Chapter 19
The dining room was full of people when they got there. Everyone was wearing smart clothes in light colours. Draco's purchase of a set of light peach coloured robes makes sense now, but worse was that she had accidentally conformed by putting it on this morning. She hadn't even questioned Draco's grey suit.
"Why is everyone wearing the same colours?"
"That is house party attire." He said. "Just how things are done."
"Are there arbitrary rules for everything?"
"Of course." He said. "The sign of good breeding."
"Or a sign of an unoccupied mind."
"Don't be bitchy."
She snapped her mouth shut. She was not bitchy, they were logical inferences. She was about to say so, but Daphne Greengrass approached them.
"So glad you could make it." She said.
Where else would I be? Hermione challenged in her mind. Maybe she was a tad bitchy. The company was bringing it out of her. Speaking of bitchy, the queen approached, wearing a beige and white thing, looking like some kind of tennis outfit.
"Are you playing?" Pansy asked looking Hermione up and down.
"She doesn't fly." Malfoy said.
"Of course she flies." Pansy said. "Everyone flies."
"Not willingly." Hermione said still not knowing what they were talking about. But whatever it was, if it included flying, she wanted nothing to do with it.
"You're not going to play, Drakie?" Pansy said coyly.
"Haven't decided." Draco said.
"Go on." Hermione urged in a faint hope that she was asking him to do something annoying.
He gave her a look but didn't answer. Instead he walked over to the breakfast buffet and piled things onto a plate.
"Oh dear, you didn't have a disagreement last night, did you?" Pansy- bitch said with that horrid childish voice.
"Whenever have we not fought?" Hermione said before walking off to the table too. Let her think they were having a disagreement, it only enforced the eventual breakup. This day was going to be hell.
Hermione enjoyed a moment of peace with her food before Daphne joined her.
"Have you played Swivenhodge before?" Daphne said. Hermione had some vague collection of the game, but she didn't know it was still played.
"Not much for games generally." Hermione said. "So, no I haven't played it."
"It is insanely fun. You have to try it." Daphne said. Hermione couldn't tell whether the girl was being polite for the sake of being the host or whether she had some ulterior motive.
There was no way in hell that she was going to play some game on a broom in front of the Slytherins, but it would be rude to say so.
"Maybe some other time." Hermione lied. "But I will take the time to learn the rules."
"We're having perfect weather for it. I must check on the refreshments." Daphne said and disappeared.
Everyone was obviously finished with breakfast and were moving outside. Hermione followed grudgingly. It was a beautiful day outside, crisp and sunny with the dew just disappearing off the grass.
Draco was talking to Nott. He looked relaxed with his hand in his pocket. Blaise was standing a bit further away with his hand around the tall Dane's waist. He looked awesome as always. The light colour showing off his skin beautifully. They all looked elegant, just cool as cucumbers these slytherins. In fact, everything looked brand new, not a sign of wear on anything, including the bats that were obviously for this sport.
Hermione spotted a row of sunbeds which looked heavenly. The air was still quite crisp and she could feel goosepimples on her skin. A bit of sun would feel lovely and hopefully send away the chill.
"You playing, Granger?" Someone said. A voice she didn't recognise. She turned to see Theo Nott. She had never really spoken to him before.
"No, not really a games person." She said.
"More academic." He said. It was odd speaking to him. He was kind of known for his purist beliefs and the fact that he spoke to her was odd. He had never been directly unfriendly, but he had never been remotely friendly either, more tending to overlook her presence entirely. But now she was part of the inner circle and he had acknowledged her presence.
"I suppose." She said. He moved away and Hermione watched him go. He had never spoken directly to her before. She didn't know what this meant. Obviously it had something to do with her being here with Draco.
She moved over to her supposed boyfriend and put her arm around his waist. She could feel him tense, but he didn't react in a way that others could see. If he's uncomfortable, serves him right, she thought. He pulled her closer.
"Enjoying yourself?" He said quietly in her ear. She felt his breath on her skin and it felt unnatural and challenging being this close to someone you were not intimate with.
"On par with having food poisoning. How about you?" She said leaning her chin on his shoulder. At least that looked intimate and got him away from her neck, which was all in all too much.
"Well, I'm not drunk yet, so things are looking up."
"Are you going to be drunk by lunchtime?" She asked. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time."
"Is that a challenge, Granger?" He said. A more direct reaction than she had anticipated.
"No." She said after a while, confused about what had just happened because it felt a bit like he had turned on her and she had gotten comfortable with colluding with him. She smiled as she realised that she had been an idiot to get comfortable around him in any sense. "No its not. I'm just saying it can't be good for your liver to drink so much." It had been nowhere near what she had been saying, but he didn't challenge her on it.
If he had been Blaise, she would have suggested that they get out of there. Run away somewhere to be on their own, spend a bit of time exploring things closer to home. She couldn't help but to look over at Blaise as he stood watching the first players take their places on what must be a court with a hedge running down the middle.
"What are you thinking about?" Draco said suspiciously. He followed her gaze to Blaise.
"Nothing." Hermione said and turned her gaze away. She had completely not noticed that he was watching her. "What are the rules to this thing?"
Draco explained the rules which had something to do with hitting a bladder over a hedge while on a broom. The game started and Hermione was instantly bored and this was going to go on for hours.
Pansy was playing when Hermione took one of the sunbeds. Pansy was obviously quite competitive. She was playing against Astoria. Hermione wished she had a book, but she just had to amuse herself by watching people.
Draco, Blaise and Nott were talking on the other side of the court. They watched the game intermittently. Some new people arrived. Older Slytherins that Hermione remembered from her younger years at Hogwarts. She was forgotten for a while and that served her just fine. She closed her eyes and soaked up the sun for a bit.
There were other people playing when she looked up. People had spread out a bit and a man was serving drinks. Hermione decided to go for a little walk around the garden to stretch her legs.
It was certainly a well appointed garden. She was pretty sure they had professional help with it, somehow she couldn't see Mrs. Greengrass getting her hands dirty. Although that brought back the memory of Mrs. Greengrass hitting of Malfoy, which was a memory she could live without.
"Hermione." She heard Blaise behind her. She didn't quite want to turn around, but she had to.
"Blaise." She said.
"You look good." He said after an uncomfortable silence.
"Thank you. You too." She said. He didn't look arrogant. He looked a little uncomfortable, which was to be expected as it was the first greeting since they had both shown up with other people. She nodded and was about to walk away.
"He's not suitable for you." Blaise said hurridly as she started to move. "I know I screwed things up, but he's not right for you. He uses people."
"And what about you, do you use people?" She challenged. Considering he'd shown up here with blonde bombshell, some might accuse him of the same. Somehow she didn't think the Danish girl was the girl of his dreams.
He didn't answer. Hermione rolled her eyes. She didn't want to hear him tell her that Malfoy was wrong for her. She certainly knew he was, but she didn't want Blaise to tell her like he cared.
"I miss you." He said.
"Don't." Hermione cut him off. "I'm here with Malfoy, you're here with someone. Let's just leave it at that." She certainly didn't want to hear Blaise lament how things had turned out, he caused this. He might not have caused her making out with Malfoy on a Parisian dance floor, but he had broken them up. "You called me a gold digger. I am not a gold digger."
"I'm sorry." Blaise said. "But most girls who go for Malfoy are. You have to know that's how you're being perceived."
"I don't care." Hermione said and it was true, she wasn't expecting to have anything to do with these people when this weekend was over. And sadly being a gold digger was more acceptable than being seen as a user. This society was twisted. "It was just one of those things, and it will be just one of those things."
"He will lose interest. He always does."
Hermione shrugged. She kind of wanted to tell him that it was all a ruse just to get her past the mistake she made, or rather the mistake put in her drink, but at the core she didn't trust him. And that was the core problem, a problem she wasn't sure that Blaise completely realised. He thought she was stupid and had fallen for Malfoy, but the truth was that they didn't have a chance because she couldn't trust him anymore.
She walked away from the garden alcove he had caught her in. She felt angry and sad, like the failed relationship refused to let up its grip. She walked back towards the game and the people. Every time she was with these people she was accosted in some way or other as soon as she was alone. Marcus was probably lurking out here somewhere. Walking off on her own had been stupid and she had been punished for it.
A hand grabbed her arm, she expected it to be Blaise, but it was Malfoy.
"You don't go around my back." He said tightly. He was angry.
"I didn't." She defended herself.
"I won't put up with someone sneaking around my back. Nobody cheats on me."
"I didn't!" She said louder.
"I saw you."
"Yes, we had words." Hermione said. "We have a history, so its not inconceivable that we spoke. "
"Well don't." Tightening his grip on her arm. He was being intimidating and it made her uncomfortable.
"We're not a real couple so aren't you taking this a bit seriously." She said disbelievingly. He let go of her arm.
"I have a reputation to uphold and being played is not part of it."
"Really, what do you take me for?" She demanded and walked away. She wanted to get away from this whole thing. They were awful. She had let her guard down around Malfoy and it had been a huge mistake. His true colours were showing through. It was all about him and his stupid reputation. Blaise was right, he was using her. She wanted to hit something. Actually she wanted to storm out of there and never look back, but she had agreed that she would stay through the weekend. It would look better for her is she stayed a little longer, and if he broke up with her. And if she learned anything from Malfoy it was that you had to look out for your own interest amongst these people.
She had been stupid and seen Malfoy as a collaborator. That has her dumb mistake. She wouldn't make it again.