out. Any objections?"
"None from me," Astoria remarked, rising from her chair and grabbing her date by the arm, before dragging him to the enchanted door. "We'll be back in a bit!" she hollered, disappearing into the corridor seconds later; Malfoy right along with her.
Without a moment of hesitation, Blaise fixed his eyes on Hermione. "That escalated quickly."
"Tell me about it," she agreed. "I have no idea how you put up with him, as often as you do. I can barely stand to have a meal with him, let alone be his friend."
Blaise smiled, walking to her side of the table and offering his hand to her, as the dishes cleared themselves. "It helps that he's not always like that."
Hermione accepted his hand and stood, walking with him to the balcony as the table and chairs vanished behind them. "What is he like?" she asked. "It's hard to imagine him as anything other than a bully."
"Well," Blaise voiced, thinking aloud. "When he's not plotting against you and your mates, he's a right laugh. Hard as it is to believe, I've had some of the best times of my life with him and the other lads."
"Fair enough, but there's one thing I don't understand," she voiced. "If he's such a great friend, why have you gone through all this trouble to help me get back at him?"
Blaise turned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, as they stood on the balcony, overlooking the enchanted waters. "Because, as nice as he is to me and the rest of the Slytherin lot, he's been an absolute horror to you, and I think it's about time he pays for it."
She stopped listening somewhere around nice, leaning forward. "Does it…Does it bother you when he's horrible to me?"
"You have no idea," he murmured, tilting his head down to kiss the corners of her mouth, missing her lips by millimetres each time. "And as much as I would love to prove to you how deeply I care…I made the reckless mistake of promising the other two we'd keep lookout."
Hermione tensed, forcing her lips into a pout. "You are such a tease."
Blaise laughed, lacing his fingers with hers and leading the reluctant witch inside, to the enchanted door.
Twenty Minutes Later
Given that Astoria was liked and well-connected amongst her peers, it took no more than ten or fifteen minutes to pass the word around. She spent the rest of the time lecturing Draco, on his inability to remain civil around the likes of Hermione Granger.
He offered his hand to her, as they stepped aboard the moving staircase, to the Seventh Floor.
"It's not that big of a deal," he shrugged, sinking his hands into his pockets and leaning back, against the railing.
Astoria frowned at him. "You attacked her out of nowhere."
"Hardly."
"What is it about you, and making her life miserable?" the Slytherin witch asked. "You fancy her and you still can't play nice. I don't get it."
Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't fancy her, and I'm getting quite tired of being told that I do. Weasley asked me to seduce her, and that's all I'm doing. If I did harbour some sort of hidden attraction towards her, she would be mine. Trust me."
Astoria gawked at him. "You are so deep in denial, it's a small miracle that the world hasn't collapsed around you," she quipped. "Just admit it, Draco. You're into her. The way she looks, the way she talks, the way she smiles and walks and blinks and breathes — it keeps you up at night, doesn't it?"
His lip twitched. "Sounds like you're the one who fancies her."
"Oh, stop."
"I don't fancy her."
"Fine," Astoria surrendered, holding her hands up. "But on the off chance that you do, here's a piece of advise —" She took his hand as they stepped off of the moving staircase. "For once, be nice to the girl. Drop the cool guy act. Just show her a glimpse of the real you, the sweet, sensitive guy who is there for his friends when they need him, and I swear, she will fall for you faster than you can blink."
"What about Blaise?" Draco blurted, before he could stop himself.
Astoria smiled, without a trace of smugness. "Don't worry about him," she said. "I'll figure something out."
A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! Any ideas as to what Hermione and Blaise have planned?
