The Web Of Love

Blaise was somewhat grumpy for the rest of the evening. He was sitting on the ground with Charlie, playing with the railway, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was thinking about the mother of his son and that stupid Tom Gray. He knew that Hermione would start dating again one day, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon, so it caught him off guard. And even more with a quidditch player! After all, his ex-wife didn't even like Quidditch.

"The bolt up, Daddy!" he was snapped out of his thoughts by Charlie, who was impatiently waiting for him to lift the barrier so his train could pass.

"Of course, Captain," Blaise saluted, quickly lifting the bolt.

Charlie chuckled and continued on his way. Blaise watched him happily, forgetting for a brief moment that Hermione was supposed to have a date. Sometimes he still didn't understand that together they had created something as wonderful as their son. In his weaker moments, little Zabini was a painful reminder of what he could never have, but he never regretted he was born. He loved him with all his heart. Just like he loved Charlie's mother. 

He sighed. "Alright, champ, time for bed," he informed him, taking him into his arms before he could protest.

And while he was preparing him for bed, he tried to calm the storm of feelings that was happening inside him. He knew he should talk to someone about this, but he didn't quite have anyone. Theodore was the only one that came to mind, but he had to live in freaking France, where Blaise couldn't go now that he had Charlie with him.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Charlie yawned as Blaise tucked him into bed.

"Good night, munchkin," Blaise smiled and placed a kiss on his forehead before quietly walking into the living room where he had to pour himself a glass of fire whiskey. It was a rule that he didn't drink when he had Charlie around, but today he had to have that one glass.

He was standing in front of the fireplace looking at the photo of them together that he loved so much. In the photo, he was looking at a few weeks ago when he made the decision to let Hermione go forever. He was at peace with it. He really was. So why was it eating him up so much now? Just the thought of Tom Gray hanging around his ex-wife made his eyes cloud with rage. And that was not good.

With a sigh, he swallowed the rest of the golden liquid and scooped up a handful of floo powder in his hand, which he threw into the fireplace. He preferred a face-to-face meeting, but he couldn't leave Charlie home alone, so this form of communication would have to do.

His head appeared in a fireplace several hundred kilometers away. The lounge seemed deserted, which he didn't like too much, as he would have to demand attention, and it wasn't even certain that anyone would hear him.

"Theodore?" he hissed into the room. He didn't want to be too loud because he'd rather Theo find him and not Daphne. "Theodore!" he called again a little louder.

He was about to call out a third time when the door to the room opened. "I thought I heard something," the brown-haired man explained towards the hallway before walking inside.

"Theo!" Blaise greeted him quickly from the fireplace.

Theodore was surprised to see him, at least part of him. He closed the door behind him and went to sit by the fireplace. "That's a surprise to me," he said instead of greeting with a raised eyebrow.

"I'd stop by in person, but I have Charlie at home and I really needed to talk to you," he answered his unspoken question.

"Talk about what?" Theo asked in surprise. Of their group, he was usually the one to start the more serious conversation, and given the things he knew, he was a little worried that this was what Blaise wanted to talk about.

"About Hermione," he said bluntly, which was something Theodore liked about him. He was always straightforward.

"That's unusual," he muttered, still surprised by the current situation. Since he only said her name, he figured he hadn't heard about her and Draco yet, so what else did he want to talk about? Since their divorce, they've talked about it once. It was a long evening, but it was the only time Blaise opened up about it.

The head in fire sighed. "Tell me about it. I wouldn't burden you with this, but I have a storm of feelings going on inside me and you are the only one I can talk to about it. You're the only one I want to talk to about this."

That warmed Theodore's heart somewhat, though he wouldn't admit it out loud. "You know you're not a burden to me," he assured him. "Now start talking."

“So Hermione is supposedly going on a date with a Quidditch player. She claimed it wasn't a date, but Ginny said the exact opposite," he explained the reason for his appearance.

Willy-nilly, Theo had to smirk at his words. "And you're jealous."

Blaise glared at him. "Definitely not. I'm totally fine with Hermione finding someone and being happy with them one day. And I will be happy that she is happy. I swear to Merlin it's true. Her friendship is enough for me," he defended himself, but by the end, he was talking more quietly.

"So what's the problem?" wanted to know Theodore, who of course already knew the answer.

"Well, that's exactly what I'd like to know. Why do I feel so many things at once? Why do I feel sad? Why am I angry? Why would I like to floo myself to St. Mungo's right now and kiss her so that she forgets that any stupid Tom exists?" he spat at him.

The brown-haired man sighed. It made his heart ache a little. Why did all the Slytherins have to be so stupid when it came to feelings? He used to think it was just the three of them, but as time went on he found out that almost everyone from their dorm felt that way. And so he began to blame it on their pure blood origins. Parents limit emotions. Zero education. Their parents had made life miserable for them and he only hoped that his classmates would be able to get out of the family influence like he did.

“Do I really have to tell you?” he mumbled, staring at him for a moment before rubbing his face tiredly as he realized he really was going to have to tell him. “When you decided you'd only settle for her friendship, it was all hypothetical. There was no other man in sight so you didn't have to worry about that. Now you've met reality for the first time and it's only logical that you're jealous. You love her, Blaise," he explained to him. Blaise had been through a lot, but his parents weren't as bad as his or Draco's. Unfortunately, even though he knew his mother loved him, he also knew that this inability to control his feelings ran in the family.

"Of course I love her," was all Blaise said.

“Then why don't you do something about it? Why do you insist so relentlessly on letting her go? I told you then, I'll tell you now. You deserve to be happy. You deserve Charlie. And you definitely deserve Hermione. You made a mistake, it happens, we all make them. The point is to correct the mistake. You love her, she loves you. Why are you making things so complicated?" he tried to open his eyes. Draco could say what he wanted, but Theo knew these two would end up together anyway. He never stopped believing that.

“You know my mother said that too?” he muttered absently.

"Said what?"

"That Hermione still loves me," he almost whispered.

"Your mother was always a wise woman," Theodore chimed in. He wanted to give his friend space to speak now, as this conversation seemed to be going in a different direction than he expected. A better direction.

"I didn't want to believe it, but then we talked. Perhaps the first time since our divorce. Even she is reconciled to the fact that we will not get back together. But now I'm wondering if it's possible that even though she's okay with it, she's secretly hoping for the opposite just like me," Blaise confided. "She quoted Oscar Wilde to me. Maybe she really still loves me."

"I'm sure of that. You get scared, it happens. There was no proper reason for your divorce, but you are both too proud and stubborn, if you had talked to each other a long time ago, this might not have happened, but it did. You can't change the past. But you can change the future. Talk to her. Tell her what you told me and be happy together,” he said in a calm voice, albeit with a slight hint of coercion.

Blaise was quiet. Was it really that simple? Could he have what he lost long ago? Just the thought of doing it and having it work filled him with happiness. The happiness he only felt with Hermione and Charlie.

"I—" he began but was interrupted by a child's cry. "I have to go," he blurted out instead and disappeared.

And so Theodore was left alone, wondering if he should get involved after all. He didn't know what was going on in England right now, but he knew that if Blaise decided to finally act on his feelings, he would have to tame Draco.

Because he was the only one who could do it.