A/N:

To my wonderful and ever-patient readers, I hope this new chapter finds you all in good health! I loved writing the Blaise and Astoria scene last chapter so I couldn't help myself and had to start this one off from his perspective again. Don't worry though, if fit some Granger/Malfoy action in there too. I know the past few chapters have been a bit romantically and emotionally oriented so I hope this one will be a welcome change before we get into the next part of the story.

Warning: slight violence and gore ahead. And lots of sap. yes, you've been warned... ooey-gooey sappy Blaise ahead!

-RLG

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The cool evening breeze rattled the window panes, leaving behind an eerie silence as Snape, Draco and Blaise sat morosely at the kitchen table.

The Greengrass's were huddled together in the sitting room where Narcissa was still recuperating. Every few minutes Astoria would glance their way and catch the eye of Blaise, who was openly staring at the family of four.

There was a slight chill about the house, regardless of how many logs they fed the fireplace, and Blaise was beginning to feel it seeping into his skin. The more they sat in silence the more his mind drifted to thoughts of his witch and what the future held for them.

Knowing Mr Greengrass to be a kindly but overprotective man, Blaise had tried his best to appease the man's like for propriety, avoiding public displays of affection and keeping his distance from Astoria- especially when the older wizard was around.

The scarce few moment's he'd had alone with Astoria were enough to keep him going, and yet it had left him feeling hungrier for more. He ached to glide his fingers across her alabaster skin, stare deeply into her glistening eyes and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.

Blaise wondered if he'd ever be able to gain the approval of her father or if they'd spend an eternity playing this torturous game of overbearing parent and obedient suitor.

"Merlin's beard" he sighed, dropping his head onto the shiny surface of the table.

He heard Snape clear his throat distastefully, "As meandering as your romantic problems may be, Zabini, do spare a thought for the rest of us."

Blaise looked up to find Snape pressing his lips together into a tight line.

If his eyes hadn't betrayed him, Blaise would have thought his head of house was truly rendered uncomfortable by his unexpected display of emotion. And yet, the rarest of smiles hinted at the corner of his lips.

"Sir?" his voice lilted slightly.

Snape averted his gaze as he spoke, "don't pay him much mind," he cleared his throat, "when he comes to know you as well as I do I'm sure he'll come around."

The statement cleared the haze in his mind, and Blaise nodded his head in thanks, careful not to make his mentor any more uncomfortable than he already clearly was.

The tea-pot whistled angrily, signalling the water was ready to be poured into their waiting cups and just as Snape stood from his place a blinding light came bounding through the window.

A gloriously bright Patronus in the form of a wolf stood in the middle of the kitchen, keening back on its hind legs. It sniffed the air around Snape tentatively, as though checking to see if it was really him, before tilting it's snout to the side.

Then, a familiar, steady voice rang through the kitchen. "They're here… At the burrow- Hurry..."

Glancing at Snape he saw the change in his posture. Stiff and upright, as though he were ready to take off in flight.

"Stay here," he commanded them, summoning his wand into his hand, "I mean it, you've both done more than enough…"

"She's there" Draco stated flatly, his face as calm as the Great Lake. But the slight tremble in his hand betrayed him.

Snape paused at the doorway, "I promise to send word once we have the situation under control." his eye twitched nervously, "Stay put, I mean it…"

Without so much as a glance in their direction, he strode through the door and apparated away with a loud crack.

Out of the corner of his eye, Blaise saw Draco pulling back suddenly.

"You can't be serious, mate" he chided, "You heard what Snape said, he wouldn't tell us to stay put unless-"

"No," Draco's voice was sharp, "he wouldn't. But I'm not going to sit idly by while her life might be at risk."

Blaise paused, going very still.

He watched his friend run his hands through his silvery hair, a tell-tale sign of his agitation.

"It could be a trap. She might not even be there." he pleaded with his friend.

Draco shook his head, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he gulped back what was surely uneasiness.

He levelled his eyes at Blaise, "she's at the Weasley's", he said with certainty, "I just know it".

Blaise nodded in understanding. Barely hours ago his friend had rushed to aid him in getting to the witch he'd loved. He couldn't just stand by and do nothing, now that Draco needed his help.

The coldness of the room now seemed to affect Blaise's bones, settling in as though a Dementor had decided to make its home there. He stared with hesitation, watching Draco pen a hasty letter addressed to his mother who was still sleeping soundly in the next room.

Blaise's eyes flitted quickly over to Astoria, before landing back on his friend. He set his jaw firmly and sucked in a tight breath.

"Alright," he said, "but I'm coming with you," he held up a hand to silence his best friend's protests, "just give me a moment to say goodbye"

Draco shook his head in frustration and squeezed his hand into a tighter fist, bending the quill into an awkward angle.

"I'm just about done with this letter," he said, "and then I'm walking out that door, with or without you"

Not one to waste time, Blaise strode over to the living room pausing in front of the Greengrass's who were squashed one next to another on the floral settee.

He held out his hand to Astoria and pulled her to her feet, noticing how her father harrumphed in distaste.

Leading Astoria to the front door, where they'd have the slightest bit more privacy, he swallowed back the lump that was forming in his throat.

"I have to go," he told her, letting his eyes sweep her face. Memorizing her. Storing her away. Knowing that when he came back, the Greengrass's would be long gone.

Astoria nodded, sending a look in Draco's direction, "I understand," she replied knowingly.

"It's just that he's like a brother to me and-"

Astoria hushed him and squeezed his hand delicately, "you don't have to explain."

His body tingled with anticipation as his eyes drifted to her parted lips. He sucked in a breath of air as Mr Greengrass cleared his throat audibly from the sofa.

"What are you waiting for Zabini?" her eyes twinkled playfully, "don't you want to kiss me goodbye?"

He couldn't help chuckling.

"In front of that scary beast you call a father, you mean?" he shook his head, dropping his voice to a whisper. "If I ever hope to have even the slightest chance of his approval, I need to go about things the right way,"

Astoria blew air out through her nose, defiantly. She opened her mouth to object but he cut her off, sensing Draco had finished with his letter and was preparing himself to leave.

"We'll figure everything out when this is all done," she felt her grip tighten around his hand, "Don't worry, cara. I'll be back, I promise."

"Promise me again, Blaise" She searched his eyes desperately.

"Tori..."

"Promise me!" her voice never rose higher than a few decibels, but he sensed the tension that lay beneath.

"I always come back for you, don't I?" his mouth stretched into a warm smile, and he squeezed her hand back in reassurance before letting it drop back down to her side.

Casting one last glance down at her flushed face, he turned and followed Draco out of the front door, letting it close behind him with a dull thud.

The cottage echoed with the sound. Once they faded, Astoria let out a ragged sigh. She spun around to rejoin her family when suddenly the door swung open again.

"Fuck it," Blaise muttered under his breath as he strode through the door and made his way towards her.

Cupping her face in his hands, and in plain view of her family, he planted a searing kiss on her lips. The heat of her lips against his made his grip tighten slightly.

After a few moments, he broke away leaving her gasping for air.

He turned on his heel and walked backwards, never breaking eye contact with her, even as he passed over the threshold.

"Ciao Bella" he winked. Before grabbing Malfoy's shoulder and apparating away.

Within moments of appearing before the Burrow, Draco felt a sense of foreboding. His wrist tingled as he felt the remnants of the bond warn him of Hermione's dire state.

He shook his head in an attempt to clear it and put up his occlumency guards. If ever he needed a clear mind, it was now.

The wheat field emitted faint shrieks of surprise and sounds of a duel happening in its midst set him on edge.

He chanced a look at Zabini, who stood next to him with his wand brandished and a stern expression on his face in place of the goofy grin he'd been sporting since his goodbye with Astoria.

"We need a plan," he turned back towards the field, "any ideas?"

"Whoever finds her first should send up sparks. Then we can get the fuck away from this skirmish." Blaise replied resolutely.

Draco swivelled his head around in response, "What, just grab her and leave?"

He watched Blaise's fingers twitch around his wand. "It's not our fight!" he snapped, uncharacteristically.

"What about Potter and Weasley?" Draco snarled back in response, "You just want to leave them there to fend for themselves, do you?"

Blaise's shoulders sagged the slightest bit in response. He shook his head curtly and let out a sigh of discontent.

"Warning sparks stay part of the plan, the part about running can go," he said as Draco clapped his back reassuringly, "I suppose this is what I get for making friends with bloody Gryffindors."

Without another moment's hesitation, both of them darted forward and disappeared into the field, slashing away at the tall grass mercilessly to forge a path.

He could hear Blaise moving farther from him- it left him feeling exposed. Draco perked up his ears in order to follow the source of the shrieking.

As though on schedule, the sound picked up again, this time accompanied by a high pitched cackle.

Bellatrix.

He gulped down his disgust and made his way towards the sound of her laughter, knowing Hermione would certainly be nearby. His witch had a saviour complex bordering on the pathological and he couldn't wait to get his hands on her and chide her over it.

A faraway boom shook the ground, sending the wheat swaying and into an eerie susurration. Another tormented scream filled the air. The sound of multiple duels happening at the same time swept past his ears but he paid them no regard just yet- Hermione was his priority.

And then a loud blasting sound erupted beside him. Suddenly a body flew into his path stopping him in his tracks and leaving him panting for air. He paused to look down at the unmoving figure of Xenophilius Lovegood who's arms had been torn from their sockets.

Before it could send him reeling, he strengthened the occlumency barriers in his mind and gritted his teeth. But his stomach would have none of it.

Swallowing down bile, Draco steadied his breathing and continued in the direction the body had been flung from.

He hadn't known the man very well, but he remembered his father mentioning something about a newspaper, or rather a quaint tabloid of sorts, that had once sent the Dark Lord into a fury. He buried the memory back down and continued on- his run now replaced by a stealthy creeping so as not to attract any unwanted attention.

The wheat was becoming scarcer as he neared something resembling a muddy pond. The surrounding ground was spattered with smooth pebbles and rocks, making it harder to tread softly.

And then he froze.

He'd smelt her before he saw her. The familiar scent filled his nostrils and almost sent him keeling- high off the familiarity of her fragrance.

It was intoxicating and mild. Just as he remembered it.

He slowed in his tracks, making sure he wouldn't startle her. It went against his nature and he yearned to rush to her, to be close to her and bury his head in her boisterous curls once again. But then a thought struck him. If he could smell her, then so could someone else…

"Hermione!" he shouted, just catching sight of the back of her head swivel around as a bulky figure leapt towards her. Fenrir tackled her to the ground and obscuring her from Draco's view.

He swatted the tall reeds in front of him, rushing toward the struggling pair and ignoring the shouts from the duelling happening around him.

Greyback held Hermione around the neck in a vice-like grip, but she fought back, ferociously clawing at his face and making him roar in fury.

Raging with a sudden burst of strength, Greyback pulled her up by the neck and flung her head-first into back the pebbled ground. He leapt onto her, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and hurled the back of her head into the ground over and over.

It felt like an eternity had passed before Draco had a clear shot of Greyback.

"Impedimenta!" he yelled, aiming his wand at the werewolf who's movements slowed long enough for Draco to send another curse hurtling his way.

"Orbis" Draco trained his wand at the beast, as the ground gave way and sucked the howling werewolf into it.

Relief flooded him as he finally reached Hermione who was shakily pushing herself up onto her elbows until another blood-curdling scream broke his reprieve. He tore his gaze away from her, just in time to see a curse heading towards them.

Instinctively, Draco blocked the flash of orange light flying their way and sent a body-bind curse back in the direction the jet of light had come from.

When he turned to look at her, her brow furrowed in confusion before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, hitting a large, jagged rock with a resounding- crack!

Draco scrambled towards her, yanking her up by the waist and pressing his ear against her rib-cage. The faint sound of a heart-beat filled his ears, along with her shallow breaths.

Alive.

Thank Merlin, he thought, sending sparks up into the sky as a signal to Blaise that he'd found her.

Willing himself to use his logic, he apparated the two of them back to the front of the burrow. The dimmed lights from the window cast an ethereal glow over her face, in turn, revealing the blood that was stemming from the back of her skull.

Hands wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him away from her while her body levitated through the front door past a worried-looking Mrs Weasley. She glanced between the two of them and nodded curtly in his direction before turning on her heel and following her ward.

And just before he could make sense of it all, another series of shouts and screams erupted from the field. He forced himself to break his gaze from Granger's inert form, knowing she was in safe hands and ran back into the clearing.

He would prove to her that he was the man she deserved- a man who didn't abandon his friends in their time of need. And then he could look her in the eye, proudly, knowing he'd made the Wizarding World a safer place for the both of them.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: So there it is. I hope our Slytherin's have shown themselves to be cunning AND courageous- Merlin love them. I'm aware that although life may be returning to normal where I'm currently located, this is not the case for all of my readers. So I hope this chapter has helped break some of the monotony in your day and distract you from the horrible state of the world right now. And to the anonymous guest reviewer, last chapter- YOU are the reason this chapter exists, thanks for the kick in the butt and reminding me why I do this.

-RLG