QLFC : Round 6

Position : Captain (Seeker filling in as a reserve)

Team : Kenmare Kestrels

Prompt : The Dorishman's Wife

Word count : 1185

The first time he really noticed her, they were both seventeen, about to start their last year at Hogwarts. It was the darkest year he ever experienced, so one could understand why romance was not on the table for him.

But there was something about her…

He himself could not explain it, but he found himself drawn to Daphne. She did not have anything special. She had blond hair, with blue eyes, and was quite short. But Blaise was intrigued by her enough to notice that her eyes were the same colour of the sky and that she was the perfect height to fit under his chin.

Time passed, the war took over, and then, it was over. From time to time, he thought of her and wondered what had become of her. The last he heard, the Greengrasses had moved to France after the war.

It was during a harmless conversation that his mother told him about Daphne's recent engagement. Blaise had not seen her for years. He was not even supposed to care.

And yet…

"She's engaged to whom?" Blaise frowned, when he heard the news.

"His name is Emilien Lavigne. He's one of her fathers' associates in France."

"What kind of name is that?"

"It's French, Blaise!" her mother laughed as he handed him the latest issue released by the Prophet. "Here's a picture of them."

The Greengrasses may have been one of the most prominent Pureblood families, but after leaving for several years, it was not enough to make it to the front page. Nevertheless, Daphne still had a spot in the gossip section. The picture was obviously very recent, as it had been taken while they were out on Diagon Alley. Blaise couldn't help but point out that the man besides her looked much older than her. He also noticed that her eyes had lost all their life, but wisely kept that part to himself.

"If you want my opinion, dear old Hector Greengrass needed to secure some deal and offered his younger daughter as a bargaining chip. I heard that he was the nephew of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in France. We know that the British Ministry finally managed to convince them to help in retrieving the Death Eaters that fled to France after the war."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"The Greengrasses never really got involved in the war, but Hector Greengrass did contribute quite generously to the Dark Lord's financial fund, so that his family would be left alone. I'm guessing they moved to France to escape the scrutiny all Purebloods were under, after the war ended. Now, Astoria must be the bargaining chip to ensure they continue being left alone."

The conversation died down after that, but Blaise was not as unaffected as he would have liked.

oOo

A week later, Blaise was attending the event held by the Greengrasses to celebrate their daughter's engagement. As the Zabini heir, he was bound to be invited. Yet, he had no real connection with Daphne. She was simply one of his former classmates, and proper etiquette prevented him from going up to her without a formal introduction. No matter how much he was itching to ask for a dance. She had truly blossomed. Of course, she had never been ugly. But now, she was a woman. Blaise could safely say that he could give up the entire Malfoy fortune to speak to her.

His salvation came in the form of his friend Theodore Nott, who had apparently kept in touch with Daphne Greengrass during all these years. As soon as Theodore saw her alone, he dragged Blaise across the room, insisting that they had to greet her. But someone else quickly snatched him away, leaving Daphne and Blaise alone.

"Miss Greengrass, I don't believe I've had the pleasure to offer my congratulations yet", he graciously said, turning to her.

"Thank you. And I know that it's been years, but it hasn't been that long, has it, Blaise? You can still call me Daphne," she replied with a small smile.

"Of course."

"I still remember you as the best potion partner I ever had," she teased.

As they continued to reminisce about their Hogwarts days, he realised he still had not seen Emilien Lavigne that night and mentioned it to Daphne.

"I don't think I've seen your fiancé, tonight."

"He had some pressing bussing to attend to. He should be here soon."

"Ah, I see. Though I don't understand how any man could have more pressing matters than attending his own engagement party with his fiancée, especially one as beautiful as you."

Daphne blushed, and Blaise could not help but feel satisfied inwardly. He was so wrapped up by her that he did not realise that the man in question was making his way to his fiancée's side. Without even sparing a glance to her, he took in Blaise and extended his hand to him, with a polite smile, without any authenticity attached to it.

"I'm Emilien Lavigne, nice to meet you."

"Blaise Zabini."

"He's one of my old classmates," Daphne interjected.

"Ah. Well, thank you for keeping my bride-to-be company. I had to take an urgent floo call, you know how it is, I suppose…"

"Of course," Blaise answered with a cold smile. "But no matter of how busy I am, I would never leave such a wonderful lady alone. I guess I'd be too afraid someone would try to steal her attention…"

"Oh, I am quite confident that not just anyone can be the object of Daphne's affections,"

Blaise could swear he saw a flicker of disgust when Emilien spoke in Daphne's eyes. And as another member of the assembly demanded Emilien Lavigne's attention, and he turned away, he also noticed that Daphne's posture was relaxing. She seemed so tense when he was here. Earlier on, when it was just the two of them, he felt like he had found seventeen-year-old Daphne again. He frowned. He already suspected she was not in love with him, but could it be that she was also extremely unhappy with this engagement? Could it be worse than that?

"Well, I hope this doesn't set the tone for the rest of your marriage…" Blaise commented before stopping himself.

"Excuse me?"

"I know that I'm being very forward. I know it's not my place. But I want you to know that you deserve better than him, Daphne. I know something is wrong."

"Blaise, you can't just…" Daphne started to protest.

"Please, take care of yourself. I know we haven't seen each other in years, but I mean it when I say that you can come to me for anything. I've got to go, but Daphne... Give me a reason to fight and I swear I will. It's not too late."

She nodded and Blaise understood from her expression what she could not say.

At that moment, he realized that he wanted her. Even if she was not his to take, he would take her anyway. And if it led to his own downfall, so be it.