To The Death Chapter 1: First Step into the Unknown, a harry potter fanfic

To the Death

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling

Summary: Forced into a game for Voldemort's amusement the students will have to play to survive. Bravery, loyalty, intelligence, and cunning are put to the test when the stakes turn out to be worse than anyone could imagine. Some Character Death, Harry/Draco Slash

Warning: This story has boy-on-boy action. If this is not your cup of tea, don't read it. You Have Been Warned.

A/N #1: I'm going to be posting these chapters As-I-Write, instead of after the whole story is done, so I probably won't manage weekly updates like I do with my other work.

A/N #2:This story is loosely based on a Manga/Movie called Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami. I highly recommend it whether you like this story or not.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were walking down the corridor to charms when Draco Malfoy's voice echoed behind them.

"Oh look its Potty and his little friends," he sneered looking at Ron and Hermione.

"Piss off Malfoy," said Harry.

"Original, Potter. Maybe if you'd decided to be friends with me first year you'd be able to come up with some better insults," he looked down his nose at them. "Malfoys are superior after all, not that you're intelligent enough to realize that."

"Superior snots maybe," Ron said pointing his wand at Malfoy.

"Just ignore him Ron," said Hermione from behind him, and grabbing his arm. "You know what he's like."

"He deserves it Mione."

Malfoy glared at Ron, and turned back to Harry without giving him second thought, irritating the redhead even more.

"I challenge you to a duel Potter. Tonight at midnight by the lake."

He heard Pansy gasp behind him and take hold of his arm. He yanked his arm away and kept his eyes on his enemy.

"Fine Malfoy, I accept," he smirked at the other boy. "It'll enjoy beating you…again. Unless you chicken out of course," he said reminding Malfoy of the last duel they had snuck out for.

"Oh I'll be there Potter, but if I win I want to see you kneeling in front of me in the great hall, and telling everyone that I'm superior."

Harry grinned. "Is that all? Are you sure you don't want me to suck you off while I'm down there Malfoy?" He was pleased when he watched Malfoy flush and look away for a moment. He had found so many new ways to irritate the blonde ever since he had come out at the beginning of the year. A simple touch here and there made Malfoy flinch and jump, and Harry would laugh as he walked the rest of the way to class.

"Don't involve me in your disgusting fantasies Potter. So do we have a deal?"

"Yes, but if I win you have to apologize to Ron and Hermione in the great hall for the way you've treated them."

"That will never happen, Potty," he said and walked back to the dungeons.

The trio walked back to Gryffindor Tower, and Hermione lectured all the way.

"Harry, you know what happened last time. This is a really bad idea. Do you know how many detentions you'd get if you were caught?"

"Hermione, don't worry. We have the cloak in case anything happens." He looked over at Ron to see how he was taking all this.

"I don't trust him, but this would be a great way to get back at the ferret." Ron was silent for a moment. "We should go. It would be great to watch him apologize in front of everyone."

"Fine, but leave me out of it," said Hermione. "I'm staying right here."

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry who grinned back at him. Their friend had no sense of adventure.

Down in the dungeons a similar conversation was taking place.

"Draco," Pansy was saying. "You can't be serious. Even Professor Snape would have you scrubbing out cauldrons for a month for doing something so stupid. A duel with the Gryffindors? Tell me this is some sort of plan to get them caught."

He gave an evil smirk. "I plan to leave a note for Severus, but I still need to show up to keep them there. I can stall until he shows up, and then hide in the forest until they leave."

"This is a really bad idea Dray."

"Does that mean you're staying here?"

"And leave you alone with three Gryffindorks? No way."

"Thanks Pans, you're a great friend."

She smiled somewhat sadly at this. Pansy had hinted at her attraction to Draco a few times last year, but he was oblivious. She watched him discretely after that and came to the conclusion that he preferred boys. He'd get so angry when she joked about it that she was sure it was true. Draco had himself buried so deeply in denial that it would take a regiment of house elves to dig him out.

Harry paced back and forth up in his dorm. He went over all of Hermione's objections in his head. She was right that Malfoy was up to something. When wasn't he up to something? Getting caught by someone like Snape was the real danger in his opinion. He wouldn't put it past the Slytherin to let a teacher know about their duel like he had before. He was more than a match for Malfoy, and the other boy knew it.

Ron wanted to go and make Malfoy eat his words. He understood his best friend's feelings about this. Malfoy always had a sneer or nasty comment on hand for Ron. Hermione didn't care that much about the name calling, feeling it was below her. Harry decided that he and Ron would meet Malfoy at the lake, but they would take the cloak and wait for a few minutes to make sure that no one else arrived unexpectedly.

During dinner the heads of each house announced that everyone was to stay in their dorms tonight. Ron grinned at Harry mischievously. Harry smiled back knowing that they would sneak out anyway. It wasn't the first time. Hermione had seen Ron's grin and they resigned themselves to a lecture from the bushy haired girl.

Draco heard the announcement and he was tempted to stay in his dorms. Since the professors insisted on it he thought it might be best to put off his plans. As a Slytherin he had his personal safety in the forefront of his mind. His emotions must have shown on his face, because Weasel walked past him making a clucking noise and laughing. Anger clouded his features, and he clenched his fists. He would be there, if for no other reason than to put Weasel in his place.

The Slytherin snuck into the potions classroom before curfew, and put a note on Snape's desk that explained what was going to happen that night. He gave a time and requested that his head of house check it out.

Snape was making sure that everyone in his house listened to him and stayed in the dorm tonight. Stupid brats, he thought. I can almost guarantee that one of them will sneak out. They have no idea how important this is.

"And if I see any of you going past this doorway, you'll be wishing I had you scrubbing cauldrons for a month!!"

By the time he ended his tirade everyone was nodding their heads in agreement, and the first years were cowering on the floor. He turned and stalked out the door, his robes billowing behind him.

He went straight to his rooms, and locked the door. A gust of wind from the door blew Draco's note under the potions cabinet, and he never saw it.

Harry and Ron crouched behind Hagrid's hut and watched Malfoy pace on the shore of the lake. They had been watching for five minutes already, and no one else seemed to be coming.

"Come on Harry," Ron was saying. "If we don't go now he'll leave!"

"Shh! Not so loud. Ok, let's pull of the cloak and walk over like we're just getting here."

The duo appeared from behind Hagrid's hut and Harry whispered the spell to shrink his cloak, as he stuffed it into his pocket.

"About time you got here Potter," Malfoy sneered. "But then you never did have any manners did you?"

Malfoy seemed to be looking nervously at the castle. Harry looked over, but he didn't see anything.

"Expecting someone Malfoy?" he asked. "I should have known you were too much of a coward to take me on."

Draco bristled, and gave Harry his best glare.

"So let's start this thing, shall we?" said Harry.

Pansy spoke up then. "Wait. How are we doing this?"

"I'll be Harry's second," said Ron. "I guess you're here for the ferret, right Parkinson?" He gave a nod toward Malfoy.

"First blood ok with you?" she asked.

Ron and Harry glanced at each other and nodded.

"Shake hands and step back ten paces," said Pansy.

The two boys glared at each other and gripped each other's hand so tightly that Harry had to keep from wincing painfully. Just as they were about to step back a dozen stunning spells flew out of the forest striking them all down.

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