Lucky Charms

And I hate when you say

That I never fight for you

Sometimes you breathe

All over my scar

And you always end up

Closer than close

That's when I give in.

"Insane" by Damien Rice

The alarm clock had barely belted out a single ring when Blaise turned it off. It was nine in the morning and he had been up since five. This wasn't very impressive unless you considered the fact that he hadn't actually fallen asleep until three. He had spent most of the night thinking about what was going to happen today.

Today was the day of the last Hogsmeade trip before Christmas, but it was also the day that would have a lasting impact on his future as a Slytherin and as a man.

Blaise inhaled a deep breath and pulled the thick blanket off his body. He knew that he couldn't afford to worry about future possibilities today. He had to focus on the things that he could control.

His bare feet landed on the floor and Blaise felt that familiar chill slide through his body. He stretched his arms above his head as far as they could go and then he bent down to his toes. He performed his daily amount of sit ups and push ups as if today was just a regular day.

Then he grabbed his toiletries and walked over to his door. He stepped through the doorway and then warded his room against intruders. It was standard practice for every seventh year Slytherin to have their own room and to know how to defend it, except for Crabbe and Goyle who shared theirs.

As soon as he shut his door, Blaise knew instantly that today was already far from ordinary. For one thing, everyone was awake. Even though his door was still closed, something that resembled music was blaring loudly from Malfoy's room.

Blaise walked by Crabbe and Goyle's open door and saw that they were wrestling in their pajamas. An almost empty box of discarded muffins had fallen on the floor. That explained why they were up this early on a Saturday. Malfoy knew how to wake up his dogs.

Blaise ignored them and continued walking. He was just about to reach the loo when the door to Theo's room opened and the scent of coffee filled the air. Blaise stopped in his tracks and breathed it in.

"There's plenty more if you want some," Theo offered quietly as he peered out at Blaise from his doorway.

When Blaise looked at Theo and noticed that the boy was already showered and dressed, Blaise frowned slightly and said, "Maybe later, Theo."

Then he hurried past him and stepped into the loo. Blaise scowled at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. He should have been up and ready before the others and he absolutely shouldn't have been laying in bed thinking about a certain tempting Gryffindor. Now was so not the time to be distracted.

Blaise performed his morning ablutions at a rapid pace and quickly jumped in the shower. He let out a hiss when the frigid water collided with his scalp. He held his breath as the ice cold water slowly changed to lukewarm and then to scalding hot. He let out the breath he was holding with a sigh and rested his forehead against the tile.

It was almost funny, but the simple act of showering always reminded Blaise of Seamus because it had been raining the very first time they had ever met.

Blaise remembers that time quite vividly. He and his parents had just emigrated to England and times were rough. He didn't know the language and the strange looking people who lived in Knocturn Alley scared him with their leering looks and grabby hands.

One day, his papa came home early from work in a foul temper. His father was never a very pleasant man, but his recent inability to keep a job and support his family had turned him violent.

When Blaise accidentally dropped the glass of firewhiskey his papa had ordered him to bring, he was promptly backhanded across the face. If he thought that that would be the end of it, Blaise would have stayed put on the floor and done nothing. However, there was something wrong about papa that day. Something inside Blaise told him to run and that's what he did.

He dodged his papa's fist and yanked the door open. He ran out of their flat without any shoes or a coat and into the rainy mud slicked streets of Knocturn Alley. He heard his father yell in Italian for him to come back and that it would be worse for him if he ran, but Blaise didn't stop running.

With lungs burning and clothes already drenched to the bone, Blaise dodged between the street vendors and panderers, sprinted to the end of the alley, and somehow emerged on the other side. He had made it to Diagon Alley, but he wasn't safe.

He turned his head around to see if his papa was following him and that's when he collided with someone more solid than himself. The impact sent Blaise sprawling backwards and into a deep puddle. Mud splashed upwards into his face and he flinched.

He looked up with a face pale with fear because he thought that his papa had somehow gotten in front of him. He couldn't have been more wrong. There was a boy standing in front of him huddling in a brown coat that was much too big for him.

Blaise stared at him and memorized his features. He had pale skin and damp brown hair. His lips were upturned and showing off the whiteness of his teeth in a nervous smile, but it was the eyes that Blaise noticed the most. They were large and there were different colors in the irises themselves. There were so many shades of blue and green. They reminded Blaise of the Mediterranean Sea with all its many hues.

The boy was saying something, but Blaise couldn't understand him. Therefore it came as a shock when the boy reached out and pulled Blaise up to a standing position. Blaise shivered at the contact and tried to wipe the mud off his face with the back of his hand. He felt oddly self conscious.

He looked up and saw that the boy was offering him a handkerchief. Blaise took it and tried to say thanks, but his teeth were chattering so much that he couldn't even say the one English word he actually knew. He looked at the ground and tried to hide his embarrassment.

Suddenly, Blaise felt a warm weight ascend on his back and his eyes shot up in surprise. This boy he didn't even know had taken off his own coat and was now putting it on him! Blaise, who was covered in mud and totally wet, voiced his disagreement with this and tried to take off the coat. He didn't want to ruin it.

He had one arm out of a sleeve when he saw the hurt look turn the boy's lips upside down. Blaise stopped abruptly. Hurt had no place on this boy's face. It just didn't belong. Blaise placed both of his arms in the sleeves and then he smiled at the boy. He smiled back.

They were just two silly boys standing in the rain and smiling. It was perfect. That had to be the moment when his papa found them.

Blaise was so lost in wonder that he almost didn't hear him coming. When he heard his papa's triumphant shout, Blaise didn't hesitate. He grabbed the boy by his hand and he ran for it.

They couldn't lose his papa because he knew these alleys better than Blaise. Finally, Blaise decided that hiding was a better idea than running. He pulled himself and the boy into the nearest darkened alley and held his breath.

Blaise looked down at the boy and noticed him shivering. Instead of trying to explain, Blaise just pulled the boy inside the folds of the large coat and against his warm chest. Then he wrapped his arms around him and held him close in order to keep him warm.

The boy uttered a surprised shout, which was muffled by the coat, but he didn't try to move away from Blaise's warmth. Instead, he buried himself in deeper and wrapped his own arms around Blaise's waist.

Blaise sighed. Then he froze. Papa was calling out to him and it sounded like he was close. Blaise glanced wildly around the alley for some means of escape or help, but there was nothing. It was a dead end.

Blaise was about to panic when he felt a hand press against the small of his back. Blaise looked down at the boy huddled against him. He didn't look the least bit scared, but, then again, he didn't know his papa. Blaise bit his lip.

Blaise knew that if papa found them, he might hurt his friend on purpose or the boy might try to help him and get hurt accidentally. Neither option was acceptable to Blaise.

Smiling sadly, Blaise held the boy even tighter, rested his chin on the boy's shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "Il mio nome e Blaise. Selo ricordi."

As soon as he said those words, Blaise pushed the boy away from him as roughly as he could and then he ran towards his father's voice. It didn't matter what happened to him as long as he was the only one hurt.

Blaise had no way of knowing that the boy had fallen backwards onto his head and had been knocked out. He just thought that he was saving him.

His papa caught him in one minute, apparated them back to their flat in two, and was beating him within an inch of his life in three.

Blaise kept his eyes closed the whole time it was happening and thought of the boy's sea colored eyes. He didn't know then that it would be years before he would see them again.

That old brown coat will always have a permanent place in his closet.

Blaise arched his back and came into his hand. Shuddering and panting, he leaned his back against the cold tile and inhaled deep steadying breaths. Then he dipped his head one last time under the spray and turned off the water.

He toweled himself off, put on some black pants, and began the short walk back to his room with shoulders that were incredibly less tense.

However, his slightly better than horrible mood died a quick death when he noticed that the door to his room was ajar. Blaise narrowed his eyes, pulled out his wand, and peered in.

"Damn it, Daphne. How many times have I told you to quit breaking into my room?" Blaise asked in gruff tone of voice that was more annoyed than angry.

"When you quit warding your room, I'll stop breaking into it," Daphne Greengrass said smugly from her position on Blaise's bed.

The blonde had the right to be so damn arrogant. She had a certain gift for breaking and entering that no other Slytherin could beat. When your father's a Muggle criminal and your mum's a witch, there aren't a lot of places you can't go.

"There better not be crumbs on my bed, Daphne," Blaise warned with his best intimidating voice and glared at the offensive muffin in Daphne's hand.

The girl just smirked cheekily as she ate her muffin and said, "I don't see what you're complaining about. This is the most action your bed has seen in three weeks."

Blaise didn't have anything witty to respond to that and just kept silent. He walked over to his closet and started putting on his darkest clothes. His hands stilled suddenly. Seamus was in his bed three weeks ago. Was Daphne hinting that she knew about it?

Finally, Blaise turned around to face an entirely too patient Daphne and asked, "What do you know?"

Daphne shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I know that Malfoy started a pool on when you're going to break your Slytherin oath. His bet was for last week, so he's out 50 galleons by the way. I know how you despise Malfoy and how much you would hate to prove him right, but I also know that some things are worth sacrificing for. So you tell me, Blaise, is there anything else I should know?"

Blaise reached out and yanked his tie off his coat rack. Then he looped it roughly around his throat and said curtly, "All you need to know is that I will always do what is best for all of us, Daphne."

Daphne sighed in frustration and stood up off the bed. Then she walked over to Blaise and turned him around to face her. She took his hands away from his tie and made the knot herself. Then she fixed his collar and asked, "But what about what's best for you?"

Blaise sighed and wrapped his hands around Daphne's. He looked at her directly and quietly said, "Let's just get through today."

Then he turned his back on her once more and went back to dressing himself in front of the mirror. Daphne rolled her eyes towards heaven as if begging for patience and said, "Morag and Millie are waiting upstairs. We'll leave whenever you're ready."

Blaise nodded in agreement, but he didn't look at her. Daphne opened her mouth to say something else, but she changed her mind and shut it. She stifled her sigh and left Blaise in his room to brood and fume.

As soon as Daphne shut the door, Blaise yanked his tie loose and raked a hand through his hair. He stared at his reflection in the blessedly silent mirror and told himself that everything he is about to do today will be worth it in the long run.

His Slytherins will make their stand with him as their leader, Malfoy will reap what he sows, and Finnigan will understand. That is the plan, but you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Blaise straightened his spine, inhaled a deep breath, and put on his coldest Slytherin face. He sneered at his reflection and turned his back on the mirror. He walked out of that room with his head held high and his mind made up.

He walked through the silent hallway and up the darkened steps to the Slytherin common room. As soon as the others noticed his arrival, his Slytherins silently walked towards him, nodded, and turned around to face the rest of their house.

Daphne was appropriately standing to his right, Millie and Theo stood solidly together on his left, and forever watchful Morag had all their backs. For different reasons and needs, they were loyal to him alone and Malfoy despised him for it.

Malfoy was sitting on the largest chair in the room with one leg dangling off the chair's arm. Pansy was perched on the chair's opposite arm and Malfoy's head was resting against her breast. She pretended she was his queen, but she played the part of a court jester more. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind them with their arms folded against their chests like proper enforcers.

As one solid unit, Blaise and his Slytherins sauntered up to Malfoy and his lackeys. Blaise stared down at the blonde, but Malfoy avoided his gaze and pretended he was busy paying attention to his nails. Pansy snickered and asked, "Do you see something you like, Zabini?"

Crabbe and Goyle grinned stupidly and Malfoy smirked, but Blaise only heard three other people laugh at Pansy's little taunt. The rest of the assembled Slytherins, almost the entire house, said nothing as they watched the scene play itself out.

Blaise took a step forward and Pansy's breath caught in her throat. She was such a weak Slytherin that she couldn't stop herself from moving back on the chair. She tried to catch her slip and stay still, but it was too late. Everyone had seen her subtle display of weakness.

Blaise smiled, but there was nothing pleasant about the look in his eyes. Blaise curled his lip and said, "No, Pansy, I don't, but you shouldn't be surprised. I've always had better taste in men than you."

Shocked gasps ran through the crowd of assembled Slytherins before they were stifled. No one had expected Blaise to actually own up to his homosexuality in such a Gryffindorish way. They didn't know what to make of it.

Blaise knew what he was doing. He wanted to show his whole house just how different he was from Malfoy and he wanted to share with all of them one of his most vital secrets in order to show his own strength of character. He wanted every last one of them to realize that his sexuality was not a weakness or a secret to be exploited. In the end, it was a very Slytherin tactic.

No one did anything for several seconds and suddenly there was laughter. Blaise narrowed his eyes and stared down at Malfoy's contorted face. Malfoy clapped his hands together mockingly and stood up from his chair. Then he walked up to Blaise and faced him with barely a foot separating them.

Blaise was expecting an insult or an attack. Therefore, he was completely unprepared when Draco reached forward and pulled Blaise into a very sudden hug. It was over before Blaise even had a chance to reciprocate and raise his arms. Trust Malfoy to never follow a logical course of action.

Draco stepped away from him, brushed off his expensive robes, and said haughtily, "Well! Let's not keep our adoring public waiting. Shall we, Pansy?"

Pansy simpered saccharinely and placed her hand in Malfoy's. They each gave one last smirk and then they walked out the portal with Crabbe and Goyle at their heels. Certain Slytherins with similar values immediately walked out after them. They declared their allegiance with their silence. Within moments, half of the Slytherin common room was empty.

House loyalty had been ingrained in each Slytherin since their very first day. It had always been understood that it was us against them and always would be, but things were different now. Slytherin house was divided and Blaise didn't think that they would ever recover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Merlin's balls, it's cold!" Daphne hissed out through clenched teeth. Then she held one gloved hand up to her mouth and inhaled a drag on her cigarette.

Daphne and Blaise were standing in an alleyway between Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and the ice cream parlor. If anyone saw them, which was unlikely considering all the repellant charms they had placed around them, they would think that they were just two people outside for a smoke.

The truth was a little more unpleasant than that. In actuality, Blaise and Daphne were standing guard around WWW on this rather cold day. They had been in this particular spot for about an hour now and their patience was rapidly dwindling.

They weren't alone in their endeavors. They were sharing shifts with three others. Millie and Theo were in this spot an hour ago, but now they were positioned inside the Weasley joke shop. Morag, always the picture of innocence, was window shopping throughout the street. They would change positions every hour because they were trying to be inconspicuous.

"I should have brought my flask of firewhiskey," Daphne complained mournfully, but Blaise ignored her.

He was too busy surveying the scene around them. Hundreds of shoppers were milling about the shops and smiling in their blissful ignorance. They were all deluding themselves with the holiday spirit. Fools.

"Do you smell that, Blaise? That has to be double fudge brownies. Don't hold it against me or anything, but I would shag a Hufflepuff for something hot and chocolate right about now," Daphne said mostly to herself as she rubbed her stomach and sighed.

"Daphne, will you please put your mind back on to the task at hand and forget about your sodding appetites for once!" Blaise snapped out with an intimidating glare.

Daphne merely snorted at him and said, "What? Like you do?"

Blaise just narrowed his eyes and turned his glance back to the oblivious shoppers. Daphne sighed and shuffled her feet. When nothing happened to the shop in five minutes, Blaise frowned and slumped against the wall next to Daphne. He plucked the cigarette out of her mouth and took a drag. It burned and the pain took his mind off things.

Blaise stared up at the clear blue sky and asked, "Would you really shag a Hufflepuff for a brownie?"

That was a Slytherin's way of apologizing. You never actually said 'I'm sorry.' You just conveniently changed the subject. The wounded Slytherin would then relieve the tension by insulting an innocent third party. Now who says Slytherins aren't diplomatic?

Daphne grinned cheekily at him and said, "Hell, yes, I would, but the brownie would just be an extra. Those Hufflepuffs can do amazing things with their tongues and they won't quit until they get it right. You got to love their enthusiasm!"

In order to hide his smile, Blaise took another drag from the cigarette. He could feel Daphne's eyes on him, but he wouldn't turn to look at her. She had a way of always asking the difficult questions.

"Blaise, do you think Theo was wrong? What if the attack isn't going to happen today and we're freezing our arses out here for nothing?" Daphne asked rather quickly, but Blaise didn't reply right away.

Blaise had to admit that that possibility had occurred to him. They had learned from Theo and his sources that Malfoy was planning an attack against the WWW, but they didn't know the specifics. It was supposed to happen today on Hogsmeade day, but it was already late in the afternoon and everything was fine.

"I don't think he was wrong. Malfoy does have something planned for today and we're here because we need to use it to our advantage. Whatever the risk or the cost, this is what we have to do and where we need to be," Blaise said with every ounce of confidence he could muster.

Daphne nodded her head and thinned her lips. Her earlier humor disappeared and her face turned somber. She inhaled a deep breath and said softly, "That's exactly what I was thinking. I was just hoping that you could convince me otherwise. Malfoy is going to do something big and I have a feeling that the longer it takes to happen, the worse it's going to be for everyone."

Blaise turned and stared at Daphne with a deep frown. Daphne always had good instincts that he had learned to rely on. She was a good judge of people and she had the measure of Malfoy down pat. If she thought the worse was about to come, then she was probably right. Blaise's teeth clenched and his right hand curled into a fist.

"Hey, Blaise, isn't that your boy?" Daphne asked suddenly and pointed to a spot behind Blaise's shoulder.

As Blaise turned around to look for himself, a feeling of dread arose in his stomach and tension spread throughout his shoulders. Finnigan hasn't been to Hogsmeade since fifth year. Why is he here now?

Finnigan was here with Potter. A low growl began in Blaise's throat at the sight of them together. They were walking side by side and Finnigan looked pleased. He had no business looking at anyone like that, especially Potter.

Blaise badly wanted to run over there and exorcise his feelings of jealousy by destroying Potter's face, but his Slytherin logic held him back.

He kept telling himself the same thing over and over again. Finnigan isn't mine. He doesn't belong to me. I have no right to do or say anything.

Blaise was just about to reluctantly turn his back on that revolting scene when he saw Potter point at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and tug on Finnigan's arm in that direction.

Blaise's heart absolutely froze in his chest. Potter wanted to take his Finnigan into the one shop in Hogsmeade that he knew was a target. God damn you, Potter!

"Blaise-" Daphne began, but Blaise cut her off with a raised hand and an intense look that didn't allow for any arguments. She immediately closed her mouth.

"Stay here and keep watch," Blaise commanded abruptly without taking his eyes off Seamus for a second. He didn't even wait for a response from Daphne. He just instantly began walking towards Seamus.

As he sprinted over to the opposite alley, horrible thoughts ran rampant in his brain. He was taunted by images of Finnigan bleeding, screaming, and dying on the ground.

I can't let that happen! I have to do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Nothing else matters.

Blaise inhaled a deep steadying breath, hardened his features into a contemptuous sneer, and stepped into the alley.

"Well isn't this a sickeningly touching display. You don't waste anytime. Do you, Finnigan?" Blaise spat out disapprovingly.

Seamus' response fell on deaf ears because Blaise was too busy staring at his face. He looked so brazen with his flushed cheeks and flashing eyes.

Don't look at his eyes. Don't look at his eyes.

Blaise barely registered what Seamus said, but he had enough sense to recognize that it was a blatant challenge that needed to be dealt with in a very harsh manner. It was the only way.

Don't look at his eyes and just say it!

Blaise stared at the freckle located just above Seamus' left eyebrow and said with every ounce of feigned disdain he possessed, "I just wanted to congratulate you on your recent change of status. The title of Gryffindor whore is definitely a step up from your previous title of Gryffindor coward."

There was a blur of movement and Blaise acted instinctively. He raised a hand to protect himself and immediately caught Seamus' small wrist. Heat surged into his hand and he couldn't stop himself from rubbing that tender flesh with his thumb. He was never so aroused by something as simple as a wrist. He didn't want to release it.

Blaise held on to that tingling warmth of sensation like a dog to a bone. However, it still came as a shock to suddenly feel Seamus' chest pressed against him. Blaise had to use every bit of focus to keep himself from wrapping his free arm around Seamus' waist. As he stared down at the ground, he forced himself to stay in control and ignore his own need.

He breathed in deeply to anchor himself and that's when he inhaled the pungent scent of pineapple. He stared down at that discarded bag of sugar quills and frowned deeply. Seamus had always hated pineapple or so Blaise thought. But maybe he didn't really know Finnigan at all?

The thought alone made his eyes burn, but it also made him pull Seamus tighter against him. Blaise held his breath and softly said, "But you hate pineapple."

As soon as Blaise breathed those soft words against Seamus' cheek, the Gryffindor's body immediately relaxed and molded against him. When Seamus sighed out his name, the tension left Blaise's body and he closed his eyes in relief.

He was mere seconds away from giving in and enveloping Seamus in his arms when he heard Daphne say, "Zabini! We don't have time for this."

That familiar voice cut through the fog in his brain and brought his mind back to the present in a dizzying rush. In one simple sentence, Daphne had reminded him of why he was here and saved him from himself.

Blaise swore internally at his own weakness. He was so blinded by this moment that he had forgotten what was going to happen today and the danger they were all in. Seamus was the very best and worst distraction.

"Give me one minute, Daphne," Blaise commanded thinly. His voice held resentment, but it was directed towards himself and not to Daphne. As her leader, he shouldn't have let her see him like this.

That anger and disappointment in himself gave him the power to release Seamus' wrist and to step away from him. However, he had to dig deep inside himself to find the strength to voice all that false poison.

"You shouldn't be here with Potter. Don't you realize that you're just as much of a liability to him as you are to me? You're nowhere near our league, Finnigan. So why don't you do yourself a favor and shack up with someone beneath you? I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you'll find someone," Blaise declared as quickly as he could. He told himself that he was just doing what was necessary to keep Seamus safe and away from here, but that didn't comfort him.

He had to stand there and watch as Seamus' face shattered and he had to will himself to stay frozen as Seamus ran off in pain, but he didn't have to force himself to take Potter's punch to the face. He wanted to take it. He knew he deserved it and so much more. It almost felt good.

"Just hurry up and finish, Potter. The sooner you find Seamus, the better off you'll both be," Blaise said through clenched teeth.

"You make your life hard, Zabini," Potter said with surprising clarity and Blaise sighed. Potter had no idea.

Blaise glared at Potter's retreating form and pushed himself off the wall. He massaged his cheek lightly and flexed his jaw. Who knew Potter could pack a punch?

Blaise slowly walked out of the alley and nearly bumped into Daphne's back. He cursed loudly and Daphne whirled around quickly to face him.

"Blaise!" Daphne shouted loudly and grasped him by the shoulders.

"I don't want to hear whatever you're going to say about Finnigan, Daphne. I-" Blaise said dismissively, but Daphne cut him off with a quick pull forward.

"No, Blaise, look!" Daphne ordered loudly and pointed at the Weasleys' shop.

Blaise turned his head and stared at the shop in surprise and confusion. A thin layer of gray smoke was floating inside the shop and slipping out of the doorway. It had an aroma that was barely a step up from rotting corpse mixed with arse.

Many students and shoppers were rushing out of the shop with fingers pinching their noses and their hands waving jerkily in order to dispel the stench.

This was it? Malfoy's idea of terrible vengeance couldn't possibly be a super stink bomb. Could it?

"Blaise," a familiar voice shouted out to him urgently and called for his attention.

"Millie, what the hell is going on here?" Daphne asked warily and waved her hand at the milling crowd of people exiting the shop at a rapid pace.

Millie and Theo had just exited the shop themselves and were now standing in front of Daphne and Blaise. Morag was watching from a distance and raised an eyebrow at Blaise in a silent question. Blaise shook his head and she remained where she was standing on the other side of the street.

"There wasn't any sign of Malfoy or his people. We were just about to leave when we smelled that stench. We had to get out of there," Theo said in between coughing and gagging.

"Those Weasleys must have done this as some kind of publicity stunt, but I have no idea how this will help them make a profit today," Millie said with a frown as she patted Theo's back gently.

Blaise looked around for any signs of danger. Most of the shoppers were laughing off the stunt as nothing and moving on to the next shop. No one was paying the store any extra attention. Blaise frowned and said, "Wait here."

Then he sprinted over to the Weasley shop, stood on the tips of his toes, and pressed his face against the window glass. He looked inside at the empty shop and took careful note of what was happening. The Weasley twins and their sister were franticly running around the store and enchanting the doors open to release the stench. It didn't look like they were responsible for this. Blaise frowned.

Blaise turned around and sprinted back over to his fellow Slytherins. He shook his head and said, "I don't like it. Let's wait until the smoke dissipates and go back inside. We-"

There was an explosion of sound. Blaise felt a surge of heat against his back and a mighty wind hurled him forward. His body slammed into Daphne's and sent her tumbling one way and him in the other.

Blaise landed on his back and stared at the blue sky. He didn't feel or hear anything. He was just numb. The brightness of the sun and sky was fading and he could feel himself slipping away.

Then someone grabbed his hand. Pain surged into his brain and with it, magic. Blaise inhaled a ragged breath and his eyes shot open to face the light. He turned his head to the left and saw Theo.

Theo was saying something to him, but he couldn't make out the words. The other boy was also laying on the ground and he noticed that his tie was red.

"Theo?" Blaise managed to croak out. He was startled when he heard his own voice.

"You're alive, Thank Merlin," Theo said with obvious relief. Blaise could barely hear him over the ringing in his ears.

Blaise groaned and turned onto his left side. He slowly checked himself over for injuries. His neck was wet, but everything else was fine. He coughed and his whole body hurt.

"I think I'm alright. What about you?" Blaise asked as he pushed himself up with his left hand. He looked over at Theo and that's when he saw the large piece of glass sticking out of his chest.

"Theo!" Blaise shouted and crawled over to his friend. The sudden movement made him dizzy and nauseous, but he pushed those feelings away. He leaned over Theo, looked at the mess made of his chest, and froze in helplessness.

"Blaise, go-" Theo tried to speak, but he was overcome with coughing. He spat out blood and continued.

"Go help Millie and Daphne," Theo said haltingly and pointed behind him with one shaky hand.

Blaise shot his head up and his eyes searched around for his friends. They were on the ground and they weren't moving. He stood up and took one step to go to them, but hesitated and looked down at Theo.

"Go!" Theo ordered adamantly and Blaise nodded. He ran over to the girls and exhaled in relief when he saw that they were both breathing. Daphne was even mumbling out swear words.

Blaise collapsed onto the ground between both girls and reached out to take Daphne's hand. He hoped that the same unexplainable miracle would work for her.

Daphne opened her eyes and coughed. She took one look at the expression on Blaise's face and said, "Fuck me sideways."

Blaise laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. He pulled Daphne into his arms and kissed her dusty cheeks. Then he grabbed her hand, entwined her fingers with his, and placed their conjoined hands against Millie's unmoving left palm.

"Wake up, Millie! Come on!" Blaise shouted right into her bloody face. Millie opened up the eye on the side of her face that wasn't bloody and started crying.

"You're fine. Shh. You're alright. Morag!" Blaise shouted out and pierced the silence. He looked around wildly and then she was suddenly there.

"I'm here," Morag said grimly.

Blaise sighed in relief and ordered, "Go to Theo. Do what you can to help him."

The girl nodded once and ran off to help her injured comrade. The adrenaline was fading in Blaise's system and he blinked to ward off the dizziness.

"Theo? What? Theo!" Millie shouted and tried to push herself up. Daphne held her down and looked at Blaise with a silent question as she wrapped her scarf around Millie's bleeding scalp.

"He's fine. Don't worry. Just rest now. Daphne, take care of her," Blaise ordered and swallowed thickly. Then he stood up and turned around to go back to his friend, but the sight of the carnage all around him made him hesitate.

There were so many people laying on the ground. Most of them were either knocked out completely or just sitting down with vacant expressions on their faces. No one was making a sound. Some were even crying silently.

Blaise turned away from them and found himself staring at what was left of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. All the windows on the second floor had shattered, dust and smoke was everywhere, and everything looked soiled. There was nothing and no one left. He couldn't even see inside the shop because there was so much debris.

Blaise reached Morag and Theo, then promptly fell to his knees. They had failed. He had failed. All their weeks of planning and hours of surveillance had been for nothing. They couldn't stop this. He had endangered the lives of his friends and for what? He had put them all at risk just for his petty revenge. He didn't deserve their loyalty.

"The glass punctured his lung, Blaise, and there's only so much I can do. He needs a Mediwizard!" Morag whispered to him as she held Theo's hand.

Blaise nodded and said softly, "Don't worry, Theo. The Aurors will be here any second. We'll get you help."

Blaise already heard the popping sounds of people apparating. He looked up and saw two Aurors advance towards the ruined shop with their wands raised. He had never been so happy in his life to see an Auror.

All of a sudden, Theo started twitching and struggling. His eyes widened in horror and his breathing became labored. He tried to talk and when that didn't work, he tried to sit up.

"Hold him down, Blaise!" Morag ordered as she grabbed hold of Theo's left arm. Blaise placed his upper torso across Theo's legs and held on.

When Theo finally stopped struggling, Blaise sighed deeply and turned over onto his back. He stared up at the sky and the garish Weasley sign. He saw a flash of black and frowned.

Blaise turned around to ask Morag if she had seen that when he heard an Auror shout from just outside the shop's doors, "I see her! She's alive!"

Blaise stood up quickly and carefully observed what was happening. The female Auror was peering through the blockaded doorway and shouting words of encouragement.

Blaise was just about to walk forward to help when he felt something tug on his robes. He looked down and saw Theo's pained face struggling to speak.

"Don't talk, Theo. You'll just make things worse," Morag advised gently, but Theo ignored her.

"No! Malfoy-on the roof," Theo coughed out before collapsing back onto his back. Blaise narrowed his eyes and stared up at the roof. Damn it to hell! That flash of black hadn't been a trick of light.

Blaise turned around and began walking towards the Aurors. He shouted at them, but they weren't paying attention. When he finally reached out towards the nearest ones, they took one look at his bloodied Slytherin robes and raised their wands.

"Drop the wand and put your hands on your head," the Auror shouted with convincing authority.

"You don't understand. There's a Death Eater doing something on the roof. We have to stop him!" Blaise shouted as he held onto his wand.

"Drop the wand! That's your last warning," the Auror said once more and aimed his wand directly at Blaise's chest.

Blaise looked behind the Auror to see if anyone else would listen, but they were all too busy trying to clear away debris from the doors to rescue some Weasleys.

Blaise swore. He was just about to drop his wand when the whole issue became moot. There was a flash of light overhead and a loud creaking noise.

Blaise stared up at the burning ball of fire that used to be the Weasley sign. Flames erupted from the tips of the sign and strange bluish black smoke began to pour forth. It was a sight to see. It served as a terrible reminder for all those who dared to oppose the Dark Lord.

Blaise watched helplessly as it started to teeter forward. His eyes widened in dawning realization and he shot to his feet. He completely disregarded the Auror in front of him and ran back to Morag and Theo. Then he crouched down and picked Theo up in his arms.

"Blaise, what the hell are you doing? You shouldn't move him!" Morag shouted as she tried to stop Blaise.

"No time to explain. Just do as I say and get up!" Blaise commanded and Morag fell silent.

Blaise held onto Theo and ran towards Daphne and Millie with Morag on his heels, but he didn't stop there. He glanced back at the sign. It was angling further.

"Drag her if you have to, Daphne, but get up now!" Blaise shouted at the girls.

Daphne didn't even hesitate. She grabbed the bigger girl by the arms and pulled her to her feet. She wordlessly followed Blaise to the other side of the street and into an alley. Blaise propped Theo up against the wall and Daphne did the same with Millie.

Blaise sighed in relief and poked his head around the side of the wall. The burning sign was now dangling dangerously over the edge of the roof. It looked like all it needed was one solid push and the giant flaming monstrosity would fall to the ground.

Unfortunately, the ground just happened to be crawling with Aurors and wounded children.

The Aurors had just noticed the state of the sign, but they still thought that they had enough time to save the Weasleys. Some doubled their efforts to magically remove the blockade and others began to physically pull at the rocks and pieces of wood with their bare hands.

The sign's legs collapsed onto the edge of the roof and a few burning pieces fell to the ground. They landed next to several injured students and they seemed to knock them out of their stunned stupor. They started screaming and panicking.

Some of the Aurors stopped trying to enter the shop and turned around. They began picking up the injured and moving them to a safe location. Only a few stayed behind at the doors.

Blaise felt movement next to him and reached out to pull Daphne back inside. She had been about to go and help, but Blaise held her back tightly and shook his head.

"No, Daphne, I won't let you go. We've already almost lost Theo and Millie to this day. I'm not going to risk losing you a second time. Let the Aurors do their jobs," Blaise said adamantly.

"I am not going to sit here and reinforce that damn Slytherin coward stereotype! You do what you want. I'm going!" Daphne shouted and tried to pull her arm out of Blaise's grip. She kicked and called Blaise every foul name in the book, but he wouldn't release her.

Blaise had his wand out to stun her when he saw a familiar body run out of an alleyway. Potter was here and that meant that Seamus couldn't be that far behind him.

Oh, no.

Most of the burning sign was tilting over the edge of the roof. It was barely hanging on by a thread.

Blaise let go of Daphne and began running towards the screaming. Daphne was startled for a second, but she quickly raced after him. Blaise reached Potter in record time, grabbed him by the arm, and whirled him around to face him.

"Where's Finnigan?" Blaise shouted at him.

Potter blinked in surprise and said, "Let go of me! Seamus is safe, so why don't you go and hide somewhere and let me do my job!"

Potter yanked his arm out of Blaise's grip roughly and walked up to the Aurors, but they held him back. They wouldn't let him come near the shop, especially since they were having problems of their own.

Fire and debris was falling on their heads and their magic wasn't working against the flames. Malfoy had conjured poison flames that were immune to regular extinguishing methods.

"You have to get back! Tonks, come on," the Auror in charge ordered. The rest of his people had already retreated to a safer distance and were attempting to erect a giant protection shield.

The lead Auror tried to bodily drag Tonks away from the building, but the woman wasn't having it. She pulled herself away and ran back to the blocked door. She inserted her arm in between the pieces and shouted to anyone who would listen, "No! I won't leave her! I can see her! Come on, sweety, come to Tonks! Wake up, Ginny!"

The sign made a loud shrieking noise as it grated against the edge of the roof and slowly tipped over.

"Accio Tonks," an Auror shouted and the woman was torn away from the door with a sharp yank. She collided with the Auror who summoned her and fell to the ground with her arm twisted at an odd angle.

The rest of the Aurors and Potter raised their wands in unison and each shouted, "Scutum Tutelae!"

Rays of bright blue light shot out of their wands and merged together to form a large protective shield. The burning sign landed on top of it and the shield dropped several feet. It was too heavy and the dark magic in the flames was already affecting the color of the shield.

"Daphne!" Blaise shouted and aimed his wand.

"I'm already ahead of you, Blaise," Daphne said with a cheeky grin.

Daphne and Blaise linked hands, aimed at the shield, and said, "Scutum Potestatis!"

Black rays shot out of their wands and reinforced the fading shield, but it still wasn't enough. Blaise could see that both the Aurors and their shield were weakening. It was just a matter of time.

Blaise turned to Daphne and they communicated to each other with a look. Daphne shook her head in negation and gritted her teeth. She closed her eyes and tried to pour every bit of magic she could into her shield.

Within minutes, the shield collapsed. The burning sign hung for a second and then it landed onto the ground with a loud smash. Enflamed pieces flew towards the Aurors, but they had already moved to a safe distance and weren't close enough to be burned.

However, the flames ultimately did what Malfoy intended them to do. The burning sign completely blocked the entrance and effectively spread the fire to the shop. The enchanted flames spread at a rapid rate and engulfed the shop in seconds. The Aurors tried to extinguish the flames, but they were ill equipped to deal with dark spells such as this.

Drained from the extended use of magic, Daphne sagged weakly against Blaise's shoulder and held her wand limply by her side. Blaise held onto her and inhaled a deep breath as he stared up at the sky. Even in the face of such destruction, his very first though was a prayer of thanks that Seamus was safe.

"You did everything you could, Daphne. It's not your fault," Blaise said softly as he tried to move Daphne away from the terrible sight.

"No! I won't accept this! This is a shop, God damn it, and there has to be another way in! My dad always said that no place was completely secure. I can get us in. I know it," Daphne shouted desperately and shoved him away. Then she ran off in a mad dash.

"Stop, Daphne!" Blaise shouted in desperation. When she didn't stop, he swore and chased after her. He didn't notice that Potter was following him.

Blaise ran as fast as his exhausted body could go down the darkened alleyway. He found Daphne kicking and slamming her fists against the back walls of the joke shop.

"Come on! It has to be here somewhere," Daphne cried out in frustration and slammed her fist against the wall palm first. The door shimmered and she froze.

"What do you see?" Potter asked unexpectedly and Blaise whirled around. Potter's face was tear stained and hardened, but his eyes were focused and clear.

"There's a door here. I know it, but it's been spelled shut and secure. I can get in, but it'll take time we don't have," Daphne explained regretfully.

"Move out of the way," Potter ordered calmly like he knew what he was doing. Daphne frowned, but she did what she was told.

Potter stood in front of the door and pointed his wand at his left hand. He muttered an incantation that widened the eyes of the Slytherins behind him and blood began to flow from a deep gash in his hand. Potter pressed that bloody hand against the wall and a door was revealed.

"Only those of Weasley blood can dispel the wards on this door," Potter explained quickly and then, before Blaise could pull him back, he opened the door.

A burst of smoke hit Potter in the face and he gagged, but that didn't stop him. He ran into that burning building just like he was supposed to do. Blaise tried to prevent Daphne from doing the same, but he didn't succeed. She ran in and he followed her a second later.

As his eyes adjusted to the smoky blackness, Blaise kept himself close to the ground. He didn't actually think that there were any survivors left at this point, but he had to try for Daphne's sake.

He couldn't see Potter or Daphne and the lack of oxygen was starting to affect him. Suddenly, he heard a shout and turned around abruptly towards the sound. His ankle made a strange cracking noise when he slipped on to the wet floor. Huffing and cursing in pain and wounded pride, Blaise tried to stand up and that's when he felt it.

There was something soft and wet laying on the floor next to him. Blaise held his breath and slid his hand upwards towards what he thought was the body's chest. He didn't feel any movement.

Leave him. He's dead. You're not. Get the hell out of here. Get out!

With this plan in mind, Blaise tried to stand up once more, but a piece of plywood fell from the ceiling and landed painfully on his leg. However, it completely missed the injured Weasley even though he was just inches away from him. Some people would think that this was just a coincidence, but Blaise saw it as a sign.

"You always were a lucky bastard, Weasley. Maybe you can give that luck to me if I carry you out of here?" Blaise asked mostly to himself in between coughing.

He pushed the plywood off his bruised leg and reached out towards Weasley's armpits. Ignoring the pain in his battered leg and ankle, Blaise slowly dragged Weasley towards the light from the door.

Rubble from the wrecked ceiling fell all around them and the smoke made it nearly impossible to breathe, but they made it to the door. Blaise dragged Weasley into the light of day and collapsed on to the ground.

"Blaise!" Daphne shouted in obvious relief, but Blaise couldn't muster any enthusiasm for her at this point.

He turned his groggy head in her direction and saw her leaning over an injured girl. Daphne was pushing against the girl's chest and breathing into her mouth. Daphne's head was bleeding and it made her blonde hair look red just like a Weasley's.

"She's not breathing!" Daphne shouted out to him as if he could somehow wave his wand and heal the little girl with blood coming out of her ears.

Blaise did the only thing he could do. In fact, it was something he should have done from the beginning instead of running into a burning building like an insane Gryffindor with a hero complex.

"Accio Auror. Accio Mediwizard. Accio God," Blaise incanted as he aimed his wand up into the sky. His oxygen deprived mind and battered body actually thought that this would work.

He said the right words, he made the right hand movements, and then he passed out.

As the darkness engulfed him, the last thought to enter his brain was 'Accio Seamus.'