Disclaimer: I borrowed names, places, etc. from Ms. J.K. Rowling to serve as a medium for my dementia. I have taken great (very, very great) liberties with her work, and if such offends, I suggest you leave.
Warning: What you are about to read comes from a deranged mind with a love for J.K. Rowling's books and a distinct inability to take anyone or anything (including herself) seriously, except under the influence of certain controlled substances which serve to shove her rudely into reality. Said substances were not used in the making of this fan fic.
xoxoxoxo
Harry paced before the prefect common room fire. "I am disgusted with both of you," he announced. "I mean, really, what will people think?"
"That we're having hot, passionate, wild monkey sex?" Hermione smirked. She hadn't considered his reaction when evaluating Ginny's plan, and she had to admit she was enjoying his distress immensely.
Harry looked scandalized and Ginny concealed her laugh with a cough.
"I should certainly hope not!" He tried not to think too much about that. "Ladies, public displays of affection are one thing, but with each other? The image that such a thing will present-"
"You know, Harry," Ginny interrupted. "Maybe if you stopped thinking about public image and our social lives, and start focusing on your own, you'll get some, too." She stomped out the door.
Hermione didn't even bother concealing her laughter as she followed her friend out, leaving Harry wondering if Ginny was right, mixed in with thoughts of a certain someone.
xoxoxoxo
Draco lurked outside the Gryffindor common room, hoping to run into the littlest Weasley - not that he'd ever admit it. But with that little kinky streak she apparently had going on he'd be willing to go through the shame of consorting with a Weasley any day, provided that she brought Granger along for the ride - and even if not, it was the redhead was still tempting.
The more rational part of him knew that he ought to go back to his dormitory, that this would never happen, but the Malfoy in him naturally ignored intelligence and reason and stuck around anyway.
xoxoxoxo
At this time, Blaise was in the hospital wing, having finally earned a semblance of sympathy with a genuine headache and upset stomach. The poor boy had had a very long, distressing day.
xoxoxoxo
"Think that may have been a bit harsh, Gin?"
Ginny and Hermione were sprawled out on the beds in the Gryffindor fifth year dorms, chatting and eating candy.
"Oh, please." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you weren't thinking the exact same thing."
"Be that as it may," Hermione began opening a bag of something brightly colored. "I rather think that-"
"Unholy Salazar, Hermione; are those jelly beans!" Ginny cut in. "Please tell me those aren't from last Easter."
"No," the older girl answered calmly. "The year before that."
Gin looked disgusted. "That's just nasty."
Hermione looked at her friend indignantly. "I don't think I'd want to live in a world where jelly beans went bad after only year and a half."
xoxoxoxo
Blaise was sulking peacefully on a bed in the hospital wing, wondering idly if he could convince Hermione to choose him and heterosexuality over Ginny. So wrapped up he was in his thoughts, he nearly failed to notice the door creak open.
He watched in confusion as a beetle scuttled across the floor - beetles don't open doors, do they? His befuddlement didn't abate, only switch focus when that nutty Ravenclaw - Lovegood, wasn't it? - crawled in after it, wearing a pair of glasses large enough to give Trelawney a run for her money.
"What the Hell are you doing, Lovegood?" he asked, glad for the distraction.
She looked up at him and blinked, a disturbing sight with the magnification of the glasses. "Evening, Zabini. How are you?"
"I'm sitting in the bloody infirmary, what do you think?"
She paused, and studied him for a minute, which, truth be told, freaked him out.
"How do you fall in love?" she inquired, with the tone of one asking whether he'd like sugar or milk in his tea.
"Pardon?" he blinked at her in confusion.
"How do you fall in love?" she repeated in the same tone, with the same curious gaze.
He paused a moment. "I wish I knew. There's no real trick to it, I suppose. And there are so many different ways that it happens. Sometimes it's gradual, loving someone a little more each day; sometimes it's sudden, one moment you're in control of your life, the next, you're so out of your league." He stopped. Where the hell had that come from? Why was he discussing this with Loony, of all people?
"How did you fall in love with Hermione?" she asked, examining the beetle, and appearing as though she were not listening in the slightest.
"I'm not-"
"Don't lie."
Her disinterest made Blaise feel that it were relatively safe to confide in her. And if she breathed a word of it to any, well, who would believe Loony Lovegood?
"Well…back in our first year…"
xoxoxoxo
First Year, sorting ceremony
An eleven-year-old Blaise Zabini nervously looked around the Great Hall. The sorting ceremony was about to begin, and he was nervous as hell. a/n: and of course a child of his age doesn't think in that sort of language ; ) He hoped to be sorted into Slytherin, like his father. He tried to remember what house his mother had been in. Funny. He didn't think anyone had ever told him. Oh, well. He watched with a vague interest as students with last names A-F were sorted into houses.
Then, "Granger, Hermione!" A fluffy haired girl ran up to the hat grinning wide. Wow, he thought, she's pretty when she smiles like that. Her front teeth stuck out a bit but it made her seem innocent and adorable. Wait. What on earth was he thinking? Girls had cooties! He couldn't actually like one of the evil beasts. But what was her name again? Hermione. Beautiful. Poetic. He watched as she was sorted and walked to one of the four long tables in the Hall. He was so absorbed in her graceful movements, he wasn't listening when his name was called.
"ZABINI, BLAISE!" The strict looking witch yelled his name a third time. Blushing furiously, he speed walked to the front. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it) the girl wasn't even looking at him.
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat yelled. Blaise tried to be happy but he couldn't. He wanted to be in the same house as his father, but this meant he was not with the charming girl with the endearing smile.
As he sat down, a blond haired boy approached him. "Hello. I'm Draco Malfoy. What's your name?"
"Blaise Zabini." The two boys shook hands.
One hour later. . . .
The two boys had become friends fast. Draco was so cool. He was only eleven and he already had minions. Wow. Crabbe and Goyle catered to Draco's every whim. Sure they were painfully stupid, but that made them all the easier to control. This guy was a genius. Not to mention he belonged to one of the most prominent wizarding families in Europe. Blaise's father would be pleased.
Draco was very impressed with Blaise as well. The guy was incredibly brilliant. He needed intelligent conversation and heaven knows the two oafs Crabbe and Goyle couldn't supply it. And for some reason everyone else was afraid of him. Blaise might even be smarter than me, Draco mused. Not that he would ever admit it.
Blaise had but one problem with Draco.
He had once again lost the conversation in favor of observing his new crush. This time Draco had followed his gaze to Hermione.
"Look at that bushy haired mudblood. I can't believe they let that sort in here," Draco said with contempt.
Blaise didn't say anything for a moment. He rather liked her fluffy brown hair. Finally he responded.
"I don't know. I kind of feel sorry for her. Look. No one is really talking to her."
"There's a reason for that, Zabini," Draco drawled.
Blaise continued looking at her. He never understood the whole pureblood vs. mudblood thing. Being a pureblood himself he had heard it all his life of course, but it still didn't make sense. And unlike Draco, he never accepted anything as fact. He always had to know why. Poor girl.
"Blaise," Draco gasped. "You don't actually- like a girl, do you? Girls are just gross."
Blaise sensed his new (and only) friendship was on the line. "No, don't be an idiot. Girls have cooties! Plus, she's a mudblood. Come on." As Blaise laughed, he felt a pain in his heart at the horrible name. This girl, muggle born or no, was an angel. She didn't deserve the cruelty the boy beside him was plotting.
xoxoxoxo
Present
"…and it sort went off from there. In the beginning, I think a lot of it was more a need to protect her than actual love." He looked over at Lovegood. "That sounds stupid, doesn't it?"
She gazed back at him with magnified eyes. "Not at all."
Luna wandered toward the door with an almost aimless air. She paused before passing through. "It's really all a game, you know. They aren't for real."
xoxoxoxo
Blaise sat wondering what she meant for about 11.68 seconds, then jumped out of the bed. He ran to the door, swung it open, realized he was still wearing the white infirmary night gown, and dashed back in. He changed into his clothes in record time, then sped towards the Gryffindor dorms in search of a frizzy-haired, buck-toothed angel.
xoxoxoxo
Luna strolled away from the hospital wing, with thoughts so coherent they'd have shocked anyone who did not know her well.
Blaise had told an interesting story.
She wondered if Gyrffindors were much the same.
xoxoxoxo
ilovetom88: Glad you like it. Having too many male friends, more than is prolly mentally healthy, I had a pretty decent idea of what a range of reactions might be.
the girl trapped in a dream: Thanks! Hopefully this was soon enough to your liking xD
Kichou: As you can see, that was Drakey's response. Tsk. Men. Lol.
ThingsMakeMeHappy: It took me a while to figure out how to get Blaise to commence with his pursuit, but I was skimming fan fictions and found one with the title, "How do you fall in love?". Since I was also looking for a place to introduce Luna, I decided to borrow that title and kill two birds with one stone. And the diary wasn't really anyone's in particular. Pick a Slytherin, any Slytherin, it's all up to you.
Fiona McKinnon: Thanks! And that makes more sense than the weirdness my sister and I were thinking up - I didn't think you'd be trying to share a message involving monkeys or the Paleolithic era.
Cezy Angel: Thank you! I'll try to keep them all within the characters I've designed, but somehow I doubt my mixed up mind can handle it. Please let me know if things get too weird.
Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! Frankly, I'm surprised that I've been updating like this (usually you've got a month or so between chapters), so don't expect this trend to continue. If it does, well, cool.
Later, y'all!
