#blaise's threads.

which is exactly the reason why blaise finds himself holed up in a far corner of the library, getting a head start on some studying and coursework when he feels someone drop down into the seat next to him. he almost wants to roll his eyes, but he refrains, not even bothering to look up from the textbook in front of him as he addresses the figure next to him. "if you're here to talk about the latest news, you should know that, yes, like the rest of the school, i did hear the news, and no, i don't give a fuck, and don't plan on engaging in a conversation about it."

blaise is as uninterested as ever in the merriment going on at the festival, and he'd much rather be anywhere but in a large crowd of people he doesn't care to interact with. but there's one thing that's keeping him from leaving the viaduct courtyard, though he's doing his best to ignore the incessant need that fills him any time hannah is around to go up to her and talk to her, to be in her presence and soak up some of the brightness she exudes. he's been sneaking glances at her for the past thirty minutes, ever since he noticed her standing across the courtyard, and he’s starstruck as ever by her beauty. he's been busying himself with club business ever since to avoid seeming too eager, though he doesn’t actually believe that’s possible. ( blaise zabini is anything but eager. ) when he's finished with his astronomy club duties, he sighs before making his way over to the dueling club booth, sidling up to the blonde-haired witch as casually as possible. “ abbott, ”  he muses in greeting, giving her a nod.  “ pleasant summer? hope the time away didn't dull your skills. ”

“ would  you  like  to  buy  a  ticket  to  the  match,  or  are  you  planning  to  waste  even  more  of  our  time  staring  into  space? ”  blaise  quips  at  the  other  to  get  their  attention,  raising  a  brow  as  he  levels  them  with  a  bored  expression.  he’s  only  been  assisting  his  fellow  clubmates  in  manning  the  dueling  club’s  booth  for  all  of  fifteen  minutes  and  he’s  already  feeling  ready  to  close  up  shop  and  make  his  way  to  the  drinks  table  to  drown  his  sorrows  in  the  inevitably  spiked  array  of  beverages.

“ have  you  voted  for  the  trifle  yet? ”  blaise  inquires  to  a  passerby  with  a  blank  stare,  holding  out  a  tray  of  pansy’s  trifle  as  well  as  a  stack  of  voting  ballots  for  the  bake  off  towards  the  other  impatiently.  his  expression  is  intense  and  expectant,  as  if  it’s  a  given  that  they’re  expected  to  not  only  try  the  proffered  trifle,  but  cast  their  vote  for  it  as  well.  blaise  isn’t  typically  the  type  to  care  about  the  outcome  of  something  as  frivolous  as  a  baking  competition,  but  pansy  wants  to  win,  and  who  is  he  to  deny  the  whims  of  one  of  his  oldest,  dearest  friends?

the  trek  to  the  astronomy  tower  is  a  familiar  one,  and  one  that  blaise  makes  frequently  enough  that  he  can  move  there  mostly  on  autopilot.  it’s  a  little  past  sunset  with  the  stars  just  beginning  to  peek  through  the  rapidly  darkening  sky  when  the  slytherin  makes  his  way  across  the  suspension  bridge  towards  the  astronomy  wing,  and  the  chill  in  the  air  has  him  silently  reinforcing  the  warming  charm  he’d  placed  around  himself  earlier  in  the  day.  when  he  finally  arrives  at  his  usual  spot  in  one  of  the  upper  levels  of  the  astronomy  tower,  he’s  entirely  unsurprised  to  see  another  familiar  face  already  there  before  him.  “ lestrange, ”  he  greets  as  he  moves  closer,  beginning  to  set  up  his  telescope  nearby.  “ getting  a  head  start,  then? ”

blaise’s  mind  is  elsewhere  as  he  moves  on  autopilot  from  the  slytherin  common  room  towards  the  astronomy  tower,  making  his  way  out  onto  the  suspension  bridge  with  relative  ease.  it’s  not  until  he’s  on  the  bridge  that  he’s  caught  off  guard  and  runs  straight  into  another  body,  leaving  the  two  of  them  nearly  toppling  over  and  leaving  blaise  stunned  at  the  fact  that  he’s  actually  allowed  himself  to  get  so  distracted  that  he’s  collided  with  another  student.  he’s  only  slightly  relieved  when  he  sees  that  it’s  daphne,  and  that  she  seems  to  be  unscathed,  but  he  still  grabs  onto  her  elbow  to  steady  her,  a  level  of  comfort  between  the  two  coming  from  years  of  being  in  the  same  house  and  running  in  the  same  circles.   “ daphne, ”  he  greets  with  a  nod  once  they’re  both  righted,  “ my  apologies.  are  you  alright? ”

it's  still  early  on  in  the  evening  and  blaise  is  stationed  near  the  floating  drinks  table,  unable  to  resist  the  lure  of  watching  unsuspecting  partygoers  ask  what  the  mysterious  punch  consists  of  and  being  splashed  by  the  magic  spoon  dishing  out  the  glasses.  he's  just  grabbed  a  crostini  from  one  of  the  nearby  house  elves'  trays  and  taken  a  bite  when  it  happens  again,  the  latest  victim  having  the  most  dramatic  reaction  yet  and  leaving  blaise  snickering  silently  as  he  watches,  nodding  slightly  when  he  notices  someone  else  watching  the  scene  nearby.   “  never  gets  old,  ”   he  remarks  with  a  shake  of  his  head,  before  turning  his  attention  back  to  his  crostini.

the  chaos  in  the  aftermath  of  the  attacks  has  everyone  on  edge,  and  blaise  even  moreso  than  he  normally  would've  been,  given  greg's  distress.  he  can  tell  that  his  roommate  is  off,  and  he  has  an  idea  as  to  why  (  what  werewolf  wouldn't  be  stressed  in  the  wake  of  a  string  of  werewolf  attacks?  ),  but  he  knows  that  it's  not  something  he  can  just  ask  about,  given  the  fact  that  he's  fairly  certain  greg  doesn't  even  know  that  he's  worked  out  his  little  secret. instead,  he  finds  himself  seeking  his  fellow  slytherin  out,  finding  him  in  their  dorm  room  sitting  at  the  circular  table,  and  blaise  wastes  no  time  before  he's  setting  a  prepared  cup  of  tea  in  front  of  the  other  boy,  along  with  a  few  of  his  favorite  snacks  in  lieu  of  a  greeting.  “  figured  you  could  use  these. ”   it's  an  extremely  rare  occurrence  for  him  to  perform  gestures  like  these  (  though  he's  much  more  likely  to  show  his  feelings,  rather  than  speak  them  out  loud  ),  but  he  figures  that  greg  is  one  of  the  few  that  he's  willing  to  put  in  the  effort  for.