Disclaimer: Same as usual, I don't own: Harry Potter or any of the characters or any of the places mentioned. Just my own little plot in my own little head…and I enjoy it so much!
Chapter 6: The Christmas Party
"Blaise, the Schwartz's have rounded us into helping set up for the party tonight. Do you have your tuxedo ready to go? We want to have time to come back and change." His mother shouted to him as he crossed the catwalk two days later.
"Yeah mom. I just needed to take care of something upstairs first."
"Well, hurry up. The party starts in four hours!"
"Are Hermione and her parents coming to help, too?"
"Just her dad. Jane told me that her and Hermione were heading into Bend to get dresses for themselves and were going to pick up David's tuxedo from the shop in the village."
"Hermione didn't tell me that." He commented. 'Although she hasn't had time to recently' his teenage mind added with a slight grin forming on his face, sobering when he heard his mother speaking again.
"Blaise, are you listening?"
"Huh? What? Sorry mom, my mind is wandering again. What did you say?"
"I asked if you have asked her to the party yet."
"Yes, he did Mrs. Zabini." Hermione answered with a smile as she descended the stairs with her mother, arms locked together.
"It's about time. Let's go." Aileen said as she ushered her son from the room to the SUV.
"Now that he's gone, let's go find us some dresses!" Hermione's mother exclaimed, a maniacal grin forming on her face, scaring her daughter slightly.
"Blaise, are you dressed yet?" Blaise's father said through the bathroom stall door at seven o'clock that night. "It's party time."
"I'm coming; I'm just having problems with my bowtie."
"How can you be having problems with your bowtie?? It's a clip-behind. What is there to have a problem with?"
"It can be very tricky if you can't see what it is you are doing!"
"Remind your mother and me that when you get a new tux, not to get you a bow tie you have to tie. We would be there forever trying to teach you how to tie it."
Blaise only rolled his eyes as his father walked over to him and clipped Blaise's tie for him.
"Let me look at you," his father said, stepping back to look at him. After a moment's appraisal, he nodded. "Alright, let's go."
"Finally!" Blaise muttered under his breath as they left the grand restroom off of the main ballroom where the party was taking place.
When Blaise walked into the room, he decided that they had done a very good job. The main theme was winter wonderland, and it definitely showed. There were silver snowflakes, along with glittering stars, hanging from the ceiling, causing it to look like a clear winter night. At the main entrance to the room, there was a long arbor covered in green ivy with small twinkling lights woven in through the weave of the arbor. All around the main dance floor, there were dozens of eight person tables, all covered in sliver, blue and tulle table cloths, each set with small tea-light candles nestled in polished river rocks, glitter surrounding the small pile as a centerpiece. At the far end of the room, there was a buffet table groaning under the weight of the amount of food that had been brought by the homeowners and catered. On one side of the impressive buffet table was a DJ and on the opposite side was a string quartet.
Continuing his appraisal of the room, Blaise commented that those who worked on the decorations this year had really outdone themselves on making the room look as splendid as it did. Blaise's eyes fell upon the door and watched as people came in from the cold and unwrap themselves to reveal beautiful gowns and smart tuxedos. Finally he saw his and Hermione's mothers being greeted by their husbands. Both women were wearing gowns of varying elegance.
His mother was wearing a pale green gown with a thin gauze-looking skirt, which was light enough to flow with her smallest steps, and a satin torso that was covered in beads that made a whimsical pattern. Hermione's mother had chosen a beautiful eggplant colored, thin strapped ball gown that was very fitted on the top, both gowns with matching shawls.
Smiling at their mothers, he looked beyond expectantly, eagerly awaiting Hermione's arrival. His breath caught in his chest when Hermione shyly entered the room a moment later. In Blaise's eye, she was a vision in a light blue gown. The front was scattered with a darker blue glitter that thinned out as it went past her waist, and when she turned around to look around the room at the decorations, unaware of Blaise's obvious pool of drool forming at his feet, he saw that the back of her dress was a criss-cross of strings between the bottom of her shoulder blades to the top of her butt, which was richly accentuated, commented the teenage portion of Blaise's brain.
Emerging from his state of teenage admiration for the beauty before him, he managed to make his way across the room.
"Hermione, you look beautiful." He told her when he had made his way across the steadily increasing crowd that was forming in the center of the room.
"Thank you, is my hair alright?" She asked as she moved her hands up to fix a non-existent flaw. Her hair had tiny twists about her head, leading back to a mass of curls cascading down her bare back.
Grabbing her hands before any damage could be done, Blaise quickly replied, "It Is perfect, like you." Being the gentleman that he was, he bowed to the lady before him and kissed the back of her hand that was in his then placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
"Mmm, you don't look half bad yourself, Blaise. And you smell heavenly." She commented as she leaned in to inhale his scent deep into her senses, swaying slightly from becoming lightheaded from the effect that smell had on her.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" Blaise asked with concern as he put his hands on her shoulders to steady her when she swayed.
"Yes, thank you." She managed to squeak, smiling up at him.
Blaise smiled back down at her as she looked around the room at all the beautiful people and decorations, jumping slightly when the music started from the corner where a string quartet was seated.
"May I have this dance?" he said as he bowed slightly, one arm behind his back, the other towards her for her to take.
"It would be an honor." She replied with a curtsy and a giggle before placing one of her gloved hand into his larger one.
As he straightened, he swept her around and into an old-fashioned waltz to go with the Cantata number four being played in the background.
"I had no idea you were such an exquisite dancer, Blaise." Hermione said as they swept around the room as it started to fill with landowners who moved back to form a circle around the two dancers, their parents using their children's example, moving out to the floor to start dancing themselves, their two children completely ignoring the spot light that had been lit upon them, forming halos around the two teens.
"I have many surprises up my sleeve still. I really enjoy being mysterious, even to my girlfriend. I think that it adds to my charm."
Hermione giggled again as he dipped her, bringing her up again to end the song.
Two waltzes and a faster paced song later, they decided that it was time for some much needed sustenance.
"I'm parched," Hermione exclaimed as she moved hand-in-hand with Blaise to the buffet bar.
"Let's go out to the garden for a bit. It's beautiful out there because the Carlson's were assigned that area. They're garden landscapers, you know." Blaise suggested after they got their punch.
Outside in the garden, Hermione noticed that Blaise had been correct. It WAS beautiful, with the same white twinkle lights amidst the small shrubbery as was in the arbor over the entrance. Rose bushes, taller than her, surrounded the whole garden in so many different shades of reds, pinks and oranges. The pathway was just a circle of gravel that surrounded a huge, five tiered fountain with small snow pea flowers acting as a natural carpet around the base.
For being such a scholar, the only word that Hermione could think of to describe the scene before her was "Wow" as she walked around the garden with Blaise.
"I've just realized something," Blaise said as he picked a rose off of one of the bushes and handed it to her when they stopped next to one of the wooden benches.
"Oh? And what is that, may I ask?"
"We have another thing in common. We both are attracted to beautiful things."
Hermione blushed as she looked down away from his face, then turning up to look at the sky with a shiver.
"Here." Blaise stated when he saw her shiver, taking off his jacket and handing it over to her to put on her shoulders.
"Thank you. If I would have known that we were going outside, I would have grabbed my shawl. But I'm not sure if I can take your jacket, Blaise. Won't you be cold?"
"Whenever I'm with you, Hermione, I'm never cold."
Hermione chuckled lightly as her face flushed and then smiled when she saw a blush form on Blaise's cheeks as he looked up at the sky, mimicking her actions from moments before.
"Wow, was that corny or what?"
"Oh, I don't know about that." She said. "I thought that it was sweet."
"Well…what can I say? I'm just that kind of guy." He said smugly as Hermione laughed, nodding in agreement.
The rest of the night was filled with laughter, dancing, and stolen moments out in the garden. When midnight came around, the D.J's voice came from above.
"Hey folks, it's midnight and time for the last dance of the evening. So grab your partner and let's have some last minute fun."
Half an hour later, they were back at the vacation house, dressing down from their formal wear.
When Hermione was done changing into her pajamas, she moved down the hallway to Blaise's room to see if he was done changing out of his tux, so that they could sit in front of a fire place and possibly, she hoped to herself, fall asleep in his arms after cuddling after such a wonderful evening. When she got to his door, Hermione went to knock, but heard a low moan. A look of confusion covered her face as she knocked again and entered without waiting for permission.
Upon opening the door, Hermione stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Blaise next to his bed, frozen in surprise.
From what she could surmise of the situation before her, Hermione figured that she had just interrupted him while he was in the middle of something very private, because as she was entering, before they both paused, she noted that he had just been pulling up his boxers.
"Oh my god, Blaise! I'm so sorry!" She squeaked as a bright blush formed under her had that was now covering her eyes at the sight of Blaise in just his bright blue boxers.
Blaise only watched, big-eyed, as Hermione turned around quickly and fled from the room. When he had come out of his frozen state, he finished pulling his boxers on, grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt, but them on and went down to Hermione's room, not bothering to knock.
"Hermione?" Blaise called as he entered the room, only to get no reply.
Looking around, he saw a pair of feet poking out from under the opposite side of her bed through the reflection in her darkened window, causing him to smile.
Closing the door, his feet padded against the wood flooring as he crossed the room from her door and walked around to the side of the bed where he spotted her feet. Crouching down, he crawled under the bed to join her.
"Hermione? Babe, why are you hiding under here?" he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Because…" she answered with a childish sound in her voice, still not looking at him.
"Because why?"
"Because I was afraid to face you again. Especially after I walked in on you like that. I heard a moan. I thought something was wrong again, so I quickly knocked and went in. I didn't even think that you would have been doing what I'm pretty sure I think you were doing." She explained, knowing that Blaise could see and feel heat radiating off of her skin. "What caused you to feel the need to do that any ways? If I may ask, that is. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."
Blaise just laughed as he rolled onto his right side to face her, supporting his head with his right palm. She jumped and turned to him when she felt his left hand run up her forearm, moving to her shoulder and into her hair. As she looked deep into his indigo eyes, she felt a familiar shiver run down her spine again, at the look of adoration and attraction in his eyes.
"Do you really want to know why you found me in the middle of...um…" he paused, "for lack of a better description…pleasuring myself?"
"Yes…I mean no...I mean…only if you want to tell me. If it is too awkward then it's ok, I understand, but…" through her nervous babbling, she didn't notice until it was too late that a set of lips were coming at her, attaching themselves to her own. Once Blaise was sure that she was finished trying to babble on, he took his turn to speak.
"You."
"Me what?"
"You are why I was pleasuring myself when you walked in just now. You may laugh," he said to Hermione's slight choke in surprise. "But it's true. I've always thought you were beautiful. Tonight, however, you just took my breath completely away. Normally, I'm pretty good at keeping calm, but when you walked through the archway tonight, the 'calm' option was instantly voided. I have to tell you, Hermione, it was quite a task keeping how turned on I was from you during the party. So much so, that when we got back to the house, I had to go straight to my room."
Hermione just looked at him, identical looks of surprise on their faces, though for different reasons. Hermione's because of what she had just heard, and Blaise's because he had never said such personal details to anyone, let alone his girlfriend.
"I…I don't know what to say. No one's ever told me something like that. Especially if it's about me."
"Their loss for not having enough balls to tell you about what's right in front of them." Blaise replied as he leaned in for a kiss, Hermione returning it eagerly.
"Aileen, I found them! They're under Hermione's bed." Jane's voice called out, causing the two younger people under the bed to jump apart painfully.
"Why are they under her bed?" Aileen replied, confusion evident in her voice that was steadily growing louder. Walking over to where Jane was, both mothers kneeled down and held up the bed skirt to peer under the bed.
"From the thump that I heard of a head meeting the underside of the bed, and the identical looks of surprise on our children's faces, I would say tat we interrupted them while they were…what's it called these days? Macking out?"
"Making out, mum." Hermione said in annoyance, putting her forehead on the ground.
"Yes, that's it. Well we were just looking for you two to see if you were in bed yet, but you both weren't in bed. However, it looks like Blaise was in bed at one time. Hermione, I know Blaise is your boyfriend now, but I'm sure you can spend a few hours apart at night by letting him sleep."
"It's ok, Mrs. Granger. I don't mind."
"Well, anyways. You two should be getting out from under the bed and going to sleep." Aileen said as her hands were placed on her hips.
And so went the rest of their two week Christmas vacation. Christmas morning came and started with presents being opened and many smiles (along with quite a bit of eggnog). Christmas dinner was a definite fiasco as the ham that Blaise was supposed to carry to the table went flying across the dining room and hit the opposite wall when his foot got caught on the hem of the rug under the table. Luckily, there was a Chinese restraint open, where they found many families with stories of small fires, forgotten turkeys and exploding cranberry sauce. Every day, they all trooped up to Mt. Bachelor, always ending with cozy nights of hot cocoa next to roaring fires.
They both were having so much fun that Hermione and Blaise regretted the end of vacation, meeting it expectantly, knowing all good things must come to an end.
"So, what are we going to do at school?" Hermione asked as she stared ahead of her on their drive home the Saturday before the beginning of school.
"I don't really think that we should worry about it too much, Hermione. If they want to talk, they can think and say what they want. The point is that we know the truth about whatever rumor people might spread."
I hope you're right Blaise. I really do, because I've had way too many rumors spread about me in my past in England. Not all of them were necessarily bad, but one in particular was started by a former friend who blamed me for her boyfriend breaking up with her. What made it worse was that not soon after, he came and asked me out. It was my first potential relationship, so I didn't think about the repercussions, so I said yes.
"So to get back at me after he had asked me out, my friend Lavender started a rumor about me saying that I was a slut and that I was such a horrible person. Harry and Ron stood by me through the whole thing, even though they were sucked into it too. Much to their dismay and even though they tried, they couldn't stop the glares that I was getting from everyone. I really tried to not let it effect me, but it was so very hard. Some days were worse than others, like when people would taunt me and call me names out loud. Those days, I just wanted to curl up in my bed and cry. Sometimes I really did go home and cry my eyes out. Home was always my sanctuary. The thing that got me the most was that my boyfriend at the time, the same guy that this whole feud was about, didn't even try to protect me against those allegations.
"I got the feeling that he was enjoying all the attention, bragging to anyone that would listen that all the rumors were true, that I was always all over him and that we went at it like over sexed rabbits every day. But I couldn't break up with him, because he seemed to need me so much behind the doors of High School. Six months later, I came to find that he was with his ex girlfriend, Lavender, the entire time behind my back. Then his brother came up to me at school and told me that his brother needed a 'break'."
"Wow, what a dick."
"I just lost it. I ran home and cried. Lucky for me, the next morning, my parents told me that we were moving here it gave me an opportunity to start anew. No rumors, no anything, just the opportunity to meet new people, a new slate." She finished, smiling at Blaise as she grabbed his right hand with both of hers.
"The same sort of thing happened to me. My girlfriend of about a year and a half broke up with me to be with the start quarterback, Draco Malfoy. He used to be my best friend in elementary school and junior high. But he got all high and mighty when we got to high school. I tried the whole sports thing, but I was more drawn towards the written word, so I quit sports to pursue reading and writing my own stories. My girlfriend didn't like that, so she broke up with me. It broke me emotionally and spiritually, so I basically disappeared, depression gripping at my soul because had I thought she loved me as much as I loved her. Since we had been together for so long, I thought that we were spending the rest of our lives together." Blaise paused, tears forming at the memory. Hermione squeezed his hand, her heart breaking at the pain that was still evident in Blaise's wounded heart.
Cleaning his throat, he continued. "I was like that for …three months. But when I met you, your personality and caring made me want to change."
"Your girlfriend made a huge mistake, giving you up. But her loss is my gain." Hermione replied, placing a kiss on the hand she was holding.
Hard to believe what sometimes happens in a relationship, right? I got the ideas for this chapter from actual occurrences in my life. Crazy things to happen, right? REVIEW!!! Please??