Blaise Zabini

Blaise Zabini
Biographical information
Born	Between 1 September 1979 and 21 April 1980
Blood status	Pure-blood or half-blood
Nationality	British or Irish
Title(s)	Chaser
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Black
Skin colour	Dark
Relationship information
Family members	Mother Seven stepfathers/Father and six stepfathers † Zabini (possible relative) Zabini family
Magical characteristics
Wand	Unknown length, wood and core
Affiliation
House	Slytherin
Loyalty	Zabini family Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Slytherin Slytherin Quidditch team Draco Malfoy's gang (formerly) Slug Club

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

— Ginny Weasley's low opinion of Blaise

Blaise Zabini (b. c. 1980) was a wizard and a student in Harry Potter's year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was Sorted into the Slytherin house, and was on friendly terms with multiple fellow Slytherins, including Draco Malfoy and his gang, as well as Pansy Parkinson.

Biography

Early life

Blaise Zabini was the son of a famously beautiful witch who had been widowed seven times over by 1996. Each husband's death occurred both under suspicious circumstances and left the already wealthy Ms. Zabini and her son with more money. Blaise was incredibly vain as a child and did not befriend Muggles or Blood traitors.

Hogwarts years (1991-1998)

Early years

In 1991, Blaise started his magical education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was the last student to be Sorted in his first year and was Sorted into Slytherin House. Due to Blaise's reserved nature, he kept to himself most of the time and did not really make friends with other Slytherins, nor other students in his year — though this may have been because he was prejudiced against Muggle-borns and "blood traitors." Blaise seemed to get along with Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson — he was willing to sit with them on the train journey to Hogwarts — but other than that, he was not mentioned to be hanging around that group.

Sixth year

Pansy Parkinson: "Even you think she's good looking, don't you, Blaise, and we all know how hard you are to please!"

Blaise: "I wouldn't touch a filthy blood traitor like her whatever she looked like."

— Pansy and Blaise discussing Ginny Weasley's appearance

Pansy Parkinson and Blaise sitting on the Hogwarts' Express

Blaise was one of the students who received an invitation from Professor Horace Slughorn for lunch on the Hogwarts Express journey, which might imply that none of Blaise's relatives were Death Eaters, as Slughorn wanted nothing to do with them (it was the reason why he chose not to invite Theodore Nott to join the Club). Slughorn was sizing up the student body for potential new members of his famous Slug Club, which he started when he last taught at Hogwarts.

During the meeting Blaise seemed quiet as usual and did not join in the discussions. However, he did 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 annoy Ginny, remembering how well she could cast a Bat-Bogey Hex. When questioned on his family, Blaise talked about his mother and the line of husbands she had who had all left her large amounts of galleons in their wills after their suspicious deaths.

Blaise at a Slug Club meeting with Professor Slughorn and Marcus Belby

After the lunch meeting ended, Blaise retired to his compartment on the Hogwarts Express in which Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson were also sitting. Harry Potter followed 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 they arrived at Hogwarts, Blaise apparently passed the litmus test that Slughorn had set, as he continued to receive invitations to Slughorn's parties after 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 this, he continued to accept the invitations. He did not appear to have a high opinion of Draco either.

During his sixth year, Blaise took Potions as a N.E.W.T. class, and played as Chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch team. He also on at least one occasion went to the Three Broomsticks Inn in Hogsmeade, where the trio noticed him lolling against a pillar there.

Seventh year

Blaise with fellow Slytherins in the Great Hall

Blaise attended his seventh year at Hogwarts. It can be assumed that his time under the Carrows regime was not as trying as others, as he was a Slytherin and not a Muggle-born. Blaise was present on the Hogwarts Express when the Death Eaters raided it looking for Harry Potter.

When evacuation started moments before the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998, Blaise presumably left with the other Slytherins through the passageway to Hog's Head Inn in Room of Requirement. Given how he presumably did not fight in the Battle of Hogwarts, along with most of Slytherin, he would have survived the Second Wizarding War, but what happened to him later in life is unknown.

Physical description

Blaise was a tall, black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes. He was described as attractive, and also was vain about the attractive looks in question.

Personality and traits

"Zabini gave a tiny little cough that was clearly supposed to indicate amused scepticism."

— Blaise showing contempt towards Harry Potter

Blaise seemed to be a highly arrogant individual, who looked down on nearly everyone and everything. He rarely expressed his often disdainful opinions in a confrontational manner, and preferred to simply scoff or show disbelief when someone said something he disagreed with. This was shown when he reacted with scornful amusement when Professor Slughorn praised Harry Potter's power. When warned not to anger Ginny Weasley (who insulted Blaise's vanity) he also reacted with contempt. He also insulted most of his fellow Slug Club members and the parties themselves, though he continued to attend the meetings. He also did not seem to respect Draco Malfoy very much.

Blaise was prejudiced against Muggles, Muggle-borns, and those who were accepting of them. This was made clear when Pansy Parkinson accused him of finding Ginny attractive. Blaise in response said he would never touch "a filthy blood traitor like her". However, he also did not seem to hold a high opinion of followers of Voldemort, as he taunted Draco on his father being outed as a Death Eater. It seemed he was so arrogant that he was more or less indifferent and dismissive of everyone, regardless of status.

Magical abilities and skills

Blaise playing Quidditch for Slytherin

• Potions: Blaise was proficient in potion-making, considering he was one of the few students that progressed to N.E.W.T.-level in his sixth year (1996-97) in Potions. He achieved either an 'Exceeds Expectations' or an 'Outstanding' on his O.W.L. exam.
• Flying: By his sixth year, Blaise had joined the Slytherin Quidditch team, playing as a Chaser, showing him to have been an accomplished and skilled broomstick flyer and Quidditch player.

Possessions

• Wand: Blaise owned a wand which he used during the Battle of Hogwarts. It was most likely purchased from Ollivanders when he was eleven years old, like other wizards in Great Britain.
• Slytherin tie pin: Like other Slytherins, Blaise owned a tie pin in the shape of a serpent of Slytherin House, to show his pride for his house. He wore this throughout his years at Hogwarts.
• Slytherin ring: Likewise, he also possessed an heirloom ring embossed with a serpent.

Etymology

• Blaise is a French name derived from the Latin blaesus, "lisping". In mythology Blaise was the tutor and, later, biographer, of Merlin - which makes this an appropriate name for a wizard. Another 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 and Portuguese. Blaise may be of Italian or African descent, given that the East African country of Mozambique, whose official language remains Portuguese, was under Portuguese colonial rule from the fifteenth century until 1975.

Behind the scenes

Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini hanging on for dear life with the Fiendfyre below them

Blaise Zabini as depicted in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

• Blaise is portrayed by Louis Cordice in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. He appears in several scenes and has one line in the film.
• Because the name Blaise is gender-neutral, Blaise's gender and nature were hotly debated in fan forums for many years, and both male and female versions of the character were heavily featured in fanfiction. This was mostly due to the indeterminate nature of Blaise's character in canon and lack of further explanation on J. K. Rowling's part until it was revealed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that he was male.
• The Dutch edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone actually turned Blaise into a female character, by translating his name into Bella when he appears at the sorting ceremony. When the Dutch translation of Half-Blood Prince was released, the character was renamed to the masculine Benno, correcting this mistake.
  • However, the Hebrew translation described Blaise as a female in the 1st book, and then as male in the 6th book, making a contradiction.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Blaise plays as a Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team, which is not mentioned or depicted in the book (however, this does not mean this information is not canon).
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Blaise is present in the fight in the Room of Requirement in place of Vincent Crabbe, whose actor was dropped from the films following his conviction for possession of cannabis. Zabini essentially takes Goyle's place in the film while Goyle takes Crabbe's place and is the one to be killed by Fiendfyre.
• Given his surname and his ethnicity, it is likely that Zabini is of (at least partial) Italian and African descent.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• LEGO Harry Potter
• Harry Potter and Me (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website)
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault