Scene 2:Approval
His gloved hand clasped hers... she was crushing his hand, but he wouldn't tell her.
Christmas Hols were over and their respite from reality was quickly coming to an end.
They were the only Slytherins who remained at Hogwarts for the entire break. Draco had been around for a while, but had mysteriously disappeared the day before Christmas. There were only a smattering of other students in the castle; most had opted to return home this year.
They sat outside, cold air swirling about. It had snowed this Christmas and the grounds were still lightly covered with a white blanket. In the silence they could hear students moving about inside the castle, chatting about their holiday adventures. They sat on the same bench that they had nearly three weeks ago, a night that had changed so much of their lives.
They sat in silence, many words had already been said. Both were unsure of how to proceed. It was one thing to profess your love in a moment of pain and realization and it was quite another thing to play out those feelings in reality.
They were Slytherins, every action had a reason. In their world, love was not a reason for action.
Blaise looked over at Millicent. She sat next to him, her head bowed. He knew she was extremely worried about whether or not they should make their relationship public.
There were valid arguments for both sides. They had debated them deep into the night as they lay curled atop Blaise's down comforter.
Millicent was exceedingly worried about what would be said, especially to Blaise. She knew that his friends wouldn't understand and she didn't expect the daft gits to understand. She knew she wasn't who he was supposed to be with and for that she feared Blaise would be shunned. To complicate matters she was still terribly insecure about the whole matter. Truly believing that Blaise loved her was hard to come to grips with. Although he reassured her of his feelings it was hard to reconcile those feelings with the face she saw in the mirror. A nagging voice in her head constantly reminded her that perhaps it was all her imagination and that once reality returned with class, it would take away this little world that she had built during the holiday.
Blaise on the other hand was incredibly worried for Millicent. He wasn't particularly concerned for himself. He had garnered enough power in the vacuum that Draco Malfoy had created, that he could remind those who disapproved what risk they ran. What he truly worried about was how the females would react. Millicent had always held a safe position in the house. The girls never viewed her as a threat. But Blasie knew that all would change if there were to find out that he and Millicent were together. He knew the retaliation would be completely unexpected by Millicent, and in fact she probably wouldn't understand what was happening until it was too late.
"Millicent?" She slowly looked up at him.
Her cheeks were rosy with the cold, and her eyes sparkled as the snow reflected the cold sunlight. She smiled at him, as if by magic, the sight of his aristocratic features vanquished all her misgivings about their relationship.
Blaise cupped her cheek with one gloved hand. The leather was smooth and supple. He moved down to bring their lips together. It began as a small kiss to bring a smile back to her face. But it quickly turned into much more. His tongue traced the line of her lips and she quickly responded by opening the seam.
Over the holidays Blaise had been the beneficiary of Millicent's quick study.
He recalled her reddened cheeks and lowered lids as she had confessed to him that he was her first kiss. Her vulnerability touched him; Millicent typically exuded strength both physical and mental. His power to create such fragility in Millicent frightened him and filled his heart with tenderness. He found himself desiring to protect her innocence from others as well as enjoying it himself, or rather spoiling that innocence he thought wryly. The better part of many an evening had been spent in the pursuit of rectifying her lack of education. She was quick to pleasure him, yet still a bit unsure.
Something inside of Blaise was incredibly proud that he had been the first person to coax a breathy sigh from her lips, the first to learn that that the back of her neck was particularly sensitive to his ministrations. The idea that no one else knew that this side of Millicent existed and that he was the only one who could bring it out, was incredibly arousing.
He wanted to take his gloves off and run his bare hands through her hair. He wanted to slide his hand beneath her heavy robes and touch her soft skin. He wanted to hear the sounds of pleasure that came only from her lips. Before he could act on any of these thoughts he was quickly stopped by the voice of a 10 year old boy.
"Millie! Ewww....!!" Wes came skidding to a stop in front of his sister and his surrogate older brother. "Blaise... cooties!" Wes exclaimed in utter horror that his friend would forget that cardinal rule, even if it was with his sister.
Millicent flung herself back from Blaise. "Wes! What are you doing here? I thought you were with Dumbledore for the afternoon."
"He let me out early, when the rest of the students started to arrive. The question is what are you doing?" At that moment Millicent cursed the fact that her brother acted much older than his 10 years.
Millicent sputtered a bit, not sure what to tell her brother.
Blaise smiled at Millicent and tucked her close to his body. He knew Wes would understand... after he got past the cootie bit that is. Blaise loved the little tow-headed kid as if he was his own brother and he was fairly certain the feelings were reciprocated.
"Er... Blaise and I. We er... decided to... to start seeingeachother." Millicent rushed the last bit out in one exhale.
Wes's eyes grew large and round. Then he smiled. It looked as though all the wishing he had done for this Christmas had paid off.
Wes rushed forward and threw one arm around his sister's neck and the other around Blaise. He pulled all three into a group hug.
When he pulled back, gone was the jubilant face of a 10 year old boy, in its stead was the face of a boy who had seen too much pain for his years.
He looked Blaise in the eye, "thank you for making my sister happy." Millicent gasped in the background. "But, if you hurt her... I will kill you."
Blaise wanted to laugh at the earnest expression on Wes's face, as he played the role of protector, but he didn't. He understood what Wes was doing. His sister was all he had left and Blaise knew there was little Wes wouldn't do to ensure her protection.
"I won't Wes, I love her." His quiet statement was all Wes needed. Blaise ruffled his hair, "come on, let's go inside, I think your sister is about to turn blue with the cold."
Wes heartily agreed with the suggestion. "Come on! There's hot cocoa in the Great Hall!" He scampered ahead, his mind already consumed with sweet beverage that awaited him.
Blaise and Millicent followed a few steps behind. Their hands were still clasped. Both knew it was the moment of reckoning. He squeezed her hand in reassurance.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked him quietly. "We don't have to..."
He stopped and turned her to face him. "Yes. I want the whole of Hogwarts, no the whole of the world to know that I love you and that you love me."
Millicent blushed at his words and rested the crown of her head on his chest. She didn't deserve this man, but she wasn't about to give him up.
So with their hands intertwined and her head resting on his shoulder they made their way into the great hall.