'You say that as if it were a bad thing,' Hermione said, and smiled at him sweetly. 'Get up, Malfoy. We have work to do.'
'Promise me, Harry,' Viktor said, looking very stern with his brows beetling and his mouth set in a glower, 'Promise me you won't go outside the flat after sunset.'
'Er,' Harry said. They were standing in the entryway of the flat in Prague, and Viktor had his cloak thrown over his arm. They'd carried everything into the bedroom (where a very annoyed note from Aiden Lynch, apparently more than slightly cheesed off at being told to clear out of the flat immediately for no apparent reason, was stuck into the frame of a mirror), and left it all piled on the bed. Viktor, seeming anxious and withdrawn, had exhibited no desire to show Harry around, which, Harry thought, was just as well — all he wanted at the moment was to be left alone. 'I won't, but — is there any food in the flat?'
'Probably not,' Viktor said. 'Aiden seems to survive entirely upon lager, chocolate, and hand-rolled cigarettes. Do you smoke?'
'No,' Harry said. 'But I do think I'll probably get awfully hungry before tomorrow, you know. Is it that you're worried I'll be recognized?'
'Partly,' Viktor admitted. 'I suppose it is all right if you go out briefly -
but promise me you will come back before the sun sets.'
'All right,' Harry said, 'I will — but why?'
'The agents of Voldemort often prowl the streets after dark,' Viktor said.
'I do not want them seeing you, and besides, they are dangerous.' He glowered again. 'Swear it,' he said.
'All right, all right,' Harry said. 'I will, on one condition.'
Viktor's glower deepened. 'What?'
Harry told him.
Viktor looked relieved, or at least, slightly less glowery. 'I can promise that, easily, and I do. And will return tomorrow, with all the aid I can bring you,' he added. 'Money, transportation — everything.'
'Viktor, I don't know how to thank you, or Fleur — '
'We do not do this for thanks,' Viktor said. 'You know why we do it.'
Harry remembered his conversation with Fleur in the weapons room at Viktor's house. If your friends want to lie down and die for you, then you must let them. 'I know,' he said.
Viktor didn't smile at that — he almost never smiled — but he nod gravely at Harry. 'Happy New Year, Harry,' he said, and Apparated away, leaving Harry staring after him in surprise.
Ginny sent Charlie downstairs ahead of her to greet Blaise while she changed into her nicest robes. When she arrived in the kitchen, Blaise and Charlie were already seated at the table, among the plates and cups that had not yet been cleared away from breakfast. Blaise wore an elegant set of patterned green robes over a dark red shift, and was gazing across the table at Charlie as if she were very hungry and he was a buttered crumpet.
'You are going to come back and teach us after Christmas, aren't you, Mr.
Weasley?' Blaise was saying, her chin propped on her ringed hand.
'You're the best Care of Magical Creatures teacher we've ever had, by far.'
'That's very gratifying to hear, Blaise,' Charlie said, toying with the side of a teacup and looking acutely uncomfortable. 'It depends on what happens with my brother.'
Blaise blinked. 'With Percy?'
'With Ron,' Charlie said, with emphasis. 'The one who was kidnapped by the Dark Lord.'
'Oh,' said Blaise. 'That brother.'
Ginny cleared her throat. Blaise swung her head around, her earrings bobbing. 'I'm here,' Ginny said. 'You wanted to talk to me, Blaise?'
Charlie looked relieved. 'I suppose you two want to talk,' he said, getting to his feet and heading to the door. 'I'll be in the living room if anyone needs me.'
Ginny took the chair her brother had vacated and sat down opposite Blaise. 'Are you actually here to see me, or did you just want to gape at my brother?'
Blaise allowed herself a cursory smile. 'Well, he is nice to look at, but that's not why I'm here.' She dipped a long-fingered hand into the bodice of her robes, drew out a rolled piece of parchment, and handed it to Ginny. 'Draco sent me,' she said. 'Draco Malfoy.'
'As opposed to the other Dracos we know,' muttered Ginny, 'it being such a popular name and all,' and she opened the letter without looking at Blaise. She tried to not to let her heartbeat quicken at the sight of the familiar handwriting, but it was impossible.
Dear Ginny, I hope this letter finds you well and that you have so far withstood the ravages of your dimwitted agrarian kin. I'm sending this letter with Blaise; I assume you remember her? I know you're not too terribly fond of her, probably because she's really very attractive and has seen me naked on a number of occasions. However, I'm hoping you two can put personal differences behind you, as she has some rather important news. Please sit down with her and have her explain to you, in this order 1) What Pansy's been up to 2) What she knows about the Slytherins and their secret plans 3) What she knows about your brother and what happened to him.
She knows why you fell off your broom during that match, too. Have her tell you. I'd tell you myself if I felt safe putting it down in a letter. I owe you that much.
Signed, Draco Thomas Hephaestus St. John Vivian Augustus Malfoy, III, Esq.
Ginny's head jerked up, and she stared at Blaise, all the words in the letter temporarily forgotten except seven: your brother and what happened to him. 'What do you know about Ron?' she demanded, her voice suddenly gone thin and very high. 'If you know where he is — '
Blaise, looking absolutely shocked, pushed her chair back from the table.
'I know nothing of the sort!'
Ginny thrust the letter across the table accusingly. After a moment, Blaise took it and smoothed it out on the table. With a wary look, she bent to read it. After a moment, she sat back and looked at Ginny with a blank expression.
'So?' Ginny said. 'Is it true?'
'Yes,' Blaise said. 'I have seen Draco naked on a number of occasions.'
Ginny banged her fist down on the table and the cutlery rattled. 'I mean about Ron. What do you know about what happened to him?'
Blaise let out a long breath. 'Damn Draco,' she said, her voice very flat.
'Damn his little black heart to hell.'
Ginny blinked. 'What…'
Blaise put the palms of her hands against her eyes. 'I don't know where your brother is,' she said. 'All I can tell you is what I told Draco. I can't do any better than that.'
'Then tell me what you told him,' Ginny said quietly.
Blaise nervously twisted a curl of red hair around her index finger. 'It started at the end of the summer,' she said, in a monotone. 'Maybe even as far back as the end of last year, for some of us, but not for me. Some of our parents — not all of them, of course, not everyone in Slytherin is one of our group — started warning us that something was coming, and we'd better be protected. They had protection charms to dispense. They were Transfigured — jewelry for the girls, cufflinks and buttons for the boys. We had to wear them all the time. We were told not to give them to anyone else, or there would be dire consequences. I knew Draco wasn't to have any, or to be told what was going on. So I didn't tell him.'
'You didn't tell him?' Ginny burst out angrily. 'How could you? He was your boyfriend!'
Blaise laughed drily. 'That's what Pansy said. Of course, at that point, she was sleeping with your
