AN:

IMPORTANT: updates on extras from here on out with be irregular (and yes, I realize they've been kind of irregular lately anyways). I've decided to create a new link posting all of my extras. A few have suggested it in the past and though I was hesitant I figure it's best considering I'm becoming so thought-oriented on PoA, updating these Extras is hard to do and distracting. By no means does that mean I'm not going to complete the extras, I am. Just don't expect weekly updates of it - I'm going to focus a lot of my energy into PoA now and getting it to a point where I can start posting for the next arch in Lillian's story.

ALSO: When I eventually post PoA, first off, I will post a link here for you guys, so you don't have to worry about repeatedly searching for. Second, I'm about to head back to college, summer break is coming to an end and I'll be working a lot these next few weeks. Thirdly, I'll probably change update days to Saturdays with PoA. This is my tentative schedule/plans; so just a couple more weeks and will be into the next story. :D

Note: this update is not edited and I sort of kind of left ya'll with a cliffhanger - I'm kinda sorta sorry. :/ But, I figured where I left this update was a nice end, the next part should be coming sometime next week. I'll post it here and then work on the Extra Story set up thing (I'll be sure to let ya'll know when that's up and running).

To my plethora of followers and favoriters, new and old, thank you! Getting those emails seriously makes me smile.

To my reviewers, big thank you to you (all beautifully wonderful spec-freaking-tacular all of you)! Ya'll know you make me smile too, (sometimes I even do a stupid little happy dance)and your responses are at the bottom! :D

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"The Slytherins always come up to breakfast from over there," Said Ron, nodding at the entrance to the dungeons. The words had barely left his mouth when a girl with long, curly hair emerged from the entrance.

"Excuse me," Said Ron, hurrying up to her. "We've forgotten the way to our common room." 'Their' being Crabbe and Goyle, considering he and Harry were temporarily parading around as the Slytherin idiots.

"I beg your pardon?" Said the girl stiffly, "Our common room? I'm a Ravenclaw." She sneered, as though the very idea that they would dare compare her to them was horrifically scandalous.

She walked away, looking suspiciously back at them; neither Gryffindor boy blamed her, it was as though they wished to be temporarily claiming the house of snakes.

Harry and Ron hurried down the stone steps into the darkness when she was of no help, their footsteps echoing particularly loudly as Crabbe's and Goyle's huge feet hit the floor, both had a feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as they had hoped.

The labyrinthine passages were deserted. They walked deeper and deeper under the school, constantly checking their watches to see how much time they had left. After a quarter of an hour, just when they were getting desperate, they heard a sudden movement ahead.

"Ha!" Said Ron excitedly. "There's one of them now!" The figure was emerging from a side room but as they hurried nearer, their hearts sank. It wasn't a Slytherin, it was Percy.

"What're you doing down here?" Asked Ron in surprise, because wouldn't a Slytherin prefect be patrolling so deep into the castle, and not a Gryffindor?

Percy looked affronted. "That," He said stiffly, "Is none of your business. It's Crabbe, isn't it?"

"Wh—oh, yeah," Said Ron when he remembered he wasn't talking to his older brother as a younger brother; he was talking to a Gryffindor prefect as a Slytherin student.

"Well, get off to your dormitories," Ordered Percy sternly. "It's not safe to go wandering around dark corridors these days."

"You are," Ron pointed out, unable to keep himself from challenging Percy as only a sibling would.

"I," Said Percy, drawing himself up, "Am a prefect. Nothing's about to attack me."

Harry could see that Ron just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his brother's confidence, Harry also knew that Ron was saved from saying something irrevocably stupid and blowing their cover by the sudden echoing of a voice behind he and Ron; it was Draco Malfoy, strolling towards them, and for the first time in Harry's life, he was pleased to see the Slytherin nuisance.

"There you are," Draco drawled, looking at them. "Have you two been pigging out in the Great Hall all this time? I've been looking for you; I want to show you something really funny."

Malfoy glanced witheringly at Percy. "And what're you doing down here, Weasley?" He sneered.

Percy looked outraged. "You want to show a bit more respect to a school prefect!" He said. "I don't like your attitude!"

Malfoy sneered, he could appreciate arrogance and self-confidence, but Percy Weasley way past socially acceptable levels – and considering Draco's whole persona was the very definition of self-entitlement and cocky arrogance? The fact that he found Percy's attitude overbearing was something in and of itself. He motioned for Harry and Ron to follow him, not deigning to return the prefect's word parry; waited until they were a few yards away before speaking to his companions, "That Peter Weasley –"

"Percy," Ron corrected him automatically.

"Whatever," Said Malfoy, he knew the difference, wondered momentarily about why Crabbe would care. "I've noticed him sneaking around a lot lately. And I bet I know what he's up to. He thinks he's going to catch Slytherin's Heir single-handed." A ridiculous idea, really, that a Gryffindor prefect thought he would find the mysterious character.

He gave a short, derisive laugh; didn't notice the way that Goyle and Crabbe seemed to share excited looks at the sound.

Malfoy paused by a stretch of bare, damp stone wall. "What's the new password again?" He inquired of Goyle.

"Er—" Said Harry in response, they really hadn't thought this plan out all too well.

And then Draco remembered, "Oh, yeah – pureblood!" He still remembered getting the new password and feeling minutely unsettled by it; blood status had been causing him a lot of problems that term and he could have done without the daily reminder.

When the stone door concealed in the wall slid open, he marched through it, Draco's mind preoccupied by other things – other things like the fact that this was the first Christmas he had ever spent apart from Lillian since she had come to live with he and his parents. He missed her, and not just in the near empty castle during the holiday, he missed her presence in his daily life; she had been distant since he had broken ties with Devon, not that he blamed her, but her absence still hurt him, hurt him far more than his broken relationship with Devon had.

The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several Slytherins were silhouetted around it in high-backed chairs.

"Wait here," Said Malfoy to Harry and Ron, motioning them to a pair of empty chairs set back from the fire. "I'll go and get it – my father's just sent it to me –"

Wondering what Malfoy was going to show them, Harry and Ron sat down, doing their best to look at home; which Harry was loathe to admit, wasn't all that hard to do. There was something oddly…comforting about the soft green cast of the fire, something forbiddingly comforting about the quiet, settled atmosphere as opposed to Gryffindor's always lively, bustling air of living.

Malfoy came back a minute later, holding what looked like a newspaper clipping. He thrust it under Ron's nose.

"That'll give you a laugh." He said.

Harry saw Ron's eyes widen in shock. He read the clipping quickly, gave a very forced laugh, and handed it to Harry.

It had been clipped out of the Daily Prophet, and it said:

Inquiry at the ministry of magic

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car.

Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley to be put on probation.

"Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute," Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. "He is clearly in need of dire time elsewhere to get his affairs and values in order; how on earth is his Muggle Protection Act supposed to be taken seriously when he can't control his own machinations?"

Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she's set the family ghoul on them.

"Well?" Said Draco impatiently as Harry handed the clipping back to him. "Don't you think it's funny?"

"Ha, ha," Said Harry bleakly.

"Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them." Posed Malfoy scornfully, he didn't really hate Arthur Weasley, but any trouble brought Ronald Weasley was welcome; the redheaded prat was rude and obnoxious, sure, so was Draco, but at least his behavior was simply an act, Ronald Weasley was truly that annoying. "You'd never know the Weasleys were pure-bloods, the way they behave."

Ron – or rather, Crabbe's – face was contorted with fury.

"What's the matter with you two?" Snapped Draco, he could tell something was off with them, being even slower to react than usual, being less prone to interrupt obliviously but Merlin, they weren't even acting anything like their usual behavior.

"Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend," Said Malfoy slowly, when the heavy boys said nothing, merely offering up sheepish, yet confused smiles. "He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped up Granger Mudblood. And people think he's the Slytherin Heir!"

Harry and Ron waited with bated breath: Malfoy was surely seconds away from telling them it was him – but then –

"I wish I knew who it is," Said Malfoy petulantly, "I could help them." Not really, he wanted nothing to do with what was going on with all the muggleborn wizards; plus, Mrs. Norris was a friend to Lillian and Mrs. Norris's continued petrification was hurting Lillian – nothing would ever be okay with Draco if it hurt Lillian.

Ron's jaw dropped so that Crabbe looked even more clueless than usual. Fortunately, Malfoy didn't notice, and Harry, thinking fast, said, "You must have some idea who's behind it all…"

"You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?" Snapped Malfoy; he was so tired of everyone looking to him for the answers and he was inwardly furious with the way everyone kept staring suspiciously at Lillian as the attacks progressed, as though she were the reason their classmates were being victimized, as though it were her fault everyone was becoming scared of their own shadow. "All I know is that the last time the Chamber of Secrets opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time…I hope it's Granger," He said with faux relish; sometimes, he hated himself for the things he spewed; his self derision didn't ever stop him though, it never even halted him; the only thing that could ever make him hesitate was his cousin, and she wasn't anywhere around.

Ron was clenching Goyle's gigantic fists. Feeling that it would be a bit of a giveaway if Ron punched Malfoy, Harry shot him a warning look and said, "D'you know if the person who opened the Chamber last time was caught?"

"Oh, yeah … whoever it was, was expelled." Draco informed, "They're probably still in Azkaban." Azkaban. He wondered if Lillian had already visited her father, wondered how the trip had gone and if she had been alright. He was thinking about the likelihood of a letter from him being well-received when his two idiots broke him out of his thoughts.

"Azkaban?" Said Harry, puzzled.

"Azkaban – the wizard prison, Goyle," Draco looked to him in sheer disbelief. "Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backward." Goyle was an idiot, there was no denying that fact, but even this was blowing his stupidity clear out of waters.

He shifted restlessly in his chair and said, "Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it." Draco couldn't tell if his Father was concerned about the whole ordeal, but he did fear that maybe his Father was involved with the whole Chamber business, and that scared him because Lillian was born from a muggleborn mother, and just because she was a pureblood in the eyes of blood stasis, that didn't mean that she was deemed pure by whatever extremist was permanently paralyzing students, ghosts, and animals.

"He theorizes that the Heir won't eradicate all Mudbloods, but those it deems filthier than others." How one would go about differentiating between different types of filth, Draco couldn't understand, considering that the only thing separating muggleborn from pureblood was the title pressed upon them by others.

It was only after he had finished quoting his Father that he spotted Devon just off to the side of the room, staring at him with wild eyes and a pursed mouth. His throat closed as soon as he spotted her, she had heard him, heard him clearly utter the blood slur as though it hadn't destroyed their relationship just a few weeks ago.

AN:

Special Shout Outs:

Guest 1: So glad you found it so sweet! Slytherin brought her some great friends, despite it's reputation, I figure that gives her a reason to be happy. Sorry I didn't mention that! I'll go ahead and tell you and I'll probably go back and work it in; they met just briefly in passing, when Lucius and Arthur's jobs crossed paths, something along those lines. It didn't happen in the first story though - years upon years ago; it's a very vague memory.

Guest 2: I am a huge fan of the Weasley twins, they had to be a part of this story. ;) I'm glad you liked Devon's interaction with the twins; I'm sorry I didn't explain that, I need to go back and fix it. I think I thought it out but didn't write it out...oops. haha. A few years prior they briefly met as Arthur and Lucius's jobs crossed paths.

Just Anonymous: Yes! I love smiles. :D There will be more, promise. ;)

Christina Salvatore: Right?! Me too! They're perfection rolled into two. :D

Long Live Marshmallows: I'm so glad you liked their part! They're my favorite and I'm super glad you find that chapter good enough to favorite. :) I felt as though Devon needed a little hilarity and easy flowing in her life, and who better to provide that than the notorious duo? ;) Yes, that is a typo, thanks for catching it, I'll go back and fix that asap!

Foxe165: ... ... ... That's a very nice vote... ... ... ;)

Guest 3: So glad you like it! So sorry you find the Zabini family disappointing. I realize that that was how Mrs. Zabini was portrayed in the series, but for my purposes, I couldn't have Blaise's mother behaving in such a way; the relationship between his parents is a very defining factor in how I plan to portray him later on. The Zabini family was to be a very AU part of my story, as I warned in the first installment, nonetheless, I hope you continue to enjoy the story and hopefully the Zabini family dynamic eventually grows on you.

Hi: SOON! I SOLEMNLY SWEAR IT! haha. I'm super pumped about it, and as I said in the AN at the very beginning, I want to put the majority of my focus into that story considering these Extras are only distracting me. :D

Reviews are welcomed, but they aren't mandatory.

If you follow, favorite or review; this is my preemptive show of gratitude! Thanks, y'all rock!

Hope you enjoyed!

See you next time!

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