Author's Note: The usual disclaimer applies, since I obviously don't own Harry Potter. This is slash -- don't like, don't read. Mild OOC including happy!Harry and eccentric!Blaise.

Because It's Trendy

Blaise saw Seamus Finnigan sitting next to Dean Thomas, his head laing next to his bowl of oatmeal, snoring lightly. Blaise immedietly began racking his brain to think of some cutting insult that would wake up the sandy haired Gryffindor. Finding nothing particularly original, he settled for the old standby: "Good morning, Finnigan!"

"Go 'way, Zabini," Seamus muttered, burying his head into his arms.

"Not feeling much like your usual annoyingly upbeat, brazenly Griffyndorkish self?" Blaise teased.

"'M tired. Leave," Seamus snapped. "Wanna sleep."

"Not at breakfast! Did you know that Potter and Draco have already gotten detentions with Filch for cursing each other in the hallways this morning? Some rivalry we have! We haven't even properly traded insults yet. Finnigan, I'm just not satisfied with the current intensity of our relationship. I don't feel the passion we used to share, the fire, the emotion!"

Dean decided that this would be a good time to interupt Blaise's overdramatic tirade. " Zabini, get away from Seamus before I hex your face back to its rightful place on your arse," he said politely.

Blaise put his hands over his heart in mock pain. "Thomas! Your words pierce my very soul!"

"Go 'way, Zabini," Seamus said, louder this time. "I just wanna sleep. Don't know why I ever agreed to your silly rivalry idea anyways."

"Rivalry is very trendy right now," Blaise reminded Seamus. As an afterthought, he added, "And it's not silly, either."

Seamus waved a dismissive hand and accidently trailed his hand through the grape jam. "Don't care. You can be vogue and not-silly without me if it means I can sleep through breakfast."

Blaise looked scandalized and maybe a little hurt. "But Finnigan!" he exclaimed. Dean rolled his eyes, knowing the flattering rant that would follow almost by heart as well -- not to mention his best friend's reaction to said rant. "Finnigan, I can't be a one-person rivalry. I can't do this alone. I need the help of someone and you're the only possible someone I could ever want! You're the epitome of a Gryffindor; you're cute, funny and just a little zany and I'm a Slytherin which means that we have to be rivals! Seamus Finnigan, you are the only boy who could ever help me out-vogue Potter and Draco!"

Seamus looked up at Blaise. "You really think so?"

"Really," Blaise affirmed. "And you have a sexy accent."

A pleased flush crept over Seamus' cheeks. "Alright, I'm in. You said something about 'upping the intensity of our relationship' and I'm still mostly asleep, so I'm going to assume that you'll explain all that to me."

Blaise looked thoughtful. "I have been working on something. It'll involve action, adventure, danger, and all eyes on us. We just need to polish the plan up and figure out how to accomplish all of that in one go."

Dean applauded sarcastically but Seamus shushed him. "Elaborate pranks are always good for receiving the desired response. We just need to plan something flashier and more spectacular than before."

Blaise grinned. "I could decorate the entire Gryffindor common room and seventh year boy's dorm in Slytherin colors," he supplied.

"Too cliche. Besides, Malfoy would get the credit for that."

"True," Blaise conceeded. "This should be personal rather than house versus house." His grin widened. "I could decorate you in Slytherin colors."

"I do look good in green," Seamus agreed, "but I don't know if that's subtle enough."

"I thought you were going for 'flashier and more spectacular'," Dean inserted dryly.

"Quiet, Dean. We're plotting," Seamus scolded before turning back to Blaise. "On second thought, it's a great idea. We can do it at dinner."

"Sounds great," Blaise agreed. He glanced back at the Slytherin table reluctantly, then sighed dramatically and looked back at Seamus. "I guess I'd better eat breakfast now."

"Okay," Seamus said, munching happily on some buttered toast. "See you later, you bloody close-minded Pureblood Death Eater in training."

Blaise smiled affectionately. "Whatever, idiotic Irish pouf." He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on Seamus' cheek. "I'll meet you at lunch in the library. You're going to help me find the spells I need." That said, Blaise sauntered away.

"Why do you let him do that to you?" Dean demanded once Blaise had left.

"Do what? Kiss me, insult me or coerce me into being his nemesis?"

"All three!"

"Oh. I don't know. He's cute and having an archenemy is kind of fun. Besides, it wakes me up in the mornings much better than that alarmer thing Da sent me last Christmas."

"The alarm clock worked just fine," Dean argued.

"It wasn't nearly as fun though," Seamus protested.

Harry sat down happily next to them, the widest smile that Seamus had ever seen stretched across his face. This stopped Dean from making any kind of retaliation. "Hi. You don't mind if I sit with you for breakfast, do you? Ron's kind of upset with me and 'Mione's trying to calm him down in the common room."

"And you're happy about this?" Dean asked, visibly puzzled.

"No! Of course not. Ron'll be okay once he gets over the shock. He just doesn't like my new boyfriend!"

"A boyfriend?" Seamus repeated, his mind already whirring as he wondered what Blaise would think of this. Would he decide that it was only "trendy" to be rivals with someone who had a boyfriend? Probably. So who could he get to date him? Dean! Dean was unarguably straight, but he was a good friend and even though he'd protest and claim that such a relationship would definitely hurt his chances with Lavender Brown, he'd eventually agree and take Seamus out on a date in Hogsmeade as long as Seamus paid for the Butterbeer and gave him a substantial bribe.

Oh. Harry was still talking. "-- and it was all really cliche, but I'm not complaining because when Draco told me that he was absolutely mad about me, well, I had to tell him how I felt and --"

"You're going out with Malfoy?" Seamus exclaimed. His first reaction was relief. He wouldn't have to spend his hard earned sickles bribing Dean. His second reaction was: What will Zabini think of that? Seamus stood up quickly. "Sorry Harry, I've got to talk to someone." He walked off briskly in the direction of the Slytherin table.

"What was all that about? He isn't going to be mad too, is he?" Harry asked in bewilderment.

"I think you've just inspired him to confess his own secret love for his archenemy," Dean replied blandly.

Seamus grabbed Blaise's arm. "We need to talk right now." Blaise grabbed a piece of toast from the table and complied, following Seamus to a deserted hallway while munching on his toast complacently.

"Did you hear about Harry and Malfoy?" Seamus asked urgently.

"What'd they do now?" Blaise asked with a lazy smirk.

"Confessed their undying love for each other," Seamus responded bluntly.

Blaise's eyes widened. "They did? That's going to be pretty hard to top."

"Are kidding? It'll be ridiculously easy!" Seamus exclaimed. "They confessed in private. If we make a show out of it, we'll be the talk of Hogwarts!"

Blaise laughed. "I like the way you think, Finnigan."

"Seamus," the Irish boy corrected. "Thanks. How should we stage this?"

"Fight first, the usual yelling, silly curses -- nothing painful since we're both secretly in love with each other and couldn't stand to see the other hurt. Then," Blaise paused. "Would it be more aesthetic for you to brazenly yell that you love me or for me to accidently let it slip?"

"I'm not sure. It could be awful either way or fantastic either way, depending on how we play it. What do you think?"

"I was thinking something like this: We entertain them for a bit with some fun hexes and empty threats and a good measure of spontaneous bouts of name-calling. Then, either as our epic battle is reaching its climax or if a teacher is coming, I'll go off on an angry rant. You know, 'I hate you, etc. etc. I hate your stupid arrogance, I hate your swishy hair, I hate your deep eyes, I hate your sexy body and most of all' dramatic pause 'I hate the way you make me love you'."

Seamus applauded enthusiastically. "I love it! And then I'll drop my wand out of shock and I'll approach you slowly and say 'You really mean that, Blaise?' Note the use of your first name. Them bam! We kiss passionately and everyone watches in awe."

Blaise hugged Seamus. "That's perfect! We'll have to practice the kiss, of course. It's Saturday so we have all day. By the time we kiss in front of everyone, it has to be amazing!"

Seamus blushed carnation pink. "Well, er, I haven't actually kissed many people. I mean, I kissed Lavender in fourth year, but that was just a peck and I kissed Zacharius and Ernie but just the once--"

"I've kissed Terry and Draco. That means you've kissed more people than me," Blaise informed Seamus. "We'd better start practicing now if we're both as shamefully inexperienced as all that." He pulled Seamus closer but it was Seamus who initiated their first kiss; it was a clumsy but sweet brush of the lips that made both boys smile and blush.

By the time Dean stumbled on them, they were both very good at kissing. Their kisses were no longer clumsy and sweet. In fact, to describe them ashot and passionate would be a bit of an understatement.

When Seamus heard Dean's footsteps, he pulled quickly away from Blaise who seemed reluctant to let go of the shorter boy. "Hey Dean!" he greeted.

Dean chose to ignore Seamus' toussled hair and swollen lips. "Hi Seamus."

"What are you doing here?" Seamus asked.

"I was wondering where you'd gotten off to. I'd sort of expected it to be more discreet than a hallway since this is your biggest, most top-secret plan yet," Dean replied. "The hallway is a bit off the main hallways, but it's still not the most secretive place you could be."

"He's got a point," Blaise said. "We're lucky he was the first one to find us. We should probably continue practicing somewhere a little more private."

"Practicing," Dean echoed, looking vaguely horrified. "What kind of practice was that? It certainly wasn't Quidditch."

"Oh, Seamus and I have overcome our differences and fallen in love. We need to practice kissing now," Blaise answered glibly.

Dean arched an eyebrow. "I see. What remarkable timing."

Seamus shoved Blaise playfully. "Stop teasing my best friend. You know perfectly well that he's never understood our complex relationship despite being more behind-the-scenes than anyone except maybe Millie and that's only because she helped us with the Orange House Elf Incident." Seamus faced Dean. "We've decided not to be archenemies anymore. It's much trendier to be rivals-turned-lovers now. Understand?"

"Lovers?" Dean looked alarmed. "Seamus, can I talk to you?"

"Of course. I'm listening," Seamus replied. Dean looked pointedly at Blaise but the Slytherin just responded with an expectant look of his own. "Alone?" Dean elaborated, and to his relief, Blaise obliged and went off down the corridor a ways.

"Still listening," Seamus prompted as Dean tried to figure out exactly what he wanted to say.

"You've got to stop this," Dean informed his friend.

"Stop the thing with Blaise," Seamus clarified. Dean nodded and Seamus sucked in a deep breath. "You don't really understand, I think. Blaise and I aren't insincere about anything, okay? We really were rivals. That was fun. Maybe it wasn't a proper rivalry since we're both such poufy show-offs but that doesn't mean it wasn't something, right?"

"And that's enough to form a very superficial romance, I suppose," Dean replied, clearly not approving.

Seamus frowned in frusteration. "Not superficial. I really like Blaise and I know Blaise really likes me back. Just because it's a little different from the run-of-the-mill boy-girl Gryffindor-Gryffindor love at first sight chocolate and flowers relationship is no reason to disregard it!"

"This isn't because you're both boys or because you're from different houses."

"It's because there's no chocolate or flowers?"

"No! That's just silly. Well. Yes. Sort of, yes. But I suppose if you really like each other..."

"Can we go back to the kissing now?" Blaise interupted, using a tone that made the almost-enlightened Dean wonder if he was lusting over Seamus shamelessly or if he sensed that Seamus was getting frusterated with the conversation.

Seamus opted for the more enjoyable activity of kissing Blaise and temporarily gave up on his best friend. Dean just watched them kiss for a moment, considering. "Well, you two have my blessing, even if I don't understand this thing between you two. You seem happy about it anyways, and I guess that's a good thing," he announced. "Unless Ron abandons Harry, in which case I'll publicly denounce you both and give you a chance to put on a dramatic scene."

Seamus stopped kissing Blaise at once and launched himself onto Dean, giving the taller boy a nearly fatally tight hug. "You couldn't be any more awesome, Dean!"

"Just remind yourself of that next time he draws a picture of you sleeping with drool trickling down your chin," Blaise quipped.

To his own surprise, Dean found himself laughing. "It's almost dinner," he reminded the two boys.

"Hey, Dean, could you be my alibi for today? Pretend I was with you so it doesn't look suspicious.

"Sorry. Lav and Parvati called in a favor and had me in the library for most ofthe dayresearching the most flattering color of eyeshadow for the inner eye. They'd see right through it and call me on it," Dean apologized.

"Well, that's an improvement over what you said last time," Seamus said reasonably. "Let's get to dinner. I'm starving." Seamus and Dean walked together to dinner while Blaise took a different route.

Dinner was less than interesting. All anyone in the general vicinity (especially Harry) could talk about was how amazing it was that Draco and Harry had gotten together. Across the hall, Blaise flashed a lightning quick grin in Seamus' direction and folded his hastily written note into a sloppy paper airplane. He threw it toward the Gryffindor table where it flew around Seamus' head in a lazy orbit. With a practiced ease, Seamus grabbed the letter and read Blaise's loopy handwriting:

"Finnigan you idiotic wanker, I have a score to settle with you. Meet me by the statue of Cliodne after dinner. Signed, Blaise Zabini."

Seamus read the note aloud for Dean, then made sure everyone (especially Hannah from Hufflepuff who would be sure to tell the rest of her house) else heard as well. He'd been sure to sit next to the ever-gossiping Lavender and Parvati, so it wouldn't be long before everyone knew but just in case, he located someone reasonably far away, Ginny Weasley, one of his fellow Chasers and yelled, "Hey! Gin, you'll never believe the latest in a string of dumb call-outs, courtesy of Zabini. Check this out!" He passed the note to her and, as usual, everyone glanced at the note before passing it along.

He glanced around, making sure the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were, without exception, discussing what was going to happen between Seamus and Blaise after dinner. Seamus knew that Blaise would, as planned, do the same with the Slytherins and Ravenclaws.

Towards the end of dinner, Blaise sauntered towards Seamus and glared. "You get my note, Finnigan?" Blaise demanded.

"I could barely read your girly handwriting, but I think I got the gist of it," Seamus replied lazily, leveling Blaise with a glare of his own.

Blaise's cheeks turned an interesting shade of red, somewhere between "rose petal" and "fire engine". This was one of Blaise's unique abilities: the power to blush visibly at will despite his dark skin. "I'll show you girly handwriting, Finnigan!"

Seamus blinked in silence, his mouth barely open. "...I have no idea what to say to that incredibly lame insult."

Blaise stormed off in a huff and Seamus followed at a more leisurely pace. Blaise stopped at the Cliodne statue and Seamus stopped just a few feet away from him. "Well?" the Irish boy drawled with one eyebrow raised in exactly the way Draco sometimes did.

Blaise pulled out his wand since he was clearlythe brazen brunette of their well-constructed rivalry. "Bring it on, Finnigan!"

"Hold it right there, Blaise Zabini!" a feminine voice yelled from somewhere in the crowd that had gathered. A petite girl with straight black hair and a cute little pug nose emerged with a hand on her hip and her wand in her other hand. It was Pansy Parkinson. "I think that this has gone on quite long enough. If Potter and Draco can get along, then so can you two. And really, if interhouse romance can break up their rivalry, I'm sure it can break up yours."

Seamus looked at Blaise. Blaise looked at Seamus. Seamus opened his mouth, ready with a fiery comeback towards Pansy about how he would never date such an egotistical epitome of Slytherin who would kill a Gryffindor much less kiss him -- and it would be perfect because he would put on this incredibly subtle wistful look as he said that last bit...

But Pansy was too quick for that. "What you need, Blaise Zabini, is to date a Gryffindor girl. And you, Seamus Finnigan, need to date a Slytherin girl. You both need to see other houses as more than just stereotypical evils... You need to see us as people. Sexy, mature people." She gave Seamus a coy smile and stepped up. "Come on, Seamus. Give interhouse relations a chance."

Seamus' eyes went very wide and he stumbled. "Uh, Pansy, you're a very nice girl and I really don't have anything against you even though you're a Slytherin, it's just... well, you're a really scary girl, you know that?"

"Now, now, don't judge, Seamus darling. You're going to take me out on a date."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are. You are going to show up in front of the Slytherin common rooms with flowers and we are going to have a picnic by the lake. I'll pack the food. You do like strawberries, don't you?Don't worry about a thing!"

"Worry?"

"Right. Don't. So, tomorrow at seven, you'll be where?"

"Uh, in my dorm doing homework?"

"Wrong." Pansy did not look amused. "You will be in front of the Slytherin common room. You know where that is, don't you?"

Seamus just nodded.

"Hold on, Pansy," Blaise interjected. He looked angry, almost. Jealous? Seamus couldn't help but feel pleased at the thought of Blaise getting jealous over this silly thing. "You can't just tell Finnigan that he's going out with you!"

"Shut it, Zabini. Seamus wants to go out on a date with me. Isn't that right, Seamus?"

"Er," Seamus replied.

Pansy determinedly stepped forward and took Seamus' hand. "Come on, Seamus, I'm going to show you that not all Slytherins are mean like Blaise. Some of us can be quite... pleasurable." She gave him a pouty-lipped smile and he backed away from her. Pansy did not look impressed by his escape tactics and merely pulled him off in the direction of the Slytherin common room. Seamus protested, leaving long black trails of rubber scraped from his shoes lining the floor, but Pansy didn't seem to notice or care.

Some of the onlookers of the fight trailed after, Blaise following behind these followers, at a complete loss.

When Pansy and Seamus reached the entrance to the Slytherin rooms, Pansy gave a coy look at the dozen or so who had followed. "Oh, I interupted the fight you all were having so much fun watching, didn't I?" she asked. "Well, Seamus, we'd better give the nice boys and girls a show of a different sort, hadn't we?"

"Show?" Seamus squeaked.

Pansy pulled his face to his lips and found her mouth meeting thin air. He had ducked through her grip and was cowering behind Blaise, clinging to his shoulders. Blaise glared at Pansy, but the dark haired boy seemed to have lost his voice. He was opening and closing his mouth without anything coming out. Such was not the case with Seamus who seemed to have recovered his strength by hiding behind Blaise. "I don't want to put on a show. I don't want to kiss you, I don't want to date you, and really, I don't want to date any Slytherin girls."

"That's just prejudiced," Pansy snapped.

"It's not prejudiced! Pansy, I'm gay! If I were to date a Slytherin, it would be a boy!" Seamus announced. He snuck a glance atBlaise,almost against his will until he realized that it would only help their elaborate act. "It would be a strong, dark, courageous boy who could make me laugh and love me."

Blaise turned to look at Seamus, who was still hiding behind him. "Finnigan? You really mean that?"

Seamus looked up at Blaise shyly through his honey colored eyelashes that couldn't quite hide the catty green of Seamus' eyes. Blaise's stomach knotted at the alluring look Seamus was giving him. This was an act, but it felt more real than anything he'd ever experienced. More real, more perfect, more comfortable. This was all the enjoyment of a confession of love without any fear of rejection. "I meant it," Seamus said cautiously.

Blaise couldn't contain his grin. "Well, strong, dark, courageous and funny, right here."

Seamus smiled back. "Well I --"

There was a loud, delighted squeal. "Oh my gosh!" Pansy shrieked. "Everyone, Blaise and Seamus are together!"

Blaise and Seamus glared half-heartedly at Pansy. She took the hint immedietly. "Sorry. Ruining the moment, I know." Quietly, she instructed her posse to fan out and spread the news of the latest Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry turned romance. "And while you're at it, Daphne, get me a list of eligible Gryffindor boys who would be willing to participate in a little rivalry and romance with me, if you know what I mean." Pansy winked at Daphne. "We got to stay up on these trends, you know!"

Seamus sighed. "Amateurs."