This chapter is slightly longer, to celebrate the end of exams and to make up for the brief update last time and the grammatical errors :)
Please R and R!
Quiet peace had enveloped Hogwarts as Blaise sidled through the corridors, headed for the common room. The cool wind floated through a carelessly open window, caressing his cheek and he paused before moving to the sill.
Darkness met his gaze, the night time chill in the air exhilarating him as he breathed deeply. Closing his eyes momentarily, Blaise enjoyed the silence. Curse whoever was making those footsteps, wait, footsteps?
Perhaps it was Ginny, out of bed and restless because she too felt a bond between them. Eyes shining and gathering his cloak about him, Blaise swiftly rounded the corner... And came face to face with Ron. Who didn't look amazingly ecstatic to see him. Shit.
Malfoy was emerging from a handy shaded corner in the common room, adjusting his clothes whilst pondering the usefulness of what he had learnt from Pansy, when raised voices alerted him. He strode to the door, and flinging it open was confronted by Ron, with Blaise in a headlock.
Draco raised a single eyebrow.
"Shall I leave you two alone?"
"Don't you dare!" Blaise snarled through gritted teeth. Ron shook him, obviously relishing the opportunity to humiliate the Slytherin.
"My good man, if you had only asked politely I'm quite sure Mr. Zabini here would have been more than happy to oblige without this violence," Draco drawled, causing both figures in front of him to turn bright red.
"Now Weasley, let him go,"
"Please is the word," Ron hissed. Malfoy's expression hardened.
"Please is the word you will be squealing in a second blood traitor if you don't let him go now," The blond Slytherin pulled his black, hawthorn wand from his sleeve and flicked it slightly to emphasise his point.
Ron pulled his arm away from Blaise and pushed him forwards, before turning on his heel and stalking off into the darkness.
"I turn my back for five minutes and look what happens," Malfoy mused as he proffered an arm to help his friend up. Blaise grunted angrily and stood, dusting the arms of his robe.
"He took me by surprise," And he had, Blaise had been expecting the youngest Weasley to round the corner, not her older, angrier, uglier and seemingly more violent brother.
"You'll never guess what I discovered,"
"If its anything like the fact Pansy has a mole shaped like The Leaning Tower of Pisa on the inside of her left thigh I'm really not interested."
"How did you know she has that mole? Blaise you dark horse, you've slept with Pansy!"
A shudder ran through the Italian.
"No, you told me a week ago,"
"Oh. No, it's nothing like that."
"Thank God," Blaise pushed past Malfoy and headed for the stairs. He needed the relief of a soft pillow and the numbness sleep would bring.
"It's about Weasley,"
"Which one?"
"You idiot, as if I would be avidly interested about anything remotely to do with most of them. The youngest, fool,"
"Oh," Blaise's ears pricked up.
"She has a boyfriend, that's why she, ahem, rejected me rather forcibly," Malfoy grinned, oblivious to the look on his friends face.
"Excuse me," Blaise climbed the stairs, mind in turmoil. This was the last thing he had expected, and the last thing he wanted to hear.
**************
Ginny was alone in the Gryffindor common room, bathed in the warm glow of the embers as she sat reading, when her brother burst in.
"Bastards," He was muttering to himself, "Stupid scumbags, Slytherin bastards."
"Oh dear,"
"I hate them. I wish they would just bugger off to their mansions and leave the rest of us NORMAL PEOPLE in peace,"
"Who?"
"Malfoy, as ever, and that sly Italian, Blaise."
"Who's Blaise?"
"The upstart, the twat from Potions the other day, do you not remember? I TOLD you!" With an aggrieved look and an exasperated sigh Ron threw himself up the stairs in search of a more receptive audience.
Biting down on her lip to keep from smiling, Ginny returned to her book but found her mind wandering back to the other day, the day Malfoy had tried it on.
She couldn't keep the smiles back when she remembered how shocked he had been, and how angry Dean had been after she had told him. He'd exerted the protective boyfriend thing on her, which she hated.
Casting back, Ginny could remember another boy, crying with laughter when she slapped Malfoy. A boy with rich brown hair that gleamed in the sunlight and eyes that danced.
Typical good looks she supposed, a Slytherin bad boy who was no good to anyone, especially her. Besides, Ginny knew the group Malfoy headed well enough.
They egged each other on, placing bets and leering at any unfortunate girl to catch their sights. Malfoy was the worst, he was handsome she granted him that readily enough, but he knew it too well. Mere boys the lot of them, with not a brain cell to spare.
She curled up in the complaining armchair, unwilling to give in to sleep. Tomorrow was a big day, her first Quidditch match as one of the team. Gryffindor against Slytherin, she could only pray Ron didn't kill himself trying to kill Malfoy.
*****************
The next dawn dawned bright and chilly, with a thick layer of sparkling frost decorating the grounds. Blaise dressed slowly, knowing it would be some time before Malfoy was able to tear himself from the mirror. He was tired, having spent the night staring up into the darkness to prevent himself from dreaming of Ginny. He needed to stop this ridiculous infatuation, and dreaming of her wasn't helping. Blaise yawned, and ran his hand through his hair distractedly.
"Malfoy move it!" He knocked on the bathroom door, "We have a match today you vain woman,"
"Yes, and I'm the reason the girls even come to watch," Came the muffled reply, "So if I don't get this hair spell exactly right it will blow everywhere, and then everyone will be upset and I can't have that," Rolling his eyes Blaise retreated from the door and sat at the foot of his bed, patiently waiting.
It was much later before the pair reached the dining hall, and most of the students had disappeared to prepare for the match. It had been hotly anticipated and tensions between the two houses had been rising for some time.
Swallowing some dry toast that threatened to stick in his throat, Blaise kept his head down. Malfoy meanwhile was proving that men could in fact multitask, as his hand seemed to be busy under the table with the deliriously happy girl next to him while he sipped juice calmly. He finally stood elegantly, smiled at the girl and tapped Blaise on the shoulder.
"Come on, mustn't keep the ladies waiting." He made for the doors, nodding to either side as the females present swooned. Blaise followed, catching whispers that echoed in the aftermath of his friend.
"Apparently he is an amazing lay,"
"Apparently? You can tell that just by looking at him for goodness sakes!"
He ducked into the cool morning with evident relief.