Wanna Ditch This Joint?
Should Voldie actually capture Harry, but kept that knowledge under lock, key, and house elf, would the wizarding world know where he is anyway? Not likely.
Blaise looked over the most recent battle ground. The Zabini's were normally neutral, but he broke that tradition. After the attack on the ministry that reviled the return of the Dark Lord, sides were picked. Believing the light was going to be the winning side, after all, they had Harry Potter, the Zabini heir joined the light. The dark skinned boys hands clenched into fists, that turned out to be wrong.
When Harry Potter's sixth year came around, everyone was shocked when he didn't turn up at Hogwarts. When it was investigated, it was found that Potter left his relatives place one day that summer, and never came back. Originally there was panic of the 'oh my god, he was kidnapped'. However, after more investigating, the wizarding world was devastated to find Harry Potter had run away.
That had been three years ago. Blaise sneered at the empty, disheveled field just outside an oblivious muggle town. Things went downhill after Potter abandoned them all. The dark lord, now exposed, set a brutal attack plan, if there wasn't an attack at least once a week, people panicked, wondering what was being planned, and for good reason.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" A refined drawl came from behind.
Blaise tensed, recognizing the voice. Not wanting to show what he was actually feeling, he relaxed his muscles and slowly turned to the speaker. "Mr. Malfoy," he greeted the aristocrat with his own velvety voice. "I never expected to see a wizard of your standing somewhere like this."
"Indeed, this is not my ideal location. I am however, meeting some acquaintances that chose the location. And what are you doing at this distasteful location Mr. Zabini?"
"It just so happens that I am waiting on some others as well."
"Quite the coincidence." Lucius Malfoy's cold, sharp grey eyes gazed at the much younger wizard with intent.
Blaise was so focused on watching his old schoolmates father he barely caught a flash of red before he fell unconscious. When he woke, he couldn't find it in himself to be shocked or surprised or any other adjective of the sort to find himself in a dungeon cell.
"You woke just in time for supper."
Blaise jumped slightly, looking through his cell bars towards where the voice originated from. On a ratty cot was a young man, he couldn't see the man's face, as not only was the other laying down, but had his arm covering his upper face. He stood from the floor and walked over to the bars, wrapping his hands around them and trying to make out the other man. "Who are you?"
The man snorted, position not changing. "Voldemort's best kept secret."
Blaise stiffened, "Don't say his name."
This time the man sighed. "Normally I wouldn't care how you feel and continue using that name, but you're my first visitor, so I'll restrain my need to piss Tom off. You're okay with me calling him Tom right?"
Blaise continued to observe his host (if he was a visitor, that made the other the host right?) silently for a moment. "That's fine."
"That's good. If I can't piss him off by causing his taboo to go off, I can at least humour myself by using the name I know he despises."
"You haven't answered my question."
"Hmm," the man hummed, "I suppose I didn't."
"Well?" Blaise asked again after a moment of silence.
"I always thought it was the polite thing to offer one's own name first."
Blaise' eyes narrowed further, this time in irritation. "Blaise Zabini."
The arm covering the man's eyes lifted and waved, "Harry Potter."
Blaise chocked on the words trying to leave his mouth, completely shocked. Finally, he got out a strangled, "What?"
The other man, Potter, finally sat up, allowing Blaise to take in impossibly green eyes peering out of a messy, black fringe.
"Do you have selective hearing?" Potter asked, a slight sarcastic tinge to the words. "If so, that's actually a good thing; Tom can rant and rave for hours on the same bloody topic."
Wide eyes narrowed again. "Every Slytherin has selective hearing; it's how we deal with you Gryffindors." He paused, before cautiously stating, "But you ran away years ago."
"Hmm?" Harry titled his head like he was thinking about whether he really had. "Nope. I did get kidnapped though."
"You've been here for three years?"
"Maybe. I don't know. Has it been three years?" Potter shrugged. "I stopped keeping track after a week. The only way to measure time is the meals; and that's assuming I get three meals a day." Potter stopped talking as a house elf popped into the cell with two plates of food. Said elf placed one plate on the ground before popping over to Blaise and placing the other in front of him. "Supper time!" Potter cheerfully chirped, bending over the edge of the bed to pick up his plate.
Dumbledore looked at his Order, feeling his age. At the beginning of the war, this group would have been bickering and catching up, now they all sat silent, waiting for him, their leader, to start the meeting and call on speakers. "If those that have our missing members confirmed where abouts would like to start this meeting, please?" He could still smile at his group, but the twinkle that used to always been in his eyes could no longer be made.
"There was an urgent auror meeting today; they even called in the retired ones." Miraphora Mina, a worker from the Runes & Symbols department at the ministry immediately chimed in. "I was able to confirm that Mad-eye, Tonks, Shaklebolt, Proudfoot, and Williamson where there. I was also able to come across Percy Weasley in an elevator. He has been in a meeting with the minister all day trying to convince him to call for aid from our allied countries."
"Fred and George Weasley have been in their invention room for three days, they still haven't left it."
"Mundungus got arrested this morning and will be in a ministry holding cell until tomorrow."
"Diggle, Podmore, and Jones went down. Their bodies were incinerated before we left."
Dumbledore listened attentively as slowly each missing member's location was reviled, bowing his head for the fallen comrades, at least they could prevent them from becoming inferi. He looked around the table when the room became silent; his mental checklist still had a name. "And Blaise Zabini?"
"You know, I wonder why you're here?" Harry peered upside down over at Blaise from his sprawled position on his own bed. "Me, I get. I'm a thorn in the side that doesn't die properly and messes everything up; and keeping me a secret, well, I can imagine how everyone is taking my disappearance. But you, what does he gain from having you here?"
Blaise shrugged, his bored gaze not moving from the ceiling. "I don't know, ask Malfoy senior and his accomplice, they're the ones who kidnapped me."
"Which makes even less sense." Harry huffed. "No one knows I'm here, but others know you are. So why weren't you put in the normal dungeons? Why here with me?" Harry sat up to look at Blaise properly. "He's not going to let you leave alive you know." Blaise finally looked at him as he continued to gaze sadly. "Voldie won't let knowledge of me get out; so whenever he's done with you, you'll be a liability."
Blaise continued to stare unemotionally, it wasn't something be hadn't already figured out himself, but something about that statement… "If no one knows you're here but the Dark Lord, how am I here? I was captured by Lucius." Harry tilted his head in thought, that was a valid point.
The two men settled into thought, both contemplating the current situation. They continued to do so for a few hours until with a creaking screech a door further down from them opened. Blaise sat up alert, watching the edge of his cell for the owner of the approaching footsteps. Harry looked at his new companion and winked before cheerfully shouting out "Hi Tom".
The sibilant hiss of "Silence Potter" that followed clued Blaise in that it really was the Dark Lord coming to – most likely – torture them and that said torture had probably driven Harry insane for him to act as he was.
"Zabini," the hissed word reached him before the snake-like visage came into sight. Blaise said nothing, just stood silently. "Crucio," Blaise screamed as he fell to the ground in pain. Seconds later when Voldemort stopped the curse Blaise lay on the ground panting, staring back at Harry who was in turn staring at him.
Voldemort sneered down at him, stroking his wand. "You're raiding my follows vaults was quite the annoyance Zabini, but an annoyance was all it was. Like a fly, something I could swat whenever I needed to. But you see," Voldemort's grip his wand tightened and his eyes seemed to become more like blood the angrier he got. "I had Bellatrix keeping an item safe for me and she had it in her vault, a vault that you stole from." It seemed to be taking all his self control not to curse Blaise at this point. "Which means," he hissed menacingly, "that not only have you stolen from my Death Eaters, but you have stolen from ME!" Voldemort roared the last word before sending the pain curse first at Blaise then for some reason at Harry as well.
Once Voldemort was finished his temper tantrum – which consisted of multiple crucio's – he stalked away, leaving the two young men panting on the ground.
"Well," Harry said after some time, "I guess that answered why you're here." Blaise just gave him a bland stare, still recovering from the curses.
"Severus, have you heard anything about Blaise lately? I know it's only been a few days but I worry."
"Nothing more than I have already told you. Malfoy Sr and Nott Sr captured him before that last battle and delivered him to the Dark Lord, that's all anyone knows. He ordered everyone out and Zabini hasn't been seen since, alive or dead."
"That poor boy," Molly Weasely mumbled, "It's been two days already."
"Yes," Dumbledore gravely acknowledged the mumble. "But we mustn't give up hope. He is a smart boy who has managed to get in and out of Gringotts many times now. Let us hope what he has learned doing so will help him escape now."
Once Blaise recover enough from the curses to stand he immediate went to the bars keeping him out of thru dungeons hall and started inspecting it. Harry watched amused, there wasn't much he hadn't tried.
"What do you know about the wards on the bars?"
Harry snorted, "Not much, I've only had five years of magic training remember. I can tell you the only time Tom has come running after I've done something to them is when I've actually made it out of the cell."
"And what did you do to get out?" Blaise stopped examining the bars to look considering across the hall at his current companion.
"The first time I made it out Tom was already down here; he used to come into the cell to do his torturing. Moron underestimated me as usual so I kicked him and ran. Didn't make it far. Second time I pried the hinge pins out of the doors, you'll notice my cell no longer has a door." He contemplating the hinges on Blaise's door as did Blaise. "Third time I blasted the bars out with accidental magic that wasn't really accidental. I've gotten pretty good at blowing stuff up. But now the bars have some kind of defective shield that just bounces magic back at me."
Blaise stared at Harry in shock for his wandless capabilities but quickly put it the back of his mind to boggle over later, he needed to escape first, possibly with Harry. "Can you throw a blasting curse at the bars?"
Harry considered him for a moment before shrugging, deciding it couldn't make his situation much worse to listen to the other. With a flick of his wrist a bolt of red went flying towards the bars where it hit and bounced back to hit the wall behind where he had been sitting.
"Again." Blaise was watching a lot more intently than Harry thought a bouncing spell really required but nonetheless did as asked. "The weakest spot is right above the floor just left from the center, try and hit there." Harry threw another in the specified area. "A little more to the right and closer to the ground if you can." Another spell thrown and while Harry saw no difference Blaise smiled in triumph.
Blaise backed up to the back of his cell and raised an eyebrow at Harry with a pointed look. Harry raised an eyebrow back but threw the spell as expected. What he didn't expect was for the bars to go flying outwards towards Blaise's cell.
"Huh, colour me impressed."
"You learn a thing or two about wards when breaking in and out of Gringotts."
"Apparently," Harry walked to the edge of his cell. "So, wanna ditch this joint with me or am I your distraction?"
"Well, I doubt I can deal with the hinges before you trip the alarm."
"Slytherins." Harry rolled his eyes and threw a blasting curse at Blaise's cell door. Blaise flinched, expecting the door to go flying, but all it did to his shock has fall over. "I've had a lot of time and boredom to master control." Harry rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "From my second escape experience, after we exit the cells it takes Tom on average three minutes to come flying threw that door. My third attempt I booked it down the hall and made it out the door but it just leads into the main dungeon area so its more hallway with no place to hide."
"What about that way?" Blaise pointed in the opposite direction from the door.
"A wall."
Blaise sighed. "And on the other side of the wall is what?"
Harry gave him a queer look. "How should I know?"
"Because you seem to like exploding your way out."
Harry looked contemplative. "That sounds like a great idea." He darted out of the cell – causing Blaise to swear and quickly follow – and flicked his hand at the wall a few cells down. They both ran through the resulting cloud of dust and then froze, staring out at the hills in front of them.
Harry's legs gave out under him and he crumpled to the ground with a strangled "Merlin".
Blaise reached down and pulled him up and started dragging him away, "Now's not the time Potter."
"It's been years since I even smelt fresh air," was the weak reply.
"And if we don't get moving past the apparition ward this is all you'll get."
Harry stumbled forward but most his momentum was still from Blaise and the grip on his arm. "I don't know how to apparate."
"I'll side along you, now hurry up." Harry tried to go faster, but being in a cell for years did not help with physical condition and he was already panting and his muscles burning. "Almost there," Blaise lunged forward taking Harry with him, spinning once he was passed the invisible line, pulling Harry closer as he did and vanishing with a pop.
They reappeared many miles away, in a rundown area of London. Harry was leaning on Blaise, shaking from exhaustion from the short run.
"You know the address of the Order?" Blaise put his arm around the shaking body fir support.
"Yeah," Harry wasn't sure what to feel when his dead godfathers house pushed its way out between the two houses beside it.
"Come on, lets get you inside and to a bed before you collapse."
"Hey now," Harry weakly poked his support in the side. "I think I deserve a date first before you try and get me into a bed."
Blaise grumbled about Gryffindors as he helped Harry stumble to the door and because opening said door while holding said Gryffindor up would be a feat of strength, skill, and balance that he did not have at the moment, kicked the door until he could hear Walburga's portrait screaming.
In short order they were ushered in, the portrait silenced, Blaise in the kitchen with hot chocolate and a piling plate of food, and Harry placed on a couch with a pillow and blanket – and immediately asleep – with Pomfrey and Dumbledore called. What proceeded was a circus full of yelling, screaming, flailing, crying, and laughing as everyone found out the mystery and malnourished boy Blaise brought back with him was Harry Potter and that no, he hadn't run away all those years ago.
It was an entire month before Harry and Blaise met again; Blaise went back to his job for the order and Harry was trapped in Pomfrey's domain recovering from years in Voldemort's dungeon.
"Feel better Potter or will I need to help hold you up again?"
"You think Pomfrey would let me out if I couldn't at least stand by myself?"
"That's true, I don't even want to know how many potions she has forced down your throat to be out so soon though."
"No," Harry scrunched up his face in disgust. "You don't. I don't think I'm going to be able to get the taste of nasty out of my mouth for at least another month."
"Well," Blasie looked Harry over. "You still look a little thin." Harry snorted, he had always been thin. "So I think I should take you out to supper to help put some meat on your bones. And to help put a better taste in your mouth."
Harry blinked, not having expected that. "Blaise, are you asking me on a date? Or is this like a Slytherin peace offering or something."
Blaise smirked as he placed a leading hand on Harry's lower back and lead him out of the Orders headquarters'. "You told me you deserved a date before I try to get you in bed."