Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters within this story. The characters belong to JK Rowling.
Just to say my friend wrote a review but she didn't realise she was still on my account. That's why it looks like I've sent a review to myself.
Chapter One
Draco Malfoy stepped out of the cold, windy weather and onto the Hogwarts Express. He caught sight of Crabbe and Goyle stood up in the aisle. They were holding a box of doughnuts and cramming them into their mouths at an alarming speed. Their vast stomachs almost filled the entire aisle, and angry students attempted to squeeze past as they boarded the train.
'Crabbe! Goyle!' Draco called out to his fellow Slytherins, 'What are you doing here? You're blocking the way, you gluttonous idiots!' Their faces filled with fear as Draco approached, and they quickly started making their way down the aisle to find an available compartment.
The train was packed full of students, all heading towards Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Draco was about to start his sixth year there and was hoping to fulfil the wishes of the Dark Lord and kill the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.
As they reached the end of the aisle, Draco spotted a free compartment, so he slid open the doors, only to find out that the compartment was in fact occupied. Sat on the long seat and staring straight into Draco's eyes, was Harry Potter.
There was a moment of silence as their eyes locked. Draco felt a strange sensation sweep over him as he maintained eye contact with his enemy, a sensation he had never experienced before. He couldn't quite work out what it was. He found he was unable to find any words to force out of his mouth to break the silence, but when he felt Crabbe poke him in the shoulder with his chubby finger, he managed to snap back to reality and stutter out a sentence.
'Well, well, well, look who it is. The famous Harry Potter,' Draco noticed Harry now couldn't look at him, and though it may have just been his imagination, Draco could've sworn Harry's cheeks were going a faint shade of red. 'Mind if we join you, Potter?'
Harry looked confused, but shook his head quickly and returned to his copy of the Daily Prophet. Draco strode into the compartment, and sat on the seat opposite Harry. Crabbe and Goyle sat on either side of him, and Draco felt the seat sink dramatically.
'How're you and your girlfriend then, Potter?' Draco said sharply, 'You know, that Weasley girl. Seems like all you can get these days are ginger friends.' Crabbe and Goyle started to laugh hysterically, but Draco shot daggers at each of them and they quickly quieted down.
Harry slowly lowered his newspaper, and behind his round glasses were eyes filled with fury. 'She is not my girlfriend,' he stated slowly, trying hard not to lose his temper.
'Oh yeah, I forgot, isn't she seeing Dean Thomas?' Draco sneered, 'I bet your other ginger friend will have a word or two to say about that. Speak of the devil, look who's here.'
Ron Weasley appeared in the doorway with Hermione Granger, and shot a look of confusion and slight fear at Harry. 'What are they doing in here?' he asked, tilting his head towards Draco, Crabbe and Goyle.
Draco let out a low laugh. 'Your little four-eyed friend let us… enter his compartment,' he winked at Harry. 'Didn't know you were into that type of thing.'
'Good one, Draco,' Crabbe chuckled at his friend's joke.
Draco cruelly laughed along with his fellow Slytherins, although he couldn't help noticing a hint of seriousness to his seemingly humorous comment. He decided not to think too much of it, after all, he'd been having strange thoughts all day. Draco just hoped his idiotic friends wouldn't notice his hesitant reaction.
'Shut it, Malfoy,' Ron said, stepping forward and pointing his wand at Draco. 'I bet you'd love to "enter Harry's compartment", you gay boy.' Hermione placed her hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down, but he shook it off.
Harry stood up, and without saying a word to Draco, headed towards the door. 'Come on, guys, let's go.' He grabbed Ron's arm and gently pulled him out of the compartment. Draco watched as Harry walked through the sliding doors, and started heading down the aisle. Harry turned back to look at Draco, and Draco quickly looked away and stared down at his robes. He noticed Harry had left his copy of the Daily Prophet on the seat, so he reached forward and grabbed it, and started reading it in an attempt to take his mind off Harry.
Draco entered the Great Hall for the first feast of the year. He noticed most students had already arrived and were talking excitedly about their holidays but most importantly, the fact that the Dark Lord had returned. Walking past the Gryffindor table, Draco noticed Ron glaring at his sister, Ginny, who seemed to be getting a bit too friendly with Dean Thomas. From what he could see, it was bothering Ron more than Harry, even though it was common knowledge that Harry had feelings for Ginny. Harry looked up and glared at Draco as he walked past, but Draco was unable to meet his gaze. He quickened his pace and found himself a seat on the Slytherin table where Harry Potter was out of sight.
Draco sat in silence for a while, staring at the wooden table and trying to ignore all the thoughts that were spinning incessantly around his head. Thoughts about his recent encounters with Harry, thoughts about the Dark Lord's wishes, thoughts about living up to his father's expectations. He tried to forget about all the pressure that was on him, being an only child born into a family of Death Eaters. Draco knew he had to put on a brave face and get on with what he had to do, but a small part of him secretly wished for a normal school life, just like any other student at Hogwarts.
His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of Goyle's voice complaining about being hungry. Draco looked up stared incredulously at the overweight boy, wondering if he ever stopped eating. Goyle sat down next to him, closely followed by Crabbe, who nodded at Draco, then continued his intense debate with Goyle over what they hoped would be served at the feast. Draco was relieved to see the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore, stand up from his seat and walk over to the ornate lectern at the front of the stage. The loud chatter across the hall quickly descended into silence, and Professor Dumbledore gazed out across the hundreds of students.
Dumbledore began his annual welcoming ceremony, and the majority of students seemed totally captured by his deep, melodic voice. Draco, however, couldn't seem to focus on what he was saying. His mind was elsewhere, just as it had been all day. He managed to banish any unwanted thoughts long enough to hear Dumbledore announce the start of the feast.
The four long, wooden tables suddenly were suddenly covered in plates of delicious looking food, and the hall was filled with the sound of laughter and cheerful voices. Draco looked across the hall and saw everyone piling their plates up with all sorts of meat, potatoes and vegetables, took one glance down at his empty plate and realised he had totally lost his appetite. He got up calmly and headed towards the huge wooden doors on the opposite end of the hall. Crabbe and Goyle were far too engrossed in their food to notice Draco's swift exit, however Professor Snape, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and head of Slytherin house, spotted him immediately and followed him swiftly out of the hall.
'Where do you think you're going, Malfoy?' Snape asked Draco in his slow, deep voice. He eyed him suspiciously as Draco swung around, his eyes full of fear. Even though Snape was head of Slytherin and seemed to show a strong bias towards Draco and his friends, they still knew better than to get on the wrong side of him.
'Oh, I feel sick, Professor,' Draco stumbled over his words, 'I thought I should go and take a lie down in the common room.'
Snape paused for a moment, seeming unconvinced, but eventually he nodded, turned on his heel, and walked briskly back into the Great Hall, his long black robe flowing gracefully behind him.
Draco breathed a sigh of relief, and sat down at the bottom of the sweeping stairs that led to the Grand Staircase. He noticed how quiet and serene it was there, and decided to make the most of his time alone. He made his way towards the dungeons, realising he would have the common room entirely to himself. Most students who had the school to themselves would go and discover secret passages, or break into classrooms and find answer sheets for exams, but right now Draco just felt like drifting into a deep sleep and forgetting everything that was going on in the school and in his head.
As he entered the dungeons, Draco noticed the door to the Potions classroom was slightly ajar. He slipped quietly inside to take a look around. He remembered this was Snape's classroom in previous years, and thought back the end of last year when he had seen Snape confiscating a large bottle of firewhiskey from a group of fourth years and now wondered if the ex-Potions master had anything similar stowed away in his mysterious storeroom.
Draco cast Alohomora on the locked door. Its hinges creaked as he pushed it open. Inside, the walls were lined with endless shelves and cabinets, stocked densely with bottles and vials of all different kinds of glowing liquids and potions. Draco was probably one of the only students to have seen inside this storeroom, as it was off limits to students and Snape usually kept it well guarded. If he knew a student had been in here… Draco shuddered at the thought.
He scanned the shelves quickly, trying to find something with some sort of alcoholic content. Going through endless bottles of dangerous and toxic looking liquids, he began to lose hope. Then, just as he was about to give up entirely, he spotted the exact same bottle that had been confiscated the previous year. Draco stretched up and grabbed the heavy bottle off the top shelf and opened it. He took a sip and winced, it was a lot stronger than he'd expected. Replacing the cap, he headed back towards the common room, making sure to lock the door on his way out.
Back in the common room, Draco flopped down on the green leather sofa and took a swig of firewhiskey. It felt as though a fire was burning down his throat, but the sensation helped to take his mind off everything, including Harry, for a while. He didn't know how long he spent sitting, drinking and staring into space, but soon enough he heard the footsteps of his fellow Slytherins returning from the Great Hall. He came to his senses and tried to stand up, but ended up collapsing over the coffee table. Draco tried again, this time more slowly, and managed to stagger across the room and hide inside a closet, the nearly empty bottle nestled in his arms, just as the other students entered the room. Draco drank the remainder of the alcohol and set the bottle down next to him. Closing his eyes, he curled up and shut out the noise from the common room. Within minutes, he was fast asleep and totally oblivious to the world.