Chapter 10

"Mr. Malfoy." Draco stirred slightly, desperately trying to hold on to the peaceful dream he'd been having. "Mr. Malfoy." Draco snuggled deeper into his pillow, enjoying the feeling of Ginny cuddled up next to him.

"Draco." Recognizing his godfather's voice, Draco sat up immediately, suddenly wide-awake. Severus smirked as Draco jumped out of his bed and straightened his clothes, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to make himself more presentable.

"Ginny … Gin wake up." Ginny slowly started to wake up as Draco shook her gently. Draco turned to Severus. "We were talking and we must have fallen asleep." Severus smirked back at him, his eyes twinkling in a most annoying manner. "Oh come on Severus! You can't honestly think … we were talking! We were discussing the situation with Voldemort!"

"I'm sure you where, Draco."

"Severus!" Severus didn't even attempt to hold back his snicker. Neither of the men had noticed Ginny sitting on the bed with a shocked expression on her face, her cheeks getting progressively redder.

"I didn't say a word about your," he cleared his throat, "position, Draco."

"You are insufferable! You know very well what we were doing!"

"Yes, and I'd rather not think about it, considering you are my godson and all."

"Severus! We were talking!"

"Anyways, Dumbledore asked me to inform you that Blaise has woken up. You won't be able to see him for an hour or so, as they're still checking him over and giving him some medicine, but we thought you'd like to know. We had no idea you'd be so … busy."

"Severus Snape!"

"Come down when you … get a chance, Draco." With that, Severus quickly exited the room, but not before throwing Draco a sickening wink and knowing smirk

"Oh my god …" Draco turned around just as Ginny buried her head in a pillow and let out a horrified shriek.

"Gin … it's not that bad," Draco answered unconvincingly.

"Draco … my Potions teacher just insinuated that I was sleeping with my boyfriend … not to mention the fact that he woke us up while we were sleeping … in the same bed! And you're tell me it's not that bad!"

"Hey, at least he's not your godfather."

"Merlin! I'm never going to be able to look him in the eye again!" Ginny looked up and she and Draco started to laugh quietly at the pure insanity of the whole situation.

… … … …

"If it isn't the bastard himself!" Blaise grinned cheekily at his best friend. He was still pale and thin, but he looked a lot better than he had a few hours ago, especially considering he was finally awake.

"Hey, I'm not the one who looks nothing like my father." Draco and Blaise exchanged a smirk as Draco sat down across from him in an armchair. Everyone had left the two alone, at the request of Severus, and were in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"So I heard Severus found you in quite a compromising position this morning?" Blaise cocked one dark eyebrow, giving Draco a smirk.

"He told you about that!"

"No, no, of course not. He insinuated, I assumed."

"Oh, of course." Then, the mood turned decidedly more serious as Draco asked, "How're you feeling?"

"Considering my father tried to kill me and I've been in a coma for a week or so, I'm feeling pretty damn good."

"Care to tell me what happened?"

Blaise sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands for a moment, before looking back at Draco with a pained expression. "I'm only going to say this once, so you're going to have to explain this to everyone else, yeah?"

"Of course, Blaise."

"Okay."

"Why don't you come over for dinner then?"

Draco shrugged, "Okay. I had better go home and let my Mum know, though. She's been rather touchy lately and I'd rather not piss her off."

"Sure, Draco. Dinner's at 7." The two friends parted, each going to their respective homes. Blaise arrived home by Floo a while later, immediately going to the kitchens to alert the elves that they would be having a guest for dinner. Afterwards, he started towards his bedroom to change for dinner, but, on the way, heard a loud 'THUMP' from the direction of his father's study. Normally, he wouldn't think anything of it, but considering that there were no 'meetings' or 'conferences' scheduled for a few weeks, he thought it rather strange.

Blaise was standing in the doorway of his father's study moments later. Derek Zabini was kneeling there, in the middle of the study, bloodstained robe in his hands. Blaise was about to leave, as Derek with blood on his hands wasn't exactly a once in a lifetime occurrence, but then he recognized something about the robe. It was satin-lined, black – underneath all the blood that is – and lined with Nundu fur. There was only one person he knew that wore robes like that. And, if there was any doubt in his mind, the embroidered 'BZ' on the lapel put an end to them. That was his mother's robe.

"What have you done!" Derek looked up from the robe to see his son staring at him in utter horror.

"This … this is your fault!" His wife's robe forgotten, Derek launched himself at Blaise, wand clutched tightly in his hand. "Crucio!"

Blaise blacked out after the fifth Crucio. He woke up some time later – finding out that some time was actually a few days – only to be in possibly worse condition than when he blacked out. His father wasn't there, probably having left him for dead. Nonetheless, he needed help. He had lost too much blood and didn't think he'd make it if he blacked out again and didn't find some medical attention.

Crawling towards the fireplace, he managed to pull the pot of Floo Powder down and pull himself into the fireplace. Suddenly, he realized that he had nowhere to go. By some stroke of luck, he managed to find a bit of parchment in his pocket. He scribbled a note to Draco on it, whistling for his owl. He attached it to his leg with trembling fingers and tried not to pass out. H wasn't sure how long he'd waited, but he couldn't wait anymore. He didn't want to chance going to Malfoy Manor, so he went to the only place he could think of – The Burrow.

"That's all I remember. I whispered 'The Burrow' and saw green flames … that's it." Blaise ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. "Why are you here?"

"I've been here … for a while." Draco looked anywhere but Blaise's eyes as he said, "Lucius killed my Mum."

"Oh … oh." The two friends exchanged a sympathetic look; they knew exactly what the other was feeling.

"I didn't know where to go either … I figured that Lucius would probably try and … hurt me, so Zabini Estate wasn't exactly the best place to be." Draco sighed and slouched further into his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"So … how'd you end up staying? I mean, I can't imagine the Weasleys welcoming you with open arms."

"They weren't going to let me stay, they wanted to send me back to the Manor. Charlie got Dumbledore involved and he asked them to let me stay here for the summer. But I think what got them is what Ginny did … she told them that if they made me leave, then she was leaving with me." Draco smiled slightly, unbelievably proud that she would stand up for him like that. Blaise smiled at him, a proud look on his own face, but suddenly, it faded to an almost frightened look.

"Do you … erm … do you think they'll let me stay?"

"Unless they want to be minus two Weasleys in this household, they'll let you stay, Blaise." The two looked up to find Ginny standing in the doorway, tray of food in her hands, and a smile on her face. Blaise gave her a confused expression. "I know how much you mean to Draco. If you leave, he leaves, if he leaves, I leave, and if I leave, Charlie leaves. Charlie's already promised to take us back to Romania with him; Mum thinks he was joking, but between you and I, he's completely prepared to do so if things don't get better around here." Blaise smiled weakly at her, surprised at the sudden show of friendship. "I brought you both something to eat. Only soup and juice for you Blaise, I'm sorry to tell you."

Blaise faked an exasperated sigh, "I suppose I'll live." Ginny smiled as she set the tray down on the coffee table.

"Let me know if you need anything else." With that, Ginny left the room, but not before casting a worried look at Blaise, which he, thankfully, didn't notice. Blaise didn't take well to being worried about or fussed over. Draco was actually surprised that he had survived the past hour or so without hexing anyone. There were two people in the entire world that were allowed to fuss over Blaise Derek Zabini: Bethany Zabini and Narcissa Malfoy.

"You've missed a lot lately, Blaise," Draco said, handing Blaise a bowl of soup from the tray.

"I'm sure I have. Being conked out for a week can't be helping my social life." Draco rolled his eyes, but laughed nonetheless as Blaise sent him a cheeky grin. They both started into their food, relaxing a bit more in the none-too-familiar surroundings.

"You never fail to amaze me with your ability to pick yourself back up after a fall, you know." Blaise just shrugged and smiled slightly in response. He wasn't even beginning to deal with his mother's death, but, growing up in a Slytherin household, he knew how to hide his emotions. Yet, something told him that Draco wasn't referring to the death of Bethany, but rather to the actual fall he had taken.

"Well, are you going to sit there and stare at me all day or are you going to start explaining? Because, I know I'm attractive and all that, but I'd really like to know what's been going on."

"You're such a dick, Blaise," came the response, accompanied by a smirk.

"I do what I can."

Draco just shook his head. "I suppose I ought to start with the whole Malfoy curse bit." Draco was about to continue, when Blaise interrupted him, an urgent look on his face.

"What's the name of it?"

"Erm … Erynis Amor Semper."

"Yes, yes, I know all about it. Thank gods you've finally decided to tell me, I've been waiting for ages!"

"What! You knew! You knew and you didn't tell me!"

Blaise cringed slightly as Draco raised his voice. "Draco, hold on, just let me explain. A few years back, I overheard your Mum and my Mum talking about it. I wasn't supposed to hear, but … well, you know me, I'm too curious for my own good. Cissa was explaining everything to my Mum and they didn't realize I was eavesdropping until I had heard everything. Mum was absolutely furious ……

"Blaise Derek Zabini! How dare you eavesdrop on my conversations! That's … you're … arg!" Blaise had never seen his mother at a loss for words and, understandably, he was a bit taken aback.

"Bethany, please. He didn't mean any harm by it. Besides, he's going to hear all about it the moment after I explain it all to Draco."

"If he doesn't tell Draco the minute he sees him!"

"Mum! Please! Could you please refrain from talking about me like I'm not here when I'm standing right next to you!" Bethany fixed him with a hard glare, but didn't say anything.

"To be perfectly blunt, I'm not going to take any chances on letting Draco find any of this out, just yet. He's not ready for it, that much I know. So, with your consent of course, Blaise, I'd just like to have a little … insurance that he won't find out?" Narcissa smiled sweetly.

"She used some kind of weird-ass spell. I couldn't say anything to you about Erynis Amor Semper until you, yourself, were going to tell me and I had to have verbal indication of that." Blaise chuckled and shook his head. "Your Mum was one strange lady." Draco smiled sadly in response. He leaned forward and, resting his arms on his knees, stared at his clasped hands with a distressed expression. "Draco … take this from a guy who's dealing with exactly the same thing you are … you can't let this get to you … at least not outwardly. If you honestly think that they're not trying to find us, watching us, right now, then you're daft. They are! They'll figure out that she's your weakness … they'll use it against you. You need to keep your emotions secret to everyone except you and I. Neither of us can afford to risk being vulnerable right now. You know that as well as I do."

"Ginny," came Draco's barely audible response.

"Pardon?"

"Ginny. I won't shut her out … I won't hide my emotions from her, Blaise. Hell, I don't even think I can anymore." Draco raised his eyes to look at Blaise, who was smiling back at him.

"Wow … Cissa was right after all. Yes, emotions secret to you, me, and Ginny, then. But you understand what I'm saying, right?"

"What do you …" Draco trailed off as he saw Blaise's blank expression. He didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of finding out what Blaise was talking about when he said 'Cissa was right after all'. So, he continued, "Never mind, yes, I know what you mean. I think … The Burrow has that kind of charm that when you're here, the outside world seems far away and inconsequential. I'd nearly forgotten, all this time, that they probably are looking for me – us – if not watching us."

"I know what you mean. But enough of this abysmal subject, what's been happening that you need, so desperately, to tell me about?"

Draco laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding Blaise's eyes. "Not to bring up the 'abysmal subject' again … but it has to do with Voldemort."

"Oh?" was all Blaise said, his eyebrows rising just slightly as he polished off his soup.

"Yes … have you ever heard your father talking about Voldemort's heir?" Blaise nodded slowly, but didn't respond. "So the whole story is that Voldemort needs an heir, of course. But it's not like he can go off and have a kid of his own. There's not enough time for a baby to grow up between now and the final battle, besides the fact that he's barely human again. He wants someone of pureblood obviously, someone that will be able to gain the support of people – by manipulation of course – someone that the Death Eaters will respect, someone powerful. Severus explained all of this to me the other day … and, low and behold, that someone is yours truly."

"Oh," Blaise answered, his voice devoid of all emotion.

"So then Severus tells me all about this group that Dumbledore's created to bring about the end of Voldemort once and for all, because you know Fudge isn't going to do it. Especially since Lucius and Derek have him so tightly wrapped around their fingers, it's a wonder he can breathe. It's called the Order of the Phoenix and they've been in operation since the first war against Voldemort. They want me to return to Voldemort, become his heir. I'm supposed to go and spy for them, give them information about battles and whatever."

"Oh."

"It gets better too. They want Ginny to go back with me. They think that Voldemort will be more willing to take me back if I give him … what did Severus say … oh yes, if I give him a little gift," Draco finished, the bitterness evident in his voice.

"Oh."

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Ginny and I have decided to go, as much as I'd rather her be here where she's safe. But Ginny's as stubborn as they get, so I didn't really expect to have much of a chance of getting here to stay here. And if you say 'oh' one more bloody time, I will not hesitate to pummel you." Draco raised his eyes, for the first time since starting his explanation, to see Blaise giving him a half-smile.

"That's … hmm … wow. So you're going … I … erm … I don't know what to say." In all sixteen or so years that Draco had known him, he had never seen Blaise at a loss for words.

"Well that's new. Perhaps you'd care to hear more then?"

"There's more?"

Draco laughed softly for a moment before continuing, "There's always more. No one knows about this but Ginny and I, because I wanted you to know first." Draco took a deep breath and made a point to look his best friend in the eye, holding his gaze. "I want you to come with me."

"Come with you when you return to Voldemort to spy?"

"Yes. If I didn't already know your response, I'd give you a whole bunch of shit about not wanting you to be in danger. But I know that you'd rather be there and in danger, than sit on the sidelines, regardless of the fact that the sidelines are safe. I trust you with my life; you know that. I need someone that I can trust when I'm there, trying to play this up and make it seem like I'm the perfect little Death Eater spawn." Draco raked his hands through his hair, finally starting to feel the gravity of the situation. It was a relief really, until this point; he had felt utterly disconnected from the entire thing.

"There's another reason you want me to go," Blaise stated simply, never once looking away from Draco.

"Yes. I want …" Draco sighed heavily. "If something were to happen to me, if they were to discover that I wasn't as truthful as they're going to assume … I want insurance the Ginny won't be harmed, that she'll get out of there and run away to someplace safe. Insurance that, if I do die, there will be someone there to take care of her."

"I'm flattered to find out just how much you trust me, Draco. Of course I will go with you, you had but to ask." Blaise reached forward and clasped Draco on the shoulder as the two best friends exchanged a small, almost undetectable smile.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a horrible person and I need to update more. I'm not gonna answer reviews, but I am gonna post two chapters right now. My only excuse is that life, in general, kinda really sucks right now. Sorry for the wait. Normalcy should return soon.