Hogwarts students learnt about glamour charms in their fifth year, but towards the end of it. Most glamour charms were simple once mastered but there were so many, that did so much. For this reason after the O. students would spend the last couple of weeks at school learning about them in general before studying them in depth in the sixth year. Fred and George Weasley had, apparently, picked up the charms so quickly and with such ease Flitwick would look to them whenever he had needed a demonstration in class. If it wasn't for their good, but not great, skills in other areas of charms he would have declared them to be a Charms genius years ago. Unbeknownst to the short Charms professor it was neither the Twins skill nor his teaching talents. The Twins had found out quite quickly that glamour charms opened up a whole new area of pranking; thus, by the end of their second year the Twins had mastered a few of the basic and most used charms, learning more and becoming more adept as the years went by. Blaise had also mastered some of the basics, but had not studied them as diligently as the Twins. Whereas the Twins would use the charms themselves, Blaise was a manipulator, rather than a full out do-er.

Blaise's skills at glamour charms, however, were not put to the test. Unlike the Twins he spent most of his time with Draco, and Draco would soon see the correlation between his disappearance and the reappearance of another. The Twins never spent any time with Draco; apart from passing him in the corridors they never saw him except for at meals. If Draco didn't see them during the day he would think nothing of it.

All of the Slytherins had come to the understanding that if they saw something strange, especially around Draco, they were to ignore it. The rest of the school had noticed by now that something weird was happening in Slytherin, something concerning Draco Malfoy. Gryffindor was the last House to catch on.

The Whomping Willow wasn't the only defensive tree that existed at Hogwarts. Along the lake's edge, near to the rocky mountain that was near Hogwarts, was Exploding Edmund. Exploding Edmund had been created by a Slytherin seventh year who had an interest in defensive plants. He was able to create Exploding Edmund early in his seventh year. He grew the plant in Greenhouse 12, a greenhouse set aside for N.E.W.T Herbology students; because part of their final exam included presenting a plant they had grown and tended for by themselves. By early winter however, the plant was straining against its pots and Edmund decided to plant it on Hogwarts grounds, though far enough away from the castle and other used places to keep it safe and to keep others safe from it. By the summer exam session Edmund's tree had grown to a height of eleven and a half metres and wowed the examiners.

The current headmaster of Hogwarts saw no need to have the tree removed as all it seemed to do was make the odd noise occasionally. It wasn't until some mercenaries decided to come and plunder Hogwarts did anyone realise what the tree's real purpose was.

Exploding Edmund was based on a normal muggle tree, the Sandbox tree. This tree catapults its ripe seeds up to one hundred metres. Edmund liked the possibilities of this tree very much.

When the thieves came through the mountains and started to walk along the edge of the lake, the tree -after somehow recognising their negative intentions,- started releasing its seeds. Unfortunately, this tree had been designed as a defensive tree and did not just release a few seeds, but released a large amount, all at a very fast speed. Out of six plunderers; four died; one became brain dead; the last one was lucky and was merely knocked out. He had tripped and knocked himself out, and most people agreed that was the only way he was still alive.

Edmund, now twenty six, was immediately called back to Hogwarts to try and remove this aggressive feature. Edmund walked away with a headache when the tree decided it liked all of its features and had fired a number of seeds at him.

Eventually it was decided to leave the tree alone, and caution students about venturing near. Edmund had tried to explain that the tree would only hurt those who wished to harm Hogwarts but a zero-tolerance policy was adopted instead. Thus, the tree was left alone and renamed 'Exploding Edmund'. When the next generation of students came to Hogwarts, it was the Eckleston twins, the children of Edmund, who ignored the warnings and used Exploding Edmund for shade. Soon their fellow Slytherins realised that the tree wouldn't hurt them and the tree became a place where only Slytherins ventured. Or the odd drunk Gryffindor. The latter of which was gently pushed away by the tree firing some soft seeds at them.

And so it was a small group of Slytherin fifth years who could be found underneath the tree on one cold wintery afternoon. With two weeks left until the Christmas holidays, the teachers had decided that the break was the perfect time to give the fifth year students more homework than they could carry home. Most of the Slytherins had busy plans over the holidays so were spending most of their time on this homework. The library was crowded and the common room was full of festive first years. The fifth years, having wanted peace and quiet, had ventured outside, as most other people were staying inside because of the cold. The Slytherins however, remembered they were pure-bloods and not muggles and wrapped themselves in warming charms; Millicent even brought along her heated ground blanket. A blanket they were all now relaxed on, trying to work out what would happen if you followed the directions to a Wit-Sharpening Potion backwards.

"Maybe it could be something simple, like a Wit-Dulling solution?" Millicent suggested hopefully.

"No, the powdered Hawthorn just doesn't work like that, if you took that out, maybe, but with it still in the potion. No chance." Draco shot that idea down immediately. He was getting annoyed, Draco wanted to be the best in their year, yet he was having trouble over what Snape had called 'a very simple answer.'

"Draught of Living Death?" Theodore Nott suggested.

"No! Living Death doesn't even involve any blood in its creation; the Wit-Sharpening requires three different kinds!" Draco was starting to get slightly hysterical now. They had been trying to work out the answer all afternoon now and they were no closer.

"An explosion?" Blaise drawled, thoroughly bored.

Draco sat up and was about to berate Blaise when his mouth fell shut and a contemplating look fell over his face. Suddenly he let out a short laugh, paired with a slow shake of his head. "The bastard. An explosion. Of course, it was a trick question!" Draco picked up his quill and wrote in his answer, quickly followed by the others.

"Right, the next question I-" Draco was quick to start on the next homework question but suddenly cut off. Blaise thought he might have stopped because Snape had appeared right next to him.

"I believe I said that this homework was to be completed individually, Mr Malfoy?"

"Professor Snape! I'm sorry sir, we just-" Draco had jumped up and was trying to come up with an excuse but froze as Snape suddenly lunged forward and began nibbling his ear.

"I did say I'd gladly nibble you. Unfortunately, cheating is not allowed at Hogwarts. So I am going to have to punish you. Often."

Draco turned to face his friends on the blanket. "Help me!" He pleaded, eyes wide in shock and horror.

Millicent quirked an eyebrow, "Help you with what, Draco?"

Draco pointed at Snape and got confused with the blank looks he was returned with. However, when Draco turned around to face Snape again there was no one there.

"He's, he's gone." Draco stuttered.

"Who has gone?" The group chorused and then exchanged a strange look at the coincidence.

"Snape, he was-." Draco didn't finish.

"Oh Merlin, not Snape again." Blaise said.

The others looked at him in confusion.

"Draco has a subconscious desire to screw Snape and keeps imagining him touching him." Blaise shuddered. "It has gone too far now Draco. Just go and see him or something- no, go and find someone and let them 'occupy your time'."

"I do not want to have sex with Snape!" Draco protested, his face taking on a faint pink tinge.

Blaise huffed and turned away from him, returning to his homework, the others following his lead. Draco stood uncomfortably alone for a moment before muttering;

"I do not want to screw Snape." His one final protest before joining the others on the blanket.

Blaise, Draco and Millicent were currently walking to the Library to take out some books they needed to reference for a piece of Charms homework. They were walking, until Millicent stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway.

"What's wrong Bulstrode?" Draco asked indifferently.

"I promised Nott I would help him with some Herbology, I'd better go back to the common room."

Draco looked a tad confused at the thought of helping someone, before his face cleared and he asked;

"What's in it for you?"

Millicent merely smirked. "Never you mind Malfoy, just know it's worth my time." With that, Millicent turned away from the duo and walked back to the common room.

Blaise shrugged at the questioning look in Draco's eyes and continued down the hallway. There were just passing a picture of John the Sexist when Snape passed them by. Blaise carried on looking straight ahead, and kept walking. Draco, however, froze and stopped walking.

Well. He tried to walk, but he was pressed up against the wall, with Snape's arms on either side of him, trapping him.

"Hello Draco." He whispered breathlessly. "It's a shame we couldn't have played by the lake. We could, if you want, go outside later? For a little play? Well, I say little..." Snape trailed off, the suggestive glint in his eye making up for the lack of words.

"Get off me!" Draco cried, and pushed Snape away.

Snape stumbled back, before standing up tall and whipping the hair out of his face. "If you want to play rough Draco," he drawled, "it can easily be arranged." Snape turned around and stalked away.

"Draco? Draco!" Blaise called.

"Huh? What?" Draco snapped out of his funk and faced Blaise.

"I've been calling your name for the past couple of minutes. You were completely out of it."

Draco frowned. "But-" he started, before realising that he was safer not saying.

"But what?" Blaise asked, eyes narrowing.

Draco averted his eyes. "Nothing. Let's just go." Draco said as he pushed away from the wall and headed off.

Blaise smiled.

As they left the library Draco stopped walking again. He was thrown against the wall and pinned. Draco saw himself get pinned- by himself. Blaise, of course, didn't see anything.

Draco didn't even ask if Blaise saw.

They were walking down the stairs when Draco went flying, landing on the landing, sprawled out with his hands firmly held above his head. Blaise didn't ask why Draco's shirt was unbuttoned.

Draco clutched his robes tightly around him and didn't say a word.

They were in the corridor that led to the Slytherin common room when Snape and Draco, pulled Draco into an alcove. When Draco finally emerged, hair tussled, shirt untucked and a large pink love bite on his neck, Blaise merely raised a questioning eyebrow, which was steadily ignored by Draco.

Blaise didn't mention catching sight of Snape and Draco leaning out of the alcove with smug expressions on their faces, when he and Draco walked away.

Draco didn't ask.

Blaise didn't tell.

All the other boys were asleep when Blaise and Draco climbed into bed. Draco had been quiet and jumpy all the night. Blaise had just blown his candle out when Draco's voice pierced the night's silence.

"Blaise?"

"Yes Draco?"

"I think something is wrong with me." Draco confessed.

"You want to go and see Pomfrey tomorrow?"

"Maybe. You're a good friend Blaise."

Blaise closed his eyes. He knew that this prank wasn't going to hurt Draco forever, but part of him still wanted to call it off. Draco was really one of the only people he could call a friend. And Draco was the first friend, Blaise had pranked like this.

Blaise shook his head and closed the emotion away. One more day. Just one. Draco was strong. He could survive one more day.

"Goodnight Draco." Blaise whispered.

Sorry for the ah, slight delay. I've been trying to write at least a chapter a week- of any story. Chapter fourteen. That means one to go. Only one. Maybe an epilogue after that. Who knows? I do because I've actually written a plan for once.

Anyway, at the moment Draco is going to be going to Mungos. If you don't like this decision then go and be opinionated and vote on the poll!

Sarah.