I went up to the owlery to send a letter to my parents; I walked up to the tower thinking about Blaise

I went up to the owlery to send a letter to my parents; I walked up to the tower thinking about Blaise. He had been so nice about Ron, and his story had made me think how lucky I was. Even if Ron wasn't talking to me I had friends who cared about me, Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna even if they were a bit preoccupied they always had time for me. I wanted to try and make Blaise feel like he had a friend, he had had such a lonely life. I wanted to show him the kindness he had missed out on and so deserved. He seemed so caring if only he had some one to care for.

I walked into the owlery and saw him instantly, fastening a letter to the leg of a fidgety owl. His straight dark hair ruffled by the wind howling through the glassless windows. The tips of his long fringe dangled in front of his liquid, indigo eyes. The tip of his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration and he let out a grunt of frustration as the owl slipped out of his grasp again.

"Here let me." I said as I walked over. He jumped and spun around but smiled and relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Sure." he grinned "Be my guest but as you can see she's a real handful. She gets really excited at the prospect of a delivery. Don't you Sedna." He smiled as the owl rubbed her head against his hand. He moved aside and let me take over, the black owl instantly held still and I slipped the letter on. Just before I let her go Blaise noticed the letter I had brought.

"You can give her yours as well if you like, unless you have an owl of your own. Sedna's faster than all the school owls"

"Thanks the school owls are really irritable."

"No problem, she'll be glad of the chance to show of to a stranger. She's very vain she likes to live up to her name sake. I named her after an Inuit goddess."

"You should see Pig, he's tiny can barely hold a letter, but he's always really excited."

"Why aren't you using him?"

"He's Ron's owl. Harry's owl Hedwig is out on a delivery for him."

"Well you can borrow Sedna anytime."

"Thanks I will."

"Do you want to go somewhere?"

"Sure."

"Actually do you mind if I draw you?" He pulled out a black leather bound book with the words Blaise Zabini in gold neat handwriting. "I never go anywhere without my sketch book."

"Ok if you're sure you want a drawing of me, I'm hardly a beautiful model."

"Of course you are, but well I know we haven't talked much but you're the closest I've got to a true friend and I would like us to become friends eventually if you don't mind. I'm happy around you and I want a picture to remind me of that."

"Of course I'm your friend and I'm glad I make you happy, considering what you told me you deserve it. I'm glad to help."

Because she loved reading I wanted a drawing of her in the library doing just that. I told her to get a book that would absorb her so she would forget I was there and make her uncomfortable. She knew just the one. Jane Eyre. She skipped to her favourite part, the book opened onto the right page straight away. There were creases where she had read and re-read the same 100 pages.

She relaxed into her book and I sat opposite her at the small, round wooden table and started to draw. As always I began with her hair. I out lined the bush curls being careful to show where the light and shadows were so I could do a painting from looking at the sketch. That way I could have a coloured, talking moving image of her thought I knew it wouldn't be often that I would disturb her reading self. Next I drew her sloping shoulders and down into her arms, her elbows propped on the table as she supported her much loved book.

As I drew I thought about the girl in front of me, oblivious to the world around her. She had no idea how much these few encounters had meant to me, I had spent 18 years of my life unhappy and alone. She was part of the Golden Trio why would I just another person in her life mean as much to her when she had all her friends around her? Now that I thought I had found a friend, I was scared of friends before no matter how lonely I was. Where would I find a Slytherin who didn't love The Dark Lord or a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw who would see past my house? The house I had hated all my school life. Yet here she was, this intelligent girl.

Where I had tried to hide my knowledge in class, quietly getting high marks, she flaunted her brains, desperate to prove that you didn't need to have pureblood to be clever. How often I had seen this girl raise her hand triumphantly to correctly answer any question any teacher asked or working alone in the library, even when she was in The Slug Club I had taken no notice. I looked but I hadn't seen. How could I ever have known that this girl could become my friend and end my life of loneliness?

I had drawn the rest of her body, the book, the table and the shelves of books behind her, filling every detail, every glimmer of light, every faint shadow before I finally started on the face. Starting with her eyebrows following their curve down into her nose, drawing every freckle that dusted the bridge and her cheekbones. Next I drew her pink lips which were slightly parted as she stared transfixed by the much loved words covering the page in front of her. The tiny shadows cast by her bottom lip, her chin that was not to sharp and not to round, the perfect balance of the two, and her ears peeking out from her chestnut hair. Finally I drew her eyes trying to convey the emotions they showed as she read Mr Rochester's desperate pleas to Jane, the conflicting emotions she felt as she silently begged Jane to listen to the man and stay but at the same time urging her to and keep her self respect. The long curved eye lashes completed the drawing; her face would always be beautiful to me because of the kindness she had shown.

I called her name, breaking the spell, but the look on her face was a new kind of magic as I showed her the drawing. "Oh, Blaise, it's amazing, picture perfect." The delight on her face was all I needed.