AN: We've hit 100,000 words everybody! This fic is officially the longest I've written, and we've probably got 15-20 more chapters to go! It might be less than that, I'm not certain just yet, but we're definitely past the halfway mark. Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favourites! It's nice to know that many of you are enjoying this fic as much as I enjoy writing it.

As warned earlier, after posting this chapter there will be a 2 week break between updates. I'm using this time to edit the first 20 chapters, as well as continue writing the next set of new unseen chapters. However, don't fret! I thought to keep you going during the short break I'd post a separate fic, which will include deleted scenes, alternate chapters, drabbles and one-shots related to Dragonborn. The first chapter will be an alternate scenario for when Draco confronts Buckbeak, which I eventually decided was too out of character. Nevertheless I'm sure you'll like it anyway.

Enjoy the new chapter. Its a long one and you'll see a passage of time. The pace will hopefully start to pick up after this!

Chapter 20

The Flight of the Fat Lady

Much to Draco's displeasure, Defence Against the Dark Arts became most people's favourite class. Even Draco had to admit (though never out loud) his lessons were more interesting than any they had had in the previous years. Unfortunately, that wasn't even the worst part. Oh no, the worst part was Draco wouldn't dare say anything against Professor Lupin while he was within earshot, in fear that the Professor would overhear and retaliate by revealing his true heritage. Blaise was still adamant that whatever Lupin was, he couldn't tell they were Dragonborns but Draco was too anxious to risk it. If people found out about him, if they found out he wasn't even a wizard, let alone a pureblood... Draco dreaded to think what would happen. However, even though his behaviour around Professor Lupin was perfectly polite, out of earshot was another matter altogether.

"Look at the state of his robes," he remarked one time at Breakfast, as they watched Lupin eat at the staff table far away. "He dresses like our old house-elf."

Blaise snorted next to him, Theo hiding a smirk as he ate his cereal quietly. Crabbe and Goyle openly laughed, the girls snickering in between them.

"He isn't even that good-looking." Pansy whined. "At least last year Lockheart was easy on the eyes. It made the lessons tolerable."

"Pans, Lockheart was our teacher." Daphne pointed out, pronouncing each word slowly as if she was talking to a child.

"So?"

"So, that's disgusting." Millicent spoke for Daphne, her face scrunching up in disgust.

Pansy flipped her hair elegantly, daintily cutting up her sausages and eggs. "Just because we can't touch doesn't mean we can't look, Millie."

Draco choked on his pumpkin juice.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Daphne declared, pushing her plate away.

"Parkinson, please tell me you have one of Lockheart's signed autobiographies hidden somewhere in your room." Blaise asked gleefully, leaning over. Pansy didn't look at him, lifting her fork to her mouth to take a delicate bite of her food.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Zabini."

Classes continued. Draco remained wary of their new teacher, but after two weeks passed and Lupin never confronted them, Blaise relaxed, believing Draco was just being paranoid. Admittedly, Draco knew he probably was, but his determination to know Lupin's species outweighed his ability to let it go. He'd attempted to call Atlas numerous times on his scrying mirror, even asking Blaise to try with his (turns out Atlas had given him one too, much to Draco's disappointment – and he thought he was special) but his blood father became suddenly indisposed. It wasn't until Draco called him for the twenty-seventh time in a row one night, deciding annoying his blood father so much he had to answer was the only course of action he had left, that he received an owl from Atlas the next morning (Draco had a sneaking suspicion the owl was actually Klaus with the way it glared at him) passively aggressively informing him that he was currently being held back by both personal business and the mess Draco had caused by provoking a Hippogriff to attack a student, so would he please stop trying to reach him. There was also some excuse about how Atlas had only returned to the country recently, and therefore had to put his family affairs in order, along with the promise that they would talk as soon as he got the chance. Not that Draco believed it for a second, something he made clear by refusing to give the owl (definitely Klaus - that bird had too much disdain in its eyes) a treat before it left.

Determined for answers, Draco had started reading the Beastiary Atlas had given him at the start of the summer with the other reading materials, going through it whenever he had the spare time. Of course, that spare time significantly halved under the workload of homework he began to receive as the term began to progress. And then Quidditch practice started, preparing for their first match: Slytherin Vs Gryffindor. His confidence was soaring, especially when he managed to keep his position as Seeker at the try outs Flint held, hoping to put together a better team than last year. Training with Atlas over the summer had certainly paid off.

"Have you been training over the summer? Maybe got a private mentor?"

Draco looked up from untying his boots to see who had spoken to him, still decked out in his Quidditch gear after a training session with the new team. His other teammates were changing back into their normal robes, ridding themselves of their sweaty gear but Cassius Warrington, their new Chaser, was staring right at him, observing him silently as he waited for an answer. He was a fifth year, two years older than Draco, so he couldn't say he had ever interacted with the boy much.

Draco narrowed his eyes, looking back down at his boots, which he tugged off, one at a time and placed on the bench beside him. "Maybe. Maybe not. What's it to you?"

"Just curious I suppose." Warrington commented, lifting his green and silver Quidditch robes over his head to reveal his bare chest. He opened his locker, pulling out his normal robes. "You've improved, since last year. I saw you chasing the snitch during practice – your reflexes are quicker."

As if to prove his point, Warrington abruptly turned around, throwing something small at Draco. Not even looking up, Draco reacted, catching the object in his hand just before it would have smashed into his face. Warrington released a low whistle.

"You're good."

Draco glared at him, realising the older boy had thrown a tin of broom polish at him. That would have hurt. Thank Merlin his reflexes had improved since his Dragon awakening.

"And if I hadn't have caught it?" He asked, barely controlling the snarl in his voice as he threw the tin back to his smirking teammate. Warrington caught it easily.

"I guess you would be moaning about a black eye by now. But you aren't, which is promising."

"I might not have." Draco ground out, glaring heatedly at Warrington's back as the fifth-year turned away.

"But you did, Malfoy." Flint interrupted, picking up his broom, having finished changing. "Keep it up. Maybe this year you won't lose the snitch to bloody Potter." And with that back-handed compliment, their troll-faced Captain left, slapping Warrington on the back as he passed them both.

Draco scowled.

He came to like Warrington - or Cas as Draco soon learnt he preferred to be called - much more than his other teammates, despite his failed attempt to give him a black eye. Flint had clearly chosen some of them because of size and not skill, and although they quickly learnt to work together, that didn't mean he particularly liked any of his teammates. However, he could respect Cas. The older Slytherin wasn't naturally gifted academically like he was, but Warrington worked hard to compensate. With Quidditch, he practiced every chance he got, often convincing Draco to join him. And although that became incredibly annoying over the weeks that passed, Draco could admire that. Most nights Draco had to force himself to keep his eyes open as he read through the huge tome on magical creatures (he was on the fae currently, a creature he doubted Lupin was, but they were known for their unique magic and use of trickery so they were still a potential suspect – plus he may have found the Unseelie and Seelie courts too fascinating to simply skip over), but his motivation to excel during the Quidditch training sessions never wavered. Even with the weather getting colder and wetter, the nights inevitably drawing in faster, and the constant drillings from Flint on sometimes shady strategy plans that gave him headaches, his dream of finally winning the huge silver Quidditch Cup never faltered, nor did the fantasy of shoving the victory in Potter's face. The latter sometimes even sounded sweeter than the former, especially with what had happened the previous year.

There was also Blaise. Predictably, many of his housemates believed his growing friendship with Blaise to be an act, or something that would pass as Weasley had similarly suspected. Draco had spent the last two years stuck to Crabbe and Goyle at the hip, mostly because he liked the power of ordering them around, as well as the blind loyalty they offered. In contrast, Blaise would not be ordered around and his loyalty was rarely - if ever - earned. And Draco found that was what he liked about his company, it was refreshing. That, and he finally had someone he could confide in his age, someone who understood. Draco couldn't really blame the students for their assumptions that he was merely trying to use Blaise. A year ago, Draco knew he probably would have.

Of course, as they entered further into October, his fellow housemates - and the rest of the school - began to realise that Draco's change in social group wasn't temporary. In almost all of his classes, he either sat with Blaise or Theo, being forced to warm up to the latter because Blaise was friends with him. As Daphne was closer with Blaise and Theo, he also saw her much more often as well which meant the Slytherins he used to hang around with, were slowly pushed aside. He should have predicted that Pansy would snap eventually.

They were in the common room, the three boys spread out on the leather couches when she approached. The fact they were laughing at some inside joke, large smiles on their faces, probably made her even more livid. Blaise saw her first, stalking forward with her nose in the air and a hard determination in her eyes, causing his smile to completely flatline.

"Crap. Here comes the she-devil. Looks like she's set her eyes on you, Drake." He muttered, casting his eyes down.

"She-devil? What-"

Whatever Draco was about to ask, was cut off when Pansy rounded the couch Draco had situated himself in and dropped her homework onto the table with a loud BANG. Without a word, she sat down next to Draco, probably closer than appropriate, and began to organise the mass of parchment, star charts and text books. The boys - mostly Draco as he was closest to her - flinched at the sound and then gaped at her as she pretended there was nothing unusual about her sitting there.

"Blaise you wouldn't mind helping me would you? I was going to ask Draco about the star charts, but I heard you're the best at Charms, right?"

Draco exchanged a dumbfounded glance with Blaise and Theo.

"You're asking me to help you with your homework?" The dark-skinned boy asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed. It was well known that Pansy and Blaise didn't get along. In fact, Draco knew for a fact that Pansy hated his guts, and from what he had interpreted from his interactions with Blaise, the feeling was mutual.

"I asked Daphne about your timetables, since you neglected to share them with me," She continued, ignoring Blaise's question as if she'd never heard it in the first place. Draco didn't like the way she put particular emphasis on neglected. "Since there's such a large group of us now, it looks like we cover each other's weakness if we share our strengths. And I've already asked Greg and Vincent about Hogsmeade. We're going to have so much fun - I'm sure me, Daphne and Millie will go off on our own for a while and I certainly don't want to listen to Theo's whining while we go shopping-"

"Whining? Look who's talki-" Theo angrily retorted, but Pansy just spoke over him.

"-not that you two are any better," she continued, referring to Blaise and Draco, "but I think it would be great if we met up at The Three Broomsticks in the afternoon. We could all share some Butterbeers, have lunch. It'll be great, don't you think, Draco?" Pansy turned to Draco then, her voice sickly sweet and a jubilant smile on her face.

Swallowing nervously, Draco glanced at Blaise and Theo. "Er..."

"You don't want to come to Hogsmeade?" She sniffed, her face falling. Her eyes even started to shine with ushered tears.

"Pans, no, that's not-" Draco protested, panicked, and moved towards her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Instantly, a wide grin spread across her face, as if she had never been sad in the first place. "Great! So it's settled then! Meet you at the gates Hogsmeade weekend then? I can't wait to tell my Mother about this! She'll be thrilled we're all getting along!" Pansy clapped her hands together, squealing.

"Wait a minute Parkinson-" Blaise started, but Pansy ignored him.

"You know what, I'm going to owl her right now! Talk later, alright boys?" She jumped up, face lit up.

"Pansy!" Draco called out, but Pansy had already collected her things and flounced away down the stairs to the girls dorms, leaving three very stunned boys behind her.

"Ok, I'll bite. What just happened?" Blaise asked, spreading his arms out.

"I...I think Pansy just manipulated us to go to Hogsmeade with the girls. And Crabbe and Goyle." Draco stated with a wince.

"Since she's probably in the middle of gushing about this to her mother, we're not going to get out of this, are we?" Theo questioned out loud. Priscilla Parkinson was not a woman to be messed with, especially when it came to her daughter. Blaise swore. Draco was in the mind to join him.

Bugger it all.

"Staying here, Potter?" Draco shouted, standing in line with Blaise and Theo, waiting for Filch to check them off the list so they could walk to Hogsmeade. "Scared of passing the Dementors?"

His reply was a glare, Potter turning and walking back into the school. Draco snickered.

"I don't know why you're laughing. You're terrified of the things too." Theo commented.

"I didn't faint. And besides, I have a cunning plan. I brought Blaise to fight them off."

"And here I thought you weren't using me." Blaise sighed dramatically.

Draco slung an arm over Blaise's shoulder, grinning. "Somebody has to protect my sorry arse, right?"

A smile curved across Blaise's face. "I'd say so. You're the biggest wuss out of all of us."

"Hey!" Draco cried indignantly, recoiling from Blaise. "That's rude!"

"Rude, but true." Theo declared. He exchanged a grin with Blaise and the two boys burst out laughing. Draco scowled, muttering something that suspiciously sounded like 'at least I don't have vanity issues' under his breath. Blaise and Theo only laughed harder.

"What? I don't!"

Blaise tried to stifle his laughter, his lips curling into a tight smile as he tried to keep his composure. Biting his lip, he patted Draco on the shoulder. "You keep telling yourself that Drake."

Draco glared at them. Blaise and Theo burst out laughing again.

Grumbling, Draco walked away from Hogwarts with Blaise and Theo, intending to meet their housemates at the gates. The girls hadn't arrived when they got there, but Crabbe and Goyle were waiting for them, hands in their coat pockets. The atmosphere around them instantly grew awkward, Draco adjusting the blue scarf around his neck just to avoid speaking for a little longer.

"Draco." Vincent grunted.

Draco coughed, clearing his throat. He nodded to the two Slytherins. "Vincent. Greg."

The group returned to silence.

"Well, this isn't awkward at all." Blaise muttered. Draco and Theo sent him an annoyed glare.

"Point it out why don't you? That won't make it worse it all." Draco sarcastically drawled.

To Draco's surprise, Greg chuckled. His smile faded when he saw Draco's expression. "Sorry."

"No, by all means explains what's so funny, Goyle."

"Nothing, it's just amusing I guess. That Pansy managed to blackmail us all into coming here."

"How is that remotely amusing, Goyle?" Theo asked, frowning.

"We're the heirs of the Sacred-Twenty-Eight, aren't we? And we're listening to a girl."

There was a pause as the boys digested Greg's words.

"Debatable. I wouldn't call Pansy a girl." Blaise pointed out, causing the whole group of boys to grin madly at each other.

"Oh really, and what would you call her?" Draco asked, laughter in his voice.

"She-devil, harpy, a pissed off veela..." Blaise trailed off, noticing the mischievous glint in Draco's eyes too late. "She's standing behind me isn't she?"

"Yes. She is."

Blaise winced at the sound of Pansy's cold voice. Forcing a smile on his face, Blaise spun around, seeing Pansy for the first time, Daphne and Millie standing beside her on either side. "Ladies, always a pleasure."

"Blaise. I see you haven't changed. And here I was believing you could be charming." Pansy greeted.

"Oh I can. I just only reserve it for beautiful women." Blaise explained, the smile still fixed on his face. Pansy in that moment looked like she was about to murder him.

"Blaise." Daphne warned, walking forward and placing a hand on his arm. "Be nice."

"No, its alright Daph. It's just Blaise being Blaise after all, isn't it?" Pansy assured, rather too sweetly. Many of them exchanged shocked glances, knowing normally this was the point where Pansy started throwing hexes. "Shall we get going? I don't want to get stuck in some queue at Honeydukes. I think we should stop at the hairdressing salon too, Millie needs a haircut." She continued, leading the group forward.

"Pans, wait." Draco stopped her, grabbing her arm. "Can I speak with you? Privately?"

"Of course." She smiled, letting Draco lead her slightly away from the other Slytherins. "What's wrong?"

Draco frowned down at her. "What are you doing?"

"Draco, I'm not doing anything-"

"Bullshit."

"Draco!"

"I'm not fooling around, Pansy. What's your angle? Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Don't play dumb. You may not be that bright in the classroom, but we both know you can be a manipulative bitch when you want to be. Why are you shoving us all together? I haven't hung out with Crabbe and Goyle since the start of term!"

"No, you haven't! Instead you've been running around with Nott and Zabini! Zabini, Draco!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Pansy, just because you hate him doesn't mean I have to."

"He's a huge flirt, Draco! Merlin, he'd flirt with the mermaids if he could! In fact, he probably has!" She shrieked, her temper flaring. When she realised how loud she had spoken, she released a growl of frustration, stamping her foot petulantly. "You know what, I'm not doing this with you. This isn't about Zabini."

"You sure about that?" Draco asked, eying her warily.

"Yes, I'm sure." She ground out, glaring up at him. "I mean, Merlin, I barely see you anymore! Instead you're hanging around with them, Daphne not far behind!"

"So you're jealous? That's what you're saying?" Draco concluded, a smirk playing with the corners of his lips.

"I am not jealous." She denied, jabbing a finger at Draco's chest. 'You're a Malfoy, Draco. You can be friends with whoever you want. I'm a Parkinson, I can be friends with whoever I want. And I want to stay friends with you alright? And if that means I have to cozy up to flirt-face Zabini than I will! You got that?"

"Flirt-face? That's the best you could come up with?" Draco taunted.

"Arg! Shut up!" She shouted, absolutely livid. She began to turn away but Draco caught her wrist.

"Pansy, wait! You're doing this for me?" He asked shyly.

Her eyes softened slightly. "Not just for you. I just... I just thought it would benefit us all if we could all get along, ok? If we could all be friends. It's purely selfish I assure you. When I leave Hogwarts, I want to have connections." She admitted, her tone calmer, but still determined.

Draco's eyes shone with mischief. "So you don't want me then?" He asked.

"No! Well... yes... I... I didn't..." Pansy stuttered, blushing bright red. Then she saw the smug smirk that engulfed Draco's face. "Oh, shut up and wipe that stupid smirk off your face, Draco Malfoy." She shouted, spinning around and strutting away. He watched as she approached Daphne and Millie, instantly grabbing their arms and yanking them forward, the girls journeying down the path that lead to Hogsmeade.

"What ruffled her feathers?" Blaise asked once Draco had returned to their group. He narrowed his eyes at Draco. "And why in Merlin's name are you grinning?"

Draco shrugged. "Oh, no reason."

Their first Hogsmeade trip, despite the awkward atmosphere it started with, slowly became Draco's favourite day of the school year so far. Their shared annoyance with being dragged from one shop to another bonded the boys, and Draco even started to feel guilty he had ignored Greg and Vincent for so long. Sure, their heads were a little empty, but that often meant they didn't exactly filter everything they said. They could be hilariously funny, Greg especially. Vincent spent most of his time shovelling sweets from Honeydukes down his throat, but he wasn't so bad either. Plus, with their brute size, it made pushing into queues a lot easier.

They separated from the girls an hour or so before lunch, the boys heading towards Spintwitches Sporting Needs and Zonko's Joke Shop, while the girls headed to Gladrags Wizard Wear. Draco ended up buying a new pair of dragon hide Quidditch gloves (he tried not to think about how the things were made), along with a bunch of Dungbombs and Sugar Quills. Blaise finally caved and warmed up to Greg and Vincent too, advising them on the best Broom servicing kits to buy. Theo took longer to win over, but when he asked to go visit Tomes & Scrolls, Draco and Blaise complaining adamantly while Greg and Vincent didn't say a word, simply following without protest, he warmed up to them too.

Draco and Blaise waited outside, Draco in no mood to browsing through books. Reading Atlas' heavy Beastiary was enough for him, thank you very much. He also may have noticed Weasley and Granger enter the shop earlier, and he had no intention of bumping into them. The two boys sat on a nearby bench, sharing the sweets they had bought from Honeydukes, when Draco noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Is that a dog?"

Blaise followed Draco's gaze. "Looks like it, yeah."

"What's it doing in Hogsmeade?" Draco asked as he watched the black dog sniff around the street, before sitting down in a gap between the shops not far from them. It was watching the Hogwarts students filter through the small town, walking in and out of shops. For a second, Draco got the impression it was looking for someone. Pfft. It was just a dog. It couldn't be that smart.

"Probably belongs to one of the residents." Blaise suggested.

"Looks a little too shaggy to be a pet. Looks more like a stray."

"You're probably right. Its pretty skinny." Blaise agreed. Draco reached into his paper bag, grabbing a few sweets and standing up. Blaise frowned at him. "What are you doing?'

"Do you think its hungry?" Draco asked, moving towards the dog. Blaise instantly understood what he was going to do.

"Draco, if that thing is a stray, it will probably bite your hand off. And dogs don't each sweets."

"Nonsense. Sweets are the best."

"But not dog food."

Draco ignored him, itching closer to the dog that was sat in the slight alley between shops. "Hey doggie, you hungry?"

"Seriously? Doggie?"

"Shut up." Draco hissed over his shoulder. When he turned back, the dog was now looking at him. It had stood up, obviously startled. "Hey, boy. It's alright. You hungry? I've got some sweets if you want some?"

"How do you know its a boy? Could be a bitch."

"Blaise. Just shut up and let me talk to the bloody dog, alright?" Draco snarled, his patience waning. Blaise remained silent. "Thank you." He snapped, turning back to the dog. "Well come on boy, do you want some?" Draco moved forward, but the dog growled.

"Told you." Blaise sing-songed. Draco sent him a glare.

"Alright, boy. I'll put them on the floor instead. There." Draco stood up, moving backwards. The dog looked at him for a few moments before it itched forward, sniffing at the sweets left on the floor. Keeping one eye on Draco, it began to eat them, its long pink tongue coming out to lick them up. Before long, it wasn't looking at Draco, instead focused on the sweets. "See, Blaise, he was starving. Weren't you boy? You want some more?"

Draco picked up his bag of sweets, shaking the bag temptingly. The dog's tail wagged slightly, cautiously approaching as Draco sat back on the bench. Blaise moved away, just in time as the dog moved forward, shoving its head in the bag of sweets. Draco laughed.

"You're letting it eat all of them?" Blaise asked, looking a little disgusted. Draco shrugged.

"I can always buy more. I think my mother was going to send some Apple Rings through the post anyway." Draco explained, his hand twitching to stroke the dog's fur. Slowly, he raised his other hand that wasn't holding the bag, and placed it on top of the dog's head. The mutt froze for a second, tense, but when Draco began to stroke its ears it relaxed, returning to eating the assortment of Every-Flavour-Beans, Green Apple Strips and Gummy Worms. It lifted its head when it reached the Sugar straws, mouth opening wide as its sharp teeth began to crunch and chew the hard sweets with a chocolate centre. Draco chuckled at the funny sight, watching as the dog struggled, the candy getting stuck in its teeth. The image even made Blaise smile.

"Okay, I can admit. That's almost cute, even if it looks like it climbed out of the sewers." Blaise commented.

"You hear that boy?" Draco asked, placing the bag of sweets down to ruffle the thick black fur around the dog's neck that was like a mane. He gripped the dog's face as it's tongue lolled, panting with a wide canine grin. "Blaise thinks you're cute!"

"What in Merlin's name is that?"

Draco froze upon hearing the strangled shriek, looking up to see Pansy a few feet away, hands weighed down by shopping bags, Daphne and Millie beside her. They were all gaping at Draco, who was still touching the black dog. Pansy was the first to recover, stalking forward with her paper bags and aiming to bat the dog away.

"Get out of here! Go on, mutt, SHOO!"

"Pansy!" Draco shouted, leaping to his feet as the dog dodged Pansy's attack. It barked at her, ears flat against its head.

"GO ON! GO AWAY!" She screeched.

"PANSY! STOP!" Draco lunged to stop her, grabbing her wrists, but the dog had already ran off. "What did you do that for!"

"What did I do that for? Did you not see that thing, Draco! It probably had fleas or something worse like dragon pox! It could have killed you!"

"Pans, dogs can't carry dragon pox-" Draco started, but it was no use. Pansy screeched at him all the way to The Three Broomsticks, the boys laughing quietly as they trailed behind once they had joined them. Draco was never going to hear the end of it.

"Well, it looks like you're not in luck tonight, Malfoy." Draco raised an eyebrow as Theo smirked, watching as his fellow dorm mate finally revealed his cards. "Straight flush. Pay up Malfoy."

A smug grin spread across Draco's face."No, I don't think so. In fact, I think it's you who in debt, Nott."

Theo opened his mouth to angrily demand his owed betting money, but then Draco placed his cards on the floor between them, revealing a royal flush. Theo's mouth slackened in shock. "You can not be serious." He whispered.

Behind them, Blaise lowered the Quidditch magazine he had bought in Hogsmeade that afternoon, laid across his bed on his back, and laughed as soon as he saw the scene - Draco holding his hand out for Theo to pay up with a cheshire grin on his face, while the other Slytherin in question scowled as he handed the galleons over, if begrudgingly. Blaise turned the page of his magazine, shaking his head in amusement.

"Shut it, Zabini. You better not have cheated, Malfoy or-"

Blaise threw his magazine across the bed, finally sitting up and confronting Theo. "Bloody hell, Theo, relax! Draco didn't cheat. I would have told you if he had."

"Just as he would have told me if you had broken the rules, Nott." Draco pointed out, though he was currently distracted by the galleons he was gleefully counting up. Theo glared at him, but the other two boys knew it was for show.

Draco's mood was higher than he ever remembered feeling it. The Hogsmeade trip had been the most fun he had experienced in ages, and he realised he had missed his old friends more than he realised. The Slytherin third years had unified over butter beers and inside jokes, sharing stories of their childhood, even the embarrassing ones (Draco had to forcefully clamp his hand over Blaise's mouth when he tried to tell the story of six-year-old Draco's plan to make the Malfoy Manor's peacocks his own personal army, much to his horror) and Draco finally felt lighter - there were no more irksome worries of them finding out and turning against him. It was still a threat at the back of Draco's mind, but it didn't hold the weight it used to. Like it no longer mattered, or at least, it didn't matter in the present.

The Halloween feast had been equally up-lifting. The Great Hall had been decorated with hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins and flaming orange streamers; even the food was delicious and despite having gorged themselves on sweets earlier in the day, they still managed to fill their stomachs with second helpings. The Ghosts had delivered some hilarious reenactments - even the Bloody Baron had seemed to be in a good mood that night, sneaking up on Peeves and scaring the living daylights out of the fellow ghost, causing a ripple of laughter to cross the Slytherin table during the feast. Peeves would probably retaliate before the night was out, but the Bloody Baron didn't seem to care, such was his unusually jovial mood. The only person in Slytherin that seemed withdrawn had been their Head of House himself, who for some reason kept sending furtive glances over to Professor Lupin every few minutes. Draco filed that little observation away to analyse later.

After the feast, they had returned to their dorms, Draco challenging Theo to a friendly game of poker. Vincent and Greg had gone to see if they could threaten or bribe some seventh year to hand over some alcohol and had yet to return, the girls having already retreated to their own dorms. Blaise had played one round with Draco and Theo before cutting his losses to read his new magazines instead.

"So... ready to lose another round, Nott?" Draco teased. His fellow dorm mate narrowed his eyes.

"You wish. Give me the cards, I'm dealing this time."

"Don't you trust me?"

"I don't even trust you as far as I could levitate you. Now hand them over."

Draco laughed, collecting the deck and handing it over, just as Vincent and Greg barrelled through the door, panting as if they had run up the stairs. Draco frowned, freezing with his hand outstretched. Theo slowly took the deck from him, but just like Draco, his eyes were on Vincent and Greg.

"What's up with you two?" Blaise asked before Theo or Draco could.

Greg swallowed. "Farley and Higgs are upstairs rounding everyone up. They're saying we have to all go the the Great Hall."

Draco exchanged a confused glance with Blaise, leaning back on his hands so he could face Greg and Vincent fully, the latter still panting as he leaned on his knees, out of breath. Farley and Higgs were prefects if he remembered correctly. "What? Why? The Feast is over, Goyle."

"Headmaster's orders. We're sleeping in the Hall tonight." Crabbe explained, finally rising, his breathing under control.

"Wait, what?" Theo exclaimed, as they all climbed to their feet. Blaise leaped off his bed, instantly coming to Draco's side.

"We gotta go, they're moving everyone out," As Goyle spoke, Draco became suddenly aware of the noises coming from the hallways, footsteps of students leaving their dorms and others, most likely the prefects, knocking on doors and informing everyone of the situation.

"No, wait a minute, what's going on?" Draco moved forward, grabbing Goyle's arm. The taller boy looked spooked, eager to get out of the dorm. His eyes flicked between everyone, before finally returning to Draco.

"We don't know for sure but.."

"But what?" Blaise slowly prompted from Draco's side.

"...They're saying Sirius Black tried to get into Gryffindor Tower. Tore the fat lady's portrait apart. Pucey saw her bawling in another portrait on the first floor."

Draco released Goyle's arm, stepping back in shock. He looked at Blaise, whose eyes had widened just as much as his.

"Well, shit." Theo eloquently offered in the stunned silence.

Sirius Black was in the castle. His Mother's cousin was in the castle. A murderer was in the fucking castle.

"If he nearly got into Gryffindor Tower, does that mean he could potentially get into the dungeons?" Blaise hypothesised out loud. They all exchanged glances. A second passed.

"Nope. No way. I'm out of here." Theo exclaimed as he moved towards the door, walking too quickly to be calm. "Everyone's going to the Great Hall you say?"

"That's where the Prefects are saying to go-" Vncent confirmed, holding the door for Theo as he left. Blaise made to follow, but stopped when he realised Draco wasn't following.

"Draco?" Blaise asked, turning to his friend.

"You go. I'll catch up." Draco said quietly. Blaise frowned, opening his mouth to protest, but Draco was already prepared for what he was about to say. "I've got to grab something first." Draco hinted, Blaise freezing, before nodding in understanding.

When he closed the door behind him once he left, Draco immediately raced to his bed, pulling his covers away and snatching his scrying mirror up. Draco immediately activated it, glancing nervously to the door as he waited for Atlas to answer. Come on, come on, now isn't the time to give me the silent treatment, Atlas!

The mist cleared to reveal his blood father's face and Draco nearly gasped with relief.

"Draco-" Atlas started, but Draco quickly cut him off.

"Not now, I don't have much time. All you need to know is Sirius Black is at Hogwarts."

Atlas' eyes widened, a hint of panic behind them. "Wait, what? Draco-"

"He tried to get into the Gryffindor Tower, attacked the portrait guarding the entrance. I don't know much, Dumblerdore's ordered everyone to the Great Hall. I've got to go."

"Draco-" Atlas opened his mouth to protest but Draco interrupted him before he got the chance.

"Atlas, I really have to go. A prefect may come in to drag me out any second."

Atlas closed his mouth, his lips forming a thin line. He nodded in understanding. "Right. Thank you, Draco, for informing me. I'll look into it. Make sure you're safe, stay near Blaise."

"I will." Draco promised. Atlas' expression softened, nodding again.

"Goodbye, Draco."

"Bye, Atlas."

The connection ended, Atlas' face melting away out of existence. Draco quickly shoved the mirror under his pillow, pulling the sheets up to cover it, before hastily grabbing his cloak and running out of the dorm, intent on catching up to Blaise and the other Slytherin third years.

Atlas tugged his long coat closer as he walked across the Hogwarts grounds, upturning the collar so it protected his ears and neck from the chilly air. He had arrived from the south, slipping through the school's wards with experienced ease, Dumbledore none the wiser. Turning right, he ducked into a forested area, shadows from overhanging branches and towering spruce trees cloaking his body in darkness. Dumbledore and his staff would not notice his presence tonight.

The Dementors, however, were another matter.

It didn't take long for three to find him. They sensed him moving through the trees, heard his footsteps disturbing the mass of leaves, soil and twigs that littered the forest floor. More than that, they could smell him. Smell the pain, the agony; the deep-rooted hatred and anger that toiled inside the darkest depths of his mind and soul, locked away so no one could see it. But it was there - the Dementors could smell it, almost taste it. Silently, they drifted down from their patrol over the skies, slowly creeping closer from behind.

Atlas stopped as he released a breath, the hot air leaving his lungs forming a thin cloud of mist as it came into contact with the quickly dropping temperatures. His expression hardened as he tilted his head, sensing the deathly presence behind him with their cloaked spectral forms and decaying skin. Atlas let his hands fall to his sides, shoulders tensing, but he didn't draw his wand. He didn't need it anyway.

The closest Dementor lunged as Atlas spun around, plunging his fist into the Dementor's chest. It passed through like the creature's body was made of liquid, meeting no opposing force. Almost immediately a bright light glow began to emanate from Atlas' hand, piercing through the Dementor's body, spreading like wildfire. The bright white light burned the Dementor alive, its mouth opening in a silent scream as cracks appears in its decayed visage, the light bursting out in beams. In seconds, its body was obliterated, exploding in a flash of blinding light. Atlas pulled his fist back unfazed, uncurling it to reveal a blackened heart, charred as if it had been struck by lightning. He raised his eyes, crushing the ghastly heart as he met the gaze of the remaining two Dementors, who had halted in mid-air. Like a puppet cut by strings, the heart lost its solid structure, dissolving into a black liquid that flowed off Atlas' fist and dripped down onto the fallen autumn leaves below.

A deep rumble began to grow from deep inside Atlas' throat, his dragon eyes glowing a molten yellow in the darkness. His fist began to faintly glow at his side, a clear threat.

The Dementors ran.

The glow faded, the eyes returned to normality. Atlas turned and continued on his way to the Womping Willow, a smirk twisting the corners of his lips.