Recall

At the party, Hermione bumped into Blaise…

A tall man who seemed to be a few years older than Hermione, broke off from the crowd and faced her. Hermione turned to him, puzzled, as he eyed her with amazement.

"You're right, she's pretty," the man said after a while. Hermione felt a sudden rush of consciousness.

"Hey!" Blaise pushed the man away and Hermione thought he heard Blaise say "not yet".

Blaise returned, straightening his suit and brushing invisible dirt from it.

"Who was that?" Hermione asked, wondering why Blaise pushed the man away instead of introducing him to her.

(oo)…(oo)…(oo)

Chapter 21

…Holiday…

(oo)…(oo)…(oo)

"Someone, someone," Blaise replied and Hermione frowned. He looked at her and he looked as if he was about to give in and answer the question so Hermione continued to frown.

Blaise sighed and removed his hand from his suit and said: "Listen in to conversations around the room and you'll know who he is."

Hermione glared at him and switched the topic; she was not in the mood for games.

"What're you doing here?" Hermione asked. She surveyed him surreptitiously and she didn't argue with herself that he looked good in formal attire.

"I'm invited, of course," Blaise replied.

"I wish I could un-invite you," Hermione retorted.

"What did I do to you?" Blaise asked innocently then he leaned closer with a mischievous smile. "Or is it because Mr. Malfoy isn't around?"

Hermione glared. "This is not about Malfoy!"

"Which is not about me?" A voice chimed in. Hermione felt a rush of cold pass through her spine. She straightened up and turned around, looking surprised. Draco Malfoy looked very relaxed in his suit as if he always wore one.

"Head Boy!" Blaise greeted. He passed Hermione and patted Draco at the back. Hermione walked away when the two were having their reunion.

"You may have forgotten. You're mad at me," Draco said.

Blaise laughed. "A cold shoulder works most of the time."

Draco looked around and surveyed the crowd. He didn't want to make a scene.

(oo)…(oo)…(oo)

A tall man in uniform passed by and offered Hermione drinks.

"Anything non-alcoholic?" Hermione scanned the tray he carried.

"Here you are, ma'am," the man handed her a glass of pink liquid.

"Thank you," Hermione said and stepped out with her glass.

She strolled outside the garden where the party scene was visible through the clear glass windows. She sighed. She knew her parents were in there somewhere, blending in with the crowd. Hermione looked for the nearest tree and leaned against its trunk. She glanced at her drink. In dim lighting, it looked like blood.

"Enjoying the holidays, miss?" Blaise suddenly came out of the dark.

"Not until you came," she grumbled. "Leave me alone; go bother Malfoy."

"I don't think he wants to be bothered," Blaise began and leaned against the tree trunk that Hermione was leaning on. Hermione sipped her drink. "A couple of frenchies are charming him to bed."

Hermione coughed her drink out.

"Are you alright?" Blaise held her shoulders.

"Fine," Hermione straightened up and sipped again.

"I heard one say: 'Tu m'appelleras, n'est-ce pas?'" Blaise said, mimicking with a high voice with a French accent.

"Which means?" Hermione said and swallowed her drink. It seemed to be something sweet but she couldn't tell what. She felt her insides twisting as she waited for Blaise's answer.

"You will call me, right?" Blaise mimicked again in a high voice. "Or something like that."

Blaise grinned and pocketed his hands. "The funny thing: Draco is rusty in French."

"Then why didn't you take your chance?"

"They would have made me their translator," Blaise said grudgingly. Hermione laughed again.

"That's nice," Blaise said suddenly.

"Nice?"

"Your laughter. I haven't heard it in a while," Blaise said with a sincere smile. Hermione smiled back.

"It's easier to be with you than Malfoy," Hermione said after a while.

"Do you wish I'm your fiancé?" Blaise said teasingly.

She was surprised by the question but she found a way to steer the topic away. "You're jealous that you're not the one they're charming to bed."

Blaise snorted. "And you're not bothered?"

"Bothered?"

"He's surrounded by those sexy ladies."

"Oh… why would I be?" Hermione asked and sipped again, feeling her insides tie up in a knot.

"Don't you feel that he should be with you… and only you?" Blaise said, his voice lowered in volume.

"Why?"

"He is your fiancé, right?"

Hermione held her breath and didn't say anything.

"You trust him that much?" Blaise said, his voice full of wonder.

"He isn't like you," Hermione whispered.

"Heeeey! What do you mean by that?" Blaise said and looked at her.

"Well, I didn't bother him when he was with Pansy. Why should I bother him now?"

"Er…"

"He… he blamed me for that," Hermione said in wonder. "I didn't break them up."

"He's the only one who thinks you did," Blaise said, remembering he was probably the cause of the spread of the rumor that Draco was engaged.

"I don't think so," Hermione said, remembering the time that Pansy messed up with her things in the train. "Even Pansy and her friends think I had something to do with their break-up."

"Pansy thinks you did it?" Blaise said with a tone of surprise. Hermione nodded and stared at the wide window blankly.

"How do you know?" Blaise asked.

"Something that happened in the train," Hermione replied.

"What happened? Did they hurt you?"

"No, not really. They hid my owl and messed up my trunk," she said, remembering what happened in the train.

"Revenge is sweet," Blaise whispered.

"Not really. I felt her bitterness when she did that," Hermione replied.

They stayed silent for a while.

"I have something for you, by the way," Blaise said and took out a slender box out of his coat pocket.

"What for?"

"Merry Christmas," Blaise said and handed it to her.

"Er… thank you," Hermione said and took it. "It makes me feel bad I didn't get anything for you."

Blaise laughed. "I'm not expecting you to give me any."

Hermione smiled up at him. She opened the box and in it was a golden quill. She took it out and twirled it in between her fingers. Something caught her eye: Hermione. Her name was printed on the stem. It wasn't her foreign name, it was the name she was used to. "Hermione? Why Hermione?"

Blaise grinned.

"How did you know?" Hermione asked, puzzled and surprised.

"I just do," Blaise said with a smug look on his face.

It was overwhelming. Someone remembered Hermione after all. She felt her tears forming. "Thank you, really." She reached out and hugged him and he hugged her back.

"I'm just glad you like it."

They stayed like that until someone arrived.

"Is this a date?" Draco left the party too. Hermione pulled away when she heard Draco's voice.

"It's just fair, you were with the frenchies and I'm with your fiancée." Blaise said bitterly as Hermione leaned against the wall and returned the quill into the box.

"Go after them if you're so jealous," Draco dragged a garden chair towards them. He turned it and sat with the back of the chair in front of him.

"No progress then?" Blaise said, suddenly his face lit up. Hermione chuckled and sipped.

"None," Draco replied and leaned his chin on his arm draped over the back of the chair.

"Excuse me then," Blaise straightened up and fixed his suit. He walked away, leaving Hermione and Draco.

Hermione realized this and her stomach jumped as soon as Draco faced her.

"Did he do anything to you?" Draco asked. Hermione shook her head.

"Do what?"

"Anything inappropriate."

Hermione shook her head again and sipped her drink, wishing she took another one with alcohol. "Why are you suddenly checking up on me?"

"I'm not checking up on you. I'm checking up on him."

Hermione chuckled. "Are you gay?"

Draco's eyes narrowed.

"I take that back," Hermione said quickly as she giggled.

"So, Blaise brought you here to meet your grandmother?"

Hermione nodded, enjoying the company of a civil Draco. She dragged the round table towards Draco. Draco turned around, fixing his chair. Hermione laid the box and the glass on the table and went back to drag the garden chair for her to sit on. When she sat, she noticed Draco holding the box from Blaise.

"What's this?" He asked and opened it.

"A gift from Blaise."

Draco closed it and returned it to Hermione.

"I – I have something to give you," Hermione said, remembering the wrapped broom on her bed upstairs.

Draco just stared at her. Hermione reached for her wand that she strapped to her sandals underneath the gown. She pointed her wand towards her bedroom window, muttering the summoning spell. They both watched it fly out of the window into Hermione's outstretched arms.

"Here," Hermione laid it on the table. Draco eyed her.

Draco held the wrapped broom. He knew what it was before he even opened it.

Hermione muttered: "Merry Christmas."

Draco unwrapped it. "This costs a lot," he muttered as he admired the broom.

Hermione laughed, remembering the price of the broom. The way Draco touched and held the broom, Hermione took it as a sign that Draco loves the gift or at the very least, likes it.

"Do you need anything from me?" Draco asked, putting the broom down.

"No strings attached."

Draco looked at her, confused.

"It's a gift."

Draco fell silent. It was an awkward silence, very much like waiting for some things to be said. "Thank you."

Hermione smiled, feeling her stomach twisting.

"I – I didn't get anything. For you," Draco said. Hermione heard a tinge of guilt in his tone.

"I'm not expecting you to give me any," Hermione said, echoing what Blaise said to her earlier. She chuckled at the thought.

"Is this a joke?" Draco said, he looked like he had come up to a realization.

"No, no!" Hermione leaned forward, her face serious. "That really is a gift."

Draco looked at the broom skeptically.

"I didn't jinx it, if that's what you're thinking," Hermione said quickly.

Draco was still staring at the broom.

"I'll demonstrate it to you… if I could... but I can't," Hermione said when he didn't say anything.

Draco smirked. "Try to," he said and handed the broom to her.

"Ugh! I'm not that low, Malfoy!" Hermione was about to stand in indignation. "I won't give you a bloody broom that expensive if I just plan to kill you with it!"

"I just want you to show me," Draco said, still handing her the broom. Hermione grabbed it from his hand roughly. She stood up and walked a few steps away from the table. Draco stood up and leaned against the tree to watch.

Hermione was about to straddle the broom but she remembered she was wearing a gown.

"Up," she whispered. The broom floated horizontally, waiting. She breathed in deeply and sat on the broom as if sitting on the chair. She wiped her palms on her gown before she gripped the broom. Her heart was beating fast. She sat properly and let her feet hang. She found her balance and the broom sped up and she screamed when it tilted to an insane degree.

"Turn it around!" Draco called out as he ran towards her while patting his coat pockets for his wand. He pointed the wand towards Hermione and the broom that was still continuing to ascend but before he could think of a spell, the broom turned and it flew towards the ground.

"Let go!" Draco shouted and Hermione gripped the broom tighter, reflex not trusting Draco's instruction. Hermione was still several feet away.

"Let go!" Draco shouted again and this time, Hermione followed. She loosened her grip and she fell on the hard ground. Draco grabbed the broom before it hit the ground then rushed towards Hermione who wasn't moving. Draco dropped the broom and turned her around. Hermione moaned in pain and annoyance.

"I hate brooms," Hermione mumbled. "Why did I even take up the challenge?"

Draco smiled when she turned to push herself off the ground. He wiped the smile off his face as soon as she stood up and turned to him.

"Viktor was right," she whispered.

"Broken bones?" Draco asked as Hermione searched her gown for any rips.

"None but I reckon I'll have bruises on my right side," Hermione's hand examined her neck cautiously.

When she got a grip of herself again, she noticed the small distance between her and Draco. She held her breath, suddenly conscious of the closeness.

"Why did you tell me to let go?" Hermione asked, trying to distract herself.

"You would have broken the broom if stayed on it," Draco said and picked up the broom from the ground.

Hermione fumed. "You! The – aaaarrrrgh!" Hermione grabbed the broom and was about to snap it in two in her annoyance. When she thought of the price and that it was a gift, she relaxed and shoved it to Draco's chest.

"What was that about Viktor being right?" Draco asked, smirking. Hermione looked at him, anger draining from her face.

"I said that aloud?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "He's right about what?"

"Well…" Hermione hesitated. "He's right about the broom. It's insane!"

Draco waited.

"And… that I can't possibly ride a broom," Hermione said as she straightened non-existent creases on her gown. "The broom is insane only when the one riding it is insane," Draco said, teasing.

Hermione walked past him and sat on the chair. She laid her head on the table and sighed. "It feels good to be back on the ground."

"Do you want to try again?" Draco said, teasing her. He handed the broom to her to emphasize his intention. Hermione snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, sitting up straight and turning her face away from Draco.

"What's this?" Blaise was back with a smile that couldn't be wiped off his face.

"How many did you charm?" Draco said with a smirk, noticing his expression.

"Is this a lovers' row?" Blaise said, ignoring Draco's remark.

"Lovers," Hermione snorted and Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you the one wishing that I'd hold you tight?" Draco answered her snort.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You git! I did not!"

Blaise laughed at the side, watching the entertaining battle.

"Weren't you the one who saved me from killing myself when I know you've sworn to be my enemy?" Hermione said confidently.

"I didn't save you. I tried to undo what you had done wrong," Draco defended.

"I told you I couldn't fly a broom!"

"And you proved it."

"That could have killed me!" Hermione said, pointing an accusing finger at the broom in his hand.

"But it didn't," Draco said calmly.

"Wait, what happened?" Blaise said, his tone was different and the smile on his face was gone.

"He told me to fly the broom and he challenged me when I said no," Hermione said, feeling like a five–year–old tattletale.

"What?!" Blaise said, anger in his tone.

"It didn't kill her!" Draco defended.

"You –" Blaise rushed towards Draco aggressively.

"Hey!" Draco let go of the broom and blocked Blaise's body push. Draco pushed him back with his arms. There were several exchanges of pushes and grunts before Hermione ran in between. She stretched both her arms and pushed their chests as far as she could to stop the two from hitting each other. Blaise reached for Draco above Hermione's head. Though she was in the middle, the two managed to exchange hits before Hermione shouted.

"Stop it!" Hermione let go of Draco and blocked Blaise with both hands. Blaise calmed down and held Hermione by the wrists.

"Alright, I won't hurt him if it hurts you," Blaise said with a smirk. Hermione looked up at him, surprised at how fast his aggressive mood disappeared.

Blaise chuckled. "No arguing this time? That's a change."

"What?" Hermione said, suddenly focused on what he was saying. Blaise sighed and held her shoulders. In a second, he turned her around to face Draco who looked slightly puzzled at how fast Blaise changed his mood.

"Go on. Tell him what you really feel about him," Blaise said and let go of her shoulders. Draco turned his eyes away from Hermione and stared at Blaise to catch his intention but he could read no underlying thoughts.

"What's wrong with you?!" Hermione was about to turn to face Blaise again but Blaise held her shoulders in place, facing Draco who was holding an expressionless façade. Hermione threw her hands up into the air.

"Go on. No need for hesitation," Blaise said still holding her by the shoulders.

"What is there to tell?" Hermione said, holding Draco's gaze.

"Stop playing innocent," Blaise whispered loudly. "And just go along with it."

"With what?!" Hermione said. "I have nothing to say!"

"What's this now, Zabini?" Draco said finally.

Blaise looked at Draco. "Tocca a me."

"What?" Draco's eyebrows met in confusion.

Blaise chuckled and let go of Hermione as he stared at Draco, mockingly. He walked away, laughing at whatever he found amusing. Hermione followed him with her eyes. When he went back in, she huffed and walked away, without glancing back at Draco.

(oo)…(oo)…(oo)

"Nothing happened?" Blaise asked as soon as Hermione entered the house.

"Were you expecting something to happen?" Hermione glared at Blaise.

"I expected much more than a walk out," Blaise said with a shrug. Two French ladies approached Blaise and one of them whispered something to him and the other whispered "excusez" to Hermione with a heavy accent. Hermione nodded and walked away when she noticed Blaise paying very much attention to what the lady was whispering.

She went near the grand staircase and leaned against the marble statue of a lady with a harp. The statue moved its head and gave the impression of looking at Hermione. Hermione muttered a "sorry" and stood straight as she watched the crowd. It had lessened over the hours but still it was still considered 'crowded' to her standards, considering the fact that she had been with the Weasley's 'crowded' state several times. She let her thoughts roll as the holiday tunes continued to play over the conversations in the hall. She had suppressed the thought of her friends too many times that she grew tired of it. She'd rather remember them and get hurt later than to get hurt after suppressing.

At the back of her mind, she had a feeling that she forgot something. A man with a tray of drinks greeted her and offered a glass of clear liquid, which Hermione accepted even if it was most likely alcoholic. She didn't mind; after all, it would be a blessing if she passed out now and get this night over with but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel important with all these people who attended her grandmother's party.

It's because of your grandmother. Not you, a voice in her head echoed. She smiled and took a sip. All the glitter was probably seeping into her head and inflating it.

She had already consumed the whole glass when her grandmother appeared in front of her.

"I'd like you to meet some people," Eilynn said.

(oo)…(oo)…(oo)

Author's Note: wow, chapter 21.. I enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you enjoy reading it. :) Reviews are much appreciated! :)

Seal the Deal and Prank is currently paused -- I have decided to finish Alteration first since it is nearing its end.