A Cat And His Wizard

Blaise thought that it would be a good idea to go and gather herbs. And then he remembered what he said to Cedric Diggory recently. 'Authority over Mlle Delacour...I think I'll go gathering herbs...near the Beauxbatons carriage!'

No sooner said than done, Blaise headed to the place of the vast school grounds where stood the Beauxbatons school carriage the French students and their Headmistress lived in. Blaise came to the spot and began to search for medicinal herbs. Some time later a handsome, monumental lady in black came into view. Blaise saw her, stood up straight, bowed to her and said, 'Bonsoir.'

'Bonsoir,' the lady answered.

'I'm gathering the herbs here,' Blaise continued in French.

'You are the Care of the Magical Creatures teacher, aren't you?' she asked. 'Professor Zabini, was it?'

'Blaise Zabini, madam,' he said. 'And you are Madame Maxime, the illustrious Headmistress of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.'

'I am.' She smiled. 'Are you French?'

'French by birth, British by citizenship,' Blaise answered.

'Pleasant to meet a fellow countryman here,' Madame Maxime said.

'This feeling is mutual,' Blaise bowed.

'Are you living here for a long time?' Madame Maxime asked.

'My parents moved to Britain when I was nine. Twenty years passed since that time,' Blaise said.

'So you are twenty-nine, Professor?' Madame Maxime asked.

'Precisely.' Blaise smiled. 'I'm the youngest teacher here.'

'And how do you like it?' Madame Maxime asked.

'Very much.' Blaise said. 'To be sure, there are some students like Mr. Malfoy, but the rest of them are quite different. It's a good place to be.'

'I'm glad you find it so,' Madame Maxime said.

'And do you like it here, madam?' Blaise asked.

'It's a good place,' Madame Maxime said. 'A beautiful castle, fine meadows, lovely lake, But I'm very distressed that there appears to be trickery with the Goblet.'

'Meaning Mr. Potter?' Blaise asked.

'Well, yes,' Madame Maxime said.

'Dear madam, I give you my word of honor you have no grounds for distress,' Blaise said. 'I know young Mr. Potter very well, and I swear he did no such thing as this.'

'I do believe you, Professor,' Madame Maxime said.

'I'm glad to hear this,' Blaise said.

They talked for a while yet, and then Blaise returned to the castle with a bunch of herbs and a grin on his face.

'Well, Harry's path is now as clear as I can make it,' Blaise thought. 'I don't think Igor Karkaroff shall pay heed to my words.'

* * *

Blaise returned to his rooms. Macavity was already there, sitting in a red plush armchair and washing his paw delicately.

'Well, Macavity, how's Moody?' Blaise asked.

'Yaow,' Macavity answered calmly.

Nothing new, then, Blaise thought.

If Moody was an impostor, he guarded his secret very well indeed.

* * *

Blaise went along a passage in search of somebody. He was lucky - soon he met tiny Filius Flitwick, the Head of the Ravenclaw House and the Charms teacher.

'Good evening, Blaise,' Filius said.

'Good evening, Filius,' Blaise answered. 'I say, this new Defense teacher is very eccentric, isn't he?'

'Eccentric is not the word,' Filius said. 'Once he turned a student into a ferret and bounced him several times. Granted, it was Mr. Malfoy, but was it not too much?'

'Bounced him, you say?' Blaise repeated. 'Very odd indeed.'

'Odd, yes,' Filius said.

Not only odd, but very suspicious, Blaise thought.

* * *

Blaise decided to go to the Library and borrow some books on Herbology, Magizoology and History. On his way there he met in a passage with a vague-looking lady in a shawl and large glasses.

'Good evening,' Blaise said.

'Good evening,' the vague lady said. 'You are the new Care of the Magical Creatures teacher, right? I'm the Divination teacher, Sybil Trelawney.

'Pleased to meet you,' Blaise said, though he wasn't really feeling anywhere like this. 'Blaise Zabini.'

'Professor Blaise Zabini,' Trelawney said. 'I foresee great prospects in our relationship...'

'Really?' Blaise said politely, though he didn't think so at all, and he knew this woman was a complete washout as a fortuneteller, at least, when she made predictions in her full senses. She was also a Seer and made two real predictions, but she was in trance when she emitted them, and didn't remember her own words afterwards. And Blaise didn't think that a real prediction could be like this.