Written for the 'Girls of Harry Potter' Competition 3 on HPFC. Enjoy!
Niggles
By silver-nightstorm
Summary: Parvati got into multiple arguments with Blaise. Zabini was extraordinarily haughty, and Parvati had absolutely no patience for him. The little disagreements that the two got into could never be called fights, they were much too petty for that. Instead, they would pick quarrels with each other over trifle things – the weather, Divination, who ran into whom in the hallway, and so on and so forth.
XX
Parvati Patil prided herself on being calm, cool, and collected no matter the situation. However, one encounter with the Italian Slytherin had her nearly steaming from the ears. She wasn't exactly sure what it was about Blaise Zabini, but he always managed to – figuratively, of course – get her knickers in a twist.
Her less-than-cordial encounters with Zabini began on the Hogwarts Express before her first year of school. She had been one of the last few people to get onto the train – her mum had wanted to kiss every inch of her face before letting her go – so she found herself dragging her trunk down the cramped hallway looking for an empty compartment. She was going to sit with Padma, but the girl had already run off with Su Li to discuss possible coursework. Boring.
So Parvati had searched for a compartment to sit in. She came upon one with only one inhabitant, an olive-skinned boy who seemed to be her age. Carefully opening the compartment door, Parvati gave him a wide smile and asked, "May I sit here? Everywhere else is practically full."
The boy looked up at her, sneered, and then looked out of the window.
Parvati scowled and put her hands on her hips. "You know, you could have simply said no. There's no need to be rude."
The boy didn't even look up.
Tossing her long hair, Parvati stomped up to the boy and looked him directly in the eye. "Did you hear me?" she snarled. "I was talking to you!"
The boy rolled his eyes. "I don't care."
"Why you…" Parvati was seconds away from hurting the boy terribly when the compartment door was unceremoniously slammed open.
"Blaise, Draco wants to… Oh! Parvati!"
Spinning around, Parvati came face-to-face with Pansy Parkinson. After a quasi-polite conversation with the girl, Parvati threw Blaise one last dirty look and flounced out of the compartment.
Over the next seven years, Parvati got into multiple arguments with Blaise. Zabini was extraordinarily haughty, and Parvati had absolutely no patience for him. The little disagreements that the two got into could never be called fights, they were much too petty for that. Instead, they would pick quarrels with each other over trifle things – the weather, Divination, who ran into whom in the hallway, and so on and so forth.
Then, during the battle for Hogwarts, McGonagall invited students who were of age to stay and fight. Parvati had not expected many Slytherins to stay. Quite frankly, she had expected only two or three. What she had not expected was for Blaise Zabini to get up and walk out.
Jumping to her feet, Parvati stormed out of the hall after the departing Slytherins. "Blaise!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Get your bloody arse down here!"
Many of the students snorted at her. She stood her ground, arms crossed, eyes fiery, foot tapping. She stood her ground until the handsome Italian wizard extracted himself from the flood of students and casually ambled back to her.
"What?" he demanded.
"Why aren't you staying?" she asked.
"Why would I?"
Parvati threw her arms up in the air. "You can't stand Death Eaters. You look down on them! You look down on the Dark Lord himself! Why wouldn't you fight against him?"
Blaise fixed her with a haughty glare. "You have conveniently forgotten that I don't like blood-traitors either."
Parvati opened her mouth as if to scream at him, but promptly stopped. "It's not worth it," she whispered. "I'm done." Her posture seemed to sag, her regal bearing gone, and she made her way back to the Great Hall.
An elegantly sculpted hand on her arm stopped her.
"You're not screaming."
"There comes a time when one knows that screaming at a brick wall will get one nowhere."
"I'm not a brick wall." Zabini sounded mildly offended. Parvati didn't look at him.
"You are. And I'm done. You don't believe in anything."
Zabini sighed loudly. "I am not going to fight for a war I don't believe in. But…" he turned Parvati so she faced him, pulling her chin up so she had no choice but to meet his eyes. "I believe I will be very disappointed if I return to Hogwarts to find my favorite verbal duelist gone."
Parvati looked at Zabini blankly. "Favorite… verbal duelist?" she said. "You… you actually enjoy our squabbles?"
"Our daily niggles are wonderful." Abruptly, he turned around and left.
"Wait!" cried Parvati. "What… What?" She couldn't manage anything else. She was shell shocked that Blaise actually seemed to enjoy her company. He always acted otherwise.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Parvati Patil was left in the entrance hall gaping at the spot where Zabini just stood. Certain he was joking; she stormed off to fight in the last battle, never knowing that in a mansion on the outskirts of London, a seventeen-year-old Italian wizard was sitting in his living room with a tumbler of firewhisky staring into the hypnotic flames of his fireplace as he tried to understand why he didn't stay to protect her.
XX
I hope you like it! My first attempt at Blaise/Parvati.