::Realm of the Dead::

It was a sunny day in death.

The dead sat around sipping wine and laughing as the sun shone a strange cold light over them. Spring had settled over the land and things bloomed with life...in a strange oxymoron to their location. There was a shallow, brilliantly blue river running through the fields and along the sides great mansions rose. In front of one, close to the river bank, sat a table surrounded by chairs. Narcissa with a large glass of wine and a half smile on her face.

Merlin and his son Magdus sat at the table with her.

They laughed.

"My lady," Merlin said and set down his glass of wine, "You've always been a strong witch, the only question was whether you would be a Merlinian or Magdian Keeper."

The two men nodded and smiled.

She smiled back, "I'd have to admit to being more violent than not, so I lean Magdian but I preached a far more Merlinian ideal. It was never about the war, always about the peace that follows and optimizing it."

They continued to talk, discussing the finer points of Keeping magic and even their worries for the future.

"Tell me something," She changed the subject, "Do you suppose the Dark Lord ended up here too?"

They shrugged. Merlin, with his black speckled beard and bright green eyes, observed the sky and spoke first, "I suppose death is something everyone has a right to, a death like this one is…wrong for a man like the Dark Lord. He would never come here."

"Where would he go?"

He sat up, "There are several realms to death. This is the place for Keepers and our direct kin, he would…well, Tom would go to a world far darker than this, more of a muggle idea of death. The last of the five realms; this is first, second and third are quite similar and are for more people, fourth is a dark world of pain and danger while the fifth is the torturous, hell fire place with devils and Death nymphs all around."

"He deserves far worse," Narcissa snarled and sipped her wine.

"Don't be so harsh, Narcissa," Magdus said. He was a wiry young man with thick glasses and brilliant green eyes like his father. "Tom is an awful man, true, but he's receiving the punishment the Queen has laid on him."

"Roua you mean?"

"Nay," he said, "She was a false queen, she pretended to rule death when all she had was the twisted descendents of death. The true Dead Queen is called just that, her name is long lost to myth and she never comes here. She is never seen."

"Interesting," Narcissa nodded.

The sky above them rippled and turned black. The clouds swirled into a vortex and lightning rippled across in a pattern like an ancient rune.

Merlin and Magdus had seen this happen many times but Narcissa stood to watch. The clouds showed, in grainy black and white images, her son in the cemetery in Wiltshire, becoming the Keeper of Magic.

"Holy Merlin," she whispered.

"Yes?"

::Hogwarts School::

Blaise rung the water from his hair.

Theodore watched him and followed the stream of water from his dark curls to the floor.

"How'd it go?"

Blaise glared, "I hate Draco sometimes."

"That well?" Theo stood and followed him into the bathroom where he took a seat on the counter while Blaise stripped down to warm himself in a hot shower.

"He got all defensive and bitchy and said I didn't understand. I admit I don't know exactly what's going on but really, he could have talked to me instead of turning into a git and throwing me off the manor grounds."

"He had you thrown?"

"Yeah," Blaise nodded and showed him the mud stains on the cuffs of his pants.

"What did he say?"

"Not much, mostly 'go tohell' and 'you don't get it' I did more talking than him and still…not much was communicated." He turned on the shower and got it, "I hate it when he gets like this…with Sasha he was upset and moppy and totally piss but now…not he's all," Blaise paused, "There's a fury and hurt in his eyes I've never seen."

Theodore nodded, "I think Harry is taking this really hard too, he and Ron and 'Mio are still in the Chamber."

"Why did he go down there, anyways?"

"Probably because he felt like it was somewhere he could be alone, since no one else can get in, but also because it is, in a way, directly linked to Draco and what he needs most right now is Drake."

"Did you think about that while I was gone?"

"Indeed," Theo nodded.

Blaise almost smiled but the fear of what he now knew weighed on him.

"Blaise?" Theo called to make sure he was fine.

"Yeah?"

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah," the Italian nodded and stared the wall of the shower. "Draco said he was the Keeper of Magic."

"The what?" Theo opened the door.

"I know," Blaise turned off the water, "Bloody fuck, Theo, the Keeper and now…now I'm scared for all of us."

"He'll be back soon, right?"

"I don't know," the Italian shrugged and began to dry off. "We should get Pansy to talk to him, she can fix these things."

"I haven't seen her since dinner, she slipped off…"

"She does that a lot recently," he summoned his favorite pajamas and a sweater. "Do you know where she goes?"

He shook his head.

They did not know but Pansy sat on the roof of the tallest tower and watched the storm. She was soaked through and thrilled by the nearby lightning.

She listened as the castle sat beneath her, tense and pondering the situation with Harry. She smiled. She only felt alive when she was in danger. She hardly felt anything when it was a normal day, when things were human and slow. She sighed.

"I hate this, I hate it so much."

Harry sat on the floor.

"It'll be okay," Hermione said from her seat next to him, "Draco will come 'round and forgive you, you'll work it out. He's reasonable, I'm sure."

"He was," Harry agreed. "He can be so smart and finite and reasonable but today he went insane at me." Harry sighed and laid down on his back to stare at the ceiling and he felt something in his back pocket. Reaching in he discovered the damp letter from Mercutio.

"Oh Merlin," he opened it to make sure the writing was not ruined and found it to be in water proof ink.

"What is that?"

"Some friend of Sasha's asked me to give this to Blaise," he said and scanned through, mostly on accident. "Holy shite," he swore and Hermione and Ron gathered around him.

"Blaise Zabini,

You don't know me. My name is Mercutio Rimii and I live in Italy, just south of Florence. I don't know where you are, only that you live with your mother somewhere in England so I've never been able to send this letter by owl. I hope it reaches you someday.

I hate to be so blunt as to write this in a letter but I believe we're half-brothers. Your father, Ridex Zabini had an affair with my mother, Angela Rimii just before he married your mother, Desdemona. We're the same age, you and I, and from what I know I look rather like Ridex and so do you. I'm sure that, if you have met Ridex, you don't like him, I don't either, so the only think I can say is that I hope you do not hold it against me. It must be a terrible shock to you, for me to just write this letter and all, but I do not know what else to do. I hope that someday we can meet and, perhaps, be friends.

Owl back at: The Italian Institute for Magic (September to June)

Or The Rimii Castle (June to August)

Sincerely,

Mercutio Ridex Rimii"

"That's impossible," Ron murmured, "Ridex is a complete whore!"

"This is ridiculous," Hermione said, "Blaise has a brother who happens to be friends with Sasha, Draco's only other significant boyfriend? How did they not meet before this? It's insane."

Harry stood, "We have to find Blaise and tell him."

"What about Draco?"

"He'll come talk to me about it in his own time," Harry said, putting on a brave face.

They rushed to the entrance and levitated out.

Sirius stood at the door shooing away girls.

"There you kids are," he turned to them, "What's going on? How are you, Harry?"

"I've been better," he admitted, "But we have other things to worry about."

"What?"

He showed Sirius the letter.

Sirius nodded, "I remember that he was always gone on weekends, said he was overseeing a renovation of one of their houses in Italy."

"So it's true?" Ron asked.

"He is a total mirror image of Blaise," Harry said, "It was unsettling."

"Ridex was never good at fidelity and had a lot of issues regarding relationships, mostly because he dad had his mum killed and remarried some younger witch but got her killed too in exchange for something and it happened a few times over."

"Like what Desdemona is doing now?"

"Sort of," he admitted, "but Lord Zabini, Ridex's father, didn't need to, had no reason other than boredom and need for a new woman. He was always sort of a prick."

"Let's go show Blaise," they left the bathroom and made fast progress to the dungeons.

"Devil's Tongue," Harry said the password and the wall opened. The four went through and searched out Blaise and Theo where the stood in the 6th year boy's dorms talking quietly in Latin.

"What's going on?" they looked up.

"One of Sasha's friends gave me this," Harry said, "I forgot about it until now."

"Thanks,' he took it and opened it up.

They watched him patiently as he read the letter several times over.

"One of Sasha's friends gave you this?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "He looked just like you."

"Oh," Blaise folded the letter, "Thanks."

"Do you want to contact your mum or anything?"

"Not at all," Blaise said, "This would only upset her."

"What are you going to do then?" Theo asked.

"Visit." He said.

"What?"

"I'm going to Italy, to talk this out with my…brother and I suppose my father too."

"Want me to come?" Ron asked.

Blaise smiled, "You need to be here for Harry and, if Draco comes back, smack him for me."

They nodded and watched Blaise leave the Slytherin areas in search of Draco's rooms.

"So," Ron sat down, "What should we do now?"

There was a silence among them.

::Italy::

The sun had set and she sat in her chambers reading and listening as the piano played a song from her childhood. A devilish smile crossed her Spanish features.

"Professor?" the door nudged open.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering," he stepped inside, "Where you were this morning."

She closed her book, "Taking care of a problem up north," she stood and walked over to him.

"What sort of problem?"

"A pesky little boy who thinks he can save the world," she answered.

Sasha almost frowned at her, "Well, you never asked to collect them but here's my essay on the hexes from last week." He handed her a roll of parchment.

"Thank you," she took the roll, "You've always been a very honest young man, Sasha."

He nodded, "Thank you Professor Cuida."

Am I really reintroducing Narcissa as a character you ask?

Indeed, I am!

Also, will I get Harry and Draco back together?

Draco's the Keeper of Magic?

WHAT AM I PLANNING?!

I don't know

watch for updates my darlings!

LOVE!
FireStorm