Anyone But Me

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Hermione took a long pull of booze, relishing in the scorching burn for a second. Intent on not letting the drama continue to distract her from her primary goal of the night: self-medicating to the point of intoxication-induced amnesia wasn't the most ingenious idea. Yet, she couldn't have possibly passed on the opportunity for a socially acceptable reason to get blitzed. There was no reason to worry if everyone else in the vicinity was doing the exact same thing.

At least, that is what she told herself...

As concerning as her newfound quest for mental anesthetic was, the alternative was breaking the strict rules she had been forced to adopt. And that was unacceptable; being a functional person was more important than allowing herself the time to wallow.

"I wouldn't have expected such rudeness from you, Granger," Blaise said after she was done partaking. Seeing her look of confusion, he expounded. "Are you going to offer me a drink of my own libation?"

"Nope, it belongs to me now."

"Thief."

"Technically, but I am doing it for your own good."

"My own good?"

"I couldn't possibly let you contaminate your precious pureblood body with my affliction..." Hermione challenged. She knew she was toeing the line of her civility, but she was irritated with the blatant disregard of her warning for niceties.

The wizard stood there for a shocked second, apparently not expecting the honesty of her response. He quickly recovered and rolled his eyes, "Respectfully... Please shut up and hand over that damn bottle."

She shrugged and did as she was asked, "What will your friends think?"

"Most could give a flying puffskein what I do."

"And the ones that would care?"

"They would think I am doing whatever I feel is needed to be a good spy." Blaise was unperturbed as he answered the question. It looked as if he was telling her about the weather, not admitting to his supposed dangerous duplicity. He nonchalantly took a shot and then handed it back.

Ginny scoffed at the confession but kept her word and otherwise stayed quiet.

After another quick nip, which gave her the time to gather her scattered thoughts, she asked the obvious. "Is that what you are? A spy?"

"Evidently, not a very good one if I cannot keep the secret."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Trying to show you're not a coral?"

"Something like that." He said evenly, but the fleeting glances back and forth between the two witches in front of him showed just how nervous the divulgence had made him. More afraid of their judgment than the possibility of his friends finding out about his treachery.

"Fuck this..." Ginny muttered under her breath before stomping over to an empty settee, sitting down and crossing her arms. She made a point to position her body so she didn't have to look at them.

"Your bravado is a hindrance." Hermione stated.

"A favorable reception based on lies isn't acceptance, Granger. I will be taken as I am or not at all."

"That would be true..." She conceded, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "If this ladykiller caricature wasn't the lie."

They stood there in silence under the ever-changing colors as they surveyed the other. Their unconventional surroundings at odds with the hidden seriousness of the moment. Regardless, he knew she was correct, considering the multiple normal conversations they'd somehow been able to have, but he didn't want to acquiesce. Any further vulnerability was too high of a cost. He was safer behind the meticulously designed facade.

If he couldn't be his authentic self with those he had grown up around, those called friends, without fear- How was he supposed to shed his scales for strangers who were not capable of understanding the game he was forced to play?

The tense, inaudible exchange seemed to stretch on forever; in the end, he was the one who broke and turned back to stare at the cascading locks of red that blocked Ginny from view.

"...I really do think you'd get along," Hermione told him. "If you stopped with all the bullshit."

"And miss out on the chance to ruffle some feathers?" Blaise smirked. "Speaking of... I must take my leave."

Confused by the abrupt farewell, Hermione didn't have the time to reply. He pivoted and sauntered into the small crowd gathered around the latest performer, leaving her alone to remedy the aftermath of his presence.

The stubborn witch was still shifted so that she didn't see her newest foe's retreat. Ginny didn't even acknowledge Hermione's approach until her shoulder was nudged with the bottle of alcohol, an unspoken and disregarded offer of goodwill. "Can I hex him yet?"

"Sure, why not! McGonagall doesn't seem to mind the company. Then again, additional detentions, on top of his, would mean even less time snog... I mean, spending time with Harry..." Hermione jokingly cautioned.

"Might be worth it... A little separation might be just the thing we need to raise the level of desire to 'cop-a-feel' territory!" Ginny contemplated as she finally accepted the presented appeasement and took yet another shot. "Ugh... Where did he end up slithering to now?"

"Scheming up new ways to piss you off, apparently."

"Yay!" Her friend was quiet for a few seconds, taking the time to consume one more sip of the drink in her hand before responding, "Do you think all that spy stuff was nonsense?"

It was Hermione's turn to stay mute as she extracted the bottle and completed the ritual of bringing it to her lips and letting the liquid fire flow down her throat. Once done, she glanced in the direction he had wandered, "No, I believe he was telling the truth."

"Why would he tell us if it was true?"

"A warning? A show of cordiality? A lie to break down my guard?" Hermione sighed and looked into the anxious brown eyes that stared back at her. "He is the only one who knows the actual truth, Gin. I... I just have to trust that there is good in some of them."

"Why, though? Why are you suddenly so insistent they are all misunderstood saints who don't wake up every single morning and decide to be bigoted assholes?" Ginny questioned, eyebrows furrowed with her puzzlement.

"I..."

Her defense of the valid accusation was interrupted by a new song starting. As soon as the buoyant beat of the muggle song hit her ears, Hermione instantly froze.

"Shit!"

No, no, no...

There was no way he was willing to take it this far...