Chapter 36: Baby spiders are just as dangerous
I don't own 'Harry Potter'
Blaise Zabini was a boy who, at the mere age of eleven, had a very healthy respect for members of the female gender and found it utterly incomprehensible that anyone would even think of them as inferior to men. Women were devious and sly, amusingly determined, and so charming that he honestly hated having to spend time solely in the company of other males.
Others may have found the boy's perspective to be rather warped for a child of his age, and perhaps it was a little different for him to prefer the company of the fairer sex so much that he instinctively reacted negatively to spending time with other boys, but he really didn't care what anyone else thought of him.
Being the son of the infamous Black Widow probably didn't help the situation.
Alessia Zabini nee Morandi was a beautiful witch of poise, grace and charisma, and by the age of sixteen the girl had had men all but spilling blood for the opportunity to court and marry her. Her smooth caramel skin and long chocolate curls falling past her shoulders were completed by deep hazel eyes and dark red lips which would twist in a wide grin that men, and not a few women, found completely enthralling. Alessia danced a thin line between innocent and seductive, and the people she'd encountered at a young age had been mesmerised by her charms.
When she'd met the young Enrico Zabini she herself had only been eighteen, fresh from school and travelling at her leisure to wherever had caught her fancy. The broad-shouldered man with dark mocha skin who towered over had been just as flighty as her, and the two immediately began a whirlwind romance filled with fun and desire. They were both from families who cared more about the happiness of their members rather than throwing contracts at them, and the two were wed after only a year together.
Their relationship had never been overly serious; there were no deep discussions about where they would live as a couple, or what they would do with their lives, so they'd simply agreed to take one day at a time. That wasn't to say the couple hadn't been serious about each other though, as their marriage had been one of true love rather than fleeting lust, despite what others might have thought.
They'd loved each other so much that they both mutually agreed to trust in the others judgement; there had been no need to confirm their future verbally or in writing when they had just known that their marriage was going to last. They'd relied on their instincts much more than others when it came to romance, so much so that their coupling was baffling to whoever had had the fortune to meet the two.
Seeing how possessive they were with one another, and how casual their interactions were when they were seen together had made other people think that they wouldn't last even a few months, but they proved everyone wrong as they remained together as they travelled the world on their whims, blissfully unconcerned with their public image
After three years of marriage Alessia had finally fallen pregnant, and the two had been ecstatic that their happy family was going to increase by one. They calmed down a little with the announcement of an upcoming baby, but they'd still been the Zabinis and they wouldn't have been themselves without many spur-of-the-moment shopping trips for baby things and such.
Blaise Zabini had grown up in a loving and carefree household just outside Florence in Italy, though the boy had regularly travelled across Europe with his parents. At least once a month the family of three would set off to wherever had caught their fancy and explore to their hearts' content. To Blaise, their life of spur-of-the-moment travelling and blithe lifestyle had just been another part of being a Zabini, and he'd had no plans to change his family's habits.
That was until his father had been murdered by a wizard with a grudge.
Enrico Zabini had been a happy-go-lucky man that doted on his family at every chance he got, and to them he'd been kind and gentle to the extreme. To his business competitors that was not so however, and the man had cultivated a ruthless persona that allowed him to nearly double the Zabini family's net worth in the space of a short few years. He'd allowed cold, hard logic to dictate his business strategies, and his skills had allowed his family to earn enough money through investments alone that he hadn't had to sacrifice any time with them.
One of his past partners hadn't taken well to Enrico pulling his investments however, and decided to get revenge on the family by taking Blaise hostage to force his father's cooperation. Enrico had descended on the man stupid enough to harm his family for something like money in a rage, and in the resulting fight Enrico Zabini had been downed with a cowardly Killing Curse to the back.
The seven-year-old Blaise Zabini had born witness to his father's murder after the heroic man had saved him from being kidnapped and used as leverage. He'd seen the other man pale as the realisation of his actions sunk in to the recesses of his despicable mind. He'd watched as the callous Aurors reassured him that justice had been served as his father's killer was put behind bars, despite Enrico Zabini never being able to return.
He'd watched his mother – his beautiful, lively mother – break down in tears over the loss of the man she loved with all her heart.
Blaise had eventually found out that man who'd killed his father had actually been more upset that he'd been forced away from Alessia; without the business partnership with Enrico, he'd been unable to come into close contact with Alessia in a seemingly innocent manner. It turned out that the man had been obsessed with her and had been using his business dealings as a way of getting closer to the woman to steal her from her husband, whether she agreed or not.
To Blaise, this had translated to a man killing his father because he'd been too pathetic to realise that he'd been completely inferior. He'd seen countless men attempt to seduce his mother when they went out, and it was revolting how they all but fell over themselves to impress a married woman. His mother had handled every attempt with grace, and subtly redirected her admirers with enough diplomacy that Blaise had been astounded.
Going from a child that had grown up seeing the actions of men in regards to his mother, to seeing his father murdered over petty jealousy, it had struck him deeply that there was a massive imbalance in the two genders: women were graceful and intelligent, and men were disgusting and apparently possessed no intelligence in the slightest – except for his father, of course.
Enrico had always allowed Alessia to win their playful arguments hands down, and if there was ever something she had desired, no matter the cost or frivolous nature, said desire would soon – and inexplicably – find its way into her possession. She wasn't spoiled through, as she had often become exasperated by her husband's habit, only to soften at the loving grin on the man's face. Their marriage was, in a young Blaise's mind, the very evidence that his mother – and therefore women – deserved to be cherished because of their inherent superiority.
A belief that had only been furthered by her subsequent three marriages before Blaise started Hogwarts. At the ages of nine, ten and eleven, Blaise had had to contend himself with having disgusting, but short-lived, stepfathers who'd been torn by anger at his central position in his mother's life and scheming how they could use Blaise to impress his mother.
It was a shame she'd only married them to kill them.
Alessia Zabini may have forged a persona of a whimsical and ditzy woman who cared for fun and her child – in that order – but if she'd gone to Hogwarts she would have been sent to Slytherin without a shred of doubt from the hat. She was observant and had the uncanny ability to calculate exactly which moves would hurt her enemies the most. The majority of people were under the impression that a hired manager handled the Zabini estate, but Alessia was the woman that had married Enrico after all, and she was more than capable of handling things until her son came of age.
She'd discovered that her husband's killer had more than a few associates that had been planning with him to overthrow her husband and use the Zabini family money for themselves. This had made the woman angry, but what solidified her decision to murder the scumbags was how they'd planned to use her beloved son, making him sire multiple children and hand over the family magics to them. They would also use Alessia as insurance to 'persuade' Blaise into complying.
Not over her dead body.
She had always been uniquely gifted in Potions at school, instinctively knowing how to administer concoctions in a manner which made the potion work quicker and yet was untraceable to the consumer. Nobody knew this though, as she'd kept her grades average to not arouse suspicion if she ever needed her skills in the future – Alessia was flighty, not naïve. She knew how to modify potions too, altering tastes and smells to retain their ultimate purpose, but allowing them to be administered without knowing.
Her next three husbands discovered this fact when they each dropped dead within four months of marriage. She'd used different potions each time, one causing a heart attack, one making the victim so disoriented that he'd fallen and had an 'accident', and one that emitted a scent that interfered with the potion the man had been making, resulting in an explosion that claimed his life.
Her potions were untraceable however, so the multitude of law enforcement officers could find no evidence to convict her. Yes they'd all signed over their assets to her, but they were husband and wife, how was that strange? She had an alibi for all three events, and it wasn't strange to visit her first husband's family at all, what with Blaise being their Heir. She certainly wasn't academically gifted enough to murder the men in secret. Her convincing tears had also tugged at the heartstrings of the officers and her friends who'd felt sorry that such a lovely woman had such awful luck in husbands.
Others were not quite as kind or unintelligent though, and she'd soon found herself getting considering looks from some as they speculated on whether she had anything to do with her husbands' mysterious deaths or not. She was also gifted with a name as she began to build a reputation amongst high society magicals for her practice of marrying wealthy men only to inherit their assets when they inevitably died.
'The Black Widow'.
She'd been named after a spider known to lure in males and devour them after they'd lost their use. The woman was very upfront with her son about her actions; becoming a parent that patronised their own child as if they couldn't understand anything was not something she was willing to do. She would never lie about her actions to Blaise; they were both angry over Enrico's death and she would never make him lose anything else if she could help it.
In effect this made Blaise Zabini respect women even more. His mother had suffered a horrific loss, and had even gained the knowledge that their family was still a target for some of the idiots who thought they could gain control of their family fortune. She could have had a complete mental breakdown, but instead she took her time to grieve, then began systematically destroying those who'd been even the slightest bit involved in his father's death, before moving on to those who had plans for their family.
She was incredible, and by the time the start of Hogwarts had come around Blaise had been simultaneously eagerly anticipating and downright dreading it. He knew that he probably held up both his parents to impossible standards, but he knew full well that if anyone wanted to impress him they'd have to have at least a little in common with his parents.
Slytherin had seemed a good place to search for others who shared characteristics with his parents, but he'd been deeply disappointed with how much the snakes brashly attacked and bullied others. The males reminded Blaise of the idiot who'd killed his father and the girls paled in comparison to the calculating nature of Alessia Zabini.
He'd managed to become friends with Daphne and Tracey once he realised they were vastly superior to the other girls in their House, but the boys were clearly a lost cause; arrogant Malfoy, shy Nott, and flobberworm-like intelligence from Crabbe and Goyle. Blaise was confused as to how these students were supposed to represent the House of cunning and resourcefulness.
The Hufflepuffs were clearly too closed-off to other Houses, though he had a feeling that Longbottom would become a force to be reckoned with after spotting him level a glare at Malfoy that was cold enough to freeze air. The lions hated his House on principle, which left the Ravenclaws.
His mother had instilled the practice of observing his surroundings into him from an early age, and almost immediately he'd noticed the enigma that was Rose Potter.
Rose was a mystery, even more than her appearance suggested. Granted her persona of the innocent genius who always had a nose stuck in her book had been rather convincing, and Blaise had a feeling if he'd been raised by anyone else he may have been taken in like everyone else. But he hadn't and he'd known that Rose Potter was no ordinary girl. She was more than intelligent, she was mature and wise, and the way her eyes flickered whenever they fell on apparent strangers had been enough to pique his interest.
She was extraordinary in classes, even in Potions where the professor had had a disgusting and unprofessional attitude towards the small girl, and while she maintained her spot as the number one student she never bragged or flaunted her intelligence. Her compassion was as clear as day, and her friendships with the Hufflepuffs and Granger were obviously strong by the warm look in her eyes whenever they spoke. Blaise honestly hadn't been able to wait to speak to the blonde enigma.
When they'd been introduced there had been absolutely no hostility towards his House, and her suggestion of an inter-House study group would have made Blaise cringe at the naïve plan if not for the calculating gleam in her eyes. Weeks later, seeing all four Houses interact without hexes flying and speculative glances from the other students, had Blaise fascinated with how she'd avoided Slytherin.
There was no way someone so cunning was not a Slytherin, and his mind had run circles trying to understand how she could have gone to Ravenclaw. (Sadly Blaise was unfamiliar with Rose's future work/obsession with research.)
Blaise hated getting close to people on principle; they were no match for his parents who were the epitome of humanity (in his opinion), but Rose Potter soon managed to become a friend that Blaise genuinely looked forward to spending time with. The idea of his mother and his friend meeting filled him with a perverse sort of pleasure, imagining all the havoc the two could wreak on others.
Rose was probably his best friend by now, and she had the courage to stand up for others – nobody could forget her tearing into Weasley on Halloween – and yet she was collected with a sharp tongue. Some of the things that came out of her mouth would have made him pass out from embarrassment if he hadn't been raised by The Black Widow.
Watching his new best friend bounce around the train platform with her adopted parents – who seemingly took his Christmas present joke too seriously from the glares he kept getting – Blaise knew that Rose Potter was going to grow into a woman that he respected just as much as his mother, and if anyone dared to hurt her, well, he was raised by a woman who made her living by killing people.