Title: Somebody Out There (13/15)
Author: silverphoenix
Rating: T
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: In the middle of a war, there are going to be casualties. This is inevitable. When two people lose their friends, they come to realise that death is not the end of happiness.
SOMEBODY OUT THERE
Part Thirteen: Our Lives
It was gone midnight when Hermione Apparated into the flat, flickering candlelight making her shadow dance upon the wall. Blaise was sat in dim light of the living room, staring at the space where she had just appeared, his gaze encompassing her wholly. There was silence; they neither spoke nor moved for several minutes, eyes focused intently on each other.
"Is this love?" Hermione asked quietly, meekly.
He stood, but instead of replying moved quickly towards her, pressing his lips to hers. Her knees nearly buckled under her, and his arms snaked around her waist giving her support.
"Fate," he murmured into her ear. Her eyes were closed, breathing ragged.
"Are you sure?"
"We've got to believe there's a reason we're here," Blaise told her, fate an almost ever-constant belief of his. "A reason why we were brought together." Hermione's arms moved around his neck, pulling him closer as his hand slid up under her shirt, warm palm pressed against her back.
She kissed him eagerly, marvelling at her own self-restraint and that she had not begun to rip his clothes off. "I'm sorry I left," she whispered hoarsely.
"I know you are, but we can't let our fear divide us any longer."
"I'm still afraid."
He nodded. "I'm terrified, but I don't think that we can go on thinking that it's wrong to speak our minds anymore. We've missed out on so much already."
Hermione looked at him, brown eyes wide. "Tell me you love me," she whispered, needing to hear him say it aloud: to make it real, to make it more than just an understanding.
"I love you." The words had never felt so natural. He kissed her cheek, relishing in the feel of her body against his. He had waited so long for this - to hold her in love rather than friendship.
"Tell me you need me."
Blaise kissed her temple gently. "I need you," he breathed into her hair.
"Tell me… tell me that we can make this work."
"We can make this work," he assured her, stroking her curly hair. "We can do anything as long as we're together - we just have to have faith."
Resting her head in the crook of his neck, she mumbled, "Faith can be broken."
"Not if we don't let it. Look at me, Hermione. I have faith in you; you are the most amazing witch that I have ever met and I can't imagine being without you."
He held her quietly, not wanting to let her go; it had taken long enough to get her in his arms that letting go was not an option. "This is it, then," she said finally. "No going back."
"No going back," he agreed.
Hermione kissed him, fingers tangling in his dark hair. Breathless, she gazed up at him, and he knew what that look in her eyes meant. "Do you want to do this?" Blaise asked cautiously, carefully, not wanting to push her into doing anything.
"More than anything."
