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"Mmph, Hermione-," Blaise said, cutting himself off as he pushed her away.
Hermione stumbled back, startled, and stared at him in confusion. Had she misjudged? Was it possible that Blaise Zabini wouldn't sleep with just anyone? Not even her?
"What…?"
Blaise touched his lips, still taken back.
"What do you mean 'what'? Wh-what are you doing?"
The kiss had taken him by surprise and he was forced to admit to himself that it had taken him a considerable amount of time to finally push her away.
"What do you mean 'what am I doing'? I know what I want now…"
Blaise blinked, rubbing his forehead as he processed the meaning behind her words.
"Look, Hermione, I don't think that you're in your right mind, right now. I don't think that you've thought this through properly-."
"Oh, I see, so because I'm doing something that's a bit out of the ordinary for me, I must be under the influence of something. As if I couldn't possibly make this decision while sane," she interrupted.
Blaise huffed and gave her a look.
"That's not what I meant and you know it."
"When have I ever failed to think anything through, Blaise? This is what I want," Hermione said, stepping towards him.
Blaise sighed, looking down at her and forcing himself to push out any imaginative scenarios that his mind had concocted upon hearing those last five words. Of course, he'd thought about it. He was a guy! However, he had found himself thinking about it more and more the more he got to really know the curly haired Gryffindor.
"I'm not the kind of guy that you want, believe me."
Hermione swallowed, acknowledging the possible truth in his words. They were in the midst of dark and dangerous times, and Hermione was no fool. She knew who his best friend was and knew what sort of extracurricular activities said friend's family participated in. She suddenly shook her head.
"Oh, get over yourself…" his eyes widened "…I don't want anything like that from you. I just want this…right here and right now," Hermione clarified, grabbing his pristine white shirt and pulling him closer.
Blaise would be lying if he said that her bold behavior didn't turn him on. He shook his head, reaching out and placing his hands onto her shoulders.
"Look-."
"Seriously? Is there something wrong with me that even you won't sleep with me?"
Blaise had begun to immediately disagree and calm her worries when her emphasis on a certain word caught his attention. He stopped short, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure out if he should be offended.
"Wait…what is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, come off it. You're just as bad as your fair haired sidekick when it comes to that. As you can imagine, it's hurting my pride a little here. I mean, I consider myself a pretty good judge of appearance and I don't think I'm bad looking-."
"Of course not."
"Then what's the problem?"
At this point, they both could agree that his refusal was getting a little ridiculous. Hermione was beginning to have a hard time believing that the problem wasn't her.
Blaise, on the other hand, was reprimanding himself for turning down a beautiful girl who was more than willing. Malfoy and Nott would have a field day with this. He reprimanded himself even more for what he was about to say.
"Granger…," he began.
"Great. I'm about to get a lecture," she complained, recognizing that tone.
"Look, don't quote me on this and if you ever repeat this, I'll hurt you," he jokingly threatened as he looked into her eyes.
He sighed.
"You're…you're the kind of girl that you bring home to mum and dad. You're the kind of girl you get flowers and candy for. The kind that you go all out for because she's way out of your league and could do so much better than you and you both know it. You are the kind of girl that you spend a ridiculous amount of time giving yourself a pep talk for because you don't want to look like a bumbling idiot while you ask her out on a date…"
Hermione swallowed, taken back by his honesty.
"You're the kind of girl that you could only dream would take you seriously enough to give you a chance. Girls like you are hard to come by. Girls like you are the kind of girls that you hold onto for dear life because there are already dozens of guys just waiting for you to screw it up…"
Blaise frowned.
"You're not the kind of girl that you shag at the top of the Astronomy Tower."
Hermione sighed, closing the distance between them completely and gazing up at him.
"Who says I can't be both?"
Blaise swallowed.
"Hermione…"
"I like that that's how you see me. I do, it's sweet, but…right now, tonight, I don't want to be that kind of girl. Do you want to know why?"
Blaise reluctantly nodded and she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Doing what's been expected of me…or rather, waiting on what's been expected of me, has gotten me nowhere. I don't want to wait any longer. I want to go after what I want and you are what I want."
She felt Blaise's hand settle on her waist, sending shivers down her spine.
"Are you sure?"
Hermione suddenly blinked, dropping her arms and grabbing his arm. She began to push his sleeve up and Blaise didn't stop her. Hermione released a breath that she didn't know she was holding as she gazed at his bare, unmarked skin.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
His quiet husky voice filled her ears, warming her insides and she looked back up at him.
"Yes, I did."
The words had barely escaped her lips when Blaise's own came crashing down.
Hermione stood at the entrance of the infirmary, eyes trained on Blaise's unconscious figure. She had told her friends that she needed some solitary study time, but she had to come see him. As she stepped into the large room, her eyes found Malfoy's bed across from Blaise. She swallowed, noting that even in sleep, he still looked menacing.
Hermione forced herself to close her eyes as she remembered how, for a moment, it had looked as if Malfoy wasn't going to stop. She wondered what on earth could have triggered such anger between the two of them and prayed that it wasn't her. Of course, she knew that that was just silly.
She stopped beside Blaise's bed, looking down at him with a sigh. Madam Pomfrey had done an excellent job, but Hermione could almost still see the pain that Blaise was in, and she wasn't just talking about physical. Malfoy was a right git, always was, but he was still Blaise's best friend.
Her eyes widened when Blaise groaned and she leaned in closer as his eyes began to flutter. He groaned again, exhaling before his eyes remained open, resting on her. He stared at her for a bit, frowning.
"Are you really here," he asked, mumbling.
Her quiet response was immediate.
"Yes."
"Good, because I have a bone to pick with you," he said, chuckling.
Hermione sighed in relief, taking his humor as a good sign.
"I get to go first."
He sighed, briefly closing his eyes before whispering;
"Deal."
Hermione swallowed, eyebrows furrowing.
"Blaise…if this…that," she gestured towards Malfoy "had anything to do with me, I promise…I promise on Godric Gryffindor's grave that I will wait for you to fully heal just so I can kick your ass all over again myself," she whispered.
Blaise let out a long sigh, expecting no less.
"Well…you better start getting your foot ready, then."
"Blaise," she whined.
"What? What? What would you have had me do? Did you want me to just stand there and listen to-," he cut himself off, working himself up all over again.
Hermione frowned, wondering what Malfoy had said to trigger such a reaction from Blaise. He wasn't a temperamental guy, not by a longshot. The few times she'd seen him angry, it was always a calm, simmering sort of fury. The kind that really scared you.
"What did he say? What happened?"
Blaise shook his head, looking away.
"It doesn't matter," he quietly replied.
Hermione's eyes bulged.
"It doesn't matter? The fact that you two were trying to kill each other with your fists and not your wands clued me in on the fact that whatever happened, was serious. I thought…"
Hermione blinked, shaking her head as she glanced away, forcing the tears back.
"It didn't look like Malfoy was going to stop. If I hadn't stepped in-."
"Yeah, about that… What the hell were you thinking? Did you suddenly lose your mind, approaching him like that," Blaise harshly whispered.
Hermione's head swung to face him, incredulity splashed across her features. Blaise didn't care, he was still heated about her putting herself in danger like that.
"What was I supposed to do, Blaise? No one, I mean, no one was doing anything! They were too scared and with good reason."
"It was stupid!"
Hermione scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. Blaise suddenly took a deep breath and sat up, Hermione reached out to help him, but he held up his hand. His jaw ticked and he finally turned to look at her, eyes hard.
"Why didn't you tell me about what really happened in my room the other day?"
Hermione froze, throat going dry as her mind came up with all sorts of lies Malfoy could have told him.
"What? What did he say? Whatever he told you, Blaise…it's…it's not true," she protested.
He sighed, reaching his hand out to intertwine his fingers with her own.
"He told me what he tried to do, accompanied by him spewing how you weren't special and…a whole bunch of other things I'd rather not repeat," he whispered, eyes hardening even more.
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, shocked that Malfoy had actually told the truth. She looked down, biting her lip as she recalled the feel of Malfoy's body on top of her own. Malfoy had been right, there was nothing special about her. She was just like the rest. She mentally shook the memory from her head.
"Well?"
She slowly looked up, confused.
"Well what?"
"Did he prove his point?"
Hermione's eyes widened and she immediately shook her head.
"Of course not. He's an arrogant tosser who's convinced that every girl who walks these corridors wants him. It doesn't seem to matter to him if it's conscious or not," she spat.
Blaise eyed her, skeptical. He was skeptical about a lot of things lately, the conversation with Draco still playing on a loop in his mind.
"So you felt…nothing?"
"No. Even if I did, what would it matter? He's…an ass," she scoffed, glaring over her shoulder at the topic of their conversation.
"That doesn't seem to stop most girls."
"Well, I'm not most girls," she replied, facing him.
"No, I guess you're not," he said, rubbing his thumb along the skin of her hand.
Hermione suddenly sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. Blaise's hand immediately found her back, rubbing circles.
"I can't believe that I'm about to say this, but…you and Malfoy are best friends. You've grown up together, you understand each other. Somehow, someway, he's a good friend to you. At least, he was until I came along-."
"No. Don't do that. Hermione-."
"He was here first. He clearly has a problem with me and I don't want any more fights. I don't want to be the reason-."
"He's the reason, not you."
Blaise could see exactly where her mind was headed and he didn't like it.
"Blaise…I'm temporary. Okay? Malfoy has loved throwing that in my face and every time hurt more than the last because it's true. This…"
Hermione shook her head, throwing her hand up.
"You really want to let go of a friendship for something we both know has an expiration date?"
"So you're what, just giving up? Letting him win?"
Blaise's voice was icy and she turned to face him, placing her hand on his arm.
"No, of course not. It's not about who wins, Blaise. If the two of you continue like this, then no one wins. I just think that friendship is really important. I think I should distance myself for a bit, let you two work whatever this is out. If you come to the conclusion that I'm the problem, then I'm okay with that," she said.
"I'm not," he snapped.
"Blaise," she sighed.
His hand tightened on her waist, almost painfully.
"No. He is the only one with a problem. He either needs to get over it…or get lost," he firmly stated.
Hermione wasn't convinced that it was going to be that easy, but she didn't tell him that.
"I still want to know what in Merlin's name they were fighting about," Ginny said, stabbing her food.
"You and the rest of the student body. They've been practically inseparable since…well, forever," Ron agreed.
"Mm…," Ginny set her fork down "…how much do you want to bet that it was over some girl? Guys are always fighting over stupid things like that."
Ron scoffed, offended by the insult to his gender.
"Zabini and Malfoy are both wankers who've had just about every girl in this school. I doubt there's one girl in this entire school they'd actually like enough to fight over. Knowing them, they'd probably just share her."
Hermione choked on her drink, but the siblings didn't notice. Harry was absent, something that was becoming quite common lately.
"That does sound more likely."
"You girls love that whole 'dangerous, bad boy' thing…," Ron scoffed again, shaking his head "…so it's definitely believable that one of you would willingly get in between that."
Ginny smirked.
"Is that a hint of jealousy I detect?"
Ron blanched.
"N-no! I just don't see the appeal with guys like that. I mean…what's so special about them?"
Ginny chuckled.
"It's the allure of danger, Ron. Back me up here, Hermione," Ginny joked.
Hermione was already grabbing her back, pushing her plate away. The conversation had definitely weirded her out and she didn't want to hear anymore.
"I'd love to, but I actually need to go to the library, so I'll see you both later," she rushed out.
The two redheads reluctantly waved goodbye, confused by her abrupt departure.
Hermione on the other hand was making her way down the empty corridor, mind replaying the conversation on repeat. If only they knew how accurate their guess had been. Of course, the fight wasn't over her in that way. Malfoy felt threatened by her for whatever reason and Hermione had long given up on trying to figure out why. She just knew how determined he was to see her gone. The lengths he'd gone to…
Hermione shook her head as she recalled the incident that had taken place in Blaise's room. It worried her to know that Malfoy was able to have that sort of effect on her. To be perfectly honest, it was something that she had never considered. She had always just assumed that she could never see him in that way. In her mind, if you despised someone, it just wasn't possible to be attracted to them. Why does that sound more ridiculous the more I repeat it?
She slowly looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and they both slowed as they made eye contact.
Brown and silver clashed.
Hermione swallowed and was just about to walk around him when he shoved past her, almost knocking her over. She huffed, spinning around, hair flying as she called out to him, officially fed up.
"What is wrong with you? Just…get it out. Get it all off of your chest because your behavior passed childish weeks ago-."
"My problem is you, Granger," he spat as he rounded on her.
Hermione clenched her jaw, standing her ground as he approached. His open coat flew behind him and his nostrils flared.
"I spent years trying to best you, only to get lecture after lecture from my father about how I was letting a Muggle-born beat me," he hissed.
Hermione's eyes widened.
"You and your fucking sidekicks have run around this school for years like you own it, getting away with everything. Winning the House Cup year after fucking year…"
He took a step forward and Hermione took one back.
"Potter constantly getting praise! For what? For breaking rule after rule? You have everything!"
Hermione jumped, back bumping into the wall.
"…but that wasn't enough. Now, you've taken my best friend too," he scoffed.
Hermione opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. His answer had been…unexpected to say the least. She clutched her bag to her shoulder, looking up at him from beneath her lashes, suddenly seeing him in a new light.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I don't want your pity-."
"It's not… Malfoy, I never meant to-."
"I don't care. You could have fucked anyone else in this entire school and you chose Blaise."
Hermione frowned, wondering if she was imagining the bitterness she heard there. She shook the ridiculous thought from her head.
"Look, I said I was sorry-," she cut herself off with a gasp.
Malfoy grabbed her arm, yanking her closer.
"If you think that's going to be enough, then you don't know me very well. The prick actually chose you over me," he said, disbelieving.
"Don't call him that! He's still your friend, Malfoy. Nothing is going to change that. I told him…I told him that-."
"Oh, you mean in the infirmary? Yeah, I know. I heard it all," he said, lowering his voice.
Hermione's eyes widened and he chuckled, stepping closer.
"I even heard you lie to him," he purred, pressing his hands against the wall beside her head.
Hermione pressed her hand against his chest, pushing him away.
"What are you talking about?"
He chuckled again, a low husky sound and he looked at her through his hair. He leaned in even more, lips next to her ear.
"Come on, Granger. We both know that you felt something."
Hermione opened her mouth to protest when someone else beat her to it.
"Draco! Just what the fuck are you doing?"
Malfoy smirked, slowly backing away as he raked his eyes over her just before resting them on Blaise.
"Nothing. We were just talking…"
Blaise had finally reached them and reached out to shove Malfoy.
"Blaise, stop…," Hermione said, grabbing his arm.
"What's your problem, Draco?"
Malfoy sneered, glaring at Blaise.
"I don't have a problem. I just don't like your girlfriend, is all," he spat between clenched teeth.
Blaise stared at him for a considerable amount of time before his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Funny…it doesn't look that way to me," he slowly replied.
Malfoy blinked before he scoffed, shoving his hand into his pocket and taking a step back.
"I don't really care how it looks to you, Blaise. You two have fun," he sneered, shoving past Blaise's shoulder.
Blaise turned to stare after Malfoy, a peculiar expression on his face. Hermione touched his arm and he turned back around.
"What was that about?"
Blaise looked thoughtful, but he shook his head nonetheless.
"Nothing. Let's go," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
As they walked down the corridor, Hermione looked over his arm, eyes connecting with Malfoy's who was glaring right back at them.
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