Schoolwide Shipping

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Blaise Zabini wasn't nervous. He didn't get nervous. At least, that's what he kept telling himself as he stood near the entrance to the Great Hall, scanning the crowd of students for Neville. Blaise had been flirting with Neville for weeks now, dropping hints, brushing up against him, testing the waters, but Neville-sweet, oblivious Neville-hadn't picked up on any of it.

So Blaise had decided to be direct. No more games, no more teasing. He was just going to ask Neville out. It was simple. Easy. He could handle this.

That was the plan, anyway.

Blaise spotted Neville sitting at the Gryffindor table, hunched over a plate of food and clearly deep in thought, as usual. Blaise's stomach did a weird little flip as he walked over, and he mentally scolded himself. He was Blaise Zabini. He didn't get flustered. He was calm, cool, collected.

Just as he was about to reach Neville and ask him-finally-if he wanted to go to Hogsmeade together, Blaise overheard a voice from further down the table.

"You know," said Seamus Finnigan, grinning widely, "you and Zabini would actually make a pretty cute couple."

Blaise froze. What?

Neville blinked in confusion, turning to Seamus, his cheeks already pink. "What?"

Seamus shrugged, taking a casual bite of his toast. "You and Zabini. I mean, he's always hanging around you. You two look good together. Don't you think so, Dean?"

Dean Thomas, sitting next to Seamus, gave Neville a once-over and then glanced toward Blaise, who was standing a few feet away, frozen in place. "Yeah, I can see it," Dean said with a smirk. "Opposites attract and all that."

Neville's face went from pink to bright red in a matter of seconds. "I-what? No. Zabini and I aren't-"

"Oh, come on, Neville," Seamus said, grinning. "You two are always together. You're like... inseparable these days. Might as well make it official."

Neville's face was practically glowing at this point, and he stammered, "We-we're just-"

Blaise, who had been too shocked to speak, finally found his voice. "We're not together!" he blurted out, louder than he intended.

Everyone turned to look at him, including Neville, whose eyes were wide with surprise. Blaise felt heat creeping up the back of his neck, and he tried to recover, cursing himself for sounding so defensive.

"We're not," Blaise repeated, crossing his arms in what he hoped was a more composed stance. "Neville and I aren't... like that."

Seamus raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by Blaise's reaction. "Sure you're not, Zabini. Whatever you say."

Blaise's eye twitched. This was not going according to plan. He had been about to ask Neville out, and now everyone thought they were already a couple? He glanced over at Neville, who looked completely flustered, his face still bright red, and Blaise felt something twist in his chest. Was this a good thing? Or was Neville embarrassed by the idea of being with him?

Blaise swallowed, trying to sound more casual. "I mean, we're friends, yes, but that doesn't mean we're-"

"Friends?" Seamus interrupted, grinning like he was enjoying every second of this. "I've seen the way you look at him, Zabini. That's not a friend look."

Blaise's face heated up again, and he cursed internally. Why was this happening? He could feel eyes on him from all over the hall now, and the more he tried to downplay the situation, the worse it got.

"I'm not-" Blaise started, but before he could finish, another voice chimed in from a nearby table.

"I think Seamus is right," Lavender Brown said, smirking. "You two would be adorable together. You've got the whole tall, dark, and mysterious thing, and Neville's got that sweet, awkward charm. It's perfect."

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