A/N: Okay, first I'd like to clarify that this is NOT a slash fic, in this story Blaise is a girl. Also that I doubt that J.K Rowling is ever going to make Draco good, but I always like to believe that there's good in everybody, and my romantic heart just longs to make him a reformed rogue lol. Please if you like, leave me a review, and if you don't, review anyway!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not even this computer sob. Everything belong to J.K Rowling, except the plot and the characters you don't recognise.
Draco has never been liked. Blaise has never been wanted. When circumstances bring the two together, they have no choice but to help each other with the guilt they both live with. And the ghosts that still haunt them.
Wednesday's ChildChapter 1-The Further I Slide
Avery grinned at the blonde boy in front of him. Over the two years since the end of the war, Avery, like the other escaped Death Eaters, had been on the run, and life in hiding didn't suit him. The hair he had left was patchy and long, his teeth were rotting and yellow, his clothes riddled with holes. Every inch of him was covered in filth. Draco Malfoy gazed at him in disgust.
"Didn't my father pay you enough to do his dirty work? Or did Voldemort strip you of everything when you ran out on him?" he asked in a voice that indicated he really wasn't interested.
Avery flinched at the sound of his fallen master's name, but his grin remained fixed.
"I'm sorry if my appearance doesn't meet with your approval Master Malfoy. And as for your father, you of all people should know that he devoted everything to the Dark Lord, all his promises to me were empty, empty.."
The old man rubbed his fingers together, taking his eyes off Draco he started muttering to himself.
"Empty...empty, left poor Avery to cope by himself."
The old man was mad, Draco realised. His manner put Draco forcibly in mind of that crazy old house elf. What was his name? Oh yes, Kreacher. As if only realising Draco was there, Avery turned on him.
"What do you want with Avery boy? I suppose your father wants me back does he? Wants me to do his work for him? Sent you to do his begging for him has he? Master Malfoy."
Draco flinched. He no longer took such pride in his name as he once had, and where before he would have flaunted the fact that he was a Malfoy, he now took pains to hide it. And yet, though it was hard to bear the treatment he received from being a Malfoy, he couldn't bring himself to get rid of his family name. He was the last Malfoy after all...the old man was still muttering to himself, Draco felt himself growing impatient, he wanted to get this over with.
"Its over Avery.' He said coolly, bringing out his wand. 'The Ministry don't like the part you played in the war, you're going in for trial and I have no doubt as to what the verdict will be."
Avery looked at him in surprise, then he grinned again as memory hit him.
"Oh yes of course, ickle Draco didn't follow in his Daddy's footsteps after all, couldn't bear to leave his precious Mummy so he stayed a little boy and became a traitor instead, not that he had his Mummy for very long..." Avery's gleeful cackling was cut short.
"Stupefy!"
There was a thud as Avery's body hit the ground. Draco walked over to him. Avery's face was still fixed in an expression of sadistic joy.
"On the contrary Avery." Draco said with cold fury. "I grew up, probably more than my father ever did."
His nose wrinkled as the old man's putrid stench reached his nostrils. He paused for a moment, struggling with a thought, then spat on Avery's motionless body, turned, and walked away. Two figures were emerging from behind the cover of some trees.
"Its done." Draco told the taller of the two curtly.
Harry Potter nodded briefly before walking past Draco to take a look at Avery. Draco knew the nod expressed Harry's thanks. Their hatred for each other had faded to a coolness over the past two years. They were not friends, they might never be, but they were not enemies either. Draco turned to the other figure. Tonks grinned at him.
"Wasn't hard was it Draco?" she asked
"Probably the easiest yet, the old man's mad, his mind's half in the past." he replied.
Tonk's was his and Harry's supervisor. As Auror's-in-training they were given assignments that had to be carried out in pairs, Draco and Harry were partners. Now in their second year of training they were allowed out in the field, but not without a qualified Auror to supervise them. Draco dealt with the small number of Death Eaters that had been integrated very closely with his father, he didn't enjoy the task, they brought bad memories with them
Draco liked Tonks though, she and her boyfriend Remus had been one of the few people apart from Dumbledore who had accepted his move away from Voldemort without question. Dumbledore had been the only person Draco offered any explanation to, so Draco had never fully understood why they did, he wouldn't have blamed them for treating him with the same mistrust and hatred that others did, but they didn't and he was grateful.
"That's ok then." She looked at him shrewdly "Go home Draco. Go home and sleep, for one, you'll be needed early in the office tomorrow, and for another, you look like shit."
He grinned at her, Tonk's bluntness was something that put a lot of people off her, but it was what he liked about her. She wouldn't bullshit you.
"Yes sah!"
He mock saluted her, then laughed as she attempted to box his ears, she only came up to his chest. She grinned at him and waved a goodbye. He grinned back, then with a loud crack, he was gone.
"Blaise, Blaise!" a voice hissed in her ear. "Honestly Blaise this is not the time to be sleeping, wake up! Blaise!"
"I'm up." Blaise sat up sharply then relaxed when she saw who had woken her up.
"Oh, 'Mione its only you." She said in relief.
"You still not sleeping okay?" Hermione asked sympathetically.
"No not really. What time is it?"
Hermione glanced at her watch.
"Almost five o'clock, you'd better get up, Sister Warder's going to come on her rounds any minute now."
"Oh crap!"
Blaise jumped up from where she had been sleeping at her desk, she gazed in dismay at the notes she had been told to copy up. The new copy was splattered in ink.
"Oh no!" she wailed, "Ernest Waffle's notes! They took me ages, they're completely ruined! Sister Warder's going to kill me!"
Hermione, ever the practical one, resisted the urge to smile. Instead she took out her wand.
"Scourgify"
Blaise looked at her and grinned.
"Merlin I'm so stupid, always getting in a flap. Thanks 'Mione, I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Me neither, but I know where you'd be without me." Hermione said.
They looked at each other grinning.
"Hanging from the weather vane with no robes on!" they said together, repeating one of their supervisor's favourite threats. Then, they burst out laughing.
"Zabini, Granger, stop laughing this instant!"
Their giggles were cut short as Sister Warder stalked into the room. Mariah Warder had started life at St Mungo's, training to be a Healer, however the committee members had found her to be lacking in the qualities needed to be a Healer, so she was made a Sister instead. A few years later, some fool decided to place her in charge of the trainee Healers. A very stupid idea, because Warder, still bitter about not being accepted, instead of encouraging the would-be Healers, scared them silly, and had even caused one girl to drop out and become and Auror instead. She had told her friends that facing dark wizards for the rest of her life was far less daunting a prospect than five years supervision by Mariah Warder.
"Sorry Sister Warder." They both said meekly.
She looked sternly at them.
"Healer Pye would like me to inform you that he is pleased with your work." Her face held a pained expression as if he hurt her to hear people praised. "and so has released you both from night duty for the rest of the week." She paused. "Granger, Mr Weasley is waiting for you in the lounge, please remove him before he starts growing roots."
Hermione blushed.
"Yes Sister Warder."
"You are both dismissed, but I expect you both at 8am sharp tomorrow morning!"
They went quickly down to the trainee lounge where they found Ron, slouched in a chair, his five o'clock shadow indicating that he had been waiting a long time. He was talking gloomily to the painting on the wall beside him.
"Cheer up old fellow!" said Sir Christopher Arbuthnot (Healer, and trainee supervisor 1841-1973) "I'm sure you're gal will turn up soon."
"I doubt it, her supervisor's a right-" he said something that made Hermione say "Ron!"
At the sound of her voice he jumped up, strode over, and kissed her firmly. A few minutes later, Hermione extracted herself from his embrace, blushing hotly. Tugging at his sleeve she pointed at Blaise. He turned.
"Hullo Blaise, the dragon let you out of her clutches as well then?" he said cheerfully, one arm around his girlfriend.
She grinned at him. She liked Ron.
"Not unwillingly. We're off night duty for the rest of the week though."
Ron's eyes filled with lust and he looked carefully at Hermione.
"You don't say? The rest of the week?"
Blaise stifled a smirk as Hermione blushed even more. She went to her locker to father her things, leaving the two love-birds talking in heated whispers.
"Blaise."
She turned back.
"We're off to the Mandarin Club for a bit, the Screeching Sirens are playing tonight, want to come?" Ron asked.
Blaise was sorely tempted, she loved anything about music, and the Screeching Sirens were one of her favourite bands, but she hated feeling like a third wheel. She hesitated slightly before saying.
"Thanks, but I think I'll just head home, I'm kinda tired."
"Are you sure? Will you be ok?"
Hermione looked anxious. Blaise smiled at her friend.
"I'll be fine, I can't afford to fall asleep again tomorrow. Besides, the Siren's are playing for the rest of the week, I can catch them another time."
Hermione smiled, and Ron's arm tightened around her. Blaise had a feeling the couple would give the club a miss as well. Three years together and they still couldn't keep their hands off each other.
"If you're sure."
"I'm sure."
After both kissing Blaise on the cheek, the couple disapparated. Blaise changed out of her uniform then walked out of the hospital and into Muggle London.
The evening March air was extremely cold, and Blaise began to wish she had apparated home, but there really seemed no point, her flat in Muggle London wasn't far from the hospital, and Blaise enjoyed the walk. Pulling her coat tighter around herself, she turned into her street and quickly entered her house, sighing in relief as warmth hit her.
Running herself a bath, she began unpinning her tightly coiled corkscrew curls, remembering the dream she had been having before Hermione woke her up. It wasn't new to her, and it wasn't really a dream either, it had happened. She couldn't avoid that night coming back to her in her dreams though, the night her parents died...grabbing her wand she flicked it, and the radio in her bedroom turned on. She loved music, she always had, music made her forget, made her relax, she could lose herself in it, she didn't have to think. It was a release. Sinking back into the bath she turned the volume up, with the anniversary of her parents' death only a few weeks away, tonight especially, she did not want to think.
She likes to sleep with the radio on
So she can dream of her favourite song
The one that no one has ever sung since she was small
She'll never know that she made it up
She had a soul and we ate it up
Thrown away like a paper cup
The music falls
The only flaw in her detailed plan
Is where she wins back the love of her man
Everyone knows that he's never coming back
He took her heart and she took his name
He couldn't stand taking all the blame
He left her only with guilt and shame and then she cracked
Won't it be dull when we rid ourselves
Of all these demons haunting us
To keep us company
In the dream I refuse to have
She falls asleep in a lukewarm bath
We're left to deal with the aftermath again...
War on Drugs-Barenaked Ladies