Disaclaimer: Not JK…

Chapter 1: The stumbling

#1: When you start taunting her almost everyday, you know you've started down the path of lunacy.

The Slytherin commonroom, contrary to general opinion, was alive with the din of gossiping students. Each of them spoke in hushed voices, which combined into one annoying whisper. Blaise Zabini stood up from his position on the couch. He had had enough of this noise. He considered retiring to his dorms but gave that up just as soon. It would only be crowded with the rest of the baboons who called themselves his dormmates.

As if I'd ever stoop as low as to associate myself with those complete idiots he shook his head in denial as he wandered along the castle. Even after three years of living here, the castle still held mysteries for him to uncover. As he was passing the corridor by the library, he came up on an intriguing sight.

A girl who looked to be a third year was walking along the corridor opposite him, carrying what seemed to be a cartload of books. Noticing her blue and bronze tie, he dismissed her as one of the nerdy Ravenclaws and turned to head away so that he wouldn't have to meet her. He didn't have the patience for their I-am-always-right-because-the-book-says-so attitude. She laughed all of a sudden and Blaise snapped his head to look at her. Not that the sound of her laughter was appealing but she was…laughing to herself? What person did that? And why hadn't she just shrunk her books? They seemed so heavy!

Against his better judgment, Blaise turned around and came face to face with Luna Lovegood. Her long, wavy honey blond hair was waving in the slight breeze, giving her a kind of halo in the dark corridor. The light from the torches seemed to reflect off her locks, giving her an ethereal appearance. Her translucent sky blue eyes suited her perfectly, but her slight frame was in a firm posture, contradicting her delicateness. Her eyes flashed with concern on first noticing him, before it went back to its normal dreamy expression. Blaise noticed that her eyes flashed brilliantly when expressing emotions.

He shook his head to clear out the curious thoughts. He had never observed any of the females before. Growing up with a mother who went through husbands like cloaks on a rack, he knew about them well enough. And that had helped him avoid the flirty smiles and date offers that had come his way in the past. One would be surprised at the number of invites he got, considering he was just a fourth year. For all the hype, he was neither rich nor from a reputed family. If infamy wasn't considered reputation, that is.

He wasn't as influential as Draco nor was he as wise as Theodore. And so, the fact that so many girls in the school admired him puzzled him.

The girl stepped up the speed of her walk, which was more like skipping than walking. She seemed to be humming to herself as she clutched the books tighter to herself and stopped before him to look up at him. He was atleast a feet taller than her but that didn't seem to affect her. She smiled a disarmingly innocent smile at him but he could see that her eyes were wary. Atleast she could anticipate the danger she was in. His own mouth curled in a smirk and his native Slytherin haughtiness returned.

"Out at this time of the night? In a deserted corridor? Alone? With a Slytherin? Tsk, tsk. Not such a clever maneuver, is it?" he asked as he began walking to her. She took successive steps backward which seemed a difficult task, considering the fact that she had a ton of books in her hand. She brought them close to herself, as if building a barrier between them.

Noticing this, he quickly waved his wand and the books lifted themselves out of her grasp and landed neatly by the side. She visibly straightened now that her hands were free and he could see them move towards her left ear. So quickly she didn't even see it, he lifted the wand that had been stuck behind her ear. Twirling it in his hand, he gazed at her closely, looking for her reaction. There seemed to be none except for the steeling of her eyes. He had been right, her azure blue eyes did flash with emotions. And they were now wide with resolve and an alertness that unsettled him. For the first time in his life, Bliase Zabini realized that he stood before a girl he couldn't charm his way around. The manner in which her eyes regarded him, as if he was nothing more than a curious portrait, proved it to him clearly. For once in his life, he cursed his ability to read people's faces.

A sudden wave hit him then. What in Salazar's name was he doing here? Why was he behaving like a rogue to this girl? It was well known in the castle that among all of Sytherin, Zabini was the most controlled, silent, gentle one. And that was what made him terrifying. And so, his reaction to this lithe girl before him puzzled him to no end.

It was not like him to disarm a stranger for no reason and act so…threateningly. He felt insecure in her presence and that made him act harshly. But of course, he saw that it was wrong, now that his head was cleared once again. It must have been a stimulus, nothing more. He dismissed it and gave her the wand back, taking care not to touch her. He did not want to soil his reputation.

She took her wand and tucked it behind her ear, and a strand of her hair escaped at the movement. Involuntarily, he stepped closer to move her hair behind it and jerked back as if he had been electrocuted. This was wrong. Very wrong. He wasn't supposed to act this way. He was supposed to be the closed off one. Not the other way around.

Squaring his shoulders, he stuck his hands in his pockets, lest they betray him anymore. Looking at the pile of books, he asked in a voice that was thankfully collected, "Why didn't you shrink them?" She seemed surprised that he asked her that and replied in a voice that was surprisingly bold and strong.

"I am not very adept at the engorgio. I shrink them well, it's just the counter spell I have trouble with. I enlarge them to twice the original size. Makes reading them easier but the librarian seems to disagree" she shrugged her shoulders in such an off-handed, innocent manner that he couldn't help the smirk that played out on his face.

"You could levitate them" he suggested, not knowing why he was talking about such a simple thing this elaborately. That was so unlike him.

"And pick out people's heads? No, thanks" she said and the sarcastic lacing to her voice made him raise his eyebrows. Of course, she was a Ravenclaw, she is supposed to be witty.

"Why were you laughing to yourself back then?" he asked, tilting his head towards the corridor.

"Oh, I was laughing at the Nargles" she replied non-chalantly, and he was stumped for a moment.

"Nargles?" His curiosity overrode his mind and he wondered what other uncharacteristic thing he would do within the night.

"They are invisible creatures that tickle you if you are alone. Hogwarts is infested with them" she explained, and it was her completely serious expression that made him stop his laughter.

"Oh" He suddenly wished he hadn't asked her that. Somehow, her answer made her seem more child-like and he did not like the sudden softening his heart was feeling.

"I should be leaving. It will be curfew soon" she said and tried to lift her book stack which seemed rather reluctant to aid her. The book suddenly seemed to loose weight and she looked at the guy beside her in surprise.

"You'll never reach your commonroom before curfew at this rate" he replied by way of an explanation before turning in the direction of the Ravenclaw commonroom. His walk was fast and he was taller than her by almost a feet. She had to watch her step so that she could walk beside him. And that rendered conversation impossible.

Blaise took care to keep his stride fast paced so that he could avoid looking at her or speaking with her at any cost. At the portrait hole, she had departed from him with a soft good night and thanks and he was left standing outside, stupidly staring at the door she had gone through.

Before he had reached his own dorms, Blaise had tried to figure out her identity a thousand times. He could just have asked her but he felt that he'd appear stupid if he did so. He entered the commonroom to the unchanging sight of his 'gang' chatting.

Draco's snide voice was commenting on someone and he barely registered the words 'loony' and 'Quibbler' before it came crashing down on him.

Had he really been friendly towards Luna Lovegood?

That night Blasie made an important decision. One that he knew he had to make if he was to go through school without making a damn fool of himself. He had to make sure he never let Lovegood get near him.

He did not trust himself around her. That much was apparent from the days events. He would have to make sure he never lost control like that again. And what way was better than good old Slytherin mockery?

Blaise slept with a smirk frozen on his face, which turned into an unconscious smile when her face appeared in his dreams.

It is sufficient to say that Luna's life was living hell from that day onwards.

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