Hermione sat at the Head Table and sipped her wine as she recalled the beauty of the ceremony they had attended. Georgina, as no one could call such a beautiful, happy woman, Snoop, that day, had been a vision. And, the love between her and Ron had been palpable. No one was left untouched as they exchanged their vows.
Tala, as Maid of Honor, had just given the toast, when Hermione let her eyes roam the crowd. She laughed at the way the tables of people had been mixed. Since Georgina had grown up in New York as a witch, she had a mix of muggle friends who knew she was a witch, muggle friends who just thought her eccentric, and witch and wizard friends, as well. Plus, there was Ron's side, which was all witch and wizard, but many of whom had little to no muggle knowledge. Where most brides had dress rehearsals and fittings, she had had muggle lessons and American muggle dancing lessons for her new family-to-be. Everything had been a challenge, but Hermione was very impressed that she had pulled it off. It never failed to amaze her how Georgina spliced her life together so seamlessly.
As she scanned the crowd of people jamming the dance floor, she saw something that made her sit up straighter. Only one man moved like that! It couldn't be! He couldn't be here. How? Who? Oh, Julie, what were you thinking?!
Before Hermione could finish her thoughts, Blaise's eyes pierced hers. She actually felt warmed by his appreciative smile. But, then she realized if he was there, then maybe so was…
"Is that Blaise?!" Tala leaned closer to whisper.
"Looks like it," Hermione answered as calmly as she could. She tried to not be obvious in her search for that telltale blonde hair. "I am guessing Julie decided to not come alone."
"Darn! I was hoping he would call me. I know you don't like him and all, but…"
Hermione interrupted her with a laugh, "I don't dislike Blaise, Tala. He's nice enough, I guess. And, anyone with eyes can see he's hot. I say you should still go for it. He's not really a one-woman kind of guy anyway, so if you aren't looking for anything serious, he's your man."
"Hmmm, well he's coming this way, so I just might take a chance."
"Ladies, you look lovely."
"Thanks, Blaise. And, hello again! What are you doing here?" Hermione smiled at him.
"Asking you to dance," was his smooth answer.
"Oh pooh! I thought you were coming to ask me," Tala pouted prettily.
Blaise leaned against the table and winked at her, "I already put in a song request for something for the two of us later, babe. But, the next dance goes to the girl who introduced us. Think of it like a thank you to her for getting us together."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she watched Tala smile and melt under that infamous sexy stare. But, she got up to join Blaise on the dance floor.
Wow, he's like walking talking sin. No one should be this good-looking. It's a shame he's such a male slut. I wonder if Draco came….NO! Malfoy and why do I care?
"So, is it just you?" she couldn't help but ask.
Blaise laughed lightly, "Yep. D didn't want to tempt fate. He claimed he wanted to live a few more years. I, myself, figure you only live once. Seriously though, you look delicious. Are you here alone?"
She laughed with him easily and blushed prettily, "Why thank you. And, yes. Too much to do to do a lot of dating and such. School, learning the country and this city were enough, thank you very much."
Then she let her curiosity win out, "So, tell me, what on earth are you and uh, um, what are youdoing over here? I mean in the US? From what I recall, you could have gone anywhere. And, you sure could have afforded more than USWU."
Blaise took notice that she pointedly didn't mention Draco and decided to move his plan up a bit, "Well, let's see. My story is pretty simple. Mom and Dad were pretty successful in keeping themselves and me out things back before The Fall, so when the dust settled, I was free to continue being me."
He was pleased to see her smile up at him when he let his dimples flash at her.
"So, as you said, I could have gone anywhere. But, I had a best friend who hadn't had it as easy as I had."
He felt her stiffen in his arms, but noticed she kept her face impassive, so he continued, "Draco was in a really bad way. He was so lost and confused, it was sad. He had spent almost all 17 years of his life trying to be the person you knew him to be, even though it was never really him. All of his energy had been used up trying to not get himself killed at home, by being the ass you and your lot got to see all the time, that by the end of it all he really didn't know who he was. With Lucius and Narcissa under investigation for all they had done, and Draco still reeling from what he almost did that last year, it all just became too much for him."
Hermione hadn't been able to hold back her sniff of disbelief. She hadn't meant to let it out, but no matter how much she was attracted to the man she had re-met the previous evening, she couldn't forget all the pain he had caused.
"Seriously, Hermione, he was lost. So, I suggested we get away somewhere and start over. Somewhere where no one knew us and where our names, or more specifically his, wouldn't immediately cause hate, fear, or disgust. Well, you know he was good in school, and believe it or not, it was D that suggested going back for more school."
She stayed silent, but allowed a small smile to form. If nothing else, she did remember him to have been a good student back in the day. Almost as good as she had been. She was surprised to realize that it wasn't that hard to believe he would have wanted to continue his education.
Being forced to think of him in any kind of a good way made her stomach churn, so she snapped, "But, why here? Why not someplace like Austria or Australia? Or, even Germany. I would think you would have loved Durmstrang U. Kind of like Slytherin Pureblood heaven."
When Blaise blanched at the heat in her voice, she softened, "I'm sorry. Forgive me. I didn't mean it to come out like that."
He had to force himself to relax again and took a breath before continuing sadly, "Despite what we all led the rest of the school to believe, there were many of us who could have cared less about blood, or color, or any of that crap. I thought you knew me a little better than that."
"Oh, Blaise, I really am sorry. And, I didn't so much mean you, but Dra…Mal…just…I meant him."
The music changed to a slow love song and she let him pull her close. She felt more than heard him sigh against her.
"Forgiven. But, you should know, I don't think D believed half of the shit he spouted. He was brought up a certain way and crucioed whenever he stepped out of line. You have no idea what horrors he lived through and I won't betray him by telling you. It's his story to share, if he ever does. But, I will say, the man I consider to be more of a brother than a friend, is not the boy you knew. He never was."
Hermione didn't know what to say or what to think. She stared up at Blaise and read the sincerity in his eyes. She had never seen them look so solemn or truthful. And, she had felt his pain as he had spoken about Draco's upbringing.
Blaise barely breathed as he watched her eyes search his. He saw the emotions flitting across her face and he could practically hear her brain churning as she tried to reconcile the past with the present. It wasn't until her confused stare slid away from him that he decided he had done enough. He had fulfilled his sudo-promise to Draco and felt her out, even if Draco wasn't aware of it. Blaise now knew, she would possibly give him a chance, but her heart would not be in it. She might not have known it, and most certainly would never admit it, but she had already started to accept the new Draco. And, Blaise believed, despite their history, or maybe because of it, they were meant to be.
Shaking himself and her slightly he smiled again, "So, anyway, that's the story. We wanted a new place to go, D wanted to keep up his schooling and I didn't have any other plans, so we came here. Money not being an issue, we got a place here and applied. USWU was the first to answer, although, had it been a day later, we would have shared classes with you," he laughed.
He felt better when the tension left her shoulders and she laughed with him.
"The letter from AWU came the next day, but we had already sent back our acceptance of USWU, so that's where we went. I think it was great. The classes were classes, but the girls were great!" he winked and was rewarded with her bark of laughter.
"So, you were the school playboy and DraMal…he was what? The school Know-It-All?" she joked.
"You are allowed to say D's name, you know," he teased when she blushed a little. "But, actually, yeah, he was our valedictorian." He finished with a touch of pride.
"No freakin' way!" Hermione exclaimed loudly enough to cause a few heads to turn their way. "Oops, sorry."
Blaise laughed and took her hand to lead her off the dance floor. Well, never say I'm not a GREAT friend D! I'm about to talk you up to a woman you won't even talk to. He continued to the bar and ordered himself a drink and her a white wine.
When he turned back to hand her the drink he continued, "Yep, all he did was study, sleep and play Quidditch. I could barely get him to go out with me once a month. Much less make use of the greatest loft apartment ever. And, trust me, I tried. Hell, Quidditch groupies and sororities girls all over campus tried their damndest, too, but no go. He was consumed with studying. It was almost like once he was finally free he took all that energy he had wasted before and put it into finding himself and figuring out what he wanted to do with his life. He was kind of a bore at times, let me tell you."
He watched her take that in with a small thoughtful smile and then decided to lighten things up.
Again he took her hand and led her to a table, "So, that's enough of about us boring men, what's new with you? How'd you get here? And, why are you not the one married to Weasley, or Potter for that matter?"
Hermione laughed at the thought, "Eww, that would be like marrying one of my brothers. I know everyone thought there had to be something going on with us back then, but no. Well, Ron and I gave it a try for a bit, but it was too weird. And, believe me, he and Snoop are perfect together."
"So, what brought you across the pond?"
Hermione took a breath to give a quick answer, but found she couldn't stop once she started. "Well, after The Fall I just needed to get away. Things had been so bad for so long, and everyone was trying so hard to put their lives back together. Ron and his family needed time to get over losing Fred. Harry had Teddy all of a sudden, and he had to figure out how to deal with having succeeded. Let's just say winning wasn't easy on anyone."
Blaise put his hand on her shaking one to lend her strength, but remained silent to encourage her to continue. One thing he and Draco had decided when they chose to move was that they needed to cut ties with their past. That had meant seeing their parents only for very special occasions, no longer staying up to date on the European wizarding world, and ending long-held relationships. They truly needed to start again, to be their own men and make their own decisions. As Draco had put it, "At least this time our mistakes will be our own." So, on top of wanting to know more about her, he was interested I knowing more about what had happened to everyone he had known.
He blinked a few times when he realized Hermione had continued with her story as he had gotten lost in his own history.
"So, once I got my parents back home and told them the truth of everything, things got, let's say strained at my house. So, I started looking for a place of my own, but couldn't find anything I liked. I knew they needed time and I needed some place to escape to for a while and I didn't know what else to do, so I went back to school."
She laughed out loud at his look of "duh" and replied "I know everyone thought I just loved school and being the brightest know it all, blah blah blah, but it really wasn't like that. Schoolwork was my escape. I had some control there. I know you and…your friends had things tough, but there is no way to really describe the pressure and often sheer terror of being Harry's friend. And, it started when we were only eleven years old. Don't get me wrong, I love that man with everything I have, but it was hard."
She paused to take a sip of her wine, and he noticed her straighten her spine a little more. He knew she had just realized how much she had let slip. He didn't want her to clam back up, but he didn't know what to say or do to get her to keep talking.
"Sorry, I can get kind of maudlin sometimes, or so Snoop tells me. Anyway, I needed to get away and school called, so here I am. My parents and I are fine now, by the way."
When he didn't answer, but continued to look at her a bit sadly, she reached over to touch his hand.
"Blaise, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to bring things down."
"Hermione, no. It's just, I don't know. I never really thought about how you guys had it. I mean you were the winners; The Boy Who Lived Twice, Ron the Best Friend and Know It All Granger. I mean, it seemed like you three had it made. I never gave much thought to how hard it would have been. And, I'm sorry."
"Good gracious, for what?"
"For, well, I don't really know, but I am. I'm just sorry, you know?"
Blaise felt the warmth spread from her to him as she leaned in and gave him a hug.
"You know, you aren't such a bad guy Blaise Zabini."
"Thanks." He then glanced over her shoulder and saw something that made his façade of ladies' man fall back across his face. So, is Draco's indifference a mask, too? Hermione Granger, stop that!
"Looks like our time is up, my lady. Hey, Sexy," he said to someone behind her.
Hermione turned as she heard Tala's girlish laugh, "Hey yourself. Sorry Mione, but you can't keep him all to yourself. My turn."
"He's all yours, go have fun," Hermione laughed. But, before he left the table she reached out to touch his sleeve and get his attention, "And, Blaise, thank you, too."
His wink and smile were her answer.
Hermione spent the next few days in an endlessly, confused circle. She tried to concentrate on her new job, but at the oddest times, her conversation with Blaise would come back to her. That meant she would start to wonder about Draco; she had given up trying to call him Malfoy. Then she would spend the next few minutes berating herself for thinking about him so much. Last, she would refocus on her job. She usually got in about fifteen minutes before something else would set her off again. By Tuesday, she thought she would go crazy. But by Thursday, she knew she had gone completely around the bend.
She got home from work and went to put away her groceries, with, as was becoming normal, Draco on the brain. Nothing else was really filtering through. Her own thoughts had overrun any other sounds that she might have heard on her way home. But, as soon as she entered her kitchen it hit her, that delicious, perfect smell. Crisp, slightly musky, subtle, but very manly. Draco?! It hit her so quickly that she spun around in a circle expecting to see him there. But, when she faced nothing but her empty kitchen, she knew she needed some help.
She, Hermione Granger, had become obsessed with figuring out who Draco Malfoy really was. She needed a change of pace.
Earlier that same morning, Blaise had been ready to pull his hair out. When he had gotten back from the wedding late Sunday morning looking extremely satisfied, Draco had studiously avoided all talk of the wedding. He had teased Blaise a little about getting back 'so late' from the Saturday wedding, but he hadn't asked who he had been with that night. If he hadn't had to live with the brooding man, he might have considered it funny how snappy Draco had gotten over the next couple of days. But, over dinner Tuesday night, Draco had finally cracked and started asking about the wedding. It had started with little questions about who had been there and what the ceremony had been like. It then progressed to what the girls had worn and who looked how hot. But, by the end of dinner, Blaise had felt like he had been thoroughly and completely grilled.
While talking about how hot the girls had been, Blaise had slipped and mentioned Hermione and their talk. Draco had become like a dog with a bone until the whole conversation had been spilled out. Even trying to tease Draco about sounding like a nosy old witch at one point hadn't deterred him. At first Blaise had held back with the particulars, as he didn't want to say anything Hermione might not have wanted him to, but then he had remembered his main loyalty was to Draco. After that, he started over and just told him everything.
For his part, once the story started, Draco hadn't said another word. He had listened and taken in all that the two had shared. He'd even understood Blaise's need to apologize at the end. He, too, wish he had the chance to do so, to so many people. He only had one question at the end, and it was the one he couldn't bring himself to ask. And, it killed him that Blaise hadn't brought it up. Where had Blaise slept Saturday night? Or, more precisely, with whom? The longer he sat and listened to Blaise talk about their heart to heart, the more he believed his fear had come true. When Blaise then turned the conversation to his own feelings on the war and The Fall, Draco had participated and expressed his own opinions. But, the entire time he kept trying to think of a way to ask Blaise about his mystery date.
It was Thursday evening when he finally got a reprieve from the depression he had sunk into. Draco had walked into the apartment after a day of job interviews and Blaise had been on the phone and it didn't take Draco long to figure out the person on the other end was the girl he had been obsessing over.
"Yeah, I know, it was fun. We should definitely do it again soon. ….Oh she did, did she? Well, who are you going to believe her or me? …Come on, give me a chance, we had a good time this weekend didn't we?... Me, too. So, you up for dinner tonight? … Well, what about tomorrow night? We can go back the club. …"
Draco was just about to go to his bedroom and place a silencing charm on it, so he wouldn't have to hear any more when Blaise said, "Mione says, Mione says. Listen Tala, I like you, okay? And, Hermione doesn't know me as well as she thinks she does. So, you gonna give a poor wizard a chance or what?"
Draco didn't hear the rest of the conversation because as he fell across his bed, all he could hear was 'It wasn't Hermione, it wasn't Hermione, it wasn't Hermione,' accompanied by what sounded like cheers in his head. No one who knew him would have believed the smile that lit his face. His relief was so huge, that he didn't even register his own happy laughter until Blaise had peeked his head in the room to see what the racket was all about.
Draco sat up and smiled at his friend, "Nothing, man, just happy. I'll be right back."
With that, and before he realized what he was doing, he had pictured Hermione's toaster and apparated right into her kitchen. He glanced around the tidy kitchen with all its muggle appliances and took a deep breath. It hadn't been her! He was so happy he did a little dance in place that would have embarrassed him all the way back to Europe if anyone had seen it. But, his happiness was short lived. At first, when he heard the key turn in the lock of her front door, he had turned to the kitchen door with a smile. Then, it hit him that he had kinda, sort of, broken in and that she maybe wouldn't see his appearance in her kitchen as an all together good thing. Just as the kitchen door started to open, he sent up a quick prayer that she wouldn't notice the pop and apparated back to his loft.
"Where hell'd you go?!" Blaise asked from his spot still in the bedroom doorway.
"Um, uh, well, I, uh…"
The ringing of Blaise's cell phone interrupted them and saved Draco from having to try to explain himself. He didn't know how he would have anyway.
His heart was still pounding from the rush of emotions he had experienced in the past five minutes when Blaise answered his phone.
It faltered a bit when Blaise said, "Hey Hermione. What's up?"
It stopped when he heard, "Dinner tonight at your place? Sure. What time and can I bring anything?"