Chapter 10:

Harry Potter Voodoo Dolls, Books that Dwarf, and Investigations of the Passwordy Kind

---

Blaise Zabini was confused. Considering that he was known for his cool, calm exterior being confused was not at the top of his priorities. In short, Blaise found himself a bit…ruffled by current events.

First, Goyle acted like a rabid Hufflepuff (Elmer- no, Eddie?), and to make things worse he then ran out complaining of hunger, off to infect the world once more with the virus of stupidity. And now- now Blaise was faced with a hysterical blonde boy clinging to his legs, when really all he wanted was to lie down and shut out the rest of civilization.

"What do you want Draco?" Blaise massaged his temples as a slew of whines and complaints flooded out of Draco's mouth.

A sniff and then: "Blaisey-poo, Pansy's being mean! She took my doll and won't give it back!"

"Right then." Blaise stalked over to Pansy massaging his temples. "Pansy, give Draco his voodoo doll back."

The girl scowled and chucked the doll stuck with needles that suspiciously resembled Harry Potter back at its owner.

"Now, I'm going to my room. No Draco! You can not follow me!" Blaise shuddered at the thought that the day wasn't over yet- why wouldn't it end already?

"Kill me now," he muttered to the door, as he turned its brass handle into his sanctuary-for the time being.

Falling backwards onto his four-poster with a plop, he contemplated the ceiling before rolling over and releasing a sigh of boredom.

"Nothing to doooooooo," he moaned loudly, earning a few outraged comments from a previously slumbering mirror on the wall opposite.

And so Blaise Zabini was forced to perform a gruesome task that was only attempted by those with the utmost endurance and skill- he did homework. Or, more precisely he ventured into the library and proceeded to stare vacantly at various books.

However his 'study session' was cut short by the arrival of a harried Gryffindor, Hermione Granger to be exact.

Hermione huffed as she allowed her books to fall to the table with a crash, glaring in the direction of Madame Pince, daring the librarian to disrupt her mood. Sitting down with a flourish, she flinched as Blaise caught her unawares.

"Granger, to what do I owe this…pleasure?" He drawled out, acting as if she always stormed into the room and sat next to him.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she was lost in his cerulean eyes, drowning in those limpid pools of sapphires, caught in his paralyzing gaze- and the moment ended…rather quickly.

"Well you see, first my mother met my father and then they were married, and wouldn't you know it, nine months and sixteen years later, here I am." Frowning at his location, she straightened her books. "You're at my table."

Blinking at her, he solemnly looked down at the table and back up at her.

"Silly me, I should have known that this particular table, an exact copy of the other twenty-some in the public library, was yours. How stupid of me to sit here." Blaise rolled his eyes at her and turned back to the book he was staring at.

"You're not moving…"

"Brilliant observation."

Resigning herself to company, Hermione pulled out a book entitled Common Latin Words.

Blaise glanced up as a book twice the size of his head, dwarfed the girl beside him.

"What do you need that for?"

Hermione sniffed at him indignantly, "Isn't it obvious? I'm looking up a word."

His gaze lingered a moment on her before resuming its observation of his own book.

Minutes passed and finally Hermione scribbled on her parchment and shut the aged book noisily.

"Done. Now I'll just return the book and be off."

Blaise waited until she had scurried off before reading her notes.

"'Defaeco,'" he read monotone. "'To cleanse, purify, purge.'"

A pause, and then the significance set in. "Bloody hell, she knows the password!"

---