CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN:
( the wedding )

▂✫⌒*･ﾟ

SPENCER STARES AT HERSELF in the mirror. Her hair is parted through the middle all curled up curtsy by Ginny. Simple and yet radiating with it being still long. It is then she remembers that she has to cut it, but perhaps it will be better after the wedding. Today is the day that Fleur Delacour will marry Bill Weasley— today. She is beginning to feel nostalgic and it is not even her wedding. The dress she is wearing comes from Fleur since it had been her idea that the bridesmaids will have golden dresses. However, they are all different in design. Ginny's is a bit longer from the bottom and has mid-sleeves while hers has a simple strap holding it together and is considered shorter which quite honesty compliments her legs so she does not mind too much. Although, part of her feels slight exposed despite her parts not being shown. It's just the feeling! She fixes the strap and stares at herself. With Ginny's help, her makeup somehow manages to look good since her lips are colored in a dark red. Staring at herself in the mirror reminds her of when she would be restless and while nightmares still resurface a few times, Spencer sleeps better in the Burrow than anywhere else.

"You look great," Daniel's voice from behind her makes Spencer turn around. He is staring at her with a proud smile on his face. The young man is wearing a fancier suit than he normally does. Arms crossed showing his muscled biceps that she knows will have women (and Charlie by the looks of it) fawn over him— it is a Montague trait to be incredible good-looking.

The young girl smiles at her brother, turning around with her hand carelessly fiddling around with her necklace. His eyes trail down to it and somehow softens his gaze at the noticeable ring beside the magical stone. He only glances back up when Spencer turns elsewhere, a bag on the side appearing and weighing light, but he knows it is filled with necessaries. Daniel frowns in thought as he notices his sister keep the bag by her side and stares at it curiously.

"Are you taking that?" He asks with conflicted tone, not out of judgement but pure worry. Daniel steps in closer and closes his eyes, an evident expression of aghast at the reminder that actual kids are fighting in this unspoken war. Spencer nods, letting her hands sweep carefully among her waist to flatten the dress down. She lifts the bag up and stares at him questioningly. "Can you make it small? So it could fit with the ring in the necklace?"

He takes out his wand before then smiling warmly. "I have a better idea," Daniel decides, stepping to the side and holding out his arm. Spencer realizes his awfully obvious intent and she freezes for a couple of seconds knowing what that meant.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" She hears her best friend shout with shock and glee all wrapped into one voice. A sudden warmth fills up her insides and she lets a ghost of a smile appear in her face. Daniel laughs heartedly at her expression and wraps her own hand against his arm while taking her out of Ginny's room to the living room instead. "Yeah, I went not too long ago while Ginny readied up your hair," Daniel whispers, a knowing smirk on his face.

Spencer forces herself not to sprint while reminding her mind that she cannot ruin this dress before the party even starts. Her hands clutch Daniel's arm tightly due to nerves. When she reaches her destination, she swears her heart completely stops beating when she sees the familiar tall figure of her boyfriend. He stands there beside another great friend of hers. Compared to Theodore, Blaise is far taller than the white-skinned male. Slim, well-dressed with that suit of his that surprisingly matches her own golden dress seeing as it had a gold-colored tie around his neck.

He still has not notice her and it makes sense since she froze halfway through the doorway while he has his back turned on her. Theodore stares away from Ricky and his eyebrow raises curiously upon noticing her. He nudges Blaise in the side and coolly motions to the young girl. Blaise immediately turns around and his face brightens up, the corner of his lips twisting upwards while his eyes smoothly gazes at her figure for a few seconds before right at her. Spencer does not wait any longer and instead throws herself in his arms, breathing in the familiar scent of peppermint and rosemary while she buries her face in his chest. Her hands wrap around his waist, eyes closed to take in the fact that she can hear his heartbeat and that he is there. Not in a memory, not in a letter, but there.

It has only been a month and seeing him face-to-face allows her a sense of joy— the sensation of yearning for him stronger than ever before. She feels his hands neatly place around her back respectfully, holding on to her with a certain gentleness allowing for her to back away whenever she wants to. Even though she does not want to, Spencer still does and gazes up at him in slight disbelief despite knowing he would be coming.

"Hi," she whispers softly and breathlessly. Blaise is staring at her like if she is the only girl in the world. That no one else except her exists in this reality. He lets himself smile genuinely knowing how dearly she loves to see it. With the same tone as her except lower, he responds, "Hi."

"Hi to you too, Spencer," a voice besides him drawls out sarcastically. Spencer turns to the side and lets her smile widen all while rolling her eyes once she spots Theodore. Her friend raises an eyebrow coolly (which honestly he must have learned from Blaise). Ignoring his movement to classify as cool, she opens her arms and embraces him in a hug. Theodore grunts in surprise before reciprocating the warmth, pressing a small kiss on her hair (but making sure he did not ruin it). "I missed you," he comments honestly.

Spencer nods in agreement and murmurs the same thing, parting from his hold with her hand on his arms. She notices Ricky appearing flustered and if she is correct, he definitely kissed the Slytherin just moments before she arrived. Theodore is dressed great as well, simple and neat which does not surprise her. Her attention returns to Blaise when he gently tugs her hand and she gazes at him in slight wonder. His eyes are glancing down to the bag in her hand and he raises an eyebrow curiously.

"What's that?" Blaise (she cannot believe he is there) questions, pointing his finger down to it. The other two follow his gaze and while Theodore wears the same look of confusion, Ricky stiffens realizing what it is and simply stares at her as if saying, 'is it...?' Spencer nods at him shortly. She glances back at Blaise and asks him, "I was wondering if you can miniature it for me?"

Blaise furrows his brows before nodding in acceptance. Ricky pulls Theodore into a different room leaving the two of them alone. The taller Slytherin takes out his wand and points at the bag. In less than two seconds, the bag is extremely tiny that it fits in her palm. She smiles with gratitude and takes off the necklace, carefully putting in the bag through the metal. Her hands grabs onto the two ends and she struggles putting it back on her neck. With a short huff, Spencer stretches out her hands and stares up at Blaise.

"Can you...?" She questions hesitantly, letting the necklace that he gave her drop in his hands. Blaise smiles at the sight of it before heading behind her cautiously moving her hair to the side. Spencer shudders when she feels his hand deliberately touch her neck. When she hears a small click alerting her that he did as told, she gently holds onto the stone and notices a pink glow emitting from it— right, it shows color when she touches it. Spencer turns and notices Blaise gaze down at her necklace with a look of adoration.

"Where's the ring from?" He questions not unkindly. It is mostly curious and interested in where she could have gotten it.

Spencer lets her eyes stare at the small ring. "Daniel gave it to me yesterday. He said it was his girlfriend's and that she had given it to him so he could never feel lost," she explains vaguely. Blaise nods in understanding before raising up a finger and then tucking out a necklace that he wears under his suit. It is similar to the one she is wearing. She raises an eyebrow and waits for him to speak up.

"Since you won't be returning to school... I thought that maybe even if we can't communicate, any time we touch the stone we can get an understanding of how we feel? By bewitching them to bond in way where I can sense what you are feeling and you can feel me... I mean— I-I don't know if that's what you want..." Blaise stammers, making a face immediately after he trails off knowing that he completely abandoned his cool aura and completely left it behind who knows where. Spencer widens her eyes in surprise (did she just make the Blaise Zabini stutter?) before smiling at his words. She begins to slowly nod while waiting for him to finish.

"We can do that," she agrees, chuckling softly when Blaise makes sure she truly does. Her eyes trail his smooth wand movement and notices their necklace glow in unison before it relaxes. To try it out, she touches it again making it turn yellow and Blaise's turns the same color without him touching it. He smiles heartedly and exhales calmly.

"I can sense you," he murmurs, closing his eyes in relaxation. "You're... happy?" He reopens them to stare at her obvious grin on her face. And despite every worry in her bones, she is happy because he is there. Spencer nods gently and tiptoes, pressing her lips into his. Blaise makes a sound in surprise before sweeping in and letting his hand trail to her waist, bending down to get her into a comfortable position. Everything around them seems to disappear without a care of the world because the two of them are soaring in happiness and those pesky butterflies people always describe in romantic books. Spencer does not think of them much like butterflies or fireworks in her stomach, but more realistically as her insides moving position and creating this bubbly feeling inside her that releases serotonin.

"Hem, hem," Spencer jumps and smacks her forehead with Blaise having recognize the sound to be like Umbridge. Except she is not here and so the young Montague turns around and immediately scowls when noticing Fred sipping into some coffee he made. The redhead simply raises an eyebrow and grins nonchalantly as if he did nothing wrong— which he did not but still. Fred places down his coffee and makes his way toward the two, wrapping his arm around Spencer while eyeing the Slytherin with questioning eyes.

"So," Fred starts off slowly, tilting his head while trying to spot any type of emotion from Blaise other than his face being warm. "Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin entering his seventh year, ex-boyfriend of Morgana Montague, best friends with Draco Malfoy... where does your alliance lie?"

Spencer rolls her eyes and glares at the redhead. "Leave him alone, Fred," she sighs, giving Blaise an apologetic glance as if telling him that he does not have to answer the question.

"With Spencer," Blaise answers honestly, ignoring her own words and staring right at Fred and then back at Spencer. She widens her eyes in surprise and feels her cheeks warm up. Fred stays silent and lets her boyfriend continue, "They lie with Spencer even if hell and heaven collapse."

Fred narrows his eyes and tries to frown before letting a full-blown grin reappear on his face. He laughs loudly and holds out his hand for Blaise to shake. The Slytherin makes a face of bewilderment before choosing to shake it. "I was just playing with you, man. I trust anyone Spencer does," Fred informs him. He lets a smirk form on his face. "Good response though. Seems like Spencer won't have to be apart of the 30-year-old plan."

Blaise furrows his brows confusedly and then decides to just ignore the last part. He clears his throat before greeting, "Nice to properly meet you?" It sounds more like a question, though, it does not bother Fred who only nods in agreement. The redhead pats the Slytherin's shoulder before saluting them goodbye. Her boyfriends awkwardly stands off to the side and lets himself be dragged by Spencer. She takes him to the rest of the Weasleys (now that he is no longer flustered, Blaise is actually good at being polite when he wants to be) and introduces him to everyone else.

Spencer is not sure how to react when Blaise meets Fleur. It is no secret that the beautiful blonde that she finds attractive is half Veela. Then again, she cannot get jealous since hellooo isn't she the one who said she would drop everything for Fleur? She cannot ignore the small part of her that is doubting those words now, however. Her lips purse in thought and she shakes her head to get herself out of her thoughts. What is she even thinking? If she were Blaise, she'll likely still drool for her... which is honestly fair. She is the exception, Spencer knows this well.

She separates from Blaise and reunites with Ricky to help finish decorate once they arrived out in the open garden to where the wedding is being set. Spencer lets Blaise and Theodore sit in a some chairs (they planned a whole seating chart) close to Daniel, Remus, and Tonks. Two more empty seats were beside the two boys that is obviously for Spencer and Ricky themselves. The seats are next to where Harry would be sitting (although right now he looks like some random redhead). It takes a while for the two Ravenclaws to finish their part in helping and return to the seats where the others are now present.

"I am getting exhausted already," Spencer sighs, fanning herself for a few seconds before smiling at the rest. Before she can say any more, a short tap on her shoulder makes her turn around. A woman with a beaky nose, red-rimmed eyes, and feathery pink hat (which easily makes her resemble a flamingo) stands before her. Spencer smiles politely having no doubts this is not not a member of the Weasleys.

When the elder witch begins talking, Spencer figures out that it is the infamous Aunt Muriel. "And who are you? You are far too tall for a lady! Look at those lanky legs and I fear you are too skinny. Do you not eat?" The woman exclaims with insults left and right.

Spencer stays quiet unsure of what to say (the twins and Ginny already warned her about the woman and she did not want to be rude) while Blaise simply cuts in with, "I think she is the most beautiful girl I've set eyes on." Tonks squeals excitedly, smacking Remus's arms in delight while the werewolf just raises his eyebrows toward Daniel. Spencer is sure that Remus told Daniel something about either her and Blaise or Daniel himself.

Meanwhile, Theodore (and this Spencer heard clearly) fakes a gag and whispers to Ricky, "I love his mother, but he's still an asshole for me."

Blaise sends Theodore a glare afterwards which the shorter boy ignores completely. Instead, Theodore gasps in shock and grins widely. "Holy shit, it's Viktor Krum!" He announces, glancing up to the beautiful dark-haired young man who just entered with the unattractive redhead who she also knows as Harry. Spencer raises her eyebrows at the twinkle in her friend's eyes before Ricky clears his throat. Theodore turns to him and smirks. "Don't worry, Ricky. I still plan to be the one you doodle the name of," he winks charmingly.

"I seriously regret asking you to come here, seriously," Ricky groans. The other adults share a look of curiousness before getting into their own conversation. Blaise scoffs in what sounds like agreement and mumbles, "I second that."

"Boys," she comments warningly. Before she can say anything further (the other three were awaiting for her to start with some quote from a philosopher), Ginny and Gabrielle (who are both beautifully dress in similar gold colors except different designs) approach their table. Gabrielle holds out her hand elegantly while Ginny pulls her forward. "It's almost time!"

She barely manages a small 'bye' before disappearing from their view. Spencer finds herself gaping wide eyed at the silverly blonde French woman. She covers her mouth in surprise before Fleur notices her and smiles like if she just discovered the stars and the moons. Brighter than ever before, a true happiness found in the midst of war. Fleur Delacour is completely and undeniably in love with Bill Weasley and it is hard not to notice. Spencer wraps her friend in a short hug before nodding in assurance. She lets the two sisters hug warmly (why could she not have a relationship like that with Morgana?) and then the wedding song began playing. Fleur squeals in both excitement and nervousness before allowing for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to head inside and then her own parents.

Ginny leans toward her and whispers, "Is it me or is this getting emotional?"

Spencer widens her own eyes once Gabrielle begins walking and thus, the two of them start to as well. "Nope, I think I'm getting emotional too," she responds back quietly before straightening her back and walking in. Just as she is about to bite her lip nervously, Ginny reminds her of her dark lipstick on her lips and she sticks to smiling softly. Her eyes gently crosses around the room briefly making eye contact with Ricky until her eyes meet Blaise's. Feeling enough confidence, she winks at her own boyfriend until refocusing on the actual wedding (and she is sure she spotted him chuckling while gazing down at the floor afterwards).

"Ladies and gentlemen," begins a familiar voice. Spencer listens in to the man who had also spoke for Dumbledore's funeral and pays attention to him. Her hands quietly wander to Ginny's and holds her hand while letting it all pass. Bill is staring at Fleur with the most adoration, his eyes never leaving the girl's unless it is to stare at the miniature man. "Do you William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle..."

Spencer hears the quiet sobs from Mrs. Weasley and Madame Delacour. Hagrid is loudly sniffling in awe and yet somehow sounding like trumpets. The young Montague gazes at the new-weds with a dreamy smile because it is incredible to her. Hell, she can feel her own eyes beam with tears, but she does not let them drop.

"— then I declare you bonded for life," the man finishes, waving his wand high over the heads of Fleur and Bill where a shower of silver stars fell upon their now entwined figures. Fred and George begin the round of applause which Spencer finds herself following along with. The golden balloons overhead bursts; birds of paradise and tiny golden bells flew and floats out of them. She stands up with everyone else and the seats rise into the air so that they stand beneath a canopy supported by golden poles. A gleaming dance floor appears out of thin air and sudden round tables reappear to fix it properly.

Spencer does not find herself going through a crowd of people and is surprise to see that Blaise somehow found his way to her. He holds out his hand carefully and she gracefully takes it, dragging him toward the two new-weds. Fleur immediately notices her and once again hugs her tightly. Spencer laughs softly before returning the motion and then giving one to Bill as well. The redhead grins happily, nodding at the boy beside her before his attention is taken to his Charlie and Daniel.

"Iz this your boyfriend?" Fleur gasps out loudly, her eyes uncaringly eyeing the Slytherin up, down, and then up again. She makes a face of acceptance before suddenly hugging Blaise and giving him a kiss on his cheeks. Spencer raises her eyebrow as she takes notice how Blaise barely bats an eye and gives his polite congratulations. He does not stare at her with a dreamy look like she personally had been giving her. Fleur widens her smile and winks at Spencer— cue the light blush on her face— before wandering to another person who went to give their thanks. Spencer stares at Blaise in surprise, her lips slightly parted almost in awe before he notices her staring. She quickly gives him a smile and easily enough, he does the same to her.

Music begins playing and while Spencer is not the type to dance, she finds herself wanting to at the sudden thrill of happiness in her system. She holds out her hand toward Blaise and while he seems to not want to join in at first, after some thought, he grasps on it and pulls her toward him. More people begin joining in and at one point she swears Luna is there dancing by herself going all out. Spencer smiles brightly before she is twirling by Blaise's doing. When he brings her close, her own chest is touching his and he stares down at her— his eyes radiating nothing but delight and the sense of euphoria in the air between them.

"You are outstandingly mesmerizing and incomparable," Blaise marvels, his flawless face beaming blissfully. Spencer hides her face in his chest while quietly mumbling (and suddenly forgetting every word she knows), "And you are... pretty."

He releases a quiet laugh making his chest vibrate. She breathes deeply and finds herself relaxing at the familiar scent of rosemary and peppermint. Although, Spencer is not much for dancing and by the looks of it neither is Blaise, the two rather dance well together and she has no doubt that it is because of how they grew up. Being classy is what the two different families share.

"Do you remember the Yule Ball?" Blaise suddenly mentions, swaying left and right with her on his arms. Spencer raises an eyebrow curiously, giving him a short nod and a look as if telling him; well, duh. Blaise chuckles to himself before admitting, "I remember you wore this elegant sky blue dress. It had some type of sleeves that appear puffed up, but not at the same time. Beads surrounded around your waist—" he lets go of one of his hands to motion where which she clearly remembers, "— and from the hips down the dress is long and slightly puff up to add some—"

Spencer makes a face of realization and interrupts him, "How do you remember what I was wearing?" Correct her if she is wrong, but isn't she the one with eidetic memory?

From her recollection (that is definitely reliable), she barely even bat an eye toward Blaise during her fourth year. And the years beforehand. Sure, she knew of him and about how he is possibly the broodest person ever (which is now obviously not true), but she did not know him apart from that fact. At that point in time, she simply ignored his existence especially when she found out that he was dating her sister. Assuming the worst, she completely strayed from even hanging around the area. Spencer had gone to the Yule Ball with Ricky as her 'date' (not that people did not ask her out, but she did not accept their request) and the two somehow found a way to have the time of their lives. Now that she is thinking about it... what was Blaise wearing? Trying to remember the exact figures in the Yule Ball and how her eyes had wandered around the room with awe, she remembers a short glimpse of Blaise wearing dress robes that completely did not match with whatever Morgana had been wearing.

"I'd love to say it is because I had a crush on you, but I can't lie to you," Blaise starts off honestly. Spencer shrugs uncaringly— she did not either so it truly does not matter. "As you know, Morgana was my date. She was just sitting with her two followers and glaring at everyone else, but then you arrived. Anger quickly filled up in her eyes that she crushed the drink she was holding and so with interest I let myself follow her gaze."

"That was when I saw you. I knew of you, who you were, what you were known for... but I never had actually seen you. And then I completely forgot about how Morgana was your sister until that moment when I spotted the look in her eyes. You were entering with Ricky by your side and you noticed your sister, but all you did was roll your eyes and continue letting all these boys gaze at you while you were quite literally the most beautiful girl," Blaise continues, his hand carefully caressing her cheek. "For some reason... that moment always stuck with me and now I'm here with you wearing another wonderful dress that compliments you."

"Mister Zabini," Spencer murmurs with a glowing grin. "You have become the most cheesiest person ever."

Blaise gives her an unamused expression. "I'm trying to be the best boyfriend and you're calling me out?" He arches his eyebrows in a playful threateningly matter. Spencer shrugs and giggles when he blows on her face out of nowhere in a way to tickle her without gaining attention from everyone else.

Their attention heads to the side when two figures approach them. Spencer lets go of Blaise when one of her favorite songs began playing and she squeals happily, turning to Ricky who wears the same expression. The two Ravenclaws begin jumping up and down with the rhythm while the Slytherins try and follow their movements. They create a short circle and force Blaise and Theodore to join in the fun (for fun they even make the two boys hold each other's hands). Laughter lingers in the air between them while they jump with no worry in the world (alright so Blaise is still brooding but Spencer continues trying to make him follow her moves).

At some point, all four of them begin sweating and that is when they decide to take a rest. They arrive back to their table where Daniel is chatting with Charlie until the redhead stands up and goes to get a drink. Daniel nods at them with a smile. "Seems like all of you are having fun," he points out, gently shaking his head in amusement.

Spencer and Ricky share a similar look before the young Montague advices, "You should try it with Charlie. I'm sure he won't deny you!" 

Daniel rolls his eyes at her. "What's up with all of you mentioning Charlie and I? I'm not looking for anyone," he comments slowly.

She smiles softly and gives him a kind look. With her hand bringing up her necklace, she points to the ring on it. "I think you giving me this ring also symbolizes the chance you are giving yourself in moving on. You will always remember Estela. She will always be your first love, but she doesn't have to be your last," Spencer maintains, shrugging toward the end as if telling him that it is his choice after all. Daniel taps his chin thoughtfully before nodding in acceptance.

He stands up from his seat and gives his sister a short kiss on her hair. "I love you!" Daniel shouts over the blazing music.

"Back at you!" She repeats before ushering him away. Blaise stands up to go get some drinks for all four of them while the others have the table to themselves. They rest in comfortable silence until Blaise arrives with four butterbeers on his hands that he carefully passes around to them. Spencer thanks him quietly and lets her eyes wander as she spots her brother awkwardly asking Charlie out to dance while Remus and Tonks are dancing. Hermione and Ron are doing the same as the married couple and she spots Harry with Krum by his side.

With the familiar taste of butterbeer in her mouth, she closes her eyes in relaxation before glancing at Blaise and Theodore.

"Ricky and I won't be returning to Hogwarts," Spencer admits vaguely. Ricky quietens up and manages to nod. Blaise and Theodore seem unsurprised by the news and do not try to push any further to gain information. They both know it is safer for all four of them if they barely knew what is up. No matter how much any of them wants to know, the plan must be kept secretive and vague as possible.

However, Spencer finds herself choking on her own spit when Theodore decides to say, "I don't think I will be either."

Her eyes widen as well as Ricky's while Blaise keeps the same cool look on his face most likely already knowing this. As much as the two Slytherins always roll their eyes at each other, Spencer knows the two of them do not actually hate each other. Spending time together has made them friends, but they would never admit it to each other. "What? Why?"

Theodore sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "Hogwarts defenses are down and perhaps that would not bother me if I were not technically someone Death Eaters will try to hunt down. I've been talking it out with Blaise and it is safer if I stay at home with his mother... she already gracefully allowed me to do so knowing Blaise is not in any trouble going there and pretending everything is normal," he explains, glancing at his roommate with an appreciative nod.

Spencer frowns in thought before realizing he is right. If all goes wrong at Hogwarts, Theodore would definitely become a target. Especially with sons of other Death Eaters going to school as well. Professor McGonagall can make extraordinary defenses, but it will not stop Voldemort. A small fear erupts in her stomach and it slowly calms down when Blaise holds her hand under the table. Even without him speaking up, she can still hear his voice telling her that it will all be okay.

"Uh, can we just go back to dancing?" Ricky questions, fiddling with his hands with a frown on his face. Theodore smiles kindly before standing up and bringing him up with him. The Slytherin raises an eyebrow at Spencer and asks, "Want to join us? I reckon we're better than Bla—"

Ricky nudges his side with a warning look. Theodore grins playfully while winking at Spencer. She snorts in amusement (while Blaise rolls his eyes) and shakes her head. "No, thank you. I truly do love you, Theo, but I'll stay with Blaise," Spencer waves them off. Theodore gives her a fake sigh of disappointment before nodding at them. She watches as her two close friends leave to be with themselves and smiles warmly.

"You could go if you want," Blaise offers. Spencer glances at him and grins. "I want to stay with you," she points out in an obvious tone.

Those words have double meaning. She wants to stay with him not just right now, but later on with the fear of knowing that she will be on the run soon enough. The thought of having to run away physically makes her want to throw up, but she knows that she will do it either way. Harry is her friend and dear Merlin, she has undeniable loyalty to those close to her. She will help him no matter how afraid she is and if her brains can help him during these cold interventions, then so be it. Spencer lets her hand fiddle with his, the familiar silence that comforts her knowing that at this moment she is not alone. It does not last long, but she does not mind that either.

"I have something for you," Blaise clears his throat. He carefully unwraps his hands from hers, taking out his wand and allowing for a familiar book to appear on his hand. Her eyebrows furrow in surprise before gently receiving it. The book is the same one she bought ages ago from Tomes and Scrolls after her horrendous date with Zacharias Smith. It is the one she gave to Blaise while he gave her his favorite. She can tell it is hers (well technically his since he never returned it— neither did she) by the way the pages appear as if they have been flipped repeatedly over and over. Her hands cautiously goes to flip through it herself, but he puts his on top of hers. "Not right now," he claims, smiling a little when he notices her puzzled expression.

Despite it, she nods in return but does not fail to notice the bumps in the book and some parchment sticking out. Instead of taking a sneak peek, she gives him a questioning look while lifting the book up. Already knowing what it is being asked of him, Blaise taps his wand onto the book and it disappears from their view. Spencer presses a quick kiss on his cheek before leaning on him, letting his arms wrap around her shoulder as she watches Theodore and Ricky dance around each other with Hermione and Ron beside them.

"Why don't you want it anymore?" She questions confusedly. Spencer assumes that he had liked it, so why is he giving it back? Does he want his back as well? "I still have yours. Not here, but—"

"No, no," Blaise denies quickly. "You can keep it. I just... I didn't know what to give you for your birthday and I know I won't be able to see you so I figured I had to take it to you today. I did something to the book, but not anything bad! It's uh— complicated, but trust me."

His cheeks slightly flush in embarrassment, but Spencer does not mind at all. She stares at him silently for a few seconds before her own thoughts start to take a toll on her. They will not see each other for some time, Spencer realizes. Harry and Ginny are no longer together because Harry broke up with the redhead so she does not find herself in any trouble. The two of them would not see each other for who knows how long and so Harry did what he thought was best. It has barely occurred to Spencer that in this situation she is Harry. She will not see Blaise after today until who knows when. Weeks? Months? Years? Maybe not years, it should not take so long for them to defeat Voldemort with all the killings he is already doing. Either way, she will just be a memory to Blaise. Someone he thinks about and if not daily, than occasionally. She will be his girlfriend despite not being able to be together. Having him trapped into this situation if she does not...

Spencer barely realizes that she froze for the time that she put herself in deep thought. Blaise is waiting patiently for her to say something, but an obvious frown appear on his face noticing how her eyes watered.

"Harry broke up with Ginny during Dumbledore's funeral," she whispers, her voice low knowing that either way he can still hear her clearly. Her eyes gazes down at the floor not baring to stare at his dark brown ones. It does not matter that she does not look at him because she can still feel him stiffen as if he knows what is coming next.

"Why are you bringing that up?" Blaise still questions, his voice hardening by the second and his face ready to cover itself up with a blank stare. It still does not happen, but Spencer can already feel it coming.

She stares down at their hands that somehow found their way back to each other. "He doesn't want her to get hurt and if they think that she knows anything more then there is a high chance people can try to get to her. H-he did it because he knows how dangerous everything has just become. Harry likes Ginny far too much that he knows it is best to let her go and give her a chance to look for someone better or have a chance to still get away and be safe—"

"Are you breaking up with me?" Blaise cuts her off and gets straight to the point. Spencer glances up at him and notices the hurt expression that is written on his face as if he could not believe she is truly doing this to him.

The young girl flinches at his appearance. Break up with him, a part of her is saying it over and over. To not keep him in a hold and let him find someone else, do something else other than wait for her. And as she opens her mouth to say those vile words, Spencer finds herself not being able to do so. The simple words are stuck in her throat like poison trying to jam its way down.

She should break up with him...

"I..." Spencer starts off, her eyes looking everywhere around her before finally finding its way to his. His beautiful face ready to close off if needed. She does not want him to shut people out. Not like before. But she has to say the words. And as she stares longer at him, she realizes one simple thing. "I can't," she gasps out instead.

Her throat clenches and she knows that tears want to escape her eyes and that something is making her just want to cry. "I-I know that I should, but I can't because I'm selfish and I don't want to—" she stops herself from continuing and stares away from him.

How the hell did Harry do it? Why can she not find the courage to do the same?

"Then don't," Blaise steps in, squeezing her hand with his and bringing it close to his chest. With his other one, he carefully caresses her cheek and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. There is a look on his eyes; one that reveals his deep ambition and something else she cannot decipher. "I won't let you break up with me unless you suddenly lose all interest. I'm not the Weasley girl, Spencer. She let him go as well, but I will not let you go."

Spencer places her lips into a thin line. "I won't force you to wait for me, Blaise. I can't do that. Not to you," she denies.

The Slytherin scoffs and shakes his head determinedly. "See that's the thing! You're not forcing me to do anything. I am making this choice. I knew what I was getting myself into when I chose you, Spencer. I chose you over my best friend, I chose you over Morgana and do you want to know why? Not just because I hate your sister or because Draco suddenly became distant, but because you made me realize that I don't want You-Know-Who to live and antagonize everyone. You don't get it, do you? You have a way with words, Spencer. The way you see life makes me wonder what more you have to say. The way you smile like there could not be nothing better for you to do than just be next to me."

"I don't let people in. You know that. But I let you in because I... I trust you more than I trust myself. Don't break up with me," he repeats and this time he sounds like he will shatter if she does. "I will wait for you because I—"

A sudden tremble crosses around the whole area of where the wedding is taking place. Blaise's words get lost through the silence that follows everyone as something large and silver falls through the canopy over the dance floor. A beautiful silver lynx lands in the middle of the dance floor which the two can see clearly. Then, like the calm aura before a storm, the Patronus's mouth opens wide and the familiar deep and the slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt comes through. Words that suddenly changes everything.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming." 

Spencer stands up from her seat immediately, her eyes wandering around for the rest of her friends. Instead, they meet Daniel's pale-struck face and before they can even communicate, someone lets out the first scream. In full terror, every guest in the room begin to Apparate or run all at once while pushing through each other. Someone completely passes through Blaise and Spencer and she widens her eyes in fear, her hands reaching out to grab her boyfriend's and simply hug him out of fear.

But life is not fair.

His own hand is reaching out for hers as well while his wand is out ready to attack anyone that comes across her head. Two young people hoping to hold on to each other before they get separated. She is close to grasping his hand. Just a bit more closer.

So, so close.

Just as she is about to clasp them together, Spencer feels herself get taken away by a familiar hold and all she can hear is the shout of her name, the cries from the guest and familiars going all around. She tries getting out of the person's hold before realizing it is Ron who had grabbed onto her and that he is making his way to Harry and Hermione. She can hear their yells crying out for them just like how Blaise had been. Remembering what is to occur, Spencer loosens her strength against him and begins to follow him instead while yelling out for Ricky.

A breath of relief escapes her when she spots him sprinting toward the two of them while hexing the Death Eater that tried hurting him. She reaches out for him and unlike what happened with Blaise, their hands meet. Ron continues pulling them through the crowd until the spot Hermione with Harry holding one of her hands. The redhead grabs onto Hermione's arm with his free hand (making sure Spencer is still holding onto him). Suddenly, all five of them are taken over by darkness and squeezing through space and time, away from the Death Eaters, away from the Burrow, away from her brother, away from her friends, and away from Blaise.

When Spencer reopens her eyes, she no longer spots the familiarness around her. Not like before. It is spotting her best friend's blue eyes that finally makes her realize: this is it.

They have now become official runaways.

▂✫⌒*･ﾟ

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
wow... this is it guys. it's gonna be so so
weird not having blaise show up ???????
this is how their convo went rn,,,

spencer: blaise, we should break up 😔💔
blaise: no 😐❤️
spencer: okay 🥰

but anyway, this is gonna be a time where
spencer will finally have to face everything
that has ever happened to her. and it will hurt.
she will be hurt by her own mind and i don't
want her to, but her mind has ALWAYS been a big
part of this story. eidetic memory. it's not just a title bc
she has it (well, yeah that too) but because it has
helped and hurt her all the same.

anyway, i just wanted to address that because i
think that although this is definitely 100% a blaise
fic, i have created a character who goes through
too much not to talk about it?? like i don't want
her to just never mention anything that has happened
before because that's not her. she can't forget what
happened no matter how much times passes. (but
at one point she will need to move on and heal). i
feel like if i ignore it i would not be doing her any
justice ?? the villain of her story has always been
morgana, mordra, and sometimes... even her mind.
(so cancel her mind !! 🙄) 

thank you for getting this far <3 anyway, it's my
birthday today and it's cool im now sixteen 😄