Chapter Eleven

Ginny was not impressed by Herbert. He seemed very dime-a-dozen and she had no time for that sort of guy.

On the other hand, she knew she should talk to him. Percy wasn't the best brother but Ginny still felt the obligation to at least try to help him out.

So she forced herself to relax. She didn't like Herbert but that didn't seem to matter.

"Weasley? Any relation to Percy Weasley?" Herbert asked politely.

Ginny looked at him sharply but forced herself to smile. "Yes, actually. He's one of my older brothers."

Herbert nodded. "He's a good worker, would you say?"

"At the risk of being accused of nepotism, yes."

"Good thing to know. I'm always looking for rising stars. But what do you do, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny wanted nothing to do with this man and was trying hard not to let it show. She opened her mouth but Draco beat her to it.

"She works at a delightful little book store. Oh, Ginny, look. There's Amelia Crossweather. Didn't you want to talk to her about that book?"

Ginny was tempted to refuse the alibi just to see how Draco would react. Instead she smiled politely at Herbert. "Excuse us. I simply must talk to Miss Crossweather."

Draco smiled at Herbert and Ginny could see the effort he put forth to make sure it wasn't an open smirk.

"Is it just me," Draco drawled as he led them through the crowd, "or did Mr. West seem positively taken with you?"

"It's you," Ginny replied.

Draco chuckled. "Don't like him much, do you?"

Ginny shrugged. "Don't know him well enough to make a permanent decision. What about you? You were quick enough to provide me with that little excuse."

Draco looked at her, deadly serious. "I don't like the way he looks at you."

If Ginny's heels hadn't been charmed to keep her from tripping, she might have fallen flat on her face. She glared at him. Draco failed to look repentant.

"What?" He demanded. "What did I say?"

Ginny felt a smile tug at her lips. Draco might not realize what his words meant but Ginny didn't care. She...god help her, she liked him.

The realization broke Ginny's heart and her world. She looked over at the man on whom's arm she was. She looked at him through the shattered remains of her world and couldn't hate him.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked.

Ginny managed a weak nod. "I just need to freshen up. That's all."

888

Blaise sunk his fingers into Hermione's hair, pulling her head toward his. Hermione's lips met his with equal fervor as she hiked up her skirt and wrapped those long legs around his middle.

Blaise fumbled for the lock on the bathroom stall and Hermione reached out to help him.

He broke the kiss, grinning at her.

She grinned back. "Damn this feels good."

"I've missed you."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but just then the bathroom door burst open, admitting someone. Blaise scrambled up onto the toilet, Hermione still clinging to him.

For a moment there was silence outside the stall then Hermione made out the sound of crying. Curiousity won out and Hermione and Blaise both poked their heads over the edge of the divian.

Hermione bit back a gasp at the sight of the russet curls that could only belong to Ginny Weasley. She and Blaise exchanged a look. What was Ginny crying about?

"Damnit Draco," Ginny muttered. "I'm supposed to hate you. You're not supposed to make me love you."

(A/N: Dun dun DUN! But seriously, you had to see this coming. This was also why I haven't spent as much time on Hermione/Blaise. I've had the idea for a while that they were already together before all this even started. So, to answer your question, Blaise and Hermione are just having some fun. They didn't really expect anything to come of it but rather saw it as a way to get their friends in on their relationship. However, now the stakes are a little higher than they thought...I'll go into more detail later so stay tuned!