A/N At long last! Hopefully this is a much anticipated moment. Enjoy

III

The Slytherins warily watched Millicent return to their wooden table. Her square jaw was pushed forward in defiance of the whispers that had started when she had turned around. She had taken a stand but lost face with her comrades. If the Slytherins deemed Millicent un-useful, she'd find herself eating in the girl's bathroom until she had proved herself worthy once again. She reached her table and attempted to stare down the rigid youths who had lived by a Code for so long. Rule Number 78: Always make sure you know what is in it for you – always. The Slytherins at the table did not know how allowing her to sit beside with them would bring them a profit, so they sat impassively.

Blaise had always liked Millicent, even if she wasn't very smart. She danced a waltz when the others were polkaing. She was the wild card in every Slytherin scheme. Most students tried to stay on her good side. None became her allies. Blaise had known she was going to go too far in her attempt to ally herself with the golden trio. She started too big, sitting at the Hufflepuff table would have been a better start, and Potter was already over there.

Blaise's one foible was that he loved to antagonize the other Slytherin's in any way possible. Every once in a while he'd pull out a red scarf and wear it around the common room, it wouldn't do to let other houses see it but it put his own off-balance; a simple form of amusement.

Draco was trying to regain some of his authority in his rejection of Millicent. He appraised her coolly then deliberately began talking to Pansy. The corners of Blaise's mouth began to raise themselves slowly. He had perfect teeth and knew the effect of his smile.

"Millicent," he said smoothly, "did the Gryffindors not have any horseradisheither? We should complain about the house elves." While talking he had shifted in his seat to make room for her if she squeezed. He wasn't allowing her back into Slytherin without a bit of a struggle.

Picking up on his charade Millicent agreed. "It's terrible. They act like they have rights or something."

The Slytherin table reluctantly stopped looking at Millicent, now they all had to pretend she had done nothing except ask for horseradish, even though a bottle was clearly in front of her. Draco clenched his fists in anger, he didn't dare make a scene. Blaise sensed that Draco was getting sick of being usurped at every occasion.

Blaise finished his meal in silence. He would rather listen than talk.

Hermione looked around the great hall, her view altered from her new seat. At first she thought no one would follow her example but when Harry moved she began to hope again. The response of the school had been more than anything she had expected. When she observed each table in turn it didn't appear to be greatly altered. The only major difference was that the students' ties didn't all match. Hermione resolved to sit with the Hufflepuffs at breakfast.

Blaise had slowly chewed his food, savouring each bite. In addition to tasting the food better, his deliberate method of eating gave him more time to think. He knew the Sorting Hat was right, if the good side were to win the students of Hogwarts would need the help of all the houses. However, a good many Slytherins fought for the Dark Lord. Blaise didn't want to declare himself one-way or another After all Rule 7 of the Slytherin Code of Conduct stated 'The grass is greener on the other side… but there is no grass, at all, on the fence.' He decided that he would extend an alliance towards Hermione Granger and her Gryffindors, yet still stay close to those who served the Dark Lord. When the decision was made he left the table to wait for Granger.

Hermione finished her dinner and was hard pressed to stop smiling. She was so excited about the success of her venture. If something this small makes me this happy I wonder how I'll feel when I discover a new spell or potion to help in the war effort. She made eye contact with Harry and Ron and motioned that she was leaving. They both stood up to join her.

"Well done Hermione!" Harry said warmly while giving her a quick hug.

Hermione beamed, indulging in the praise she had received. Harry had grown up, leaving behind his adolescent stage in which he believed the wizarding world revolved around him and had to pay attention to his temper tantrums. His image, the orphaned, wild haired, green-eyed boy remained the same but on the inside he had started to become worthy of the nobility of heart that Dobby accredited him to. Ron gave her a lopsided grin but felt too guilty about turning Millicent away to join in with the positive remarks.

Blaise Zabini leaned against a stone column near the exit of the Great Hall, waiting for Hermione to pass by. His insolent pose went unnoticed by most students. Nobody opened their eyes wide enough to see someone they had never spoken to or acknowledged. He didn't mind, actually, he preferred it. Blaise would rather be a cat, silent and predatory, than an over-large puppy that didn't know when to stop yapping.

He watched her as she took multiples steps to keep up with Harry and Ron's longer strides. Sandwiched between the two she kept up an animated conversation and gesticulated wildly to dramatize her point. As she drew nearer to him he stepped away from the pillar. He waited until the trio was in front of him then reached out and grabbed Hermione's arm without warning. She uttered a startled shriek.

Blaise looked calmly at Harry and Ron. "I'm borrowing her," he said. His voice had so much authority that Harry and Ron didn't think to question it until he began to leave the Great Hall with Hermione. Blaise continued to hold her wrist as he took her out of the Great Hall and into an empty classroom. Harry and Ron looked at each other and then in a moment of synchronization ran for Professor McGonagall.

"Let go of me!" Hermione cried. She snatched her wrist back so suddenly she stumbled a few steps. Blaise made no motion to assist her. If I ever wanted to use the words 'Unhand me, cad!' I just missed my chance Hermione mused briefly. Then remembering where she was she spoke. "What do you want?" Her tone allowed for no prevarication.

Mellifluously Blaise replied, "To talk to you."

"Why on earth did you pull me away in front of my friends? They'll be worried to no end and will torment me with questions," she cried in exasperation.

"I thought it would be better," Blaise admitted without remorse. He showed no agitation, his slender hands rested at his sides. He did not shift from side to side or fiddle with the buttons on his shirt. He looked steadily at Hermione.

"You thought it would be better?" Hermione parroted his words but used her own enunciation and stressed different syllables. 'You,' 'thought' and 'better' stood out significantly. Her voice rose until it had become a shrill echo of its normal pitch.

Blaise began to speak slowly, pronouncing each syllable distinctly, as if he were speaking with a five year old. "Yes, I thought. If you had thought you also would have realized why it was better I pulled you away from your friends."

"Don't patronize me!" Hermione's face had contorted when he talked down to her. Her grades were better than his! "If you knew Ron half as well as I do, or had seen him in a snit, then you'd realize that he will be angry about me having a meeting with a Slytherin."

"He'd be angrier if he found out that you had a clandestine meeting with a Slytherin." He gave Hermione time to retort but she didn't take it, so Blaise continued. "Are you worried right now?"

"Of course not. You're not going to attack me right now and, if you did, my friends would know who I was last with and where to look for me."

"Exactly." Blaise tried to resist the mocking grin his mouth had begun to form; he barely succeeded.

Hermione stood in shocked silence. He had gotten the best of her. Well he was a Slytherin, and they weren't known for being honest like Gryffindors. Swallowing her pride she decided that if she wanted House integration to become a reality she would have to listen to this Slytherin. "Fine then Zabini, you have me. Now what do you want?"

"Like I said, to talk," Blaise said, spreading his fingers in a gesture of innocence.

Hermione crossed her arms and looked steadily at him.

"I'm not stupid. I know what you said at dinner had merit." Hermione's eyes widened. "Slytherins are going to be needed if you want to pull down the Dark Lord. A lot won't be interested in your proposition because of their ridiculous ideas on social status, but as a true Slytherin I want to be on the winning side, and yours seems to be it."

"You don't think of us Muggleborns as Mudbloods?" Hermione asked. She did not want to accept his explanation and resorted to baiting him. She may have requested House unity, but she had never really considered how her role with the Slytherins would change.

"Well I'm certainly not going to call you a Pureblood!" He replied instantly. "Every person has the opportunity to make something of themselves. They shouldn't rely on calling Purebloods racist to get them through life. If they can succeed in what they want to do then I respect them. Everyone is responsible for their own future"

Hermione nodded, not speaking, her mind was a tangled web. Threads of new ideas, reactions, perceptions, and prejudices snarled together to make a knot that she would have difficulty unpicking.

A/N – I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I love this story, I'm just lazy. Get used to it, actually you probably already have. Thank you to my lovely beta that did this chapter (and the other ones but I'm ridiculously slothful and will probably never fix them) her name is (drum roll please) Rochelle. You can find her wonderful story My Immortal under her pen name rochele88. Also, check out a forum we're both members of, for writers, fanfiction authors and artists (as well as HP fans) www . sycotic . org / fnet Please review as well, it makes me do a happy dance. I just read that I can't do personal reviews, but I'll try to reply to everyone's. Bye kisses