Chapter 7
A solitary bright light on the winding road in the small French suburb indicated the arrival of a car. It was headed south of where she was going, maybe it was going into the city to join the other bright lights...into Paris. That would give Hermione some sense of direction.
It had been a complete hour since she left Draco but less than a minute ago when she last contemplated turning back. Hermione made her way down the desolate road which took her through foreign land. She had no idea where to go, not that she knew whether she wanted to go home…yet.
Hermione expected Draco to be waiting in his office, hands folded in front of his face and elbows propped on his mahogany desk. He would sit there counting the minutes she needed to cool off and the time it would take her to finally come back, expecting her arrival. She would not give him that type of satisfaction.
Hermione stopped on the dark road and sat on top of her luggage. She wiped her cheeks in frustration and a layer of moisture coated her palm. Again Hermione had found herself in a compromising position. She followed her husband to Paris only to find out he cheated on her, ruining what could have been. This was cause enough to give up.
She had two choices. She could go back to Draco or she could go home, without a husband and a father for her child. Neither option was more appealing than the next. As she weighed her options, a new idea began to formulate. It seemed like the best solution, at least for now.
From the outside it looked like an abandoned night club in the middle of what looked like it used to be a hotspot every night. It was a long stretch of dirty sidewalks, litter, broken down pubs, and warehouses. Not a single human could be found wandering around except maybe for a few prostitutes and drunken invalids. The entire place reeked of liquor and vomit, the strong stench coming from the near by alleyway which was the safe haven for the drunks with no home. It was the darker side of Paris...if not the darkest.
Hermione walked up the concrete stairs of the dilapidated night club, cautiously. "La fontaine bleue" was the name that the place was given when it used to be a bustling night club full of males looking for sex and females who yearned for attention. Currently it was Death eater territory and Blaise's hide out.
Hermione pushed open the front door that led her into a foyer and then to another door, which was locked. She knocked, tentatively at first but the thought of Draco made her knock harder.
A raven haired woman, with the most crimson lips Hermione ever seen, answered. She did not look amiable and far from approachable. She was adorned in black tight leather pants with a halter top to compliment that and a cigarette attached to her lips. She eyed Hermione wearily as if she did not see her as a threat and Hermione returned the favor.
However it was not her outfit that intrigued Hermione, it was her features. She had a distinctive nose; almost piggish if she had to classify it. She had haunting blue eyes that seemed so hollow. Those eyes had seen a lot and probably much more than needed in one lifetime, Hermione could tell. The look seemed too familiar to Hermione. She had only seen that look come from Sirius when he escaped from Azkaban. Her face was slightly taut and her skin scarred with bruises. She could see the fresh blue and black forming around her lip where there was a gash.
"What do you want?" she asked, blowing smoke into the gap between them. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the door frame awaiting an answer. The dark mark was visible on her forearm.
"I'm looking for someone by the name of Zabini" Hermione said in her sweetest voice. This woman would show her attitude but she would counter act it just for peace sakes. At the mention of the name Zabini the woman flinched, it was almost too slight to notice but Hermione did. Involuntarily her hand flew to her neck and she massaged the blue and black marks around it. Her eyes flew from Hermione's face to the floor and when their eyes met again Hermione noticed the extra layer of moisture.
"What do you want with him" she barked immediately putting her guard back up.
"That's between me and Mr. Zabini and who are you anyway?" Hermione said finally losing her patience. The woman in front of her smiled wickedly revealing yellowed teeth.
"You don't remember me Granger." She whispered in an icy tone. "It's surprising since you're the one who put me in Azkaban."
Realization dawned on Hermione "Parkinson!" and she nodded slowly her devilish smile never leaving her face.
"Has it been that long?" Pansy said opening the door way for Hermione to pass.
"It's been over five years." Hermione eyed Pansy not trusting her. She tried to look into the open crevice behind Pansy looking for the trap she was blindly walking into but she could find nothing.
"Relax Granger, I'm not going to kill you if you walk in here" Pansy said noticing Hermione's look.
"Oh I really appreciate it, Thanks." Hermione said sarcastically and followed Pansy through the doorway.
She followed Pansy into what seemed to be the foyer of this place. It was not grand and lavish but contraire. Just like the exterior of this house, the inside was also very gloomy. The room was dully lit on account of not having any electricity. Candles were the only other option.
The place was very dark, not only literally. The evil looking tapestries and figurines scattered around contributed to the aura. It looked like the Borgin and Burke's warehouse. It was not a place one could feel at rest in.
Hermione could make out a large spiral staircase that lead up to two double doors on the second floor of this place.
"Blaise!" Pansy yelled suddenly. Hermione turned to her, startled, to see she was directing her call up toward the double doors. Blaise makes his entrance through the double doors, fuming. He opened his mouth as if to start berating Pansy but the sight of Hermione disrupted his rant. The only thing apparent on his face was utter incredulity.
"Leave us." Blaise said calmly at first. Even when commanded, Pansy did not yield.
"Leave us!" Blaise barked his voice a little more menacing.
He eyed Pansy as she left Hermione in the foyer alone with Blaise. Almost immediately, his demeanor seemed to change once she left. He switched on his charm to become the gracious host he would pretend to be that night. That was one of Blaise's many talents, pretending, as Hermione would soon learn.
"Do my eyes deceive me or is it really the wife of Draco Malfoy standing in my foyer?" He said, smirking with a wild glint in his eye. He leaned both his hands on the banister and peered down at Hermione.
"No. No optical tricks tonight Zabini. It's really me." Hermione answered him, trying to hide the irritation in her voice.
Blaise scanned the room and spotted her luggage next to her. "The Husband threw you out?" he queried referring to her bag.
"No I left him" she answered him. She felt slightly calmer now even though she still thought this idle prattle was useless.
"If you don't mind me asking, why come to me?"
"We have some things to discuss." Hermione was eager now. If he complied this would be the start to ending everything.
Blaise took a while to consider Hermione's statement. Was she trustworthy enough to let her into his home to negotiate business? She is the wife of the enemy, she could not be trusted but then again she was his only means to reaching Draco.
"We can discuss this in my office." Blaise concurred. It was a risk he was taking and an easy mistake. However, any minor complications and this mistake could easily be fixed.
Upstairs in Blaise's office, the "peace talks" began.
"What do you want with Draco" Hermione was very blunt and Blaise liked her determination.
"That's confidential information Miss that I can not share with you." He said smirking at her from across his desk. He raised a shot class of what appeared to be Fire Whiskey to his mouth and took it in. He detected traces of disappointment and frustration in her face, which made him smirk even more. He liked toying with her.
In the office, the fire from the fireplace, crackled in the background. This was enough light for Hermione to examine Blaise for the first time since she had seen him off to Azkaban. His dark curly hair was pulled away from his face into a pony tail at the nape of his neck. She was not sure when last his hair had been graced by a pair of scissors. His face was cleanly shaven. Beneath his eye was a slash: the only sign he had been through hard times. No blue or black welts on his face or scars. His face was not taut and his eyes were not hollow. Compared to Pansy he had done well as far as appearance goes.
"That's reasonable," She began again. "I came here because I thought I could help you." She saw Blaise's eyebrow leap and curve. A questioning stare followed.
"Why? I don't understand why his own wife would plot against him."
Hermione leaned in to whisper to Blaise. "You see, everything changes when your husband seems to not care about you," She settled back into her seat and waited for the weight of her words to settle in. Slowly a smile crept onto his face.
"I'll show you to your room, Granger." Blaise said after a prolonged silence. Hermione could now breathe easy. Things were progressing.
After Blaise left Hermione in her new lodging, she took the time to herself to reflect. The one daunting question she was afraid to ask herself kept taunting her. "Why was she really here?" Hermione did know have an answer. She did not know if it was really rage that brought her here or did she really want to hurt Draco. Her mind was too foggy to search for answers to those questions.
She could only feel at the moment. She was hurting, still. Tonight was indeed a painful experience and she was not sure how their marriage would survive. However, she could not ignore the tiniest shred of hope she had left for them. She could heal and forgive. After all, Draco has done worse but this seemed to sting more than ever. He hurt her pride and made her feel that she was inadequate. That made it even harder to forgive. She needed time away hoping she could come to terms with it in her own time. This ploy was simply buying her time.
A woman burst into the room humming loudly disrupting Hermione's thoughts. She held a stack of towels in her hands. Immediately Hermione recognized the scorpion tattoo on her neck. It was Veronique.
"Mrs. Malfoy" She shrieked.
"You!" Hermione shrieked equally shocked. Seeing the woman again made some animosity surface.
Hastily Veronique closed the door and rushed over to Hermione. "Why are you here? Are you insane? You can not stay here. It's too risky" She fired never stopping to let Hermione talk.
"Thank you for the concern but I'm not leaving" Hermione spat. Her eyes never left Veronique's face. She stood defiantly, her arms folded across her chest like a shield.
"Your husband did not intend for this. You'll ruin the plan." She paced back and forth frantically. "You're leaving. C'mon." Veronique instructed motioning to the door.
Hermione did not move but stood silent. Veronique decided to apply force and grabbed Hermione's forearm. She quickly and swiftly pulled away.
"No" Hermione said, her voice chilling. "I'm not going back to him."
Veronique stood in the center of the room, astounded. She could sense the pain in her voice although Hermione tried to disguise it. It was very familiar to her. Woman to woman, they had an understanding.
"This has nothing to do with the plan, does it?" Her voice was placid now. She seemed to get the point and had no intention of trying to sway Hermione's decision.
"It's not your business" Hermione's voice was barely a whisper. She seemed weary now as If the thought of Draco alone tired her.
"I understand." Veronique nodded and prepared to leave but turned to Hermione one last time "Shall I let him know you are here?"
"Yes and let him know I'm not coming back."
A/N: Read and Review. Any questions? Leave it in the review. I'll answer. Wow it's been quite a few months since I last updated. That is ridiculous. I'm going to finish this story before the school year starts. I was seriously going to give up on this too but then I decided that I really liked this story. I read Half blood prince and I was going to change some things but w/e. Just incase anyone is wondering I'm going to rewrite the Dauntless story. I'm changing the plot so that it can make sense after what happened in HBP. Well read and review if u enjoyed.