Vellum Voices •Harry Potter X Blaise Zabini•

Serpentine Summer (p2)

"And you found out why he seemed so ready to yield his life?"

Blaise tightens his hand on the edge of the table. He expected the question from Mother, honestly. He wasn't the only one who noticed the way Harry recovered from shock so easily and even from the suggestion that he might have to die to remove the Horcrux.

"Yes," he says, and looks up. Mother sits across from him, her own teacup balanced on the edge of her hand and her gaze calm. That helps to relax Blaise, too. "He never expected to make it to adulthood. He thought one of the threats along the way would destroy him."

"And therefore the Horcrux only seemed like another threat. How many times has he nearly died, Blaise?"

"Counting the time when he was a baby, at least five."

Mother stands up and walks out to stare out the French doors into the garden. Blaise watches her. He loves her, but theirs is a complex relationship, because her magic and her wisdom together mean that she protects him constantly and Blaise can't give any of that protection back. But then he found Harry, and he found someone who needed that kind of love from him. It's wonderful, even if Blaise longs for the day that Harry can speak English again and he won't need to protect him as much.

"Why did you choose someone in so much danger, Blaise?" Mother asks without turning around.

Blaise has been prepared for this question. "Because his ability to speak being removed made me see the real Harry Potter."

Mother glances at him over her shoulder. "Few people would say that. Most people would assume that the soul of a person is expressed through their words."

"Yes, but in Hogwarts, some of those words are 'Gryffindor' and 'Slytherin' with all the baggage attached. Mother...he was so alone. His friends stood by him, of course, but they couldn't communicate with him except in writing, either. Almost everyone else withdrew from him, either because of the Parseltongue or because they believed those lies about Voldemort not being back. And even I hesitated for a long time, because I couldn't believe that no one else saw what I saw. I kept thinking that someone else would move in and claim him."

"Like a possession, Blaise?"

Blaise smiles a little. Mother will fence with him and demand that he test and prove his love. It's not only because she wants to make sure that Harry is his permanent choice, and a worthy one. It's also because she doesn't want Blaise to make some of her own mistakes.

"An ally, I thought at the time. A source of strength. Do you have any idea how strong he is, Mother?"

"I am beginning to understand, since my journey into his mind yesterday. He bears the pain of malicious Legilimency without crying out." For a moment, Mother's fingers twitch. "The man who taught him before this had no care at all."

Blaise nods. He has other scores to settle, but the one with Snape isn't the smallest one. "Harry lasted through not being able to speak to anyone, through almost everyone being afraid of him, through those Legilimency lessons—even though I didn't know about them—and through being tortured by Professor Umbridge. I wanted to be close to that strength, Mother. Just an ally, I thought at first."

"And then—"

"When I saw how much greater his strength was than I thought, and that he wasn't going to push me away—he needs my protection right now, but he won't always."

"Yes," Mother says after a moment. "I can see now why you became enamored of him."

Blaise isn't offended. Mother will probably refer to it as being enamored until he or Harry makes some grand gesture to prove their love. And Blaise can live with that. He would much rather Mother look out for him and be overprotective than not protective at all.