Chapter Thirty-One: Out of the fire

The day the student's were set to leave, Harry packed his trunk very slowly and lugged it to the train.

"I really need a trunk like Moody's," said Harry to Ron.

"Yeah, it looks like it," chuckled Ron.

As they boarded the train, Ron and Hermione set out for the prefect compartment. Harry, Katie, Neville, and Ginny went and found an empty compartment near the back.

"This is weird, in all my years at Hogwarts, I've never left during Christmas," commented Harry as he took a seat next to Katie, "I've never had a home to go to either so I suppose that has to count for something."

"Well, you left last year," said Ginny.

"Halfway through the break," pointed out Harry, "After a tragic accident. So Neville, what have you got planned for the holiday?"

"Every year, as you saw last year, I go and visit my parents in St. Mungo's. Every other day, I'll probably be lying around the house," chuckled Neville.

"What're your-" began Katie until Harry placed a silencing hand on her shoulder.

"No, it is okay, Harry. I won't deny it, I'm proud of them," said Neville's, "My parents are in St. Mungo's hospital because they were tortured for information on Voldemort after he first fell. They lost their minds under the intense torture."

"I'm sorry," said Katie as she stared at the floor, embarrassed, "I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't be sorry. They held out as long as humanly possible and still didn't divulge anything," said Neville.

"And for that, we honor and remember them," said Harry solemnly.

Just then, Ron and Hermione opened the door.

"Hey, guys," greeted Harry.

"Hey," groaned Ron as he took a seat next to Neville, "I'm starting to get sick of patrolling."

"Just remember, you're the prefect," laughed Harry.

"Yeah, yeah," said Ron.

"Are you ready for break?" asked Neville.

"I've been counting down the months," sighed Ron, "Besides; Bill's coming home for a few days."

"How are his 'English lessons' with Fleur coming along?" asked Hermione.

"You know, he's failed to mention them every time we talk," said Ron thoughtfully, "That can only mean one thing: he's embarrassed of us."

"I wonder why," said Hermione sarcastically, "The male Weasley's, with the possible exception of Mr. Weasley, seem to suffer from a severe lack of tact."

"Well, that's encouraging," said Ron.

The door opened and Draco Malfoy entered, followed by a vaguely familiar sixth year. Both Ron and Neville jumped to their feet as they drew their wands.

"Potter, I need a word," said Draco as if he hadn't seen the two wands pointed at his throat, "in private."

"All right," said Harry as he stood.

"No, Harry," said Hermione as she grabbed his arm, "You shouldn't go alone, it could be dangerous."

"Don't worry, Granger. I don't curse someone when it isn't in my favor," said Draco drawlingly.

"Don't worry, guys, I can handle myself," said Harry as he left.

Harry followed Draco and the other boy into an empty compartment.

"Potter, asking you for help was something that I vowed to never do," said Draco, "However, this isn't about me. I realized how… regrettable my actions have been of late. Following… him can only bring me into the kind of trouble I don't need. Besides, I kneel before no one. For that reason, I've been feeding my father false information about you."

"I know and I am grateful. However, I one question regarding your 'spying', one that may make or break my plan," said Harry, "What did you tell your father I was doing the week after Halloween?"

"I found myself unable to create a sufficient enough lie as Nott would have told his father that you were missing," said Malfoy, "So, I said that you were seemingly affected by the transferal of the troll. I feel that I must warn you, Snape isn't loyal to you, he's a spy for…him."

"No, he isn't. He's a double spy. Voldemort thinks that he's spying on us when Snape is really spying for us," said Harry, "This information cannot leave this compartment. Snape, under my influence, told Voldemort that I was affected with a great energy loss, similar to that of Voldemort's, but the truth is that I wasn't."

"All right, let's move on to a different subject, I can't stand talking about that… thing," said Malfoy as he shuddered.

"Where have those wonderful Malfoy manners gone?" asked Harry mockingly, "Are you going to introduce your friend?"

"Yes, this is my fellow sixth year Slytherin: Blaise Zabini," said Malfoy, "He's the only friend I've really had that wasn't affected by my name or actions. It is for him that I come to you in need of a favor."

Harry was surprised when Zabini reached out and shook Harry's hand.

"Now that we have the formal introductions over with," pressed on Malfoy, "Our parents were in Slytherin together. They were some of the few from their group of friends who didn't join… him. Since then, they have been marked for death. When he fell, the Death Eaters who managed to stay out of Azkaban stopped hunting them as it wasn't profitable enough to kill them at the time. The favor is this: Blaise needs a place to stay. It isn't safe for him neither at his house nor at mine. So, as you can see, this leaves us in quite the debacle. I know that you have this trusting people trait that Slytherins don't possess. I was hoping you could look past our rivalry and accept him."

"Do you believe Voldemort's idiotic conviction about power that he's always emitting?" asked Harry as he turned to Zabini.

"No, I don't. If I were to die in front of him, I would tell him that it's a load of dragon manure," said Blaise.

"Good because if you put it on paper, that's all it would be useful for, making fertilizer," said Harry seriously, "Okay, I'll make a portkey for us to take to my place."

"Thank you, Potter," said Malfoy.

"You look a little peaky, Draco," said Harry.

"You would be too," responded Malfoy, "I think my Father is going to force me to take the Mark of Morsmordre during the break. I swear to Merlin, I will never take the mark. I will die first."

"Can you apparate?" asked Harry.

"Of course, who can't?" answered Malfoy contemptuously.

"When you think that it will be time to take the mark, apparate to this address: Seven Griffin Lane, Godric's Hollow. I trust that you won't be leading an attack by yourself against a house full of Guard members. Just keep that in mind should you think of betraying my trust," added Harry lethally, "On a side note, how would you two like to take part in the defense of Hogwarts, just in a real battle, not any petty stuff?"

"I suppose you could always use someone who could fight Dark with Dark," said Malfoy, "I'm in,"

"I would be honored," said Blaise surprising Harry. Harry expected his voice to be along the lines of Malfoy's, instead it was soft and deep.

"Just so that you know, I know a right few tricks now that neither Dumbledore nor Voldemort know. Don't go getting a big head thinking that you're the only one with knowledge of some Dark Arts," said Harry as he presented the pair with their uniforms, "These are magically connected to you. Just will them on or off. They'll disappear in about five seconds."

Sure enough, the robes vanished seconds later. The group started to leave the compartment.

"I will meet you when the train halts," said Blaise as he left.

"Watch your back, Potter," said Malfoy threateningly.

Harry made his way back to his friends.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron as Harry opened the door.

"I won't be completely alone when I go home," said Harry.

"That sixth year who was with Malfoy?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah," said Harry as he took as seat next to Katie.

The group spent the rest of the trip talking about what they planned to do during the holiday. When the train finally came to a stop, Harry was surprised to see that Blaise had sought him out.

"Hey, could you just grab a hold of one side of this trunk? Thanks; just drag yours behind you," said Harry as he looked around for a good place to leave from, "Let's take it over to that out of order bathroom. We'll leave from there."

They began to drag their trunks to the bathroom.

"May I ask what is in the trunk?" asked Blaise.

"Just your average, everyday boggart. So, please, make sure you don't drop it," said Harry as they entered the bathroom.

Harry grabbed a newspaper from the waste bin.

"Portus," whispered Harry as he sat on the boggart's trunk, put a hand on his and tapped the newspaper.

Blaise mimicked Harry.

"Five…four…three…two…one-" said Harry as he felt the familiar tug behind the navel associated with traveling by portkey.

"Are you all right?" asked Harry as he untangled himself from the trunks after landing in a hard crash.

"Yes, I am all right," said Blaise from under his trunk.

"Wingardium Leviosa," said Harry as he took out his wand and levitated the trio of trunks.

Harry brought the trunks into the den and set them down.

"There are plenty of guest rooms for you to choose from," said Harry, "I'll let you explore for a little bit. I should be in the library for a while."

Harry went to the library and began to look up any information he could on dementors that might help them fine-tune their potion. After a few hours of searching, Harry had found out one thing: dementors are the single poorest researched magical subjects.

Harry's stomach began to rumble from lack of food, so Harry went to the kitchen to see what, if any, food was available. Harry was quite surprised to find the kitchen full of food. Harry decided to make a stew with some beef and various types of vegetables. When Harry finished preparing the meal, he sat and ate it in silence, contemplating his new houseguest. Halfway through his meal, Harry noticed Blaise standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Are you hungry?" asked Harry, "I've made more than enough."

"I suppose I am a trifle hungry," said Blaise, "However, I do not wish to be an imposition on you."

"You're not," said Harry, "As long as you're polite with my friends and I, there should be no problems. We're an easy going bunch. You don't look like a troublemaker to me. I should know; I seem to be surrounded by them. I'm sorry if my cooking isn't that great but I share my house elf with Hogwarts."

"You share a house elf?" asked Blaise incredulously, "Please, do not misunderstand me, I am for elf rights but I have yet to hear of a wizard sharing a house elf. I do believe that I can stomach some food, though."

"A little warning: many of my friends will be visiting over the break. Give them time to get used to you; once you've done that, they'll be fine. Also, I have some Christmas shopping to do, so I'll be gone for a few hours. Don't worry, I'm sure that you'll fit in fine," said Harry.

"I thank you for your hospitality," said Blaise.

"Don't mention it. So, how are you at Quidditch?" asked Harry.

"I am a decent keeper. Why do you ask?" asked Blaise.

"Knowing my friend Ron, he'll want to get a Quidditch game started at least once while he's here. You're welcome to join if you want," said Harry.

"I cannot thank you enough for the way you have taken me in," said Blaise, "Most people would be hesitant to take someone like me in."

"What do you mean, 'someone like you'?" asked Harry.

"A marked man," responded Blaise, "I was quite nervous about coming here. I was afraid that you might harass me about my house."

"I try not to harass that many people. Over the last five and a half years, I've heard your name only a handful of times. In the words of my godfather, you seem to just keep your head down and your nose clean. That's a good way to keep your list of enemies to a minimum," said Harry.

"It has kept me out of trouble thus far," said Blaise quietly as he finished his meal, "I think that I will go to my room now."

"You can stay down here if you want," said Harry, "I'm just going to light a fire and stare into it for hours on end."

"While that is an enjoyable pastime, I like to meditate for a while before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up," said Blaise, "Good night."

Harry watched as his quiet classmate proceeded up the stairs. He went into the den and lit a small fire. He sat staring in it thinking about the past few months until well after midnight. Around one in the morning, Harry thought for a fleeting moment that he had just seen a dead face staring at him from the fire. As suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

"It… isn't… possible…" said Harry through gritted teeth.

"Isn't it?" asked a voice from behind Harry.

Harry had an idea of what the voice's owner looked like as he stood. Harry quickly turned his body around to face the voice, whipped his wand out of his pocket, and released a Parseltongue Stunning Spell. The stranger stopped the spell with a flick of his hand and moved the spell around in midair, as if inspecting it while Harry stood and watched with a look of pure horror and heartbreak.

'This isn't possible! HOW! He is DEAD! There is no way that he can be standing here in front of me!'

"Dad?" asked Harry…

A/N: To those who keep telling me about the story created by SmallvillePotter: please stop telling me this! Unlike what you all suspect, I have yet to read it. If it is as close as you all say, then someone please have him e-mail me. I will not seek him out. I will willingly add a disclaimer saying which parts of the story are bordering his. Until then, please, please, please stop telling me this!

Marideth: I thank you for all your reviews. It is people who actively take a part in reading my story that make it all worthwhile. Have no worries. I plan to update every day for at least the next week or so. I have most of my story written in a notebook as I was unable to use a computer as I wrote it. Unfortunately, as I am currently trying to catch up, I am finding it harder and harder to write further. I hope to be finished soon. If you would like to add any ideas, I welcome them.

My next chapter is rather short but will have an explanation about 'the stranger'. However, the chapter after will more than make up for it with some disturbing gifts, and an answer to an idea that many seem to like.

Thank you to all my faithful readers.