Three months really flies by. Hermione thought as she lounged against one of the green sofas in the Slytherin common room on a Saturday morning. It was the weekend before everyone would head back to their homes for the holidays and also the day of their very first Hogsmeade trip. The room was crowded with excited teenagers eager to make it out of the castle as soon as possible. Next to Clara was Jemma, observing the room curiously, as Blaise reclined on the other side of the small coffee table between sofas. Draco was seated next to him, arms crossed with his characteristic expressionless face donning his features.
The past few months had resulted in little communication between Clara and Draco. The only lead she had was the one from Crabbe and Goyle, and that had put her at a dead end. Her "Hermione" mind, however, had of course come up with a few theories, none of which could possibly be tested. Draco carefully avoided her, and they were hardly ever in the same room together, besides classes. Today was one of the few, and it didn't really count because the room was full.
The other Slytherins tended to give upper class men their privacy, as was the case with the small group Clara sat with. Though there was no other comfy place to sit in the room, they knew their place and said nothing. These four were also the only upperclassmen in the dorm.
"What bloody time is it?" Blaise asked irritably, lifting his head as if it were a great effort. He had awoken in a sour mood. Possibly because he was escorting his sister to Hogsmeade while his best mate had a date, arranged marriage or not.
"Almost time to set out." Clara answered dutifully. He dropped his head back against the cushion.
It wasn't too long before the kids were fetched and brought down by the Head Boy and Girl. They wandered in a big group, divided into unclear pairs and accompanied by dates and friends alike. Clara was nowhere near Draco, as far as the eye could see, and chatted with Jemma for the small trip downstairs. Blaise was talking to Theodore Nott, who was accompanying Pansy Parkinson, as luck would have it for him.
They all lined up on the small dirt road that would bring carriages and gathered in their groups respectively. Clara, Jemma, and Blaise clustered together. Across the way, Theo, Pansy, Millicent and two other Slytherins were close together.
"Where's Draco?" Clara asked. He had just been with them, right?
"I dunno. I thought he was off sulking by himself again." Blaise responded. Jemma shrugged.
That means he's gone off again. Hermione thought. He did this often, disappearing mysteriously, and normally not to be heard from until much later… But for Hogsmeade? And why wouldn't he tell anyone? Probably so I wouldn't follow him. She noticed Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere to be seen.
The first Thestral drawn carriage arrived to pick them up. All the small groups began the ascent into the compartment without hesitation. With one last look around, Clara climbed into the carriage, disappointment seeping through the cracks of the tight façade she had managed to create whenever feelings regarding Draco emerged inside her. It was done unconsciously, but this time it didn't seem enough.
At the other end of the short journey, they got out and were greeted by the small town bustling with Hogwarts students who had already arrived. Clara turned to Jemma.
"Where do you want to go first? There are three dress shops in Hogsmeade, and we really need dresses for Slughorn's Christmas party…"
"Mm… Let's go to that one." Jem pointed to a sparkly sign, Pins and Needles. The girls, along with a reluctant Blaise, walked over.
Fifteen minutes later, the girls were in their own cubicles, changing into evening gowns. Blaise was on a stool in the corner, there for a male opinion in the ladies selections. He couldn't have been any more miserable.
"Are you ready?" Jemma called from her cubicle.
"Yeah." Clara responded. They stepped out.
Jemma looked quite pretty in a pastel blue off the shoulder gown. She twirled around once.
"What do you think?" Jemma asked.
"Oh, it looks lovely on you, Jem, but don't you think it's, er, a little out of the Christmas spirit?" Jem pouted slightly at her cousin's words.
"I suppose you're right. Maybe I'll just get it anyway… Blaise, what do you think?" At the sound of his name, Blaise brought his attention from the ceiling to the two family members in front of him.
"Hm, what?" Jem rolled her eyes.
"What do you think of my dress?" She demanded. His urgent expression shifted to a one of bored infatuation.
"Beautiful. You should get it." His sister huffed at his blithe enthusiasm. She looked at Clara's gown.
"That looks wonderful, Clara!" The long strapless gown was deep blue, and tiered till above her skinny ankles.
"I suppose. But it's a little impractical and plain. I think there're other places to find dresses. Shall we go?" Her friend nodded and went back into privacy to take off her dress. Clara did the same, and soon the three were in the streets again, heading to the next store, but with a bag in Jemma's bag.
"I think mother will really like the dress I bought." She said more to herself than her companions.
"Where are you even going to wear that dress, if not to Slughorn's party?" Blaise asked her.
"Oh, there's always somewhere to go." Jem answered, unfazed by his underhanded reprimand.
The girls took the lead in making it to the other dress shop, on the other side of the village. They talked non-stop, as most ladies do, and paid hardly any attention to Blaise, who seemed heartily distracted by his own thoughts. He half-heartedly followed behind them, and more than once the girls told him to hurry up, or else they might have to leave him all alone. He considered the idea.
Just off a fork in the road, a short, bushy tree stood in the light breeze that swayed its leaves softly. The area was less crowded and the stores less visited. Clara and Jemma glided through the thin blanket of snow on the ground, their hair billowing quietly around them. Their fluffy coats guarded them well against the chill of an early December. Clara stopped under the tree to consult on which way they should go.
"Two different stores are in two different directions. Which way do you want to go?"
"I dunno. Blaise, what do you-" Jem began. "Blaise?" She asked the wind. Blaise was no longer behind them and nowhere in sight.
"Where did he go?" Clara asked. Jem shrugged her shoulders.
"We're better off without him. He was no help anyway." The girls' giggles could be heard long after they had gone.
Just above the spot Clara and Jemma had so fleetingly occupied, Blaise was standing on a branch, hands holding on to smaller limbs above his head for support. Wisps of white air disappeared as he exhaled in relief. He admitted that his actions were rather childish; climbing a tree to escape the evil clutches of gown shopping was surely not the easiest way to go about ditching his close relatives, but what could he say? A man had to do what a man had to do. Especially where women's clothing was involved. He relaxed his body and leaned against a thick branch.
It wasn't too long before someone interrupted his peace.
"Ginny!" The voice called. The boy was distant, like he had just come out of one of the shops. There was a quick pitter patter of feet nearby and Blaise turned his head carefully to see a stormy-eyed red head slip behind the very tree he happened to be hiding in.
"Ginny? Ginny!" Blaise turned back to watch the "other" boy storm off frustrated in the other direction. Below, Ginny was angry.
"The nerve of him! 'What were you doing with Seamus Finnigan…' What kind of girl does he think I am?"
Blaise couldn't help but smirk at the situation. Here was this Gryffindor, unknowingly pouring her heart out to the ears of a Slytherin. He debated on waiting to hear more or dropping in on her. He stopped thinking when he heard a sniff.
"No, I won't get upset over a prat like him…" She muttered to herself. She was in a slump on the ground now. Blaise made his decision.
"Trouble in Paradise?" He asked her smartly as he swung down from his tall perch in the tree, landing gracefully on his feet. Ginny squeaked in shock and straightened. "Oh, excuse me, did I frighten you?"
"What are you doing here?" She tried to ask nastily, but found difficult to do in light of her surprise. She drew her wand.
"Hiding from your lover boy?" He asked, completely disregarding her question and unfazed by her weapon.
"What's it to you?" Her tears were gone now.
"Poor lad, really." He said, again not answering her question. "He looked so pitiful."
"Stuff it all, Zabini." Ginny spat cruelly. Blaise smirked at her attitude.
"Put your wand away, Weaslette. I'm not going to attack you."
"What do you want from me?" She demanded.
"Only your pleasant conversation." He smiled brilliantly.
"I didn't know Slytherin's were capable of the sort."
"Only in the right company." He finished, eyes dancing. Ginny sat still for a moment, seeming to ponder something in the inner chambers of her mind. Slowly, she lowered her wand.
"Humor me." She finally told him.
The girls were superbly satisfied with the results of their endless dress search. It had ended at the second store, an expensive establishment, but one that didn't make either one of them flinch (well, not until Hermione realized who she was, at least). They were now approaching the small fork in the road they had departed from originally. They would inevitably pass the small tree seen before.
"Clara." Jem tapped her cousin on the arm. "Is that Blaise?" She pointed to the tree. He was lounging underneath it, facing them, legs extended in front of him in a leisurely position as he rested on his hands. He looked to be laughing.
"What is he doing?" Clara asked.
"I dunno. Let's go see." As they got closer, another voice became apparent.
"Is that really what the boys' dormitory is like?" She giggled. Blaise laughed softly again.
"Oh yeah, but I hear the girls' is worse."
Conversing with Ginny had been a success, Blaise thought as he saw her laugh at all his mediocre jokes. He had no idea what had compelled him to act so kindly to the girl, a Weasley, blood traitor by name, and Gryffindor by house. She wasn't allowed. But perhaps that was the basis of her appeal…
"Blaise, who are you-" Another girl began, but stopped as she rounded the corner. The two on the ground looked up sharply, their private bubbled popped in a matter of seconds and bringing them both back to reality. Ginny stood up quickly. She looked lost for a moment, as if unsure what to do, before hardening her features and taking a step away.
"It was nice talking to you, Zabini." Blaise shuffled to stand as well.
"Weasley, wait." He grabbed her forearm. She whipped her head around.
"Really," She said. "It was nice." For the smallest of moments, her fiery eyes softened and she let her suddenly cold demeanor slip away. But just as quickly as it had gone was it back again, shooting looks at the new arrivers as she stalked off. Blaise looked on after her.
"What was that all about, Blaise?" His sister asked him. Blaise turned around.
"It was nothing."
He never elaborated, but Clara could tell by the way Ginny periodically glanced back to sneak a peek at Blaise, that it had been something.
Hm, what happened to Draco?
I wrote this in under three days! Any longer and it would have been posted next week…
I want to say that I'm sorry if I haven't responded to everyone's messages/reviews. I'm trying to sort through everything in my mind since school has started, so things are a little fuzzy right now.
I expect the next chapter is going to be a little longer, and we're going to see a one-on-one with Clara/Hermione and Draco! It should be exciting, and then after that everyone is going home… only Clara and Draco won't exactly be doing that. That's all I can say for now, but I'll try to update by next weekend!
Cheers!