A Looping of the Scales ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 89 ~ Tensions Between Friends

A few minutes later, Blaise walked into the living room of the gatehouse, his brown eyes resting on Ginny.

"Ginny, I— ' he began.

"Hold it right there, Blaise!" Harry cried, standing up and pulling out his wand.

Ginny, Hermione and Ron joined him, as Blaise quickly pulled out his own wand. His eyes shifted toward Snape for a moment, who remained seated. So, did Draco and Susan. Blaise looked back at the grim Gryffindors.

"These odds look familiar to you, Snape? Four to one?" he asked, ready to duel.

"Yes. Yes they do, Blaise," Snape said softly. "I've had to face them often."

The Gryffindors all faltered a moment, then lowered their wands. Blaise's statement and Snape response reminded them of how unfairly he'd been targeted in his youth. Blaise lowered his wand as well.

"What the fuck do you think you were doing, scaring Ginny like that?" Harry demanded.

"I didn't intentionally do it," Blaise responded. "I followed her, but I didn't think she'd start running the way she did. She was almost hysterical. I couldn't understand why she didn't Apparate. She fell and I came over to help her. Then, she hexed me."

Ginny reddened. Yes, Apparating away from danger made a lot of sense, but she wasn't thinking. Now, running seemed so—so stupid of her. Still—

"Why were you following me?" Ginny demanded.

Blaise looked at her. He knew she knew the answer why. He wanted to talk to her again.

"You were out walking in the dark by yourself. Naturally, I was curious as to what you were doing, so, I followed you," he replied.

It was Harry's turn to turn a little red. He'd been guilty of following people all through school because of his curiosity or suspicions. That Blaise would do it, was a reasonable thought.

"Why didn't you tell anyone you were an Animagus?" Hermione demanded.

"No one asked me. Unlike you lot, I don't go around showing my form off. But I do like to run about as a panther sometimes. There's a lot of space here. A lot of privacy."

"Still, you nearly scared Ginny to death!" Hermione seethed.

"I was about to apologize when you all drew your wands on me, without knowing my side about what happened," Blaise countered.

Snape listened to Blaise explain himself. He wasn't sure the Slytherin was telling the complete truth. The best way to lie was to mix the truth with the falsehood. It was a standard Slytherin deception. But, Snape did know one thing from the way he and Lily parted ways, and that was Gryffindors weren't big on listening to the other side of anything once they got it in their heads they knew the right of it.

Blaise was an outsider, and a Dark wizard, so naturally he'd been up to no good.

Snape scowled slightly as he looked at his girlfriend and new friends. They were all right with him, but it was clear they still disliked Slytherins immensely.

And despite his situation, Snape was still and always would be, a Slytherin.

"It looks like it was all a misunderstanding," Susan said, trying to defuse the tension. "Can't we just let it go? No one was hurt after all. Ginny, can't you just accept Blaise's apology. He was going to say he's sorry."

Ginny looked at Blaise, who was scowling back at her slightly as if he knew she wouldn't let it go. It was like he didn't believe anything good about Gryffindors. Draco watched silently, but he was ready to help Blaise if they tried to hex him.

Ron had been silent as well, his blue eyes resting on Blaise as he tried to figure out if Blaise was telling the truth, that he hadn't meant to scare his sister. And why hadn't Ginny just Apparated away? She knew the location of the gate house.

"Fine. Just forget about it," Ginny said, putting her wand away and sitting down again.

Harry frowned at Blaise.

"Okay, Blaise. We're going to forget about it this time, but don't you—" he began.

"Don't threaten me, Potter," Blaise hissed at him. "If you want to do something, do it."

There was a tense moment as the two wizards glared at each other.

"Ginny said forget about it, so I will. For her sake," Harry said sullenly, putting his wand away and sitting down, too. Ron and Hermione both sat down. An uncomfortable silence followed, then Blaise spun and left the room.

"I really wish he would just leave here," Ginny said quietly. "We don't need him."

"I know how you feel, Ginny," Hermione said, "but it's not our place to make him go. That falls on Severus."

Everyone looked at Snape, who said nothing.

"That's our answer, then," Ron said. "We have to remember, even though Snape's all right, he's still a Slytherin."

Snape looked up at Ron, feeling his blood begin to boil. The way he said "Slytherin" sounded as if the word "slime" could be interchangeable. They still held their prejudices against his house, and against him.

Hermione could feel his anger and tried to run interference.

"Ron, I'm sure it's not because he's a Slytherin that he won't send Blaise packing," she said in his defense. "Maybe he just thinks he can be helpful. Blaise is a powerful wizard."

"I don't need you to explain my motives, Hermione," Snape said, standing up and closing his script. "Blaise stays."

With that, he left the girl's gatehouse. Hermione followed him.

"Severus?" she called, but he transformed, leapt into the air and winged away.

"Oh, Severus," she breathed after him, her eyes glistening.

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The next few days, Ron and Harry saw very little of Snape during the day. He was spending a lot of time with Blaise and Draco, and could be seen walking the grounds with them, script in hand and a Silencing spell around them.

He did show up at meals, but didn't have much to say except he was learning the script, and he did participate in the evening practices, but he was rather cold, even towards Hermione.

"What's going on with Snape?" Harry asked the fourth night as he watched him billow over the grounds toward their gatehouse, Hermione in the doorway looking after him.

"I think we brought up some old feelings the other night, when we ganged up on Blaise," she said softly. "And when Ron said what he did. It was like rubbing his nose in the fact that he isn't a Gryffindor and that we don't trust people from his house. And it's true. We immediately think the worst, Harry. All the time."

"That's because most of the evil wizards and witches come from Slytherin House," Harry replied.

"Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor, Harry. And Professor Slughorn is a Slytherin, and he was the one that brought reinforcements and led the charge at the final battle. We can't keep pin holing people because of the house they're from. Severus nearly gave his life to protect you, Harry—"

"I know that. I don't have a problem with him, Hermione. It's just Blaise isn't like Snape. He's not trustworthy, I just feel it," Harry said.

"You don't know that. All you know is he can be an insufferable git. But we all can be that way."

"Not like him. He's made it an art form."

Hermione chuckled. She couldn't help it. But she quickly sobered.

"Still, Blaise is doing what he's supposed to be doing," she said. "So, that shows he's with the program. Let's just give him a break, all right, Harry? Let's make an effort to be friendlier. It might work. At least, it might make Severus feel better."

"Yeah. All right. We can try, but I think it's a waste of time," Harry replied, as Ron came out the house.

"Ready to go?" he asked Harry.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Hermione. It was a good run tonight. We almost had it perfect."

"We only have two more days to get it right."

"We'll do it. Come on, Ron."

Hermione watched as they headed toward Boleskine house and sighed. As soon as this ritual business was over, she and Severus were going to have a good long talk and clear the air.

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In the privacy of his bedroom, Blaise unwrapped a ham sandwich stuffed with double meat. He bit into it blissfully, chewed and swallowed.

"Mmm," he said to himself. "This beats texturized vegetable protein anytime."

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On the night before the ritual, Hermione gave out the final instructions.

"Now, remember, everyone. We have to have the same kind of intent when we do the ritual as we do when we cast spells and hexes. We have to believe we are being effective, that we are reaching into the spiritual realm and controlling these creatures," Hermione said, pacing back and forth in front of the others as if she were a drill sergeant.

"We have to fast all day tomorrow. No eating at all after sunrise. You can drink water, but that's it. Am I understood?"

Ron slumped a bit, but there was nothing for it. The oath would keep him honest. It had choked the hell out of him a day earlier, when he tried to sneak a kiss from Susan.

"We will meet in the entrance hall of Boleskine house at six-thirty and will begin the ritual at precisely seven o'clock. You are all to bathe thoroughly and wear the white robes I've given you. You aren't to bring your wands, in case our magic interferes with the Muggle magic we're trying to invoke. Wands won't work on these presences, so we won't need them."

Blaise frowned slightly at this. He didn't go anyplace without his wand, for anyone.

"Remember, we keep to the script, regardless of what we see or don't see. If we finish, we start over at the beginning. Susan, you know your part?"

"Backwards and forward," Susan replied with a smile. How exciting this all was!

"Harry, you know the script as well?" Hermione asked.

He nodded. But he wasn't smiling. It was a lot of pressure saying all those lines. He hoped he wouldn't have to replace Susan.

"Good," Hermione said crisply. "Well, that's it then. I suggest we eat as much as we can hold tonight before bed. That will make tomorrow easier. Dismissed."

Blaise and Draco looked at each other and shook their heads. Dismissed? Merlin's short hairs. Hermione had been sounding more and more like a dictator every day.

"I'll be glad when this is over," Draco said in a low voice to Blaise as they headed for the kitchen.

"So will I," Blaise agreed. "The way these Gryffindors have been sucking up to me the past few days is nauseating. I prefer them actually showing that they hate me instead of pretending not to. It keeps things interesting."

Blaise had been getting olive branches from every which way, and no matter how much he snubbed their advances, they still kept coming. Only Ginny didn't make an effort to be friendly.

Now, Blaise wouldn't mind Ginny extending an olive branch, or anything else for that matter. But no such luck. She was coldly polite and that was it. It seemed he'd never be able to crack her shell. He planned to leave right after the ritual

With Ginny so unaccommodating, there was nothing else to stick around for. Besides, he was anxious to start his training.

He was going to be the best Unspeakable the Ministry had ever seen.

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The next day, Ben Weatherstaff watched as the occupants of Boleskine house walked slowly across the grounds dressed in white robes. He then looked upward and saw angry clouds rolling in. The robin was sitting on his shoulder and not making a sound.

"Not again. Of all the stupid, ignorant and dangerous things to do—"

He stood there a moment, then said to robin.

"Come on, old boy. Maybe we can save a couple of them—if I've got time, that is."

He started walking across the grounds to the garden house.

"But, they have magic, and there's a group of them. Maybe—maybe they can do something," he mused as he entered the shed. "But better safe than swallowed up by demons."

He began to dig through his things.

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A/N: Thanks for reading.