Written for and dedicated to Mickibooo for the April gift exhange (Blaise/Neville, rhinoceros, AU)
Written for the Months of the Year competition (Write about a leader. Prompts: (object) calendar, (dialogue) "It's not always about me, but today it is"
A Day Not to Forget
Blaise held his breath as he opened the gate, but even that didn't stop the ripe stench of rhinoceros droppings from reaching his nostrils.
"Ugh," he groaned, covering his nose and mouth with his arm. "Bloody Pansy." Why was it always she was away? He didn't mind going in to feed the tigers, or the lions, or even the bears, but rhinoceroses were one of his least favourite animals.
They were ugly, boring, and when they didn't get fed the right way, they were rather scary as well. Pansy had managed to develop a relationship with them, however, and they rarely even looked up when she entered.
But because of her darn pregnancy and morning sickness, he was once again forced to enter their disgusting area and provide them with food.
They didn't like him. He was the zoo owner, and the animals hated him. Even the animals they allowed kids to go and pet hated him.
"What a disgusting job," he muttered as he threw the feed into the enclosure and quickly stepped back into the safety of the human zone before the rioted about what he'd given them.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he moved onto the next enclosure – the elephants. He hated them, too.
"Morning, Blaise!"
Blaise turned his head just in time to spot Neville Longbottom waving to him from across the seal enclosure. Neville was one of the greatest attractions at the zoo – well the seals were, technically – but if it weren't for him it'd be nothing.
Blaise wasn't exactly his number one fan, but he brought in plenty of money, so he was worth keeping.
"Morning," he said gruffly, before hurrying along the path to the elephants. He didn't want Neville to stop him like he had yesterday.
In the mornings before they opened Pansy took care of most of the ugly animals, Blaise realised. Along with the rhinos and elephants, the hippopotamuses and the gorillas. Doing her job made him realise he was much happier sitting in his office and taking care of the money side of things.
He was a leader, not a zookeeper.
He'd just shut the doors to the gorilla enclosure when a figure approached him. He held back a sigh when he saw who it was.
"What do you want, Longbottom?"
Neville looked slightly taken aback by the bluntness of his voice, but it didn't seem to stop him from saying what he wanted to say. "I've just received a phone call from Hogwarts University. I've been accepted into an Honours program for zookeeping."
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me this why?"
Neville shuffled his feet. "Well, they want me to come in today – now – to talk to them about an interview."
"No."
Neville looked wide-eyed at Blaise. "No?"
Blaise nodded. "That's right. I've already got Pansy away with her rhinos and elephants and apes and whatnot. I'm not letting my main attraction take the day off either."
"It's okay," Neville answered hurriedly. "The apprentice – Victoire – she's been with me for four months now. She knows exactly what she's doing. She's probably better than me, in fact."
"No," Blaise repeated, firmly.
Neville stared at him. "This is an opportunity that I –"
"Longbotttom, you listen to me. I run a business here, and you lot are my employees. Your job is to work here, train the animals and bring in money. As a reward, I pay you each week for your efforts. Now you're saying you would like to leave at short notice to go to some interview at the university where we met and what got you this job in the first place?"
Neville was struck speechless.
"The hide of some of my employees!" Blaise cried, turning his back on Neville. "Your first show starts in an hour, Longbottom. You better be there." He stormed back to his office. Not a chance in hell was he going to step in for a seal show. Just the thought of touching their wet, slimy skin sent shivers up his spine.
He hated animals.
…
Blaise was in his office when a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," he called, albeit begrudgingly. He had work to get done.
"Blaise."
Blaise winced. "What is it, Longbottom?"
"This is an important –"
"Clearly you don't know the meaning of no."
"Blaise, you need to listen to me. I must go to this –"
"No, Longbottom, you must listen to me. You're my employee. Had you organised this a month ago I wouldn't have a problem, but you're at work right now, and now you must stay."
Neville wasn't one to get angry, but even with his back to him, Blaise could sense his fury. He glanced quickly to his calendar, but before he could offer a bargain, Neville's loud voice broke in the small office.
"I work here every single day at this place, Blaise. I train and look after the animals of your zoo – the one you seem to care little about. When others don't bother showing up, I feed them, and I step in when it's necessary because you don't want to get your hands dirty. I'm the one who ensures nothing goes wrong during the night, and if there is an emergency, I'm the one who comes to assist the animals.
"I love this place, and I love the animals, but I need to go to this thing. It'll take an hour at the most, and I'm going to stand my ground. It's not usually about me, but today it is."
Blaise looked at the usually timid Neville Longbottom. An anger had fired inside of him at the disobedience, but he also found that defiance to be… attractive. He nodded. "Very well," he said. "Your trainee is good?"
"Very," Neville assured him, a grin breaking out on his face. "They'll love her."
Blaise nodded, solemn. "Fine," he said, "but I warn you, Longbottom, if you're even a second longer than an hour, your head will roll."
Neville smiled as he left the office. It seemed that even he knew he could take a day off and Blaise wouldn't be game enough to sack him. He was too valuable to the zoo.
…
Nonetheless, Neville returned after fifty-nine minutes. The university was only a five minute walk through the park from the zoo, and the interview had taken thirty minutes.
Blaise didn't want to ask any more questions, dreading what he might say. If Longbottom gained more qualifications in working with animals, he may want to stop being a trainer. He may want Blaise's job.
"How'd the show go?" Neville asked, sensing his discomfort with the interview subject.
Blaise nodded. "I've heard good reports," he said.
Neville beamed. "I told you."
Blaise ignored him. "The next show is in an two hours. You better go and check on the animals to make sure they're ready."
Neville nodded and vanished.
Blaise shook his head.
…
Truthfully, Blaise had never actually watched one of Neville's shows. His trust in his performance was solely based off the visitor's ratings and the money they paid to go and see it.
But as he stood to the side, arms folded and back against the wall, he could see why the seal show was such an attraction. No matter what Neville said, it wasn't the animals that made the show, it was him.
He had that kind, caring, loving nature with the seals. They did anything he asked – not because he gave them food – but because they actually liked him. They trusted him. And the absolute adoration on his face for them was visible to every human visitor in the area.
Blaise smiled. This was more than just a job for Neville; this was a career. It was his life. He wanted to be there.
He returned to his office, but after witnessing such a wonderful thing, his mind wasn't really on the payroll. Every time he tried to count numbers, his mind would always slip back to how one of the seals would hug Neville.
Two hours had passed, and the visitors were thinning, when a knock at his door startled him. "Come in," he called.
It was Neville.
"Oh, hi." Blaise jumped to his feet.
"I saw you watching my show."
Blaise was a deep red. "Oh, I just wanted to make sure my staff were doing as they were supposed to."
Neville nodded, but Blaise thought he saw the hint of a smile too. "Did I?"
Blaise nodded. "You really are very good, Longbottom," he said, professionally. "You don't give yourself enough credit where it's due. They may come for the animals, but they only come because you make the animals look good."
It was Neville's turn to blush. "Thank you, Blaise."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room after that; one where Neville shifted his weight from one to the other and Blaise scratched the back of his neck.
"Er, so, thanks about today," Neville said after a moment.
Blaise nodded. "All good." He wanted to ask how the interview went, but wasn't entirely sure such a question would be welcomed. He settled for, "I hope it went well."
Neville nodded. "Yeah, pretty good."
"Great!"
They stood, looking at each other, blushes creeping onto their faces.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Neville said after another moment.
Blaise nodded, but as Neville was halfway out the door, he had another thought. "Say, Longbottom! You wanna get dinner tonight? Say, seven?"
This time a very apparent smile appeared on Neville's face. "Tell me where, and I'll be there."
Blaise grinned, unable to move as he watched Neville leave. From a day that had started with rhinoceros droppings, it hadn't turned out that bad after all.
This is a guilty pleasure pairing for me, one I've been meaning to write for a while now, so I jumped on this chance. I hope you liked it!