It had been weeks since Hermione had last talked to Blaise, weeks of never ending homework and assignments. She'd gone weeks without hearing his voice teasing her, weeks without his touch. She knew that he'd been lying when he said that if she chose not to have him, their friendship wouldn't be affected. She knew she'd been lying when she told him she didn't want him. She only saw him in Potions now. He'd say as little as possible to her and it was beginning to make her go mad.

She hadn't realized it as much before, but she knew now that Blaise had become one of her best friends. He was someone that she could talk to, someone that could relate to her. He understood her better than anyone else. She didn't know how to repair the rift that she'd ripped in their relationship. Hermione wanted to talk to him, she truly did, but she didn't know how.

She was sitting in her special corner in the library, reading up on special potions that would make you see the goodness of a person through their beauty when she sensed someone sit across from her at her table. She glanced up, expecting Harry or Ron but was surprised to meet the eyes of a blond Slytherin. "Sod off Malfoy, I'm not in the mood for your insults." She said and returned to her book.

Draco grabbed the book and shut it, loosing Hermione's page. "I don't care if you're in the mood for me or not Granger. I have something to say to you." His eyes were hard and defensive. She'd never seen him that way before. "You hurt him, and now you have to make it better."

"I hurt who?" Hermione demanded. She truly was not in the mood for Malfoy that day.

"Blaise!" he exclaimed, standing up. "You broke his heart! You sent him down to the pits pf hell just because you're too selfish to realize that he needs you!" Draco had his hands up in the air, emphasizing his point. "He loves you Granger, and although I can't begin to imagine why, he wants to be with you." He dropped his hands and looked her in the eyes. "I've seen the looks you give him as well. You love him too."

Hermione's eyes went wide. Was she truly that obvious? "I don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy." She lied. She couldn't give herself away.

"No." Draco said simply, sitting back down and leaning across the table. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You need to talk to him. I can't help him. I've been trying." Draco began to sound a little desperate. "He's my friend."

Draco's concern broke Hermione's wall and she looked down. "I don't know how. I don't know what to do about this." She said.

Draco sighed dramatically, as if it were completely obvious. "Go to him and tell him you love him. It's that simple." He said. He got up and left, leaving Hermione to her own thoughts.

Blaise sat in the room for requirement studying the parchment in his hands. It was from Hermione, asking him to meet her there. He didn't know why he'd agreed. She'd already ripped his heart out and fed it to Potter and Weasly. He didn't want to be here, but for some odd reason her was. He put the letter down and looked around the room. It looked like his room in the dungeon, dark and uninviting. The walls were made of grey stone and it gave off an air of chill. He sat on a hard sofa, and waited.

It wasn't long before Hermione arrived and upon her opening the door, the whole room changed. His chair became a sofa and the room warmed up a trifle. The walls were no longer stone but wooden, like a log cabin. Blaise looked up with a glare on his face.

Hermione looked at him apologetically and sat beside him. "Blaise, we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about. You made it all painfully clear when we were down by the lake." He stated, refusing to meet her eyes.

"That was a mistake. I realize that now." She said. He could hear the sadness in her voice and it took everything he had within him not to reach out and pull her toward him. He remained stiffly disciplined, however.

"Well, you can't change the past." He said simply, angrily.

"You said that if I told you no, it wouldn't affect our friendship." She said desperately.

"I lied."

"Blaise, you can't do this to me. You just can't."

He knew there were tears in her eyes. He couldn't show that he cared though. Then she'd be able to hurt him again. "That sounds awfully familiar. But as I recall, you walked away."

"I didn't mean it. I was confused. I didn't think that we would work."

"And what do you think now?" there was an angry tone to his voice, a bitter tone. She didn't like it.

"I don't know." She stated strongly.

"Then why am I here?" he asked. She tried to take his hand but he pulled it away.

"Because I love you." She said desperately.

Finally he looked at her. Her face was red, streaked with tears but she looked beautiful. His face showed shock. He hadn't expected this. He had expected her to try and repair their friendship, yes, but he hadn't expected this. "Say it again." He demanded, the same angry tone as before. He needed to hear it again in order to believe it. He needed her to admit that she needed him.

"I love you Blaise Zabini. I made a mistake before, but now I see that. I need you. You aren't a distraction…" Before she could say another word, his lips were pressed firmly to hers. His hands were pulling her closer to him and wrapping themselves around her body. She was straddled across his lap now, and his hands rested gently on her bottom. He was still kissing her. Before she could think to do anything, He had pulled her down on top of him.

Finally, he pulled away to catch some air, he looked up at her and smiled. The first smile she'd seen from him since that fated day by the lake. It almost broke her heart. Instead, she leaned down and kissed him, running her fingers through his soft curly hair. For once he wasn't wearing that awful hat of his.

This time, it was Hermione that pulled awayand sat up a bit. She looked down at a slightly breathless bruised lipped Blaise. He smiled up at her with his perfect straight teeth. His eyes had darkened significantly. He smiled back at her as his fingers teased the hem of her shirt. She leaned toward him and pressed her forehead against his. "You're not going to be a distraction are you?" she asks, just to make sure.

"I wouldn't dream of it, kitten." He said, and kissed her nose.

"Kitten?" she giggled.

He nodded and reached to kiss her again. This time is was a softer kiss, a gentle caress. Her lips moved over his like waves and she was delighted when he groaned ad pulled her closer, forcing his tongue into her mouth passionately. He pulled her down on top of him and continued their thorough snogging. His hands slowly made their way up her shirt at the back, tracing ticklish patterns along the way. He was just about to help her out of her shirt when the door burst open.
Blaise and Hermione sprung apart and stared at the intruders. Blaise's jaw dropped when he realized that the interrupters were none other than Draco and Harry, snogging furiously and removing each other's clothing as they came further into the room. Hermione exchanged a look with Blaise and then giggled.

The two boys broke apart and stared at The other couple in the room. "Uh…." Said Harry.

"We'll talk later." Hermione interrupted. She turned to Blaise. "I think it's time you walk me back to Gryffindor tower. That way we can leave these two love birds alone." With that she stood and took ahold of Blaise's hand and helped him up. She didn't let go as they walked out the door. It took them quite a while to make it all the way to the tower with the many snog stops they made but they finally did get there. The two stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady and Hermione turned to look at Blaise. "Goodnight love." She said and kissed him gently.

"Sleep well kitten." Blaise replied. With one last kiss, Hermione turned toward the Fat Lady and whispered the password. A smile planted itself firmly on her face as she made her way into the common room.

The end