(AN): So there are so many things I forgot to type before I posted this. This will be the third time I've edited this chapter because I forgot to add things! Sorry, I'm excited for this fanfic and I really hope that people read and like it. This is my favorite book/category. Harry Potter is my life and childhood. People tell me that I should've grown out of Harry Potter already, and gotten addicted to something like Hunger Games or Divergent. I'm like "Pssshhh…who gives a shit?" I really like those books, but Harry Potter is my ultimate top favorite book, like many others.
Anyway, this is my first Harry Potter fanfiction. I've always been nervous about making one, because I didn't want to mess it up and I thought that I didn't sound English or something. Well, I made it and I probably did both of those things. This entire story isn't all just me, though! You may notice as you read it that it's kind of a mix of point of views that seem kind of choppy. I promise I'll fix them when I can. But, my point was that I made this story with my friend Angelena on another website and we continued through posting back and forth bits of the story, switching off. It's not chapter by chapter, but continuous out through the entire chapter and chapters. So, I credit her for making this story too!
Lastly, before you get to the actual story, I hope that you will review and favorite the story! It would really make my day. I got PMs from a couple people for another fandom that I felt comfortable writing for a long time ago and it encouraged me to write the Harry Potter fanfics. So, thanks to them this is up. (I don't know if they do like HP in the first place, though). PLEASE REVIEW! I will love you forever. This story will hopefully grow into a long chapter novella or something. I know that I will always look forward to that when I'm looking for some HP fanfiction to read. I would like to specifically point out one writer, mayarox95, for inspiring me. Her story Where the Line Blurs, is amazing and I loved it. I read it last year and loved the idea of having Draco switch sides throughout the war. This story will have a similar turnout, but I promise that I will not copy or anything. Different things will happen. Next, the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I promise that I will never own Harry Potter or any of the book characters because I will never be as talented as J.K. Rowling. She truly is amazing and I love her. The only thing I own, along with Angelena, is what goes on in the story 'cuz we wrote it!
Shuffling his hand deeper into his sleeves, Draco Malfoy hung his head between his shoulders as he took a seat among his usual group of friends. They were all chattering happily, unaware of what he was truly up to. They had asked, prodded and poked at him for any information, but he merely snapped at them. With one glare of a true Slytherin, he was able to shut them up and pull away from them. Blaise had his arm around Pansy's waist as she attempted to make him feed on something besides the chicken legs on the plate before him. He truly ate like a pig.
On the other side of the table, Daphne giggled as she nudged Theo's shoulder when he tried to sneak in a snog at the dining table. Crabbe and Goyle had situated themselves the farthest away, drooling a bit as they feasted upon their meals. The two sleazebags couldn't even acknowledge the conversation that happened before them.
His stormy gray eyes peered from his nearly empty plate at the Gryffindor table across from him. He couldn't even conjure a scowl as his eyes marked upon the bushy rat's nest that was the mudblood's hair, along with Scarface, and his moronic sidekick Weasel. Though he hated them so much, it didn't match the hatred he felt for the snake that marked his left forearm.
His hand conspicuously rubbed up and down his forearm underneath the dining table. He was already getting sick of the warmness that spread across his left forearm whenever it came in contact with anything.
For instance, the other day when Draco had been passing by some muggleborn Hufflepuff, his arm had brushed against the child's robes, sending an intense burn through his arm. It was as if the Dark Mark could sense when a muggleborn was nearby. He still didn't know how exactly to feel about that at the moment. His views upon muggleborns had been instilled him since childhood. One couldn't just get rid of such thoughts in an hour.
But of course, the old buffoon, Dumbledore, believed that the school just needed unity. Especially now that the Dark Lord was at large, Hogwarts needed to be combined as a whole even more greatly. Draco rest his arms flat against the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, hardly paying any attention to the flat out annoying conversation happening next to him.
"What the hell is it?" He finally snapped as Pansy spoke his name for the third time.
"You were sitting on Daphne's robe and she wants to get up." The other Slytherin obviously had been taken aback by her friend's snapping, but didn't display it. Every Slytherin knew that the most important thing was to conceal their emotions completely and appear indifferent to everything and everyone.
His expression sobered some before he sneered at the dark haired girl, snatching the end of Daphne's robes and tossing it away from him. He was earned some scowls, but paid no heed to it all. He had much more important things to be worrying about besides hurting his friends' feelings.
His eyes forcibly moved from his scurrying friends as they settled again in their seats at the table to the tables across from his. He couldn't help but return his eyes to previously buck toothed mudblood Granger. Imagine his surprise when he found her staring right back at him. His lips curled back in a sneer, his grey eyes daunting as his hand immediately went to his wand, ready to stalk out of the Great Hall.
His eyes remained on the bushy haired Gryffindor for much more time. Really, it was longer than it needed to be done. He had probably been staring at much more obviously now.
He felt a prod on his shoulder again and found that it was Blaise this time. He was staring at him with a scrutinizing glance, his features ruffled in accusation as he parted his lips to berate his best mate. He knew what was going to come out of this. Draco was the one who always had to deal with everything in the first place. Being both a Death Eater and the Slytherin Prince didn't come easily. He would have a busy school year while attempting to complete his task.
"What is it, Blaise?" His voice lowered to an annoyed mutter.
"You keep staring at Granger." Blaise muttered back. "I know you can easily lie to everybody else, but don't even try lying to me, Draco. I know you better than you know yourself." The dark skinned boy intelligently reprimanded him, squaring his shoulders in a way that would keep his body as a shield to the other Slytherins. They could converse without having the interruption of the others listening into their conversations.
"It's nothing...I'm just trying to find some motivation." Draco nodded his head, a weary expression falling on his face. It was really already overwhelming him. He would have a lot to do by the time that Bellatrix wanted him to. The cabinet wasn't going to fix itself. It had been his idea anyway and now that he had proposed it, he would have to go through with it and fix it all up. Thankfully, he was one of the smartest wizards at Hogwarts behind the teachers and Granger. This would be no problem for him, hopefully.
"Well, tell me if you ever need some help." Blaise mustered a smirk. "You know, I'm always there for you when you need me." His best friend continued. Draco merely nodded, giving his friend what he wanted in the end. There really wasn't anything he could do to convince him anyway otherwise. It wasn't up to him. Blaise really just was too stubborn to think any other wise.
He couldn't stand being in that room any longer. It was beginning to feel nauseating for him. All those people around him...it was possible that after he did what he was supposed to do, all of those kids would be dead. It was a possibility. One that actually was very great.
He didn't know if he was supposed to feel happy and relieved for it, or to be disgusted and fearful. He knew what he had to do. There really was only one option for him now. Even the Order wouldn't take him in because he had been branded with the Dark Mark.
Of course, they didn't know that because then his position at Hogwarts would have been compromised. There really was just no way that he could go to the Order without being found out by either side. On one side of the war, Voldemort and his Death Eaters would kill him for failing them. And on the other side, Draco would be locked up in Azkaban for eternity by the Order.
"I think I'm going to take a walk. Clear my head a bit." Draco muttered to Blaise quietly, finding a bit of a tremor in his voice. Fixing his haggard appearance, he rose from the table. His pale hand brushed over his face as he felt sweaty and clammy all over. With one quick look to the Head Table where Dumbledore sat amongst all the other teachers, he quickened his pace and stalked out of the Great Hall.
He hadn't even noticed that he had walked out just after Potter and Granger. His feet moved quickly across the floors of the magnificent castle of Hogwarts, seeking refuge in the closest place that he could. His breathing quickened immensely, leaving him nearly choking on air as he found himself in an empty hallway. He chortled slightly, ripping his robes off of his body and harshly throwing them at the wall. His whole body was shaking and he couldn't bring himself to stop as he threw his wand out at the first sound he heard.
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Rubbing his freckled nose as his sister pointed out the dirt on his nose once again, Ron Weasley rolled his eyes at the conversation at the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore's Army, or what they called the remaining active members of the DA, had gathered around the Boy Who Lived who was frowning down at his hands.
His palm covered the ruined potions book he had been forced to use when Ron took the last new copy. He found that his best mate had been a bit obsessed with it, carrying it around everywhere that he went. Ron had even tried to snatch it out of his grip and hand it off to Ginny, but he would not budge!
And now this. He had been telling him and Hermione of his assumptions about the notorious Draco Malfoy since their sixth year started. Just because he had been browsing in Borgin & Burkes didn't mean that he was a Death Eater.
"Let it go, Harry." He moaned, grabbing another chicken leg from the platter before him. He had already eaten a few, but had room for so much more. "The ferret can't even hold his own in a wand fight. How exactly is he supposed to be working for You Know Who?" His voice lowered a bit as he named the villain that had vowed to kill his best friend.
An aggravated huff came from the boy in the circular glasses and the unruly black hair that barely covered the pink lightning bolt scar on his forehead. It was in between his eyes and was hard not to notice. But after knowing him for six years, he found it easy to ignore unlike the first day that he had met him on the Hogwarts train and Platform 9 3/4.
"Ron, I know how it looks, but...even Hermione said that there's something off about him. I mean look how different he looks." Harry's emerald eyes turned to the pale boy across the Great Hall with the incredibly noticeable platinum colored hair that fell in his eyes.
Hermione had been looking over at the Slytherin boy while her friends discussed his affiliations, taking in little things about him with her analytic eye. Her gaze flicked back to Harry when her own name was mentioned. "Well, yes, I agreed that there's something off about him, but—"
"That's entirely usual." The youngest Weasley interrupted, looking as if she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Everyone knew how much she despised Malfoy. She seemed genuinely interested in what Harry had to say, though… Well, maybe she was just interested in him in general. Of course she didn't believe his accusations, though! As dreadful as Draco Malfoy was, he couldn't truly be working for Voldemort.
With a great sigh that blew a strand of auburn hair out of her eyes, the studious Miss Granger continued. "That's beside the point." She sounded a little frustrated, but she had never been angry with Ginny, per say. Hermione, however, had other things that were agitating her. Like how she had been reading over her new textbooks and found she could retain no information from them. These courses were the most difficult ones she had ever taken! The potions made no sense whatsoever, but at least Professor Snape wouldn't be there to give her a concussion if she got the answer wrong. No, the Slytherin headmaster would be moving to Defense Against the Dark Arts this year…which seemed like a completely different adventure.
"Harry, you're probably just really stressed out right now with all that's going on. But it doesn't seem logical for a Death Eater to be enrolled in Hogwarts." Her tone dropped a little and she leaned slightly across the table so that she would not be overheard. Hermione then straightened, running a hand through her frizzy red hair in a futile attempt to keep it manageable. "Who knows? He could just be having relationship troubles." For a moment, it didn't seem like she was talking about the Slytherin at all. There was a certain bitterness in her voice, but it vanished in an instant.
Much to Hermione's relief, Ginny chimed in. No doubt the younger Gryffindor realized her dilemma. "What ever happened to him and Pansy? I haven't seen them snogging in the halls in a long time." There was a light lilt to her words that made it obvious that she was trying to bring some brightness to the otherwise gloomy atmosphere. Hermione appreciated that greatly. "Wait, Parkinson is with Theo now, isn't she? Or did it change again…?"
"Why do you know so much about everyone's personal life?" Hermione looked as if she might have smiled, provided circumstances were different. It seemed there never were too many smiles these days, besides the ones Ginny forced to cheer everyone else up. It was just so hard to be happy when an evil wizard was out there plotting to kill everyone you loved…
Ginny flashed a wicked grin. "Know thy enemy, Granger…." Her eyes drifted to Harry, the smile fading to a soft one. "Are you all right? Harry, maybe you should just let it go for now."
A scowl that could imitate the subject of their conversation settled on Harry's lips. He was irritated about it all. Dumbledore himself was sending him a few mixed signals. Supposedly, he was going to have some private lessons with him soon, and it was eating him alive. What was he going to be learning with him? He knew that it had everything to do with the defeat of Voldemort, and the prophecy that included himself and the Dark Lord.
And it was his entire fault, that his godfather, Sirius Black, got killed that night in the Department of Mysteries. If he hadn't rushed over there, Voldemort would have never gotten the chance to hurt him and his friends, figure out the prophecy, and get his godfather killed. If he hadn't gone, Sirius would still be alive. Everything was his fault. Every single thing that was going wrong now was his fault. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were killing all of those people because they really just wanted to unhinge Harry and sober him up before viciously killing him and everyone he loved.
"It doesn't matter! Dumbledore can't exactly just deny a wizard the right to come to Hogwarts." Harry's hand hit the table a bit roughly, attracting the eyes and ears of nearby students. "I mean...you know what we saw at Borgin and Burkes. What else could he be showing? He put out his left arm, Hermione. What logic can you come up with now?" He questioned her a bit harshly, overwhelmed by everything.
"Woah, mate. Calm down, will you?" His red haired best friend frowned, his shoulder nudging him lightly. His mouth had a bit of sauce coating the sides as he finished off another leg and setting the meatless bone on the side of his plate. "Hermione's right. Come on, she's always right." He shrugged his shoulders carelessly in her and his sister's direction. "You know what?" He prompted, his dark blue eyes lighting up as he came up with some master idea.
The dark haired boy sighed heavily, slumping his shoulders as he turned to face his friend, ready for whatever bizarre idea he had come up with. "What?" Harry muttered in response, finding it hard to pay attention to his friends now that his thoughts were occupied on so many different other things.
"If we used the Marauder's Map tonight and you dad's invisibility cloak...and we followed Malfoy around, I bet we won't find anything suspicious about the ferret." He proposed, turning away from his food for one second to explain his idea. "The girls are right. He's probably just going to be slugging around with some girl in one of the broom closets now that Parkinson left him for Nott." He snickered a bit at that, his eyes flickering over to the blonde haired boy across the Hall before returning to Hermione and Ginny. "I don't even understand how you find these things out, Ginny." He sighed, shaking his head slightly.
"Well, not all of us are social pariahs, Ronald." Ginny said, easily taking jabs at her older brother. After all, she was fairly popular. As the twins put it, she was too popular for her own good. It seemed that Ginerva Weasley had blossomed recently, becoming a fairly agreeable young woman and overcoming her shyness around Harry. It was like she had already become the person she was meant to be. Hermione wished she could say the same thing. But unfortunately, she was struggling a lot with her identity at the moment. It was hard to be a hormonal teenage girl when the world was crumbling around you.
Harry grumbled a bit, knowing that the points that his friends were making were actually very good points. "Okay, okay, fine. We'll do that, then." He gave in to their demands outwardly. It didn't matter though. He would do his own research on his own time. "I'm fine, Ginny. I promise." He muttered to her earlier question as she attempted a smile at him.
But then Ginny frowned slightly, disappointment passing through her eyes for only a brief moment before she regained her composure. She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at the Boy Who Lived. It was obvious she didn't believe him, but all Ginny did was reply back with an echo, "Fine."
The feeling returned. It felt like she was being burned alive. Hermione held Draco's wicked gaze for only a moment, a moment that had been caused solely by her pride, but then averted her eyes once more. A fleeting thought passed through her mind: Is an evil glare one of the characteristics that is used to chose Slytherins, or do they all have to learn it once they are already sorted?
Hermione's attention was soon stolen away by her dark haired friend once more as he slammed his hand down on the table, making her jump slightly. The Gryffindor girl was quiet for a few moments, letting Harry and Ron talk things out. She felt like an outsider for a moment. What kind of friend was she? She knew that she should take Harry's side, that she should stand with him in his time of need… But it just seemed so farfetched. Draco Malfoy? A Death Eater?
Hermione sighed, studying Harry for a moment. "If you need to, you know, talk about any of this, Harry…" She edged, because being the female friend meant being the council in many situations. After a moment of silence, Hermione sighed once again. Why couldn't they all just sit and talk things out? Honestly, it was ridiculous! "I just don't think it would be wise to jump to conclusions yet, especially after what all just happened. He could have been showing anything. And if he really were working for You Know Who, why would he be wasting his time being educated here? It just doesn't make sense…" She shook her head.
"In any case, don't take it out on us. We're you're friends, Harry. We're just trying to help you." They had been through everything together, but it seemed that they had been fighting more and more lately. Her eyes then went to Ron, though they stayed there for only a moment before she looked away.
"Ronald, that's not…a bad idea, actually. But it would be reckless to follow him around…" Though she couldn't give an example of how the plan could go wrong, Hermione knew there had to be one. Ronald Weasley never came up with foolproof ideas. "Just be careful."
A scowl settled across the red head lips, his cheeks brightening to color of a tomato. He really had had enough of his younger sister embarrassing him in front of his friends, who were her friends as well. It really wasn't fair. He didn't like the way she would treat him in front of him. But she was right.
She had become extremely popular as she rose through the years. And the only reason people knew him was because he was the best friend of the Boy Who Lived. He scowled at the thought, feeling the green envy pick at him again, but rolled his eyes and returned to the conversation. "Come on, my ideas work sometimes!" He protested, but was really having a hard time thinking up of one.
"Are they ever not?" Ginny smirked in Hermione's direction.
"They never are!" Hermione actually smiled slightly, much to Ginerva's pleasure. Then, her gaze fell on Harry again. Her eyes softened and her voice became gentle as she then spoke. "Harry…I know you're going through a rough time right now. If you need us…we're here. It isn't your fault, Harry. You can't keep blaming yourself."
Harry slumped his shoulders, staring down at the book in his hands once again. It really was helping him. He knew one of the spell's in there though from somewhere before though. He just couldn't pinpoint it. Something Snape told him...Levicorpus. Of course! It was in the memory that he had seen when practicing Occlumency with him. It had backfired and he had seen his own father cast the spell on Snape when they attended Hogwarts. Was this book his father's then?
"Yeah...look, I think I'm going to head back to the common room. Slughorn's assigned us a foot long about Essence of Dittany." Harry muttered to his friends, ignoring what they were saying. His mind was set now. He would figure this all out, he decided. He would avenge Sirius, and his parents, and Cedric. Everyone would be avenged when he defeated Voldemort. And that started with Draco Malfoy.
He shuffled his feet towards the Gryffindor common room, elated that for once his friends actually weren't seeking him out when they were worried for him. He could see what they reacted like when they were around him. He was just spoiled fruit amongst all of them and it was hard for them to deal with it. Everyone else had really moved on. He was still stuck in the past. Because he was the stupid Boy Who Lived.
If he could live, why couldn't he save everyone he loved? He lost all of his family! No parents and no god father. Who would he lose next? Ron? Hermione? The entire Weasley family? He couldn't bear to lose them all. So, his only choice was to exclude the people he loved out of his plans to destroy Voldemort. Harry Potter seated himself in one of the lounge chairs of the Gryffindor common rooms, his eyes searching through the Half Blood Prince's Potions book through his circled glass, his eyes rereading over and over the spell Sectumsempra. There was a warning underneath. Use against enemies.
His eyes were still on her. Hermione could feel them burning into her skull no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. She found it nearly impossible to concentrate on the subject at hand when someone was glaring at her. Of course, Hermione tried to think logically. She denied that he was looking at her. Maybe his sneer was directed at Harry or someone passed them all. Maybe it was just his natural expression? Was it possible that he knew they were talking about him? No, that was impossible...right?
Hermione opened her mouth as if to add something, but Harry was already leaving. Her face visibly fell, as did her spirits. Had Harry even been listening to her? They were supposed to be best friends, all three of them, so why were things so complicated now? The bushy haired witch mumbled something unintelligible under her breath before catching sight of the red headed girl beside her. Ginny's eyes trailed after Harry, looking disappointed and very concerned. Hermione placed a gentle hand on her younger friend's shoulder reassuringly before saying,
"Don't worry. He'll be okay, Ginny."
The Weasley's eyes snapped up in surprise. "What? I - " She stuttered, but Hermione had already started talking again.
"I should probably be going too, actually. I - I need to get some studying done and...yeah." She mumbled. Hermione stood up from the table, a book in her arms. She never went anywhere without something I read. "I'll talk to you later, Ginny... You too, Ron." She mumbled the last part, already starting off. Hermione didn't want to talk to Ron at all right now. Mainly because of Lavender Brown. It was only natural for her to be territorial about her friends, right? It wasn't like she was jealous. It wasn't like Ron meant anything to her...
As they faded away from hearing distance, Hermione barely heard Ginny remark, "Don't even start, Ronald!" She knew the freckled faced girl was probably smirking, trying to look confident while her cheeks were ablaze.
"I can't believe this." Ron scowled at his sister as he was left by his two best friends to feast alone. She was giving him the same look the mother of the Weasley clan gave to nearly all the boys in the family when they began to pig out on all the food that they choked down. "Out of all the people, I'm here with you." He wrinkled his nose.
His expression quickly faded as a figure dropped down on the seat next to him. "Oh, Lavender. I haven't seen you since last year." Ron quickly greeted, a bit confused but he bizarre and sudden introduction to the curly blonde haired girl that roomed with Hermione.
Ginny rolled her eyes at her elder brother. "Don't worry, I won't torment you for long. In fact, I should probably be going..." She muttered, averting her eyes as she saw Lavender approaching. She was so bloody annoying! And Ginerva's brother was so oblivious! Of course, she was a little biased. Her and Hermione had gotten closer recently.
Ginny saw the signs that the other Gryffindor was sending to her brother. Perhaps she would have stayed and scorned Ronald more if it weren't for the worry biting at the back of her mind. "Uh, hello Lavender. I'm just going to go...meet up with Dean." She said hastily, rising from the table and gathering her things. Ginny wouldn't stand to be a third wheel for longer than necessary.
Ron's eyebrows raised high on his forehead as his sister hastily moved around the Gryffindor table and gathered her belongings, hurriedly whisking away to meet with her boyfriend. A scowl settled across his lips. Dean Thomas was his friend and his roommate, but he was also dating his sister. And he didn't like that at all, not one bit.
He didn't like anyone that was interested in his younger sister like that. None of them were good enough for her. Certainly, Dean wasn't. Okay, he was a good guy and all, a part of the DA, but he shouldn't be dating his sister. "So, what did you do over the summer?" The red head eventually asked the blonde next to him, perching his arm on the table as he settled another chunk of meat in his mouth. It was a surprise really that Lavender was ignoring his messy eating, yet still adored him.
But she did not leave to see her boyfriend. No, Ginny made her way instead to the Gryffindor common room, concerned for the well being of her brother's best friend. Plus, it seemed that there was something growing between them, something Ginny couldn't explain.
"Well, what do we have here?" She raised an eyebrow, tossing her books on a nearby end table in the Common Room. "The Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, studying like any normal teenage boy?" She shook her head with a teasing tsk sound of her tongue. Then, Ginny sat across from him in another chair, a table and an eternity separating them.
On the other hand, Hermione just needed to get out of the Great Hall, needed to have some time to herself. So that was exactly what she did. Hermione bolted to the halls, her auburn curls bouncing behind her as she escaped down corridors. She couldn't go to the common room, for that was where Harry was. So where was she to go? Hermione eventually found herself sitting on a window seal in one of the halls, looking down at the courtyard. An opened book sat in her lap, but she paid little attention to it.
So, that's the end of chapter one! I hope it was good. I might change the title (no, I will change the title). It seems kind of vague and doesn't really match, but I'll figure it out. So, I guess I can leave with read and review? Please? I love every one of you that reads this! PM me if you want to know more, or if you have any ideas for titles.