The Story of Blaise Zabini

Chapter 14

Fireworks

It was with some sense of satisfaction that I made my way back to my dormitory, with Draco. Raging hormones and flowing adrenaline really makes for passionate kisses; I could barely keep my hands off him.

We'd just walked into the common room, when Draco seized me around the waist, pulled me onto the sofa and planted kiss after kiss on my lips.

Oh, don't do this to me, I thought longingly, feeling his lips on my neck. Please, please, please don't do this to me...

But he did, and I could already feel myself melting; I just wanted him so much. It's impossible to describe how I really felt at that moment; I was just a bag of mixed emotions, and my mind was pretty much frozen from Draco's kisses.

Then he pulled back, looked down at me - yes, he was on top of me - and grinned. He pushed himself up, resting on his arms, while I looked back at him and wondered whether it'd be obvious if I pulled him back to me.

"Are we even yet?" he asked, his hair falling into his intense grey eyes.

"Not even close," I breathed, linking my hands behind his neck and leading his lips to mine.

***

The next morning, with a huge smile on my face, I woke up and remembered the events of last night. Ooh, I can't wait to see Draco, this morning. Is this what it feels like after your first - sort of - kiss? Because if it is, then I'll never tear my lips away from Draco's. This feels great!

So, I got up and dressed, and I was about to open the dormitory door, when it opened and Lydia walked in.

"Morning," she said brightly, when she saw I was up.

"Morning," I said cheerfully, although I could just as well have shouted it, since I was so happy.

"Wow, you're in a good mood," Lydia grinned. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," I sighed exultantly. "It's just a really beautiful morning, that's all."

"Yeah, right," she laughed. "What's - what's that?"

I froze as she pointed at my neck in curiosity. Glancing at the full-length mirror, I saw that Draco really had left a mark last night; the large purple mark above my collar-bone was just a little too shaped to be a bruise.

"This?" I asked nervously. "It's um ... well, it's nothing ... sort of ..."

"Okay, stupid question; I know what it is, but who's it off?" Lydia said impatiently.

Why does she have to ask? I thought miserably, my good mood going out the window. Why did she have to see it? Oh, man, this is so embarrassing. But I don't see why it has to be embarrassing; I mean, it's not as if it's a crime to go out with Draco. Just because Lydia doesn't like him, doesn't mean I can't date him.

"Well, if you really want to know; it's off Dra - I mean, Malfoy," I said quickly.

"Really? Oh." She suddenly seemed to lose interest. "I wondered when you two would stop being so stubborn."

"Yeah ... huh?" I spluttered in surprise.

"Come on Blaise, it was so obvious that you fancied the hell out of him," she grinned. "I was just waiting for the two of you to get together."

"... Oh," I said, still unsure of what to say. "Right."

"I figured it out after the Yule Ball; you were such a bitch to him. But I don't understand why."

"Because he kissed me at the Ball, but then Pansy came along and totally ruined the moment," I said in a conversational tone. "And I assumed he was just stringing me along."

We went down to breakfast, still discussing it. In the Great Hall, I found myself automatically looking for Draco. He was already there, looking utterly bored, between Crabbe and Goyle. I can't imagine the conversation was too lively.

When he saw me, he muttered something to Crabbe, who moved so I could sit next to Draco.

"Hi," he said, with his trademark smirk.

Damn, he looks so sexy when he does that.

My first thought was to kiss him, but I didn't want to make all the innocent people around us bring their breakfast back up. So I settled for shuffling closer to him.

"Hey," I replied cheerfully.

I watched with vindictive pleasure as Pansy shot me a dark look from across the table, when Draco put his arm around me. She looked so furious, I almost laughed.

Then I noticed the small tear running down her cheek, catching the sun as it slowly fell from her face. Okay, I felt bad, and I had to look away. But moments later, it didn't matter, because Pansy jumped up and ran out of the Great Hall. Now I really felt bad.

I looked up at Draco, who looked as guilty as I felt, and wondered whether I should do anything. But I just don't think a conversation with Pansy is the best thing I should do right now.

Anyway, it's Saturday today, and Lydia and I had already planned to go to Hogsmeade and meet Fred and George there. They were in the village to 'check out the competition', as they put it, and we were happy to help them. Draco was less than thrilled at spending the day in the company of the Weasley twins, so while Lydia and I chatted with Fred and George, Draco went off down the street to talk with some of the other Slytherins.

Fred was standing with Angelina Johnson, his girlfriend, and George was off to the side, looking in the window of Zonko's joke shop. Fred was so absorbed in Angelina that I don't think he even noticed Lydia and I had arrived; George did though. The minute we turned up, he hurried over to us and pulled out a list for their new fireworks, and tried to get us to put our names down.

"No thanks," I said with a smile, even though I was sorely tempted. Lydia just smiled and shook her head, and eventually we ended up in the Three Broomsticks, sitting around one table in the corner. Fred and Angelina were entwined around each other, George was in deep discussion with Lydia, and they too looked very cosy together; heads bent towards each other as they exchanged serious glances, before bursting into laughter. I sat and watched them, amused; for all the world they looked like they were flirting, and I chuckled at the thought.

Not long afterwards, I glanced up at the window and saw Draco standing there. He waved and gestured for me to come outside. I stood up and told Lydia where I was going, and she nodded, saying she'd be out in a minute.

"I think I will put my name down for those fireworks after all," she said thoughtfully, and George looked at her in surprise, though he said nothing and smiled instead.

I shrugged and left the table; at the same time, Fred and Angelina left, with Fred telling his brother that he'd be back in half and hour, that he was just taking Angelina home.

"He always leaves me to take care of the business," George said, as his twin went out the door.

I said my goodbyes and exited the pub. Lydia and George looked too engrossed in each other to notice that I'd left.

Draco and I were indulging in some heavy-duty kissing, when Lydia came out of the Three Broomsticks, looking extremely embarrassed. I assumed she was felt like a third wheel, so I pulled away from Draco, and we headed back up to the castle.

By the time we got to the common room, though, Lydia's cheeks were still flushed and she was still anxious and something. After glancing at her worriedly, I decided something serious was up.

"Draco," I whispered. "I need to talk to Lydia. Can you give me a second?"

"Sure," he nodded, and went off to talk to some sixth years over in the corner.

"Okay, Lydia, what's up?" I turned to her expectantly.

"Nothing," she replied, avoiding my eyes completely.

I folded my arms across my chest; "Really?"

"I'm fine!" she protested.

I waited a few seconds, giving her a look.

"Oh, alright," she sighed finally. "But you'll have to come upstairs. If anyone hears this ..."

I never found out the end of that sentence; she almost dragged me up to the dormitories before I had a chance to say anything. Dropping onto my bed, I looked at her.

"Well?" I asked.

"I kissed him!" she blurted out, then bit her lip and sank onto her own bed.

"Who?" I asked, without thinking.

"George!" she wailed.

"Oh," I said softly. "So you did get fireworks then?"

"What?" she said, in distracted confusion.

"You said you were going to put your name down for some fireworks."

"Oh I got them alright," Lydia muttered, but a small, dreamy smile appeared where her anxious expression had been.

"Was it that good?" I asked.

"You have no idea, Blaise. He was just so ... cute, and when I looked at him, it was just there. And you know I used to fancy him in fourth year. It all kind of came back."

"So are you going to tell Jeff?" I asked, hating to bring her back to reality.

"No, I can't! He'd feel so betrayed; it was a one time thing with George, I'm sure of it."

She seemed much more decisive now, but there was a note of hesitation in her voice.
"What do you mean 'sure of it'?" I said.

"It's serious with Jeff; being so close to George just brought back all the old feelings from fourth year, that's all. But ..."

"But ...?" I prompted.

"But what if it isn't?" she continued. "What if I pretend the thing with George never happened, and it turns out that it could've been something permanent? I mean, Jeff and I have never said anything about after Hogwarts. We just always kind of assumed something would happen that would sort everything out for us."

She put her head in her hands, looking thoroughly miserable and sighing every five minutes.

When she looked up at me moments later, her face was so beseeching and dejected that I felt even worse for her.

"You can't tell anyone either, Blaise," she begged. "Not even Malfoy. It's just between us ok?"

"Ok," I agreed helplessly.

After, all what Jeff doesn't know, can't hurt him.

Right?