A/N: Every once in a while a character in this chapter will use an Italian word or phrase, I have created a key for these words and will be putting them at the beginning of the chapters so you don't have to google them. Generally these will be common expressions that are easy to understand or infer from the context of the rest of the conversation if you don't want to scroll.
Ehilà Vecchio – Hello my friend| Se non le dispiace- If you wouldn't mind/ if you please| Madonna/Madre- mother| Ovviamente- Of course| Andiamo, stai scherzado?- Are you kidding me?/Are you joking?| Per l'amore di Dio- For the love of God| Stringiamci a coorte- Let us unite (Part of the Italian National Anthem a call to arms)| Grazie a dio- Thank God. |caro mio- my dear| Non ti azzardare- Don't you dare| "l'amor che muove il sole el l'altre stelle – "love which moves the sun and other stars of heaven." A quote from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Paradiso, 33, v.145| Merde- shit| Madre di Dio- Mother of God| Mangiamo!- Lets Eat
Chapter two
Malfoy Holdings:France
Draco sat in his office with the lights off, his head in his hands on top of the papers scattered haphazardly across the desk. He was exhausted and his head was pounding but if it was from the frustration, lack of sleep or from the scotch he wasn't sure and he didn't care.
The door clicked open and the lights snapped on making Draco curse and cover his eyes before he could see who was there.
"Ehilà vecchio" came the smooth voice from the open door.
Blaise Zabini lounged in his office doorway much like a cat would, impeccably dressed in the finest Italian fashion had to offer.
"Turn off the bloody lights Blaise for the love of Merlin." Draco growled through his hands.
"Ah, I never had much love for that old charlatan I'm afraid. Entreat me with something I care about, se non le dispiace. Like wine… beautiful women… interesting books…clean rooms" Blaise suggested dryly as he surveyed the mess. "What happened here?"
Draco signed and held out a sheet of parchment. Blaise came to his desk, took and began to read it over. A frown appeared between his perfectly manicured eyebrows the further he got.
Blaise had spent the last four years primarily in Italy. Specifically in Florence, in an apartment left by his Nona who had raised him until he was eight when she passed away. Blaise's mother had little to no involvement or interest in his upbringing, she could never have been accused of being the maternal type. But for all his mothers indifference, his nona had loved him and it made sense that Blaise would return there.
Draco was relieved that Blaise looked healthier than he had in a long time. He must be getting outside because freckles danced across his aristocratic nose and sharp cheekbones. None of them had ever fully fleshed out after Azkaban, but while Blaise was much more angular and severe than he had been before their incarceration, that just enhanced his natural feline beauty.
"Did you contact Theo? And the holdings in London?" He asked, glancing up at Draco.
"I already requested a meeting with some of our contacts in London and I sent Theo an owl this morning as soon as I read it." Draco said as he began to collect the papers in his desk into piles.
Blaise watched him out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to reread the letter.
Draco looked terrible. His hands shook, he smelled of tobacco and scotch, his hair was messy from running his hands through it and a light stubble covered his face. More concerning to Blaise were the dark purple crescents under Draco's eyes and how much weight he seemed to have lost in the past month since he had last seen him.
"Madonna is not doing well, I take it?" Blaise asked softly and Draco flinched.
"Mother is doing the best she can, all things considered. You should come by for dinner. She misses you."
Blaise didn't press him any further.
Out of all the wives of the inner circle Narcissa had been the most involved with the children. She had adored and doted on all of them but to Theo, who had never known his mother, and Blaise, who's mother had been absent and disinterested, she had been the only constant maternal figure either of them had ever known. Growing up, more often than not, Blaise and Theo could be found in Malfoy Manor for holidays and school breaks.
As flawed as Draco's parents were, in comparison to Mr. Nott and , Lucius and Narcissa could write the Witch Weekly's 'Practically Magical Parenting Advice' column.
"Ovviamente. I have missed her too, I'll come by this evening for dinner after I have finished checking into my hotel." Blaise said, returning the parchment to Draco's desk.
"Are you planning to stay in France long then?" Draco asked, slightly muffled as he leaned over in his chair to pick up a few loose letters which had fallen to the floor.
"Sì, for a while I suppose. As much as it pains me to be here, someone needs to keep you out of trouble." he said lightly. Draco cursed as he slammed his head into the desk as he tried to sit up.
"I don't need you babysitting me Blaise, we're perfectly fine." He said scowling and rubbing the back of his head.
Blaise raised an eyebrow at the empty bottle of scotch in Draco's hand and then gestured pointedly at Dracos dishevelled appearance "Andiamo, stai scherzado? You don't look fine. Theo was right, you look like shit. Besides, I'm here for more than just you. If you recall, I'm part of this little business venture you've got going on. We all are in this together."
"Thanks. You always know what to say to make someone feel special" Draco said acidly, tossing the empty bottle in the bin.
"Naturally. Italians are known for our ability to handle every situation with the utmost delicacy." Blaise brushed non-existent dust from his sleeve. "I'll come by the chateau at quarter to seven. Per l'amore di Dio, clean yourself up before madre sees you like this."
"You know, you've gotten far more insufferable since you moved to Italy." Draco commented conversationally.
"Perhaps" Blaise grinned at him, inclining his head in assent. "But in my time at home I've also become better dressed, more suave and I think I may even have surpassed even your success with the ladies."
Draco rolled his eyes but a shadow of a smile crept across his lips. "Where did you rank on last year's Wizarding World's most eligible bachelor list?" He asked innocently. It had been a puff piece in the gossip magazine "Rumours!" which had then become a running joke amongst their friend group.
"Do you think I pay attention to such torrid articles?" Blaise shot him a wounded look. "Fourth. But that was the international poll. There is no accounting for the taste of witches overseas. Remember, I placed second in the European vote and first in the Italian list. At least my home is loyal to me. Stringiamci a coorte."
They didn't need to recount who had taken first in the international or European lists. Draco had been harassed for weeks by equal parts owls with marriage proposals and death threats.
"Do you have work to finish or would you like to grab a drink with me as I get the keys for my apartment?" Blaise asked, pushing away from the bookshelf he was leaning on to saunter to the door.
"You go on, I'll send mother an owl and finish up here. I'll see you at the chateau at quarter to seven for dinner" Draco told him. Blaise hesitated as if he was going to insist but nodded and disappeared out the door.
Draco was exhausted when he returned to the chateau that evening. More trouble from London had come creeping in and he had spent the better part of the afternoon doing damage control. It was probable with how things were progressing that he would need to return to England to sort out this mess properly in person.
Draco froze midway through removing his scarf as he heard soft music crackling from a victrola somewhere deeper in the usually quiet house. Cautiously he followed the sounds to the kitchen.
Blaise, in a paisley ruffled apron and with flour dusting his curls, was waltzing around the kitchen with Mrs. Malfoy to a loud Austrian waltz. Narcissa's white hair, now streaked with silver, had fallen from its neat quaff to fly around as Blaise spun her about. She looked so much younger, so much less worn when she smiled and it had been weeks since Draco had seen her smile like that. He wasn't surprised Blasie had been able to coax such a smile, while Theo had devoted himself to and idolised Lucius, Blaise had always known what to say or do to make Narcissa light up.
The dance ended and Blaise kissed Narcissa's pink tinged cheek.
"Draco! You made it! Grazie a dio! We thought you had forgotten about us!" Blaise said cheerfully as he checked on the pots on the stove.
"No rest for the wicked I'm afraid" Draco said, kissing his mother's cheek in greeting. "Can I help with anything?"
"Not if you want dinner to be edible caro mio." Blaise pretended to shield the stove with his body, a spoon and ladle crossed in front of him dramatically like swords as if to protect his dishes from Draco.
Narcissa laughed and Draco rolled his eyes. "My cooking isn't That bad." he said defensively and Blaise and Narcissa exchanged a look that clearly said it was that bad.
"If you insist on helping, come grab these dishes and set the table." Grumbling, Draco grabbed the stack of dishes and cutlery and turned to leave the kitchen but Blaise yanked him back by the collar.
"Not in the formal hall! Non ti azzardare! Nothing so stuffy, tonight we eat in the kitchen." He turned to Narcissa. "Madre, would you grab us some wine from your excellent cellars? Something that pairs well with white fish, we are having trout!"
Still smiling, Narcissa disappeared from the kitchen to retrieve the wine. When they heard the cellar click open Blaise turned to Draco, his flamboyant carefree persona replaced by concern. "Is she alright? She looks exhausted."
"She's fine. She just hasn't been sleeping well." Draco said while setting the small table in the corner of the kitchen but even to his own ears he sounded unconvincing.
"She's fading without father here." Draco told him softly " You know the war was bad for her, probably worse for her than most. I can't imagine what they went through when they were locked in the manor with.. Him. And after everything she went through, to lose Lucius…" Draco trailed off but Blais understood.
"ah, "l'amor che muove il sole el l'altre stelle'' Blaise quoted sadly
The inner circle was full of marriages made for all the wrong reasons, almost all of them surviving, at best, in cold indifference. Yet the Malfoy's marriage had been a love match first and foremost. From the time they had first met each other at school, Lusius and Nacrissa were completely and utterly devoted to each other. They were the golden example of a marriage based on equal parts power, devotion and respect. There wasn't a single pureblooded child who didn't secretly hope to have a marriage like theirs.
"I've tried everything Blaise. I've taken her to the healers but all they ever recommend is to take calming draughts or Dreamless Sleep." He snorted "As if it's as easy as waltzing into any potions shop and getting ahold of those but even when we do manage to get some that isn't poisoned or tampered with they rarely do her much good."
"Every moment I have that I'm not working has been spent trying to research anything that might help her. If we can get the potion supply store set up, the ingredients won't be so hard to get a hold of without all the red tape that magically pops up every bloody time my name is mentioned. God's above, I miss Severus." Draco rubbed his face
What can we do to help?" Blaise asked, turning to stir the sauce on the stove.
"Nothing. That's the worst part of all this. No one can help because all of our names are blacklisted. Potion ingredients, any book with useful knowledge, anything remotely helpful is essentially off limits. We could order beetle eyes and they'd think we're plotting to overthrow the ministry of magic." he said bitterly.
"I don't understand, everything was going perfectly, everything hidden beneath layers and aliases but now for no apparent reason the business's import licences have stalled." Draco said frustrated.
"And if we go through the back channels and get caught it won't matter what we're doing. They have been just waiting for an excuse to throw us back into Azkaban. Merde." Blaise swore. "You know they still do random raids to Theo and Pansy's apartments in London? They came in the middle of the night last week, made Pansy stand in the hall in her dressing gown for hours. Madre di Dio."
"I found a beautiful 1983 Chateau du Breuil Coteaux du Layon that will be just perfect with trout!" Narcissa breezed back into the kitchen. "I know you prefer your Italian wines but this is France mon cher."
Blaise shot Draco a look that clearly said they would talk later and turned beaming to Narcissa, his sunshine playful mask firmly back in place.
"Madre! You know I would trust your ability to pair wine with my life! Let me just drain the pasta, Draco go grab the salad from over there and dinner is served! Mangiamo!"
A/N: What a week my guys, hope you all are surviving and thriving. Between work and doctor's appointments I am absolutely exhausted, but on the upside I'll probably have two chapters for you all this weekend since I am currently editing the third chapter!
I chose to write Blasie as an Italian since the surname Zabini is Italian/Brazilian and I always pictured Ms. Zabini looking very similar to a dark haired version of Virna Lisi. Blaise in my mind looks very similar to Liam Samuels or Louis Cordice with freckles (I love freckles)
Since Blaise is going to be a pretty central character I'd love some input about how to do the key/guide for translation for ease of reading. I could keep putting the guide at the start like I did for this chapter or I could put the translation in parenthesis after (i.e." Mangiamo! (Let's Eat!)