Fallen & Risen 16. Friendship in Slytherin Mode

Previously…

"As for me, I will not hesitate to raise my wand against Malfoy if Heley loses but ONE hair from her head because him," Neville finished with his wand under Blaise's nose.

"Eeep!" Blaise leaped. 'Why is he threatening me when it's Draco he is talking about?'

"I have become very good at Defense Against the Dark Arts you know, thanks to Harry," Neville said. "I know a lot of of bad curses and useful hexes," Neville finished, waving menacingly his wand.

"Gulp!" Blaise gulped and broke out into a cold sweat. "C-c-call down, Longbottom," Blaise stuttered, raising his hand to push the tip of Neville's wand away from his nose. "If your friend loses but one hair from her head, I would be the first person to punch Draco before you can raise your wand against him."

"Heh?" Neville wasn't expecting to hear this one from Draco Malfoy's best friend, Blaise Zabini.

Blaise started to explain himself.

"Heh?" Neville was surprised to hear that one from the half-Italian Slytherin. Blaise took a deep breath and started to explain.

"After the death of Harry Potter, Draco is no longer the same person he used to be," Blaise said. "He changed. He is no longer the inhuman and cold hearted bastard he was before. He learns humanity. I know his mother wanted him to apologize to Potter and to your friends for all the bad things he did to them since First year. During summer, Draco worked really hard at changing himself so that he could answer to his mother's wish. Of course, you would think that's impossible coming from him. And yes, you're right for assuming so because Draco was very resentful toward Harry Potter. Unexpectedly, after learning about Potter's decease, Draco discovered what he truly thought about the boy. Potter saved his mother and that made Draco grow to respect his rival. However, since Potter is no longer here, Draco can't express his gratitude and deliver his apology. And then, Potter's cousin appeared. Your friends, Weasley and Granger, aren't the only one who were happy at Potter's cousin's appearance. I was too. I see in Heley Potter a chance for Draco to be resurrected, a chance to make him forget about the hell he lived in until last year." Blaise stopped momentary.

"To tell the truth, I've never agreed with everything Draco has done in the past. Since Heley Potter's appearance, I've Draco slowly starting to develop humanity in him. For now, Draco still has darkness in his heart, but in my eyes, your friend Heley can save him away from that darkness. I don't want to see Draco lose himself in his nightmare again like during the war and I will make sure that I will not lose him. Therefore, for Draco's well-being, I won't let anything bad happen to your friend Heley. In my eyes, she is the only hope for Draco to keep his sanity."

This time, it was Neville who was speechless. All his life, he never dared to dream hearing a Slytherin talking in this way, but Blaise Zabini just showed him that even the most impossible of things could happen.

'And he called Heley by her first name twice without realizing he was doing it,' Neville noticed.

"You've all seen Draco's new behavior. Certainly you must have been shocked, am I right?" Blaise asked while carefully stirring the liquid in the cauldron seven times clock-wise and three times counter clock-wise. Neville nodded. "I was too," Blaise continued. "And I believe it's the best thing for Draco to continue changing in that way. I believe that the more Draco interacts with Heley Potter, the more he will become a better person. So, be reassured that I will not let anything bad happen to your friend Heley." Blaise finished, looking straight into Neville's eyes to show the sincerity of his words.

After a long moment of staring back in the Slytherin's green-gray orbs, Neville decided to trust Blaise.

"I will keep what you told me in mind. And if anything bad happen to Heley, then don't be surprised that I will curse Malfoy AND you with him," Neville threatened, but in a friendly way.

"In that case, I will bring Draco to you on a silver plate. Promise," Blaise said. Neville smirked, liking what he heard. Blaise returned Neville's smirk, marking the debut of their newly formed friendship.

Neville grabbed a vial and Blaise poured in their potion. Something came up in Neville's mind.

"By the way, tell me why do you always lurk around us during our Quidditch practices?" Neville asked.

"Eh? You saw me?" Blaise exclaimed.

"Yeah well, it's pretty hard to miss a blur of green creeping around, you know."

"Then why didn't you denounce me?"

"I haven't seen you do anything bad, so I have no reason to denounce you. But again, why do you always snoop around us?"

Blaise's smile grew from ear to ear. Something in Blaise's eyes hinted at Neville the half-Italian's reason for always prowling around the Gryffindor Quidditch players.

"Ah! Don't tell me that you fancy a Gryffindor?" Neville hypothesized with a smile on the corner of his mouth. Blaise's expression became dreamy, his eyes lost in contemplation from out of nowhere. That alone answered Neville's question loudly.

"Ooooh! So that's it!" Neville exclaimed. "And who is it?" Blaise dropped from his 9th cloud back onto Earth to look at Neville.

"Well…" Blaise hesitated, blushing.

"Eh?" Neville blinked several times at the Slytherin's response. He recalled all the times he's seen Blaise. Since the Slytherin always lurked around the Gryffindor Quidditch practices, then the object of his fantasy must be one of the players. Neville knew that Blaise Zabini wasn't gay, so the person he liked was most probably a girl. In Gryffindor Quidditch team, there were only three girls: Demelza, Heley and Ginny. Neville once saw Blaise's and Demelza's interaction when they crossed in the hallway, but there wasn't anything particular between them. So Demelza was off the list. Here in Potions, Heley was just a few meters from them, but Blaise didn't look at her more than it was needed. So Heley was of the list too. That only left…

"Ginny, you like her!" Neville geniunely concluded. Blaise's eyes shined brighter and his smile became sweet and gentle.

"Yes," Blaise softly said. Neville gasped. A Slytherin was falling for a Gryffindor and he wasn't embarrassed to openly admit it.

'That's the best I've heard for years!' Neville thought. Strange, yet Neville didn't find it bad. In fact, he liked this side of his Potion partner. 'For a Slytherin, he is frank and friendly,' Neville thought, amused by Blaise's dreamy face expression, lost again in the contemplation of the red haired Gryffindor Chaser's image in his head. Suddenly, something came up in Blaise's mind.

"Hey, can you tell me something?" Blaise asked.

"What?"

"I know you're on very good terms with Ginny. Tell me about her. Tell me how to conquer her heart," Blaise excitedly demanded. Neville's jaw dropped.

'Frank and friendly, but he's still a cunning Slytherin! Asking Ginny's house mate for romantic advice on how to court her. And me of all people!' Neville paused, watching his Slytherin potion partner. '…In a span of only five minutes, I've seen more strangeness than in all my eighteen years of life!'

"Oh, please help me how to win her heart! I'll do anything for you! Please, tell me!" Blaise pleaded. Neville sweat dropped.

'Oh Merlin! He is seriously asking me for advice!' Neville smirked, very amused.

"Please, please please, Neville, please!" Blaise added, jumping to Neville's first name.

"Stop it," Neville said, shoving his palm into Blaise's face. "I will help you…"

"Yes!"

"…but in the Gryffindor way," Neville finished.

"Heh?"

"I will help you, but in the Gryffindor way: by not helping you," Neville said.

". . ." Blaise's smile was wiped off his face rapidly.

"Listen. The best way for you to win Ginny's heart is to do it on your own, without the help from anyone else. Ginny is a girl who has lot of pride. She likes people who stand on their own to accomplish what they want to do. And she is smart. If Ginny learns that you got help from someone on how to court her, which by the way she certainly would, the consequence would be disastrous for you. But leaving you to your courting all by yourself alone (Neville emphasised on the word), you will have more chance to win her heart AND keep it," Neville explained.

"Owwwwnn…" Blaise groaned, but he understood Neville's point. He knew Neville was right about Ginny. "Thanks for the… (Blaise frowned) 'help' anyway…" Blaise sighed. Neville chuckled.

"You're welcome," Neville said. He took the now filled vial and closed it with a cork. "I'll take this to the teacher."

"'Kay. I'll clean up this then," Blaise said.

Neville walked to the front of the class and crossed with Heley, who was walking by Seamus' and Victoria's table. Heley was carrying various jars back to the storage room.

"Hey, Heley. How does it go?" Neville asked. Heley slowed her pace and cocked her head, thinking.

"Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I first expected, working with Draco Malfoy," Heley said. "I really thought that there would be some disas-…"

"FINNIGAN, YOU DORK! DON'T PUT THAT IN!" Victoria yelled.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" People screamed in the class.

"HELEY!" Neville, Ron and Hermione yelled.

Everything turned black for Heley.

Updated on Saturday March 6, 2010. Beta-ed.