How I Met Your Father

Chapter 5

We're almost done," Harry repeated. He rolled his eyes as his sons exchanged unconvinced looks. "I promise. Besides, you're going to want to hear what happens next..."

~*~*~*~*~Year 5~*~*~*~*~

"Really?" the wide eyed blonde gushed, biting her lip as she gazed at him shyly. "A secret agent? I didn't know the Aurors had those."

Blaise smiled thinly and returned to his drink. It had been a half-hearted play and he was frankly surprised that it had worked at all. He gazed down at the twenty something girl hanging on to his arm and decided that it was entirely possible they were getting dumber every day.

A few months back, this would have been a very good thing.

Blaise sighed. A few months back. Two to be exact. He had been flying solo ever since that little...altercation and he had to admit it wasn't exactly working. A part of him still firmly believed that he was just rusty, that he just missed working with a wingman. But he was starting to suspect it was more than that.

He found himself missing the little group he had come to consider his friends. Oh, he didn't want to - not in the least - but evidently he had no choice in the matter. Time and again, his thoughts would drift back to those idle evenings in the bar when he wasn't distracted by a pretty face. Movie night. Weasley griping about the Cannons, Hermione rolling her eyes at some of his admittedly more tasteless jokes, even Harry- cheerful and accommodating-offering to spring for the next round, staying back once everyone departed, promising to see a sloshed Blaise home safely.

There it was. As much as he disliked the man at the moment, Blaise missed Harry, too.

And then there was Ginny. His hands clenched around his glass, trying to will away the thought of her. It was, as always unsuccessful. But why would that change now? She had been in his thoughts for years.

Of course he'd noticed her the moment she had walked into the bar all those years ago. A man would have to be blind to look past those eyes, that smile and the graceful curves of her figure. Even then, he had wanted her. But Harry had needed a shove in the right direction more than he needed an evening with a pretty girl and Blaise had gone with his instincts, literally shoving them at each other. When Harry had fallen head over heels for her, he ignored the slight twinge of disappointment in his gut and contented himself with being Harry's wingman and her eccentric friend, nothing more. Even as he got to know her slowly over the years, he hid his fondness with cautiously feigned disinterest- side-stepping the serious conversations in favour of light banter, calling her 'Jennifer' or 'Genevieve' even though the name 'Ginevra' was all but branded in his head, committing himself to the general tomfoolery he had such a reputation for. And it had served him well. She never saw him. He kept his distance, refusing to be the one to come between her and Harry. He had precious few friends and he didn't want to lose them.

Except that he had. In the end, he had lost himself in a moment with her, wanting to be the one- just this once- to offer her comfort and a safe place. He had forgotten that it wasn't his place to offer those, and so had she. In the process, he'd lost her and Harry.

No, he hadn't seen her since that night. She had called, still called actually, but he was determined to ignore her missives. He had messed up her life enough. She was better off without him. They all were. In the end, he always messed things up.

And now, here he was. Alone again. With a girl he could care less about because the only one that mattered, the only one who had ever been more than a nice rack and a pair of legs deserved better than him. She had ruined him for other women with that one kiss and there was no going back from that. But there was no going back to her either. It was over...