A Strange Vacation
Blaise was glad to get off the Train at last and find Mother waiting for him at the station this time. They didn’t talk much during the journey home, but she kept an arm around his shoulder and she was clearly very worried. Although he didn’t like for her to be worried, Blaise was very content in the knowledge that the only reason she hadn’t charged to Hogwarts to see that he was alright after that meeting with the Dark Lord was the fear of breaking his cover as a Death Eater.
Finally, after a light dinner, which proceeded in silence, they moved to the sitting room and sat down in their accustomed places. Blaise realized for the first time that it was nice to have something that stayed the same, something constant amidst all the uncertainty of war.
“Drink up, Blaise,” his mother said softly, taking a sip of her mug, “We’re going to have a very interesting day tomorrow. As you know, Draco already invited himself, I’ve also invited Narcissa to spend a few days here and…someone else I think you’ll be happy to see.”
Blaise pondered her words for a few moments. Finally, deciding that he had no idea who she was talking about if it wasn’t Snape he wondered why she thought he’d be glad to see his old Professor. “It’s good to be home, mother,” he said at length, “Good to be home.”
“You know, I don’t want to arouse McGonagall’s interest too much or I would have spoken to her about the way she’s letting Slytherins be treated. We would never have had such a thing in my day.”
“Things weren’t like this in your day, mother, besides, I don’t need babying.” Blaise said it in a light tone, but he wondered whether she would take offence; she was not, after all, a fat old doting mother.
Her furrowed brows were explained moments later by her response, “You’re forgetting there was a war in my day too, son.”
…
The next day was quiet one and Blaise woke up at the crack of dawn, with a vague memory of strange dreams involving Celeste reproaching him for being distant and not writing and crying because her only family had neglected her and then turning into the Weasley girl and yelling at him for being as bad as Snape…
He resolved to escape from Mother as soon as he could and go visit Celeste. They had a quick breakfast and he began to say something about going out for a ride when his mother interrupted him. “You’re not escaping me this quickly, Blaise, I expect you to be here to welcome our guests at least.”
“Of course, Mother.”
They spent a few hours randomly straightening cushions that in his opinion, did not need straightening, nor did he really care, but now that he was stuck here he began trying to understand his mother’s strange mood. She was a little too nervous for his comfort and a small part of him began to be seriously worried. Narcissa Malfoy had never caused his mother this much worry, so it must be the other mystery guest.
Suddenly his heart clenched and Blaise wondered if, now that he was clearly getting older and not following her advice all the time, she had begun to think of getting herself a real family. He was after all not-
“No need!” he heard his mother yell to the house elf as it hurried off to answer the door, “We will be receiving the guests today.”
This was a little strange, but Blaise followed her to the door without argument.
“Ah, come in Narcissa!” she said a little too cheerily, heightening Blaise’s suspicions that something was seriously wrong, “Draco, how good to see you again.”
Blaise suppressed a snort and inclined his head respectfully to Mrs. Malfoy. The woman looked slightly drawn, but Blaise thought she looked much, much better than her son who had a haunted, wraithlike appearance that was even worse than last year. He would have to take him aside and ask him about this now, surely the boy would not refuse help this time. Of course this time Blaise wasn’t really in a position to offer help, but he would find out what was going on.
Mother made it impossible for them to escape before “the last guest” had arrived and Blaise was now staring at her intently as she chattered with Narcissa, dropping all pretence of talking to Draco. You didn’t talk about what they really wanted to talk about in the presence of both mothers and talking about the weather was equally out of the question.
Finally the doorbell rang again and Mrs. Zabini rose to greet the guest, motioning for Blaise to stay where he was. He fidgeted slightly in his seat and Draco shot him a questioning look which he ignored.
When she re-entered Blaise immediately jumped out of his seat and strode across the room. He stared at his mother in shock for a few moments and then at the nervous looking girl beside her. Finally, a grin broke through despite his best efforts and he grabbed Celeste in a tight embrace. Mother smiled back and nodded, and both their other guests were looking on curiously. Celeste turned red when she saw that there was company, but Blaise noticed that she didn’t seem too worried about having the ‘murderer’ in the room, perhaps it was because the boy had shrunk away and was hovering as far from the group as he could without being rude. She shook Narcissa’s hand.
“This is Blaise’s sister, Celeste,” Mother took over the introductions, “Blaise’s friend Draco and his mother Mrs. Malfoy.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Blaise eyed the girl suspiciously, she was keeping a very tight control of her temper considering her and Draco’s previous meeting. They sat back down and Narcissa made some strained conversation, mainly about the weather, with Celeste, clearly burning to know more, but deeming it improper to ask.
“I believe lunch should be ready by now,” Mother said at length getting up and leading the way, “Shall we?”
Draco, who had been keeping a silent distance from the girl all evening, surprised Blaise by suddenly pulling up a chair for her and actually sitting next to her. Celeste only hesitated for a few moments before sitting down and Blaise took a seat on the opposite end of the table, determined to watch them carefully. There was definitely something going on here that he didn’t know about, and Celeste’s words from before came back to him. She had threatened to find things out “her own way” if he didn’t explain about Draco and Blaise’s friendship with a murderer, and Blaise had of course, diligently avoided giving any explanation, which was quite easy given the fact that they conversed on paper and that he didn’t actually believe she had it in her to carry out the threat. That would just have been stupid.
The meal proceeded in an awkward silence and although Blaise preferred to eat in silence and think, as did his mother, it was starting to get on his nerves. There were just too many unasked questions in the air. Everyone could guess at what the others wanted to ask, but no one said anything. This continued until the House Elves brought up the desert, but Blaise was watching Draco intently and he felt that the boy couldn’t handle it for much longer. He was not prepared, however for what Draco actually said to break the silence moments later.
“He wants me to kill Nott!” Draco announced and Blaise immediately dropped his fork.
“What,” Blaise asked, “Do you even know where Nott is?”
“No dammit, but he’s getting angry, says Nott should be a piece of cake and he’s not intending for me to die trying this time so I’d better get the job done.”
Draco’s voice was nearing hysterics now and Blaise wasn’t sure what prompted him to say what he said next: “Well, it would be a lot easier than killing Dumbledore.”
He eyed the other boy closely, his face setting into a grim expression while his mind was racing back and forth from Theo Nott to Draco to Theo’s father to-
“Easier!” Draco was becoming rather hysterical, “Easier! We slept in the same dorm for six bloody years, sat around the fire in the common room and played chess!” Celeste’s hand flew to Draco’s shoulder and he seemed to deflate very quickly. Blaise raised an eyebrow, but he would wonder about Celeste’s behaviour later.
“Why?” he asked, “What’s Nott done? I was beginning to think his father had done him in or something.”
“No,” Draco said bitterly, “He refused the Dark Lord’s bidding; refused to take the Mark.”
Blaise could feel his mother’s eyes boring into the back of his head. He wondered what she thought of this, because she had made it clear several times that this was the path she had wanted him to take. Celeste’s questions would be answered now, at least. There was really no better way to explain the predicament both he and Draco were in; if you refused the Dark Lord’s bidding he didn’t just let you go. His sister’s hand was still on the blond boy’s shoulder and Draco was staring down at his plate. “We have to find a way out of this mess,” he said in the same tone he had always used when he had decided on a plan to annoy Potter, “The five of us.”
“The five of us aren’t in this mess, Draco,” Blaise reminded sharply, “As long as gits like us know how to keep those we love out of it, they won’t get hurt.”
It was obvious he was talking about Celeste since they knew both their mothers were already very well-known to the Dark Lord and even if he didn’t understand what having a mother was like, he was clever enough to know they were good for threatening his minions with if he needed to. At least the new ones; Blaise didn’t think people like Lucius Malfoy or Nott Senior would be vulnerable to that sort of threatening.
Since no one had any suggestions on how to “get themselves out of this mess” the rest of dessert passed in silence, but this time it was a much lighter silence. Soon after the meal Blaise, Draco and Celeste excused themselves and went out to the grounds. They spent some time with Shadow and Blaise spoke with Draco about Nott a little more, but the other boy didn’t really know much about their old classmate or his whereabouts.
Celeste had actually refused to stay at the manor over the break, assuring Mrs. Zabini that she had a lot to do at the orphanage and that she’d be able to pass by everyday. Blaise wondered if Mother had ever been turned down after such a generous offer. He resolved to make sure she knew how thankful he was for inviting Celeste, especially with the Malfoys around.
At sunset the two boys walked Celeste home, starting what was to become something of a habit over the break. A habit Blaise wasn’t sure he liked too much, because he felt too comfortable for his liking in the presence of both Draco and Celeste. He couldn’t really say anything more than his previous threat, however, because they weren’t actually doing anything except being too comfortable in the other’s presence for his liking, which was hardly a crime.
“You promised a snowball fight, by the way, Blaise,” his sister said, “Better not forget.”
“No,” he replied mock-angrily, glad to be pulled out of his thoughts, “You promised that little…drooling…monster on my behalf and I never actually said yes.”
Draco laughed before she could say anything, startling Blaise. Apparently the look on his face was so funny that his sister had to burst into a fit of hysterics that lasted all the way home. Draco headed back up to the manor as soon as they reached the door leaving sister and brother to talk.
“What’s going on with him?” Blaise hated himself for having to ask this the first moment they were alone, but he needed to know.
“Funny,” the girl replied, her jaw set stuboornly, “I recall asking you the same question.”
Blaise suppressed a small growl, “This is an entirely different matter. You were asking about something personal, I’m asking you why you stopped being angry at the murderer.”
If she had been any other girl Blaise was sure she would have continued to be stubborn and avoid answering, but she gave him what he needed to know as she opened the door and stepped in, “He came here a few times and hung around the grave. I got angry because the kids were getting scared of him.”
There was a short pause in which Blaise recalled the picture of Draco’s haunted face, “He is sort of… haunted-looking.”
“Yes,” Celeste continued, “So he told me it hadn’t been him that killed the baby, said it was some crazy woman-”
“Bellatrix Lestrange?”
“I think that was the name,” Blaise marveled at how a name that caused so much horror in any Wizard’s mind didn’t even stick with her… she just passed over the name casually as if it was of no importance, and it wasn’t really, it was the things attached to the name, “I believed him and then he got weird because I started to trust him and he never came back. The flowers he left have really interesting magic on them, though, they’re still as fresh as they were the first time.”
“Flowers?”
“For the grave, yes, can you teach me the spell?” she asked handing him a steaming cup of tea.
“You’d need a wand,” he said, wondering why he hadn’t thought of this before, she’d be much better able to protect herself and get a help message sent to him or his mother if she had one, “I’ll take you to Mafalda’s in a couple of days if it’s quiet.”
The way her eyes lit up forced another smile out of Blaise. “I’ve been afraid,’ she said taking a seat in front of him and lowering her to the cup, “Things are happening even to norm- I mean to non-wizards and I don’t want that night repeated without me able to do anything, even though I’d hate doing it.”
“Nothing wrong with defense.”
“There is something wrong with Magic, at least there is for me, it took you away from me and it’s causing so much trouble.”
“Yes, but Celeste there’s nothing wrong with defending yourself and the people you love, do you understand me?” Celeste had to be made to understand this point, if she could do something to defend herself he’d feel so much more at ease the rest of the school year, they’d deal with her silly scruples later…after the war. Besides, Blaise sensed a little thirst for adventure in her voice, just a little bit.
They bought the wand as soon as Blaise could get her over to the shop, but he was very edgy the entire trip and they dissaparated back home as soon as they’d stepped outside the shop. The next few days were spent either in long, and rather circular, conversations with Draco in which he kept insisting that there must be away out, or with Celeste. Draco walked down to the Orphanage with them every night and Blaise even saw him standing at the grave through the window on a couple of occasions. It was strange , this pensive, tortured Draco was something Blaise found it hard to get used to.
It seemed that the boy’s condidtion was becoming worse by the day and Mother even talked to Blaise about it one afternoon, asking him to do his best to cheer the poor boy up for Narcissa’s sake. He cast about for things to do to help, but there was really nothing Blaise could give Draco, even sharing stories of their misery, because Draco had to report to the Dark Lord every two days and he was being hard-pressed to find Nott and kill him quickly, while Blaise merely had to sit at Hogwarts and spy on Longbottom and Slughorn.
Draco had to report to the Dark Lord again on Christmas eve and Narcissa was in a state Blaise had never seen her in before. His mother tried to comfort her, but Blaise knew his mother was not the hugging, calming type, so it didn’t do much good. Celeste excused herself abruptly after Narcissa had let out a strangled cry that sounded like “my fault…all my fault”.
She ran off before Blaise could catch up with her and he didn’t think she wanted to be near anyone at the moment. His mind turned once again to her strange attachment to Draco. She had actually bought the boy a present and consulted Blaise about it and it seemed that his weak, wraithlike state hurt her deeply. Having a Hufflepuff for a sister, Blaise realized, really wasn’t a good thing after all.
He spent a couple of hours hanging around the manor, kicking snow, and thinking, before he decided to go check up on Celeste. He wouldn’t bother her if the menaces she called children were still awake, but he’d look in through the window and make sure she was alright.
He arrived only moments before Draco’s arrival, or so it seemed to Blaise in comparison to the agonizing minutes he spent watching through the window. Draco actually apparated, reeling, right in the middle of the kitchen which was empty but for Celeste and the old woman. Celeste rushed off to his side, but he held up a hand, motioning for her to stay away and dropped into a chair. The two women then went about their work as normally as possible, casting him glanced every now and then, before the plump mother of the orphanage headed upstairs for bed.
Celeste immediately came closer to Draco and laid a hand on his shoulder. He let it stay there, but snapped at her. Blaise knew his sister would just ignore this, which she did, but she forcefully guided him to the more comfortable couches before the fireplace.
Blaise shifted so they were still fully visible and cast a voice magnification charm on his ears. There was really nothing to magnify except the silence of the snowy night and Draco’s badly muffled sobbing.
After what seemed like hours, in which Celeste’s hand was still resting calmingly on Draco’s arm right above the Dark Mark, she let her head drop onto the boy’s shoulder and he suddenly broke. His sobs came freely now and he allowed her- Blaise’s sister Blaise thought angrily, to pull him into her arms. Blaise knew the strange calming effect that his sister had on people and sure enough it only took Draco a couple of minutes to stop crying and shaking.
Blaise watched for what seemed like ages before Celeste removed herself from the tangled hug and went to get a blanket. She draped it over the blond haired boy and smiled a sad little smile before walking up the stairs to bed. There was not much anger left for the other boy by the time Blaise let himself in and Apparated them both to Draco’s rooms in the manor. The boy’s lip was bloody and his face looked like death. Blaise decided he would wait a few days until he got better before giving Draco a direct warning about his sister.
The time never came, however, because Draco kept going off by himself and leaving Blaise with both their mothers…and he was making a very rapid recovery. Seeing the almost healthy face of his friend made Blaise feel very uneasy about taking away the obvious reason for his well-being and Celeste’s cheery attitude made it even worse.
It was Draco who gave him the opportunity to discuss it a few days before the end of the break. They were walking back to the manor after having fulfilled the promise of a snowball fight(for most of which Draco was standing and watching from a removed and “safe” position) and Draco and his mother were going to return to their own Wiltshire manor. Draco suddenly turned around and looked back at the small building and the lone figure that was watching them from the doorway.
“Don’t you ever dream, mate?” he asked.
“No, and I’m not even the one with the stupid murder mission. And you remember that’s my sister you-”
“Hey, relax!” Draco held up his palms, “That’s not the kind of dream I meant. I mean, don’t you ever just wish you could come home to a comfortable place and a smile and not have to worry about anything?”
“Not really,” Blaise replied slowly, turning the matter over in his head, “No.”
He didn’t know when Draco had turned into a Hufflepuff, but Blaise was sure all his dreams still involved some sort of glorious achievement, no matter how impossible that actually was at this point.
“I’m good at Occlumency,” Draco said after a long silence, “Wouldn’t still be alive if I wasn’t, but more importantly, neither would my mother. That’s one thing aunty Bella taught me well.”
Draco spit in the snow before opening the door and letting himself in and inexplicably Blaise felt much better as he strode through the door.
