The Dragon of Hogwarts

The Dragon of Hogwarts

Chapter 4: The Rules of Friendship

Hermione was sitting on the floor of her bedroom late that night, diligently making study charts for herself, Harry, and Ron, when Blaise suddenly came in and made himself comfortable beside her.

"Why are you in here and not in the common room?" he asked, sipping a thermos of coffee.

She highlighted something on Harry's chart before turning her attention to him.

"Change of scenery. How are you feeling?" she asked, stretching.

"Jittery. I can't seem to sit still," he admitted.

She looked pointedly at the coffee in his hands and he laughed.

"Yeah, this might have something to do with it," he said, taking another sip.

He picked up one of her study charts and looked it over.

"Do you make these for Potter and Weasley every year?"

"Usually, I did for the OWLs and I had always planned on doing it for the NEWTs as well. I don't know if they'll use them or not, but at least I won't feel guilty for any bad grades they might make."

She could feel his heavy gaze on her as he digested what she'd said.

"Why do you spend so much of your time trying to help them, when they might not even want your help?" he asked, finally.

"Because that's what friends do," she said simply and resumed working on her project.

"So, you'd do it for me too?"

"If you needed me to, which you don't."

Blaise had the second highest grades in their year, under Hermione of course.

"But if I needed something else?"

She quit writing again and turned her full attention to him.

"If it was in my power to give to you, I would. What's with all the questions?"

He looked away.

"I don't know. I've never really had a friend before and I'm just trying to understand what's expected of me."

Hermione giggled.

"There aren't any rules to define friendship, you kind of make them up as you go."

"And, is there anything you need of me?" he asked.

"At the moment? I'd like you to explain your, um, special circumstances."

She held up a hand to stop his protests.

"When you're ready to tell me. I can wait," she said with a reassuring smile.

She could feel him looking at her again as she went back to the charts. It was very difficult to concentrate.

Her heavy hair was being extra rebellious today. After having to push it off of the parchment for the fourteenth time, she finally pulled a clip from the bag at her side and twisted her hair up in it. She could never leave it up like that for very long or she'd get a massive headache.

She heard Blaise's breath catch in his throat and turned to look at him questioningly.

He was gazing at the burn on her neck, and she covered it with her hand self-consciously.

He gently, but forcefully pulled her hand away from her neck so that he could study the mark.

Blaise's fingers hovered over the burn, but did not touch it.

"I did that. I'm sorry," he said.

"It's not bad, I'm sure it'll be gone by tomorrow," she tried to reassure him.

"No, it won't."

"Well, then I'll go see Poppy. She can heal anything."

"Not this."

She felt a flicker of apprehension at his words.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the only one who can heal the wounds I cause," he said, matter-of-factly.

"You can heal?"

"Only the wounds I cause."

Hermione stared at him for a minute, warily.

"Am I to assume that you don't use a wand to do this healing?"

"No," he answered, almost leering.

Well, it was the moment of truth. Hermione either trusted him as a friend or she didn't.

"Okay," she said, scooting closer and offering him her neck. "Heal it."

She saw a flash of surprise cross his face, almost immediately replaced by determination.

One of his hands grabbed the top of her shoulder while the other curled around the back of her neck. Her pulse was racing as she felt him stretch her neck, knowing all to well how easily he could snap it.

As Blaise lowered his head, Hermione suddenly wondered if this was what being bitten by a vampire was like. When his tongue touched her neck, all thoughts fled from her mind. A white-hot pleasure shot through her as he licked her and she gasped at the intensity of it.

Blaise let out one of his animalistic growls and pulled her even closer to him. She ended up sitting on his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist, her hands clutching the backs of his arms.

The licking stopped and he started sucking on her neck. Again the word 'vampire' flitted through her mind.

When he finally pulled back from her, they were both breathing hard.

Hermione blushed when she realized how intimately they were sitting. He released her and she scrambled to her feet. She slowly walked to the floor length mirror on the wall, and studied the place on her neck where the burn had been.

The only thing she could see was a small purple mark.

"It really looks like a hickey now," she commented.

Blaise walked up behind her, standing very close, but not touching.

"It is a hickey now," he said, his voice very deep.

She turned to face him and was surprised to see that his eyes were starting to change color.

"Blaise?" she asked, uncertainly.

"Shh," He whispered, and then lowered his mouth to hers.

She forced herself to pull away from him.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do this," she whispered.

"But you want to, I can feel it," he said following as she walked backwards across the room.

"Friends don't do things like this," she was pleading with him, but he kept walking closer.

"There aren't any rules to define friendship. You make them up as you go," he whispered her words from earlier to her.

Her back hit the wall and when he kissed her this time, she didn't pull away. He slowly coaxed her mouth open and slipped his tongue past her lips. The unusual heat of his mouth against hers brought reality crashing down around her and she ripped her mouth from his.

Hermione rested her forehead against his chest, while she tried to catch her breath. He didn't try to kiss her again, but he kept hold of her waist.

"Okay, fine. We make our own rules. No more kisses until you tell me what happens to you at the full moon."

He blinked a couple of times and his eyes returned to their normal color.

"You're right. I'm sorry, you should know what you're getting into," he said.

Hermione glanced at the clock on her wall.

"It's past curfew."

He reluctantly let go of her and stepped back.

"Goodnight, Hermione," he whispered, and left her room.

She stared after him, still having trouble processing everything that had happened.

Hermione felt a small smile cross her lips as she climbed into bed. Blaise Zabini liked her. Really liked her.

She desperately wanted to like him back, but she really didn't know him. As long as he kept that part of himself a secret from her, she could never fall in love with him.

Hermione giggled to herself as she realized that was what she wanted; to fall in love and have a baby as adorable as her brother. The idea shocked her at first. The other girls in her dorm had whispered about romance and sex all her years here at school, but Hermione had wanted to graduate before getting serious about a boy.

Was it Blaise that caused her change of heart or her brother? She wasn't sure.

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The next couple of weeks flew by, and midterms came and went. Soon, it was the night before the Christmas holidays and Hermione was packing to leave.

Tonight was also the first night of the full moon and Blaise had already left.

She sighed as she thought about her friend. Ever since that night when he'd healed her burn, that's all they had been. Friends.

No more kisses or suggestive glances. At first, conversation had been a little strained, but it wasn't long before homework and discussions about Head Duties had them talking again.

Hermione packed the last of her things and crawled into bed. It was only eight o'clock, but she wanted to be up early. Blaise would be back at dawn, and she wanted to spend a little time with him before they'd be apart for two weeks.

That night she dreamed of riding the dragon again, but this time, she was holding her brother. They soared through starry night sky; Hermione feeling more alive than she ever had before.

She woke up just before dawn and hurriedly got dressed.

Blaise had already entered his room by the time she emerged from hers and she opened his door, entering without hesitation.

Hermione had startled him by her sudden appearance and he'd growled loudly at her. But she just laughed, as he'd cocked his head to the side, gold-green eyes flashing at her in the darkness. He spread his arms out as if guarding his pile of food from her.

She reached out a hand to his shoulder, but he caught it in his own and began sniffing it.

Apparently she'd passed inspection, because he was soon yanking her hand toward his back.

"Scratch," he commanded, in a deep, rumbling voice that made her shudder.

Hermione smirked at him, but complied, laughing again as the purring started.

When Blaise was done eating, he stood and grabbing her hand hauled her to her feet.

"What are you..." Hermione began, but stopped as she was flung over his shoulder.

He tossed her on the bed, then crawled on after her. For a split second, Hermione was afraid of him, but she just kept reminding herself that Blaise would never hurt her. She really did believe that.

She didn't struggle as he pulled her down beside him, and wrapped his arms and legs around her. He started nuzzle her neck, but she firmly pushed him back so she could see his eyes. They were now a swirl of blue, yellow, and green.

"Don't burn me again," she said to him. He nodded before burying his face in her neck and though his breath was warm, it did not burn.

Hermione forced herself to relax and soon Blaise was snoring into her neck. She allowed herself to bask in the physical closeness she hadn't had in a month, before extracting herself.

"Happy Christmas, Blaise," she said, kissing his forehead.

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Hermione returned to her room to find her trunk had already vanished. She grabbed her book bag, which she would carry on the train, and turned to leave, when an eagle owl suddenly swooped in through the open door.

It dropped a thick envelope on her bed, and then flew back out.

Curious, Hermione opened it, and found herself staring at a picture of her brother. It was a wizard's picture and he was crying. The man holding him was wearing a Death Eater's robes and mask.

She flipped the picture over, and gasped at the writing on the back.

Miss Granger,

If you ever wish to see your brother again you will tear the envelope in half. This will activate a port key and bring you to him. You will have three minutes to act once the owl has left or your muggle baby brother will die.

It was written in blood.

Hermione didn't take the time to think things through. She picked up the envelope and ripped it in two. There was a bright flash and she vanished from the room. The picture fluttered to the floor.

End Chapter 4