Chapter Eleven

Blaise's secret

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed, trying to push the last horrible hour she had been through to the back of her mind. When Harry came into her office, looking very pale and saying that Pansy Parkinson was in St. Mungo's, she had felt her heart drop to her feet.

She was Draco's best friend, and in the last year Hermione had started to get on very well with her, as if they were friends. No, they were, Pansy was her friend too. Almost once a week, she and Draco would go to dinner at Nott Manor with the rest of the Slytherins, and she had gotten used to spending time with them.

Hermione sat down at her table, looking at the clock. She had three hours left before she could go home and she was dying to know what Draco had in mind.

"Everything alright?" Arthur asked, leaning out when he heard her arrive.

"Yes, we've been to see her and she's fine. Thank you for letting me go, Arthur."

Mr Weasley smiled.

"I'm glad. Check on next week's trials and you can go, we'll continue tomorrow."

Hermione nodded and Arthur disappeared back into his office.

She picked up one of the folders on the wooden shelf and opened it, looking for the pending trials. More Death Eaters were still asking for their sentences to be reviewed and Hermione shivered as she saw that on Monday it was the turn of Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix's husband... and on Thursday it would be the turn of Theo's father.

She sighed and pulled out several purple sheets of paper. She needed to send memos to the Aurors and members of the Wizengamot, and an owl to Azkaban to remind them of the time to bring the prisoners in.

Hermione appeared in her living room surrounded by emerald flames. She walked up the stairs with an envelope in her hand and entered the study, looking for Dark. The imposing eagle owl was perched on the windowsill, gazing at the horizon with her orange eyes.

"I need you to take this to Azkaban, Dark," Hermione requested, stroking her feathers to get her attention.

The owl stared at her and then grabbed the letter in her beak, spreading her wings and flying off into the trees.

Hermione heard noise and left the room, heading downstairs. Draco had just arrived and was laying his robes on one of the armchairs.

"Did they let you out earlier today as well?"

He nodded, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Everyone seems to have heard about what happened."

He walked over to Hermione and caught one of her curls between his fingers, staring at her.

"You can't talk to anyone about what we're doing tomorrow at the Department of Mysteries, Hermione."

"Not even Blaise?" she asked, lifting her chin so she could look him in the eye.

Draco's lips curved upwards.

"Blaise isn't back... he's probably still with Pansy."

Hermione raised both eyebrows in surprise. Just then, the flames in the fireplace changed colour and Blaise emerged between them with a pout.

"I know that face. Bring the whisky," Draco whispered, leaving a quick kiss on her lips.

She disappeared into the kitchen and Blaise dropped into one of the armchairs, grunting. Draco levitated three glasses towards them, pulling one close to his friend. Hermione returned with the bottle of Firewhiskey and filled all three glasses.

"Did you tell her?" Draco asked, watching as his friend drank the entire glass in one gulp.

Blaise sighed and levitated the bottle until it landed in his hand, refilling his glass.

"When did you realise what I feel?" he asked, glancing sideways at Draco.

"Today, when I saw your reaction."

Hermione hid a smile, it was very rare to see them talking about girls. Draco had told her that he hardly ever talked to his friends about it, only to Pansy.

Blaise frowned, watching the ices in his drink.

"Yes, I've told her. We've been arguing until now."

"Arguing? Why?" Hermione asked.

Blaise smiled sadly and sighed.

"We've been friends all our lives, Granger. Pansy says there's no way I could have suddenly fallen in love with her."

"Hermione," she protested quietly.

Blaise shook his head, smirking.

"I like calling you Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Granger is better. Hermione is too long," Draco said, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

Both boys laughed and Blaise sighed again.

"I guess my friendship with Pansy is fucked for good," he commented, feigning indifference and averting his gaze to his glass.

"No, I think she just needs time. She's been through a lot today, give her a few days to come to terms with it," Hermione replied, trying to cheer him up.

Blaise grimaced and took another sip of whisky. Hermione had not yet touched her glass when the flames changed colour again and the figure of Theodore Nott emerged among them.

"I'm here, ladies," he greeted in a mocking voice, raising his eyebrows several times.

"I see you got my owl," Blaise muttered, raising his glass to salute him.

Theo sat down next to Hermione and took the glass from her hands, ignoring her protests.

"I came back as soon as I read your letter, and I've just been with Pansy. Thank Merlin she's all right," Theo replied, dropping his grin for a moment.

"Yes, it could have been a lot worse," Draco growled under his breath.

Hermione got up to grab a butterbeer and sat back down between the boys, sighing.

"She told me what you said, Blaise. What a surprise," Theo said, meeting his friend's gaze.

Blaise made a face, snorting.

"I shouldn't have told her, I knew it was a bad idea."

"It's not, she has special feelings for you too. She's always treated you differently," Draco opined, stroking Hermione's forearm absently as he spoke.

"That's true," Theo agreed, giving Blaise a mischievous grin.

"I don't know when it all changed... I think it was this year, being away from Hogwarts and seeing her at work, I... I hadn't noticed her like that before," Blaise admitted in a whisper.

Hermione smiled and Draco stroked her knuckles, tracing circles with his index finger. He was smiling too.

"When did it change for you?" Blaise asked suddenly, glancing at Draco.

He tensed and Theo rolled his eyes.

"I don't think Hermione wants to hear that," Theo commented.

Hermione glanced between the three of them, biting her lower lip nervously.

"Do you want me to leave you alone with them?" she asked Draco, meeting his gaze.

He shook his head, lacing his fingers with hers.

"No, you know what happened. I started to think about Hermione in a different way the first day I saw her after the Battle of Hogwarts. She came into the compartment I was in, I saw her in Muggle clothes and... I wanted to shag her."

"It's the most romantic story ever," Theo scoffed, chuckling.

Hermione joined in his laughter and Draco shot his friend a hateful look, but kept talking.

"I tried to get close to her, find out if she might be interested in having sex with me. One day, when we were arguing, I kissed her. I have no idea why I did it."

She blushed and looked down, squeezing his hand. She remembered that kiss by the lake.

"I kissed her for real shortly after, in her dormitory," Draco added, glancing at Blaise meaningfully. That had been the day the prophecy had been made. "A few weeks later, I got her to have sex with me... and I fell in love with her, I couldn't help it."

Hermione took a big gulp of beer, trying to calm the embarrassment she was feeling.

"Then it was similar to what had happened to me. One day, all of a sudden, when you looked at her, you saw her differently," Blaise muttered, frowning.

Draco nodded and Theo stood up.

"Come on, Hermione. Let's get dinner ready and let these two share their wonderful experiences with women," he said, offering her a hand.

She accepted it and got up, leaving the room with Theo. They heard Draco snort from the kitchen.

"How have you been doing with the girls?" Hermione asked, opening the fridge.

Theo finished the last of his whisky, setting the glass in the sink.

"No better than them. The three of us were pathetic at Hogwarts, hiding in cupboards to shag anyone."

Hermione laughed softly, shaking her head. Theo pulled out a frying pan and waved his wand, causing everything to start cooking on its own.

"And now there's no one to catch your eye?" Hermione insisted.

Theo clicked his tongue.

"Girls only want me for a quick shag. The only one who'll put up with me is Pansy... Well, and you recently," he mumbled, smirking at her.

"You're a sweetheart when you want to, but I used to think you were a complete arsehole. I thought that of all three of you," Hermione replied.

"And we thought it of you too."

Hermione gave him an affectionate punch on the shoulder and he laughed.

"I don't know how we didn't realise what was going on with you and Draco."

"Pansy says the same thing, she did know before... even before Draco himself," Hermione said, remembering the conversation with Pansy where she had explained how she had noticed that her best friend had fallen in love.

"There's something you don't know about me, Hermione... I like boys too."

Hermione gasped in surprise.

"Although, truth be told, I prefer girls. You're softer and nicer," Theo added with a smirk.

"Do they know?" Hermione asked quietly, referring to Blaise and Draco.

"Of course they know. You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them in fifth year, after I hooked up with a Hufflepuff. Draco didn't believe me, so I tried to give him a kiss to prove it and he fell off the chair to avoid me."

Hermione covered her mouth, choking back a laugh, and he grinned.

"And aren't there any boys you're interested in either?"

Theo shook his head, wrinkling his nose.

When the meal was finished, he and Hermione returned to the living room and set the plates down on the dining table.

Draco and Blaise stood up, the latter with the bottle of Firewhiskey still in his hand. Draco sat down next to Hermione and placed a hand on her knee, leaning towards her.

"I'm so glad I noticed you that day," he whispered in her ear.

Hermione hid a smile and looked up into his eyes, leaving a quick kiss on his lips.

"And I'm glad you were able to accept how you felt about me."

Blaise rolled his eyes and opened the bottle, pouring more whisky into his glass. Hermione grimaced and, with a wave of her wand, sent the bottle flying across the room.

"Alcohol doesn't solve problems, Blaise."

"But it helps with them," he replied, raising an eyebrow and giving her a lopsided grin before taking a drink.

Hermione snorted and Draco chuckled. The four of them ate dinner together, not bringing up the subject of Pansy again so Blaise wouldn't keep thinking about it. Theo was the first to leave, assuring them that his trip to France was over and that he would be staying in the country until summer.

When the three of them were alone, Draco looked up.

"Tomorrow Hermione is coming with me, Blaise."

He opened his eyes wide and looked at Hermione out of the corner of his eye before answering.

"Are you going to show it to her?"

"Yes, I think it's for the best. She's very smart and maybe she'll think of something."

"Smarter than you?" Hermione asked in a mocking voice.

Draco shot her a poisonous look.

"I said you're smart, not the smartest person in the room. I'm as smart as you, Granger."

She grunted, crossing her arms.

"Not in your wildest dreams, Malfoy. I'm better than you. Every year I got the best mark in our year, even if it's hard for you to admit."

"And I got second best," he replied, arching his eyebrows.

Blaise laughed softly.

"Some things don't change, you're still arguing after all this time."

"Because she's stubborn," Draco snarled.

"And you're not?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes.

Draco clenched his jaw and looked away, meeting Blaise's smirk.

"Sleep well, Blaise. And give Pansy time."

He wrinkled his nose but nodded, walking towards the fireplace.

"Make sure no one sees her," he said, pointing at Hermione before disappearing into the flames.

Draco turned, and saw that Hermione was still with her arms crossed and a serious look on her face. He walked over to her and caught her chin in his fingers, crouching down to brush her lips.

"Know-it-all," he murmured, catching her bottom lip.

Hermione smiled and responded to his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and sinking her hands into his blond hair. Draco made a deep noise with his throat and deepened the kiss, pressing his body against hers.

The two of them were competitive and always would be, but they both liked that.

"Oh, no. Stop right now, please."

Draco's eyes widened at the sound of that voice and he cursed under his breath, pulling away from Hermione and turning his head. Harry had just come out of the fireplace and was covering his eyes with one arm.

"Bloody Potter, you could have gotten here sooner."

"Do you really find it difficult to call me by my name?"

Draco sighed, taking another sip of his tea. He was still half asleep.

"No, I've called you Hermione from the beginning. But you were Granger to me for seven years, it's still a little hard for me."

"You were also Malfoy to me for the same years, but I don't find it hard to call you Draco. In fact, I quite like your name."

"And I like the way it sounds when you say it."

Her cheeks reddened. She looked down and picked up a small piece of toast, offering it to Crookshanks who was sitting by her feet.

"It's just that... When I hear my last name, I think of my parents. And then I get sad."

Draco set his mug down on the table and stood up, walking around it until he was next to Hermione. He tugged on one of her arms, forcing her to stand up, and cupped her face with both hands.

"I'll keep calling you by your name, Hermione. But sometimes Granger comes to mind, I can't help it."

She tried to smile, though her eyes were too bright.

"I know."

"You're not alone anymore, I'm with you. And you won't be again."

Hermione blinked several times, trying to hold back tears, and pulled herself closer to him. She rested her head on his chest, rubbing her nose against his throat. His distinctive scent enveloped her and she closed her eyes, letting out a sigh.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Draco."

"I feel the same way," he replied, wrapping his arms around her.

They stood like that for a moment, holding each other and saying nothing at the small kitchen table, until Draco pulled away and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"We have to leave now. Go get Potter's cloak."

"Can you see me?"

Draco stared intently into the corner where Hermione had been until a moment ago, looking for something to give her away. There was no sign of her.

"No. Be careful not to show your feet as you walk, and follow me without speaking. When I open the door, walk past me."

Hermione nodded, but remembered that he couldn't see her.

"Okay," she replied, pointing her wand at her shoes to silence them.

Draco stepped into the fireplace and the green flames devoured him. She followed him and appeared in the Ministry Atrium. She saw Draco walking towards the lifts at a much slower pace than normal and ran towards him.

Hermione brushed his hand to let him know she was there, squeezing a finger before releasing it. They got into one of the lifts together and Draco pushed her into a corner, covering her with his body so that no one would bump into anything invisible. She clung to his shoulders as the lift moved, and she stepped out, clinging to him as they reached the ninth floor.

The security spells scanned them both and didn't block their way, so Draco walked down the dark corridor in silence. He could feel her presence beside him.

Draco opened the door at the far end and waved to the two guards, walking towards one of the six doors. He placed his left hand on it and it made a clanking sound. He opened it all the way and waited two seconds before he stepped through and closed it.

Draco looked around and felt Hermione's fingers touch his arm. He began to walk down the corridors filled with prophecies, to where he knew his own was. Draco approached the bookshelf, hearing a small gasp from Hermione. She had seen his name on the crystal orb.

He raised his wand, casting a muffliato down the aisle so that no one could hear them.

"Listen carefully, because you're not coming here again," Draco whispered, reaching out a hand to take the prophecy.