Chance Encounters

Chapter 5:

2 October (present day)

Hermione lay in bed relishing the feeling of the arm wrapped around her abdomen. She smiled as the sunlight cascaded across the room, making gold her frizzy hair. Her arms raised above her head against the headboard; she arched her back stretching before turning to the tanned and perfect body next to her. Taking a long, deep breath of him in, her heart felt overwhelmed by the joy it couldn't adequately express this very moment.

Blaise smiled, eyes still closed. He pulled her closer, snuggling his face into her side. "Mmmm..." he said nothing, but his sentiment was all to clear. He retreated; face tilting back to look at Hermione. Thin, tapered fingers pushed back his fallen fringe from his eyes. They played in his hair, massaging the scalp lightly. "Morning," came her simple reply.

Hermione moved down the bed to get her eyes even with his. Blaise's other arm reached around her, pulling her close again. It was Friday, yes, but no one was expected into work on time after affairs like last night. Arden surely wouldn't be in to the office at all. So, instead of worrying about the late hour or their bosses they held each other.

When the time came for them to part, Hermione continued lying in bed a moment longer watching the beautiful Adonis that was her lover stretch. She felt the shadow of his body on hers and smiled. Why did I ever get rid of this? she thought as she stood. Coming up behind the barely clad man she placed her arms around him. He twisted and smiled at her before placing a chaste kiss on her lips. "Morning, love." This is how I want you forever, she thought.

Blaise turned to face Hermione holding her flush with his body. Twirling a piece of her hair around his finger, they stared at each other longer. He smelled of warmth and the sun. She traced patterns on his shoulders before he shuddered. Then he pulled her close before pushing her back on the bed and quickly falling on top of her. Her body wriggled momentarily under his weight before giving up the protest.

Raising himself up onto his elbows he looked at Hermione not saying a thing as he brushed away stray hairs from her face. Her dark eyes openly took him in as her arms found their way around his waist. He leaned in to kiss her and she laughed. "We're never getting out of bed today, are we?"

"Where's the problem, cara?" He brushed his lips across her forehead, then her cheeks, leaving small kisses in his wake, before planting a final one on her nose. Pulling back he looked at her contentedly. No, he wasn't giving this up.

Propping herself up on her elbows, Hermione's lips hovered in front of his. "You're right," she kissed him, "I quite," and again, "like the idea." Her hands tangled in his hair pulling his mouth to hers bringing both of them back down to the bed.

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7 October 1995

"So, Umbridge found out?" Blaise slid into his seat behind Hermione in Ancient Runes the day Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four debuted.

Startled, Hermione turned in her seat, face white, "What?" she asked. "How did you--?" she began to ask, but stopped herself before further incriminating DA.

Blaise raised his eyebrow. "You know better than to finish that acknowledgement as well as you know what I'm referring to, so let's leave it at that." Hermione gulped. "No worries though. No one else knows." The wrinkles in her brow smoothed themselves out.

"But you do."

"Yeah? I do." Blaise looked down at his paper. "I'm more observant than most."

Hermione fidgeted in her seat, clearly struggling with the problem posed by Blaise's knowledge. "Um, well..."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." Blaise looked at Hermione willing her to believe him. "I know that I can't join, but if my part in helping out is by keeping quiet, I'll do what I can." He smiled at her. She liked his smile.

"All right," she started to say. "But you have to agree to be quiet. That is ... your House isn't known for its trustworthiness, I'll need you to sign an agreement or something."

Blaise nodded silently, understanding perfectly. "After class?"

"You aren't offended that I don't trust you?" she asked, slightly surprised.

"I like that you're smart enough not to take my word for that. Clever." She smiled at the compliment. He liked her smile.

"After class then."

"And it could be very helpful for your group to have a mole in my House." Blaise suggested.

"Let's start by containing the information you already have." Hermione pulled out some parchment for notes. "We can negotiate other terms later."

"Negotiate? Hmm, I like the sound of that..." The insinuation left goose bumps on the back of Hermione's neck as she turned to the front of the class.

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12 December 1995

Hermione was confused. No one was there to meet her that morning to walk to breakfast. She had spotted Neville in the common room and asked him where her two best friends were. Neville only knew that Harry had a nightmare the night before, McGonagall brought him and Ron to Dumbledore's office, and neither had returned as of yet. The morning post came with great relief to her when it included an invitation to discuss matters with the Headmaster after breakfast.

"Where'd your mates disappear to?" Blaise asked in the hallway while she was heading to the office. "I noticed that you were eating alone this morning. Everything all right?" His memories flashed back to third year when the two boys ignored her most of term. "You aren't fighting again?"

"No, nothing like that." Hermione shook her head. "Honestly, I don't quite know what's going on." She motioned to the gargoyle statue. "But I'm bound to find out."

"If you need anything..." Blaise let the offer hang in the air. He started to leave before turning around. "Are you staying for the holidays?"

"Not this year."

"The one year I stay and you don't. Just my luck." He snapped his fingers, then placed a tentative hand on her shoulder and squeezed it softly. "Well, then have a happy Christmas. Looking forward to seeing you in the New Year." He winked before he left and she could feel the heat of a blush climb up to her face.

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14 February 1996

It was ten o'clock when Hermione headed for the Owlery in Hogsmeade. She held a letter from Viktor that she received the day before, along with her reply to it, and also the letter that came that morning from Rita Skeeter. Her plan was going to work out perfectly and she loved when that happened.

While in the queue to pay for the owls she would need to use, Hermione noticed a certain head of black curls ahead at the counter. Blaise placed a few coins in the man behind the counter's hand before turning to leave. Trying to calm her nerves, she reasoned that her luck would not warrant a chance meeting with Blaise on this, of all days, again. The logical side of her rejected the idea of Valentine's Day, but her heart still fluttered at the possibility of romance.

Blaise came closer and she felt time slow,; here was the chance, if there was going to be any interaction that day, and now was the time. He checked his watch as he moved towards her. His fringe fell into his eyes, and he shook it out of the way, raising his head and turning just in time to see Hermione. "Morning," he said smiling at her and slowing down to talk a moment.

"Hi, how are you?" she asked.

"I'm good. You?"

She nodded and smiled at him. "I'm good."

They settled into silence for a moment as both squirmed, trying to think of anything, preferably something witty, to say to the other. "Sending a letter?" he asked finally. Not witty, but it was something.

"Yeah, two in fact." She smiled. "You too?"

"To my sisters. We have a Valentine's tradition to get gag gifts for each other. This year they will receive miniature cupids that will spray them with Stinksap. I wish I could see the looks on their faces."

Hermione laughed, "I don't know if I'd kill you or love you for it."

"I'd prefer for you not to kill me." Blaise smile was charming and directed only at Hermione. "That's why I am wary of owls this time of year, because revenge will come and it will not be sweet on my end." Blaise picked out one of Hermione's letters. "Ahh, Krum is a lucky man." The tone of his voice had changed upon seeing Viktor's name as the recipient on Hermione's letter. "I thought Rita was making it all up, but it seems -"

"Oh no!" Hermione rushed to cut him off realizing what he thought. "No, Viktor and I are just friends."

Blaise's smile returned to his face then. "Glad to hear it. Good news for me."

"Miss?" The man at the counter was trying to get Hermione's attention.

"Looks like it's your turn."

"Yeah, it does. One moment." Hermione went to the counter and conducted her business quickly before returning to Blaise. "Sorry about that."

"Dear me, but I don't know of anything that you should be sorry about, love." He put an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the Owlery. "Except, that is, if you don't accept my invitation to spend the morning with me in this lovely town."

"Sounds wonderful," Hermione agreed, because it did. "One thing, though."

Blaise frowned. He didn't like stipulations. "Yeah?"

"I have to meet Harry around noon at the Three Broomsticks. It's very important."

Blaise was fairly sure the article about Hermione and Harry was false, so he had no trouble brushing this request away with humor. "First it's one bloke taking your attention away from me and now another... I see how it is. I'm just second - no, not even that - third fiddle."

"Oh, come off it. Enough of this 'poor little me' routine." She smiled at him. "What do you want to do?"

"Hmm," Blaise thought a moment. What did he want to do with her? Well, lots of things came to mind, very few that he felt she'd allow in public. "There's Scrivenshaft's and Ed McCay's book shop, but you've probably been there so many times that you'd be bored by that."

"No, books are always interesting, but that's me."

"And that's what I like about you." He smiled down at her. "Just promise me that we won't go any closer to Madame Puddifoot's than we have to. I heard horror stories that she is planning on going all out on this Valentine's Day stuff past the point of Lockhart." He shuddered.

"Promise."

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3 October (present day)

It was an extra day in the office, this was true, but after her lazy Friday, Hermione was okay with putting in a Saturday if even her intern was and especially when it meant that the Italians leaving the office forever at the end of the day. She wasn't sure what was going to happen between her and Blaise after the delegation left, but she assumed they'd figure that out. A smile crept onto her face as she reminisced over the last couple of days.

"You'll never finish your work if you keep thinking about him," Kieran said from his desk. "And don't try to pretend you weren't. I saw that sated smile." He lowered his glasses giving her a look that said he perfectly understood.

The door opened and Adena Quirke, their current intern, walked in carrying copies. "Here you are." She plopped the pile unceremoniously on an extra desk. "I know there is more. What else do I have to beg the witches down in Cloning to duplicate for us?"

Hermione flipped through her pile picking out some key documents. "Hmm, let's see. I think it's just these four left." Adena beamed, thinking the end of her tedious work was near, until Hermione completed the instructions. "I'll need 200 copies of each - collated."

"Someone has to do it. Might as well be me," Adena said dejectedly making her way out of the office.

"That's the spirit, kid," Kieran called after her before the door closed. He shrugged turning to Hermione. "We all had to do it." Hermione leaned against her desk looking at Kieran with a goofy grin on her face. "Oh, get off it." He threw a stress reliever ball at her head. "Stop gloating."

"I am not gloating. I don't believe I know how to." Hermione smirked at her colleague throwing the ball back to him. "Besides I haven't said a word about it."

"You don't have to. Even if I hadn't walked in on the two of you, I'd know by the glow on your face. So enough already." The ball came whizzing back to Hermione.

"You're right. I need to concentrate too." She looked over the files on her desk. "Look, I'm making mistakes because of my distraction -"

"Nice euphemism," Kieran cut in.

"Thanks, but, it looks like I forgot to give Adena another document."

"We can charm it down if you want."

"No, that's all right. I wouldn't want to crease it. I'll take it over, the trip might do good to clear my head."

"Good plan. Now, I expect you to focus completely on your work when you return," Kieran said in his most stern voice.

Hermione yawned as she waited for the lift. It came at long last and she went in. Very few memos flew over her head as most of the building had the sense not to work on a Saturday. She watched patiently as the numbers decreased until she reached her floor.

Leaving the lift, she turned down a corridor when she heard Blaise's voice. Her heart leapt and her feet moved faster. Hermione turned a corner expecting to see him, but she did not expect that he'd be leaning over her intern touching her cheek. Her heart stopped its rapid beating. They were talking softly and Hermione could not make out the conversation.

The shift between anticipation and dread was so quick that it was all Hermione could do to turn and jump in the lift again. She wasn't aware of the tears streaming down her face until she reached her office again.

"Back so soon?" Kieran calmly asked from the other side of the office. Hermione took in a noisy breath and he glanced up at his boss. "Hermione? What happened?" He rushed to her side, but once there, he was unsure of what to do so he rubbed her arm. "Hermione?"

With the back of her hand she wiped away tears, trying to control herself. "He hasn't changed, that's all." She took in another gulp of air. "And this isn't the document I needed a copy of," she said as she took a closer look at the papers in her hands.

"No, no. It's all right. We don't need these copies." Kieran shook his head. "I'll just take care of the right copies later. You need a cuppa now. Let's get you home." Putting his arm around her, Kieran led her out of the office.