Blaise Zabini

"Yeah, Zabini, because you're so talented...at posing..."

- Ginny Weasley

Blaise Zabini was a student in Harry Potter's year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was sorted into Slytherin house and seems to have been friendly with fellow Slytherins Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson.

Early Years
Blaise Zabini is the son of a famous beautiful witch who is known for being a widow seven times over by 1996; each death of her late husbands were under suspicious circumstances and as a result left Mrs. Zabini to acquire their fortunes, leaving her and her son to be a very wealthy family. It is unknown if any of these seven husbands are Blaise's biological father or not. Blaise was likely to have come from a Pure-blood family background as he disliked "blood traitors" and people who associated with Muggle-borns.

In 1991 Blaise started his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and he was sorted into the house of Slytherin. Due to Blaise's nature he kept to himself most of the time and didn't really make friends with the other Slytherins, or any other students in his year, this may also be due to the fact that he was blood prejudice and did not associate with Muggle-borns or "Blood traitors". Blaise seemed to get along with, to an extent Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, he was able to sit with them on the train journey to Hogwarts, but other than that he isn't mentioned to hang around with the group. In his second year at Hogwarts Blaise likely joined the Duelling Club as a precaution of defense against any possible danger that the Chamber of Secrets held. In his fourth year, Hogwarts held the Triwizard Tournament and as a requirement Blaise was forced to attend the Yule Ball, just like any other student 4th year and above, he was likely to have gone alone due to his fussy nature with girls. At the end of this year Cedric Diggory was killed and it was announced that Lord Voldemort had returned to power.



Sixth Year
Blaise was one of the students who received an invitation from Professor Horace Slughorn to join him for lunch on the Hogwarts Express journey, Slughorn was sizing up the student body for potential new members of his famous Slug Club which he held when he last taught at Hogwarts. During the meeting Blaise seemed quiet as usual and did not join into the discussions, he did however give a little cough of "amused scepticism" when Slughorn told the group that he thought Harry Potter had powers beyond the ordinary. This caused him to provoke Ginny Weasley to snap at him, and Slughorn jokingly warned Blaise not to fire Ginny up again. When questioned on his family Blaise talks about his mother and the line of husbands she has had who all left her pots of Galleons in their wills after they died, all of which were suspicious deaths.

After the lunch meeting has ended Blaise retires to his compartment on the Hogwarts Express with which Draco Malfoy is lying down with his head on Pansy Parkinson's lap. Harry Potter follows Blaise back to this compartment under his Invisibility Cloak in an attempt to hear Draco's conversation and give him some perspective as to what Draco had been planning over the summer. Once arrived at Hogwarts Blaise apparently passed the litmus test that Slughorn had set, as he continued to receive invitations to Slughorn's parties once the school year began. He did not seem to have a high opinion of his fellow members, if his comments to Draco Malfoy on the train were any indication, but in spite of that, he continued to accept the invitations.

Physical appearance
Blaise is a tall boy, with high cheekbones, dark skin, and long, brown slanting eyes. Blaise is excessively vain in his appearance and associates and is apparently bitter and self-centered. .

Personality and Traits
Blaise seems to be an arrogant person, who looks down on nearly everyone and everything, though he rarely expresses his disdainful opinions in a confrontational manner. He reacted with scornful amusement when Professor Slughorn praised Harry Potter's talents, and with contempt when Slughorn suggested that he should not anger Ginny Weasley, who insulted Blaise's vanity. He also insulted most of his fellow Slug Club members and the parties themselves to Draco Malfoy, though he continued to attend the meetings and also did not seem to respect Draco very much. Pansy Parkinson claimed that Blaise is very difficult to please romantically; when she accused him of finding Ginny attractive, Blaise said he would never touch "a filthy blood traitor like her", which Pansy found very funny and which indicates that Blaise is prejudiced against Muggles, Muggle-borns, and those who are accepting of them. However, he also doesn't seem to hold a high opinion of followers of Voldemort, either; in the same he taunts Draco on his father being outed as a Death Eater. It seems he is so arrogant that he is more or less indifferent and dismissive of everyone, regardless of status.

Etymology

 * Blaise is a French name derived from the Latin blaesus, "lisping". One famous bearer was Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher. Also, Blaise Castle is an eighteenth-century mansion house and estate in Bristol, England called "the finest place in England" in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.
 * The surname Zabini is Italian, suggesting that Blaise is of partly Italian descent. It bears similarity to the name of a custard-like Italian dessert, Zabaione.

Behind the scenes

 * For many years Blaise's gender and nature were hotly debated in fan forums, and both male and female versions of the character were heavily featured in fanfiction. This was mostly due to Blaise's elusivity in canon and lack of further explanation on J. K. Rowling's part. However, it is now known that he is a male who has appeared in the sixth book.
 * Based on the attitude Blaise expressed towards "blood traitors" and his association with elitist Draco Malfoy, the Zabini family likely at least claims to be pure-blood.
 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Blaise seems to be a Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
 * Blaise Zabini is portrayed by Louis Cordice in the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)

Notes and references
Blaise Zabini Блейз Забини