"Di says that the Dementors have gone, not because they've caught the fugitive, but that they caught the criminal." Draco Malfoy said with a sigh, "Whatever that means."
"Birds, am i right?" Blaise said with a smile, again wracking his brain, trying to figure out what was going on with Draco's mysterious new friend. He'd have assumed Draco had just met someone in Hogsmeade, except Malfoy was never one to wait about talking, and Di had come up weeks after they'd been to Hogsmeade. So, unlikely.
Which just meant it was someone at school.
Blaise had been observing Draco, and he wasn't able to figure it out. It was driving him up a wall. Draco Malfoy wasn't talking to anyone new - not that he generally talked much in the first place - even though he could be a mouthy brat when he wished. Draco Malfoy, for all he liked to lord it over Vince and Greg, was a natural loner - so Blaise's observations were of the library, the Astronomy Tower (Without A Girl? Who Goes There Without A Girl?), and lots of the Black Lake.
He didn't need to case House Slytherin, gossip spread like wildfire there, and Malfoy wouldn't risk Pansy going full bloodhound - or harpy. That bitch had nails long enough to be claws, and she looked like the type to go for the eyes.
Besides, Malfoy referred to her as a friend, and no Slytherin who wasn't Super Soft would refer to another Slytherin in that fashion. Slytherins had allies, they had minions, they did not need, nor want, nor desire friends. Occasionally, one did enough favors, back-and-forth, to refer to someone else in the familial sense. They were family, and that meant something. Friendships could be broken - and were often fleeting. Family - family stuck together, no matter what.
Blaise hadn't said anything, but he considered Draco Malfoy family. He was certain Malfoy was entirely too self-absorbed to see Zambini taking actions of his own. And, for all that, it was a good thing Malfoy wasn't looking. Blaise didn't exactly want to be explaining what he was on about, after all.
"Hey, wasn't the fugitive supposed to be an escaped Auror?" Blaise asked suddenly, looking up.
"Yeah, and my second cousin." Draco Malfoy said dryly.
"Wouldn't it be sensible if he'd have escaped to hunt down the person who framed him?" Blaise said.
"Sensible. Yeah, that's the word for it." Draco Malfoy said, grinning cruelly, "And that's why you know that's not what happened. Azkaban doesn't leave anyone right in the head. They all come out crazy, if they make it out at all."
[a/n: You did notice that Blaise is pursuing his own agenda, right? Guesses welcome, leave reviews regardless. Answers forthcoming... eventually.]