Don't Do Me Any Favors

I don't own Harry Potter. Simple as dat.

This is written in response to missus brokkenbroll's Words They Don't Have In English challenge, found in the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum. The word I was prompted with is at the bottom.

Blaise Zabini was going crazy.

Not literally, at this point, though if he had to endure many more parties with his cousins, he probably would. No, Blaise Zabini was merely highly agitated (and somewhat over-dramatic). The reason was one Hermione Granger.

Now, unlike certain blond ferrets that Blaise had to share his precious oxygen with, Blaise didn't much care that Granger was born to muggles. His mother certainly did, and he must keep up appearances, but honestly he sort of pitied her. It must be a terribly boring childhood without magic, but, then again, given the parading around he had to endure, he wasn't sure he could complain. What was truly bothering Blaise was that Hermione Granger was doing him favors.

It wasn't a lot or overly noticable. The first time had been in second year. He had been in the library, desperately trying to finish a Charms essay about the Lumos Charm and its variants, and he couldn't find any reference about changing the color. He knew it was just a few phrases subsequent to the original charm, but he couldn't find the listing, and he had to turn it in the next day. Granger was working the next table over, and was standing up to leave for lunch. She must have noticed the subject matter of his books, because she dropped one of the texts she had been using on top of his pile, gave a short "Here you go." and left.

Blaise had been about to turn and tell her he wasn't there to clean up after her, when he noticed the title, Simple Charm Variations by Leonard Pickings. He had flipped it open, and, sure enough, there was a whole section on the Lumos Charm. He had enough material to tack on a few extra inches to his essay, and finished in time to still make it to lunch. When he tried to catch Granger's eye, she hadn't even been looking at him.

Eventually, he had shrugged it off as her simply being 'nice' and forgotten about it. Yet, it kept happening.

During transfiguration, she demonstrated a particularly tricky wand technique when she noticed he was struggling. In Care of Magical Creatures, she helped him retrieve his watch from the nifflers, and covered for him with Hagrid when he accidentally injured the bowtruckle he was supposed to be caring for. She even lent him a pair of quills during potions and didn't request them back.

Now, to many, these would just seem to be niceties, a muggleborn trying to be polite. However, one didn't live with Guinevere Zabini with out learning that, when women do something, there is always a reason.

Blaise could only think of two reasons why Granger would be doing this. First, she was attracted to him, and wanted to pursue a relationship. Blaise wouldn't blame her if this were the case, but it would never work. Given he and his mother's status in the world, he could never openly consort with someone such as Granger. While he might not care about her birth parents, others certainly would. In addition, though he could see how some might be attracted to her, he simply wasn't.

He also rather doubted that that was the case, as she seemed much to wrapped up in her two "lap-dogs", as Pansy sometimes mockingly referred to them, to seek other relationships, especially with a Slytherin.

The alternative was that she wanted something. Now, this Zabini could see as a possibility. After all, that was common practice in Slytherin. Work your way into someones good graces, then use the favor you earned to essentially buy what you wanted from them. Simple, straight forward, and all too cunning for a Gryffindor. One certainly couldn't say that Granger wasn't ambitious, but she was too goody-goody to think of buying favors from someone.

This left Blaise with exactly zero reasons why Granger would be doing things like this. However, he was determined to find out.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the classroom. She had just finished one of the semi-monthly meetings of the Slug Club. Honestly, if networking meant she had to endure story after endless story about Old Aunt Gretl and her Triple Potion Mastery or whatever, she would pull a Harry and just dodge out on the meetings altogether. However, it would be good for her later career.

Hermione sighed as she thought about Harry. She didn't know why that book bothered her so much. It just... That wasn't true. She knew why, it just felt like cheating when she worked so hard, and then Harry was skating forward on someone else's efforts.

Hermione shook herself and turned towards Gryffindor, when someone called out behind her.

"Granger, wait." She turned to see Blaise Zabini approaching down the corridor. Hermione bit her lip.

"What is it?" Hermione struggled to keep her voice polite. Not an half-an-hour earlier, she had heard Blaise and Francis Graham swapping some rather rude Muggle jokes.

Blaise paused to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. He glanced up and down the corridor, then turned back towards her. "Let's go somewhere more private."

Hermione tensed, and her hand slid towards where her wand was poking out of its pocket in her bookbag. "Why?" There was no keeping the suspicion out of her voice.

Blaise raised his hands. "It's not like that, I just have something...private...to ask you about."

"Anything that you wish to ask, you can do here."

Blaise bit his tongue to keep from snapping back at her. He took a breath, then spat out his question. "What do you want fro me?"

Hermione blinked, then spoke slowly, as if to a child. "You're the one who stopped me."

Blaise waved his hand as if brushing aside cobwebs. "Not for that. You have been doing me favors. What are you trying to get?"

Hermione stared at him. Favors? "What are you talking about?"

"Second Year, you helped me with my essays. Third Year, you covered for me with Hagrid and stalled McGonagall when I broke that vase. Just last week you gave me your notes in Slughorn's class after Goyle spilled Essence of Clover all over mine. On and on, what are you trying to get me to do?"

Hermione was completely confused. She took a step back and raised her eyebrow. "I'm not trying to get you do anything. I was just being nice."

Blaise sighed, and then smirked and shook his head. "I thought you might claim that. I haven't lived as long with my mother as I have to not learn, when it comes to women, you always have a reason."

Hermione frowned. She could begin to see where he was coming from, considering who his mother was. Female "celebrities" like Madam Zabini were some of Pavarti and Lavender's favorite topics for gossip, and Hermione had picked up quite a bit. Madam Zabini always seem to have said or did just the right thing to put her on top of whatever was going on in the Wizarding World. Three days after Voldemort was defeated the first time, she held an auction of some of her "old" clothes, with proceeds going towards war victims. It put her solidly in the good graces of the Wizard public, and Hermione was sure that when Voldemort regained power, there would be something happening to firmly plant Madam Zabini as the premier model of a dark lady.

Still, even if she could see where he was coming from, didn't mean she particularly liked him running her down and throwing accusations. With more than a bit of impatience, she asked, "Well, what do you think I am trying for?"

Zabini smirked. "I think you either want to court me, or you wish me to owe you something."

Hermione snorted. Someone was full of himself. "Oh, do you really think a couple essays is worth the hand of the very desirable Zabini Heir?" Blaise seemed to miss the sarcasm, or perhaps he choose to overlook it.

"I will admit, I don't feel it would ever work between us, but I appreciate the interest..."

Hermione snapped, "Oh, it really is all about you, isn't it? So sorry I missed the memo." She took a step forward, and Blaise moved back slightly.

"There are any number of reasons I could have for doing you favors. Maybe I am trying to be like Slughorn, cultivate connections and position myself for better opportunities later in life."

"But you never..."

"Or maybe, there is someone I am trying to make jealous, and I want to go through you. While a few essays certainly isn't worth your hand, I would think it would be worth a date or two."

"Well, maybe, but..."

"Or maybe I am doing it for your mother. Would it surprise you if she had set-up a fund for young, promising witches she could groom to be just like her later in life, and I, as a recipient, am trying to get in my benefactor's good graces by helping her son?"

Blaise was shocked. It actually wouldn't surprise him if his mother had done just that. She might have even done it to find him a wife, one she could be sure wouldn't "outlive" him. But before Blaise could open his mouth, Hermione plowed on.

"Or maybe, I have simply accepted that my station in life is to serve all Purebloods, as they are the only true heirs to magic."

Blaise actually snorted at that. It would be more likely for Draco to declare his undying love for Harry Potter, than for Hermione Granger to actually do such a thing. Hermione was grinning too, and she wasn't quite finished yet.

"Blaise, I could ask any number of things from you because I helped you, but I will not. I am not someone who trades in favor for favor, and is always looking to put others in my debt. In all honesty, I find it makes the gift worth much less, if the one you give it to is always wondering whether you are going to ask for something in return."

Blaise stood silently and stared as Hermione turned to leave. She paused, and then looked back. "It also means that, if they aren't suspicious of your gifts, they are much more willing to reciprocate on their own." She gave a brief grin, which Blaise noted was full of perfectly straight teeth. Didn't she use to have buck teeth?

"See you in Hogsmede."

Blaise was left standing in the corridor, before he turned to head back to his dorm. He had a lot to think about, and he had to go to bed early. He would be heading down to Hogsmede first thing tomorrow morning.

He had a gift to buy.

Wow, this story literally wrote itself. I have never really thought about a relationship between Hermione and Blaise. Don't know how it would work, but it was fun to write this.

This was written for a story challenge, as I mentioned in the summary. The word I was given was from Chinese: Guanxi. Basically, Guanxi is like karma. You gain it by doing favors for someone, giving them gifts, that sort of thing, and then you lose it by asking for a favor to be repaid. So, I started to think about favors, and I spawned this.

Hope you like it.

Aloha for Reviews!