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Chapter 4: Secrets Don't Make Friends

Shuffle of feet across the cold floors as a fist wiped at groggy eyes, Harry may have been The Boy Who Lived and the soon-to-be savior of the wizarding world, but even he had his limits and searching for possible Death Eater entryways for Merlin knew how long was one of them especially when Ron had had two bags of chocolate frogs and Alastor Moody thought 4 hours was enough rest for a teenage boy. Who in Merlin's name would be sending him an owl at this time of night! Hedwig was still steadily knocking at his window , he let her in and she sat down in a huff holding out her leg, seems someone else didn't appreciate late night/early morning correspondence. Untying the blood red ribbon, he opened the parchment while Hedwig moved to nibble on some cookies he had left out on his desk.

The letter practically burned in his hand when he realized what it was trying to tell him. He practically wanted to wake Ron up and stomp down to the dungeons and demand to know what was going on. Did no one listen in their meeting today? Of course not, he shouldn't have expected any less than this, he just didn't want to lose anyone else to this war. He feared that his letter just might confirm the fact he would lose more friends. It was only a matter of time, he told himself, we couldn't have all stayed together anyways, the war had them needed elsewhere even if they were a miraculous team, they each had special uses, and knew when the time came they each would have to leave to do what was needed. Though now that one of those times had come, Harry had to hang his head and weep for the loss of a teammate, friend, and brother.

Waking Ron had proved harder than imagined, the boy had fell into a sugar crash-induced coma of sleep once the chocolate frogs had worn off. Harry kept a note of this in the back of his mind: Only give Ron chocolate frogs when absolutely necessary or when Draco had to deal with him. The redhead looked up at him, sleep heavy eyes and grumbling about things Harry had rather not known about Ron and Pansy's private intimacy. "What is it now, if a bloody Death Eater chose now to break in I'll wring his neck? We searched and staked out the castle for a blooming eternity..." Then he came up short in his rant, as he noticed Harry's tragic but bemused expression, this wasn't good, his mind raced hoping Pansy was ok. A letter fluttered in Harry's hand, and Ron dimly noticed the window being open letting the cool night air in, and took the parchment he was offered. Reading it, slowly woke him up completely as he read it again to be sure he was reading it correctly. As understanding dawned on him he looked up at his friend and in his usual rash ways crooned, "What is the wanker think he's up to? Come on Harry, we're going to the dungeons!" Ron was already out of the bed and pulling on his pants when Harry laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to let him go Ron." This he knew but it wasn't something he was willing to admit or willing to do without a better explanation that wasn't in a damned letter.

Turning to pull on a shirt as well he spoke in quieter tones which may have scared Harry more. "We may have to let him go, but we don't have to do it like this, I bet you anything Draco already has us beat down there. I have no intention of being the one he whines about not coming to knock some sense into when he does return, Merlin knows how much the boy can whine." Harry saw what Ron was talking about and nodded in agreement, the least they could do was give the boy a couple things to think about before he left. "Gods, you don't think he'll be shagging would he?"

"If that's all we'll have to worry about him doing at the moment I think we'll be fine." Harry laughed as the tears slowly dripped form his eyes, and he knew by the rough sound of Ron's laugh that the boy's eyes were overflowing as well. This war was starting to kick it to high gear, who knew if they'd make it past the Christmas holidays before the real battles commenced. The boys gave a look to the invisibility cloak, during a safer time they might have needed it to sneak around the castle, but after this summer and the latest events, it was rare not to see Harry Potter or Ron Weasley in the halls.

The letter lay open on Ron's bed and Pansy glimpsed it as she walked in minutes later with Luna and completely understood not to bother the boys tonight. So she slipped into the red-head's bed as Luna sat on Harry's and read the shocking letter aloud one last time.

"Dear Ron and Harry, probably Pansy and Luna too,

It has come time for me to answer my call in the war effort for the Order. It is a struggle for me to leave now, but knowing how dark this war is getting it is better I leave when I am not as needed and return when I will be, than have to leave when you will depend on me more. Please understand I will return to you, but when I do the greatest battle of our time shall ensue. I will be at your sides fighting the great evil, and we shall succeed. I will no longer hold any mysteries from you when I see you again and you shall then be able to understand them better and what had to be done. Ron, take care of Pansy, she may act tough but she really needs you more than you know. Harry, don't you dare start thinking of going off on your own or I will have Hermione bring you back just so I can kill you. Luna take care of our Harry. Pansy, keep Ron's head on his shoulders. I love you all.

Blaise" Pansy looked up at Luna with tears in her eyes, "What does that idiot think he's doing? This is only gonna make Harry worse... the boys will handle this."

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Down at the Head Suite, a similar situation was playing out, "What the bloody hell has gotten into him? At a bleeding time like this... I just can't see how he could think now is the right time." Hermione was trying to calm her husband as he paced the room, she had been just as shocked about the news as he had been, "Twi didn't even mention anything like this, I mean you wouldn't think... Dear God, tell me..." Eyes were wide as they shared the same thought and Hermione jumped out of the bed, pulling out a air of his jeans and a t-shirt, he watched curiously to know what she was doing until she shoved them into his arms and began shoving him towards the stairs. "Luv, could you please explain your little outburst?

Her golden eyes connected with his, rolling and caught her thought, 'He can read minds and yet I'm still left explaining myself.' It would have been comical if she hadn't been insulting him, oh what heck, it was still funny, and he chortled at it for a bit until he noticed her annoyed expression. "You are going to put those clothes on and get your butt down to that dungeon and into that pit of snakes and figure out what they are up to." as if she wasn't talking to her husband but in fact a four-year-old that still didn't know his shapes and colors.

Draco's eagle owl, Umbra, had brought them a letter and then both had reviewed the letter several times to be sure of what it was getting at. The whole matter was that they knew this would come and yet they still weren't ready for it. Nothing could have prepared them for this war and it's surprises, how do you prepare for what you do not know will happen. It was a quandary that Draco had often thought about during late nights as he had watched Hermione sleep. It was then under the silver moonlight he often found his deeper philosophical side was most apt to surface, and he enjoyed his nighttime thoughts just as much as his discussions that he could now have with the little kitten he often had laid next to in thought. "If he sent one to tweedle dee and tweedle dumb then they are surely on their way down there as we speak, might as well make it guys' night. If it is only to say good bye." Hermione knew he held back those precious tears he wanted to cry so she cried for him, for her mate only cried in the rain.

Watching him walk out the door with a soft kiss to her cheek, she turned back to the coffee table where the letter still laid. A sigh slid past her lips as she picked it up to review the words once again as she sat in tears. Her heart ached wondering how soon before Harry and Ron would be called away to their separate needs. Then again was she and Draco not leaving to his own calling on Sunday, their small hodgepodge group that made a family was being split apart at the seams and they knew they had no other choice. The ink ran a bit where her tears hit the parchment and with a flick of her wrist she corrected it.

It read:

Dear Draco and Hermione,

Today I was called. I must go, as we all knew we eventually would. It has come at a time that I can only say could be the worst, but it seems as we continue on the future doesn't seem any brighter, so maybe this is the best time. My heart is heavy with a burden I can't quite yet reveal to those I care about, so just trust that I will survive and return to you all, and be sure to stay alive for me. Together we shall take down our greatest foe, so know when I return and we all come together again, it has come time for the greatest battle our world has ever seen. Draco take care of Hermione or you will have to deal with more than Voldemort when I see you again. Hermione, you will know all that you need once I reunite with you, and make sure Draco doesn't end up getting himself killed. I love you both.

Your Brother, Friend, and Teammate,

Blaise

The part that scared her more was the wafting bits of Ether around its edges, but how?

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Coming up short at the Slytherin common room door, Draco had to hold in his laughter at the voices and thoughts ahead of him. "What do you mean it's supposed to be here? Your girlfriend stays in this House, how do you not know?" 'He's a bloody idiot that's how.' The evident tone could only belong to the hero of Hogwarts, Harry Potter, the Gryffindor Saint had less than saintly opinions of his best friend. Even if Draco had to agree with him, which was starting to happen more often than not.

An angry grumbling that could only be the Weasley, "Well it's kinda hard when... well you just don't know why me and Pans choose to come down here sometimes and you don't need to know." 'How am I supposed to remember when there's more working in a different head...' Draco got away from that thought with disgust, never ever would he be able to look at the Weasel and Pansy the same way again. the memories that had popped up were enough to scar him for life, he'd never get those out now.

Stumbling along trying to not laugh his ass off as the argument between the two continued to escalate, Draco finally found the bumbling idiot about ten feet from the correct suit of armor the hid the Slytherin common room and the section of wall next to it that you spoke the password to. He decided to just watch them for a bit more as they just about pulled a torch holder off the wall trying to figure it out, and just about died from suffocation from holding in his laughter when the correct suit of armor just about crushed a wide-eyed Ron. "You two have no idea what your doing... I'm surprised Blaise just hasn't come out to find you all knowing only you two could possibly be making so much noise in the dungeons. Not even the Bloody Baron makes this much noise, or even Peeves!" Draco then motioned to the section of wall not two feet from them, "The password, is pumpernickel." with that the wall slid open exposing the expansive House under the lake, of course that's why the stairs to the dorms only went down. "Welcome to Slytherin's Pit of Snakes, my dear boys."

Ron entered mumbling that he had known it was there he just didn't want to give it away to Harry, to which Draco gave Harry an approving smirk for his response of hitting said ginger over the head. "Alert the whole castle did you?" Blaise sighed, he had been sitting there for the past fifteen minutes knowing that all the noise could only be Harry and Ron. "Took you long enough Draco or did you just hide in the shadows so that you could laugh at them?" The guilty look on the mention of the latter proved what he had been doing, "Of course why even ask, you probably had a good old time trying not to let them know you were there, from all the noise it sounds like it was quite hilarious to watch."

The indignant frown on Harry's face was almost as amusing as Ron's slowly reddening face, "You mean to say you let us look like bumbling fools for who knows how long just because we provided a decent source of entertainment?!" Ron finally burst looking at the offending Slytherin in question, then turning to the one they had come to see, "And you! Knowing we were out there and ad come to see you and all this other stuff your putting us through and you didn't even have the decency to let us in?!" Snubbing his nose in the air, he turned as if to leave, "Come along then Harry, seems like we're not appreciated here... why even come to try to talk some sense into the arsehole? Let him go off and get himself killed... better be bloody painful at that." Ron began heading to the portrait and the others weren't sure whether to take him seriously or not, a swift sneaky look back back confirmed he was pulling their legs, and the charade fell apart as he fell to the floor laughing at their facial expressions, "You all should have seen your faces..."

"Bugger Ron, that isn't blooming funny... I should throttle you for that!" Blaise told him as he held Draco back, "Or better yet, just let Draco have his murderous way with you, anything he can think up should be infinitely worse than what Harry or I could concoct." The Italian knew Draco was just trying to scare Ron or he'd never be bale to hold the blonde back from doing what he had really intended to do to the red-head.

Calming down as Harry inconspicuously charmed a nearby pitcher to pour its contents all over Ron, they finally got down to business. Ron stood up and moved to sit by the fire to dry, Draco walked past him unnoticeably causing the flames to lick his back a little too close for comfort. Blaise rolled his eyes as Ron jumped up squealing at Malfoy, and Blaise swept his legs out from under him, "I think that's his way of saying sit down and shut up Ron." Harry told his best friend as he sat in a fluffy armchair as Draco took the one opposite of him and Blaise stretched out on the couch. The saying "boys will be boys", definitely applied to this band of brothers per say.

Finally Draco looked at his fellow housemate, "What the bloody hell, Blaise?"

"You all knew this was coming..." he tried to excuse it away, and saw the determined expressions and knew they weren't gonna let let him get away with that. "You all have to understand... they threatened Twi... I have to go... They want her, and I will protect her from them... I know what they are capable of!" The boys each understood, had it been their significant other being threatened it would take the Devil or God to keep them from them. "She wants to protect me... I know it's really me they want in the end... It has always been me. It wouldn't have suddenly change limiting of course at the event of my death, but even then I know who they'd want, and it wouldn't be Twi. They asked... they asked who was I trying to protect..." The tears that came brought each to understanding, "I didn't guard my thoughts fast enough, they got a glimpse of all those I care for, and Twi was at the fore front. I-I... Maybe I should just show you..." Bringing down his mental barriers, they all viewed the events of what had happened at the lake, something Blaise wish had happened when he was alone, and wishing he had at least known they had found him.

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"Who are you trying to protect, Blaise?" the voice was all too familiar to the blue-eyed young man who turned to protect the girl he was with suddenly. "Oh so this is where you have been, she led you right back to us you know. You would have avoided us if you had stayed away from the one we intended to replace you with. Now we can have you again, but what we want first is her." the man's eyes focused on Twilight's small frame.

"NO!" It was torn from his throat in anguish, "You can have me! You don;t need her... You can not have her..." It was like awakening a demon as he growled out his commands at the threat before him, "Twi... back to the castle." He saw her protest and stepped away from her, "Back to the castle Twi." he commanded as he turned completely away from her, and he could still feel her standing there behind him. "NOW! BACK TO THE CASTLE NOW!" He demanded as he walked forward holding contempt and rage in his icy gaze. "Please... for me... I can't do this with you here..." He was resorting to begging, he would not let her know his secrets, would not let her know his transgressions, his pain, his laments.

The sound of her retreating foot steps put his heart at some ease, "Do you think that is all it takes to protect her? Even the ignorant come to understand the best kept secrets, one day she will know and are you so sure it will be form you." the evil smirk across the demented being before him, "How do you know that the future she sees in those terrifying nightmares is what shall come to pass?" That's when the spell leaped from his wand, it was deflected, but Blaise still got his point across as the man's face became more serious than the sick joking look it had been.

"What is you want from me?" he wanted them gone from his life, from what he still could hold onto.

The lunatic smiled again, "Take me there, show me. I must know before taking you to my master, I must be sure it is really you." Blaise looked at him in disgust, he did not know what he was asking, could not want that, it was almost dooming him to a certain deathly fate.

"You already stole my first life from me, I was dead to you and your master... I refuse to lose this one. Though are you sure you want to be taken there before you sway my loyalties... I can promise I doubt I will be inclined to bring you back." The horror that came across the scarred and decrepit face brought a smirk to Blaise's face, "Your master has no power over me, he can not hold me..."

Then the other man shot forward, a hand around Blaise's neck, "No but that little vixen you just sent away... he can have power over her, can hold her... You will go with me if it will protect her." They had him pegged, he had let them in and now they could control him, "You will belong to my master... you will come to me... and you will never return to this despicable place that some crazed old man believes can be a safeguard to all those young children... but all it is, is a place to choose from the talent, one by one until we have corrupted the whole." His laugh echoed along the lake and a glimmer of hope was that in the dungeons someone would hear, someone would know, and someone would eventually save him.

"I will do as you say if she is safe... leave her alone and I will come to you this night in the forest before the sun rises and you can take me to your master." Blaise promised the man as he was released from the hold that had been on his neck. "Don't worry I won't alert my friends, and Twilight knows nothing, you are safe, your master is safe. If my friends see this memory, I shall overshadow you, they shall not know you. Just promise you will not take Twi to him." Blaise watched the man nod, and the Italian turned, "When the moon is gone, but before the sun takes its first stand, I will be in the place where the screams never cease and blood never dries, this I promise you." with that said, Blaise left knowing a wizard's oath was bound with magic at that moment and the man had no reason to doubt him.

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As everyone opened their eyes, they realized they all had tears on their faces, "You have an oath..."

Blaise nodded, "Yes and if I don't show as I promised in within the parameters that I stated then the magic shall be dealt onto me as it sees fit. I do not intend to break my oath. Please just understand at this time, I can't tell you all the answers to the questions I know you have, and the ones left unspoken between us. You are my brothers, always remember that." His blue eyes scanned the room, steel grey met his first, before another cool pool blue, and then last an eerie emerald. They nodded their heads each in their turn at him in understanding, an understanding that could only occur between brothers, between men, none of the mushy gushing and all the words required by women. This wasn't the time for words but just presence, so much could be said for men who could gather together and just know by being there.

"When should we expect your return?" Harry finally asked as the silence drug on.

Blaise's half-smile came just before his half-truths, "When the last obstacle is before you in the war, and I have done all I need to do from the position I will be in." His ambiguous statement had Draco copying his mate's action of aggravation, as he rolled his eyes, "Draco, don't be Herms, I love her, but her annoying incessant questioning until she digs every little detail out of you will not find a comfortable place in this moment."

"Are you implying I act like Hermione?" He had mock horror at such a suggestion, then the rest gave him the knowing look that waved it off, "Well, thank you... we all know how much I adore those simple things about her. It is those specific details that brought that first wave of attraction to me, probably why I chose her as my mate. She's the perfect opposite of me but on the same intellectual level. I love her so much." His eyes warmed and the others made sick, disgusted noises and motions at his words, he threw a pillow at Blaise, a coaster at Ron, and a vase at Harry. "Will you all stop... not like I'm that immature at the mention of your all's women." They all switched to laughing at his temper tantrum, and the blonde prat sat down in the armchair with a huff and a pouting lip.

Ron finally recovered to smile at the group's leader, by silent agreement, "You act more like a woman now that your mated. She rubbing off on you already? Even showing a bit of that Gryffindor fury, we are so renowned for." A smile spread across his face and it forced Harry to call a quick spell to petrify the vampire where he stood, Draco Malfoy was inches from wiping that smile of the ginger's face. "Thanks Harry."

"You're lucky, I should let him pummel you, but we need your stupid arse in this war and i sure as hell don't wanna deal with Pansy if anything were to happen to you." Harry explained to him as he took off the spell and Draco relaxed back in his chair once again, his look just daring Ron to say something else. "Blaise, what about Twilight?" This was the question that had plagued every male in the room's mind. The tiny and fragile natured girl would be destroyed if left behind, so they all wondered what was going to happen.

Blaise's heavy sighed put them all on edge, "She will try to follow me. You all must promise me, that she won't, she can't see much right now, I know why, it is hard for her to see past certain things and she can't see what will happen too far ahead right now. It is scaring her, I can't have her following me, I won't put her in that kind of danger. I'm not asking for a wizard's oath, just the word of my brothers to protect the one I love as if she were your own to love." His eyes had hardened considerably as he spoke abut this choice, "Ron, have Pansy stay with her... I don't trust her to be alone... she takes too much after our Potter here and there are certain things that she can do to see what she wants that are much too dangerous for her light heart to be trying."

The sounds of the dungeons drifted around them and no one spoke, just sat staring at the fire or the floor. They knew the time was closing in on Blaise, and soon they would have to say good-bye, and chance at never seeing him again. Death was not unusual around them and it was grim when those so young was accustomed to death occurring constantly around them, and not be affected as strongly as they should have been, but instead took it with a tragic acceptance of a something that had to happen and was unavoidable. Life had changed for the older students at Hogwarts, and everyone knew it, Dumbledore saw it everyday as sixth and seventh years either came to him or disappeared from the seats he was used to finding them in, it was no longer a war of his time but now of the younger generation's choosing. When a life taken before its prime was common and grief hung in the minds for vengeance against those who caused it.

Finally as the clock tolled Blaise stood to walk to the door of the common room, they all noticed he took nothing with him as he was leaving. Once he stood behind them all he turned, none wanted to look at him to show him the tears on their faces. It seemed they had cried too much to be men, but it wasn't everyday you lost a brother, they may lose others but never a brother, yet it was as always a necessary sacrifice that no one wanted to give up. "I will return. Let me go not for me, for us, for Twi... but for what our world can be when this war is over." With his head dropped he whispered the words to open the wall and let one tear stain the stone floors before he was gone from their lives. It was his time to rid himself of secrets, his time to take care of a past he wished to no longer darken his future.

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Hermione stood before the window searching out that fog she knew was so familiar, that would never be erased form her. A dark figured fled from the castle and caught her breath as she saw a small fog with it, and it quickly disappeared into the forest. Confusion was written across her face as she walked out on to the balcony trying to grab one last glimpse of the mysterious unknown person. The darkness of the forest had already closed around them so she just bowed her head and looked back to her room, and caught a movement that shouldn't have been there. Her heart sped in her chest, even if it didn't pump the blood she had left in her, more like venom than blood, a mixture that could hold any vampire off if needed in emergency of nutritional merit.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Her voice trembled and she cursed herself for worrying, but she cold feel that it wasn't Draco, even across their bond she could feel he was still in the dungeons. With eyes more advantaged at seeing in the dark, she searched the room for an intruder, a sound at the bottom of the stairs attracted her. Looking down she saw a wisp of light long hair turning a corner. Now sure of some uninvited visitor she crept like a predator to the lower floor. A couple of swears from the kitchen alerted her to their location, then the fumbling of a glass jar, so they were after her and Draco's more rare potions then. "Can I help you? My husband and I are very committed to helping those in need when we are asked."

A small head peaked over the counter and Hermione knew that strawberry blonde hair and moss green eyes from anywhere, "Hermione... Don't tell Draco that I was here... I need you to help me... but then I will have to obliviate it from your memory, Draco can't know... I can't have them stopping me... I know Blaise asked them to stop me." the girl quickly related all this to the immortal she was hoping would help her. "Please, 'Mione... I love him..." The plea was so heartfelt that Hermione knew she would not be able to refuse such a pure heart and quickly with a flick of her wrist had the potions that could be needed for any emergency on the counter. "Thank you..."

"What is going on?" Hermione asked, "You can tell me, get it off your chest, and then obliviate me and it will never be known."

Sighing she relaxed enough to look the girl she had considered a sister, "Blaise is running off, but I'm sure you know that. They say they want someone... a her... they looked at me so specifically and Blaise got so upset... It has to be me... Then he started spouting off things like he was the one they really wanted and for them to leave me alone and that I wasn't part of it... then Blaise was demanding me back to the castle. He's going with them, to protect me. I can't let him do that, I am going to give myself over to those that he's going to, I have to save him. I love him so much... I can't lose him... he may be able to move on, but vampires only have one life mate, and if I lose him... I die." Her voice kept breaking, but she wouldn't break down, she had no time for dramatics and just needed to get going or she wouldn't be able to follow him, their bond was to loose.

"Calm... I will help you... Tell me what you need and it will be yours." Hermione looked at the small girl, even though she was barely bigger than her, and kissed the girl's cheek.

Pulling herself back together, she began packing away the potions she'd need, "Just keep the boys off my trail... I'll leave you with that memory. You have already given me more than enough to help me, and I know you will be busy, so don't worry, concentrate on your mission, it is much more important that our kind join our side than what happens to Blaise and I. We will be back, and you will know when the time comes. I love you." Twilight's eyes remained dry and she turned to the lower balcony, and pulled a broom out of her bag, it was Blaise's.

"Be careful... and you better come back alive... I'm not experienced enough to pull both of your arses from the Ether." Hermione tried to lighten the mood with some humor but still the air around them remained somber. "Remember Draco can hear you whenever you call... and we shall come to you as if the devil were at our heels." A cool sensation swept her mind, and she only gathered glimpses of the last few moments. With one last look at the balcony she saw flutter of green and then nothing, just a sense of keeping Twi out of trouble and a tear on her cheek she couldn't find a reason for.

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A dark figure stood in the forest just as the moon disappeared and the sun had yet made an entrance. The boy had moved on with his partner. His smile was bordering on insanity as he turned to the figure that stumbled from the tree line, 'Beautiful... no wonder.'

"Blaise?" a very feminine voice called out searching for the one who had just been there.

"Finally, you have arrived... He won't fight us if we have you."

Amata Mercy

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