At first, Welsh witch Rhea Davies thought Raphael Zabini was the perfect husband. He was wealthy, urbane, and charming -- until the ring was actually on her finger. Then she discovered he wasn't looking for a wife and a partner -- he was looking for a subservient brood mare to bear him purebred children (especially sons), be sexually available whenever he felt the urge, and generally wait on him hand and foot. And, perhaps worse, he was a Death Eater, and planned to raise any children to that path. The day she realized she was pregnant, she ran.

Hidden in the muggle world, for the first six years of Blaise's life, he didn't have a father, he had a bogeyman. His mother, psychologically scarred and increasingly paranoid, painted a picture of a cruel and hateful monster, her constant nightmare the thought of Raphael catching up with them. And one day that nightmare came true. She fought, of course, but he was far more powerful, and far, far more ruthless. The outcome was never really in doubt, and he dragged a weeping Blaise away from her lifeless body.

It was the last time Blaise ever cried. Such displays of weakness were not permitted, especially not on a woman's behalf. Raphael taught him a different way, that of discipline, a twisted kind of honor, and a concept of ubermench that would've made Hitler proud. He taught him swordsmanship and magic, too, but when the invitation to Hogwarts came -- despite the presence of muggleborn and muggle-loving wizards there -- he was ordered to accept.

Partly for the chance to assess the capabiities of other up-and-coming wizards, and partly for the thorough grounding in wizardry it would give him, training to go on to be an Auror (and Raphael's spy) in the Ministry of Magic.

At Hogwarts, Blaise kept to himself, concentrating on his studies and observing other students. He found watching how others played Quidditch more educational than playing it himself. A bright young man, Blaise enjoyed his time at Hogwarts, despite some cognitive dissonance generated by sneaking respect and liking for muggleborns like Hermione Granger (female into the bargain!) and half-bloods like Harry Potter. There was also the difficulty of viewing purebloods like Draco Malfoy as erratic and undisciplined.

Blaise told himself these were merely distractions, he had the clarity of a life goal laid out for him, and he was genuinely looking forward to becoming an Auror. Then, the war came, and his family was on the losing side. His father wound up in Azkaban, and, ironically, it was only a chance decent impulse during the battle at Hogwarts that saved Blaise from a like fate. On his way to join his father, he saw a giant attacking a pair of first year students. Still not sure why, he turned aside to attack it, buying their escape with a clout from its club that took him out of the fight.

Still, though free, Blaise went almost overnight from a scion of wizard nobility with an assured future to a dishonored and penniless outcast. No wizard, let alone the Ministry of Magic, was going to trust the son of a known Death Eater. Angry and adrift, he's now seeking to find his way in the world.