Dare

A/N: I can't seem to help myself sometimes. I wrote another one, enjoy!

~~**~~

“Blaise, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Who is it?” Blaise asked, not bothering to look up from the book he was reading. He turned a page and waited for the response.

“Hermione Granger.”

Blaise stopped with his hand in the middle of turning another page and looked up. A 6th year boy stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame casually.

“Who?” Blaise asked again, sure he had heard wrong.

“Granger,” the boy repeated. “She’s outside and says she wants to see you.”

Blaise was silent for a moment, his eyebrows drawn together. At length, he set down his book and took time marking his place in it before getting up and following the boy down the dark hallway that led into the Slytherin common room.

There weren’t too many people out given that it was nearly one in the morning. Before they reached the door, the boy turned to Blaise.

“Do you know why she’s here?”

Blaise didn’t justify that question with a response, only giving the boy a cold look. He seemed to get the message instantly.

“Of course, sorry,” he said quickly. He took a step to the side. “Uh, she’s out there… I’ll just…”

He was gone before he finished the sentence.

Blaise rolled his eyes and sighed. He had no idea why Granger would turn up at one am wanting to talk to him, of all people.

He took a second to prepare himself, sweeping his dark hair from his eyes and throwing up the Slytherin mask of indifference.

He opened the door and stepped out into the dark corridor beyond, wondering just what he was in for.

At first, looking around, he didn’t see anyone. He thought maybe the 6th year had tricked him, but why would he do that?

He was about to turn around and go back inside when he heard a giggle from his left. He turned sharply, staring into the darkness that obscured his vision.

“Granger?” he asked cautiously.

He heard more giggling and some whispers before Hermione stepped out of the shadows, or rather it looked more like she was pushed as she came stumbling out, giggling a little and struggling to remain upright.

Blaise’s eyebrow rose as he watched her. She laughed again and straightened up, looking at him.

Looking her over, she didn’t seem like her usual self, Blaise noted. Her hair, that she had finally learned to control and was always so well-kept nowadays, looked messy. Her uniform, which she was still wearing despite the fact that classes had been over for many hours now, was wrinkled.

“Blaise,” she said suddenly, sounding out of breath. She took a step towards him, stumbling a little.

Blaise eyed her carefully. There was obviously something going on.

“Granger,” he said firmly. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me, silly,” Hermione giggled, then sobered suddenly, standing up straight and taking another step towards him, her expression serious. “Blaise,” she whispered, “D’you know, you’re really cute.”

Blaise was shocked into silence by her words. He stared at her in mild amusement for a moment as he tried to work out what was going on.

“You have really pretty eyes,” Hermione said, her voice hushed and almost reverent. She was less than a foot away now. Her head barely came up to his neck, and she was staring up at him longingly.

“What the fuck are you doing, Granger?” Blaise asked. She merely giggled and took another step, only to slip and nearly fall. On instinct, Blaise’s hands shot out, grabbing her around her waist to stop her from completely falling.

His hands around her waist, only made her giggle more. She pushed herself upright, though, her face tilting up to his. She smiled slowly. “You’re so nice, Blaise.”

He was about to protest that statement, but was taken completely by surprise when his head was forced down by Hermione’s hands and her lips were pressed against his.

**

Four hours before

“Hey, Hermione.”

Hermione sighed and lowered her textbook reluctantly, looking at the armchair opposite her that had just been taken up by a girl with long, shiny brown hair.

“Yes, Parvati?” she asked, not really interested in anything she might have to say.

Parvati smiled at her and glanced at Lavender, who’d just sat down in the third chair. “You’ve been depressed ever since Harry and Ron left.”

“I—“ Hermione tried to interrupt, but Parvati would have none of it.

“Don’t try to deny it,” she said seriously, sitting back in her chair. “All you do is study now. You’re never out of the library, and you always have millions of books in your arms.”

“I only have five,” Hermione corrected her grumpily, not liking the way this conversation was going. She did realize what Parvati was saying was the truth but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Harry and Ron had left on their hunt for the Horcruxes at the end of last year. Hermione had wanted to go with them, but Harry had simply refused. He thought it was too dangerous for her. She had been furious and not spoken with them for the better part of three months.

Coming back to school, though, she had felt the loss their presence had always given her. She had written to them immediately, hoping to patch what she’d done. Harry and Ron had only been too forgiving, but when she’d asked to join them, another refusal had come her way.

Instead, she had spent the past few months isolating herself. She studied and was constantly searching for information to help Harry. She wanted to feel like she was doing something to help them, even if they wouldn’t let her come along.

She knew people were concerned about her. Professor McGonagall had already talked to her numerous times about taking a break, maybe spending a weekend on the grounds instead of shut up in the library. Hermione had taken her advice, and spent the weekend reading up on curses under the willow tree instead.

Now, she was facing a determined looking Parvati and an equally excited Lavender. Parvati rolled her eyes at Hermione’s statement.

“That’s not the point,” she said, tugging the book out of Hermione’s hands and setting it on the opposite side of the table. “We think you need to have some fun.”

“Fun?” Hermione repeated skeptically. It sounded ludicrous to her.

“Yes, fun,” Lavender piped up. “No books, or educational spells, just fun with the girls.”

“The girls?” Hermione’s tone could not have been dryer.

“That’s us,” Parvati said, standing up and walking around to Hermione’s side, taking her by the arm and hoisting her out of the chair.

“Hey!” Hermione exclaimed as she was dragged to her feet.

“Oh come on, Hermione,” Parvati said, sounding bossy. “You can’t deny that you don’t want to have fun once in a while. All you do is study. Just let go for once.”

Hermione scowled, but allowed her and Lavender to guide her to the staircase leading to the girls’ dormitories. She followed them slowly up the stairs and into their dorm.

Sitting down on her bed with a small humph, she watched as Parvati shut the door and tapped the lock. It rattled for a second before stilling.

“What was that for?” Hermione asked uneasily.

“Nothing,” Parvati replied dismissively. “Just don’t want any younger students wandering in.”

Hermione wasn’t completely placated, but let it go for the moment. She turned to Lavender, who’d been rummaging in her trunk. When she turned around, she had a few bottles of something in her arms.

“What’s that?” Hermione asked cautiously, not liking the look of it.

“It’s called Diable Blanc. My friend in France said it’s really popular. She said it was good, so I got some.”

“It’s alcohol?”

“Of course,” Lavender said, settling herself on the floor with the bottles and conjuring a few glasses. Parvati sat down beside Lavender and gave Hermione a pointed look while patting the floor beside her.

Hermione sighed resolutely and slid off her bed to the floor. She settled herself comfortably and waited, unsure exactly what they were going to do.

Lavender poured a liberal amount of the clear alcohol into three cups and handed them round. Hermione eyed it carefully and sniffed it before taking a small sip. She grimaced at the burn and glanced around.

Parvati threw hers back in a second, smiling at Hermione, and giving her an encouraging nod. Hermione hesitated before downing the rest in one gulp. She closed her eyes as the burn went down her throat.

“It’ll get better,” Parvati consoled her, grabbing her glass and refilling it.

“So,” Lavender said, downing her second glass. “What shall we talk about? Clothes? Professors? Boys?” She gave Hermione a sly look and Hermione frowned.

“Is this what you do?” she asked skeptically.

“Sometimes we do each other’s hair,” Parvati offered, “but for the most part, we talk about other people.” She smiled at Hermione and handed her her filled glass.

Hermione continued to frown, but drank to keep herself occupied. She immediately regretted this when she felt the sting against her tongue and throat. Beside her, Parvati knocked hers back without so much as a blink.

“Okay,” she said, setting her glass on the floor. “So, Lavender, how’s it going to Terry?”

Hermione watched in enraptured interest as Lavender sighed and set down her glass. She’d never really heard people talking so plainly about love interests.

“I think he thinks I’m stupid,” Lavender said dejectedly.

Hermione bit her tongue to stop herself telling Lavender that she was. Parvati, on the other hand, was much more sympathetic.

“You’re not stupid,” she said consolingly, grabbing the bottle of Diable Blanc and filling up her and Lavender’s glasses. “He’s stupid. What have you tried so far?”

“Well, I’ve been wearing my skirt shorter all week and he’s barely noticed at all,” Lavender whined, staring morosely at her glass before taking a sip. “I dropped a book and leaned over to get it and he didn’t even look!”

Hermione was staring at Lavender in complete disbelief. “That actually works?” she asked, unable to keep her disdain to herself.

“Usually!” Lavender exclaimed. “It worked with Ron.”

“Well, Ron—“ Hermione stopped herself at a look from Parvati. “Maybe Terry’s different. I mean, he is a Ravenclaw.”

Lavender gave Hermione a withering look. “All boys are the same, Hermione, no matter what House they’re in. They all just want sex.”

“But…” Hermione trailed away, having no follow-up thought. She’d never spent too much time trying to divine guys’ feelings.

She drank her glass that had been filled up by Parvati without thinking, nearly choking. She coughed for a few seconds. Parvati and Lavender ignored her coughs, merely refilling their own glasses.

“It’s true, Hermione,” Parvati said. “Put boys in a castle full of girls and they’re only going to think about one thing. Why do you think they’re always excusing themselves to the bathroom?”

“Well, I never thought about it…”

“Maybe you should,” Parvati said lightly, tipping back her glass. “Guys only want sex, and why should we deny them?”

“Don’t you think that’s a little…”

“Anti-feminist?” Lavender piped up. “Please, Hermione, it’s the 21st century. Women have much more power than you think, even if they like to let go a little in the bedroom.”

Hermione was silent and Parvati perked up suddenly, looking closely at her.

“What?” she asked carefully, leaning back as Parvati leaned forward.

“Hermione,” she said slowly. “Are you a virgin?”

Hermione blushed slightly and looked away, looking for a distraction. She found it in her now full glass of alcohol. She downed it in one gulp, noticing that the burning was less and she was beginning to feel a slight tingle in her fingers.

Lavender was now staring at her too. “Are you?”

“No,” Hermione said in barely a whisper.

Her response seemed to have been quite the opposite of what Parvati and Lavender had been expecting. Lavender’s mouth fell open and Parvati’s eyebrows raised high on her forehead.

“You mean, you have?” Parvati asked once she had regained her voice. “With who?!”

Hermione sighed, feeling like she shouldn’t have said anything. It was too late to take it back now. In a way, though, she felt relieved to finally tell someone. She hadn’t been able to tell Ron and Harry; they would have been furious, Ron especially. She supposed that was part of why she had chosen that boy in the first place.

“Zacharias Smith,” she mumbled, staring into her empty glass. She found it taken from her grasp and replaced seconds later, filled to the brim.

“The Hufflepuff?” Lavender interjected, sounding completely surprised. “How did that happen and why didn’t we know about this?!”

“Nobody knew,” Hermione said, still talking to her glass.

“And you and he…”

Hermione inclined her head barely in acknowledgement.

“Was he any good?”

Hermione looked up sharply, staring at Lavender. “I’m not telling you that!” She glanced at Parvati for support, but found none.

“Hermione,” she said plainly, “you can’t tell us something like that and expect us not to ask questions. Besides, this is what we do. So… dish.”

Hermione gave her an uncertain look before throwing back her drink, feeling the tingle intensify and her head cloud a little.

“He was okay, I guess. It got better after the first time.”

“You did it more than once?” Parvati said swiftly, watching Hermione closely.

“Yeah, just a few times. Then I decided I didn’t want to hurt Ron or Harry so I broke it off.”

Parvati nodded thoughtfully, reaching for the bottle of alcohol. Instead of pouring in her glass this time, though, and raised it to her lips, drinking straight from the bottle.

“Hey!” Lavender exclaimed. “Don’t hog.”

Parvati just shrugged and handed over the bottle. “So, Hermione,” she said, her eyes fixing on her, if only just a tiny bit unfocused. “Have you been with anyone since?”

“No,” she said slowly. “I was busy helping Ron and Harry.”

“But they haven’t been here at all this year,” Lavender pointed out, taking a swig of the alcohol and passing it to Hermione, who eyed it carefully.

“No,” she agreed.

“So you must have done something this year,” Parvati said.

“I’ve just been studying.”

She took a drink of the alcohol and brought it down only to hear deafening silence. Both Parvati and Lavender were staring at her, their expressions full of pity and shock.

“What?” Hermione asked finally.

“That’s all you’ve really been doing?” Parvati asked, staring at her. “We thought you just studied sometime. You had to be doing something else! No one in their right mind studies 24/7!”

“I don’t have anything else to do,” Hermione said, feeling depressed. This was true. Without Harry and Ron, she had no real close friends. She had no one to hang out with, no one to go to Hogsmeade with, no one to talk to.

“Well, we could have found you something!” Lavender exclaimed. “Oh, Hermione, what are we going to do with you?”

“Huh?” Hermione asked, not liking the sound of that.

“I know,” Parvati said. “Hermione, we are going to make you feel better.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“Don’t ask questions,” Parvati scolded lightly. “Just let us work our magic.”

A few hours and several more bottles of Diable Blanc later, Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender were all feeling quite tipsy for lack of a better word. They were all still sitting on the floor. Hermione was leaning against her bed, giggling feebly.

“And then Ron waved his wand and instead of cursing Malfoy, he ended up belching slugs all night long!”

All three girls went into peals of laughter that lasted for a good five minutes. When they finally calmed down enough, Parvati tried to stand up, only to lose her balance and fall with an exclamation of pain back on the floor.

“Ow,” she said, rubbing her hip. “Oh! I know what we should do!” she cried suddenly.

“What?” Lavender asked, draining the last of the third bottle of alcohol. She threw it to the side and pulled out another that had been stashed under her bed. She opened it and after she had a sip, passed it to Hermione, who didn’t think twice and took a long swig. She was beginning to find this quite fun.

“We can play Truth or Dare,” Parvati said. “I’ll go first. Lavender, truth or dare?”

Lavender giggled for a moment before stopping to think and make up her mind. “Ummm…. Truth.”

“Okay,” Parvati said, giggling a little. “Last year when you got detention with Michael Corner, what were you really doing?”

Lavender laughed, almost as if she was embarrassed, but then stuffed her hand against her mouth to stop anymore giggles. “We—we were caught in Filch’s broom closet. Filch said his brooms would never be clean again!” Then she dissolved into giggles again.

They laughed until they could barely breathe. Finally, Lavender got enough control of herself and turned to Parvati.

“Parvati, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Parvati responded immediately.

Lavender paused, as if trying to think up the worst. “How many guys have you slept with this year and their names?”

Parvati was silent and it looked like she was counting in her head. While she was thinking, she grabbed the bottle away from Hermione, taking a drink and sloshing a little down her front.

“Three,” she said finally, “Michael, Dean… and Terry.”

“You slept with Terry?!” Lavender exclaimed.

“Only for a night,” Parvati said complacently. She raised the bottle to her lips again, but it was snatched away by Lavender, who took a large gulp. Parvati sighed. “Lav, don’t worry. You’re going to be very happy when you finally get him, trust me.”

Lavender eyed her for a second then set down the bottle. “Is he…”

“And more.”

Lavender looked placated for the moment and passed the bottle on to Hermione. Hermione took another sip, feeling the buzz growing. She’d never done anything like this before and found it quite exhilarating. She’d never had real girl friends like this.

“Hermione,” Parvati said, turning to her. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Hermione said, deciding it might be fun to take a chance.

“Dare…” Parvati repeated, glancing at Lavender, who wasn’t paying attention and inspecting her skirt. She looked back at Hermione. “I’ve got a dare for you, Hermione.”

“Okay,” Hermione said. She felt like she could do anything.

“You have to go find Blaise Zabini.”

“Zabini?” Hermione asked, struggling to remember. “The Slytherin?”

Lavender suddenly tuned in. “Oh Merlin, he is so hot.”

“Exactically,” Parvati said, messing up the word in her state of drunkenness. “Which is why, Hermione, you are going to find him, and kiss him.”

“Lucky!” Lavender exclaimed.

Lucky wasn’t exactly how Hermione would put it. She remembered now who Blaise was. He was the very handsome Slytherin boy in her Arithmancy class. He usually sat in the back and didn’t speak.

“Kiss him?” she repeated. To some extent it sounded like a good idea, though she thought that might just be the alcohol talking.

“Yes!” Parvati exclaimed, handing Hermione the nearly empty bottle of alcohol. She took a large swig, feeling the burst in her brain.

“That could be fun,” she said after a minute.

“Let’s go find him!” Lavender said excitedly, trying and failing to get up from the floor. She made it halfway before collapsing in a pile of giggles. She grabbed onto the bedside table and hoisted herself up.

Hermione followed suit, finding it just as hard as it had been for Lavender. She stumbled sideways for a moment, feeling off-balance. She steadied herself slowly, not used to feeling like this. It felt good, like she could do anything and it wouldn’t matter.

Once they were all standing and relatively steady, they left the dorm, moving very slowly down the staircase. Hermione slipped a few steps from the bottom and slid down, landing with a small crash at the bottom. She tried to get up, only to be knocked into by Parvati, who’d fallen also.

Laughing, they picked themselves up clumsily and stumbled for the door. None of the three paid attention to the fact that it was nearly 1 am and way past curfew. Hermione was Head Girl, but even that didn’t give her the right to go wandering around the castle at any time she pleased.

Forgoing this fact, the three of them climbed out the portrait hole, only tripping once, much to their amusement. Laughing and giggling, they somehow made it down all the flights of stairs until they reached the Entrance Hall.

“Which way?” Hermione asked, her voice low, though it echoed around the cavernous hall.

“This way,” Lavender replied, tugging them towards a door to their left. They went down into a long, dark corridor lit only by torches that were few and far between.

After a few failed tries, and many more giggles, Parvati managed to light her wand and the light swept ahead of them.

They wandered through several corridors until they reached what Lavender claimed to be the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. They stared at it for a few seconds.

“What do we do now?” Lavender asked finally, staring at the blank wall.

“Easy, knock!” Parvati said. She raised a fist to the wall and pounded on it three times.

Before the last knock had finished resounding, Parvati had pushed Hermione forward and she and Lavender disappeared into a dark corner just a few feet away. Hermione could still hear their stifled giggles.

She waited a few moments, her nerves growing. Luckily, the amount of alcohol she had consumed earlier made it much easier to stand and wait for Blaise to come out.

After a few more minutes, the door creaked open and a short boy poked his head out. He caught sight of Hermione and frowned.

“What do you want?” he asked in a none-too friendly tone.

“I am here to see Blaise,” Hermione replied, attempting a lofty tone but the suppressed laugh at the end ruined the effect.

“Blaise,” the boy repeated.

“Yes!” Hermione said. “And I’d like it very much if you’d just go get him right now!”

The boy looked at her questioningly for a second before disappearing back inside, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Parvati and Lavender reappeared, both looking ecstatic.

“You did it! He’s going to come out and then you have to kiss him.”

“On the cheek, right?” Hermione asked nervously.

“No!” Lavender exclaimed. “You have to really kiss him.”

“But I—“

Parvati seized Hermione’s arm and dragged her into the shadow for a moment. “It’s part of the dare. You can’t back out now.”

“I have to really kiss him?” she asked. She heard the sound of a door opening and knew Blaise was there.

“Yes,” Parvati whispered back. “Just think hot it’s gonna be!”

Hermione couldn’t help giggling and found herself shoved out of the shadow and practically into Blaise. She felt disoriented for a moment but when she looked up at him, even the disdain in his eyes couldn’t take away from his beauty.

She had to admit that Parvati and Lavender were right. Blaise was gorgeous and she should have absolutely no qualms about kissing him.

She realized he was speaking to her after a moment and she tried to focus her eyes on him. All she could think was that he was gorgeous and she was pretty sure she said something to that effect.

He didn’t look convinced and she felt unprepared. Unfamiliar butterflies were flapping in her stomach as if trying to get free. She took a step towards him and felt herself slip on the floor.

In a moment, his arms were around her and she was staring into his gorgeous blue eyes. She couldn’t look away from them, but knew she had a dare to complete. He looked like he was about to let go of her when she reached up and forced his head down, pressing her lips to his.

*

Blaise was taken by surprise when Hermione kissed him, holding his head down and pressing her body closer. It took him a moment to realize what was happening and the second he did, he pushed her away.

“Granger!” he said sharply. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Kissing you,” she replied, staring at him. She took a step back toward him, raising her hands to his chest, only to find them caught in his hands and forced to her side.

“Why?” Blaise demanded, not really interested in the answer, more interested in getting back inside and away from this madness.

“Do I need a reason?” Hermione asked innocently, inching forward, despite his grasp on her wrists.

“Yes,” he replied moodily.

“Okay,” she said, sounding eager to rise to the challenge. “You’re really hot, and smart, and you don’t talk a lot but I think you’re nice too. And your hair is really nice,” she said, glancing at it wistfully while his expression grew more and more confused. “And your eyes. They’re gorgeous. And your hands,” she said glancing down at them where they still held her wrists, “they’re really soft.”

Blaise immediately dropped her wrists, staring at her. He leaned down for a second and gave the air a sniff.

“Are you drunk?” he asked suspiciously.

Hermione was silent for a moment. “Of course not!” she said finally, giggling slightly. “I don’t need to get drunk to have fun. I have friends.”

Blaise’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched her try to explain herself. He heard a giggle from the dark corner and glanced over. He would have bet 50 galleons that a few other drunken Gryffindors were hiding there.

“Friends who get you drunk and make you kiss me?”

“They didn’t make me,” Hermione protested. “It was a dare and I want to.”

“You want to or you wanted to?” Blaise clarified, not liking the sound of it.

Hermione paused, looking like she was trying to figure it out herself. “I want to?” she said uncertainly. She glanced up at Blaise, and he saw something he’d never seen before in her.

Usually, she was confident, always raising her hand and answering professor’s questions. Looking at her now, he saw uncertainty. He’d never imagined she could be like that.

“Do you really?” he asked quietly, lowering his voice so the others wouldn’t be able to hear.

Hermione looked away from him, losing the giggling persona she’d had before. She seemed to sober, if only for a moment. She looked like she didn’t quite know what to do with herself for a minute.

“Yes,” she said finally, “but not like this.”

Blaise paused a moment. Something in her words made him think. “Not like this?”

Hermione didn’t really realize what she was saying. All she knew was that a small part of her wanted to kiss Blaise again, maybe even go further, but she hadn’t wanted it to happen when she was drunk and starting to feel depressed.

Blaise stared down at the girl standing just a foot away. She looked a little lost, and not like her usual self. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do, but leaving her drunk and forlorn in the corridor just didn’t feel right.

“Come in,” he said suddenly, stepping back and giving the password.

Hermione looked at him, confusion etched in her face. “Huh?”

“Very eloquent when you’re drunk, Granger,” Blaise drawled, holding the door open. “In, you.”

When she hesitated, he rolled his eyes, helping her through the door. She stumbled a little, indicating that despite her now more demure presence, she was still feeling the effects of the alcohol.

He slid an arm around her waist and supported her through the common room and down the hall to his room. He was thankful that it was so late and no one was up to see the spectacle of the Head Girl, sloshed, and coming to his bedroom.

He opened the door to his dormitory and helped her inside. He guided her over to his bed and she practically fell onto it, landing with a flump on the soft covers. For once, Blaise was glad that Draco had run off and Crabbe and Goyle had followed. It meant he had the dorm to himself.

He sat down on the bed next to Hermione, taking out his wand and conjuring a glass of water.

“Drink this,” he said, shoving it in her hand. He watched as she tipped the glass back precariously.

When she finished, she tossed the glass away and it landed with a soft thud on the carpet and rolled away. She fell backwards onto the bed, staring up at the top of the canopy.

Blaise remained sitting, unsure of what he was doing and why. She was “the enemy” in more ways than one. She was a Gryffindor, and a member of the Golden Trio. She was a Mudblood and everything his House was against.

Blaise had never been one to put labels on things, but others did it for him. As he looked down at Hermione, who was simply staring straight above her, he knew it wasn’t about blood. It was about power and those who wanted it. He knew the only way to win was to unify.

“Granger,” he said quietly. “Where are Potter and Weasley?”

Hermione was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “Somewhere far away.”

Blaise twisted on the bed to look at her. “You don’t talk to them?”

“I can’t,” she said, feeling her emotions rising in her throat. She missed Harry and Ron terribly, but usually refrained from talking about them. The alcohol, however, had loosened her tongue. “They’re off somewhere fighting and I’m stuck here feeling useless. What am I supposed to do? I can’t go find them and I don’t have any friends here…” She trailed away, feeling the lump growing in her throat.

“You have friends,” Blaise said, not really knowing whether or not it was true.

“No, I don’t,” Hermione whispered, sniffing and wiping away a tear before it fell.

“What about whoever got you like this tonight?”

“Parvati and Lavender just wanted to cheer me up. They aren’t my friends.”

Blaise hesitated before lying back on the bed, turning on his side to face Hermione. “Somebody cares about you.”

“Yeah, and those somebodies are far away.”

“I’m sure there’s someone else,” he said, trying to be serious, but she was making it difficult and when she started to cry, he didn’t know what to do.

“No,” she whispered, turning away from him, not bothering to wipe away her tears. “I’m alone.”

Blaise knew it was the alcohol that was playing with her emotions, making things so much worse, but nevertheless, he’d never been very good at dealing with girls crying. He reached out tentatively, placing a hand carefully on her shoulder.

“Hermione,” he said softly, making sure to use her first name, “you’re not alone.”

He wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to say, but she turned toward him, her eyes red and wet. She didn’t say anything, just scooted closer, and he wrapped his arms instinctively around her. Despite his awkwardness, he couldn’t help noticing how comfortable he felt with her in his arms.

“I’m sorry.” He heard a whisper muffled in his shirt.

“It’s okay,” he replied, brushing her hair back with his hands and moving her slowly into a more comfortable position on the bed.

He kept his arms around her and after a while heard her sniffs stop and her breathing slow. When he was sure she was asleep, he let go of her and reached down, sliding off her shoes and his own. Then he grabbed the comforter, pulling it over both their bodies. He slid back in beside her and didn’t try to move away when she turned to him in her sleep, her hands resting against his chest.

Instead, he simply placed an arm over her waist and closed his eyes, falling asleep not long after, with her warm body pressed against his.


~~**~~

A/N: Next chapter coming soon... Please review!