Disclaimer: Not mine. JKR's.

Switching Sides
.Chapter 1

The grounds of Hogwarts were blanketed in darkness. Rain pounded against the castle, accompanied by roaring thunder. Peering out into the storm from his cabin window, one Rubeus Hagrid ran a hand through his tangled beard, stroking the head of his dog Fang with the other. Fang let out a low growl. Hagrid gave the dog a small smile, scratching behind his ear.

Fang roughly shook his head, and barked, his fur standing on edge.

In a gruff whisper, Hagrid turned to him and asked, "'Srong boy?"

As if in answer an ethereal bolt of lightning jolted through the dark clouds outside the window, illuminating Hagrid's hut for a single instant. Fang let out a loud whimper, his tail darting between his legs as he scrambled to his feet and hid beneath the kitchen table.

Hagrid eyed the dog worriedly, letting his hand fall to his side and mumbled something along the lines of, "Bloody coward."

Turning back to the window, Hagrid strained his eyes through the darkness to see the Giant Squid leap from the lake, water lapping along the shore as it thrashed it's giant tentacles. Behind him, Fang barked again.

Hagrid grinned and turned from the window, "It's nuthin' boy, the storm's jus' got the Squid excited is all."

Another bolt of lightning flashed outside, and behind Hagrid's unsuspecting back, a dark figure darted past his window.

With a single step, Hagrid walked from the window to the table. Hagrid stared down at a basket full of scones. Grabbing one, he kneeled down and offered it to Fang. The dog's golden eyes focused on the treat and he gently craned his neck to sniff it. After a moment, he whimpered again, his head falling to the floor. Hagrid chuckled, tossing the scone on the floor for him to eat later, and climbed to his feet.

Fang let out another whimper as Hagrid stood, burying his nose in his paws just as the door to the hut blasted open, the wood hanging on its hinges. Hagrid turned, eyes wide.

Suddenly the door to the hut blasted open, the wood hanging on its hinges and Hagrid turned, his eyes wide. Rain poured onto the wooden floor of the hut, and another bolt of lightning crackled overhead, illuminating the dark form of a stranger. Red eyes glinted in the night. As Hagrid hurried for his crossbow, the stranger lifted a piece of wood from his cloak, yelling something at Hagrid's large form.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A blast of green shot out from the stranger's wand, blowing his hood backward to show two slitted eyes amidst the green.

Harry awoke in a cold sweat, choked for breath. Coughing, he hoisted himself up, squinting at the dark red canopy around him. Pressing his palm to his forehead, he swore softly, and groggily shook his head. Suddenly, the images of the dream came back in a torrent to his sleep fogged mind and he swore again. The distant sound of screaming sounded through his mind.

Grogginess apparent in his voice, he whispered aloud, "Hagrid."

Hurriedly untangling himself from a web of crimson blankets, he leapt from the bed, nearly tripping on the sheets that had spilled onto the floor. With seeker like reflexes, Harry caught himself on the desk near his bed before falling completely, clumsily knocking off his Dark Arts book. The noise echoed through the dormitory.

Somewhere across the room, another Gryffindor stirred, meekly calling, "Harry?"

Harry ignored Neville, grabbing his glasses from the desk and scrambling to his feet. He darted towards the door, tugging it open and clambering down the stairs. He could hear Neville calling his name behind him, waking the others. The stone was bitingly cool beneath his feet as he ran blindly down the stairway, and through the common room to the portrait hole. He could hear his roommates hurrying down the stairs behind him, calling his name.

The girls' dormitory door let out a loud creaking noise as Lavender opened it, calling out into the darkness, "What's going on?"

Harry said nothing as he pushed the Fat Lady open with hurried force, ignoring her indignant cry from being awoken so abruptly. He hurried down the corridor, torches bursting into flames and lighting his way as he went. Somewhere in front of him, he could hear the stairs shifting, and he urged himself to go faster.

Hagrid, Hagrid, Hagrid...

Darting around the corner, the sound of Harry's bare feet hitting the stone resonated through the halls. He hurried to the stairway, nearly loosing his balance on the first step before jumping the remaining length. Rather clumsily Harry rushed down the stairs, the staircase connecting with the second floor just in time to catch his weight as he leapt down the last two steps.

Pushing another door open, he again began running through the winding corridors of Hogwarts, nearly knocking a suit or two of armor over on his way. In his wake, disgruntled portraits whispered to each other, shooting curious looks at his retreating back. Harry rounded another corner, and came to a skidding stop, squinting his eyes in the dim light.

The torches in front of him burst into flames, as something dark worked its way down the hall toward him. His heart pounding in his chest, he looked at the dark form with curiosity.

To himself Harry whispered, "What in the bloody hell.."

Taking a step backwards, the thought of going the other way crossed his mind. Instead, he reached into his pyjamas, fumbling for his wand. His fingertips touched cloth, and cloth only. Pulling his pockets inside out, realization dawned on his face. Of course he didn't have his wand; it was still underneath his pillow, safe and sound. His eyes darted up and his breath hitched as the form edged closer, snuffling the torch flames with its darkness. Turning, Harry made for the other direction, only to find that the inky darkness of the form surrounded him.

The few torches that remained lit bounced their light off of the form, highlighting its cloud-like figure. Harry swallowed, staring through the fog with dark eyes. He could feel the space around him growing more suffocating by the second, and he put his palm against his forehead, feeling trapped. His scar prickled lightly, only adding to his feeling of despair.

As the fog neared, Harry broke out in a cold sweat. The fog reached out for him, wrapping itself around his legs. He screamed as the hallway plunged into darkness. Darkness embraced him, cradling his body in its hold, a light breeze playing with his hair. It caressed his skin, tugging at his clothes, and Harry found himself choked for air. He coughed, the touch of the fog shifting dramatically, wisps of the mist tangling itself in his hair, tightening around his limbs.

His scar began burning, the pain surging from his forehead to the back of his eyes. Thrashing against the mist, Harry clawed at the darkness enclosing his neck with his nails, gasping for air. His sudden movements caused his glasses to fall from his face, but the sound of the glass crashing against the stone floor never came. Harry gasped again as a burning sensation began working its way to his lungs.

He continued to dig at his skin, something moist meeting his fingertips.

Blood.

And suddenly, the darkness released it's hold, the pain in his scar and lungs fading as quickly as it had started.

Coughing, Harry stepped backwards, his back hitting something cold and hard.

With his hand, he blindly felt around, but the cold stone walls of Hogwarts gave him little comfort. He coughed again, covering his mouth with his arm, tears prickling at his eyes.

I need to escape... I need to... Hagrid!

Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, with a determination only a Gryffindor could have, Harry turned and darted head first into the smoke.

When the clammy sensation of the mist against his skin disappeared, Harry opened his eyes. The fog had released its grip, retreating into the shadows, and the torches again burned brightly, as if nothing had happened. Bending over with his hands on his knees, Harry began coughing again, the air burning his eyes. Rubbing at them with the back of his hand, he felt something wet drip down his chin.

He continued to cough.

Urgent footsteps sounded in the distance. With pained eyes, Harry looked up, a blurry form stepping from behind the corner. He let out a weak sigh, clearly relieved.

He was less relieved when he could make out whom the footsteps belonged to. The person's form got clearer the closer he or she walked-- in this case, a he. Standing in front of him, was no other than Draco Malfoy. His wand by his side, Draco gave him a hauntedlook, silver eyes flickering in the light.

Harry coughed again, pushing himself upright. Wiping at the blood coming from his mouth, Harry looked Draco in the eye; managing to choke out, "Bugger off, Malfoy."

Draco only stared, before pointing his wand directly at Harry's chest with a single fluid movement, "I wouldn't move again if I were you."

Harry stepped forward.

"I said, stay where you are," hissed Draco, holding his wand higher.

Harry snorted, stepping forward again, "Move it, Malfoy, I need to get to the Headmaster."

Draco smirked, and yelled, "STUPEFY!"

Falling to the floor, Harry's vision began blurring again, and a searing pain shot through his chest. Draco stepped towards him, his footsteps echoing in the dimly lit corridor, and Harry groaned. Beneath him, he could feel the stone vibrate. Trying to blink away the darkness, Harry looked up with squinted eyes to see Draco's pale face leaning over him.

The Slytherin smirked, his wand by his side, "You'll be doing no such thing, murderer."

It was the last thing Harry remembered before everything went black.


Author's Note: Woah, I'm coming out with a lot of new stories lately, huh? You know the drill; review if you want more.