Chapter 2:

Hoped you liked the first chapter, there's really not much to say except: enjoy!

Also, I had no idea what Blaise's mother's name is, so I just used Gale's from the book.

Warning: Mild gore and naughty language from the boys

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Draco sighed as he unwound from his kids and slowly eased himself from the bed, chuckling quietly when Luna- still asleep- reached an arm behind her, seeking for his warmth. He leant forward and places a gentle kiss on all of their foreheads, before tucking the blanket in behind her and nudging her arm over onto Dennis.

Lucius' door was closed, so Draco assumed that he was still asleep. Draco had taught him by now no to go near the kids when he wasn't there, and his kids always listened to him, so he knew they wouldn't seek interaction from Lucius in his absence. It was just too dangerous and they knew that. They also knew that Draco was much better for them than Lucius had ever, or would ever be.

Draco smiled as he caught sight of an upturned wooden bowl on the counter, lifting it to reveal a piece of fresh goat's cheese and a lush branch of blueberries from the Meadow, kept cool by the natural chill of the night and the frosted water surrounding the wrapped goodies. He'd make sure to bring them back some nice treats later.

Draco slipped into his usual hunting clothes and the soft leather hunting boots that had been a present from his mum to Lucius when they were a new couple that Lucius had never worn. Draco picked up his satchel- carefully placing his gifts inside- and headed out, towards the fence.

District 12 was completely surrounded by an electric fence, to keep wild animals out and starving people in. But that wasn't entirely true. The fence was supposed to be pumping 10 000 volts of pure electricity twenty four hours, seven days a week. The fence was only ever on for a few hours per day, because the Death Eaters in charge of District 12 could clearly see what was happening to the people, so they took pity and allowed the few hunters that were, to go out into the forest and bring home some food for their families. The Death Eaters actually made pretty good customers, they were some of Draco's best.

The Malfoy home was very close to the fence, and there were multiple gaps along the fence if you knew where to look, one nearly exactly halfway between Draco's house and his best friend's- Blaise Zabini. Blaise was also the man of his family, being the one to provide and care for his younger brother, Theo, and his mother, Hazelle. His father, well, Theo's father, had died in the same explosion that killed Narcissa Malfoy, although he had been inside the mine, instead of above.

Blaise was actually the only person in the whole of District 12 with dark skin; his real father had been a Death Eater, who had raped his mother. That Death Eater had died only a week after the incident, funnily enough. He happened to choke to death while in Knockturn, after a gorgeous blonde haired waitress had handed him his usual soup. No one there commented about the "extra flavour" that she had put in beforehand, or the fact that there weren't actually waitresses at Knockturn.

It was a wonder that Hazelle hadn't tried to have Blaise removed, as any other woman would have. Hazelle Zabini, however, believed that Blaise wouldn't turn out to be a bad man, just because his father was an evil. And she was right. Blaise had grown to be a great young man, smart and kind, who protected his family and stayed true to his friends. Well, friends was a bit of an exaggeration. He only had Draco and their friend Hermione, but Draco couldn't talk, because it was the same for him.

Blaise and Draco had met when they were children, on play dates with their mothers, whom had been best friends, before the tragic event that caused the deaths of their loved ones. They had lost contact after that, and only met again after Draco had turned twelve, and started to wander further into the woods to hunt for food. He had stumbled across a snare with a large juicy rabbit caught up in it, and was inspecting it to see how it worked, when Blaise had come across him.

They had very nearly killed each other, Blaise with an arrow pointed directly at Draco's chest, and one sharp throwing knife waiting in Draco's hand, the other lodged in a tree, mere centimetres from Blaise's head.

Of course this situation had quickly turned hilarious once they recognised one another, with Blaise cracking first, before Draco actually took in what his "attacker" looked like, and burst out laughing. They've been inseparable ever since. They hunt together, relax together, go to school together, look after the kids together, and fawn over boys together. Well, Draco only ever gushed about the one boy, but, it's the same thing really.

It had been slightly awkward for about six seconds when they both found out that the other was also attracted to the same sex, before once again, the situation was hilarious, for all they knew, the only two gay boys in the whole of District 12 were in absolutely no way attracted to each other.

They had agreed to go for a hunt this morning every year, because this was about the time when stationery supplies ran low for school, and it helped take their minds off the events that were to occur.

Draco waited for a few seconds by the fence, checking for anyone nearby and to make sure that the fence wasn't live, and when the coast was clear, slipped through his usual spot, making his way towards his weapon stash immediately. Draco had weapon stashes all over the forest, of course, but his best knives were closest to home. These were the knives that he'd made with his mum, so they were the ones he preferred. Of course, Draco kept another knife with him at all times, even in the District, which was highly illegal. The knife was the only thing they had managed to save from Narcissa's body after the explosion, so the handle was blackened in areas and the blade was a little warped, but Draco loved it all the same. It was kept on his left forearm, his throwing arm, in a holster he had made himself out of old leather strips, and always hidden by his long sleeves.

After Draco had belted on his throwing knives, he made his way to the area that he usually met Blaise in for their hunts, a small hill, about forty metres from the fence. It was out of sight and gave a great view of the surrounding woods, and the sunrise, if they woke early enough.

About thirty metres in, Draco heard the familiar rustle of leaves, which meant that there was prey nearby. Draco was in luck. Not ten metres to the left stood a stag, munching on its meal, completely unaware of Draco's presence. It was the first deer Draco had seen all year, and it was a great find. It was huge, big enough that it would take both Draco and Blaise to carry it.

Quietly, Draco unsheathed a throwing knife and readied himself. A loud birdcall to his right let him know that Blaise had caught up and was closing in on his position. When they first became hunting partners, the boys had thought it imperative to have a special code between themselves, ranging from bird calls to wolf howls. The noise was natural enough to not alarm the buck, while Draco knew not to react to the slight rustle behind him. Draco let out a whistle of a different pitch that told Blaise to wait where he was. A sharp click was his response.

Draco took a deep breath, and released it, throwing the knife in time with the exhale. The buck went down with minimal struggle, the knife piercing it straight through the eye and into the brain. Draco went to move forward and collect his kill, when Blaise let out a yelping noise- asking for backup.

Draco glided through the woods silently towards Blaise, arming himself with his other knife. Blaise was standing stock still a few metres ahead, an arrow knocked and ready to fire. Blaise stood so still, and his clothes were all green, so it was no wonder the prey Blaise was spying hadn't seen him. It was at these times that Draco was envious of Blaise's dark hair and skin, his own pallor, almost too pale with hair too bright- which was very hard to camouflage in these woods. The only time he had the advantage was during the cold winter months, when the whole forest was covered in a thick layer of snow and finding anything was a miracle.

Moving forward slowly, Draco came to rest crouching at Blaise's feet and saw the prey Blaise had in his sights. There were two medium sized doe in the clearing they were on the edge of, grazing close together. Draco saw Blaise's right foot twitch in his peripheral vision, and immediately aimed his knife for the doe on the left. A split second later the doe were down. An arrow and a knife were sticking out from the cavities where an eye used to be, piercing their brains the same way that Draco had just taken down the buck.

Draco stood, grinning, and was pulled into a short greeting hug from Blaise. He jumped a little in his excitement, thinking of the buck he'd left behind. They each had an entire doe for their families, and an entire stag to trade with.

"Well, someone's happy today. What's happened? Did Potter propose to you or something?" Blaise's deep, smooth voice was filled with humour and Draco punched him in the arm. Hard. Blaise responded with an overly cute whining noise that was just utterly disgusting coming from him.

"Honestly, I don't even understand how I put up with you sometimes, you moron. And no, dickhead, I'm just happy because we've got so much today. You won't believe what I just took down. A huge stag, just a couple of metres that-a-way." Draco pointed in the general direction of the buck he'd taken down as they pulled their weapons from the doe and hauled them up onto their backs. Blaise made another whining noise when Draco wiped his knife off on his friend before sheathing it and leading the way to his kill.

When they reached the other clearing, Blaise let out an admiring whistle and dropped his doe none-too-gently on a patch of clear ground. Draco followed suit and watched smugly as Blaise moved towards the buck. Draco removed his knife as Blaise knelt and inspected it, making soft sounds of appraisal as he poked around, mostly to annoy Draco.

"This is great and all Drake, but how the hell are we supposed to get this big guy across the fence and to Knockturn?"

Shit.

Draco flushed red. Blaise laughed. Draco stumbled over his words and his feet. Blaise laughed some more. Blaise yelped as he was punched. Draco laughed as Blaise yelled something about child abuse.

Blaise pulled out a loaf of bread, still warm, as he backed away from the kills and sat himself down on a nearby ledge, waving it around as a peace offering. Draco joined him and pulled out their goat's cheese and blueberries. Blaise smiled and thanked the kids for their contribution aloud, pulling an amused smile from Draco's mouth as he stripped the branch from its burden. Blaise spread the cheese over the sliced bread and handed some to Draco. They sat in content silence for a few moments, enjoying their breakfast and ignoring the carcasses lying just out of sight. As Draco chewed on the bread that must have cost Blaise at least three squirrels, he had an idea.

"Blaise get up. C'mon! Up, up, up! Let's get these deer to the fence. Blaise just get the fuck up. Now. Good. We're going to take the deer to the fence, I'll head in to the bakery (stop looking at me like that you pig) and borrow their cart, so we can get the doe home. We'll probably have to trade them half of the stag, but we'll still have enough for Knockturn." Blaise nodded before they heaved the doe up onto their backs and stooped down to lift the buck between them. It really was heavy, so it took a while, but they eventually reached the edge of the woods and they dropped their loads to the ground. They stashed their weapons in a hollowed out tree and Blaise sat down next to the buck, pulling out a knife.

"I'll stay here and start gutting the buck. You hurry off to the bakery, but don't get too disappointed if your boy isn't there, okay? I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Put the knife down!" Blaise sniggered as Draco slapped him over the head lightly and moved to the fence, checking once more for people or power before slipping through and heading into town.

The bakery was… cute, for lack of a better word. It wasn't too small, but it wasn't by any means large, and it was warm; both in temperature and decorations. There were some really pretty cakes out front on display (which the kids always dragged him over to gawk at whenever they were in town), and there was a lovely smell wafting in from the back. Draco smiled politely at Petunia when he walked in from the back of the shop. And no, he wasn't disappointed that it wasn't Harry. He wasn't.

Petunia was not a pretty woman. She was tall and thin, but not in an attractive way, with pale eyes and hair, and nearly twice the normal amount of neck. She had a long face that looked a bit like the horses Draco had seen in the Ministry provided school books, and even her teeth resembled that of the animal. Her husband and son, Vernon and Dudley Dursley, were nearly the complete opposite. By some strange genetics, they were both morbidly fat, even if it was impossible for them to be eating that much more than anyone else in the District. Petunia sneered as she caught sight of him.

"Malfoy. Wasn't that Zabini boy in here earlier? What do you want?" Draco was of a firm belief that the entire Dursley family was in need of a lesson in proper etiquette. None of them had any manners at all. It was a shock that Harry had turned out to be such a fine bloke, when you realised he had to live with these people every day. Well Draco was nothing if not proud of the way that his mother had raised him, so he was not going to stoop to her level of rude behaviour.

"Good morning Mrs Dursley. I am in fact here to ask for a deal. Blaise and I have been doing some hunting and we picked up a bit more than we can carry. I'll be willing to trade you the better half of a stag, if you might lend me your cart for a while, please." Draco knew she would say yes. She was obviously getting the better end of the deal, and the Dursley family were nothing if not greedy, so none of them would ever turn down some good meat, and everyone knew that Blaise and Draco brought only the best.

Blaise had even mentioned during their breakfast that Petunia had still made him pay three squirrels for the loaf of bread, even though most other people gave discounts on Reaping days to those who were likely to be entered. Draco guessed it just highlighted her entire family's irrational hatred of Blaise. Draco couldn't understand for the life of him why these people- if you could call them that- were racist to the only black person in the entire District. They were all completely bonkers.

Draco sent Petunia a shallow smile when she nodded, and followed her past the counter and into the back. He didn't expect any small talk from her, so was not surprised when she ignored his presence, and relished in the silence. He wondered if Harry was awake yet, or trying to sleep the day away. Draco stopped his train of thought before he could start thinking about morning Harry, or waking up with Harry, or kissing Harry awake…. dammit.

Draco sighed and payed more attention to where they were going. Petunia led him through the back and Draco lifted the ends of his mouth into a courteous smile at Vernon, who was stacking some bread, and although he looked quite annoyed at his presence, one look from Petunia quelled his anger. Petunia opened a door to the back and didn't wait for him or hold the door; he rushed forward and scowled at her back.

Draco realised that this must be where they live, and payed close attention. He passed by a staircase with a cupboard in it, and didn't pay notice to the many locks on the door until he heard soft breathing coming from inside. His insides froze.

The very thought that anybody, especially Harry, was living in those conditions made his blood boil and stomach churn. He refused to say anything as he grit his teeth and continued on, knowing that nothing he could say or do would help at all. Draco swallowed back bile and sped up, through the back door, closing the screen door behind him. Petunia pointed to the cart and Draco nodded, explaining to her that he'd bring it back soon with the promised goods inside.

As he was about to wheel the cart around the corner, he heard Petunia yelling something, so he turned back, only to lock eyes with a startled Harry, who was stumbling out from underneath the stairs. Both teens froze, unsure of what to do net, but neither wanted to break eye contact. Draco watched as Harry realised who he was looking at and what he must look like, but just as he was about to turn away, Draco shot him a little reassuring smile. Harry's gorgeous eyes widened even more, and Draco nearly sighed at the lovely reappearance of his favourite colour.

Draco contemplated going back inside to ask for assistance so he could steal Harry away, but he knew as soon as he got anywhere near the larger boy he'd become a blushing, stuttering mess. So instead of embarrassing himself, he just smirked and sent a wink, while motioning zipping his lips with his hand. Harry jerked back a little and closed his eyes, shaking his head. Draco took that time to rush around the corner, so that when Harry opened his eyes, he would doubt what he saw.

Draco made his way back to the fence, observing how much higher the sun had risen in the light morning sky during his absence. He estimated that it was around nine 'o' clock. He caught sight of Blaise hovering in the undergrowth, and waved at him. Blaise stood and hauled the gutted buck to the fence, passing it under to Draco, who pulled the body into the cart, and turned back for Blaise's doe, which followed the buck. Blaise then gave him the second doe, which was not gutted, as Blaise knew that Draco like to save that for Crookshanks. Draco backed away a little as Blaise slid under the fence himself, and was glad he had, for in the next moment, a wild cat that had been stalking him along the fence line launched itself over the fence from an overhanging branch, and straight at Blaise. It was dead before it even touched the ground, Draco's mother's knife lodged deep in its throat. Blaise rolled out of the way so the cat landed in a heap in the dust.

Draco kicked a rock towards it to make sure it was dead before grabbing it by the scruff of its neck, pulling out his blade and wiping the blood off on the cat's coat. He chucked the cat in the cart with the deer and sheathed his knife. Blaise huffed out a laugh and clapped Draco on the shoulder. They could trade the cat too. Blaise helped Draco pull the protective tarp over the cart and then pushed off. First stop, the Zabini's.

And that's the end of chapter two! Please leave a review if you liked [or didn't like] anything, and if it's the latter, I'll try and explain to you why I did what I did. If it's about the Blaise situation, don't even bother. I've always hated love triangles, and I have plans for Blaise later anyway.

See you next chapter!