Inverted
Summary: It's been two years since the Final Battle, and Harry Potter is no longer alive. Enter a world much darker than when he left it, a world in which Ron and Hermione are just trying to survive, the Order of the Phoenix has died, and Ginny realizes she has an ally within the Death Eaters' circle. Dark, alternate universe, mature content.
Prologue
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
May 2, 1998
Her eyes were closed, and her skin was flushed from the heat of the blaze that was ripping apart the dead gamekeeper's cabin. Blaise saw from beneath his ripped mask that she would die from smoke inhalation within the hour.
He knew who she was from the instant his eyes had landed on her; now, an odd choking sensation gripped his chest as he watched a group of younger recruits glance at her prone body with interest before wrongfully concluding that she was dead, and continuing on their way to the castle. The fire from Hagrid's home rose higher and higher, the tips of the bright orange flames just barely missing branches of the Forbidden Forest.
More Death Eaters streamed past him, and he mentally kept a headcount from his position. His own mask just barely hung onto his face, having saved his features from a particularly nasty Slashing spell from a certain member of the Order of the Phoenix only 10 minutes earlier.
Through the trees came the sounds of shouts and yipping as two adolescent Death Eaters trudged through with their wands straight up in the air, sending up green sparks and shouting "Death to Muggles!" A gaggle of followers, dressed in the black uniform but lacking masks, cheered and rushed along. Blaise counted 11 in all. That meant 76 total, which, discounting himself, comprised the number he was responsible for in Voldemort's army.
Behind him, a rush of wind signaled Draco's arrival, and he turned to face his best friend. The blond looked shaken and started at Blaise's appearance. "Are you hurt?" he demanded.
"Got nicked a bit," answered Blaise, pulling the tattered mask off his face to reveal a partially mended gash on his cheek in the shape of the Slashing hex. "What's happening in there?" he gestured toward the darkness of the trees.
Draco's expression darkened and the muscle in his jaw was taut as he said, "They killed him. It's over. That's why Father sent the rest of the recruits so early. It's gonna be a bloodbath. He doesn't want any survivors." Unable to say the Dark Lord's name and refusing to address him with a title, Draco assumed the darkly sour expression he would forever display whilst talking about Voldemort. Chuckling darkly, he added, "I got promoted. When the Ministry's restructured I'll be head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"Wanker," Blaise called him. "Don't mess it up."
"Who cut up your face?"
Blaise scowled and gingerly replaced his mask. "That's what I need to talk to you about," he replied, jerking his head toward the woman on the ground. Draco followed his gesture and his gaze widened as he realized who it was.
"You killed her?" he asked incredulously.
"Don't be stupid," Blaise said shortly. "She's unconscious."
"What are you going to do with her? Her family's going to be at the top of the kill lists, you know," said Draco, waving his wand with a small flourish. Slowly, the woman's unconscious body rose from the ground and floated away from the smoke filled air until it landed gently on the moss covered ground beside them.
Blaise knelt by her side and mindlessly performed medic duties, clearing the smoke from her lungs and healing bruises from her earlier duels. "I need to give her to her family," he said quietly, "if they haven't already escaped the battle."
"They'll still be here. They never learned when to quit," scoffed Draco, but his grip on his friend's shoulder was a comfort of sorts.
Brushing errant strands of thick hair out of her face, Blaise silently healed a slight fracture in her skull, then sat back on his heels. Below them, the path leading from the forest to the grounds of Hogwarts was deserted and the cabin blaze was less threatening.
"I need to hide her, mate." Blaise looked at Draco hard. The request present in his tone was plain as day, and he knew Draco understood what he was asking for, that this was the biggest favor he would ever ask of him, because Blaise Zabini never asked for anything, never asked for help because he had never needed it. And Draco, unable to consider Blaise as anyone but his equal, already knew he would help him no matter what it cost him, because in this life, in this new regime, he was the only friend he had.
"Alright," answered Draco.
Unconscious on the ground between the pair of them, Ginny Weasley's dark red hair rippled over the knotted ground and tangled behind her ears. The wand she had used to nearly kill Blaise was tucked securely in her robe.
"Find Kingsley Shacklebolt," ordered Draco, in a low voice. "He's got an illegal portkey out of here and if the Weasleys are smart they'll be going with him."
"How did he get a portkey?" asked Blaise in surprise. They were a rarity these days, always unauthorized and never reliable.
"Simple," said Draco carelessly. "I gave it to him. Told him Potter was dead and advised him to get out before the massacre began." A little curiously, he added, "What did you say to her that made her have a go at you like that?"
A hint of a grimace touched the corner of Blaise's mouth as he sighed, "I told her I would protect her if she would just put her wand down."
Draco snorted obnoxiously, saying, "I never thought my first action as Head of Magical Law Enforcement would be to protect her. But then again, I never thought all of this," he gestured to the burnt cabin and the battle in the distance, "would happen, either."
They were silent for a moment, hearing faint screams and seeing flying jets of green light. Finally, Blaise voiced their secret hope. "I thought Potter would end this."
"I did, too," said Draco.
Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you've got a minute! I welcome feedback of all types. Also, I'm looking for beta readers to help me out with clarity, sentence structure, and grammar/typos. Please PM me if proofreading's your thing.