A man who cared less would have
presented himself to Hermione immediately.
Blaise's first order of business, however, was a bath. He may not have been the most experienced person in terms of romance but he was nevertheless an intelligent being and therefore realized that the odds of his success at increased at least fivefold if he took pains to be clean. Hermione had, after all, professed a positive interest in his fresh scent. The very least he could do was wash away the exertion of his flying exam and the general ambiance of Hagrid's hut, or rather, the musky wildlife surrounding the hut.
So it was only after the completion of a comprehensive soak that Blaise presented himself at the Head Students' portrait hole.
"Good evening," he bowed to the grazing hippogriffs. They eyed him before bowing back and the skinny watch-wizard who pretended to be herding them scampered down his tree, quickly while their heads were down, inside the common room to inform the residents of their visitor.
A few moments later, Draco opened the door and sneered at him.
Blaise gazed at the Head Boy serenely, "I give you a four for effort. Perhaps if you practiced with a mirror? I hear Snape does and he has a fine vocabulary of offensive expressions. You might want to try it. Or ask for suggestions. You could go now."
"My esteemed colleague can't come to the door," Draco gave the last few words a sour twist.
Blaise knew the two had a fine working relationship but not much tolerance beyond that. Draco would cheerfully feed Hermione to a quintaped; Hermione might not do the same but only because she would fear for the creature's indigestion. She was like that. It made Blaise grin a bit, in turn, making Draco step back in surprise before continuing.
"Granger is occupied with studying at the moment, not that it matters since she'll have no more wish to see you later during that brief three second period she has between studying and snoring so you see your presence here is unwelcome. And, please, do not mistake this occasion for habit. I have not become her doorman or messenger boy but wanted the opportunity to impart my own opinion. I, for one, think dropping you is the smartest thing she has ever done and the most reasonable action possible from either of the two of you. She might be a m-muggleborn, but I suppose considering the other party is you, it is to be expected that she be the intelligent party and see that your /liaison/ was an abomination."
The sneer was replaced by a smirk of smug satisfaction as Draco moved to shut the portrait in Blaise's face.
In response, Blaise did not swiftly shove the portrait into Draco's sharp features or tower intimidatingly over him. The latter would have required some interesting footwear considering the two were of a height.
Rather, Blaise conversationally said, "Parkinson was looking particularly depressed today after her Potions NEWT. I was thinking of cheering her up with a present as my altruistic deed for the day. After all, marks don't matter to a woman who marries well enough."
Blaise was gratified to see that Draco caught his drift immediately but his mouth took awhile to catch up to the threat. "From Granger to Parkinson, I can't say that's trading up."
Blaise looked Draco in the face and then casually picked a piece of lint from the collar of shirt and the common room's candlelight caught the heavy gold ring on his hand in a shining halo.
Draco's response was predictable. "I'll tell my father about this."
"Please do tell dear cousin Lucius. I'm sure Narcissa will appreciate the forewarning when it comes time to pick out china patterns and all that."
Draco glowered but let Blaise in any way. He pointed to Hermione's door and then stomped off to his own room.
Blaise knocked softly on Hermione's door, "I know you were eavesdropping. Can you come out here? I can't return your book when you're ignoring me."
"Yes, you can. Just leave it on the table. I'm busy studying."
"No," he said patiently. "You're not. You only have more exam and I have your book. And if you're being silly enough to forget your textbook then you're silly enough to be thinking about me instead of the tragic plight of snidget."
He could hear an audible huff from inside and shuffling as she presumably moved to the doorway. She opened the door and Blaise could see that her hair was a wild mass and there were dark circles under her eyes.
Still, he feared incipient symptoms of sweaty palms. Best to get started before that happened.
"One, the current global snidget population is such that it is no longer in risk of extinction due, in part, to Quidditch. Two, thinking about you is not silly."
"I'm glad to hear that because that would mean I've been indulging in silliness of the highest order. Now, come here and talk to me." He held out his free hand and led her to one of the common room couches, one that particularly invoked rather delightful memories for him. He made a mental note to share those with Draco later.
She looked at him but bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry I didn't tell Harry and Ron."
"It's okay."
"Okay? You threw a hissy fit and broke up with me and now you say its bygones and did you know its NEWTs-"
"Shh," he took her other hand to prevent impending violence. Let it not be said that he didn't learn from the mistakes of others. "I reacted badly. Stress and insecurity mostly but I've done some thinking and, well, I don't speak well, so here."
She took the leather folio he shoved towards her and opened it on the table. "Coordinates?"
"And pass codes. I thought you'd like to visit my home after graduation, maybe visit my family. No pressure though."
"Marium?" She said curiously as perused the papers. Placating her with new knowledge, reading material, and glossy photographs had been an integral part of his strategy.
"Its an island in the Tyrrenien, closest neighbor is Sicily. You'd have to take the ferry from there. Marium's been unplottable since the Phoenicians razed the pirate cove. We're mostly wizards; squibs usually stay on the island and their offspring are magic again within a few generations. You'd like the village, especially in comparison to Hogsmeade. And I can show you the ruins, used to look for plunder with my sibs and the cousins."
"Blaise, that's an adorable visual."
"Well, you know, that's me. Visual." He looked at her with a crooked grin and hope in his eyes.
"So we're not going to have a fight?"
"I'd rather not. But if you want to, we can, and I'll let you win."
"That's so...refreshing."
"The way I see it, I like you a lot and I'm not going to let my social ineptitude get in the way of your reciprocation. I might doubt your sanity in returning my feelings, but I'll never get over that if we end it now. If you want to like me, I have no problem with that even if I was acting like I did." Blaise took a breath, "We can have a passionate lust-driven yet emotionally significant embrace to compensate if you feel that declaration was inadequately dramatic."
"Okay."
Blaise's first order of business, however, was a bath. He may not have been the most experienced person in terms of romance but he was nevertheless an intelligent being and therefore realized that the odds of his success at increased at least fivefold if he took pains to be clean. Hermione had, after all, professed a positive interest in his fresh scent. The very least he could do was wash away the exertion of his flying exam and the general ambiance of Hagrid's hut, or rather, the musky wildlife surrounding the hut.
So it was only after the completion of a comprehensive soak that Blaise presented himself at the Head Students' portrait hole.
"Good evening," he bowed to the grazing hippogriffs. They eyed him before bowing back and the skinny watch-wizard who pretended to be herding them scampered down his tree, quickly while their heads were down, inside the common room to inform the residents of their visitor.
A few moments later, Draco opened the door and sneered at him.
Blaise gazed at the Head Boy serenely, "I give you a four for effort. Perhaps if you practiced with a mirror? I hear Snape does and he has a fine vocabulary of offensive expressions. You might want to try it. Or ask for suggestions. You could go now."
"My esteemed colleague can't come to the door," Draco gave the last few words a sour twist.
Blaise knew the two had a fine working relationship but not much tolerance beyond that. Draco would cheerfully feed Hermione to a quintaped; Hermione might not do the same but only because she would fear for the creature's indigestion. She was like that. It made Blaise grin a bit, in turn, making Draco step back in surprise before continuing.
"Granger is occupied with studying at the moment, not that it matters since she'll have no more wish to see you later during that brief three second period she has between studying and snoring so you see your presence here is unwelcome. And, please, do not mistake this occasion for habit. I have not become her doorman or messenger boy but wanted the opportunity to impart my own opinion. I, for one, think dropping you is the smartest thing she has ever done and the most reasonable action possible from either of the two of you. She might be a m-muggleborn, but I suppose considering the other party is you, it is to be expected that she be the intelligent party and see that your /liaison/ was an abomination."
The sneer was replaced by a smirk of smug satisfaction as Draco moved to shut the portrait in Blaise's face.
In response, Blaise did not swiftly shove the portrait into Draco's sharp features or tower intimidatingly over him. The latter would have required some interesting footwear considering the two were of a height.
Rather, Blaise conversationally said, "Parkinson was looking particularly depressed today after her Potions NEWT. I was thinking of cheering her up with a present as my altruistic deed for the day. After all, marks don't matter to a woman who marries well enough."
Blaise was gratified to see that Draco caught his drift immediately but his mouth took awhile to catch up to the threat. "From Granger to Parkinson, I can't say that's trading up."
Blaise looked Draco in the face and then casually picked a piece of lint from the collar of shirt and the common room's candlelight caught the heavy gold ring on his hand in a shining halo.
Draco's response was predictable. "I'll tell my father about this."
"Please do tell dear cousin Lucius. I'm sure Narcissa will appreciate the forewarning when it comes time to pick out china patterns and all that."
Draco glowered but let Blaise in any way. He pointed to Hermione's door and then stomped off to his own room.
Blaise knocked softly on Hermione's door, "I know you were eavesdropping. Can you come out here? I can't return your book when you're ignoring me."
"Yes, you can. Just leave it on the table. I'm busy studying."
"No," he said patiently. "You're not. You only have more exam and I have your book. And if you're being silly enough to forget your textbook then you're silly enough to be thinking about me instead of the tragic plight of snidget."
He could hear an audible huff from inside and shuffling as she presumably moved to the doorway. She opened the door and Blaise could see that her hair was a wild mass and there were dark circles under her eyes.
Still, he feared incipient symptoms of sweaty palms. Best to get started before that happened.
"One, the current global snidget population is such that it is no longer in risk of extinction due, in part, to Quidditch. Two, thinking about you is not silly."
"I'm glad to hear that because that would mean I've been indulging in silliness of the highest order. Now, come here and talk to me." He held out his free hand and led her to one of the common room couches, one that particularly invoked rather delightful memories for him. He made a mental note to share those with Draco later.
She looked at him but bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry I didn't tell Harry and Ron."
"It's okay."
"Okay? You threw a hissy fit and broke up with me and now you say its bygones and did you know its NEWTs-"
"Shh," he took her other hand to prevent impending violence. Let it not be said that he didn't learn from the mistakes of others. "I reacted badly. Stress and insecurity mostly but I've done some thinking and, well, I don't speak well, so here."
She took the leather folio he shoved towards her and opened it on the table. "Coordinates?"
"And pass codes. I thought you'd like to visit my home after graduation, maybe visit my family. No pressure though."
"Marium?" She said curiously as perused the papers. Placating her with new knowledge, reading material, and glossy photographs had been an integral part of his strategy.
"Its an island in the Tyrrenien, closest neighbor is Sicily. You'd have to take the ferry from there. Marium's been unplottable since the Phoenicians razed the pirate cove. We're mostly wizards; squibs usually stay on the island and their offspring are magic again within a few generations. You'd like the village, especially in comparison to Hogsmeade. And I can show you the ruins, used to look for plunder with my sibs and the cousins."
"Blaise, that's an adorable visual."
"Well, you know, that's me. Visual." He looked at her with a crooked grin and hope in his eyes.
"So we're not going to have a fight?"
"I'd rather not. But if you want to, we can, and I'll let you win."
"That's so...refreshing."
"The way I see it, I like you a lot and I'm not going to let my social ineptitude get in the way of your reciprocation. I might doubt your sanity in returning my feelings, but I'll never get over that if we end it now. If you want to like me, I have no problem with that even if I was acting like I did." Blaise took a breath, "We can have a passionate lust-driven yet emotionally significant embrace to compensate if you feel that declaration was inadequately dramatic."
"Okay."