Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement intended.
Author: Totchi
Title: Draco the Hufflepuff
Pairing: HP/DM
Rating: Mature
Summary: Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes has a prototype that Fred and George think will be a big hit - candies based off of the four Hogwarts Houses that promise to "Unleash your inner Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff!". Now, if only they could find some test subjects…

Draco the Hufflepuff

(aka When Harry Finally Embraces His Inner Slytherin)

Chapter 1 – Disguised Desserts

"George!"

"Yes, Freddie?"

"We've gotten an owl from Hogwarts."

"Oh, how exciting," George poked his head into the office to see his brother sitting at a desk, looking over a piece of parchment while he absentmindedly fed the delivery owl a treat. "And what news does the owl bring?"

"Good news, brother dearest," Fred looked up, smiling at his brother. "It seems that we've already gotten our first test subject!"

"Should we send him a letter of appreciation for volunteering his time?" George asked, a smirk gracing his lips as he made his way into the room, taking a look at the letter himself.

"I do believe that would be a grand idea," Fred agreed, nodding his head. "Though I think it'll be best for us to wait to send out appreciation letters once we've gotten all of our volunteers."

"Brilliant idea, Fred," George nodded, watching as the owl flew away through the opened window. "We'll just have to wait another day or two for news, I suppose."

oooOooo

Draco groaned, throwing an arm over his face to cover his eyes. He felt like he was just trampled upon by a horde of hippogriffs. His head was throbbing and everything felt a little bit too hot. He attempted to open his eyes, but quickly aborted that mission when he felt a stabbing pain sear through his eyes and straight to his brain.

"Merlin…" he grounded out, stifling a gasp of pain. "What in bloody-"

"Language, Mr. Malfoy," came the tsking voice of Madam Pomfrey. "This is not the worst I've ever seen of a student, so you don't need to sound like it is."

The tsking continued as the nurse made her way over to Draco, pulling his arm away from his face, despite the loud noise of pain he made.

"You've been here a few times, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said lightly, looking at him carefully as he refused to open his eyes. "And there were many times that you over exaggerated your injuries."

He resisted the urge to refute the claim, only a small part of him screaming at the injustice of being accused of faking an injury. Now was definitely not the time for that, and the pain was making him want to be brutally honest.

"It hurts so much," he replied, moving to use his other arm to cover his face again. "It's too bright."

Madam Pomfrey frowned down at her patient, carefully looking at him to assess any physical injuries she might've missed in her original assessment. She waved her wand to dim the lights to a bearable level for the boy and gently moved his arm away again.

"Could you try opening your eyes for me?" she asked gently, using her wand to perform some diagnostic spells.

Draco sighed softly, bracing himself before he slowly opened one eye. He winced as a headache assaulted his senses, but it was definitely better than the stabbing pain of earlier. Soon enough, he had both his eyes open, squinting up at the witch in the darkened room.

"What happened to me?" he asked before a sudden coughing fit had him turning on his side.

Madam Pomfrey tsked again, helping him sit up in bed as his coughing slowly subsided. Before she could reply, the doors to the hospital wing burst open and two Slytherins rushed in.

"How is he, Madam Pomfrey?" Pansy quickly rushed over, Blaise dragged behind her. "What happened to him? Did someone hurt him?"

"He has a fever," Madam Pomfrey frowned at the ruckus the two students caused rushing in, though she didn't reprimand them. "It seems he's just fallen ill, probably the flu. Nothing some rest and a Pepper Up Potion won't fix. Let me go get one for you, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco watched as she walked away before looking at his two friends tiredly.

"I thought you said you never get sick," Pansy accused, a deep frown on her face. "If you weren't feeling well, you should've said something, Draco. You made such a big spectacle of yourself in the Great Hall!"

Blaise rolled his eyes, moving to be closer to the bed.

"She means," he cut in, looking at the slightly shocked expression on the blond's face, "that we were terribly worried about you because you up and fainted in the hall… Like a damsel in distress."

He couldn't help but snicker at the last part, though it did nothing to soothe Draco's shocked nerves. He had embarrassed himself in front of all the students at Hogwarts in the Great Hall? He felt slightly nauseous and more than a little bit angry.

"I never get sick," he said adamantly, though he wasn't able to reassure his friends of the statement very well when another coughing fit shook his body. Pansy quickly moved over to help him as Blaise stepped away in disgust.

"Right," Blaise said, wrinkling his nose. "So that's why you're coughing up your lungs, huh? You're the picture of perfect health."

"Shut… up… Blaise!" Draco struggled past the coughing, throwing a glare at the other boy. He was in no mood to be arguing with anyone. He just wanted to lie down in his own bed up in the dormitory and sleep.

"Oh dear, you're coughing again?" Madam Pomfrey bustled over with a bottle, waiting until Draco had stopped coughing. "Here, dear. Take this, go on."

Draco let the nurse press the bottle against his lips, wincing as the warmth slid down his throat. After a few minutes, Draco started feeling a little bit better, though it wasn't as effective as he had hoped the Pepper Up would be. After checking his vitals once more, Madam Pomfrey made shooing motions to the group.

"You are more than welcome to leave when you're up to it, Mr. Malfoy. A lot of rest should do you some good," she said, moving to go organize some potion bottles. "If you're feeling unwell, come stop by and I can give you another Pepper Up."

Draco gave himself a sigh, allowing his friends to lead him back to the dormitories.

oooOooo

As Harry followed behind Ron and Hermione into the Great Hall for breakfast, he couldn't help but glance over to the Slytherin table. At once, he was able to spot platinum hair and looked at the Slytherin that was attached to that head of hair. Malfoy seemed sickly, paler than normal, which he didn't even know was possible, and definitely not acting like his usual self if his sullen and subdued behavior was any clue. Looking away, Harry took a seat beside Hermione, while Ron was making faces at his younger sister.

"Are you going to be like that every time I see you?" she asked in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "I swear… Ron, stop being so barmy."

"Says my sister," Ron sighed dramatically. "The one who's snogging a Slytherin."

He made another face of disgust, as if his own words triggered unwanted images to his head.

"If you won't be nice," she warned threateningly, "I won't share my chocolates with you."

She waved an ornately packaged box around, smirking as Ron's expression changed into one of interest.

"Chocolate?" he asked, eyeing it carefully.

"Yup," Ginny agreed, moving to open the box to reveal small wrapped chocolates, decorated in various reds, blues, and greens.

"I ate some earlier," Ginny said lightly, tossing a few wrapped chocolates to Harry and Hermione while Ron took a handful of his own.

"Ron!" she frowned, watching as a good portion of chocolate disappeared.

"Sorry," Ron replied, opening up a blue wrapper and tossing it into his mouth. Harry thought that Ron didn't sound sorry at all.

"These are delicious!" the red-headed boy exclaimed, turning to look at his friends. "Really, these are really good!"

Harry watched his friend in amusement before looking at the candy in his hand. Slowly unwrapping a green wrapper, he took a bite, enjoying the feeling of the chocolate melting in his mouth. Chocolate wasn't his favorite dessert, but these were rather delicious.

"These are good," he agreed, looking up at Ginny.

Ginny beamed, nodding, "They are great, aren't they?"

The sound of someone clearing their throat made the conversation halt, and eyes moved over to the boy now standing near them.

"Hello," he smiled charmingly at the group. "Just wanted to come over to see my favorite Gryffindor."

Harry was silent, Ron started sputtering behind another chocolate, and Hermione rolled her eyes at her friends, pausing in unwrapping a chocolate to greet the newcomer.

"Hello Blaise," she replied cordially.

"Shouldn't you be over at your table with the ferret?" Ron growled, biting viciously into chocolate – Harry vaguely noted that Ron was now on his fourth piece – before shaking a hand at the Slytherin. "You're not welcomed here."

Harry sat back, carefully watching his friend interact with the Slytherin. He'd definitely step in if something were to happen, but based on Zabini's relaxed pose, Harry wasn't sure that he would even start anything.

"Draco's sick," Blaise replied easily, ignoring the insult that was leveled at his friend. "I didn't want to catch what he has."

Harry glanced back at the Slytherin in question, noticing that he seemed to have gotten sicker within the last few minutes. He was pale, propping his chin up in an arm that was braced against the table, and it seemed that he was just pushing his food around on his plate.

"He does look sick, doesn't he?" Harry whispered to Hermione, who was looking over at the Slytherin table as well.

She nodded in agreement, "He looks rather terrible. Maybe he should go to the Hospital Wing."

"He got released last night," Blaise cut into their conversation, looking curiously at Harry in particular. "Why I'm surprised Potter, I didn't know you cared. I bet Draco would love to hear that."

Harry scowled at Blaise, all thoughts about sick Slytherins replaced by irritation.

"I'm not a Slytherin," he replied, turning away from facing the Slytherin table. "I wouldn't find it funny if someone was sick, even if it was Malfoy."

Blaise raised his hands in mock defense.

"Hey now, Potter," he looked sideways to his redheaded girlfriend for help. "Didn't mean to put your knickers in a twist. I wasn't trying to irritate you."

He then held out his arm to Ginny, which she took as she stood up from her seat.

"I'll leave you Gryffindors alone, seems like I have overspent my welcome here," he grinned, bowing lowly to Ron. "And I will promise to take good care of your sister."

Ron's glower and move to get up from the table made Harry reach out to hold his friend down.

"Ron, stop!" Hermione hissed out at him, glaring. "Stop acting like that! Your sister is talking to Blaise, there's no reason for you to cause any trouble."

"Oh, so now he's Blaise, huh?" Ron rounded on his friend, frowning heavily. "Who's side are you on, Hermione? He's a Slytherin!"

Hermione leveled a glare at him, standing abruptly and collecting all of her things.

"I'm on nobody's side," she rebuffed, sweeping her hair out of her face. "Though I'm sure I'd much rather have a civilized conversation right now with him than you because you're acting like a petulant little child. Maybe when you grow up, I can be on your side!"

She threw Harry an apologetic look before she turned to leave the hall. Harry watched quietly as Ron turned around, looking at him in wide-eyed shock. Harry shrugged.

"Not sure what to tell you, mate," he admitted, watching as Ron turned back towards his plate, shoulders slumped. "Maybe you should finally tell her that you've had a crush on her for the past year. She might give you some slack."

Ron blanched, shoving one last piece of chocolate in his mouth.

"The day that makes her happy is the day I become a Ravenclaw," he joked, wiping his hands before standing up. "Let's go ahead and get to class, then…"

Harry laughed as he stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. While they made their way out of the hall, he couldn't help his instinctual urge to glance back at the Slytherin table, watching as the blond Slytherin he had been thinking about earlier sluggishly got up and collected his things.

oooOooo

"Draco, I think you should go back to see Madam Pomfrey," Pansy gave her friend a slightly concerned glance, wrinkling her nose when he coughed for the tenth time. "As much as I adore you, I do not find your sickness attractive in any way."

"Go sit somewhere else then," he said sourly, squinting down at his Arithmancy textbook, scribbling some notes on his parchment as he read. "I don't want to hear you complain about it every time I cough, it's already bad enough I have to deal with it in the first place."

He looked over at Pansy, noticing the miffed expression on her face. He gave a sigh, rubbing at his eyes again as he felt an inexplicable urge to apologize for snapping at her.

"I'm sorry, Pans," he offered softly, offering her a faint smile. "You're only trying to help."

Pansy stared at him in shock, looking at him as if he had grown another head. He shifted under her stare, until she finally reached a hand out to brush against his forehead.

"You're a little warm," she said after a moment, giving a relieved smile. "Which is probably why you just apologized to me. I was scared for a moment."

Draco's expression darkened and he turned away, a sneer forming on his lips.

"Oh now, don't get all pouty on me," Pansy laughed, looking up as students started packing their bags to leave the class. "I don't know what's worse to deal with, an irritated Draco or one throwing a little temper tantrum."

As they walked into the hall, she watched as a few students glanced their way, stares lingering on Draco as he ignored everything, expression still petulant. A few giggling witches, blushing and ducking away when they passed, made Draco's face darken even more.

"I suppose the rest of the student population would enjoy you being pouty," she mused, rolling her eyes. "Figures."

"If you want to be gawked at by little first years girls, then feel free to take their attention away from me," Draco said dryly, noticing some walk by. "The only time I don't have to worry about them is when Wonder Boy is walking around."

Draco raised an eyebrow as as a dark-haired figure turned the corner and walked towards their direction. Of course Potter would end up showing up if he ever mentioned his name. Of course.

As Draco and Pansy walked closer to him, Draco felt his irritation grow. But as much as it grew, so did his ill feelings, leaving him slightly light-headed. He paused, reaching out to Pansy's arm, closing his eyes.

"Draco?"

"Hang on, Pansy…" Draco groaned, gripping her arm tighter as a wave of nausea rushed his senses. "Once second…"

He leaned over, slowly counting to ten to try to ignore the urge to vomit. Pansy's arm was removed from his grasp and he felt hands grip his arms to help him balance.

"Pansy, I'm ok…" he mumbled out, closing his eyes as he felt her slowly pull him into a standing position. "I just feel a little ill…"

"Draco…"

He paused, hearing Pansy's voice to the left of him, though he knew that there was someone standing in front of him to help him stand. He opened his eyes, jerking back when he saw a certain glasses-wearing Gryffindor holding onto him.

"Let go of me, Potter!"

He tried to pull back, but found Potter's hands tightening around his arms.

"Malfoy, chill out!"

Shocked gray eyes stared into slightly curious green eyes, covered by spectacles.

"Let go of me," Draco repeated after a few seconds of stunned silence. "What do you think you're doing?"

He tried to jerk himself away again, only to feel the grasp on him firm up even more.

"Trying to help you," Potter replied lightly, face still curiously blank, save for the brightness in his eyes. "You were about to tumble over and take Parkinson down with you."

Draco mustered up a glare, unable to do anything else.

"I don't see how that is any of your concern," he spat out, partly because he was forced to talk to Potter and partly because his nausea was creeping back up and curling around his senses. "Now let me go before I decide to get sick on you. It's bad enough I feel ill, looking at your ugly face is only making it worse."

Instead of the horrified expression that Draco expected on someone's face when they were being told someone was going to vomit on them, he found Potter's expression slowly transforming into one of amusement.

"Is this how you usually chase people away that are trying to help you, Malfoy?" he asked, an unruly eyebrow rising as a smirk played at his lips. "By threatening to get sick on them?"

Draco watched as Potter's hands slowly pulled away as he stood straight, smirk slowly disappearing into a faint smile.

"Maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing," he pointed out, waving to Draco's face. "You're rather red… You might be coming down with a fever."

Without another word, he continued on his way down the corridor. Only when the other boy's footsteps disappear, did Draco turn and gave a faint glare to the only other person in his company.

"And what exactly were you doing to help, Pansy?" he demanded, bristling at the realization that she just stood there and did absolutely nothing.

Pansy was standing there with her arms folded, eyes curiously analytical. She looked at Draco for a moment before glancing to where Potter was only minutes before. After a few seconds, her eyes cleared and she shrugged.

"It didn't look like I needed to do anything," she offered, moving towards the blond, nudging him to continue walking. "It's Potter, it's not like he'll ever start anything with you. He's a Gryffindor. They only react."

"You could have at least hexed him when he was walking away…" Draco groused, sighing heavily. "And you call yourself my friend."

As they continued walking down the corridor, Pansy took another glance at the boy beside her. The flush on his cheeks hadn't left, though he was holding his head up and ignoring the fact that he wasn't his usual pale pristineness. She rarely saw her friend like this, but she could definitely tell the difference between Draco flushed with a fever and Draco blushing… The fact that he was blushing was curious enough, but something else was nagging at the back of her mind and she wanted to figure out what it was. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, knowing that she'll have to have a talk with Blaise later about their friend.

oooOooo

Harry continued walking down the corridor, still curious about Malfoy's predicament. He didn't know why, but he couldn't help but be interested with what was going on with the other boy. He furrowed his brow as he thought to himself. It wasn't out of the ordinary for him to be concerned with other students being ill… especially if he walked right into them needing help in the hallway. Anyone would do that. What was bothering him was the fact that it was Malfoy… and that a small part of Harry had enjoyed the fact that the other boy was so ill, he needed assistance from the one person he hated most at Hogwarts.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he reached the portrait entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. Maybe it was just because Malfoy was such a nuisance.

"Yeah…" Harry mused to himself right after giving the password to the Fat Lady. "He deserves it, whatever he's come down with. Anyone would feel the same way I do."

Feeling slightly better with the justification of his sudden fascination with the Slytherin, he walked into the Gryffindor common room. Spotting his friends by the fireplace, he made his way over.

"Hi Harry," Hermione glanced up for a moment, offering him a smile.

Harry received a grunt in greeting from Ron, who was staring intently at a chessboard. Harry quirked an eyebrow at him before glancing at Hermione.

"Blaise challenged him to a chess match," she provided in response, shaking her head. "He's been like this all day since classes ended."

"Strategy is very important Hermione," Ron said patiently as he moved a pawn across the chessboard. "I refuse to lose to a Slytherin, especially at this game!"

Harry stared at the redhead for a moment before shrugging, seating himself down in an armchair.

Glancing over at Hermione, he decided to broach the topic of his run-in from earlier.

"I ran into Malfoy and Parkinson on my way back to the common room," he said softly to Hermione, who in turn looked at him in surprise.

"You did?" she asked, taking a second to glance over at Ron to see his reaction.

When he didn't provide a response and continued with his study of the chessboard, she continued, "They didn't try to mess with you, did they?"

Harry shook his head, throwing her a grin.

"Opposite, really," he admitted. "I helped him out."

"Helped him?" Hermione put down her book, a look of disbelief on her face. "How so?"

"He's still sick, I think. When I was walking back to the common room, I ran into them and he looked like he was going to pass out, so I couldn't just leave Parkinson there to deal with him by herself. He looked like he was going to take her down with him too. That's all."

"He must be really sick," he continued, his grin growing, "because the only thing he did to me was tell me to leave him alone. No hexes or anything."

Hermione gave Harry a half-exasperated quirk of her lips, shaking her head.

"I don't see why you'd be so excited about that, Harry," she pointed out, watching as he shrugged. "Being happy that someone else is sick is terrible."

"I dunno either," he admitted, giving a laugh. "It's weird, probably because he finally had something coming to him. I'd never thought that he'd be someone who'd get taken down so easily by a cold."

Hermione rolled her eyes good-naturally before she went back to reading, leaving Harry to his own thoughts. He leaned back in his chair, knowing that he didn't have anything to worry about rushing to complete by the next day. Relaxing, he stared around the common room and let his mind wonder, though more often than not, he found himself thinking about a certain blond with a nasty temperament.

oooOooo

The next morning, Harry found himself in a very good mood. He had gotten plenty of rest, Ron wasn't bickering about something, and Hermione hadn't chastised them on the way down to breakfast. In fact, there was an air of absolute calmness around Harry that he felt couldn't be destroyed by anything. So when the owls came in for the usual delivery of mail and he found an elaborately wrapped box the size of his hand land delicately on his lap, all he did was place it on the table and open it with a faintly curious expression on his face. A loud popping noise came from the box as confetti exploded to the ceiling and balloons sprung forth, floating around to other students.

"Harry, what is that?" Hermione asked in surprised, eyes wide as she watched as more balloons emerged.

"I have no idea," Harry admitted, an amused expression on his face. "I don't even know who it's from."

"Fred and George," Ron replied quickly, holding up a similarly wrapped envelope in his hand that was addressed to "Our Little Ronnikins" in a flourish of shimmering blue ink.

Before Ron could say anything else, a chorus of singing "Thank you's" resounded through the Great Hall as Harry's box continued to dole out surprises. Once the thank you's faded away, the voices of two very familiar Weasleys rang out in the hall, and the abrupt silence everywhere else around them signified that the entire hall was now listening in.

"Thank you Harry!" Fred's voice boomed and Harry didn't have to glance around the hall to know that he had everyone's attention. "Because you volunteered to try out our newest creation, we thought it'd only be appropriate to shower you in our thanks!"

"Quite literally," George's voice cut in and Harry could imagine their expressions of glee exactly how it would have been if he concentrated hard enough. "But lucky you, Harry! You've been lucky enough to try out our newest Hogwarts-inspired candies!"

"Because we never finished our education there, you see," Fred continued. "We thought it would only be fair to pay homage to our alma mater! Our home away from home!"

"And what better way than through chocolate?" George piped up.

"Right so, brother," Fred agreed and Harry started to wonder if the twins had forgotten that they were being recorded and assumed that they were having a normal conversation.

"Chocolate?" Ron asked faintly and Harry took a quick look at Ron to see him frowning disapprovingly at his sister, who just looked over with an innocent expression.

"Harry, you might be wondering what exactly these candies do," Fred suggested with a laugh. "Well, they actually unleash your inner-most house personalities without you feeling as though you couldn't share those feelings! So now you can show everyone your inner Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff…"

"Or Slytherin and Gryffindor!" George cut in. "But you're already a Gryffindor, so that doesn't count for you."

"You were even luckier and now you get to show off your inner…"

The twins trailed off as they made a dramatic drumroll with their hands.

"Slytherin! Won't that be fun?"

"Cheers, Harry! We'll follow up with you to see how you're holding up, but remember…"

"You're practically family, so don't be too upset!"

And with that, the booming voices disappeared and all the balloons popped to shower more confetti around the Great Hall. Soon, Harry found himself stared at by hundreds of curious eyes.

"Great," he said dryly as he turned to face his friends. "Just another reason to be called a freak."

"At least they seem like they really do worry if you'd be upset at them," Ron pointed out, sharing his newly opened letter to Hermione and Harry.

Inside his decorated card were a few simple words:

"Younger brother, don't forget that you can't kill us because mum would be sad. Have fun being a Ravenclaw! It'll do you some good to use your brain!"

"This is crazy," Hermione said softly as buzzing in the Great Hall resumed at a louder level than before, with several discussions being about Harry's new Slytherin status.

"And I know exactly who to blame," Ron glared at his sister, who was now watching them with interest. "How could you? Sneaking us experimental candy? They could've poisoned us!"

"They're your brothers!" Ginny signed explosively, standing up to point at the two boys. "And you deserved it! Always ragging on me about Blaise!"

She rolled her eyes as she continued, "You needed to grow a brain Ronald."

"And you!" she pointed accusingly at Harry. "I know you don't say much, but I can tell what type of things you've been thinking. For someone who can speak Parseltongue, you have no tolerance for Slytherins."

She nodded to herself as she swung her bag over her shoulder, "I think it'll do you both some good."

As she turned around to walk away, she paused.

"And don't worry Hermione," she added, almost as an afterthought. "Your chocolate didn't do anything to you."

And with that, she marched away.

"I don't know how I should feel right now," Harry admitted, glancing at his friends.

"Well…" Hermione started, a worrying glance sent Ron's way.

Ron sighed loudly as he settled back in his seat.

"It's not a big deal," he said dismissively, grabbing his fork to resume eating his forgotten breakfast. "You've always been a little bit Slytherin-ish Harry… It won't be that much different, I'm sure. And I've always had to be their test subject, what's new? I just blew up at Ginny so she'd know that she shouldn't have done something like that. That Zabini must be influencing her in a bad way."

Hermione and Harry stared at him in surprise and it took a few minutes of not receiving a response to cause Ron to look up at his friends.

"What?" he asked in exasperation. "I do have a brain, you know!"

"Yes, but…" Hermione and Harry shared a look of amusement. "That doesn't mean you always use it."

oooOooo

Draco's morning was not what he wanted it to be. Though he woke up without the urge to vomit and didn't need to go nick another Pepper Up potion, something definitely seemed off. He was just having a hard time placing it.

First, there was a weird sense of anxiety that was settling inside him that wouldn't go away. It was persistent and he tried to block it out like he always did with any unfavorable feelings, but he couldn't seem to ignore it. Second, he was starting to pay attention to things he could care less about. When he walked into the common room and saw two fifth years picking on a sensitive (he had no idea what that boy was doing in Slytherin) first year, Draco told them to sod off. And third… he actually took the time to help Crabbe and Goyle wrap up their Transfigurations homework. They were abysmal in that subject, so he shouldn't have even bothered. But they had asked and he felt compelled to help this one time.

What was going on?

He was even thinking about asking Pansy to feel his forehead to see if he seemed warmer than usual. Then, when all the commotion started during breakfast about Harry-bloody-Potter, Draco was sure that the day was only going to get worse. When he decided he had enough of sneering at his least favorite Gryffindors (he had to amend that – there were absolutely no Gryffindors he could tolerate), he found a plain manila envelope with his name written on the front staring back at him. The sheer plainness of the letter quickly told him that it was not from his family, but from the recent arguments he had with his father regarding arranged marriages, he'd only expect a very expensive Howler to be sent his way.

Picking up his wand, he discreetly casted a spell to see if any hexes were in the letter and when the envelope glowed a faint green showing it was safe to open, he reached out and opened it.

Inside laid a plain piece of parchment with a hand-written note.

"Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes would like to extend our appreciation out to you for volunteering to test our new Hogwarts-themed candies. As such, we are pleased to announce that you can now feel free to unleash your inner Hufflepuff, as you have had the great opportunity to try out that flavor, so to speak. So please have fun and we will be reaching out to you at the conclusion of your testing.

Good day,

The proprietors of WWW"

As Draco continued to read in confusion – there was no way in hell that he would ever be a test subject, least of all for a couple of red-headed pureblood traitors – he noticed a smaller message at the bottom of the note:

"Also, please extend our thanks to Mr. Zabini, as his assistance in helping you consume the potion in your pumpkin juice unknowingly was an important step in having you volunteer. Cheers!"

Draco had a weird sensation go through him, his heart slowly starting to speed up as parts of him starting to numb. Blaise had poisoned him? With something from the Weasley twins? He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. His anxiety was coming back and he was not going to show it. He was brought up better than that.

Letting out a low, slow breath, he opened his eyes, turning to face the traitor he had called a friend.

"Blaise."

At the sound of his name being called, Blaise looked away from the Gryffindor table, where balloons were bursting to shower confetti everywhere. At the sight of the pale blond and the letter clutched in his hand, Blaise quickly put two and two together.

"Draco, let me explain-" he started, only to be cut off by Draco abruptly standing.

Draco gave a sharp shake of his head, trying hard to find some strength to yell and hex his friend into nothingness.

"How could you?" he asked, knowing that everyone else's attention was elsewhere.

He crushed the letter in his hand and turned, quickly fleeing the hall. He couldn't be here, he needed to be somewhere else, anywhere he didn't have to worry with people seeing him deteriorate into a Hufflepuff.

oooOooo

Harry had noticed some things while everyone else around him was making a commotion. When Malfoy had gotten up and left the hall, he noticed that Parkinson and Zabini started getting into a heated argument. When they continued to argue and packed up to leave, Harry couldn't restrain his curiosity anymore. With a quick "I'll see you in class!" to his friends, he quickly made his way out of the hall, careful to make sure the Slytherins didn't see him trailing them. When he was about to round a corner, he jerked back, hearing raised voices on the other side.

Holding his breath, he peeked around the corner, satisfaction flowing through him when he saw that it was indeed the two people he had been trying to track. Quickly looking around to make sure the corridor he was in was empty, he looked back to the pair.

"How could you?" Pansy hissed angrily, stabbing a finger into Blaise's shoulder. "What kind of friend do you even think you are?"

Blaise winced as he received another forceful stab of Pansy's nail. He waved her off, rolling his eyes.

"A really wonderful friend," he suggested. "I had a very good reason to do it."

Pansy sneered and Harry wondered if she was going to physically attack the boy.

"By turning him into a Hufflepuff?!" Pansy's voice was so loud, neither of them heard Harry's gasp of surprise.

Malfoy was in the experiment too? Blaise shushed the girl, glancing around to see if any other students around. This only seemed to rile her up even more.

"I understand that for some unfathomable reason, you are dating that ginger Gryffindor… But trying to get her to spread her legs faster by offering up our friend as an experiment is not the way to do it," she sneered angrily.

Blaise made a face, clearly offended that Pansy would suggest such a thing.

"I did not do it so that it would give me an advantage with something like that," he retorted haughtily, which Harry was actually surprised to hear.

"I did it because something's been going on with Draco and," he waved off Pansy's attempt to interrupt, "you and I both know that he has been closing himself off from us since."

He looked at Pansy in a way that challenged her to disagree. When she only signed in exasperation and looked away, he continued, "And I thought this was the best way to do it. Really, Pansy! He has no other option but to open himself back up… For Merlin's sake, that's what Hufflepuffs do!"

As the pair continued to bicker, Harry turned away and leaned against the wall, his eyes wide at the amount of knowledge he had just gained. Malfoy was tricked by his own friend and was now going to act like a Hufflepuff? Harry knew that if it had been anybody else, he would've felt horror on their behalf. But because it was Malfoy…

Harry felt a grin slowly tug at his lips as he let his thoughts wonder. Watching Malfoy succumb to Hufflepuff temptations would be so funny. There was no way his day could get any better.

Author's Notes:

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Just look at that, Draco's already becoming a Hufflepuff. Can't wait to see what happens when Harry starts using his Slytheriness for… evil.

Reviews appreciated!