Magic? || Years 1-5

Blaise Zabini: Year 4

"Judging by how well this conversation has gone so far, you're not going to believe me, but he really did care about you. He still does. He just... has an interesting way of dealing with grief.

"I've never seen him in a better mood than when you first started replying to his letters -- woah, woah, calm down. He spilled the whole story after that whole article fiasco -- " He added quickly at her outraged expression, "and even more when you two were talking face to face.

"And now... well, he's really been struggling. Pansy was an easy person to fall back on, she had adored him since forever and she didn't like you, so he thought it'd be easier to deal with it. But it's just made him more miserable, and a miserable Draco is the worst kind of Draco.

"It sounds selfish, and maybe it is, but all it takes is for you to give him a second chance."

Amisty looked up from her lap, her fingers gripping the table tightly but cleverly concealed under her robes.

"Interesting way of dealing with grief, you say?" She growled furiously, sliding off the desk and hiding her clenched fists behind her back as she stalked toward the door. "Yes, I gave that stupid ring back. As I'm sure you know, another Slytherin trait is self-preservation, so that action itself is pretty self-explanatory if I say so myself."

Blaise nodded, not even remotely bothered by the level of fury in her tone.

"But he was the one who went and gave the goddamned thing to Pansy. Not me. I gave it back, but I didn't throw it out to the next person who showed interest," She opened the door, pausing. "If I had a part of me willing to give him a second chance before, that was the final straw."

And she slammed the door shut behind her before racing back up to the Gryffindor common room.

-=+=-

"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?" Ron whispered in alarm.

Harry had just come back, telling them everything about Karkaroff's trial, Mr. Bagman's trial -- he had gotten off scot-free -- and Mr. Crouch's son, being sent off to Azkaban without so much as a second glance as he screamed for mercy and pleaded that he had nothing to do with it.

All court cases seen through Dumbledore's Pensieve.

The disappearances within the wizarding world (Bertha Jorkins, Mr. Crouch, and a Muggle named Frank Bryce), how Harry's scar was connected to Voldemort to the failed Killing Curse that created it.

And then about Snape being a former Death Eater.

Hermione was sitting quietly, her head in her hands, Ron staring into the fire, and Amisty perched on the edge of her seat as if ready to take flight at the drop of a pin.

"And he trusts Snape? He really trusts Snape, even though he knows he was a Death Eater?" Ron shivered.

"Yes," Harry nodded.

"Rita Skeeter," Hermione murmured quietly, still looking down.

"How can you be worrying about her now?" Ron exclaimed, aghast as he tore his gaze away from the flickering flames to stare at him.

"I'm not worrying about her. I'm just thinking..." She replied softly, "remember what she said to me in the Three Broomsticks? 'I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl.' This is what she meant, isn't it? She reported his trial, she knew he'd passed information to the Death Eaters. And Winky too, remember... 'Ludo Bagman's a bad wizard.' Mr. Crouch would have been furious he got off, he would have talked about it at home."