A/N - This is the wizarding world. You can't expect it to be that easy. You'll figure out what I mean.
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Chapter 44
"Draco!" Ginny cried out fearfully as the Thestral Stallion skidded to a halt at the edge of the clearing. She hopped down from the Stallion's back and sprinted towards him as the others began arriving on their own Thestral escorts.
Tiger lifted his head from where it lay on Draco's chest as she dropped to her knees on his other side. Tiger let out a little piteous sound as she reached out and touched Draco's cheek. She let out a frightened cry, feeling the icy coldness ofhis skin. She quickly checked his neck and let out a relieved sob as she felt a pulse. As she watched, his chest rose and fell, but far too slowly to be normal.
"Draco?" She said achingly, "Draco, can you hear me?" She took his hand, then looked down in surprise as she felt a chill flow through her hand. Her eyes widened as she saw a ghostly hand separating from his. She let out a cry of fear and horror, quickly putting his hand back down.
"What is it? " Snape asked, striding up briskly.
Ginny dropped her hands that she had clasped over her mouth, looking up at him. "Something's wrong... I can't wake Draco, and Darien... it's like he isn't attached..." she said, staring at the hand.
Snape knelt, lifting Draco's hand slightly and noting the ghostly hand it left behind. He replaced the hand, closing his eyes with a pained expression. "The demon must have gotten ahold of him..." He said sadly, "If it damaged Darien... I don't know if they'll be able to reintegrate on their own. Spirits are very vulnerable when they are possessing the living... that's why more of them don't do it..."
"What can we do?" Ginny asked, staring down at Draco pensively.
Snape looked thoughtful for a moment, then sighed. "We could try a containment spell... it might bind them temporarily, at least until we can get them back to the castle..."
"Snape..." Goyle called over.
Snape looked over at the group of Slytherins that were standing in a rough semi-circle. Then he spotted what they were staring at. He stood, staring at the large green cocoon in the middle of the clearing. "Stay back!" He said sharply, quickly making his way over to the strange object. He stared down at it. Between the tightly woven strands near one end, he saw a glint of red gleaming back at him as a low growl emerged from it. He took a step back. "Sweet Merlin! How did he accomplish that?" he muttered, obviously impressed.
"What is it?" Goyle asked, keeping back warily.
"That would be a powerful Green Magic binding spell..." Snape said softly, still eyeing the mass of vines.
Goyle stared at it. "You mean... it's in there?"
"It would appear so..." Snape said, peering back over at Draco. "We'll have to wait until we can prepare a proper holding cell before trying to move it, but I fear Draco is in need of much more immediate help. The demon managed to separate him and Darien. Unfortunately, even if I can bind Darien back in him, levitation spells will be out of the question, and he will have to be moved very gingerly or they may split again."
Goyle cracked his knuckles, "That's why they keep me around!" He said with a smirk. "Get to binding and I'll take it from there."
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The Thestrals were able to get them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, but they had to go very slowly to accommodate Draco and Darien's delicate condition. After that, Goyle carried the unconscious Draco all the way back across the grounds to the castle, and down to Slytherin dungeon without even pausing to rest once.
By the time they reached the Dungeon, nearly half an hour had passed. Goyle had barely had time to gently deposit Draco on the couch before the door was opened again and Dumbledore entered. He strode over to the couch immediately, sitting beside Draco without so much as a word and gingerly examining him. He sighed deeply as the others gathered around.
"Can you do anything?" Snape asked, his arms folded across his chest and his dark eyes pensive as he stared down at Draco.
"Not much I'm afraid..." He said, casting a few minor spells on the still form beside him. Draco's breathing increased some, and a bit of color returned to his overly pale skin. Dumbledore gave a little sigh. "That is the extent of my own abilities in this area... however, I have already sent for one of the healers from St. Mungo's that specializes in soul binding, so we must simply keep him stable until he arrives..." He said softly, accepting a blanket from one of the anxious students and draping it over Draco.
"You weren't authorized to summon a healer!" A weak, but irritating voice said from the doorway.
Ginny could have sworn she actually saw Dumbledore roll his eyes. His usual genial smile slipped into place as he looked over to watch Fudge enter, supported on both sides by assistants and ranked by Aurors.
"Cornelius." Dumbledore said, giving every appearance of being delighted to see the Minister still alive and breathing. "So glad you're feeling better."
"Don't change the subject!" Fudge growled, obviously in no mood to banter back and forth.
"Very well," Dumbledore replied with a smile, "It was authorized, Cornelius."
"I never gave any such..." Fudge began, blustering.
"Not by you." Dumbledore said, gently cutting off the angry retort, "By the Interim Minister during your convalescence."
"By WHO?" Fudge asked, his cheeks coloring slightly with anger despite the massive blood loss he'd so recently suffered.
"It is clearly stated in the regulations that a functioning Governing Body must be maintained at all times, and in the event that the Minister of Magic is unable to perform his duties, an Interim Minister is automatically assigned until such time as said Minister is able to resume his duties."
Fudge's jaw hung slightly for a moment, then he glared at Dumbledore angrily. "I wasn't 'unable to perform my duties' for more than fifteen minutes!"
"And a good thing, too. The job is far too hectic for my taste." Dumbledore said agreeably.
Fudge's eyes went wide. "YOU?!? YOU took over?"
"As the highest ranking member of the Wizengamot, I really had no choice in the matter." Dumbledore said guilelessly. "I tried my best to fill your shoes and do as I was sure you would, for the betterment of the wizarding community. In this case, to order a healer to tend to a student in dire need of his attention. Binding him to this spirit has become necessary for his survival, and therefore clearly falls under the Health and Protection Act."
"The what? What the bloody Hell are you babbling on about Dumbledore? There is no such Act!" Fudge said irritably.
"Well, I believe if you check the law book, you will find there is now." Dumbledore said with a little smile.
If it weren't for the efforts of his assistants, Fudge would have fallen over. "You passed legislation? You were only in office for fifteen minutes!"
Dumbledore nodded, "Indeed, but as luck would have it, I happened to be at the Ministry at the time... and I also just happened to have a ledger with me that I jot down my ideas in... I had been planning on bringing it up with you, the Minister of Magic, the next time I saw you... imagine my surprise when I found I would be required to talk to myself! So, of course as Minister, I looked the ideas over, decided they looked good, and implemented them." He said as if that were the most logical thing imaginable.
Fudge glared at him with pure hatred. "So what is this 'Act' that you've pushed through?" He growled angrily.
"Simply put, it makes anything medically necessary to save a person's life or health legal, so long as it does not put anyone else's life or well being at risk. This includes medical procedures... potions..."
"Aha!" Fudge said, pouncing on the word, "You're still trying to override me for that bloody potion!"
"A child's life hangs in the balance, Cornelius..." Dumbledore said sadly.
"It's illegal! It's against the law! Without laws, our society would crumble!"
Draco groaned, his head shifting slightly to the side. "Bloody Hell... isn't he dead yet?" he muttered irritably.
Many of the others smirked, but Dumbledore went on as if he hadn't heard, though he was the closest. "You seem so eager to see the boy die just to prove a point! Are you willing to give up Harry's life as well?" Dumbledore asked softly, but his tone wasn't quite as genial as it normally was.
"We just have to find a way to release the device and it should flee from Harry." Fudge said as if that would solve everything.
"Bloody brilliant idea, bollock-brain." Draco mumbled a bit louder. "Too bad it has his soul and isn't too bloody likely to leave it out of the goodness of it's little black heart."
Fudge's eyes widened. He looked at Dumbledore furtively, "Is this true?"
Dumbledore sighed. "From what I've been told, The demon has been incapacitated by young Mr. Malfoy here... he was the last to see Harry before the binding spell, so if he says it took his soul, I'd dare say it did. And even if it didn't already, it undoubtedly would on it's way out if you released it..."
Fudge growled in frustration. "Fine. Do it then. Fix Malfoy up and get him ready." He looked over at Kulia. "Glad to see you appear to be doing better." He said with obviously false sincerity, "You will have to help him."
She furrowed her delicately arched eyebrows at him. "No."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "You'll help or you'll be taken into custody!" He growled. "We have Madam Pomfrey's records, and according to the examination she gave you the other day, you appear to be carrying a child that was fathered by a human wizard."
"Two actually, on both counts. And that's exactly why I won't help." She said, narrowing her eyes at him in return.
"Yes, well the Wizardry Protection decree allows for the incarceration of any beast that is deemed by the Ministry to be unsafe or unstable and carrying a half-blood child until such time as they give birth, after which the child is taken into Ministry custody to be raised as a proper witch or wizard." Fudge said triumphantly, "But if you help, I may be willing to overlook the issue..."
The twins quickly stepped around her, slipping between her and Fudge, "Like hell!" Fred growled.
"Those are our babies!" George added, both of them red faced with anger.
Fudge smirked. "Got a little too familiar with your 'familiar', did you now?"
They started for him, but Kulia grabbed their elbows, holding them back. "Calm down boys." She said soothingly. "He has no authority to do that."
Fudge let out a snort, "And what makes you think that?"
"Because," Kulia replied with a little smile, "They both signed a contract before conception giving full and complete custody of any offspring to me. So legally, the wizarding community has no authority over them whatsoever."
Fred and George were now both staring at her in open shock, only now remembering the contract they had signed.
Fudge was looking at the twins, "You were daft enough to do that???" He asked, incredulously.
"I guess..."
"...We did..." they said somewhat dazedly.
"Oh just cure Blaise already!" Draco said, his anger strengthening his voice, "How bloody hard is that?"
"You'll not get a single ingredient out of me!" Fudge growled.
"Actually..." Dumbledore said, reaching into his robe, "This is all they had..." He withdrew what looked like a long, gray rope.
"The Erumpent tail!" Snape said, stepping forward and taking it, examining it eagerly. "And the other?"
Dumbledore sighed. "The Ministry vaults do not contain any Romanian Longhorn bone. I'm afraid they have been a protected species for so long that all of the remaining supplies have run dry..."
"That's the last ingredient?" Draco asked, "Well Bloody Hell... why didn't you say so?" He reached in his robe, fumbling around weakly for a moment before pulling out his wand and holding it out hilt-first towards Snape. "Will a fang do?"
Snape's eyes widened, "Yes... I believe it would..." He said wonderingly.
"NO!" Fudge said indignantly, "You can't use his wand! We need him to cast the spell, which he can't very well do without that! And it's not like we can replace it! You'll just have to find some other..." He looked over sharply as he heard a snap. His face turned beet red with pent up anger as he saw Draco patiently trying to work a gleaming white fang out of the hilt of his broken wand.
When Draco was done, he handed the slender, three inch long fang over to Snape. Snape took it, turning and leaving so fast his robes actually snapped.
"He... he doesn't have time to brew it now... I mean it takes well over half a day to make! The boy can't possibly hold on that long, can he?"
"Snape has been brewing the ingredients he has since early yesterday." Dumbledore replied evenly, "Those last two are thankfully not required until the end. The potion should be ready in a couple of hours."
Fudge huffed angrily, "Well if those were the last two ingredients, then that means he got the others, some of which are highly illegal, and acquired before you passed your precious Act, so..."
"So I made it retroactive. The two men you were holding in Azkaban for brewing similar potions to spare their loved ones the ravages of dark curses have, of course, been released with full pardons and the Ministry's apologies. Along with a token monetary payment to make up for their lost wages during their incarceration as well of course." Dumbledore said softly.
"You... you can't do that!" Fudge sputtered.
Dumbledore's smile looked much more genuine now, "But I already have, Cornelius."
Fudge narrowed his eyes. "Enjoy your moment of bravado, Dumbledore. As soon as I get back to the Ministry I'm going to repeal your little Act faster than you can say Quidditch!"
"That might prove difficult." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "What with the Administrative Accountability Act..."
Fudge's eyes bugged and his assistants were obviously straining to keep him upright, "The what?" He asked faintly.
"It's rather technical, but part of it does mention that repealing humanitarian legislation requires sixty percent of the Wizarding Community being in favor of repealing it..."
"Vote? A percentage of the Wizarding Community? You act as if we're going to ask each and every witch and wizard!"
"Only the ones seventeen and older." Dumbledore said evenly.
"But... but... the planning alone..." Fudge said, aghast at the idea.
"Have no fear, Cornelius, I wouldn't leave you with that kind of an organizational nightmare. Alastor Moody is heading the committee that will handle all vote taking."
"Mad Eye?!? But he's..." Fudge stammered.
"Very thorough. Yes indeed. I daresay you don't have to worry about any issues of vote tampering."
Fudge had gone from beet red to sheet white alarmingly fast. "How could you have done that much in only fifteen minutes?" He asked numbly.
"That was the first five actually... You'll be reading about a good deal of it in a late edition of the Daily Prophet they should be putting out around noon. Don't worry, I was sure to make reporters accountable for the contents of their articles as well. I can't very well liberate them from Ministry control and influence without some kind of safeguards after all..." He said reassuringly.
"You...?" Fudge said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Freed the Press. Yes indeed." Dumbledore said agreeably.
The assistants were suddenly straining under Fudge's full weight as the man passed out.
"Oh dear..." Dumbledore said, looking concerned. "Perhaps you should take him to the Hospital wing. It doesn't appear as if he is quite ready to be running about..."
Several of the Aurors had to help the two assistants as they carried Fudge from the room.
Dumbledore watched them go, "I do hope the new column in the paper reporting all official Ministry decisions isn't too damaging for him... I only made that one retroactive by a month... but then the plan he was implementing for the capture of the demon might put a crimp in his chances in the upcoming election..."
"Election?" Draco asked, looking up at Dumbledore with smirking admiration.
Dumbledore nodded, "For the position of Minister of Magic. It is now a three year position for which there is an general election, every witch and wizards of seventeen years and over getting one vote..."
The gathered Slytherins roared with laughter. They might not normally be big fans of Dumbledore, but today was a notable exception.
"You did all of that in fifteen minutes?" Ginny asked, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye.
Dumbledore smiled at her genially. "I daresay Cornelius may discover another little change or two as well... oh, and I'm pleased to inform you that Arthur is now Head of Muggle Affairs, overseeing everything Muggle, large and small. I believe he will bring a great deal to the position."
Ginny beamed.
Dumbledore peered down at Draco, sobering. "How is he doing?" He asked gently.
The smirk fled Draco's face. "I can barely feel him... I mean at least I can feel him, which is an improvement, but he's so faint..." He shivered, "And I'm so bloody cold!" he said, weakly pulling up the blanket that had been spread on him.
Dumbledore nodded gravely, "Just hold in there. It shouldn't be long now..."
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Ginny paced back and forth before Draco's bedroom door. The healer had taken him in there so he could concentrate. He was a bit of a gruff man, and didn't seem to take well to having several dozen pensive students crowded around him while he worked.
Most of the Slytherins were now congregating in the Common Room, the stress over both Draco's and Blaise's health being on such treacherous ground was weighing heavily on them all. Snape had insisted that they only enter the Siege Tunnel if absolutely necessary. No one wanted to talk about it, but they knew from his pensive manner that it would be a close thing with Blaise, and there was some fear that he might turn before they could administer the cure, in which case the tunnel would have to be sealed immediately, any left inside having pretty much no chance of survival.
Ginny spun, her heart catching in her throat as the door clicked open. The stout, gray haired healer emerged, looking a bit worn out. "How are they?" She asked pensively.
"Resting." He replied shortly.
"But they're going to be alright?" She persisted.
He frowned at her. "I did what I could." He said gruffly.
She bit her lip. What was that supposed to mean? She wanted to press him for more information, but he hardly looked in the mood to be grilled.
He saw her expression and sighed, rolling his eyes, "As I told Dumbledore before, I've never bound two souls together like this. My training was for the healing of spell-damaged souls. I can't guarantee how well they'll mesh."
"I'm sure you did your best..." Ginny said, trying not to sound too distracted as she tried to catch a peek through the door, which was still cracked open a bit.
"You must be the Ginevra they kept going on about..." he said shrewdly.
Her eyes darted back to him and widened in surprise. "Ginevra... Ginny... yes..."
He sighed, "Go on in. I have to see Dumbledore, but I'm sure that boy will be defying my orders to rest and making his way out here otherwise."
She smiled at him gratefully and darted around him, not giving him a chance to change his mind.
As she closed the door behind her, she looked over, spotting him sitting on the side of the bed, staring at his hands as if he found them fascinating.
"Draco...?" She asked tentatively.
He looked up and she came to a halt, staring in shock at his eyes. Where before she had seen the occasional little swirl of color, his eyes were now an almost dizzying mixture of light gray and dark brown. The colors were constantly flowing in little swirls and eddies, though at the same time the colors remained clearly separate. She found herself mesmerized by the fascinating manifestation.
"That bad?" He asked a bit tiredly.
She shook herself out of it. "No... it's just..." She was at a loss for words. She went into the bathroom and brought back the small hand mirror, handing it to him.
He took it and then stared at the reflection for a long moment. "I think we're gonna need those glasses..." He said softly. Even he seemed to find his eyes fascinating.
"So... you're both... there?" She asked, unsure how to phrase it.
He looked up at her and smiled, setting aside the mirror. "We are... Darien's still a bit bollocksed, but overall we're doing alright... the healer said we might eventually be a lot closer to one person... but for now..." He took a deep breath and let it out, setting aside the mirror. "It's like it was... and yet on the other hand, entirely different... we're separate... and yet somehow the same too... I can't really explain it... it's just... hard to tell where one ends and the other begins..."
She wasn't sure she really understood, but then it didn't sound like he really did yet either, so she let it pass for the moment. "What should I call you now...?"
He smirked. "Draco will do. It's this body's legal name, and we don't really care what we're called so Draco is what we'll go with. At least for now. But then you can call us whatever you like." He said, his smirk widening.
She gave him a little smile, then it faded a bit. She wasn't sure how to broach the next subject. "And... what about... um... us...? Do you still feel the same...?" She asked pensively.
He looked thoughtful for a long moment, then shook his head. "No..."
Her eyes widened worriedly, but then he reached out and snagged the front of her shirt, pulling her forward and guiding her down until she lay on her back on the bed next to him. He stared down at her with those chaotic eyes for a long moment. "When we were separate..." He said softly, "We both loved you... but in different ways... for different reasons... now..." He took a deep breath and let it slowly out. She shivered as it whispered warmly across her skin. "Together... we love you far more than should be humanly possible..." He said almost reverently, leaning down and capturing her lips, kissing her with a deep, burning passion.
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Draco paused, bracing himself as he reached Blaise's door. He opened the door, slipping in as the warm air flowed out to meet him. He looked around, noting Snape and Delse hovering around a medium sized cauldron on a newly added table to one side, a strange, musky scent competing with the cloying sweetness of Pomfrey's medicinal brew still steaming away in the corner near Blaise's bed.
He made himself look over at Blaise, and winced. The last time he'd seen him he hadn't thought Blaise could possibly get that much worse... but he'd been wrong. Professor Oblique sat beside Blaise, gently stroking his snow white hair and murmuring to him softly.
Draco made his way over beside Snape. "How long until it's ready?" He asked, keeping his voice low.
"Not long now..." Snape said, glancing over at Blaise pensively, and dropping his voice a bit more so Delse couldn't hear him from where she stood, studiously stirring the cauldron, "But he's fading even as we speak... His bones are already very brittle and there's just not much of him left... but I can't rush this... it's delicate, and it's already been steeping far longer than it should have while waiting for those last two ingredients. I've been having to add Re'em blood to keep it viable... I just have to hope it hasn't grown too strong... too much of a shock to his system right now..." He trailed off, leaving it unsaid. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Our biggest problem is keeping him aware and fighting it so he'll make it long enough for this to finish."
Draco nodded. "I'll do what I can..." He said, making his way over to the bed.
Professor Oblique saw him and patted Blaise's hand, giving him a light kiss on the forehead and rising, moving away so that Draco could take her place.
Draco took a seat beside Blaise. "Hey there..." He said softly, "I'm back..."
A little smile tugged at the side of Blaise's mouth at the sound of Draco's voice, but he didn't even open his eyes.
"Well... the soul binding procedure is done... we're one now..." He said conversationally, trying to draw Blaise's attention.
Blaise's eyes cracked open slightly for a moment before closing again. He mumbled something, but it was too soft to hear.
"What?" Draco asked, leaning close. Even with his ear only a few inches from Blaise's mouth, he could barely make out the whisper soft words.
"You... look... bizarre... as... fuck..." He wheezed softly.
Draco laughed. "Bet we do..." He quickly leaned back as Blaise began speaking again.
"Should... you... be... up...?"
Draco smirked, but tears stung his eyes at the same time. Blaise was laying there, literally on death's doorstep, and he was worrying about Draco's health? "We'll be fine." He said softly. "Actually..." He said, quickly going on when Blaise started to look as if he was drifting off again, "The healer did want me to rest at first... but when he came back into my room and found me 'resting' with Ginny on the bed with my tongue down her throat and my hand in her knickers, he suddenly decided that I should probably get out of my room and walk around for a bit..."
Blaise's thin shoulders shook slightly with amusement as his lips pulled into a weak smile. "You... didn't... curse... him...?" He wheezed quietly.
Draco grinned. "Admittedly, it was rather tempting at that point, but he'd just done me a favor... and besides, I couldn't... the business part of my wand is boiling away in that cauldron over there."
Blaise's eyes cracked open again as he made a little questioning sound.
Draco blushed slightly, though he wasn't sure why he should be embarrassed about it. "The last ingredient... they needed some Romanian Longhorn bone... but they said a fang would work... so I gave them one..." He said with a shrug, trying to make it sound like nothing. He looked over in surprise as Blaise's gaunt hand touched his, settling over it and taking ahold of it with a feather-light grasp.
"You... loved... that... wand..." He gasped a bit louder.
Draco flashed him a little smile. "Maybe... but it was still just a wand... a wand can be replaced... finding someone else who would put up with me? Now that would be much more difficult..." He teased gently.
Blaise gave him a little ghost of a smile, then they sat there for a time in companionable silence.
Draco tensed, sitting up straighter as a tremor went through Blaise, his frail hand grasping Draco's convulsively. Blaise let out a pained sound. "Leave..." He gasped urgently.
"No bloody way." Draco said, slipping his hand out of Blaise's grasp and taking ahold of him, gingerly pulling Blaise up until he was draped halfway across him, cradling him in arms like he would a little child. His body was disturbingly light... it was like holding a doll. "Come on Blaise... they're almost done with the potion!"
Blaise let out a pained sound, "Just... want... it... to... stop..." He sobbed weakly.
"It will!"Draco said firmly, "But you have to wait just a bit longer! Come on..."
Blaise let out another pained sound.
"None of that!" Draco said firmly. "Because I'll tell you right now, I have no intention of leaving. I plan on walking out of here with you at my side, so buck up! Because if you don't, do you know what will happen?"
Blaise cracked his eyes open, looking up at Draco silently.
"If you let yourself go... you're going to turn into a wraith... and as soon as that happens, you're going to kill me. There won't be a bloody thing I can do to stop you. Then you're going to go over there and kill Snape and then your mum... because none of us are leaving. Do you want that to happen, Blaise?" He asked softly, "Do you want to kill me?"
Blaise let out a weak sob, his thin fingers grasping feebly at the front of Draco's shirt and clinging to it with all his meager strength.
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The tension in the Slytherin Common room had grown thick. By nowevery last Slytherin was in that one large room... this made it a bit crowded, but they seemed to draw strength from being surrounded by their housemates. Despite the number of people present, the room was unusually quiet, no more than the occasional rustle of cloth or creak of a piece of furniture to be heard. It had been nearly half an hour since Professor Oblique had emerged from the tunnel and sealed it on Snape's orders... in case the worst should happen. It could be unsealed from within by a wizard, but was impenetrable to a wraith.
They all tensed, their heads snapping around as they heard a door open. Ron and Pansy sprang up, their hands clasped, drawing what comfort they could from eachother as they watched Snape came into the room, his expression unreadable.
He surveyed the group for a moment, then said in a somber voice, "First and foremost, I would like to apologize to you all... and most especially you Ron... Pansy... The potion was left brewing far longer than it should have while waiting for the last ingredients... and he was much further gone than any who survived ever had been... I ended up having to give him three entire doses... all of which were far too strong... and as a result..." Snape grabbed ahold of a nearby chair to keep from sprawling as something blurred past him.
Ron and Pansy stared in shock as Blaise suddenly stood before them, beaming. His hair was once again jet black, his skin his usual pale but healthy color, his eyes clear and dark. In essence, he looked pretty much the same as before the curse had hit him... perhaps a bit thinner still, but nearly back to normal. Before they could even react, he wrapped an arm around each of their waists and hugged them to him, lifting them off their feet and spinning them around.
"...he's a mite hyper..." Snape finished ruefully, straightening his robes and trying hard not to smirk. He straightened. "Now now Blaise, put them down. Remember what I told you..."
Blaise set them down but didn't release them, leaning over and giving Pansy a breathstealing kiss as the rest of the Slytherins broke into fractious cheers. When he broke the kiss, he turned his head and did the same to Ron.
When he released Ron's lips, he beamed happily. "Yes yes... be gentle... never fear, Snape... these are the last two people I would ever hurt..." He said, sighing blissfully as he held them, then he released them, slipping down to his knees and resting his cheek lovingly against Pansy's stomach, "Well... except for these two of course..." he said, nuzzling her lovingly, then placing two very gentle kisses on her stomach. "You're stuck with me now..." he murmured softly, as if the tiny babies could hear him.
"Who's stuck with you?" Delse asked a bit faintly, standing beside Snape wide eyed. It was obvious she had a good idea already.
Blaise looked over at her in surprise, realizing she didn't know. He stood, and beamed around at his gathered fellows. "Pansy, Ron and I are going to be parents!" He announced proudly. "Twins! A Weasley and a Zabini!"
Surprised and happy chatter quickly filled the room. What with Blaise's dire health, they hadn't thought to tell anyone.
Snape quickly grabbed Delse and supported her as her knees got suddenly weak. She looked up at him, stunned, "I'm going to be a grandmother?" She asked, dazedly.
He gave her a warm smile. "It would appear so."
"Merlin..." She breathed.
Blaise held up his hands for silence, "I also want it known that I love these two more than I have any right to... and I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with them if they let me... so I want to make sure this is perfectly clear in all your minds right now... these two are MINE... so... if any of you want to shag them, I expect you to ask first." He finished with an impish grin.
Ron and Pansy laughed, wrapping themselves around him as the others chuckled.
Blaise shivered, snuggling against them. "What say we get back to our room...?" He murmured suggestively.
Ron grinned, but looked over at Snape hesitantly. "Is he... fully recovered?"
Snape let out a snort of laughter. "You can shag him all you want. He could definitely stand to work off a bit of excess energy before attempting that spell... if there's anyone I'm worried about, it's you two!"
Blaise grinned, then pulled Pansy close. "Don't worry... I plan on being very gentle with you..." He said, kissing her tenderly. He then released her and looked over at Ron with a smirk. "As for you..." He said, taking Ron in his arms and surprising him by sweeping him back, dipping him low and taking Ron's entire weight as if it was nothing. "I haven't shagged anyone in DAYS... so I certainly hope you're well rested..." He said in a soft, sultry voice. Then he kissed him deeply, making Ron's head swim with his intensity as the others chuckled.
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A/N - I know, I know... I make you wait an eternity, and then I let Fudge live. Well, Blaise, Draco and Darien all lived too... so am I off the hit lists now? And for those of you who are upset about Fudge... if I let Harry kill him, then some Ministry prat would have Harry thrown in Azkaban, saying it was his fault because he voluntarily went out there and let himself be possessed. Note: I didn't say Harry would feel horribly guilty over it ;) But really, we need someone around like Fudge... someone who is just so damn fun to bitch slap! Oh, and I don't really know exactly how the Ministry of Magic works, but I don't believe Minister is an elected position in J.K.'s 'world'. For one, over the course of the five years that she has thus far chronicled, they never mentioned anything about elections, and I can't truly imagine that everyone really wants FUDGE as Minister. I imagine if there's any kind of election it is limited to members of the Wizengamot or something like that. I mean Dumbledore said people had been encouraging him to go for the position, but I don't recall them saying he should run for it... just that they would support him... and hasn't Fudge been Minister for like a REAL long time? Didn't he get the position like a year or two after Harry's parents were killed or something? I think I remember something about Crumb being close to getting it, but when his boy went all Death Eater he lost his chance to Fudge... but then I could be remembering wrong and I don't really feel like looking it up just because I got chatty in an author's note... ;)
Sorry about the wait, BTW. Muggle crap came up. Not to mention, it's not easy deciding the fate of so many! I am still struggling with what I want to happen... the story is obviously coming to a head, and I have an idea what I want to happen in the end... but what route to take there, how long it will take, exactly how it will end and such are still really up in the air... I haven't even decided out for sure what I want to do with the bloody demon!
Oh, and I know someone gave the spelling of the fire spell, but that wasn't the one I was trying to figure out how to spell... I had just mentioned Hermione had used a fire spell in the book, but what I wanted was the sunlight spell she used in the Movie instead... it sounded like "Lumos Solem" but I didn't want to officially venture a guess as to it's spelling in the body of the story. That was a while ago that we discussed that I know, but I saw that part in HP1 today and thought I'd mention it.
I will attempt to get the next part out faster, but as I said, I'm struggling with it a bit at this point, and it's difficult to write a chapter without accidentally ruling out possible outcomes, and without knowing what I'll need to support the outcome... if that makes any sense... I'm getting really tired, so I'll just shut up and post already.