Forever

Chapter Ten - A Trip

I know now, just quite how

My life and love might still go on

In your heart, in your mind

I'll stay with you for all of time

If I could, then I would

I'll go wherever you will go

Way up high, or down low

I'll go wherever you will go.

-The Calling, Wherever You Will Go

Hermione lowered her wand as the Death Eater fell to the ground and the mist that surrounded her began to clear. Her breathing was heavy as she slumped back against the stone wall behind her and closed her eyes to focus. She had been chasing down the Death Eater for the past two hours and it was exhausting, but worth it to see the body of the criminal disappear and the light increase above her.

The sound of clapping came from her right as she brushed off some of the dirt that covered her cheek from when she fell a few minutes ago. Moody and Harry came around the stone corner and walked towards her. She bit her lip with nervousness as she watched the face of her test facilitator, but cracked a small smile at the proud smile of her best friend. This was her last test for getting into the Auror training program, which Harry and Ginny had passed over three months ago. The strong arms of Harry wrapped around her and lifted her into the air as he announced, "You passed with flying colors, Mione! That's the way to do it. I knew you had nothing to worry about."

Mad-eye Moody slowly approached them as he limped along and spoke, "Yes, Mrs. Zabini, you did quite well and will prove an excellent addition to our team. Here is your letter of acceptance that needs to be signed by our physician a week from today to give you the 'all clear'. Then your training will begin within a month. Now, Harry if you could show her the way out, I need to finish up her paperwork in my office."

"Certainly Moody. Come on. I'm going to buy you a butterbeer to celebrate," her best friend said as they linked elbows and made their way through the training course that was laid out as a system of fake buildings and alleyways.

After several butterbeers with Harry and Ginny, Hermione appeared back at Zabini Manor around seven o'clock and was greeted by Blaise as she walked through the door. He smiled brightly as he came down the staircase and pulled her into a hug as he asked, "Even though I have no doubt I will still ask, how did it go?"

Hermione couldn't help but smile. Because there was something about his smile that just made her smile too. She placed her hands on his chest as she began, "The written part was easy enough. I don't think Moody was pleased that I wrote more than required on each question."

"If he had truly been our Defense Against the Dark Art professor in our fourth year, he would not have been surprised. But I know you better than that. Continue," he commented as he held her hand and led the way up stairs to her rooms.

"Well as I was saying, that part was fine. The other part of actually tracking down a Death Eater was tiring but thrilling. I passed both and all I have to do is go to the physical next week. So, I am basically in," Hermione said excitedly. As they entered her rooms she saw a steaming bowl of soup was waiting for her. On her desk, there was a crystal vase of white roses and on her chair there was a box wrapped in silver paper with a red velvet ribbon. "What's that?"

He blushed slightly as he picked it up and handed the box to her. "It's a congratulations gift. Open it."

The box was somewhat light, but she could tell something was in it. She took a seat as her husband stood to her left and looked on as she began to open the gift. Her breath caught as she lifted the lid and saw that there seemed to be a spell on the box, because it was much deeper than it looked. On the top was a pretty, large black hat with a wide, red ribbon that wrapped along the base. Under the hat there was a pair of long silk gloves that were black with red roses embroidered around the wrists. Hermione glanced up at him and his blush deepened as he stated, "You're not done. Keep going."

She slightly shook her head as she laid those items on the desk and pulled the red silk fabric out of the box. Then she realized that it must be a dress and she stood to take a look at it in the nearby full-length mirror. It was a beautiful muggle dress that appeared it would reach right to her knees. There were no sleeves and it had a v-neck trimmed in delicate black ribbon. Hermione was in awe of the gorgeous dress that was pressed against her.

From behind her, Blaise stepped into the reflection and held a matching black silk wrap, which was lined in similar red silk. He looked into her eyes as he said, "You'll also need this for the trip tomorrow."

She turned around quickly and asked, "What trip?"

His right hand placed a loose curl behind her ear as he answered, "I have yet to give you a wedding gift. I am taking you away for the weekend. Nothing will happen but some sightseeing and relaxing. You've been working so hard studying for the test. I thought you could use some downtime. Why don't you eat some soup, take a long bath, and get some sleep. How does that sound?"

"That does sound like a good idea. But you don't..."

His finger pressed against her lip as he interrupted her, "No, I don't have to, but I really want to. Please let me give you this Hermione."

Hermione saw the raw love for her in his sparkling indigo eyes and it almost made her cry. But she stopped that from happening, she had cried enough in the past few months. Yes, she could use some downtime- both of them could. A slight smile crept on her lips as she replied, "Okay, but where are we going?"

His brilliant white teeth shined as his face lit up with pure happiness he said, "That, my dear, is a surprise. It is my favorite place to visit. I can't wait to share it with you. Now, you relax because we have a big day tomorrow. Put this dress on for me after breakfast, and don't worry about packing, I have everything taken care of. Do you like the dress?"

"It's prefect. I couldn't have chosen better. I don't have a big talent for clothes shopping," she admitted as she turned again to look in the mirror at the dress against her body.

Blaise placed the wrap around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "If my mother taught me anything, it was where to shop for a dress in Italy. The lady clerk gave me several options, but I thought this was just prefect for the day I have planned."

Hermione raised her eyebrow at the word 'Italy' but only asked, "Do I get a hint?"

He playfully looked up at the ceiling as he tapped his finger to his soft lips before he answered, "No. Have a good night, my dear."

She watched him head to the door as she muttered, "Not fair."

Blaise laughed as he opened the door and commented, "Please keep in mind that I was a Slytherin love. Cunning and not-fairness is what we specialize in."

Hermione chuckled to herself as the door closed behind him. Then she smelled the soup, which was still on her desk. Her stomach growled as she remembered that she had not eaten since this morning. Yes, his plan seemed like a good one. Her curiosity was perked but she was too exhausted to try to hunt him down and tickle it out of him. Food, bath, and sleep were the necessities at the moment.

The next morning after breakfast, Hermione walked out of her rooms in the dress that Blaise had bought for her and the accessories that went with it. Luckily, she remembered the charm from the Yule Ball to make her heels feel comfortable for a day of sightseeing, wherever they were going. With her hair pulled back into a long braid, she headed downstairs to start their day off together. Excitement had been building in her since he told her the night before.

At the bottom of the stairs, Blaise leaned against the railing in a very nice looking black suit with a white button-down shirt minus tie. His dark curls barely touched his shoulders and his olive-toned skin against the black fabric made him even more handsome. Yes, the fact that the sexy man at the bottom of the steps was her husband was hard to believe at times, but she was starting to feel truly happy again.

He glanced in her direction as she came down the steps. Hermione self-consciously smoothed out her dress, even though it was prefect. It had been the prefect size and fit her just right in every curve. The dress he had picked out for her was gorgeous and she just hoped that he would approve of her in it. She gave a shy smile as she greeted him. "Good morning. I hope I do this dress justice."

He pushed off from the black metal railing and offered her his strong arm as she came down. The face of her husband did not move much, which caused her to worry. When she accepted his arm, he looked directly into her eyes and stated, "No, it is the dress that should worry about doing you enough justice. For you are truly a goddess. I considered myself lucky to be married to someone I am so unworthy of."

Hermione was, for the first time in a very long time, speechless. She knew that he actually believed that. With a hand to small of her back and his other hand on her right arm, Blaise lead her to the round table in the foyer and pointed to a rose. "The rose is our portkey. It will be ready in about one minute."

"Okay," she replied as she picked up the white rose and felt his warm hand wrap around her fingers as he stepped behind her his other hand moved to around her waist. Hermione leaned back against his chest, mindful not to hit him with the hat he bought her. The feeling of being in his arms felt so right.

Suddenly, the portkey activated and she felt pulled by her navel to wherever they were going. Then the awkward feeling stopped and she noticed that his hand release the rose to cover her eyes. His hot breath tickled her ear as he whispered, "I will remove my hand in a moment. But first, tell me what you hear?"

She closed her eyes to focus all of her attention on the sounds that were around her. "I hear the ripple of water. There is also the flapping wings of birds and some people speaking...Italian?"

"Very good," he praised her as he removed the hand that blocked her vision.

When she opened her eyes she gasped, as she recognized it from the pictures of her parent's honeymoon. They were standing in the middle of Piazza St. Marco in Venice, Italy. In front of them, a large white gondola waited for them on the Rio Batario River. To her side, she caught the sight of the four hours that she had once seen snapshots of her mother in front of so many years ago. In the background, the chime of bells told her it was nine o'clock.

Tears rolled down her cheeks freely as he said, "Welcome to Venice my love."

Hermione couldn't move from his arms as she whispered, "How did you know?"

Blaise quickly turned her body to face him and his eyes went wide when he saw the tears. "Il mio amore, che cosa è errato?"

She pulled a handkerchief from her purse to wipe her eyes as she asked, "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what my love? I did not mean to bring you to tears. Did I do something wrong?"

Hermione wiped the tears away. "Not at all Blaise, it's just...my parents came here for their honeymoon. I remember looking through their photographs and they looked so happy. All of those photos were destroyed in the fire..."

"Oh Bella, I had no idea," he replied as he pulled her into a hug. They stayed in each other's arms in the middle of the beautiful city. After a few minutes, Blaise leaned back to tilt her chin up to look her in the eyes as he spoke, "We can leave if it will be too painful. But I would like the chance to make our own memories here. It is your decision my love."

Hermione smiled softly and took his hands in hers as she led the way to the gondola. She replied, "Our own memories, sounds like a prefect idea. It just makes this all the more special. Let's get started with the day you planned."

He laughed as his wife began to drag him across the square. The dark haired gondolier helped her aboard as Blaise greeted him by his name. It seemed that he really did plan everything out. They sat close to each other as they started down the river and passed under stone bridges. Everything was absolutely picturesque, as she always knew it would be. Along the way, Blaise became her personal tour guide as he pointed out things about the city as they went along. Sometimes she was distracted by the way his fingers danced along her hip as he held her and spoke about the history of the city where his family had been for so many generations before his parents where born.

After a lovely hour of listening about the city, the gondolier stopped at a port that was the beginning of a stone walkway and then helped them off before heading on his way. The narrow path headed into a small patch of woods and Blaise took her hand as he continued, "During the 1500's, a brilliant architect named Andrea Palladio built a series of breath-taking villas that are still admired and visited by thousands each year. I am going to show one of those to you, and muggles are not going to be there."

The path led to a huge open plain that had a large villa in the middle of it. The front of it had a Greek feature of stone columns. It seemed to be about a third of the size of Zabini Manor, but no less impressive with its beautiful front garden and marble fountain a few feet from the front doors. Blaise placed her hand on her arm and began to play tour guide again. "Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, but known to history as Palladio, was born in 1508 and started out as stonecutter. Later, he built a series of villas that are within a 50-mile radius of each other. This one is called "Villa Thiene", which muggles believe to be just a pile of ruble, much like some of the magic surrounding Hogwarts.

"His villas are known to be the cornerstone of architecture. He made the magnificent structure but kept all of them expensive because of the nature of a summerhouse. Yet, the layouts are comfortable and very functional. The designs used the concepts of dramatic exterior motifs, economical materials, and internal harmony and balance. This is one of two villas that he made of real stones, columns, niches, and statues. The other was for the Cornaro family, who were muggles," he explained as he opened the door with a flick of the wand. They walked through the rooms as he explained things he had learned as a child about the villa.

After an hour, they were seated in the back of the villa with drinks in their hands as Hermione enjoyed having him next to her on the stone bench. The villa was beautiful inside and out. It was no wonder why the Zabini Villa was his favorite place to visit. Hermione was so happy that he shared this special place with her.

She set her almost full glass of ice water on ground and turned to face Blaise. Her fingers traced along the side of his jaw and she leaned in to kiss him on lips. Their eyes closed as they continued to slowly kiss each other. Her fingers went into those sexy curls of his as his went to her back and pulled her closer to him. The passion that had always been there, but just put on the back burner, started burning within her. Their kisses became needier as each minute passed.

Finally, Blaise pulled away, but kept his eyes closed as he tried to take deep breaths. Their hands joined as he opened his eyes and said, "I love you so much Hermione. But we don't want anything to happen this weekend. I want it to happen. I just want to wait till the perfect moment. I don't want to ruin what we are building because I want this to last forever."

Hermione nodded and cuddled against his chest as she sighed, "Yes, we have forever."

To Be Continued...