It was actually some days before the two met again. Hermione
sequestered herself in the Gryffindor common room over the weekend with
a determined look on her face to deter any but the bravest and most
concerned to confront her. In her House, that meant only Harry and
Ginny. Ron had prudently, and correctly, decided she only wanted time
alone. Harry protested that she could enjoy the same in her room and
Ron countered that she might want some background noise and a bit of
warmth from the fire. Had Hermione been listening, she would have been
impressed by the acuity of Ron's statement. As it was, the redhead had
to console himself with being proven right when Hermione told her
friends to leave her be.
When situations allowed, Hermione preferred to let reason dictate her actions. She had taken a personality inventory years ago and was aware that her she was prone to quick and decisive reactions, often with unavoidable consequences. Sometimes it worked out in her favor but other times it had not. Her temper was quite strong, she felt things a little too much. In retrospect, the organization of S.P.E.W. had been a quick reaction to her first impressions of injustice. Had she stopped and thought about house elves and their supposed enslavement, it would have saved a lot of time, bad jokes, and knitting. It made for an amusing anecdote and substantial character growth, but she still cringed sometimes. Overall, she had decided that she liked her passionate (she was capable of equal amounts of anger and empathy) nature but perhaps should temper her responses with logic. Oh, she was still tempestuous but life had become less stressful since she had adopted her current philosophy.
She remembered her father's amusement after a particular childhood episode; he warned her to pick her battles. She had hotly responded that she just because she was choosing them, did not mean she had to actually discard any. She could fight all her battles, it would only require strong will and proper planning, thank you very much. It was a story he still told his patients and she sometimes received copies of Sun Tzu or Clausewitz as a sort of good-natured ribbing.
Hermione may have said the words in a fit of pique but that did not diminish their truth. She knew she had the will and ability to conspire against Malfoy, but did Blaise Zabini have the commitment? Being a Slytherin made it a given that he had a talent for conspiracy. He could probably teach her a few things and, oh, she knew he might want to hurt Malfoy's standing but how much did he really want it? Would he abandon her if the road became too difficult or slow? Or would he switch to Malfoy if circumstances changed to favor him and alert the authorities to her part in their plot, leaving her to take the fall?
She simply didn't know enough about him to make a wise decision. There was nothing for it, she was going to have get to know him.
Dinner wouldn't be served for another two hours and she had no idea where he spent his free time; he could be in his common room, with a girl, or on the pitch. Therefore the quickest way to find Zabini was to go to the library.
He didn't disappoint. Hardly a chapter into Sieges are for the Weak (a mentality she found closeminded, but the book had its merits nonetheless), she noticed him approaching her corner.
"You've wasted a lot of time, you know. A proper arrangment should have been in place at the beginning of fifth year, your procrastination dooms your plan before its begun."
"Tut, Miss Granger. Don't bait me," he said as he took the empty seat across from her and pushed her stack of books aside.
Others (not just Slytherins) would have reminded Hermione of her own delay or otherwise vehemently fended off the accusation. She quite liked the way he saw through her criticism, even her best best friends would have cried "Nag!" in his place. She also liked the use of formal address, it was businesslike. Her last name could have been used as an insult (much the way she used 'Malfoy') but her first name would have been too intimate. Mr. Zabini and Miss Granger was respectful and polite; it also left room for maneuvering later. It made her infinitely more comfortable about him, which was important since they might be spending a lot of time together in the future.
He was watching her and waiting for an answer.
Another plus, he did not seem to have the irrepressible urge to smirk that Malfoy, Snape, and sometimes even Pansy exhibited. She wasn't sure if Goyle and Crabbe smirked or not, blankness seemed to overcome any facial expression and Slytherin genetics in their special case.
In response, she pushed a quill and tightly rolled scroll across the table.
He broke the seal, unrolled the parchment, and skimmed the document before crumbling it into dust with a flick of his wand.
She stood and moved to leave the moment he destroyed hours of hard work. She looked back at him to say, "This never happened."
She expected him to nod his tacit agreement, but instead he sighed like one often overworked, underappreciated, and clearly used to working with the less talented. Somewhat affronted, Hermione signaled her full attention by glaring and shifting her body to face him.
"I find your statement rather...a lot coming from someone who has just created a paper trail," he gestured vaguely at the dust motes floating in the area.
Before Hermione could voice exactly how offended she was, Blaise made an actual, valid point. "This was your problem with Dumbledore's Army. I know Gryffindors aren't good at plotting, but I expected you, at least, to learn from past mistakes."
Well, now that was practically a compliment. Hermione sat back down and informed him, "Actually, that wasn't the problem. It was just more visible as the agent of my wrath. The real hitch was the inclusion of people too weak-willed to commit but too feeble-minded to keep their mouths shut."
He darted a quick glance at her and Hermione blushed a little, realizing she might have growled the last bit. She supposed she was still a smidge angry at Marietta. Ah, well, Blaise might think of it as a little object lesson and be less likely to cross her. She loved multitasking.
But back to the matter at hand. "That's why I wanted you to fill out the paperwork. I can't make a good decision until I know more about you."
He took a second to think. "You can't just take my word that I really don't like Draco?"
"I don't doubt that," she shook her head. "But I'm sure you can understand my position."
"Well, at least you're taking this seriously. I was feeling sort of shaky about you when I saw the 'Application for Alliance with Secretive Slytherins for Successful Subversion. You realize you gave me an application for ASSS, right?'"
Hermione smiled mischeviously, "I rather like the hissing part at the end."
He grinned back, "This could work."
When situations allowed, Hermione preferred to let reason dictate her actions. She had taken a personality inventory years ago and was aware that her she was prone to quick and decisive reactions, often with unavoidable consequences. Sometimes it worked out in her favor but other times it had not. Her temper was quite strong, she felt things a little too much. In retrospect, the organization of S.P.E.W. had been a quick reaction to her first impressions of injustice. Had she stopped and thought about house elves and their supposed enslavement, it would have saved a lot of time, bad jokes, and knitting. It made for an amusing anecdote and substantial character growth, but she still cringed sometimes. Overall, she had decided that she liked her passionate (she was capable of equal amounts of anger and empathy) nature but perhaps should temper her responses with logic. Oh, she was still tempestuous but life had become less stressful since she had adopted her current philosophy.
She remembered her father's amusement after a particular childhood episode; he warned her to pick her battles. She had hotly responded that she just because she was choosing them, did not mean she had to actually discard any. She could fight all her battles, it would only require strong will and proper planning, thank you very much. It was a story he still told his patients and she sometimes received copies of Sun Tzu or Clausewitz as a sort of good-natured ribbing.
Hermione may have said the words in a fit of pique but that did not diminish their truth. She knew she had the will and ability to conspire against Malfoy, but did Blaise Zabini have the commitment? Being a Slytherin made it a given that he had a talent for conspiracy. He could probably teach her a few things and, oh, she knew he might want to hurt Malfoy's standing but how much did he really want it? Would he abandon her if the road became too difficult or slow? Or would he switch to Malfoy if circumstances changed to favor him and alert the authorities to her part in their plot, leaving her to take the fall?
She simply didn't know enough about him to make a wise decision. There was nothing for it, she was going to have get to know him.
Dinner wouldn't be served for another two hours and she had no idea where he spent his free time; he could be in his common room, with a girl, or on the pitch. Therefore the quickest way to find Zabini was to go to the library.
He didn't disappoint. Hardly a chapter into Sieges are for the Weak (a mentality she found closeminded, but the book had its merits nonetheless), she noticed him approaching her corner.
"You've wasted a lot of time, you know. A proper arrangment should have been in place at the beginning of fifth year, your procrastination dooms your plan before its begun."
"Tut, Miss Granger. Don't bait me," he said as he took the empty seat across from her and pushed her stack of books aside.
Others (not just Slytherins) would have reminded Hermione of her own delay or otherwise vehemently fended off the accusation. She quite liked the way he saw through her criticism, even her best best friends would have cried "Nag!" in his place. She also liked the use of formal address, it was businesslike. Her last name could have been used as an insult (much the way she used 'Malfoy') but her first name would have been too intimate. Mr. Zabini and Miss Granger was respectful and polite; it also left room for maneuvering later. It made her infinitely more comfortable about him, which was important since they might be spending a lot of time together in the future.
He was watching her and waiting for an answer.
Another plus, he did not seem to have the irrepressible urge to smirk that Malfoy, Snape, and sometimes even Pansy exhibited. She wasn't sure if Goyle and Crabbe smirked or not, blankness seemed to overcome any facial expression and Slytherin genetics in their special case.
In response, she pushed a quill and tightly rolled scroll across the table.
He broke the seal, unrolled the parchment, and skimmed the document before crumbling it into dust with a flick of his wand.
She stood and moved to leave the moment he destroyed hours of hard work. She looked back at him to say, "This never happened."
She expected him to nod his tacit agreement, but instead he sighed like one often overworked, underappreciated, and clearly used to working with the less talented. Somewhat affronted, Hermione signaled her full attention by glaring and shifting her body to face him.
"I find your statement rather...a lot coming from someone who has just created a paper trail," he gestured vaguely at the dust motes floating in the area.
Before Hermione could voice exactly how offended she was, Blaise made an actual, valid point. "This was your problem with Dumbledore's Army. I know Gryffindors aren't good at plotting, but I expected you, at least, to learn from past mistakes."
Well, now that was practically a compliment. Hermione sat back down and informed him, "Actually, that wasn't the problem. It was just more visible as the agent of my wrath. The real hitch was the inclusion of people too weak-willed to commit but too feeble-minded to keep their mouths shut."
He darted a quick glance at her and Hermione blushed a little, realizing she might have growled the last bit. She supposed she was still a smidge angry at Marietta. Ah, well, Blaise might think of it as a little object lesson and be less likely to cross her. She loved multitasking.
But back to the matter at hand. "That's why I wanted you to fill out the paperwork. I can't make a good decision until I know more about you."
He took a second to think. "You can't just take my word that I really don't like Draco?"
"I don't doubt that," she shook her head. "But I'm sure you can understand my position."
"Well, at least you're taking this seriously. I was feeling sort of shaky about you when I saw the 'Application for Alliance with Secretive Slytherins for Successful Subversion. You realize you gave me an application for ASSS, right?'"
Hermione smiled mischeviously, "I rather like the hissing part at the end."
He grinned back, "This could work."