((NB - This story is my creation, but I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or terms affiliated with it, no matter how much I would like to. Please R&R.))

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Chapter Six

"Wine, beer and spirits all the time
Though I have you still she's always on my mind
The rain falls down I'm soaking through
I'm an old man inside a young man's suit
My crocodile shoes are crying too
For they know how much love I have for you…"

Jimmy Nail - Crocodile shoes

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"Why is Pansy living in your guest house?" Draco repeated himself to a somewhat flabbergasted looking Blaise, who appeared to know not what to do except for continue to rock the baby in his arms in an attempt to lull it back into its prior sleep, although Draco got the feeling that Blaise was doing more harm than good in his attempt to buy time to think. He watched Blaise's Adams-apple move down and up as he swallowed and opened his mouth partially to provide an answer.

"I don't know what you're talking about Draco…"

He narrowed his eyes; there was a difference between Blaise putting on a good act for his wife so she did not know the true nature of his whereabouts when he rolled in in the early hours of the morning and Blaise bullshitting to get his way out of things when he could not think of a decent excuse. The major difference being that one was convincing, the other wasn't, and this was the instance in which it was not convincing. "Blaise, cut the crap. I saw her picture. It was right there in the quibbler let me…" He reached into his back pocket to produce the magazine, only realising that he had left it on the table in his house, he had only brought his wand with him when he had abruptly departed. "Okay, I can't show you but it was her! I know it was her! What's more I know that it was your frigging house in the background of the shot! This is me Blaise, you didn't think I wouldn't recognise that the instant I saw it?" Draco paused for a moment, looking slant ways at Blaise. "Wait… that's why you got funny about Nott handing me the quibbler isn't it? You KNEW it wasn't about that article, the quibblers a rag, you've said so yourself, you knew Pansy was in there and I would see it and know it was her."

Trying, unsuccessfully, to rock the baby in his arms back to a calmed state, Blaise furrowed his brow, he knew he was defeated in this situation. He sighed for a moment before, turning, with Draco at his heels and walking swiftly through to the parlour, laying the baby down in the small cot that was inside the room and motioning for the house elf to take charge before taking Draco's shoulder in his hand and leading him back out of the room into the hallway, shutting the parlour door behind him. "Alright, yes, I'll admit it, that was the reason."

Draco's fist flung forward and connected with Blaise's cheek, seeing no form of formal protest from his friend, other than his hand which instantly rose to grip it, he narrowed his eyes at him. "You utter GIT! SIX MONTHS BLAISE! Six bloody months! And YOU have known where she was the ENTIRE time!"

Blaise's jaw ached, Draco's punch had felt like a hammer to the side of his head, although he knew it was not undeserving, he had not expected it to have been so hard, he guessed that Draco had been building his body strength from the last time he had hit him. He rubbed his face slightly and clicked his jaw, "not the entire time, no."

"How long then…? How LONG?!"

Blaise cocked his head to the side slightly, hoping to avoid another punch should it come his way. "About four months…."

"FOUR MONTHS?!"

"Alright, alright, let's go into my library and I'll explain…."

Draco did not want to go into Blaise's library, he wanted to go to Blaise's guest house, but he knew that if he left, Blaise would be more than capable of warning Pansy before he got there and then he would be truly stuck. Instead of bolting to the door, he nodded and followed Blaise as they made the short walk to the library, taking a seat as Blaise motioned for it and raising an eyebrow. "This better be a good explanation…."

Blaise sighed and picked up a decanter of firewhiskey, pouring himself a drink into a crystal tumbler on his desk before taking a seat near to Draco and proceeding to explain. "She came to me about four months ago. I was surprised, to say the least, to be honest mate, I thought she was gone for good. She told me about leaving you and where she'd been, which was; Malta, apparently for some unknown reason…" He paused, taking a drink of his glass and a drink before continuing. "Anyway, she talked about getting this journalism job and how she didn't want to see you and her thoughts about why you married her in the first place." He sighed. "She was hurt mate. She was really hurt."

"I don't understand Zabini, your not making yourself very clear…"

"Oh would you quit it with the last name crap? That was old when we were 16, let alone now. I know you're pissed off with me and quite rightly so but grow up will you!"

Draco huffed a little, wanting to fold his arms in a sign of malcontent, but merely nodded meekly. "Fine! But why don't you start making sense instead of giving me cryptic responses? Just tell me why she left me and why you didn't tell me she was back!!"

Blaise sighed a little. "You should know why she left you mate. You just couldn't give her what she needed…"

"What she needed? I gave her everything! I'm Draco Fucking Malfoy for Merlin's sake, I'm the heir to the Malfoy fortune! What else could she have possibly needed?"

"She needed love you petulant dingbat! She needed you to love her, but it's not in you, you just can't love someone! I mean, Merlin's beard, how old were you the last time you told your mum you loved her? Three? There's this bloody block instead your tiny, tiny, brain which prevents you from saying the word! Seriously Draco, if it hadn't been for the inheritance, would you have asked her?"

Staying staunchly silent through Blaise's rant, wanting to protest to the statement about his mother, but finding himself unable to as he couldn't actually remember ever telling his mother he loved her and he was slightly disturbed that he had never thought of it until now, flashes coming into his mind of times his mother had sat with his as a child when he was ill or (not that he would ever admit it openly in public to anyone) scared about a nightmare he'd had and she'd kissed his forehead and tucked him into bed, whispering that she loved him, he had never once said it back, not ever. Another thought occurred to him as Blaise continued, how the hell did Blaise know about the inheritance? He had never told him, Blaise had never probed and although he had been relieved on the initial occasion of his informal announcement, he wondered why he had not thought of it. More importantly, had Blaise told Pansy about this? "Blaise, how the hell did you know about the inheritance issue?"

Looking genuinely confused for a moment, Blaise looked at his friend, answering honestly. "Well, your dad told me about it of course. I thought he would have told you, I mean he asked me to come to his office and have a talk with him and he told me about the fact that if you didn't marry you'd be disinherited and he was going to tell you about it."

Draco narrowed his eyes a little, not getting a full grip on the meaning of Blaise's words. "What do you mean? Did you know about all that before me? Why the hell would my father drag you into it anyway? To make sure that I didn't screw it up?" He flung both his hands in the air in sheer frustration. "Well that shows how much faith my father has in me!"

Blaise swallowed a little, he hadn't known Draco had been so unaware of the circumstances surrounding his semi-arranged marriage. Surely Draco's father would have told him? "Draco, mate, it wasn't to make sure you didn't screw it up, I mean he did tell you right?"

"Blaise, you have gone cryptic on me again, tell me what?"

"About the fact that if you didn't get married by the time you were 25 you would be disinherited and you would get completely cut from the family will and it would go to someone else."

"Yes, he told me about that, I thought we had established this already. Have you been taking random memory loss potions or something?"

"Not but Draco, he did tell you who it would go to instead didn't he?"

Draco shook his head confused. "No, he didn't. Did he tell you?"

"Well yeah…" Blaise took another drink from his glass and swallowed hard before continuing. "He wanted to name me…."

All his childhood jealousies suddenly came rushing back to him at once, Draco was so angry with Blaise at that moment; he didn't know what to do. "You are kidding me?! YOU?! Why you? What have you done that's so special? This is what you've always wanted isn't it?"

"Don't be so sodding ridiculas Draco, of course not, I even tried talking your father out of it, but he said he wasn't going to leave the Malfoy fortune in the hands of just some distant relative. He wanted me because I'm from a good pure-blood family, I was already wealthy thanks to the plethora of insurance policies on my step-fathers my mother has cashed over the years, I've got a pure-blood wife and we have pure-blood children, that's all your father cares about! And your mum knew that if it happened and you didn't get married by the time you were 25 and were cut from the will that if I got the money that I would hand it over to you anyway! So get off your high bloody horse, it's not like it actually happened, it was a 'what if' calm down!" Draco snarled slightly, he still felt strangely betrayed but Blaise's explanation was satisfactory enough for him to believe that Blaise wasn't out for the Malfoy fortune, which was securely in his trust anyway. "And ANYWAY… You never answered by question, if it hadn't been for the inheritance, would you have asked Pansy to marry you?"

"Yes… That's something I'd like to know myself…."

Draco's head snapped around and his jaw dropped, Pansy stood in the doorway of the Zabini Mansion library, her arms folded and her head cocked to the side, waiting for an answer to Blaise's question…

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Authors notes:

Thank you for taking the time to read chapter six, please send me a review I love to hear thoughts, good and bad, I don't appreciate flaming, just constructive criticism please, I want to know what I can do to make it better.

I hope this chapter is a little more satisfying than the previous one, I know at least one person who shall remain nameless, said she wanted to hit me for it.

Chapter seven will be along very soon and once again, please leave me a review, I want to know what you like, what you don't like, which characters you like best and which bits. Is there any particular quotes which you just love? Please share with me. : ) Thanks for reading.