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"Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself/ Where'd it all go wrong?/ But the list goes on and on/ And truth be told I miss you/ And truth be told I'm lying…" – The All-American Rejects, "Gives You Hell"


The week came and went, bringing along more reasons for Blaise to terminate the arrangement with Daphne. Sure, she was a lovely girl, but she and Blaise just couldn't seem to get along like most couples. Perhaps that was the dangers of arranged marriages, Blaise decided one day, was that you kept thinking you could find or force love out of it even though it was impossible, and thus left yourself doomed to remain in the relationship for eternity. Even if his mother declined his request, which he doubted, as they were always incredibly close, he would still be able to terminate it on his own, given that he was directly involved in the contract.

He was just meandering through the halls of his former home, smiling idly at the still portraits of him, his sisters, his mother and his grandmother while they had been in Sicily just two summers ago. All of his life, he had been surrounded by works of art, good food, and strong women. Even his younger sister, who was two in the portrait and about to turn four in a few months, was showing signs of being just as independent and stubborn as her mother. Perhaps that's why Daphne fell short of being his ideal woman, he decided with a hum as he continued on down the hallway. She was always trying to be as good as or better than her sister, and trying to prove herself to others. He liked women with nothing to prove except to themselves, and he liked women even more if they were confident in all aspects of themselves, even their flaws.

"Blaise!" a tiny voice chirped, rushing towards him and threatening to take out his kneecaps. He immediately braced himself for impact and quickly scooped the little girl up into his arms, breathing a sigh of relief for not getting bowled over and quickly grinned at his little sister.

"Good morning, Lia!" he beamed, tossing her up into the air and catching her as she giggled and squealed. She was adorable, and she knew it. She had pudgy, chubby cheeks that enhanced her grins and giggles, and big brown eyes and thick dark lashes that even he was envious of. Blaise was her favorite, possibly since he had spent the most time with her when she was younger, but she and Evangeline still got on well enough. "How was Italy, hmm? Did you get sick on tortellini again?"

"No!" she pouted, her dark hair falling against his face as he held her overhead. "I ate like a good girl this time! When my tummy said "stop!" I stopped!"

"Ahh, it only took four years," he teased, settling her on his hip and tickling her stomach, noticing just how lighter her tan skin was compared to his dark. He tried to place who Simone's husband had been at the time Lia would have been conceived, but couldn't quite remember his name or what he had really looked like. He decided it didn't matter all the much anyway, since he was gone and had left the adorable girl all for themselves. "Now, where is Mama? I really need to talk to her."

"She's in the greenhouse," she said, motioning to be put down on a pillow that had coloring books, dolls and crayons all scattered around it. "Will you come play with me before you leave?"

"I would love nothing more," he grinned, ruffling her hair before walking away to the greenhouses. While most English Pureblood manors had gardens that would turn dormant in the winter months, the Zabinis had a greenhouse to keep all of their plants lush and luxurious all year round and found themselves able to have a multitude of foreign plants. However, it was big and towering with swooping arches and ivy vines crawling all over the tan brick. It felt like some sort of secret, magical land in his own backyard.

"Mother?" Blaise called, trying to figure out which section of the greenhouse Simone would take up in. "Are you still in here?"

"Oh, Blaise, tesorino, ciao!" Simone stood from the wicker chair by the lilies, beaming and embracing her son. Both Evangeline and Lia had gotten all of their good looks from Simone, as the elder women had thick, wavy dark hair and big brown eyes with eyelashes that beat her daughters'. She had full, almost perfectly drawn lips that would break out into a beaming grin whenever she saw one of her children. She was practically smiling 24/7 when she had been pregnant with Lia, and Evangeline and Blaise had teased her constantly.

"Morning, Mama, how was Italy? And Grandmother?" he asked politely, taking the seat opposite of her as she conjured it.

"Beautiful and beautiful, as always," she replied, taking a sip of her tea and discarding her book, "Now, to what do I owe this pleasure? If it were something as simple as pleasantries, you would have sent an owl."

Blaise gave a sheepish grin as she fixed him with a knowing smirk. She always managed to make him feel like a child, what with how she seemed to know nearly everything. But, perhaps he could stump her with this: "I want to break off the engagement to Daphne Greengrass."

Simone paused, the smirk dropping, and gazed at Blaise silently for a few moments before sighing and rubbing her temples, "And here I was hoping our reputation would be fixed as simply as that." He kept silent as she turned her gaze over to the lilies, tapping their petals idly as she thought. "Even though we did nothing in the war, everyone seems to think that you even have that horrid mark on your arm. Nothing we say or do is good enough. I had hoped…I had hoped that you marrying Miss Greengrass would fix things for us as well as it had for the Malfoys."

"They're having a baby, by the way," he offered quietly.

"I'll send them a gift," she gave a small smile before sighing and taking his hand, fixing him with those deep, dark eyes that had been the only thing he'd ever inherited from her, "I am not upset, cucciolo. I only want you to be happy, and this was an outrageous demand for you, and for that I am sorry. I am…I am worried for our family. I am worried of what Lia will grow up with, simply for her last name, and I am worried about how you and Evangeline are faring out there in the world."

"Narcissa Malfoy is opening up a tea shop, and she wants to know if you'll bake and decorate and help with the image of it," he offered eagerly, "That way, the Zabinis will be linked to the Malfoys and the image of a quaint little tea shop with fantastic pastries. Won't that be good enough to fix things, Mama?"

She grinned, shaking her head, "No, my pet, but I would have fun doing it with her."

Blaise huffed, settling back into his chair and practically pouting, "What if I go to the Daily Prophet and show them both of my forearms? Will that do anything?"

"I'm afraid that no matter how humorous an article that would be, that there would still be those who would doubt us," she sighed before shaking her head and smiling, "Do not worry, Blaise. You will do us proud by being happy and refusing to stoop to their level. That is all I ask of you now, and all I should ever have asked of you."

He was silent, pouting at her teacup before sighing and nodding, "Yes, Mama."

She leaned over to kiss his cheek, smoothing back his dark hair and brushing the back of her hand over his stubbly, dark cheek. She remembered when it was soft, without stubble to scratch back at her, and kissed it again. "Come, I'm sure you've already promised Lia to play, and I'm going to get started on a letter to Narcissa."

He lifted himself out of his chair, sighing and feeling relieved that this part had gone over well. Now he just had the most difficult part of telling Daphne his plan, and then tying up all the loose ends. He wondered what he would tell Granger, or if she would even care before bustling off to worry about ribbon colors on envelopes.


"You're what?!"

Blaise winced at the sound, blinking rapidly and looking up at the pale face and wide eyes. "I want to break off the engagement."

"You – you can't!" Daphne argued, her father harrumphing and agreeing at the head of the dinner table. It was Wednesday night, as the Greengrasses had dinner together every Wednesday to catch up on the gossip and horrendously mild tragedies of the week and commiserate with one another. Blaise was now plucking himself out of the dull little charade, and now Draco would have to suffer through it all alone.

"Actually, Daddy," Astoria spoke up as she set down her fork, Draco and Blaise both looking at her with wide eyes. "There are several loopholes in the contract that you drew up yourself, the very ones that I offered to fix before you informed me that it wasn't my place to do so, that Blaise has struck upon. So, yes, he really can break off the engagement." As Daphne gaped at her older sister, Astoria fixed a heavy stare on her father, who had been less than supportive when she decided to pursue magical law enforcement after hearing Draco talk about it. Blaise would congratulate her taking a stand later, once somebody got that damn fork and knife away from Daphne. Maybe even the spoon, just to be safe.

"How dare you, Astoria!" Daphne screeched as she stood, "You – you just wanted to have the best wedding ever to be held in the manor! And I was going to take that spot from you!"

"Daphne, darling, that is certainly not the case, now if you would please calm down we can all talk about this like adults," Astoria soothed and calmed, but Daphne was just working herself up into a nice, healthy rage judging by the look of her maroon colored face and her little fists digging into her napkin.

"And you!" Daphne turned onto Blaise, who remained still and stiff, but patting the wand in his pocket just to be safe. "How dare you! Do you even care what I want?"

"You just wanted a wedding, and I refuse to be the placeholder for your imaginary groom that you've had from the age of seven," he said, folding his napkin and settling it on the plate that he hadn't touched. Lenora Greengrass was horrid with telling house elves what to cook, so much so that the poor beings couldn't even begin to ever salvage it. "I will have the papers presented to you on Friday. I'll take care of Granger first thing in the morning. Have a nice evening."

And with that, a handful of Floo powder, and a burst of green flames, Blaise Zabini was finally free.

But not for long.


So I have several ideas as to how the next and remaining parts should go, but I want to see what you guys would like. I could turn this into a Marriage Law fic or I could go on with something else, either would be no problem. I will make the decision based upon the reviews I receive between now (9 o'clock in the evening, November 18th, 2015) and tomorrow (9 o'clock in the evening, November 19th, 2015). Please help me continue this, as I can't do it without you! (Well, I mean, I could, but I want to make this story something that you would like!)

Please leave your suggestions (or just plain ol' comments) in a review! Thank you!