A/N: I don't know why, but this is one of my favorite chapters. Maybe it's just because I love Blaise so much. ^_^ And I may have wrote in a little dialogue from Dark Angel. You should recognize it if you've seen the show.

~21 Flying Lessons

"I am bored out of my mind! There's nothing to do!" I cried out while lying face down on the common room couch.

Blaise was draped over the chair, still in his Quidditch uniform, looking just as bored. As soon as the tryouts ended, it started pouring and I made Blaise come inside to do something but you can see how that one turned out.

"I could think of a few things," he suggestively said.
"Meh, I'm not in the mood."

He sighed, "Yeah, me neither...I could teach you how to ride a broomstick."

I popped my head up.

"Blaise, you already know I can ride a broomstick exceedingly well," I smirked at the double entendre.
"Oh, god yes," he thought about it, "But that's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant, and no. It's raining."
"So? We play Quidditch in the rain," he pushed himself into a sitting position.
"I don't play Quidditch, period."

He jumped up, fully set on the idea.

"C'mon Em!"

He grabbed my hand and I groaned, following him. Out in the rain, I uninterestedly watched him try to teach me.

"Okay, it's real easy. You lean to which direction you want to move in. Lean forward to go faster and to stop you simply pull back. Wanna try?"
"Um no."

He rolled his eyes and pulled me onto it.

"You're going."
"Blaise, no! I don't..."
"Hang on..."
"I hate heights. BLAISE!"

He kicked off into the air and I squeezed the boy like none other and pressed myself as close as I could too him. My eyes were snapped shut and I absolutely refused to open them.

"Come on, Aemilia! Open your eyes!"

My eyes slowly opened and my grip around him eased. I still didn't totally relax and after a little while I wanted down.

"Okay, I think I've flown enough!"

With a little splash, my feet hit the ground. I went down to my knees and kissed the soggy ground.

"Oh, Thank God! Sweet, beautiful ground! Blaise!" I rounded on him.

He was looking at me with an amused grin.

"Don't you EVER do that again!"
"Why? What are you gonna..."

His sentence was cut off by a pile of mud. I had a satisfied smirk playing my lips.

"Ameilia, what do you think you're...AEMILIA!"

I hit him with another mud ball, giggling.

"Okay, that's it! My turn now bitch."
"What'd you just call me?"
"Heh heh you heard me. B-I...T-C..."

I cut him off yet again, but this time he tackled me into a huge puddle. I was now laughing too hard to fight back. We were both covered in mud and soaking wet. I stood up and wiped the smirk off my face.

"Blaise! Look at me! I'm soaking wet and covered in mud! I'm gonna kill you!"

He just looked at me and started laughing. Back in the castle, our shoes squeaked loudly on the stone floor. Filch grumbled at us as we just giggled. Ten minutes later we stumbled through the wall to the common room, laughing like mad. Blaise had, not so innocently, decided that he would empty out the mud from his boots in the middle of the floor. Filch rounded the corner, slipped on the mud, and proceeded to knock down a suit of armor, which caused a chain reaction and several other suits tumbled down all along the corridor.

Dinner would be served soon, so there were very few people left in the common room. Among them were Angela and Draco. I sat on one of the tables finally getting over my laughing fit and Blaise put both hands on my knees and smiled at me.

"What?" I asked, chuckling.
"Oh nothing. I'll be right back."

He started walking away but turned around and added while indicating to Draco and Angela, "And stay out of trouble."

I laughed, "You know me all too well Mr. Zabini."

He winked at me and disappeared down the hallway. I sighed and looked down at my muddy feet.

"You just never know when to back off do you, Kenzie?"

I rolled my eyes and looked up at a Draco-less Angela, waiting for the onslaught of insults and God knows what else.

"What are you talking about?"
"Don't think I'm stupid," she spat.

I snorted and folded my arms across my chest. She returned it with a sneer and continued on.

"I know how your mind works, Kenzie. You're all over Blaise to get my Draco so jealous that he'll come on to you."

I gave her a dumbfounded look and just gaped at her like she was dense.

"What? So I can't come on to other guys now?"

She stood there a moment looking as if she was thinking about it, until she simply replied, "No," and sucker-punched me off the table.

The mud that was caked all over my clothes flung onto her and she wiped the sludge off, completely repulsed. I jumped to my feet, clearly frustrated.

"What the HELL is your problem Marks! I don't give a DAMN about Draco!" I lied.

SMACK!

"Don't talk about him in such a foul manner! Apologize!"
"To who! He's not even here and I sure as hell won't apologize to your fat face!"

I ducked her blow this time and jumped over the couch. Angela merely laughed.

"Finally! Big bad Kenzie is afraid of me! I knew it. You are all talk and no action."

My insides churned as I realized I just ran away from her, admitting defeat. Angela exited the common room cackling like mad. I hung my head with a low growl and soon felt Blaise's hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Never you mind."
"Y'know, we really gotta work on your communication skills," he nodded.
"Funny Blaise, real funny."
"Yeah, well I'm a funny kind of guy," he proudly shrugged.
"Don't I know it."

I sighed again and glanced at my muddy body.

"Hokay, I'm gonna go take a shower...haha nooo, Blaise you cannot come."

He gave me another suggestive look making me laugh.

"You go do whatever you want. Maybe you could rub down that broomstick of yours," I suggested with a wink.

He gave me an incredulous look and, I laughed, walking into the girls' dormitory.

"What the hell happened to you?"

I jumped nearly ten feet in the air at the sudden appearance of my little brother.

"ADRIAN! What the hell?"

He chuckled.

"No seriously, what the hell," I repeated, shutting the door and locking it.
"Here, thought you might like this," he threw a small folder onto my bed.

I picked it up curiously leafing through it.

"What is this?"
"It's the file about the demons involved with the Lunar Equinox. Y'know, the ones Dad threw into Purgatory. Julian told me to look it up for you guys."
"Okay but why did you have to give this to me personally?" I asked.

Adrian looked troubled and sat next to me.

"More and more records are being stolen from Dante's Inferno."

I sent Adrian a puzzled look, "What? Adrian, Dante's Inferno is high security. Only us and high-level demons are able to get in."

He stood up with an irritated sigh, "I know, I know."

"Does Dad know?"
"Yeah, I only noticed a few days ago when I went looking for that file. He talked to his closest guys but they're all clean."
"Well come on, there's thirty maybe forty Royale demons in Hell. Just call for a Rite of Sin they'll be forced to come."
"There's a problem."
"How? What can be easier than calling a bunch of freaks of damnation into the center of hell!" I jumped to me feet, increasingly flustered.

"Aemilia, calm down."

I plopped back down with a deep breath.

"There's a problem with the demons. Some are becoming more ruthless and uncontrollable."
"Okay, well that's only some."
"But they're not part of the Royale. They're high-level soo..."
"So they're able to access the Inferno. Shit. How's that possible? All the powerful high-levels are locked away in the outer circle."

"They're still there."
"What?" I shockingly asked.
"All the high-levels are still in Purgatory. I've checked."
"Then how...?"
"I don't know. But the last Soul Count, the one that Sean gave to Dad, showed we were taking less souls into Hell than people were dying. Cloud Nine's noticed the same thing up there. There are hundreds of souls unaccounted for."

Adrian and I exchanged worried looks.

"You don't think..." I started.
"I don't know what to think, Em."

I looked down at my feet, deep in thought. There's no power that can change a mortal soul into a demon or angel.

"What files are missing?" I asked.

Adrian took a deep breath and flashed me a weak smile, "The ones about the alignment."

My breath was caught in my chest and I groaned in dread, "We are so screwed."

I sighed again and massaged my temples.

"Alright, go back home and gather as many files as you can," I instructed while writing on his hand, "and go to my room. In the back of my closet there's a trap door, press the 2-D handle and it'll pop open. Follow the stairs down to the pits of hell. There will be a flame door hotter than the sun. The only way to get in is to use the flames to make that shape that I drew on your hand. There, the files should be safe. I am the only person, and now you, that knows about this room. Make sure nobody finds you, Adrian. Wash that symbol off when you're out."

Adrian nodded and got to his feet.

"Please, Adrian, don't disappoint me."

He slightly smirked, "C'mon, Em, I'm not Julian."

I laughed and threw my pillow at him, "Get outta here!"

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke and my smirk faded away. I took a quick shower before I went back out to the common room. There, I found Blaise lying on the couch in a pair of faded jeans and a black crewneck sweater. He was also, once again, sporting his glasses. I smiled when I saw his laid-back look and went around to him and lie on top of him. He looked at me and I pinched his cheeks.

"Aw Blaise, you look so cute in your glasses."

He rolled his eyes and batted away my hand, "Stop, I get it enough from the fan girls."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Fan girls? Hate to break it to you, Mr. Zabini, but you are no Draco Malfoy."

"So you do have a thing for him?"
"Ahm, no. That's not what I said."
"But you implied it. I think you do. Hmmm?" he childishly prodded.
"Oh, God. If I say yes will you promise to shut up?"

"Prolly not," he grinned.
"Ugh, you're such a butthead."
"Did you really just call me that?"

I laughed and rested my chin on his chest, "What do you say we skip dinner tonight?"
"Skip dinner? Are you daft? I'm starving!" he exclaimed.

I pressed my lips against his, "I had something else in mind, Blaise."

I got up, beckoning him with my finger to follow.

He propped himself up onto his elbows, "All day...ALL day we could've done this and you pick dinner..."

I rolled my eyes, "Do you want to or not?"

He slowly got up and let out a sigh, "Promise me we sneak into the kitchen later."

I smiled, grabbed his collar, and dragged him into the boys' dorm.