AN: Chapter is dedicated to my reviewers err.. I mean reviewer. A little bit of dry humor there. Yes, I know that it's pathetic. Anyway, thank you watergodess13 for the feedback.

Avoidance

A month later, Blaise's school term starts..

'Toot toot,' the scarlet train let it's bold presence be known to everyone on platform nine and three-quarters.

Blaise gathered up his trunk and shuffled along with the rest of the Hogwart's student's aboard the Hogwart's Express.

All the student's were bustling about as they shoved this way and that. Blaise was not one to shove, but that didn't mean that he didn't mean that he always found himself at the end of the crowd. Quite the contrary, he parted the crowd with uncanny ease; slipping this way and that as he managed to go through without brushing against anyone the slightest bit.

It was always very important for him to have his own private compartment and it was never hard to do so. The Ravenclaws were a bit haughty and always stuck together (save that Looney Lovegood girl), the Hufflepuff's wouldn't approach a Slytherin within an arms length, and the day a Gryffindor would spend time with a Slytherin by choice was the day that the sky would rains stars. As for his own housemates, most of them found Blaise to be a little strange and intimidating. No doubt that they had all heard about Blaise's little escapade at his fifth birthday with Draco Malfoy. Some had even been there to witness it.

Which brought Blaise to another matter. Had the word spread throughout his house yet that he had refused the ranks of Voldemort? And what did Draco Malfoy have in mind when he promised Voldemort that he would help 'persuade' Blaise? Whatever he had in mind, it was all the more of a reason for Blaise to have a compartment to himself.

Sure that when it came to his magical abilities Blaise was more potent then Draco and certainly more potent than his two apes, but those to apes could help cause a lot of physical damage, wand or no wand, and Blaise wasn't going to try to find out how much.

Avoidance would be the key. After all, it wasn't as if he was some damn "brave" Gryffindor.

Smirking he thought to himself that stupid was more like it as he sat down in an empty compartment he had found. What would bravery bring in the face of someone like the Dark Lord? Death was all. Being able to avoid, being sneaky, tricky, cunning, and stealthy. Those were what saved one's skin.

Blaise was about to contemplate putting a locking spell on the compartment door when it squeaked open.

A red-haired girl peaked in and asked, "Err.. Can we share this compartment with you? All the other's are full."

"No," replied Blaise curtly as he turned his head away, yet he could hear the red head, who was obviously a Weasley, shuffle inside. "What part of 'no' do you not understand?" he scowled. "Why do you even bother to ask if your not going to respect my wishes?"

The girl frowned shrugging, "Common courtesy." She beckoned towards the door. "Come on in you guys there's no one in here."

Blaise scowled at the girl. What did she mean by 'no one in here'? Did he look like no one? He chose to ignore that and simply grimaced, "there's more of you?"

The girls sighed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she wasn't wanted, smiled good-naturedly, "I did saw 'we' didn't I? In case you don't know that usually implies more than one person."

"And I said 'no' and have been giving you death glares ever since you made your entrance. That usually implies get the hell out of here."

"I'll ignore that," glowered the girl.

Blaise watched with disgust as Looney Lovegood, a bumbling Neville Longbottom, Colin Creevey, and some other sixth year girl he didn't know entered the compartment. His once delectably deserted compartment was now no where near empty

The sixth year girl that he didn't know the name of turned to the red head, "Um Ginny maybe we should just go out-"

"No Daisy!" snapped Ginny impatiently.

So, the irritating red head's name was Ginny and her nervous blonde friend was Daisy. And he made Daisy nervous.

Blaise turned and smirk at Daisy arrogantly and the girl turned away blushing, pretending that she hadn't noticed. Blaise was very good at these superior stares and had learned long ago that simply staring at someone could make them amazingly uncomfortable without much work on his parts. He wouldn't exercise this talent of his on the Daisy girl though. She was too easy and he wasn't the type to go down hard on someone obviously weaker than him. He wasn't Draco Malfoy.

Blaise instead narrowed his eyes and focused them on the somewhat intriguing Weasley girl.

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Ginny sat down next to a very quiet Daisy. She felt somewhat bad snapping at the girl. She knew that Daisy hadn't had the best experience's with Slytherin's, especially not older Slytherin's, but the girl was a Gryffindor for Merlin sake and what more she would be going to school with the Slytherin's. What was she going to do? Avoid them every waking minute?

As Ginny sat there thinking she began to smooth out her school robes when she felt some eerie presence upon her. She could feel something concentrated on her.

Somewhat alarmed she snapped away from her robes and sat rigidly. Across from her Blaise Zabini was giving her a haughty half smile half sneer that Draco Malfoy would have been proud of.

And his eyes... Merlin, she could feel there presence. It was as if they were burning through her skin and could read her deepest and darkest of secrets. She shivered involuntarily.

Blaise bit back his lip slightly to stifle a laugh. The Weasley girl was keeping eye contact with him, which was a definite first, but the way her already doe-like eyes were wider then one would think was possible and the way her face was flushed told him that it wouldn't last for long.

By now Daisy was eyeing the pair nervously while Luna simply stared blankly, which however odd it is was, was usually a sure sign that she was deep in thought. Neville, who was wrestling his toad Trevor into a box, was unaware of anything else.

Ginny began to berate herself mentally. She was just thinking of how Daisy needed to stop being so afraid of Slytherin's and here she was squirming like a five year old just because one was staring at her, a handsome and damn intimidating one, but it was just a stare. She frowned. Handsome? That was the last time she would ever try to give herself a mental pep talk.

Not knowing what else to do she chose to ignore his stare and asked somewhat scornfully, "So why aren't you with the rest of the Slytherin's?"

Blaise was slightly taken aback. Taking time to compose himself he replied, "I'm not really in the mood to indulge myself in their presence right now."

Ginny raised a shapely brow skeptically. "Oh really? But your in the mood to indulge yourself in the presence of some Gryffindor's and a Ravenclaw?"

Blaise smirked as he saw Daisy cast Ginny a weary eye. "Now that you mention it not really. Please leave."

"No. Anyways, were probably be reaching Hogwart's shortly so you won't have to 'indulge' yourself in our presence any longer.

Blaise smiled. This Weasley girl was a bit of a spitfire. He found himself the slightest bit draw to her. "Oh, and what if I were to change my mind and I do want to indulge myself in your presence and only your presence?" He waggled his brows suggestively as a slight blush crept across Ginny's nose and Daisy let out a soft nervous yelp.

The train stopped abruptly and Ginny rose to gather her trunk, determined for an excuse to ignore and turn her back on Blaise. She grabbed hold of the lumbering thing and hurried forward to leave the compartment quickly.

Blaise slipped in front of her like a cat and proceeded to open the door for her. "Lady's first," he whispered softly.

Not knowing what else to do Ginny scowled and pushed past him.

"Aren't you going to say thank you?" teased Blaise.

"Why should I?" pouted Ginny angrily. Later she would remember this and frown at herself for acting like such a baby.

"Common courtesy," shrugged Blaise, just as Ginny had done earlier on.

Ginny cringed. She had set herself up for that one.

Blaise watched amused as Ginny sped away quickly, her thick wavy red hair bouncing behind her, as if doing some graceful dance. He decided then and there that he was quite fond of red hair.

AN: I know that some of you reader(s) out there, are wondering what was up with Blaise whole 'bravery is stupid' thin when he is actually acting somewhat brave by refusing a destiny that's been laid out for him and the way that he acted in the last chapter. I get that and the reader(s) may get that, but the point is that Blaise definitely doesn't see or try to see it like that. Besides, his bravery isn't exactly 'classic' or the usual type of bravery and he's still a Slytherin through and through. Sigh, I think that only would make sense to me... Oh well, maybe someone out there got it...