Slytherin Boys

60

The familiar crack that followed someone apparating filled the room and everyone was turned to the corner of the room that it came from. Blaise stood and rushed to take the lead. The order in which the Slytherin elite were placed was common knowledge, their parents were never silent about it.

Draco was the most promising wizard and that was why he had become the Dark Lords right hand man. Then Mattheo, being the son of the ghastly wizard. Then Blaise. Women were rarely ranked, the Rose family only had one child and although her mother had always trained her to be a woman and nothing more, Cerci had always found so much more meaning to the word, woman.

So, Blaise, knowing that Mattheo was currently dealing with Cerci's absence, stood at the head of the group ready to take on whatever he had to. He staggered back when Draco's white hair made itself known. He didn't know if he had it in him to attack his friend, not like the others wanted to.

"You shouldn't be here, not now." He spoke deep, trying to express his urgency.

"I know." Draco stepped forward and there was a shuffling of Mattheo trying to stand form behind Blaise, he winced. "She need's help mate." Draco's tone was pleading and then he looked past Blaise, to the others in the room.

"What the fuck-" Mattheo choked back a sob, his legs wobbling. He looked so much worse than Cerci had. His eyes were blacked and deep-set in his face. His cheeks were hollow and his skin was pale and clammy. He was falling apart.

Draco closed his eyes and Blaise took in his stance, defeated, exhausted and oh so apologetic. Mattheo was leaning against the wall and tears streamed down his face, the semblance of sanity he was holding on to had snapped and if there was one thing that Mattheo always did, it was feel. Mattheo always felt everything very strongly. In response to his grieving, his magic was swirling and rippling around him and through him, like an injured animal it snapped at anyone that got too close.

"She is going to get herself killed. She needs help." Draco tried again and the desperation in his tone is something that Blaise had never heard himself.

"Why?" Pansy moved in front of him as she spoke and he placed a hand on her shoulder. He would protect her, before himself.

"I don't care how you feel about me, but Cerci-" Draco choked on her name as he spoke it and his eyes closed and he tilted his head back to swallow the obvious pain on his face. "She needs help." He rasped out.

"Then we help." Blaise moved forward again, and then stepped closer to Draco. He would be the bridge between then, as He often was.

When his mother did what she did best and fought with whoever she was close with at the time, he would always be the bridge. He was so good at being peacemaker. He would shove his needs aside and smile and extend a hand and a word, 'Sorry' and they would always come back to his mother.

Blaise braced for rejection as he extended a hand and grabbed Draco's shoulder. He knew this boy better than he knew himself. He never thought what he did was right, or smart, but he knew Draco and Draco's family and he knew he never had a choice.

He turned towards the surrounding friends of his and noted the scowls on their faces. He looked down dejected and tried again. "Come on, this is for Cerci." Theo scoffed from across the room and then shuffled closer, the single light source in the illuminating his features.

"How do we know this isn't some sick plan for us to all be slaughtered." Blaise winced at his harsh words, so unlike Theo. But, this had changed all of us. This had changed him.

Draco grunted from beside me but extended his hand and Blaise noticed a piece of paper that was both folded and scrunched in his fist. He held the paper so tight, like he was trying to both show us and stop it from existing. Blaise took one look at Draco's eyes and his eyes met mine, solid silver metal, and his jaw ticked.

Blaise took the paper from Draco's hand and Draco froze, like he was trying to restrain himself from ripping it back form him.

"What?" The question was answered as Blaise read the page. It was a neat scrawling that simply stated that if Draco were to fail, if he didn't win this trial then the Dark Lord would kill his mother. Aside from a few choice words about how useless Draco's father usually found his own son, the page was relatively to the point.

"Never had a choice..." Blaise whispered as Pansy approached him, taking the page for herself. As she gasped, Draco finally nodded at the words Blaise spoke. Draco really didn't have a choice.

"Still, you let her believe-" Draco's eyes flared as he cut Blaise off, like he knew he was going to ask about that day, the day of the ball when Cerci had found out.

"What would you have me say, that my family is just as fucked up as anyone else's? That I had loved Cerci for years and never believed myself enough? Or, maybe that I had chosen my own mother over her?" As Draco spat his words, Mattheo stood.

Blaise closed his eyes and realised Draco's clear mistake before he had. He turned towards Mattheo and watched as he rose to his full height, hie eyes hard as solid black obsidian.

"I did. I told her all of that, and I chose her over my mother. You say you never had a choice and yet here you stand," That power grew around Mattheo. Blaise moved towards him, putting himself in front of Draco slowly.

"I chose to disobey the very man you fear, I chose her over my own mother in the seconds it counted and yet you stand here and still prove not to be enough. Never enough. You will never be enough Draco Malfoy." The wind whipped around Mattheo, his hair wildly tangling around his face. His eyes were their own weapon and as he approached Draco, Blaise stopped in front of him.

"We know, it's okay Mattheo, we all want to help Cerci, let's do this for her." Blaise placed a hand on either side of Mattheo's shoulder. His eyes never left Draco, but he nodded.