Disclaimer: I own only the plot, not the characters; they're J.K. Rowling's.

As The World Turns

Blaise ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. He had just received a letter but was too afraid to open it that night. It lay unopened on his green comforter. The words 'To Mr. Blaise Zabini, Slytherin Dungeons, Hogwarts' looked back at him from the envelope. The red Ministry seal kept the contents away from Blaise's eyes. He was grateful because with his father being who he was, a letter from the ministry couldn't mean anything good. He set it aside for the night though and tried to push thoughts of it out of his mind. He looked over at his night stand. Blaise had pulled out the drawer half way and stuck in a pillow to make a bed for his Kit Kat. It was there now, a loud purr could be heard with every breath it took. This calmed Blaise down enough to let his thoughts wander to more pleasant things. Like how earlier that day Rascal had ran straight across the great hall for Ginny. She was playing with it, luckily not realizing what it meant. He knew exactly what it meant, and was sure Hermione had realized it too. Hopefully she hadn't told her. Or would it be such a bad thing? He couldn't help wondering, what if she felt for him what he felt for her? After all you can't have a bond between two people without them both in on it. Maybe she just didn't realize it. No matter, these things take time, and Blaise was willing to wait. Unfortunately, it gave Draco the right to tease him just as much as he had done. Well, now they were sort of even, though Blaise was more acquainted with Hermione than Draco was with Ginny, so he still had the upper hand. Sleep was beginning to alter his train of thought so he just pulled the green comforter up to his chin and fell asleep.

Draco on the other hand wasn't so lucky in trying to fall asleep. He was well aware that he and his friend had feelings for two Gryffindors and was also all too conscious of the fact that it wasn't going to go over that well with the other Slytherins. He had never had to worry about their attention before because he never really had to try in order to get it; they just gave it to him. Now he wasn't so sure how good that was. It wasn't like he loved Hermione though, just a mere infatuation. Maybe, he wasn't quite sure. He had never loved anyone before. He had never even experienced infatuation before. Maybe this would all just blow over. He shook his head. Of course it wouldn't, Blaise wouldn't let it. Not to mention the fact that, he didn't really want it to. Why would she want to be with him anyway? She got so nervous when Dumbledore had mentioned the attack on Crabbe and Goyle at dinner, Draco was sure she resented him for it. After all, she had hated him since school began, why would she just change because she was Blaise's sister now. Even if he had started to show her respect, that wasn't enough to erase all the years he had tortured her, was it? All the questions were giving his a headache. Groaning, he rubbed his temple and tried to clear his mind. He couldn't seem to manage it though. He tossed and turned for the next hour before he finally was able to stay in one position long enough to fall asleep.

Hermione was on her way to breakfast the next morning, to meet Ginny, Harry and Ron who had gone before her. She had wanted to take a shower beforehand and told them to go ahead of her. It didn't take her that long to take a shower after all.. She walked down the stairs listening to the lonely sound of her own footsteps. That is, until she heard another set of footsteps behind her. Spinning around she saw Blaise running straight for her, his face looked red and his eyes were puffy, like he had been crying.

"Blaise, what's wrong?" Hermione asked running up to her brother and wrapping her arms around him in a comforting hug.

"Hermione, can we please go somewhere to talk?" His voice was shaky and so were his hands, they were holding the letter he had received the night before.

"Yeah, of course," She took Blaise's free hand in her own and took him down the steps, out to the grounds. It was fairly cold, seeing as it was so early in the morning but Hermione was too worried about her brother to care. He never cried, what would be so terrible to get him this worked up? She sat him down at the edge of the lake and put her arms around him like she had when he had first come up to her. He handed her the letter and buried his face in her shoulder.

"Read it," he said while wrapping his arms around her, completing the embrace. She could tell by the way his body was convulsing that he was trying to hold in tears.

Dear Mr Zabini,

We regret to inform you that Sunday, September 3rd, your mother was found in Diagon Alley. There was no sign of blood or injury, but she was dead. We have come to the conclusion that it was the killing curse, and was expelled by a death eater. There will be a viewing Thursday, September 7th at the Donahue Funeral Home. The funeral will be held on Friday, September 9th at the St. Justin's Cemetery. You may bring with you whomever you wish. We are terribly sorry for your loss.

Much Sympathy,

Ministry of Magic.

Hermione gasped at what she just read. Poor Blaise, he was so looking forward to being saved by his mother. Why would the death eaters want her dead anyway? It wasn't making any sense to her. Sensing her gasp meant she was finished, Blaise said, "Please come with me." His face was still buried in her shoulder and she had started to rock him back and forth as he continued to fight the sobs that threatened to escape.

"Of course Blaise, you know I'll always be there for you when you need me. I'm so sorry, I can't believe this," She tried to calm him by rubbing his back. Their kit Kat's could sense the tension in the air and came out of their pockets to see what was wrong. Felix and Rascal jumped into Hermione's lap and started rubbing Blaise's torso in their own little attempt to comfort him. They would have rubbed at his face but his torso was all they could reach. He couldn't help but smile at them.

"Thanks, all of you," he said while letting go of Hermione and picking up the Kit Kats. He lifted them to his face and gave them both a kiss on the nose before pocketing Rascal and returning Felix to Hermione. He wrapped his arms once more around Hermione in a tight hug before saying, "I think I'm going to go back to my dorm. Thanks so much Hermione, this means a lot to me. You're a better little sister than I ever could have asked for." She hugged him back tight.

"Come find me if you need to talk, you know I'm here for you if you ever need me," She smiled at him as he let go again.

"Thanks Mione, I will," He gave her another fake smile. He couldn't give her a real one right now, and made his way back to the castle.

Draco was worried. He went down to breakfast with the reassurance from Blaise that he was right behind him. Breakfast was coming to an end and Blaise hadn't shown up. Neither had Hermione for that matter. Why would they skip breakfast together? Something had to be wrong; it just didn't make any sense. He stood up, ready to go up to his dorm and find him. He had made it half way across the hall when a hand had stopped him. He turned around to see the equally worried face of the youngest Weasley.

"Do you know where Hermione is?" she asked him, slightly afraid. She still hadn't gotten used to him, but she was worried about her friend. She had wanted to ask where Blaise was as well but it didn't seem like a good idea. He shrugged his shoulders at her.

"I have no idea, I was just about to try and find out." This wasn't the answer she was looking for and he could see it when she sighed, dropping her shoulders. "Go up to the Gryffindor common room and wait for her. I'm going to wait for Blaise in the Slytherin common room, they have to show up sooner or later," he instructed confidently. After all, she was Hermione's friend, and if everything went as planned in his life, one way or another he would be seeing a lot more of her. She nodded in comprehension.

"Thanks," she muttered as she turned and walked through the double doors of the great hall. Draco shook his head and continued back to the Slytherin common room. He looked over the dark furnishings and noted that he wasn't sitting in any of the green plush chairs, so he went up the left staircase to the boy's dormitory. Once again he looked it over and realized Blaise wasn't there. Draco was getting increasingly worried, but there was nothing he could do. He was the only one in the dorm so he just flopped down on his four poster bed and waited. He could hear the grandfather clock in the corner tick, almost driving him into madness, until ten minutes later, Blaise entered the room, his face was stained from his tears. He had lost one of two people that meant more to him than anything; all he had left now was his sister.

"Draco, remember how I said you were the only person I trusted with my life?" Blaise asked as he collapsed on his own bed. Draco lifted his eyebrow at the random question.

"Yeah, why?" he asked, concern was in his voice.

"Well, Hermione is my life, and you're the only man I trust with her." His voice was shaking with emotion. Draco was stunned.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, utterly confused.

"My mother is gone, Draco, Hermione is all I have left, and you had better take good care of her. Just because you're my best friend, I'm not afraid to hunt you down." He was completely serious. There was no hint of a joke anywhere in his voice.

"What do you mean, your mom is gone?" Blaise didn't trust his voice anymore, so he just tightly shut his eyes and threw the letter at Draco. As Draco read, tears threatened to spill from his own eyes. Mrs. Zabini was like family to him. She had always accepted him into her home without question when he had gotten into fights with his father and needed to get out of the house. How could she be gone? Just like that? It was too much for him to comprehend, so he just dropped the letter and wrapped his arms around his legs. He rocked himself, neither him nor Blaise wanted to talk, just to be alone with their thoughts.

It took slightly longer for Hermione to enter the Gryffindor common room. She had stayed out at the lake for a bit after Blaise had left. She didn't know what to think. She had never met the woman but Blaise had obviously cared a lot about her, and it hurt her to see Blaise go through so much pain. She had entered the common room about twenty minutes after Ginny had gotten there.

"Where were you?" Ginny asked concerned. Hermione took a seat on one of the red chairs by the fireplace.

"I was at the lake with Blaise. His mom just passed away and he's really depressed." Her voice was monotone, but low. It was clear that she wasn't at all happy.

"Oh," was all Ginny could say. She honestly didn't know how she should take this. Her first reaction would be to comfort someone but the person that needed comforting wasn't there.

"I'm going to the funeral with him. You should go too. He could use all the support he can get," Hermione was staring straight into the fireplace. Ginny nodded at her.

"Yeah, of course, if Blaise wants me there," she answered her.

"I'll talk to Blaise about it later. I'm sure he would appreciate it though. It's obvious he likes you." Hermione smiled at Ginny with her last comment, catching the hint of a blush in her younger friends face.

"Yeah, maybe," she replied timidly. Hermione stood and walked over to Ginny, giving her a brief hug.

"Well, I have to get ready for class, see you at lunch," she said, before walking up the stairs to the girl's dorm.