Chapter Text
She was playing cards with Dean when Blaise all but crawled into the living room, looking wretched. Kreacher followed with a jug of hot chocolate, watching Blaise with extreme judgment. “The kitchen is clean.”
“Did he do a good job?” Millicent asked casually, ignoring Dean cheating for the moment. She had more cards than she was supposed to anyway.
“Passable.” Which meant Kreacher did a deep clean the moment Blaise left the room. There was a malicious gleam in his eye as the table filled with more cake, Dean all but drooling as the plates appeared.
“No more cake, tea’s in an hour,” Bill chided from the sofa.
“Dean hasn’t had any,” Millicent stuck up for him as Dean’s face dropped.
“He can survive another hour,” Bill turned around to give them an amused look. “He’s hardly starving.”
Dean shoved the biscuit tin to the other side of him as if he’d not been dipping in every hand or so.
Charlie summoned himself a piece of cake, dodging Bill’s slap. “I’m a growing boy still.”
“The only thing growing about you is your waistline,” Bill muttered, returning to reading his book.
“If Charlie can eat cake, so can you,” Millicent told Dean kindly. Or as kindly as she was able to. “Blaise, would you like any more cake?”
“I hate you,” Blaise half glared.
“I hate you too,” she grinned.
“Mil’s said you and Ginny would split up,” Blaise tattled with Millicent narrowing her eyes at him.
Dean stayed quiet, which only made both Slytherin snap their attention to him, she could see both brothers perk up and slowly turn their attention back to them.
“You have split up,” Millicent breathed. “You were dancing at the New Year's party?”
Blaise’s mouth dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Millicent could guess, and going off Dean’s faintly sheepish expression she wasn’t far off.
“We uh, the wedding,” he said so quietly she had to strain to hear him.
“The wedding?” Blaise spluttered.
“That’s why Ginny came and slept on me and not you,” Millicent smacked the table before pointing at Bill. “I told you there was something up with that!”
“Good job,” he gave a pointed look at Dean. “Maybe crowing isn’t appropriate?”
“Psh,” she glanced at Dean who was doing his best to not look at the two brothers. “You broke it off.”
“No,” Dean lied.
“Dean,” Blaise sounded appalled. “Why would you split up? You were perfect together.”
“For the same reason as you and Fiona split up, idiot, I told you that earlier,” Millicent answered for Dean, before blushing as Bill threw a cushion at her. “Uh, what I meant to say, is that it’s obviously personal to Dean and he doesn’t need to share with us.”
“I told Ginny I wouldn’t say anything, and she could take credit for ending it,” Dean looked sheepishly at the two brothers, before turning his attention back to Blaise and Millicent. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
“I can obliviate him, it’s fine,” Millicent waved her hand at Bill. “Wand please.”
“Oi Lockhart, I don’t think so,” Blaise kicked at her ankles. “I won’t tell anyone. And where is your wand?”
“I don’t know, it’ll be somewhere,” she shrugged. “I can ask Mopsy if you want?”
She wasn’t expecting the appalled faces from the rest of the room. “Like you all know where yours are.”
So Dean’s was on his arm under his jumper, and Blaise had a holster on his leg, as did Charlie and Bill. “Whatever, anyway we were talking about Dean being miserable now Ginny’s left him.”
“We’ll talk about your wand later,” Bill told her, ignoring the face she pulled. She might have to ask Mopsy to start leaving it on a cushion around the house to prove a point again.
“We don’t need to talk about me,” Dean squirmed.
“I don’t understand why,” Blaise stared at him again. “You were perfect together.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Millicent scoffed. “They had chemistry, but other than that, what else did they have in common other than being from the stupid house?”
“We have things in common,” Dean corrected her quickly.
“You like sport, she likes flying, not the same thing at all,” Millicent challenged, before backing off when Charlie reached out to tug on her ear. “Sorry.”
“Dean’s on their Quidditch team,” Blaise gave her a look.
“Is he?” Millicent looked at him. “I thought you weren’t like that.”
“I am,” Dean nodded. “Chaser.”
“I guess maybe you have that in common then, not enough to want to pursue it as a career, so I’m sort of right,” Millicent squinted at him.
“We have different life paths,” Dean said politically.
“Like you and Fiona, and theirs won’t even have them living half a world away from each other,” Millicent started and then got dragged onto the sofa, Charlie’s hand across her mouth as Bill tweaked her nose.
“Apologies for the sympathy,” Bill said dryly, as Millicent gave him the evils.
“It’s fine,” Dean looked a bit sheepish. “I don’t think either of us really mind. Ginny took her Christmas present back, and I said she could keep hers, but she gave it back anyway.”
“Sounds about right,” Charlie said, removing his hand just as Millicent was about to lick it. “Behave.”
“You aren’t the boss of me,” Millicent sulked.
“I’ll remember that when I’m giving up annual leave to take you on the Pennine Way.”
“Sorry,” Millicent sulked. “And I am sorry Dean, I shouldn’t be mean.”
“I wasn’t expecting anything else,” Dean shrugged. “Blaise, I didn’t tell you, because you’re still mourning you and Fiona, and well…”
Millicent glanced at Bill who shook his head. It was clear Dean wasn’t mourning anything.
“Why now?” Blaise asked, giving the cake a good look, and she could feel herself recoiling in horror.
“Because,” Dean started before giving a big sigh. “Because when I mentioned it to Ginny, that we wanted different things, and that she was going to start being busy after we go back. That I’ve signed up to spend the summer doing Summer School for work experience, and that next year, well, it’s going to be busy for us. And then I’m going to university hopefully, and then teacher training. She agreed that, well, she couldn’t see us together after the summer either. Not if I’m not going to be there other than weekends.”
Blaise looked outraged.
“I’m not upset either,” Dean leaned over to place a hand on Blaise, stopping him from reaching for the cake. “We all know she just settled for me because she wanted to make Harry jealous.”
Millicent wasn’t the only one who winced.
“She’s lovely, and we had a great time together, but our lives are going different places,” Dean squeezed Blaise’s hand gently. “And that’s ok. It’s ok to enjoy a relationship and be happy that it happened. We get to look forward to what comes next.”
“I still love her,” Blaise’s lip trembled.
“No one said we had to stop,” Dean pointed out gently. “Or that we had to date other people immediately. We can be sad and single together for a bit.”
“Am I losing my best friend status already?” Millicent whispered in Bill’s ear, he just gave her a look.
“I’ve got to stay friendly with the Weasleys,” Blaise glanced at the sofa.
“I’m still friendly with Ginny,” Dean swatted him lightly.
“And why do you need to stay friendly?” Millicent asked suspiciously.
“For when I’m your best man and have to give a speech, obviously,” Blaise shot her a look.
“Since when are you going to be best man? I think it’s probably going to be Charlie?” Millicent checked with Bill who gave a reluctant nod, as Charlie snickered the other side of her.
“Yours,” Blaise stared indignantly at her.
“I’m not having a best man, I’ll have bridesmaids and a maid of honour, which you could be if you wanted I guess. I won’t even make you wear a dress,” Millicent decided generously. “I will need to consult Mopsy though, as it is her absolute dream to organise my wedding.”
“I have the legs for a dress,” Blaise said snottily.
“I’m sure you do,” she agreed placidly. “I don’t think Ginny will care much if you talk to Dean. I’m not sure she’s going to care if I do, and I think in the rankings I rank higher than you do in the grand scheme of things. And I’m pretty sure Dean doesn’t mind if you still talk to Ginny either.”
“No,” Dean agreed.
“I’m more likely to see Ginny going forward,” Blaise told them.
“I mean, I think Dean’s sticking in this country as is Ginny, so it’s about as likely to see either of them,” Millicent pointed out.
“Not if Mother buys the farm off Daisy or one of the others.”
Millicent leaned forward. “Why would she do that?”
“She likes it here,” Blaise sighed heavily. “It has its charms, I guess.”
“Thanks,” Millicent glared at him.
“She’s definitely sleeping with -“
“I knew it!” Millicent spat. “And he told me nothing was going on, that lying liar who lies.”
“She’s not sleeping with Joe,” Bill said soothingly.
“Is she not?” Blaise looked confused.
“No,” Bill said firmly this time. “And I don’t think you should be discussing your Mother’s bedroom habits.”
“It’s not like Dean’s not witnessed them,” Blaise said sulkily.
Dean wrinkled his nose but didn’t say a thing.
“And you don’t go pestering Joe about it,” Bill told her just as firmly.
“I wouldn’t,” Millicent lied.
“Or talk to Daisy,” Bill warned. It was almost as if he knew her, he tweaked her nose as she scowled. “You all thought Remus was sleeping with Daisy, and look how correct you were with that.”
“Except it was Sirius, and according to Harry they are practically the same person,” Millicent uno reversed him. Dean nodded.
Bill exhaled sharply.
“Remus and Sirius are very different people,” Charlie said dryly.
“One turns into a wolf and one turns into a dog, not a lot of difference,” Millicent sulked.
“Both from the stupid house too,” Blaise piped up.
“Don’t you start on that,” Dean scowled at him.
“She’s not wrong,” Blaise shrugged.
“They are the same age too,” Dean decided he wasn’t going to challenge the truth of the matter.
“They were both big mates with Harry’s parents,” Millicent added another reason why they were correct.
“They do spend a lot of time together, according to Harry,” Dean got a bit more into it.
“Haircuts are very similar,” Blaise started to grin.
“Both men are wizards,” Millicent further hammered home the point.
“You aren’t going to make me reel off all the reasons why you three are wrong,” Bill told them dryly.
“Because you can’t,” she smirked, shrieking as he licked her cheek. “EWWW! Bill! I don’t even know where that tongues been. Gross!”
“Didn’t they live together?” Blaise asked as she was busy wiping her cheek on Bill’s jumper.
“Harry said they did,” Dean agreed.
“Same person,” Blaise and Dean said at the same time, with Millicent waving her hand at them.
“See!”
“We’re not doing this,” Bill raised an eyebrow as if he hadn’t licked her cheek mere moments before.
“They are starting to have a point,” Charlie chipped in. “They both like ale.”
“Charlie!” Bill groaned.
“Admit defeat,” Millicent crowed.
“Never,” Bill narrowed his eyes.
“I never took you as a sore loser,” she started to purr, then screeching as he blew a raspberry against her cheek, smacking at him as he refused to let her get away. “I hate you so much, William Weasley.”
“You’ve done it now,” Charlie snorted, helping her get away, as she scrubbed at her cheek in disgust.
“I’m not only going to tell Mopsy, but I’m also going to tell Molly,” Millicent waved a finger at him. “And then you’ll be sorry.”
“I’m very sorry,” Bill lied, grinning as she glared at him.
“He doesn’t look very sorry,” Blaise backed her up as she moved out of the danger zone. Dean stuffed a biscuit into his mouth instead, only to choke as Kreacher opened the door to inform them that food would shortly be served.
“Saved by Kreacher,” Bill grinned, looking incredibly pleased with himself.
“Not when I tell him what you just did,” she glowered. “I’m going to have to go wash my face now.”
“Unless you plan on taking a bath or shower, it shouldn’t take that long,” he winked as she tossed one of the numerous cushions he’d thrown at her earlier back at him, before flouncing out of the room to the bathroom to scrub her face clean.