Well…it's been what...Five months?
I always hate reading the top of fanfics where the author apologizes for such the long wait and promises that the next will be faster. They give various reasons for the late update and…wow I'm going to do that. Well…shit.
So I was concentrating majorly on an art scholarship competition, then on graduating High School. In addition to that, we're remodeling our house and I've relocated and redone my room, Got a new full time job, now have a boyfriend…and more drama…
AND in addition to the above things, there was a problem with the story itself. I actually have this story sort of written out in a rough draft with lots of changes… but I did this whole thing (about 100 msn conversations, 4 notebooks and like 200+ hours of planning into a voice recorder) with a partner. Her and I had this…well it wasn't even a fight it was just….I'm not sure exactly what it was to be honest. All I know is we haven't spoken to each other in 3 months after being best friends and constantly being together for about three years. …soo that really didn't inspire me to write this story much.
THANKFULLY you lovely people forced me to write more when I continued to receive alert notices and such. After getting back into it I remember how much I love writing this, and miss my Randos.
I keep sneaking Microsoft word onto my computer screen and writing this in spare moments at work, so I really will update much faster next time!! I promise!!
HOPEFULLY I'll get another chapter up in …a week or two…just don't yell at me if it's longer. …or I guess you can yell at me if it motivates me to write faster ^^
Cheers, here is the seconds chapter after an unnecessary long Author comment (I'm sorry)
HP RANDO: The Slytherin's masquerade Chapter 2
Draco gasped in pain as Blaise's hand brushed his rib. "I…think it's broken. I can't go to Pomfrey Blaise. Lucius …he'd kill us."
Blaise stared down at his friend in shock. Lucius had hurt Draco before, but was usually careful not to break anything, or leave too visible of marks. The hand shaped bruise on Draco's arm was beyond obvious.
Blaise's revelations were broken by the soft trembling of his seat cushion. Lex was shaking. As Blaise looked up to meet the young boy's eyes he received another shock. Tears fell freely down Lex's cheeks; he made no move to conceal them as he stared into Blaise's eyes. Blaise had not seen Lex cry since he was five. Lucius had deemed the "brat quite old enough for the nonsense of crying, seeing as Draco had stopped that disgusting habit when he was four." Whether this was from some odd toddler like maturity of being a pureblood, or the very real fear of Lucius Malfoy, Blaise did not know.
As Blaise was about to speak, Lex's soft, uncharacteristic voice cut him off. "It…It's my fault….it's all my fault"
"Lex…" Blaise let out a deep sigh. "What Lucius does… it is NOT your fault okay? The bastard…he only gets away with this crap because people are afraid of him."
Lex shook his head vigorously. "No. It's not just…it wasn't like before...He…he…"
"He what Lex? ...what happened?"
Lex stuttered and looked to his brother for help. Anyone who had spent less time with the Malfoys than Blaise would have missed the quick warning glare that Draco gave the boy. Blaise narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Drake…?"
Draco averted his gaze to look out the window.
"Draco…tell me what the fuck happened. Now."
"Please Blaise…Please….just… drop it?" Draco was begging. Draco always got what he wanted. He never had to beg for anything. Even when it was just him and Blaise…he had never used this tone.
In shock, Blaise shook his head. "Common man…what happened? ...just tell me…"
Instead of continuing the argument Draco slumped forward in his seat, too exhausted mentally and physically to prolong the dispute. "I …I tried to stop him…I tried"
"…what are you talking about Drake?"
"Lucius… he was mad…and mother and I…we tried to stop him. He was going to hurt Lex. …I couldn't let him hurt Lex Blaise…I…tried …he just…you know he takes away my wand in the summer. I couldn't stop him. "
"Lex? …your mom wouldn't let anything happen to Lex Drake…" Draco shook his head and even without seeing his face Blaise could tell there was something terribly wrong.
Blaise leaned closer to his friend in concern. "Draco …you're scaring me. What did he do?" If Blaise had been scared then, what happened next terrified him. When Draco raised his head and their eyes met, there was a single tear rolling down his cheek.
"She's dead Blaise. Lucius killed my mother."
***
Blaise didn't register a word of the professor's speeches the following day. All he could think about was how he was supposed to help Draco without taking him to the hospital wing. A hand gently touching his shoulder brought him back into reality, staring into the face of Ginny Weasley.
"Blaise?"
Blaise immediately scoffed "Weaslett. You're breathing my air again."
"You can share. There's no one here Blaise."
Blaise blinked. He hadn't noticed anyone leave…had the class already ended?
Ginny continued on. "What's up? You've been ignoring everyone even more than usual today and it took me about five minutes of unsuccessful waving around your face to get your attention."
Draco was going to kill him…yet there was no other option. "Gin…I need your help"
"With what?"
"I need you to talk to Granger for me."
Ginny raised her eyebrow. "Why? Do you want me to send her a love note for you or something?"
"God no." Blaise scowled. "That's a disturbing thought to have in my head. I need you to ask her how to mend a bone"
Ginny paused before answering. "Who did you hurt?"
Blaise rolled his eyes at her. "No one" She always assumed the worst of him. Well no, that really wasn't true because him hurting someone really wasn't the worst thing he might do. Asking if he hurt someone…was ...well it was quite probable.
"Right. Then who did you get someone else to hurt for you?"
"It's my friend Ginny" Replied Blaise. She really didn't trust him, did she? Not that he could blame her, hell he didn't trust her all that much either. And he knew that she wasn't planning on killing him in the near future. "My friend may have broken a bone…and it will cause…" he hesitated "Problems, if Pomfrey finds out."
Ginny sighed. "Fine, I'll ask her. But I'm coming to help heal Draco."
Blaise stared at her. How did she know that it was him? He never said anything to indicate who was hurt. "I never said-"
Ginny cut him off mid sentence. "He's your only friend Blaise."
Blaise scowled at her. "Draco is not my only friend"
"Him and me. I'm not hurt"
Blaise's scowl deepened. "I do have other friends Ginny"
Ginny rolled her eyes at this. "Oh? Like who?"
"Goyle, Crabbe, Pansy, Nott, Flint…"
Once again Ginny cut his speech off. "Those aren't friends Blaise, they're lackeys."
Blaise began to protest this, but Ginny simply raised an eyebrow, challenging him to push it further.
"Fine" Blaise replied with a sigh. "Drake's hurt, happy?"
Ginny gave him a questioning look. "Why would I be happy that Draco's hurt?"
Blaise let out another annoyed sigh. "Just ask Granger. Please." God, it was hard enough getting the Mudblood's help with this, why did Ginny have to make it more difficult? He watched her for a minute, waiting for her to decide.
Finally Ginny gave a small nod. "I'll ask. What Bone is it?"
Blaise hesitated. "Why?" The less information they knew the better, it was bad enough that he was telling her this much in the first place.
"There might be different spells for different bones."
Blaise was silent. He stared the younger girl down for a minute before replying with obvious reluctance. "Tell no one" He waited for her nod before continuing. "It's the Fourth rib from the bottom"
Ginny stared at Blaise in shock. "And how, did that happen?"
"Quidditch" It was the first lie he had come up with. And it was also semi believable.
From Ginny's expression, it was clear she didn't believe him. "Then why can't he go and see Madam Pomfrey?"
That was a very good question. Blaise thought for a minute before answering, choosing the lesser of two evils when it came to ideas people were allowed to think about Draco.
"Draco lied to you Ginny." Ginny's expression turned confused and he continued. "On the train, he told you he didn't have the mark to save himself grief from the golden trio. He accepted the Dark Mark in the summer, and if he goes to the hospital wing there's a good chance that Pomfrey will find it.
Ginny nodded and seemingly accepted the lie. "Alright." Ginny grinned. "meet me in the Astronomy tower tonight at eleven."
Blaise might have protested if he wasn't shocked by her next words. "Oh...and I don't believe you about the Dark Mark…neither will Hermione so you should probably come up with a better excuse than Quidditch if you want her help." With a grin Ginny left then room, leaving Blaise staring after her.
Well…That hadn't gone according to plan at all.
***
"Why is Granger here?"
Hermione spun at the intruding voice. "Z…Zabini? …what are you doing here?" Her wand was quickly raised and pointed firmly at Blaise's heart.
Blaise simply rolled his eyes. There was a very slim chance she would actually curse him on school property. "I'm waiting for her." He motioned over at Ginny. "What I'm wondering, is why you are here with her"
"What are you-"Hermione stopped, and her facial expression slowly tuned from confusion to understanding as she noticed Ginny's lack of surprise. The look then turned to one of disbelief and mortification. "HIM?! This…this….SLYTHERIN is why we're up here? Ginny what's going on? I though you said that you friend needed our help!"
An innocent look settled on Ginny's face. "Yes. Blaise needs our help."
"Why is she here Ginny?" This was not at all any part of their plan.
"Do you really think Hermione would hear that someone had a broken rib and just leave it at that? Even you should know better than that Blaise." Ginny replied with a slightly annoyed look.
"I don't know what he said to get you to meet him up here Ginny, but this is probably some sort of trap."
Blaise groaned. "Yes, I devised a cleaver trap to get you up in the astronomy tower so that I could kill you.'"
Hermione's voice turned cold "what do you want then?"
"However unfortunate, I've come to an impossibly low point in my life where I actually need your help" Blaise commented nonchalantly "As I'm sure Ginny has already told you all about."
"Well since you asked so nicely"
"Blaise" Ginny's tone was scolding, and Blaise's slight quirk of the lips didn't go unnoticed by either girl. It was sometimes hard for both of them to remember how to act toward each other in public. They weren't exactly keeping their friendship a secret, but the less attention called to it the easier life became for them both.
Even with Ginny present, Blaise barley managed to hold back a malicious retort and instead settled for a scowl.
"Look Granger, you boast your infinite knowledge at every possible moment, and I'm graciously giving you the chance to prove yourself."
Hermione glared. "I don't know why you thought that I would consider helping you of all people Zabini, or how you convinced Ginny to do this, but we're leaving now." She lowered her wand and glared at him before turning to leave.
Blaise mentally cursed everything he could think of in varying languages. Of course there was no way that Granger would simply help him. This was an utterly stupid plan. The most horrible part though, was this was the only one he had left. The library and choice people he had used all told him the same thing. If someone had a broken rib, they should be taken to a healer, not helped by their friend.
Draco had somehow managed to hide his injury, but it was only a matter of time until someone found out. As much as he hated it, Granger was his best option. Her knowledge of the incident certainly wouldn't get around to Lucius Malfoy, but if she told someone and Lucius learned of it…well this broken rib would defiantly seem a small problem in comparison.
"Granger… I" He paused. As painful as it was to say, Draco needed help. "I need your help. Please."
He wasn't sure if it had been his words or the tone he used, but Hermione turned back to face him, slightly shocked.
"Ginny…said that someone was hurt…?"
Blaise slowly nodded. "We…can't go…to Pomfrey"
Hermione's look slowly became one of outrage. "You've hurt someone haven't you?! You've hurt someone and now you want my help fixing it so you don't get in trouble!" Her voice was escalating as she spoke. "Well you and your thug friends can just forget about this! Who is it?! We're taking them to Madam Pomfrey."
Blaise managed to restrain himself from hexing the girl into oblivion, but when he spoke his words were chilling. "I haven't hurt anyone you stupid mudblood. If I wished for someone to be injured, they would remain so. I don't try to sneak around helping people when I have caused the pain in the first place." When her expression turned to astonishment he continued. "In no way am I insinuating that I wouldn't break someone's Rib, but at the moment, I require your assistance in fixing one. You really don't want me as your enemy Granger. If you think that we hate you and your golden little friends now..." Blaise left his sentence there, hoping it would convey the right message to her.
Hermione stuttered. "Are... you threatening me?"
Blaise let a small grin form on his otherwise impassive face. At least she was smart enough to figure that out. "Bluntly put. All I'm saying is that things could get much worse for you Granger. I really could make your life hell."
Hermione simply stared at Blaise until Ginny spoke. "Hermione think about it, even if it is under…unusual circumstances, someone is still really hurt." Hermione must have missed the whispered "Be nice" that Ginny gave Blaise next.
Hermione frowned. Blaise could tell she was struggling to see exactly what the right thing to do here was. She could either help a Slytherin without knowing the circumstances, possibly involving herself in something illicit, or do nothing when someone was in pain.
"Alright…I'll see what I can figure out. Who is it though? And how did they get hurt?"
"I'm not telling you that." Replied Blaise simply. Seeing her frown he added "It was just an accident okay? Nothing to lose sleep over."
Hermione frowned, but gave Blaise a slight nod. Blaise felt relief flood through him. As much as he hated the mudblood, he was sure she would be able to find an answer for him without anyone from his…side, finding out.
"I'm warning you though Granger, if Potter and Weasley find out about this…"
It was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm not an idiot Zabini. If I told Harry and Ron they would never shut up about it. It'll be bad enough that I'm helping you; they'll convince themselves that by teaching this to you it will become some massive weapon that will inevitably destroy the world."
Blaise almost grinned. Had it been anyone but the mudblood he probably would have. Because it was, he gave her a small nod.
"Right. Thanks Granger"
Hermione raised her eyebrows dramatically. He just thanked Granger. Blaise sighed inwardly, god forbid this created any type of civility between them. Befriending more Gryffindors was really the last thing that he needed at the moment.
Weeeeell?? What did you think? If you actually read my rant a t the top, you'll notice that story alerts, faves, and review defiantly motivate me to write more!
I defiantly appreciate reviews, good and bad. Just tell me you thoughts!
