Trust

As Blaise made his way through the school corridors, heading for the dungeons before dinner, he silently wondered how fast a heart could possibly beat before it exploded. If that could even happen, he was sure of that his was at risk. He didn't know for how long he and Ginny had stood out there, her face buried in his shoulder, but as soon as they let go he felt as if he'd lost something. Something valuable.

They'd gone back inside together before heading in different directions by the time they reached the Entrance Hall. She'd given him a small smile which he'd returned, feeling like it was all part of a dream or some other unrealistic scenario.

How did they get here?

He'd been so angry with her when he'd spotted her with McLaggen in Hogsmeade, but now... Of course he hadn't forgotten about the fact that she'd screamed at him, told him to stop interfering with her life. And only two weeks later, his arms had been wrapped around her and she'd thanked him for not leaving.

That was the real problem. Blaise wasn't sure whether he'd ever be able to leave now. And he didn't want to.

"Something bothering you Blaise? You look so troubled"

Blaise jumped at the sound of the voice and turned around quickly, spotting his friend Tracey Davies. It was a miracle that he'd missed her when passing her right by. She stood leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Tracey" he said, finding it hard not to sound surprised. "When did you get here?"

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"I've been standing here the whole time. If you hadn't been so occupied with your own thoughts then maybe you would have noticed me"

Blaise suddenly got the feeling that there was more to those words than what she'd actually said out loud and for some stupid reason he felt almost... nervous. Guilty. Like he was heading for an interrogation at the Ministry of Magic.

Or his own execution...

"What are you doing here?" he asked, trying his best to sound annoyed and confident.

It didn't go too well. Tracey sighed slightly and obviously pretended to think really hard for a moment before she took a few steps towards him.

"Well, I just got here! I spent the afternoon down by the lake, having a really cozy time with Ginny Weasley. Oh no, wait, that's you!"

Suddenly, it was like every single bone in Blaise's body had disappeared. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't speak. He stared at Tracey without really seeing her.

"You're playing with fire, Blaise" she said, locking her gaze with his. "But I expect that you already know that"

How did she know? What could he say now? If she'd seen them there was no point of lying...

"How did you..." he started but she interrupted him:

"Believe it or not you two are not the only ones who enjoy taking walks in the rain. I spotted you and I thought that I had to see for myself if my theory would turn out to be right..."

"Your theory?" Blaise asked sharply and now it was Tracey's turn to snort.

"Please Blaise" she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Just like Ginny Weasley, I'm a girl, too. Maybe you two are not as discrete as you seem to think"

"What do you mean?" he asked immediately, feeling his heart starting to beat faster again.

He and Ginny had never talked to each other in public, apart from on Valentine's day and back then they hadn't exactly acted like they enjoyed each other's company... Tracey shrugged.

"You look at her, she looks at you. You don't have to be very clever to figure out what's going on..."

"Nothing" Blaise interrupted her, raising his voice slightly now. "Nothing is going on"

He hated himself for saying it. Tracey just stared at him and then asked skeptically:

"Really?"

Blaise nodded determinedly.

"Really. She was sad about Lovegood's disappearance and I comforted her, that's all..."

He wasn't even sure of why he'd done that. At the time it just felt so... right. Natural.

"Oh, so now it's completely normal for Blaise Zabini to comfort sad gryffindors? Something you do often?"

He could see, by looking into in her blue eyes, that she was only teasing. However, that didn't stop him from panicking. Tracey probably noticed, since she added:

"Blaise, that was a joke! You know that I'm not like Pansy and Daphne. I won't tell anyone..."

"There's nothing to tell, just stay out of it!" Blaise snapped but his friend stood her ground, crossing her arms again.

"No, I won't stay out of it!" she said defiantly. "I've known you since we were like... five and I'm your friend! I don't want you to get into trouble and you know what people would think if they found out that you..."

"I know"

Blaise had interrupted Tracey mostly because he couldn't bring himself to hear the end of her sentence. If they found out that he... what, exactly? He didn't even know himself...

An uncomfortable silence followed his words.

"Just be careful okay?" Tracey finally said, her voice soft as she put her hand on his arm. "I don't know her and I'm sure she's great but... she's not one of us"

And what if I don't want to be one of 'us', either? What if I want out of it?

How do you make a time line haha

"Okay, I know that you might hate to hear it but I simply have to say something" Emily suddenly pointed out to Ginny, sitting up in bed to get a better look at her.

Before anyone had time to ask what she was referring to, she added:

"Something has definitely changed!"

Caroline and Madison both agreed. Ginny slowly put down the novel that she was reading, feeling slightly confused.

"What are you talking about?" she asked and she could see how her all friends looked at each other quickly before Madison burst out, sounding both excited and surprised:

"You've been lying there, reading that book for at least twenty minutes and every now and then you're smiling! I mean, yesterday you barely got out of bed in the morning!"

Ginny shrugged slightly, trying her best to look unbothered.

"Well, yesterday was yesterday" she said simply. "A lot has happened since then"

The words left her mouth before she had time to stop them and as she spotted the confused and curious looks on her friends' faces she quickly added:

"I mean, you convinced me to talk to Neville! And now that we've finally gotten a chance to tell each other what we really think about all this I feel much better"

But that was a lie, and Ginny knew it.

In fact, her current happiness had nothing to do with Neville. Sure, it had been nice to finally talk to him after weeks of silence but if anything, seeing him had only made Ginny think that it might be her and not his fault that Luna had disappeared...

But Blaise Zabini, of all people, had made her feel more alive and like herself than she had in weeks. And the funny thing was that he didn't even have to try. Standing there, with his arms wrapped around her and being able to thank him for not leaving her was really all it took.

How did he do that?

Noticing that her friends were still eyeing her suspiciously she mumbled:

"But I'm... I'm still so worried..."

That was true. Blaise might have been able to remove some of her guilt, but not the fear.

They were all quiet for a short while and then Emily asked:

"But...?"

Ginny sighed slightly, placing her book on the bedside table. Hopefully, she'd be able to fall asleep right away. Hopefully, she would not lie awake for hours thinking about why a certain slytherin had decided to be so nice to her. And why she needed him to be.

"But it's not going to help Luna" she finished. "Besides, I have an idea"

Madison furrowed.

"An idea?" she repeated and Ginny nodded, before turning off the lights.

"You'll find out eventually" she mumbled sleepily and then closed her eyes.

How was it possible, that Blaise had given her happiness and comfort but also inspiration? Tomorrow she had to talk to Neville.

How do you make a time line haha

"Come on Neville! I know that it's a good idea!"

Ginny looked at her friend intently, even leaning forward out of excitement. Neville sighed, taking his eyes off the chessboard standing on the table between them. He asked:

"Since when are you in such a great mood?"

Since Blaise Zabini hugged me down by the lake...

"That's not the point" Ginny said, waving her hand impatiently. "The point is that I know that this is a great opportunity to..."

"Ginny, do I have to remind you of what happened when we got caught trying to steal Gryffindor's sword?" Neville interrupted her, before telling his pawn to take down one of her knights. "We were lucky not to get expelled..."

"Mc Gonagall would never have let that happen..."

"Mc Gonagall is not in charge here anymore!" Neville exclaimed and as he'd accidentally raised his voice Ginny hushed him.

"Not so loud!"

They were sitting in the Gryffindor common room and even though it was almost eleven o' clock in the evening, it was still quite crowded. Ginny didn't want everybody to know what she had in mind... At least not yet.

"Sorry!" Neville whispered. "But you know just as well as I do that that's the truth! Besides, if we get into any more trouble she'll kill us"

"Well, wouldn't it be worth it?" Ginny asked, thinking that she had to mention Luna even though she didn't really want to.

It was still a touchy subject for both her and Neville, but especially for him...

"Wouldn't it be worth it if we could do something to show them that we haven't given up? That we're still fighting and that we won't let what happened to Luna happen to anyone else? Don't you think she would have wanted that?"

Ginny could see the pain in her friend's eyes by the mention of Luna's name but she had no choice. It was the only thing that might make him consider it... He was quiet for a short while before mumbling:

"Luna always talked about restarting Dumbledore's Army..."

"I know" Ginny said. "And now we can fulfill her wish"

Neville still looked a bit hesitant.

"There are so many things that could go wrong"

Ginny nodded slightly.

"I know that, too" she said calmly. "But there are also so many things that could go right. And I think that it's worth it"

Neville bit his lip. Ginny held her breath.

"Are you in?"

He looked up at her, eventually nodding slowly.

"I'm in"

How do you make a time line haha

"If this was during a real game Madam Hooch would have blown the whistle because of him at least ten times already!" Ginny hissed angrily, glaring at Lucas McLaggen who had just gotten ahold of the Quaffle, looking really pleased with himself.

However, in order to catch it he'd flown right into one of his teammates and Ginny could see how Marwin rolled his eyes tiredly.

Despite the somewhat uncomfortable date in Hogsmeade, he still seemed really interested in Madison and that was the reason why she, Ginny, Emily and Caroline were spending their free Sunday afternoon watching the Ravenclaw team's practise.

"But Marwin is doing great, isn't he?" Madison asked, beaming as she waved at him from the stands.

Ginny couldn't help smiling, it was obvious how much her friend liked him.

"Absolutely! I'm sure he'll get a permanent spot on the team soon enough"

She didn't say that simply to make Madison happy; Marwin did play very good indeed. It was only unfortunate that McLaggen was team captain and he and Marwin didn't exactly get along, to say the least...

Ravenclaw had a game against Slytherin coming up in a couple of days and, since one of their beaters suffered from a really bad cold, Marwin had been offered to take his place. Ginny was sure that McLaggen wasn't too happy about it and the thought made her feel very pleased.

What was she thinking when inviting him to Hogsmeade? Not even making Blaise Zabini furious was worth it...

Without really taking in what was happening down at the quidditch pitch she smiled to herself. It had been over a week since she'd last talked to him down by the lake. But ever since then, ever since she stood there with his arms wrapped around her, things had been... easier.

The hole that had been punched through her chest when Luna disappeared had somehow started to heal. Of course, she still worried about her friend every day and basically did nothing but wondering where and how she was. But still. It didn't hurt like before.

All of a sudden, she'd started to want things again...

Ginny snorted silently to herself. What if she would tell Madison that the real reason why she was suddenly more willing to get out of bed in the mornings, was Blaise Zabini?

Madison wouldn't be pleased to hear it, that was for sure... Ginny hadn't told her, or anyone else, about her and Blaise's latest encounter. That he, someone that her friends considered nothing but a self-centered and nasty slytherin, had actually managed to comfort her in a way that nobody else had. Because even as both Madison and Neville had seen him saving her from Pansy's curse, they still wouldn't understand. Nobody did.

But why would you tell them? her inner voice asked sharply. There's nothing to tell, you know that this won't actually lead to anything... There's nothing going on.

Ginny knew that and for now, she was actually quite fine with it. She didn't know what sort of relationship she and Blaise shared, what he really thought about her... And sometimes, she wasn't even sure that she wanted to know.

"Ginny! Hello? GINNY!"

She jumped at the sound of Madison's voice and as she looked up, all of her friends had stood up and gotten ready to leave the stands. The practise session was over and the Ravenclaw players seemed to have returned to the changing rooms.

"Are you deaf?" Emily asked, laughing and Madison added:

"Since when did you become such a dreamer?"

Good question...

Ginny smiled at them, mostly to prove that she was perfectly all right. She didn't want any questions like: "Do you want to talk about Luna?"

"I guess I'm just tired..." she started but Caroline interrupted her, raising her eyebrows.

"It's only four o' clock in the afternoon"

They'd left the stands and were now making their way over the school grounds, Ginny opening her mouth to say something in return. However, the words got stuck in her throat when Madison literally walked right into someone with a loud thump.

And as Ginny looked up, eyes widening, she realized that it wasn't just "someone". It was him. Their gazes locked and she couldn't help noticing that something was... different about him. He looked troubled. She swallowed, didn't know what to say.

What was he doing here?

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Madison exclaimed, her cheeks reddening slightly as she bent down to pick up something that Blaise had accidentally dropped.

As she handed it to him Ginny noticed that it was an envelope, probably with a letter inside... She couldn't help wondering who it was from and what it said.

That's definitely none of your business, Ginny Weasley.

True...

"Thank you" Blaise said shortly as he grabbed the letter and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.

Ginny could see from the corner of her eye how Madison, Emily and Caroline looked at each other, all seeming quite nervous and uncomfortable. No doubt, Madison had told the other two about that night when Pansy's curse had almost hit Ginny.

When he'd saved her.

Madison cleared her throat uncomfortably. It was obvious that she wanted Ginny to say something, but what would that be?

However, she wasn't sure of how much longer she could stand this silence, either...

"What are you doing here?" she finally burst out, regretting it a second later.

Why would he tell her?

But Ginny needed to know. The fury and pain was so visible in his eyes and she knew she couldn't just leave... Not after what he'd done a week earlier... Not after that he'd, in a way, saved her again.

"I was going for a walk" Blaise replied quietly, avoiding her gaze.

Maybe he could tell that she noticed that something was off? That those intense and dark eyes, usually so full of mystery, gave him away?

Ginny nodded slightly, taking a deep breath before she asked:

"Can I come with you?"

Emily gasped unwillingly and Ginny felt like hitting her. Blaise nodded.

"Fine" he said hollowly.

Thankfully, Ginny didn't have to say anything to her friends. Madison got the hint and grabbed both Emily's and Caroline's arms fiercly.

"Come on" she muttered to them, her voice trembling slightly.

Before they left she gave Ginny a look, as if to tell: I hope you know what you're doing, because I really don't!

Ginny gave her a small, reassuring smile, watching them head towards the castle.

As she turned around to face Blaise again, their eyes met for a split second before they both started walking. She stole a quick glance at him and then stared right ahead, asking:

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" he replied shortly. "What were you doing out here?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. It was obvious that he wanted to change the subject.

"I watched Ravenclaw's quidditch practise" she replied impatiently and as he looked confused she added:

"It was Madison's idea, Marwin is playing with them against Slytherin"

He nodded slightly and then they both fell silent. Ginny silently wondered what would happen if they ran into someone they knew. She guessed that Neville would be shocked to say the least, but that was nothing compared to Pansy or Daphne... She shivered at the thought.

"What was that letter?"

She noticed how Blaise clenched his jaw, apparently uncomfortable with the question.

"What letter?" he asked, not looking at her whilst he spoke.

"You know what letter, the one you dropped when Madison walked right into you"

"It's nothing"

Ginny snorted unwillingly. She couldn't help feeling slightly put out when he didn't want to tell her. Not to mention that she was curious...

"Right" she said sourly. "Of course it's nothing"

None of them said anything and soon they'd reached the lake. Without a word Ginny sat down, leaning against one of the trees standing there. Last year, she'd used to come here with Harry... Blaise stood in front of her, raising his eyebrows. Ginny smiled.

"What? You slytherins can't sit on the ground?"

"I see no reason to" Blaise replied shortly. "There are chairs and couches and..."

"Oh, do you see any chairs out here?"

Ginny pretended to look around and as he opened his mouth, apparently not knowing what to say, she shook her head slightly, still smiling.

"Just sit down, Zabini. It won't kill you"

She patted the ground next to her, indicating for him to sit down. After giving her a somewhat suspicious look Blaise slowly did as he was told, his gaze resting on the lake. Ginny watched him, taking in every small detail of his face.

"You know..." she started, making him turn to face her. "You were actually the only person who made me feel... good again after what happened to Luna"

She looked right into his eyes, her voice serious as she continued:

"I'd like to return that favour. I can see that something is bothering you..."

"There's nothing you can do" Blaise interrupted her, sounding almost frustrated. "It doesn't even matter..."

He drifted off, and then sighed tiredly before looking down at his hands. Ginny eyed him, suddenly feeling like whatever pain he felt, was also affecting her. It hurt to see him hurt, and it made no sense at all.

"I can listen" she said softly. "And sometimes that's enough"

He looked up at her. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. She waited. She knew that it was best if she let him take his time. Time to decide whether he trusted her or not.

"The letter was from my mother" he finally said, his voice really quiet. "I haven't heard from her since before christmas and now she's... she's getting remarried"

He didn't look at her, seemed to refuse to meet her gaze. Ginny was quiet. Of course, she'd heard the rumours about Blaise's mother and all of her husbands. But she'd never really thought about it until now. How hard it must be for him to put up with it all...

"I guess you're not too happy about it" she finally mumbled and he snorted.

"I'd be happy if she stopped acting like such an idiot" he told her. "And it's not like everybody can't figure out what'll happen. It'll last for a couple of months, a year at the most... Then she'll make sure to get some of his money before the divorce"

His voice was trembling slightly and for some reason, Ginny felt like taking his hand and squeeze it tightly. To make him feel better. But she didn't. He continued:

"And this one is... he's worse than the rest of them together. But of course he's rich, so I'll have to put up with him..."

He drifted off again, seemed unable to continue. He still didn't look at her, but clenched his jaw again and swallowed. It was as if he told himself to get a grip, to stop whatever was about to happen. Ginny suddenly stood up and then held out her hand for him to grab.

"Come on" she said and he looked up, seeming surprised.

"Where?" he asked and she smiled slightly.

"You'll see"

He eyed her hand for a moment and then asked:

"Why?"

Why indeed...

Ginny looked away from him for a moment, taking a deep breath. This was it. It could go really wrong. He could hurt her. But she had to try because right now, he needed it. She looked right into his eyes.

"Because whether you and the rest of the world like it or not, I'm your friend" she said, suddenly realizing the truth in her own words. "So trust me"

He stared back at her and Ginny felt like several minutes passed by.

Then, without a single word, he grabbed her hand.

How do you make a time line haha

"Where are we going?" Blaise asked as Ginny, still holding his hand, dragged him through a deserted seventh floor corridor.

Without answering his question she suddenly stopped abruptly, letting go of his hand. She turned her face towards the wall in front of them and eyed it carefully. Blaise snorted.

"Enjoying the view?"

Obviously, it was hard for him to keep a straight face and Ginny gave him a sarcastic smile in return.

"Very funny Zabini"

As she put her hand on the wall, she could feel him approaching her from behind and yet she almost jumped when he asked, his voice triumphant:

"Is this the entrance to the Gryffindor common room? Draco and I always wondered what floor it was..."

Ginny turned around, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Don't get your hopes up, Zabini" she said, trying to sound slightly cocky even though she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "I'd never tell you that!"

"Then what is this place?"

Blaise put his hand next to hers on the wall, as if expecting it to move at his touch. Ginny laughed, gently pushing him away.

"You were never a part of the Inquisitorial Squad, were you?"

She couldn't remember him being with the rest of the slytherins in Umbridge's office, that night back in her fourth year. The night when Sirius was killed. She still felt sick every time she thought of the horror visible on Harry's face when his godfather fell through the veil...

Blaise shook his head, interrupting her thoughts by doing so.

"No. Draco considered it a great opportunity to get to Potter. I wasn't really interested... Why?"

"Did... any of them ever tell you about the Room of Requirement?" Ginny asked, watching him carefully.

"I usually didn't listen whenever 'Dumbledore's army' was brought up. I thought it was stupid wasting any time acting like Umbridge's slave. So no" he mumbled.

Ginny nodded slightly. She was, for some reason, relieved to know that he'd considered Umbridge a fool. And that he hadn't tried to sabotage for her, Harry and the others...

That meant a lot, and she suddenly felt a strong urge to tell him that.

"It's also known as the Come and Go Room" she mumbled, backing a few steps to eye the wall from a farther distance. "It only appears when a person is in great need of it and as long as you know what you want to find inside..."

She drifted off, feeling how Blaise looked at her whilst she spoke. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Well... then you'll find it" she finished simply.

He raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"Really?"

Ginny nodded, turning to face him.

"You don't believe me?" she asked, smiling slightly.

Blaise opened his mouth to say something but she reached him to it:

"Stay quiet for a minute or two, please"

Blaise said nothing but silently watched as Ginny started to pace back and forth in front of the wall, concentrating hard:

I want a room where we can relax, just be ourselves and forget about the world outside, if only for a short while. I want him to feel better. I want him to be happier.

As she opened her eyes again, and stopped walking, a door appeared in front of them. Blaise opened his mouth in surprise and Ginny smiled triumphantly, grabbing the door handle.

"After you!"