Blaire Zabini || Draco Malfoy

20 - Hidden Treasures

"You seem a little distracted lately, Blaire."

I closed my eyes and tried not to sigh as I felt Cedric's lips brush against mine.

The problem was, I couldn't stop thinking about Draco.

Two months had passed since my birthday and he still refused to talk to me.

I had tried to apologise to him time and time again but he kept shutting me down, not wanting to listen; avoiding walking with me between classes and making excuses not to work on homework together.

At Easter, I had even bought him a bag of little white chocolate ferrets with a note attached, reading: You will always be the cutest one, B x

He looked me right in the eye as he tossed it into the common room fire.

"Sorry," I mumbled, pulling away from Cedric. "I've just got a lot on my mind at the moment."

His eyes instantly narrowed. "I assume you're referring to the ferret? If he's going to continue acting childishly about you being in a relationship, then you are better off without him."

"Don't call him that," I said, my chest tightening unpleasantly. "And he's every right to be mad because he was looking forward to celebrating my birthday with me and I just kind of forgot about it... about him."

"So?" Cedric scoffed as he sat back languidly in his chair and started to toss a gold coin into the air. "It was your birthday, not his. Nobody could blame you for wanting to spend it celebrating your boyfriend's victory at a once in a lifetime tournament. Besides, it's not as though you haven't tried to apologise. If he's not willing to forgive you then maybe you just need to let it go; let him go."

"Yeah," I muttered, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling stirring in the pit of my stomach.

I tried to turn my attention back to my Charms essay, but I couldn't concentrate. The library was stuffy and I found myself constantly looking up at the sound of the door opening, disappointment hitting me whenever I looked up to see who had walked in... or more like who hadn't.

Cedric continued to toss the coin, the sight of it distracting me to the point of irritation. I just wanted to snatch it out of his hand and throw it hard against the bookshelves.

"Don't you have any homework to do?" I enquired, trying not to sound irritated.

"Nah," Cedric shrugged. "Perks of being champion. The professors just want me to concentrate on preparing myself for the third task."

"But won't you fall behind next year at school?" I asked, thinking that Snape certainly hadn't been granting Harry the same privilege in Potions because of it.

"I'll wing it," he smirked self assuredly, tossing the coin once again.

Seeing red, I angrily reached my hand out and snatched it mid-air. Ignoring Cedric's startled expression, I tossed his stupid coin across the room where it bounced off a second year Gryffindor's head who happened to be innocently browsing the self-help section.

"Okay, that's it," Cedric said, immediately leaning forward to whip the unwritten essay out from underneath me.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he stuffed the parchment in his own bag, before grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. "I need to finish that. It's due in tomorrow."

"I'll have a word with Flitwick for you," he said authoritatively, "in the meantime, you're coming with me."

Feeling too mentally exhausted to argue, I let him lead me out of the library, through the school halls and out into the grounds.

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking up at him in confusion as we headed in the direction of the Quidditch pitch.

"To take your mind off things," he grinned mysteriously down at me, letting go of my hand to drape his arm over my shoulders.

He said no more until we reached our destination. My jaw dropped open as I stared at what I could have sworn should have been the Quidditch pitch.

But instead of a wide open space, a huge maze stood before us; hedge walls dauntingly high, looking almost eerie against the darkening night sky.

"What the hell-?"

"It's something else, isn't it?" Cedric beamed, pulling me tightly to him as he kissed the top of my head. "The third task, Blaire; the final hurdle."

"It's... kind of creepy looking," I said, shivering, despite the unnaturally mild April evening.

"It's beautiful," Cedric breathed, his face full of complete awe as his dancing eyes swept longingly across the perimeter. "And this baby's still got two months left to grow."

"I hate mazes," I said wrinkling my nose, finding myself pressing my body further into Cedric's as a strange sort of cold feeling crept over me. "That fear of getting lost in there forever... never to come out alive again."

Cedric chuckled above me, tightening his arm around my shoulders. "Nonsense. It's a thing of natural beauty, getting ready to welcome it's players into its arms. Imagine the treasures it holds inside... man, I can't wait to find out."

"Let's go back to the castle," I said, suddenly desperate to get as far away from it as possible. "Please."

He seemed reluctant to leave, not being able to tear his eyes away from the dark brooding hedges that loomed over us.

In the end, I managed to drag him away, and the second we arrived back in the Entrance Hall, Cedric pulled me into a quiet corner under the stairs and crashed his lips hungrily down upon mine, kissing me with a shocking ferocity as his hands hungrily ran up and down the length of my body, pulling me in close.

Evidently visiting the maze had got him going.

Each to their own, I suppose.

"I've got a private room, Blaire," he panted breathlessly, cupping my face in his long slender fingers as he looked down at me with hungry, swirling eyes.

My stomach gave an unexpected plunge causing my already racing heart to pound uneasily against my ribcage. I tried to stem the wave of panic that flowed throughout me; we hadn't talked about sex before, and I'd presumed it was because Cedric guessed that I wasn't ready, what with having just turned fifteen and all.

"You don't have to say anything," he quickly added, obviously sensing my apprehension. "I just thought I'd put it out there... you know?"

"I- I better get back," I said, sweeping my tongue over my suddenly dry lips, not being able to meet his eyes. "It's getting late."

Disappointment flooded his face, but he didn't voice it. "I'll walk you down," he muttered, turning away from me as he rubbed the back of his neck.

A stiff, uncomfortable silence fell between us as we made our way down to the dungeons. It felt like an eternity had passed by time we reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room, and I felt oddly relieved at the prospect of getting inside away from him.

But, just as I mumbled an awkward goodbye and turned to go through the wall, he reached out and grabbed my arm.

Startled, I looked back at him over my shoulder; his grey eyes piercing intently into mine.

"You know," he said in a silky, low voice, "I've always admired how mature you are for your age. It's what drew me to you in the first place."

Something flashed in his eyes that I hadn't seen before. I swallowed, looking down to where his hand was still tightly gripping my arm.

Following my gaze, he slowly let go, taking a step back.

"Goodnight, Blaire," he murmured softly, his warm, charming smile returning. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Sure," I shrugged, trying once again to ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Goodnight."

It had been an odd evening, I thought as I climbed into bed that night, my mind casting back to that sinister maze and the strange way Cedric had reacted to it.

I was getting a bad feeling about this third task.

*****