Aconite - Dramione/Blinny

Ch. 5

Hermione's cabin was situated on one of the more secluded areas around Derwentwater, which she liked because it was near the muggle town of Keswick and wasn't entirely cutoff from civilization. The cabin was practically invisible to any passing muggles after all of the protective spells and charms that Hermione had placed on the cabin, and the only other person who knew of its location was Ginny.

She knew something was off the moment her feet touched the ground after seeing Ginny pacing back and forth across the deck of the cabin.

"Okay, what's going on?" Hermione asked as she made her way up the steps and opened the door.

Ginny didn't answer, instead rushing in and immediately going to the kitchen for two wine glasses and a bottle opener, pulling a large bottle of wine out from her bag. Hermione was starting to get worried at Ginny's silence, but she let her friend gather her thoughts and waited patiently in the living room.

After a few moments, Ginny appeared with the open bottle in her hand and two glasses in the other, a nervous look plastered on her face. She kept sighing as she paced again in the living room, running a hand through her hair.

"I don't know where to start," She said finally.

"Well, why don't you tell me how you and Blaise started talking?" Hermione asked, grabbing the bottle and pouring a glass for Ginny who eagerly took it.

"That works." After taking a sip of the wine, Ginny started pacing again more slowly than before, taking a bit of time to gather her thoughts.

"It honestly started during my fifth year, when we were all in the Slug Club together," Ginny began. "After I made that comment about him posing; apparently it amused him."

She smiled slightly at the memory and then went on. "Well, I started getting random notes that didn't have a name on them, but they were definitely for me. They started out as jokes, things like how my hair is so bright it blinds people and stupid things like that. I'd get teased about dating Dean too. But then the notes starting becoming more sweet and romantic, like checking in on me to make sure I was alright after Dean and I would have a fight. Ron and I were fighting as well then, and he must've seen because he'd ask me about that too."

"I'm guessing the notes came from Blaise," Hermione said as Ginny sat down on the couch finally.

Ginny nodded. "He made a joke during Slughorn's Christmas party that I knew because he had written it to me before and that's when I caught on. I think he wanted me to find out without actually telling me because it was just easier for both of us. With tensions as big as they were between Gryffindor and Slytherin, we didn't need the extra attention. By that point we had become somewhat friends through the notes.

"He would always cheer for me secretly during the games, apparently," Ginny added with a small smile. "He loved the fact that I played quidditch. We talked about it regularly and he was very encouraging about me pursuing it after school. But when Harry and I started dating, he stopped the notes."

She took another drink and continued. "I didn't realize how much he had become a part of my life until that happened. We sent notes back and forth nearly every day between classes and had gotten to know each other really well. And then the end of the school year happened and the summer...he didn't know that Harry had broken up with me after Dumbledore's funeral, and I didn't want to risk sending him notes because I was worried that he was associated with Death Eaters like Draco was. It was just too much of a risk.

"Then the new school year started. We actually ran into each other at King's Cross, and he asked me how I was doing. When I told him that Harry and I had broken up, he was happy but had to hide it. He told me to be careful and stay out of trouble then, making the comment that he knew I attracted trouble. I think he was trying to warn me about the Death Eaters at that point, because he told me to stay in my compartment no matter what.