Mariella cont.

I decided to see where his true opinions on the subject were. 

"Let me guess Charlie, you could be the one to do that?" 

"Maybe....." He paused, "Someday ......if you'd let me."

There was silence, then he spoke again. 

"I'd make sure nothing ever happened to you Mari. If you'd let me be that lucky. People can be so ingenuine and, this is cheesy. But i feel like ive never had to be anyone but myself around you."

"You're right." I said with a laugh, "That was cheesy." 

Theo

She looks lovely. More than lovely. 

You know how when you look at the sun and you squint but you know it beautiful. 

She wasnt like that. She was like the moon. 

Beautiful, and amazing and i couldnt stop staring at her. She was smiling and beside her Charlie wore a half smile/smirk. Though he was sweet a sweet guy he always seemed to look like he thought higher of himself than anyone else. 

"I would pay so much money to watch Charlie fall just so he'd stop smiling like that." Draco said in a hushed whisper.

I just stiffled a laugh. 

"She looks so different. But somehow still the same." I leaned over and whispered to Draco. 

"Yeah....but somehow its not just her looks that are different." I nodded, i understood. 

"Do you think we all look like that? Different in so many ways but also the same?" I nodded again. 

"I dont think any of us could stay the same after all of it. That wouldnt be....human." i whispered back to him before looking back at Mari and watching her smile softly and be lead away. 

~~~~

After the first dance i watched as Blaise attempted to escape but was trapped by multiple families trying to show him their daughters. 

This always happened. 

Parents brought their children here looking for a future inlaw and, if they were lucky, a retirement plan. 

Then i remembered something. 

"Draco." 

"Hm?" he turned around, glass of punch already in hand. 

"You have to be nice to the Weasley's." 

He stared at me blankely. 

"And anyone else that is here for Mari."

His eyebrows drew together. 

"Including Ron."

His eyes squinted. 

"And Potter." 

His nose scrunched. 

"Draco. Im serious."

"Okay, okay, okay." he finally agreed. "Im serious I'll be nice. Besides i want to put all of that stuff behind me. I'd be more worried about Pansy."

I rolled my eyes. Post war pansy was much different than Pre war pansy. 

I knew she had already talked to Ginny (though im not sure about the other Weasley's). Though they had kept that fact quiet. She had mended that fence about a month ago. 

I watched as Mari was swarmed my parents with sons in tow. And after a few moments she decided to dance again and Charlie lead her to the dance floor. Something in my stomache twisted. 

"Only four ice sculptures of animals? Wow you would think that they would have gone all out." a voice snorted sarcastically. 

We turned to see Pansy smirking with a glass of amber liquid in her hand. 

"Draco get some sleep, merlin you look like hell." She laughed and pushed between the boys as they all smiled. 

"Says the girl who will be completely plastered in about two hours give or take." Draco replied snarkely. 

"Where's Blaise?" she asked sipping her drink. 

"Somewhere in a swarm of parents who are desperately looking for a way to not have to work anymore. " Pansy smiled into her cup at Theo's response. 

"Wow imagine. Im so surprised." Pansy's voice dripped with sarcasm. She was in fact, not surprised at all. 

"Imagine that you three standing around while i narrowly escape some of these parents with my life. I swear their out for blood tonight." Blaise had finally escaped the madness and managed to find his friends. 

"If it isn't Mister "i have a secret sister" himself." Pansy said slightly bitterly, but mostly kidding. 

"Alright i swear i wasnt allowed to tell anyone. So you can stop acting all-"

"But you told Theo." Pansy retorted, I grimaced. Please do not drag me into this. 

"How do you know that i told Theo." Blaise sighed rubbing his hands over his face dramatically. 

"Because Draco told me that you told Theo first.  And by the way you told Draco before me."

"Also Ast." Draco interjected. 

"NOT helping mate." Blaise hissed. 

"Okay i swear you knew as soon as i was allowed to tell people. ANd lets not make this about me please?"

There was a silence and suddenly Pansy cracked a smile. 

We all knew she wasnt really mad. She didnt stay mad about stuff like this for long. 

"So....where is she?" Pansy asked in a whisper. 

"Last time i saw her she was in a mob of parents and then she disappeared. I assumed she came over here to find you guys. Or went to find her friends."

Pansy looked around before pulling Blaise into a corner of the room. Draco and I followed after not being told explicitly to stay. 

"You said she was  someone we knew in school. And that now she looks different but.....well i read the letter. Who was she?"

Blaise whispered into Pansy's ear. 

"Holy.....Dear merlin.....damnit." Pansy mumbled as her brain processed the information. 

She wasnt as dense as people thought she was. In school that was a facade she put on. It made her less threatening and people underestimated her. But around the rest of us. Well she always let us know exactly how much to estimate her. 

"Well.... looks like this would be a perfect time to make the next stop on the Parkinson apology tour.

Do not forget, my lovely literature consumer, that there is something very specific that worried the Zabini twins about this night. The coming to ahead of two friend groups meeting. Two differing worlds colliding and either emerging connected or destroyed. I have not forgotten about those two worlds.... and i hope neither have you. 

Mariella

Once our second dance had ended I slipped through the crowd and looked around the room swiftly to find Ginny.

She was no where to be found. 

But, I did find a few more awkward conversations with over zelious parents.

I drank some punch and found Blaise standing near a table of people laughing. 

I approached him and pegged him in the back of the arm. 

"Hey!" he said rubbing his arm grumpily. 

"That's what you get for leaving me alone to fend off the dragons back there." I said with a smile. 

I looked around the table and smiled at the abundance of familiar faces. Seemingly getting along

"You did kind of leave her surrounded by wolves." Pansy interjected. 

"Honestly some people." Ginny snorted. 

Blaise stood mouth gaping, "Don't you two dare go ganging up on me. I came to find her because i though she was with you and i was going to go look for her once i discovered she wasn't." He defended himself. 

"Sure. Sure. Whatever you say mate." Draco scoffed and took a long drink from his glass. 

"Hey, can i talk to you?" Pansy asked, raising her eyebrow. 

"Sure..." She pulled me to the side of the room and began to talk in a hushed whisper. 

"Its lovel-"

"Nope." She held up one finger sufficiently cutting me off, "Lets cut to the chase. I know who are...were? whatever. You get it. I wanted to apologize for the way i treated you. I was going to do it a while ago but you were MIA and i didnt know how to find you. or where to even send a letter. So i waited. But now seems like the perfect time to say that i have been a prick and that i am deeply sorry for the way that we were pitted against each other. You dont have to accept my apology. That your business whether to do that or not. I however will be sorry no matter what Granger." Pansy sighed signalling that she was finished. 

"Lets leave it all in the past. I accept your apology and i think we should just... move on" Pansy smiled at my response.

"And cal me Mari." I said as we began to walk back to the others.

"Mari..Yeah okay... i can get behind that." she chuckled.

Pansy arrived back at the table happy and with a new respect for each other, while moods at the table seemed to have shifted.

"Oh screw you." George said glaring at Ron.

"What? Im just supposed to sit here and accept the fact that she hangs out with people like this now?" Ron said angrily.

"People like what? Deatheaters? Is that it?" Draco spat.

"Both of you stop." Theo said placing his hands on the table attempting to calm the boys down.

"I'm not saying that you guys are still bad but.....look around. This isnt Hermione." Ron said trying to reason out his point.

"She's not the same person anymore she's changed. So maybe this is her Ron, get over yourself." George hissed, folding his arms in front of him.

"I mean. He's got a point....she was never really into this kind of stuff before." Harry said, i could see a line being drawn. Dividing the people in front of me.

Pansy and I stood back, watching it all unfold.

"Really Harry? You're going to side with Ron?" Ginny cocked her eyebrow as if calling into question his judgment.

"I'm not taking sides. There aren't sides to be taken! Im just saying that maybe....well maybe she's rushing into this life without thinking."

"Im sorry but you are going to try and sit here and tell me-"

"Alright lets just calm down," Theo interrupted again.

"No no no," George continued, "You are going to sit there and try and tell me that you think she of all people would rush into something without thinking?"

"Well okay maybe not that she wasnt thinking. Just....." Ron continued.

"Just what?" Blaise finally broke in. He had been silent the whole time but i guess he had finally decided enough is enough.

"Just that maybe she needs to leave here in order to go back to who she really is." There was a brief silence....then Draco spoke.

"Okay what the hell is wrong with you?" This was the wrong thing to say....or maybe it was exactly what Draco had wanted to say.

"What's wrong with me?" Ron scoffed.

"Ron lets calm down." Harry said with a glare.

"'Who she really is" come on, you've go t to understand how ridiculous you sound." George scoffed.

"Yeah- you sit around here and act like she's been kidnapped." Draco was leaning back in his chair and Ron's face was turning red.

"Well maybe she was we dont know." Ron was now sufficiently aggravated.

"She wasn't kidnapped and you know that." Ginny retorted shortly.

"Really? Do i? Because the Hermione i know would never leave us. We are a family."

"Really?" Draco broke in, "Because a family is happy for each other. They support each other. And you're not doing either of those things right now."

"Oh shove off. Like you know what a real family is supposed to act like." As Ron spoke, Draco's hand curled into tight fists.

"Ron that was too far." George said scowling.

"You know what." Blaise broke in, "I just think you can't stand the fact that she finally has people around her who love and care about her. The fact that she found her family."

"WE. are her family." Harry snapped.

There were a few moments of silence.

Then Blaise spoke again.

"Then where the hell were you this summer huh? I spent my whole summer scowering the entire face of the earth to find her- where the hell were you? Where the hell were you when she needed you? When she was scared and alone? Where you looking for her? Because i couldn't sleep not knowing if she was safe. I couldn't bare to even think of the fact that she might be hurt or even worse dead. So were you lying awake at night? Were you doing everything you could to make sure that she was okay? Or were you at home in your nice warm bed. Some family you were when she needed you. Forgetting about her to go on your press circuits and interviews. Some family you two were."

Pansy coughed and suddenly the whole table was puled out of their little bubble and back to reality.

As the table turned to look at the two women standing there. I decided it was my turn to talk.

"You really couldn't make it one night without fighting? Its ridiculous. All of you."

"Mari I'm-" I held up a finger cutting Blaise off.

"Here's the deal. I am happy. No one kidnapped me. Yes Harry, you and Ron abandoned me this summer and never really gave me any reason for it and that hurt so bad. But we've kind of already had this conversation. You both still mean a lot to me. Just as all of the Weasley's mean a lot to me. But i do have a blood family that ive just found. And they mean a lot to me too. SO im not going to sit around and pretend that they don't exist. What i will NOT tolerate is you two being inconsiderate brats while I try to make sense of all of this."

The table just stared at her.

"I will be stepping outside to get some air and when i return i hope you will have sorted this out."

Then i turned quickly on my heel and headed toward the garden.

Hoping they would grow up for a moment and solve their problems.

"I know." i heard someone whisper as i headed toward the garden. I stopped, not wanting to eavesdrop but also not wanting to walk in on their conversation.

"This is it, this is the one chance you get." I felt like i had hear that voice before, very briefly. Was it one of the parents from tonight?

"I know dad....i know." This conversation felt weirdly personal maybe i should just go out through another door.

"If you don't lock her down tonight. We need the money Charlie."

Charlie.

Despite the weird feeling i got from deciding to see what was going on, i stayed where i was.

"I know Dad. I know. Everything is going to be fine. I've layed on the charm thick. She just keeps getting pulled away from me or going off to see her friends and-"

"Screw the friends-" His father spoke again, "We've made promises Charlie. We need the money. We need this in order for us to be able to sit back and relax. We've worked so hard."

"I promise dad. Everything is going to work out just like we talked about. She'll be swooning and begging to get married by the end of the night. And within a few months we'll be living the easy life."

"HEhem." I coughed as i walked around the corner.

"Mari! Hey, how're you feeling?" Charlie said sweetly.

I remained silent.

"My dad and i just stepped away to get some air, i swear there's so much room and somehow i still feel like there are people everywhere. Do you want to go back and dance or-"

"Actually i think it would be best if we dont dance anymore. Don't want me to swoon and trip you up." His eyes widened. "Or even worse. Beg to get married by the end of the night."

Charlie's mouth was gaping open, "Mari i can explain. Its not what it-"

"All that talk of genuine people. And yet here you are the same as the rest you prat."

"Mari it, I, i mean, I really like you."

"Charlie, i think it would be best if you stopped talking. But please do enjoy the rest of the party if you want. Though now that you know our train stops hear you might as well head home." Charlie lowered his head and sighed, his father behind him in complete shock.

I walked swiftly thorugh them, pushing them to the sides and toward the double doors to the garden that they were blocking.

"Oh and Charlie?" i called over my shoulder as i opened the doors.

His head perked up, a small glimmer of hope shinning in his eyes.

"I dont need anyone to take care of me. I do just fine by myself thank you."

The night could be going better...... well wasn't that the understatement of the century.