He was almost asleep on one of the couches in his sitting room. He had been rather tired today and decided a nap was a good idea. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and concentrated on relaxing his muscles.

Blaise groaned when the wards alerted him to a visitor.

"Whoever the hell it is, piss off!"

"Is that any way to greet your best mate," Draco hollered as he strolled into the house because the wards let him. He found Blaise on one of the couches in the sitting room. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, you arse? I'm trying to take a nap!" Blaise turned on his side and faced the cushions. "Looks like your single brain cell is taking a nap of its own."

Draco sat on the end of the couch Blaise was on. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Can't it wait?"

"Well, if I wait, I might lose my nerve about it."

Blaise rolled onto his back and looked at Draco. "Oh this should be good."

Draco scowled.

"Well, go on then. Some of us can't take naps until you've gotten this off your pale chest."

"I want to put up the money for the lab you'll be brewing in for Weasley. I want you to do it. I don't want you to change your mind. I don't know if you made any agreements, but I want you to. She deserves to have someone who's the best brewing for her."

Blaise just stared at Draco with his mouth open in shock.

"Wh--I don't even know where to start!" he huffed. "What the hell, Malfoy?! Where did all this come from? How did you know Weasley and I were going into negotiations?"

"She might have mentioned it."

Blaise was looking at him expectantly - because that sure as hell was not enough of an explanation.

"If she branches out on her own, and even if she doesn't, but I suspect she will, she'll be repairing my arm. If she gives me any potions, I want to be taking ones you've brewed. It's purely selfish on my part." Just a little lie, that last bit. Because Blaise didn't need to know it was because Draco wanted her to have the best and he felt Blaise was the best for her. Draco didn't know why he felt that, so how could he explain it to his best friend?

Blaise had just shouted something, but Draco had missed it.

"What?"

"I said... what the fuck's wrong with your arm then?"

Draco sighed, "Don't tell my mother." Then he rolled up shirt sleeve to show Blaise the distorted and scarred skin that was the remians of his Dark Mark.

His breath left him. "What did you do to yourself, Draco?"

"I got pretty pissed one night and my drunken arse tried to cut my Dark Mark out of my arm. No medi-witch about with those Gypsies, too drunk to apparate, so one of them cleaned it for me and sealed the wounds with a hot knife to keep me from bleeding to death. Not my finest hour, but Weasley thinks she can smooth out the scarring a bit."

"Merlin, Draco," Blaise said after a moment. "Your mum is going to be so pissed at you."

"She's not going to know about it. Ever. Are we clear? Not ever. Did I mention I was upset and had been drinking? It seemed like a very good idea at the time... like most of my bad ideas."

Blaise chuckled. "I'd forgotten how stupid you get when you're drunk. Most of the time it's funny."

There was an awkward pause.

"So, about this potions lab. You do realize I'm not some piss poor pauper? I'm as rich as you, you little pissant."

Draco looked down at the floor. "But I want to do it. Do you know how long it's been since I wanted something? For someone else?" Draco sighed. Loudly. "And now I feel like a damned girl."

"Feel? You are a girl." Blaise crossed his arms. "You're serious, aren't you? You really want to do this."

"Well..." Did he? "Yes. It'd be nice to go somewhere and not be turned away for my arm. It'd be nice to have something to do. I'm perilously close to boredom these days. I need something to keep me out of trouble. Think of the lab as my thank you for taking care of the Malfoy Estate in my absence. Think of it as an I'm sorry for being a mother-shagging prat. Think on it however you want."

Blaise shook his head. "Do I get to tell you what I want in the lab?"

"Of course. What the hell would I know about a potions lab? Yes, just make me a list. Draw diagrams if you like. Don't cut corners on safety either. You know I can afford it."

Blaise grabbed the pillow from behind his head and threw it at Draco. "Like I'm concerned about safety. I was worried you'd try to do the colors yourself."

Draco glared and threw the pillow back. "I'm concerned about your safety, arse. You can have whatever bloody colors you like so long as you don't go getting blowed up or melted, all right. You're the other half of the two people I give a shit about the most in this world. I'd like to keep you in it with all your parts attached and functional."

He was sounding a bit panicked, and Draco did not like when he sounded panicked, but dammit, he didn't have a lot of people he truly cared for that honestly liked him in return. He'd like to hold on to the ones he had.

Blaise laughed. "Trust me, I don't plan on getting my bits blown off. I like them too much where they are... and I'm not the only one."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "There's a girl you're not telling me about? Or is it a boy this time? Do share."

"Oh piss off," he said laughing. "The only girl I've considered worth my time isn't my type. At all." He smirked. "Although the conversation with the Weasley bint was one of the most interesting I've had in a while. She's a hellcat, that one."

For some odd reason that Draco could not understand at all, he bristled. He was scowling. "Interesting? Really. How so?"

Blaise noticed Draco's now tense manner and grinned to himself. He may have not seen Draco in years but he was still predictable.

"We met for drinks at the Leaky, mostly discussing business stuff. After a little bit of charm and shameless flirting on my part, she challenged me to make her a potion. I made some smartarse remark, as usual, and she fired right back at me. Of course, then I called her a bitch and she just smiled and said it was interesting. Haven't met a girl like that in a while. It was... refreshing."

His nails dug into his palms. Why did he even care? He didn't.

Then why did Draco have an odd urge to stomp his foot and screech that he'd seen her first? Hell, he'd already stolen a pair of her knickers like some sort of stalking weirdo.

"That's very interesting," Draco said through his teeth. He also had an odd urge to pop Blaise up the back of his head and tell him not to call Ginny Weasley a bitch. Even if, according to Blaise, she didn't seem to mind.

"You're such a fucking moron, Draco," Blaise said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Draco shouted, wondering what in the hell had brought that comment on.

"You're a moron," Blaise said again. "I bet you don't even know that you like her... because you're a moron. Do you see the pattern?"

Draco blinked. Several times. "What? No. That's not possible. I don't... like her. I can't. Not like that. She's... her, and I'm... me... and that's just... no. No." He shook his head no. He also started going back over his every reaction and comment to her in the two times they'd been around one another. "No. That's just not... no. That would be unnatural and against all laws of every god and all mankind. Just wrong on a level that no one's ever experienced before."

It was quiet for a moment.

"What pattern?" Draco asked, scowling so hard it was making his forehead hurt.

"That you're a moron, you idiot!"

"Oh, so now I'm an idiot as well?"

Blaise laughed. "You were jealous that I had talked to her! Talked! And you probably got mad that I called her a bitch as well! Now why would that be?"

Dammit! "I don't know! And... and I was not jealous! And why would I get mad about your calling her a bitch? According to you, she didn't even get mad during this fabulous conversation the two of you had."

No one said anything for a bit before Blaise put his hands behind his head and smirked at Draco.

"You want to shag her."

"What?" Draco whispered. "She's Ronald Weasley's sister. She dated Potter. I... no. Why would you even say that?" Maybe because you've a pair of her green silk knickers under your pillow right now, pillock.

"Because," he started to explain, "you only get in a tizzy and argue this much when it's a person you actually care for. If it were some random girl, we'd be laughing it up over how good she was in bed. No, with Weasley, I think you're more concerned I'll go tell her how you feel." Blaise smirked. "Bet you ten galleons she wants to shag you as well. Shall I owl and ask her?" he asked in jest as he started to sit up.

Draco pounced on him, grabbing Blaise's wrists. He spoke through his teeth. He might have even spit a little in his haste. "Don't you DARE."

"No," Blaise said dryly. "You don't want to shag her at all. I suppose now would be a bad time to ask if that really is a wand in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"

Draco shoved him away and sat in the couch in a daze. "This can't be happening to me. Anyone but her."

Blaise grinned. He really couldn't help it...

"I know. What will your mother say?"

Draco groaned. Bloody hell! He slouched back on the couch and threw an arm over his eyes. He should have stayed in Mexico. He just should have stayed in sodding Mexico or gone back to France. England was trouble. See, this was what came of not having something to do. One formed unnatural crushes on unacceptable persons. Not only would Ginny Weasley probably hex him if she ever found out, but his mother probably would as well.

"We can not talk about this ever again."

"The hell we can't," Blaise said with a snort.

"I'm serious," Draco snapped. "I have to make it go away. I can't have this. This can't be. Has to go away." So why did he sound like someone had just died when he said this? Damn.

"Oh it's not going away," Blaise said with a grin. "In fact, I'm going to do all I can to make sure it doesn't. You're officially my new project."

"What? No! Absolutely not. I'll hex you. A lot. Don't you even think about it. Stop thinking about it right this instant." Draco knew he was sounding panicked, but at this juncture he did not care. He was panicked. Blaise couldn't go about playing matchmaker with him and a Weasley. Someone could die. Considering her many older brothers, that someone would probably be Draco.

"Oh come on, Draco... it'll be fun! I mean, I'm working with the girl, so I'll be able to drop little hints sometimes!"

"No, because you don't hint! You just... say things. There's no subtlety to you. Ever. You're just trying to get me hexed as punishment for staying away so long."

"Ah," Blaise grinned. "He does have more than two brain cells." He leaned toward Draco. "But you know what? Something tells me that Ginny Weasley doesn't like hints. Just the hard, fast truth... which is you want to shag her."

"I do NOT," Draco said in a scandalized tone. He didn't, right? That would be wrong. She might be a bit less redheaded and freckled than he recalled, but that didn't mean he wanted her or anything. No way.

"Bring your voice down a few more octaves when you protest and I'll believe you," Blaise said snickering. "Look, there's nothing wrong with wanting to shag her! She's a hot piece of arse! When I saw her, I seriously considered it myself!"

Draco turned his head so sharply, he thought for a moment that he might have hurt himself. "Can you not talk about her like that!"

Draco stopped and considered. He sat back on the couch with a sigh. "Oh for fuck's sake. Something's wrong with me. I don't want you even looking at her with shagging thoughts. Oh hell. I'm having an odd urge to hex you. Dammit, I think there's a possibilty that you might be right, but we're not doing anything about this, you understand me. I like my limbs attached. I'll just get over this... whatever this is."

He snorted. "Since when is you have urges to hex me not normal? If they aren't, I need to work on my irritating side." Blaise sighed with a grin. "For your information, I'm going to enjoy torturing you over this. I haven't been able to torture you over a girl in a VERY long time."

"I really wish you wouldn't," Draco said in all seriousness. "She has absolutely no qualms about hexing me. I just need to get this out of my system."

"There is no getting her out of your system. You know that, I know that... and once you shag her, she'll know that."

"Will you stop talking about my shagging her? That's so not ever going to happen."

"We'll see."

"Blaise..."

"What?" he laughed. "If you thought I shagged your mum then I can think you can shag Weasley."

"I did not think you shagged my mum."

"You've been lying an awful lot today. It's too bad you're not getting any better at it."

Draco scowled. "Just leave it alone. Please. Think about who the two of us are and how it would be all sorts of bad. You'll only make things tense. I already have enough people who want me dead."

"If it helps, I don't want you dead."

"Yes," Draco replied dryly, mimicking a tone he'd heard Snape use a thousand times over. "That's very helpful, thank you."


{SUMMARY} Draco goes over to Blaise's to talk potions laboratories. They end up talking about redheads too.