A/N: Thank you to my reviewers Booknerdxx(Haha, I won't. At least, I think I won't!) and to the other person(1- I hate names beginning with H. I should know: I'm called Hazel and I absolutely hate it. I think Hermione's an even worse of a name than my own. 2- I don't think Blaise's parents would have been cruel enough to refrain from telling him his sister's real name, so if she was still called Hermione, Blaise would have put two and two together, defeating the point of most Pureblood Hermione stories. 3- She's Blaise's twin, and whilst Hermione is pretty, she wouldn't look like she's related to him or her parents. 4- Please don't use my fic to vent your views on Pureblood Hermione's. If you don't like it, then leave it alone.)! Sorry for the late update! For details, check my profile. Enjoy! hsx

CHAPTER 13-

I paced back and forth nervously in my bedroom. As soon as we arrived home the day before, I ran straight up to my father's study, to find him writing up some reports for the Minister of Magic.

'Hello, Isobel. I trust everything was well at Hogwarts?' He asked me, after he had stood up and given me a hug.

'It was fine.' He smiled at me and sat back down behind his desk. 'I'm not here to tell you about that though.'

'I know. You're here about Draco.' I nodded. 'I like the lad, but his past makes it difficult for me. You understand?'

'Yes, but he can't help who his parents are. And he's changed for the better now.' Then I added on the end, 'I really like him, Dad. I mean, really like him.' He leaned back in his leather chair and stroked his chin.

'I just don't want you getting hurt. What if you do get together, and he eventually leaves you? I don't want you getting heartbroken.'

'Dad, I've been fighting Lord Voldemort since the age of eleven. I have received injuries far greater than heartbreak. I know I'm still like a baby to you, but please, talk with Draco tomorrow night, and you'll see that he won't hurt me.'

'Does he have feelings for you too?' There it was. The question I had been asking myself for some time now.

'I don't know. My friends are going to find out for me tonight.'

'Well, tell your friends that as soon as they've found out, they are to come to me and tell me what he said, and then I shall talk to him.' I sighed, smiling slightly, and went off to find my mum to tell her about how Draco had asked me to the ball.

The next day, me and Blaise helped our parents and the house elves decorate the ballroom, then we practiced walking in with the house elves pretending to be the guests. We went to the top of the stairs in the ballroom and hid behind some curtains, which in fact ended up being on the same floor as mine and Blaise's bedrooms. Then a house elf shouted, pretending to be the announcer that we would have this evening. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you our hosts for the night: Tommaso and Aurora Zabini!' Mum went down the left staircase, and dad went down the right, and joined together when they reached the ballroom floor, then went into the centre of the large room. 'Now may I present to you Blaise and Isobel Zabini!' Blaise and I copied them, and we were both met by a house elf at the foot of the stairs, as if they were our dates. I smiled at the elf and let him drag me along the polished floor to where my parents and Blaise (with another house elf) were waiting.

'I don't think Draco's going to drag you across the floor, sis.' I smiled at Blaise, and my dad made an unhealthy noise. My mum hit him lightly on his arm.

'That's basically all you have to do, Isobel. Then the music will start playing, and you will have the first dance with Draco.' Dad clenched his jaw. 'After that, it doesn't matter. People will probably ask to dance with you though: you're so beautiful.' I rolled my eyes at my mum, and then we heard the floo go off.

'I'll go and get my friends.'

We were all ready and in my bedroom. Ginny was sat on my desk, and Lavender and Pavarti were sat on the couch at the far end of the room. 'We love your room, Isobel.' I nodded in thanks and carried on pacing.

'What's wrong?' I looked at Ginny and stood still.

'What if Draco doesn't have any feelings for me? What do I do? How do you get over a boy?' I bit my lip, careful not to smudge my lip gloss.

She sighed. 'You make yourself stop thinking about them, insert horrible stories into your head where the happy memories once were. But to be honest, I don't think you'll need to. He'll be mad not to have feelings for you. Besides, he's been showing all of the signs that he does like you. And this is Draco Malfoy of all people. He'd come right out and say if he liked you.' I nodded and my mum came in the room.

'Girls, your dates are here.' Ginny, Pavarti and Lavender left to the ballroom, and the subtle nod of Lavender's head told me that they wouldn't forget the plan. 'You look stunning, Isobel.' I looked back to my mum, and saw that tears had begun to well up in her eyes. 'Come on. We need to get to the curtain.' She recomposed herself and took my hand and began to lead me down the corridor.

'Is Draco here?' I asked nervously. She nodded.

'He's at the foot of the stairs waiting for you.' I nodded, gulping down the lump that had formed in my throat. 'Everything will be fine. I've managed to convince your dad that it was entirely Draco's father's fault for making him bully you, so if Draco does have feelings for you, depending on what he says to your father, his answer will probably be that you can be together.' I let out a sigh of relief and we arrived at the curtain.

'You look lovely, Isobel.' Dad kissed me on both cheeks and I smiled at him. 'Are you all ready?' We nodded and dad opened the curtain slightly, telling the house elf that was stood just outside of it to get the announcer's attention. 'Stand back until we've gone down, you two.' Blaise and I stood away from the curtain, and the announcement began, and our parents went through the curtain, followed by an applause.

'Who's your date?'

'Daphne Greengrass. She's always been my date. The first year it was a little awkward, but now it's just a habit.' I nudged him in the side slightly.

'Are you sure you don't have feelings for her? I've seen you talking to her a lot lately.' He gave me evils and there was another announcement.

'Now may I present to you Blaise and Isobel Zabini!' There was another round of applause as we made our way down the stairs. I was faintly aware of other people in the room, but my eyes were fixed on Draco at the foot of the stairs. He was wearing black and white dress robes, and even though this was a formal event, his hair was loose. My heart rate sped up as he looked at me, his mouth forming into a little "o" shape. Please like me back was about the only thought I had running through my head as he took my hand. He smiled softly at me and began to lead me to the centre of the floor, and I felt safe and content in his arms.

We danced, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad watching Draco. I know I shouldn't have, put I stepped closer to Draco. I was sick of my dad and Blaise keeping tabs on my every move. I glanced at my dad, and he looked away. 'Are you okay?' Draco asked, squeezing my waist slightly and I felt the butterflies rise. I nodded. 'Do you want to come and meet Teddy and my Aunt after this dance?' I nodded once more, smiling now, and forgot about my dad. The song ended and Draco led me by the hand to where a woman with fading platinum blonde hair was stood, holding a baby with bright blue hair on her hip.

'Uncle Dray Dray!' The baby squealed with delight as soon as he saw Draco, and he picked up our walking speed.

'Heya, Teddy.' Draco ruffled the blue hair, and Teddy held out his arms, begging to be held by Draco. He smiled and took the baby from presumably his aunt, and held him carefully in his arms. Teddy's hair changed to match Draco's and I laughed. The baby looked in my direction and his face held a confused look. 'This is Isobel.' Draco told him.

'Iso!' I laughed and stepped closer to them and stroked Teddy's hair, which changed to match my black curls.

'Hi, Teddy.' I turned to look at the woman, who had a mixture of facial features close to that of Bellatrix and Narcissa. 'Andromeda Tonks, I presume? It's lovely to meet you.' She smiled and shook my hand.

'You too.' She smiled warmly, but her eyes swam with worry. I could see why. In a matter of months, she had lost her husband, her daughter and her son-in-law. She had lost her two sisters as well, and even though they weren't the best things since sliced bread, they were still her sisters, after all. At least she had Draco and Teddy. I couldn't help but feel guilty as I looked into Andromeda's eyes. She had lost so much, just like I thought I had, but I discovered my real family in the attic of my old house almost straight after receiving the equivalent of the death toll. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to see a man of about 25.

'May I have this dance?' I nodded politely and excused myself from Draco and his family, trying to convince myself that the flash of jealousy that I saw in Draco's eyes was entirely my imagination.

'Hey, girls.' At about half ten, I managed to get away from men who I had never even seen before who wanted to dance with me. I found Ginny, Lavender and Pavarti over by the drinks table.

'Hi, Isobel.'

'Have you spoken to Draco yet?' Ginny shook her head.

'We're going to in a minute.'

'After you have, you need to go and tell my dad his answer, then he'll come and talk to Draco.' Ginny nodded and I was about to ask her if she was enjoying the party when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Ron. 'Hi, Ron.' He smiled shyly.

'Can I dance with you?'

'Of course you can.' He took my hand and led me onto the ballroom floor. 'How have you been?'

'Yeah, alright.'

'Things okay with Lavender?'

'We're not actually together.' I raised my eyebrows at him. 'Everything's fine.' We danced in silence for a while before anyone spoke again. 'Isobel, I want to apologise for everything that I've done since September.'

'It's alright, Ron. I'm not surprised that you reacted that way to it, I just wish you hadn't been so mean to me.' I smiled and hugged him. 'I forgive you.' He grinned.

'Thank you. I didn't think you would, to be honest.'

'You're one of my best friends, of course I would forgive you.' We carried on dancing whilst chatting, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Ginny, Lavender and Pavarti questioning Draco. I smiled to myself as I saw Ginny wander over to my dad, Draco in tow. The song ended and I excused myself from the party and went out onto the first floor balcony.

I leant against the hand rail. What if Draco didn't like me? What if he was like this with all girls that he was friends with? I sighed and resisted the temptation to run my fingers through my hair, like I did when I was thinking about something.

A few minutes later, I felt something cold begin to slide around my neck. I looked downwards to see that pale, slender fingers were fastening a necklace onto me. 'Happy birthday.' Someone breathed onto the shell of my ear. Draco. I smiled.

'Thank you.' I said, my voice barely above a whisper. The pendant was a small star that caught the light from the lamps in the garden. 'What's it made out of?'

'Trust you to ask that question.' I turned around and my heart felt like it would burst. 'Diamond.' My eyes widened.

'But that's really expensive. You shouldn't have, Draco.'

'It's not like I can't afford it. Besides, you're worth it, Isobel.' I bit my lip and he caressed the side of my face.

My breathing sped up. 'Has my dad-'

'Everything's fine, Izzy. No one's going to get punched.' I smiled shyly at him. Draco stepped closer to me, putting his other hand around my waist before he leant in and kissed me. I stood up on my tiptoes and wrapped a hand around his neck so I could bring him closer to me. He tightened his grip on my waist as the kiss intensified. We both pulled away and Draco lent his forehead against mine. 'That was amazing. I've waited so long for that.' I smiled shyly at him once more.

'That was my first kiss…' I shifted my gaze to the floor, feeling embarrassed in front of the Slytherin sex god.

'I know. Your friends said that you were worried I wouldn't like you due to your inexperience.'

'Do you?'

'No.' I looked back up at him. 'It makes you even more beautiful.' I blushed.

'And you don't just want me because I'm a pureblood now?' He shook his head.

'I actually had a crush on you when you were Hermione.' I laughed quietly. 'Will you be my girlfriend?' I nodded.

'Of course I will, Draco.' He kissed me again in his happiness. Another song started up inside the ballroom, a slow moving one with romantic lyrics. Draco gently led me back inside and we danced together. It was different than before. We weren't chatting, and we held each other closer, looking into each other's eyes. I could feel people staring at us, and started to feel uncomfortable.

'Draco…'

'Mmm?'

'People are staring.' He looked a little hurt.

'Is it because you don't want to be seen with me?'

'What? No, Draco! I just hate people staring at me. Can we go somewhere else please?' He nodded, now understanding.

'Where?' I shrugged, telling him anywhere. Draco looked furtively around then led me by the hand out of the ballroom and down another flight of stairs until we were out in the garden.

'Where on earth are you taking me?'

He stopped, and I almost walked into his chest, which he clearly didn't mind as he put his arm around my waist. 'Have you not explored your gardens yet?' I shook my head and he carried on guiding me, slower this time. He stopped again, and I could just about make out the opening to a row hedgerows in front of us.

'Where are we?'

'The maze.' He replied. 'Do you trust me?' I nodded and Draco put a hand over my eyes, and the other around my waist and he guided me through it, his breath on my ear giving me a ticklish sensation throughout my body.

'How come you know your way around the maze?'

'I used to come here all of the time. My parents knew nothing about the maze, so they could come to the Zabini Manor to look for me, but never found me. Apart from once.'

'What happened?' His grip on my waist tightened.

'Just before first year, I had learnt how to apparate to places that weren't far away, your house being one of them. My parents followed, of course, but I didn't know that they would. I hid in the room opposite Blaise's bedroom.'

'My bedroom.'

'Yes. Whilst I waited for their footsteps to pass on the corridor, I looked around your room. At the time, there was a picture of you, what they thought you might have looked like when we were eleven. You were beautiful.'

I laughed. 'I was no way beautiful in first year. Remember my hair?' He chuckled.

'I do. It was crazy, but it was brilliant. My parents eventually found me and took me home, but when I started Hogwarts, I couldn't stop staring at you. I know I should have told Blaise that I thought you were his sister, but I didn't think it would be right, not after you became friends with Potter and Weasley.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You should have been in Slytherin, with us.'

'Yet you still picked on me.'

His hand tightened around me even more. 'I know. I'm sorry. My father, he…' Draco trailed off, and I stepped out of his grip, turning to look at him, seeing tears in his eyes.

'He can't hurt you anymore, Draco.'

He smiled at me. 'I know. We're at the middle.' I turned back around and faced a statue made out of grey stone of a little boy and girl playing together, lit by garden lights at the base. 'It's of you and Blaise. Once the heir of the house, which is Blaise, gets married, the statue disappears until he has children, and the stone takes their image. Until that happens, the statues show the emotion of the current emotional state of their human counterpart. I knelt down a little, looking at the statue of me in the eye. She was smiling wildly, and I smiled back.

'How long has this been here?'

'The stone itself? No idea, whenever the manor was built probably, but it's been taking the form of you and Blaise ever since you were born. We have it one of me at Malfoy Manor too.'

'Wouldn't Voldemort have known about this though?' Draco shrugged.

'If he did, he never tortured your parents to find your whereabouts.' I smiled, glad he hadn't, and began walking around the statue as a firefly flew in front of me, lighting up my face. 'What on earth is that?'

'It's a firefly.' More appeared and began to fly around us. 'Have you never seen them before?'

'Not until now.' I stuck my tongue out at him, grinning at the sight in front of me. 'You look beautiful when you smile.' I blushed and Draco kissed me. 'Happy birthday, Izzy.'

A/N: Happy Christmas if you celebrate it!

hsx