Baton Rouge

- 31 -

Blaise just raised an eyebrow, unfazed.

"What did you expect? Did you think I'd take the risk of you accidentally cursing me yourself? Never in a million years, mate. All along I wasn't sure if you were really going to show up here. But when I saw you walking around in front of the house, I decided that from now on we will play by my rules. And that means you're going to explain yourself first."

He pointedly tucked Draco's wand into the waistband of his trousers.

"Well, Draco. How dare you search for Potter on your own while suspended from office? Are you so keen on getting your job back that you're even willing to cope with him all by yourself?"

Draco had to suppress a bitter laugh.

"What nonsense, Blaise!"

"So does it have anything to do with Granger?"

"No, dammit."

Blaise made a face. Apparently Draco was divulging the information he so desperately wanted far too slowly for his liking.

"Listen, Draco. You either spit it out and tell me what all this fuss is about, or I'll think of something else to get you talking. I don't want to hurt you, definitely not. But I'm tired of these little games you've been playing with me for days. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Draco bared his teeth. Blaise's subtle threat that he would curse him if he didn't open his mouth had struck home. Tortured by your own friend - alluring prospects. Obviously, he had been badly mistaken about Blaise. Even though Draco had already doubted in the past few days that he could trust Blaise one hundred percent in his situation, he now felt downright devastated. He hadn't expected Blaise to go to extremes.

But there was no point in thinking about it now. Blaise had a wand and he wouldn't let up until Draco, who was at his mercy, told him the truth. Since Draco had been stupid enough to fall for Blaise' charade, it was already too late. He would tell Blaise about his motives and then just hope he would kill him here and now instead of dragging him to Umbridge first. Then he might at least be spared a face-to-face encounter with the Dark Lord or a Dementor's Kiss. Neither would be a pleasure after his revelations, Draco was sure.

"I was going to talk to him, all right?" he gritted out. He had his hand on the back of his neck now, massaging the spot where the Stunner had hit him. "I didn't want to overpower him alone, nor betray him in principle. I just wanted to talk to him."

Blaise raised his eyebrows so high that they disappeared under the strands of hair that fell across his forehead.

"Oh? And what do you have to discuss with Potter?" the black-haired wanted to know immediately.

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was taking a lot for him to reveal his secret to Blaise under these circumstances, but it was essential. Draco could gladly do without admitting the truth under the influence of the Cruciatus.

„Frankly, I don't know. I think I was hoping to work with him. That he would listen to me and believe me, that I wouldn't betray him. In my eyes, Potter is the only chance we have to overthrow the Dark Lord and end..." His voice was shaking now, "... this whole shit. I just wanted to offer him my support."

He looked Blaise straight in the eyes, already steeling himself for the curse that was about to happen. But Blaise remained surprisingly calm, now eyeing him in surprise.

"So it has something to do with Granger after all. You talk the same way you did the days she was in your apartment. What made you change your whole ideology in such a short time?" he asked, a curious look creeping into his eyes.

Draco shrugged in exasperation.

"I've already tried to explain to you what I think about it now. It's just not right what's happening to people who aren't Pureblood. She let me see that. I don't know why I was so blind before, but after taking her in and being presented all day with what has become of her, I finally understood. This is some big fat shite we're in here. It only took me one kick to wake up and she gave it to me, albeit not on purpose," he added softly, in fairness.

No, Granger really wasn't to blame. She might have been the trigger for his thoughts and her situation had opened his eyes, but she hadn't pushed him to take this path. To be honest, she had even made it clear to him how naive she found his idea. In her eyes his plan was doomed to failure and obviously she was right.

Blaise had remained silent. Now he was twirling his own wand in his hands, lost in thought. Draco took the moment to calm his breathing, which had quickened after realizing in whose trap he had walked. He closed his eyes briefly and collected himself, ordering his thoughts.

"But you already knew that, didn't you? You deliberately planted false information on me," Draco finally stated after a few moments of silence. "You wanted to test me. There wasn't a drifter who overheard Potter. And the word 'Fowey' never came up in a single interrogation, right?"

Draco noticed that a hurt note had crept into his voice. He felt betrayed and when Blaise didn't deny his suspicions, Draco shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, you tried to mislead me too," Blaise suddenly snorted, breaking his thoughtful silence.

Draco snapped his head up and looked at him in surprise.

"Potter in Porthmadog. I'm laughing my head off, honestly Draco."

Blaise rolled his eyes and Draco swallowed. He had been sure that Blaise wouldn't be able to verify his alleged information from the Snatchers. That Blaise had found out so quickly that it had been a ruse seemed almost impossible to Draco.

"How did you know?" he asked breathless.

Blaise actually chuckled in response and Draco didn't understand the world anymore.

"My dear Draco - I knew this for sure because there's probably only one person in the world right now who knows exactly where Potter is. And that person is me."