"Blaise." She called into the floo and waited. Maybe he wasn't home. It was only afternoon but Harry still had to work and the two wanted to fly. Why this was, she wasn't sure but they wanted to and she needed someone to fly with them.
"Hermione?" There he was and his smile seemed genuine.
"Can I come through for a minute?" She asked and then did so. Standing in his townhouse she just started speaking at his question.
"Ready to explain now?" He asked and she did.
"So they are waiting and want to fly. He has only had two lessons and I don't know. I can't fly well enough. Can you come?" She watched his face and this must have been the tenth expression she seen. Incredulity.
"The lost Lestrange is your second ward and you want me to come and give him a flying lesson. Right now." It was said flatly and she just nodded and bit her lip. Waiting.
"Yeah. Sure. I'll get my broom. Want to sit down while I do?" He asked and she nodded and then slumped into an overstuffed huge wingback chair and waited.
A tour had been followed by lunch and then Sabrina suggested they fly. Which was out of character but she had persisted and so here Hermione was.
"Wine tonight?" He asked as she stood and she nodded.
Blaise had stayed for dinner and five hours later she sat in the sitting room attached to her room and watched him pour her a glass of wine.
"Spill Granger." He said and she just looked at him.
His dark eyes were watching her and his sprawl was relaxed. He would wait her out.
"I don't know. He seems nice enough. Quiet. I see why Sabrina pushed flying. He is good or to my untrained eye it looks like it. He smiled then too and that was something. He didn't want to ask to many questions but that might come over time. Maybe he is like Sabrina and just adds them into normal conversations. I don't know anything about young boys Blaise." She blurted out. Then the pop of a house elf stopped her mid tirade and she turned to Zavi.
"Mr Harry is here." He said and flicked an ear in a way that meant he hadn't made a decision or sent him anywhere. She looked to Blaise who just shrugged and looked as interested as he had until now. So she waited and then stood to get a drink. Wine maybe. Before she could make it to the sideboard Zavi was back and levitating a bottle with a newly removed fork and a tray with whiskey and glasses. She just smiled at the elf and shook her head chidingly. An ear wiggle was the elf's only response and then it was gone.
"Well Mione. How was it?" He was speaking before he entered her sitting room and he stopped at the sight of Blaise. Who was comfortably seated and holding a glass of amber liquid.
"Potter."
"Zabini."
"Yes Harry and Blaise. You are both here." They each shot her a look and she smiled into her wine glass.
"Did you meet him?" Harry asked the dark Italian.
"Yeah. She came begging me to fly with him. Sabrina and him. We did then we all had dinner and he took a book off one of the shelves in their hangout room and then excused himself politely to his room." Blaise surmised as Harry accepted the glass she handed him and sat down.
"You did. it Mione. Holy hell woman. What won't you do. Being a Rosier and then Sabrina. Rowle and that garbage. Then this. That's all the crap I put you through aside." He shook his head and Blaise snorted softly. She scowled at both of them.
"It's not like that. I can't do anything about my relations. Josh and Sinclair are related to me. That's not my doing. I suppose I could live here for six months and marry no one, ever. Or I could have. That ignores my brother though. And he did want me when he knew. Which was something. Then Rowle. I'll admit that I didn't think the rights out. If there wasn't Sabrina then I could have travelled or something. Lived away from here and then come back when they got out. I couldn't date here or anything though. Unless no one knew about it. That would be so awkward. Sabrina is here though and that's the greatest part of this so far. So even if I didn't have the rights or whatever. I don't know." She sounded as frustrated as she felt and the two exchanged glances.
"If you can do it. Make it all work out and be happy. Then it will be amazing." Blaise grinned and Harry looked thoughtful. She rolled her eyes at the Slytherin and waited for Harry to think whatever it was over. Then those green eyes were on her.
"Do you think it could happen? That you could be genuinely happy, I mean." He said and she thought that over.
"I don't know. Josh is hard to read and hasn't been in a not stressful situation while speaking to me. It shows. I've barely seen the guy I remember from school. I've wondered if he isn't as emotional as me, just with the practice and need to hide it." Were her eventual words and Blaise looked her over then. In a way that meant she had surprised him.
"And Rowle?" Harry asked with a serious look on his face.
"I don't know. I know nothing about him. Almost nothing at all. He does show more though and at least reacts which is better than Josh. He loves his sister and does seem concerned about me. Which is uncomfortable. I did this to him. Maybe that's part of it too. Me. How I feel about myself in some ways and it was callous of me to sign it at all. Just take away someone else's choice like that because I was threatened. I doubt he would have done it either. Dragged me home and if he did then handing me to Voldemort wouldn't have been high on his priority list. Then though. It was just enough to push me over. Make me sign it. I could have picked Theo too. I'm not sorry about not choosing him but it would have been less of a shock for him I think." She made herself admit some of her feelings and looked between the two of them.
"My mother is in no position to declare I marry anyone but everyone I grew up with had some kind of contract. You aren't seeing it as it is. If you never had a choice then it was qualities you think about. Traits or values they wanted her to have. Even I think about it that way mostly." Blaise spoke quietly and both of them watched him. A sip and then they looked at each other. It was a foreign way to look at it.
"I'm sure some of the traditions have been explained to you. Cherishing and protecting. Being there for your witch and the commitments and bonding options. It's all part of it. You said he seemed alright with it and I bet he is. No flattery intended Hermione. I know you don't like that." Blaise finished and she wrinkled her nose at him.
"I don't know. It's so far away right now. What do you think about him Blaise? Sinclair I mean." She asked and waited for him to say something.
"He seems alright. Quiet but normal enough and he loves to fly. You will enjoy it Potter." Were his eventual words and she nodded then sat back again. This was surreal but seemed okay.
Scenebreak replace and remove.
"Sinclair?" She asked after knocking twice and waiting.
"Come in." The small voice said and she took a breath before opening the door. He had been sleeping with book in hand when she checked last night and Mitts wanted to keep an eye on him so that was fine. She knew they would tell her if something went wrong. Still she had asked Zavi to keep an ear to the situation.
"I'm hoping you will come and have breakfast with us." She stood by the door and waited. He nodded at her and then those blue eyes met hers. It was quick but she was heartened by it.
"Is there anything you want to ask or talk about?" He looked up at her again and she wasn't sure what he was thinking. "You don't have to. I just want you to know that anytime you want to talk or write or just be around that is fine. Better than. It's just me and these bossy elves while you two are at school so don't be shy. I was Gryffindor and we aren't as subtle so bear with my forthright manners." She chattered on and thought maybe he had smiled a bit.
"The lions don't like me much." He said quietly and she took a long blink.
"Can I come in?" She asked him and he nodded once and then watched her. The bed was made and she sat cross legged on the end closest to where he was standing.
"They are scared. Gryffindors have a hard time walking away or backing down. That said, we will work on it." His eyes were curious and wary. She didn't blame him for that.
"Your name more than anything else. It inspires fear and has become a bit over blown by the whispers and rumours war causes." This boy was eleven and hadn't been here so speaking to him was far different than Sabrina.
"I wasn't even here." He said and she nodded her understanding.
"I know. Did you meet them?" She asked him and he shook his head.
"Ms Garveaus said that my mother had left clear instructions that I was to be kept in France until I was eleven and then come to school here. Where she had gone." He said and she smiled.
"Was she Slytherin like you?" Hermione asked him and he nodded. Not smiling.
"None of that. Don't let them make you feel badly about your house. My brother and Sabrina's were Slytherin and so was Kingsley and Andromeda. Nothing wrong with that. Voldemort gave them a bad reputation and some others too. Have they been alright? Your House." She asked him and he looked thoughtful.
"Mostly they leave me alone." She said and Hermione thought that over.
"Your dorm mates too?" She asked and he didn't react or answer.
"Alright. Breakfast?" This was enough for now and she was happy he had spoken to her at all. A few minutes later the two of them met Sabrina at the table and she smiled at them before starting to speak.
"Morning Sin. Don't scoff. Your name is long and I want a nickname for you. Hermione calls me Rina so it's part of it." The boy just watched her at that and then turned his attention to the stack of toast and the twirling jam display.
"If there are things you like or things you don't then let an elf know." Hermione offered and he looked up at her. Something on his face. She looked to Sabrina who looked thoughtful and then looked at her own breakfast.
"Study Today or another day off?" She asked Sabrina and they ignored the boys straightened posture.
"Can we use magic?" Was Sabrina's question im answer, Hermione raised a brow in return. She had been practicing. Her head shake said it was no good and she groaned then listened ton hmmm the little chuckle from their newest addition.
"Yes. In the dueling room or the warded study room like normal." She answered and this time the boy nearly jumped.
"They said you can't here. No magic out of school." He spoke quietly and then looked down.
"It isn't like that at home is it?" She asked him and he shook his head. Sabrina caught her eye and she nodded. This was a British thing. Other countries had it too but not France.
"Won't they take my wand?" He asked and she thought about it. Neville has explained it to her years ago and she had been quietly irate. It was something she would look into. The genuine concerns and some ways to deal with it safely. She added it to her mental list of things she wanted to look into. That list was getting longer all the time.
"No. They won't know. The wards here block their tracing magics. They will if you speak openly about it." She answered and he looked her in the eye.
"Isn't it a risk for you too?" He asked and she wondered at his speech for the dozenth time.
"You are very well spoken. Not one with consequences. Until the hearing it might be better that absolutely no one know I am not following all of their rules. The safety ones certainly and I will know when you do magic so keep that in mind. There are no muggles here and we have controlled environments." She answered and Sabrina was watching the two of them with interest. Then she gave her a look that said she had learned something. The witch had a look of realization and she wondered what it was, as she always did. When she looked back to Sinclair he was looking at his stack of toast crusts and the edges of a fried egg.
"Would you prefer to study or do something else?" She asked and waited for him to look up. Then for an answer. He shifted and she finished her hash browns and the last of her juice before eyeing the danish beside her plate. It looked like a new kind and Sabrina coughed quietly and caught her eye. I dare you. It was what the look said and she made a decision. Roughly cutting it into three she passed them each a piece and waited for them to try it first.
"Blueberry." Sabrina said and Sinclair picked his piece up and took a nibble. Then looked at them and took a bite. He swallowed it and met Sabrina's eye and looked at her. Curiosity seeming to get the better of him. She gravely took a bite and then moaned at the delicious danish. It was blueberry but with something else. The elf had been experimenting and she tried to sort it out.
"With mint maybe. And a spice. Not cinnamon." She finally said after her last bite and Sinclair ate another bite.
"One in mulled wine." He said and she thought that over seriously. Sabrina broke the tableau by laughing and calling the elf.
"Mint and a spice in mulled wine." She said dramatically and the elf waggled it's ears in his sign for yes. Not close enough to get the bounce though.
"Young Master be's right. Cloves." He said seriously and then vanished with a soft pop. The boy smiled a bit at the witches exasperated expressions and Hermione felt a tiny bit better. A few minutes later they entered the spelled study room and she watched him look around in interest and uncertainty. Sabrina smiled at her and they began speaking as they normally would about school and Sinclair listened for a while before Sabrina asked him a question and he answered then asked one of his own.