Jealousy and Regret
Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments. Charms OWL.
Task: To summon something is very much about getting something into your possession. Your task is to write about a possessive love. However, this isn't just as simple as the task sounds. You must think about the nature of a Summoning Charm. Have the possessive member of the pairing be doing what they can to "summon" the attention of the other.
Prompts: (emotion) Jealousy, (object) Photograph of the couple.
Blaise smile as he looked at the photograph he held in his hand; it was a picture of him and his ex-girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass. He couldn't believe how happy they looked. He was smiling into the camera while she leaned in to kiss him; the look of adoration on her face took his breath away, and regret slapped him across the face as he remembered the cruel way he'd ended their relationship.
She'd gone round to his place while his mother was out; they'd spent the weekend together, and then he'd dumped her coldly. Daphne had confessed her love for him and announced that she was a virgin, and Blaise lied and told her that he loved her too, just to get into her knickers. It was two years ago, and he slowly realised that he'd made the biggest mistake of his life.
Blaise placed the photograph back in his sock drawer, where he kept it hidden so no one could find it. Over the last year, Daphne had started to forgive him for his past behaviour, but showed no interest in him romantically; if he was honest, Blaise didn't blame her.
Glancing at the clock, he saw it was time to leave. It wouldn't do to keep his friends waiting around; the old Blaise may have done this without a second thought, but he wanted to prove that he'd changed for the better. Maybe that'd be enough to make Daphne change her mind about giving him a second chance. Warmth filled his heart at the thought, and he apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Blaise was the first to arrive, so he tapped his foot impatiently as he looked around the pub. Loud voices echoed around the room, and Blaise couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the place so crowded. At that moment, he heard a familiar giggle. He turned towards the sound and saw Daphne, looking too good to be real in a stunning knee-length red dress; her blonde hair was up in a high ponytail, tempting him to walk over and gently pull out the hair tie so he could run his hands through her sleek, shiny hair.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by the hearty chuckle of her companion. His happiness at seeing Daphne faded as he realised that she was on a date with another man. An icy cold stab of jealousy ran through his veins, and Blaise was powerless to stop himself from glaring at his rival. He was a good-looking bloke, but nowhere near as attractive as Blaise. In the end, he stayed where he was and sat sending death glares in the other guy's direction. Daphne seemed to sense that someone was watching them, and she turned to look at him. Grey eyes connected with hazel ones before Daphne looked away, flustered. Blaise was thrilled by the reaction he could still inspire in her. He stood up and started towards the couple when a hand appeared on his shoulder; he turned to see Draco, Goyle, and Nott. Great timing, as always.
"Decided to grace me with your presence, then?" Blaise inquired as they nodded at each other and sat down.
"Thought I'd better make an appearance," Draco drawled with a smirk. "I know your life isn't worth living without me."
Blaise snorted, "Whatever you say, ferret face."
"With friends like you, who needs enemies?" Draco laughed.
"Knock it off, you lovebirds," Nott cut in. "Who's getting the first round?"
Blaise piped up quickly. "I will!" He hoped he didn't sound too eager and ignored the looks from everyone as he headed towards the girl in the red dress. She was facing him, and as he walked closer he could see that she was blushing. 'Bingo,' he thought to himself with smug satisfaction. The tosser she was with turned to see what she was looking at, and he didn't look pleased when he saw Blaise. Good. Blaise shocked all three of them when he stopped in front of her and placed a kiss on Daphne's cheek.
"Looking gorgeous as ever, Daph," he smiled as he whispered in her ear, grinning when he saw his rival was shorter than him.
"I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Luke Bingham, Daphne's boyfriend." He held out a hand towards Blaise.
"Blaise Zabini, Daphne's ex-boyfriend."
Luke arched an eyebrow. "Ah, the famous Blaise, I wondered if we'd ever meet."
He was surprised by this response, and he didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that she'd mentioned him. Deciding to play it cool, he raised an eyebrow in return and looked Luke in the eye as he spoke. "Still talking about the ex-boyfriend, eh?"
"Oh, don't worry, it was nothing good. Now, we were on a date, so if you don't mind…" He trailed off while glaring daggers at Blaise.
"Of course, so sorry for interrupting. Goodbye, Daphne, and I meant what I said about how gorgeous you look. If you want to ditch this idiot and be with a real man, I'll be over there."
"Still as arrogant and conceited as ever then, Blaise?" Daphne spoke with conviction, but she didn't meet his gaze.
He couldn't resist the urge to lean in and whisper in her ear, "You love it."
"Goodbye," was her only response, but it didn't matter. Blaise felt her shiver when she felt his breath on her neck. Their eyes met once more before he headed to the bar.
When he returned, his friends cheered and clapped. "Finally! I thought I'd die of thirst," said Nott while Draco took a big sip of his drink. Goyle grunted in agreement.
"Sorry, got talking to an old friend."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Friend? I would've said 'ex-girlfriend who you're obviously still in love with' myself." The look Blaise gave him could've frozen water, but Draco continued. "It's written all over your face, Zabini, so don't even try to deny it,"
Nott spoke up in agreement with Draco, and Blaise groaned in annoyance. "He's right, go over there and claim what's yours."
"And piss Daphne off by ruining her date? Where's that going to get me?"
Nott made chicken noises, and even Goyle joined in with the teasing.
"Pussy!"
"Now, now, boys, we shouldn't be mean to our wimpy friend just because he won't go after what he wants. After all…"
Blaise saw Luke head to the toilets, and he strode over to Daphne before Draco could finish his sentence; their catcalls could be heard all over the pub. She had her back to him, so he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and nuzzle her neck. She giggled, "Luke! That was quick."
"Not Luke, guess again, beautiful."
She startled and pushed him away, fury evident in her eyes as she turned to face him. "What the hell are you doing? Can't you just leave me alone?"
"I could, but I don't want to. Do you ever think about that weekend?"
Hurt flickered across her face, but she recovered and put her wall back up. "You mean when you told me you loved me to get me into bed, then left me crying on your bedroom floor? How could I ever forget that, Blaise?"
"I'm sorry for hurting you. If I had a time turner I'd go back to that day and take those words back; breaking up with you was the biggest mistake I've ever made."
"You don't have a time turner, and you can't take it back, so please leave me alone." A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away furiously. Blaise leaned in and kissed her tear-stained cheek, and when she didn't resist he kissed her tenderly on the lips.
"Mine," he growled out huskily as he pulled away.
"So, I go to the toilet, and you let your ex-boyfriend kiss you while I'm gone? You're welcome to her, mate." Luke glared at them before grabbing his coat and walking out of the pub. Blaise watched him go with a triumphant smirk, but a smack on the back of his head soon put a stop to his glee.
"Ow! Daphne!"
She was apoplectic with rage, and Blaise stepped back. "You think this is funny? What the hell's wrong with you?" Daphne stormed out of the pub with a determined Blaise hot on her heel.
"Daph, I'm sorry, okay! I saw you in there, and I just couldn't stay away from you."
She turned to look at him, frustrated. "What do you want from me, Blaise Zabini? I loved you so much, and you broke my heart. Now I'm trying to move on you come back again, making things difficult for me. Why?"
He took a big breath and stepped closer to her. "I meant everything I said in there. I regret treating you the way I did, and I would give anything to have another chance."
"You mean that? For real?"
"Yes, from the bottom of my heart."
Minutes seemed like hours as she stared intensely at him. "Pick me up at half seven next Saturday, and you can take me to that new French restaurant. I'm giving you one more chance, Blaise, so don't let me down."
"I promise I will never let you down again."
Daphne stepped closer hesitantly, her eyes lingering on his lips, and Blaise lost all rational thought as she leaned in and kissed him. It was over all too soon, but for him, it was a kiss full of promise.
"Goodbye, Blaise."
"Bye, Daphne."
He watched her Apparate back home with a grin so bright it could light up the street, and then he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to tell the others about his date. Daphne Greengrass could be his once more if he played his cards right, and he'd never let her go again.