Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or places except Blaise's crazy mother who is all mine and mine alone!
A/N:I'm so sorry that this took so long to get up, I was busy thinking of plot bunnies so that this story doesn't go down the road of another PWP. Anyway, thank you all for your wonderful reviews, they really helped me to continue. Also, sorry for the lack of sex in this chapter, I really felt the need to move the plot along but I promise that the next one will be lemony sweet. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 3: Explanations and Revelations
Hermione woke up the next day with her head pounding, having no clue why she was still in her school robes and why her hair was matted and more frizzy than usual. She did have no idea -- until she saw Blaise Zabini curled up on the floor outside her room, that is. Hermione suddenly remembered all of the events of the previous night in full detail: her being at dinner, Parvati saying she had shagged Blaise, her going to her dorm, creating a plan, going to see Ginny and Harry, almost getting fucked by her two best friends and one of her dorm mates, her thinking that Draco had cursed her, her finding Draco and Blaise together, Blaise sticking up for her, Draco saying that Blaise loved her. . .
In all her years at Hogwarts, Hermione never thought that she would have to worry about the average girl's problem of emotions and boys. She always thought that she was immune to the desires of this world. Everything had changed so quickly but Hermione wasn't sure she wanted to go back. . .
Without a second thought, she bent down and reached to put Blaise's silky black hair out of his eyes. As she did so, he made a small grunting noise that sounded almost like a soft moan and slowly lifted an eyelid.
"Hermione. . .," Blaise yawned, staring up at her. "Are--are you okay," he asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up on his elbows. Hermione sat down beside him on the floor. She looked up at him and saw that his hazel brown eyes were fixed intently on her as though there was nothing he would rather do than listen to every word she had to say. She could not stop looking at those beautiful eyes. She was just sitting there, taking them in, as though wading in a deep pool of a mystery that would never be solved. "Yes, I'm okay," she said, not really taking in his previous words.
"Are you positive? You look a mess. Here, let me help you," he said pulling his wand from his pajama bottoms and waving it over Hermione like a muggle metal detector. All of a sudden, Hermione felt clean. Her hair was no longer matted but silky smooth like it had been for the Yule Ball and she was no longer wearing her night things but a --
"A bikini," Hermione shrieked. "Oops," said Blaise, taking in her tanned body and waving his wand once again until she was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue flowered top. "Wrong spell," he said, smiling. Hermione couldn't help smiling too. "Thanks," she said. "No problem," he uttered, still devouring her eyes with his own. Just then, she realized what she was doing. She had to get down to breakfast and then do her Saturday prefect duties and then apologize to Harry and Ginny and then go to the library to do the week's homework. . .
"I need to go," she said as she stood back up and made to go down the stairs, leading to the Head Common Room. Blaise stood up also and grabbed her arm. She spun around and found that her lips were once again in a battle of lust and emotion with a Slytherin. Hermione broke free.
"I want to talk, Hermione," he said, with seriousness in his voice. "about what happened last night." She could do nothing but sit back down and force herself to relive the craziest things that she would have never even thought of doing a week from now. When she was finished explaining to Blaise about how Draco had caught her masturbating (leaving out the part that it was his face in her mind as she came that night) and how Draco had wanted to show his control over her and Blaise had cursed Draco time and time again, questioning her until her face was crimson with embarrassment, Hermione finally decided to ask some questions of her own.
"The whole reason that I was upset in the first place was because Parvati Patil said that she had shagged you," she said nervously. "Is that true?" Blaise sighed. "Hermione," he said "Parvati is a pureblood witch, which I'm sure you know." Yes," said Hermione tentatively, not sure what dark and dangerous waters this conversation could be heading into. "Well, as you know, pureblood witches and wizards are usually made to marry each other to keep the pure blood line flowing." By this time, tears were brimming in Hermione's eyes. "Seeing her disheveled appearance, Blaise quickly said "And of course I don't agree with a word of it" which perked up Hermione's spirits.
He continued in this same disheartened tone. "Parvati's father sent my parents some papers -- marriage papers," Blaise said. Hermione let out an involuntary gasp. "which my mother then signed." Hermione couldn't believe this was happening. Blaise was going to marry an un-deserving slut just because of some stupid rule!
They sat there in silence for what felt like an eternity until Hermione said "Just because you have to marry her doesn't mean that you had to shag her." Blaise sighed again. "You're right. I didn't have to but I figured if I have to do it, why not get to know her better?" Blaise looked incredibly miserable.
All of a sudden, Hermione said "Blaise, do you love me?" He looked down at her, smiling, a small tear rolling down his cheek. "I do," he said. Hermione's heart melted. She had a million questions but couldn't think of what to ask first. "Why me?" she said, surprised at her own daring. "Now, that's quite an interesting story," he said. "And I'd love to hear it," she said, not able to contain herself from smiling manically. Blaise smiled down at her and began to tell her the tale.
"It was third year and--" she cut him off. "Third year! You started to love me in third year! I didn't even know you, then! I barely even know you now, come to think of it," she said, wondering how she had never noticed him before. "Yes, Hermione, now just listen," Blaise said. She fell silent and continued to listen to him.
"It was third year and Sirius Black was on the loose. Everyone was scared, including me. This was how I became friends with Draco." "You became friends with Draco by being scared of Sirius Black," Hermione asked, bewildered. 'Not exactly," he said. "I had already known Draco for two years and I hated him. He was everything that a Slytherin should be plus much more. We started talking at the beginning of that year. Apparently, our parents had met up with each other in an attempt to form alliances against the Ministry in case they got wind of any Death Eater meetings taking place," he said grimly. "Your parents are Death Eaters," she said, sounding a lot more confidant than she felt at this moment. "My dad was but he was killed by Voldemort before I was born. My mother was terrified that if someone found all of his secret dark arts objects in our house, she would lose everything we had. The only thing that she would think of doing was to call upon one of my father's best friends -- Lucius Malfoy. He seemed to be surprised when she called for his help. He thought that she had gone over to the light side and he was very suspicious of her but eventually she gained his trust by performing the scared oath. That's when --". "I know what a sacred oath is, just continue," said Hermione, impatient to hear the rest of this story. Blaise looked as though he should have known that Hermione would know what it was.
"Anyway, she took the oath and the two of them began doing all sorts of spells on our house to make sure that everything was hidden completely. During this time, I spent most of my time up in my room, reading and studying, trying to block out the evil that was going on right below me. I was also trying to block out the moans coming from my mother's bedroom at night when she thought that I had gone to sleep." Hermione gasped. "Your mother and Lucius?" she asked. "Yep," he said, as though he didn't want to talk about it. Hermione dropped the subject immediately and let Blaise continue.
"By this time, the house was entirely transformed. The library, once full with books of dark magic was now full of books on how to make a meal in ten seconds and how to get doxies out of your furniture, the living room, once full with paintings of satanic lords and past Death Eaters were replaced by painting of sunflowers and mermaids, the drawing room, once filled with cupboard upon cupboard of unidentifiable potions and poisons had its place taken by cupboards full of cooking ingredients and parchment. The house was totally unrecognizable. I wished that it would have stayed the way it was so that my father could be known for dying at the hands of his master as a coward and not as a hero fighting him.
"Then, one day Lucius invited my mother and I to have dinner at the Malfoy Manor. My mother was a bit skeptical because Lucius's wife would be there but once he assured her that his wife did not mind them being together and that she was just there to look after Draco, she agreed. I was not so joyous about going myself. Draco and I had never gotten along that well and I was not in the mood to argue with the boy but my mother said that I had to go, it was polite.
"About a week after my mother had agreed to go, I found myself wearing a highly polished looking set of wizard's robes and my hair slicked back. I hated it. I reminded myself of Draco. Using, side-by-side apparition (my mother said that floo powder would ruin her dress), we arrived in the welcoming chamber of Malfoy Manor. It looked just as I had expected it to. It was enormous with an erie lighting and every sort of dark object imaginable in plain sight. My mother had once asked Lucius about clearing evidence from his house as well but he assured her that it was perfectly safe because his manor was uplottable. After washing up in the bathroom, I planned to head down the stairs and go to a dinner that I would probably never forget. That's when I saw him. Draco was just standing there, watching me. I had never seen him outside of school before and he looked quite different. He didn't look as composed and full of himself as he usually did. He looked quite frightened to be in his own house.
"'What're you doing here?', he'd said. Apparently, Lucius had not let his son know that my mother and I were coming. I told him that I was invited for dinner and he seemed to tense. I had a feeling that he knew about his father's relationship with my mother and that he wasn't to happy about it." "What gave you that impression," Hermione asked. "Just the fact that he punched me in the face," Blaise commented conversationally. "How dare he," said Hermione outraged. "It isn't your fault what your mother does. No offense," she said realizing what she had said. "It's okay," Blaise said. "I'm not that fond of my mother to tell you the truth. Anyway, back to the story." He cleared his throat. "I went back downstairs to sit for dinner when my mother asked me why I had a bruise under my left eye. I wasn't that skilled of a wizard then so I had no way to conceal the fact that Draco had slugged me. Lucius guessed what had happened and he went upstairs. I didn't know what Lucius was capable of doing but I had a feeling that whatever it was couldn't be good. I asked Narcissa to be excused which probably wasn't the best of ideas seeing that her and my mother hated each other's guts by this time but I had to see what was happening. I sneaked up the stairway and I heard voices coming from Draco's bedroom. I went into the bathroom on the left of it and pressed my ear up against the thick stone wall to hear what was going on. I couldn't hear a thing. the wall was just too thick so I racked my brain to think of a spell that could let me eavesdrop before it was to late. Finally, I decided on the magnifying charm. I hoped against hope that it would not make them too loud. and my mother and Narcissa would hear. I put the spell on the wall and was relieved to hear that I could just barely hear them. '--mother deserves better than that,' I heard Draco's voice say. Then I heard a great clattering noise and I knew that Lucius had thrown Draco up against the wall. 'You are not to tell me what that whore of a woman deserves. I will deal with my own affairs and you yours'.
"I then heard a slamming that I knew was Draco's father leaving his room and slamming the door behind him. When I finally heard his footsteps receding back down the spiral staircase, I left the bathroom and walked over to the door of Draco's bedroom, contemplating whether to go in or not. Just then the door opened and Draco was standing there with a black eye and a bloody nose. I saw that he was crying. 'You,' he had shouted. It was the angriest I had ever heard him, including the time that a first year stole his invisibility cloak. He limped out the door and took a swing at me but he was barely in a condition to walk let alone fight so I ducked and caught him before he fell down the stairs. I walked him back into his bedroom and sat him down. He tried to punch me away. He didn't want my help but the second I let go, he would fall over again so he allowed me to clutch him until I propped him up on some pillows.
"'You don't have to do this,' he had said. 'I can take care of myself.' I just looked at him and saw that he was still crying. That was the longest, most powerful talk that I had ever had with anyone. I told him about my father and how my mother treated me and he, in turn, told me about his horrible life. How his father wanted him to become a Death Eater, how he would never live up to the right standards, how he had to help his mother when his father would bring home a new mistress. . .that's when I actually started to feel sorry for him. Ever since that night, Draco and I were friends," Blaise finished lamely.
"What does any of this have to do with you loving me," Hermione asked, a bit dissapointed. "I'm getting to that part," said Blaise, still reveling in his and Draco's friendship. "That night we also talked about you. We were talking about how our parents were going to force us to marry pure bloods and Draco said that he wished he didn't have to. He said he had to put on a show for a girl every day, whom he truly liked but was made to despise because of her bloodline. I felt sorry for him. I didn't know until we got back to school that that girl was you." "No," Hermione said faintly. "Draco hates me. He purposely makes my life hell. He hates muggleborns just as much as his father," Hermione said defiantly, unable to believe what she just heard. "Maybe he does now. He's been around his father and the torture if he does something wrong for so long, maybe he believes that he does think all of those things. But, at that moment, Hermione, I could hear the pain in Draco's voice. He sounded like there was nothing he hated more than lying to you," Blaise said.
Hermione didn't know what to say. All that time that they fought, Draco was just trying to live up to his father. He liked her. . .Blaise just continued his story without bothering to see how Hermione would react to this. Maybe he was scared of what he would find if he looked down into her eyes at that moment. Maybe he would see sympathy or maybe he would see love in her eyes -- love that was not for him. . .
"Anyway, during that year, I had not forgotten that talk that Draco and I had had. I was anxious to know who that girl that Draco cared so much about was. That year, we had Care of Magical Creatures with the Gryffindors. I didn't particularly like them too much. They always seemed so loud and immersed in their own problems, not a care in the world -- a lot like Draco, to tell you the truth. But, that was when I saw you." Hermione blushed. "You were the most intelligent and strong-willed girl that I had ever seen. You reminded me of my mother, except for the fact that you were not evil and heartless. . . Anyway, I liked you right from the start and I wanted to learn as much about you as possible. At the time, i had no idea that you were muggleborn or that you were in fact the object of Draco's affection. I found out the hard way.
"I told Draco how I had found a girl that I really liked and he seemed genuinely happy for me. That is, until I described you to him and asked if he knew you. The second that he stormed up to the dormitory and slammed the door in my face, I knew what was wrong. I knew that you were the one. I cried myself to sleep that night. I wanted you so badly and I knew I couldn't have you and not just because of Draco -- but because you were a muggleborn. I knew that my mother would kill me if she ever found out, but I continued to watch you day after day, waiting for any sign they could tell me you were not the one that I was deeply in love with, looking for a girl as a replacement for my misplaced desire but it never came. As the years went by, Draco and I never mentioned your name again. I had really grown to believe that he hated you and I had tried to move on with other girls but though I didn't mention you, that didn't mean I didn't think about you every night while I. . ." Blaise trailed off. "Oh," Hermione said in realization. "It's okay," she said almost laughing, knowing that she had done the exact same thing and was feeling just as guilty about it.
Blaise seemed relieved and kept on talking, although his cheeks showed that he was still a bit uncomfortable. "Your name never came up until this year. Draco had made Head Boy. How? I had no idea with his attitude, but he did. I knew that you would make Head Girl with your ability to keep others in line with just the right balance of strictness and kindness. Anyway, by this time, Draco and I were best friends, sharing everything with each other, including the details of our sex lives, which was a bit low running on my part. Draco, however seemed to have a new story every day. I truly did believe that he had gotten over you.
"Naturally, us being best friends, I wanted to spend a lot of time in the common room but as you can probably guess, that wasn't my only reason," he said. Hermione giggled. "By this time, I was no longer scared of what my mother would do to me if she found out that I was with a muggleborn. I could take care of myself. I felt even better when I saw you staring at me across the Great Hall almost every night." "I. . . I kind of started to like you around that time. After I had got to talk to you," Hermione said nervously. Blaise smiled. I tried to come to the common room as much as possible to have a conversation with you and to get your views on things but Draco seemed to always be around. After awhile, it seemed as though he didn't like me talking to you. I thought, at first, it was because he hated you and didn't want me making nice with his enemy but I soon learned otherwise.
"Draco got fed up one day and sat me down on his bed. He said that I shouldn't flirt with the girl he once loved. I was shocked that Draco even remembered liking you after all of the fighting. He didn't say that he still loved you though, which gave me some hope. Because, if Draco did love you, I wouldn't stand in between. Draco is my friend and I would never want to hurt him. Well, actually when he gets annoying I would like to hurt by throwing a vase at his head but that's besides the point. . . Anyway, I let slip that I loved you. Draco pretended to be unhurt so I took my chance. Don't get mad at me for this, 'Mione. . ."
"Why would I be mad at you," she asked.
"Just listen," he said. "I had a plan to be with you but I couldn't do it alone. I asked Draco to help me. I told him an arousal spell that he could do a week ahead of time so that he could practice," Blaise said, sounding guilty. "I told him to skip dinner on the tenth of November and to be waiting in the common room when you got back. I told him to put the spell on you. I then planned to come into the common room and be with you and explain everything later but the plan went all wrong.
"After Draco put the spell on you, I was already up in his bedroom. When he was done, I was about to come out when I saw you leave. I didn't know where you were going but I knew that I had to find another way for us to be together because the arousal spell would have worn off by the time you got back and if you have to many put on you at once, it can damage the brain. . .
"Anyway, I was thinking hard about what to do. I knew that eventually, you would realize what Draco had done and that you would come back. There was only one thing to do.
"I once found some muggle porno tapes of my mom's. I thought that it was pointless at the time but it was the first time that I had ever thought about two men being together before. It didn't really disgust me but it didn't turn me on either. I knew that since my mom was aroused by that kind of thing that maybe you would be too. I knew that it was a long shot but it was my only chance to be with you. It took a lot of convincing and some heavy gold exchange but I finally got Draco to do it with me -- literally.
By now, Hermione was crying. "How could you let me have blame Draco for everything when it was you all this time? How could you tell me you love me and then tell me about how you tried to seduce me and then blame it on your best friend! Why on Earth couln't you have just told me you loved me," Hermione yelled. She got up immediately and ran for the door. Blaise called her back but she wasn't listening. In a matter of seconds, she was gone.
That was when Draco came out of the dorm. "I told you it was a bad idea, mate," he said as he sat down next to Blaise. "For once Draco, I actually agree with you."