The atmosphere was positively gloomy. Dark clouds hung in the sky, blocking what little sunlight the Sun provided that morning. The air was so thick and humid that he could practically smell the vapour that was saturated in it. All in all, his surroundings had a sense of foreboding. Ignoring his instinct to return to safety, he started his journey towards the old Hogwarts castle from the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

His legs were heavy and they were anchoring him down with each step. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be at home trying to rebuild his name in a better light. His name was dragged through the mud countless times. It was associated with pretty much everything that was deemed evil. Deemed? No, it was evil. But not him. He wasn't evil. He wasn't the boy who made all the wrong choices. He was the boy who didn't have a choice. He wasn't born into a prophecy, but his whole life was planned out for him. It was only last year where he started making his own choices. Why? Because his father finally died.

Of course it sounded cruel to say his father finally died, but he was relieved. He could finally make his own decisions without family obligations holding him back. Most of all, there was no Dark Lord looming over his head. The end of the war was only the beginning of his life – the life that was dictated by him and him alone. But here he was, stuck in this nightmare. He was right back at square one, except it wasn't exactly square one. It was a similar situation, but this time, he did something he didn't have the bravery to do before – choose his own path. I am my own man. I am not my father, a voice rang in his head.

That was precisely why he kept putting one foot in front of the other despite its weight – to make sure he still had a life to salvage when he returned; when they returned. He would lose his life if the Dark Lord won. His mother; what would his mother do? It took Draco Malfoy exactly fifteen minutes and eight seconds to reach Hogwarts and another two minutes to prepare his facade. He schooled his face into a mask of indifference, his eyes had a cold and piercing glare, and his lips were pulled into a thin line. With a demanding stance, he took his first step into Hogwarts. He couldn't believe his luck! He bumped right into the one person he was looking for – Alecto Carrow. Perhaps his instinct was wrong, for things were actually going his way.

Draco looked at the female figure a few metres away. She was a stocky little woman with slumped shoulders. She was rather stout with stubby fingers. Her hair was pulled back into a neat bun with a few strands lying free. She was much older than Draco, but less respected even if she was a Death Eater and he wasn't. After all, he was a Malfoy and she was only a Carrow. He approached her with confident strides.

"Carrow," he greeted accordingly. His voice was strong and hard. It was demanding. She whipped her head around when she heard the unfamiliar voice. She knew each and every person in Hogwarts and could easily place their voice to their respective faces. The voice she just heard was unrecognisable although it did have a familiar drawl to it. Her wand was out and she was ready to fire a spell before she registered that she was standing face to face with the Malfoy heir.

"Draco Malfoy," she addressed as she tucked her wand into her black robes.

"You know my name," he said. The platinum blonde hair was a dead giveaway that he was a Malfoy. However, the Draco in this world didn't see much of this lady so he didn't expect her to know his first name.

"Of course. The Malfoy heir. Who doesn't know your name?" she replied as she eyed the young lad in front of her. He gave her a smirk in response.

"So what brings you here today?" she asked coldly. It was obvious she had a strong dislike for him. He didn't know why and he didn't want to either.

"I was in the area and I decided to drop by for a visit," he said as he started walking down the corridor expecting her to follow. She did.

"We both know that's rubbish, boy," she said hotly and impatiently.

"Watch the tone, Carrow. I may not be a Death Eater yet, but I still hold a higher position than you ever will."

"Yet, you say?" she inquired. He smirked again.

"Mind your own business."

"Ah, you've been given a task. Hence, the word 'yet,' no?" she muttered followed by a wheezy laugh.

"I repeat, mind your own business."

"Here to see what it's like, boy?" she mocked. She would love nothing more than to torture the kid for being arrogant, but she knew the dire consequences. So she settled for mocking the living daylights out of him.

"Frankly, yes. Father refuses to tell me anything about this life so I came to see it myself," he lied. He knew everything about this life and it wasn't how he'd like his life to be.

"Then I shall be of service, young Malfoy," she replied. Draco was shocked at her sudden change in demeanour, but he hid it well. What was in it for her? Oh, right. She hoped he would sing praises about her to the Dark Lord when he finally got his mark. He mentally laughed. Not bloody likely, he thought.

"Perfect. What's it like here?" he asked in a voice that was dripping with fake interest.

"It's perfect. We run the school our way, if you know what I mean."

"I do not know what you mean, Carrow. Don't be vague," he said. She glared at him in distaste before quickly masking it with a tight smile. But Draco caught the glare just in time.

"We punish and torture them accordingly. Filthy Mudbloods get it worst, followed by Blood-traitors. We force them to practice the Unforgivables on Muggles," she said with an excitement of a five year old. It was sadistic to find such pleasure in torturing people, but she relished in the act.

"I see. What about the other Death Eaters here?" he asked. They were still walking along the corridor, taking the occasional right and left turn.

"They work, of course. The whole school is run by us. We have rounds throughout the day and we keep a watchful eye on those strong-willed students," she said, her sentence ending with a tone of disgust. Draco was about to reply when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around only to face a very put off Theodore Nott.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Theo asked suspiciously as he came to a stop in front of the duo. Theo didn't like Malfoy at all. Malfoy was constant competition for superiority among the Death Eaters. Then he thought of the Draco in the real world who betrayed every belief they grew up with and defended the Mudblood girl. Little did he know that the Draco Malfoy in front of him was the only one that existed in both worlds.

"It's none of your business why I'm here, Nott. You don't see me asking you why you're here," Draco drawled. He was resisting the strong urge to hex the arse that got him into this situation.

"If you must know, I'm here on the Dark Lord's orders," Theo boasted. Alecto Carrow was just itching to curse this boy into oblivion. She had thought that Draco was bad, but this boy was worse. Too proud and boastful to keep his mouth shut about his tasks.

"I didn't ask, Nott. And I wonder what the Dark Lord would say if I told him you were boasting about in the Hogwarts corridors about your task? You know how he prefers his Death Eaters silent and obedient, do you not?" Draco threatened. How dare he threaten me, screamed Theo's inner voice. His hand was already reaching for his wand to duel the blonde but Alecto's comment stopped him.

"Go on and hex Malfoy, Nott. I'd love nothing more than to see you get tortured for being rash," she chided. Theo glared at the witch and squared his shoulders. Draco shot a triumphed smirk at Theo before ignoring him completely to look at Alecto.

"Since Nott's here, I won't bother you further. Perhaps another time," Draco said with a nod of his head. With that, he left an annoyed looking witch and a suspicious arse. As he walked back the way he came in, he could hear Theo badgering Alecto about his sudden visit to Hogwarts. He heard bits and pieces of it, but they were enough.

"Why was he here, Carrow?"

"I don't know,"

"Need I remind you that the Dark-"

"Don't you dare threaten..."

The voice drifted off and then there was silence. Whatever Alecto said to Theo towards the end successfully shut him up. Draco smirked even wider, pleased that Theo was put in his place. One day, he would make sure that Theo ended up in the fiery pits of hell, but now, he had something else to do. Draco took another fifteen minutes to reach the Apparation point.

He appeared in the tent with a loud crack feeling satisfied. Everything went according to plan. Well, almost everything.

"Did you get it?" Hermione asked as she set her book down. She had been waiting all morning, worried that Malfoy ratted himself out.

"Yes, but I couldn't stun her. Theo came and fucked everything up like he usually does." Draco ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.

"We'll just have to take our chances and hope we don't bump into anyone along the way. Give it to me," said Hermione as she dropped the urge to comment on Malfoy's language. Draco handed her a strand of hair that he subtly picked off Carrow's robes.

"Luck better be on our side. If we bump into Carrow, we're screwed," he said as he imagined what a disaster that would be.

Hermione took the strand of hair and put it in a bottle of Polyjuice Potion Draco purchased earlier that morning in Knockturn Alley. She just hoped that she had enough Polyjuice Potion to last her a few hours. The potion bubbled into a murky green colour that looked absolutely ghastly. And to think that she had to gulp down the potion for their plan to work.

"Well then," Hermione said as she put the disgusting looking potion on the table, "we'll leave in fifteen minutes." Draco eyed the potion like it was going to come alive and swallow him whole, and thanked Merlin it wasn't him that had to gobble it down.

"I'll be outside," he said and proceeded to leave the tent in silent steps.

Hermione looked at the potion and sighed. She had no choice. She remembered her first disaster with the potion. It was something she never wanted to happen again.

"Come on, Hermione. It just looks disgusting. It doesn't taste that bad." She gave herself a little pep talk. Grabbing the potion, she tipped all of it into her mouth and spluttered and coughed. It tasted worse than she imagined.

Outside, Draco was pacing. The upcoming plans they had for the day were the most dangerous one yet. Hermione, or rather Alecto, appeared outside the tent after about five minutes of pacing. Alecto was still in Hermione's clothes – jeans and a knitted jumper. Draco took the liberty to Transfigure her clothes into the robes the real Alecto was wearing.

"Do I look like her?" asked Hermione in a very different voice.

"You're standing far too straight, Granger. She has slumped shoulders," Draco muttered as he studied the witch in front of him. Hermione proceeded to slump her shoulders in a very unladylike manner that mirrored Alecto perfectly.

"Better?"

"Yes, but she has a gruff voice."

"Better?" Hermione asked again in a lower voice.

"A little. We'll just go with it. The potion won't last long."

They both Apparated and appeared beside the tree they climbed the night before after checking that they had their wands and other necessities. Without wasting a second, they both walked towards the old castle and they didn't bump into any other Death Eaters along the way. Luck was still on their side. They entered the castle the same way Draco did earlier in the day, except this time, they didn't want to make their presence known. They strode down the corridor once they checked it was empty and made a right turn.

Hermione nearly squealed when she saw a dreamy-eyed blonde walking in their direction. How was she alive? Perhaps Luna was one of the very few people Voldemort didn't kill.

"Hello," Luna said in a dreamy voice.

Hermione was about to reply when Draco grabbed her and pushed her into a shadowed alcove, shoving her against the wall.

"You are Alecto Carrow! Focus, Granger," he whispered harshly. All the while, Luna just watched the pair with interest. Suddenly, they heard footsteps and a loud guffaw followed by a distant chattering. Hermione's or rather, Alecto's eyes grew wide. They were most definitely Death Eaters. They were out of luck now. Hermione needed a plan, and fast. She shot out of the alcove and grabbed Luna, ignoring Draco's forbidding eyes.

"Luna. You need to trust me, please," Hermione pleaded in her normal voice.

"Hermione?" the blonde asked softly, recognising her supposedly dead friend's voice.

"Yes. Don't ask, please. It's a lot to ask, but I need you to distract them. Now."

"Of course. The Eyewigs told me you'd be here," she said in her usual dreamy voice. Draco didn't even want to ask what Eyewigs were.

"Thanks, Luna. Pretend you didn't see me."

Luna nodded and stared at Draco for a second or two. He felt uncomfortable under her gaze. It was as if she knew something. He scowled at her as she walked towards the voices.

"That was foolish, Granger!" he said as he turned to face Alecto. She ignored him. Instead, she strained her ears to listen to Luna's method of distraction.

"You know, I believe that Numplers are responsible for that distorted face. You can cure it by –"

Her dreamy voice was cut off by an astounding slap. Hermione's hands shot to her mouth. She wanted a distraction, not for Luna to get hit.

"This one deserves the cage," said a male's voice.

Hermione didn't even want to ask what the cage meant. She listened as the footsteps grew softer. She let out a breath of relief. Wherever they were taking Luna, she hoped it wasn't anything too bad. She felt guilty, but she would have to ignore it for now. There were more important matters at hand.

"Let's go, Malfoy," she said, grabbing his arm before he could even protest. They headed for the second floor girls' lavatory without bumping anyone else on their way. The lavatory was dim with just enough light to guide their way to the snake-engraved sink tap. Hermione made hissing noises and the snakes on the sink began to move.

"You're a Parselmouth!" Draco exclaimed as he gawked openly.

"Don't be silly, Malfoy. I heard Ron imitate Harry when we needed the fangs," she explained. She was pleasantly surprised that she got it right on her first try.

"Right," Draco said. He was still gawking on the inside because she could speak Parseltongue even if it was a mere imitation. A passage opened before their very eyes and they gave each other a grim nod before entering. The passage led to a dark corridor. It was rather eerie. Hermione led the way and Draco followed close behind. It was far too close for normal circumstances, but there was nothing normal about this. Hermione had to mutter a series of similar hisses again somewhere along their way. Finally, they reached the Chamber.

The Chamber was flanked with tall pillars entwined with carved wood. At the far end was a huge statue of Salazar Slytherin. The air in the Chamber was cold, but that wasn't the only thing that sent chills down their spines. They walked towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin in silence, all the while keeping their eyes sharp.

"Granger, I don't see any remains of the basilisk here," Draco said, effectively breaking the silence.

"I can see that, Malfoy," said Hermione. Her eyebrows furrowed together. It should be here, she reasoned in her head, Ron and I found it here.

Draco heard a soft hiss and hoped with all his might that it was his mind playing tricks on him.

"Granger, ever thought that the bloody beast might be alive?" he whispered harshly. How could they have planned to come in here and conveniently forget the fact that they basilisk might not be dead in this world? She was about to call him a coward when she heard a slithering noise. Her heart stopped.

"Shit," she muttered. She wanted to kick herself so hard for forgetting that simple fact. They were going be killed by the giant snake.

"Shit, Granger? This is far worse than shit," he fumed as he inched closer to Hermione and gripped his wand. He didn't know if he should throttle her there and then, or let the bloody snake finish her off.

"Shut up, Malfoy. Just listen to me. Stay silent and keep your eyes shut," she ordered. He didn't like being told what to do, but he obliged because he didn't know what to do and he was hoping she did.

"When I say run, run straight ahead but follow my pace. Stick to me the entire time. Don't stop running until I stop and whatever you do, do not open your eyes," she continued as she steered them to face the entrance of the Chamber. Draco just nodded. He could feel adrenaline pumping through his veins. This wasn't fight or flight situation. It was a flight or die situation. There was no such thing as fighting with a basilisk. The slithering grew louder. He closed his eyes as he felt Granger place his arms around her waist. Honestly, he would have preferred to be stuck to Granger in her own form than to be stuck to Alecto but that wasn't his main concern now. He tightened his grip on Granger's waist and waited as the slithering and hissing got louder.

"Run!" she yelled. They ran. It was difficult to run while trying to stick one side of his body to someone else's, but he tried his best. This better not be a stupid plan, he thought as his legs carried him further. He knew he was running for his life as well as hers. The whole time, his hold on Granger's waist didn't loosen.

Suddenly the hissing got to a crescendo. It sounded as if the snake was in agonising pain. Hermione halted and if Draco were any less fit with slower reflexes, they would have crashed to the ground.

"Open your eyes," Hermione said in a hushed voice into his ear. He did as he was told, his hand still gripping her waist tightly. The basilisk was a good ten metres from where they stood and its head was trashing about. He could see dull liquid flowing from the eyes of the basilisk and he looked at Hermione questioningly. Non-verbal spell, she mouthed. He returned to stare at the basilisk when she squeezed his hand.

Legilimency, she mouthed again. He was confused for a moment before he understood. They couldn't talk, but she had a plan. It better be damn good plan, he thought. He delved into her mind and searched for what she wanted him to see. Hermione projected images after images to the front of her mind and he caught it immediately. He left her mind after a moment, wrapping his head around the plan she had. He nodded, telling her that he was ready. Then, he ran. He leaped towards the right corner of the Chamber while Hermione stayed put. Draco got a head start before the basilisk tore after him, ignoring the excruciating pain in its eyes.

Suddenly, Draco stopped running. And Hermione took it as her cue to start running on the spot. The basilisk stopped slithering towards Draco and turned its direction towards Hermione. Once the basilisk was closing in on her, she ran in the opposite direction, towards the left corner of the Chamber. Then, she stopped and Draco took off again. They continued this process, staying extremely silent when they weren't running and making tremendous amounts of noises when they were. The basilisk moved between the both of them, never getting close enough to its target as it only relied on its hearing.

When Draco finally reached the corner of the Chamber, he was panting and the muscles in his legs were sore. He gave himself five seconds to catch his breath before he took out his wand and pointed it at Hermione.

"Wingardium Leviosa," he said silently as he swished and flicked his wand. He never tried the spell on a human before and had his doubts. But his doubts were erased as Hermione was hoisted into the air. Hermione kept throwing stones and pebbles towards the left corner of the Chamber, tricking the basilisk into believing that she was there. She had silently collected them as Draco was running. The crash of the stones and pebbles on the floor distracted the basilisk as Draco levitated Hermione towards the centre of the Chamber where the body of the basilisk was.

This better work, Granger, he told her in his head. He knew she couldn't read minds, but he said it anyway. He released the spell causing her to plummet downwards right onto the middle section of the basilisk. She broke her fall with her hands and knees, and screamed.

"You foul creature!"

The basilisk straightened the first third of its length and turned towards the extra weight on its body. Without wasting a millisecond, it attacked. Just a second before its fangs struck Hermione, Draco levitated her out of the way, causing the snake to puncture its own body. There it was again, the agonising hiss. Except this time, it was much louder and more aggressive. The blonde lowered Hermione beside him and they both watched in silence as the snake hissed and twisted its body in pain. The basilisk finally fell limp right in the middle of the Chamber.

"Oh Godric," Hermione said as she heaved a sigh. She felt odd. Her skin started to bubble and she shrank a little. The potion was wearing off.

"Get the bloody fangs, Granger. I want to get out of here."

She went to the basilisk's head and tiptoed around it. She knew it was dead because it couldn't possibly have survived its own venom, but the mere size of the beast was intimidating enough. She removed the basilisk's fangs with a simple spell and kept it in her robes. Draco joined her at the entrance of the Chamber and they made their way out in silence. They were both reeling from recent events, adrenaline still fresh in their blood. Thankfully, they made it out of Hogwarts without interference and Apparated back into the tent.

"That was crazy, Granger! I'm never doing it again!" he yelled. Hermione Transfigured the black robes into her jeans and jumper again, and put the fangs in her bag of supplies before replying the distraught blonde.

"I hope we never have to."

"What the fuck was that?" Draco ranted. He couldn't help it. They just faced a giant snake and got out alive!

"A basilisk," said Hermione like it was an everyday thing to encounter a beast.

"You bloody well know what I'm talking about, Granger! Remind me why we did it again?" asked Draco. He really needed a reminder because he was about to go mental. This was the first time he actually lost his cool in front of someone else, but given the circumstances, it was understandable.

"For the fangs!" she yelled back. She was tired, both physically and mentally, and Malfoy was being a total git.

"We nearly died!" he said indignantly.

"We clearly didn't. Now let me rest because I'll be on guard tonight," she said with a tired voice.

"If I didn't know about your adventures with Potter, I would say you've completely lost it for being so bloody calm about it," he replied as he plopped onto his bunk.

"We got out alive and pretty much unscathed, Malfoy. That's more than enough for me." Hermione stood and stretched before taking a sip of water from the bottle.

"Water?" she asked as she extended the bottle towards the blonde. He took the bottle and took a few gulps. This was really proof that he was a changed man. He would never have shared water with Granger if he still held on to the same views. Besides, in a world like this, beggars can't be choosers. Hermione lowered herself onto her bunk and was about to doze off when Malfoy spoke.

"Granger, it was bloody hard to run while trying to glue myself to you. Why again did we do that?" he asked as he propped himself up on his elbow to look at the brunette.

"Some snakes have infrared vision. I blinded the basilisk so it wouldn't kill us with its stare, but there was a chance that it could sense our body heat. As we ran together, to the basilisk, it looked as if we were one person. And that enabled us to confuse the basilisk later on," she explained.

"But we ran separate ways after that, Granger. It should have been able to sense that we were two different people if it indeed had whatever vision you just said."

"Correct. I made you run, not knowing if it would have noticed you or me. When you ran, I had about five seconds to destroy the pit organs which aided in its infrared vision before it sensed me," she said as she stifled a yawn.

"We could have died if you didn't do it in five seconds, Granger," Draco said in a low voice as he lay back down on the bunk with his hands behind his head, facing the roof of the tent.

"It was a risk I had to take, Malfoy. We would have most definitely died if I didn't take that risk," she replied. It was wonderful that being civil with Malfoy didn't take much effort anymore because right at that moment, she was honestly drained. Draco thought about her words. It was blatantly clear that there was a chance they would have died when she took that risk. But if she didn't, they would probably be halfway through the digestive system of the snake by now. There were a few minutes of silence before he spoke again.

"As much as it pains me to say it, thanks," said Draco as he continued staring at the top of the tent. Hermione smirked a smirk worthy of a Malfoy before facing the other way and drifting off into a nap.

Author's Note : Here I am updating again because it's the 15th of July. It has been a year! So in memory of Harry Potter, here's a new chapter. I know for a fact that today will be an emotional day for most of us but the magic will never die. It lives in us, so I'll keep that in mind. Nonetheless, I do miss Harry Potter a whole lot. It has been a big part of my life and it's something no one I know personally understands. So I'm sharing it with all the Potterheads from every conner of the world. Harry Potter is a legacy, something I will eat and breathe daily if I could (and perhaps, that's exactly what I'm doing) and it'll never be forgotten. Not by me, you, the cast, J.K. Rowling or anyone else who has had the privilege to be part of this wonderful experience. Here's a happy 15th of July to all the Potterheads (even if you're probably going to bawl your eyes out today).

Now about the chapter. Battling a basilisk eh? It was a spur of the moment thought that I felt fit with the story so tell me how I did. Also, I'd like to make it clear that Draco was the boy who didn't have a choice as stated in the second paragraph. Leave a review, make a Potterhead like me happy on this emotional day and I promise to keep supplying you with chapters. But if you don't want to, that's perfectly fine. As long as you're enjoying the story, it brings me great pleasure to keep writing. A huge thank you to my beta, Christine. She's the best! xx

Aerinn Gwen