Just Another Casanova

Author's Notes: As always, read on....

Chapter 2

It's better to loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

"Harry! I can't believe it, what are you doing here?" Hermione embraced her friend tightly as though they hadn't spoken three days ago, but three years. She pulled back, all her frustrations and thoughts about Zabini slipping away. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm expecting a patient," she explained, signaling for him to sit on the couch, "but I always have time for you."

Harry nervously clasped his hands together, being careful to avoid her eyes. "I am your patient, 'Mione."

Spinning to face him--for she'd been shuffling through papers on her desk--she didn't even attempt to stop her widening eyes. "I beg your pardon?"

"You made me realize the other night that I'm not,"--he hesitated, looking for the word--"over it. So many lives are gone, so many friends dead. And Ron...."

She placed a warm hand on his knee and slid down next to him on the couch. "I miss him too, Harry. There's so much I wish I could've said to him."

"You were right, about the whole hero thing. If the wizarding world is ever going to move on, who better to lead them than The Boy-Who-Lived." He chuckled at the stupid nickname. In a moment, his smile had faded. "Help me, Hermione."

A sad smile crossed her lips. "I never thought I'd hear you say those words."

"We all do things we never thought we'd do. It's a new day. It's about time everyone realized it." He set his hand on top of hers and leaned over to peck her on the cheek.

"Now," he said, pulling back, "are you going to grab that clipboard of yours and work your magic on me or not. No pun intended."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Alright, Harry; but on one condition."

"Name it."

She stood, placing a hand absentmindedly on her hip. "Not one word about Zabini."

A grin spread childishly across his face and he settled into the sofa, propping his legs on the table. "Me? Never."

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The clock was ticking again. It seemed she heard it more than ever lately. How had she never noticed how annoying it was? Shifting in her chair, she propped her elbow on her fist, attempting to keep her posture.

Rolling her eyes at the story the Slytherin was giving (in far too much detail, mind you) she finally held up her hand and mumbled something incoherent, causing him to stop. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"I want you to be honest with me, Zabini. Did you ever care about any of these women?" She sat up again, feeling quite inferior to his looming figure. "Isabelle, Maria, Candice?"

"Why do you ask?"

She stood, deciding her legs had been bent far too long. "I'm just...curious, I suppose. I've never met a Casanova."

He laughed like she knew he would. Out of everybody, Blaise would understand that analogy. She must admit there was something calming about his laugh. First off, she'd never heard such a heavenly, innocent sound emit from the mouth of a Slytherin, and it'd been an awful long time since she'd made a man laugh--excluding Harry, of course.

"Is that what you think I do? I conquer these women?"

She nodded, tucking some hair behind her ear.

He stood as well, shaking out the wrinkles in his shirt. "I won't say I loved any of these women, Granger, but I tried. They felt loved and that's all that mattered. When I realized I could never feel the way they did about me, I let them go."

"A bit egotistical, aren't you?" She was regaining her power, her strength. "How do you know they loved you?"

"They told me so."

"Oh," she murmured. Her cheeks grew hot again and she turned her head away from him, feeling utterly stupid. Blaise laughed again and she closed her eyes, savoring the rich tone. She rarely heard laughing in this business.

A silence encased the room, the open window letting in a breeze that tickled the edges of the papers on her desk. The clock kept on ticking, her tapping toe keeping time with it. She felt a body press against her back and held her breath as a mouth came down to her ear.

"I know I'm not a saint like your Potter, like you," he whispered in a low voice. "And I'll admit I have my faults, but one of them is not being incapable of love.

"I may be a Slytherin, but that doesn't mean I don't long for what my parents had, the love they shared. I'm not a good person, Granger; I won't pretend I am. But somewhere, there's somebody who I'm good enough for. Until then, perhaps I am just a Casanova...but keep in mind how his story ended."

She wanted to face him, but was too afraid to move. He was far too close. Instead, she stood a bit taller and asked, "Why did you come back to England?"

"Time's up, Doc, I'm off the clock." He moved away from her; her back became colder and it took her a moment to turn to him. By the time she did, he was heading for the door.

Zabini stopped at the door and turned to her, a smirk residing on his face. "Good session, I really feel like I'm making progress."

She rolled her eyes. "Mock my job all you want, Zabini, you're the one who's paying me to do it." He simply smiled and headed out the door. For once I had the last word.

"One more thing, Granger," he said from outside the door. She released an angry breath and her toe started tapping again. "Don't insult me by comparing me to Casanova ever again." She could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he added; "I'm much better looking," before shutting the door.

Author's Notes: Perhaps not the most exciting chapter, but it does get better, I promise. I'm about six chapters in now. So, looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of Harry, and we can't quite get rid of Zabini. For those of you who's wheels are turning as you try to piece together and ending (for I do it all the time), I'm just going to warn you there's a very good chance you're wrong. Yes, I'm aware of the title. And yes, I'm aware of how it seems, and how it will seem for many chapters to come. But as I said in the beginning, not everything is what it seems.... As always, please review, I truly live off of them. (This chapter was submitted before I got any reviews on the last chapter).