MIYUKI: Hey, guys. I know it's been a long while but I was able to find some inspiration and finish this chapter. (: It's quite short, I dunno. I hope you enjoy it.
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Mrs. Zabini walked towards Hermione's room and opened the door. She was surprised to see a messy colored room, paints carelessly dripping from the previously pristine wall, instead of seeing a well decorated room.
"What happened in here?" She asked, raising one perfectly plucked eyebrow.
The trio looked at her, surprised at her sudden appearance, and grinned sheepishly.
"Well, Hermione and Draco thought that they're simply too bored to paint and started a war that would not harm them but color them. A colorful room indeed," Blaise drawled, his eyes twinkling with mischievousness.
Mrs. Zabini took in their appearance and indeed, all were covered in variety of colored paints.
Mrs. Zabini sighed, "Wash up the three of you. Draco your parents will be here at 6 in the evening. Hermione, finish this room using magic. As much as I truly appreciate your effort in using your Muggle ways, we need to hurry up a little bit. Blaise darling, assist your sister."
"Yes mother." Blaise said, getting his wand from his holster.
Mrs. Zabini smiled at Blaise and turned her attention on her newfound daughter and Draco.
Draco sighed, "Do I really have to meet with them now, Issa? You know that mother will just nag me on that betrothal with some pureblood heiresses. I mean, she's my mother but I really don't need her bugging about my love life. It's bad enough that my father so willingly complies with her."
Mrs. Zabini laughed, "Draco dear, you know Narcissa will stop at nothing to get what she wants. And she wants you to get married. I think ever since meeting the Notts and see them with their grandchildren, she got obsessed on getting one of her own." She replies as she chuckles towards the young blonde's misfortune. "Now I am going to leave the three of you. You better be ready by 6. And Hermione, if you need any help on any thing just call for Yappie. She'll be happy to assist you." She then closed the door, and footsteps can be heard going down the hall.
Blaise muttered a cleaning incantation and the messy room reverted to its tidy state. He started arranging the things in the room and proceeded on decorating it.
"Blaise, I'll be going to my room. I'll just clean up and prepare for the oh-so coming back of my persuasive parents. I wonder why they could have not just stayed there a little bit longer." Draco said, sarcastically.
"Sure. Just make sure you'll be there by 5:30." Blaise reminded.
"Yeah, sure. I'll go. We wouldn't want my mother to see his dear son in a mess." Draco muttered, before closing the door.
Hermione sat down on her new bed, looking at Blaise do the finishing touches on her room.
"You are excellent in Charms." She remarked.
Blaise looked at her sister and smiled. "Got an O on my OWLS." Hermione beamed at his brother.
"So where are we going? Why is uhm…" She trailed off, struggling to find the right words to call Isabella.
"Issa? Mom? Mother? Whichever, is hurrying us up?"
"I think they were planning to actually give out a ball to welcome you back properly in the Wizarding Society." He answered as he picks up a few scattered brushes.
"Ohh, is that okay? I mean, I haven't fully agreed to whatever," she said as she gestures towards her and him "we should be having. I made it clear that even though I would like to spend some time with you, I haven't fully recovered from the revelation that you truly are my family."
Blaise looks at her sister as she struggles with her situation. He knows that it's not going to be easy but he'll try to make it better. He'll do his best to at least make her sister comfortable.
He walks towards her as he wraps her in a one arm and a little bit of awkward hug. He was never really affectionate towards people but for his only sister, she'll make an exemption. Hermione was surprised at the gesture but welcomed it nonetheless. She wrapped her arms around Blaise's lithe waist.
She felt a little bit better to know that someone was there, willing to listen, will to talk.
Hermione and Blaise went downstairs to see Isabella and Draco waiting impatiently for them.
"What took you so long?" Draco bellowed, standing up from where he was sitting comfortably a few minutes ago. "We've been waiting for a good of twenty minutes or so. Surely it doesn't take long to actually dress up and clean your room!"
"I'm sorry Draco. But unlike you, people take time to be hygienic. We want ourselves to look good. We want our rooms perfectly impeccable." Blaise replied sarcastically. Draco went red for a moment before answering, "How dare you imply that I am unhygienic, you stupid brat! You know how narcissistic I am!"
"I was not implying anything. I was merely stating facts." The Zabini answered, quite nonchalant with the mixture of emotions crossing Malfoy's face.
Hermione sighed. It was amusing to see Blaise and Draco banter like little children. But it gets tiring after a while, especially if it makes you late for various appointments. She then decided to interfere when she saw Draco getting ready to get his wand from his pocket.
"Now boys, if you are quite finish entertaining yourself with your very childish banters, would it be possible for you to get moving? It's possible? Good. Let's go." She glanced at the fishlike reaction of her brother and his friend, and can't help but smirk a little.
Isabella smiled softly at the scene before remembering that they were almost late with their appointment with Madame Malkins.
"C'mon, we need to get moving. Madam Malkins is waiting." The three teens nodded before Isabella asks them to apparate to their location.
"Ahm, I don't think that this revealing gown suits me." Hermione said, her face flushed at the attire she was wearing. It was crimson gown, which has a very plunging neckline. Not only that but it dips very low at the back too, almost exposing her whole bare back.
"Nonsense dear, it looks fine."
"It doesn't." Blaise said. Hermione looked at him quite grateful that he shares the same opinion as her. Although Blaise thinks that Hermione looks like a goddess in it, if Hermione doesn't want to wear it then he won't ask her too. Makes life easier if all people were like him, he thought quite narcissistically.
Isabella pouted, her son surprised at the quite unladylike appearance. "But it's pretty and you look really good, Hermione. It fits your complexion. Red is so your color."
"Mother, you shouldn't force Hermione to wear a gown that revealing. Besides, what will those men say? It's hard to fend off Draco with his very sexual thoughts regarding Hermione. What more if those perverts increase by making her wear this revealing gown? I really don't want to disrespect an elder by breaking their nose just becaue they were straightly staring and drooling at the sight of my sister's cleavage." Blaise said, as he winks towards his sister.
"I am not a pervert! Blaise, why must you hurt me so!" Draco said from the sideline.
"No one asked for your opinion, mate. What are you even doing here? You were supposed to be home, like an hour ago."
"Mother floo'd and told me that they'll just meet me at dinner, in your house. She was so excited to see you." Draco smirked knowingly. Blaise groaned as Hermione slumped a little bit.
"Oh, c'mon. It won't be that bad. Maybe your drink won't be spiked and maybe you wouldn't try to seduce my mother in front of my father. Mate, until now I wonder how you were able to ignore my father's murderous glares when you started asking my mother if she wanted a lap dance. I'm his son but one glare directed at me like that and I almost piss at my pants. And that is saying something, I am the great Draco Malfoy after all." Draco said, mirth shining in his eyes.
Blaise growled, "Are you never going to let me live that down? It was an accident okay! I did not mean to offend your mother and I sure as hell did not mean to piss your father off."
Draco laughed, a little bit uncharacteristically, Hermione mused. Hermione turned towards Isabella and saw her carrying a pile of gowns, bigger than the pile she had awhile ago.
Hermione sighed, 'When is this going to end?'
Before Hermione could even enter the dressing room, a familiar voice called out to her. She looked up to see stunningly emerald green eyes staring at her in a mixture of bewilderment, curiosity and surprise.
"H—H—Harry!" At the sound of his name, Harry snapped out of his stupor and proceeded to talk
"Hey, how're you doing? I haven't heard from you in like a week or two! And now I see you here with a couple of Slytherins. It's not like it's a bad thing, just wondering." Harry exclaimed, not in the least angry but rather curious.
"It's a long story but I promise to tell it to you. I just have to ahm…"
"Hermione, why dear, is he your boyfriend? You never told me you had a boyfriend." Isabella said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
"Who is she, Hermione?" Harry politely questioned.
"Harry, this is Isabella Zabini, my true mother. Mother, this is Harry Potter, my bestfriend." Hermione said, introducing them to one another as calmly as she could. When she asked for the dressing rampage to end, she doesn't mean it this way. She doesn't mean it as one of her bestfriends popping out of thin air like the wizards they are to suddenly witness the very life altering change in her life that occur just a few moments ago.
"M—Mother? Zabini? Hermione, you're a Zabini?" Harry said, shock etched in his face.
"Who's a Zabini?" Another voice asked the voice curious and a little bit suspicious.
'Not him too. This will end up disastrously.' Hermione frantically thought.
There he is, Ronald Bilius Weasley, standing in all his six foot glory staring at Harry like a madman.
"Why are you staring at me like that, mate?"
"Nothing, just heard something about someone being a Zabini." Ron muttered.
"Ahm, it's actually, hmm, it's actually Hermione. She's a Zabini." Harry said, trying to grasp for the correct words. They all waited for the outburst but it never came. Instead a malicious glint was seen in Ron's striking blue eyes.
"Never knew the mudblood was some rich heiress." He drawled casually, as if saying the evil m word was a constant in his vocabulary.
Before he could even breathe, 3 wands were pointed at him, its owners' eyes glinting with something akin to anger and disgust.
"Don't you dare speak to my sister that way! She is not a mudblood, never was, never will be." Blaise said menacingly.
As Ron smirked knowingly at him, he was shocked to see Draco's wand pointed towards him too. Sure he was expecting Zabini and his mother, but even ferret boy?
"Just what the fuck is going on?" Ron said, his eyes glinting more maliciously and dangerously now. Harry looked at him, astonished at his best mate's behavior. He expected an outburst not a menacing and hard glint on his friend's usual soft face.
"Ron will you please tone down? Please, I'll explain this let us all head to the a secluded place and I will explain okay? Please, don't make a ruckus here. Please, Mother, Blaise, Draco, hide your wands. I do not deem violence as something necessary in this conversation." Hermione asked her cheeks flushed red due to embarrassment.
"Still a hypocrite, 'Mione?" Ron chuckled humorlessly. Harry thumped him on his shoulder hard, rapidly asking him what was wrong with him.
"Why are you being rude, Ron? It's Hermione, Hermione Granger. You know our best friend ever since we saved her from the troll during first year?"
"Yeah, Hermione Granger, bookworm extraordinaire whose life solely existed to read and read. Hermione Granger who bossed us around, Hermione Granger who pisses me off whenever she starts ranting about fucking homeworks before important Quidditch practices. Like hell do I care."
Hermione looked on the verge of tear as Isabella comforts her. "Mr. Weasley, I really do not appreciate you talking down to my daughter like that." She said, sternly.
Ron just sneered at her.
"What the hell, mate? Hermione maybe now is not the time. I'll see you before vacation end and perhaps we could talk about this. I really apologize for his behavior, Mrs. Zabini. Blaise, Malfoy, Hermione, guess I'll see you around." Harry said as he ushers out Ronald outside of the store.
"I'm suddenly not in the mood to buy dresses." Isabella said.
"Me too, mother. Me too." Hermione said, as she wiped some of the tears that are now streaking on her face. Blaise held her shoulders comfortingly.
'That bastard is going to pay dearly.' Blaise thought darkly.
They took the floo center to get back to the Zabini manor since apparition wards have bene placed in and out of the mansion.. Hermione was to go last, as Blaise instructed.
Hermione stood at the fireplace before she clearly stated, "ZABINI MANOR."
Sure she expects the soot and the dirt. What she clearly didn't expect was a pair of strong, pale arms to wrap around her waist tightly and started swinging her around. When a lady chastised the older man, she was shocked to see him.
Surely, it was a trick that Lucius Malfoy just hugged her, oh so happily.
'Dear God, I'm crazy.'
"Mr. M--Malfoy." Did she stutter? Oh yes, she certainly did.
"Oh dear, call me Lucius please. After all I am your godfather." Lucius said, smiling.
'Something's for sure. Don't ever let him smile. He looks like he's constipated then at the same time having a heart attack. Merlin, help me.'