Chapter 17 Not the Same, But Different.

May ended and June came and passed. Blaise who had always like June because it signaled the end of the school year, found that he had grown to hate the month with a fierce passion. It was in June, that for the first time Blaise no longer had Kacy… Hermione. Before they dated she wasn't his but she was around none-the-less. She would laugh and talk to Pansy and Draco before they even became close. Then when they were close, she laughed and joke with him. Either way she was still around. When they dated for those perfect three month she was always with him. Even when she was Hermione Granger, bookworm, was better than this. At least then he didn't know how much she meant to him. At least then he didn't feel so empty.

Now that he knew how much he loved her, how much he wanted her, being away from her felt like torture of the acuities kind. Every day he woke up hoping it was a dream and that when he went down to breakfast he wouldn't think twice about those brown eyes or soft lips. But even then he knew he had never truly lived until he met her, until he loved her.

Even though he knew all of this, he denied it. To himself and to everyone else. He felt betrayed, she should have told him but she didn't. She played with his heart and then had the nerve to look upon him with disappointment. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Why wasn't everyone on her case for lying to them? After the dinner in the great Hall when she was welcomed back, Pansy had actually hugged her and Draco still looked at her with the same admiration as before, if not more. Draco, Ron and Harry had the nerve to come up to him days later and call him a jerk. Saying that he needed to put his pride aside and talk to her because this was breaking her heart. How she had spent the last few days in her room crying her eyes out.

"What about my heart?" he lashed out. "She lied. How can I just forgive her?" He asked them.

"She loves you." Harry whispered

"Screw love. Love is the reason I am where I'm at now." He shouted.

"She'll forgive you." Ron offered as they turn their backs on him and walked away.

'They have some nerve acting all high and mighty.' Blaise thought bitterly stalking down the hall.

And though he never commented on it again he thought about it. If he were to go back to her now on bended knee would she welcome him? As the days passed and he pondered it, he got his answer.

He walked into the Great Hall to the Slytherin table. Like always, he eyes search for Hermione at the Gryffindor table until he found her, she was talking to Ginny. He watched slowly and tried to read their lips. From what he could make out Ginny was apologizing for being so rude and something about being protective of her brother and Harry. He watched in amazement as Hermione nodded her head and pulled the younger witch into a hug. He imagined a similar thing happening between him and her only ending in one of her mind-blowing kisses. But his pride wouldn't let him be the one to say sorry. 'He hadn't done anything it' cooed to him.

So here he was on the first day of July walking through the crowds of Platform 9 and ¾. He spotted Draco, Pansy and Hermione talking quickly to themselves and waited for them to finish and Hermione to walk off before making his way over to them.

"What going on?" He asked from behind. " I didn't see you guys on the train."

"Oh we got one by ourselves to-"

"Pansy spare me the nasty details" Blaise said cover his ears. Pansy giggled. "So what on for the summer?"

"Me and Pansy are going to stay with the Grangers for a while." Draco answered.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah, with Lucius back, Malfoy manner isn't safe and mom has already left for the Americas. They're really nice and have enough room. So we decide to stay with them, change our identities and everything." Blaise winced at the last bit.

"Well good luck and write me."

" We will, don't worry okay the Granger have almost as much protection as Hogwarts." Draco reassured.

"Just promise us you wont let him turn you into something your not Blaise." Pansy said squeezing his hand.

It wasn't hard for Blaise to guess who 'he' was. "I promise."

"Pansy, Draco, Their here. It's time to go." Blaise looked over his shoulder to see Hermione standing next to a man and woman he presumed to be her parents.

"We'll be seeing you later, right?" Pansy asked squeezing his hand once more before releasing him.

"Of course." He hugged both of his best friends and watch them walk off towards Hermione. She caught his eyes and they stared at on another for a while before he broke the contact and turned to walk to the floo network.

His last thought before he dropped the powder and said 'Zabini Manor' was that he had lost everything. His best friends, his home (hogwarts) and most importantly the girl he loved.

Stepping out the fireplace into a dark manor wasn't the welcome home he had in mind. He drug his trunk out of the room and into the sitting room. He gasped seeing his mother lying on the floor in her own blood.

"Mom!" He shouted running to her and lifting her hand searching for a pulse. There was none.

"She's dead." A cold voice said from behind him." Put up a good fight, that one did." Blaise turned around to face his stepfather.

"Why you do it?" He asked trying to distract the man as he reached for his wand.

"Not so fast Blaise. I've watched you grow up and thought of you as a son but I will kill you, if you pull that out." He said gesturing to Blaise's wand.

"Watched me grow up? You've only been here for a couple of months." Blaise stated. His stepfather ignored him.

"Where are Draco and Narcissa?"

"What are you talking about?" Blaise asked confused.

"Where my son and wife?" The man asked.

Blaise stared at him for a while before answering. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"crucio" he shouted and Blaise felt the most agonizing and unbearable pain he has every been in. It seemed to crawl from his feet to his head. He wanted to cry out as his skin began to burn like someone had set him on fire. It wasn't the pleasant burning he go when Hermione touched him but the kind of burn that makes you want to end your own life. Even when the curse had been lifted he still quaked in agony. He turns to his right and throws up on the plush carpet.

"I'll ask you again where is my family?" the voice growled.

"Who are you?" Blaise choked even though he had a sickening feeling he already knew.

Then he watched in horror has his stepfathers face contorted. Slowly the lines and structure of is face began to sharpen and define. His shinny blue eyes turn to a cold gray and his short hair grow rapidly and turn form brown to blonde. There in front of him stood Lucius Malfoy. In the flesh.

Blaise woke up later still on the floor in the sitting room next to his mother's lifeless body and in his own sickness. He could hear someone shouting his name but pushed it a side as the after affect of the curse.

"Blaise where are you!" the voice shouted getting closer. It sounded frantic. "Blaise!"

"I'm in here' he tried to reply but it only came out as grunt.

"Blaise if you can here me say something." The voice shouted, as it got nearer.

"Maybe he's not here." Another voice said more softly.

"He has to be." The first voice shouted angrily.

It was then that Blaise recognized this voce. It was the voice that had hunted his dreams for so many months. The voice belonged to her. But what was she doing here.

He tried to sit up and go to her only to find his body was so stiff. He heaved tiredly only to have gravity push him back down.

"I heard something, it's this way." A new voice jumped in.

He heard the drawing door open. "Blaise!" Hermione shouted pulling him in her arms. "I thought the worse." She sighed rocking him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked finally finding his voice.

""Harry had a dream of Voldemort talking about you. We came to get you out of here." She said. For the first time Blaise realized just how many people where in the room. Draco and Pansy were kneeling beside Hermione and Harry Ron and Ginny where standing behind them.

"We have to get him out of here. Can you move?" Draco asked.

"No."

"Who did this to you?" Harry asked "did they perform crucio on you?"

"Yeah, how do you know?" Harry shuddered.

"Voldemort got me in forth year."

"And Bellatrix Lestrange and McNair got me when I got kidnapped." Ron offered.

"Well it was my stepfather or more of your father Draco." He said thinking about it.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"Your fathers been poising as my mother's husband this whole time. He did this." He watched his friend face contort in anger.

"We have to get back to head quarters." Ginny said from the rear.

"Oh I have a better idea." The cold voice said. Ginny shrieked and jumped behind her brother as every wand in the room became trained on Lucius Malfoy.

"Put down the toys unless you plan on using them kids." Lucius said belittling them all.

"We plan on using them." Hermione said helping Blaise to stand.

"Well. Miss Granger, next time you kill me make sure there's no pulse. You see even with the smallest pulse there's still life."

"Thanks for the advice." Hermione said sarcastically.

Lucius looked at her with pure hate in his eyes, he screamed." Avada-"

Blaise didn't have time to think so he reacted doing the first thing that came to mind. He punched Luicus in the face. And hard. Blaise didn't understand where this sudden energy came from but he knew he wasn't letting anything take Hermione from him. Not after living these last months in hell because she wasn't around. Lucius lost his blance for a second but quickly recovered and started send curses in every direction. Ron, Draco, and Harry blocked and fired back at him.

"Pansy get them out of here." Draco said dunking under a green light.

"I'm not leaving!" Hermione said sending a curse at Lucius.

"Stop being stubborn Hermione and get Ginny out of here." Ron shouted before screaming from a cutting curse.

"Ron!" Ginny cried.

"Come on Ginny lets go." Pansy said grabbing the sobbing girls hand.

"Hermione go with them." Blaise said sending a curse of he's own at Lucius.

"No! I'm staying and fighting." She huffed. Flicking her wand. Lucius groaned.

"Draco I'm disappointed with the company you keep now." Lucius said sending a sting hex at his son. It bounced off a shield and hit Lucius.

"Thanks Harry." Draco said. Using this time when Lucius was distracted they all circled him. "Leave him to me." Draco suddenly said as they all raised their wands.

"Oh son, I'm touched."

"Don't be." Draco growled. " I just want to have the honor of killing the man that mine and my mothers life a living hell." It was then that Draco raised his wand to his father and hissed. "Avada Kedra!" a Green light engulfed the room and when it faded Lucius Malfoy laid dead, by the hands of his son. No one said again thing as they stared at the dead body in front of them.

"Draco?' Hermione said walking to him and putting a arm around him bringing him into a hug. Draco went limp in her arms and began to cry into her shoulder.

"We're free." He cried. "His finally gone."

Blaise hadn't ever seen his friend show this much emotion in his life. He stared in wonder as his friend broke down in Hermione's arms. He turned his head and watched Ron pick up Lucius wand and hand it to Draco.

"Harry, Hermione!" a Voice came from behind them. Blaise turned to see some of his old Professors. Lupin, Moody and Snape ran into the room.

"What-" Professor Snape started but stop when he saw the two dead bodies. He turned to Harry and said.

"Explain." Harry shook his head.

"I can't" He said softly.

"I can.' I looked at all three adults. "Lucius has been posing as my mother's husband from what he explained when he used an unforgivable curse on me. He killed her, they came and rescued me because a Dream Harry had and Draco killed him."

All three adults looked at the still sobbing Draco. Snape's eyes softened.

"Harry, I told you to come to me if you had anymore dreams." He said calmly.

"I was but I saw Hermione first." Harry sounded like a child that had just disappointed his father. This made Blaise wonder what he was missing he had always thought Snape hated Harry.

"Come on you guys." Lupin said picking up Draco and helping him walk.

O0o

Blaise mentally prepared himself for what he knew was to come. He stared at the door the separated him from Hermione and knocked twice. He hadn't got a chance to talk to Hermione yet and knew now how foolish he had been to let his pride get in the way. When Lucius pointed his wand at Hermione, he lost it. He had never been that scared in his life as he uttered the first part of the deadly curse. Just thinking about what would have happened had he finished made his blood boil.

"oh, hi Blaise." Hermione said opening her door.

"Hermione could I talk o you?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah come in Ginny's still with Ron." Blaise stepped into he room and sat on the Yellow bed.

"How are they?" He asked even though he already knew.

"Blaise why are you here?" She asked, seeing through his bull.

"Hermione why did you come for me." He asked instead

"Because Harry said you were in trouble."

"But why did you care, I hurt you."

"Why did you sock Lucius when he was about to kill me?" She said sitting next to him.

"Cause even though I've been so blind. I'm not blind enough to see how much happier I was with you, than I've ever been without you." He looked down. " Hermione what I'm trying to say and have been trying to say is that I think I feel in love with you and cant get up." Blaise felt her hand on his chin lifting it to meet her eyes. She was crying and Blaise wasn't sure what he was to do.

"Blaise?" she cried.

"Yes?"

"Kiss me."

Blaise complied and kissed Hermione slowly. He remembered her telling him she was the same girl only different and he had ignored her. But in this kiss he knew it was true. Her kiss made his heart soar and his mind turn to putty. Just as the kisses he shared with Kacy Malfoy. Only now she was Hermione Granger, She was the same girl only different. She had changed him though. Showed him what it was like to be in love and how forgive those you love. Because of her, he was not the same guy, but different.

the end

A/n: I hope every one enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed thinking it up (not writing it cuz writing it was hell, thinking up what to write was the fun part lol) You might wonder why I made snape so nice at the end but if you read Deathly hallows than you know why. I've never been a snape fan but now I am. I said this twice before I'm moving today and when I get my compute sent to me I'll post the new story. I have a one shot about Blaise accusing Hermione of being a tease lol for mature audience only. And one where Hogwarts gets a new student in their seventh year Tom Riddle the 3rd. everyone bully's him for the wrong doings of his father except Hermione who becomes his only friend and their relationship grow to the dismay of her friends. Sorry for rushing the ending of this story but I wanted to finish it before I moved and time ran out. Thanks for all the love Bye

Leecy