CH-5

Then he was struck with a hex from behind and started Disapparating. Luckily, Blaise Summoned our wands to him before Lucius disappeared. After that, we took him to the Order. Apparently, he'd been wandering out on his own, disowned by his mother and abandoned by his friends for refusing to serve Voldemort…

"Didn't I just tell you to stop over-thinking things, Hermione?" he says in my ear.

"I'm not."

"Liar," he says, grinning.

Before I can get away, he's pinned me down and started tickling me. Laughing, I squirm under him and try to wriggle free.

"I'm not over-thinking, I promise!" I squeal, thrashing and giggling as he continues to tickle me.

I finally get good grips on his hands and hold them away from my stomach. He props himself up above me, eyes twinkling playfully.

"Oi, what're you two doing?"

Blaise rolls his eyes. "Just go back downstairs, Weasley. Hermione and I are a bit busy."

I laugh and push him off to the side so that I can sit up. Ron's standing at the top of the stairs, looking at me with a disappointed expression.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him innocently.

He shakes his head. "I just heard you two up here and wanted to make sure that nothing—"

"Oh, don't you worry," Blaise interrupts as he sits up beside me and drapes his arm across my shoulders again. "I'll be gentle with her."

Ron shoots me another angry look before going back downstairs.

I shrug Blaise's arm off my shoulders and punch him in the side.

"What was that for?" he asks.

"You'll be gentle with me? You know how Ron gets when you joke around like that."

He smirks. "It's the truth. I'd be gentle, if you'd let me."

I shake my head and get to my feet. "I should go talk to him," I say as I head for the stairs.

"Yeah, all right. Just hurt my feelings and leave me here, why don't you," he says.

I laugh and start going down the staircase. "Bye, Blaise."

"Hermione, wait one second," he says.

I turn around to look at him.

"Try not to worry your pretty little head too much over last night, all right? I'll see what I can do with this cloak. You'll know as soon as I know."

"Thanks again Blaise, really."

I go downstairs past the third floor to the second, where Harry, Ron and Blaise's shared room is. I knock gently, and the door is pulled open. Ron appears in the doorway. When he sees that it's me, his expression darkens.

"I just wanted to check on Harry," I say, pushing past him and into the room.

"He's still the same," Ginny says softly, looking down at Harry on the bed. "How long did you say it would take before he could—"

"A week," I answer before she finishes the question.

She's already asked it four or five times since I administered the potion. I'm just glad that Harry will be alive. Surely, being bedridden for a week is much better than being dead.

Alicia Spinnet appears in the doorway. "Molly wants us all to go downstairs for dinner."

"I'll keep Harry company," Ginny says. "Can you just bring up some food for me later?"

"I'll get you some now," Alicia says.

"Hermione and I will head downstairs in a few minutes," says Ron. "We've got some things to discuss."

"All right, then," Alicia says as she starts going down the stairs.

"What do you two have to talk about?" Ginny asks her brother.

"Don't worry about it," I tell her with a small smile.

Then we exit the room, and he leads me across the landing to the room that I share with Ginny. We enter the room, and I shut the door behind me. I can hear footsteps coming down from the upper floors. Must be the others, heading down for dinner.

There are twelve of us who regularly stay here at Grimmauld Place, but others come and go as needed—Sirius's and Regulus's rooms on the top floor are always kept vacant in case of emergencies. Right now, the house seems especially crowded—Bill and Mrs. Weasley usually stay at Shell Cottage, along with several Hogwarts students who joined the Order at different times after the war began.

Ron's voice jerks me out of my thoughts.

"Well?" he says impatiently.

"Well, what?"

"Are you dating that tosser or not?"

I put my hands on my hips. "Why is it any of your business who I'm dating? Does it affect you?"

"I just—don't you remember his reputation back at Hogwarts?"

"No, I don't remember a thing," I reply sarcastically.

"I just… from what I saw upstairs—"

"And what exactly do you think you saw upstairs?"

He doesn't answer my question, continuing instead, "I think you shouldn't get that close to him. He's probably going to hurt you—you know what he's like. I just don't want you to do something stupid, that's all."

"Are you insulting my intelligence?"

"No," he says, backpedaling quickly.

"Do you think I'm stupid, is that it?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then you should trust my judgment and leave me alone."

"I don't like seeing the two of you together."

Before I can reply, the bedroom door swings open, and I turn around to see Blaise, leaning casually against the doorframe, arms folded across his chest.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Ron demands from behind me.

"I was just on my way down to dinner and heard you two talking. The walls here are pretty thin, you know. If you want privacy, cast a charm for it," Blaise replies coolly. "But honestly, if you want privacy with my girl, you should ask me for it."

I turn around to face my ex and find that his face has turned as red as his hair. Sighing, I say, "Ron, don't listen to him. He's just trying to piss you off. Are you really going to give him the satisfaction?"

Blaise's arms circle me from behind, and his head lowers so that it's resting in the crook of my neck. I shrug my shoulders, but he just chuckles low in his throat and pulls me back against him.

"Let go of her!" Ron says angrily, drawing his wand.

"Ron, don't hex him. He's just being stupid."

I push his arms away from me and take a step forward, turning around to face him. He's smiling smugly and looking past me, no doubt proud of himself for turning Ron's face a brilliant shade of red.

"Get out of here," Ron growls.

I figure that having an audience will discourage these two geniuses from getting into a fight.

"Why don't all three of us just go downstairs for dinner?" I suggest.

Blaise smiles. "Sure."

I follow him out of the room, and a moment later, I hear Ron's footsteps behind me.

I'll have to have another talk with Blaise about boundaries again. I seem to have to remind him every now and then that Ron is hotheaded, so he shouldn't make jokes like that. It's been happening more and more often lately.

As we reach the kitchen and take our seats, I can't help but think back to that Death Eater again. Who would let me go and why? I highly doubt that Blaise can find out anything just from the Death Eater's cloak, but I have faith in him. He's discovered more from less before—used a scrap torn from a Death Eater's robes to find his identity and his latest location. He refuses to share his secrets, but I'm sure I'll wear him down eventually.

I just hope he can pull another "miracle" and tell me who this mystery man is.

I walk back down the hall yet again.

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