Chapter 13

The three Slytherins had looked at each other, rage flickering through their eyes, and then Blaise had run in. “We need to go, now. My line has not hidden ourselves and our gift for the past thousand years to let Voldemort stuff things up now. She will come back, she will win, and she will set the world on fire. It is foretold.” They had gaped at him, and Blaise rolled his eyes. “We don’t have time for this. The spell will be hard to find, and then to set up. C’mon!” Blaise turned on his heel and ran out again. The other Slytherins shared a look, and then ran after him.

Blaise’s feet pounded on the stone floors of Hogwarts, gaining stares. His face was set in an expression of determination as he made his way to the door of the Gryffindor common room. He slid to a halt and the other three barely stopped in time.

“What the fuck are you on?” Mordred growled. Blaise didn’t even turn around.

“We need Ginny’s cat. Get Hermoine,” he demanded of the Fat Lady.

“Well, I never!” The portrait sounded highly scandalized.

“Listen, there’s no time. It’s running out as quickly as Ginny’s blood. Do you wish to be responsible for her death? You will be if you thwart us, because if we don’t go after her, she will be dead.” Blaise’s voice was coolly demanding. The others listened with rising respect. They’d never seen this side of Zabini before. He’d always been the lightly joking one, always in control of his emotions and definitely a follower, never a leader.

“What are you four doing here? The Slytherin common room is down in the Dungeons,” Harry said tightly as he came up. Blaise stared at the portrait, and the other Slytherins didn’t spare Harry a glance. “Ginny’s in the Infirmary-“

“No, she’s not. We need Azrael to get her back,” Blaise bit out. A sound of high-pitched wailing was coming from behind the portrait, and then it flung open and Azrael shot through. “The cat knows it. C’mon, Azrael.” He turned to set off for the Dungeons, then paused, turned back around, strode up to Harry and placed a beautiful uppercut on the underside of Harry’s jaw. Harry went flying from the force of it, and by the time he got up, Blaise was gone. Mordred stood over Harry for a moment, looking thoughtful.

“You know, this never would have happened if you’d just gone out with her.” With that last comment, he joined the other Slytherins on the way to the Dungeons. Blaise was rushing around the dorm room when they got back to the dorms, tearing the place apart as he searched.

“I thought we had more time! Time, time, time. Fickle bitch.” Blaise dug in his dresser. “I know I put it here, somewhere.” Azrael was sitting on Blaise’s bed, watching the guy throw clothes into the air. “Bloody book!” Draco dodged a textbook as it hurtled past his head.

“What are you going on about, Zabini? Have you gone absolutely mad?”

“I haven’t gone mad. I can see again, at long last. I found the Soul in Halves, the Dragon Prince, one of her two Guardians, I *am* the one of the Seer’s Blood, and she is the Phoenix, the Catalyst of the Age.” Blaise paused for barely a moment, before returning to his frenzied searching. “The Zabinis are Seers, always have been, always will be. A long, long time ago, we saw this sequence of events coming and prepared for it. We hid our Sight from the world, and even from ourselves so that we could do what I and my father have done.” The words poured out rapidly. “Join the prophesied Dark Lord for the express purpose of finding the one that would be his ruin. Send the world up in flames, and turns things upside down so that lives would be changed and the world become a new place.” He laughed. “This *will* be fun. Ah! Found it.” He brandished a small, brown leather-bound book and then started off to the Potions room. “We really don’t have much time. He’ll have sent her tripping. We need to find her before she trips out again. We may never come back, but we need to go. I’d like to bring some of her stuff with us, but the Gryffindors won’t let us in. We need to go, now or soon. She’ll be lost, otherwise.”

“What the fuck?” Mordred growled. Blaise just rolled his eyes.

“Look, do you want to save the little red head, or not? It’s all simple.”

Mordred and Vortigern shared a glance, then Mordred nodded sharply. “We’re in.”

“What about you, Dragon Prince?” Blaise asked Draco. He scowled, and then sighed.

“What choice do I have? She dies, and the world ends according to you. I like this world. I would prefer it in one piece.” They all set off, faces grim and black robes swirling as Azrael stalked ahead of them. Quickly and efficiently Blaise set up the space for the spell.

“This may end up a little bit out of whack. I don’t know how fast time passes in comparison to us, but we can’t go yet. We must wait for the space to settle, the energies to draw into the circle and so on. God, this is so complicated.” Blaise ran a hand through his hair distractedly. “What will happen is already seen, but not the ending. We could still lose, even if we manage to bring her back.”

“We still needs must try,” Vortigern said softly. “She is ours, and under our protection. There is a certain responsibility in that.”

“Someone fucks with one of us, they deal with all of us. After this is over, I’m going to fucking crucify the bastard.”

“So, we are agreed? We leave, we may not come back and we bring no others into this. There is no room for mistakes. Go and get what essentials you think you will need.” Blaise settled back in a chair and closed his eyes. “I’ll havta trigger the spell, so I can’t carry anything and I’ll be useless when we come out.”

“Cool. Let’s go.” Mordred left the room, Vortigern by his side. Draco paused for a moment, looking at Blaise.

“This is why you got on so well with Ginny. You were both hiding something.”

“And the blond gets it in one. Now, shove off. I need to prepare.” Draco grinned and headed out.

~*~*~*~

They stood at four of the points of the pentacle, Azrael calmly sitting at the other. Blaise was white and shaking as he forced the elemental energies to take them through the dimensions, to the place where Ginny lay. White light slowly filled the room, beginning from a pinprick and then blazing through it in an ever-increasing ball of force. A wind started to blow, and Azrael fixed his claws into the floor. “Let the Guardian show the way. Let the night be bright as day,” Blaise read out from the book, fighting to keep his place as the pages fluttered. “Bastet. Osiris. Re. Hear your child’s plea. Help us pass by your laws. Help us find the light. Help us find the burning flame.” The light swelled, covering them all and then they disappeared from Hogwarts.

~*~*~*~

They hit grassy ground and slowly got to their feet. Well, everyone but Blaise. He was shivering and convulsing as the backlash of the spell rode through him, and then the shaking stopped and he opened his eyes. “We need to move quickly,” he rasped. “Azrael, show the way.” Vortigern and Mordred picked him up and put his arms around their shoulders. Draco drew his wand and they set off to follow the black cat through the darkness. Azrael led them to a crypt, and Draco kicked the door of it open. The pool of blood on the floor did not bode well. Azrael wailed angrily, then set off again, clearly impatient with the men’s speed. They dusted a few vampires on the way, and then Azrael set off at right angles to the course he’d been following before.

“The cat is fucking crazy,” Mordred muttered.

“He’s our only guide,” Vortigern answered Mordred’s misgivings. Soon, they stood outside a house, and Draco tapped the lock with his wand.

“Alohomora.” The door swung open, and Azrael darted in. Draco had returned to his self-appointed task of lookout, and then Mordred spoke, eyes taking in the surprised faces of those inside.

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