"A lot of boys like her," Pansy smirked and Blaise saw the little glint as she caught his eye for a brief moment. He knew exactly what she was getting at. "Even you think she's good-looking, don't you, Blaise, and we all know how hard you are to please!"

Feeling distinctly annoyed and forever regretting that one stupid game with Pansy and a bottle of veritaserum that happened last year, Blaise simply looked on at her coldly before answering.

"I wouldn't touch a filthy little blood-traitor like her whatever she looked like," he answered simply, seeing the smug look on Pansy's face he noted that it was approval on her part for his comment.

He didn't particularly enjoy spending much time with this lot, so whichever insults he threw around when they were there he always remembered to take note on which ones they approved of most, so in the future, when at times like these, and he was forced to spend time with them, he knew the ways to act which they would be happy with. He half listened as Draco talked in his smug way about his family again, wondering how much longer this train journey would take. He didn't really have time for these idiots, but then again, he didn't really have time for anyone. He responded to Draco, as he nearly always ended up doing, figuring that he might as well and supposing that you should get one party on your side when there was a war coming along or risk being caught in the cross fire. And personally, Blaise didn't like the idea of being forgotten about, even if people's attentions were more along the lines of whether they and their families would live.

This party was as boring as he thought it would be. Blaise didn't bother hiding his yawn as he picked up another glass in one hand and stared discontentedly into the crowd of people. On the whole, it wasn't a bad party, the food was average, the drinks slightly above, and the decorations were appealing enough for him; it most certainly wasn't the worst event he'd been to. However, the collection of people held little interest to him, and it wasn't as though anything out of the ordinary had really happened. The only reason he had come was because of his mother's insistence that he stayed with the "Slug Club" (it was a vile name in his opinion, and lacking any sort of real wit) as it was good source of opportunities for the future. He agreed with her on a certain level (as he obviously wouldn't be here if he didn't), however, looking on at this riff raff of ridiculous characters he wondered whether all these meetings taking up his time would really be worth it in the end.

"Professor Slughorn!"

Blaise heard the annoying and frankly rather disgusting caretaker's wheezing tones. He turned his eyes towards him, and gleefully found that the he was not alone, but dragging none other than Draco by his ear. Blaise gave a small smirk and took a small sip of his drink as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. Unfortunately, it was short-lived and soon enough their Head of House was dragging Draco out of party.

"Hey, you haven't seen Hermione Granger, have you?"

Blaise turned to see a Gryffindor standing next to him, and raised an eyebrow. He recognised him as one of the regular members and was surprised to find that apparently now, being mutual fixed members of the "Slug Club" meant that he was now someone that people like this burly blonde haired bloke felt they could talk to him. Interesting. But Blaise didn't know this one's name, wasn't entirely sure who this person was talking about was, and didn't care. However, he might as well keep his options for the future open, so in response he took another sip of his drink and pondered over who this "Hermione" may be. Most likely a girl, judging by the look of this guy here, and most likely one not from Slytherin. By narrowing down the regular members of the Slug Club by the fact the name was somewhat familiar to him, Blaise then suddenly remembered.

"Oh... the..." Mudblood was probably not the correct terminology to use in front of a Gryffindor who would most likely manage to break Blaise's perfectly proportioned nose. "...witch, that hangs around with Potter?" he asked mildly.

"Yes!" his unwanted guest nodded enthusiastically.

"No, I haven't," Blaise was surprised that he wasn't very familiar with the girl's name, considering she never ceased to stop talking in class. "You could always ask Potter."

"I just have," he answered bitterly. "Thanks, anyway."

He walked away looking rather disappointed. Blaise was unsure what to think of it. He always assumed that she was going with the ginger one, the other friend of Potter's, but he supposed he'd seen him thrashing around with some other girl, rather distasteful in Blaise's opinion, but not really anything he cared much about. But it was amusing to think that he was now considered approachable by even a few Gryffindors. He gave a small laugh to himself at the thought of it. However, he found it funny that he could no longer see Potter, he could have sworn that the boy was there with Slughorn and a few others, the loopy Divination teacher, the reasonably pretty although incredibly freakish Ravenclaw whom Blaise took to be Potter's date, and Snape, when the caretaker had dragged Draco into the room.

Blaise shrugged and wandered around, still staying on the outskirts of the party, nodding briefly to the Carrow sisters as they passed by him in equal silence. He caught a glimpse of the Granger girl dodging in between parties hurrying to the other edge of the room as the boy looking for her neared her location. It was a little entertaining, but not very interesting to Blaise, considering how he barely knew, and cared little for, these people. Instead, he resolved to wait for another fifteen minutes, and if no other occurrences appeared he'd make his excuses and leave. Leaning against one of the stone pillars he continued to observe the party when he heard a small sob. Wondering if this was the start of a break up or other event Blaise looked around the room enthusiastically, furrowing his eyebrows as he could see no one less than happy. A few people bored, yes, but no one upset. He heard a small gasp again followed by what sounded like stifling of tears. Frowning, he realised it was rather close by, and turned to see the small alcove next to him, half obscured by drapes. He held back one and peered in to find none other than the Weasley girl sitting on the long, plush cushion, crying her eyes out.

Blaise hesitated, wondering if he should just walk away and leave her to it. He, after all, barely knew her and had displayed no concern for her or the rest of her family before. Seeing a girl cry didn't necessarily make Blaise feel as though he should act any differently or comfort them, he wasn't the sort who ever did that, mostly they just made him feel awkward and thus he avoided the situation at all cost. But perhaps it was because he was bored, or curious, or felt some pity for the girl who he'd never seen upset before, let alone tears streaming down her face, but he dodged under the draping silently thanking Slughorn that Pansy and the rest of that lot weren't there. Maybe it was a little out of character of him, but, well, the Weasley girl was verypretty.

The puffed out eyes heard a noise and looked up from their hands hopefully, before seeing who it was and groaning while their hands rubbed away at the drops of moisture still clinging to her cheek.

"Oh, fuck off, Zabini, I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit right now," she moaned.

Blaise stayed where he was and merely held out his handkerchief towards her. It was silk, but oh well, he'd never used it before, and it was rather pitiful to see her trying to clear her tears with her fingers. It was a few seconds before she looked up again, looking ready to yell at him to get out expecting to see him smirking down at her; instead an honestly indifferent face greeted her. Spotting the handkerchief she hesitantly took it, muttering a regretful "Thanks" as she used it to dry her face properly.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Blaise asked politely indicating to the space next to her.

Ginny shrugged, unsure how to respond to him, and ended up avoiding his eye as she answered "I suppose so."

There was a slightly awkward pause as Ginny went through the snivelling stage and Blaise started to wonder why on Earth he had asked to sit down next to her. This wasn't like him at all, he'd never had to do any comforting before, or even been comforted ever, unless you counted between him and his mother, but they weren't exactly typical in the way of emotions other people were.

"Would you like me to get you anything?" he found himself asking.

He could see her raise an eyebrow slightly before looking miserably down.

"A new boyfriend would be nice," she muttered to herself before clearing her throat. "Er... no thank you."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

If she'd look surprised before it was nothing to how she looked now. And Blaise too was surprised at himself, what had gotten into him? She was looking slightly better now, her face was dry, her eyes less puffy but still a little red, and her previously smeared make up had been tidied up.

"Why are you asking?" she sounded suspicious of him. Naturally, as he probably would be if she had acted like this towards him.

There was a pause in which Blaise thought about it. "Because you don't seem one to cry easily," he answered truthfully, thinking of how different she was from the usual fiery personality he saw. The girl, who, on the train, had outright laughed at him, made fun of his lack of skills and apprehended him as he scoffed at the idea of Potter having "powers beyond the ordinary".

She seemed to be lost for words at that before she shrugged. "Dean, my boyfriend, was being a bit of an arsehole. We argued and he ended up storming off."

"Oh..." Blaise had had a fair few girlfriends, however, his relationships were more... physical than verbal, thus he knew little of disagreements. "That's unfortunate."

She laughed, catching him off guard. He looked at her confused as she giggled, her eyes lighting up as her mouth parted into a smile.

"Sorry," she apologised, trying not to smile or laugh, although he could still see it in her eyes. "I just hardly expected to be talking to you about it, Zabini."

"That's understandable," he answered, again, honestly, shrugging slightly. "What was it you were arguing about?"

"Oh... er..." she faltered slightly, either appearing again suspicious at him, wondering if he just wanted to know for the sake of having something over her, or whether he was just being nice. "Just the usual relationship stuff. He said something that I disagreed with, then I answered him back, we argued and then he said something that hurt me and I suppose here I am."

Blaise nodded, well aware of how vague her answer was, but he wasn't going to be the one to press her.

"You know, you've had plenty of girlfriends yourself," she said offhandedly.

"We never argued."

It came out a little stiffer than he would have expected and he could see the girl straighten up.

"Well, maybe the word 'girlfriends' is stretching it a bit far," her voice had an edge to it.

"Perhaps it is, but you were the one who used it, Weasley," he pointed out.

"Oh, so I suppose everything's my fault, is it?!" she burst out angrily at him.

Blaise's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "No."

She looked completely disconcerted at this answer, before turning and speaking to Blaise scathingly. "Why are you here, Zabini?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

"What?" she genuinely had no idea what was going on. He had always been someone who had always been rude, stuck up, and wandered around as though he were superior to everyone around him. And if he ever was with anyone, it was always that same group of jerks in the year above her.

Blaise shrugged. "You were crying, and it didn't seem right to leave you by yourself."

"Oh... well..." she fumbled slightly, her voice faltering as she looked down at her lap.

Blaise couldn't help but notice how she looked. Even with her eyes still slightly red, they still had that interesting shine to them, and her hair always looked stunning, forever running and unbelievably red, her smile that was slightly mischievous at times, the clearness of her pale skin, the way her dress complimented her complexion perfectly, the way it clung around her waist, the curve of her neck... and even if her personality wasn't exactly desirable, in Blaise's opinion, it had some spark and she most certainly wasn't vastly uninteresting.

"Thank you," she said eventually, her eyes looking up at him past her eyelashes.

Blaise felt a little unsure then. He had no problem admitting that she was attractive, he appreciated beauty in anyone, however, this felt a little different and he felt slightly awkward, as though there was something different in his instinct.

"I suppose you want this back..." Ginny held it out, before realising how it was stained with remnants of her make up. She fumbled to retrieve her wand and then shamefully flicked it muttering a spell under her breath, and handed it back to him shining clean. He admired it for a minute before nodding approvingly.

"That was well done," he commented. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"I'm the youngest child and only daughter in a family of seven, my mother was practically jumping at the chance to teach me household spells," she smiled slightly.

"Well..." Blaise continued to feel out of his comfort zone here, not used to feeling like this around anyone. "I hope your disagreement is resolved soon enough."

"Thank you, I hope so too," although she didn't quite look like it.

"And well... don't get so upset over him again," Blaise looked straight ahead at the thin curtain that separated them from the rest of the party as he avoided her eye. "A girl as pretty as you doesn't suit crying."

When he briefly looked back he saw that her cheeks were now a light shade of pink and just when he opened his mouth to start saying something that he had no control over, it was as though he'd taken veritaserum again, when another airy voice suddenly spoke, and he bit the words right back into his mouth.

"Hello, Ginny, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't interrupt you, did I?"

Blaise turned to see the loopy Ravenclaw, unsure whether he was annoyed she'd turned up, or eternally grateful.

"Er..." Ginny hesitated and gave him a side glance. She knew that he'd been about to say something.

"No, not at all," Blaise answered and Ginny shook her head in agreement.

"Oh..." she cast her perceptive eye over the both of them before deciding to accept their answer. "I didn't know you two were friends."

"We aren't," Blaise answered simply. "We were just having a conversation."

"Would you like me to leave so you two can finish it?"

"No, that's fine, I was just leaving anyway," Blaise answered firmly.

"Thank you!" Ginny rushed out, as he stood up. "For, er, everything."

"That's fine, good evening," he nodded at her, then at Luna before turning on his heel and walking swiftly away from the two girls.

Once in the main area of the party he looked around, relieved to be feeling more sure of himself now that he was out of her company. However, as he cast his eye over everyone, he saw that it was just as dull as it had been before. He sighed to himself, put down his glass and moved into the crowd of people in order to find Slughorn and bid him goodnight properly, as his mother told him was right to do in order for people to feel as though he were being respectful of them (and to make sure that he was remembered).

"I didn't know that you and Blaise Zabini talked to one another," Luna said to Ginny as she took Blaise's former spot next to her.

"We don't... not normally," Ginny confessed. "He was... I don't know what he was doing. We've never even said a civil word to one another before but... well, I was upset by Dean and Zabini offered me his handkerchief."

"I was wondering where Dean had gotten to," Luna nodded, playing with the hem of her skirt thoughtfully. "It was rather nice of him to talk to you afterwards."

Ginny laughed. "It was rather out of character of him, in all honesty, it was a bit weird. Not his usual poserish self. Not very Slytherin."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

"What?" Ginny sighed. "Luna, you do have to admit that he is very fixated on his looks."

"No, I mean about Slytherins," Luna gave her a small knowing smile. "They're not all bad, you know."

Ginny rolled her eyes, and Luna sighed herself but stood her ground. "They aren't. I was talking to a girl in the year below us, Astoria Greengrass, she's a Slytherin and she was very nice. She's like you, she doesn't laugh at me like most people do."

"Oh, Luna," Ginny was sad at that. "I'm sorry people are such brats, if anyone ever does it again, you come and tell me, okay?"

Luna appreciated her friend but at times she found it a little weary how protective she was. But then of course, she felt guilty for ever feeling that as she truly did appreciate friendship, and knew what it was like to have a lack of them. That might have been one of the reasons she felt sympathy for Blaise Zabini, he didn't really appear to have many friends at all, but then again, it was practically unheard of for him to approach anyone without searching for self-gain. Luna simply smiled at Ginny again and nodded.

"Are you feeling better now, Ginny?"

Ginny nodded slowly herself. "Yes, believe it or not, Zabini was actually okay."

Luna was perfectly capable of believing that Zabini had been okay, but she didn't bother pointing this out to her friend. Instead she asked if she was willing to go back out to the party. Ginny agreed, wiping quickly under her eyes to remove any remaining smears of eye liner, and dodged under the canopy back out into the party. She looked around curiously but couldn't spot Zabini, who had evidently left. She paused for a few seconds, pondering over what could have possibly compelled him to do what he'd just done. Unable to come to a reasonable conclusion, Ginny shrugged and set off to find and make up with Dean.