"My mother went to Uagadou instead of Hogwarts." Blaise said suddenly, Ginny turned and looked at Blaise who was staring at the lake; she turned around and settled down next to him. He looked at her and smiled before continuing.

"She was a brilliant witch. She had a lot of options but she chose to work with magical creatures. She had been visiting some relatives in England during the first war. Everyone believed that the Zabini family was safe because it was neutral. She went out for dinner with her friends at some diner in Diagon alley. Something happened and she had to step out and she doesn't remember how she got caught unaware but she was suddenly hauled off the street into a nearby dingy lane. They were 8 men with wands, she was outnumbered and so these men, drunk with power raped her and then left her on the lane to die, singing praises to the Dark Lord and the good times he had given them.

She would have died had two young men not found her and taken her in. She was kept at a safe house and nursed by the wife of one of those men. She was weakened by her trauma, it took her weeks to be able to stay in the same room as the two men, she was however close with the woman who nursed her and her caretaker's friends, they were her life support. She still remembers them and loves them. When she was recovering, the only thought she had was justice but she knew it will not be given to her.

So, she plotted her revenge, she spent days looking for the 8 men and she finally was able to locate each one of them. All these men were purebloods and death eaters and my mother decided that she would have her revenge; that is exactly what she is all about, her revenge. Her revenge keeps her going; that is the only thing keeping her alive. She has nothing else to live for; not even me because I am the living proof of the pain she had been forced to live with.

She found out that she was pregnant with me while she was living with her saviours. One of them offered to take care of the two of us, become a father figure to me. He gave her a way out, a life of mutual respect, friendship, understanding and hopefully even love but my mother was burning with the desire of her revenge. She declined his kind offer but I think it broke her heart to do so. The way she speaks of him even now, I know that she loves him, that she has only ever loved him."

Blaised shook his head with a fond smile on his face as he looked out at the lake. Ginny sat frozen beside him torn between wanting to hug him and giving him his space as he entrusted her with his biggest secret.

"She got her revenge." Blaise said, turning to look at Ginny before looking out again. "She killed 5 of them, with my help of course. Funny bit is none of them remembered her, her first husband confessed on his deathbed that in those days they had raped a lot of women, how was he supposed to remember her? My mother and I have always been a team against all of them. I have known her story for the past 4 years, now I understand why she hates death eaters and the dark lord or why she is so passionate about the rights of magical creatures and the underdogs. That is why I hate Crabbe because he doesn't understand the kind of scars such violations leave. No woman should ever go through the pain my mother went through."

"I admire you Ginny." Blaise said seriously, "You were manipulated and used by the Dark Lord as a puppet at a much younger age than when my mother was raped and yet you have it in you to be the better person. To not wallow in self pity or hate. The Dark Lord made you do terrible things, he did terrible things to you but you never stop having faith in people. You never stop yourself from loving someone; you don't even seek revenge from Mr. Malfoy who put you through so much of pain for his petty ego. You have risen above all of it. It's as if you are determined to be a better person than you were before you met the Dark Lord. I wish my mother could find such strength in herself, I do believe that she was justified in seeking revenge, but she has also shut herself down from love and forgiveness and moving on."

Ginny smiled wanly at Blaise. "When You-know-who was controlling me he would tell me the worst things about myself. He preyed on my feelings of inadequacy. He preyed on my confusion and on my guilt once I figured out that I had somehow managed to open the chamber of secrets. He told me that no one will ever love me or trust me again. But then, when I got out of it, no one really blamed me. No one ever told me that it was my fault. My parents, brothers, Hermione, Harry even Professor Dumbledore maintained that better people have been fooled by him, I was but a child. It was Professor Lupin who helped me forgive myself and have the courage to trust someone again. If he could trust people after losing everything, if Harry and Sirius could trust people after being betrayed horribly, I guess I could trust and love again."

Blaise smiled at her. "I always liked Professor Lupin. My mother insisted that I put enough efforts in his class and show him the respect he deserved."

Ginny smiled. "Your mother sure has great judgment then." She said with a laugh.

"Well she fell in love with a man I admire and respect, I wish he had been my adopted dad. So yes, she does have a great choice." Blaise said with a laugh.

"Maybe that man still loves your mother, if you know his name, maybe you could reach out to him."

Blaise gave her a funny look and shook his head.

"Well, let's just say that he doesn't love her anymore."

"How can you know that? Is he-is he- is he dead?

"No."

"Then you could try to talk to him at least."

"No. He is happily married."

"Oh."

"Yes."

"But you can still talk to him, if he is half as decent as your mother says he is, maybe he would be a good person to talk to when you need someone."

"I know he would be the best secret keeper but if I contact him, it would get us killed."

"Why?"

"He is against the Dark Lord's regime and is actively fighting it plus, he is right now an outlaw, a supposed low life. He is a werewolf, it would endanger all our lives."

"Werewolf? Is he who I think he is?"

Blaise grinned. "Yes, my mother was saved by James Potter and Remus Lupin and nursed to health by Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom. Remus Lupin offered to adopt me as a son."

Oooooh! Plot twist. Do review and let me know what you think of it. If you want I can write a one- shot separate spin off about the story of Blaise's mother and Lupin. And no Remus Lupin did not love her, he just knew what it felt like to live like a confused outcast and he did not wish it upon her or Blaise, also, he by then had given up all hopes of ever finding love. Anyway, I am pretty serious, I need reviews to know if I am doing this story right. So please take time out to write one. Check out my other fics too. Happy Reading.

Much love,

The fishes.