:Dumbledore's Office:

"What happened?"

"I went to the Dark Lord to try and make him scrap the plans for the attack," Narcissa seated herself.

"Did it work?"

"Half and half," she answered vaguely.

"I cannot believe you released Azriel," Julian said as sat down too, "he's insane."

"Azriel?" Dumbledore frowned.

"I cannot believe you went to him, if he attack you, you could have been killed," Snape was seated next to her.

"He did attack her," Julian snapped, more than a little angry he was disregarded that way.

Narcissa looked at her golden eyed nephew and felt pity for him. He bet his life with the darkness and consorted with the most foul creature on Earth. Yet he was thrown aside the instant it was a choice, he gave up three years of his life to be sacrificed unwillingly. It was unfair and she knew Julian well enough to know he would do everything in his power to make sure the Dark Lord regretted his choice.

"He did?"

"A Killing Curse," she nodded, "I am alive though, calm down."

"Who is Azriel?" Dumbledore asked.

"Are you feeling all right?" Snape asked, ignoring the Head Master.

"I was a little light headed after escaping but Azriel's power was more than enough motivation to leave," she answered.

"Can we trust Julian now?"

Narcissa nodded and Julian turned his eyes to the floor, glaring.

Snape nodded, "You can assist me in the dungeons, take over mine or Narcissa's class as she gets farther along."

Julian nodded, "Thank-you. I know I was an arse and endangered you, your child and other child but I'll do anything and everything to regain your trust," he spoke to Narcissa.

She smiled, "You share blood with my son and I consider you of my blood, I will give you trust if you ask for it. You will not tell Draco about this summer?"

"Never," Julian shook his head.

"Who is Azriel?" Dumbledore asked more forcefully, "What happened this summer? Why did you not trust him? And I never agreed to let him stay here."

Narcissa rolled her eyes, "Albus, Julian is staying, as Violet is, as a guest of mine and Severus'. Azriel is of no concern to you, as what happened this summer does not concern you."

:Sunday Parlor, October 10th:

"It's nice," Harry nodded as he looked around.

Draco was casting cleaning charms on the dust covered couches. "It's a little frilly," he said and picked up lace and satin doilies from the arm rest of the couch. The wallpaper was a light pink with white and red roses and trimmed in pale green vines. The carpet was white and spotted with flower printed rugs. The couches were similar and all the tables were a pale brown wood with lacey cloths over them.

"We'll fix it," Harry said and prodded a hundred-year-old flower.

Draco cracked his knuckles, "Continus Vearde," he pointed his wand at the walls and the flowery wall paper became a dark green.

"Green?"

Draco nodded, "It could be white but then the blood spatters would be much too obvious."

"Blood what?"

"Spatters," Draco repeated.

"What exactly are you planning to teach these twelve year olds?"

Draco laughed a little and turned to the couches to vanish them. Harry set his things aside and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's waist. "I think red would make any blood even less obvious."

Draco turned around in Harry's arms and put his around the Gryffindor's neck, "I love it when you talk about interior decorating."

Harry had laugh and rested his forehead against Draco's, "Are you okay? You looked really upset during dinner a few nights ago."

"The boy who showed up with my mother is Julian, my cousin. He's the Dark Lord's lover, or he was. Voldemort sacrificed him or something happened that he's on our side now."

"Our side?" Harry smiled, "You're willing to be a goody two-shoes, honorable, Dumbledore following soldier of goodness?"

"I'm honorable and I'd rather be an Auror than a Death Eater. I told you that the entire Slytherin House feels the Dark Lord is a nutter and wants to fight against him. We are not exactly Dumbledore enthusiasts though, as is evidenced by how my mother treats him."

Harry nodded and moved a little so he could kiss Draco, "Neither am I, too be honest."

Draco moved the last inch and kissed him.

:Outside the Old:

"Ack!" Ron stamped on the spider and blanched as he raised his foot. "I hate spiders."

"ACK!" Blaise stamped on Ron's foot, "I hate namby-pamby little Gryffindor jerks."

Ron turned scarlet and fell on his butt after raising his foot, "What's your problem Zabini?"

He shot a look at the red-head and took a bite of watermelon, "I know why Hermione broke up with you, Weasel-face, she deserved much better than you."

"Shove off," Ron grumbled, "She wouldn't have broken up with me if you didn't put all those ideas in her head."

Blaise puffed and used his butt to open the door to the Old, "She had those ideas before. I gave her the last push to take action about them."

Ron went in after him and stopped dead to look around.

The floors were peach marble and the walls were mosaics of the founders. The far wall was the school crest with a massive point counter beside each of animal, colored for each house. There was a raised part in front of that wall where the head table would go and a massive blackened circle with a flaming goblet.

Ron gaped at the room, "This place is gorgeous."

Blaise nodded and took another bite, "It is nice."

"Nice?"

"You've never been to the Ancestral Ballroom in the big Malfoy house in Avingon," Blaise said, "It's at least twice this pretty."

Ron's jaw dropped further, "You're all waaaay too rich."

Blaise shrugged, "Thousands of years of accumulating wealth, it tends to end up fairly large."

"Thousands of years?"

"Drake's family was first recorded in eight-twenty-seven B.C." Blaise said, "The Black family was first recorded just ninety years later."

Ron nodded, "Farthest back I know about my family is my great-something grandfather Arg Weasley who married a fire nymph and caused a big huff."

"Argosio Weasley, he married a half-nymph in 1196 and that's what started your family on their social decline."

Ron did a double-take, "How do you know that about my family?"

"It's a talent," Blaise shrugged, "Your family was first in records closer to the time of Christ with a girl who became a rabid werewolf rights activist and turned a lot of people into cats."

"What?"

"It's true." Blaise answered and ate the last of his fruit. "This place will work, right?"

"What?" Ron was shaken, "Yes, it will."

Blaise nodded and summoned an elf to take his bowl away. He was uncomfortable around the Weasley boy, especially since he'd pretty much broken him and Granger up. Blaise went to a wall and leaned against it. "I'll be going pretty soon."

"Why?"

"I have a…thing," Blaise answered.

Ron shrugged, he did not know the snake that well.

Blaise's mother was coming the following day. Desdemona was pissed about something, he had no idea what. She was bringing Malika and probably Gabrielle, just for back-up or to visit Narcissa. Blaise looked across the hall and saw the mosaic shift and move. The presence of students was probably re-sparking their motion. It was fairly common for dormant paintings, statues or photos to stop moving to conserve magic.

"Help me move these tables real quick," Ron pointed at one of the long black painted tables. There were four lined up to create one house table. Blaise pulled out his wand.

He raised it but stopped and lowered it again. "I'm far too tired."

Ron stopped banishing tables to look at the Italian, "We're not exactly friends, but-uh, why are you tired?"

Blaise looked at him and shrugged, "I was up late trying to make Draco translate something from Greek."

"Greek?"

"My future step-father speaks Greek and wrote me, I don't speak it."

"Oh," Ron nodded, "Your mum's getting married again?" Even Ron, normally removed from pureblood society, knew that Desdemona Zabini was a dangerous woman and had killed off at least seven men in order to get their money. It was sort of like her career, seduce, marry, kill and repeat.

Blaise nodded and knew Ron was judging her, "She's coming tomorrow," he added and saw Ron's expression flash fear.

"Why?"

"To hell if I know," Blaise muttered now more angry and exhausted than just tired. He brutally snapped his wand at the nearest table and they soared to the wall.

Ron could feel the tension and anger coming from the other boy. Perhaps it was that Blaise was upset enough not to guard himself but Ron was not usually so good with "sensing" what people were feeling. Had he been he would not be single at the moment.

"Are you going to be all right?" Ron asked awkwardly.

"Yes," Blaise answered and banished the rest of the tables with one wide gesture. He summoned an elf and got a large slice of watermelon cut up and put in a bowl. It was delivered a second later and Blaise sat on his haunches, against a wall, and began to eat.

"Every time I've seen you you're eating that stuff, why?"

Blaise shrugged, "Some people turn to sweets, I turn to watermelon, I can't explain it."

Ron shrugged and took up the wall next to him, "It's good stuff, we grow some every other year at the Burrow."

Blaise nodded and slid onto his butt next to Ron, "Want some?"

Ron nodded and took a piece between his thumb and index finger. "Are you ever…scared of this whole Dark Lord thing?"

Blaise sighed, "Always."

Ron looked sideways at him, "Me too."

Blaise nodded, "It is especially hard to be a side character in this massive play."

Ron nodded back, "You're fighting right there, next to the main character-"

"But you have to fight harder sometimes, just to stay alive-"

"-To keep the main character alive too. To protect everyone-"

"-While the protagonist runs off to fight the climactic last stand or whatever." Blaise put another square of fruit in his mouth and offered more to Ron, "It's a tough life we secondary players have."

Ron agreed and ate some more, "Its hard when you do something notable but no one notices because your best friend, the famous one, ties their own shoe or something and the Prophet is all about them."

Blaise let out a laugh, "Draco just gets our parents attention, and the Dark Lords, and every pureblood in Europe, we are not competing for attention on the same scale as you."

Ron replied, "I don't even want that much attention, I'll I'd ever really want is a 'Harry Potter's friend, Ronald Weasley, assisted in the defense of Hogwarts Castle by killing a couple scum bag Death Eaters.' That's not too much is it? All Hermione and I really got was 'Harry Potter's unnamed accomplices.' Or she was his secret lover in fourth year."

Blaise chuckled, "That must be wretched."

Ron nodded, "I've gotten over it, it's not about glory, it's about doing what is best for the wizarding world."

Blaise raised his brows, "That's almost disturbingly mature of you."

Ron nodded, "I'm a little scared myself."

"Not used to being deep and selfless?"

"Not at all."

They laughed again and it echoed around the room. Ron could hear Blaise's laugh above his own. It was colder, as if, when he was a young child, he never learnt to laugh and now had to force it out of himself whenever something was supposed to be funny. Ron could hear it, that hint of some darker emotion that mixed in with his laughter and it was either scary or saddening, Ron could not decide.

That's good-yeah?

I like it.

The rabbits are well fed again and the plot bunnies are doing excellently, thanks for the support.
Update on your author's life: hunka hunka man is still hunky, I'm still seducing...the musical is coming along well, attractive people with guns and leather-hoo-rah! Pretty much that's my life...except that it's 1030 at night on a Friday and I'm sitting here writing you. But I love you so much it's all worth it.

Next week's going to be a wench...I'll update Friday since the chapter is written and everything...I'll just be tired and it'll happen at...later than this.

Sorry I didn't update yesteday, combination of the site being dumb and me being dumb too.

LOVE
FireStorm