Fallen & Risen 19. Persistent Slytherin

Previously…

Ginny felt an inexplicable urge to protect Heley and it made her wary of Draco Malfoy's new change. Some part of her couldn't help but worry that Malfoy would hurt Heley, physically or otherwise, as he had done to Harry. She hadn't been able to anything for Harry though he had saved her and her family. Subconsciously, she couldn't help but feel that protecting Heley would be a way for Ginny to say thank you to Harry.

'I'm not going to let that sneaky snake hurt Heley!' Ginny told herself.

She turned on her heels and stormed into the school. She will find out the truth behind Blaise Zabini's and Draco Malfoy's change.

Ginny spotted Blaise in the library with Draco. Taking out a piece of parchment, she scribbled something on it, crumbled it and, with a wave of her wand, shot it directly at his head.

"Owww!" Blaise blurted out, rubbing at the back of his head in an attempt to soothe the sore spot that had formed when something had (painfully) collided into him. Draco, interrupted from his reading, looked up at him.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"Err, nothing," Blaise said, hiding the little piece of paper he had found. Draco raised an eyebrow in suspicion but ignored the lie, returning to his book. Making sure that Draco wasn't watching him anymore, Blaise unfold the crumbled paper. There were only three words scribbled on it.

- Astronomy Tower. Now -

Blaise glanced behind him to see a flash a red hair through the book shelves.

'Ginny?' Blaise wondered.

"Draco, I just remembered that I forgot something. I'll be right back," Blaise said, already at the door of the library.

"Hum," Draco acknowledged, not even taking his eyes off the book.

As soon as Blaise took his first step into the Astronomy Tower, a blur of red attacked him. Before he could even react, Blaise had found himself pinned against a desk with a wand roughly pressed to his throat.

"Now, tell me the truth," Ginny snarled, "what does Malfoy want from Heley?"

"W-wait… Ca-calm down, Ginny," Blaise stuttered, copius amounts of sweat forming because of the dangerous weapon aimed at his throat.

"GINEVRA WEASLEY!" Ginny bellowed, pressing her wand harder against his neck.

"O-ok, Ginn-… (poke poke) …Ginevra… Now, why don't you calm down and point your wand away from me so that we can peacefully talk together…"

'Gryffindors sure like threatening people. First Neville, now her,' Blaise thought. Ginny did the exact opposite of what he had asked her to do. She twisted her wand against his Adam's apple.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? How do you expect me to 'calm down' in this situation? For the last seven years, Draco Malfoy mocked (poke), insulted (poke), pulled pranks (poke), hexed (poke), cursed (poke poke), set up traps (poke poke) and even tried to kill us (POKE)…"

While Ginny continued to pour out her anger on him and kept poking and twisting her wand against his throat, Blaise's mind wandered to other kind of thoughts - thoughts that had nothing to do with worrying about if he could ever speak again after this poking session. Despite Ginny's small height (she barely reached his shoulders), she was not, in any way, prevented from threatening someone much taller and larger than her.

'Oh Merlin! I love this fiery, petite woman!' Blaise thought, hypnotised by Ginny's flaming beauty. The half-Italian Slytherin couldn't help but find this dangerous, little woman waaaaaaay more delectable in her anger than ever before. He even felt compelled to lean further against her wand just for the pleasure of seeing her beautiful eyes more closely. With each poke of her wand, Blaise grew more and more excited by her.

'But it's not the right time to think about this,' his inner voice told him. Ginny's angry voice brought him back to earth.

"…THEN, suddenly, out of the blue, he stopped mocking (twisting her wand against his throat), stopped insulting (twist), stopped pulling pranks (twist twist), stopped hexing (twist poke), stopped the daily curse throwing (poke), made no foul comments (TWISSSSSSSST), stopped calling Hermione bad names, started to act civil (poke poke), helped (poke poke poke), complimented Neville (POKE) and even protected Heley against an explosion in Potions (PRESSSSSSS). How can you expect me TO BELIEVE THAT HE HAS NO EVIL INTENTIONS BEHIND THIS SUDDEN CHANGE OF BEHAVIOUR AND TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?"

"L-Look, Ginevra," Blaise gulped, now trying to move as far as it was possible from her pointy wand. In then end, he realized that if he wanted to enjoy her beauty in the future, it was best to keep his life. "We won't get anywhere if you continue to shout like this. Just calm down and we can talk like rational human beings. You can hex me or curse me later if you want. I won't run away. I promise."

Ginny look up at him, an eyebrow raised in skepticism.

"Besides, I don't have my wand with me. I won't be able to run away from you even if I want to," Blaise added in reassurance. Ginny stopped poking him and pointedly glared him.

'He has a point. I can hex him later. It will also give me more time to come up with a very horrible and disgusting curse,' Ginny thought. Reluctantly, she removed her wand from his throat, much to Blaise's relief. He sighed and brought up a hand up to the rapidly reddening skin.

"Now tell me, what does your GIT (she emphasized the word) of a friend want with Heley?" Ginny repeated, waving her wand menacingly at Blaise, even as she moved back a step.

"Draco is not a git," Blaise rebutted, rubbing his hand over his abused throat. Ginny threw him a doubtful glare, not believing him. "Err, okay, he used to be, but he isn't anymore." Ginny leaned back against a desk, waiting for him to continue. She focused all her attention on him (her wand still in hand of course!). Blaise understood that she wanted very serious explanations and that she wasn't going to accept anything less. Blaise took a deep breath and became serious.

"Gin-…nevra, Draco is no longer the boy he used to be last year. At first, I was like you. I didn't want to believe it. But he really has changed," Blaise insisted. Ginny fixed him an unconvinced glare. Blaise leaned against the desk supporting him, crossing his arms across his chest as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Certainly you must know that Draco was sent on a mission to kill Dumbledore as his initiation to be a Death Eater," Blaise said.

"Everyone in the Order knows about it," Ginny retorted.

"Then did you know that the Dark Lord threatened Draco to torture his parents to death if Draco failed?" Blaise asked. Ginny jerked her head up, looking at Blaise with terrified eyes.

"I-I didn't know…" Ginny stuttered, her orbs trembling at the horror.

"Except for me, no one at Hogwarts knows about it either," Blaise murmured quietly. He looked at Ginny. "I would appreciate it if you would kept it a secret." Ginny slowly nodded understandingly.

"Because of the threat, Draco lived in some horrendous version of a nightmare every day, starting from his Sixth year," Blaise revealed. "The only difference was that he couldn't wake up from it."

"But it was during his Sixth year that he was more a horrible to us than ever," Ginny protested in confusion.

"It was because Draco was torn inside," Blaise explained. "He wanted to ask for help but he couldn't because his parents' life was hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles. Afraid that the Dark Lord might take a dip in his head and find out about his real intentions, Draco had no other choice but to put on a disguise. During the day, he acted like a real jerk to everyone and ten times more so toward Harry Potter and his friends. During the night, he was afraid to sleep because he feared that the Dark Lord would visit him. Did you know that he had even thought about killing himself so he could spare his parents' life?"

"Oh dear Merlin…" Ginny muttered, a hand covering her trembling lips. She would have never thought that Draco Malfoy had gone through so much. She never would have guessed that Draco was so bloody awful to them because of such a reason. Now she understood that Draco Malfoy had suffered as much pain as her family had, if not more.

"Draco also knew that the Dark Lord would be more merciless to his parents if he died, so he had no choice but keep himself alive. Gradually, Draco became very unbalanced in his head and the war certainly didn't help him," Blaise continued with a grimace. "Then, he saw Harry Potter saving his mother when he couldn't do anything for her. That gesture from Potter also saved him away from insanity. Potter showed Draco that hope still exists even to the lowest of all kinds of living." Blaise stopped momentarily, organizing his thoughts. "In the time I spent with him after the war, I discovered new sides of Draco - sides that he had never shown anyone before," Blaise continued. "After the death of Potter, Draco felt remorse for all of the bad things he had done in the past. He regretted not having the chance to say sorry and thank you to Harry. He is no longer the bad guy he used to be. Believe me."

". . ." Ginny didn't say a word, chewing on her trembling lips. She tried to withhold the emotions which were stirring inside her after hearing Draco Malfoy's story.

"Like I did with Neville, I give you my words that I won't let anything bad happen to your friend Heley," Blaise promised. "Since Harry Potter is no longer here, I believe that Heley can, in his place, keep Draco from swinging back to the darkness. That's why Heley's well being is also very important for me. She is the last hope for Draco. Even if it's mainly for Draco's sake, believe me when I say that I won't let anything bad happen to her." Ginny looked at him, frowning. He didn't back off under her scrutinize, showing her the sincerity of his words. In the end, Ginny believed what he told her, but she was still worried. Blaise couldn't blame her because he probably would have felt the same if he was at her place. After many minutes, Ginny finally spoke.

"Fine, I trust you about Heley," Ginny said. "But don't make me regret it." Blaise nodded.

Having discovered the answer she wanted to know, Ginny turned to leave the room. Blaise stopped her.

"Ginevra, wait," Blaise blurted out, stopping Ginny in her tracks. She turned around swiftly, eyes set into an exasperated glare.

"What?" she asked, annoyed.

"There is still something I want to talk with you," Blaise explained. "Just listen to me for a moment. Please." Ginny pursed her lips, not wanting to listen to him. But, because he had used the word 'please', she couldn't help but stay in one place.

"What do you want?" Ginny grunted. Blaise took a deep breath and started.

"Ginevra, I really like you. I'm seriously interested in you. For the past week, I wasn't making fun of you. My courting you isn't a prank as you might believe it is." Ginny raised an eye brow.

"Zabini, how can I believe you? You're a Slytherin."

"Which I'm proud to be because I'm not scared to openly express my feelings for you." Blaise stood up from the desk he was leaned against and walked towards her. He stopped a foot away from her. He looked down into her eyes. "I like you and I'm not ashamed to be drawn toward a Gryffindor, especially a pretty girl like you. I really want to know you better. I wish that you see me as a friend. And hopefully, more than a friend in the future. Ginevra, believe me. You are the first girl that I've ever done anything for like I've done this past week and you'll be the only one." Ginny jumped slightly at the softness of his voice and the tender expression in his eyes. A little tingling emotion titillated her heart, but she surpressed it. It was still to hard for her to believe a Slytherin.

At Hogwarts, Blaise Zabini was very popular among the female population, from First year to Seventh year in all four houses. He could choose any girl he wanted, so why would he set his choice on her, Ginevra Weasley, a girl from a poor family? Ginny had every right to be suspicious. Blaise Zabini came from a wealthy family. The difference between their worlds was very wide. She heard many stories of rich wizard courting a poor girl, then throwing her away once he got what he want from her. Ginny knew how these girls lived after that kind of humiliation: they no longer had any life after. Ginny bit her lips. She didn't want to become like those girls.

'I cannot let myself fall into this kind of trap. I will let myself fall for his trap!'

Seeing her bite her lips, Blaise knew exactly what she was thinking. He also knew that she hesitant to believe in him. He decided to use his last trump card. Playing this card would make the game unfair for her, but it was the only measure he could think about to bind her to him for the moment.

"Ginevra, you still owe me for saving you during our Quiddtich match," Blaise nicely reminded her with a smile. Ginny's head jerked up, eyes wide.

"Argh!" Ginny scoffed. She completely forgot about that! Ginny wished she could bang her head against the wall until she completely lost consciousness and forgot about that annoying debt. But, as the Weasley she was, she couldn't ignore her debts. She might be poor, but she absolutely hated owing a debt to someone, especially if said someone happened to be a (persistent and annoying) Slytherin!

"For the price of saving you, I want you to let me show you how I sincerely like you," Blaise said. "I request that you let me court you for a whole month. Certainly, during the thirty-one days I will court you, I will raise mayhem between our respective Houses because of our rivalry. However, you must not run or hide away from me. Also, you cannot do anything that will stop or interfere with my courtship by any mean. If, after a month, I can't make you change your opinion about me and you are still not interested in me, then I will leave in peace and will never bother you again."

"In short, for thirty days…"

"Thirty-one days," Blaise precised. Ginny grunted.

"…you will be after my arse," she continued, pointily glaring at him. Blaise smiled, amused.

"It's not an elegant way to put it, but yes, that's what I mean," Blaise agreed. Ginny scoffed again.

"Urrrrrrrgh! Fine!" she reluctantly acquiesced, already planning to get herself a (cursed) calendar to count down the (blasted) thirty… plus one days. Blaise smiled. He hooked his left arm around her waist, taking her hand with his right to pull her against him. He kissed her on her right temple. Ginny hissed.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she protested, squirming in his arms. Blaise smiled and held her tighter against him.

"Sealing our contract," Blaise replied, flirtation oozing from his voice. Ginny struggled to free herself with increasing intensity and finally managed to get away from him.

"Do what you want, but only for thirty one days!" She stormed toward the exit.

"One last thing, Ginevra," Blaise added. Ginny stopped under the door frame. He was becoming very annoying!

"What now?" she groaned. Blaise smirked. He really liked her fiery temper.

"From this moment on, I will be calling you 'Ginny'," Blaise smugly informed her.

"N-…!"

"It's part of our contract," Blaise interrupted her before she could finish her syllable. Ginny bit her lips in fury and clenched her hand into a fist, but refrained from punching the door frame.

"Fine! But don't get too confident!" Finally she could scamper away.

Left alone, Blaise triumphantly smiled, very happy.

"Yes!"

It took him a long of time, but she finally agreed to let him court her. Yeah well, it was true that she was forced to accept, but the aim was still getting her acceptance.

'However, who said that her friends and her brother would let you court her?' Blaise's inner voice reminded him. 'Her BIIIIIIG brother…' The inner voice insisted. Blaise grimaced.

'Big brother equals big problem…' He reflected for a moment.

'Then I guess I must ask for her brother's permission…'

Wait.

Asking for Ronald Bilius Weasley's permission?

Blaise gasped. Ron Weasley was a Weasley, which meant overprotective sibling. He was already overprotective over Heley Potter even though she wasn't his blood sister. On the other hand, Ginny Weasley was his youngest sibling. And his only blood sister.

GAWK!

Blaise's face paled, doom falling onto him. Now, he had a Weasley dragon-big-brother to confront just for permission to court said red hair dragon's little sister.

'Oh great Merlin! Please, have pity on me!'

Ron, Hermione, Heley and Neville were making their way to Care of Magical Creature when someone stopped them.

"Weasley."

The Gryffindors turned around to see Blaise Zabini standing in front of them.

"What do you want?" Ron suspiciously asked. Blaise suppressed a smile at the similarity between the brother and sister when they were suspicious about something.

"Can I talk to you for a minute please?" Blaise requested. He saw Hermione and Heley looking at Ron. "In private." Blaise insisted. Ron frowned. He observed Blaise and didn't find any malicious intentions. Neville helped him make his decision.

"We will see you later, Ron," Neville said. He turned to the girls and took their arms. "Hermione, Heley, let's go." Neville didn't give them a chance to protest. He had a small idea of why Blaise want to speak alone with Ron and Blaise was secretly thanking Neville for the small bit of help. Hermione and Heley hesitantly looked at Ron.

"Go ahead. It won't take long. I will see you later," Ron assured them.

"Er, okay," Hermione and Heley replied, unsure. Nonetheless, they followed Neville. Ron turned to Blaise, but still had a suspicious frown.

"Thank you," Blaise simply said. Ron only nodded. "Let's go outside."

Near the lake, Ron leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking straight at Blaise.

"So, what do you want from me, Zabini?" Ron asked. Blaise opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. He hesitated, suddenly unsure of himself.

'Why must I ask him this? What must I say to convince him? He's her brother and protective too. He is already protective over Heley, who isn't even his blood sibling. He must be ten times worse over his own blood sister. And knowing his character, he would definitely refuse my request just because I'm a Slytherin. I know that one. Then, if I don't ask him, it would be fine, right? Then why am I here again, in front of him? Why did I…?'

"Zabini, I don't have all the afternoon, you know. Can you hurry and say what you want to say, please?" Ron was becoming impatient. Blaise gulped.

'I might as well give it a try,' Blaise thought.

"It might sound weird from me, but I just want you to listen to me until the end before saying anything," Blaise started out. Ron cocked his eyebrow, waiting for Blaise to continue. Blaise took a deep breath. "Weasley, I want to ask for your permission to court your sister, Ginny," Blaise said, clearly detached from each word. Ron's eyes bulged out as if they were going to explode.

"I know it is hard for you to believe me because I'm a Slytherin, but I really like your sister," Blaise continued. "Like I told her, everything I did to her in this past week wasn't a prank. I was sincere. I'm very serious about her." Ron was positively ogling at him.

"Just give me one month," Blaise pleaded. "For a month, let me have the freedom to court her. After a month, if you still don't accept me, then I will leave your sister alone and I will stop bothering her. It's a promise. And know that a Zabini's promise is word engraved in hard rock."

". . ." Ron didn't say anything for a moment. "Did you ask Ginny for permission to court her?"

"Yes."

"And what did she say?"

". . ." Blaise hesitated, biting his lips. "Though reluctantly, she had accepted. She owes me for saving her during the Quidditch game."

Ron discretely groaned. He was planning to refuse, but Blaise just reminded him that he no longer had that right. He was a Weasley and, like all Weasleys, he hated owing a debt to someone, especially when said someone happen to be a Slytherin. Ginny owed Blaise Zabini for saving her and he owed the Slytherin for saving his only sister. This debt wasn't small. Ron pursed his lips, looking straight into Blaise's eyes. Blaise didn't dart his eyes away from Ron's scrutiny. Blaise dropped all his defenses and revealed his deepest intentions to Ron's eyes. After what seemed to be an eternity to Blaise, Ron finally spoke.

"Fine. I give you my permission to court Ginny. But only for a month," Ron emphasized his words. Blaise inwardly sighed. "However, if I see her hurt because you, even with only one tiny scratch OR one hair lost from her head, be sure I will punch you into the next millennium."

"I won't run away from you if that happen, which will never happen anyway," Blaise said. Ron turned on his feet toward the school. Then, he stopped and turned his head to Blaise.

"I'll be watching you," Ron warned, then left. After a long long time, Blaise finally let out the breath he was holding inside.

"Pffffiou…!" Blaise wept the sweat on his forehead. "I thought I was going to die from lack of oxygen because I forgot to breath." Then he grinned. He was proud of himself. Happily, he skipped for his next class, whistling a silly love song. He met with Draco on his way for Arithmancy.

"Don't you think that we have a beautiful day today?" Blaise cheerly asked.

"Huh?" Draco looked at the cloudy sky outside. "What's wrong with you today?" Blaise just simply whistled and entered the class room, not bothering to answer. Draco became wary of Blaise's sudden silly happiness.

A/N: Yes, Blaise is a pervy masochist! ^^

Update Sunday March 21, 2010. Missing part added on Wednesday 24. Beta-ed on Friday July 16.