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 Hermione, Blaise x Cho
'text' is thought
"text" talking
Hidden Element
Chapter 11: The Third Clue
Elementals:
Ice and Void – [Name]
Fire – [Name]
Earth – Blaise Zabini
Nature – Cho Chang
Light – [Name]
The Forgotten:
[Element] – Saito Blackstar (OC)
[Element] – Carsly Hendricks (OC)
[Element] – [Name]
[Element] - [Name]
Wind - Miya Hendricks (OC)
Blaise had made himself cosy on the rug next to the lighted fireplace, leaning against the edge of a sofa. Cho was lying languidly on her back, head resting on her husbands lap. They made a serene picture, quite and seemingly at peace, yet there was something sad about it at the same time. Blaise sat slightly slumped, brown eyes lost and gloomy, where Cho looked concerned, lying there in silence, not knowing exactly what to say. It was times like these that Cho wished she could read his mind.
He hadn't turned out to be anything like she'd first imagined, although truth be told, she was somewhat blinded in terms of other Hogwarts houses back then, especially when it came to Slytherin. He was incredibly open and brilliantly honest about everything. She could not remember a time he had ever lied to her, even if only to create a white one to make her feel better about a situation. It was one of the things she adored about him. Ever since the death of Cedric, everyone had tip-toed around her, being there, yet leaving her alone to her grief, something she assumed only Harry Potter had understood until that point. Pathetic; that was the word he'd called her the first time they met to talk, or rather argued.
He had carefully enlightened her on his family history evading Voldemort, the death of his sister for openly stepping past neutral to light, and of course the countless disappointment and resentment of losing friends to the dark side, not to mention suffering their own family betrayals with them. Compared to the problems he'd mentioned, losing a loved one that had never truly been hers to begin with, sounded minor in contrast.
A Slytherin fought endlessly to remain swimming in a vast dark ocean. Hated by the light for their parents' transgressions and killed by the dark by means of survival and struggle to get to the top. It was easy to slip into a role of anger and hatred when no one seemed to believe in you. And through all this, Blaise had remained true to his name. He kept burning like a fire in the darkness, guiding both himself and his friends to the other side of the correct path safely.
Always strong and hard to put out, it wouldn't have surprised her if he had been fire instead of Earth. Then again, Fire and Earth understood each other perfectly. Both predators and hard to stop when they started; there were certain features of their element that strived for the same goal, but that was besides the point.
However, when he wanted to be a Slytherin, he truly morphed into the vision she'd first had of him. In this state, it was never clear what he was thinking, yet her nature always seemed to calm the mudslide of anger that cracked across his surface once the emotions rolled in. This was one such day.
He had been precariously slipping back and forth between sadness and happiness, much like a grain of sand being pulled by the ebb and flow of the sea. She heard Harry before he made himself known, and as much as she wanted to forestall what was about to happen, she was truly comfortable, and it was indeed a conversation that needed to happen to remove the tension.
"Blaise?" Harry asked softly, not wanting to be obtrusive, but needing to find an answer. Those sad brown eyes turned to fall on him, instantly turning into a heated glare that matched the flames that gave him heat. The intensity of the stare made Harry slightly nervous. He had befriended the Blaise quickly. There had been a deep found respect for each other, of what the other had achieved with a life they both never wanted, and most importantly, both were needed to secure Draco's happiness. It was something Harry had often been jealous of at first. There had been and always was, a connection between Draco and Blaise. Nothing could ever change that fact.
Growing up together, the two had formed a brotherly bond like no other. Every piece of information was shared between them, no matter how trivial. They'd always seen each other as soul mates, and if they hadn't been such good friends, they would have made the perfect couple. Which is exactly why Harry had prolonged having this conversation until now. Blaise had lost all faith in him; it was hard to ignore the not-so-subtle glares and being completely ignored. This conversation was never going to be an easy one. If Blaise didn't know where Draco was, however, then no one did.
"I know that this is the last thing you want to talk about, but I need to ask. Do you know where he is?" Blaise continued his glare, making Harry hesitate.
"Why should I tell you anything?"
"I want to... no, I NEED to know what happened Blaise!" Harry pleaded. Cho sat up from her position as the Earth beneath them rumbled as Blaise's anger boiled over. Harry almost bit his tongue in momentary confusion.
"Being a spy wasn't good enough for you, you had to persuade him to leave everything he knew and cherished behind! He had no surname, no family nor inheritance, all he had was Dumbledore's protection, a first name, a fortunate education, very few friends, an incredible amount of enemies, and you!" As the speech progressed, his voice rose in volume, cheeks flushed red from anger and struggle to maintain control.
"That's not..."
"I don't like you Potter, you must have realised that by now! If it wouldn't effect Draco, or Cho, or even the bloody world, I would create the biggest chasms on Earth that would swallow your ass whole!"
"Blaise?" Cho whispered, a hand trailing up his cheek, "It's OK. Just because he's asking doesn't mean he's going to go looking for him, right Harry?" The intense glare and pursed lips were obviously an attempt to get the hint across.
"Look, Blaise, I know you dislike me, and for all I know, Draco probably does too. I just want to know how he is. Is he happy? That's all I'm asking, you don't have to tell me anything else if you don't want to." Of course, Harry left out the 'I'll find the rest on my own' part, and if Blaise knew it, then he didn't say.
"No, but why don't you sit down now? It's nice and warm by the fire." Blaise gave a small smile to the dark brunette before him, taking her hand in his and pulling her to lie beside him this time. It was strange, to say the least, to suddenly be off the hook. Maybe Blaise had only needed to blow off some steam regarding the situation. If that had been the case, then he was glad. As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, Cho gave him a raised eyebrow and a slight frown.
"Don't misinterpret Harry, he's still angry, he just can't express it now. Ever changing Earth remember. It's not that he chooses to forgive you, it's that he's had a personality change of sorts." It was a hard concept to grasp, that someone's personality could be so drastically changed by something so suddenly happening in your life.
"Earth is not merely a flat thing, it has various dimensions, possibilities and forms. Compressed, it becomes solid rock hard to break; it can be grainy and swept away by the wind, even wet and muddy in its unwillingness to release its grip on you. When we say we are one with our elements, we mean that we ARE the element. I'm lucky in the fact that nature is a natural process, it dies and then recreates, it is also a constant source of crucial components needed for breathing. Blaise's element gets tumbled and thrown around by other elements, including humans, therefore, his shape of Earth or personality, never remains the same. Now sit down and relax will you? You've broken the tension, the rest can come later."
Cho closed her eyes and seemed to drift off while Blaise's hands stroked up and down her arms. Harry settled for sitting on his knees, though felt obtrusive at first for being part of the couples loving scene. Yet the warmth captivated him into staying, it had been cold all day, after all. As the flames flickered and crackled against its white-wash brick frame, he wavered into his thoughts. He did not know how long he sat there, nor did he know if Cho and Blaise had stayed in that amount of time, but he found his mind straying to the memory of when it all started.
*Memory Start*
It had been too much! The constant, "Harry you need to tell Dumbledore" was driving him up the wall. He respected the headmaster and looked up to him for guidance, but he was not going to ask him for life lessons, nor was he going to talk to him about his problems. In the end, as much as the man meant to him, he was not a close friend, nor was he family. His response had been to turn tail and run for it like the coward he was.
He had walked silently to his weekly hangout where he needed solitude. The lake. There was a great spot where a tree shaded the grass just meters away from the water. It was refreshing to be outside away from the constant questions of the crowded school, even housemates apart from Ron and Hermoine had begun to question his grief and had begun to interpret it in many ways. He just needed to get away.
Crouched tightly against the tree for heat was how Draco found him. He never truly found out the reason why he came to the lake that day, but he was forever grateful that the Slytherin prince got a heavy dose of his grief. He had wondered if the blond came to gloat at first, yet he merely sat there beside him for what seemed like hours, staring at the lake.
"What's wrong with you, Potter?"
"Nothing that concerns you, Malfoy," he snapped out of habit. After another bout of silence, Harry sighed at his own pettiness. The blond had asked a normal question with no hint of malice, but he supposed it had been the familiar use of his surname that had gotten him riled up.
"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."
"You could tell me about it, you know." Harry's head snapped to face Draco's, whose eyes never left the silky rays of sun glistening across the water.
"I haven't even told my friends! What makes you think I would tell you?" Finally, Draco turned to face him with a face full of determination.
"I went to Dumbledore today. My dad wanted to give me the mark next week before the holidays. Contrary to popular belief, that isn't something that I want. What I want to say is that I've become a spy for your precious Order. I came out here to think, but you were already here. My dad will disown me when he finds out. I'll be without a surname or a legacy to live up to. My mum has never shown that much interest in me to begin with, it was all in the interest of moulding me into my father's figure.
"Then there are the screams I here at night, knowing there's a man, woman, girl or boy somewhere in that dungeon of ours, and I'm too much of a coward to suck up some courage and go free them before they die horrible and humiliating deaths. Then again, the light will never accept me, so I've just made myself an outcast. You know, maybe, as a rival, it would be better to explain these things and not get the pity you think you'd see from your friends. I'm offering, one more time. Would you like to tell me what's wrong... Harry?"
At the sound of his name, he suppressed an instant shudder, though he shoved it to the back of his mind. Draco was incredibly attractive, but he had never truly experienced how amazing the blond could be, until Draco said his name, followed by the first incredibly genuine smile he had ever given Harry. Draco had opened up to him in a way he never would have thought he would, and his facial features seemed to be describing the truth, or so he presumed. It only seemed natural to return a kind gesture with another.
They spent hours talking about their lives, the pieces that hurt and would rather bury in a box and throw into the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean. He told him about Sirius' death, and the loathing he had for his status as and The-Boy-Who-Lived. They understood each other perfectly and had a lot in common. That was the foundation and the building blocks for something far more greater.
*Memory end*
"Harry?" The irritated semi-shout shock him from his musings, leading him to face Hermione donning yet another cream and black ensemble. Turning around on his knees, he found the groups worried faces turned in his was unsure when everyone else had entered the living room. At the familiar pursing of his lips, they concentrated on staring at him with less intensity. If there was something they knew by now, it was that when Harry got nervous at the way you looked at him, he was inclined to make a run for it. They were unsure whether the pattern had changed with his seeming maturity, yet they were not going to try and find out.
Now that they had his attention they carried on with their previous coversation.
"Fire is a she, who was in the same year as us in Hogwarts. You know her, but I'm not sure I would call her your friend." Cho frowned as she got an elbow to the side. It was soft, but Blaise's point was made.
"Fire is an uncontrollable element. When you use it, it spreads, and is hard to extinguish, she is also one of the two strongest in the group. Keeping that in mind, the intensity of its will force is sometimes too great to contain, and starts to burn her own skin and start to cause physical pain to herself. Due to the fact that fire depends heavily on passion, it is only a passionate act that can sate the fire within her, hence the whole slut image. That's really all I can say, I'm sorry if you didn't get any more additional information out of that." There were some tight lipped smiles of annoyance at not-complete facts, yet they were determined to make it through to the next round.
'Unkown' (sorry that there's no name so I can thank you properly, but you know who you are): That's an amazing idea. As I type this in I have gone back and implemented your suggestion. I hope this clear's it up a bit more as well. Thank you!
XxHushHushxX: I'm glad you loved it! It's a pleasure! I'll send you an email, then I can write an even bigger message! I look forward to creating a character with you!