Nothing Gold Can Stay
Blaise Zabini, was a man of many levels, being in Slytherin forced a person to conceal their true selves. He wasn't "evil" per say, he was ambitious. His will to survive made him strive to be smarter than the competition, more cunning than the rest. He liked to be in control, if there was ever a situation he wasn't in control, he would achieve it. He didn't necessarily care how he had to achieve the control he desired. Either through sex, violence, threats, he had no problems doing any of three. His favorite leverage was information; the correct information always was a person's downfall. In reflection, that was what got him in trouble in the first place; he knew too much. But information was a habit he couldn't shake off.
*****
It had been one week since he'd seen Kaida. He happened to be early. Granger, perhaps if she and Potter hadn't been up to till three in the mornings talking about dreams, she would have been up first. As it was she was not up and he had the kitchen to himself. When he heard movement from the stairs he did not look up from The Prophet but paid closer attention to his surroundings. He was surprised when Kaida walked down the stairs.
"Morning." She said sitting down.
It was all she said. Blaise knew about Kaida Drake, anyone who had listened out for new recruits knew about her. The best auror since Dumbledore himself, she was said to have great potential. Smart, it was the only way to describe her.
"Where have you been the last couple of days?" Zabini asked.
"Out."
Kaida turned and eyed him as he eyed her. He probably didn't remember her. She only met him once when they were both young. He looked almost the same except older, no longer boyish but masculine. Kaida did her research on all of her current house guests, their lives, families, and friends. If she remembered correctly, Blaise Zabini, was quite the ladies man. She could understand it, he looked a lot like her brother except they were striking opposites, where Draco was blonde and grey eyes; Zabini was dark haired and eyes. About the same height, Zabini a bit taller, but with most of the same features, different noses but that was where the differences ended. He obviously was up for a while; he was dressed already in jeans and a black turtleneck with a black blazer and black Gucci loafers.
"Muggle clothing?" Kaida asked snatching the Prophet away from Zabini's hands "Isn't that below you?"
Zabini laughed, "If muggles know how to produce quality why should I deny myself a luxury?" He added, "Besides you don't seem to mind wearing the latest muggle fashions."
A jean mini skirt, a white turtle neck, with a Gucci timepiece, and Blahnik heels, she should not have been one to talk. He smirked, "You're one to talk, Drake." He leaned forward, "You remind me of someone."
Kaida rolled her eyes and skimmed the front page. Once she was done she stood up away from the counter, "That line, I hope, did not work on all your conquests. I would've liked to hope they had some semblance of a brain."
"Why would you care?" Zabini laughed, "I hope you aren't bitter about it."
Kaida turned and looked at Zabini, the look of disgust obvious.
"Don't hold your breath Zabini."
*****
Harry Potter, was known for his dreams, they had been called prophetic, intense, and frightening. So when he woke up in a cold sweat, Harry Potter couldn't figure out why. He was somewhere else, in a castle, and he was learning about magic. The castle he knew wasn't Hogwarts, Hogwarts had a certain feel and the castle he was in didn't have it. As he stumbled out of bed he knew there was more to the dream than he was certain. It was still early in the morning. Maybe it was the power of suggestion. Just before he went to bed he had talked to Hermione about dreams of past lives. Even though many books she found in the library on dreams, the dreams still disturbed her. She often said it just like she had some part in the events of the dreams; and even though she knew the outcome would never be positive, she couldn't stop the events from happening. He walked down the stairs with a sigh; the hot shower did nothing to wake him up. He was usually one of the first people up so when he was Blaise reading the paper he was shocked.
"Expecting Granger?" Zabini asked, "She's still asleep. So is Weasley."
"Has Ms. Drake been up yet?" Harry asked ignoring Zabini's question, grabbing a milk bottle to drink out of.
"She just walked in and went up to the East Wing." He sighed, "That was about an hour ago and she hasn't been back down."
"Have you seen Ginny around?"
"No." Zabini turned the page, "I haven't seen her all week."
There here a few minutes of silence, the sloppy dark haired man eating, the neater haired man reading.
"What do you think is going on here?" Zabini asked as he turned the newspaper page.
"I don't know. All I know is something is…." Harry trailed off, "Is not right."
*****
"They have been there for a week." Kaida turned in the club chair. The night was cool and the fire was meant for warmth and appearances sake. The rain that managed to fall into the open window by the chair didn't really bother Kaida, she was soaked anyway, a few drops of rain wouldn't faze her.
"Have they started to dream?" Dumbledore asked. Granted he wasn't at his school but his charisma and influence wasn't limited to the prestigious school.
"Yes, by the second night. They should all start to put it together soon."
"Good," He reached in his desk for something. He offered it to a tall pale dark haired man. Dressed in suit underneath a cape, a hold covering his eyes but not preventing the dark hair from spilling out around his broad shoulders, he watched the respected headmaster of Hogwarts pop into his mouth a lemon drop.
"They are going to find Malfoy." Kaida said after a few moments of silence, "Potter and Granger are naturally curious about their dreams, Weasley doesn't trust me, and I suspect Zabini is going to figure this whole thing out to."
"Why Zabini?" The hooded figure asked.
"The other three barely know anything about me, and don't care to know anything about me. Zabini, he pries. He already caught wind of me from my job before and since he has now has to `work' with me, he could figure it out." She rolled her eyes, "They don't even suspect that I'm just there to make sure they don't die before their time."
Kaida smirked, "They have no idea. Stupid kids."
"You are younger than them Ms. Drake." Dumbledore reminded her, "If anything you are the child."
Kaida's glare caused Dumbledore to chuckle.
"That has yet to be seen." Kaida said, "As much trouble as Zabini is going to cause, I would like to request to move him ahead of schedule."
The hooded figure moved forward, "This would have nothing to do with your past relationship."
Kaida turned and looked him over. It wasn't a question but a statement of suggestion.
"No, it wouldn't. I need help, I don't know how long I can keep them hidden in that house, they came close already to finding them. They can't die again!"
The hooded figure picked up a figurine from the desk and looked it over, "Let him figure it out on his own."
Kaida turned to Dumbledore and sighed as Dumbledore nodded his head in agreement.
"I am forced to agree with Mr. Bryan, Kaida. Let them figure it out on their own."
He saw Kaida about to protest and put his hand up, "It would be best not to alienate them. They need to discover this on their own."
"Whatever."
Kaida stood up and turned to leave, she was stopped by a hand on her arm.
"Kaida," The guy under the hood said, "I have to talk to you."
Kaida rolled her eyes, "Let's go outside then."
Neither of the two bothered to put a shielding charm on themselves. Kaida just shrugged on her hood and looked at the taller man.
"What do you want?"
"I am sorry to have angered you. It's business."
Kaida crossed her arms and eyed him through the corner of her eyes. She stiffened when she felt his hand on her face. He was rarely warm.
"I won't take any from you today. Just don't forget our pact."
"I won't." She pushed his hand from her face, "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go."
"Remember the pact Kaida."
*****
Ginny knew when Kaida came home every night. She's waited a whole week of clocking Kaida's time. She would walk through the door, every time at three forty two every night. That night Ginny was waiting for her.
At exactly three forty two Kaida's key slid into the lock and a second later her foot steps could be heard throughout the quiet house.
"Why do you always come home this late?" Ginny asked from her seat on the stairs. She watched as Kaida turned and watched Ginny take a drag of a wizard cigarette.
"I didn't know you smoke." Kaida observed; the way Kaida walked reminded Ginny of someone. She watched Kaida sit down next to her, "Let me get a drag."
Wizard Cigarettes were composed of a completely different substance from Muggle cigarettes. There really wasn't an equivalent in the Muggle world. A Wizarding Cigarettes, WC for short, was used commonly by witches and wizards to clear their heads; a calming agent. Unlike Muggle Cigarettes, they were not hazardous to ones health and were not addictive unless abused.
Ginny shrugged and gave it to Kaida.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Most nights, I come home this late. When I was a child I couldn't go anywhere. So I like to be out as much as I can." Kaida took another drag, "Why?"
"Just wanted to know." Ginny stated.
"Know what?"
"What you are hiding from us."
Kaida handed the cigarette back to Ginny, "What makes you think I am hiding anything?"
"I haven't gotten my reputation for nothing," Ginny said putting the bud out, "I know you are hiding something."
"And here I thought redheads were just as empty headed as blondes."
Ginny laughed, "Not all the times."
Kaida stood up, "Don't worry, I'm not hiding anything."
Ginny said nothing but stared into the darkness.
"Good night Ginny." Kaida said walking up the stairs to the mysterious East Wing.
*****
There was one thing Draco taught her, Ginny reflected as she stared into the darkness. She could spot a good liar just as good as she could spin a good lie. And the crap that Kaida put out reeked to high heaven. Ginny, despite her pretense of just being the physical unable to think auror who just follows orders, after her case with Draco she didn't believe what was told to her without question. She was going to find out what her "superior" was hiding from her. And she'd get Harry to help her.
This is six pages! I think this is the longest chapter for this fic, kinda my `I'm sorry for not updating in over a week'. I left my disk at school, and then I was sick, and then this chapter took a long time to be edited. ^^; Things are starting to get really, really, confusing and I am trying to keep things clear. Thanks Natalia for beta reading again, if you all thought this was horrible imagine this chapter WITHOUT her help. Thanks for all the reviews, I love them, keep them coming. I'll try to update every weekend.