Chapter Twenty Seven
S.Z. 

Bronwyn woke even more anxious than she had anticipated. Her body would have been better if it had been paralysed in fear. Rather she found herself unable to stop the incessant shaking of her hands. She tried to distract herself with other thoughts, tried to focus on something other than what was causing such an emotional shift. But she was completely unable to do so. Her eyes remained heavily focused to the outfit she had chosen the night prior, the one of which she had chosen alongside the rest of the girls in her dorm. It had taken them all over an hour to pick out something they all deemed suitable. As it would turn out Bronwyn didn't really have many items of clothing one would consider appropriate for meeting a potential in-law in for the first time, big shocker there. Actually most of Bronwyn's clothing had seen much better days and she really needed to have a good clean out and replace some of the items she had been wearing for a few years now. But then would come the issue of where she would get the items from. 

In theory she could go into the small muggle town near where she lived, to the charity shops she had been in many times before. Where most of her current wardrobe came from if she was being honest. But that would have to be done over the summer and she would have to do a currency exchange beforehand. All of which was a lot of planning and forethought that Bronwyn was unsure she would actually be able to complete. Otherwise, there was of course the wizarding shops in their community, well mainly Diagon Alley but she would need her mother's permission to do so, and she was unsure that if her grades came home much like they had done the years prior that she was going to get such approval. Plus she could see her mother's exact facial expression and hear the tone she would give Bronwyn when she asked for new clothing. Therefore, it was pretty evident that this was out of the options. 

"You're going to be fine Winnie, but you do need to start getting ready otherwise you'll be late." The calm steady voice of Hermione came from behind Bronwyn's shoulder. The older girl might have once approached to place a hand on Bronwyn's shoulder in comfort but had since learnt that for now, this was not going to help her friend. And therefore, took to taking a seat on the girls bed so she could be helpful in other matters. Bronwyn therefore made an effort to change into the clothes the dorm had picked out for her to wear. Her mind remained racing on many a thoughts as she pulled the items on. 

"Sit and let me do your hair." Hermione encouraged the younger girl, before placing her hands upon her shoulders and forcing Bronwyn to sit at her designated vanity within the room, something of which the girls had all transfigured themselves during their third year. Bronwyn could feel the older girl pulling her hair into different directions as Hermione braided her hair. And before she knew it, she was placing the finishing touches to her makeup as Hermione finished her hair. The older witch handing her a small glass bottle. "Go on use it."

"This is your expensive one." Bronwyn denied as she looked at the small bottle of Chanel the older girl had handed her. Bronwyn had never minded using the others girls cheaper perfumes and body sprays, actually she had been embarrassed when she was twelve but now at sixteen she had overcome that embarrassment enough to not often deny when the luxury was offered to her. 

"You're about to meet your future mother in law, use the expensive stuff Winnie." Hermione didn't allow the younger girl to argue starting to use the spray bottle on her friends behalf. 

Bronwyn realised she was running late upon entering the Great Hall when she took notice of the clock of which hung upon the wall. She was nearly half an hour late, and she was able to feel the anxiety mounting. She had never actually been significantly late to meet Blaise before, not ever, this would be the first time and she was unsure how he would respond to tardiness. Especially on such an important date. The younger boy stood just outside the hall waiting for her and she braced herself to meet a look of disappointment for her lack of time keeping. But as she looked at his sharp features, features of which were way to stunning to be on a sixteen year old, she did not see the look of disappointment she expected. Rather she met one which she might have considered to be worry. 

"Are you okay my love?" He was quick to close the distance that remained between them walking over to her in large strides. Blaise's hands gently ran down her arms as his eyes scanned her for any signs of illness injury or strain. Bronwyn felt her heart race at his pet name. 

"I'm sorry I'm late I just wanted to be perfect for your mum."

"You're always perfect." He shook his head at her words as if unbelieving of her being unable to think she was anything but. "It does mean we can't stop to get anything before we leave."

"I'm too nervous to eat it's okay." Bronwyn brushed off his concerned look he gave in response. Unsure as to why he would expect anything else. Meeting the parents was a massive step forwards she assumed anyone would be anxious at the mere thought, but maybe Blaise wouldn't be nervous when he met her parents. Something he would have to do at some point she just wasn't sure when, she couldn't imagine they would be as impatient to meet him in the manner his mother appeared to be for her. Rather she watched as he seemed to move his own thoughts forwards making to take one of her hands into his own interlinking their fingers. 

"Shall we be off then?" Blaise proposed and Bronwyn nodded her head in response, however the pointed look she got was enough to change her mind from just the non-verbal agreement "Yes let's go." she confirmed. 

The walk into the village of Hogsmede, was quiet. Bronwyn realised that they had only done the walk once before and she was unsure what to expect this time around. She didn't find the quiet awkward, it was almost as if one of them would begin overly talking that things would be wrong. She had realised that as she had become older that she had become quieter, less needing to push her voice out there and make others aware of what she had to say. Perhaps the need for the overly loud persona when she was a tween was due to the incessant need to be heard over the rest of her siblings. But she came to realise that the forced persona she had been putting on was just that, a forced persona it was not whom she found the most comfort in being. And therefore, if she needed to become more quiet a little bit more of someone who faded into the background then it was okay. She was much happier this way. 

And that was when she realised that this was something that drew her into Blaise. He too could be considered incredibly quiet, actually she was unsure that she could count more than ten times she had heard the boy talk prior to getting to know him this academic year. But when he did speak, when he did make his presence known it was worth it. She found herself entranced by him and the less he spoke the more she wanted to understand. She wanted to reach a point where she could tell everything he was feeling, was thinking from his cues. 

"My mum asked us to meet her in the bookstore." Blaise spoke the moment they reached the village centre. He paused as he tried to figure out the best way to describe his mother to the girl stood beside him. "My mum she can be a little bit much at first." he decided it would do, hoping that Bronwyn wouldn't be off put by his mother's first impression.

"Blaise, you've met my brothers. My mother is a thousands times worse than yours could ever be." Bronwyn reassured complete faith in her own words. Hoping that he would feel a little better knowing this. 

The bookshop upon entering, was quiet, if Bronwyn was being honest when she had been dragged in there before by Hermione she had never actually seen the shop busy. She couldn't imagine it often was full of students not when she saw how musty and unkempt the general inside of the store was. She knew it was only kept afloat by the Ravenclaw house who must have had some sort of desire for the old forgotten books the shop seemed to specialise in. That or it was somewhere selling stuff under the counter to students. She wouldn't be surprised if that was the case it would make perfect sense. 

Therefore, it was pretty obvious who Lady S. Zabini was. The tall woman in the thick woollen coat and the smart hat could only be the noble woman the pair were intending to meet. Bronwyn was taken a back by just how beautiful Blaise's mother was, and it was clear his looks came from her and her alone. And she was very much underdressed for this meeting. That horrible anxious feeling was quick to rise up once again in her chest, the feeling of her heart beating faster and louder with each increment. If this hadn't have been something she had experienced many times prior Bronwyn could have thought she was about to die, but the horrible reality stepped in. Bronwyn would be okay in the long term, but right now, right now she was not. All she could do was stand there frozen in fear as the woman approached the pair, hoping that she didn't do something even more stupid than she felt in the moment, like faint. 

"Blaise sweetie, I have missed you so much." Lady Zabini greeted her son first, moving closer to gently touch his face. The smile of which broke out upon Blaise's face was one which matched her own, the mother and son duo clearly ecstatic about seeing one another again for the first time since the winter break. Yet despite all of his mother's fussing, Blaise did not drop Bronwyn's hand of which he held onto tightly, hoping to provide a stabiliser to her emotions. And when his mother finally turned to look at Bronwyn properly she thought if it were possible her heart would explode out of her chest. 

"Hello, you must be Bronwyn, you can call me Sabine." The woman was quick to move towards Bronwyn who, despite trying her hardest to open to more affection, found herself tensing. And when the older woman stopped before taking the girl into her embrace picking up instantly on the discomfort radiating of the tall girl she Bronwyn found herself mortified. Already feeling as though she was messing everything up. But she only got a smile from the woman in response. "Sorry lovely." A small apology was given before the woman seemed to switch into business mode. 

"I asked you both to meet me here because we have other places to be. Bronwyn how do you travel during side aparition?" Lady Sabine turned her attention once again to Bronwyn her eyes casting down to the bangle the girl had on. But Bronwyn knew the answer to her question meant letting go of the hand she had been holding and using as an anchor. 

"Much better than by Portkey." Bronwyn answered hoping that it would be enough as she moved closer to Lady Sabine, taking the outstretched hand. As the tugging sensations took over. 

When the trio landed, Bronwyn took a moment to gather her bearings. She noticed they had landed in some sort of high street, and were surrounded by shops upon shops. But she could not recognise where they were. It did not look like anywhere in London she knew. And if she was being honest, her geography and general understanding of most places meant that if it was elsewhere in the UK she wouldn't have been able to recognise it regardless. Bronwyn was quick to take a step back unsure of what was going on around them, and how to respond to everything that had occurred in the mere minutes she had met the head of the Zabini household. 

"Breathe Bronwyn, come on Winnie breathe with me." A gentle voice would break her from the panic she had so easily slipped into without being fully aware. She looked up and to the dark eyes of Blaise as he had taken to stepping so she could see nothing but him, preventing her from becoming distracted by their surroundings, and potentially working herself into a worse state. 

"Merlin, I am so embarrassed." Bronwyn whispered back to him, scared that the impression she was making on his mother was only getting worse, "Your mum's going to hate me."

"Never baby, never." Blaise's words were filled with enough conviction that she was lead to believe them. 

"Come on lovebirds we have somewhere to be." A voice called and Bronwyn took a moment to realise that this was Lady Zabini and she immediately stood herself upright and proper. Reaching out to take Blaise's hand within her own, Bronwyn allowed herself to be pulled in whatever direction the older woman was taking them. Completely unsure of where this adventure was going to take her, and for once not feeling completely terrified of the idea. And she was sure she could put it all down to the boy whose hand she was holding. And as the streets twisted and turned down each corner, she found herself trying to work out just where in the world they currently were. For it took mere minutes for Bronwyn to establish that they were no longer in the UK, they were somewhere abroad.

And as she looked around, it wouldn't be difficult to assume where they currently were. Okay maybe Bronwyn had worked most of it out when two women walked past the trio speaking in a rather loud tone. She understood next to nothing of which they were saying but it was clear otherwise, or maybe not Bronwyn wasn't exactly the most well-versed individual, that they were still in Europe. It would not be until she was being pulled into a small boutique of which she finally connected all the dots of which had bene given to her during the walk throughout the city of which they had arrived in. 

They were in Italy. The home country of the Zabini family. 

"We're in Italy." She whispered her words addressed to the teenage boy who remained firmly at her side. Blaise looked down at her, something she cursed their less than 2 centimetre height difference for, with a smug grin. A smug grin she found way too attractive. 

"Welcome to Milan Winnie." He did not take the nicety to whisper his answer back his voice was loud as it carried its way around the boutique. Bronwyn watched as both his mother and the solo worker turned to look at the pair. She could feel as the blush crept its way up her face, across her ears and down her neck, turning her into a rather noticeable strawberry. 

"Bronwyn this is Miss Ciara, she is the owner." Lady Zabini introduced Bronwyn to the worker, well the owner she supposed and she was unsure what was going to happen next. She feared the possible outcomes. Especially since she had a funny feeling she had been bought to a clothing store on purpose, and as her eyes cast their way down to the outfit she had chosen, the blush upon her face only got worse, much worse. "If there is anything here today which fits and you like you can take it with you. Whatever is missing from your wardrobe will be made and then delivered." Lady Zabini continued to speak but her words were not an offer, they were an ultimatum. Something she could not deny, despite the inside voice of her screaming otherwise. A squeeze of her hand was another warning against arguing. 

"Come on let me spoil you. Let me finally buy you a brand new coat. Let yourself have something brand new, something that's just yours." Blaise coaxed as he brought Bronwyn towards where the two women were standing. Where she would spend the next several hours being pushed in and out of changing rooms as the piles of clothing continued to rise in height. 

Bronwyn was too scared to even look at the final total by the time the three were finished within the shop. The sheer number of bags and boxes and other items they were leaving with was enough to make her heart shatter. Completely unsure of how she was ever going to repay the two Zabini's for their generosity. The trio would end up in a small cafè after finishing the shopping. And as Lady Zabini sat opposite the pair Bronwyn found herself trying to figure out words of which she could use to express her gratitude. 

"I really would like to thank you Lady Zabini for all of this. I've never had an experience like it." Bronwyn managed to string together a thank you which didn't sound completely pathetic and she was incredibly happy with herself for that manner. 

"Welcome to the family my dear." The older witch just winked at Bronwyn and all the teenaged girl could do was smile in response. 

Author's Note:

Sorry for another one so soon, but thank you all for your patience. At the current time it is currently the 28th December 2024! This is the first day I have had off work since the holiday week began and the only one (yes I worked the 24th/25th/26th nights and will work the 29th/30th/31st) I had so sorry this is only so little. I have been working on this update for nearly a month as I was filled with difficulty in trying to get it where I wanted it. 

But I hope you all have a great end to the year and I will catch again in 2025!

S. 

xxx