Blaise was pacing nervously. He had already changed four times. His father had assured him the dinner wasn't going to be fancy, but no matter what he put on, Blaise kept thinking he'd be terribly out of place.

Even though they weren't staying in Italy for the night, he was worried about leaving Kristen and Grace alone. He hated Kristen taking care of Grace by herself, but she had assured him she was more than capable.

For once, Hannah was taking longer than him to get ready.

"Hannah, we don't want to be late!"

Hannah walked out, looking exasperated in her green dress. She was putting her second earring on. "We are not late. Will you calm down?"

Blaise sighed.

Hannah kissed his cheek. He looked so nervous. She was nervous herself, but she had to appear calm for Blaise. Still... what if his family didn't like her?

She looked fabulous, and he had to check himself in the mirror one last time before they went out to the sitting room. That's where the portkey Alessandro had sent was. After taking a deep breath, he led Hannah to the coffee table that held the small pin in the shape of a 'Z'. Suddenly, he turned to Hannah.

"We can always say something came up and reschedule it." Blaise was sure Hannah was tired of hearing all of his excuses, but he was fucking nervous. He was about to meet his step-mother and three half-sisters.

Hannah glared it him. "We are not rescheduling. Put on you big boy pants, Blaise, and let's go."

He took another deep breath and gripped Hannah's hand tight. When Blaise picked up the small pin, the room disappeared around them and they arrived in a large open foyer that had two large staircases on either side. Almost immediately, Alessandro appeared at the top of the stairs and smiled down at them.

"Ah, you have arrived! I hope the trip wasn't too bumpy," he remarked as he made his way down the stairs towards them. "Everyone is very excited to meet you."

Blaise returned the smile and was a bit surprised when Alessandro pulled him into a hug. It was swift, but strong, before his father turned to Hannah and kissed her cheek.

Hannah was blinking. This place was lovely.

"Thank you for having us," she said politely.

It went a lot towards her liking his father that Alessandro had hugged Blaise.

Alessandro pulled back and smiled at both of them. "Come, Gia is still working on dinner. She's just as excited as I am. We're still waiting on our two youngest to arrive. Nora's still in France and Dona's been spending all week with friends and doesn't keep time well."

Blaise and Hannah followed Alessandro through a large hallway and into the kitchen. The architecture in the rooms was stunning. Most of the entrance way in the hallway was stone, and he looked up to see a balcony with iron rails and large chandeliers. Once Blaise's eyes stopped trailing over the moldings and the furnishings, they stopped on a woman who was bustling around the kitchen, humming to herself. When she turned around, her face lit up.

"Lei è qui! Oh you both made it!"

Blaise raised his eyebrows when the woman took off an apron with a smile and came over to them. She stopped in front of him. "Oh Blaise, you look so much like your father. Last time I saw you, you were barely two months old!" She cupped his face in her hands and looked over him with approval. She then turned to Hannah. "And you must be Hannah. Sandro has told me so much about you both. Oh goodness! Miei I modi! I am Giannina. Call me Gia."

Hannah smiled and nodded. The kitchen smelled lovely and looked even more fabulous. She absently started rubbing her hand on the marble top of the center island. It was not as big as the kitchen at Zabini Manor, but no less lovely. She wanted to explore, look at what was in the pantry and the fridge. You could tell a lot about people by the contents of their refrigerator.

"Why don't you give them a tour? I still have a bit to do with the dinner preparation."

There was a commotion outside and a door leading out to a patio beyond the kitchen opened and a young woman rushed in. "Sono tardi! Sono spiacente!" She didn't even stop to greet anyone, but kept running There were footsteps heard on the stairs.

Gia scowled. "Donatella! Voglio che lei pulisce, vestito, e presentabile in cinque minuti, la giovane donna"!" She turned back to Blaise and Hannah, shaking her head. "My youngest. Dona. She'll be ready shortly. Now, the tour? Or if you'd like, you're more than welcome to stay and watch me cook."

Blaise was still a bit in shock seeing his first glimpse of one of his sisters in such a blur. He turned to Hannah. "Would you like to come or stay in the kitchen?"

It was a tough decision, but she was not exactly ready to leave Blaise's side. She thought perhaps he was not ready for her to either. "I'll go on the tour."

She hoped he realized how difficult a decision that had been.

Gia smiled at them and motioned them on. "You are welcome back to help anytime!" She turned and put her apron back on, and started humming again, getting right back into work.

Alessandro gestured them through the hallway and motioned to rooms as they passed. There was a small breakfast area off of the kitchen which opened into a sitting room. There was another open sitting room next to it, and Blaise noticed the piano in the corner with sheet music spread over it.

"Do you play?" he asked Alessandro.

"A bit," he admitted. "The music is Cecelia's. She's the musician of the family. She has a piano in her room as well, that she'll play at all hours. Her room has a permanent silencing charm on it because of that. She says this one has a better sound to it, and prefers this one."

The sitting room opened to the dining room, which held a circular table that would fit eight. Seven places were already set. From the dining room, they went to a patio outside. The air was fresh, and the night flowers that were planted nearby were in bloom. The lawn was large, but the view was beautiful.

The was a loud pop from above them, and Alessandro grinned. "Ah, that would be Nora arriving. How about a quick view upstairs?"

Blaise nodded and when they reached the top of the staircase, his eyebrows rose when there was a woman in a purple dress leaned over a pool table, taking a rather hard shot. She let the cue fly, but the ball she had been aiming for barely missed the pocket.

"Bene la merda," she said, frowning.

Blaise tried to hold in a snicker. When Hannah looked at him, he grinned. "Let's just say the swear jar would have gotten some Italian pocket change."

Hannah smiled. She was just sort of there and smiling. Everyone in Blaise's family was so pretty. She felt a little awkward. She hoped he didn't notice her hands tightening on his arm. What if his sisters didn't like her? What if she was not fabulous enough for their brother? She was just Hannah. Most of her clothing was cotton, and she liked wearing ponytails. She wasn't fancy.

Alessandro glared. "Watch your mouth, Cecelia. We have company."

Cecelia spun around with a grin on her face. "Indeed we do!" She put up the cue stick and walked over to them, standing next to her father. They were the same height. "I feel so tall." Alessandro glanced down at her shoes and then back up with his eyebrows raised. "I know, I know. They're Dona's, and she's so short she has to have heels the size of mountains. But they matched my dress and I liked them."

"You'll have to give them back."

"Only if I can throw them at her face," Cecelia replied with a smile before turning to Blaise. "So I have a brother who's almost prettier than me. That would have been bad if you had been though. And you must be the woman who's marrying into this crazy family. Your picture doesn't do you justice. I'm Cecelia."

"H-Hannah," she said, thrusting out her hand.

She was the shortest person in the room. Everyone else was also much prettier than she was.

Cecelia bent down and kissed both of Hannah's cheeks before grinning at Blaise. "Getting the tour? Nothing very exciting up here besides the bedrooms. The gallery, sitting rooms, and studies are downstairs." She turned to Alessandro. "Is madre done with dinner yet? I'm starving."

"If you're so hungry, why don't you go help her?" Alessandro laughed at Cecelia's disbelieving look and turned to Blaise and Hannah. "Gia is the only one in this family who can cook decently."

"Something that nonna Desi always likes to remind us." She went back to her cue stick and lined up another shot. "She's never forgiven you for having all girls who can't cook."

"Nonna Desi is your grandmother, Desideria," Alessandro explained to Blaise, who was still looking between his sister and Hannah. "She's the cook of the family. Each of her children has had at least one grandchild that can do more than boil water. Except us."

Blaise smirked. "Well, then she'll be glad to have Hannah. She owns her own bakery," he told Cecelia. She instantly perked up and righted herself, leaning on the cue stick.

"You own a bakery? I'll have to come visit. I have a large sweet tooth. You're this family's saving grace," she joked.

Hannah blinked. "Yes. It's in Hogsmeade. Blaise bought the building for me last Valentine's Day. I just hired six more employees, and have an apprentice who has a knack for combining things. She's been trying to convince me that I don't want to bake my own wedding cake. I would be happy to have visitors. Then I could try new things out on you. Kristen and I are constantly experimenting."

"Five minute warning!" yelled Gia from downstairs. Cecelia grinned.

"Go tell Nora and Dona that dinner will be ready shortly," Alessandro told his daughter before beckoning Blaise and Hannah back down the stairs. "I'll give you a proper tour afterward. There are more than just bedrooms upstairs."

Blaise and Hannah followed him down the stairs and back into the kitchen. Gia was busy waving her wand and directing large pans out of the oven.

"Do you need any help?" Alessandro asked, only to receive a humorous glance from his wife.

"From you? No. This is a special dinner for Blaise and Hannah. I don't want it ruined."

Alessandro just chucked. "Would you like to see the wine cellar? I have yet to pick us out a drink for tonight."

Blaise grinned in return, but turned to Hannah. "Now would you like to stay? I know it just about killed you to leave earlier."

"I'll stay."

Hannah kissed his cheek as the men left. She turned to Gia.

"Do you need any help? Not that I presume to know anything about it, but I could carry things out or something or stir. Is there stirring?"

Gia smiled at the young woman. "I hear you're the master baker. You can check on the bread I've been making. Cooking is my specialty. Baking? I am decent."

Hannah smiled. With something to do near an oven, she was less awkward. Hannah tied and extra apron over her dress, donned some mitts and checked the bread. It smelled wonderful. She pulled it out, taking a closer look. Definitely done. She didn't even ask. It was automatic for her. She took a bread knife and started slicing the loaf.

Blaise followed his father into the wine cellar, and his eyebrows rose at the selection. It was larger than any he'd ever owned. Of course, after school, wine was the least of his alcoholic loves. He tended to stray towards much harder drinks.

"This is nice," he said. Alessandro had been looking over a section, but turned back to grin at him.

"I forgot to mention. Your grandparents have a vineyard at their estate. Our family takes great pride in our love of wines."

Blaise shook his head. One more surprising fact about his family. After a pause, he stopped looking around and sighed. "Cecelia seemed nice."

His father let out a satisfied noise when he pulled a bottle and held it up for inspection. "Cecelia is more like you than your other two sisters. Nora often comes across as a bit too smart for her own good, but that's because she is. It's hard to get into rune development, and she takes her job very seriously. Dona, well... Donatella is just out of school and exploring life as a single, adult woman. It's hard watching the baby of the family grow up."

Blaise could agree with that. The Stewarts weren't even his and he was a bit too protective of them. He couldn't imagine what he would do when Grace grew up and started liking boys.

He looked up when his father held up the wine bottle and gestured to the door. Blaise followed as they returned the kitchen around the same time Cecelia and a woman he hadn't seen before joined them.

"Oh il mio Dio, this smells wonderful," Cecelia said with a grin as she looked over the dishes already spread out. After picking a piece of lettuce from the salad bowl, earning a glare from her mother, she gestured to the woman next to her. "Blaise, Hannah, this is Eleonora. Call her Nora. She's the brains in the family."

Nora just gave them a faint smile, straightening out her crisp, black suit. "Ciao."

"Hallo," Hannah said happily, even though she was still, by far, the ugliest person in the room.

She was putting dishes on the table and absently helping. It was something Didly scolded her for often. She was going to be the lady of the Manor. She needed to act like it. Hannah had a hard time with that. If she were busy here, she was not nervous.

Blaise just smiled at another sister. His family was coming out of the woodwork. Nora looked more like Gia than she did his father. Cecelia had her father's cheekbones and eyes, but her mother's mouth.

"Dona! Hurry up! Come meet your brother and his future wife so we can eat! I'm hungry!"

"Cecelia!" Gia snapped as she put out a bowl of fruit on the table. Most of the family had migrated into the dining room. Blaise stood back with his father and watched Gia and Hannah set everything up. Hannah was comfortable here in her element, and that helped him relax. When most everything was set, Hannah drifted over to him. He put his arm around her and grinned.

Heavy footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and then a new face came around the corner. She immediately walked over to Blaise and Hannah and straightened out her red dress.

"Ciao. I'm Dona, the youngest. Sorry I was late. I was shopping and lost track of time." Cecelia snorted, causing Dona to turn around and glare at her before facing Blaise and Hannah again. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I can't wait to hear all about you both."

Alessandro put his arm around Dona and started to lead her towards the table. "Best we stop her now before she talks your ear off." Dona just rolled her eyes.

They all started pulling out chairs at the table. Blaise pulled out Hannah's, and Alessandro immediately did the same for Gia on her other side. Blaise sat next to her, and his father took his other side. Cecelia sat by her father while Dona took her mother's side. Nora took a seat by Cecelia. Blaise had to grin at the familial feeling and was appreciative that Gia had taken the seat next to Hannah. He hoped she wouldn't feel too nervous.

Hannah didn't know what to do. She was not quite used to big dinners with adults. Usually she was serving people at a table this big. Maybe they'd let her do that. It would at least give her something to do with her hands. She didn't know who to speak to, so Hannah just kept silent. She almost wished the children were here. It would give her something to do.

Alessandro started the dinner off my passing around the pasta, and then everyone was grabbing plates and passing them, letting everyone get a bit of everything. Dona let out a moan of appreciate when she took a bite of bread. "This is good, madre. Some of the best you've made."

"Thank Hannah," Gia said, smiling at the woman to her left. "I was prepared to let it go a few more moments, but she saved it. She has her own bakery."

Dona perked up. "Really? Can we come visit and get free samples?" She jerked and glared at Cecelia, reaching under the table to rub her leg. "Perché lei mi ha calciato?"

"You just met her five minutes ago and already want to go snooping about her bakery for food." Her sister made a face but Cecelia spun a pit of pasta on her fork. "Blaise, what do you do? Padre said you work at a clinic. Are you a healer?"

Blaise snorted and took a drink of the wine. "Salazar, no. I'd hex half of them for whining so much. I'm a potions master. I supply the potions."

"Where is the clinic?" Gia asked.

"Hogsmeade, Scotland. Just down the lane from Han's bakery."

"Aww, do you visit her for lunch?" Cecelia said with a grin. Blaise looked up and grinned back at her. He was beginning to see what his father meant when he said Cecelia and Blaise were quite a bit alike.

"Sometimes if I'm not busy. Most of the time I stay away when it's busy, because I'm not exactly on a friendly basis with some of her customers. I have an ex-girlfriend who works there and another who lives above the bakery. Then one of the healers at the clinic takes his lunch with Hannah just to irritate me."

"Neville does not eat lunch with me to irritate you."

Blaise gave her a look.

"Oh you meant Theo. Well, yes. Theo is a bit obnoxious like that, but don't let him fool you about Mac. They're friends. She's going to be a bridesmaid in the wedding... though I am having a bit of trouble getting her to agree to wear a dress. Not that she would go naked or anything."

Hannah blushed. Blaise was supposed to stop her when she started a spazzy babble.

"Any of you, of course, would be welcome in the bakery."

Dona perked up at that.

"You're never going to get her into a dress. Ever. Magpie and dresses do not mix, unless it's a corset and kilt."

"Mac is the Scottish ex-girlfriend, correct?" Alessandro asked Blaise, who nodded. Cecelia's eyebrow went up.

"Your ex-girlfriend is going to be in your wedding? Isn't that weird?"

Blaise nodded his head towards Hannah. "She's doing everything. I'm just showing up."

"Mac has been a good friend to both of us... even though she beat Blaise up once. She's been a great help to me in the bakery. Her whole family has. The only one in the wedding party I am actually worried about making trouble is Draco, and it wouldn't even be he'd make the trouble - the trouble would somehow find him and something will catch afire."

Blaise choked on his wine. Hannah didn't have to mention that Mac had bloodied Blaise up. "Correction. Magpie and her troll of a boyfriend got a few good kicks in while I was on the ground after getting punched twice, thank you. And Draco will not be causing trouble at the wedding. I'm going to have a flame-proof charm put over everything. My goals are to show up and make sure he doesn't screw anything up."

Alessandro chuckled. "That will be very amusing then. Draco strikes me as the type to cause trouble." Cecelia nudged him and he turned to her with a grin. "Think of a blond, male Sofia with a dash of Stasia and Serena thrown in."

"In one person?" Dona asked looking between Blaise and Hannah. "That's rather scary."

"That's Draco in a nutshell," Blaise said with a grin. "We've been friends since we've been born."

Gia turned to Hannah. "I sense that this Draco has many fine stories on Blaise, but you don't happen to have any particular embarrassing ones do you?"

"Besides getting beat up by a girl," Cecelia chimed in before taking a bit of salad. Blaise glared at her and she winked at him.

"Draco delights in seeing a pinched look on Blaise's face. In fact, someone, and Blaise suspected Draco, gifted our youngest foster child with a pony for Christmas. It's definitely Draco's style, but he didn't claim it. He got me a kitten last year and taught it to chew Blaise's socks and shred his clothes. Why don't you tell them what he did for our anniversary?"

Blaise sighed. "I was planning on taking Hannah to Hawaii, and I wanted to surprise. Like an idiot, I asked Draco help get her from her bakery to Hawaii. He grabbed her from behind, put a ski mask over her head, bound her hands, changed her into a bikini, and dropped her on a chaise in our beach house's living room. What was it you told me when I tried to explain my reasoning? Oh yes. You hit me and screeched, It's Draco! and asked me what the hell I had been thinking." Everyone, including the silent Nora, started laughing at that. "I'll never forgive him for that damn cat. The little bugger hates me."

"Soot likes you very much. He just has a funny way of showing it. Like Pansy."

Blaise paused, his fork half-way to his mouth. "What? Pansy? What does she have to with your infernal cat?"

"She has a funny way of showing her affection for you. Did she or did she not hex you at the holiday gathering? Besides, you did get Draco a ferret. Don't try to pretend you are wholly innocent just because your dig on him failed and his is still working."

She looked at the rest of them and explained. "Draco was turned into a ferret by one of our professors in school as a punishment and bounced all around the hall. A little white ferret. That is what Blaise got him. Now Draco carries the thing around in his cloak and baby-talks to it."

"I'm more interesting in the part where you got hexed," Cecelia said with a grin. "Get hexed a lot, do you?"

"Sadly, yes," Blaise replied before turning to Hannah. "One, Pansy hexed me because I left her date in the wards and refused to let him out. We talked that out, and not only do I owe her a few bits of jewelry, but I've promised another shopping trip for her. Two, I am not pretending I am innocent. It's not my fault Draco's screwed in the head and he baby-talks a squeaking rat."

"Your friends sound fun," Dona said.

Blaise snorted. "You have no idea."

"So how did you two meet?" Gia asked.

Blaise immediately started to snicker. How was he supposed to tell his family that he and Hannah met when she walked into a bar on her wedding night and attempted to get drunk? Hannah hit his arm, which just made him laugh harder. "I'm letting you take this one. If I tell it, they'll think I'm telling a bad joke."

Hannah sighed. "I had run out on my wedding and went to seedy bar. Blaise was there. We talked and he helped me home."

She saw some of the looks.

"Perfect gentleman. Gave me a guest room and clothes for the night. In fact, I had to harass him to get him to date me. It really was not until he thought Draco had done something untoward to me that he changed his mind."

That seemed so long ago.

"Another Draco story?" Dona asked.

Alessandro chuckled. "I've heard this one. It involves hexing again."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "He hexed Hannah, stripped her down to her underwear, put her in my bed, and then hid and waited for my reaction."

"He likes your reactions, doesn't he?" Alessandro asked, thinking to when Draco made him hide in the hallway while Blaise came in to reply to Draco's owl.

"Well, he got a well-placed hex for a reply that time."

"Now I really want to meet him," Cecelia said with a grin. "I may stop by sometime this week and introduce myself around. I want to meet all these people and have a bite to eat at the bakery." She smiled at Hannah. "You can use me as a tester anytime."

They had finished the dinner, and Gia sent the dirty dishes into the kitchen with a wave of her wand. "Shall we retire into the sitting room?" She grabbed her wine glass and stood, smiling at Blaise and Hannah. "I'd hate for you to go so soon."

Hannah was anxious to check on Grace, but she didn't want to be rude. Kristen was with her, and she said she could handle it.

"If Blaise would like, but we do have to be back by bedtime. Grace will want to be tucked in and she's rather fond of Blaise being the one who does so."

"Ten more minutes," Gia said with a small smile. Everyone stood and made their way into the sitting room closest to the dining room. Alessandro summoned two of the chairs from the adjoining room and sat in one, while his wife took the other. Blaise and Hannah took the couch, leaving two chairs empty. Nora and Dona took the chairs, but Cecelia went straight to the piano. She moved some sheet music off the bench and sat, letting her fingers run over the keys lightly before she began to play.

Blaise didn't recognize the music, and he knew she wasn't playing the music on the stand in front of her.

"Cecelia likes to 'mindlessly play' as she puts it. Before arthritis set in, your grandfather would also play just like she does," Alessandro looked over at the grinning Cecelia with pride.

He tightened his arm around Hannah and took a sip from the wine in his hand. The fire was warm in front of them, and the lights were dimmed. It was cozy here.

This was nice. Comfortable. Talking through dinner had finally put Hannah at ease. It seemed no one was going to announce that Hannah was not good enough for Blaise and demand she stop seeing him.

"Blaise plays also," she added.

Cecelia immediately stopped playing and looked over at her brother. "You do?"

Blaise shrunk back a bit from the intense stares. "I've taken lessons when I was really young, but I didn't do that well. I don't like to read sheet music. I play more by ear."

"Me as well," Cecelia said smiling and motioned him over. "Come on. You have to play something before you go."

"I haven't played anything in forever. I just haven't had the time. I'm pretty rusty and I don't think anything I would play would sound very decent." With all the expectant looks around him, Blaise sighed. "One song, then we have to get back." He mocked glared at Hannah as he made his way over to the piano.

Hannah just smiled. She would have to make sure he had more time to play. Grace liked it. Hannah liked it as well. He played nicely. Hannah had always thought so. She leaned back and just listened to him play with a small smile on her face. There was a word for this... content. Finally, she was contented.

Blaise sat at the bench that Cecelia had widened so they could both sit and he wouldn't be cramped. He sighed, not knowing what to play. Deciding to just play whatever he felt like playing, he started off simple, in the treble. As his pace grew a bit, so did the notes. He couldn't stop the small grin on his face as the piece took off.

Cecelia stared at Blaise's hands as they danced across the keys. Didn't do well, indeed. He was a phenomenal player. He reminded her of a few people she knew that she had taken lessons with, who really felt the music they played. The piece had started off very slow, soft, and simple. She knew when he was comfortable with where his hands were when the notes flowed together and smoothed out.

At first she had thought that maybe Blaise telling the truth when he said he wouldn't sound that decent, but his piece was incredible, and he just seemed to make it up as he went. Maybe he had been practicing it off and on, but they had similar styles of playing.

Alessandro couldn't help smiling at the picture of his son and daughter at the piano together, and listening to Blaise play. Gia shared his smile and he took her hand across the gap that separated their chairs. He hoped to have many more nights like this.

When Blaise finished the piece, he sat in silence. When he looked and saw Cecelia staring at him with wide eyes, he leaned away. "What?"

"Ciò era uno dei più bei pezzi musicali che mai ho sentito."

Blaise grinned. "Ringraziarla. Sono contento che lei ha piaciuto esso." He turned to Hannah as he stood. "One song as promised, and now we really do have to go."

Hannah did not rise quickly. "We want you all to visit, of course. Just let me know. I'll have to plan my meal carefully."

Blaise put his arm around Hannah's waist. "You'll have to come for dinner. I'll invite some friends, Draco included."

Everyone stood. Nora and Dona stood back and smiled while Cecelia became bold and gave both Blaise and Hannah a hug. Gia followed suit and hugged Blaise tightly. Blaise was a little overwhelmed when Alessandro stepped up behind her and hugged Blaise. He didn't think he had been hugged this many times since he had gotten drunk in seventh year.

"The return portkey is on the side table in the foyer," Alessandro said. "I'll walk you out."

Gia hugged Hannah before Alessandro led them out. "Owl me if you need anything. It was so wonderful to meet you."

"Likewise. Next time we shall have to bring Grace and Kristen. Then the others when they are not in school."

Hannah gave Blaise's father a light hug and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for not being like her, for accepting and welcoming us," she whispered.

"Thank you for treating my son better than she ever could," he whispered in return. As he led them back to the foyer, he heard Gia giving orders for clean up in rapid Italian, and the groans from all three daughters. Once they reached the foyer, he pointed to a small key on the side-table. "It's a key to the front door. You're both in the wards, so it's not really needed, but after it's used as a portkey, you can keep it to remind you you're both welcome here."

Blaise gave his father a smile. "Expect a dinner invitation soon. Ready?" he asked Hannah.

Hannah just nodded. They both touched the portkey and it zipped them back to Zabini Manor. They were almost instantly set upon by Grace... in a towel with wet hair.

"Blaise! Hannah!"

"Grace!" Kristen was chasing after her.

Not even his extraordinary good mood could stop the panic that came from acknowledging their was about to be a wet child clinging to his suit. Hannah managed to intercept her, and Blaise breathed a sigh of relief. "Right. Next time we go out, we'll let Draco deal with the wet four year old."

Kristen was look bedraggled. Hannah smiled at her. "Just let me change, and I'll handle this." Hannah looked at Blaise. "Oh right. Then we'd come home to the both of them running around in towels and something on fire. Not appropriate at all."

Blaise just grinned and kissed Hannah's temple before addressing Grace. "Get ready for bed and I'll be up shortly to tuck you in. No story tonight though, it's late."

"Just a short one. Pleeeeeease?"

"Blaise said not tonight," Hannah replied. "Go with Kristen and get your hair dried and get in your jimjams."

Grace pouted.

He sighed. "A very short one, and that's only if you do exactly what Kristen says and get ready quickly." Blaise shrugged at Hannah's exasperated look. "It's just a short one."

Grace giggled and ran towards her room. Kristen followed. Hannah was still giving Blaise a look.

"What?"

"Someone has someone else wrapped around her little finger. Utterly."

Blaise frowned. "Do not. I just haven't told her one in a while and we've got to make up for not being here for dinner. That's all."

"Mmmm-hmmm," Hannah replied with a knowing smile on her face. "Keep telling yourself that's why. You just don't like the pouty face."

He decided not to say anything but stuck his tongue out at her. She just rolled her eyes.



[Summary]: Blaise and Hannah travel to Italy and meet Blaise's family.

Note: Any Italian was done with a free translator. Ergo, it's not really a correct Italian sentence or anything.

The song Cecelia plays is just the first minute of this piece by Jim Brickman. The piece Blaise pays is called Sunrise by Doug Hammer.