A/N ~ I had started this a long time ago in answer to the Nine Challenges set forth by Lady Silver in April of 2004 (yes, you read that right). It contains all the requirements except it is over 2000 words ~ better late than never?
~*~
She couldn't believe her luck! Why did Colin desert her like that? They had always been partners in Potions, so why did he go and bail on her now? The answer to that was easy; a pair of pretty blue eyes with unnaturally long lashes that fluttered just so, wrapped with curly blond locks with just the right amount of added giggles. Ginny nearly gagged as she thought back on it.
"Watch where you are going, Weasley," drawled Blaise Zabini as the petite redheaded Gryffindor witch practically stumbled into him. "I can't believe Snape made me do this, with you."
"The feeling's mutual, Zabini," Ginny sneered, her dislike of the professors aide in her sixth year potions class made quite apparent.
"Good," the dark haired Slytherin replied. "Let's just find the ingredients and be done with this then!"
They continued to walk along the edge of the forbidden forest in search of the potion ingredients that they were assigned to find, harvest, contain, and return back to Professor Snape.
"Let me see the list again," Ginny demanded, practically running to keep pace with the long strides of the taller boy.
"There are five items on the list, Weasley," Zabini's deepened male voice taunted. "You mean to tell me you can't remember what they are?"
Ginny glared holes into the back of his head.
Zabini continued on his path with long, swift strides, which caused his school robes to billow behind him. "I know that you find me irresistibly good looking, but honestly, you don't have to stare," he said without ever turning to look at her.
Ginny felt her cheeks flush, but refrained from comment and hoped they could just find the ingredients and get on with their day. Stopping momentarily to observe some of the nearby flora and fauna, she recognized one of the needed items. "Hey, Zabini, I think this is the knotgrass."
"Then get some and let's be on with this already," he smirked as if that were completely obvious.
"You have the containers," she reminded as she crossed her arms across her chest and began tapping her foot impatiently. Already the Slytherin had grated on her nerves.
"So I do," he taunted.
Ginny pulled her wand in utter frustration. It was only her intent to Accio the containers, but Blaise immediately had his wand drawn and had cast an Expelliarmus. A flash of blinding light emitted from where the two spells intersected and threw both parties backwards, causing them to both land hard on their posteriors.
Ginny noticed immediately that their surroundings were unfamiliar. "What the hell did you do, Zabini?"
"Me?" he asked incredulously. "You pulled your wand on me!"
"It was only Accio," she replied vehemently. "So then, where the hell are we?"
Blaise then looked around and realized that he didn't recognize their surroundings either. "Oh bloody hell, Weasley, what have you gotten us into?"
Ginny grit her teeth and bit back the next comment. They were in a predicament and fighting with the only other person around didn't seem like such a good idea. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
"Do I look like the woodsy type to you?" he questioned, sounding more serious than he perhaps intended.
"Well, maybe we are just in the forbidden forest," Ginny surmised as she whipped out her wand and laid it flat in the palm of her hand. "Point Me." The wand slowly began to turn towards North.
"And just what good will that do us?"
"The forest is west of Hogwarts, so if we just go east, we should eventually end up back on the grounds."
Her logic was sound, for a Gryffindor anyway, and he had no desire to stay in the forest any longer than necessary. Truth be told, he loathed just about everything being in nature had to offer. It was dirty and full of unfathomable and disgusting insects and creatures. He quickly took the lead and followed the path that lead east.
They walked for hours, not a word uttered between them. Every once in awhile Blaise would use the Four-Point Spell to make sure they were still headed in the right direction. He was surprised with how quiet Ginny had been, then wondered briefly if she was even still behind him. His sudden stop and quick turn made Ginny walk square into him.
To keep from both falling over, Blaise grabbed Ginny by the waist to help steady her.
"What the hell was that for?" she asked, not moving from their close proximity.
"Making sure you were still behind me," he answered as he quickly assessed the situation and let her go. "You were being too quiet."
"Hmph!" He heard her exclaim from behind him as they continued to walk.
Night had fallen and they had long since lit their wands. Both were tired and hungry, and there was no end in sight to the vast trees.
"If you don't slow down I'm going to use Petrificus Totalus on you," Ginny whined from her position bringing up the rear.
"Stop whining, Weasley," Blaise said, the tone in his voice more tired than witty or snide. "Do you think I'm not hungry or tired? And we seem to be getting no where!"
"Then let's play a game," Ginny suggested. Blaise just looked at her like she had completely lost every shred of her sanity. "I swear, I won't mention it to any of your Slytherin cronies."
"Or your Gryffindor ones," he added.
"Deal. What games do you know?"
Blaise stopped dead in his tracks again, yet continued to stare straight ahead. "How about we go see if that cabin is inhabitable for the night?"
She followed his line of sight and her eyes suddenly fell upon the small cabin of sorts. "It looks a little… scary."
Blaise laughed. It was perhaps the first real laugh Ginny had ever heard from a Slytherin. "You've never slept in the dungeons, have you?"
"From what I've heard, your common room is very cool," she said without thinking, then clamped her hand firmly over her mouth. It had been a well-kept secret that Ron and Harry had transformed into Crabbe and Goyle using a Polyjuice potion their second year.
Blaise quirked an eyebrow at her, but tucked that tid-bit of information away for later use. Right now his mind was concentrating on the cabin. Ginny had been correct, it did look kind of scary.
He hesitantly walked up to the door, brushing away cobwebs as he went, for which Ginny was eternally grateful. He pushed open the door, causing it to creak on its hinges. Once inside, he lit a fire in the fireplace.
When the small cottage was fully illuminated, the unlikely duo noticed it was a single-room hunting cabin with a small cot in the corner, a table with two chairs, and a small counter with a sink that looked like it had been used as a make shift kitchen at one time.
"Now what?" Ginny asked as exhaustion seeped through to her very core.
"It certainly doesn't appear anyone has used this in quite a while," Blaise noted with pure disgust laden on his voice.
Deciding to do the best he could with what was offered, Blaise pulled his wand and pointed it towards the tiny cot.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Zabini?" Ginny shot as she grabbed his wand away. When he looked at her in pure confusion, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Do you remember how we ended up in this place to begin with? What if something is wrong with our wands?"
"We used Luminos and the Four Point Spell, I think they are fine, Weasley." Ginny blushed as she handed the Slytherin back his wand. He performed a few Scourgify's, and the small room was as inhabitable as it was ever going to be.
"What about that game?" she asked as she sat down at the table.
"I really don't know any," Zabini sighed as he sat across from her.
"What do you do for fun?" she asked naively, her brown eyes full of curiosity. He was being reasonably nice, so she felt no need to get nasty.
"We attend Death Eater rallies, you?" A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and his deep blue eyes danced with merriment despite his efforts to remain dignified and serious.
Ginny's first reaction was of horror until she realized he was playing with her, a game she could play as well. "I open hidden chambers that house great big snakes."
"So you have been to Malfoy Manor," he deadpanned without so much as a blink of his eye. Within seconds, both were laughing hysterically.
"There was a game I learned while I was at…" Ginny began, but caught herself before saying 'St. Mungo's'. "Well, never mind where I was at, but it's a word association game. I say a word and you say the first thing that you think of."
"Sounds easy enough," he concurred.
"All right, I'll go first then," Ginny chimed in. "Hm…green."
"The color your eyes should be," he answered almost immediately. "Binns."
"Boring," she giggled. "Chess."
"Boring," he laughed. "Water."
"A bath," she sighed longingly. She was dirty and her body ached from their adventure. "Family."
"Weasleys," he answered, casting a darkened look her way.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked hotly.
Blaise resumed his haughty, Slytherin heir. "Nothing."
"God I'm hungry," Ginny moaned as her stomach growled.
"I thought I told you to quit whining."
"Fine, then I'll just go to bed," she huffed as she made her way to the cot in the corner.
"What makes you think you get the bed?" he began to protest. "Just because you are of the female persuasion, doesn't mean you get the one and only place to lay down!"
"Oh what the gentleman you are," she countered as she swiped up the blanket off the cot. As she did, a small little creature went bouncing on the floor. As it did, Ginny gave out a little scream and jumped behind Blaise.
Blaise cast Ginny a nasty look before returning his attention, and his wand, to the little creature now brandishing an angry fist and hoping up and down making little squeaking type noises. "Way to go, Weasley," Blaise began sarcastically, still not removing his attention from the angry little creature. "Go and make it mad."
"You were the one who did all the cleaning spells," she defended. "How was I supposed to know it was there? Can't you just, I don't know, deal with it?"
"And what exactly would you have me do?"
"How the bloody hell should I know? Try kissing and making up!"
Blaise looked at Ginny as if she had just sprouted a second head; a second head without a brain that is. "I do not believe you just said that!"
Ginny laughed at the incredulous, scandalized look that Blaise wore as he admonished her choices. She attempted to hide it under her hand, but she was overcome with a bout of giggles.
"Oh hell, Weasley," he said, rolling his dark blue eyes, "do not, I repeat, do NOT turn into one of those giggly, giddy, good-for-nothing girls!"
Caught up in their discussion, the angry little creature took the opportunity to bite Blaise firmly on the ankle. He cried out in pain as the nasty little thing had razor sharp teeth that cut clean through his well-tailored, expensive trousers.
"Profectus Totalus!" Ginny cast the freezing spell and the little thing froze up solid.
Blaise picked it up by one of its toothpick arms.
"It almost looks like a doxy," Ginny commented as she examined it a little closer.
"And what do you know about their bites?" Blaise asked, showing he was in a bit more pain than he wanted to share with the younger Gryffindor witch.
"They're usually poisonous," she answered, looking at the strange looking little creature. She then realized there was probably a reason Blaise had asked the question and turned to him in alarm. "You're bit?"
"Yes, Weasley, I am," Blaise managed to drawl through clenched teeth.
Ginny looked at the wound and quickly removed her tie. She pushed his trousers further up his leg and tied her tie tightly around his leg just below the knee.
"What are you doing?" Blaise asked, unable to hide his discomfort any longer.
"If that's a doxy then the bite is poisonous," Ginny announced matter-of-factly as she began to examine his wound a little bit more closely. "I'm using my tie as a tourniquet and hopefully the venom won't travel through your body, at least not as fast."
Blaise seemed to blanche with that realization. "This is a fine mess you've gotten us into Weasley!"
"Me?" Ginny snapped back. "I just wanted a bloody container, you were the one who had to go and be all Slytherin about it!"
"What's that supposed to mean? All Slytherin about it."
"Just what I said," Ginny bit back again. "Arrogant prats! That's what you all are! Self centered, arrogant PRATS!"
"You're a Weasley," Blaise drawled, his tone back to normal. "I can't be nice to you, I'd probably be killed in my sleep."
Ginny wasn't sure if he was serious or if he was joking, so she decided to just glare at him in confusion.
"I'm too tired," she resigned. "Your hurt, you take the bed."
Blaise looked over at the bed with disgust. "There's only one blanket, Weasley."
"I'm glad your ability to state the obvious hasn't been affected by the bite," Ginny deadpanned.
Blaise actually enjoyed Ginny's wit, although he could never admit it to her.
"You would have made a good Slytherin yourself. You know that don't you?"
Ginny almost found this statement offending. "How do you figure that, Zabini?"
"Well, your pureblood first of all," Blaise began with a haughty heir. "And you are actually pretty smart, not to mention a quick wit."
Ginny realized that he was actually paying her a compliment in his own, offhanded way.
"Thanks. You know, we can share the bed and blanket. I swear not to ever tell a soul. I'm absolutely knackered."
Blaise stretched out on the small mattress, revealing that it would be rather close quarters when shared. He playfully patted the little spot next to him.
Not feeling like messing around, Ginny curled up next to him. Blaise gently tossed part of the blanket over her as well, and before it had even settled, Ginny was fast asleep.
~*~
The sun reflecting off the gold cords that tied back her bed curtains woke Ginny the next morning. She jumped out of her bed with a start for she was certain that when she had fallen asleep she was in a cabin in the middle of someplace with one Blaise Zabini.
"Ginny, you all right?" One of the other girls asked.
Ginny looked around again. It had all seemed so real. "I guess so…" was all she could utter.