All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.

Beta: Roman's Sundial

Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Side on Which He Lies

Blaise Zambini – Present Day

February 10, 2001

Blaise sat on his usual rock at what they referred to as Death Eaters Lair, stroking his girlfriends hair, who was sitting on his knee. He was listening to Gregory Goyle tell the tale of how he tortured a muggle for what was probably the sixth time.

"And then he wet himself," Blaise finished for him. "How many times are you going to tell the same story?"

"It was a good one," replied Gregory, frowning.

"It's your only one," giggled Pansy, as she snuggled in closer to Blaise.

"Shut up, no it's not!"

"Easy, Greg," said Blaise, very territorial. "Oi, what's up with you, Vince?" he asked, looking over at a frowning Vincent Crabbe.

"Don't tell me you're still on about Malfoy," grumbled Theodore Nott.

"But what if he can save our fathers?"

"Then he would have already broken Lucius out, wouldn't he?" stated Gregory.

"He said he needed help," replied Vincent.

"You can't trust him," said Theodore plainly. "He's only freaking out because of his upcoming Ritual Knot."

"Draco is going through a Ritual Knot?" asked Pansy.

"Didn't you know, Pansy? You've missed your chance!" cackled Vincent.

"Hey, cut it out!" yelled Blaise. "Pansy has no interest in that mudblood lover. Besides, you all know we are getting married."

"I didn't," answered Gregory truthfully.

"Of course we are!" replied Blaise. "We've got to keep the blood pure, don't we? There isn't much left of us anymore."

"But Draco can help-"

"Draco can't help, Vince! And even if he could, are you planning on bedding one of our Dads?"

The whole lair burst out in laughter. "Just leave the boy to me; I'll take care of him," said Fenrir Greyback, once the laughter died down.

"We can't touch Draco, on Narcissa's orders," replied Blaise.

"Why do we listen to what she says?" whined Pansy.

"Because she's the reason we have this," replied Blaise, running his fingers over Pansy's left forearm.

"And we don't harm our own," added Theodore. "Draco may not be one of us now, but the Malfoys were a very big part in the Dark Lord's plan."

"Sorry I'm late," panted Pius, as he came rushing into the lair.

"Got caught up washing Grindelwald's ass, did you?" asked Blaise. The lair erupted in laughter again.

"I, uh, actually have a message from Grindelwald," responded Pius nervously.

"Oh yeah?" asked Theodore, grabbing a nearby apple and taking a large bite. "What's that?"

"He wants to meet with us Death Eaters."

"Us, Pius?" questioned Crabbe.

"You know my loyalty lies with you!" screeched Pius.

"Relax," said Theodore. "What does he want to meet about?"

"He said he wanted to talk about some terms."

"Terms!" laughed Blaise. "What terms? He's a nobody compared to us! Let's just remove this guy already!"

"We need to be smarter than the rest, Blaise," said Theodore. "With him around, it keeps the attention off of us."

"Who cares, Theo! We are Death Eaters! Our time of hiding is over!"

"So we can end up like our fathers, then?" Theodore retaliated. "We do what we do, but we stay under the radar. I don't know about you, but I like this lair way better than a cell in Azkaban."

"Afraid of Potter and his friends?" questioned Pansy.

"Don't underestimate Potter," replied Theodore. "He's a lucky prat, I'll give him that, but he has a lot on his side that he can use against us."

"We are going to let one boy dictate what we do?" asked Fenrir with disgust.

"He isn't just one boy though, is he? He has the Order and the Ministry on his side. Don't worry, Potter will get what's coming, but we are going to be smart about it," responded Theodore. "But anyway, I'm curious to hear what Grindelwald has to say."

"You want to go?" asked Blaise.

Theodore shrugged. "Why not? He obviously needs us; we can use that to our advantage."

"Well, he's not coming here!" said Blaise at once. "Pius, I swear if you told him…"

"I didn't! I never would! He wants us to meet him at the old shack by his mansion."

"And how are we to get there?" asked Gregory.

"With this," answered Pius, pulling out a rusty old key. "It's a portkey that will take us right there; the Order won't see us coming or leaving."

"I'll go with Theo," said Blaise, getting up and walking towards the portkey. "The rest of you stay here."

"You don't make the rules here, Blaise; I'm going too," said Vincent, as he reached for the portkey in Pius' hand, along with Theodore and Blaise.

Vincent Crabbe – Present Day

February 10, 2001

Vincent felt himself land hard next to Blaise and Theodore, inside a small shack. In front of them sat none other than the infamous Gellert Grindelwald.

"Welcome gentleman!" said Grindelwald, with a huge grin. "Thank you for coming! We will not be detected here, so please, sit, and make yourselves comfortable!"

"How come the Order doesn't know about this place?" questioned Blaise, hesitant to sit down.

"Ah, but they do! However, they also know that I have a safe house just past here, so they tend to monitor that location only. Not very intelligent if you ask me," he added with a shrug.

"So, Thicknesse said you wanted to talk terms?" asked Theodore, getting straight to the point.

"Yes, Pius here has been quite helpful to me. I understand his loyalty is of course to your cause, but his assistance to mine has not gone unnoticed."

"Cut the flattery, Grindelwald," said Blaise. "We don't need anything form you so there aren't terms to discuss. You need us for something; so tell us what it is and we'll tell you what the terms are if we like what we hear."

Grindelwald smiled. "Blaise, isn't it? I've heard of your father; good man. How would you like to see him again?"

"My father is dead," Blaise said emotionlessly.

"Your father is not dead, Blaise; he is in Nurmengard."

"You've always said that your father was dead," said Vincent, thinking back on the story of Blaise's mother. Everyone that knew the Zambini's knew that Blaise's mother had been married seven times, and all seven of her husbands had died, leaving her vast amounts of gold each time.

"That's because he is."

"I can assure you that he is fine and well in Nurmengard; I've spoken to him a few times while I was imprisoned there."

"You did not ask us here to speak of Blaise's father, so what is it that you want?" asked Theodore.

"Well, Mister Nott, as you are clearly aware, I do require something of the Death Eaters, but do not dare ask for it without returning the favor."

"Well?"

"I require the Deathly Hallows," he said plainly. "To make a long story short, yes they are real, and Harry Potter has them. I need you to get them for me. Do this for me and all of your relatives will be free of their imprisonment in Azkaban. And in your case, Blaise, Nurmengard."

"You don't have the means of doing that," said Theodore. "If you did, you would have released your allies already."

"I see you do not know much of my history, Mister Nott. I have no allies, and prefer it that way. What I do have is a way for all of them to escape."

"We already have a means of freeing them," said Vincent.

"Do you, Mister Crabbe? Well, I do hope that you are successful. Of course, you cannot be certain that your plan will work, whereas I can guarantee their freedom."

"How could you be so sure?" asked Vincent.

"Because I've done it," replied Grindelwald plainly. "As far as I am aware, only Sirius Black and myself have ever done it, and since Sirius Black is dead, I would say that I was your best option."

"So, let me get this straight," said Theodore. "If we bring you these Hallows, you'll free all of our families from Azkaban."

"That is correct," replied Grindelwald.

"Why don't you get the Hallows yourself?" asked Blaise.

"Well, as I stated, I do not have allies. Although I prefer it, it does come with a slight disadvantage."

"Yeah, and we put our neck on the line for you. No thanks, we already have a way," said Vincent.

"But we put our neck on the line either way, Vince," said Theodore, in deep thought. "If we agree, I want incentive."

"Theo!" said Vincent, but Blaise interjected.

"I'm with Theo; why should we trust you?"

"How about this, then: you bring me one of the three, whichever one you'd like, and I will release Blaise's father as proof that I can succeed in doing this."

"Release him first," said Blaise, still not convinced that his father was even alive.

"Gentlemen, the more I do this, the harder it will be to release anyone; security will get much tighter after each break out."

"See, he can't do it – let's go," said Vincent, standing to leave.

"I did not say that I couldn't do it, Mister Crabbe, I simply said it will become more work for me. How about this, you bring me one Hallow, and free three people of your choosing from Azkaban?"

"What about Blaise's father?" asked Theodore.

"That's a different prison; I cannot agree to both for just one Hallow."

"So what will happen after the third Hallow, then?" questioned Blaise. "If it's only three people per Hallow, then we only get nine released in total."

Grindelwald smiled. "If you successfully deliver all three Hallows to me, then every person you want released will be released, from any prison."

Before anyone else could say anything, Theodore ended the conversation. "You've set your terms and we've countered. If we are interested, you'll know." With that, Theodore turned to Pius and grabbed the portkey. The rest of the Death Eaters followed suit, and soon they were all back in their lair.

"Well?" asked Pansy, running over to Blaise. It didn't take long for the Death Eaters to find out what had happened, and soon everyone was lost in thought.

"Having my father back would make my mother so happy," Pansy finally said.

"Mine too," added Theodore.

"Come on guys, he's lying!" whined Vincent. "Draco said-"

"Draco said he needed our help to release them, Vince. Why should we put our necks on the line when we have someone else willing to do it?" interrupted Blaise.

"But how would we even get the Hallows?" asked Pansy.

"We all know Potter has that cloak," said Pius.

"Is that the invisibility cloak?" asked Theodore.

Pius nodded. "He says that it is and he knows his stuff."

Theodore shrugged. "So, let Draco bring it to us."

"Theo, we are actually doing this?" questioned Vincent.

"We haven't agreed to anything, Vince. But Draco wants in doesn't he? So let this be his test. If he gets it, then we have an Invisibility Cloak to do whatever we want with."

"What about our fathers?" asked Pansy.

"We hear what Draco's plan is. If we like it, we keep the cloak and free our relatives ourselves. If we don't like it, we give the cloak to Grindelwald and make him do it."

"Theo's right," said Blaise. "We don't need to decide now. Vince, tell Draco this is his test, but don't mention anything else."

"Okay."

"He is just to know that he has to steal the cloak, Vince, nothing else."

"I got it, Blaise!"

"What do I say to Grindelwald?" asked Pius.

"That we haven't made a decision yet; he doesn't need to know our business," answered Theodore. Pius nodded and left and Vincent followed suit; it was up to him to get Draco to get the cloak.

Draco Malfoy – Present Day

February 10, 2001

Draco was surprised when he had received Vincent's galleon message, but relieved all the same. He waited impatiently for Vincent to show up at his manor, where they agreed to meet.

"Malfoy," said Vincent, as he walked through the gate.

"Hey," said Malfoy, excited to see his old friend. "So, everyone on board then? I think we should do it soon. If we cause a big enough distraction-"

"Draco, you aren't in."

"What do you mean?"

"You have to do something first."

"What?"

"Steal from Potter."

"What?" Draco shook his head. "This is ridiculous, Crabbe."

"Malfoy, nobody trusts you! You need to prove you're on the right side!"

"I am on the right side!"

"You picked the Mudblood over us!"

"Crabbe, I am marrying a Greengrass, not Granger!"

"Still," said Vincent, folding his arms. "You need to do this or you aren't allowed back."

"Okay, then none of you will ever see your family again."

"yes we will, we have a plan."

"What plan?"

"I can't tell you."

"Crabbe, this is foolish!"

"No, Malfoy! Stop and listen! You aren't in charge anymore!" yelled Vincent. "You need us to free your dad, not the other way around! So you do this or your father dies!"

Draco felt defeated. He knew that Vincent was right and he started to panic. "What do I have to do?" he said quietly.

"Steal Potter's Invisibility Cloak."

"Why?"

"No questions, Malfoy! Will you do it or not?"

Draco nodded. "Okay, but I'll need some time."

"Whatever," he responded, as he turned to leave. "Just remember, the longer you take, the higher the chances of your father dying."

Curtis Greengrass – The Past

May 9, 1998

"I don't know, Curtis," said Melanie Greengrass, to her husband. "The Dark Lord has just fallen…"

"And he is not returning. It is time we take our daughter's futures seriously."

"But we have! Daphne is marrying into a family of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"And Astoria?"

"Curtis, as much as I want the very best for her, she is frail…"

"She is not frail!"

"But she will be! I don't like it either, Curtis, but the curse will kill her and she will never bear an heir!"

"We are the only ones who know that, Melanie, and we can't allow that to ever get out! We are one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, if anyone ever finds out that a hereditary curse was put on our ancestors…"

Melanie sighed. "I understand, Curtis. But the Malfoys?"

"Lucius is in prison and I've done some digging; he was the one that had disappointed the Dark Lord, not Narcissa."

"But how does young Draco not have a Ritual Knot already? All the Sacred Twenty-Eight heirs have one from the moment they are born!"

"He did have one, dear, but it was with Pansy Parkinson, and now the Parkinson's do not wish to go through with it since Lucius' disgrace!"

"You mean, they hadn't actually had the Ritual done yet?" gasped Melanie.

"No!"

"But usually it's done as soon as the children can talk!"

"Yes, well, I guess the Malfoys didn't worry too much about it. They had the word of the Parkinson's and that seemed to be enough. Usually, people do not take back a marriage agreement from a family of the Sacred Twenty-Eight." When Melanie didn't reply, Curtis pushed harder. "Astoria needs this, Melanie."

"I don't know, Curtis. What if they question why Astoria doesn't already have a Ritual Knot?"

"I told her that she was promised to a son of a family who died during the war."

"But who? Won't she ask questions?"

Curtis shook his head. "Narcissa has run out of options for her son. This marriage agreement to Astoria is her only way to secure the Malfoy bloodline remains pure; it's what we both need!"

Melanie sighed. "Oh, alright then, Curtis. Let's do it. Astoria is not going to be happy, though."

"Astoria is the daughter of a Sacred Twenty-Eight; she does not have a choice. Come along, Narcissa will be here shortly."

Author's Notes: So, we are starting to see some new perspectives! I hope you all enjoy seeing the Death Eaters POVS (don't worry, Harry and crew will still be in this story!) The title of this chapter refers to Draco.. He basically needs to pick a side at this point so let's see what he does.. Harry's going to come across some hard times soon as well, so keep your eye out for that!

To respond to a review about Draco's plan for Lucius.. I'm keeping the details quiet on purpose - I can't reveal everything at once, where is the fun in that?!

Thanks to everyone as always and for your patience, the laptop is STILL not fixed (haven't even been able to do my freaking taxes!) I'm trying guys, thanks for sticking with me!