31

Chapter XXXI: Blaise's Soul

(Harry P.O.V)

Harry had been trembling with nerves when Dumbledore had reported to him that he had arranged a meeting in the Headmaster's Chamber with the Unspeakables regarding Blaise's treatment over the summer. It had meant that the room would be unguarded and was the only chance he and Daphne would likely have at trying to save Blaise. At first, Harry's motives had been selfish. He wanted his Princess, of that there was no denying, but saving Blaise had become more than an obstacle in his path to Daphne. The way that her eyes sank, despite her persistence to keep up the Ice Queen Persona, when she talked about Blaise had hurt him deeply. The strain that she had put herself through trying desperately to save her friend had made saving Blaise feel like more than a mission, to Harry, through the hidden sorrow of Daphne and the visible pain from Tracey, it had become personal.

Still, as he, Daphne, and Tracey, crept through the silent halls of the empty castle as all the students had communed to the dining hall, Harry couldn't help the feeling of the anxious knot tightening in his chest. He had seen all of Daphne's research, the piles of notes she had compiled, but it was hard to get anything more than theories when embarking on a venture that had never been done before. Despite all the research, there was no sure-fire method on how to return a lost and wandering soul.

The private medical wing set up in a level above the standard infirmary had sent a chill down Harry's spine. He had never particularly been a big fan of hospitals, but if Harry hadn't seen the death chamber with his own eyes, he'd have argued that the Unspeakables' test room was as close to the realm of the dead as humanly possible.

Disgusting concoctions of removed eye-balls, floating kidneys, and a still-beating heart in a jar filled the shelves of the twisted room. Veils of black drapes blocked out every essence of light from every window, and only a faint blue orb stuck to the roof of the room illuminated the facility. However, despite the smell of blood in the air, and the slight rattling of the neon-colored vials that laced the room, there was one thing that commanded the space, a bed surrounded by a grey curtain adorned with runes.

"What the hell is this place," Tracey spoke through a shaky whisper, "This is a nightmare."

Harry watched as Daphne grit her teeth, nodding in agreement as he approached the curtain, "Can you read these? I don't recognize these ruins."

"They're not Nordic," Daphne whispered in confusion, "They're Egyptian, I'm not as fluent in them, but the first line, I think, is an alarm rune."

"So if we touch the curtain," Harry said cautiously, "They'll know." Daphne nodded and Harry clenched his fist tightly, "Fuck it," he whispered, "I didn't come this far only to be turned away by a don't touch sign."

Harry felt some comfort flow through his body as he watched Daphne nod her agreement before speaking, "Tracey, lock the door. Daphne, draw any runes you can think of that will slow them from entering, we won't be able to move when we dive into Blaise's mind and we need as much time as possible." Harry sighed as he spoke, "In the meantime, Kreacher!"

"Master Harry has summoned Kreacher," The elf bowed deeply, "How can Kreacher serve Heir of the Noble House of Black."

"Unspeakables," Harry started, "They are in the Headmaster's Office right now, but when I pull this curtain they are going to come and investigate. I need you to stall them for as long as possible, but if there is any risk of you getting hurt, you bail, okay?"

Harry almost couldn't believe the slight misty-eyed look he caught in the old elf as he nodded, "Master Harry Potter is truly noble worrying for Kreacher's safety. Kreacher is thankful to have a master like Harry Potter."

"You're in my employ Kreacher, it's my job to take care of you," Harry spoke with a slight smile, "Now go. Buy us as much time as you can." Kreacher bowed deeply before with a pop he vanished. Harry fell to the ground, entering his meditative stance as he began to clear his mind. They had one shot at this, and under no circumstances was Harry going to fail. It had been maybe five minutes before Harry turned to Daphne before asking, "Are we ready?"

Harry watched as Daphne examined the quick handiwork of her Runes before she nodded, "Pull the curtain."

(Daphne P.O.V)

Daphne's mind felt as if it was racing, she had never been one for breaking rules, bending them sure, but without a doubt what they were about to get involved with was a criminal offense. Still, the images of the heartbroken face of her best friend had silenced any doubts, she had promised to save Blaise and if that meant that she'd spend some time in a cell to keep it, so be it.

Still, it wasn't just the illegality of their actions that was concerning her. Despite her lacking opinion of most people, she had the utmost faith in Harry's legilimency ability, surprisingly, it was her own ability she was questioning. She had done what she could, from the book given to her by Harry, to the one she had stolen from the Malfoy's, to all the ones she had abused Harry's access to the restricted section to read cover to cover, Daphne had done all she could. Still, they were attempting nothing short of a miracle, nobody in written history had ever returned a lost soul to its owner, and both Harry and herself were far from the most experienced wizards who had most likely tried the procedure.

However, failure was not an option, she would succeed or die trying. She loved Tracey too much to see her hurting, and Blaise, annoying as he could be at times was her friend. She wouldn't fail, she and Harry had already accomplished the impossible when they had killed the previously thought immortal Dementors, what was another miracle.

Daphne watched as with a focused and steady hand, Harry pulled back the grey curtain, and instantly despite the silence of the alarm, Daphne knew they were on the clock. All the same, she couldn't help but pause at the ghastly sight she saw before her. Blaise Zabini, her friend, laid on the cot before them, motionless. His normally thin face had the density of paper, and while his cheekbones had always been well defined, his whole skull was visible through his malnourished state. His muscles had atrophied and his once lean and built arms looked like nothing more than narrow lines of bones wrapped loosely by sunken skin.

Vials of blood taken from Blaise lined the bedside table, and tiny incision marks littered Blaise's exposed torso with pen markings exposing nearly every inch of skin as if Blaise was nothing more than a lab-rat. When Daphne had last seen Blaise, he looked perfectly healthy, as if he had simply been napping. But now, a magically modified ventilation mask covered his face forcing him to continue breathing as a magically induced bypass machine kept his heart pumping. Rage filled Daphne's heart as she heard Tracey whisper, "What did they do to you?"

Daphne's fist tightened with anger as she thought of all the ways she'd love to see those monsters posing as men of science tortured for what they did to her friend, but was snapped out of it by the surprisingly calm look of Harry who gently rested his hand on her shoulder, and while his eyes too were burning with rage he calmly whispered, "It's not the time now, we have to focus."

Daphne nodded her consent as she released her anger with a deep breath, calming her mind as she turned to view Tracey who was now kneeling desperately by Blaise's bedside, his skeletal-like hand resting in hers before she turned to face Harry who gave her the most comforting smile he could muster as he reached out his rune-inscribed hand to hers, "Well, here goes nothing."

"Hey, Flyboy," Daphne spoke gently, "If this doesn't work and we-"

"It's going to work," Harry said with a grin, "Making the impossible happen is what we do best after all Princess."

A weak smile rose to Daphne's face as she placed her rune-inscribed hand in his before focusing her magic. Just like when they had first done it in the Forbidden Forest, an overwhelming feeling of warmth and comfort filled her body as the runes on their hands glowed a brilliant blue. The faint white glow of magic radiated off their body like a protective aura and as she turned to look at Harry, she had once again seen that his Emerald Green eyes had shifted to their shared Cyan color. Harry gave her one last smile before with a nod, the two turned to face Blaise, and with the calming strum of Harry's voice, "Legilimens," they dove.

(Blaise P.O.V)

I'm cold, A boy thought, I'm tired, I want to sleep. Where am I? Who am I? Is this Hell? Please help me. Emptiness, that was all there was for him. No past, no present, no future, nothing at all. Just the void, a background of glowing white and absolute silence. How long have I been here? The boy wondered, Days? Months? Years? Nothing made sense, nothing was clear, the boy was nothing at all.

Then it happened, noise, for the first time in what felt like so long, the boy heard a noise. Footsteps? He asked himself in confusion. His confusion only grew as he heard a feminine voice call out for him, "Blaise!" Followed by a masculine one, "Blaise! Where are you!"

Blaise? The boy asked himself, "Is that my name? Who are these people? How do they know who I am? "Blaise!" The female voice called out, "Where are you? We're here to bring you home! Tracey, she's been worried sick! Hell, I've been worried sick! Where are you!"

"Tra-cey," The boy spoke, a hint of familiarity in the name, "Tracey," He repeated once more before pushing off the ground and standing from his previously curled form. The ground felt non-existent as his hand pressed against it, and the boy felt more like he was drifting through space rather than standing and yet, he willed himself forward, towards the calling voices, desperate for answers.

The all-encompassing light only seemed to grow as the boy drifted for what felt like hours towards the repeated calls of the mysterious name. However, eventually, he had come across two figures, not unlike his own. They wore no discernible clothing instead, like him, they drifted, covered by a glowing white light. The boy had emerald green eyes, with messy fringe-like black hair and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The girl, however, had icy-blue eyes with a long intricate braid of her Honey-Blonde hair. The girl seemed to stare at him in shock, before within a blink of an eye, he felt himself surrounded by her arms as she held him, the feeling of tears washed over his back as he continued to stare blankly in confusion.

"Blaise," The girl whispered, "Thank god we found you. We're here to help, we're going to bring you back."

It was silent for a moment before the boy finally spoke, "Who are you?"

The boy felt the girls arms tighten around him, and her face looked to be in pain as the other boy stared at him with a lost look on his face before he grinned, "Haven't had that happen before." He then shook his head before turning to face him, "My name is Harry Potter. The girl over there is one of your best friends, her name is Daphne Greengrass."

"Dap-hne," The boy repeated the same hint of familiarity that had crossed his mind before, "I've heard that name before, and the other name, Tracey, I've heard that name before as well. Who is she? And who am I?"

"Tracey," The girl named Daphne started, "She's our friend, she's actually your girlfriend. And you, your name is Blaise Zabini."

"Blai-se Zab-ini," The boy spoke slowly desperately trying to comprehend what was happening, "What happened to me? Where am I?"

"We're in your soul," The Green-Eye boy stated, "Or at least, that's where I think we are."

"As for what happened," Daphne spoke in a soft tone, "You were hurt, well, it was more like your soul was fractured when you tried to protect Tracey and I from a Dementor. We're here to try and put your soul back together."

"Fractured?" The boy whispered as he remembered the fragments of what looked like shattered glass that resided in a pit around his resting place. He shook his head, trying to calm himself as he nodded, "Follow me."

It had taken a long time, or maybe it hadn't, time didn't make much sense wherever the boy was, until the three had arrived at the place the boy had referred to as the shadow. The only spot of darkness within the white void. It was a place that terrified him, it was black as nightmare and it whispered to him. It whispered terrible things about his death, silent screams filled his ears whenever he would approach, but deep within the black Abyss of the Shadow resided glimmering fragments, fragments he could never reach.

"This is what fractured in the attack," The Green-Eyed boy spoke cautiously looking over the edge of the Shadow.

"It looks like it," Daphne spoke softly.

"Okay," The Green-Eyed boy said with a fake smile of confidence, "You wait up here with Blaise, and I'll go collect the fragments. I'll be back in a sec." The boy watched as the Green-eyed figure motioned to leap into the Shadow to begin his descent. However, his attempt hadn't lasted long until wails of agony were heard and the Green-Eyed boy was flung from the Abyss' ridge.

"Harry!" Daphne shouted rushing over to the Green-Eyed boy's side, checking him over for injuries only for the boy to give her a gentle smile and shake his head.

"I'm alright," The Green-Eyed boy spoke once more lifting himself up with a struggle, "But that sure wasn't as easy as I thought it would be."

"It's because he doesn't trust you," Daphne spoke, "Do you remember what I said, it has to be with somebody he trusts, otherwise it's not going to work. It has to be me."

"There's no way I'm letting you go down there by yourself," The Green-Eyed Boy protested, grabbing Daphne's arm with concern lacing his eyes.

"We don't have a choice," Daphne spoke before she gave the Green-Eyed boy a slight smile, "Plus, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." The boy then felt Daphne's gaze turned to him as she spoke softly, "Blaise, I need you to come with me down there. I think if you come with me, I'll be able to help you leave this place for good."

Quickly, the boy shook his head in defiance, "No, I don't want to go, I don't-"

But he was stopped by the feeling of Daphne's warm hand taking his, "Blaise, I need you to trust me. I swear on my life, I won't let anything happen to you."

The boy looked at Daphne in wonder before slowly, he nodded, the feeling of fear shrinking slightly in her presence as the two approached the edge of the Shadow. "Blaise," Daphne spoke softly, "Do you think you can make us a rope?"

The boy thought very hard before a thick, tightly knotted rope appeared hanging gently off the side of the Abyss. Daphne then turned to the Green-Eyed boy as she spoke, "Harry, don't let go of this rope, and if I pull on it, pull me up."

The green-eyed boy nodded though the look of concern still hadn't left his eyes until Daphne wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "I'm going to come back, I promise, okay Flyboy?"

"I'll hold you to that Princess," The Green-eyed boy said with a small grin before with a firm grasp on the rope, Daphne led Blaise down into the abyss.

(Daphne P.O.V)

The further both she and Blaise descended into the pit, the more she silently wished she had Harry beside her. The Abyss was like the belly of a giant Dementor as thoughts of anguish spread through her head, primarily one thought, in particular, Astoria. However, a look at Blaise's face which was filled with so much fear and confusion had snapped her out of her sorrows as she forced memories and thoughts of Christmas Days with Tracey and Blaise into her mind, and while they had alleviated some of the terror, there was only one thought that had vanished the darkness completely, the goofy smile on Harry's face after they had shared their second kiss in the infirmary.

Damn him, Daphne thought with a slight grin as she lifted her wand and spoke, "Lumos!" Instantly, the pit drank in the light igniting from the tip of Daphne's wand as she cursed silently before turning to Blaise who was still shivering in fear, "Guess we're going to have to do this in the dark." She turned to face her friend once more, "Blaise, look at me, please, I can't do this without you."

Daphne watched as the Dark-Skinned boy's face strengthened in resolve as the two touched down at the bottom of the Abyss. The Shadow, as Blaise had called it, was incredibly deep. She couldn't even see the rays of light from the surface as she looked up silently hoping to see Harry's encouraging smile. However, there was no point focusing on something she couldn't change, and with new found determination Daphne, followed closely by Blaise began scouring the Abyss for fragments of his soul.

The lack of time within the dimension of Blaise's soul had been a nightmarish phenomenon for a girl like Daphne who kept track of time better than some clocks. She was unsure if it had been seconds or hours since she had descended into the pit, but finally, a spark of hope filled her heart as she saw the faint glimmer of a soul shard. Slowly, she lifted it from the ground, and inside the shard, she saw the memory of Tracey and Blaise's first kiss. It was silent, but Daphne couldn't help but allow a smile to raise on her lips as she saw Blaise mouthing out what must have been a river of nonsense before Tracey grabbed his tie and kissed him quiet.

Part of Daphne felt guilty on trespassing on what was such an intimate memory for them, but it made the cold feeling of the pit a bit warmer as she approached her timid and lost friend lifting the soul shard to his face, "I'm not really sure what you're supposed to do with this, but keep it close to you and maybe you'll figure out what to do."

As she placed the fragmented shard into Blaise's hand, it hadn't taken long until she watched in amazement as Blaise lifted the shard to his temple and shoved it into his head. Part of Daphne thought it looked horrifying, but that thought died as the Abyss' darkness grew fainter and a small sliver of the familiar light broke through the Shadow.

"Tracey," Blaise spoke a single tear falling down his right cheek as he wiped away the track mark. The look of fear turning into one of determination as he spoke with gritted teeth, "Let's find the rest of these shards, I need to get back home, wherever that is." Daphne nodded, and their search continued.

Shard Piece after Shard Piece, memory after memory, Daphne and Blaise wandered the slowly illuminating crevasse of Blaise's fragmented soul. Daphne watched as she witnessed some of Blaise's worst memories, the time he was kicked out of his mother's house into a thunderstorm because she had a wealthy man over, the time he had first stood up for Tracey during their first year only to get jinxed to hell and back by Malfoy and his goons, to the nightmare that was the Hogsmeade Attack, Daphne saw it all. However, it wasn't all bad, the first time the three of them had made Christmas Cookies together was a memory she had found, as well as the time Blaise had gotten his wand. Though whether the memory was good or bad, as Blaise shoved the shard into his mind, the canyon of despair glowed a little brighter until as the final memory of Blaise's father's funeral was shoved into his head, the two of them were absorbed by a blinding white glow.

Hours, days, months, honestly despite the fact that Daphne knew they couldn't have been down there for longer than a few minutes at most, by the time the Abyss had disappeared and the warm glow of Blaise's soul illuminated the darkest corners of the Shadow, Daphne had felt more exhausted than ever before. Before she could even get her bearings, the tight and exhausted hug of Harry wrapped her in his arms, and she couldn't help but smile in relief as she sank into his shoulder, "I thought I lost you," Harry whispered softly into her ear.

"What happened," Daphne spoke softly not resisting the comfort Harry's arms provided.

"I don't know," Harry spoke, "I was waiting on the edge to pull you up when suddenly the Shadow just exploded. I thought you two had disappeared when the Abyss just sealed together, but then you and Blaise just fell from another burst of light."

"Blaise," Daphne spoke with sudden realization, "Where is-"

"Over here," The voice of a far less timid Blaise called out, "What the hell happened to me? I remember Hogsmeade and then-"

"It's a long story," Daphne said with an exhausted smile, "I'll tell you all about it when we get out of here." Blaise nodded and slowly, Daphne grabbed Harry's hand before she turned to him, "Whenever you're ready."

Harry nodded and with a tired and relieved sigh, he whispered, "Finite."

It had felt like they were being flushed down a toilet as they spiraled and distorted frequently, growing and shrinking as they left Blaise's soul. Thankfully, it hadn't lasted long until they were flung from Blaise's mind and collapsed onto the ground of darkened 'hospital' floor. Daphne turned to Harry and was genuinely considering kissing him, even with Tracey as a witness, but that idea had been squashed as she heard Tracey say though a shaky voice, "Don't take another step near him you monsters."

Daphne's head quickly shifted towards the source of the voice, and in fear, she watched as Tracey held her wand in the faces of three fully grown adult Unspeakables who despite the masks covering their face still managed to look furious. Daphne had wanted to stand to help her friend, but the exhaustion coursing through her body made lifting her arms difficult let alone standing.

While Harry was showing better results, being able to at least grip the railing of Blaise's medical cot and pull himself to his feet, his body was still shaking with exhaustion, and despite the fury in his eyes as he faced the Unspeakables, combat was out of the question. "Put your wand down girl," One of the Unspeakables growled through their metallic mask, "We will alert the Auror's when they arrive that you resisted our wishes which will only add charges to your arrest."

"Bite me," Tracey growled in return, the anger radiating off her body was nearly palpable, "You're the ones that should be in Azkaban for what you did to Blaise."

"What the Unspeakables do to our test subjects is none of your concern, girl," A different masked wizard spoke, "Now put down your wand."

"Test Subject!" Tracey shouted in rage, "He's sick! He needed help! He didn't need to be dissected for science!"

The slow tapping of heeled boots came closer and closer into earshot until soon, the long silver-beared headmaster arrived on the scene, "I apologize for my delay, these old bones don't allow me the speed of my youth. I implore us all to lay down our wands and discuss the events in question civilly." Dumbledore stepped past the line of Unspeakables, a slight flash of his magical aura was enough to cause one of the Unspeakables to drop his wand in the presence of such overwhelming power while the other two simply stood there looking neutered. Even Daphne felt a shiver up her spine as she stood in the line of the force of nature that was Dumbledore, and couldn't help but watch quietly as Dumbledore examined Blaise's damaged body.

For a moment Dumbledore's passive face turned to one of pure disgust before returning to his normal grandfatherly expression as he shifted once more to face the Unspeakables. However, just before the Headmaster could begin whatever it was he was about to say, the scratchy and hoarse voice of Blaise whimpered, "Tracey."

Instantly, Tracey dropped her wand to the ground as she ran towards Blaise, reaching for his hand as his eyes opened for the first time in months. Daphne had felt like a giant weight was lifted off her chest as she heard Tracey speak, "I'm here Blaise, I'm right here."

"Sorry," Blaise spoke his voice sounded terrible from his long stasis, "You're crying, I didn't mean to worry you so much. I just wanted to keep you safe."

"I don't care about that now," Tracey said shaking her head, the tears still streaming as Daphne watched her best friend wrap her arms around the dark-skinned boy, holding him as tightly as she could without damaging his fragile state, "You're back now, that's all that matters."

"Impossible," One of the Unspeakables said, "He shouldn't have been able to be healed, his soul was shattered."

"Yeah, well," Harry said, the exhaustion on his face much more noticeable than Daphne's, "Doing the impossible is sort of what I'm known for."

"Well," Dumbledore said, "Seeing as young Mister Zabini here has awoken, I see no reason for the three of you to remain at Hogwarts any longer. I will send word to Minister Fudge immediately and as I arrange for Mr. Zabini to be moved to St. Mungos for his remedial treatment. I will expect the ministry here as soon as possible to remove all of their equipment from my Hospital wing."

"You're students broke a law Professor Dumbledore," One unspeakable that had gained some courage spoke, "We demand the Aurors are called and those three are arrested for trespassing and viewing the research of the Unspeakables."

"I could do that," Dumbledore spoke with a nod, "However, seeing as Lord Black, Madam Bones, and no doubt Lady Vance would together most likely vote in favor of not charging Harry Potter and his friends here with a crime considering they saved the life of a boy you had chosen to forfeit. As well as the fact that I as Chief Warlock would most likely bring about the suggestion that instead of trying to cure the boy you used him as a guinea pig for your experiments. I would say it would not be in your best interest for the Wizengamot to get involved and instead it would be better if you left with the false credit that you had cured young Zabini here off an untreatable illness."

Daphne grit her teeth, she knew that they most likely didn't have much choice as going through the Wizengamot was not exactly a trusted legal process even with a relatively strong position. She also wasn't oblivious to the fact that had the Unspeakables left Hogwarts without any reason, it would only lead to more questions than answers. While she didn't like forfeiting the claim to all her research, the smile that rested upon Tracey's face as she stared lovingly and full of relief at Blaise had reminded her that she didn't do it for the fame. She swallowed hard and nodded as she watched the Unspeakables leave the room, growling in anger.

"I must say," Dumbledore spoke, "You and Miss Greengrass make a very formidable team Mr. Potter. To have accomplished not just one, but two impossible feats in one school year, I'm certain your parents would have been very proud."

Daphne watched as Harry smiled slightly before he nodded, and Dumbledore spoke, "I'm going to be making arrangements for Mr. Zabini to receive the appropriate care, do any of you require any further assistance."

The three wizards remained silent as Dumbledore gave a small smile and left the private hospital quarter. Daphne turned to Harry, there was so much she wanted to tell him, and yet she couldn't think of the words, "Harry, I-"

But before she could even begin Harry gave her a weak grin, "I know," was all he said before turning to an open spot and whispering, "Kreacher." The elf appeared with a pop, and kindly with a voice full of exhaustion Harry spoke, "Can you please bring me to my bed. I need to take a nap."

Kreacher bowed deeply, but just before he could pop away, Harry turned to face Tracey and with the last of his energy he spoke, "Happy Valentine's Day Tracey," And then, he vanished.

Daphne smiled to herself as Tracey faced her with a look of so many conflicting feelings before she spoke, "He left before I could even thank him."

"Yeah," Daphne said pushing herself into a nearby seat and staring at the spot Harry had just vanished from, "That's just the kind of guy he is."