In this chapter, we'll find out what Blaise has been up to and what news he can tell his friends

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Slowly, Blaise opened his eyes and shielded them instantly from the sun. Rolling over, he realized he was lying in a bed

"How did I get here?"

The last he remembered was knocking on someone's door. He had a distinct memory of the door opening and someone talking that sounded familiar

Blaise looked around at his surroundings. He was in a bedroom, a cupboard against the far wall, a mirror across from the bed and a desk near the mirror. Confused, Blaise got out of bed and walked around the room, just as the door opened. Whirling around, Blaise saw Draco enter the room and jumped back

"Whoa dude, you scared me there"

"Oh really," Draco smirked, "I'm surprised though, thought you were unscareable"

Blaise broke into a grin and strode over to Draco, sharing a handshake

"It's good to see you," said Blaise

"Long time, no see. We should catch up sometime"

"True, true"

They broke the handshake, as Blaise walked over to the mirror

"Jeez, I look like shit"

"Actually, I think you look worse than shit, but we'll go by your idea for now"

Blaise looked over at Draco

"So, what have you been up to since we last met?" he asked

"Oh, travelling around the world, trying to kill my father, raising a child, you know, that sort of thing"

"You're a father?"

"Uh, yeah, I am"

"You sly devil"

"Now it's my turn to ask a question"

"Go for it"

"How did you know where I was?"

"I didn't. While hiding, I heard about the attack on the Weasley twins and followed them. I knew they were connected with Potter and that he had defeated the Dark Lord, so I followed them. Didn't expect I would collapse from exhaustion"

"Now that explains everything"

Draco led the way downstairs into the kitchen, where Hermione sat with Elizabeth. Blaise saw her and got a look of disgust on his face. Draco noticed and elbowed him

"Show some respect, dude," he whispered, "She is the mother of my child"

"Okay, man, you forgot to take your meds"

Draco rolled his eyes and walked over to Hermione, sitting next to her and taking Elizabeth. Hermione looked up at Blaise

"Hi Blaise"

Blaise worked his face into a smile and nodded, before sitting down at the table, but as far away from Hermione as he could possibly get. Draco frowned at him as Elizabeth sucked on his index finger. At that minute, both Harry and Ginny came into the kitchen, saw Blaise and sat down

"So, what's happening?" asked Harry

"Nothing yet," answered Draco

He looked up at Blaise, along with everyone else

"Where have you been since the end of sixth year?" he asked Blaise

"Soon after Dumbledore was killed, I saw I would be forced to get the Dark Mark, because remember, I joined after you"

Draco nodded

"Pity, we could have got the Dark Mark together"

Hermione glared at Draco, but he ignored it, as Blaise continued,

"I've been running around the place, going from London to Scotland, to New York and even Sydney. My mother made sure I was safe and as for my step-dad, well he didn't really care. Didn't bother to make sure if I was okay, but didn't come after me"

"That's a bonus," said Harry, "Step-dad doesn't care, either way"

Blaise nodded

"Yeah, I've been living off scraps, rats, basically anything I could find"

"And you lasted like that for nearly two years?" asked Hermione, clearly shocked

"Pretty much"

His stomach rumbled. He looked down and gave a sad smile

"Hang on, I'll fix you something," offered Ginny

She got up and headed over to the stove, as Blaise shot a worried look at Draco. He smiled and raised his right hand to tell him it was okay

About fifteen minutes later, Ginny ladled up a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Blaise, along with a spoon. He hesitated

"Go on, try it," coached Draco

Blaise dipped the spoon in and ate a small mouthful. His eyes widened at the texture

"What type of soup is this?" he asked Ginny

She sat down and shrugged

"No idea, really, I just made it up on the spot"

"Yeah, with her, there's no need for recipe books," said Harry, "She just makes it up as she goes along"

Blaise gave in to the hunger and devoured the soup, before looking up at Ginny

"There's more if you want some"

It was another two bowlfuls of soup before Blaise declared himself full

"Thanks a lot, Ginny, thanks, I haven't had anything like that in a long time"

"Wait until you try Hermione's desserts," said Draco, "They're a killer"

Hermione rolled her eyes, as Blaise gave him a smile

"Maybe later"

"Alright, even though you've disappeared for about two years," said Harry, "Is there anything you know that you could tell us?"

"My step-dad is still loyal to the Dark Lord and was in Azkaban, until recently. The last thing I heard from him was that the Dementors were going to join the Death Eaters if they ever get out of Azkaban and also, along with the giants again and werewolves"

"So basically," said Draco, "Just like last time"

"And oh yeah," said Blaise, "My step-dad was thinking about getting vampires, a basilisk and Acromantulas"

Everyone's jaws dropped at that latest piece of news. They knew that this battle wouldn't be easy. It never was easy, but now, with all these new supposed forces, the battle would be harder than ever before

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