Hello faithful readers! Here is another chappie! I'm having a hard time writing since I seem to have lost the flow of where I wanted to go with the story, so I ended up making this chapter from Blaise's point of view. That aside, there are some flashback (one of the far past and another of ch.19). Though the later can just be figured out by having read ch 19, don't skip ahead since you'll miss seeing Zabini's thoughts. Enjoy!

Chapter 21:

Blaise stared at the now cold bowl of soup before him, his eyes lacking the zest that usually accompanied the trouble-making Slytherin. The seat besides him, traditionally reserved for his best friend, felt tangibly painful as that morning's events replayed themselves in his mind with bitter clarity.

"You okay man?" he'd asked his blond friend who hunched over by the front steps of Hogwarts. Talk about bad timing, considered Zabini, knowing how much progress had just been lost because of Lucious. The moment he'd seen the terrifying cover on the front of the Daily Prophet, his eyes had locked on his friend, waiting for the inevitable blow out.

"Why wouldn't I be, Zabini" replied a voice Blaise hadn't heard in years, that of the old Malfoy, with a cruel and bitter edge that sent him back to memories he had sought to suppress. But the voice continued, with little consideration as to the damage it caused. "All is as it should be. Father is out loose terrorizing those worthless mudbloods, and I can go back to not having friends. All is as it should be..." He knew Malfoy kept talking but, for him, everything had stopped at that moment.

"You've got to be kidding me man!" he exclaimed, eyes blazing in hopes of grasping onto -something-. He wanted to reach out to the boy before him, shake him out of the numb sense that had overwhelmed the once vibrant blue eyes. Explain to him that not all was lost. But even as he kept on explaining, he knew it was moot. Once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy, and they were a stubborn lot.

'Stupid, Stupid, Stupid Malfoy' repeated Blaise to himself, too caught up with his anger and disappointment at the head boy's reaction to even acknowledge the cheery chatting of his oblivious fellow Slytherins. Subconsciously, he acknowledged how Draco's words revealed a world of appreciation and care for his friend, however twisted it might have come across. And yet, the thought of his friend's display of loyalty only made him feel...cold.

'He had no right' he thought condemningly. Blaise's life might not have been the nightmare Lucious Malfoy had provided for his son, but it hadn't been a cup of sunshine either. Son of divorced parents, forever living with the knowledge of his mother's selfish self-destructive ways, he had found release in the superficially comic persona he had created upon entering Hogwarts. It had been nothing less than a miracle that had led him to Draco Malfoy and not a day went by in which he wasn't grateful that heaven-sent encounter.

It had been the first day at Hogwarts after the world had heard the news: Lucious Malfoy had been detained and his life as a death eater had been exposed. It had also been the day after his mother's forth suicide attempt of the year, not a particularly bright day for him either. So he had not bothered with the glances and whispers that had followed the Prince of Slytherin that day, for Blaise was too caught up with his own worries to bother. What he didn't suspect was the only person who's attention wasn't centered around Malfoy, this being Draco himself, had noticed the burden Zabini was carrying and decided to corner the sulking lad in the library that evening.

"You shouldn't twinge your forehead that way" were the first words out of Malfoy's mouth as he propped his bag besides Zabini's in a small corner in the library. "It lets them know you're hurt and Merlin knows these people prey on that."

"I don't recall asking you" snapped Blaise, though he grudgingly admitted to himself that the blond boy was probably right.

"Your welcome" answered Draco, not the least bit fazed by the angry tone of the boy before him.

"In that case, you shouldn't let your crap reach the front page" retorted Zabini, "It lets them know you're screwed and Merlin knows everyone preys on that". To his surprise, the seemingly unwavering Prince of Slytherin laughed, a dark laugh filled with sorrow but a glimmer of something more. And, realizing exactly what the blond boy what been trying to do for him in his own twisted way, Blaise couldn't help but join in. It was his first true laugh in weeks.

He shook his head, not the least bit pleased with his train of thoughts. He didn't need to remind himself how far he'd sunk when he'd met Malfoy. He didn't need to reassure himself that the cold blond boy cared for him when it was so blatantly obvious. What he needed was for someone to shake his friend back to reality and he wasn't sure he could.

Author's Note: Yea, I know. It's short. And I took a week to update. But I'm working on 22. Suggestions are highly encouraged since my writer's block is being more stubborn than normal. Oh! And thanks for all your reviews and support! It really makes me want to write to know that people care about my story! I LOVE YA GUYS!

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