Follow Your Heart
Hermione's hiding something... but she's not as good at it as she thinks. One-shot, PG.
Response to IATQO Challenge 'Spring Fling', Deadline March 15 '05, http-quietones-org (substitute . for -)
"Tomorrow?"
Hermione nodded at Lavendar as she made a small mark on her calendar, which hung beside her four-poster bed. "Tomorrow we leave. Today is the last day of school before the holidays. Wonderful, isn't it?"
Parvati flopped onto Hermione's bed. "Hermione, do you really want to leave? Do you know how much can happen over the next three weeks? You're dating Draco now, but if he-"
Hermione cut her off hurriedly. "He won't find out. There's nothing for him to find out. Nothing."
"What about the letters?" Lavendar piped up.
Hermione whirled on her. "I said, he won't find out."
"And the dreams?" Parvati put in.
"He won't find out."
Lavendar opened her mouth to protest, but Hermione gave her a stern look, and she fell silent.
"I love Draco," Hermione said. "I've loved him with the same devotion since the first day I realized it through this moment. There's nothing to worry about."
None of the girls needed to point out the lack of sincerity in Hermione's voice. All three of them sensed it. It was unnecessary to draw attention to it.
"I'm going to Draco's house for Christmas anyways," she continued. "He's going to have some friends over, but I'll be there with him. You needn't worry."
The two girls shrugged as the three of them rose to go to the Great Hall for supper. They knew the truth, even if Hermione was denying it.
sSsSs
Hermione began to hurry from the Great Hall the next morning, her face grim. The train was leaving in ten minutes, and she would miss it if she didn't find her trunk soon and-
"Oof!"
She tumbled to the ground face first, having just collided with something solid. Said something was not so solid as she had thought, however, because it fell on top of her, and was decidedly warm, yet made no effort to get off of her right away. She groaned inwardly with annoyance. She didn't have time for this.
"Would you kindly get the bloody hell off of me?"
Color flamed in her cheeks as Blaise Zabini righted himself easily, then offered his hand to help her up. She didn't take it, but pushed herself up on her own, trying to ignore her extreme embarassment and maintain a shred of dignity.
"I'm sorry," he said in a lilting voice with a crooked smile, "but I was under the impression that our little collision course was not entirely my fault."
"Of course it was your fault," she snapped to hide the fast beating of her heart. It quite felt like it was about to burst from her chest. "I'm in a hurry, and you were in my way."
"Ah, yes, so sorry about that as well," Blaise replied in a soft, mock apology. "You know, your demeanor has changed since you began to date a Slytherin. You make no attempt to maintain decorum. Make note of that."
"In case you didn't notice, you happen to be a Slytherin yourself," Hermione shot back. Note? did he mean something by it? She was sweating. Dear Lord, she was sweating. Draco. Draco. Think of Draco. Think of Draco...
"Well, I had best let you get on your way. Just one thing."
Hermione looked at him with an expression of pure annoyance on her face. "What?"
"Say my name."
She cocked an eyebrow and smirked at him. Blaise smiled. She gets more and more like a Slytherin every day...
"Zabini," she said slowly and clearly, enunciating each syllable.
"No," he said in a very different voice, taking a step towards her, "my true name."
She gulped. Does he know?
"Blaise," she said in a light, clear voice, then spun on her heel in search of her trunk. Blaise smiled to himself.
"It does sound wonderful from her lips..."
sSsSs
"Hermione!"
Hermione looked away from the fogged window with a start into the silvery eyes she had come to know so well. "Hmm?"
"I only asked you a question three times!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Draco. What was it?"
"Never mind. It wasn't important."
"Oh. Ok."
"Hermione, what is with you today?"
"Nothing..."
Draco removed his arm from around his shoulder and forced her to look at him. "Something is up. I've been trying to talk to you about the holidays we have planned, and you haven't been listening! It's not as though you have any need to be worried, now that Father's gone. You know Mother's accepting of you..."
"It's nothing, Draco!"
He looked taken aback for a moment, then seemed to resign to Hermione's state of withdrawal. "Fine, then. Anyways, will you listen to who I've invited now?"
Hermione sighed. "Yes, as long as you didn't invite the cow."
Draco gave a short bark of laughter. "Parkinson? Right. That's hilarious. No, definitely not. I invited... Theodore Nott, Adrian Pucey, my cousin 'Adora, and... someone else."
Hermione perked up. "Tonks? You invited Tonks?"
Draco sighed. "Why do you call her by her surname?"
"Because she asked me to!" Hermione said playfully, poking Draco in the stomach. Draco was astonished at how quickly his girlfriend could change moods. Suddenly, she straightened and wrinkled her nose.
"Anyhow, what do you mean, 'someone else'?"
"You'll see later," Draco said cryptically.
"But-"
"I said, you'll see."
Hermione shrunk down into her seat, as she always did when Draco assumed that commanding tone. He rarely used it with her, so when he did, she knew he was serious.
sSsSs
"I love Christmas Eve," Hermone said with a light air, twirling on her toes across the floor as Draco watched. Adrian and Theodore were downstairs, attempting to charm Tonks. Most likely, unsuccessfully, Hermione thought with a smirk. She was in the upstairs bedroom chamber with Draco, though the door was wide open.
The next words from his mouth stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Hermione, we need to talk."
She turned slowly to face him. He was sitting on the bed, and he was trying to keep his face an unreadable mask, but it wasn't working. He didn't looked pained, or angry.
He simply looked... tired.
"I know about the letters."
Hermione hadn't expected that, and frankly, it threw her off track. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ignore the sudden bite of cold wind coming through the open window. "So what? I have a secret admirer. What does it matter?"
"You've been saving the letters."
"You've been reading my private possessions."
"That's beside the point," Draco said, waving his hand as though to dismiss the matter. "I also know who's sending the letters."
Hermione froze. "Who is it?"
"You'll know soon enough."
"How much do you know?" she asked incredulously.
Draco smirked. "To save time, let's just assume I know everything."
"Such as?"
He fixed her with a piercing glare. "I know you love someone else. Your heart isn't mine anymore, is it, Hermione?"
She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You said Blaise's name."
Hermione lifted her eyes to meet Draco's. The silver in them was blazing now, darker than usual, and Hermione was completely bewildered. "What, in the hallway? You're upset about that?"
Draco paused, then said every word deliberately. "No, not in the hallway. When you were in bed. With me. You said his name."
Hermione sucked in her breath. She didn't remember having said his name. She didn't. She couldn't have...
"Are you sure?" she whispered tremulously.
"Very," he said shortly. Then abruptly, he rose and wrapped Hermione in a hug.
"It's ok," he whispered. "I knew it wasn't meant to last. You have to follow your heart, Hermione."
As he released her, she shook her head slowly as she backed towards the door. It was too much to take in such short time. "I couldn't. I would feel so guilty knowing that I left you for him. I just don't know anymore."
Draco attempted a smile. "If you change your mind, Hermione, he's in the garden.
sSsSs
Hermione entered the garden ten minutes later. It was dark outside, the only light coming from lit candles scattered all over the place. She spotted Adrian Pucey snogging a woman with long pink hair. Perhaps the flirting attempts hadn't been useless after all. She smirked.
She walked slowly into the very center of the garden, standing on the earthen floor and staring off into space. Hermione wrapped her arms around herself against the cold. Had he really stayed, or had he left? Maybe he was tired of waiting for her. She was too indecisive, that was her problem. It had always been her problem.
A large, warm hand came to rest on her shoulder, and she whirled around to see the deep blue eyes that she had dreamed about for the past three months. Blaise smiled, a true smile, and took her hand, leading her to a stone bench.
"I thought maybe you wouldn't come."
"You knew?" she asked timidly.
"Of course. I know that you were with Draco, but he is a good friend. He helped me assure that we would find out where your heart truly lies."
"Have you?"
"You came, did you not?"
"Yes, I did."
There was silence for a few moments, and Hermione found herself very aware of how they were sitting. She was nestled very close to Blaise, and his arm was around her waist. She shivered in spite of herself.
"Cold?" He pulled her closer.
"Zabini-"
"Ah, ah, ah."
She looked into his blue eyes, so unsure of herself, but there she found warmth. She smiled.
"Blaise."
He nodded, leaning it to kiss her, but she hurriedly voiced her fear.
"How do I know if this is right?"
Just before he covered his lips with his own, he murmured his reply.
"Follow your heart."
A-N: Response to the IATQO challenge, 'Spring Fling', but ah... the challenge didn't say it had to be in the spring! A ha! I write how I think it should be! A ha ha! If anyone says anything about Tonks snogging Adrian, I'll get mad. So what if she likes the younger ones? Hem, hem... so, anyways... here's the original challenge:
-Pairing may be D/Hr, B/Hr, or D/Hr/B
-Must be at least 1000 words
-Quote: "To save time, let's just assume I know everything" (seemed so Draco I just had to give it to him)
-A secret admirer
-A candlelit garden
-An embarassing moment
-Someone marking a calendar
-Must include three of the following: Millicent Bulstrode, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Hannah Abbott, Zacharias Smith, Ernie McMillan, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Bill Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley