Hello my lovely little chums! Welcome to the latest chapter of my weird little story. Seriously, I think I got the idea from Johnny English or something…;) Anyway! How're your lives going? I'm in the middle of studying for some very stressful exams *snivels pathetically* and I literally want to slam my bedroom door in the face of the world! Okay, now that little rant is over, thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed so far, please continue to do so!

Malibu Baybreeze: Thanks so much for your continuous support, it really helps!;)

Buttercup88: About that, a volcanic eruption in the pacific halted all transportation from Wiltshire to Scotland. *Blinks innocently* Yeah, that's totally what happened! Seriously though, thanks for spotting my mistake, I shall strive to correct it.

Cherryberry8: Dude, you there? I NEED YOUUUUUUUUUU! Yeah I'm clingy, deal with it.

Song for this chapter is Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis, especially during the party. I sort of made up Ginny's dress, but if you want to see Hermione's dress then search 'red metallic peacock dress' into google images and pretty much every picture is of the dress I envisage. I would recommend you look at it, because I think it's gorgeous!

Right, please review or PM or whatever, and on with this chapter! (It's a good one, heehee!;P)

Oh, and I own nothing apart from the plot. Unfortunately.

"Only twenty-nine hours, seventeen minutes and fifty-four seconds to go!" Ginny squealed suddenly, breaking the otherwise peaceful silence of the library. She was talking about the start of Blaise's party, which began at precisely nine the next evening.

Blaise rolled his eyes; this was about the hundredth time Ginny had yelled out how long there was to wait. It was getting rather annoying, and apparently Draco and Hermione thought so too as Draco glared daggers at her whilst Hermione heaved a sigh.

"Aren't you supposed to be back a school by now?" she muttered under her breath.

Ginny gave a mock gasp and pretended to faint, "And leave you three in charge of organisation?! I think not! I'll go back one or two days after the party."

(There, happy now Buttercup88?)

"Can't come soon enough." Draco muttered darkly under his breath causing Blaise to kick him under the table.

"So," Blaise announced loudly to cover Draco's curse, "who are you lot going with?"

"Don't know yet," said Ginny, "but I'm waiting for a certain Italian to ask me."

"Oh really," said Blaise innocently, "and who might he be?"

Ginny shot him a withering glare and he grinned and winked back at her. "Don't worry; I'm sure this handsome, charming, sexy, intelligent, brilliant Italian of yours will be waiting at the bottom of the grand staircase for you at precisely nine o'clock tonight."

"Make it quarter to nine; I want to be there before everybody else." Ginny said, ignoring his exasperated glare. Blaise sighed, that was a blow to his ego. However, it was Ginny's nature.

"What about you, mate?" he asked Draco, "Which lucky lady gets the honour of being your date?"

Draco scowled at him and sunk lower in his chair, "Who do you think? Pansy the prissy princess, of course."

Hermione snorted, breaking the tension. However, Blaise thought he saw a flash of disappointment on her face.

"What about you, Hermione?" he asked her.

She shrugged, "No-one, other than you two I don't know anyone going so I think I'll go as a party of one."

"Not a chance in hell," Ginny fumed, "Draco, please can we invite some of our friends so Hermione won't be a complete loner?"

A flash of sympathy shined in Draco's eyes, "What father doesn't know won't hurt him, I'll just pretend they're friends of Blaise or something. Just keep it to a minimum, okay?"

"Thank you," said Ginny, "I'll only invite a few. Who do you think, Hermione?"

"Um, Tony, Harry, Samara and Luna should do."

Blaise saw Ginny pull a face, "Do we have to invite Harry? It would be so awkward."

"Yes," said Hermione forcibly, "he's still a close friend."

"I notice you left a certain red-head off that list."

Again, Blaise noticed a brief glimpse of pain across Hermione's features, "Fine, Danny as well."

"Who's Danny?" Draco asked with a tight voice.

Hermione blushed and looked down; Blaise reckoned this Danny was an object of her affection. "Just a friend." She mumbled. Yes, definitely a crush.

"How nice." Draco practically spat. Blaise could feel the waves of jealousy rolling off of him. Blaise decided there and then that a little intervention on his part would definitely not hurt.

"Draco, mate, I need to talk to you now." Blaise said, grabbing Draco's arm and dragging him behind a bookshelf.

"What the bloody hell do you want, Zabini?" Draco grumbled, rubbing his arm.

"How long have you fancied Hermione?"

"What?" Draco spluttered, his ears turning slightly pink, "I don't know what you are talking about!"

Blaise rolled his eyes, it was so typical of Draco to go into denial, "Come of it, Malfoy. You practically admitted it two weeks ago that you liked her, and ever since then you've been seeking out her company."

"Absolute rubbish." Draco sniffed, "You're letting that red-headed girlfriend of yours mess with your mind."

Blaise shook his head and wandered over to the window, sitting down on the spacious windowsill. He watched Draco shuffle back to Hermione self-consciously and wondered when Draco had ever been self-conscience before. He hadn't.

Hermione truly was having an effect on him, Blaise didn't know yet if it was a good or bad thing. In his opinion; it would be the best thing for his friend. However, in Lucius' eyes, it would be a show of weakness and if Blaise knew anything about Lucius Malfoy it was that he couldn't abide weakness.

Lucius was raising his son to be the epitome of a Malfoy; cold-blooded and cruel. Give it a year or two amongst the Slytherins and Draco would turn into his father, but it wasn't too late. He could still do something to help his friend, even if it didn't prevent them both from joining the Slytherin ranks. He could help Draco by giving him a shove into Hermione's arms.

"Ginny," he hollered, not bothering to get up, "I need you!"

There was the sound of a sigh and a chair scraping over the wooden floor. Ginny came into sight, scowling at him, "Your two personalities give me terrible whiplash, Blaise. One moment you're a sexily polite gentlemen and the next you're a whinging three year old!"

Blaise shrugged apologetically, "Sorry, but I do actually need your help."

Ginny jutted her hip and crossed her arms, staring him in the eye, "It better be good, I was right in the middle of ordering the best possible strawberries for the chocolate fountain."

Choosing to ignore the last part of her sentence, Blaise stood up and leaned down to whisper, "Is it only me who is noticing the blazing sexual tension between Hermione and Draco?"

Ginny snorted indelicately, "Please, I think even the butler is aware of it. Is that all you want?"

Blaise frowned at her impatient tone, "No. Truth is; I want to get them together. Draco has been acted all moony and pathetic for the past fortnight and it's getting annoying."

"Tell me about it, I can't even mention his name without Hermione blushing like a nun in a brothel."

Blaise chuckled at her comparison. Whilst Hermione couldn't be described as a nun, she did seem rather naïve about that kind of thing. "Will you help me out? Draco's too stubborn for me to manage it on my own. He practically admitted it too me a week or two ago along with an absolute refusal to act on it. He's completely denying it know, of course."

Ginny's eyes lit up with understanding, "So that's why he couldn't look Hermione in the eye just now, you just accused him of liking her! Of course I'll help; I think we should devise a plan for the party tomorrow."

Blaise looked into his cunning streak to try and formulate a brilliant plan, but came up blank. "Maybe we could 'accidently' shove Hermione into him?" he offered lamely. Ginny looked at him as a teacher would look at a four year old trying to understand trigonometry.

"No, that's pathetic. I think you should leave the scheming to me. Ooh, I know! You should snog Hermione!"

Blaise did a double take at her words, "Excuse me? I am not snogging Hermione!"

"Alright, alright," grumbled Ginny, "I could snog Draco?"

"You are not snogging Draco!" Blaise replied fiercely, "I'd have to punch him in the nose!"

Ginny smiled, apparently satisfied with his answer. "See how even the mention of me snogging another guy makes you jealous? It's the same with Draco. We'll have to play to his possessive and jealous side. It's the only thing that works with men."

Blaise rubbed his hand over his face, distressed at Ginny's words. "You might be right, but I still don't want to kiss Hermione. Sure, she's attractive and I do like her, but not like that! I see her more as a little sister."

Ginny smiled, "You know, she said the same thing about you."

"That she sees me as a little sister?"

Ginny swatted him lightly on the arm, "No, you idiot. She sees you as an older brother."

"Therefore she would resent me for kissing her and ruin our lovely brother-sister relationship. Besides, the only woman I want to kiss is you!" Blaise pulled her into his chest, smirking as she gasped and stumbled. He gently took a hold of her chin and tipped her head backwards to allow him to kiss her.

After two or three minutes of being absorbed in a passionate embrace Ginny mumbled something against his lips and pushed backward.

"We still have to come up with a plan." She said, still slightly breathless.

"Fine, but I'm not kissing Hermione. It wouldn't be fair to her or Draco."

Ginny pouted, and he noticed how adorable she looked. "Fine, will you at least dance with her though?"

"I was planning on doing that anyway, she is my friend! I doubt that will create black holes of jealousy inside Draco, he trusts me too much to worry about me dancing with her."

"How do you know that?" Ginny challenged.

"Because I would be fine with it if he danced with you. As long as he kept his hands north of the equator. But not too north." Blaise added as an afterthought. At seeing Ginny's hopeful expression he groaned. "No I am not going to dirty dance with Hermione!"

Ginny pouted again, "Jealousy works wonders with men, though."

He shook his head in amazement, "How come it has such a small effect on women? Here we are, you trying to persuade me to snog your best friend!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Men see things in black and white, but there are a million shades of grey when it comes to woman. You snogging Hermione is for the greater good and it doesn't pose a threat to our relationship. Trust me though, if some little tart was trying it on with you then I wouldn't be nearly so nice!"

Blaise chuckled at her fearsome expression, "But still, wouldn't you feel a tiny bit of resentment to Hermione?"

"Nope, because I'd know she didn't initiate it. It would be like me kissing Draco for the greater good; you wouldn't mind."

Blaise chuckled darkly, "That's where you're wrong, sweetheart. Even if I knew there were twenty million lives at stake, I would still go in guns blazing and punch his lights out. Which is another reason why I shouldn't kiss Hermione, as I can assure you Draco would do exactly the same!"

"Bloody gits and your protective instincts!" Ginny grumbled, "We are quite capable of defending ourselves, you know!"

"Of course I do, I've been on the receiving end of one of Hermione's punches. However, remember it was our 'protective instincts'," here he mimicked Ginny's condescending tone, "that saved Hermione from being gang-raped."

"Fine, fine, so it has its advantages. However, you can be rest assured that I wouldn't hesitate to slap anyone who tries to come on to me."

Blaise grinned and slung an arm around her shoulder, "My fierce little lioness. Will you manage to execute a plan that doesn't involve me snogging Hermione?"

Ginny sighed dramatically and glared witheringly at him, "I guess I'll just have to force her into an incredibly sexy outfit that will blow Draco off of his feet."

"Good idea. A word of advice, just keep it classy with just a promise of sexual allure. Draco can't abide slutty clothes."

Ginny smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder, "Have you seen the way I dress? 'Classy sexual allure' is my middle name! By the way, do you think Caribbean or French strawberries?"

"I didn't realise getting ready involved so much pain!" Hermione groaned as she plonked herself down on the sofa. Blaise glanced up from his phone to smirk at her. Ginny had dragged her off at midday and had spent the majority of the afternoon getting her ready for the part that night; it was now six o'clock.

"Well it's paid off; I can almost see a swan underneath all of those ugly duckling feathers. Maybe if you put on some nicer clothes…" Blaise chuckled.

Hermione threw him a withering glare, "I make no apologies for wearing a hoodie and leggings whilst I can. They are much more comfortable than the outfit Ginny has planned for me!"

Blaise raised an eyebrow in interest, "What has she got planned for you?"

Hermione shook her head, "Can't say, I've been sworn to secrecy. Trust me though, if I had a say in what I was wearing, it wouldn't be what Ginny has planned. It's far too racy for me…"

Blaise nodded and settled back down into the sofa. 'Too racy' in Hermione's opinion translated into 'just right' for everybody else.

"Where's Draco?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Not sure, probably starting to get ready. He takes longer preening than any other male I've known."

Hermione giggled, "That sounds like him. I think Ginny's been getting ready since six in the morning though, that girl scares me!"

Blaise chuckled, "Me too, but don't let tell her I said that or I'll never hear the end of it."

Hermione mimed locking her lips, "Your secret is safe with me."

"Hermione! Get back upstairs now! I still need to deal with your hair and that could take hours!" Ginny stomped into the room glaring at Hermione.

Blaise gave a snort of laughter, quickly covering it with a cough when Ginny scowled at him. "If you want a beautiful red-headed lady to grace you with her presence at the stairs at precisely quarter to nine tonight, Mr Zabini, I suggest you start getting ready!"

Blaise stood up and gave a mock bow, grinning lazily at her, "As you wish, ma'am!" He then ambled out of the room, smirking as he heard Hermione's cries of protest at being kidnapped again by Ginny.

He made his way to Draco's room and entered without knocking. Draco emerged from the bathroom wearing only some slacks slung low on his hips and necklaces swinging from his neck. The toothbrush protruding from his moth gently ruined the whole 'sexy bad-boy' look, though.

"What do you want, Zabini?" he mumbled around his toothbrush.

Blaise threw himself down on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. "I was ordered by a mad-woman to start getting ready, but I have no idea how I could possibly take as long as three hours!"

Draco grinned at him and started throwing shirts out of his drawers. "It's simple, really, just put your mind to it and you'll find yourself putting some really weird shit on your face."

Blaise cocked an eyebrow, "And this is a good thing how?"

Rolling his eyes, Draco chucked him a bright pink plastic bottle, "Try it; it makes your face more defined."

Upon a closer inspection of the bottle, Blaise saw the words 'Greek God' in flowing letters on the side of the bottle. He snickered and sniffed the bottle, "Come on mate, this stuff smells like Pansy's perfume! Surely the alarming fuchsia would warn you that this is for girls."

Snatching the bottle back, Draco glowered at Blaise. "It is not, girls don't want faces like Greek gods."

Still snickering Blaise nodded, "Whatever you say, Lady Dracona."

"I'll show you 'lady'!" Draco said as he leapt on top of Blaise, pinning him down. Blaise felt the wind being knocked out of him when Draco's elbow landed in his stomach, and he attempted to push Draco off. "Get off, you wanker! I was joking! Seriously, you're unnaturally heavy."

Draco rolled to the side and smoothly stood, walking arrogantly over to his chest of drawers where he resumed rifling through his shirts. "It's all muscle," he said smugly over his shoulder, "muscle I use to beat your ass! It doesn't go down too badly with chicks either."

Blaise rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I'm still not putting that pink stuff anywhere near my face."

Chuckling, Draco picked two shirts up off the floor and held them out for Blaise to see. One was white and the other emerald green. "Which one do you think I should wear?"

"Are you going to wear a jacket with them?"

"No, just some black jeans and black high-tops."

"Go with the green, the white would be too plain."

Draco nodded and pulled on the green shirt, only buttoning it up halfway so that all of his necklaces were on show against his alabaster skin. Blaise guessed that it was also to show off his chest muscles.

"Hermione likes the silver dragon pendant, by the way." Blaise said suddenly. Draco turned towards him slowly with raised eyebrows.

"How do you know that?"

"She told me."

"Why were you talking about me with her?"

Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco's suspicious tone, "She started the conversation, probably because she likes you and wants hints as to whether or not you like her back."

Draco stared at him incredulously, "Do you think she likes me?"

For someone who was so cocky and arrogant, Draco really was unsure of himself underneath it all. Blaise reckoned the cockiness and arrogance was probably put in place to hide just how insecure Draco was.

"Yes, I think she does like you. I think she wants you to ask her out and I think you need to grow a pair and actually do it."

Draco sighed, "We've had this conversation Blaise. I wouldn't be good for Hermione. I'm a murderer, remember?"

"I killed my own father, Draco, and I still don't let it get in the way of my happiness with Ginny. You can't let the shadows of the past darken your future or the chance of you finding light will be that much smaller."

Draco shook his head, "Never took you for a poet, Zabini." He joked humourlessly, "Now go and get ready, or you won't be done in time."

Blaise sighed, but nevertheless got up and walked towards the door. With a final nod towards Draco, he left to go and get changed.

"You'll be way too hot in that." Draco murmured to Blaise.

Blaise grinned, "Thanks mate, 'hot' was the look I was aiming for."

Draco rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean."

Shrugging his shoulders, Blaise fixed his attention on the stairs once again. Personally, he thought he looked great. He was wearing a black silk shirt with a white jacket and black trousers. All of it designer labels.

It was fifteen minutes until nine o'clock and they were currently waiting for Hermione and Ginny to make an appearance.

Someone did come down the stairs, but it wasn't Ginny. It was Lucius.

He stood in front of Draco and Blaise and sneered down at them. It was quite impressive, considering Blaise was taller than him.

"Now boys, let's go over some ground rules. If anything is broken, you will pay for it. I expect you to keep your guests where they are supposed to be. Watered down beer is the only alcohol to be served, I don't want fifty drunken teenagers loose on the estate. Your mother and I will be on the opposite side of the manor, and you will have hell to pay if we are disturbed in any way. That includes any police visitations. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." Draco muttered, bowing his head slightly under his father's cruel scrutiny. Blaise felt truly sorry for Draco sometimes. Lucius was much harsher when he was alone with his son than when there were others present. Blaise didn't count; he basically lived at the manor.

Lucius nodded and turned on his heel, marching off back up the steps. On his way up, he passed Ginny who was gracefully descending the stairs. Blaise almost licked his lips upon seeing her; she looked absolutely stunning.

The dress she was wearing had a light blue bust with a belt of silver beading. It had a very tight skirt in the same shade ending mid-thigh, and lots of transparent floating chiffon petticoats in every shade of blue that ended at her knees. Ginny had topped the look off with killer navy stilettos and silver jewellery. Her hair was scraped back into a severe ponytail on the top of her head with some loose curls framing her face. Her make-up was relatively light, with the exception of her dark blue eyeliner.

Blaise was practically purring until Draco elbowed him, sending him a quick, lewd look. Blaise ignored him and focused on Ginny, who skipped into his waiting arms.

"You look lovely." He murmured, and Ginny gave him a dazzling grin.

"Thank you, but in my opinion Hermione looks even better! Though technically, it's because of me she looks amazing, so I shall be taking credit for that!"

Blaise chuckled, and gave Ginny a brief kiss.

"Where is Hermione?" Draco interrupted, peering up the stairs.

Ginny pulled away from Blaise and sighed, "She's hiding behind a pillar at the top of the staircase because she has some bizarre idea that she looks slutty. As if I would dress anybody in slutty clothes!" she scoffed.

"It is Hermione; her idea of slutty is very different to everybody else's." Draco said.

Ginny nodded in agreement and cupped her hands around her mouth, "Oi, Hermione! You can come out now, I promise you look fine!"

There was a momentary pause before they finally saw Hermione emerge from her hiding spot, and even with his girlfriend standing next to him Blaise was blown away.

Hermione started descending the stairs slowly, biting her lip self-consciously. She really had no idea just how stunning she looked.

She was wearing an absolutely gorgeous dress; the bust was a metallic red with a sweetheart neckline and no straps, demurely showing of cleavage nobody knew she had. The skirt ended just above her knees and was composed of many layers of red and black chiffon. A peacock feather emblem extended over both bust and skirt, composed of many luxurious colours. She was wearing black stilettos that accentuated her long legs and the only jewellery she was wearing was golden locket Draco had given her.

Her hair was captured in a messy side bun with rebellious curls framing her face. Ruby-coloured gems were scattered in her hair, gleaming when they caught the light. Her make-up was very dramatic; shades of red, black and gold eye-shadow with black eyeliner and mascara. Her lips were painted crimson with a hint of gold.

She was exquisite, her ethereal beauty balanced with her demure posture. She seemed to truly glow; radiating splendour and happiness all in one.

"I'm brilliant, aren't I?" Ginny murmured to Blaise, "Draco doesn't know what to do with himself!" It was true; Draco's expression was one of shock, lust and awe all in one. His mouth was slightly parted and he looked ready to lunge towards Hermione and sweep her off of her feet.

Ginny giggled, "I based her outfit and make-up on the locket Draco gave her, clever right?" Blaise could only shake his head in amusement at Ginny's plotting. It had certainly worked; Draco would have a very hard job denying that he wasn't attracted to Hermione now.

She had finally reached them, and smiled hesitantly up at Blaise and Draco. Blaise heard him take a sharp intake of breath and grinned inwardly. "Come on then, Draco. Tell Hermione how lovely she looks." He teased.

Draco gulped, before he suddenly seemed to regain control of his senses. He gave Hermione a dazzling smile and gently grabbed her hand. Placing a lingering kiss on the inside of her wrist, Draco looked her straight in the eye, "You look positively succulent, Hermione." Hermione's cheeks flooded with colour, and she smiled hesitantly back at him.

Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco's display; he had never seen anything that screamed 'I want to have sex with you here and now' quite so much.

He smiled warmly at Hermione, "You look lovely, Hermione."

"Thank you Blaise, you look lovely yourself." she said.

"What about me?" Draco whined petulantly. Hermione arched an eyebrow at him, "I'm not about to tell you that you look 'succulent' Draco, if that's what you're after."

Blaise laughed outright at Draco's face, and was just about to add salt to the wound when the doorbell rang.

The butler had barely opened it when Pansy barged past and went straight towards Draco. "Draco! Look at my dress, don't I just look gorgeous?" she screeched, clinging onto his arms.

The dress she was wearing, in Blaise's humble opinion, was absolutely hideous. It was a loud pink colour and barely covered her at all. It started a millimetre above her nipples and a millimetre below her buttocks and was backless, dipping down low enough to see the beginning of her butt-crack. All in all, it screamed slutty and desperate. Just another typical Pansy outfit.

"Um, you certainly look, individual." Draco said, wrinkling his nose distastefully at her. Pansy obviously took this as a shining compliment, because she giggled shrilly and twirled her hair.

"Well, when you've got a body this sexy, it would be a shame not to show the entire world."

"You don't only show the world." Blaise muttered under his breath, causing Ginny to giggle.

Pansy whirled around to glare at her, but noticed Hermione. Sneering in an ugly way she put her hands on her hips and looked Hermione up and down in a condescending way. "Where did you get that? It's disgusting. Your hair is a mess as well; it looks like a family of homeless mice faced the decision of your hair or death. I would have chosen death, personally."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Ginny beat her to it, "Save it, Pansy. You just can't deal with the fact that Hermione has more beauty, class and intelligence in one eyelash than you have in your entire body. That dress looks like it was made for someone aged two.

Pansy scoffed and turned to Draco, "Don't you think I look much better than both of them, Draco?" she crooned, shamelessly pushing her breasts into Draco's side.

Draco pushed her away and shook his head, "No, I think they both look way better than you. You could be pretty if you wore some nice, less slutty, clothes and more tasteful make-up. Then you would have to eat the make-up so you could be beautiful on the inside as well."

Pansy stared at him in shock, before laughing shrilly, "Oh Draco, don't tease. You really are too witty. I'm going to go to the bathroom and then we can go into the party, okay?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.

"Whatever." Draco muttered, pushing her away again.

Pansy grinned and sauntered off, leaving the group shaking their heads.

"I swear she is thicker than her clothes are slutty!" Blaise said.

It was now ten o'clock and the party was in full swing. Ginny had truly outdone herself, the large ballroom was beautiful.

There were speakers in the four corners of the room and a DJ blasting the best new songs out from the far wall. People were dancing and swaying in time to the music on the dance-floor whilst others chatted in a seating area that was scattered with various leather sofas and armchairs. A long food table had been set up serving everything from caviar to hot-dogs. A massive chocolate fountain graced the centre of the table, surrounded by plates of exotic fruits. There was also a bar serving beer and various soft drinks. The room was bathed in the light of neon lasers and disco lights, constantly moving and changing colour.

Blaise was currently dancing with Ginny at the centre of the dance-floor, swaying in time to the heady music. Nearby Draco was dancing with a tall blond bimbo, beer cup in hand, and they were shamelessly grinding up against each other. Blaise rolled his eye at his randy friend and scouted the area for Hermione.

She was sitting down talking to a boy whose eyes were glued to her chest. She clearly hadn't realised, as she was talking animatedly to him about something.

"I'm going to dance with Hermione." He yelled to Ginny over the music. She nodded and broke away from him, moving towards Draco. She shooed away the tall blond, who gave her a dirty glare before moving off. Draco looked temporarily annoyed but was soon dancing quite happily with Ginny. Blaise shook his head at Ginny's confidence, she really was something else.

He moved over to Hermione and grabbed her arm, pulling her up. The boy looked like he was about to object, but was silenced by one look from Blaise. He then proceeded to drag Hermione onto the dance floor.

"Hey!" she protested, giggling. Blaise grinned at her and soon they were dancing along to the song.

Suddenly, Hermione seemed to notice someone because she waved her arm manically and went to grab Ginny, who was right in the middle of dirty-dancing with Draco, and dragged her over to the door.

Blaise saw Hermione and Ginny run up to three boys and two girls, and he motioned for Draco to follow him over to where they were.

When they reached the group, Hermione and Ginny were embracing everybody happily. Hermione was hugging a dreamy-looking girl with very long blond hair and Ginny was hugging a boy with sandy brown hair. Blaise resisted the urge to punch him.

"I take it these are your friends, Hermione." Draco said, looking over them critically. Hermione turned to him and nodded happily.

"Yes, this is Luna, Samara, Tony, Harry and-"

"Danny!" Ginny interrupted, poking him square in the chest, "That's Charlie's jumper isn't it? He's going to absolutely kill you when he realises you've taken it!"

The boy in question just shrugged, "He won't notice."

"Who's Charlie?" Blaise asked, putting an arm around Ginny.

"My brother, I'm the youngest of seven. There's Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Danny and myself." Ginny said, counting on her fingers.

"Naturally, I'm the best." Danny said smugly, "Hermione! It's great to see you!" he moved to embrace her, but she subtly dodged him. Blaise made a mental note to ask her about that, as she had readily hugged the other two boys and he had thought that she liked him.

"Aye, it hasn't been the same without yer, lass!" the sandy-brown haired one said in a thick Irish accent.

"I have, like, so much to tell you guys!" The girl called Samara gushed, hugging Ginny again. "Hello handsome, what's your name?" she asked, eyeing Draco appreciatively.

Draco grinned smugly and held out his hand, "Draco Malfoy, and this git is Blaise Zabini."

As Samara shook it, the raven-haired boy pulled Ginny aside. "Look, Ginny, I know we decided to end things but I really miss you. Please can we give it another go?

Blaise zoned on this immediately, and slung an arm over her shoulders. It seemed a casual gesture to all the girls; but it was a universal 'back-off' sign for guys.

"Ginny, do you want to go dance?" he asked her, pressing her close to him.

The black-haired boy, Harry, seemed to understand the situation as he looked at Ginny critically, "Seriously, Ginny? We only split up like three weeks ago and already you're moving on?"

"I don't blame her, personally. You, mister, are hot!" Samara said causing Blaise to roll his eyes, but grin at the same time.

Hermione shook her head and grabbed Tony's hand, pulling him towards the dance floor. "Come on, you lot!"

Blaise chuckled and led Hermione to the dance floor. As he walked past Draco, the blond suddenly hissed in his ear, "I don't like that Irish ponce. Something about him rubs me up the wrong way!"

Blaise grinned, "Maybe it's because he got to dance with Hermione before you. You should ask her to dance, mate."

"I will. Hey, not that I care, but have you seen Pansy?"

"I saw her sneaking off with some guy." Blaise snickered.

Draco shook his head, "That woman is going to be the death of me. At least she's out of the way!"

"Go and ask Hermione to dance." Blaise insisted, shoving him towards where she was dancing with Tony.

Draco scowled but nonetheless went over and asked Hermione to dance. She accepted and Draco hesitantly put his hands around her waist whilst she rested hers on his forearms.

Blaise looked around for Ginny, wanting to point it out to her, and finally saw her red hair glinting by the DJ's table. As she came back over wearing a smug expression, a romantic song started playing. As she stepped into his arms he gave her a questioning glance.

"What? They need help getting close!"

They were doing just that. As the song progressed, Draco's arms were now wrapped around Hermione whilst her head was resting against his chest. They were moving slowly in time to the music, swaying gently together.

"They are so adorable!" Ginny cooed, hugging Blaise fiercely, "We did a good thing."

Blaise nodded, "We did, but I don't think it's over. Draco is still stubborn enough to put up a fight."

"Why is he so opposed to a relationship with her?" Ginny asked curiously.

Blaise sighed; he had suspected this question would come up. He could hardly tell Ginny the truth; he would lose both hers and Draco's trust. "I think he doesn't want to disobey his father. If he dumped Pansy for Hermione, he would be disobeying Lucius."

"It's sad that he lets Lucius have so much control over him."

Blaise agreed wholeheartedly.

It was coming up to midnight and the party was still going strong. Blaise and Draco were sitting on one of the sofas idly chatting whilst the others were still dancing.

"What do you think happened between Hermione and Danny?" Draco asked, swirling his beer around in the cup.

"I don't know, but there's certainly something going on. Why do you ask?"

Draco shrugged, downing the contents of his cup in one gulp. "Just curious, that's all. Do you think she likes him?"

Blaise huffed in annoyance, "Just ask her out, for heaven's sake! You don't need to act all jealous when a guy talks to her."

"I know, I know," Draco said defensively, "and I'm not going to ask her out. I've told you this a million times."

"You seemed to be dancing with her very happily back then; you guys were getting very cosy."

"So were you and Ginny!"

"She's my girlfriend, Malfoy. Speaking of, why the hell were you dirty-dancing with my girlfriend?" Blaise said jokingly.

Draco grinned at him, "What can I say? She's an excellent dancer. A bit pushy though, I quite liked the look of that blond I was dancing with before."

Blaise chuckled, "More like grinding. You can do better than that, Draco!"

"How? She was hot!"

"Do you even know her name?"

"Uh, no."

"You are such a player!"

Draco grinned wolfishly, "I can't help it if women can't keep their hands off of me."

"You've got a girlfriend, Malfoy."

"A girlfriend I hate."

"I bet you wouldn't hate it if Hermione was your girlfriend." Blaise hinted

Draco huffed and glared at him, "How many bloody times do I have to tell you, I am not going to ask out Hermione. I'm not good for her!"

"Don't give me that crap, Malfoy. You're just worried that nobody will love you because your father doesn't!"

"At least I don't trail after women like a puppy dog desperate for their attention because my mother ignores me!" Draco spat.

Blaise had had enough. Draco's constant whining and finding reasons not to ask out Hermione were really bugging him. And then there was the comment about his mother. He knew he had been out of line talking about Draco's father like that but Draco knew fully well that Blaise's mother ignored him because she had been abused for years.

He didn't care about anything else anymore; he just wanted Draco to get off of his high horse and he wanted revenge for that spiteful comment.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I will show you that you like Hermione." He yelled, storming off.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he spotted Hermione talking with Luna. He strode up to her and without hesitation spun her around and crashed his mouth into hers in a furious kiss.

Hermione froze, not knowing what to do. She wasn't unsure for long, as Blaise found himself being ripped off of Hermione and the next thing he knew he was punched in the face, knocked to the ground by the impact.

He looked up to see the thunderous expression of Draco leering over him. "That was the wrong move, Zabini." He said calmly. Too calmly.

Blaise pulled himself up off the floor and touched his cheek, not at all surprised to see that Draco had broken the skin and blood was running down his jaw.

Blaise quickly put himself in a defensive position, preparing to fight Draco. Draco gave an animalistic growl and launched himself at Blaise.

The force knocked Blaise back but he quickly steadied himself, aiming a good punch at Draco's side. Draco dodged it neatly and attempted to knock Blaise to his feet.

They were both so intent on attacking each other they didn't notice Danny, Toby and Harry trying to pull them apart. Eventually Toby ripped Blaise from Draco, who was being held back by Danny and Harry.

Draco looked ready to fight both Danny and Harry when Hermione leapt in between him and Blaise.

"Okay, stop it both of you now! Do not make me resort to violence because these heels will make me twist my ankle. Blaise, what the hell did you kiss me for?"

Blaise grinned lazily at her, "I was proving a point, and I succeeded."

Draco growled and attempted to fight off the boys restraining him. "You're a dead man walking, Zabini!" he hissed menacingly.

Blaise chuckled humourlessly, "No use denying you don't like her now. If you truly didn't care, you would have let me kiss her."

Hermione whipped her head between them, "That's what this is? You proving a point? Blaise, what kind of idiot does that?"

"The kind of idiot that cares about his best friend and knows that you are the best possible thing for him."

Hermione groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers, "I can't deal with this right now. Are you two going to be civil or am I going to have to send you both to bed?"

Shaking off Toby, Blaise straightened his jacket. "I can be civil. Given time, Draco, you'll know that I did it for you."

Hermione rubbed her hands over her face and turned to Draco, "What about you?"

Draco sighed and dropped his head. Danny and Harry warily released him, ready to grab him again if he attacked Blaise. "Yes, sweetheart. I'll be civil. That doesn't mean that I'm not pissed with you Zabini!" he added threateningly.

Hermione turned to Blaise, "Go find Ginny and apologise. You shouldn't have kissed me, Blaise."

Blaise nodded and turned to leave when Ginny bounded up to them.

"I heard there was a fight! What happened?"

"Blaise kissed me to prove a point. I'm really sorry, Ginny, it was completely out of the blue and if I'd known he was going to kiss me then I would have stopped him.

"Wait a minute," said Ginny turning to Blaise, "I thought we agreed to scrap the whole kissing Hermione idea."

"Wait a minute, you knew about this?" Hermione interjected, incredulous.

"Of course, it was my idea." said Ginny.

"If you were a guy, I'd punch your lights out Ginny!" Draco growled.

Danny grabbed his arm again; worried he would actually strike his sister. Draco looked at him in annoyance, "I said if she were a guy. I don't hit girls." Danny seemed to accept this answer as he released Draco's arm, albeit hesitantly.

"That won't stop me being pissed with you Ginny. Or you, Zabini."

Blaise sighed, "Look, Malfoy, I'm sorry about kissing Hermione and talking about Lucius like that. But that comment about my mother was out of line."

Draco nodded, "Yes, it was, and I'm sorry too. But you were right by the way about both things."

Blaise raised an eyebrow, "Both things?"

Draco nodded, "Yeah, the reason I was in denial and about this point you had to make."

"What about my point?" Blaise asked, unsure of what Draco was talking about.

"It worked." Draco said before he pulled Hermione in for a searing kiss.

There you have it folks! That was my favourite chapter so far to write. Please read and review and I shall update all the faster;)

GoldieXx