Why yes I am going to finish this story and yes it has been a very long time, but I'm going to do my best! I will try to finish this story (and maybe my other ones) before May. Here's hoping. This seems to be the only story, for now, that I may keep the chapter length about the same. We'll see.

If I apologize...
It wouldn't make it all un-happen.
You've said this all before
I'm empty, waiting, hoping...

The ball was something they all expected. The music was descent, courtesy of good research and organization. Costumes were acquired and Blaise did his best to avoid Elena, but he wasn't really sure what she was going as. Anything that looked remotely like something she would wear, he avoided. So the pixies, the angels, the witches and the lion, he avoided. Hermione appeared, grinning at him in her dark angel costume, but she was obvious as Raphael didn't leave her side the entire night. He found Draco who looked more annoyed than anything at his inability to find Elena, dressed as something dark and despicable, probably a vampire if he thought about it.

"I don't think she'd be dressed as a slave," Ron murmured and Blaise couldn't help but snicker as Draco glared at them and marched off through the crowd to continue his search.

As the night continued, Blaise found himself wondering if she was there at all. No one knew where she was, so apparently she wasn't there, that made him relax a little more and enjoy himself. At once he was worried that maybe she was trapped in one of her moments to come down, but Hermione told him that she hadn't been in their room when she'd gone up to get her. She was probably in the library or wandering the castle, avoiding the party she did a very good job of putting together. Hence here he was, slow dancing with a girl in a silver Phantom of the Opera mask. To her credit, she was a beautiful rendition of the Phantom. Her cloak was short, the tuxedo was actually a corset and rather than slacks there was a phantasmic skirt and patterned tights. She was very graceful and as they danced, he had to realize that the corset and skirt she wore was actually a refitted tango dress.

"Do you dance?"

"I do, though I haven't in a while... The dress gave it away didn't it?"

Blaise nodded in good humor and they chatted on about their summer exploits and activities, skating around the topic of who they actually were. Why ruin the anonymity of the moment with names? There was so much that came with those names: their burdens, their age, and their futures and dooms. No, nameless was the best policy for the night they agreed through their skirting of the topic.

"It's odd how open people can be behind a mask, isn't it?"

He nodded with a bitter smile, "It's because no one can attach it to you."

"That's true."

"So... since I don't think I've ever met you, what year are you?"

"I guess that means you're a seventh year, doesn't it?"

He tilted his head and smirked, "How did you know?"

"Because I know who you are, we've met before." She told him with a smile. "Don't worry about it though, handsome. I take no offense."

"I think I would remember someone like you."

"If you saw me outside this context, you would... But as I said don't worry about it. I always pegged you for a one woman kind of man..."

Blaise laughed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Everyone knows you have a thing for Elena... hell who wouldn't? Everyone has a thing for Elena, and not in that weird slavery-Malfoy way."

Blaise cleared his throat, he guessed that she wasn't bluffing when she said he knew who he was. But who was she? Nothing really stood out, not even her voice. It could be a charm, but he doubted it. She gave off the aura of someone that could disappear if they wanted to at any time they wanted to.

"We aren't dating..."

"Yes, yes I know. Not officially anyway, but you two spend an awful lot of time watching each other, and you take an awful lot of time out of your schedule to pour strengthening potions in her tea."

"Who are you?" He asked and she smiled again, "How do you know about all this?"

"Friend of the Griffins..." she replied. "You should hear 'mione trying to get information out of El' about it. The woman could scare old Voldy straight, tan, and with bollywood locks... I'm personally more interested in your reasoning for doing it."

He stilled. The way she spoke made him think that she wasn't British, but he couldn't really place where she could be from. She was probably a Griffyndor, but she could just as easily be a smooth-talking Ravenclaw or a Slytherin. Who was she? He doubted she was a Hufflepuff.

"You have a hypothesis?"

"Well since El' told me about that party in Florida...I've had my thoughts..."

"Enlighten me," he said neutrally, but her eyes narrowed.

"You struck up a deal with the Plat-blondie. Stay away from her, and he would stop using that curse thing on her right?" Blaise said nothing, "What I don't understand is why you thought that was a good idea..."

"I was trying to protect her-"

"And I know she appreciates the sentiment, but you did a much better job protecting her when you were with her all the time."

He frowned, "What...do you mean?"

"El' loves you," she told him simply. No inflection, not pressing, just a statement of fact and that made him clear his throat. "If you'd stayed with her, rather than making her think that you'd given up any hope of ever being with her by striking up the deal, she would fight a lot harder than she does now."

They stopped mid-step and Blaise looked down at her, furrowing his eyebrows, "Is that... what she thinks?... that I've given up?"

"That's what it looks like," she said. "What do you expect her to think when you don't talk to her?"

"I..." he started and swallowed thickly. He pulled her off the dance floor, cutting through the crowd and out the main doors. They headed down the hall a little ways to speak in low tones. This wasn't a conversation to be had with Malfoy prowling the dance floor.

"That's not... I would never give up," Blaise started. "Especially not to the slimy bastard."

She didn't say anything watching him in interest as he took the time to formulate his words. He didn't think about why he was telling this to a compete stranger, but he supposed it was because he couldn't tell Elena. Even more so, she would never bring this up if they met again. That would give her away as the Phantom after all.

"I love her," Blaise said. "I love her so much it hurts to think about it. It hurts to see her and know that I can't... but I did it to give her time, to give us both time to find a way out. And I've been looking, I keep looking, and I will keep looking, I just knew that the curse, the way it works is that it's more aggressive the more it's used. She didn't need that and I couldn't handle being the cause of her shortening time... I'm not giving up, I'm retreating to regroup."

She made a sound that Blaise couldn't interpret and shrugged, "Sounds well and good. Still think you're underestimating her love for you and her hatred for Plat-Blondie... She's stubborn."

Blaise laughed, "That's an understatement if there ever was..."

She laughed and turned back, stretching, "I think I'm gonna to head to bed... i'm allergic to too much emotion, I didn't expect you to tell me that."

"I didn't expect to tell it..."

"Feel better?"

"A little more reassured..."

"Could I give you some advice?"

Blaise nodded looking at her in the half light, "Even a little show of that would mean more to her than those potions of yours..."

He frowned, as she walked away wondering what she meant. Wait, who was she anyway?

"Wait, I didn't get your name!"

She turned around in her mock ballet heels and bowed with a flourish of her cloak, before singing softly in perfect pitch, "I am the mask you wear... it's me they hear. My spirit and my voice, in one combined. The Phantom of the Opera is there inside your mind."

She whirled around so the cape, and her long straight hair fluttered and revealed the back of her dress, and expanse of smooth skin that felt strange to look at as she rushed away in a flair of dramatics. He chuckled a little as she vanished beyond the torch light, her shoes silent against the stone floors.

His own personal Phantom of the Opera, her wished there were more of them around.

The ball ended with no fuss, luckily. No one had seen Elena the entire night, and he didn't see her when he returned to their rooms. He fell back onto the bed and looked at the enlarged poster of the contract, littered with stickynotes and scribbles. There was a new one added. He frowned looking at it. It hadn't been there when he'd left earlier in the day to get things ready for the ball... He got up to approach it. It was stuck next to the section on Blaise's limitation of contact. The contract said that he was not allowed to speak to her about anything not related to their positions or classes, direct or indirectly. Nothing intentional, nothing direct, no words could be exchanged.

The sticky note was black with the Phantom's mask at the corner of it. The writing was neat and unrecognizable to him, but the words were clear enough:

Says nothing about gestures of sentiments without words, a connection of knowing

Says nothing about meaning without words, evocation of memories

Says nothing about mutual assurance/knowledge that it is you

Malfoy's an idiot.

He let the words roll around in his mind for a moment and contemplated the sticky note. Obviously, the mysterious "Phantom" was a friend of the Golden Trio as she had access to their rooms. When she could have snuck in to post it, he didn't really know, but it didn't matter. He heard the sound of rustling on the other side of the wall he shared with Elena. It sounded like falling books. She screamed and it all died to soft whimpering. Blaise bit his lip, pacing, what was he supposed to do? "gestures of sentiments without words", "connection of knowing"... that sounded very nice but didn't sound very practical! "Evocation of memories..." He scoffed and whirled growling at his own helplessness and his eyes fell on the dusty case of his violin... The one she'd made for him. In a moment of insight, he scrambled across the room, opening it and cursing himself for being so damn stupid.

Communication through words, physical contact, said nothing about sounds, indirect, said nothing about knowing and feeling, sentiments, psychic connection that wasn't tangible! If he ever met that Phantom again, he promised to hug her for her wisdom. He'd gotten the damned thing out and settled on his shoulder and let something else take over his playing. He played loud, facing the wall they shared. He played the last song she sang to him and he hoped that she could hear him.

To be honest it was dark... And peaceful where she was. There was no pain, no sense of anything there. She'd fought it off long enough, she'd fought it off for the whole weak, but now it was back with vengeance and dragged her down. It was so quiet, so peaceful.

What was that?

The sound of fingers on fibers and vibrations on air, the feeling of warmth and belonging that she didn't think she'd ever feel again, growing, sweleling, swooning with the sound of it as the darkness cleared and cleared and gave way to her room. She felt the hardwood beneath her cheeks, the warmth of the fireplace, the softness of her clothing, . She felt herself coming, drawn out by passion and memory. The kiss, the singing, that moment between them before that contract on the door. At least, he was telling the truth... She hadn't thought that he was lying to her, but she didn't know where else it could go if he didn't understand what she meant.

He understood if the music was a hint. He understood so much more and she sniffled away the tears, pushing herself to sitting drawn up by the swell of a familiar melody and smiled a little at the sound, crawling towards the wall to press her ear to the wall.

"I love you," she said softly. The song stopped. Had he heard her? Had she been that loud, but there was a tapping against the wall, in a familiar rhythm that she couldn't quite grasp. It wasn't until he started playing the song that she got it and laughed at the memory. She laughed hard as he played what he could remember from the song and felt something like light returning to her. She felt warm in her own skin for the first time in a long time.

Blaise grinned at the sound of her laughing, relishing in the sound.

Draco felt the tug on the enchantment and growled. It wasn't Blaise crossing lines, it was Elena fighting it and winning. He'd be damned if he let that happened. He'd have to rethink this plan. There was a reason why he didn't make it an Unbreakable vow. One, he was trying to find a way out of it and around the stipulations. Blaise had been more than thorough in the way he'd drafted his side of it. Draco thought he'd been as thorough without making it impossible for Blaise to conduct his duties properly. That would've made it too obvious.

There is was again, that tug, and this one was harder, grabbing hold of it and running away from him. Something was happening...

"What wrong?" Pansy asked looking up at him. Her lipstick smudged a bright pink ring around his dick and he forced her mouth back over him.

"You stopped."

As she continued to suck, he imagined Elena with glossy dark eyes between his legs. Naked, silent and utterly obedient. It had been enough to get him off even with Pansy's deplorable skill. He shooed her away and headed towards his room to take a look at the contract again and tossing it away. He was a Slytherin, there was no need to keep to his promises. Blaise may be a borderline Slytherin, but Draco was born and raised in treachery and broken promises.

Vera came in, shuffling up the steps with a sigh and heard the sound of running footsteps up the stairs from the basement. He appeared at the landing and rushed towards her. Her stomach flipped and she shrieked as he swept her up into his arms with a kiss.

"You're home!" He cheered and she only groaned in reply, flopping in his arms, too tired to do more than let him squeeze her tightly.

"Still excited to see me, I see."

He grinned and kissed again, "I'm always happy to see you, darling."

She shook her head and told him that Noemi would be coming over. Aleksandr Ivanov hummed his reply and got her out of her coat, our of her heels and up into his arms in record time leaving her briefcase by the door and rocking her as he walked. He was toasty despite the frigidness of Russia, something that she always appreciated. She had a theory that him growing up on the Mediterranean equipped him with an inner heat source that may need to be recharged soon.

It could be that he's gigantic, he mind quipped as he headed up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Rough day honey?" He asked realizing that she wasn't nearly as frisky as she usually was when she came home. She was downright exhausted and Vera was never too exhausted for sex, never.

It had been a stipulation of their marriage after all. She'd been a virgin when they married and before she accepted the ring he promised a few things: food, wine, chocolate, love, fealty, and cosmic-envied sex. Not necessarily in that order, but he knew he had her at food. Sex was just an extra. From the day they were married, until now they probably ranked among the top twenty most sexually active couples in the world. Vera, while innocent, had been adventurous coming up with new things to try, pushing every boundary ever known to man and she still did. When she wasn't doing that, she was thanking him for having adequate rhythm and caring enough to take care of both their needs.

When she'd flopped in his arms, he knew something was wrong. He was even half-naked! No more ripped shirts.

"She's coming over for help with her brother... seems like he's gotten interested in a girl with a more than insane family. Have you heard from your sister?"

He nodded, sliding her onto the overstuffed couch before heading to the kitchen. "She sent me a letter a few days ago. Her handwriting is getting more sporadic, but as usual she won't say anything else."

He came back with a glass of red wine and plates. Their fireplace roared and Noemi stepped out looking fresh from the Italian sun. Vera raised a glass to her as Aleksandr poured another glass of wine and Noemi took a seat glancing at the fact that Aleksandr was half-naked and Vera was still fully clothed. Seemed like she wasn't the only one that was having a rough week, let alone a rough day.

"It's nice to see you, Alek. Still dealing with Vera?"

Vera huffed and he laughed, "Be nice. You know I love her."

"I love her too, I only kid. How are you?"

He shrugged, "Worried as usual. Working as much as ever. You?"

She shook her head, "My brother... I don't know what's going on in that school."

"I heard. What's the problem? Contrary to the ministry's vaults, they don't know more about fucked up curses than pure blood families..."

Noemi snorted, she knew that much. Vera would be the only one that wouldn't know that, but she didn't seem to care as he came back with dinner, serving the two women before starting to eat himself. While Vera was occupied, Noemi sighed and told them the details as far as Blaise had told her.

"Fatigue, catatonia... black runes, draining the body..." The symptoms were oddly familiar. "Sporadic bouts of personality...lessened..."

"What's your brother's name?" Aleksandr asked eventually.

"Blaise... Blaise Zabini."

He snickered, "You've got to be kidding me..."

Noemi frowned, "Why?"

"My sister, Elena Valentin, is who you're talking about."

She gaped, "Well... that's interesting."

Vera snorted, "Looks like we'll be related eventually. So Alek, go on and tell her what you know. Cause the ministry didn't have anything on it."

He sighed, "I'm a little blurry on the details, but it's a soul binding curse. It gets more aggressive the more the cursing party uses it to control the cursee and eventually the cursee will either go docile or die."

"How... long will that take?" Noemi asked.

"Depends on the cursee and the frequency of use. Since Malfoy hasn't been able to use it because of whatever your brother did, she has a little more time, but she might not have as much as she should considering that whatever he did is keeping Blaise away from her too."

Noemi huffed, tearing into her steak, figures that the world was that small and that her brother was in such a tumultuous situation. They talked a little more about ways to combat it, all of which Blaise knew about already she figured. Aleksandr was planning a trip to the Valentin mansion to get the book dealing with the curse as it was the only one left.

"Don't you go alone." Vera said, sitting up at the news. "Don't you dare."

He laughed and kissed her hand, "Of course I'm not going alone. I'm taking Ivan with me."

She sighed at that. She knew that her brother would keep an eye out for him, not only that he actually liked Elena a lot. They were practically thick as thieves when they met and if he knew (which he probably did) he'd be more than happy than to go.

"So... I'll come back when you've got the book, yes?"

Aleksandr nodded and she was off. He washed dishes and crowded into the shower with Vera, holding her under the spray so she wouldn't fall asleep. She did anyway and he carried her to bed after drying her off. He followed her into dreamland soon after and held her close. True to character, she woke up him up by straddling his early-morning hard on.

"I thought you were tired," Aleksandr groaned, looking at her through a haze of sleep.

She shook her head, "Only needed a recharge."

He laughed at that and rolled her over to make up for the time spent sleeping. Luckily, she didn't have to go to work the next day. She would've called in sick if she'd had to anyway.

The day after the ball was something that most people didn't expect: Elena was practically back to normal. Skipping down corridors humming loudly. Her hair shifted colors, as did her eyes and everyone wondered what exactly had gotten into her. Hermione slid into a seat beside Blaise with a suspicious glance.

"Alright, spill... how did you do that?"

He looked over at Elena singing the lyrics to her song and twirling around with Ron, " I've been watching for a while-Have you now?... Your smile I've seen a thousand times-Pretty, ain't it?"

"And why does she change her voice?"

"Its a duet that she wrote..." He said in explanation.

"A Duet... explain please."

It was the song that she desperately tried to hide from him after she wrote it. But she was as careless with her lyrics with him as he was with his sheet music with her and he'd read it, copied her singing it and played along. It had been the one song that they sung/performed together. At the time, he hadn't really grasped the full depth of the song or what her inspiration was, but that was before he realized that she had a knack for divination even if she didn't seem to realize it.

The woman has too many talent.

"And the sorrow that fills your eyes...-I'm dying inside..."

He hummed along officially earning Hermione's intrigue as she would sing a line and he would hum, what she assumed to be the response. Now she was desperate to know the words and how whatever deal Malfoy had struck with him wasn't being overthrown in the moment. While she was happy that Elena was looking better. No, no just looking, she was practically glowing as she used to.

"I've seen the way you look at me."

Me?

"When you think I don't know it..."

I never suspected. How would I ever tell you,"You're the only one I ever notice"?

"I didn't know this," she sung with a giggle, skipping into the classroom, around his desk.

You're smile. Comes to Mind. You're laughter eases the pain of knowing you'll never be mine

"I don't see why..."

Your tears. Break me down. What can I do to make you smile?

"Talk to me...and let me know..."

Maybe one day I'll have the courage, to say what's on my mind...

"When will that be?...I've been waiting for a while."

He let out a sound that Rafael could gauge as class started and things were back to normal. Elena and Hermione raising their hands alternatively. Draco sat near enough to Elena, but she didn't seem to care, scribbling her notes and maintainaing her color and the obvious joy. The professors in each of her classes seemed to be catching whatever it was that had re-lit Elena's happiness. Hell, even Snape seemed to be in a better mood and that was saying a lot. By lunch, it was Blaise that was speak/singing and Elena was humming the reply. Hermione wasn't sure how they knew when the other started, but it didn't matter.

"I felt my knees go weak," he said sliding down the table and greeting a few people in passing. Girls swooned and watched him. He passed Elena without greeting but she hummed in reply, he knew that. He didn't need to hear her, he didn't really need to do anything, but speak words that oddly fit into context.

Did they now?

He'd made it to Hermione she was in a daze and he'd gotten Rafael to join him on the line. He knew the words too after all.

"When you're near. I can't even speak."

She flushed as Elena grinned, humming as Hermione said it.

"I never suspected."

It was amazing that their friends, who'd never heard the song, knew exactly what to say and that only made it more suspicious.

"I know it's wrong to feel this way," Blaise said cutting through Milicent's incessant questions of "Why".

Why would that be?

"I suppose I could try and move on with life," he said with a sigh and Millicent looked a gasp. Was he insane? he'd lost his mind, she decided and it was her job to fix it before something terrible happened. but there was something in the way that he'd said that made her think different. He was fiddling with something in his hand, a trinket of some kind that was strangely familiar: it was a box that he and Elena usually used to carry potions. Their initials were all over it, seals and charms for protection and the like.

How could you?

"But you're in my heart and there to stay," he said softly looking at the box with interest before getting up and assuring Millicent that he hadn't lost his mind.

I already knew that, didn't you notice?

"And these tears that fall from your eyes are tearing me down inside," he said happening upon a sniffling Hufflepuff girl, Lilian, they'd taken potions together a year ago. She'd always been nice, they'd gotten along well enough.

She'd been having a hard day, Snape had yelled at her for something or another that really wasn't her fault, she was worried about the end of the year exams and to top it all off her boyfriend had been cheating on her. She barely managed to look up as Blaise slid into the seat beside her, offering her his handkerchief and wiping her tears.

I never realized...

"I wish to see you smile...Oh please. Once More..."

Lilian flushed at the words and a small smile came upon her lips as he got up with a wink, snagged a few sandwiches and was out of the grand hall. Elena beamed, but Blaise hadn't been facing her, only walking away and caught the glimpse of it and smiled slightly as he exited the mess hall. They didn't see each other until much later after she'd come back from Quidditch practice singing the song loudly in the shower, the refrain over and over again.

"I already knew that. Didn't you notice? When you asked me to I stayed with you. Just talk to me and let me know. How ya' feelin, what's the deal and...Listen to me. I won't leave. You should've known that. When you asked me to I'd've stayed with you. We'll be together till forever. I love you..."

He grinned passing their shared bathroom.

"I love you!" She sung louder and he plugged in his headphones, heading towards their kitchenette. She came out the bathroom still singing the refrain, "You should've know that. when you asked me to I'd've stayed with you. We'll be together till forever-"

I love you, he hummed over the sound of his music.

"I already knew that!"

Didn't you know it?