To the outside world Blaise Zabini was a respectable businessman. He owned a fairly large house, had a pretty wife and two adorable children. His car was nice enough to let people know he did well but not so ostentatious that people would dislike him for it. Even to the inside world, which meant his wife and children and his few close friends, he appeared completely normal. Blaise Zabini liked this normal life. Which is why when he opened the door early on a Saturday morning he wasn't particularly happy to see Draco Malfoy stood on his doorstep.
Draco had forgotten how much information money could buy you, even in the Muggle world. A few well-placed notes to the cashier in the antique store had yielded an address for his old school mate. Though he had to admit that said old school mate wasn't looking particularly happy to see him.
"Hello, Blaise. Could I have a word?" Draco asked politely. The slamming of the door was his only answer. "Blaise." He said through the door, perfectly confident that Blaise was still on the other side of it. Slowly the door opened to reveal a reluctant, suspicious Blaise in a dressing gown.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" A child's cry of 'Daddy' was heard from within the house and Blaise closed his eyes in worry.
"Your kids?" Draco arched an eyebrow in question. Blaise merely stared back at him stonily. Draco sighed. "Can I come in?"
Blaise crossed his arms defiantly and Draco had to suppress the snicker that nearly emerged at the way his tough image was instantly destroyed by the dressing gown his old friend was wearing. "Why?"
"I wanted to see if your wife was pretty." Draco replied flippantly, peering around him into the tastily furnished hall.
"Malfoy." Blaise growled.
Draco ran a hand through his hair, peering through the living room window as he did so. "Fine. So I want to take down the remaining Death Eaters in Britain." Blaise's arms dropped to his side, his look of shock similar to the one on Granger's face. But Blaise had been better trained to mask emotions then Hermione and his normal, serious expression soon replaced it.
Tugging tightly on the tie of his dressing gown, Blaise stepped to the side to allow Draco to enter. "I suppose you best come in then."
*
Her mother bustled round the tiny kitchen, her voice bumbling over with enthusiasm. "Oh, my word. I'm so glad that this finally happened. I almost thought that you were going to be stubborn forever and never marry the boy!" Her back to the fireplace, Molly missed the look of indignation that passed over her daughter's face as she watched her mother through the floo network.
Biting furiously down on her annoyance, knowing that the last thing she needed was a fight with her mother, Ginny merely smiled serenely as Molly turned and headed over to her, dropping into a chair in front of the fireplace.
Molly continued beaming. "Oh, you and Harry." She dropped down in front of the fire then, mindful of her arthritic knees and awkwardly patted Ginny on the head. "I'm so happy." Wiping tears away from her eyes, she turned back to the stove, before saying determinedly; "He'll finally be a proper part of the family."
"Yes." Agreed Ginny absentmindedly her eyes straying to the clock of Weasley family members, noting all the extra additions that had been made over the years and seeing that Harry already had his own hand. Part of the family, thought Ginny. Her earlier thoughts came back to her. I'd just be making it official.
*
Draco was allowed a glimpse of two small blonde girls, fringes hanging in bright blue eyes, their father's eyes, thought Draco, before they were bundled unceremoniously from the room and Blaise turned to face him, a grim expression on his face.
"What the hell did you mean by that?" He demanded, trying to look as imposing as possible in his dressing gown and slippers.
Draco groaned at the familiar words. "What? Am I just not making myself clear this week?" He mumbled to himself, noticing Blaise's annoyed expression at the wait, he answered. "You heard me. I want to bring them down. Make them suffer. Like we have." Draco looked around the nicely furnished living room and amended, "Well, like I have."
Blaise suddenly flopped onto the sofa, dropping his head into has hands. "What do you want from me Draco?" He gestured at floor littered in his children's toys and at the sideboard covered with pictures. Draco moved to the sideboard, picking one of the pictures up and seeing the smiling family, absently noticing that Blaise's wife was pretty and that he should congratulate him on that at a more suitable time. He sighed and turned back to his old friend.
"I don't want anything from you that could end with them being harmed."
Blaise grinned wryly. "Anything I do with you and the world you represent could end with them being harmed, Draco, and you know it."
Draco letting out an exasperated sigh and span to face him, Blaise raising from the sofa at the unexpected movement. "For God sakes, Blaise, don't you miss it? Magic! Our world!" Blaise stared back at him and then slowly let his eyes flit to the photos.
"No." He said simply. Draco groaned and flopped on the sofa.
"Well I do." He mumbled like a petulant child. Blaise looked around his perfectly ordered existence, realizing that Draco Malfoy has just completely thrown it on it's head. And that he would have to deal with him.
*
"Ginny, this is great news!" Charlie's smiling face stared out at Ginny from the fireplace. Dropping her book down she went to kneel in front of the flames for the second time that morning, forcing a smile on her face.
"Hey, Charlie." She murmured, twisting her robe in her hands.
Charlie's smiling face turned into a mock frown. "And why is it, young lady, that I had to hear about my baby sister's engagement from mum?"
Ginny smiled tiredly. "I just haven't really got around to telling anyone yet, I guess." Charlie waved a hand and grinned, telling Ginny that everything was forgiven.
"So why aren't you jumping around in joy?" He asked, noticing Ginny's pale, drawn face for the first time.
"No reason." She muttered, fiddling with the rings on her hand.
"Ginny." Only Charlie's voice could hold worry and a warning at the same time. "Wanna tell me what's wrong?"
Ginny sighed, wishing that she could unburden herself without him hating her, just like Hermione did. "Nothing, Charlie. I'm great. I'm getting married." A small sob escaped her as she said the last sentence. Charlie's eyes immediately filled with concern.
"God, Ginny. Tell me what's wrong."
Ginny stared at her brother, willing the tears not to run down her cheeks. "I've loved Harry forever, haven't I?" She said in a low murmur. Charlie shrugged, watching her carefully.
"Well, you had a crush on him for ages and then you dated him, so in a way, yeah."
"God, Charlie." Ginny hastily wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her robes, suddenly feeling annoyed. "There were other boys, you know." Charlie looked furious.
"Who? Tell me. What did they do? Where do they live?"
"I haven't always loved Harry." She murmured to herself, ignoring her brother's overprotective ranting.
"Ginny." Charlie stated. "I flooed to say congratulations on the engagement and now I'm beginning to wonder if you even want to be engaged."
Ginny looked up at him and sighed. "I don't know, Charlie. I love Harry, I really do." She looked her brother in the eyes. "I just don't know how much."
*
Blaise stared down at Draco, eyes narrowed. "What caused this sudden change of heart?"
"Nothing." Draco mumbled in reply. Blaise suddenly grinned knowingly and sat next to Draco, the knowing glint in his eye far to familiar for Draco's liking.
"You're in love with Ginny Weasley again, aren't you?"
The spluttering from the other end of the sofa confirmed his theory. "How did you…But how?"
Blaise shrugged and grinned. "My natural brilliance." Draco snorted and Blaise was reminded of the many shared conversations they'd had over the years. "Hey! I'll have you know that I was third in class, only behind you and…"
"Granger." They muttered in unison and shared a knowing grin.
Draco sat forward, the grin fading from his face. "Well, since you've got it all figured out. Yes, I love her." Blaise snickered something that sounded suspiciously like 'A Weasley!' and Draco turned condescending eyes on him. "Excuse me, but aren't you married to a Muggle, Blaise?"
Blaise coughed suddenly and sat up so that he was level with Draco. "So you're in love with a Weasley, I'm married to a Muggle and we'd both like to take down the Death Eaters." Blaise ran a hand over his face. "God, we would've hexed someone to Australia if they'd told us that first year."
Draco grinned. "I've been to Australia."
Blaise rolled his eyes. "Not the point, Draco."
Draco turned then suddenly pinning Blaise with those cool, grey eyes. "How did you know that I was in love with Ginny, anyway?"
Blaise grinned and rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Oh, I've known for years." At Draco's scandalized expression he laughed. "Don't worry you were very discreet but I've known you for years, you know."
Draco didn't look particularly happy at this explanation and motioned Blaise to continue.
"You kept disappearing in sixth year." Draco cursed, thinking that no-one had seen his late night meetings. "That I noticed because unlike a lot of the idiots who inhabited Slytherin I had a brain and I was your friend. Then there was the whole thing in Diagon Alley."
Draco stiffened and walked away from the sofa, folding in on himself. "Diagon Alley." He murmured, flashes of the battle running through his head. A battle he'd been on the wrong side of. Blaise watched him carefully, remembering how volatile Draco had been after the battle.
"Your final initiation." The bitterness in Blaise's voice was kept in check, though he unconsciously rubbed his left arm in a gesture that he used far more than he would have liked. Draco turned to look at him, his eyes clouded, before he suddenly laughed dryly, realization dawning.
"The redhead." Blaise nodded. "You saw me not murder a young, redheaded girl and suddenly I was in love with the youngest Weasley?" Incredulity laced Draco's voice and Blaise laughed at his expression.
"Of course not." Blaise stood so that he was eye level with Draco. "I saw you turn away from everything we'd been raised to believe. And I knew you. You wouldn't have done that if there wasn't something worth leaving it for."
Draco crossed his arms insolently. "Maybe I just didn't like murder and torture at the hands of some inhuman thing." It was Blaise's turn to look incredulous. "Fine," Draco huffed, "so I had a reason other than the whole 'let's not torture and kill and I suppose we should be nice to small, furry animals' thing to not to want to be a Death Eater. I still don't see how you made such a leap of logic."
"Well, after I joined you," Draco was suddenly struck with the memory of Blaise standing on his doorstep, his expression stony, his arm bleeding from where his dark mark had been savagely hacked into. Slipping back to the conversation Draco realised that Blaise had continued. "I watched you and noticed little things." Shrugging matter-of-factually he noticed Draco's raised eyebrow. "Just glances and that, Draco. Don't worry it's not like you had the words 'I love Virginia Weasley' glowing in flashing neon above your head."
Draco laughed and Blaise was surprised at the sudden realisation that he'd missed his old friend. Draco turned and collapsed on the sofa. "That still doesn't explain how you guessed the reason just now, though."
Blaise shrugged again, joining Draco on the sofa. "That was just a lucky guess." Blaise leaned back against the cushions, folding his arms across his chest. "So you want to take down the Death Eaters?"
Draco glanced at him from the corner of his eye, noticing the clenched jaw and whitened knuckles. "That's right." He replied calmly. Blaise nodded once.
"So I guess you want to drop some dark objects into some people homes, tip of the aurors and then watch all hell break loose?"
"You know me so well."
"You going to kill any of them?"
"The thought had crossed my mind."
Blaise looked at him, just to see if he was joking but the solid set of Draco's jaw told him all he needed to know. "Well then. I guess I could help."
Draco grinned like a small child on Christmas morning and sat up clapping his hands together. "Great! This is going to be so much fun!"
Blaise watched him with a nervous expression. "You're really looking forward to the whole killing thing aren't you." Draco waved him off with an impatient hand.
"God, no." Blaise looked suitably relieved until Draco grinned wickedly. "Just the breaking and entering, really."
*
Ginny kissed Harry as though her life depended on it, pinning him against the wall as soon as she walked through the door. "Wahey!" Harry gasped out between kisses, gently nudging her away. "What's all this for? Practising for the honeymoon?" He added with a lop-sided grin.
Ginny stared at him, tracing his face with her fingerprints. "You want to marry me, don't you Harry?" Harry looked shocked at the question.
"Of course." He took her hand and lightly kissed her fingertips. "That's why I asked you."
"Right." Ginny continued to stare at him until Harry began to fidget under her gaze.
"Ginny." He frowned worriedly. "Is something wrong?"
Ginny seemed to shake herself out of her daze and she moved to cup his face with her hands. "Nothing's wrong." She lied as she moved in to kiss him again. I just need to know if I really love the man who's willing to spend the rest of his life with me, that's all.
*
"One of those evil enchanted swords would work, right? They'd have the aurors come running." Off Blaise's look, Draco explained. "You know the ones with the teeth…" Blaise still look confused so Draco just waved his hand. "Oh, forget it. It would've worked though."
"What about a Book of Maleficus?" Blaise asked, gesturing at the list in front of him.
"Ooh, yes." Said Draco scribbling it down. "Oh, and we should put a dagger of morbidity in Crabbe's."
"What is it with you and swords?" Blaise asked chortling as he shook his head.
"Swords?" Asked a new voice from the doorway, causing both Blaise and Draco to raise their heads. Blaise was up from his seat in an instant, hurrying over to the blonde woman stood in the doorway. She frowned quizzically at him. "Why are you discussing swords and who," She gestured at Draco who had returned his attention to the paper, "is that?"
"Well, Sarah, that is," Blaise also gestured at Draco, fumbling for words, "is an old school friend and we just discussing well, erm…"
"Which dark objects we should drop into our enemies' homes." Draco interjected calmly.
"Draco!" Blaise yelled. Draco merely looked up at him and then smiled.
"Oh, right. Sorry." He turned back to the parchment, scribbling something out. "It really should be two daggers of morbidity in Crabbe's. I mean who would care about one?"