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"Are you sure about this?"
Looking over her shoulder, she glared at him and rolled her eyes.
"Don't look at me like that! You know I think this is a bad idea." He sighed, "Do I need to outline again why I think this is a bad idea? Because, you know I can."
Hermione stopped her packing and turned towards him, her hand resting on her growing belly. "I am going, with or without you."
"Woman! You are so damn stubborn! Why do you always have to be so damn stubborn?"
"You wouldn't have fallen for me if I wasn't." She was right. She was always right. He loved her stubbornness, he loved her fire and her passion, and he loved that, above all else, she chose him. "See. I see that look, you admit it. I'm right." It wasn't a question, she knew she was right the same as he did.
He scooped her up into his arms, the feel of her belly bump against him made him smile bigger than the day he married her. She met his smile with one of her own and melted into his kiss.
"I love you Blaise Zabini!"
"Do you ever think about how we got here?"
"You mean when you stole me away from my fiance?"
"Indeed, I do. He didn't deserve you anyway."
~_~
One year ago
"Why do we have to go to this again?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes, "this again?"
"How many times do I have to explain that being at a huge party with a bunch of rich snobs is not my idea of a good time?"
"Apparently every time we go. Don't I always make it up to you though?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, kissing all around her mouth before capturing her lips.
She lost herself in his kiss. Every time he kissed her she lost all sense, she needed to find her sense and herself.
"Alright, I'll go tonight. But," she poked him in the chest, "you, Draco Malfoy, owe me a weekend trip to the catacombs helping me on my current project."
He hated the catacombs, he hated being underground, but for her he would go.
~_~
The party
For the hundredth time that night she stared at the giant clock on the wall. All night she had mingled, she had sat sipping a glass of wine, she had listened to business talk, and been ignored. Hermione hated being ignored, she hated not being heard, she hated her opinion being dismissed. But among this crowd it wasn't worth the fight. Two years into dating Draco she learned that sometimes there was an opinion she could have and sometimes it was better to just bite her tongue.
"How long do you think you can hold up this wall?"
Hermione whirled around to find Blaise Zabini hiding in the shadows. Or maybe, he just blended in with the shadows. Beware the quiet ones. The thought made her smile.
"I'm pretty sure this wall and I are old friends by now."
Blaise laughed and took her hand in his. Hermione stood staring at his hand holding hers, the warmth of his hand a stark contrast to chill she didn't know she had ran through her body. He held her hand so gently, his fingers light under hers, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand.
"Would you like to take a walk with me?"
"I would love that." She didn't bother to glance in Draco's direction, she knew he wouldn't notice her absence.
Blaise cast a warming charm around them as he led her outside to the grounds expansive gardens. "I use to play here when I was a boy. I would pretend this was a maze. The guys and I would even pretend to dual over the tops of the hedges." He tucked her arm into the crook of his and slowed his pace just enough. "It was amazing as a boy, this place was one that was fuel for the imagination. Made me realise that there was more to our world than what our pureblood parents told us."
"Growing up an only child I found my imagination in books. I still do, if I'm honest. I'll always choose books and research over huge parties. That's not to say they aren't enjoyable."
"Please, you don't have to lie to save my feelings. I know these parties are dull, watching you try to hold up the wall was the highlight of the night."
Hermione stopped walking and stared at him. He didn't say anything, he knew the way her mind worked. Blaise watched Hermione watching him.
"I despise when people assume and do not ask. So, I'm asking. Didn't you grow up in this world? The world of fancy parties and snobby rich people?"
Merlin, her candour was a breath of fresh air. No one else he knew would have called it like that.
"I did, and that's one reason I hate attending them. I came tonight to talk to old man Montie about sponsoring a research trip to Bucharest. He jumped at the chance of course, I knew he would. It will take a few months to get everything in place and then off I go."
"Draco promised me when we started dating that we would travel and see the libraries of the world and every monument and landmark imaginable." Hermione smile floundered and her eyes lost their sparkle as she dwelled on the promise. "He broke that promise, or in his words, he just hasn't fulfilled it yet. We're going on three years together. Three years of business parties and hosting, and becoming someone I don't even recognise anymore."
Blaise wrapped his arms around her and brought their bodies closer together. Hermione brought her arms under his and around his body burying her face against his chest. "What am I doing?"
"Are you asking about this hug or with your life?" There was a smile in his voice.
Hermione let out a small laugh and held him tighter. She realised that the feel of comfort she was getting from Blaise right now was more than she got from Draco. More than she had received from Draco in a very long time. Blaise held her and didn't judge her. He held her and let her cry on his coat. If she did that to Draco he would whinge for days that her tears left a stain.
"Merlin, why?"
Blaise didn't answer her, he knew she was thinking out loud. He held her close and let her cry and talk herself in circles.
Thirty minutes later he felt her relax her grip on the back of his coat and bring her arms down to his waist. Her whispered words were hard to make out but he was confident he heard her properly.
"Did you say what I think you just said?"
"Should I repeat it?"
"Only if you want to."
"I think I need to."
"I'll be here if you need me."
"I have to go break up with him."
"If we just left, how long do you think it would take him to notice?"
Hermione chuckled and playfully slapped his arm. "I have to do this the right way." She dried her tears and with a flick fixed her makeup. "I'd like to join you in Bucharest."
"I'd be happy to have you with me."
~_~
Blaise grabbed the suitcase in one hand and his wife's in the other, "let's go before we miss the train."
"Are you as excited as I am to walk on Lake Baikal? I can't wait to see how clear the water is beneath the ice. Oh and did I mention the turquoise ice blocks along the shore? I've heard they are lovely."
Blaise smiled listening to his wife chatter about the oldest lake in the world. If walking on metre thick ice will make his wife happy then he would just have to put a bubble charm around her and let her walk on the ice.
"Merry Christmas, Hermione, my love."
"Merry Christmas, Blaise. Thank you for loving me."