Blaise has to admit that Draco is absolutely terrifying, even moreso than usual. As his best friend and confidante, he knew the Malfoy heir was strong, he knew that he was a menace and a general problem, he knew…a lot of things about the boy he called his friend, but he had no idea the extent to which it ran. Draco entered Hogwarts with a bang and seized power with a speed and a level of dominance that would make a Griffin blush. He not only conquered the common room with his torturous antics, but he's also transformed almost every girl in the Slytherin house into his…plaything.
Young as he is, Blaise is no stranger to such topics: being a bona fide pretty boy himself, and a future ladies' man, two things Draco could be if he cared to, but things he chose to reject for his much scarier image of some kind of Demon, a Dark Lord more sinister and more powerful than all who came before him, more brutal, more frightening. Blaise has heard the stories, of one girl in particular, that make his skin crawl. Alyssa Trunfield was, is, her name, and she is the girl who refused to bow to Draco's whims, to his sick fantasies, and held herself with some sort of decorum and respect. Surprisingly, the big bad Draco let it go like water under the bridge, and did nothing to her, exacting no punishment, unlike his usual self, in a rare moment of mercy from the boy who quite literally thought of himself and carried himself as a Demon. One would understand why Blaise was skeptical. At first.
Unfortunately, it was more calculated than he thought, and it was by design that Draco didn't have to lift even a finger for things to correct themselves. Feeling slighted by the girl, and perhaps jealous of her ability to stand up for herself, the other sixth year girls bullied her endlessly, so much so that they drove her to the Head of their House: Professor Snape for help. Try as he might, the Potions Professor could not protect her 24/7, and so…she eventually fell in line. She too began regular visits to Draco's "throne" room, and just like that, without literally doing anything himself, the young Dragon was able to punish her and put her in her place, and that scared Blaise more than any show of power that his dear old pal had put forth so far. It made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, and made his spine shiver at the mere thought of the 'soft power' that his best mate had displayed: the power to make others do his bidding.
Speaking of punishment, one thing that shocked Blaise is that Draco hasn't yet retaliated against Potter. Sure he made his life a living hell, mocked him constantly, and asserted himself as the alpha male in all of Hogwarts, but he never put that extra "Draco" on things, that all of House Slytherin is familiar with. Potter, against all odds, became the youngest seeker, possibly the youngest Quidditch player in Hogwarts History, circumventing the rules that even the new 'Dark Lord' himself had to follow, and that no doubt birthed a small bit of jealousy from the new King of Slytherin. He could see that Draco was in a bad mood lately, and that he absolutely seethed whenever he so much as looked at the scarred boy.
The others couldn't tell, mostly because Draco would bolster and bluster about his power, about the Malfoys, and about his successes with the Philosopher's Stone, but Blaise knew different. He knew his best mate and he knew that Draco was frustrated, angry, and it was only a matter of time before he lashed out at someone or something.
Blaise can't help but to sigh as he sits with Nott, their other friend, and the two play a bout of Wizard's Chess. Nott is smart, wicked smart, and highly intelligent, but Blaise is slick, deceptive, deceitful, and because of that, their matches are a lot closer than they should be, with Blaise himself coming out on top more often than not. But the gap is slowly closing. Blaise grimaces as he watches Nott make a move he's never even thought of before, to take his take his queen and essentially take the game. See things like that just…it spells doom for Blaise's future dominance in the game, as he couldn't even think of beating Draco, especially a mad Draco, though that does seem to be resolving itself over time. Blaise has seen how he leaves their dorm every night and every weekend, and returns with a rather satisfied look on his face.
Staying far away from anything that can make Draco happy, Blaise focuses more on his chess dilemma. Maybe he just needed to go make some more friends, dumber friends, to play against and regain his mojo. Yes, that's an excellent plan. And why not go flirt with some girls—non-Slytherin girls of course, while he's at it?
Interlude 2A once beautiful and somewhat sane woman sits in her dark and dusty cell, withering away at the behest of her lord, of her master, who has demanded her sacrifice for the greater good. He was all powerful, and one day, he would return from his supposed death, and on that day he would free her, and she would rejoice. Until then, she simply needed to hold her breath, to remain above water despite the best efforts of the foolish dissidents who would rise against her lord, who would fight for those filthy mudbloods and blood traitors, and who proclaim themselves as leaders of the very world her lord claimed as his own. Infidels. Traitors. Imbeciles. Dead men.
A smirk graces her lips as she thinks of some of her victims, one of the few things to bring her joy and keep her sane, outside of thoughts of her lord and his rise back to the top of the food chain.
Dead women too. Yes, she tortured a lot of women in service of her lord, so to leave them out would be unfair. Still, the victims she's most fond of was one particular couple, their names slip her mind at the moment, who she crucio'd over and over again as she laughed with absolute glee at their anguished screams, as she set out to not only follow her orders, but to draw out the torture for as long as possible and break her own personal record. And their minds along with it. It was the last thing she did, unfortunately, as their movement hit an unexpected pitfall, but she had faith. A mere fluke would not keep them down for long, even as a decade of detainment passes, she has faith, for one day she will escape. She knows it. She expects it.
What she does not expect is to be visited one day, unofficially at that, by a young blond boy, a handsome boy with a curious aura about himself, almost a familiar aura, one that reminds her of…no. She can't think such blasphemous thoughts. Her lord was one of one, and she didn't even know who this brat was. He looked no older than a first year, but somehow he had gotten past the guards, past the Dementors that plagued her thoughts and her dreams, and was standing in front of her with a determined look on his face. He didn't look happy to be there, but he also didn't seem angry, murderous, or like someone seeking revenge. Somehow she felt at ease in his presence, almost connecting with the familiarity that he presented, both in the image of her lord, and with…something else he exuded. Was it his haughty attitude? His vaguely familiar hair? Was it his eyes?
"If you're wondering," the boy spoke with all of the confidence and prominence that she imagined he would, "I…am Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, and the true heir to Malfoy and the Black lineage." Ah, that's where she recognized him from. "And I have come, to keep you some company and to provide what I can only assume is a much-welcomed distraction from your…" He stops to gesture at their surroundings. "Life here." His expression then darkens as a grin adorns his visage. "I have also come to learn, as I have heard great things about you from very reputable sources." He stops to look around, and then casts a spell, one that she's unfamiliar with, but it does make her feel warm, comfortable, and overall less miserable. "I hope that you will have me, and take care of me as only you can. You have a lot of time and a lot of birthday presents to make up for, after all. And I don't wish to force you, but I will if you refuse." With that statement, she saw something in his eyes, something dangerous and it…excited her greatly. For the first time in over a decade, her heart beats in triple time, as she licks her lips and opens her mouth, a smile almost gracing her worn face. Speaking her first words in so long, she cannot hide the amusement and the interest in her face.
"I won't refuse you, I could never." She manages to breathe out in a husky tone. "As you said, we have a lot of time to make up for, dear Nephew." A sinister cackle fills her cell, as she cannot contain her glee. Finally.