A filler chapter, basically.
Disclaimer: I Own Nothing
"Well, look who finally decided to show his face," Ginny said with a mocking smile.
Harry rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish expression on his features as he walked towards them.
"Yeah, thanks for letting us know that you weren't dead, mate," Ron agreed, talking around his food.
Hermione said nothing, simply letting her eyes rest on him, trying to deduce if he had continued with his little scheme of following Malfoy around. Harry's eyes met hers before he quickly looked away and Hermione pursed her lips, sitting back in her seat, having known all she needed to know.
She stabbed at her food, quite harshly, catching the attention of Ron.
"Oi! It's already dead, Mione."
She glanced up at him with a glare before sighing, dropping her fork.
"So, what have you been up to lately, Harry? We're lucky if we even catch a glimpse of you," she snidely said.
Harry sat down, fidgeting in his seat.
"Nothing really. Mostly schoolwork…," he trailed off.
Hermione knew that he was lying and Harry knew that she knew. Neither one of them said anything in response to his bogus answer, and Hermione simply sighed, allowing Ginny and Ron's conversation to flow over her. Hermione unconsciously found her eyes slowly drifting towards the Slytherin table, disappointed, yet again, to find it empty of the one she was looking for.
Since their run-in with Malfoy earlier in the week, Blaise had been distant all of a sudden. At first, Hermione had figured that he'd simply heeded her advice and had decided to try and work things out with Malfoy. However, as the number of days grew and the amount of time that she spent with him decreased, she began to worry.
She had begun to wonder if she was right in her assumption in thinking that Malfoy would make Blaise choose. On the other hand, another part of her, a much darker and mocking part, told her that Blaise blamed her for his deteriorating friendship with Malfoy. She worried that he was beginning to resent her, already regretting his choice.
Like the Gryffindor that she was, she was going to confront him of the matter, thinking it best to just get it over and done with. That was the plan, anyway, but she'd hardly seen enough of Blaise to actually get the words out. Hermione exhaled, lowering her head and massaging her temples.
"Harry, did you ever get out of those plans you already had? We'd really love for you to join us at Hogsmeade tomorrow," Ginny suddenly said.
"As a matter of fact, I did. It's the first Hogsmeade trip of the school year. I decided that I didn't want to miss it," he replied with a small smile.
Hermione, no doubt, would have beamed at hearing this, at hearing that he'd opted out of whatever secret 'solo mission' he had, but instead her eyes were on a certain Slytherin. He'd been eating with Nott, Parkinson on the other side of him, when he abruptly stood, exiting the hall at a brisk pace. Hermione found herself suddenly rising.
"I need to go to the bathroom," she rushed out, following him out.
Her friends stared after her, Ron voicing what they all were thinking.
"She's been doing that a lot lately…"
It wasn't a difficult task, following Malfoy, but she had figured she would have more time to think of how she was going to approach him. Of course, she didn't count on him approaching her first.
She rounded the corner and came face to chest with none other than the devil himself. She stumbled back, startled, and looked up at him.
His eyes were hard as he glared down at her, one eyebrow raised, a silent question of 'just what the fuck do you think you are doing?' She pressed the palm of her hand to the wall, steadying herself as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I…I was hoping to catch up with you…," she quietly began.
He said nothing, simply allowing a smirk to fall over his lips.
"Blaise…has he talked to you?"
His smirk grew, no doubt in amusement of her putting aside her pride to come to him. If only she knew how far off her assumption was. If only she knew of the thoughts that were really running through his head.
"Maybe," he finally replied.
Hermione forced herself to not fly off the handle. She briefly closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath.
"Look, I just wanted to know if he's been talking to you. I wanted-."
"You mean you wanted to know why he's suddenly not wrapped up in you as always. Is that correct?"
Hermione swallowed, refusing to even dignify such an accusation with a response. Her silence, however, was all of the evidence that Malfoy needed.
Hermione scoffed, taking a step back.
"Don't be absurd. I'm just worried…"
"Worried about him? Or worried that your expiration date is approaching sooner than you would like?"
His words came out harsh and mocking, making her flinch at the truth behind them. Her hands balled into fists at her side.
"Merlin, why do you always have to be such an ass, Malfoy?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"…because I can be," was his reply.
Hermione huffed, and with a shake of her head, she turned around, opting to just forget about it. She wasn't sure what she had been hoping to accomplish, anyway. She'd thought that since it was obvious how much Blaise actually meant to the both of them, Malfoy would actually cooperate.
She was halted in her tracks by a firm grip on her arm. She looked up in confusion, noting the look of exasperation on his face.
"He's usually in his room about this time," he finally said.
Hermione blinked, before quickly nodding, his words finally registering.
"Thank you," she quietly replied, slightly shocked that he'd actually helped her.
He ran his eyes over her, grip still tight before he frowned, abruptly letting her go.
"Knock, knock," Hermione cautiously said, creeping his door open.
Blaise looked up in surprise before he sent her a small smile as he rose from the bed. She closed the door behind her just as he reached her.
"Hey. What are you doing here?"
Did Hermione imagine the slight disappointment she heard in his voice? She cleared her throat, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"A little birdie told me where to find you. Everything alright?"
She reached out towards him and Blaise waved the question off with a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine…"
Hermione frowned.
"Really…because…I've kind of gotten the feeling that you've been avoiding me," she quietly replied.
Blaise's heart sank at the question swirling within her eyes, questioning his intentions, his feelings. He grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him before sitting on the edge of the bed. She sank down next to him.
"I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention…"
Liar, he thought.
"I've just been thinking about a lot of things lately."
"Malfoy," she guessed.
He nodded and Hermione didn't know whether to feel happy or worried.
"So you have been talking to him?"
Blaise rubbed his forehead, looking incredibly defeated all of a sudden.
"Yeah, we're…we're trying to find some common ground," he said, looking away.
"Well, that's good…"
"I suppose. We're still…discussing some details," he said with a sigh.
Hermione nodded.
"Is it safe to assume that you won't be going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?"
Blaise frowned.
"Is that tomorrow? I completely forgot… I hope that you weren't expecting-."
"Oh! No, not at all. I'm going with Ron, Ginny, and Harry tomorrow, anyway. I was just curious…if I would see you there," she quietly replied, squeezing his hand.
He shook his head, standing, pulling her up with him.
"No, I have some homework that I haven't even started on yet…," he trailed off.
Hermione got the feeling that she was being dismissed.
"Okay," she said, taking the hint and walking towards the door.
"Hermione…"
She turned around, lips immediately connecting with his for a brief moment.
"I just wanted to say that I'm glad that you're so adamant about preserving my friendship with Draco," he whispered.
"I'm not that kind of girl. He's your friend, not mine, therefore, you are the one who has to live with him," she said with a chuckle.
He joined in, kissing her one more time.
"Have fun tomorrow…"
"Katie, you don't know what it could be…!"
These words faintly reached Hermione's ears, the rest of the conversation ahead of her unintelligible. Hermione trotted along the snow covered path, Ron prattling to Harry about something or another behind her. She was glad that she'd gone to Hogsmeade, relieved to finally relax after what seemed like forever. It felt good to take her mind off of Malfoy and Blaise's confusing behavior…
She let out a blissful sigh, slowing down and turning her head towards her companions. Ginny had hooked up with Dean a while back, leaving them for her beau. Hermione couldn't blame her, really. She raised her arms, allowing them to fall over Harry and Ron's shoulders, pulling them closer.
She was just about to comment on what a lovely time she'd had, when a blood-curdling scream reached her ears. They all paused on the spot, looking up in horror at the sight of Katie Bell's prone figure on the ground.
"I warned her! I warned her not to touch it," her friend cried, who Hermione recalled to be named Leanne.
The three of them were next to Leanne now, watching as Katie's body was drag from side to side, then…
At once, Katie rose into the air... gracefully, her arms outstretched, as though she was about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something eerie...
Her hair whipped her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression...
Then, six feet above the ground, Katie let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open but whatever she could see, or whatever she was feeling, was clearly causing her terrible anguish. She screamed and screamed...
Hermione watched in a mix of horror and confusion as the girl suddenly fell to the ground, body hitting it with an alarming sound.
"Don't get any closer…"
A familiar voice sternly said, and Hermione turned to see Hagrid coming towards them.
"Get back, all of you."
They all were more than happy to move out of his way, allowing the tall half giant to come through. Hagrid picked the young girl up and Hermione found herself following Harry's movements as he approached the piece of jewelry on the ground. Hagrid's voice rang out, stopping him:
"Do not touch that…"
"…and he just blurts out that Malfoy did it. I've humored him, you know? Anyone can easily see why he would believe Malfoy to be one of them, now. It isn't exactly farfetched…"
Hermione ranted as she paced the room.
"…but to accuse Malfoy of something like this? Without any evidence to back it up? I swear, sometimes he just doesn't think!"
"You know how Harry can be, Hermione. He's not always a thinker…he's been known to be quite impulsive at times," Ginny said, trying to soothe the irritated girl.
"He just spewed it out right there, in front of McGonagall and Snape. What would make him think Malfoy is even capable of such a thing? Following in daddy's footsteps is one thing, but attempted murder? The necklace was cursed, Ginny…"
Hermione spun around, facing the younger girl.
"Cursed! It was meant for Professor Dumbledore. Whoever was behind it clearly had one intention and one intention only. The fact that Harry's mind immediately conjures up Malfoy is just mind boggling to me. It's completely clouding his judgement. You can't just go around accusing people of things like that all willy-nilly…"
Ginny sighed.
"He's just trying to find someone to blame… You know how much Professor Dumbledore means to Harry. Someone tried to kill him, that's bound to stir up a number of questionable emotions and thoughts."
Hermione sighed too, understanding Ginny's defense. Ginny suddenly stood from the bench, throwing her bag over her shoulder.
"I've got to go. Try not to be too hard on him, eh, Hermione?"
Hermione reluctantly nodded, waving her off. She exhaled, reaching up to rub her forehead when hands were suddenly on her arms. She opened her eyes in fright, almost screaming before her shoulders sagged with relief.
"Are you trying to send me into an early grave," she asked as Blaise pulled her into a secluded alcove.
Blaise completely ignored her attempt at humor, looking around before settling his eyes on her.
"Are you alright?"
Hermione frowned in confusion at the extreme worry she heard in his voice.
"Yes, I'm fine. You didn't scare me that-."
"No. I heard about Hogsmeade…about Katie Bell," he frantically interrupted.
Hermione's frown deepened. How did he know?
"Who told you?"
It had only happened less than two hours ago and she had just told Ginny. Blaise ran his hands up and down her arms, shaking his head.
"I heard it from some fifth year. Probably someone who knows Katie… That's not the point. Are you okay? You didn't touch it, did you?"
"No, of course not…"
Blaise wrapped his arms around her, burying his nose into her hair. His grip tightened and Hermione got the distinct feeling that he'd actually been fearful for her life. He exhaled, an exasperated sound before pulling away.
"Are you okay? You seem more worried than I was…," she said with a chuckle.
He blew out another breath, the irritation in the action evident.
"Yes. I just…fucking idiot," he spat.
Hermione got the feeling that she was missing something.
"Blaise…"
He held a hand up.
"Forget it. I just…I needed to make sure that you were okay," he said.
"Yes, I'm fine. A little disturbed, but nothing that a few good nights of sleep shouldn't be able to fix," she replied.
He grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips.
"Good. I was really worried," he mumbled against her skin, looking at her with those puppy dog eyes.
"I could tell," she said, chuckling.
"I'm sorry about being so distant lately…"
Hermione swallowed.
"It's okay…," she replied in a small voice.
"No, it's not. I've missed you and…the next time we're alone…"
Hermione bit her lip as his voice dropped.
"I want to try something a little new," he proposed.
Hermione found herself blushing.
"New? Define new…," she said, a bit cautious.
Blaise's experience surpassed hers by a longshot, making her a little more than self-conscious at times. However, she had learned to trust him in the bedroom, allowing him to open her mind and introduce her to things she always found herself enjoying, anyway.
"It's a surprise."
"Blaise, you know that I am not fond of surprises," she responded.
He pulled her closer, lips brushing her own.
"Humor me…"
"Blaise…"
"You don't have anything against blindfolds, do you?"
Hermione's heart fluttered, remembering the last time they'd used one. Blaise knew the answer that question.
"No," she said, defeated.
He grinned.
"Alright. I've never done something that I didn't think you would like…"
"No, you haven't," Hermione agreed.
"…and you trust me, don't you?"
"When it comes to that? Yes…"
"See? There's nothing to be worried about… I promise, you won't be disappointed."
He pulled away, throwing her a sly smile, which she returned. She waved to him in goodbye, a fond smile on her lips.
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