Harry Potter 1. Prologue: An Extraordinary Child

AN: If anyone's interested I'm looking for someone to beta this story for me. I'll admit that I've never had a beta before and am not clear on the process. Do I e-mail my beta upcoming chapter's and does she/he send them back edited? Do beta's only edit for grammar or for content too? I think I would like a beta who wouldn't mind helping with the content of my story as well as grammar. If your interested feel free to mention it in a review or e-mail me at

Disclaimer: I do not any character's or anything from the Harry Potter series.

Prologue: An Extraordinary Child

Outside the earth was kissed by the sun. Wrapped by it's warm embrace with not a cloud to hold it back. Nothing the to obscure the rays of molten gold from greeting the expectant land and it occupants below it on this hot July day.

But when one entered the lonely manor on the even lonelier hill surrounded by flat terrain, thoughts of sunshine and sunkissed lands where immediately dispelled. Stepping through that doorway was like stepping into another world, but not a world of enchanting princess' and noble queens as one likes to imagine at a young and tender age when exploring a particularly large coat closet or abandoned tree house, but a world of eerie silence and gloom.

A long time spent in the gloomy manor of ancient and intimidating dark beauty would make sunlight an alien concept to one.

Indeed, there was nothing embracing about this manor of murk however inviting its surrounding were that day. Not that day. Not ever.

The occupants of the manor where much the same. A stern and steady wizard husband and witch wife, (as only this was considered to them proper), of what would be much beauty had it not been encased in ice. The ice began to enclose their hearts at an early age, making them cold unfeeling creatures. It slowly enclosed their entire being until it wasn't just a barrier, but a coffin killing and consuming them until they were reduced simply to talking walking breathing statues. Unable to love, unable to feel, unable to embrace, and with it all unable to truly live.

The couple where parents of a single five year old son. People of such nature are not good for living growing things and therefore they were not good for there son.

The son was a strange boy with his wide sapphire almost purple luminous eyes, dark shock of the blackest hair imaginable, and skin of cream as one would expect him to be with such an unnatural surrounding about him, but it was only one of many things that made him strange and unusual. One more such thing would be revealed for those who were there to bare witness on his fifth birthday that day.

Entering the manor one would never think that a child's birthday party was in action there. There were no colored floating balloons and confetti to be seen strewn on the floor, no high-pitched laughter of children to be heard, and no layers of cake and bowls of sweet chocolates and caramels to be smelled.

What there was to be seen upon entering the manor was a gathering of adult wizards sipping on champagne glass as they all stood as if there were sticks up there spines acting

'respectably'. All isolated even among the 'gathering' and all seeping of self pride. None had yet learned that pride was a lonely road.

There was the usual gathering consisting of the Goyles, Malfoys, McNairs, Avery's, and all the other constituents of the Zabini family. The Zabini's saw their sons birthday as not a celebration of their sons birth, but as an outlet for the social gathering of all the most important and respectable people of the wizarding world so that the Zabini's could flaunt their wealth, network with the right people, and display their respectableness, their loyalty to all like-minded purebloods of the wizarding world.

It was a fact that they had not seen their son all day, be it his birthday or not, and at that very moment their son was holed up in the next room with the children of all their constituents.

The room next door was strewn with ostentatious toys and child things that were unbefitting to its gloom. It was equally strewn with quiet children who did not know how to behave like children. In the midst of them was the birthday boy, Blaise Zabini.

Blaise sat with an un-child-like stillness and characteristic quietness. Around him the other children were softly bragging about there father's wealth and the toys they had newly acquired from there parents. Blaise alone did not brag. He did not brag because he felt that he had nothing to brag of. He felt he had nothing to brag of because he had known his Aunt Belle and knew what she gave and he wanted, but could not get from his own parents.

Speaking of said Aunt, Blaise wondered when she would come visit him. He knew she was here today. Aunt Belle, thankfully, was one of the grown-ups his parents always had come along although she was very different than the others. Blaise knew this from an early age. He knew that Aunt Belle held a warmth about her that the other grown-ups did not and the only reason Aunt Belle was even asked to come to the Zabini's was because she had married Uncle Artius Zabini and Artius definitely _was _like the other grown-ups. Blaise knew that Aunt Belle was betrothed to him at an early age. He knew that Aunt Belle was tied to this cold existence and community as he was.

Almost on cue Aunt Belle entered the room from the door behind Blaise's back. Quietly she snuck upon the little one and scooped him up into her willowy arms. She swung him around playfully as Blaise giggled and the other children watched with curiosity.

With the presence of this angel of good-tidings and happiness, even amongst gloom, the change in Blaise was as magnificent as it was radical. He looked not of a stern middle-aged wizard trapped in the body of a five year old, but a happy glowing rosy cheeked child.

"Aunt Belle you came to see me," giggled Blaise as his aunt set him down gently in her lap.

"Of course I did! Why wouldn't I on your birthday."

"Mother and Father didn't come to see me," Blaise's tone was in a matter-of-fact nature and the feeling in it was indifferent, yet it caused a shadow to fall of his aunt's face and her green eyes saddened momentarily. He wondered what he did wrong.

"I brought you a present." Aunt Belle revealed a lumpy self-wrapped package from behind her back now gleaming.

"Oooh can I open it now?"

"Of course you may." Now all the children in the room were staring at the pair curiously. This was a grown-up and a child after all. Why was he interrupting her continuously? Why would she swing him like that? Why wasn't she angry that the little boy was sitting in her lap and wrinkling her dress?

Carefully Blaise proceeded to unwrap the present. First untying the bow and then searching for the pieces of tape to undo until finally setting the wrapping paper in a whole neat piece besides him, just as his parents had taught him to do revealing a stuffed dragon. Blaise's first stuffed toy ever. The dragon was realistic, although much tamer looking then the real thing and to Blaise's delight much more huggable also. When he did hug it endearing it let out puffs of imitation fire. Blaise was delighted.

"Thank you thank you thank you Aunt Belle!! It's my farvoritest toy ever!!" He wrapped to chubby baby arms around the radiant woman's neck, something he would never dream of doing to his mother.

And then the door of the room ominously creaked upon. While he hugged his aunt endearingly he could see his Uncle Atrius enter the room through the partings in the curtain of his aunts brown hair.

Atrius enter the room sneering jealously at the display before him. "Honestly, Belle. The attention you show that little brat is sickening."

"Atrius," Belle nodded in recognition and Blaise noticed with satisfaction that she didn't greet his uncle anything like she had greeted him.

"Everyone's waiting Belle. No ones seen you with me all day. It's embarrassing Belle. Come with me this instant," Atrius' often spoke in short choppy sentence's with a voice that was steady, but despite the steadiness there was a dangerous glint to his gray moonstone eyes.

Belle bent down and kissed Blaise's cheek whispering good byes in his ear. Submissively, she left and followed after Atrius.

Blaise hung on his stuffed dragon, already completely attached to it and maturely decided that it was better seeing Aunt Belle for whatever short time it was than not seeing her at all.

Wrapped up in his memories of his beloved aunt and scowling over memories of Atrius he didn't not notice sneering Draco Malfoy advance on him like a predator.

"That was your weird Aunt wasn't it?" sneered Draco.

Blaise looked up from his spot on the floor recognizing Draco presence for the first time. "Yes that was my Aunt," he replied with calmness and a distinguishable note of pride.

"My father says that Uncle Atrius should leave your aunt," Draco sneered down at Blaise expecting to see him flare up, but as Blaise had no qualms to the separation of his uncle and aunt and would in fact celebrate if such a thing were to happen he simply looked at his dragon fondly.

Draco was set on getting the reaction he had anticipated. "He says that your aunt isn't anything but a dirty nasty whore."

Blaise did not know what Draco meant my 'whore', but he could here the disgusted edge to Draco's voice and the sharp cruel sound of the word. He knew it wasn't something very nice and his temper began to boil. Simultaneously, clouds began to pop out of no where in the sky outside and these weren't the uncondensed wispy white clouds that barely hold together that one might expect to see on a sunny day. These were gray heavy angry clouds, much like the clouds of anger in Blaise's heart.

Satisfaction is a wonderful feeling that Draco never fully knew, but hunger was. When he saw the twisted torment, anger, and pain in Blaise's face that _he _had caused he wanted more. "What's this stupid thing she gave you," he snatched up the toy dragon from Blaise's unsuspecting arms. "A stupid stuffed animal I see. Why I could rip this right down the middle if I wanted too. In fact I think I will."

Draco braced his to arms at each of the dragon's ends and prepared to pull when he felt invisible hands tug at the dragon. Bewildered he let go and saw that the dragon shoot straight into Blaise's arms.

That wasn't enough for Blaise though. He wanted Draco to feel the same pain he had.

As Blaise's mood darkened so did the weather outside. The clouds condensed and grayed until it was as gloomy outside as it was in the manor or as gloomy as Blaise's mood.

His hair began to cackle and stood on end, as firm as needles. Then some invisible wind began to twirl it all around in a circle. Working in perfect circles this wind worked unusually and precisely as no wind did.

By now the other children, save Draco and Blaise had pressed themselves against the walls in fear as the wind increased and lighting began to crack within the room. It was as if the children wanted the walls to swallow them whole and take them away from this terrifying place. The smarter children had ran screaming to tell there parents. Draco was rooted to his spot with fear.

Soon the circling wind had engulfed Blaise entirely at his was spinning madly. By that time all the adults had came and watched in amazement.

Suddenly, the wind transferred from Blaise over to Draco and hurled Draco into a wall. He fell whimpering in a twisted tangle.

Blaise looked at him horrified knowing that he had done this. He fell to the ground unusually tiered and looked at the mortified faces around him. The adults looked at him hungrily with awe and the children looked at him as if he was some kind of freak or monster from their nightmares. Desperately, he tried to spot out the one face he knew he could trust, his Aunt Belles.

Instead Lucius Malfoy's face came forward as he stepped deeper into the room than the other adults. He walked towards Draco surveying him and the dent he made in the wall with a curious manner before murmuring some incantations and restoring Draco to his rightful unbent and untangled shape. "My my little Zabini," his voice was like a snakes and Blaise didn't like it at all.

He knew that this was Draco's father, the resemblance was crystalline clear. Surely, he would be angry at Blaise for hurting his son. Blaise shivered imaging the awful punishments that were to come his way. With hope he remembered that his Aunt Belle was here, maybe she would help him.

Then Lucius did something completley surprising, he clapped short sharp distanced claps smirking. "Quite a nice display of power you've got there little Zabini, and at such a young age too. Clearly you are destined for great things, and destined to be a powerful wizards. The Dark Lord would have been excited by this. Surely, you will let him join the ranks of the Death Eater's?" Lucius was now addressing Blaise's parents

The pair came striding forward eager for another chance to display their respectability and their loyalty to what they believed right and proper. "Of course," answered the older male Zabini firmly.

"Good good," smiled Lucius.

Then a faint cry of despair was heard among the adults. Blaise saw his Aunt Belle venture forward and wriggle out of her husbands grasp tears in her shining eyes. "You can't decide that for him! He's only a child," her voice sounded as if she was being strangled and Blaise wanted to run and hug her, but refrained knowing that his parents wouldn't like it.

Belle rushed up to Blaise and held his hands tightly and desperately shaking them. "Promise me Blaise! Promise me you won't join them! If your unwilling they-"

"STUPEFY!" A red flash shot from the crowd and hit Belle squarely in her back and she fell forward, to Blaise seemingly lifeless. Screaming wretchedly he flung himself on her body. Who had done this? If only he could know and channel his anger on them..

"Get away wretched boy! She's not dead!" He felt a sharp kick in his side before being carried away departed from his Aunt Belle for what he was later told was forever, but he would always remember her and this day, determined to carry in his heart the lesson's of her heart.

AN: I know that that was a tiresome and long prologue, but trust me when I say that it was necessary for the rest of my story however annoyingly long and boring it was... Once I get into the story and the regular chapters and what not it won't be as tiresome or as boring.


	2. Sealing of Destiny

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter Series.

Sealing of Destiny

Twelve years late, the summer before Blaise's seventh year...

Dead leaves crackled underneath his feet as he followed his mother and father; feeling as if he was being led to his execution.

Although he wasn't going to be killed literally, well hopefully not, he wouldn't exactly be living after this night either. Or at least not living for himself.

But then again, when ever was he living for himself? During the summer when his parent's would parade him around their acquaintances; making sure that he would be with the 'right' crowd from early on in life? During the school year when he would be spending his time in the Slytherin common room; knowing that he was sealed to the same fate of darkness and destruction as everyone else in there?

He would have to face it that he never was living for himself. He never had control over his own destiny, and tonight would just be the final bond to his lifetime of despair.

Tonight he would dance with the devil's.

==============================

Blaise continued to trod after his parents along the cobblestone path until they stop abruptly in front of a circular grass clearing among the woods, almost causing him to walk right into them.

In front of his parent's stiff rigid bodies he could see dark robbed wraith-like figures encircling the border of the clearing. Their hooded heads sent dark shadows obscuring their faces and their sleeves hung down past their hands.

This was it? He would have excepted more from the Dark Lord.

Without any consoling or explanatory word to him his parents drew up their own hoods and joined two empty waiting spots in the circle.

For a fleeting second Blaise was foolish enough to think of running, but as if sensing what he was thinking everyone in the circle stepped forwards thus enclosing it completely.

Despite being outside, the air suddenly felt as if it were something solid for Blaise. It felt thick and dense as if it couldn't simply be breathed, but rather be bit into and swallowed forcefully downwards.

He tried thinking of his fifth birthday. Maybe he couldn't blast away all these Death Eater's as he had Draco Malfoy. His feeling now were just as intense as they had been then, if not more, but it was in vain that he tried.

He had only been able to conjure up his power's like that once in his life so far and it did not look like he was about to make it twice.

Out of no where a strong wind began to rush forward his way. Unusually strong.

A glimmer of hope ignited within him and rushed though his body like a wildfire. Was this his doing? He looked around him realizing that none of the Death Eater's seemed interested in the unnatural wind.

Instead they simply shuffled away from one another and made an opening in their circle. Between it swept in the wind and a cloaked Voldemort.

It hadn't been Blaise's doing at all. Rather it had simply been a signal to the coming of his bringer of a sinister future. He cursed the foul irony of it all.

Voldemort stepped closer to Blaise and it took all of Blaise's self-control not to leap backwards. So much fear and Voldemort hadn't even pulled down his hood yet.

Despite his inward horror, Blaise kept a firm stance and level eyes.

Slowly, Voldemrort began to withdraw his hood revealing pallid yellow skin that seem to small for the head it was stretched so tightly over. It was like the skin of a drum. His smile was twisted like a crudely cut line in a tree stump.

For Blaise, the most terrifying feature was his slit-like eyes. They were crimson as if to reflect all the blood spilt by him and in his name.

"Zabini," Voldemort hissed in a voice that seem to slice through ones skin. "I have heard much of your power. Imagine, a five year old conjuring the winds to do his bidding. You will make some fine conquests when you join my Death Eater's. Bring out your left forearm."

He had no choice. To protest was to die, yet to give in was to lose choice of one's own destiny, but perhaps it wouldn't have to be permanent. Perhaps the Dark Lord would one day be vanquished or maybe he would one day find the courage to leave. The latter was less likely. Leaving Voldemort was the equivalent to suicide.

Blaise slid up his sleeve and held out an unblemished forearm to be desecrated with the dark mark.

Jabbing the point of his wand into Blaise's flesh, Voldemort began to chant vile words. The Death Eater's surrounding them began to chant along with him.

They stepped inwards in synchronized menacing steps enclosing Blaise and Voldemort further and further. It reminded Blaise of a pack of beasts enclosing in on their prey.

Abruptly, as scalding pain began to sear on Blaise's skin equal to no physical pain he had felt before. It was almost angry, as if it was demanding entrance.

Blaise bit down on his bottom lip hard, suppressing what would have undoubtedly been a blood curdling scream. He bit down so hard that he could feel his teeth wearing away his lips, meshing closer and closer together. It drew thick streams of blood and bile into his mouth.

Pain so intense that it dulled all his other senses so that he could not see what was happening around him. He fell onto the floor in a sweaty mangled mess.

===========================

"So you have resisted young Zabini. Not willing to join my ranks?"

Blaise awoke to a raspy voice. He had had the worst nightmare...

The clearing, encircled darkly clad figures, and a pain like no other. The memories came flying back.

In a clumsy and frenzied harrow, he clawed away at his ridiculously long black sleeve. The fabric clung and tore at his nails, but he had to see if it was there.

"You'll find nothing there Zabini," rasped Voldemort in a mincing voice. "The mark only shows itself upon those completely willing to bear it."

After so much pain relief is a welcomed change, but for Blaise his relief was short lived. Surely, his resistance would cause his extermination. Perhaps he was going to literally die tonight.

"No I won't be killing you Zabini," Voldemort paused to put a contemplative and hideous finger to his chin, "or at least not tonight because you must remember Zabini that you must either live the path you were born and breed for or not live at all. Until you choose to concur with what is inevitable every minute of your life will be a minute you wished you were dead, but even death is not in your own hands for I will choose when you die. I'll have eyes out for you everywhere Zabini; monitoring your every gesture and your every word."

At this one of the Death Eater's stepped forward's.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy." Voldemort looked a bit interested.

Blaise shivered within himself. As if facing the Voldemort wasn't enough. Now he had to face the twisted likes of Lucius Malfoy as well.

The figure pulled of his hood and delivered his best saved smirk to Blaise. Not subtle enough to be Lucius. No, this wasn't Lucius, it was Draco Malfoy.

"I can help _persuade_ him and keep an eye at him during Hogwarts my Lord. Crabbe and Goyle can help as well," Draco smiled pompously.

Blaise looked at Draco with cool piercing eyes at emitted an amused and cruel laugh. "YOU, Malfoy? Didn't you have enough when I slammed you into that wall when we were five? It seemed that way during school when you would practically jump out of your bloody knickers every time you saw me."

Draco paled and the other Death Eater's shifted uncomfortably. Who was this boy to refuse the Dark Lord and insult the son of his right-hand man?

"I wouldn't expect anything less Malfoy," interrupted Voldemort choosing to ignore Blaise. "And as for Zabini's powers, I reassure you that they haven't made an appearance since that day," Voldemort had a hint of amusement in his voice.

Voldemort shifted his attention to Blaise who had now gotten up from his spot where he was previously sprawled, and had the nerve to look brave and dignified. It forcefully reminded him of his encounter's with Potter. How sickening.

"And Zabini," Voldemort smiled "here's a preview to the rest of your future until you choose to align with me. Crucio!"

That was how Blaise Zabini left his Death Eater initiation ceremony. It was with no mark on his forearm, save a red dent where he had been jabbed with Voldemort's wand, and the promise of a very bleak and painful future.

To be continued...


	3. Avoidance

AN: Chapter is dedicated to my reviewers err.. I mean reviewer. A little bit of dry humor there. Yes, I know that it's pathetic. Anyway, thank you watergodess13 for the feedback.

Avoidance

A month later, Blaise's school term starts..

'Toot toot,' the scarlet train let it's bold presence be known to everyone on platform nine and three-quarters.

Blaise gathered up his trunk and shuffled along with the rest of the Hogwart's student's aboard the Hogwart's Express.

All the student's were bustling about as they shoved this way and that. Blaise was not one to shove, but that didn't mean that he didn't mean that he always found himself at the end of the crowd. Quite the contrary, he parted the crowd with uncanny ease; slipping this way and that as he managed to go through without brushing against anyone the slightest bit.

It was always very important for him to have his own private compartment and it was never hard to do so. The Ravenclaws were a bit haughty and always stuck together (save that Looney Lovegood girl), the Hufflepuff's wouldn't approach a Slytherin within an arms length, and the day a Gryffindor would spend time with a Slytherin by choice was the day that the sky would rains stars. As for his own housemates, most of them found Blaise to be a little strange and intimidating. No doubt that they had all heard about Blaise's little escapade at his fifth birthday with Draco Malfoy. Some had even been there to witness it.

Which brought Blaise to another matter. Had the word spread throughout his house yet that he had refused the ranks of Voldemort? And what did Draco Malfoy have in mind when he promised Voldemort that he would help 'persuade' Blaise? Whatever he had in mind, it was all the more of a reason for Blaise to have a compartment to himself.

Sure that when it came to his magical abilities Blaise was more potent then Draco and certainly more potent than his two apes, but those to apes could help cause a lot of physical damage, wand or no wand, and Blaise wasn't going to try to find out how much.

Avoidance would be the key. After all, it wasn't as if he was some damn "brave" Gryffindor.

Smirking he thought to himself that stupid was more like it as he sat down in an empty compartment he had found. What would bravery bring in the face of someone like the Dark Lord? Death was all. Being able to avoid, being sneaky, tricky, cunning, and stealthy. Those were what saved one's skin.

Blaise was about to contemplate putting a locking spell on the compartment door when it squeaked open.

A red-haired girl peaked in and asked, "Err.. Can we share this compartment with you? All the other's are full."

"No," replied Blaise curtly as he turned his head away, yet he could hear the red head, who was obviously a Weasley, shuffle inside. "What part of 'no' do you not understand?" he scowled. "Why do you even bother to ask if your not going to respect my wishes?"

The girl frowned shrugging, "Common courtesy." She beckoned towards the door. "Come on in you guys there's no one in here."

Blaise scowled at the girl. What did she mean by 'no one in here'? Did he look like no one? He chose to ignore that and simply grimaced, "there's more of you?"

The girls sighed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she wasn't wanted, smiled good-naturedly, "I did saw 'we' didn't I? In case you don't know that usually implies more than one person."

"And I said 'no' and have been giving you death glares ever since you made your entrance. That usually implies get the hell out of here."

"I'll ignore that," glowered the girl.

Blaise watched with disgust as Looney Lovegood, a bumbling Neville Longbottom, Colin Creevey, and some other sixth year girl he didn't know entered the compartment. His once delectably deserted compartment was now no where near empty

The sixth year girl that he didn't know the name of turned to the red head, "Um Ginny maybe we should just go out-"

"No Daisy!" snapped Ginny impatiently.

So, the irritating red head's name was Ginny and her nervous blonde friend was Daisy. And he made Daisy nervous.

Blaise turned and smirk at Daisy arrogantly and the girl turned away blushing, pretending that she hadn't noticed. Blaise was very good at these superior stares and had learned long ago that simply staring at someone could make them amazingly uncomfortable without much work on his parts. He wouldn't exercise this talent of his on the Daisy girl though. She was too easy and he wasn't the type to go down hard on someone obviously weaker than him. He wasn't Draco Malfoy.

Blaise instead narrowed his eyes and focused them on the somewhat intriguing Weasley girl.

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Ginny sat down next to a very quiet Daisy. She felt somewhat bad snapping at the girl. She knew that Daisy hadn't had the best experience's with Slytherin's, especially not older Slytherin's, but the girl was a Gryffindor for Merlin sake and what more she would be going to school with the Slytherin's. What was she going to do? Avoid them every waking minute?

As Ginny sat there thinking she began to smooth out her school robes when she felt some eerie presence upon her. She could feel something concentrated on her.

Somewhat alarmed she snapped away from her robes and sat rigidly. Across from her Blaise Zabini was giving her a haughty half smile half sneer that Draco Malfoy would have been proud of.

And his eyes... Merlin, she could _feel _there presence. It was as if they were burning through her skin and could read her deepest and darkest of secrets. She shivered involuntarily.

Blaise bit back his lip slightly to stifle a laugh. The Weasley girl was keeping eye contact with him, which was a definite first, but the way her already doe-like eyes were wider then one would think was possible and the way her face was flushed told him that it wouldn't last for long.

By now Daisy was eyeing the pair nervously while Luna simply stared blankly, which however odd it is was, was usually a sure sign that she was deep in thought. Neville, who was wrestling his toad Trevor into a box, was unaware of anything else.

Ginny began to berate herself mentally. She was just thinking of how Daisy needed to stop being so afraid of Slytherin's and here she was squirming like a five year old just because one was staring at her, a handsome and damn intimidating one, but it was just a stare. She frowned. Handsome? That was the last time she would ever try to give herself a mental pep talk.

Not knowing what else to do she chose to ignore his stare and asked somewhat scornfully, "So why aren't you with the rest of the Slytherin's?"

Blaise was slightly taken aback. Taking time to compose himself he replied, "I'm not really in the mood to indulge myself in their presence right now."

Ginny raised a shapely brow skeptically. "Oh really? But your in the mood to indulge yourself in the presence of some Gryffindor's and a Ravenclaw?"

Blaise smirked as he saw Daisy cast Ginny a weary eye. "Now that you mention it not really. Please leave."

"No. Anyways, were probably be reaching Hogwart's shortly so you won't have to 'indulge' yourself in our presence any longer.

Blaise smiled. This Weasley girl was a bit of a spitfire. He found himself the slightest bit draw to her. "Oh, and what if I were to change my mind and I do want to indulge myself in your presence and _only_ your presence?" He waggled his brows suggestively as a slight blush crept across Ginny's nose and Daisy let out a soft nervous yelp.

The train stopped abruptly and Ginny rose to gather her trunk, determined for an excuse to ignore and turn her back on Blaise. She grabbed hold of the lumbering thing and hurried forward to leave the compartment quickly.

Blaise slipped in front of her like a cat and proceeded to open the door for her. "Lady's first," he whispered softly.

Not knowing what else to do Ginny scowled and pushed past him.

"Aren't you going to say thank you?" teased Blaise.

"Why should I?" pouted Ginny angrily. Later she would remember this and frown at herself for acting like such a baby.

"Common courtesy," shrugged Blaise, just as Ginny had done earlier on.

Ginny cringed. She had set herself up for that one.

Blaise watched amused as Ginny sped away quickly, her thick wavy red hair bouncing behind her, as if doing some graceful dance. He decided then and there that he was quite fond of red hair.

AN: I know that some of you reader(s) out there, are wondering what was up with Blaise whole 'bravery is stupid' thin when he is actually acting somewhat brave by refusing a destiny that's been laid out for him and the way that he acted in the last chapter. I get that and the reader(s) may get that, but the point is that Blaise definitely doesn't see or try to see it like that. Besides, his bravery isn't exactly 'classic' or the usual type of bravery and he's still a Slytherin through and through. Sigh, I think that only would make sense to me... Oh well, maybe someone out there got it...


	4. Rough Routine

AN: AH! What's with the double lines not showing up! I know that must of made some of the story really annoying to read, so now I have these dumb thingy's to indicate it instead.. Oh yeah, sorry for the late update.. though I don't know who I'm apologizing to b/c few ppl were reading it before and now with this late update I probably lost the few reader's I had.

A Rough Routine

Every night it was executed like a well planned dance and its presence and intentions were made clear to him during the day.

It was a routine of pain, desecration, and ridicule that he could expect every day oh his life at Hogwarts.

The founders idea behind each houses common room was that the room was to be a haven of safety. A place to receive total acceptance while being in the midst of people you shared something in common with.

For him it was a place to receive sneering and jeering, words that meant to mince ones being, and physical pain.

The hallways had became places where he never knew what sting or bite awaited him around the corner.

He came to realization that the person who said 'hate is better than indifference' had lied.

Blaise wished nothing more than to be left to his previous life of solitude and escape the nights and days that had became his life.

Unfortunately for him tonight was one of those nights.

Lying in his bed with its heavy serpent green curtains drawn, Blaise thought that he had perhaps found a place of peace. Even if he was in the lair of the snakes that bit him day to day and night to night, even snakes had to take time and rest.

His eyelids began to feel as if they had weights tied to them and despite the torment and fear that he had been basking in for the past week, he began to fall into a slumber.

But before he could fall into his slumber completely he felt an oh so familiar tightening of his collar. Bewildered, he looked down at his neck to see a fat hand gripping it haphazardly and although the arm was seemingly connected to nothing, he didn't have to guess twice whose arm it was.

Gregory Goyle yanked Blaise out of his bed and stuffed him under Draco Malfoy's invisibility cloak where the tormenting trio were waiting with perverse glee.

Blaise realized that he was a fool to think that he would be safe anywhere ever again. Hadn't Voldemort warned, no promised, this?

Either Goyle or perhaps it was Crabbe, Blaise couldn't tell as they both had the anatomy of a gorilla, clasped a hand over his mouth, silencing any cries he may have bellowed. It wouldn't have made a difference if Blaise had bellowed though. His other housemates wouldn't have had any qualms to what was about to happened to it and wouldn't have tried to put any stop to it. Rather, they would have joined in on the 'fun'.

Blaise was dragged like a rag doll into a dark corridor somewhere in the school. He couldn't tell exactly where it was in relation to the Slytherin Common room, the tormenting trio made sure of this.

Without warning, one of the two gorilla's of he trio threw him into a hard brick wall and he felt his body crumple beneath him.

The ferret stepped out of his invisibility cloak and made his first appearance for the night.

'Hello Zabini. Your looking like hell tonight.'

Draco Malfoy made sure to step up as close as possible to Blaise so he could literally look down on him as much as possible.

His two goons chuckled in the back round as if he had said the most clever thing ever.

Blaise looked up from his crumpled position and dared to look into the eyes of his tormentor. The eyes that he loathed with a passion. Cold, icy, and cruel. They reminded him of his parents.

The point of Draco Malfoy's sharp boot contacted with Blaises ribcage sending more sharp shooting pains throughout his body.

'When I, your superior, says hello to you Zabini you, my inferior, are to say hello back," snarled Draco. "Now let's try that again. Hello Zabini you peice of scum who isn't fit to lick the shit of my shoe.'

'Hello Malfoy who has to wait until his two goons bloody me up good before he takes a shot because he's such a damn whi-'

'WHACK!'

Draco plummeted his hand his hand into Blaise cheek and sent his head flying backwards into the wall behind him.

Draco smiled and alligator-toothed smile, looking ready to chew Blaise up and spit him out as he hissed menacingly, 'Now Zabini, you don't want to make me gouge out-'

Draco suddenly stopped. A pitter patter of footsteps could be heard from far away. He spun around to Blaise and whispered darkly, 'Remember Zabini this will all stop once you take your proper place amongst the Death Eater's. Until then, don't even think about opening your mouth unless you want more to deal with then just me.'

'And the rest of the rest of the Slytherin house' added Blaise mentally.

Blaise listened to the echoing footsteps. No wonder Draco and his goons had fled as the did. The footsteps were approaching closer, and rapidly.

He couldn't explain to whatever teacher it was why he was here and who had done this physical damage to him. He did not want to have to have more torturers to answer to.

He looked around him and noticed a small nook that he didn't remember being there before in the otherwise solid brick wall.

With the last of his strength he shoved himself into the nook and curiously peaked around the corner to see who it was.

A darkly-clad figure stepped into the hallway. He or she was wearing a completely black attire with sleeves past his or her arms and a drawn hood casting a shadow over his of her entire face. The hem of the figures robes went past there feet so that it hid their feet entirely and made them look as if they were floating.

Only one group of people dressed this way, but could it be? Was it possible that they or one of them was in Hogwarts.

Blaise strained his eyes, hoping with desperation that his eyes were only playing some sick morbid trick on him.

The figure stepped closer into the hallway and Blaise realized that it was. One of the devil's had found their way into Hogwarts.

Years ago it had been Sirius Black and this year it was some other Death Eater or maybe it was just Sirius Black again. Apparently, no walls could withhold Death Eater's.

Of course he had already known that. Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater and he went to school here, but Draco Malfoy was a rookie. Only a pro could be here in the depths of the night clad in devil's attire.

Was it a coincidence that the Death Eater was in the same hall that Blaise was in? Or did Voldemort mean more than Blaise knew when he had told Blaise that he had eyes looking out for him everywhere?

Whichever it was, Blaise did not want to stick around to find out.

He looked around him urgently. Wanting a door to be somewhere badly. Than he saw a Door in the corner of the nook that he hadn't noticed before. That was curious. His power's of observation were usually superb, yet he had failed to notice first the nook itself and then the door.

He reached for the doorknob and found that it was unlocked. He crawled inside the room and closed the door.

Blaise had know been waiting a long time in the luckily found room in the hallway. He had been paralyzed with fear a long time now. Not daring to move and not even letting himself breathe very much.

The fear had finally began to somewhat dissolve, or at least to the point so that he could start functioning again, and he began to notice his surroundings.

Oddly enough, the room was filled with things of medical magic. Potions, magical slaves, magical pills, magical bandages, and even a little bed. It was as efficiently stocked as the Madam Pomfrey's wards and everything was labeled neatly with a title and a description of what it was for. It was as if the room was created expressly for Blaise.

Too tired and beat to wonder about it much, Blaise proceeded to heal himself.

When his physical appearance was restored to almost it's usual self he slid himself in the small, but comfy bed and fell asleep with the thoughts that perhaps it would be better to give into life as a Death Eater. It was better than this day to day night to night agony and pain that was no life, but a permanent walk in hell. He couldn't make himself completely willing to this idea. There was still a voice in the back of his head telling him to hold out and that Voldemort may one day be vanquished. That and the final memories of his Aunt Belle.

TBC...

Puhhleaase review!!!!!!! It would make my day absolutely purrfect, however sad that is.


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