Puppets

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PUPPETS

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Draco paused before a mirror, pursing his lips as he reached up to adjust the collar of his robes with a critical eye. As usual they were black, a shade so dark that it seemed to absorb light from the surrounding area. Granted it was not a particularly festive colour considering the time of year but Draco was not particularly concerned with that. He looked good and he knew it; an exercise in sharp contract between his clothes and his hair and his eyes. There would be more than one person unable to take their eyes from him that night.

Only when he was certain that the long lapels of the top layer of the cloth was settled in a correct position and that his hair was combed into uniform perfection did the young man step away from the glass. Making certain that his features were composed he turned, almost seeming to glide as he did so and yet stopping sharply once he found himself looking into the remainder of the room.

His movements were a little less practised and perfected that he was accustomed to - a sure sign that he was feeling agitated. The reason for his state of unrest was seated in a high backed armchair a few feet away. His legs were crossed, splitting the dark blue robes he was wearing; his body sunk deep into the comfortable chair so hiding his face from the immediate flickering light of the fire until Draco concentrated a little harder and sought to pick out his features. Theodore Nott was a slight young man, slender, delicate and small in stature. He was almost exceptionally unobtrusive in nature and yet at that moment Draco could think of no one whose presence could have disrupted him more.

Well, maybe he could think of one person.

A small amused smile had slipped onto Theodore's thin lips, curving them into something that unsettled Draco even more. The smile was something beyond the blonde Syltherin's control though that should not have surprised him. No amount of shouting, of scolding, of surreptitious plotting and scheming had once managed to unsettle the pale young Death Eater. He had always been beyond Draco's control and the current situation was no different. It went against everything that Draco had worked for within his house and as a consequence it was decidedly irritating. Theodore Nott with his complete and utter indifference to any and all of the authority that Draco had was exasperating. What made it all the worse at that moment was that the other young man had yet to give any clue at all as to why he had left the Malfoy Christmas party downstairs and decided to pester the Malfoy heir himself.

"Preening is a nervous habit with you," Theodore observed, his features betraying genuine interest.

Draco kept his expression stoic. "Have you chosen to intrude on my time for any other reason that to make such pointless observations?" he answered tartly.

Theodore appeared unaffected as always. He gave a small shrug of his birdlike shoulders. "I wouldn't be up here unless I had good reason," he said.

"And that reason would be..." Draco prompted coolly, fighting impatience.

"Blaise Zabini," Theodore answered lightly. It was impossible not to see that for a second something like uncertainty flickered in his eyes though; not when Draco's entire body seemed to tense when those two words left the other young man's lips. The blonde Slytherin drew in a sharp breath, his nostrils flaring slightly as he did so.

Blaise... he thought. Just the person he didn't want to think about right at that moment. Not after what had happened the last time they had spoken - not after what he had discovered.

Draco ground his teeth together and fought to affect a look of indifference. It was difficult. Now that he had been reminded of the dark haired Slytherin Draco found he was struggling to forget him as the hard fought control he always tried to maintain slipped for a moment.

"He's downstairs," Theodore added carefully. He still managed to make Draco jump slightly all the same, his forehead creasing into a frown as he lifted a gaze he hadn't realised he had dropped and fixed Theodore with it.

He hadn't imagined that it would happen, that Blaise would actually dare to show his face at the Christmas party after what had last assed between them. Naturally he had been aware that his father had invited the Zabini's to the festive celebration - a Malfoy tradition that in truth was little more than a thinly veiled excuse for his father and the other Death Eaters to get together without the ministry immediately breathing own their necks and yet... The nerve it must actually have taken to agree, to show up. Blaise had either seriously underestimated how angry Draco would still be or he was deliberately taunting him.

Either was a possibility.

Draco turned hard eyes on Theodore once more, studying the slight boy with his huge blue eyes and mess of marginally too long dark hair. Idly he wondered if there was something he was missing. Why would Theodore Nott who had never shown any need to concern himself with anything his housemates were up to decide to discuss Blaise of all people with him? It was irrational unless there was something in it for himself.

"There are lots of people downstairs," Draco stated in a matter-of-fact manner. "That's why it's called a party."

Theodore leaned forwards slightly and said daringly, "Yes, but Blaise isn't just anyone is he?"

Drawing his shoulders back Draco took a step towards Theodore. In his dark robes with his shoulder as set as they were and his face as serious as it was at that moment Draco knew he looked impressive if not downright intimidating. For once it seemed as if it worked. Theodore slouched back quickly into the chair, something like apprehension dancing behind his eyes.

"What exactly are you inferring?" the blonde asked.

"I..." he began and then stopped suddenly. Shaking his head Theodore added, "He sent me with a message."

Draco raised an eyebrow expectantly. "You're Blaise's runner boy now?" he asked. "Since when did that happen?"

Theodore sucked in a deep breath and held his hands up briefly before him. "He sent me to tell you that he's not going anywhere and that he wants to talk to you."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Why you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why you?" he repeated. "Why didn't he come up here to talk to me himself?"

"Probably because he was concerned how you would react," Theodore replied. "Listen, I know you too have some kind of massive argument before term finished and I am not nearly so gullible as half our wonderful housemates - nor am I scared enough of you to believe that the argument had anything to do with a cracked broomstick handle."

Realisation burned in the blonde, coiling in the pit of his stomach as he peered at Theodore. This was not what he wanted to hear. Draco folded his arms over his chest. "You know," he stated simply.

The other Syltherin's lips quirked into a brief smirk as he said, "I guessed a while ago. Don't worry though Draco, everyone else is much too blinded by you glittering reputation and good looks. As far as I can figure no one else had realised that you and Blaise are... involved."

Keeping his features steely Draco said, "And Blaise knows you know?"

Theodore nodded slowly, seemingly relieved that Draco wasn't going to immediately hex him. "I suspect that's why he asked me to come up here for him."

"And you so happily obliged?" Draco answered snidely, his mind racing rapidly.

Theodore knew. He actually knew. This wasn't like one of his of so valiant and understanding enemies finding out. Potter and his cronies would never sink so low as to use his sexuality against him but another Syltherin... The idea was horrifying. As wonderful as his relationship with his father might be and as understanding as the man might have been about some of Draco's more outrageous behaviour he seriously doubted that Lucius Malfoy would enjoy finding out that his one and only child, his son and heir, had no interest in women. And Lucius had plans - Draco knew it - plans that involved using Draco to make allegiances with certain old blood wizarding families.

Plans that might very well be disrupted if it emerged that his son was gay.

Inarticulate rage poured through Draco. Something had gone wrong... they had been so careful about keeping it quiet; Blaise understanding the necessity of not doing anything that had even the remotest chance of endangering the success of the Dark Lord's plan and yet something had still gone wrong.

Draco's frown intensified as a thought occurred to him. He had been careful, almost fanatically so but Blaise... A memory flickered into the blonde Slytherin's mind; Blaise's features, flushed with anger and his dark eyes blazing as they had argued... Was there a chance that the young man whose bed he had been sharing had been so angered when they had last spoken that he had let something slip by accident or, Merlin, on purpose? It was certainly true that Blaise had a lot less to loose that he did. Most people already suspected that the handsome Slytherin boy was inclined to look beyond the boundaries of what gender his prospective partners were. Still, Draco had never imagined that Blaise would endanger him on purpose. He had thought that Blaise... understood him better than that.

"You look like you're about to explode," Theodore observed.

Draco rolled his eyes back in his direction, noting once more that Theodore appeared a little more relaxed. He was almost completely sure that it was little more than a mask, a façade.

The smaller Slytherin put his hands on the arms of the chair and pushed himself into a standing position. Even standing he only reached just past Draco's shoulder.

"I don't have ulterior motives, Draco. I honestly, truly, don't - although I realise you aren't exactly going to trust me on that. All I'm interested in is making sure that things are resolved between you both."

"Why?" Draco asked suspiciously.

Theodore paused. From the corner of his eye Draco watched as the other boy's hands clenched into fists and then eased once more. He appeared to be searching for what to say while trying to seem as if he was not. Shifting slightly Theodore said, "You're both going to be influential in the coming days. It's an inescapable fact. The way I see it the pair of you will work considerably better if you're both getting along with each other."

Keeping his gaze steady Draco nodded. It seemed perfectly obvious that Theodore was lying. Clearly he did have ulterior motives but since they did not immediately seem to involve screaming what he knew from the rooftops then Draco realised that at least for the time being he was willing to forget whatever Theodore's motives might be.

He drew in a deep breath and nodded. "Go back to Blaise," he said calmly, ignoring the sudden bubble of anxiety that had popped in his chest. "Tell him to meet me in the library in a half an hour."

"Not up here?" Theodore queried.

Draco shook his head thoughtfully. "No, he can't be caught up here. There would be questions - especially since we're not meant to be on the best of terms at the moment. Besides, I need to show my face downstairs before I can do anything else."

"Okay. I'll do it then."

Draco turned his back on the other boy and waited until he had heard the door click shut. Even then he waited a few seconds, listening so intently that he almost gave himself a headache and until he was completely certain Theodore had left. Slowly he peered over his shoulder, letting out a long sigh when he saw the room was empty.

Stood alone in the middle of the room Draco quickly brought a hand up and ran it through his hair. It was only when he moved to bring it back down that the young wizard realised his hand was actually shaking, the last few minutes manifesting abruptly as physical exhaustion. He let his eyes flutter closed.

It was nearly two weeks since term had ended, since Draco had headed down to the train station to catch the Hogwarts Express only to discover that Blaise would not be on the train having left the previous evening. It was exactly two weeks since the blonde had last seen Blaise. It seemed like much, much too long even though before that moment he had been very careful not to think about it. Never had Draco believed that he would have missed Blaise even half as much as he had - especially not when their last conversation was taken into consideration. Draco had imagined that even waiting the few short weeks before they had to be back in school would not be long enough for his anger to melt away enough for him to even consider Blaise in a context that was anything less than wanting to throttle him.

And the truth was he was still angry. Very, very angry. So much so that he wasn't even remotely sure that he was going to be able to stand to be in the same room as the young man who had been his lover, his friend. Carrying on a conversation might actually be impossible.

And yet...

Draco clenched his fists at his sides.

There was something, a pain... something that he did not even want to admit was there. Something that he did not want to admit was possible.

It ate away at him all the same; utterly relentless in its pursuit of what seemed to be his heart. Burning and making him want what was apparently impossible even if Draco couldn't help but believe it was inevitable. Even as his anger had continued Draco had realised that Blaise as the subject of that anger was also the subject of something else entirely. If Draco had not thought better of it then he might have imagined that on one level or another he actually cared for him.

He started, pulling himself together and realising he had been staring into space for far too long. Even if Blaise hadn't been downstairs there was still his father and mother to consider. The consequences of hanging around upstairs might not exactly be serious but he would certainly be facing the possibility of a few snide remarks for one or the other of them if he did not make the effort.

It still took him several seconds to make his feet move, the make them lead him towards the door and out into the dim hallway beyond. Even walking down the corridor in the direction of the sounds from the party seemed to take an extraordinary amount of effort and it was only when he managed to emerge at the head of the grand staircase that lead down onto the foyer that Draco was able to pull himself together enough to affect a look of quiet indifference that would carry him into the various rooms below where the party was occurring.

It was with a cool eye that he surveyed the people assembled there. They were mainly friends of his father and mother, Death Eaters in truth, but occasionally there was some relative who had made the trip and who offered the young blonde barely perceptible smiles which he received gracefully. There wasn't a single person he didn't know in the room, his father having made certain that Draco had always kept up to date on the business of the Dark Lord and who was, or was not as the case may be, in favour at any given time. But even with that said Draco knew that they were the same people he had made small talk with the year before, there was one or two exception - people who had disappeared mysteriously during the year or who had finally given in and accepted which was going to be the winning side in the war that was threatening to play out before them.

From the corner of his eye he spotted his father, centre of attention at the small court of people that always built up around him when Voldemort himself was not in attendance. Thankfully the man was turned around, not looking in any direction that he might have spotted his son and called him over. There would be plenty of people to tell Lucius Malfoy later that they had seen his son wandering around thus allowing Draco to avoid the man himself.

He was not so fortunate where his mother was concerned. The tall, elegant figure of Narcissa Malfoy swept around the corner as she left one group on the way to another only to pause as she saw her son. She offered him a small smile even before she swept her eyes up and down over his outfit then nodded in approval. She made as if to approach him then suddenly stopped and jerked her head around as someone called out her name. Giving Draco an apologetic look she mouthed, "I'll find you later," then hurried off in the direction of the person who had called out to her leaving Draco breathing a heavy sigh of relief.

He had imagined that spending a little time in his parents company, mingling among the crowds would be easy enough but his heart was still pounding in his chest and his feet were telling him that he should hurry. It was an insistence difficult to ignore if he did not want to find himself stood in the middle of the crowd sweating into his expensive dress robes.

Stood in the centre of the room he scanned it once more, picking out the Zabini's with an easy eye and noticing the way that Blaise's father was leaning a little too heavily on the back of a chair. It made him smile as it wasn't surprising. In that family it was Blaise's mother who was the head and the man she had married was used to playing a supporting role - and drinking a little too much while he did it.

Blaise, however, was nowhere in sight.

Narrowing his eyes Draco checked again, remembering how easy it sometimes seemed for the other Slytherin to simply disappear even in the middle of an empty space. Merging with the crowds present in the room at present would offer him no problem whatsoever.

A second perusal offered no further evidence of Blaise's presence than the first had however and Draco felt safe in knowing that Theodore had delivered his message and sent Blaise hurrying towards the library. The thought almost brought a smile to Draco's lips that he could ill afford while certain that there would undoubtedly be someone in the room observing him. Sure enough there was Pansy, waving slightly as her eyes twinkled. Evidently there was something that the girl wanted to tell him. Taking in her eager look Draco let a smirk drift over his lips and turned away from her. Paying attention to Parkinson could only lead to her deciding that he desired her company - something which was certainly not the case right at that moment.

With long determined strides that he disguised to make look languid Draco once more exited the room, stepped past the group of Slytherin's stood together in the hallway as they beckoned him over and walked off down the corridor that would lead him to the library. This portion of the house was darker, not lit with bright festive cheer as the rest was, and therefore had remained devoid of most party guests. Draco still found himself pausing occasionally to check whether one of them had been brave enough, foolish enough, to follow him. There was no one however, something that surprised Draco immensely. His evening so far had seemed nothing short of disastrous and he had fully expected to be caught out sneaking away.

The thought did not ease his caution. Walking through the house he instinctively quietened his step and made certain that he could find some way to become invisible if it was needed. Eventually however - far too soon in reality - he arrived outside the large ornate doors of the Malfoy family library and found himself hesitating, leaning against the solid wood and wondering whether he was doing the right thing by arranging to meet Blaise. It was an interesting question and one he wasn't certain he was ready to answer since his head and his heart seemed to be in such total conflict over the matter.

Abruptly the decision was made for him; the wood gave way under his fingers and Draco looked up to find himself looking into perfectly dark, perfectly devious eyes. Blaise was looking at him with his usual expression of quiet confidence that there was undeniably something he knew that Draco did not.

As usual the thought sent a shiver of irritation through the blonde even as it stirred something else. Something that Draco rapidly repressed.

He refused to take a step back even though they were stood so close together that they were very nearly touching and instead waited until Blaise got the hint and backed up into the room.

The library was a huge room, shelf upon shelf of books towering high above the heads of the two boys and disappearing into the gloom. Along one side there were several large windows that ran from floor to ceiling and which during the day illuminated the space so magnificently that Draco often found himself whiling away the hours in the pleasant warmth of the light without even realising that he was doing so. At that moment however the only light came from the few lamps scattered about the room, perched on tables positioned by the comfortable chairs and again on the long tables upon which the more valuable ancient texts were encased. Even without the full flood of the light of day the room was still inviting and after stepping inside and closing the door behind him Draco instantly felt its calming effects work on him. Indeed for several seconds he could happily have imagined himself alone within the sanctuary until he once again became aware of Blaise's presence.

In truth he doubted he had ever truly been unaware of it; that instead he had simply been unconsciously blocking out that there was anyone else present.

He drew back his shoulders, turned to the dark haired Slytherin and making sure that his features were cold said, "You wanted to speak to me?"

Blaise rolled his eyes dramatically. Taking a step towards Draco and stopping when he saw the blonde's expression darken he said, "You're determined to make this uncomfortable aren't you?"

Determined to remain unaffected and already aware that he had once let his cool façade flicker and nearly fail Draco said, "I don't know what you mean. I don't know what 'this' is."

"Sometimes it scares me how well you lie," Blaise observed even as his eyes narrowed and took on what seemed like an air stuck between suspicious and injured. The comment itself rolled over Draco leaving him feeling bare for a moment. It wasn't the first time that Blaise had insinuated such a thing but he had never come right out and said it before; he had always imagined that Blaise was far too aware of just how careful his Draco's schooling from his father had been to make such a comment.

"It scares me more that you can lie to me like that," Blaise added and was successful in seeing Draco once more react. The blonde tensed once again and turned away slightly, pacing slowly towards one of the large windows with apparent ease. Once there he stopped and peered out onto the snow covered southern lawn with it's avenue of horse-chestnut trees leading into the distance.

"Are you going to come to the point or not?" Draco asked and silently scolded himself as he realised how weary his voice sounded even to himself. It was certainly something that Blaise would pick up on - something that he might use against him.

In the glass of the window Draco was able to make out a shadow of movement from the room behind him reflected against the dark world outside. Blaise had stepped into the path of light from one of the shaded lights and his silhouette was now clearly visible. More than that the blonde could not see; something that taunted him somewhat as he realised that it was a position that he had placed himself in.

The shadow shifted from one foot to the other as if uncomfortable or quite possible anxious and then said, "How have you found the last couple of weeks?"

"Tedious - much like this conversation."

If he knew Blaise at all Draco knew that at that moment he was pursing his lips and fighting to keep his emotions from his face. The manner in which he had asked his previous question was schooled enough that Draco knew Blaise was worried about showing his hand far too soon.

"Is it possible that you could try not to be such a bastard for a few minutes at least?" Blaise snapped, much to Draco's surprise. "I would have thought that even you would be able to appreciate the fact that I came here to talk and not to argue."

"Argue about what exactly?" Draco asked, maintaining his chilly tone.

Footsteps sounded against the wood floor behind him, dulled slightly by the heavy rug. "Damn-it Draco!" Blaise exclaimed and reached forwards, grasping the smaller boy's shoulder and spinning him around much to Draco's shock. He reached up and took hold of his other shoulder as well, effectively holding him in place against the cold glass of the window. "You do not get to treat me like this," Blaise snarled. "I am not some minion that you get to order around and tread on and treat like shit!"

"No, you're not," Draco retorted quickly. Icy anger that flared through him; burning blue and cold it fully embraced the rush of heat that had flooded through him at Blaise's touch. The warmth, the memory that had been stirred within Draco's body was rapidly quenched though with the small exception of a tiny lingering flame that had always been with him when he was near Blaise - even before they had embarked on their relationship.

It was a flicker that could easily be ignored if he tried hard enough to do so.

"You're less than that," Draco spat. "You betrayed me!"

"I did no such thing - it simply pleases you to imagine that I have." Blaise stopped and took a long breath only to sigh. His dark eyes that had been burning with such determination only a second before were lowered abruptly and he took a step back from the blonde as his hands fell away. "Do you honestly think that I want to leave Hogwarts?" he asked. "Do you honestly think I want to go to that hell hole for testosterone filled morons? Trust me when I say I would much rather be at Hogwarts with you than I would be at Durmstrang."

Once again he stopped short. The distance between them as short as it now was Draco was able to see the sudden flush of apprehension that washed over Blaise's lowered features. Evidently he had not meant to make such a speech and Draco could easily understand why. Even in all the hours they had spent together, all the lingering touches and caresses and the kisses that had made the blonde Slytherin believe he was going to go mad from shear pleasure, not once had Blaise - like himself - admitted to anything even remotely resembling affection existing between them. When it had started they had both claimed that it was only to fulfil momentary desires, to give in and take what they had decided that they wanted on a purely physical level. The idea that it might turn into something else had not once crossed Draco's mind until the night they had argued at Hogwarts before Christmas when the unnerving thought had settled into his mind that there was something more between them that he did not want to admit to himself.

"You're spineless!" Draco snapped. "If you really didn't want to go to Durmstrang then you'd flutter your eyelashes at your mother and she'd change her mind in five seconds flat. She adores her baby boy, she'd do anything for you and you know it!"

"Not this time!" Blaise answered. "Don't you think I've tried? She won't even listen to me. I think... I think it goes simply beyond her wishes this time Draco. I think that our Lord may have ordered her to transfer me to a different school."

Tension rippled through Draco. It was an argument he had heard before - that he could vaguely remember from school. Then it had been spoken in loud angry tones as Blaise had tried to explain - perhaps to them both - what had happened and what was to happen. At that moment Draco had been so blinded by his rage at discovering from none other than Pansy that Blaise was to move schools that he had not been capable of hearing anything in Blaise's words other than self-pity. It had never occurred to him to wonder whether Blaise was as pained by the revelation as he had reluctantly discovered himself to be. Thoughts of himself and the certainty that Blaise was leaving him just when he was beginning to think that he needed the distraction of his dark haired lover more than ever had been dominant in his mind.

Time had perhaps faded them - or maybe it was the fact that his anger had been given not just hours but weeks to be quelled by Blaise's absence - either way as Draco stood with his back against the cool glass and stared with almost impossible steadiness at the boy before him he was suddenly able to think more clearly. There suddenly seemed every possibility that Blaise had not had a choice in when he would spend his one remaining term at school - the last before the war began in earnest and more than ever they would find themselves under the ever watchful spotlight gaze of the Death Eaters and maybe even the last before Draco would find himself married off to some pale and vapid daughter of one of the other supporters of Lord Voldemort. And if someone had been plotting then why could there not every chance as well that it was Voldemort himself who was behind the scheme to separate them?

Abruptly it seemed clear. Impressions of his father and the Dark Lord, the matriarch of the Zabini's colluding with them both to try and destroy the happiness of their sons, filled Draco's imagination. It seemed so obvious that he was shocked he had not realised it before. Certainly Blaise's power-hungry mother would be open to being persuaded by Voldemort and his father would do anything to ensure that his master achieved his long term goals. He blinked once, twice, and wondered how he could have been so foolish as to imagine that even for a moment he and Blaise had managed to hide their relationship from the all seeing eye of Lord Voldemort.

A strange feeling flooded through him. On the once hand it was relief - the knowledge that perhaps Blaise was not acting of his own accord and that he did not want to leave his side acting as a soothing balm. Equally there was a sense of relief that he may very well have discovered the latest plan to control his future. On the other hand though there was dread - fear that if his father were to discover that he knew what they had been doing then the attempt to separate him from Blaise would seem kind in comparison to what they may try to do next.

He had been staring long and hard at Blaise's defeated features - so hard that it wasn't until those dark eyes which normally gleamed with such sinful, wicked temptation were once more focused on his own grey orbs that Draco realised the other boy had moved at all. The blonde started, straightening up against the mirror before letting his eyes wander over Blaise's face, taking in the careful arch of brow, the long thin nose that lead down to delicious ever-pouting full lips.

It wasn't until he had taken a step towards the other Slytherin, until he had placed himself close to Blaise's tall lean body that Draco noticed he had moved at all. The anger that had been burning so strongly wilted, dying away until there seemed to be only the pain of the knowledge that their separation was impending and that they had wasted so much time by arguing. Despair filtered through him, filling his body as depression laden thick with thoughts of the inevitability of the plan becoming reality and his own powerlessness to act against it. In Draco's own mind he knew there was nothing he could do to; not only his father had spoken but the man who would be lord of them all.

Draco reached up to curl his fingers around the back of Blaise's neck and draw him closer, letting the taller boy drop his head onto his shoulder and take in a deep breath. It last only a moment. Blaise's arms came up to wrap around his waist and abruptly the blonde boy found himself in the familiar territory of his lover's embrace. Their lips met swiftly, crushing together and emotion rolled through both and made them forget for a moment their individual determination not to act rashly.

Draco moaned at the contact, quickly opening his mouth and urging Blaise to do the same by pressing his tongue against the line of his lips. It took but a second for the other boy to respond, parting his lips and allowing entrance to Draco's eager tongue. The taste of wine surrounded the blonde as he flicked his tongue against the tip of Blaise's before dipping further, rolling around his lover's mouth before returning his attention to the pink muscles that was determined to fight his for dominance.

A hand was moving up his back, tracing the line of his spine through the heavy black dress robes and leaving him shuddering at the sensation it wrought in him. The way that Blaise touched him suggested that they might never have been apart at all and yet there was such an urgency to the touch that Draco could not help but be aware that if only he had been better able to control his temper then he might have had the chance to enjoy the feeling of Blaise's touch all the sooner. The thought only persuaded Draco that he should not be wasting yet more time thinking when there were far more pleasant things to be doing. Quickly he sent wandering fingers through Blaise's wavy thick locks and felt the reaction that he had been expecting as the taller boy swayed his body into even closer proximity to his own, pressing against Draco the familiar hardness that the blonde had been anticipating. It was difficult to ignore and a second later he brought his remaining free hand down quickly to slip between their two bodies and cup the heated mass at Blaise's crotch. A groan escaped the brunette and his hips twitched towards Draco's touch even as the kiss between them seemed to deepen further beyond the impossible intensity it had already achieved and into something else, something new and wonderfully right.

It was only the burning in his lungs that made Draco draw back and suck in a sharp breath. Coupled with the steadily growing sensation of wonderment mixed with light-headed giddiness that had been manifesting itself in his head the blonde slumped against Blaise and dipped his head just slightly so that he might bury his features into the juncture when the dark haired wizard's neck and shoulder met. Blaise's arms were abruptly tight around him and his cheek resting against the side of Draco's head. They were both breathing heavy, the action causing them to move and move again against each other until the sudden need to hold Blaise to him and ensure that they were together in time filled Draco and he too brought up both his arms and wrapped them around his fellow Slytherin.

"Can't you do anything?" Blaise breathed. "Can't you save us? I've thought time and time again and have yet to see a way yet."

Against Blaise's shoulder Draco shook his head. "There is no way," he muttered, filled with an odd numbness that seemed the only way to stop the gut-retching pain currently in him. "If we were to try something and it failed... the consequences would be far worse."

"It seems almost too impossible to believe." He paused then wearily added, "But you're right."

Draco raised his head and drew back a little, his desire not to upset Blaise further leading to him trying to keep some of the concern he was feeling from showing on his face. He swallowed nervously, anxiously, all the same and was forced to take a moment to draw in a deep breath before saying quietly, "The only chance there is would be to wait. You can't stay at Durmstrang forever and after that... Well, the war can't last forever either."

Blaise snorted derisively. "I know you think you're far, far more intelligent than I am Draco. And in some ways that might be the case. But you're a fool yourself if you do not think that I've already realised what's going to happen the moment you leave Hogwarts. Tell me - is it Pansy you're meant to marry or perhaps Millicent?"

Draco scowled. "Neither if I have my way. And besides, remember, anything can happen in war. Things will change Blaise and I have every intention of ensuring they change into what I want them to be."

Blaise cocked his head to one side. After a second a slow, conspiratorial smile filtered onto his features. "Somehow hearing you say that makes it all the more possible when hearing it from anyone else would seem ridiculous."

"That's because you know I always end up getting what I want," Draco said daringly.

"Oh?" Blaise said leaning his dark head closer to Draco. "And just what would you want?"

Looking up at him slightly, eyes glinting with determination and a burst of courage, Draco said simply, "You."

THE END