Broken Mirror

xoXOXox

The walk to the DADA classroom was a bit surreal to Draco. He walked side by side with Granger, their shoulders brushing randomly. It was a strange situation. With the magic she had acquired during that moment at his manor, she felt like family. Draco was still trying to wrap his head around feeling protective of the Gryffindor Princess.

Next to her was not Potter or Weasley but Blaise. He had no idea what that was about. Blaise didn't warm up to anyone new and certainly didn't bother to take up a position of protection for anyone outside his chosen friend circle.

Potter was on his other side, walking with his hands in his pockets, head down and hair falling haphazardly in his face. Another fucking terrifying development. After that morning, Draco was afraid that Potter would revert back to being an apathetic arse but instead he seemed to have become a silent sentinel at his side.

Behind them was Pansy, bracketed by Theo and Weasley. She looked timid, eyes following her feet. Her lip was cracked where she kept worrying at it with her teeth. She seemed more nervous than usual and he wondered what happened during breakfast that had her wound so tightly.

Theo's eyes, on the other hand, were flitting back and forth over everyone they passed. His paranoia high after the antics in the Great Hall. Draco knew if Weasley's plan didn't work, things were going to get so much worse. Especially with the way they were all walking to class like they had been friends the whole time.

Approaching the classroom, all of them paused as one unit several feet from the rest of the seventh and eighth year students. Today was Gryffindor/Slytherin DADA and the mix of angry and disgusted faces being thrown their way from both houses had him fidgeting in place.

A warm hand on his wrist stopped his awkward shuffling. Looking down, he took note of how the tan fingers looked wrapped around his pale skin. They were polar opposites in every way. From their skin to their hair, their upbringing and the side of the war they were on. Nothing about them matched and yet here Potter was, offering him solid ground when he felt like he had none.

He looked up, meeting those emerald eyes from under his own fringe, losing himself in the yellow and blues flecks in the center. Potter's voice was low, meant only for him.

"Nothing has changed since we left that room. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, Draco. It's okay."

Beneath the chasm of numbness he had grown used to, a spark of hope seemed to bloom. He knew it was a bad idea. To let anything resembling hope try to sprout wings but something in the other boy's eyes made it impossible not to just believe. No wonder everyone followed him into the final battle when the odds were not in their favor. If Potter asked him to face down the Dark Lord right now, he might have agreed without any thought. Fuck.

Hermione watched the way Harry seemed to lean into Malfoy. She had no idea what had transpired. When she went back to wake them, both of them had already vacated her room and her bed was made. She knew it had gotten ugly by the puffy lip Harry was sporting but instead of seeming angry or put out, Harry's solicitous behavior towards Malfoy spoke of some understanding between them.

What was truly puzzling was the calm and quiet presence on her other side. Blaise Zabini. Dark and dangerous, he was the epitome of any witch's fantasy. Tall and cut lean, strength in his shoulders hidden beneath his robes. Dark olive skin that looked soft and smooth. His hair was cut in that GQ style and laid perfectly along his head, a rich coffee brown. His lips were curved with a slight cupid's bow, the bottom one plump and full. He smelled like expensive nights in some exotic land, a beacon of temptation for the senses.

But his eyes. Those were the most hypnotic thing about him. Not brown or black or even that mossy green. No. They were gold. Not a dull brown covered gold but golden like melting coins spilling through his eyes. And they held a world of secret knowledge. Things he kept hidden behind a bored facade. But given her new abilities, he couldn't hide from her. He wasn't bored in the usual sense. He was bored because nothing took him by surprise. He expected and was never caught off guard when bad things came his way. As if he believed he wasn't allowed good things. Or maybe just believed good things didn't find him worthy.

With her magic calm for the time being, Hermione took the time to read him, giving Harry and Malfoy their moment alone. He wasn't sad or happy. He wasn't angry or disgruntled. He really was calm. Not in that apathetic way but just accepting that life was going to be a dick bastard and it was what it was. It was almost refreshing in a way, to brush against someone so solid and stable in their own mind.

"Find something interesting, Granger?"

She blinked up at him. No anger flooded her chest at his poking. Just his calm acceptance washing over her, filling up the cracks the rage had created.

She hummed, meeting his eyes with her own bored stare.

"Just realizing you are kind of beautiful to look at."

There. There it was. A gentle spark of surprise. This could become her new fun game. How often could she trip up his collected aura each week? He raised his eyebrow at her, lips tilting up in a smirk.

"Oh, yeah? Just now noticing that?"

Another blink of her eyes as she let them caress along his strong jawline and down his neck.

"First time I think I've bothered to actually look at you, Zabini."

He placed his hand dramatically over his heart, gasping in mock shock.

"You wound me, cara."

This time she let her amusement show with a curve of her lips and a low chuckle.

"Somehow, Zabini, I don't think there is much in this world that can wound you."

Looking back into his eyes, she watched him assess her with a calculating gaze.

"There are mysteries behind your eyes, cara, that I think could wound any man if aimed just right."

Interesting. He wasn't flirting. His tone and his energy said he was quite serious. She could do serious, really well actually.

"Then I guess my suggestion would be not to become my target."

It was his turn to hum. She felt his curiosity peak as he took the same slow perusal of her features.

"Tell me, cara, what would happen if a man decided he wanted your sights set on him?"

Her heart jumped before starting a pounding rhythm in her chest.

"I guess that would depend on exactly what way he wanted my attention."

He turned; his body canted towards her slightly.

"And if I said he wanted to know your favorite flower, how you take your tea, if you would ever consider letting him take you to dinner in Hogsmeade."

It was her turn for her eyebrows to raise.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Zabini?"

He gave her a crooked grin.

"I was considering it, Granger. Think we might need to get on a first name basis before that step though."

Amusement. Curiosity. Nervousness. All small drops in his aura that tickled across her mind.

"Why?"

Surprise. Again. That's twice.

"You're smart and beautiful. Loyal to a fault and as dangerous, if not more so than Snape himself. Why wouldn't I?"

She huffed, cheeks warming in an uncomfortable way.

"Like living on the edge, Zabini?"

He leaned down until his lips brushed her ear.

"I like living, Granger, no matter how it happens."

Her breath caught and held in her lungs, his warmth surrounding her as his scent invaded her mind and spun it into a dizzying circle. Her mouth got away from her before she could filter her thoughts.

"How can you like living when you always expect the worst?"

He pulled back just enough to look down into her eyes.

"Better to be alive with expectations then dead with none. Plus, there is always a chance my luck will change and something unexpectedly good will happen."

The classroom door opening kept her from responding. His fingers brushed gently along her palm as he wandered away from her and into their first headache of the day. It took her several seconds too long to breathe again.

"'Mione, you okay?"

She nodded at Ron, following Malfoy and Harry into the room. This was going to be a long day. 

Thankfully, every class today had a review of previous lessons so the Professors could gain insight into what needed to be retaught before they could move forward. He was exhausted. Not from the coursework but from keeping his guard up all day. He had shielded himself from at least five separate hexes before lunch.

The lot of them were heading for the Great Hall once again and he wanted nothing more than to go back to the sanctuary that was their shared common room and be allowed to close his eyes and relax. 

"Nott?"

He flinched at the soft voice next to him. Glancing over, he met Granger's curious eyes.

"Granger?"

He watched her look around them and then back to him.

"Relax. You are exhausted. I've been shielding you since Charms. You're going to wear yourself to depletion."

He frowned at her, probing with his magic only to find a stronger energy surrounding him.

"Why? You hate me."

She rolled her eyes at him, gesturing with her head to Draco.

"He's helping me. Harry is helping him. Ron is helping Parkinson. Zabini doesn't seem to need anyone. So, that leaves me to help you to compete this fucked up new family unit."

He snorted. He couldn't help it.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Her eyes turned cold, her mind shutting away from him.

"Not anymore."

He paled, pulling her to a stop.

"I'm sorry, Granger. I didn't know. It was meant as a joke. Obviously, a poor one."

She tilted her head, seeing somewhere deeper inside of him than he thought anyone ever had.

"Don't worry about it. How could you have known? Let's go eat so we can go relax in our common room."

He gave her a relieved smile, offering his arm like the gentleman he was taught to be.

"May I escort the lady to dinner then?"

She snorted at him, but she did slide her hand into the crook of his arm. He heard Blaise growl over his shoulder and he threw him a devious smirk.

"Too slow, old man."

He made a rude gesture that made Granger laugh. Both of them stumbled as they stared at her, her magic pouring over and into them like a warm cup of coffee. He swallowed, meeting Blaise's eyes to see the same dizzy look on his face. Now that was an interesting discovery.

xoXOXox