Diagon Alley was as crowded as ever. Hogwarts students and their parents along with numerous other witches and wizards packed the shops. Flourish and Blotts was so full that a line was forming outside its door, just to get in. Harry was happy even with the lack of oxygen. He had just spent another summer at the Weasley's, despite the eminent threat of Voldemort. Although his casebeing argued between Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore until she was blue in the face might have helped a bit.

Ron was next to him in the crowd outside of Quality Quidditch supplies. Hermione trailed after them. The three of them had arrived with the rest of the Weasleys a little over an hour ago and had yet to get any shopping done. " I can't take a step without stepping on some one or running into another." Ron proved his point by squishing Harry as he dodged an elderly witch.

" Ron, watch out. That's the third time today that you've stepped on my foot."

" Sorry, Harry."

" He can't help it, Potter. His feet match the size of that great oafish friend of yours." Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked to their right as the voice sounded over the crowd. Draco Malfoy was smirking and walking towards them. Ron's ears had turned red and he was next door to jumping on Malfoy as Harry and Hermione kept restraining hands on his arms.

" What's your problem, Malfoy?"

Draco sneered and eyed Ron. " No problem, Potter. I was merely stating an obvious fact."

" Draco?"

Looking over Draco's shoulder, the three friends felt a sense of dread as they saw Lucius Malfoy approaching.

" Draco, your mother needs you in Madame Malkin's. Go now."

" Yes, father." Draco bowed his head and cast a last sneer in Harry's direction before making his way through the crowd.

" Well, well. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Granger. I didn't expect to find you here." An unpleasant smirk crossed his face.

" We should say the same to you, Malfoy."

" Manners, Mr. Potter. Manners." Lucius smiled at the hand Hermione placed on Harry's arm to stop him from jumping on the older wizard. " My dear girl, please don't bother to hold him back. If he wishes to take an action don't disgrace him by preventing him from taking it."

Harry's face was steadily growing redder. " You killed him. You killed Sirius and you're still out of Azkaban." He spoke in a low whisper, but Lucius heard nevertheless.

" Might I remind you, Potter, that it wasn't I who cast the killing blow, but Bellatrix. However, I won't stop you from giving me some credit." Lucius stepped closer to Harry and met his gaze. " A pity, don't you think? Your dear godfather going out the way he did. I shouldn't worry though. I'm sure wherever he is, he's having a barking good time." Smiling at his joke, he stepped back, but was taken by surprise as Harry jumped him.

" Harry!" Ron and Hermione cried out to him, but were too scared to actually intervene.

Lucius was knocked to the ground. His cane rolled away, but he reached into his cloak, bringing out his wand. Harry was pounding his chest and his face. The force of a blow to his head surprised Lucius. " Get off me, boy." A red jet of light came from his wand and Harry was thrown off of him, hitting the wall of a shop across the street.

Almost every wizard in the vicinity had stopped to stare. Lucius muttered something under his breath and all eyes in the vicinity, with the exception of Harry's, Hermione's, and Ron's, glazed over. Lucius stalked to where Harry lay against the wall, barely conscious and pulled him up by the hood of his cloak.

" If you ever decide to do something like that to me again, you will find yourself in a much worse state." Lucius let Harry drop to the ground and turned on his heel, stalking off into the now confused crowd.

Hermione pulled out her wand and was about to curse his back out of anger when she felt a hand on her wrist, a gloved hand. " Now, now, Mrs. Granger." Hermione looked up to where Lucius stood behind her, having predicted her movements and apparated. " I'd put that away if I were you."

" Let go of me."

" Use your free hand to put the wand away and I will. Any wrong movements, mind you, and you may find yourself next to Mr. Potter."

Hermione slowly took the wand from the hand he gripped and slid it back into her cloak. " There, now let go."

Lucius smirked and squeezed hard, causing her to wince before doing so. " As you wish."

Hermione watched after him until he had disappeared into the crowd. Ron was kneeling beside Harry and had missed the last few minutes. She ran over to them and they managed to get Harry to his feet.

" Come on, Harry." Ron supported him on one side as Hermione did the same on the other. " Let's get him back to our room at the Leaky Cauldron Hermione." She nodded and they went off down the street, missing the gray eyes that followed and watched them.

For the rest of the day, Harry was in his and Ron's room, massaging his swollen head. All he had contracted from the fight, luckily as Hermione continued to point out, was a bruise that was slightly swollen at the back of his head. By dinnertime, he was well enough to join the rest of them downstairs. No one else was told about the events of that day.

With a few days left until they had to go to King's Cross to catch the Hogwart's express, Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to roam around Diagon Alley.

On the last day of vacation, they were sitting outside of the ice cream parlor when they heard the same drawling voice from several days before.

" Potter." The three of them turned as Draco walked up to their table. " I heard what you did to my father."

" Hurt, is he Malfoy?"

" Watch your mouth Weasley. For your information, no he is not. I was just wondering why you reacted so strongly to the comment he made Potter. I mean it's true."

" Save it, Malfoy."

" You have such a temper, Potter. You really must learn to control it."

" Why don't you just go about your business and leave us to ours?"

Draco looked over to Hermione. " Because I don't feel like it, Mudblood. I was bored waiting for my father in Knockturn Alley so, low and behold, I saw you here."

" Still doing illegal things then, is he?"

Draco's eyes flashed and he whipped out his wand, pointing it at Hermione. Harry and Ron leapt up, glad for the excuse to curse him as they blocked his way. Hermione pushed in between them. " Watch it, Mudblood."

" Don't call her that!" Ron cast a flash of green light at Draco who took it in the stomach and fell backwards.

Before anyone knew what had happened, Draco leapt back up and cast three red flashes their way. All three of them were hit and flew back a few feet before landing hard on the ground. Draco walked towards them, but Harry disarmed him, causing his wand to fly away. No crowd had gathered yet, at this time of the morning the Alley was quite deserted.

Harry threw his wand to the side and dived at Draco, bringing them both to the ground. For the second time that week, he was fighting a Malfoy. Punches were thrown and taken. Harry felt his nose start to bleed at a particularly hard hit to his face.

" POTTER!" A voice rang out through the Alley. The fistfight paused momentarily. Harry looked up and Draco, who was underneath him, looked back. Lucius Malfoy was darting towards them, eyes flashing, wand raised.

Harry began to hit Draco non-stop in the few seconds he knew he had left. Ron and Hermione were now standing and watched the fight from a few feet away. Hermione saw that Lucius had stopped a foot away from the two on the ground. He was obviously unwilling to cast a spell, thinking there was a chance it would hit Draco by accident. Finally, he reached down and pulled Harry away from Draco. Harry struggled and Lucius threw him to the ground, yanking his son up by the arm at the same time.

" Potter, I never want to see you come near a member of my family ever again."

" Happy to oblige." Harry met Lucius's glare from the ground and watched as he stalked off with his son in tow, obviously furious with him for being beaten by Harry.