This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 15 February 2022.
This was written for Love Fest 2022, Draco's Den Roll-a-Drabble, and Melting Pot Fanfiction's Tropes & Fandoms. The prompt came from Caitlincheri28, who I can't thank enough for inspiring another one-shot for this event. Someday, I may choose to expand on this one... I hope that you love this! Happy reading! xxDustNight88
Thank you to starrnobella & SquarePeg72 for reading this over and to GaeilgeRua for allowing me to use her Grammarly! Any other mistakes are definitely my own..
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended.
Prompt: Caitlincheri28 request for Blaise/Ginny + Quidditch
DD RaD September 2021: Blaise Zabini & Fake Dating
#TropesAndFandoms22 Fake Dating
A groan escaped Blaise as he slid back into the booth he and Theo shared at The Leaky Cauldron. Setting down their pints as he met his friend's curious gaze and said, "I am sick and tired of all these witches practically crawling all over me."
"Normally, mate, that is not something a young, hot wizard such as yourself would complain about," Theo said as he grabbed for his drink. Then, he took a swig and added, "You could have any witch in here, and you're over here whining about it to me."
"That's just the thing, though. I'm happy being single right now." Blaise ran a hand over his shaved head. "I just got this amazing deal with the Holyhead Harpies, and I want to focus on my career for a while. I don't have time to chase tail."
Theo nearly choked on his drink. "Is that what the cool kids are calling it these days?" he asked, wiping his face and setting down the pint.
"Don't be condescending, Theo," Blaise said as he finally took a drink. "It doesn't become you."
"We've been mates since birth. You know me well enough by now to know I say and do what I want." Theo smirked and then crossed his arms. "So, are you serious about not wanting to date anyone? I swear within a week, you'll be Witch Weekly's most eligible bachelor if you keep playing hard to get."
"No one can take that title from Draco, and you know it." Blaise laughed, and so did Theo. "Although, I hear Astoria and him have managed to get quite close lately."
"That's what Daphne tells me, too," Theo commented with a nod.
"How are things with her? Ready to close the deal yet?" Blaise asked his friend, knowing he and the blonde had been quietly dating for a little over three months now.
"My father wants me to hurry things along, but Daphne isn't ready for that yet." Theo picked at an invisible string on his shirt. "I adore Daphne, and I'm ready to spend forever with her, but I don't want to rush and scare her away. When she is ready, I'll know."
"I think it will be sooner than you think," Blaise said with a gentle smile. "She fucking loves you."
"Yeah…" Theo shook himself. "Enough about me, though," Theo said, a slow smirk sliding onto his features. "We were talking about you and your apparent celibacy."
"I'm not celibate, or I'm not trying to be," Blaise explained with a sigh. "I just wish all these witches would stop throwing themselves at me. But, like I said, I have my career to worry about."
"Have you thought about just picking someone to date for the sake of being left alone?" Theo asked, taking another sip of his drink.
"Are you insinuating that I 'fake date' someone?" Blaise asked, his eyes wide in surprise. "I couldn't lie to someone like that. What if they turned out to have feelings for me?"
"I never said they had to be oblivious. You could let them in on your plan."
"That's crazy." Blaise drained his pint and then shook his head. "You're crazy."
"Am I, though?" Theo asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm sure there is someone out there who wouldn't mind shacking up with you as a couple for a little while." Here, he winked suggestively.
"I feel like you're not telling me something," Blaise said slowly, suspicion now at the forefront of his mind.
"I'm just saying there's a certain single and fiery headed witch on your team that just broke up with her long-time boyfriend. She might be looking for someone to date that will take the limelight away from her for obvious reasons." Theo sipped his drink slowly, eyeing Blaise up the entire time as his words settled.
"Are you trying to tell me that Ginny Weasley is looking for a new boyfriend to date just so the papers will stop writing about her and Potter's breakup?" When Theo merely shrugged, Blaise found himself groaning in annoyance. "What do you know? I need details."
"Well," Theo said, leaning forward so his voice wouldn't carry, "you didn't hear it from me, but Ginny has apparently been thrown to the wolves by the press lately."
"I've seen the headlines…."
"Yeah, and so she told a friend of a friend that she wishes there was a way she could just pretend to be with someone so the papers would stop writing sob stories about her and her lost love." Theo sat back, a satisfied grin on his face now that he'd replayed his gossip and set the trap.
Blaise sat there in stunned silence. Was what Theo was saying true, or was he just pulling his leg for the umpteenth time in their friendship. He stared into his empty pint and thought about Ginny. They were teammates and sort of friends. They'd hung out together once or twice, but always with other people. Could they pull something like this off, or would she think he was as crazy as Theo?
"I've got to get going," Theo said, sliding from the booth without waiting for Blaise to say anything else. "I have dinner with Daphne, but you should think about what I said. I think you could both help each other out and wind up solving your problems."
Watching as Theo left, Blaise couldn't help feeling curious still. From the corner of his eye, he saw a few witches watching him closely now that he was alone. He sighed heavily and grabbed some coins from his pocket. Theo was going to drive him up a wall one of these days…
"He is absolutely fucking crazy," Blaise mumbled to himself before leaving a tip on the table and following his friend out of the pub.
The next day, Blaise found himself unable to stop thinking about what Theo had told him. As the locker room emptied out after practice, his glance strayed to Ginny, who was packing up her bag across the room. Setting his locker, Blaise decided that it was worth a shot to at least broach the subject of a fake relationship with the witch. It couldn't hurt, could it?
Stepping up to her, he cleared his throat. "Gin? Do you have a minute?" he shifted nervously back and forth, waiting for her reply.
"Sure," she said after zipping up her bag. "What's up?"
After checking that locker room was clear, Blaise said, "I know the press has been giving you a tough time, and I... Well, this isn't easy to say and will probably come across as really egotistical, but I'm tired of being sought after by every witch out there."
"And wizard."
"What?" he asked, brows furrowed.
"Wizards talk about shagging you too," Ginny said, laughing a bit. "It's not just the witches."
Blaise's eyes went wide, and he felt his cheeks get warm. Coughing, he scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, well… Okay. I guess maybe that is true… Anyway, I wondered if you and I dated that perhaps the press and my unwanted suitors would give us some slack. What do you think?" She tried to smile but was fully aware it was more of a grimace.
"Are you asking me to be your fake girlfriend?" Ginny asked, her face revealing exactly how surprised she was by his request. She set her bag back down on the bench.
"I know it seems crazy, but we're friends, and it would just be like hanging out as we've done in the past," Blaise rushed to explain, hoping he wasn't making this seem like the most ridiculous idea ever.
"But we'd have to hang out alone," Ginny pointed out, still staring at him as if she knew the punchline to a joke he wasn't privy to.
Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. "Yeah, it would just be the two of us hanging out and pretending to be a couple. You wouldn't have to worry about the press, and I wouldn't have to worry about other witches-or wizards-coming on to me all the time when I went out." He finished babbling, still not entirely convinced she would go for the idea. "What do you say?"
Ginny was quiet a long moment, and then some. She was silent so long that Blaise was starting to think that he'd just fucked up their entire friendship by asking her to be his fake girlfriend for the sake of being left alone by witches. Just when he was about to tell her to forget he'd said anything, she nodded, and he felt his stomach flip with relief.
"You know what," Ginny began, smirking just like a Slytherin, "I think I like the sound of that. Let's do it."
Together, Blaise and Ginny "dated" one another for well over a year before it finally dawned on Blaise that what he had thought were amicable feelings for Ginny were, in fact, oh so much more. Watching as Ginny tied her long, red hair in a ponytail for practice, he felt his heart skip a beat and a dopey smile form on his lips. As she turned and shot him a dazzling smile, he waved and watched as she ran out onto the practice field with her broom.
"Fuck." He scrubbed a hand over his face before grabbing for his own broom to head onto the pitch. "This is all Theo's fault."
After practice, the usual press was there to talk to the players, but Blaise side-stepped them and made his way toward his 'girlfriend' instead. There was no way he could wait until they'd showered and headed out to dinner. He'd realized earlier that there was more to this relationship than he'd planned, and he needed to know how Ginny felt.
"Hey, boo," Ginny teased as he approached her on the side of the pitch. "Great practice today."
"I have to ask you something serious," Blaise said instead of replying to her comment.
"Okay, you have your intense face on," Ginny pointed out, poking his cheek playfully. "Ask away."
"What if I wanted to make this more serious?" Blaise asked, staring down into Ginny's bright brown eyes. "This thing we have going on."
"What? Meaning you don't want to pretend anymore?" Ginny seemed suspicious of his question.
"I'm in love with you." Finally, the truth was blurted out, and Blaise shrugged, unable to keep the smile from his face. "I don't know when or how it happened, but I'm in love with you, Ginny. I don't want this to be fake anymore. I want it to be the real deal because I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side."
Instead of being surprised by his admission, Ginny threw her broom aside. "It's about fucking time," she muttered before throwing her arms around his neck. She kissed him right there on the Quidditch pitch for everyone on their team to see, and most importantly, the press.
Blaise kissed her back, his eyes falling closed as he wrapped her up in his arms. Cameras could be heard taking their picture as their teammates cheered them on after watching them slowly come together over the past year. Neither even seemed to notice for quite some time until they finally parted to stare lovingly at one another, their cheeks flushed.
Blaise learned two things that day… One that he'd somehow fallen in love in the past year, and two, that Ginny Weasley loved him back.
Oh, the press was going to have an aneurysm over this one.