Witch? Wizard?

Witch? Wizard?
Chapter VI

It
had been nearly six months since Draco had last seen or talked to
Blaise, nine if you included the months that passed after he had run
into him with that bushy-haired bint in Hogsmeade. \"Granger, I don\'t
care what position you have placed yourself in Blaise\'s life, you are not his keeper and I will see him.\"


Draco
had honestly tried to reason with the witch. Her words at the ministry
had struck a deeper chord than he cared to admit and he acknowledged
that she was right. Blaise simply wanted from him, something that Draco
did not have to give. Of course, in one respect, Granger was wrong.
She\'d assumed that he was simply using Blaise for his own carnal
pleasure, taking delight in the wizard\'s unwavering devotion to him.
But that wasn\'t the case. Just as Blaise longed to please Draco, Draco
felt the same in return, if to a lesser degree. He couldn\'t bear to
cast his life long friend out of his life, which is what he knew an
ending to their relationship would mean. And, of course, their intimate
relationship had always been fantastic, rivaling that of any he\'d
shared with a witch.


\"Draco, we\'ve been over this time and time again. You are not...\"


Draco
didn\'t allow her to finish her thought. \"Granger, I will concede that
you had a point at the time you confronted me in the Aurory. But, that
was six months ago. Despite whatever thoughts you might have about our relationship, Blaise was and
will always be someone that means a great deal to me. I have played
along with receiving news about him second hand, hoping that you would
see that my concern was genuine, but I will wait no longer.\"


Unbeknownst
to him at the time however, Hermione had taken certain preventative
measures, making it impossible for Draco to visit, her wards being
impenetrable, without severe risk to his health. Surprisingly enough,
he did not need to seek the witch out again, for the next day, Hermione
sent word to Draco.



Malfoy-

Against my better
judgment, I have removed the wards preventing you from entering
Blaise\'s residence, though I am impressed. According to the monitoring
spell you stayed nearly two hours before realizing that your cause was
fruitless.

I spoke with Blaise last night about your request
and he is in agreement. I will have diner prepared and tell Blaise to
expect you at seven this evening if I do not receive word to the
contrary.

Hermione.


Hermione\'s owl left Draco
wavering between relief and trepidation. His words had been true, he
longed to see for himself that his friend was doing well. But, he also
knew that Hermione\'s concerns held merit. He would hate for his
presence to lead Blaise down the same hopeless path of obsession that
he was just now clearing.


When he arrived for dinner that
evening, Hermione left the two wizards to their own devices. She and
Draco had visually sized each other up, in much the same manner that he
had done with her best friends at every passing moment during their
school days. Without words, they both acknowledged that in some sense
they were battling over the position of Blaise\'s protector; Draco, out
of a lifetime of loyalty; and Hermione, undoubtedly, out of guilt and
obligation, Draco reasoned.


Several hours passed, in which
Draco and Blaise exchanged inconsequential pleasantries, both,
carefully steering clear away from conversations that would lead them
back to that too comfortable, too familiar, intimacy that they had once
shared. Draco had managed to laugh at the knowledge that Blaise had
gained, simply from indulging Hermione by completing her muggle
crossword puzzles, unwittingly becoming familiar with Muggle politics,
history, and popular culture. The evening had been refreshingly light,
if a bit impersonal, and Draco resented the air of disease that settled
as Hermione returned.


\"Blaise, it is time for you to take
your evening dosage,\" she reminded him gently. Her eyes were impossibly
soft as she looked upon Blaise, and Draco was surprised to find that
look returned. Was it one of appreciation, or that of someone indebted
to another, Draco didn\'t know, but for the first time in his history
with Blaise, he felt a fraction of the longing that Blaise had held for
him.


\"Granger, while I\'m sure that Blaise appreciates all
that you have done for him, I can assure you that I am more than
capable of tending to his needs,\" Draco said dismissively, walking over
to remove the potion from her hand before she had a chance to react.
Smirking, he returned back to Blaise\'s bedside, stopping short as he
saw the questioning look in Blaise\'s eyes, directed not at him, but at
her.


In that instant, Draco understood. Despite any genuine
feelings of friendship he felt for the wizard, he had become accustomed
to his devotion and Hermione was right, he was not what his friend
needed at this time. That imploring look that passed over his shoulder
to the witch revealed a truth that tore at the heart he never knew he
had. He could not be trusted to do what was best for Blaise.


Hermione
remained uncharacteristically calm. \"That\'s very kind of you Draco,\"
she replied in an even tone. \"But I think until you are more familiar
with his treatments it would be unwise at this time. His early release
from St. Mungo\'s was facilitated only by Ginny\'s insistence that I was
familiar, competent, and dedicated to overseeing his treatment.\"


\"Draco,
I thank you for coming to visit me, but I think that it\'s time for me
to retire. Hermione is right, I must take my evening dose and I\'m
afraid that it will soon put me to sleep.\" Blaise\'s words, though
polite and kind to the untrained ear, were an irrefutable dismissal.
Knowing that he had no grounds for argument, Draco bid his farewell and
left.


After that first reunion, Draco, Hermione, and Blaise
seemed to come to some unspoken agreement. Hermione understood that
Blaise and Draco had a history that would never be erased and that she
could not suppress their friendship; Draco, that he had to let go of
Blaise and allow for someone else to do for his friend what he himself
could not, what was best for him; and finally, Blaise came to realize
that as invaluable a friend as Draco was in his life, he was not all
encompassing.


Many visits followed, all wards placed on
the flat, lifted to grant Draco along with Hermione unlimited in the
home. It was amazing that after a few tense meetings, the three came to
genuinely enjoy one another\'s company. As Blaise healed, Hermione
eventually went back to work, the Ministry having been so pleased with
her and Draco\'s initial case, that they were placed together on a
slightly higher profile case.


Friday night dinners became a
regular occurrence, aperitifs, rare delicacies, and quite often a
distinctly Slytherin brand of humor, otherwise known as ridicule, the
main courses. But it was on one particularly grueling Monday, when
Draco and Hermione\'s case had hit a proverbial dead end, and Draco had
managed to get on the wrong side of Captain Long, earning a long day of
Moody detail, that Draco decided to pay his old friend a visit.


What he walked in on was a sight, disturbingly familiar, though altogether different.


\"Oh
yes, Hermione,\" Blaise groaned, Hermione\'s head between his thighs,
masked by the unruly curls in which his hands were firmly seated.


When
the witch looked up at Draco, he could only stand frozen. Blaise\'s
hands, while they should be grasping furiously at her hair, pulling her
back to bring him to completion, were lovingly caressing her scalp, as
her eyes stared through him, never lowering despite the kisses and nips
she was delivering his thighs, until....


When Draco saw the
look of surprise, followed by the reflexive inclination to cover bared
breasts, he knew that he had been discovered. Still unable to move, he
watched as Blaise pulled Hermione into his chest, retrieving his cloak
that had been spread across the back of the sofa to cover her with. But
unlike the looks that they had given the witch during their affair in
seventh year, Blaise looked back down at Hermione first with adoration,
lifting her chin and kissing her softly before dismissing her upstairs
and finally upon Draco with annoyance.


\"I know our history
Draco, but I can assure you that my relationship with Hermione is not
to be used for your viewing pleasure,\" Blaise started, running a hand
through his curly locks as he stood and pulled his shorts up around his
waist. \"I trust that this was a mistake and you will owl ahead?\" he
enquired, as he turned to face the blond wizard.


Unable to
find an appropriate response, Draco simply nodded curtly, as he watched
his friend climb the stairs, giving him leave to make his exit.