A/N: Well, not quite so pleased with this, but nonetheless... here you go. How does everyone here feel about mpreg? Not that this is going to contain it, but I just wondered what you thought of it.

The Facade of Innocence

By Koinaka

To beguile the time;
Look like the time,
Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue:
Look like the innocent flower
But be the serpent undern't

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5

Chapter Twenty-One
Deny, deny, deny

There was one word for how Julian felt at that moment, and it was frantic. Absolutely frantic. He had expected many things this morning when he woke up, but discovering that Blaise was missing was definitely not one of them.

Draco was seated across from him, a stony look on his aristocratic face. "This is your fault, I know it is. You had better hope that no ill has come to him because if anything has happened to him, I'll kill you myself," he snarled.

Julian sneered at him in reply. His heart was beating unsteadily in his chest -- the truth of Draco's statement was undeniable, though Julian would be damned if he would tell him that.

"I've heard quite enough of that, Mr. Malfoy," said Severus, sharply. Draco look as if he might protest, but the icy glare Severus fixed on him then was enough to render him silent -- for the moment. Severus let out a heavy sigh. "The fact of the matter is that you've simply no proof that anything untoward has occurred to Mr. Zabini, Draco. Until he has been missing from the dormitory for twenty-four hours, there's nothing to be done. If he's not returned by curfew tonight, then a search will commence and the Ministry will be contacted, but until then we wait."

This did not please Draco at all, but he chose -- wisely -- to say nothing more. He shot Julian one last parting glare before leaving the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

Only then, when they were alone, did Julian dare look at Severus. Their eyes locked, and he wished at once that he hadn't looked at him. The Severus of the night before was gone, and in his place there was a man who looked more weary than one person had right to look.

"Go to breakfast," Severus finally said, dragging his eyes -- a bit reluctantly, Julian thought -- off of the Gryffindor.

Draco may have known not to push Severus, but unfortunately Julian had not learned that lesson. Or he had and he simply chose to ignore it, either way.

"But," Julian began to say, but he was cut off by the dark look Severus gave him.

"Just go, Julian!" snarled Severus, before dropping his head onto his hands. "I have neither the energy nor the desire to speak to you right now. If you press me on this, I may say things that both of us will regret."

Julian felt a nearly unbearable urge to disobey because he had the horrifying feeling that if he allowed Severus to have time to think on what had occurred the previous night that he would be very unhappy with the outcome, but he found himself unable to contradict Severus's wishes. Not when Severus looked utterly devastated as he did now, not when Julian could still feel his hands on his body, not when he still ached so deliciously or when he was marked so prettily. He would wait and speak to Severus later. Surely the man could not deny their attraction now.

So he did the only thing he could and nodded. He didn't dare speak because while he was resolved to say nothing, he couldn't be sure his body would obey him. Without speaking another word, he hurried to his bedroom and got ready for his day. It was time for breakfast and then he had classes all day, followed by dinner, and finally, after dinner, the Goblet of Fire would be selecting the Champions.

He stayed in breakfast only long enough to receive the owl from Lupin that contained the address where Fenrir Greyback could be found. Classes were a hazy fog to him. He spoke to no one, and if anyone noticed his quiet demeanor, they said nothing. Draco glared hatefully at Julian whenever he saw him. Try as he might, he could not ignore the whisperings that followed him.

By the time that dinner arrived, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was tense. It was obvious, and growing more so every moment, that nearly everyone was aware that Blaise was missing. Not only that, but also that Julian may or may not have something to do with it -- something that was also quite obvious if the sideways glances Julian was receiving were any indication. He squared his shoulders and walked quickly to the Gryffindor table to take his seat. The moment he sat down, the murmuring stopped.

"So, is it true?" asked Granger, curiously.

Julian gave her a withering look as he tore apart his roll with slender fingers. "I'm afraid, Granger, that I've not the ability to read minds, so if you've a specific question, stop being coy and ask."

Beside her, Weasley bristled, but Granger seemed undeterred. "Is Blaise missing?"

Julian considered her indifferently for a long moment. He heaved a long suffering sigh. "That's a bit dramatic, isn't it? Missing would imply that he's been... taken or something else similarly malignant. Hogwarts is one of the safest magical buildings in the entire wizarding world with warding that's been in place for over a thousand years. Who do you think might be capable of breaking such enhancements?"

Granger chewed on her lower lip for a moment, clearly not satisfied with Julian's answer. "The school's not all that safe," she murmured almost to herself. Outloud, she said, "Have you seen him, then?"

"No, I've not seen him, but that isn't unusual at all," said Julian, not bothering to look up from his food. "You might have noticed that he and I are in separate House and have separate groups of friends. It's hardly abnormal for us to spend even as much as a day apart."

"You don't even seem worried!" Weasley said. "Something's obviously happened, he wasn't in classes at all today!"

"Is that a confession?" Julian asked, softly, interrupting the boy.

"What? No, 'course not," snarled the red-haired boy.

Julian shrugged elegantly. "I wasn't accusing you, you understand. It's only that you seem rather certain that something has happened to him. You can understand my concerns."

"No, I can not!" said Weasley hotly, but Granger placed her hand on his arm, and he shut up, choosing instead to mutter threats to himself.

Granger turned to Julian, then, determined -- it seemed -- to get back to the question at hand. "So, you haven't seen him?" she clarified.

"No, I've not," Julian replied, honestly.

Granger seemed to nearly believe him. "But... well, it's just that, he came by Gryffindor looking for you last night. He said he'd just come from Professor Snape's rooms and that you weren't in your room or the lab. Where did you go?"

Julian narrowed his eyes. "Not that I owe you any explanation for my whereabouts -- on this or any other occasion -- but I was visiting my old classmates."

"Classmates from Durmstrang?" spat out Weasley. "I saw you talking to Krum last night."

Julian arched a blonde eyebrow. "And? What of it?"

"Nothing," muttered Weasley, a fierce scowl on his face. Silence fell over the table, allowing Julian to return his attention to his breakfast.

Unfortunately, Granger didn't seem as keen as Weasley obviously was to end the conversation. "Well, you can't have stayed there all night. It's against the rules," she informed him.

Julian smiled sweetly at the girl. "Rules, Miss Granger? Surely you know how I feel about rules, but you are correct. I returned to my quarters where I remained until this morning. I'm just as surprised as you areto discover Blaise was missing." Only years of training from Lucius kept the emotion off of his face and his voice. Inside, Julian was reeling. Where could Blaise have been? What had happened to him? Because something most certainly had happened to him. Only, he didn't know what. Except that... no, no, it couldn't be.

He gasped loudly, dropping his spoon noisily to the table in the process. His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. He knew, then, what had happened to Blaise, and Draco couldn't be more right because he was most certainly to blame. The Dark Lord's words came back to him, taunting him, haunting him.

"You will end whatever it is you have started with the Zabini boy, or I shall end it for you. Am I understood?"

But Julian hadn't ended it. Even when Severus had urged him to do so. His words echoed mockingly in his head as well.

"The Dark Lord will be highly displeased if he discovers your dalliances with the boy."

And obviously the Dark Lord was most displeased. He wasn't one for making empty threats, after all. How could Julian have been so stupid? He had very little doubt now as to what had happened. Somehow, he wasn't sure how, but that wasn't important at the moment, the Dark Lord had followed through on his promise, and Julian had no one to blame but himself that Blaise was very likely dead.

"... Malfoy, are you alright?" asked a very concerned Granger, breaking him out of his thoughts. She'd apparently been calling him for some time and had resorted to pulling on his arm.

Julian sneered at the girl. "I'm fine," he snapped. "If you would kindly unhand me..."

She flushed a soft pink color though she didn't make any move to acquiesce to his wishes. "I'm sorry," she said, sincerely. "But are you certain that you are well? You look... disturbed." .

"I'm perfectly fine," sniffed Julian derisively. "Now, as I've said, kindly unhand me."

After another moment, she did just that. As soon as Julian was free, he sprang from his seat and made to leave the Great Hall. He was entering the Entrance Hall when he saw the glimmer of movement out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, when Julian spun around, Karkaroff was standing behind him.

"Headmaster," said Julian, mockingly, as he inclined his head.

"Malfoy," spat out Karkaroff. The look in his eye could only be described as maniacal. For a moment, Julian was almost sure that Karkaroff was going to attack him, but the man shuddered and seemed to regain control of himself.

"Have you need of something?" asked Julian, never dropping his attitude of bored indifference.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Karkaroff said.

Julian cocked his head to the side, his gray eyes studying Karkaroff intently. Something was definitely off here. The man twitched under the scrutiny, his tongue snaking out in that annoyingly familiar yet unfamiliar manner as before. Where had he seen that? He knew he had, of course he did.. the question was where. All in all, Julian thought the man was behaving quite peculiarly. "Well, go on then. I haven't got all day..." drawled Julian.

"The Dark Lord sends his regards...and a message."

Julian's blood ran cold with that one simple sentence.

"Does he now?" inquired Julian, lightly. "And what message does he have for me?"

A gleam appeared in Karkaroff's dark eyes. "He hopes that his latest... gift... finds you well."

Years of training from Lucius went out the window in a single heartbeat. Julian made a strangled noise. "Gift?" he asked, incredulously. "What sort of gift has he given me?"

"The kind that you requested," replied the man, simply."He does hate that you've forced his hand this way, you know? It's a real pity you didn't take our Lord serious, Julian. Your friend needn't have died at all..." Karkaroff was clearly meaning to say more, but he was interrupted by a soft voice behind the two.

"Ah, there you are, Igor." It was Dumbledore. Julian's eyes widened. How much of that conversation had he heard? "I was wondering where you'd run off to. It's time to choose the champions."

Karkaroff's mouth twisted into what he obviously thought was an indulgent smile. "So sorry, old friend. Just catching up with Mr. Malfoy here...quite a remarkable student our Mr. Malfoy is, wouldn't you say?"

Dumbledore's eyes rested briefly on Julian. "Yes, yes, I would say," the man said, finally."Perhaps, however, it would behoove you to wait until a more appropriate time for catching up, Igor? You're needed inside, and I'm quite certain that Mr. Malfoy's friends are waiting for him in Gryffindor."

Relutantly, Karkaroff nodded. "Of course," he told the Headmaster, smiling. "Shall we, then?"

Julian found himself, only seconds later, rejoining his classmates. He felt odd, detached, almost. Longbottom and Granger exchanged worried glances. Weasley was fully ignoring him -- he didn't mind that at all -- and the rest of Gryffindor was murmuring excitedly.

Julian didn't hear a word the Dumbledore said when the man stood up and began speaking. He watched as the Goblet regurgitated a slip of parchment. With his hand out, the Headmaster deftly caught the slip.

"Viktor Krum from Durmstrang," bellowed the wizard. Before leaving, Viktor had held Julian's gaze for a moment as he made his way to the front of the hall. He smiled broadly at the Great Hall. There was an explosion of noise at that. It took nearly five minutes to gain control of the students.

The students had just quieted down when the Goblet began to tremble again and out came a second slip of parchment. Just as before, the Headmaster caught the paper. He read the parchment aloud, beaming as he did. "Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Julian was seething inside. What could have gone wrong? The spell had been performed perfectly, he was sure of that. How could Karkaroff had thrown off his Imperius. He'd never been able to before. A fair-haired boy of perhaps seventeen or so, made his way to the front of the Great Hall amidst almost deafening cheers. He gave a wave to the students before trotting in the direction Viktor had gone in. Julian sneered in his general direction.

"And last, but certainly not least," said Dumbledore, smiling fondly at the Headmistress from Beauxbatons as he caught the final slip of parchment.

Julian's eyes swept over the hall as Bastian's younger sister, Fleur, made her way to the front of the hall. His eyes landed on Karkaroff. There was a mad grin on the man's face.

"Well, there you have it, the Triward Champions!" exclaimed Dumbledore. Someone was coming up behind Dumbledore, however. It was Severus. His brow was furrowed, and Julian immediately followed his line of vision. The Goblet was trembling once more, and just as before, a slip of paper flew out. It was Severus who caught it this time. He gasped, nearly dropping the paper. "Harry Potter from Hogwarts," he breathed.

There was several seconds of silence before chaos reigned supreme in the hall.

Julian sucked in a sharp breath. He was frozen in place. He didn't dare move. He didn't dare speak. He didn't dare do anything for fear it would give him away. The Gryffindors beside him were working themselves into a frenzy, certain that it was a prank orchestrated by the Weasley twins. Black and Lupin looked pained. Severus looked completely and utterly perplexed. Dumbledore looked... well, he certainly didn't look surprised, though he was obviously angry.

"Quiet, quiet, I say," thundered Dumbledore. "Now, you've all had quite a shock, but I'm certain this is just a mistake." This did nothing to cease the murmurings, but seemingly oblivious, Dumbledore continued. "Dinner has long since been over, so let us adjourn to your dormitories for the remainder of the evening. Prefects, if you would be so kind as to lead your classmates to your common rooms."

All around him, students began filing out. Granger and Longbottom seemed reluctant to leave Julian, as it was apparent he had suffered some sort of shock -- he'd not moved since Harry Potter's name came out of the Goblet -- but finally they did, throwing one last look in his direction.

Finally, the crowd had thinned. Julian sat, tense and painstakingly alert, at the Gryffindor table. He took a series of deep breaths and moved to leave the hall, intending to go directly to his quarters. However, as he walked past the Head Table, where Dumbledore and the Heads of Houses had been convened -- only Dumbledore and Severus remained now --, Dumbledore called out to him.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, if you would be so kind as to join us..." It was obviously not a request, so Julian didn't treat it as such.

"Headmaster?" murmured Julian. "I was just on my way back to Master Snape's quarters, but if you'd rather I went to the Gryffindor Common Room, you need only ask."

"No need for that, Mr. Malfoy," said Dumbledore. "I believe you have another place you ought to be at this moment."

Julian merely quirked an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I do not understand. I've no place to be now, save my quarters. I've no lab hours this evening or detentions."

"You misunderstand me, Julian," he said, emphasizing Julian's name ever so slightly. "You're needed in my office -- with the other champions."

Julian's pulse raced, but he simply widened his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not a champion, though," replied Julian, softly.

"Oh, but you are," insisted Dumbledore. "After all, the Goblet doesn't lie. Severus read your name himself, Julian, or should I say, Harry Potter?"