DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I also do not make any money from this.

WARNINGS: Yaoi (male x male), Yuri (female x female) adult topics, swearing, sexual scenes and violence.

This has not been Beta'd.

PAIRINGS: Ron x Hermoine

'text' is thought

"text" talking

Hidden Element

Chapter 7: Blaze

Harry walked carefully down the stairs, making sure they didn't squeak along the way. It wasn't that he intended on hiding the fact that he was leaving from his friends, but rather that they would either demand to go along or that he wait till a later moment in time. He could admit that finding out Dumbledore's clues were top priority, but truthfully, in his heart, there was a more pressing matter.

He switched the light on gently, making sure the soft click hadn't been heard before he set out carefully towards the kitchen door.

"Stop," Ron sighed as he made himself known from his awkward half seated, half lying position on the couch. Harry twirled around in panic, not having noticed him there. He cursed his own stupidity, too cautious of his own steps to realise what had been around him when the light had been switched on.

"Ron!" he stated calmly. "I was just getting some water." His lie could have been truth, he was headed in the direction of the kitchen, after all. The door to the outside world just happened to be there too. Ron raised an eyebrow, making Harry slump his shoulders. Ron had probably seen the way he made sure he was quiet. If he had wanted water, he wouldn't have crept around the house to get it.

"Mate, I know where you want to go, but you can't right now." He patted the area next to him. Harry sighed and went to sit down. "As much as you want to, there are more important things. You don't know where he is, finding him will take up most of your time."

"Ron, I can't delay it any longer! It's been five years now since I started looking! I..." Ron winced as he saw a tear fall down Harry's cheek. He had mixed emotions on this subject. He had never allowed himself the chance. Ron was scared of what he would think when he finally allowed himself the thought. Of course he'd blame Draco... but the thought that he blamed Harry more wasn't one he liked to linger on.

"I thought you said he was acting cold towards you and that he sometimes vanished for long periods of time. Are you sure you even want to find him? Have you thought this through, mate?" Harry had had a problem with Draco's attitude before, so was he missing love in general, or did he really think he'd done wrong in letting the blond go?

"But Ron... this is Draco we're talking about! Even 'Mione slapped me after she heard. It hurt like hell! Maybe I presumed too much, I didn't even give him a chance to explain," he said mournfully. Ron pursed his lips and sighed softly. It was easy to see that this subject had kept him up all night.

"He was one of her best friends, Harry. You can't expect her not to stand up for him. He meant a lot to her, much like you do to me. But... even then, even for me... Draco wasn't like that Harry. Why would he suddenly, out of nowhere, go and frolic around with all the other fish in the Hogwarts sea.

"He was better than that Harry. What you did, it was somewhat harsh." Harry blinked his eyes in surprise. "Oh come on, mate. This isn't the first time I've complimented him. Don't act so surprised!"

"He gave up so much for me... his family, friends... why would he give all that up to have an affair with the odd student?" Harry groaned. "I was just so angry at the way he was treating me. I should've asked him why. I need to find him, Ron. I have this feeling that he could be my one and only and what if I've lost him?" Ron looked up towards the ceiling and lent back.

"You both fucked up. I don't know why he was acting that way, but it was uncalled for... even if he was having doubts or what-not. But Harry, maybe you should move on."

"No, Ron. The more I think about it, the more wrong it seemed! It could have been a number of reasons, Ron. His father, Voldemort, and he wanted to explain. I want to find him, because even though I don't deserve it, I want to find out why, Ron. He has to be there somewhere!"

"Maybe it's because you've been looking in the wrong place, Harry." Harry looked up to see Ginny standing in the doorway with a glass of milk. It seemed everyone had the ability to sneak up on him these days. Was he really not paying that much attention to his surroundings? He made a mental note to be more alert in the future. Ginny pursed her lips sadly before continuing.

"Look, I know I'm probably not one to talk since I could've been more hospitable. But when I finally spent time with him I found out what made you love him so much. He is... nice. But you're not thinking like him. He wants to hide. You should know him better than anyone, What would he hide in the wizards world for? He's lost his family and most people still hold a grudge because of his father.

"If I was him I would've gone where no one would look for a pureblood, ex Death Eater... the muggle world. Just a suggestion." She gave a comforting smile. "You haven't run out of options yet." She slowly turned with her glass of milk and proceeded to the stairs, only just hearing the soft 'thank you' trailing afterwards.

"I didn't think of that," Harry sighed. "The muggle world is so huge! What am going to do?"

"Well, mate, you forgot that our next clue is one Blaise Zabini, friend of Draco Malfoy. I bet you that if anyone knew where he was, it would be him. It's a start, don't you think?" Harry frowned in thought.

"He could be anywhere as well Ron." Ron laughed loudly, for a second forgetting the house's sleeping occupants, before stopping bashfully.

"Harry, your intelligence has decreased if you don't think that Hermione is already hot on his trail. I bet you washing the dishes for the week that she'll know by tomorrow." Harry smirked at Ron's cockiness, but was sure that although she was intelligent, it wouldn't be that simple.

Hermione strolled into the kitchen that morning with a smile on her face that could only be read as victory. Ron looked at Harry expectantly while he munched on his piece of toast, and Harry stared dumbly in shock that she had been able to accomplish it. He gave a curious glance to Ron whom only chuckled at the evident shock.

"Mate, I know my fiancé. She hasn't slept since she found out it was him. And I know better than to underestimate her ability to find things by now. Your dishes this week." Harry hit the table with his forehead, emitting a groan.

"We know you have the answer 'Moine, spit it out." Ginny stated before giggling when Luna decided to try and balance a spoon on her nose.

"Are you all sitting, because this is going to come as a shock." It seemed a rhetorical question as everyone had already been seated and awaiting her findings anxiously.

"Blaise has been hiding out in the muggle world. The reason why it had been easy, was that he'd kept his old name. Not very bright for someone on the suspected list of the ministry," she chortled, earning a snigger from the group. Only Neville thought it was more than just being stupid. Dumbledore had wanted them to find the Slytherin, and they had, easily enough.

A more reasonable explanation would be that Blaise had made it easy for them. He had wanted to be found, at least by the ones who put the clues together, that is. As logical as his thoughts were, he kept them to himself, not wanting to contradict the brunette. It didn't go unnoticed by him, however, when he saw Ginny's slight frown at her assumption that Blaise just hadn't covered his tracks thoroughly enough. He was proud that she had thought along the same line as him. He couldn't read the others well enough, but then again, anything Ginny did didn't go unnoticed by him. He was not going to comment on that fact. What Hermione had to say next, however, did surprise him.

"He's been living as a muggle in Chile, probably trying to keep away from the wizarding worlds eyes. The big part is that he has a muggle job. Not just any job, he's an archaeologist. It means he's been there for a while since he's had to go to university for it and take the exams. The site he's digging at is a famous one too, so that means he's got experience. He's part of the research team excavating the 887 monumental sites on Easter island!" It left a few gaping mouths. Whatever they thought he'd be doing, or where he'd be found, this was not one of the situations they'd pictured.

"The problem is, however, that the charts say he's leaving tonight to meet a private investor about opening another dig site. It means he's leaving the location we've tracked, and that we need to leave pronto. Will that be a problem for everyone?" They could only shake their heads in slight confusion and eagerness at a new adventure.

Of course, they made sure they had their wands safely in their pockets. After all, he'd been a Slytherin and friends to numerous Death Eaters. One would never know what could happen upon meeting.

GhostLawsOfDoom, AcadianProud: You both raise a good point. Thank you for bringing it to my attention! I'll make sure to shorten them from now on.