Fallen & Risen 31. Happy New Year
Previously. . .
Flashback
"Can you give Blaise another chance please? This time, without having the debt weighting on you, but just a simple and honest chance for him to court you?" Daphne said.
"Couuuuuuugh!" Ginny fight to refrain herself from chocking in her own bile.
"What are you thinking ab-...?" Ginny started.
"PLEASE," the three Slytherins chorused at once before Ginny could finish her sentence.
"HUH?" Ginny's jaw dropped. The three Slytherins really took her by surprise. The girls were willing to let her, a Gryffindor (and a Weasley, no less) dominate them just for the sake of their friend. And Ginny still had their wands in her possession.
'The whole wizarding world is turning upside down! Maybe Luna's little invisible creatures are possessing them, or the clams I ate weren't clams in the first place!' Ginny shivered.
"Please. We will do anything for you," Daphne insisted. Ginny picked up her jaw and put it back. The three Slytherins looked hopefully at Ginny. Ginny stared back at them, gulping.
'This is not what I expected from Slytherins. . . Lowering themselves just for the sake of a friend. . .' Ginny thought. Inside her, she liked it very much. 'Besides, I just admitted that if I knew Zab-... Blaise under other circumstances, it probably it wouldn't be that bad.'
"Please," the girls pleaded again. Ginny chewed her lip. They were three against one. That was unfair. She gave up.
"Fine. I'll give him another chance," Ginny sighed.
"Yay!" the Slytherins high-five.
'I hope I'm not going to regret it later,' Ginny groaned.
"But know this," Ginny spoke up. "It's not for him that I'm doing it, but because of you. I like your loyalty to him, even for Slytherins. You stick together to support him. I highly respect you for that. As you asked, I will give him a second chance, but I don't guarantee this will work between us later. If it really doesn't end as you wish, please don't held a grudge against me," Ginny said. The girls smiled.
"That's enough for us," Daphne said.
"And we promise that if it really doesn't work, then we won't held grudge against you," Millicent said.
"I hope for his sake that he doesn't fail, because if he does, then I'll hex him after everything we did to get him a second chance," Victoria mumbled the last words between her teeth for herself.
"Heh?" Ginny blinked at Victoria. Ginny heard her.
"Oh!" Victoria clapped her hands over her mouth, but it was already too late. Ginny burst.
"Bwuahahaha! I wish I could see that!" Ginny laughed and cried tear. "Wuahahahahaha!"
Victoria blushed in embarrassment, cursing herself. She just did something very un-lady-like and got caught doing it.
"Hahahaha!" Ginny tried to calm down, but it wasn't efficient. It was too comical. She just caught a Slytherin doing something very un-Slytherin. 'So they can human time by time too.' And Ginny's laugh was contagious.
"Hahahaha!" Daphne and Millicent joined Ginny, much to Victoria's dismay. But soon, she too became infected by Ginny's joy. "Hahahaha!"
'Okay, I admit I like them!' Ginny thought, wiping the tears in the corner of her eyes.
"You know, we like that Gryffindor side of you as well, being true to what you value," Daphne said, smiling. Ginny stopped laughing and returned her smile. She really liked these girls. She felt like she can befriend with them despite being in rival house. Ginny grabbed the wands next to her and handed them to their owners.
"Here, I'm giving you back your wands," Ginny said. The girls took their wands back.
"Thank you," Victoria said. "By the way, you can call me Vicky. Don't call me Birmingham. It sounds so. . . formal." Victoria grimaced. Ginny giggled.
"Okay. Then call me Ginny. Weasley sounds so. . . wizzy for me!" Ginny said.
"Please call me Daphne," Daphne said next.
"And I'm Millicent, but you can call me Milly," Millicent chimed. Ginny smirked.
"Are you sure about that? Do you know that Heley's potted plant from Neville is named Melly, which could be easily confused with Milly?" Ginny asked. Milly grimaced.
"How dreadful," Milly said. "Can you ask her to change the name of the plant please? I don't fancy being mistaken with a potted plant."
"Hahaha! Don't worry. Heley herself doesn't like calling her plant by that name because it reminds her that Neville had rubbed himself on her. She keeps referring to it as Filly's-cousin's-potted-plant-that-doesn't-spit-fi re. Too bad for her that we all prefer to call it Melly because is shorter," Ginny said.
Daphne stood up from her seat and walked to Ginny. Ginny stood up to face her. Daphne took Ginny's hands and squeezed them in hers.
"Thank you, for giving Blaise another chance," the Slytherin girl said.
"Yes, thank you very much," Vicky added and Milly nodded, agreeing.
End flashback
'Thank you, for giving Blaise another chance.'
Ginny closed her eyes, hearing the three Slytherins' words echoing inside her head. Seeing Ginny not respond to him, Blaise shuddered in hear. Then, he closed his eyes and his shoulders slumbered.
'She isn't answering, which means that she refuses. . .' he thought sadly, his hearth aching.
Ginny's previous shock over this side of Blaise hadn't faltered. He had completely let himself be stripped of all his defenses in front of her. She never thought that could be possible coming from Blaise Zabini. . .
Her heart melt. Slowly, she smiled fondly.
Down on the main floor, everyone was counting down in chorus the last seconds of the end of the year.
"10... 9... 8..."
Silently, Ginny stepped toward Blaise. Too caugth in his sadness, Blaise didn't see her coming. When she reached him, put her hands flat on his chest. Feeling the girl against him, Blaise snapped his eyes opened only to see Ginny leaning against himself. Before he could register what was happening, Ginny tiptoed on her feet and kissed him slightly on the lips. Blaise became completely frozen. He was in shock, various emotions twirling inside him. Did the girl he fancy for so long just kiss him?
'I. . . I must be dreaming. . . M-Maybe I drank too much champagne. . .' Blaise thought.
Ginny detached herself from his lips and looked in his eyes.
"G-Ginny, does it mean th-that. . . " Blaise stuttered, confusion, happiness and uncertainty that he wasn't living a dream laced in his voice. Ginny only smiled to him.
Blaise felt his breath stuck in his throat at her brilliant smile illuminating her already dazzling beauty. His heart glowed back in life again. He threw his arms around her, pulled her back against him and crushed his lips on hers in a ravaging kiss. That tiny and shy kiss of her just gave him a taste of heaven and he was already addicted to the taste. He wanted more of the taste. At first, Ginny was frightened by his sudden embrace, but soon, she slided her arms up around his neck and pulled him closer to her.
"3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAAAAAAAR!"
Long, long after, when their lunges desperately needed more oxygen, Blaise reluctantly let go of her lips, but not letting her out of his arms. He trailed his lips down her neck, whispering hotly in her ear
"I love you. . . I love you Ginny. . . I love you. . ." he tight his arms around her. Ginny snuggled against his warmth, hearing the sound oh his gleeful heartbeat in his chest.
"Happy New Year. . . Blaise," Ginny whispered. Blaise grinned dazzlingly when she called him by his first name willingly.
'It's the best New Year I never had before in my life!' Blaise thought, tighten his arms around Ginny.
"Happy New Year, Ginny," he whispered, kissing her forehead. Ginny smiled.
'Maybe this can turn out to be the best for me. . .' she thought, happy.
Down on the main floor, in the dancing room.
"3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAAAAAAAR!"
The people started to throw themselves in everyone arms. They hugged every person in reach, not caring if the person was acquaintance or not. One fat and overjoyed man threw up his arms to grab a nearby woman and knocked Heley over in the process. Heley lost her balance and fell into the person standing next her, right their arms. It was Draco. Draco tried to catch her to help her gain her balance, but he too was knocked by another person toward Heley. And the. . . (cough!) unfortunate accident happened.
Their lips connected.
CHUUU!
Heley hastily pushed herself away from Draco, her face burning crimson. Draco's face's colour matched hers, but he gained his senses back faster than her. He just stared at her, not knowing what to say to her to her. He had a vague idea that he should apologize, but he couldn't bring himself to voice it out. Inside him, he didn't regret the little accident. On the contrary, a mischievous little voice told him that he wanted to do that 'accident' again.
And Heley, poor her. The embarrassment she felt was too much for her to bear. She couldn't look at Draco any longer. She grabbed a handful of her skirt and fled the room. She needed to put distance between Draco and herself. Now.
"Heley! Wait!" Draco called her, but she was deaf to his voice. Her embarrassment was controlling all five of her senses from receiving any kind information from the outside, including her ears.
From the other side of the room, Ron saw the scene. He dropped his jaw. Next, his throat constricted, blocking his urge to scream. Then, he stopped breathing. Oxygen stopped making its way up to his brain. His eyes rolled back, and - to finish - he dropped dead on the floor. Hermione, who also saw Heley's and Draco's little accident, brought her attention to the corpse lying at her feet.
"Oh my," she simply said.
"Mother, this is the girl I wanted you to meet, Ginevra Weasley," Blaise presented Ginny to Bianca Zabini. Bianca Zabini was the famous black widow who married seven times and lost all her seven husbands one after the other. Upon their death, she was left with their fortune, making her immensely rich. Seeing the beautiful blond woman, Ginny understood from whom Blaise inherited his handsome features.
"Ooh, so you're the girl Blaise fancies so much," lady Zabini said. She examined Ginny from head to toe. Ginny didn't back off under the black widow's examination. Satisfied, lady Zabini smiled and took Ginny's hands in hers. "Nice to meet you, Ginevra Weasley. I am Bianca Zabini, Blaise's mother."
"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Zabini," Ginny graciously greeted.
"I understand now why he chose you," lady Zabini said. "You are a very pretty girl. You have such a nice shade of autumn leaves hair. I wish I was born with hair like yours."
Ginny smiled, liking the woman. Lady Zabini continued. "I wondered for whom Blaise had my best tailor designing a dress, which he, himself, handpicked the textile and accessories. It's so sad he never did it once for me."
Blaise chuckled.
"Oh mother, it's because you never like the dresses I pick for you," Blaise said pleasantly.
"That's because you never chose a dress of my taste!" Bianca retorted. Blaise just simply smiled without arguing. Despite being mother and son, Blaise's and Bianca's tastes in fashion were completely opposite. Blaise liked classic style clothes while Bianca like everything extravagant and from the latest fashion. She was particularly fond of Muggle fashion from Paris and Milan.
"Even so, I still think that you have a great sense of fashion, lady Zabini!" Ginny sincerely complimented. It was true that the black and white dress brought out her magnificently platinum blond hair. Bianca giggled happily.
"Ohohoho! How nice of you! You are really a sweetheart, not like this boy!" Bianca said, pointing to Blaise, who simply smiled as he watched his mother and Ginny talking. "And please call me Bianca, dear."
An elderly couple came to speak with Blaise. Bianca and Ginny stood aside to watch him.
"I am not a good mother because I don't know how to be a mother. I believe I don't have that maternal instinct in me. Even then, Blaise is a wonderful child to me. He accepts me as I am and is always there to help me when I am in trouble. If it wasn't for him, the Zabini legacy would have collapsed long ago because I don't know how to manage such a fortune. That child deserves to be happy. He is truly his father's son, kind, caring and loving, even to a woman like me."
Ginny heard the sadness in Bianca's voice. Despite being the famous Black widow she was, she had truly loved Blaise's father.
"I wish I could bring him some sort of happiness too, but I really don't know how to do it," Bianca said, intensely watching her only son with sadness. Ginny tried to comfort her.
"If I might say, I haven't known Blaise for a very long time, but I can see how much he cares for you, lady Zab-... err, Bianca," Ginny softly said. "So if you want him to be happy, then you should live your own life happily. I believe that knowing you happy will make him happy." Ginny finished. Bianca's face lit up immediately.
"Oooh! You are such a nice child! No one has ever told me something so sweet," Bianca squealed, eagerly grabbing Ginny's hands in hers.
"I sincerely believe what I said, Bianca," Ginny said, smiling. Bianca smiled back to her.
"Thank you." Bianca pressed Ginny's hands. "I have a favor to ask you. Pietro, Blaise's father, loved me even if I didn't love him back as he deserved it. He loved me until the last minute of his life. I couldn't pay him back what he brought me, and it appeared that I can't even do it for his son. However, I can see that you can make him be happy. So please, make him happy for me." Bianca said. Ginny didn't know how to respond back, but Bianca had decided that she didn't want to be answered back. "Forgive me dear, but I will leave now. I must be in Russia for the special presentation of the Nutcracker. Send Blaise my love, and come to see me in Verona in the summer, Ginevra Weasley!" With these words, Bianca left with her escort.
Soon, Blaise returned back to see Ginny alone, his mother nowhere in sight.
"Ah, Mother left?" Blaise asked.
"Yes," Ginny responded, a little surprised by Bianca's hasty departure. "And she told me to send you her love, though I found it strange that she didn't say it directly yo you."
Blaise nodded, unfazed. Ginny became curious.
"Aren't you sad that she didn't talk with you before leaving?" Ginny asked. Blaise only smiled.
"Mother is never good with departing from people, especially with people she cares for. It's always a trouble for her to tell me good bye herself, that's why she always has a third party do it in her place," Blaise explained.
"Oh. I understand," Ginny said. "She also told me to come to see her in Verona - wherever it is - in the summer."
Blaise's face lit up, and he widely smiled to her.
"She did? This is wonderful! Verona is in northern Italy. That's the place where I was born. It's magnificent in the summer. You will love it. You will come, of course?" He eagerly asked. Ginny frowned.
"That's a little too soon to ask me. Do it at the end of the year," Ginny bluntly said. Blaise chuckled. He still had work to do before she would accept him wholeheartedly, but she didn't say 'No' right on the spot. Compared to before, this was a huge progress for him.
"Even if you refuse to come, Mother will come here in England by herself to see you. As far as I know, Mother has never invited anyone to our manor in Verona on their first meeting. She usually sends them to Taranto, at our cousin's place in the south. If she invited you to Verona, that means that she you must like you a lot."
Ginny pondered his words.
"Well, I admit I like her too," Ginny said. Blaise smiled at her in response. Gently, he slid his arm around her waist, which Ginny didn't protest like she usually did. Blaise's smile grew wider.
"Come, let's join the others," he said. Ginny nodded and let him lead her. A house elf popped in front of them.
"Mister Zabini, Miss Weasley, Mister Longbottom asks that you to join your friends in the white room," the house elf said and popped away.
Blaise and Ginny glared at each other, curious, then went off to the white room.
As soon as they stepped in the white room, Neville greeted them.
"Blaise, Ginny. You're here!" he said. Hermione saw Blaise's arm around Ginny, who wasn't pushing him away. Hermione smiled.
'Seems like it's going well between them,' Hermione thought. Blaise unwrapped his arm from around Ginny's waist.
"Guys, what is it? Why did you have us called here?" Ginny asked. Then, she saw Ron lying on a love seat with his head on Hermione's lap. Hermione was nursing him with a cloth damped in cold water. "Huh? What happen to him?" Ginny asked. Hermione grimaced, not wanting to respond. Neville smiled understandingly. He answered for Hermione.
"He saw Draco kissing Heley," Neville explained.
Ginny and Blaise gawked, their eyes popping out of their head. Next, Blaise started to grin like a cat in front of a plate of delicious, fresh, warm milk.
'I'll add this information to my Christmas gift from Santa after the crystal flower!' he thought.
"NO WAYYYYYY!" Ginny cried. They looked at her, thinking that she was upset for her brother. "You're lucky! I want to see that too!"
"Huh? !" Hermione and Neville exclaimed. Ginny wasn't worried for her brother for a bit!
"You want to see what? Draco kissing Heley, or Ron fainting?" Blaise asked curiously. Ginny frowned, thinking.
"Both!" Ginny responded. Neville and Hermione sighed in despair. Some sister she was, Ginny Weasley. Her fun was more important than her traumatized brother. She was truly a red-haired woman!
"A wartpurnick played a prank on Heley," Luna offered her own explanation of what happened, earning strange looks from her friends.
Meanwhile, Blaise was mentally preparing his material to tease Draco again the next time he would see the blond boy. His was already excited for the next opportunity. His smile stretched from ear to ear. Seeing Blaise's devilish grin, Hermione and Neville felt pity for the Ice Prince, Slytherin Head Boy.
'Bad luck for him,' Hermione and Neville thought for Draco.
"Mmmnn..." Ron whimpered, bringing their attention of the people around him back on him.
"Now what do we do about him?" Blaise asked.
"That would be some problem if he remembered what he saw," Neville said, grimacing. "Ron is so overprotective of Heley that I pity her. He would do anything to make Draco pay for kissing Heley, even if it was an accident. I don't fancy having him annoying us about it."
"Hnn," the company nodded in agreement.
"How about we obliviate him?" Blaise suggested.
"NO! I won't let you do that to him!" Ginny protested. Ah! So Ginny cared about her brother, but in her own (weird) way. "If you do that, I won't be able to tease him later!" Ginny wailed. Err, oops! So Ron was still the last of his sister's worries. Hermione and Neville sighed again. Obviously, Fred and George had rubbed off too much on their little and only sister.
"Then what do you suggest?" Luna asked. Hermione searched for a solution to their problem and found it.
"Ginny, when he wakes up, tell him he fainted because he drank too much champagne," Hermione ordered. Ginny saluted her like a soldier.
"Got it!"
"That won't work," said George as he popped out from behind Hermione. "Ron is very good at handling alcohol. He won't buy that he fainted because of a couple glasses of champagne."
Hermione frowned suspiciously at George.
"Let me guess," Hermione said. "He is good at handling alcohol because of your doing?"
George only grinned, all of his perfectly white front teeth answering for him.
"How do we do then?" Neville asked.
"How about making him drink really strong alcohol, a whole bottle of liquor or something," Luna offered.
"Exactly my thought," George said. Blaise reflected a moment, then called a house elf.
"Barn!" Blaise called. A house elf popped in front of him.
"Yes, Mister Zabini. What can Barn do for your service, Mister Zabini?" Barn asked.
"Get me the strongest Firewhiskey in the Manor, please," Blaise commanded.
"Immediately, Mister Zabini." Barn popped away and returned back with the requested item before popping away again.
"This should do." Blaise took out his wand and charmed the whole contents of the bottle directly into Ron's stomach. "With that, he is sure to have a horrible hangover tomorrow. You can make him believe that he didn't have his head on straight, and that he can't remember exactly what he saw. But you'll still have to make up a very good story and make him believe it."
George puffed out his chest and hit it proudly.
"Leave it to me!" he swore.
Updated on Saturday, December 4th, 2010. Beta'd by ElusiveTruth