Draco looked up from his book when he heard Blaise swearing. He looked over at Lindsay. She'd be leaving before next weekend, so he'd been trying to spend a bit of time with her. Draco was not looking forward to that, but having her here had been nice. She'd done a lot of exploring on her own... which was always Lindsay's favorite. Lindsay smiled at him and nodded towards the door. Draco closed his book and strolled over. He leaned against the door frame.

"Troubled?"

Blaise spun around and glared at him. "I just spent the early morning hours and this afternoon with Hufflepuffs and Potter. Did I get to hex anything? Of course not. I had to play nice. How do you think I'm doing? You left me alone with... them!"

"Hannah told me it'd probably be best if I didn't go," Draco defended.

"This is true," Lindsay called from inside the room. "I heard her say it to him."

Draco stepped up to Blaise and patted his chest. "Would a bit of thievery make you feel better, sweetheart? I need to get another book from the library at Malfoy Manor."

Blaise slapped away Draco's hand and continued glaring. "How many times have you gone over there? The more you go the better the chance Narcissa or one of the house elves with notice." He walked into the room and flopped down in a chair and sulked. "That's just what you need. To be arrested for breaking and entering your own home."

Draco snorted. "She knows I'm doing it. She has to. My mother's a smart lady. I think it might be fun to be arrested for breaking into my own house though. Will you stop sulking? I'll start replacing your clothes if you stop sulking."

"You're replacing my clothes regardless because you're the one who got Hannah that fucking cat from Hades, you bastard!" Blaise nearly shouted. "I'm running out of clothes! You know Pansy and I always try to say who is the prettiest out of the both of us, and now I'm honestly losing! I might as well borrow Trace's mum's cocktail dress!"

Lindsay's shoulders were shaking with mirth, and she was hiding behind her book. "Having only seen pictures, I can't truly judge, but I still think you're the prettiest, Blaise."

"I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be more high-strung than me right now, but here you are. I'm talking to Hannah. She needs to have sex with you. That's what this is."

"If you do I'll make you my new pincushion. Don't you even try it." Blaise sighed. "All these murders with people Hannah knows... it's getting to me as well, bugger all."

Draco considered. He knew Blaise liked Hannah. A lot even. This sounded like beyond a lot though.

"It might make her feel better too, you know. She likes you a lot. She wants to see you naked. She wants your naked part on and in her naked parts. She gave you a sexy picture for Christmas. That's an invitation if I ever saw one. Don't know why you're waiting to accept it. Gin and I tend to be at one another like minxes who've been hit with a lust hex."

"I didn't need to hear that," Lindsay remarked.

"Neither did I," Blaise made a face. "I'll never be able to look at her the same way again. And Hannah's already thrown herself at me before, thank you. And I gave her the go ahead at Christmas, but it's up to her. Don't you go putting ideas in her head, either. No pushing."

He stood and looked over at Draco. "You said something about stealing books from your library?"

Draco smirked. So Blaise was waiting for Hannah to make a move? No pushing? Well, what Blaise didn't know would not hurt him. Draco was already forming a bit of a plan there.

"I did. You interested, B?"

"This should be where I talked you both out of this," Lindsay said, not looking up. "But I can't be bothered to."

Blaise snickered. "Let me change out of my funeral clothes into something more comfortable. With your luck, your mother will probably set loose the hell hounds on us. I need to be prepared to run."

Draco grinned and went to put a shirt on. This would fun. Maybe he should leave his mother a note warning her about Vincent, but it would be almost funny if the idiot decided to attack Narcissa Malfoy. She'd make him wish he'd died before she condescended to kill him.

Draco padded to Blaise's rooms and waited. He could hear his friend changing. He could see Hannah asleep on the bed with her cat.

Blaise followed Draco's line of sight to Hannah and the sleeping cat. He rolled his eyes as he put on a black shirt. "I told her the cat was supposed to sleep in its own little area, but it either snuggles up with her or in my shred of clothes." He pulled on dark jeans and grabbed a black wool coat and motioned Draco outside to the sitting room, where he closed the door to the bedroom. "If she knew we were doing this, she'd have a fit you realize."

"That's half the fun," Draco said. "Leave her alone about the cat for right now. You can train it properly. It's just a cat. This is your house, you know. Put anti-shred charms on your clothes or something."

Blaise stopped short and looked at Draco. "I'm going to kick myself for saying this, but why didn't I think about that?" He shook his head and continued walking. "So, what book are we fetching?"

"One I should have picked up the other day. On wards. Vin's making me panicked. He dropped in on Ginny at the clinic the other day. I don't like that. I'm going to set up the wards to fry his punk arse if he tries that again."

He grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him to a stop. "Crabbe was at the clinic? When? And why?"

"Monday. I think. He did something that got him bleeding all over the place. I asked her to save the bloodied carpet for me. I'm going to see if anything can be done with it. I told Gin to leave if he ever did that again, told her to send his arse to St. Mungo's. He hurts her, and I swear to Salazar..." Draco was getting angry again just thinking about it. "I'll kill him. I will kill him. I... I know what he likes to do. The very thought that he was probably entertaining the idea while she was healing him sickens me. If he ever... ever touches her, I will end him. Painfully."

"And I'll be right there with you," Blaise said seriously. "In that case, let's get that warding book and keep that fucker out of our lives as long as we possibly can."

"I'm for that," Draco said before disapparating.

He got them through the wards at Malfoy Manor with ease. Draco didn't think his mother had changed the wards though. They were mostly silent as they made their way to the library. Draco was very quietly sifting through texts.

Narcissa was notified the moment the boys came through the wards. She rolled her eyes. They were probably sneaking in again. She wasn't sure what it was exactly that they wanted, but some of the house elves informed her texts had been missing from the library. She decided to go see what they needed that they just couldn't have asked for.

She walked into the library through a secret back door located in the wall near some of the darker texts. She knew Draco and Blaise, and bet they were close to here. Quietly gliding through the aisles she came across Draco looking through some of the heavier books and Blaise looking around randomly.

"Has it always been that easy?" Blaise asked quietly. "It was like there was no resistance."

Narcissa decided to speak up. "That's because there wasn't."

Draco screamed, spun about, and threw a wild hex. It hit the wall just next to his mother's head. She did not even bat an eyelash.

"Mother! You scared me!"

"Obviously, judging by that girlish sound you just made."

Draco glared.

Blaise pursed his lips. "I can't believe you just nearly hexed your mum. I think I'll remember this for a very long time."

"Shut up," Draco snapped at Blaise before looking at his mother. He was still feeling a bit... petulant about not hearing from her for the hols. He was glad to see her, glad to see her looking well, but Draco wiped all expression from his face. "You look well, Mother."

Unlike you, she thought, but noticed his Black mask on. He was still upset with her then. "Well, I should hope so. I spent quite a fortune in Switzerland and it's nice to know it wasn't all in vain."

Blaise arched a brow and looked at Draco. "Switzerland?"

Now Draco knew he was looking pinched. She'd taken off for a holiday and had not even bothered to tell him.

"Well, I'm just here to borrow a book then I'll be out of your hair."

"Oh, you're worse than a woman, Draco. What has you angered with me now?" Narcissa snapped.

His first instinct was to snap that if she did not know he was not going to tell her. "Nothing. Though if you see Vincent Crabbe lurking about, please hex him. Don't allow him near you unless you want me to have a real reason to kill the bastard."

Narcissa's eyebrow shot up. "Vincent Crabbe? Well... isn't that a bit of news." I'll have to warn Maria. "And you still have not told me why I have angered you, but if you don't want to talk about it, then fine. But I know I raised you better than to not say thank you for a gift."

Blaise just leaned against a shelf of books and watched mother and son exchange words. He didn't want to get involved with their fight.

"What gift? Not owling me for the hols? At all? Not saying anything about what I sent you? Again... at all? Or is it being allowed to sneak into the Manor without losing my skin that I should thank you for? I just want to be clear."

Narcissa held up her hand and sent Draco an icy glare. "Stop speaking. Are you telling me you never received any of my owls I sent you? A thanks for my lovely pendant and necklace from you both, and you didn't receive my owls containing your Christmas gifts as well?"

Blaise furrowed his brow. "I never received anything."

"Do you think I'd be acting like I thought my own mother didn't give a damn about me if I had? No, I didn't get any soddin' owls. For all I knew, you'd chucked that locket in the rubbish bin."

"And do you honestly want me to answer your first question?" Narcissa sighed. "I had feared they didn't go through. International Swedish owls aren't very trustworthy. Thankfully your gifts aren't lost forever." She gave them both a small grin. "Give me a few days' time, and you'll receive them."

Narcissa lost her smile though. "And do you honestly think I wouldn't know someone was breaking into the house? I nearly set the hell hounds out the first time before I was alerted it was you."

Blaise reached over and nudged Draco. "Told you so. She's done it before, you know."

"Well, the hell hounds like me, so I wasn't especially worried about that." Draco looked at his mother. "Not for a moment did I honestly think that."

Narcissa's eyes narrowed and she stepped towards Draco. "Then why didn't you just come through the floo or, Slytherin forbid, the front door! You chose to leave Draco. I never told you that you weren't welcome here. You made that assumption, a very bad one I might add, yourself!"

"You're the one who tried to tell myself and Blaise who we could date and be friends with based on her bloodlines! There was no assuming there! I heard you say it!" He made himself stop shouting and speak more calmly. "I will not tolerate that, Mother. Not even from you."

Blaise slowly started to inch away from the argument and sneak himself around the shelf so he could escape. Narcissa saw him out of the corner of her eye.

"You stay right there, Blaise Callisto Zabini," she said, pointing at him, before turning to Draco. "Things are going to change, Draco. I want you and Blaise to be prepared and protected. Is that so wrong of me? I have tolerated much from you, and I ask you do the same for me. I am looking out for your best interests. Just because you disagree with me does not mean you can thrust me out of your life. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

Draco got a funny feeling when she said things were going to change. His mother always knew more than she let on. "It's not wrong to want to protect us. I'd throw myself in front of hexes meant for you, you know. No one's trying to get rid of you, Mum." He'd called her Mum. He had not done that since he'd started Hogwarts. "I'm just not a child anymore, despite what my behavior sometimes dictates. Don't you understand? It does not matter what blood you have. In the end, it never saves you. It didn't save Father, didn't save Voldemort, didn't save a lot of people. There's nothing wrong with Hannah. Not a damned thing. She's a good person. You liked her before."

Suddenly Draco felt very sad again. He hated to put more of that back in Blaise's house, but it could not be helped.

He looked at Blaise. "I think we should go now."

Blaise nodded wordlessly and turned to go. He thought Narcissa was being a big hypocritical with her blood-status hang-ups, but then again, hardly anyone knew the real Narcissa Malfoy. It made him wonder how much she had really disagreed with her late husband.

"Do not stay away this time, or at least enter as though you are welcome here, instead of as a common criminal," Narcissa said softly.

"All right," Draco said without looking at her. His brow was furrowing a bit more with each moment. This bothered him. Greatly. He took the book he wanted and headed for the front door, not waiting to see if Blaise followed him. He was going to be in a mood about this for days now. He didn't mean to, but his mother acting like this about Hannah bothered him.

Narcissa grabbed Blaise's shoulder as he walked past her. "Make sure he takes good care of himself. None of this running off happening again."

Blaise stared at her confusion. "How did you...?"

She just grinned. "I'm his mother. It doesn't matter if he hates me, I'll still love him. Like him? Perhaps not, but I'll always love him." She turned and strode through the stacks, leaving Blaise to hurry behind Draco.


{SUMMARY} Blaise gripes at Draco about the Hufflepuff invasion. They decide to nip off and steal things again - only this time they get caught by Narcissa.