The Seven and The Hidden Child

Chapter 20

"Three Broomsticks, candles by lake, compliment eyes, don't walk her back unless she's holding my hand," Blaise said, verbally going through the plan.

"Exactly. Ready?" Draco asked.

"No! What if I say something wrong? It spill my drink on me? Or — "

"ZABINI!" Hermione all but screamed from the kitchen where she and Ginny were talking. "Shut up and take the dam girl on a date or I will swear you will be deader than Dumbledore!"

Blaise gulped amd nodded furiously. He seemed to not realize she couldn't see him. Blaise wiped the palms of his hands on pants and took a deep breath. It was just a simple date with a girl. He could do this.

"Okay, okay. I'm going to go," Blaise nodded bouncing around on his toes.

"Oh, and don't insult a Hufflepuff!" Ginny called from the kitchen. "You insult one that she may not even know and she'll still kill you. They are insanely loyal."

"Got it. Be nice," Blaise mumbled leaving the room.

"He's going to crash and burn," Draco laughed grabbing a book and sitting down to wait.

Blaise hurried down the hall to the Hufflepuff common room. He made sure his dark green V-neck was straight, and his hair combed through before turning the final corner. When he got to where Draco had insteucted him to go, a Hufflepuff spotted him.

"What are you doing here?" The brunette third year girl asked.

"A-Abbott," Blaise stuttered nervously. Teasing her to show his affection was one thing, but the actual prospect of taking her on an actual date was another.

"Right, Susan said to say she'd be right out if I saw you. Good luck, Mr Slytherin," The girl calles before turning and walking off.

Blaise took a final deep breath right as the door opened and Hannah came out. She had on a dark maroon skater dress with a halter style top. Black ballet flats joined the outfit. Her blonde hair had been straightened and lied down her back carefully. She was wearing very little makeup and looked displeased but interested in her predicament.

"Wow," Was the only thing Blaise managed to say when she stood in front of him.

"Susan wouldn't let me out of this," Hannah grumbled stubbornly. Honeslty, she could be mistaken for a Gryffindor if she didn't value loyalty so much.

"

You look just . . . wow," Blaise breathed. A smile slowly crept onto his face as he stared into her eyes.

Hannah but her lip at the intense state and turned away. "Where are you taking me?"

"The Three Broomsticks, and I thought we could walk down by the lake afterwards if you want," Blaise suggested beginning to walk with her.

"Alright. Malfoy said I get an explanation for the staredown because of some ring," Hannah stated getting directly to the point. She was quite curious as to why a ring would be so important.

"I'll tell you when we get down there," Blaise promised.

The carriage ride into Hogsmeade only took half an hour. By the time they arrived it was beginning to become dark outside. Blaise menatlly fist pumped the air for the beautiful clear night.

They set off walking down the path towards the Three Broomsticks. Once, Blaise 'accidentally' walked a little to close and his hand brushed against hers. He made sure to leave a large gap of time before he did it again. He slowly made the brushes closer together as they went.

"You're not being very subtle," Hannah rolled her eyes.

Blaise blushed bright red and quickly made sure his hand was far away from her. Hannah smiled slowly before taking his hand in hers. He was being really nice to her so far. She considered it a step in the right direction.

"I said you weren't being subtle, not that you were being annoying . . . yet that is," She added.

Blaise was dancing on the inside. Yesterday she didn't like being in his presence, and now she was holding his hand. He felt like dying on the spot.

They entered the Three Broomsticks to find few people in there. Blaise ordered a couple butterbeers to start and sat across from Hannah. She smiled her thanks and accepted the butterbeer he offered.

"So the ring?" She asked taking a drink of the warm liquid.

"Right. Well, I have a twin sister," Blaise stated diving into the full story.