Act 0, Ch. II: The Prince of Swords

Prince of Swords: The coming and going of (mis)fortune. A messenger and a spy. At their best, they are diplomatic, gracious and intelligent; an excited, curious mind that is eager to learn. Full of ideas and designs that tumble over each other, they are intensely clever and rational, but unstable of purpose. Ill dignified, they are nosy, deceitful and cruelly cunning. Innocence turned to ignorance, hidden threats and quiet conflict, simmering in indifference reduces to unreality.

Blaise sat at the top of the stairs above the tea parlor his Ma had staked her claim on. He was careful to remain hidden behind the bannister. Blaise had taken to eavesdropping. He was quite good at it, loving nothing more than sticking his nose in things he had no business knowing.

He bolted out of his room the second he heard his Ma greeting Lady Malfoy. His lip curled into a smirk once he heard the floo flare up once more and Lord Nott's gravelly voice joined the fray. Whatever this was, it had to do with him. Therefore, it was his business to know, and his right to listen in.

Blaise had picked up quite a bit of English in the months he had lived here. Nothing was as motivating for him as the feeling of being left out of conversations. Not necessarily because he wanted to participate in them. He just liked knowing everybody's business.

He gathered these bits of information, gleaned people's motivations and stored secrets in his back pocket until they would be useful to him. Blaise didn't know how they would be useful just yet, but he followed his compulsion nonetheless.

Learning how to read their body language and tone before he could understand the words went a long way in building his deductive skills. Unfortunately, he couldn't see them from his vantage point. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make, knowing that they couldn't see him either. Adults tended to hold their tongues around young ears.

He heard the delicate clink of his Ma's teaset and could only assume they had the good manners not to let the chairs scrape as they took a seat. His Ma cordially asked how they liked their tea, the ever gracious host.

With their greetings and pleasantries out of the way and their tea cooling to tolerable temperatures, they began in earnest.

"Thank you for having us, Lady Gamp," Blaise shuddered despite Lady Malfoy's gentle voice. He was still unaccustomed to his Ma's new title. He hated it.

"Oh it is no trouble at all, I daresay we will become well acquainted in the following years," Ma said, amusement evident in her tone. "Please, call me Adrianna."

"Of course, Adrianna, and I must insist you call me Narcissa as well."

Nott Sr was conspicuously silent during this exchange. No wonder, Blaise thought with a snort, he'd be too embarrassed to go by Cantankerous too. His parents must have had a terrible sense of humor, or been blessed with foresight, or both.

Lady Malfoy paused for a beat, allowing him time to speak, but did not seem terribly surprised that he didn't. "Our sons do seem to be getting on quite well."

"I must agree," Nott Sr replied, "When I noticed the incoming floo call, I was surprised to see you. At first I thought I had forgotten that young Zabini was visiting Theodore." Blaise wrinkled his nose at the clear disdain Nott Sr infused in his Pa's name. He'd love to give that old coot a piece of his mind, but he preferred maintaining his friendship.

Ma continued like nothing was amiss. "Yes, it seems he asks me permission to visit every other day."

Lady Malfoy hummed noncommittally. "Indeed. I think Draco has asked me more times in these two months than he has in years of friendship with the young Crabbe and Goyle boys. It warms my heart to see Draco so lively." Blaise could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yes, yes, it is all well and good for young lads to be sociable," Nott said dismissively. "But I must admit, I am growing quite tired of Theodore knocking on my door constantly."

"I'm sure we could reach an agreement that suits our needs and our sons' happiness," Ma replied diplomatically. "I've noticed Blaise has picked up English quite fast now that he has someone to talk to." He could hear a certain sharpness to Ma's voice. She was plotting something.

"It's about time he catches up to his peers, after all." Nott added derisively. Blaise's hands curled into fists. He'd like to see that man dropped in a foreign country and forced to make his way around with nothing but an old dictionary and an impatient tutor.

It was a good thing Lady Malfoy replied before his Ma could. She never took kindly to insults against their foreignness.

"It is known that learning with your fellow peers is much more efficient," she said, side stepping that barb expertly. "Perhaps they could begin taking their lessons together."

"What a wonderful idea, Narcissa! I'm sure they would be quite happy to spend more time together, and that would take the difficulty out of constantly coordinating schedules."

"I'd quite appreciate that. The less time I have to spend managing playdates, the better." Nott replied. Blaise stifled his annoyance, reminding himself that it didn't matter that he called them playdates as long as it meant he got to see his friends more often.

"I believe a set schedule would take quite a bit off of all of our plates," Lady Malfoy replied. How she managed to keep her cool around that dreadful old man baffled him, but he certainly could appreciate it. "Our governness is well qualified to teach multiple children at a time, I am sure we could include Theodore and Blaise quite easily."

"Oh Narcissa I couldn't impose on you that much!" Ma replied. "We could certainly host them here a few days a week. Maybe we could set up a rotating schedule?"

"That is very thoughtful of you, thank you Adrianna. Yes, I think I shall take you up on that. Lets say, two days a week at our respective manors?" she replied.

Nott grumbled at this, but quickly acquiesced. "I suppose that would be best. Having three brats entertaining each other only two days a week certainly sounds more manageable than one bored, restless child pestering me every day."

Ma cleared her throat, Blaise could nearly hear the curses she choked off before they could leave her mouth. It was oddly heartwarming. She may be cold, withdrawn, and preoccupied with chasing status, but he never doubted that she cared for him.

"Yes, I'm sure you want him out of your hair," she replied, venom dripping from her tone. Blaise had to stifle a laugh with his hands. That sad, balding old man didn't seem to notice the insult, but he was sure that Lady Malfoy did.

She stepped in before Ma could say anything else. "Of course, Lord Nott, we would all be happy to know our children are in safe hands when they are not under foot."

"Hmph. Well then, it is settled. I can take them Mondays and Tuesdays." Nott replied gruffy. Blaise heard him slurp the last of his tea, likely trying to avoid a mouthful of leaves. The teacup hit the saucer with a delicate clink and the chair scraped outwards.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Gamp. I will be expecting young Misters Zabini and Malfoy next week at 9am." With that, his footsteps echoed as he crossed the hallway and the fireplace roared to life.

There was a moment of quiet as they presumably sipped their tea.

"Ah that Lord Nott, quite the charmer," Blaise's eyebrows rose in surprise. He would've expected a comment like that from his Ma, not Lady Malfoy.

She only chuckled in response. There was a minute of quiet, where the only sounds he could make out were the clinking of their teacups.

"My, my, Narcissa, take a look at this," she said as she slid something across the table.

Lady Malfoy hummed in thoughtful consideration, pausing for a few moments to think.

"Is that a cross and a cloud? It seems Lucius's gossip is correct, that Lord Nott has quite the troubled past."

"Mhmm, I believe so." There was a long pause that Blaise was certain was filled with meaningful glances, raised eyebrows, and other vague, silent communications they were so fond of.

"Odd, there's nothing in the future positions." Lady Malfoy pointed out.

"Perhaps it was how he held the cup," Ma suggested. Blaise could tell she didn't believe it was that simple. He knew that tone too well. She always sounded like that when she asked a supposedly innocuous question about the trouble he had tried to cover up. It was a prompt, he realized.

The short hum Lady Malfoy gave in response sounded like she wasn't fooled either. "Or perhaps he has outlived his relevance."

Blaise covered his mouth to stifle the gasp. He could tell Ma was equally surprised at her candor. She snorted. Snorted. Of course she quickly covered it up with a delicate cough, but he knew what he heard.

"Excuse me, I must have... choked on a tea leaf," she covered, more out of etiquette than any actual attempt to fool Lady Malfoy.

"Of course, those pesky things do tend to be bothersome once you finish your tea," she replied. "May I?"

He heard her teacup slide across the table and waited anxiously for her assessment.

"I see a ring in your future quadrant," Lady Malfoy said after a long pause. It seemed like such a simple statement, but her tone held such weight. Blaise couldn't help the shudder that ran through him. Next order of business: dig up a tasseomancy reference book.

He heard the delicate rattle of a teacup balancing on a saucer being pushed across the table. Another long silence. Finally, Ma spoke up.

"A dagger? In the personal quadrant, no less?" she asked.

"Is it really loyalty if you are unable or unwilling to achieve your ends?" Lady Malfoy sure loved replying to questions with even vaguer questions. What does loyalty have to do with anything?

"That is quite auspicious. I do prefer my friends ruthless and armed," she replied, tone layered with sharp appreciation. She clearly understood the connection, he thought with a huff.

Lady Malfoy hummed in agreement, a loaded silence hanging between them. Blaise's mind was whirring trying to keep up, trying to decipher the unspoken paragraphs they managed to communicate in a short sentence. Just his luck, snooping on people speaking in code. He should've known, Ma was always the elusive conversationalist.

"Would you like more tea?" Ma broke the silence, playing the part of hostess with practiced ease.

"Yes, thank you."

All he could hear for a minute was the delicate clinking of the tea set. They sipped in silence, and then, "You know, you would have made an exceptional Slytherin."

"Why thank you, Narcissa. That is quite the honor, coming from you." Ma replied. The tension hanging heavily in the air dispelled suddenly. His shoulders relaxed. He wondered when they had tensed in the first place.

"Have you seen Twilfit & Tatting's new spring/summer collection? I love the cerulean they've introduced," Ma said, gently steering the conversation to safer topics, less fraught with double entendres and ominous divinations. "Oh yes, I quite enjoyed their usage of gold accents with that, but I found the floral collection quite tired. I mean, florals? In spring? Groundbreaking." Lady Malfoy replied wryly.

He heard Ma chuckle. Blaise stood quietly, carefully shaking out his legs. He learned the hard way that it's much harder to sneak around with numb feet. He tiptoed off as they continued their chat, heading straight to the library.

Blaise tried, and failed, to hold back a sneeze. Unfortunately, the force of it kicked up yet another cloud of dust. Honestly, they should really be wearing masks. Who knows how long it's been since someone's been in these rooms.

"Bless you," Draco said absently as he thumbed through a worn leather bound book. Another diary, then.

They were currently snooping around yet another forgotten bedroom on the abandoned third floor of Gamp hall, as they were wont to do after they finished their lessons of the day. It was their main entertainment of choice at Blaise's place. They had fallen into a very comfortable routine over the past year. Lessons started at nine, lunch at noon, homework til three, and then goofing off until they had to return home for dinner at 7. Not that Blaise called it home. It was just where he slept and ate.

In Blaise's terribly humble opinion, this was not and never could be considered a home. Homes are cozy, with people occupying the bedrooms and filling the living room with laughter and the smell of Nonna's cooking floating out from the kitchen. They were not supposed to sprawl endlessly empty like this. There shouldn't be countless dusty, abandoned rooms around every corner. It shouldn't smell like mold and spiders, either.

He probably shouldn't be treating this mansion like an amusement park and shopping mall, but as long as he didn't break anything it should be fine, right? Most of these rooms clearly haven't been opened in ages anyways, nobody would notice a broken spring in the couch or a missing necklace in a forgotten jewelry box. It's not like they were doing anything strictly wrong, just...questionable. And as long as no one noticed, no one could question. It was foolproof, really.

He was, yet again, deeply thankful that their parents were too busy with their own little pursuits to actually supervise them. Blaise wasn't terribly bothered by the arrangement. Of course, thinking about their parents' general distaste for them stung, but it came with its perks.

As long as they kept their tutors happy and made it to dinner in their own respective houses, they were free to goof off with the ever present company of their two best friends. As far as they were concerned, the only rule that actually matters is 'don't get caught'.

He wasn't too worried about that either. Neither Ma nor Lord Gamp were particularly interested in exploring abandoned bedrooms filled with curious knick knacks, moth eaten gowns and the widest variety of books Blaise had ever seen.

It seemed like every room once had an occupant with particular tastes, interests, and secrets of their own. It was a wonder, what you could decipher about a person based on their old possessions. For example, Theo's poking around the wardrobe revealed that this room was once inhabited by a rather busty woman who favored dark colors; and Draco's examination of the diary on her nightstand revealed that her name was Hesper Gamp, nee Black.

Her jewelry box was overflowing, much to Theo's delight. Blaise looked over at his friend with a fond chuckle. Theo was, yet again, pawing through the boxes of shiny baubles. He looked up at Blaise with a distinctly birdlike tilt of his head. His little chuckle morphed into a full blown laugh.

"Whatcha got there, gazza ladra?"

Theo wrinkled his nose. He didn't need to know what the words meant to know Blaise was teasing him. Apparently, Italian had much better expressions, or so Blaise kept reminding him. Just because he was used to Blaise's penchant for indecipherable teasing, doesn't mean he liked it. Yet.

"What does that even mean?" he asked, as he tried to surriptiously slip an emerald necklace in his pocket.

"Thieving Magpie." Blaise replied with a cheeky grin. Theo's eye roll only made him laugh harder.

"What, are you gonna look at me and tell me that I'm wrong?" He continued with a wry grin. "You lose all sense the second you see something shiny, mate. Plus you're already wearing two of her rings and you've got yet another necklace in your pocket." He smirked at the shock that crossed his friend's face. "Oh don't give me that look, you should know by now that you can't get one over on me."

"Does it even count as stealing if she's been dead for, what, 300 years?" Theo sputtered indignantly.

"Certainly not, she won't miss them, and clearly no one else who lives here will either." Draco murmured, barely looking up from his book. "Besides, she was worse than you anyways. I'm only three pages in and she's already cursed someone for insulting her hair."

Theo looked back at Blaise with a sharp smirk. "See? If anything, I am just an extension of karma."

Blaise snorted. "Yeah, karma has better things to do so she sends you instead. The worst punishment she could think of, really. Sending some twelve year old boys to paw through her belongings, pilfer her beloved jewels and read her diary."

Theo rolled his eyes and resumed his pilfering. Blaise and Draco shared a conspiratorial grin before he turned back to the bookshelves lining the walls. Most people's rooms only contained a few books that they had borrowed from the Manor's library. She, clearly, had been a voracious reader.

He found a little something on everything. Everything. The usual potions, charms and herbology references; more esoteric texts on divinations, prophecies, and predictive astronomy; thoroughly detailed instructions on fertility rites and raunchy novels; old diaries detailing mundane daily activities and scandalous family histories; even questionably legal tomes on ritualistic and blood magic.

This room held a lot of the latter. She had... eclectic taste, to say the least. He was glad he brought his magically extended book bag, as he couldn't bear to let these waste away in here any longer. He knew the main Gamp library didn't have anything like this. He checked. Twice.

He took to squirrelling away anything he found remotely interesting. If anyone wanted them, they wouldn't be sitting in an abandoned bedroom, right? They had a library here. If the books weren't in there, they were fair game as far as he was concerned.

Blaise examined each of the books methodically. He didn't bother with the reference books, though. They were usually out of date, and he didn't need yet another compendium on the magical herbs of the greater United Kingdom. He could understand the need for them though, considering the other books on her shelves.

The second shelf contained a dizzying array of all things potions, theory and recipe, healing and harming alike. 'Veneficium, The Poison Path' was quickly snatched up, shortly followed by 'Psychedelic and Psychoactive Potions'. He threw in the one on healing as an afterthought. He should be able to reverse any harm he deals, if only to make sure he doesn't accidentally kill someone he didn't mean to. He made quick work of the top few shelves, stopping short once his eyes wandered down.

The bottom three shelves were the most intriguing. It seemed that they had a diviner on their hands. Even with the expansion charms, Blaise would have a tough time fitting everything in his bag. He'd never realized there were so many methods of divination. Astrology, tarot, and runestones, sure. But what was augury? Haruspicy? He'd find out soon enough, he thought with a shrug, as he swept them all off the shelf.

He didn't even bother looking through the many ritual magic books before swiping them. He knew for a fact that he wouldn't find anything on this anywhere else. Blaise wasn't entirely sure about the laws here, but if Ma's reactions were anything to go by they were much more strict than Italy.

He stopped showing her his finds when she confiscated one particularly interesting book on runic circles. He knew that gleam in her eye. She wouldn't destroy it. He'd give her enough time to finish reading it and steal it back later. Preferably, when he was educated enough to actually understand it. That would be the last one she got from him, though. He was an adamant proponent of finders, keepers.

He separated the many diaries from his spoils and dropped them on the table next to Draco with a thud. Draco's eyes widened and his lip curled into a familiar smirk. "Oh Blaise, you know me so well."

He noticed months ago that Draco didn't care much for printed books. The Malfoy library was extensive enough for his tastes. What he did love, however, were secrets. Draco claimed blanket dibs on any and all diaries they found, pouring over them with an obsessive fervor.

Blaise snorted. "I sure do, mate. How could I not notice you don't read unless you'll be graded on it later?" He dodged a smack intended for the back of his head with practiced ease.

"You'll tell me about anything juicy in those, right?" Theo asked, a mischievous grin spreading as he fastened a watch on his wrist.

Draco scoffed. "Of course, you prat. Half the fun of snooping is laughing about it with you two later."

Blaise smiled and turned back to his bag, getting lost in thought while trying to fit his new library in the woefully small space.

Draco was rapidly gaining a reputation between the three of them for being an incorrigible gossip. On one hand, Blaise loved nothing more than being privy to scandalous details of people's personal lives. On the other, it was a role best suited to Draco. Blaise may love snooping, but he was subtle enough not to go spreading everything he learned to anyone who was willing to listen. He understood the urge to investigate better than anyone, not that Draco would know that though. Blaise had been quietly cultivating his new hobby more intentionally now, ever since that fateful day last year when he overheard their parents scheming. He and Draco differed on one key trait though.

Draco collected secrets to make himself look more powerful, to spread rumors, to exchange them like currency. Malfoys always did love flaunting their wealth, he thought with a snort. Blaise had no doubt he had a promising career in blackmail waiting for him once he inherited the family's Wizengamot seat.

Blaise, on the other hand, took no joy in unearthing secrets and airing them out for everyone to see. Was it still a secret if all their friends knew? No, that would defeat the entire purpose. Of course, there was a huge difference between the secrets of a stranger six generations back, and the daily activities of his own mother.

Besides, he didn't want people to second guess what they shared with him. After all, he was already learning to be careful with Draco. If he garnered a similar reputation, no one would trust him to hold their secrets in confidence. Maybe one day, age would temper Draco's motor mouth, but until then? He held his findings close to his chest, only divulging the most relevant bits when he absolutely must. He preferred to keep it all to himself, smugly hoarding bits of trivia like a dragon napping on its gold.

It sent a thrill through him. Sitting there, pretending like he had no idea why Ma wanted to talk, acting surprised and delighted at the 'news', trying to keep his smile from turning into a smirk. He enjoyed the one sided games he played. He practiced walking silently, staying obscured in the shadows and moving smoothly enough that the movement did not draw people's eye instinctively. He loved playing dumb, loved being underestimated, loved hiding a satisfied smirk when someone told him something he heard first hand hours, days, even weeks ago. Besides, you never know what backstory people will reveal that you didn't manage to hear.

He made a game of remaining unobserved. No one thought much of him, much too occupied with their adult business of shuffling parchment around and making loud floo calls to business associates. Gamp, especially, believed that children should be seen and not heard.

He was all too happy to play into that. They had come to an unspoken peace between them, both understanding that they wanted as little to do with the other as possible. They were cordial, but it never extended past small talk over dinner.

Despite their thorough avoidance of each other, he would recognize the man's grating voice anywhere. Blaise jerked in surprise when he heard him over his left shoulder. It was faint, but unmistakable. He wouldn't have heard it if they hadn't been too busy silently plundering their newest treasure chest, after all.

He spun on his heel, only to find a plain wall. He looked up and noticed a heating vent right above his head though.

"Hello, Adrianna. Bit early for tea, isn't it?" Gamp said.

Blaise's eyes widened. This vent must lead to his study, one floor beneath them. There's nowhere else he would be at this time. He looked back to see Theo tilting his head inquisitively at him, and Draco lifting his nose from the book to meet his eyes with gently raised eyebrows. Blaise waved them over with one hand, while lifting the other to gesture them to be quiet. They slunk over and huddled under the vent with him.

"Maybe so," Ma replied coyly. "Is there ever a bad time to be kind to you, darling?"

He chuckled softly. "I guess not, thank you dear."

"Think nothing of it," she replied. They heard her footsteps echo as she crossed the stone floors of his study, and the soft click of the door closing.

Theo and Draco look at him, then each other, then shrugged and returned to their regularly scheduled programming: the great British tradition of anthropological research (pawing through the artifacts of a person's life and looting anything of value). Clearly, they thought nothing of it either.

He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts by a loud cawing over his shoulder. He turned his head just in time to catch three ravens flying directly outside of the open window, diving at each other playfully. They were shortly followed by a pair flying calmly, attached at the hip. He furrowed his brow. He waited a moment, but no more passed. Five total then, he noted absently.

Blaise returned to the bookshelf in a daze. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was, in fact, something to think about. If only he knew what.

Notes:

Veneficium: The Poison Path is a real book on (baneful) herbalism and it's absolutely fascinating, but it's very dense and definitely not for beginners.

La Gazza Ladra/The Thieving Magpie is an Italian opera written in 1815 by Gioachino Rossini and Théodore Baudouin about a household maid who nearly goes to the gallows for stealing silver from her employers. At the last second, it is revealed that the thief was a magpie.