He met Ginny every Monday and Wednesday after dinner to assist her in whatever questions she had. The first time she'd asked him when they would meet, she had sat down at the Slytherin table in the great hall beside him. She didn't say anything until she was done eating. The action put Blaise off somewhat, making him forget that he should have gone straight up to his room to study. It was asked in a whisper, the question, but everyone in the room heard it. People turned to look at them with curiosity and resentment. He wanted her to know that he didn't want the entire school knowing that he was hanging out with a Gryffindor, worse yet that it was a Weasley. It was too late after she'd asked the question. So, he told her to meet him in the library on Monday and Wednesday nights at seven. She smiled widely and gave him a loud thank you before leaving the great hall. Blaise looked down the Slytherin table to see people turning their heads when his gaze fell upon them, but Pansy and her friends smirked at him. He did the only respectable thing any Slytherin male would have done; he sneered at her and made a rude remark about her haircut. She was on the brink of tears when her and her friends left the cafeteria a minute later.

She was dressed in an ugly pale blue sweater that matched her eyes intensely. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung down her back. The jeans she wore fit her snugly, but comfortably. A strong gust of wind blew a pile of leaves into the air, making it look like a tornado. Some of the students gasped and smiled, but Ginny was too busy searching the crowd of students to notice anything. A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her towards the open gates. She looked up into Dean Thomas's shining gray eyes. With a nervous laugh, she allowed him to usher her into the crowd so that they met up with Neville, Seamus, and Colin Creevey. She didn't notice the dark eyes watching her from the back of the crowd. Dean smelled like he'd emptied an entire bottle of spice oil on his skin and clothes. Ginny held her breath until they got far enough out of the gates so that she could run ahead with him chasing after her. She laughed loudly, and glanced back to see if Dean was still behind her, but she caught glimpse of the coldest eyes she'd ever seen. Her feet stopped dead in their tracks, and she turned to him with her eyes dancing. One of the Patil twins, he assumed it was Padma, grabbed Ginny's arm and led her forward. Her blue eyes turned back to him over her shoulder, and she smiled. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he looked down at the ground. He was too above her to be smiling at her in public. Just because someone isn't as rich as you doesn't make you a better person. He frowned at the words. When he looked up she was still watching him, but with a confused expression on her face. He did the only thing he felt comfortable doing; he smirked. When she blushed her face was almost as red as her hair. She turned away and began chatting with the girls at her side.

The only reason they were still allowed to go to Hogsmeade was for the students to still feel some sense of normalcy in the time of trouble. Blaise pulled the sleeves of his long sleeved green shirt up to his elbows. He leaned forward against the glass so he could get a better look at the picture frame in the window. It was the size of the mirror in the bathroom in his quarters at school, but there were dancing flowers, ladies, and unicorns on it. He frowned.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Her voice sounded like music.

"If you like that type of thing." He stood straight and continued down the line. Where were her friends? She was most definitely beginning to annoy the hell out of him.

"I was wondering… you're head boy and I'm a prefect and we're going to have a Halloween dance - -"

"No," he said blankly.

"Why not? Don't say because we're from two different houses."

"You annoy me. Aside, I've seen you alone more times in the past two weeks than I can handle. Dean will gladly go with you."

"You have to go with someone," she whispered.

He looked at her, but smiled when his dark eyes saw someone approaching them. "Speak of the flubberworm."

Ginny gasped as she turned to see Dean approaching them. He frowned at her when he was close enough to say something she would understand. Who had she been talking to? Ginny saw that Blaise had disappeared to someplace she said no one. They walked down the sidewalk in silence. Blaise stepped out of Alex Parrott's robe shop with a small smile on his face. Was the smallest Weasley falling for his charm? He pushed his hands into the pocket of his khaki slacks as he wandered further down the street. After a while, he got bored and went for a drink in the nearest restaurant. Millicent called him over the second he walked into the establishment. He waved to a few seventh year Ravenclaws on his way over to their table. Pansy scooted over for him, but he took a seat next to a sixth year with short chestnut brown hair and large honey colored eyes named Amelia Taylor. The girl squeaked softly, and eased her chair away from him a few inches when she saw the glare in Pansy's eyes. Pansy made a wisecrack about the girl sitting at the table across the room from them. She had her back to them, but he knew it was she because of that sweater and that hair.

His eyes stayed glued to the back of her head. "Shut it, Pansy. At least she has moral."

"You should talk. You didn't even go to your grandfather's funeral," she said coldly.

He pressed the tip of his wand into her throat and asked nastily, "What, my dear, does that have to do with anything?" She was silent. "Say something else about my grandfather and I will hex you so bad it will take weeks for them to bloody fix you."

She was staring at him just like every other student in the restaurant was. Except, her eyes were more focused on him and less on Pansy; she was looking at him. He shoved his wand back into his pocket. Pansy whispered an apology, but he ignored her while pretending to be interested in the conversation a pair of elderly witches was having behind him. A group of death eaters had attacked two muggles last night on the streets of London. He got a cold feeling in his hands that slid up his back and into his chest. Amelia pushed a butterbeer towards him and smiled. If he hadn't been so in tune with the conversation behind him, he could have noticed. Four other muggles saw the attack, but thought it was an early Halloween prank. The liquid was sweet and a little bitter as it slid down his throat. He slapped three galleons on the table and left the restaurant. The air that greeted him was cool and scented like pumpkin pie. A girl with waist length curly blonde hair wearing a purple dress waved at him as she ran into a joke shop with his sister.

Eyes were watching him. He slid his hands into his pocket, but didn't turn around to see who the person was. If they wanted him, they would have to come to him. He tensed when he heard footsteps aside from his own. A strong hand pushed him into the alley beside a broom shop. He turned around and came face to face with Draco Malfoy. Well, Draco's face but with green eyes and raven hair. Blaise thought it was a horrible and pointless disguise. Draco pushed him against the cold brick wall hard, and Blaise shoved him back twice as hard. Malfoy's green eyes glared at him fiercely.

"Draco, what the bloody hell?"

"Zabini, it's so good to see you. I wondered if you were still alive. Have you gotten any of my letters?"

"All of them."

"Why didn't you reply? You know the dark lord is looking forward to you joining us soon. I think it would be a most grievous error on your part not to assist the dark lord in his conquest. Ridding the world of mudbloods and - -"

"Oh, please! What happened to you? You were never serious about any of that mudblood bullshit before. You've become your father."

"At least I am respected."

"Amongst killers. I have almost eight more months of school remaining and I want them to be enjoyable. You may have jumped off your rocker, but I haven't."

"I had no choice," Draco whispered angrily.

"You did. YOU didn't kill Dumbledore. You could have simply gone to the American school. I would have gone with you. It would not have killed you to defy your father's wishes."

Draco was silent for a moment. Blaise put his hand on the other boy's thin shoulder. He could tell that the decision his friend had made was taking a toll on him. However, Blaise realized that he had been living miserably since that fated night last term at school, but he shouldn't be that way. He shouldn't let the decisions his friend makes affect him in such a way. With a last sorrowful glance at Draco, Blaise walked away from him. He saw Ginny standing in front of the building alone with her index finger on her chin. She looked like she was in deep debate over whether or not she wanted to purchase the quill with the foxtail in the window. Blaise frowned; she'd probably heard everything they'd said in the alley, but he knew she wouldn't tell anyone. He ignored her soft footsteps behind him as he made his way back towards the castle. She caught up with him, but remained silent as they headed towards the doors near the hospital wing. He turned to her with an emotion in her eyes that she could not decipher. She smelled like warm honey on a cool spring day. The scent reminded him of his grandfather's estate. He stepped back from her, but she stepped forward. They continued doing this until Blaise was backed against the door.

"I'll go to the Halloween dance with you, but only because it's too late to ask anyone else in such short time. Also, you must stop watching me and following me when I have not asked you to do such a thing."

"I do those things to convince you to give me what I want," she said solemnly.

"I can't give you Potter," he said coldly.

"Who said I wanted him?" She asked with a smile on her face.

Blaise rolled his eyes and opened the door without turning away from her. With a small bow he went inside, holding the door open for her. She smiled at him leisurely, but slammed the door quickly. Blaise had glimpsed Pansy and her gang coming towards the castle. Ginny walked ahead a few yards before turning around. Her eyes stared into his as she debated whether or not she should say what was on her mind.

"Do you still miss Malfoy?"

"Do you still miss Potter?"

"We've both gone our separate ways. I was over him since last summer, really."

"Well, I'm going to join the dark lord when we are let out for Christmas break."

"No you won't." She made the statement with confidence. Her eyes were beckoning him to dispute her comment. He stared at her blankly.

"How do you know?" His voice was cold when he asked the question.

"Blaise Zabini bows to no one," she said boldly. They stared at one another in silence until they both smiled. Ginny waved him goodbye before breaking into a run. Blaise shook his head. Maybe the smallest Weasley wasn't so bad after all.