Lightbringer

4

Blaise

His mother greeted each guest with a falsified warm smile. Some she shook hands with, others she kissed on the cheek. Blaise Zabini stood with a straight back beside her, wearing the same smile. Unlike his mother, he was not part of the auction. He hadn't joined her on the stage.

His sole task was to greet, to wear that smile, and to shake hands. When it came to performance, Blaise was damn good. More than good. He was the best at it. After all, he had been leading this charade all his life.

He repeated the same words over and over. "Nice of you to come." "Oh yes, today is truly spectacular." "I hope you have enough Galleons in your purse."

With the latter, he often added a wink, displaying his dazzling white teeth. Oh, how the wifes loved his smile. They melted. And some the husbands too.

These events weren't intended for the big politicians; they were for the common folk. For the people who wanted to keep the rest of the traitors as slaves, his mother was the perfect intermediary—a human trafficker and ruthless behind her pretty face.

An old woman from Hungary reached out to congratulate his mother on her burgeoning business. "I heard you had a great idea for it, really great. Finally, these useless creatures have a place."

"Oh, thank you, my dear Mrs. Browiks. But I didn't come up with this idea alone. My good friend Mr. Parkinson helped me with this plan, although of course the main idea came from me. It's nice that you're here. Will you be buying today as well?" his mother replied.

Useless creatures. Former classmates. Humans. Until his fifteenth year, Blaise shared the belief that Mudbloods or Half-bloods were dirty, but then his mother married husband number seven. His name had been Jeff.

A rich pureblood from up north. He was from Sweden or something and had told Blaise stories of wizards and witches when his mother wasn't listening—stories where the blood status of a person didn't matter. Jeff had taken him to Muggle London, showing him Muggle amusement parks and Muggle traditions—Blaise was still convinced that Jeff died because his mother found out somehow. She must have caught wind of it. All of Jeff's wealth went to her, and she hadn't remarried since.

The Hungarian woman turned to Blaise. Her fur coat was embroidered with pearls that sparkled in the light of Winterbrook Hall, the Zabini estate.

"You're quite the handsome young man. I've heard a lot about you. My granddaughter is going to Durmstrang and insists she met you at the Triwizard Tournament in your fourth year." the old woman said to him now.

Blaise furrowed his brow in surprise, but then quickly reminded himself not to let his mask slip. He had flirted with many people from Durmstrang, and if it weren't for Krum, he would have had even more wrapped around his finger.

As a teenager growing up with a mother like his, the art of seduction played an important role, and back then, it had felt damn good.

"I've read you're already engaged. It's truly a shame; my granddaughter would have liked to see you again."

Blaise smiled at the old woman. "Oh, please give your granddaughter my best regards and enjoy the show."

The old woman nodded, shook Blaise's hand again, her grip a little too strong this time, and then moved on.

"What a ridiculous old cunt, as if you'd ever consider engagement with such a family", Blaise's mother murmured, her smile never truly leaving her lips.

Blaise didn't know about his mother's issues with the family. It wasn't his concern nor his desire to get involved. Just as he was about to speak, his mother was already greeting the next guests.