Hannah had dropped by unexpectedly. She had very nearly worn the pink corset just to mess with him. Instead she was just in the new pair of jeans she'd gotten and one of her old Hufflepuff tee shirts. One she, in all honesty, had not worn since she gotten her boobies. It had fit too snug for her tastes after that. She felt like snug today though.

She was waiting in the main sitting room. Hannah turned when she heard Blaise enter. She flashed her sunny smile at him. It was easier to figure out her reactions to his presence now that she was aware that she fancied him.

Blaise grinned at the sight of her in the new jeans, and wasn't about to complain about the rather nice-fitting t-shirt.

"Enjoying your new wardrobe? I'm curious what Potter had to say about the new you. Did he see you in the dress? Or the corset?"

"Only you have seen the dress or the corset," Hannah said smiling.

Hannah was about to say something else when a house-elf popped in next to her and tried to hand her a bra. Hannah's eyes were wide.

"Um, thank you, but no," she looked at Blaise in confusion and noticed he had an odd look on his face.

"Miss is leaving her under the clothes in the house."

"No," Hannah said slowly. "That is not mine."

"Master is bringing blondes home, and she is leaving under her clothes clothes in master's room."

Hannah suddenly felt like she'd been punched in the chest. She couldn't breathe right. She looked at Blaise, trying to keep the hurt out of her eyes but knowing she was failing. "Oh."

"Oh fuck," Blaise mumbled, rubbing his forehead. He looked up and sighed. "Bavvy, those are not Hannah's. They're someone else's. Please just put them back in my room, and I'll return them later."

He looked up at Hannah's face and laughed nervously. "Sorry about that. I guess she thought you were... someone else."

"Obviously," Hannah said, trying not to completely fall apart. Oddly, she felt almost like the day she opened that envelope of pictures, but somehow this stung more. "Out of somewhat morbid curiosity, who would she have suspected I was?"

"Hannah," Blaise said in a warning tone. "Drop it, alright? It was nothing. You don't have to worry about it."

"I just want to know." Who's better than me... why it couldn't have been me.

"Drop it."

She was shaking a little from upset. "Is it someone I know?"

She didn't know why it mattered, but now all she could see in her head was him and some faceless blonde. Hannah didn't know why she needed a face to go with the distorted images in her mind.

"I said to drop it."

"If it was nothing, as you say, why can't you tell me?" She could feel her composure slipping, her mask cracking a bit. Hannah had held on to a mostly-happy face through this Wayne mess. She hadn't really cared for Wayne in a while. She knew that now. This was different. She felt alive around Blaise Zabini. Free. He'd reached out and snatched her interest when she hadn't even been looking. "Just say. Please."

"I'm not saying anything because it's obviously upsetting you, Merlin knows why!" Blaise shouted. He didn't meant to get so riled up, but the whole reason with his one night with Lovegood was so that he could get Hannah out of his brain, and here she was, making a big deal out of something he tried so desperately to keep hidden. "Now just drop it."

She'd jumped when he'd shouted. Then she went instantly still. Like an animal that was afraid sudden movements would tip off the predator nearby. Then she recalled he was not Wayne. She didn't know why she always reacted that way to a man shouting, but she did. Hannah couldn't put her finger on it. It hadn't started until after she'd been dating Wayne for a bit. She always bristled when a man shouted or became loud. She also tensed, like she was expecting... something.

But he wasn't Wayne. Blaise encouraged her to be herself, to react how she felt like reacting.

"No."

He looked at her. "No?"

"That's right... no. I won't drop it. You can't make me drop it. You can't make me do anything I don't want to do," she was gaining volume with every word. "I don't belong to you! I'm not a thing! If I want to know something, I think I should be able to know it! TELL ME!"

"The fuck, Hannah! DROP IT!"

"TELL ME!"

"LOVEGOOD!" Blaise shouted back before sagging back into his seat. "It was the Ravenclaw the year behind us, Luna Lovegood. She was at a club I was at, we both wanted to just forget something for a night, and we agreed we were both the way to do it. Happy now?"

That would be a resounding world of no. Hannah actually put a hand to her chest like she'd been hit there. It didn't help to know, but she knew that. Knowing in situations like these never helped. Sometimes it made it worse because then you have the whole picture. Before she could stop herself, her eyes filled with tears. She had no right to be upset about this. No right at all. He didn't owe her anything. He had no loyalty to her. They'd declared nothing.

Well, maybe she should. Maybe he should know that she suspected she had a terrible crush in him.

"Stupid Hannah," she said quietly to herself. "If the likes of Wayne Hopkins did not even want you, why on earth would Blaise?"

"What did you just say?" Blaise asked. All her heard was 'Stupid Hannah' and her idiot of an ex-fiance's name.

"It was nothing."

"Oh no. If I have to tell you about my one night stand, which is entirely not your business, then you have to tell me what you just whispered."

Now or never, she decided.

Hannah stalked up to him, eyes watery with unshed tears. "I said I'm stupid because I want you, and you obviously don't want me."

Everything out in the open, well mostly, Hannah started heading for the door. She couldn't quite breathe anymore, and she needed to go before she started crying in earnest. She always got too attached to people too quickly. She was also too sensitive for her own good. There was also the small fact that half of this really wasn't about him. A small part of her was reliving and finally, in some way, wholly dealing with finding out that Wayne was cheating on her. She'd packed that away and cried a bit, but not really for that part of it.

Blaise let out his breath in an incredulous laugh. "Oh fuck, you've got to be kidding me. Girls like you don't like blokes like me. It just doesn't happen. They're train wrecks! Why do you think I had that fucking one night stand, with Lovegood of all people?! I had to get you out of my system. Us being friends is fine but anything past that will never work!" He huffed. "I won't let it."

Hannah's whole body jolted to a stop, her hand on the door knob. Against her better judgement, she turned and looked at him. She didn't really know what to say to that.

"Good to know," she managed as the first of the tears started falling. "That yet again I am not worth touching."

And that was it for her, she let out this broken sound. Feeling wretched and pathetic, she turned and yanked the door open violently.

"Shit," he whispered. "Draco is the one who constantly fucks his words up, not me."

Blaise sighed. "Hannah," he said loudly, making her pause. "See? This is why girls like you shouldn't get involved with guys like me. I'll hurt you, Han, without meaning to. I'm not a saint like Potter. I fuck up so much it would make your head spin. I know your view of perfect is different than mine, but we couldn't even compromise. It's not worth breaking your heart. It's just not. Not over me, at least."

He was hating himself right now. Hannah was different than any other girl he'd ever known and he had royally screwed things up. This was easier, and also familiar. He was used to having fights with women and them leaving in tears, but this time... this hurt so much more than any of the others. For once, it actually hurt. Especially when he saw how much she wanted to cry.

"Go find a nice bloke, have a family, and live in happy mediocrity. Life with me will only destroy you. You aren't fit for my world."

If he was telling her to go on, to say goodbye to anything more than being his friend, she was going to do it right. She just let herself go on a cry silently as she closed the space between them. She was really tired of having to give up what she wanted though.

"How I do wish you would have let me try. If I'd wanted happy mediocrity, I'd have married Wayne, and you don't know what I'm fit for."

That said, she did something she'd been dying to do for years. Hannah Abbott really kissed someone. Like she'd said a kiss should be. Passionate. She poured herself into it, and the world stopped moving for just a moment - just like she'd always wanted it to. She'd wrapped her arms around him and somehow her feet weren't on the ground any longer. Her arms were holding on to his shoulders. She was just lost, so lost in the feel of him.

Until Hannah shoved back. She stumbled until she found her balance. Hannah backed out the door slowly, crying. Then she apparated to Grimmauld Place.

Blaise just stared at the door. He honestly didn't know what to say or do. Or he didn't up until the point where Hannah walked out. Now... now he didn't want to talk. He'd owl or go by Draco or Tracey's tomorrow, but now... he just wanted to get drunk and forget this whole thing ever happened.

"Didly! Get me some firewhisky. NOW!"


{SUMMARY} Hannah finds out about Blaise and Luna because apparently all blondes look alike to some house-elves.