The Story of Blaise Zabini

Chapter 12

Fifth Year

Drama seems to be Hogwart's forte. During the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, Potter came out of the maze, dragging the dead body of Cedric Diggory, and announced that You-Know-Who was back. Well, you can imagine the hysteria that caused. Of course, not many people believed the boy wizard, and just assumed he was vying for attention, again. I don't honestly know what to believe. On the one hand, you've got the most logical reason; Potter's a hero with delusions of grandeur, and he's lying. But then, of course, you've got the unbelievable explanation that the Dark Lord is alive again, and our resident hero duelled with him, that he managed to get out alive, but can't really say the same for Cedric Diggory.

Anyway, we never really got a chance to take the tragedy in, because we went home for the summer holidays, and spent six or seven weeks reading what the Daily Prophet thought of Potter's announcement. And trust me, they weren't very favourable towards him.

I went to George and Izzy's for the summer, and discovered that my grandma's house in America had been repossessed, and that George and Izzy had asked her to come and live with them. I felt really grateful towards them for doing that; I don't think I would have liked to spend so long away from my grandma.

So, I met the three of them at King's Cross Station, and we spent the holidays relaxing and enjoying ourselves completely. Who says it always rains in England? I never saw a drop of rain during those six weeks.

As the holidays drew to a close, my grandma asked me how everything was going at school. I told her, truthfully, that I had been pretty well-behaved all through fourth year and she seemed pleased with that. Then she asked the dreaded question.

"How did the Yule Ball go?" she asked, remembering the things I'd told her in my letter to her.

"It was ... okay," I said vaguely, hoping to get her off the subject. "Nothing exciting."

I could see her expression; she didn't believe me. Damn it.

"What really happened?" she asked, waiting for an honest answer.

So, unable to think of another story, I told her what had happened.

She listened, without interrupting, until I had finished. Then she sat back in her chair, gave it some thought, and sighed.

"Well, that's certainly a story to tell the grandchildren," she remarked. "You've got yourself in a bit of a mess, haven't you Blaise?"

"That is not my fault!" I protested.

"I know, I know," she soothed, "and I'm not blaming you. But don't you think you're being ... well, a bit harsh on him?"

"Excuse me? He totally blows me off, without any kind of explanation and you think I'm being harsh? Whose side are you on?" I asked accusingly.

"Yours, darling, of course. I just think he made a stupid mistake and wants to apologise, but you're making it difficult for him. Oh I know he hurt you," she added seeing my indignant expression, "but sometimes we all get hurt; it's the natural order of things."

She got up then, leaving me to think about what she'd said. Was she right? Was I really that horrible to Malfoy? And, more importantly, did he actually try to apologise that day? I don't know anymore, my thoughts are so screwed up, I can't seem to sort myself out.

***

So, the end of the summer holidays is in a few days, and it feels like seconds since I stepped off the train at the beginning. I went to Diagon Alley with Izzy the other day. And to my absolute horror, I almost walked into Malfoy. I was so embarrassed, but I tried to act like I wasn't, and he walked past without so much as a second glance. Annoyingly, I felt quite disappointed that he never even said hello.

But anyway, in exactly four days, my fifth year starts and, surprisingly, I'm pretty excited to be going back. I wonder if what Potter said was true; was You-Know-Who really back? It's a scary thought, actually, that he might be back. What'll happen to the wizarding, and even the Muggle, world?

Around here, something seems to be up. Whenever I walk into a room, George, Izzy and my grandma stop talking and don't carry on until they're sure I've gone. Occasionally, I can hear my grandma raise her voice angrily, as though she doesn't agree with George and Izzy, but then she stops shouting, and I can't hear what they say anymore. It's really annoying when they do that, but no matter how much I try to make them tell me, they still refuse to say anything.

But, whatever, maybe it really has nothing to do with me; could be one of those stupid 'grown-up' things that I hope to delay for as long as possible.

***

Well, I'm on the train, after the usual tear-filled goodbye from Izzy and my grandma, and even George seemed more upset than usual to let me go to school. I think that may have something to do with You-Know-Who, more than anything. The only thing is, my grandma isn't a witch, even if Izzy and George are; and sure, I told her about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but I don't know if she really listened or believed me.

On the train, I sat in silence, with Lydia and Jeff giggling in the background. They're still very much infatuated with each other, as I guessed they would be, and still, I haven't told Lydia about Malfoy and everything. I don't think I could face her reaction; I know how much she hates Malfoy, almost as much as I used to, and I don't think she'll take it too well. I also don't know whether I should confront Malfoy about what happened or not; I will be so embarrassed if I find out he's totally over me. That would just be too cruel.

When we pulled into the station, I was more than eager to get off. As much as I like Lydia, she was really getting on my nerves, trying not to get on my nerves. If only Jeff wasn't such a nice guy, I could hate him for making my best friend act like an excited puppy.

Anyway, the start of term began on a much sombre note than any other. Dumbledore reminded us again about the dangers of the Dark Lord, and then we found out that we were getting a new Defence Against the Arts professor. Not so unusual for Hogwarts, since we have a different one every year, and even that fact that the new professor was a woman didn't come as much of surprise. It was the fact that she looked like a toad, but acted so ... deceptively sweet; like everyone's least favourite relative. She even dared to interrupt Dumbledore during his announcements. Umbridge, that's her name, obviously doesn't know how things work around here. Oh, you should've seen the look on McGonagall's face, it was priceless.

But, somehow, I guess the school knew something was going to happen with Umbridge in it. Between the drivel about how important our education is to the Ministry of Magic, and how happy she was to be back at Hogwarts, I caught a deeper meaning in her words. I think - I wasn't listening that much - that the Ministry is trying interfere with Hogwarts. Well, as long as she gets rid of that stupid pink cardigan, I think I can live with her.

It came as huge relief when Umbridge finally stopped talking and the feast started.