Title: Phoenix Tears

Author: slytherin-nette

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

Full Summary: To Draco Malfoy, his orders from the remaining Death Eaters were simple. Turn Harry Potter into a woman. Get her pregnant. Resurrect Lord Voldemort's soul into the baby's body. The plan was flawless. He just never planned on falling in love. [DM/femHP]. Post-DH Hogwarts.

Pairings: DM/femHP, Past HP/GW, RW/HG, others.

Warnings: Tormented!Draco and Bitter!Harry. Spoilers from Books pregnancy and VERY dark and mature themes. POSSIBLE non-con between main pairing.

A/N: I'm SO sorry for the delay of this chapter! I've been busy with finishing my other story! Hehe. Anyway, thank you all SO MUCH for the wonderful reception of this! I'm really eager to get working on this too and get some good character development in! Anyway, enjoy the chapter! :D


Chapter 2 – Rock Bottom

"Not ONE word, Draco darling…"

Hearing his Aunt Bellatrix's saccharinely sweet voice hissing those words into his ear, Draco stiffened and swallowed the painful lump in his throat. He ignored the rapid pounding of his heart in his chest and followed her slowly through the crowded corridors towards the Hogwarts Express.

It was the first of September that morning and just like they had been doing for the past seven years of his stay at Hogwarts, Draco was being escorted to the train station by both his parents.

The only problem, however, was that it wasn't his parents were escorting him to the platform nine and three quarters this time but none other than… Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback.

The two death eaters were currently in the guise of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy's aristocratic faces with the help of the well-brewed Polyjuice potion Draco had been forced to make for them that morning. After having made sure that both Lucius and Narcissa were heavily sedated and controlled by a strong Imperius Curse back in the manor basement, Bellatrix had hauled Draco off to London to bring him to the Hogwarts Express – all the while hissing orders into his ear the entire time.

As they walked through the platform barrier onto the train station, Draco suddenly winced to himself in slight pain when he felt Fenrir's hand tighten dangerously around his wrist as though in warning. Looking up, it didn't take him long to figure out what had irked the werewolf so much.

Situated just a couple of feet away from him in the middle of a large group of incoming Gryffindor seventh years stood none other than Harry James Potter – who at that moment was busy hauling his trunk and belongings along the ground behind him. At the sight of the well-known wizarding savior, however, Draco instantly felt Bellatrix stiffen beside him in growing anger.

"There he is…That blasted boy who just WON'T die…It won't be long now, Potter…" She cackled under her breath, a twisted, maniacal gleam in her bright blue eyes. Draco saw her look and looked sharply away from her face, clearly not comfortable with the fact that such an insane expression was creasing into his mother's normally beautiful and calm features.

As though reading his thoughts, Bellatrix suddenly turned and flashed him Narcissa's beautiful, charming smile. "What's the matter, sweetie…? Surely you don't miss your mother already…? She's right here, darling…With you…" She drawled mockingly, her words ending up into a cackling laugh when she heard Fenrir's highly amused sniggering beside her.

The werewolf was peering intently around the platform with a hungry, predatory look in his eyes – the expression on his face looking completely alien on Lucius' normally stoic face. Draco cringed in disgust as Fenrir eyed a particularly attractive brunette student who walked past them, the look in the werewolf's eyes dripping with such bloodlust that Draco felt a sick churning in his stomach.

When Fenrir grinned to himself and licked his lips in anticipation, Draco finally couldn't take it anymore and turned around to face them. "Alright, alright…I'm here! I'm going to enter the train now…I'm not going to run away! Will you two leave already?!" He hissed angrily at them, his face flushing even more in anger when both Bellatrix and Fenrir met his look with an amused smirk.

They stared at him for a long moment, chuckling to themselves as though amused by his reaction. Finally, a shrill giggle escaping her lips, Bellatrix finally reached over and began to adjust the collar on Draco's robes – using the same gesture to pick an imaginary piece of lint off his shoulder.

"Now, darling…Is that any way to speak to your mother…? Why…We won't be seeing you for months…Surely, you can spare me a hug?" She cooed mockingly, hiding a sneer when she was met with Draco's highly contemptuous, hateful glare. Fenrir also seemed to find the situation amusing and grinned at them, swinging Lucius' cane back and forth between his fingers.

"You heard your mother, son…Go on now. Before the train leaves…" He added in another low drawl, raising an eyebrow and watching with a smirk as Draco took a reluctant step towards Bellatrix's form. Biting back the stream of nasty words that were threatening to spill out of his mouth, Draco squelched down the disgust rising from his stomach and pulled Bellatrix into a stiff, awkward hug.

As he did this, however, Bellatrix used the advantage of their position to slip the small bottle in her hand stealthily into one of Draco's front robe pockets, leaning closer against him so she could whisper something into his ear. "Here's the potion…You know what do, Draco…Do not fail me. Otherwise…" She followed this up and placing a long, cold kiss onto his cheek as though in warning.

Draco stiffened and shivered to himself at the action, pulling away from her and looking up to meet the dark, menacing gleam in her eyes. "I—I won't, Aunt Bellatrix…I swear to it." He whispered back, slipping his hand into his robe pockets and fingering the cold glass of the potion bottle inside.

Bellatrix sneered back at him at this and nodded; watching as Fenrir also leaned down and gave Draco an obligatory, 'fatherly' pat on the shoulder. "Remember…You're supposed to leave the potion on one of the kitchen counters before 7:30PM…" He added in a low whisper and at his words, Draco's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he blinked up at him in confused query.

"Why 7:30…? What's going to happen—"

Bellatrix cut him off again with a high-pitched giggle and a careless flick of her hand.

"Oh you'll see, love… You'll see… It's going to be a wonderful surprise." She cooed, reaching down again and stroking the sleek strands of silver blonde hair that had fallen into his eyes.

Draco paled further at her words but could only nod wordlessly, sighing and finally reaching down to gather his trunk and belongings into his hands. "Very well…I'll do it. I—I'd better get going now…The train is about to leave." He looked back up just in time to see Potter's friends climbing into the train, their laughing voices intermingling with the other students' voices all around them.

Just as he had tightened his grip around his trunk and made to follow them, a large and heavy hand came crashing down onto his shoulder again and forced him to stop. Tensing and whirling back around, he was met with his father's own leering face peering down at him, the silver orbs filled not with Lucius' usual fatherly concern or affection but with Fenrir's gleam of sadistic amusement.

"Remember boy…Bellatrix and I have EYES inside Hogwarts…We have ways to find out if you're doing your job or not. Also remember… We have your parents…ONE wrong move from you… And they're as GOOD as DEAD." He warned darkly, the dangerous tone of his voice causing Draco to tremble in unmistakable fear and take a step backward away from him in intimidation.

His throat almost too try to speak, he barely registered Bellatrix's amused giggles behind him and forced himself to nod at Fenrir in meek affirmation. "I—I understand…I won't fail you. I will get the job done…" He whispered softly and before he could say anything else, Fenrir sneered and began pushing him forward again, nearly causing him to trip over his own feet in his nervousness.

"See that you do…My dearest son."

Draco's face colored and he swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he grabbed his trunk and slowly began to make his way towards the train entrance. He heard Bellatrix and Fenrir's soft laughter as he walked away, their gazes burning holes onto his retreating back and making his movements horribly stiff. He was just about to walk right through the train entrance when he heard Narcissa's – or rather Bellatrix's – voice call out sweetly to him again and he slowly turned around.

Bellatrix gave him one last eerie smile, her dark eyes glittering maliciously.

"Keep in touch…Draco."

Again, Draco could only give her a weak nod before he turned around and hurried off into the train to avoid her eyes. Ignoring the flurry of stares and whispers that he heard from the students around him, he ducked his head and pushed his way through the crowd towards the very end of the train to his usual compartment. As soon as he got there, however, and he had slid open the doors to walk inside, a loud and unmistakably disdainful voice suddenly addressed him.

"Oh look…Look who it is, guys…It's our very own…fearless…leader…"

Draco froze in mid-step and looked up with wide, mercury eyes into the harsh, mocking glare of Theodore Nott – one of his Slytherin housemates – sneering right back at him from where the other boy sat right in the corner of the small compartment. Gathered around him were the similarly scornful sneers of his housemates – Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass and Wilson Paddock – all of which were looking at him as though he was the vilest thing they had ever seen in their lives.

"Well, well…He showed up after all. I would think after everything that's happened, the snotty little prick would be too embarrassed to show his face." Daphne added spitefully to Theodore's comment as she raised an eyebrow and gave Draco an angry sneer again, shaking her head in disgust.

"Maybe his 'Daddy' paid the school to let him go back again…"

Biting back the wave of humiliation that was threatening to overcome him, Draco clenched his fists and forced himself to ignore their jibes as he turned around to walk back out of the compartment. He was forced to stop anyway when Pansy Parkinson spoke up again above the loud sniggers of the other Slytherins, her flashing brown eyes lingering maliciously over Draco's pale form.

"Where are you going now, Draco…? Didn't your no-good, cowardly mother and father tell you all the humiliating trials and investigations our families had to go through because of YOUR family's treason? You pathetic excuse of a death-eater…It's all YOUR fault the Dark Lord is dead." She hissed at him, growing even angrier when Draco refused to acknowledge her and tried to walk away again.

He stopped when Wilson finally stood up and placed a rough hand onto his shoulder, forcing Draco to still in place. Gritting his teeth and his face flushed in his angry shame, Draco forced a sneer and turned back around to face him, narrowing his gray eyes at Wilson in growing contempt.

Wilson returned his sneer easily, raising a single eyebrow and scoffing in derision.

"What's the matter, Malfoy…? Suddenly you're all so quiet now that we've all seen you're all talk…? You're a disgrace to us all, you know…I hope they lock you away in Azkaban along with your stupid…coward father—" The rest of Wilson's taunting remark ended up as a pained screech when Draco had raised a fist and slammed it right into his face, forcing the other Slytherin to pull away.

Stepping away and ignoring the angry exclamations and protests from their other housemates in the compartment, Draco gave Wilson one last angry glare – his sneer hardening maliciously when he caught sight of the blood that was beginning to leak out from the other boy's busted nose.

"Don't you…EVER…talk about me…OR my family like that…You…Disgusting Scum!"

Pansy and the other girls gaped at this and were screeching angrily at him in outrage. Theodore had stood up and looked as though he was going to approach Draco as well but the young Malfoy Heir stopped him by holding his wand out, pointing it directly at Theodore's large form.

Theodore stopped immediately and could do nothing more but stare at him, his glare dripping with a murderous anger. Draco kept switching his wand back and forth between Theodore and Wilson in warning, his voice shaking slightly as he began to take several steps backwards towards the exit.

"Get BACK…Allof you…Don't…ANY of you…Ever…EVER come near me again!"

He didn't bother waiting for their reactions as Draco spun around and grabbed his trunk, ignoring Pansy and Daphne's shrill screams at him as he hastily exited the compartment. His housemates' angry shouts echoed down the aisle and drew the attention of the other students but Draco ignored them and kept on walking, his footsteps hard and heavy along the carpeted floor.

His face was burning with utter humiliation and he tried to keep his head lowered as much as possible to keep from having to see the sneers he knew he was receiving from the other students who had peered out of their compartments to watch the scene. Eventually, their voices died out and Draco looked up again, making his way to the very end of the train towards the last private compartment.

Swinging it open impatiently, he found two more of his Slytherin housemates – Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle playing a quiet game of cards inside. At the sight of him, Blaise's face immediately formed into a smirk of acknowledgment and he nodded once, gesturing for him to come in.

"Malfoy…Took you long enough to get here. Come on in. I think the train's about to leave." He chose not to ask about the angry expression on Draco's face and turned back to his game with Goyle instead, unaware of the way the other Slytherin was now looking at Draco with a strange, eerie glare.

Draco also remained unaware of this and deposited his trunk onto one of the luggage compartments above, choosing to remain completely silent as he eventually sank back down onto the seats. Goyle continued to watch him with a cold and silent expression, his attention eventually drawn away when Blaise looked up from their game of cards and turned to look at Draco in question.

"So…How's your family faring along with the Ministry trials, Malfoy…? Goyle and I were just talking about how our fathers will be having their trials early tomorrow morning in front of the Wizengamot." Blaise asked grimly, sighing as he reached out and placed another card in front of him.

Draco looked back at him in silence for a long time, considering the words of his question carefully to make sure there was no underlying intent in his query. When he had ascertained that Blaise was more or less, genuinely curious, he just gave him an awkward shrug and stiff nod.

"You could say…My family is in…The same situation." He didn't bother saying anything else to his friend and chose to lean back against his seat to stare out the train window, falling into a deep and dark silence. Blaise raised an eyebrow at his peculiar behavior and met Goyle's gaze beside him.

"Uhm…Malfoy…? Are you okay…? You look really…tired."

Draco blinked himself out of his self-induced trance and weakly looked up at Blaise again in surprise, allowing the other boy to notice the dark circles under the young Malfoy Heir's eyes. Sighing and taking a deep breath, Draco ran a hand through his blonde hair and nodded silently at him.

"I—I'm fine, Zabini…J—just…really…Tired, I suppose. I'm still recovering from all that's happened." He turned to look out the window again before Blaise could ask him any more questions, causing the other Slytherin to quirk an eyebrow at him but shrug and turn back to talk to Goyle.

As the train finally began to move, Draco eventually drowned the rest of their conversation out and just stared out at the moving scenery before him in contemplative silence. His thoughts moved back to his previous encounter with the other Slytherins and his eyes darkened in contempt again, an uneasy and unfamiliar feeling of betrayal, disgrace and bitterness rising up in his throat.

Cretins…The lot of them…I don't need them! I don't need anybody! They were a pathetic excuse for friends anyway! Horribly brainless and exceedingly thick-headed! Draco's sneer hardened and he clenched his hands into fists again, his fingernails digging deeply into the soft skin of his palm.

His thoughts soon drifted off and he continued to stare off blankly into empty space in dead silence, pausing only every now and then to glance back up at Blaise whenever the other Slytherin would address him with a simple question or two that thankfully only required a 'yes' or a 'no'.

Soon enough, within a couple of hours in the course of the train's travels, Blaise and Goyle's conversation eventually led to girls and at this, Blaise addressed Draco again, breaking the young Malfoy out of his dark, brooding thoughts. "Hey Malfoy! You and Pansy sort of had some kind of…fling…or something back in fourth year to sixth year right…? How goes that? You still together?"

Blinking in surprise at having been addressed by such a peculiar question, Draco tore his gaze away from the scenery out the window and stared at Blaise again, arching an eyebrow in annoyance.

"Excuse me…?"

Blaise's grin widened and he chuckled, reaching out and placing another card onto the slowly growing pile in between him and Goyle. "You know…A fling…? You and Pansy had one right? I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be causing any tension between the two of us before I made a move to ask her out this year. I mean…You don't really mind right…? Are you guys still together?"

If anything, his words brought Draco out of his dark stupor and he managed a derisive smirk for the first time that day, shaking his head at the pure credibility of Blaise's absurd question.

"A…fling…is hardly what I would call it, Zabini. I would consider it more of a…temporary lapse of sanity on my part. There was hardly any attraction or mutuality involved there…You needn't worry." He managed a weak chuckle at Blaise's relieved expression, amused at the other boy's intentions.

"Besides you have nothing to fear from me. Pansy seems to find me completely detestable already…And as for me…Well—" Draco's silver eyes hardened once more as he reached a hand down and fingered the small, cold glass of the potion bottle that was still lingering in the pocket of his robes.

"—let's just say…Pursuing romantic interests is the last thing on my mind right now…"

Failing to recognize the dark, eerie undertone of Draco's soft drawl, Blaise's grin widened at his words and he leaned back against his seat again, a brief, amused laugh escaping his lips.

"You always say that, Malfoy! Merlin's beard…Don't you ever think about normal things every now and then…? Take Pansy for example! Bloody girl was all over you for nearly five years and you never even returned her affections! It's no wonder the girl hates you…They tend to be vindictive!"

Draco ignored Blaise's last comment and shrugged nonchalantly, turning away so he could place the shove glass potion bottle back deep into his robe pockets. "Whatever you say, Zabini…"

Just as Draco let out an exhale and was about to turn back around to stare out the window again, Goyle finally spoke to him since the first time he had arrived. At the sound of the other boy's softly spoken but otherwise very eerie warning, Draco paled and immediately tensed up in his seat.

"I know something, Draco…And believe me…I've got my eye on you…"


"Blimey, Harry! Come on, get a move on! We're going to miss the train!"

Harry let out an irritated grunt of exhaustion at Ron's words and forced himself to walk faster after his redheaded best friend with both his and Ginny's school trunks weighing him down. Sensing his mild annoyance, Ginny turned back around to look at him from where she was following Hermione towards the barrier and offered him a teasing smile, shaking her head at his flushed features.

"Do you need any help with that, love…?" She asked with an affectionate giggle as she sauntered back over to him, reaching into the pocket of her robes and pulling out her wand. Flushing darker at her amused expression, Harry shook his head and made to pull away from her.

"I'm fine, Gin…I can handle it—" He stopped talking when Ginny had flicked her wand at their trunks and whispered a simple weight-lightening charm, instantly causing her boyfriend to flush darker in embarrassment when he was finally able to lift both the trunks up easily into his arms.

"Thanks…" He muttered sheepishly, hiding his face from her as he began to walk faster towards the train. Ginny giggled at his expression again and ran off ahead of him to rejoin Hermione and Ron just where the couple was already beginning to board the Hogwarts Express by the front.

Sighing to himself, he was just about to follow after them when a loud, slightly distant voice called his attention from behind. Arching his eyebrows in mild surprise, he spun around quickly and was soon greeted with the familiar sight of two approaching figures – one tall and black-haired while the other was small and had hair the bright, striking color of purple.

Recognizing the giggling, chubby face of his godson – Teddy Lupin – and Teddy's grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, Harry's face brightened into a genuine smile and he set the trunks in his hand back down onto the ground. He began to make his way through the crowd of students towards them.

"Hey…There's my handsome little godson…How are you, Teddy? You're looking bigger each time I see you…" Harry scooped up the little purple-haired metamorphagus into his arms and gave the squealing toddler a brief hug before setting him back down and looking up to meet Andromeda's smile.

The pureblooded woman nodded formally at him and gestured to the Hogwarts Express behind them. "Teddy and I were just on our way to Diagon Alley and we figured we'd drop by quickly to see you off to Hogwarts. You must be excited to be going back to school again, Harry…" She mused, reaching out and inadvertently readjusting the mussed-up collar of Harry's button down shirt.

Harry flushed slightly at his unnoticed scruffiness but smiled back and gave Andromeda a polite nod. "Thank you, Andromeda…I appreciate it. I promise to send Teddy as much chocolate and candies from Hogsmeade as possible as soon as I get the chance." He knelt back down and ruffled Teddy's purple hair again, causing the toddler to giggle and squeal up at him at the attention.

Andromeda smiled at this again and kneeled down to gather Teddy back into his arms. "Also… Harry…If you don't mind my saying…I'd like to thank you. I…read from the newspapers how you vouched for the case of my sister, Narcissa and her husband Lucius…I know that you must have—"

Before she got the chance to finish her question, Harry shook his head at her words and answered her with a reassuring – though slightly forced – smile. "Don't worry about it, Andromeda…I made the decision based on my own judgment. I hope their case eventually works out." He pulled away before she got the chance to speak again, looking down and giving Teddy one last smile.

"Anyway…I'd better get on the train before it leaves. Uhm…Thanks again for bringing Teddy over, Andromeda…I really appreciate it." He nodded formally at her again, taking a step back in farewell. Andromeda seemed to understand his hesitation and offered him a kind smile.

"Of course, Harry…Have a great year in Hogwarts then. Hope to see you soon…Okay?"

Harry nodded again and after ruffling Teddy's hair one last time, he finally turned and began to walk away – stopping just by the area where he had left his and Ginny's trunks. He scooped them back up into his arms and began heading for the train, his footsteps speeding up as soon as he heard the loud whistle several feet ahead that indicated to everyone it was about to leave in five minutes.

He was just about to reach the front of the Hogwarts Express entrance when he felt something entangle itself within his legs, immediately causing the Gryffindor to wince as he was forced to end up crashing all over himself back to the ground. Muttering curses under his breath, he jumped up and looked around – meeting the meek gaze of a small, second-year Slytherin who was staring up at him.

At the sight of Harry's face and the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, the boy's eyes instantly widened and he began to scramble away in fear, gathering his scattered belongings back into his arms. Confused at his reaction, Harry slowly bent down to help him pick his things up, stilling his movements immediately when the boy responded by meeping and backing away even more.

"Uhm…I'm not going to hurt you, kid…Are you okay? Can you stand?" Harry offered the boy an uncertain smile as he reached a hand out to him. The boy froze up and stared back up at him in shock for several minutes, his bright blue eyes growing as wide as saucers when he saw Harry's expression.

He still didn't say anything, however, and Harry eventually sighed and knelt back down – gathering the rest of the boy's scattered belongings into his arms. When the boy did nothing but gulp and watch him, Harry looked back up – finally noticing the painful scrape on the boy's left knee.

"Oh…That's a rather nasty wound you've got there. Here, let me help you with that." Harry reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out his small, green handkerchief. He was just about to use it to wipe the blood off the boy's knee when the boy winced again and pulled his leg away, trying in vain to stand back up so he could walk away from Harry as quickly as he can.

It didn't work, unfortunately, and he ended up stumbling back to the ground again – causing Harry to sigh and help him sit up again. As soon as the boy realized that Harry meant him no harm and was actually trying to help him, he blinked and looked up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"You aren't…Going to hex me?"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed further at the boy's strange words and he frowned, reaching out and beginning to wipe the blood off the boy's knee. "Why in Merln's name would you think I'd do something like that…? I was just going to help you with that small wound." He sounded confused as he said this, shaking his head as met the boy's equally bewildered expression at him.

The boy blinked several times before gulping and looking nervous as he answered. "Because…I'm a Slytherin and you're Harry Potter…? Slytherins are considered to be evil and all that, right…? You can leave me here if you want to." He tried to stand up by himself again but Harry looked disturbed at this and shook his head, reaching a hand out again to help the boy stand up easier.

"Nonsense…We're all the same here…Thomas…? Was it?" When the boy he had addressed as 'Thomas' nodded meekly again, Harry continued to speak – offering him a small smile as he helped the Slytherin up to his feet. "You…Me…Everyone…Slytherin or Gryffndor. No exceptions…Okay?"

Thomas' face lit up at his words and he nodded, dusting himself off as he stood up. "I—I understand…Thank you for your help, H—Harry…Oh, here… Here's your handkerchief back." He tried to give the cloth back to Harry again but the Gryffindor shook his head, giving him a reassuring grin.

"You can keep it, Thomas…I think you need it more than I do. In fact… Why don't we just—" He took the handkerchief from Thomas' hand and knelt down towards the boy's scraped knee again, using the small handkerchief to tie it securely as a bandage around the bleeding wound.

"There…That should hold you together until you can get it cleaned up. Now come on…Give me your trunk. I think the train's just about to leave." Not bothering to wait for the shocked Slytherin boy's response, Harry gave him a conspiratorial wink. He gathered Thomas' trunk into his arms along with his own and Ginny's, ushering the young boy forward with him towards the train entrance.

As soon as they had both gotten onboard and Thomas gave him one last 'Thank you' before taking his trunk and going off to search for his friends, Harry began to search for the other Gryffindors as well. He found them gathered in the compartment near the front of the train and soon entered, placing their trunks up onto the shelves above the seats. With that, he took a deep intake of breath and plopped himself down onto the seat beside Ginny, causing her to give him a look of concern.

"What took you so long, love…? Is something wrong?"

Tearing his gaze away from the familiar sight of Ron and Hermione falling into another argument from where they sat across them, Harry gave his girlfriend a handsome, reassuring smile.

"No…It's nothing, Gin…I'm just… Happy to be going back."


"Where's your precious father NOW, Malfoy…? Huh?!"

Stopping just as he had gotten off the exit of the Hogwarts express that night, Draco stiffened and turned around at the loud taunt – only to be met with a hard fist slamming right into his face.

Wincing at the sudden pain and stumbling backwards a couple of steps in shock, he snapped his face back up and glared angrily at the sight of Justin Finch-Fletchley and couple more Hufflepuff Seventh Years making their way towards him with matching sneers of hatred on their faces.

They stopped just as they had approached his lone figure by the end of the train away from the other students and began to circle around him, closing him in tightly in the middle of a small circle. Draco tensed up at this and he flicked his eyes up in panic for a sign of any of his housemates, paling moments later when he realized that just about everyone else had already gone off towards the school.

The Hufflepuffs seemed to sense his fear immediately and began to chuckle amongst themselves, sneering wider as they closed in on his lean frame. Draco swallowed the dry lump in his throat and tried to sneer as he slowly backed himself away from them in growing nervousness.

"How…DARE…you go near me you…Hufflepuff bastards! I'm Head Boy this year, I could h—have you all expelled for laying your filthy paws on me!" He snapped at them, the cracking in his voice clearly making the Hufflepuffs laugh loudly to themselves again and close in tighter around him.

"Aw…You scared, Malfoy?! Not so tough without your Father and your little Death Eater friends now, ARE you?" It was Ernie MacMillan who had spoken this time and he followed his snide comment up by aiming another punch to Draco's face, forcing the Malfoy Heir to back himself against the train.

Draco winced again when he felt the train's cold surface pressing against his back and he gulped as he tried to reach for the wand in his robes. "I said s—stay back, all of you! I'm warning you! Don't you DARE touch me or I swear I'll—" He grimaced in pain when another strong punch came flying at his stomach this time, winding him and causing him to fall to his knees on the floor.

Another Hufflepuff sneered at this and followed this up by aiming a kick right to his side, causing Draco to stumble back onto the ground as he tried to move away from them. "Come on, then! Let's see it, Malfoy! Let's see that ugly mark you were so proud to have on your arm! Let's see it!"

Draco choked back a cry of pain and tried meekly to crawl backwards along the ground as more and more punches and kicks began to rain all over him – the sounds of their mocking taunts, jeers and laughter drowning out his own whimpers of pain and the rapid pounding of his heart.

"Go on, you pathetic scumbag! Fight back! Fight back, NOW! You stupid Death Eater!"

Ernie MacMillan and Justin aimed a simultaneous kick to Draco's face again and eventually caused the Slytherin to clench his eyes shut when he felt the unmistakable breaking of his skin just right above his eyebrow. As several more punches followed after that, Draco felt tears of pain and utter humiliation beginning to flood his eyes. Unable to do anything else, he shielded his head with both his arms and curled up protectively on the ground in an effort to block out all their kicks.

"Death Eater! Death Eater! Stupid Death Eater!"

"You make me sick, Malfoy! My parents are dead because of people like you!"

"You don't deserve to live, Malfoy! You and your family are dung!"

"You're not welcome here! You belong in Azkaban! Go to hell!"

"Crying, Malfoy? Not so tough NOW, are you?! Are you, you little hussy?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL DOING?! STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Startled at the sound of another voice not too far away, Draco opened his eyes and furiously tried to blink back the tears that had gathered in his mercury orbs to clear his vision. The Hufflepuffs around him had stopped their assault on him at this point and had all whirled around in stunned dismay, their furious glares directed towards the person who was now running towards them.

Wincing and weakly trying to stand up despite the bruises all over his bloodied, battered body, Draco managed to look up just as Harry Potter had come rushing into the scene towards them, his green eyes flashing angrily as he shoved the Hufflepuffs away from Draco's form on the ground.

Ignoring their angry, confused queries at him, Harry took one look at Draco's bloody figure before turning back around and glaring at the Hufflepuffs with utmost disgust. His voice shook as he reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out his wand, pointing it right at Justin's sneering face.

"You sick…DISGUSTING bastards! What is this, a GANG-UP?! The fuck are you all doing?!"

Justin and Ernie both took one look at him and frowned, backing away when they recognized the blazing fire in the Gryffindor's glinting eyes. "Potter…? What the bloody hell are you doing…? It's just…It's Malfoy! We're just showing the git the lesson that he should have learned long ago! What—"

Harry cut them off with another growl and silenced the rest of their protests by holding his wand up even higher at them. "And you think that YOU have the right to teach anyone a lesson? Or the right to beat up another student like that?! Who do you think you are?!" His sneer hardened when the other Hufflepuffs gathered behind Justin and Ernie all begin to shout simultaneously at him.

"B—but…Potter! He's…MALFOY! He's a Death Eater! He's probably the WORST of the Slytherins here and he's done so many horrible things to us during the war! You should know! He sided with the Dark Lord and he's the reason Dumbledore is dead! He shouldn't be back here at Hogwarts—"

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID IDIOTS! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! "

Harry cut off the rest of their angry protests by stepping right up to them and shoving them roughly away again, swinging a fist up and slamming it right into one Hufflepuff boy's jaw. He recoiled in pain at this and gaped up at Harry, blinking several times to make sure he had seen right.

When Harry did nothing but sneer at him again and raise his wand up so that it was pointed directly at his face, he began to back away – along with the rest of his housemates around him.

Throughout all this, Draco had managed to gather himself back up off the floor and was now leaning weakly against the train. The Slytherin was sporting several bruises on his bloodied face and he was cradling his broken arm in pain but he stared up at Harry with an expression of utter shock.

"Who are ANY OF YOU to judge who deserves to be treated like a human being?! Were any of YOU any better off during the war?! Hiding behind closed doors and running away like the filthy cowards you are?! What right do YOU have to judge the value of another person's LIFE?! WELL?!"

Harry enunciated the last part of his sentence with a furious, ear-splitting shout and his eyes blazed as he glared at the Hufflepuffs around them, his shoulders wracking with anger. He was just about to turn back and walk away when Justin spoke up again, shooting Harry a mocking glare.

"Slytherins are nothing but evil, pathetic—"

He stopped when Harry spun around and exploded in another furious growl. "Oh YEAH?! Well if I hadn't ASKED the sorting hat to place me in Gryffindor, I would have ended up in Slytherin too! And what does that make me, then?! The next fucking VOLDEMORT?!" Justin and the other Hufflepuffs all winced and cowered away at the sound of the Dark Lord's name, causing Harry to sneer again.

After a long, awkward moment of all the Hufflepuffs staring awkwardly at Harry in nervous silence, they all began to back off and eventually dispersed – grumbling under their breaths as they walked away. As soon as they had left and Harry was left alone on the platform with Draco staring at him in slowly growing contempt, his face slowly forming into an angry, humiliated sneer of his own.

Harry took one look at him – silently noting his battered state – and scoffed. Shaking his head at the less than pathetic sight, he sighed and was just about to walk away from the Slytherin when Draco finally spoke to him for the first time, drawing the Gryffindor's attention back to his angry face.

"The hell… I didn't ASK for your help…POTTER!" He sneered wider and wiped the blood from his lips, walking right up to him and shoving him away a couple of steps. "I don't NEED your pity! I could have handled those pathetic Hufflepuffs all on my own WITHOUT your stupid help!" He hissed at him, spitting the blood away from his mouth before he scoffed and shoved Harry away again.

Harry's eyes flared up in anger at his words and he growled as he returned Draco's shove with one of his own, glaring at the Slytherin when Draco ended up stumbling backwards against the train.

"You don't HAVE my pity, Malfoy! I still think you're nothing but a sorry, pathetic coward but that doesn't mean I was going to stand back and watch you get your arse pummeled like that…If I had let them do it, I'd be no better off than disgusting people like YOU!" He ended his comment with a derisive jeer, shaking his head as he turned around and made to walk away once more.

Before he managed to walk a good distance, Draco stood back up and glared at his retreating back with utmost hatred, an embarrassed and angry flush staining his pale, heavily bruised cheeks.

"Oh yeah?! Well how unfortunate for me then that I'm not as PERFECT or as NOBLE or as bloody goddamn BRAVE like the great…HEROIC…LEGENDARY…Harry Potter!" He was right in the middle of yanking out his wand and hexing the Gryffindor behind his back when Harry had spun around again and charged right at him, growling and shoving him roughly against the train in anger.

Draco winced when he felt the back of his head colliding against the train's hard surface but forced his eyes back open, gulping and meeting the fires of Harry's eyes with his own wide silver orbs. Harry was seething with rage as he glared back at him, pressing his wand right into Draco's neck.

"At least I HAVE something to be proud of, MALFOY! Which is more than I can say about YOU!" His voice came out as a soft hissing drawl but Draco heard every word, causing the young Malfoy Heir to flush darker in added insult right before Harry sneered again and shoved him away.

Before he had the chance to blink or say anything else, Harry had spun around again and was already storming off the platform towards the path up to Hogwarts – his footsteps loud and heavy as he walked away. He left Draco staring after his back in a stunned, speechless and humiliated silence.


A/N: *sniff* Poor Draco! I feel so sorry for him in this story! I don't like picking on him so much…Oh well. He'll get his redemption soon…After a lot more drama and sufferings of course. :P

The next chapter might take me quite some time to post so I apologize in advance. I'll be a bit busy these coming weeks. In any case, I hope you all liked it! The next chapter will already be Harry's change so this is probably the last time we see boy Harry like this. Oh and I have an important question...Do you guys think there should be a non-con in this story? Within the main pairing of course...I'm not exactly sure if that would be a good idea yet. Hehe. Let me know what you think alright? ;D

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