I Want To Save You

I Want To Save You-Something Corporate

Standing on the edge of morning

Scent of sex and New Found Glory

Playing as she's pulling back her hair

She drives away; she's feeling worthless

Used again but nothing's different

She'd stay the night but knows he doesn't care

A solitary young man sat at a shadowed table in a corner of a noisy restaurant in Diagon Alley. He made sure to keep his face hidden from the main restaurant even while watching a specific couple: a pale young man and a beautiful young woman with golden curls.

He'd been watching over her for so long. If he thought back on it, he realized that he'd been doing so ever since the first day they had met.

The weekend before his first trip to Hogwarts, his parents had dragged him along to one of their utterly boring, high society dinner parties. Dressed uncomfortably in a stiff, itchy tuxedo, he had taken to standing in a corner and brooding. Out of nowhere, a stunningly pretty girl with shining blond curls had approached him with a smile and drawn a conversation out of him. On that night, he'd fallen in love with her. At barely eleven years of age, he hadn't realized what the feelings meant, but he'd known that she was special.

And it was because of her uniqueness that he was stricken now with both raging anger and acute pain. In all his seven years at Hogwarts, no other girl had ever come close to matching her in beauty, wit, or charm. Merlin help him, he was in love with her. But she was Malfoy's now and had been since their fourth year. It made him burn with rage when he saw how Malfoy treated her, without respect or gentleness.

What hurt much more was the fact that she stayed with the cruel, cold-hearted bastard. Every time he helped her pick up the pieces of her broken heart it killed something inside of him. Yet, he didn't know what to do about it. There was no way in all of hell that he could voluntarily leave her physical, mental, and emotional well being to Malfoy's care. His own love damned him to a life of misery, watching the most wonderful woman in the world receive the same treatment as a common whore.

The couple at the table got ready to leave. The young man stood up and began to thread his way through the mass of crowded tables without a backward glance, too busy with his insufferable arrogance to offer any assistance to his date. The young woman stood quickly, grabbed up her cloak and purse, and hurried after him with an unhappy scowl marring her normally composed features.

At the door, the man waited a short moment for her to catch up before striding out into the bustling alley. Her discontent obvious, the woman swung her cloak onto her shoulders without the man's assistance. Clasping it quickly, she followed the bastard out into the traffic on the sidewalk.

Home by three to deafening quiet

The porch light's off, guess they forgot it

She'd cry herself to sleep, but she don't dare

And she wants to be a model

She wants to hear she's beautiful

She's beautiful

He stood slowly, afraid that if he moved too quickly he would give in to the urge to chase Malfoy down and pound the arrogant git's face in. Paying his bill, he left the restaurant and meandered down Diagon Alley with no real specific purpose in mind. He knew where they would go. It was always the same with Malfoy: dinner at some cheap place and then a quick shag at the moderately expensive hotel down by Gringott's.

What did she see in Malfoy? Why did she allow him to treat her so flippantly? Didn't she see that he was only using her, an attractive playmate on the side while he courted and married some French wizarding princess? Didn't she realize that he, himself, loved her?

After an hour had passed, he made his way towards the hotel. No one paid much attention to the tall, olive-skinned, handsome young wizard. Taking an unobtrusive seat in the lobby, he sat down with a copy of The Daily Prophet to wait. He didn't wait long.

Malfoy came striding through the lobby, his face smug, that superior smirk plastered across his pointed face. He was gone as quickly as he had come.

Another few moments passed before the young woman appeared. She was walking carefully in her high heels as if she was afraid of stumbling. Her chin was held high despite the wild emotions that were obvious in her amazingly blue eyes.

Taking his cue, he stood quietly and made his way towards her with a small sigh. It was always the same. Malfoy used her and discarded her like this at least once a week. And then she would end up bumping into him right afterwards, quite unaware that he was keeping an eye on her activities with the disgustingly rich bastard.

He reached out and touched her arm lightly.

She jumped in surprise and turned wide blue eyes on him. It took her a second to really see him, and then she breathed softly, "Blaise. . ."

I want to save you

I want to save you

I need you, save me, too

I want to save you

"Pansy." Blaise nodded solemnly at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to start a conversation despite the pain that was causing her eyes to water.

Shaking his head, Blaise replied, "It doesn't matter. What's wrong, Pansy? You don't look well."

Pansy laughed quietly, but the bitterness was all too obvious. "You know what's bothering me, Blaise. It's always the same, isn't it?"

"You want to go get some coffee?" he suggested, knowing that she needed to vent her anger and grief in someone she trusted. And he was one of the few with the honor of her trust.

"Oh, gods, yes," she murmured, her emotional walls beginning to break. The first of many tears to come slipped from her long eyelashes and rolled down her smooth cheeks. She stumbled slightly as her small shoulders began to shake.

Blaise wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her, and led her out of the hotel. He walked slowly, holding her protectively against his side as they passed through the streams of busy wizards and witches.

Pansy hid her face in his shoulder, too proud to let any of the strangers on the street see her weakness. The tears were flowing freely now, and it was harder to suppress the sobs that clawed up out of her chest.

By this point, Blaise knew not to go to the coffee shop, where they would attract too much attention. Instead, he guided her into the Leaky Cauldron and got them a private room. He ordered some hot tea to be sent in and then led Pansy away from prying eyes and ears. Once they were in the room, he just held her and rubbed her back soothingly while she muffled her sobs in his cloak.

It took her a few moments, but she quietly began to compose herself. Using the handkerchief Blaise handed to her, Pansy wiped the tears away and then reached up to run her fingers shakily through her tousled curls. She met his intense, dark gaze and sighed breathlessly. "Thank you, Blaise."

Dressed by dawn and out the door

No lights, she memorized the floor

So she could leave without being detected

She works 'til three its uniform

She dreams that he'll come by the store

She prays for days when boys mean she's protected

And she wants someone to see her

She needs to hear she's beautiful

She's beautiful

Sitting down opposite each other in the plush armchairs near the fire, the two took a moment of silence to reflect on their own thoughts and the situation they currently found themselves in.

A knock on the door announced the waitress who then carried in the tray of tea and biscuits. Glancing only briefly at Pansy's reddened eyes, she left them without a word. Blaise made a mental note to leave her a nice tip.

"I've never seen you quite this torn up before," Blaise commented lightly, letting his concern show. "What did the bas- . . Malfoy . . . do this time?"

Pansy laughed bitterly again. "I know you've always hated him. In truth, I feel much the same way you do. You don't have to give him any respect for my sake. He was and always will be a bastard, as well as a git, snot, and arse."

Ignoring the small surge of irrepressible hope that rose up in his stomach, Blaise watched her carefully while asking, "Then why?"

"Why do I keep going back to him?" Pansy finished the question for him. She turned her face and gazed disconsolately into the dancing flames. "I guess it's because I know my place in society. My parents don't care what happens to me. You are one of the very few that I can count as a close friend, and I still treat you rottenly sometimes. If I were to die, would anyone notice?"

I want to save you

I want to save you

I need you, save me, too

I want to save you

"I would," Blaise answered the question firmly. He would always be there for her, no matter how it tore him up inside.

Pansy smiled wanly at him and reached out to take his hand. "Thank you, Blaise. Really. I appreciate all that you do for me. In all honestly, there is really only one reason why I let Malfoy treat me so horribly."

Keeping silent, Blaise let her gather her thoughts. He could see all the suffering in her expressive eyes.

"You know as well as I do that no one else would have me. Even if he treats me like a cheap mistress, he is still showing an interest in me. . . . In me, Blaise, not some snooty French princess two hundred kilometers away! . . . I guess that's all someone as unattractive as myself could wish for."

Blaise stared at her in disbelief for a long minute before he shook his head and muttered, "That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard."

Pansy turned incredulous eyes on him. Her jaw had even dropped a bit in shock. But pain was quickly making that innocent expression harden into the emotionless, dignified facade she normally wore. She stood to her feet in anger, her voice cool and slightly shaky. "I know I'm not a stunning beauty, Zabini, but you could have been a bit more tactful."

He didn't release her hand. Instead, he raised the back of her hand to his lips. She went still immediately, confusion swirling in her eyes as he gazed up at her. Putting all of his love into his eyes, Blaise smiled slightly. "You're not simply unattractive, Pansy. You're so blindingly gorgeous that I can't help but watch you, even though it hurts. No French princess could ever compare to you."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," Pansy whispered, her voice barely audible. But she was dangling on an emotional precipice.

Moving slowly to his feet, Blaise shook his head. "I don't lie to you, and you know that. But you don't know that I love you. I have ever since the first day we met. Do you remember that day?"

It took her a moment, but Pansy nodded and then smiled through her tears. "You were standing in the corner of the ballroom, looking uncomfortable in that tuxedo. I thought you looked so miserable there, and I went to keep you company. You looked at me the same way then, too."

Blaise nodded, "And?"

"Somehow," Pansy paused, mentally reflecting back over the years of their relationship, "I've always known."

"I never tried to hide it from you," Blaise smiled sadly.

More tears flowed now as Pansy gazed up at him intently. "I'm so sorry, Blaise. I'm sorry." She moved forward and hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder for the second time that evening.

But Blaise didn't mind. He held her gently, his dark eyes staring down into the flickering flames.

And she won't sleep

She won't sleep

And she won't sleep at all

"Can you ever forgive me?" Pansy whispered after a long moment.

"I never blamed you," Blaise replied quietly. "I just want to be there for you. Will you let me do that?"

Pansy nodded, "Yes. Merlin, I want out of this, Blaise. I don't ever want to see that bastard again."

"You can stay with my older sister. She may be a squib, but she's a tough girl. And she lives out in the country, far enough to keep Malfoy away until his anger cools," Blaise spoke calmly, but his heart was racing wildly. She wanted to leave Malfoy!

Looking up at him with uncertainty on her face, Pansy asked, "Will you be there, too? I really need you right now. I'm scared of what Draco might try to do when he finds out that I've left him. I'm scared of myself, Blaise. I hate myself for what I've allowed myself to become."

Blaise pulled her close again as a sharp pang of grief stabbed his chest. "I won't leave you alone to deal with this. I've been watching over you since our first day at Hogwarts; I won't stop now."

"Thank you so much," Pansy whispered. She paused for a short moment. "Blaise?"

"Mm?" he intoned, not bothering to open his mouth and form an actual word.

I want to save you

I want to save you

I need you, save me, too

I want to save you

It seemed like hours had passed before Pansy spoke softly, "I love you, too. I think I always have."

Let me save you

Let me save you

Let me save you

Let me save you