Ch. 20

The next morning was rather stressful for Ginny. She ignored anyone who tried to ask her why she was kissing a Slytherin and they were quickly sent away with a glare from Hermione.

"So," Hermione started as she filled her plate for breakfast and glanced at Ginny. "He bought you a Firebolt?"

Ginny grinned and nodded excitedly. "I still can't believe it; it's amazing, 'Mione. If you liked flying I would let you try it out."

"I appreciate that," Hermione said, smiling at her friend's enthusiasm. "But you know I'm not one for flying. So does this mean you two are dating?"

Ginny shrugged. "I honestly don't know. He asked me on a date, I asked him on one; so, I guess? But we're not together."

"That's kind of how Draco and I are," Hermione said, unsure if she should tell her friend everything. "But without the dates."

Ginny glared past Hermione at Draco before saying, "Shame on him, he needs to take you on a date!"

Blaise nearly fell out of his seat from laughter. Draco glared over at him, his lips in a firm line. "I may regret you two being together. You're showing me up."

"Not my fault, mate," Blaise said, sitting back slightly. "But remember, Ginny and Hermione are different; Hermione might not want to go on dates. You won't know until you ask her."

"You don't need to tell me that," Draco said. "When are you going to tell Ginny?"

Blaise shrugged. "I don't know. I supposed I can tell her any time now."

"You may not want to put it off," The blond stated. "It's not fair to her, first of all, and second, now that Hermione knows, she might tell Ginny. I know they've already been talking a bit."

"Do you really think Hermione would tell her?" Blaise asked in a slightly panicked tone.

"I think she's going to try and hold off as long as possible, but I know she told Ginny that she and I talked, which means that Ginny has to be bothering her about what I am, and in turn what you are."

Blaise rubbed the back of her neck. "I'll see if I can talk to her here soon. You think Slughorn would let us skip potions?"

"I'll tell him you and Ginny caught a bug or something in Hogsmeade yesterday."

"You're the best, mate!" Blaise smiled before turning back to look at Ginny.

"So you and Draco talked?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione curiously.

"Kind of," Hermione said. "We both determined we have feelings for each other, but as far as what he is, I have no idea yet."

She hated lying to her friend, but she knew it wasn't her place to tell what was happening. She only hoped that Blaise would talk to Ginny soon.

Almost on cue, Blaise appeared behind Ginny and pressed a quick kiss onto her cheek, making her jump. He received many glares from the Gryffindor table, but he paid them no mind as Ginny beamed up at him.

"What are you doing over here?" She asked happily.

"I was actually wanting to pull you away for a bit to talk to you," He said before nodding to Hermione. "Draco said he has an excuse for us already if we happen to be late or miss Potions."

Hermione nodded in return and Blaise grabbed Ginny's hand, pulling her up and leading her out of the Great Hall while she asked, "How long is this talk going to take if we have to possibly miss Potions?"

"Don't worry," Blaise said, searching for an empty classroom. "I'm hoping it's not too long but it is important and I want to have it before we go any further."

"That doesn't sound good," Ginny muttered.

"It's not bad, I promise," Blaise said reassuringly, pulling her into a classroom that wasn't going to be occupied until after lunch.

She sat on one of the desks and looked at him. "Well, what do you want to talk about?"

Blaise took a deep breath and started pacing in front of her with his hands behind his back. "Well, I'm sure by now you've noticed that Draco and I are not entirely human."

She nodded nervously and he continued, looking at her as he asked, "How much do you know about Veelas, Ginny?"

She eyed him curiously. "A bit; my brother, Bill, married Fleur who's a quarter Veela. Why?"

Then it hit her and her eyes widened. He stopped pacing, looking at her and waiting for her reaction. She gaped at him and then furrowed her brow. "So that's why you've been nice to me!"

Her sudden anger startled him. "No, Ginny, that's not the reason!"

"Don't lie to me, Zabini!" She yelled. "Was that why you bought the broom? To try and win me over?"

She was on her feet now, anger clear on her face and her hands balled into fists at her side. Blaise was unsure of how to respond, trying to gather his thoughts and stumbling over his words. "Ginny, no, that's not...I just wanted you to be happy!"

"By buying my affections?" She nearly yelled. "That's a hell of a way to do it!"

"I wasn't buying your affections!" Blaise said angrily. He took a deep breath and ran his hand over his head, trying to calm down. "Ginny, please, just let me explain."

"Explain what? I don't even know what to think right now!" She wiped away a few tears that fell from her eyes and glared at him. "I was starting to like you, more than a friend! And now I don't know if the feelings were genuine or if it's because of your bloody Veela charms!"

"Ginny, our mates aren't affected by us like other humans would be."

That quieted her for a moment. She was still glaring at him, and his Veela was extremely unhappy at the anger that she was giving off. She shook her head and yelled out in frustration. "So now I'm your ?"

"You are the person that my Veela chose to bond with, just like how Hermione is Draco's," Blaise explained quietly. "I didn't want to tell you in the beginning because I wanted feelings to develop naturally between the two of us, and the fact that you were dating Potter also prevented me from saying anything. But I've known you were the person since September first at the train station."

Her head was spinning now with thoughts. She ran her hands through her hair and avoided his eyes as she paced in her spot now, Blaise watching her quietly.

Then she stopped, glaring at him. "Do you only like me because I'm your supposed mate?"

"No, Ginny." He sighed. "I've liked you for a while. Back when I saw you in Slughorn's club. No one's ever really snapped at me like you did, and you caught my attention."

"You called me a blood traitor," She growled.

"And that's something I regret immensely," He said, holding a hand out and trying to get her to calm down. "I regret a lot of things, namely underestimating just how much I cared about you after I met you. At first, yes, I had the unfortunate image of you being lesser than me because of what your family valued. But then I learned more about you, started to learn about who you are as a person, and I fell. I fell hard, Ginny. I wanted so badly to be there during the war, to fight with you and keep an eye on you to make sure you made it out safely."

"Why didn't you?"

"My mother did not want our family to be associated with either side," He explained. "She did not agree with the intents of other purebloods, but at the same time she still upheld the image and believed herself to be over those not of pureblood status. I don't feel the same way as her. I may have been of the wrong opinion in the past, but that was the past. After the horror of everything that's happened, I just want to make myself a better person and do good in the world."

She watched him cautiously for a few moments, not saying a word. She took a few deep breaths and finally tore her eyes away from him, still frustrated. "I need time to process all of this."

He nodded, looking down sadly. "I understand."

She made her way towards the door, stopping to look back at him for a moment. He had leaned against one of the desks, his hands in his pockets and a look of despair on his face as he looked up at the ceiling. Her heart fell slightly, but she turned away and left the classroom without another word.