Enter for the International Wizarding School Competition – Round 1 - Beauxbatons

Theme: Beauxbatons: Write about the past coming to haunt you.

Year 3

Mandatory prompt: 11. [Plot point] Muggle AU

Optional prompts used: 5. [First line/last line] Love is a choice you consciously choose to make.

Word count: 2,952

Warnings: Royal AU

A love that gives me everything

Love is a choice you consciously choose to make, and Hermione had made hers… or had she?

She couldn't look away from the newspaper. Everywhere she looked—on the internet, in newspapers, in magazines, or on the TV—she was tormented by the same picture: Prince Theodore of Norway getting engaged to Princess Daphne of Denmark. Hermione couldn't help but scowl at the photograph. They looked like a fairytale couple.

Her gaze fixed on the ring on Princess Daphne's finger. Hermione could not deny its beauty. An exquisite sapphire surrounded by little diamonds made it resemble a flower. The golden-rose band was perfect.

Although Hermione tried to convince herself otherwise, it wasn't the ring that had caught her attention. She couldn't help but stare at Theo's smile and how it seemed a bit strained.

A memory flashed through her mind. Theo throwing his head back and laughing heartily before dipping his head to kiss her, his lips soft and warm against hers.

While Hermione shouldn't be thinking about his smile or his lack of happiness, she couldn't help but wonder, 'What if?'.

"Let him go; you can't do anything now," she told herself, trying to keep the tears at bay. "No matter how much it hurts to look at him, it won't change anything. Although it looks like he isn't happy, you've long since relinquished your right to think about him."

Hermione sighed and threw the newspaper into the dustbin, hoping to drive the truth deeper into her mind, but no matter what she told herself, she couldn't erase the image of his forced smile from her mind.

Reading the newspaper the day before should have been the lowlight of her week, but Murphy's Law kept popping up again and again. Because her alarm hadn't gone off, she'd woken up late and missed her bus by a mere thirty seconds, so she'd had to wait for almost an hour to get back on schedule.

Hermione hoped that working would keep her from thinking about the engagement, but life kept coming back to bite her in the butt.

The engagement was all her colleagues could talk about. She had prayed to all the deities she knew that someone would change the subject, but it appeared she had no luck whatsoever.

"Did you hear that Duke Zabini is attending the London Ballet Charity Gala?" Lavender Brown asked, looking at her cellphone. "He looks so calm and composed in this picture. I wonder how he is in person."

'Talks like a pompous arse, but he's one of the most cheerful people I've ever met,' Hermione thought but kept her mouth shut. She didn't want her co-workers to question her about the nature of her relationship with Blaise Zabini.

"I heard that after the Gala, he's heading to Sweden to meet with Prince Draco before they travel to Norway for Prince Theodore's wedding," Susan Bones, another co-worker, gushed over Natasha's phone. "It sounds like a real fairytale. Don't you think, Hermione?"

Hermione forced herself to smile. She managed to choke down the lump in her throat as she said, "It does sound amazing, yeah." Standing up, she left with a hurried, "I'm going to have lunch now if you don't mind."

Hermione escaped the office, running like her life depended on it. Despite knowing she was fortunate to have landed a job at Olympia Publishers right out of college, sometimes she wondered how her life would've changed if she'd made different choices. Would she still be working here—maybe with a lighter heart and a real smile on her face? Or would she be with Theo, living in Norway?

It wouldn't be beneficial to dwell on those kinds of thoughts. However, Hermione didn't have much luck that day. She'd forgotten her lunch in her flat, and her wallet was on her desk, which meant she'd have to face her co-workers soon, and she wasn't quite ready for that. She sighed and opted to take her lunch break walking around and hope her stomach wouldn't be angry at her later for refusing to eat right now.

After a long day, Hermione didn't want to do anything other than go home, drink wine, and watch rom-coms while consuming as much chocolate as her heart desired. Her only saving grace was that it was Friday, meaning she didn't have to work the next day, but Murphy's Law was still working against her.

She was so distraught that morning that she didn't hear the weather forecast, so she didn't think to bring an umbrella with her. When she finally got off her bus in front of her flat, she was drenched in a matter of seconds, and she looked at the sky above.

"Really?" Hermione practically screeched, wanting to release her frustration on something. "Is there something I did to deserve such bad luck? What else is going to happen to make me regret getting out of bed today?"

"I didn't realize you'd started talking to yourself after we left you," a voice said from her right. Hermione froze. The voice was familiar, and she'd thought she would never hear it again. "What? Isn't there something you want to say? It has been a while, but I remember you have good manners."

"My manners are still good, but today was a shit day. I'm soaked, and I'm not handling everything well, okay?" Hermione snapped. She turned and looked at Blaise freaking Zabini as he stood under an umbrella outside of her building, looking all too delighted with himself. "Why are you here, Blaise?"

"It would be better if we had this conversation indoors," Blaise said, opening the door to her building and gesturing for her to enter. "We need to talk."

Hermione didn't want to talk to Blaise. It had been months since they'd last seen each other, but it seemed as though it was just yesterday they'd had their last game night together. Hermione's heart clenched in her chest and tears pooled in her eyes, but she forced herself to remain strong; she would not allow Blaise to see her this way.

She fumbled with her keys while Blaise leaned against the wall, whistling a merry little tune like he had all the time in the world. She shot him a glare but opened the door and walked in.

"Your flat hasn't changed since I was here last," Blaise said, looking around the house like he remembered everything about it. "It's nice to see that some things haven't changed."

Hermione tried not to flinch at his tone, but she couldn't help it; Theo and her breaking up was still too raw. She gestured to her wet clothes and her dripping hair. "I'll take a bath and change clothes while you wait."

Blaise said nothing; he just relaxed on her couch in the same place he used to sit when everyone was together, next to his spot. Hermione took a deep breath and walked to her room, trying to put some distance between them. The sooner he told her why he was here, the sooner she could kick him out. She didn't take a long bath, but she took her time before she came back to the living room, ready to hear whatever Blaise had to say to her.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm here," Blaise said once she'd made herself comfortable.

"After not hearing from you or anyone else, I'm surprised you even remember where I live," Hermione shot back, feeling no satisfaction from his grimace, but she wouldn't back down now.

"I deserve that," Blaise murmured as Hermione stared at him. "We didn't keep in touch as promised, but this wasn't entirely our fault. This is actually one of the reasons I came to talk to you."

"I'm listening," Hermione said, eyeing him with a raised eyebrow. While she wasn't going to be difficult, she wouldn't be easy either. "What do you want?"

"I assume you already know about the engagement?" Blaise continued. "That's what I want to discuss with you."

"I'm not the one you should be speaking about it with." Hermione gritted her teeth, trying not to let Blaise see how much this upset her. "He didn't choose me."

"Because you didn't let him choose you!" Hermione gaped at Blaise as he nearly shouted. "He wanted to choose you, but you didn't let him, did you? You shut everyone out, and you stayed away from him after that fight."

"You can't put this all on me, Blaise! Don't make him look innocent and paint me as the villain!" Tears welled in Hermione's eyes, but she was determined not to let them fall. "He's just as much to blame as I am."

"I'm not saying you're the villain here, Hermione. I don't believe either of you is." Blaise sighed, wringing his hands before letting them fall into his lap. "As far as I can see, you can't even say his name. I won't ask why, I understand. There's one thing I need to know and then I'll be out of here. You won't have to worry about seeing me again."

In response, Hermione simply stared at Blaise, preparing herself for what he'd say.

"Are you still in love with him?" Blaise asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft as if he feared her reaction. "Are you still in love with Theo?"

"I never stopped being in love with him," Hermione whispered, tears streaming down her face. "But it doesn't matter now, does it? He's engaged, and I won't jeopardize his happiness."

"Hermione, I don't think he's happy." Blaise looked at her, and her breath hitched at his next statement. "The last time I saw him truly happy, he was with you."

"What do you want me to do? He's getting married!" Hermione got up and walked around her living room, feeling restless. "Theo is getting married to someone, and it's not me!"

"That's why I'm here," Blaise said, as though she hadn't yelled. "I need your help with stopping the wedding."

"I'm sorry, what?" Hermione stopped in her tracks.

"I said I need your help to stop the wedding." Blaise smiled, and Hermione was almost certain he was insane. "What could be so hard about that?"

She sank into her favorite armchair and buried her head in her hands, groaning quietly. Since she was considering his proposition, she was probably just as insane as him.

Ten weeks. Hermione had been dreading this day for the last ten weeks for fear of something going wrong, and now it had finally arrived. Even though she'd thought she was going to get sick, so far, everything had gone as expected. She'd flown to Oslo two days ago but hadn't dared to go sightseeing, fearing that someone might recognise her from an old photograph or magazine article.

Blaise had been in touch with her all those weeks and had made the hotel reservation, so no one would know she was there. It was still hard for Hermione to wrap her head around what she was going to do, but according to Blaise, she had to do it.

"Are you ready to go? You look like you're going to throw up," Blaise said, grimacing at her as he entered her room.

"You really know how to make a woman feel better, you know that?" Hermione replied half-heartedly. It was as if there were an invisible fist squeezing her lungs, refusing to let go. But she was already here, and she'd already committed to Blaise's insane plan. Now she just had to hope it either worked or she could make it back to London without getting her heart broken.

"It's a gift." Blaise smirked. "Go change into the dress you have in your closet, so we can leave as soon as you're ready. Go ahead, Hermione."

Inhaling deeply, Hermione walked to the closet and pulled it open. The dress she found there, as well as the shoes, looked like something she'd seen princesses wear, and she was grateful that Blaise had thought of that, as it would make her blend in with the crowd a bit better.

"Look at you, looking like a Principessa," Blaise said, smiling at her. Hermione could only glare at him. "Don't look at me like that, you know what I mean. Ready?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Hermione sighed, steeling herself for what lay ahead. "Lead the way."

Although Hermione probably should've thought more about Blaise's plan before she approved it, for now, she was going with her heart, and she wouldn't regret anything that she did.

"Why are we riding a motorcycle?" Hermione yelled over the wind, trying to get Blaise's attention. "Wouldn't it be better if we were in a car?"

"A car couldn't get us past that," Blaise responded, pointing at the barricade of officers in front of them. Hermione's face paled at the sight of so many policemen near the church.

"Are you insane? They won't let us pass!" Hermione screamed in his ear as she gripped his waist more tightly, trying not to hyperventilate.

"I'll pass them really fast, and you run to the church, all right? I'll hold them off." Blaise didn't give her time to think about changing her mind, driving them straight to the church's front steps, and screeching to a stop. "Go, follow your dreams! Get your man!"

Hermione didn't waste any time replying to Blaise's dramatic orders; she just started running towards the church doors, glad no one was chasing her. Instead, all of the guards were encircling Blaise. She decided to think about him later; for now, she had a groom to find. Blaise, on the other hand, found himself having to explain a few things.

"Now, don't grab me, officer. I don't swing that way…unless you buy me dinner first," Blaise said, smirking at all of the officers and guards around him. Luckily, Thorfinn, Theo's bodyguard, recognized him and laughed at his antics.

The officer that seemed to be in charge said, "We should throw him in jail so he learns his lesson."

Thorfinn intervened, still laughing, and replied, "We can't do that. He's one of His Highness' closest friends. Let him go, he's needed at the church."

"Thank you," Blaise replied, nodding at everyone. After dusting himself off, he gracefully stepped forward before sprinting after Hermione towards the church. "I'm not missing the scene of the century!"

Blaise was almost breathless when he entered the church, and it was pure luck that he found Hermione wandering the corridors while murmuring under her breath.

"Why is this bloody church so big?" Hermione was lost already, and she was glad Blaise had found her, or else she felt she was going to lose her mind in that church.

"Hermione, come on, stop complaining and let's go." Blaise grabbed her hand and started pulling her down corridors, hopefully in the direction of Theo. "At this time, he'll be alone since Draco is still at the palace, and his parents are expected to arrive closer to the ceremony."

Hermione felt her heart pounding, but she wasn't going to let that stop her when she was so close to her goal. Blaise led her through the labyrinth-like church until they came to a door, and without waiting for her to catch her breath, he opened the door and threw her inside, closing the door behind her.

"Mia? Is that really you?" The voice, which immediately brought tears to Hermione's eyes, called to her.

She turned around, taking in his face after so long. He looked just as perfect as the day she'd met him in the bar near the embassy. How long ago had that been? Months? Years?

Hermione weakly said, "Hi, Theo."

His jacket hugged his body perfectly and his medals were proudly displayed on his chest; Hermione couldn't help but swoon. "Surprise?"

"Why are you here?" Theo asked, his eyes wide as if he couldn't believe she was standing there in front of him. "What's going on?"

"Blaise convinced me I should come here and talk to you," Hermione said.

"On my wedding day? Did he lose his mind?" Hermione flinched at his loud voice. She should've known coming here today was the wrong decision.

"It was stupid. I'm sorry. I'll leave now." Hermione turned to the door, but before she'd taken two steps, Theo grabbed her arm. "Theo, let me go."

"No, I would like an explanation. Is there a reason you're here? Is there any reason, among all these days, you chose to come here today?" Theo asked, staring into Hermione's eyes.

Her heart clenched.

"Because I couldn't let you get married without trying one more time, all right? I still love you, and I know I missed my chance, but I needed to try!" Hermione didn't yell, but the tears still streamed down her face. "I had to see you one more time to ask you for another chance, even though I know I don't deserve it! I just needed to try..."

"Why now? Why wait until now?" Theo asked without heat. She didn't even know if she had the answer yet.

"Because I'm a coward. And I was afraid this could all be for nothing. That's why I'm here now instead of at the ceremony because I don't think my heart would take it. If you're going to reject me, I prefer you do it now. I don't want everyone else to see my humiliation." Hermione looked at him and waited for an answer.

She held her breath for so long she thought she was going to pass out. She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped she wouldn't be leaving with a broken heart.

Theo opened his mouth to answer, and Hermione's heart stopped.