Disclaimer: Do I own Harry Potter? No. Do I own anything associated with Harry Potter? Again unfortunately no.
A/N: This was written for a challenge on quietones yahoo group. The link is in my profile. The song is Circle the Moon by Pentangle. Thanks to my Beta Rhone (Sinfully-Snape) for fixing this up for me.
With a sigh Hermione Granger glanced out the window. The rain was falling in a heavy sheet and lightning lit up the dark street every few minutes. The foul weather was a dark contrast to the happiness inside the small house in Godric's Hollow. It was the engagement party of the most famous wizard in the world and the women whose love had helped him defeat the Dark Lord.
Her eyes scanned the crowd until she found them. His dark hair was still a mess but his forehead was now unblemished by the scar he had always hated. No longer signaling him out as The Boy Who Lived...now he was plain old Harry Potter, teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. With a broad smile and a twinkle in his eyes to rival Dumbledore's, he leaned down to whisper something into the ear of the voluptuous red head beside him. Ginny Weasley blushed and scolded him for what he said, but the love was evident in her eyes. Hermione couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy for the two.
She should have been hosting a party, her love by her side whispering sweet nothings in her ear and making her blush. Perhaps she could have had it...she would never know...he was gone. She felt tears threaten but she forced them back. How many times had she sat in the common room they shared as head girl and boy and studied with him? It had been a routine they had fallen into quickly. She would arrive first and make sure the fire was going and warm the room. He would stop by the kitchens to nip a snack to keep them energized for their studies. They rarely talked…but every now again, reaching for a cookie or a book to check some obscure fact...their hands would brush and fire would race through her. As the year progressed, they would make excuses to sit with each other in class and partner up. But still they rarely talked.
Returning from Christmas break, she found him sitting alone in their common room crying. Unsure of what to do, she went to him, sat down beside him and hesitantly rubbed his back. He turned suddenly and buried his tear-stained face in her neck and sobbed. She wrapped her arms around him and comforted him, singing a lullaby her mum had taught her when she was a small child.
Look
down, what do you see?
Snow white the Holly Tree.
Sleeping the
Earth it seems,
Deep in a winter's dream.
Circle
the moon, circle the sun.
Fill the Earth with love.
Let the
sweet river flow for all of life.
Begin again as it begun.
Pray
for the desert rose,
That burns in sweet solitude.
Pray for the
frozen lands
By learning to love again.
She continued to sing until his sobs stopped and he slept. The next day, she learned that Voldemort had killed his parents for refusing to join the dark side. Something changed that day. Although most evenings they would study as usual, there were days he would arrive and she could see he needed her. So she would tell him to come sit on the couch with her, wrap her arms around him and sing him her lullaby. When the time to graduate finally came, he asked her to go to the graduation ball with him and she felt like her joy was a great bubble and every time he spoke it became larger until it seemed to encompass her whole being.
The dance was lovely. Once he had told her he didn't dance. He would never dance unless it was with the women he loved. But that night he stood before her. His fine black dress robes draped eloquently about his athletic frame. His eyes seemed to pierce into her very soul as he reached out his hand. "Dance with me, Hermione." he said in his deep baritone voice and she knew he was offering her more than a dance. He was offering her his love, and she wanted it. She trembled as she reached out to take his hand and just as they made contact, a large boom rocked the Great Hall.
What followed was chaos. Chaos and blood. Death eaters swarmed the hall as the final battle commenced. She only remembered bits and pieces. Padma Patil throwing herself in front of her twin taking the killing curse in her stead. Neville Longbottem standing over Bellatrix Lestrange having just killed her. Finally Ginny wrapping her arms around Harry as he used her wand to cast the curse that ended the vilest man in the world's life forever. Though she didn't remember it, she was told that Lucius Malfoy, in his rage at the defeat of his master, turned his wand towards Hermione, intent on killing the best friend of the man who had killed Voldemort. But Blaise had thrown himself on the senior Malfoy just as Draco turned his own wand on his father and yelled out a spell that hit them both and just like that they were gone. No not dead, gone. They just disappeared. The Order searched but to no avail. Finally, nine months after the final battle, the body of Lucius Malfoy was found in Romania by some Dragon Keepers. He was most certainly alone and most definitely dead. At that moment, she had lost hope. She had stopped looking for him at every knock. She picked up the pieces and moved on...but she felt hollow and almost every night she dreamed...dreamed of them dancing.
Unable to hold back the tears she turned back to the window, not wanting anyone's happiness dampened by her misery. She raised her wine glass to her lips and took a sip as another flash of lightning lit up the night sky. With a gasp she dropped the glass watching helplessly as it fell and shattered across the lovely wood floor. Concerned, her friends rushed to her side asking what was the matter.
"I thought I saw someone, out there in the rain," she whispered as another flash of lightning outlined the sodden front yard of the cottage. Sure enough, standing there at the gate was a dark figure, hand on the latch as if deciding whether to enter or not. He was soaked through, his dark curls plastered to his head. Hermione tried to swallow the lump in her throat. No, it couldn't be. But for the first time in four months, since the day Malfoy's body was found, she felt hope. It fueled her, set her legs in motion as she pushed through the crowd to the door. She wrenched it open, instantly soaked as the rain blew in the door. With faltering steps she made her way down the path towards the gate. Just as she reached her destination another flash lit the sky and she saw him. And it was him. His face tired and haggard, his eyes hesitant, afraid, but it was him. He slowly opened the gate and stepped into the yard moving slowly until he stood in front of her. Nervously she smoothed the lines in her drenched yellow dress, before hesitantly reaching out and enfolding him in her arms. Of all the hugs they had shared he had never hugged her back...always content to lie in her arms and take what she gave him. But this night his arms wrapped around her and he crushed her into him. He buried his face in her hair for a moment before leaning back to look in her eyes. She had always been the first to initiate things, the studying, the comforting, the singing, the hugging, but this time it was Blaise who initiated. It was he who leaned down and crushed his mouth to hers. Like a man dying of thirst, he drank from her mouth. For once there once no hesitation only possession, passion, and need. Only when the need for air became too great did they break apart, noticing for the first time the crowd that stood and watched them and the sweet sound of the music drifting from the house.
Blaise stepped away from her and ran his hand through his hair. Straightening his robe, he reached his hand out to her. In that deep baritone she had stamped into her heart he asked, "May I have this dance, Hermione?" She stood for a moment, paralyzed as the realization that he was here, he was truly here came crashing down around her. Hesitantly she placed her hand in his and answered, "Blaise, you can have all my dances." She laughed as he pulled her towards him and spun her to the music. They danced and laughed there in the rain. He had told her he would never dance with anyone besides the women he loved. He kept that promise.