Chapter 18

Hermione, on the other hand, was fuming. Due to unexpected reasons, she had to come back earlier than planned. Not wanting to intrude or meet with whomever was visiting Draco, she decided to Apparate directly in her room. She had just done so and was about to place the wards around her room when Blaise appeared.

One moment later and she would have had protective charms that deflected Apparition. She was more upset of having been taken aback by the sight of someone else in the room than by anything else. She didn't like being surprised.

That was one other thing the war had done to her. It made her too apprehensive in new environments. Instinct had also made her raise her wand at the stranger and hex him. Crookshanks, alerted by Hermione's scream, had jumped from the bed and attacked Blaise with all the might of his sharp claws and fangs.

Huffing angrily, Hermione released Blaise with a jerk, pushing him towards Draco.

"Better take him before I transform him into something fitting of his behavior." she snapped, turning back towards her room.

Crookshanks gave Blaise another dirty look, his yellow eyes narrowing, and with a swish of his bushy tail he trailed off after Hermione.

***

Back in Draco's room, Blaise checked his hands and face into a mirror he magicked with his wand, then with a tired sigh, slouched into one of the armchairs.

Draco took a seat on the other one and looked at his friend attentively. His anger had subsided as soon as he entered the room and, seeing Blaise looking like this, somehow made him feel giddy and amused.

He had to admit that for some reason, the sight of Hermione, looking angry while holding Blaise, who was bigger and taller than she was, like he was a dirty cockroach amused him terribly. It even made him forget the annoyance he first felt at hearing that she suspected him of planning all that.

"After you told me who was living with you, I thought it would be a good laugh. Taking Granger by surprise and all that." he heard Blaise saying slowly.

"It was a good laugh, just not for you." Draco shrugged, trying hard not to show too much of his amusement.

"What kind of witch yells in fright but attacks at the same time?" Blaise said, shaking his head, looking almost baffled at Draco.

"Hermione Granger, apparently." Draco replied, amused by the whole situation and barely containing his urge to laugh openly at his friend's face.

"I'm telling you, she's mental that one." Blaise continued, gingerly touching his face but wincing at the pain.

"That cat… is even crazier than she is. Look at what it did to your face." Draco said, letting out a small snort.

Blaise stopped touching his face and frowned angrily.

"You find all this funny, don't you?" he hissed at Draco.

"Of course I do." Draco answered, laying back in the armchair. He crossed his arms behind his head, grinning cheekily at Blaise's angry expression.

"You wouldn't find it funny had it been you instead." Blaise threw at him hotly.

"Yeah, well… I know better than to Apparate without an invitation into a witch's room, especially if that witch is Hermione Granger. You're lucky you got away alive to tell the tale." he said, laughing openly now.

Soon, Blaise's frown slowly transformed into a smile, then into a wide grin. It was nice seeing Draco relaxed enough to laugh and smile. It had been a while since they stood like this, laughing together, chatting normally without the tension of a war looming above them.

Last time they saw each other comfortably was before the war. He hoped that, now everything was over, they would be able to catch up on the time they've lost.

"No kidding. I once tried to Apparate into Pansy's bedroom and I almost got splinched trying to escape when she started throwing objects to my face. She had been so surprised to see me there that she forgot where she put her wand." Blaise told Draco, laughing at the memory.

"There's also that one time you tried to sneak behind Daphne while she was changing. We were at your villa during the summer vacation, remember?" Draco told Blaise, shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Ooh yes." Blaise nodded, snorting. "That was scary shit. Before I met Granger today, I thought Daphne Greengrass was the scariest woman alive."

"Mhm." Draco nodded, grinning widely. "The way she chased you all over that moor… and the spectacular catch of one perverted Blaise." Draco continued, laughing loudly.

"Sadistic witch, I swear." Blaise said, shaking his head and smiling. "She threw a rope binding curse at my feet right as I was about to jump over a puddle. Fell face flat into the mud. I can still taste that horrible thing whenever I think about it." Blaise finished, faking a shiver.

"I thought you would have learned your lesson by now. After all these… thrilling experiences." Draco teased.

"Yeah, well, what's life without a little thrill?" Blaise replied, with a lewd wink.

"Yuck." Draco laughed, smacking Blaise on the back.

"Ouch." yelped Blaise, jumping into his seat. "Careful mate. I think the ginger demon got my back as well."

***

Meanwhile, in her own room, Hermione was still upset. As soon as she got inside, she started pacing, berating Draco and his idea of a joke. She remembered how he'd told her about the visit earlier that morning and suddenly, she realized how silly she had been, thinking even for a second that Draco Malfoy could be considerate of someone.

"Even at that moment, he was planning to make a fool out of me." she said under her breath, clenching her fists.

But then his bewildered face when he saw her and Blaise popped into her mind, and she felt somewhat unsure whether that was really what had happened.

"Humph, either way he could have prevented it." she huffed annoyedly. "Letting someone Apparate just like that, anywhere around the house was not a good idea. So ignorant of the dangers… I didn't know he was that stupid."

With that, she dismissed him from her mind. She flopped onto the bed, opened a book and started reading, turning the pages rather energetically. Crookshanks followed her onto the bed and he laid down on her legs. While she read, the story slowly calmed her nerves and gave her peace of mind.