I Walked this Road

Disclaimer: I completely acknowledge that I own none of these characters, except those of my own creation (but even they tend to get away from me) and I give full credit to the true master-mind: J. K. Rowling!

Without further ado, I give...
Chapter Nine: Old Ties Run Deep

There were very few left alive who could brag at knowing anything, what so ever, about Blaise Zabini, a thought which granted him much pleasure as it had taken an inordinate number of resources and time to track down the few that did. It was a result of this that anyone who passed him by, sitting in the cool recess of a shaded café, calmly sipping from a china cup, would have assumed he was one of any number of tourists who often arrived on the sandy shores of San Marie. There were plenty of such tourists in the streets, amicably strolling along on that balmy summer's afternoon, but Blaise Zabini, whatever he may have appeared, was not one of them. It would have taken a very skilled person indeed to notice that his gaze and attention had been drawn, in particular, to one couple, sitting on the opposite side of the café.

Blaise shifted his position slightly as the couple got up to leave, the man tossing a few coins down on the table, as the young woman collected her large floppy hat. She was pretty, with long curling blond hair, olive skin and deep green eyes and Blaise had enjoyed watching her for the past hour. But now he was tired, the couple had left and he'd watched them go without much care; he'd known from almost the moment he'd sat down that she wasn't the girl he'd been searching for. She'd picked up her glass with her left hand and as he knew all too well from the character profile he'd been given, the girl he wanted was right handed. Sighing loudly he sat back in his chair, his gaze aimlessly wandering over the sea of couples and young families that had filled up the café, and then quite suddenly with trained instinct it came to stop on two gentlemen sitting a couple of tables down.

One had dark, rich brown curls and his back was facing towards Blaise, the other had bright platinum blond hair and blue eyes that were staring right at him. Blaise felt a grin creep across his face as the blond man got to his feet, weaving his way through the tables, to come to a halt at Blaise.

'Blaise Zabini,' the blond man drawled with a lazy smile, 'never thought I'd find someone like you in a place like this.'

Blaise chuckled, 'I could say the same for you, Malfoy.' Draco sat himself down casually in the empty chair, his mouth relaxing into a warm smile and Blaise noted how his companion was now also making his way towards the two. 'Who's you're friend?' he asked once the dark haired man had reached the table.

'Oh, Blaise this is Arrow Wood, a colleague of mine,' Draco introduced the two, watching keenly as Blaise shook Arrows firm hand and then relaxed back into his chair, spreading his hands wide.

'So, to what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?' he asked intrigued slightly by Draco's sudden appearance.

'We're looking for a way in,' Draco explained with a meaningful glance at Blaise, 'and it's not going to be easy.'

'I'm flattered you thought of me,' Blaise replied smoothly, his interest sparking, 'but first I have to ask, what exactly are you after?'

Draco paused for a moment then reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a photograph, sliding it across the table towards Blaise. His mouth set in a slightly harder line he added, 'she's one of ours, and they've taken her.' Blaise studied the photo is silence for a moment before his gaze shifted back up to meet Draco's.

'My, my, my she's quite a number, old boy,' he said with his old air of joking.

Arrow raised a critical eye and opened his mouth no doubt to retort, but Draco cut him off, 'do you know who she is?'

'Of course,' Blaise replied with a smooth smile, 'word had it you were tangled up in some Weasley girl, never would have believed it though.'

Arrow snorted lightly, 'It's a dangerous path to follow a Weasley, especially a girl.'

Neither Draco nor Blaise smiled in return both were gazing avidly out the café, lost in thought. 'Oh but it is,' Blaise said quietly, his gaze shifting to Draco's emotionless face, 'especially when you've got other ties,' he added meaningfully. He stopped short when Draco sent him an almost imperceptive shake of the head, which did not go unnoticed by Arrow. 'All right,' he continued with a more business like air, 'let's just say I agreed to come with you on this doomed little voyage, what's in it for me?' he asked with a flash of his white teeth.

Arrow leaned in carefully, 'we're willing to pay, handsomely.'

Blaise laughed out loud before slapping him on the back cheerfully, 'Look around you, we're in San Marie, you think I need your money?'

'The place we want to break into,' Draco said cutting in, 'it's an underground base of the freedom fighters', there's an entrance at the bell tower in Orogon Square.'

'I'd hear rumours,' Blaise said with a keen nod, 'but you know I have little interest in the freedom fighters.'

Draco inclined his head, 'True, but you might not have known that one of their most prominent figures is Mordred Finch.'

Blaise sat forward suddenly, his face remained blank, but Arrow detected a slight tightness around his jaw which had previously been relaxed, 'Artemis Finch's son?' he demanded.

Draco gave a small nod, 'the very one.'

Blaise relaxed back into his chair and a moment later a large grin spread across his face. 'Well done, Draco,' he said with a smirk, 'you've got yourself a partner.'

…

Mordred Finch paced the room, his dragon hide boots slapping against the cold floor rhythmically, as he agitatedly mulled over his experience of the past hour. He could still hear the caustic bite in her words, the first sentence she'd spoken since she'd arrived.

The doors swung open suddenly from the other side of the atrium, the scraping sound across the marble echoing through the tall columns that supported the ceiling. Dorian Noble swept through the entrance, his long red robes billowing out behind him, face void of any expression.

'Mordred,' he greeted his young apprentice, extending a withered hand to gesture that they should sit. Two guards took up post at the atrium doors, wands posed at the ready as the two men were seated. 'What news do you bring me?'

Mordred hesitated slightly before answering, a motion that was not missed by his master who raised an eyebrow, grey eyes piercing. 'I believe she is ready,' Mordred stated, his eyes unwavering as they met Dorian's gaze.

Dorian sat back and watched his apprentice over the steeple he formed with his hands, then after a minute of penetrating silence he sat forward again and extended his hand. 'Show me.'

Mordred responded by extending his own hand so that it rested on top of his masters, once their flesh touched Dorian closed his eyes gently and Mordred felt his mind go blank, as the image of the small dank prison room he'd vacated only half an hour earlier, swam before his eyes.

'It is futile to resist,' Mordred stated without pity as he gazed down at the wearied girl leaning against the prison walls. She made no reply merely watching him through cynical eyes as he took a few steps towards her and crouched at her side. 'It will not take long before you break; these walls have a way of eating into your very soul.'

Still the girl made no response, shifting her gaze away from his handsome face to the top of his head where a few strands of hair had come loose from his ponytail. The ghost of a smile flitted across her face at this slight sign of dishevelment, in her silence she seemed to be laughing at him. Mordred stood up from her side but this time her gaze did not follow as she continued to look blankly out the prison door.

'Your lack of cooperation is in vain,' Mordred added as he turned to leave, pausing at the doorway, 'we're on the same side in the end, we both want the same thing.'

'You killed freedom a long time ago.' Her words echoed through the small cramped enclosure, ringing in his ears and he felt his anger rising within him at her arrogance. But above his anger was a small spark of satisfaction, this was the first time she had spoken since he'd brought her in nearly a week ago, she was starting to crack.

The image started to dissipate as the atrium swam back into view and Mordred shakily retrieved his hand from Dorian's who, seemingly unaffected by the experience, lent back in his chair, his expression pensive.

'I believe you are right, Mordred,' Dorian answered after a while, 'it seems our guest could do with a little talk.' Dorian's tone was so bland he could have been commenting on the weather or muggle politics, but there was a flash of menace in his eyes that made Mordred glad he was not the girl sleeping below.

…

Ginny Weasley was not asleep. She had closed her eyes when she'd heard the guard go by, slowing her breath and exaggerating the rise and fall of her chest, but inside she was wide awake, her mind assessing everything. What little light streamed into the prison cell had helped her keep track of days and she knew with certainty that she'd been here for almost a week now. Part of her wondered where Draco and Arrow where, but that part was mostly overrun by her fierce determination to escape by her own means.

The visits from her captor were becoming increasingly disturbing, he did not seem at all perturbed by her lack of response, feeding off a confidence that she would eventually break. Ginny was starting to believe it herself as the walls slowly closed in on her. She knew something of where she was, the elderly man she'd met on her way in was the infamous Dorian Noble, leader of the freedom fighters, but aside from that she was in the dark. Quite literally.

A pitter-patter of feet against the steps leading down into the prison brought Ginny out of her reverie, she could tell from the rhythm that there were two people this time and she had to struggle to stop herself from panicking. She sat up straighter, though her body had lost a great deal of its former strength from a lack of activity, as the door to her cell swung open and Dorian Noble entered slowly, his apprentice in tow. The elder man bowed deeply to Ginny as she watched Mordred seal the door with a flick of his wand, both men turning to face her.

'I must apologise for the circumstances of your arrival, it seems almost too cruel to reduce someone of your skills to this,' Dorian began with a voice as smooth and soft as syrup, 'but as you know, desperate times do call for somewhat unorthodox methods.' Ginny had to restrain herself from replying with a few very choice words, her eyes flashing instead to where Mordred stood, toying smugly with a very familiar wand. Dorian followed Ginny's gaze and elicited a small cough. 'Ah yes, you're wand. I'm sure you'd love to have it back.' His voice trailed off, and Ginny's smouldering gaze switched back to his face, biting back a moan of relief as she saw her undamaged wand. 'We'd be very happy to acquiesce, so long as you are willing to play your part too.'

Ginny couldn't help rolling her eyes at this but she knew her struggle was ultimately futile; the desire to hold her wand again was physically weakening her resolve. Dorian seemed to understand her inner turmoil, beckoning for Mordred to come closer, holding at the wand inches from the reach of her fingers so that Ginny shrank into the wall behind her.

'We do not ask for much,' Dorian said slowly, as Ginny fought to be free of his hold, 'all we want is to give you back your memories.' Ginny stopped struggling, her whole body going still as the meaning of his words sank in. 'We want to know what the seer told you, and we want to show you more.' Ginny's eyes widened, her bound hands falling to the ground as she stared into Mordred's sea green eyes and saw what she had been missing all this time.

…

'So Draco, are you finally going to tell me why we're here?' Blaise demanded as he watched the back of Arrow's head retreating into the kitchen. They'd been cooped up in a little muggle flat for the last three days, directly across from the bell tower in Orogon Square.

Draco turned away from the window where he'd been animatedly watching the last guard shift swap, with a sigh he flicked his wand and the curtains drew close as he faced his old friend. 'I've told you already, Blaise,' he answered exasperatedly with a touch of amusement, 'it's Order business.'

Blaise shrugged and waved off his friend's response with his free hand, the other flicking through an old book of the underground waterways, with the air of someone who knew better. And he did. 'Ah, Malfoy, that's the problem with friends,' he joked but his eyes were serious, 'they know you too well to be kept alive, but you like them too much to let them die.'

Draco smirked at the reference to their school boy times at Hogwarts, it seemed a life time had passed since they'd sat in the Slytherin common room and traded insults on Potter and his friends. 'So tell me,' Draco replied casually as he crossed the room, 'what is it you think you know?'

Blaise sat forward, abandoning his previous work, and looked Draco directly in the eye, his cool gaze assessing him carefully, any air of a joke dissipated. 'I think you got yourself more than caught up in this Weasley girl,' he said slowly after a moment's thought. Draco did not react, watching his friend carefully. 'But I think you're in too deep to turn back, even if you wanted too,' he added meaningfully.

Draco remained passive, his face wiped blank of any emotion. 'It doesn't matter what I want,' he said in a low voice after a minute of silence had passed, 'that life is over, it's gone and it's not coming back.'

'But if you had the choice,' Blaise persisted, 'would you have it back?'

Draco's gaze snapped back to his, his grey eyes cold and hard. He opened his mouth to reply and then closed it suddenly as Arrow re-entered the room, holding a dense pile of parchment that lifted a cloud of dust as he deposited it on the small table in the centre of the room.

'These,' Arrow began looking at his two companions, 'are the only surviving maps of the waterways underneath Orogon Square.'

'Brilliant,' Blaise said cheerfully as he slapped Arrow on the shoulder, any notion of the conversation he'd just had gone in an instant.

'You think we can get in that way?' Draco asked, his face was also impassive, his mind turned to the task at hand.

'According to the diagram the engineers built a small network of passages connecting the water way to an underground base, my guess is that's where we'll find the freedom fighters,' Arrow explained, indicating to a series of connecting lines on the parchment.

Blaise nodded his agreement, 'That's not the problem though,' he said, his brow crinkling in concentration. 'Draco and I have staked out the guard posts all day,' he explained, 'their security isn't just good, it's the bloody best.'

'What are you saying?' Arrow demanded.

'I'm saying, we're going to have to use a slightly less conventional way of getting into those waterways,' Blaise said with the ghost of a grin.

'Unconventional?' Arrow asked. Both Draco and Blaise grinned at each other, as Blaise got to his feet and patted Arrow on the shoulders.

'Just so long as you don't have a problem with collateral damage, you'll be fine,' Blaise explained casually, ducking out of the living room and wandering down the corridor. 'I'm going to catch a few winks, if we end up in prison, which we will, I want to be well rested,' he called out after him. Arrow watched his retreating figure with a mixture of amusement and bemusement. Draco smiled down to himself and then got to his feet.

'He's right, we should all get some rest,' Draco said with a commander's authority, 'I'll take the first watch.'

He turned to leave but Arrow called out to him, 'Wait a second, I wanted to say something.' Draco turned back to face Arrow, his eyebrow raised in apprehension. 'What I said the other time, when we first met, well I'm sorry.'

Draco's expression softened, 'It's fine,' he replied with a shrug, 'you had to say it, or else they'd have suspected something was up.'

'Just so you know where we stand,' Arrow added with a nod and he turned and walked out of the little living room. Draco was left standing alone in the darkening room, his mind alight with a flurry of emotions.

'I know where we stand; after all she can remember you.' In that moment he felt doomed to live out a life of atonement; to Ginny above all and then, of course, to her.

…

Directly across from where Draco stood, a few miles underground Ginny Weasley awoke with a start. He heart pounding she struggled to ease the tide of emotion that was washing over her; somewhere Draco was crying. How had she known that? The infected wound of not knowing had reached a fatal point; with a burning resolve she stood in her cell and made her way gingerly over to the door, where the guard turned to face her with a dull expression.

'Tell Dorian Noble I'm ready to help him.'

Hullo Readers! Thanks for dropping by again, a big thanks to all my loyal followers and a hearty welcome to any new comers! You all know the drill; I keep writing you keep reviewing! Sorry for the long wait, till next time! X