Part XII

Mr. Riddle glared at Blaise. His angry eyes shifted to Harry and he glowered, "You've summoned this?" he demanded, indicating to Blaise.

The demon gave a fake gasp, looking hurt, "Mr. Riddle! I'm so hurt! I have a name you know."

"Silence demon," Mr. Riddle barked. "Potter, why have you summoned this demon?"

"Well… I was kind of trying to get his father—" Harry stopped when he saw the pale look on Mr. Riddle's face. Blaise saw that and smirked, "And he would have gotten him too, if I didn't intervene."

All color drained from Mr. Riddle's paling face. Blaise chuckled at this. He stepped forward and gave Mr. Riddle an innocent smile, "You don't need to worry about me, however," he said, "I'll be a good little demon in your class, Mr. Riddle. After all, I'm sure we all have Harry's best interests in mind."

It took Mr. Riddle a moment to recompose himself. He cleared his throat and stood up fully, trying to use his full height against the teens. "Of course," he said, "if you misbehave, demon, there will be consequences. For all three of you." He gave the three of them a sharp look. Harry felt fear slither inside him, and guessed that Draco felt the same as they shared a look. Blaise, however, just smiled politely and the three of them went to sit down for class.

The classroom slowly filled with students, Harry and Blaise both waved to Ron when he came in, and the three shared a look when Parkinson came in with her group, all of them glaring daggers at the three boys but saying nothing. Mr. Riddle ignored the three as he went about teaching the class, having Ron collect homework as he looked at all students but Harry, Blaise, and Draco. The two humans were too busy taking notes that they couldn't glance at Blaise to see his reaction. However, halfway through, the class was interrupted.

There was a knock on the closed door. Mr. Riddle frowned as he stopped his lecture. The knocking continued and he looked at the class, "Finnigan, get the door," he said since he was closest to the door Seamus Finnigan stood up and opened it, only for a woman Harry have never seen before to walk in. She was tall with long black hair that fell in a crazy fashion around her head and shoulders. Her eyes were black and had an insane look about them as she smiled widely at Mr. Riddle, dressing so unlike a teacher Harry would never think she was one as she wore an almost skin-tight black dress that reached her ankles, the dress decorated with silver spirals that shimmered like small flames in the light whenever she walked. She was holding a long slender staff, which she used to walk with that was more for decoration than assistance, and a large pile of papers. "Mr. Riddle," she smiled, "I hope I am not interrupting too much."

"Mrs. Lestrange… no, you are not," Mr. Riddle said shortly. He turned to the class and said, "Class, this is Mrs. Bellatrix Lestrange, our newest member to the faculty. She told me this morning that she wished to give an announcement to the student body… however I did not think that this would include interrupting my class, Lestrange."

"This will only take a moment, Mr. Riddle," Mrs. Lestrange said equally as shortly, however with a smile on her face as she looked around the student body. For some reason, Harry felt as though her eyes fell on him longer than anyone else. "Hello all, my name is Bellatrix Lestrange, and your Principal Mr. Riddle had granted me permission to teach you all a new class, Dueling. You all will start tomorrow learning how to use your magic offensively for dueling purposes. This class will take place of your free period… so you're not exactly missing much, are you, and it will be mandatory to attend."

"Mandatory, huh?" Blaise commented.

"Yes idiot child, it means that you all must come or else you face expulsion and detention," Lestrange said.

"I know what the word mandatory means," Blaise said.

"Then you should know that it is rude to interrupt when adults are talking, idiot child," Mrs. Lestrange smiled. Harry's eyes widened and glanced between Blaise, Mrs. Lestrange, and Mr. Riddle. Mr. Riddle had a worried look, however he was staring at Mrs. Lestrange. Confused, Harry touched Blaise's shoulder gently, and the demon turned to him. "Let it go," Harry whispered.

"I was going to," Blaise whispered back. "She smells funny."

Harry gave him a confused look but Blaise just smiled and leaned back in his chair as Mrs. Lestrange continued. "As I have explained to idiot child, it is mandatory for all of you to come to my classroom during your free period starting tomorrow for your dueling lessons. That is all, Mr. Riddle."

She turned to leave, but Draco stopped her with a raised hand, "Ma'am," he said.

"Yes Blonde boy?" Mrs. Lestrange asked.

"You've never told us where your classroom is," Draco said.

"I did? Well too bad," Mrs. Lestrange shrugged. "If you are late, you will suffer a month's detention. Goodbye." And with that she left, the door closing behind her.

There was a moment in the classroom where each and every student was silent. They turned to Mr. Riddle, who was equally as silent, for an explanation. Mr. Riddle looked back at all of them, his face stoic and unflinching, "Well," he said, "You've heard her. Tomorrow during your free periods, you all shall report to her classroom. Now, let us get back to the lesson…"

.

Blaise was unusually silent as they left Mr. Riddle's classroom. Harry and Draco were walking on either side, concerned. When they've reached the main hall where the statue of Blaise's father stood, Harry asked, "What do you mean Blaise, when you said Mrs. Lestrange smelt funny?"

"When did you say that?" Draco asked.

"In class… and it means that she smelt funny," Blaise said, "Couldn't you guys smell it?"

"No, I didn't smell anything, have you Draco?" Harry asked.

"No."

"I could," Blaise said. "I smelt it very easily over your perfume Harry, she smelt of rotten burnt apples, it was disgusting."

"That… is a weird smell," Draco commented, "Do they sell that type of perfume?"

"Not at the shop in here," Harry said, "besides, why would you want to smell like that? It sounds disgusting!"

"It does indeed," Blaise nodded, "Still… she was giving you a weird look Harry, think it's because of my father's mark?"

"Maybe, but I've never seen her before in my life," Harry shrugged, "How about you, Draco?"

Draco thought for a moment before shaking his head, "I've never seen her before either," he said. "And father never mentioned her, and he complains about everyone."

"Interesting," Blaise said. "So… where did she come from?"

"I believe that is a matter that you boys should not worry about," A voice said behind them. The three turned to see Mr. Riddle standing in front of them. "In times such as these, Mr. Potter and Malfoy, it is best to keep your heads down, for who knows what sort of vile plans demons are coming up with." His eyes shifted towards Blaise for a moment.

"Sir, Blaise isn't—"

"I know that the Son of Lucifer is bound to you, however, he is not the only demon in our town at the moment," Mr. Riddle said. He took a step closer and stared at Harry, making the boy feel uneasy. "Remember, Harry, what I have told you the first day. Keep your wits about you, boy. Keep your head low, and do not do anything stupid. You have been chosen by the Dark Lord for his mission. You have a special womb, it would be wise to protect it."

Harry didn't know how to respond. Mr. Riddle straighten up and walked away without any explanation. Harry felt weird and exposed as he watched the Principal walk away from them. He turned to Blaise and Draco and took their hands, pulling both boys close. "I don't feel so good," he muttered.

"What's the matter?" Draco asked.

"It's Mr. Riddle," Harry said.

"That was weird what he said," Blaise nodded, "however now I'm worried, who else would be here besides me? I would notice immediately."

"How so?" Draco asked.

"We demons can smell each other, it's impossible to hide," Blaise said.

"Do you think… that Blaise was right?" Harry asked to no one in particular. "He mentioned my womb… or at least the space in me where a womb can be formed. Do you think Mr. Riddle wants me to have a child with Lucifer?"

Blaise frowned. He looked around at the students milling around the room. "We can talk about this after school," he said, "I'm afraid what would happen if we are overheard."

Harry and Draco agreed, however neither of them could be put at ease. For the rest of the day, Harry couldn't help but worry over Mr. Riddle's warning. He felt that there should be shadows at every corner ready to jump him, so much so that he refused to walk the hallways without holding both Blaise's and Draco's hands, not that the two boys complained. When the day finally ended, Harry rushed out of the Academy with a sense of relief, pulling Draco and Blaise along.

"So, going back to what we were talking about," Blaise said, "I believe that we can talk freely now. As for Mr. Riddle's intentions, I think it would be obvious now."

"Whatever they are, it concerns me having a baby with your father," Harry said, a look of ill disgust on his face. "But… I'm only sixteen!"

"You think that matters to my father?" Blaise asked. "And it clearly doesn't matter to Mr. Riddle. However, now what I want to know is, what does Mr. Riddle want with the baby?"

"I don't know," Harry frowned. A heavy feeling fell on the three of them as they walked slowly, each one not knowing what to say or do. Draco glanced at the two of them but said nothing. The three of them were lost in their own thoughts as they made their way into the forest's shadow. The only sound they could hear was the scrunching taps of their footsteps on the mixture of leaves and cobblestone as they racked their brains. Until Draco gave a loud groan and looked at both of them, "This is giving me a headache! I can't think of any reasons why!" he said frustrated.

"Yeah, me neither," Harry sighed.

"Then for now…" Blaise said slowly, "let's just return home and focus on meditating. Worrying about others' plans is useless until both of you are mages."

"More of the bloody meditating," Draco grumbled. Harry, however, smiled, "Come on Draco," he said cheerfully, "it'll be worth it once we reach our magic!"

"I guess… I'm just worried," Draco sighed, "about everything, it's just still happening too fast."

"I get that," Harry nodded, "I'm feeling overwhelmed… however, isn't it better to confront it as a united front? And if doing the meditation, letting Blaise teach us will get us stronger, then I'll do it. I won't allow myself to be weak anymore. I'm no one's slave."

Blaise smiled, "Good words Harry," he said, "Now boys, let's hurry home." With determination filling them, they walked with a faster step back to Harry's home, there Draco parted ways, kissing Harry's cheek and nodding to Blaise.

The two went into the house and stopped when they heard the clear sounds of arguing. Frowning, Harry and Blaise stood frozen as they did their best to overhear.

"I will not take those potions for the last time Remus!" Uncle Sirius yelled. "We agreed on this, agreed. You would use the potions, you would carry our child! We agreed to this!"

"And I tell you over and over again the potions do not affect me!" Uncle Remus yelled back. "You know that was always a possibility!"

"Then we'll use a stronger version—"

"There is no stronger version you mutt-for-brains!" Uncle Remus screamed. "What we have now is the strongest version! Just fucking accept that I am immune!"

"You are not!"

"Yes I am!"

"You're wrong!"

"Oh believe me, I want to be wrong so bloody bad but I'm not!" Uncle Remus yelled. "How long have we tried Sirius? Huh? How long? Sixteen years—sixteen fucking years we've tried to get a child of our own and nothing works! If your head wasn't shoved up your masculine ass you would have noticed years ago!"

"So what do you want me to do? Huh? I am not taking that potion—you know our roles and you've agreed on them!"

"I just want a fucking child!"

"Harry is our child!" Uncle Sirius screamed. "He has been our child for nine fucking years! Ever since Lily and James died!"

"I know that!" Uncle Remus yelled. "I know that, and I see him as our kid—but I want our own Sirius! A child that is both yours and mine!"

"Then we'll get a stronger version—"

"For fuck's sake Sirius listen to yourself!" Uncle Remus screamed, his voice making the walls shake. "There is no stronger version! Why can't you be a fucking man and take the fucking potion yourself!?"

"I will not!"

"You've bend over for me before asshole! Are you so fucking selfish and that much narrow-minded in our roles?" Uncle Remus demanded.

"Shut up! We're done, Harry is going to be home soon—"

"Oh no, we are not done here Sirius Black, you will come back here this instance!"

Harry heard footsteps and before he knew it, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus were standing in the foyer yet haven't noticed them yet. "I told you, this is done," Sirius screamed.

"No it is not," Uncle Remus demanded. Harry could see that his eyes are red-rimmed as though he was crying. "Just take the potion and carry our child! I know that it was supposed to be me, but I keep telling you that I am fucking immune to these potions! Get it through that thick idiot head of yours!"

"You know, you really know how to be a bitch at times," Uncle Sirius said.

"Excuse me!"

"Just say that you're scared of carrying to term!" Uncle Sirius demanded.

"I'm scared," Uncle Remus scoffed, "are you fucking kidding me? I wanted this for years! You're the one who's scared!"

"I am not scared you—Harry!" Uncle Sirius gasped, finally noticing Harry and Blaise.

Uncle Remus turned and his eyes widened when he saw them too. "Harry! How long have you been standing there?"

"We just got here," Harry lied. "Uhh… Blaise and I have homework that we need to do in my room…" He looked at Blaise and walked quickly passed Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius, up the stairs to his room, the demon following after. Harry didn't talk until he was safe in his room, the door closed behind him. He fell to the floor, sliding against the door until he was curled in a ball. Blaise watched him for a moment and sighed.

"It's not your fault," he said.

"It still hurts… hearing them fight," Harry sniffled.

"I know, but it is not your fault Harry," Blaise said. "Come on, I'll help you with your meditation."

Harry looked as though he was on the verge of crying, however he held it in as he wiped his eyes. Sniffing, he got up and followed Blaise towards his bed where they both sat against the foot of. "Remember Harry, deep breaths, each one you're falling deeper and deeper," Blaise said, "I'll be doing it with you two."

"How are you doing that?" Harry asked.

Blaise gave a grin and indicated to the ground Harry looked and saw that Blaise was missing his shadow! "You two were so busy saying your goodbyes, you didn't notice my shadow following Draco's," he chuckled. "Come on, he's already doing it. Now it's your turn."

Harry nodded. Though it was difficult, he closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply, listening and following Blaise' sweet, deep voice as they lulled him into a meditated state.

A/N: Tell me your thoughts?