Chapter Seven: The Set Up

There are several dialogue quotes taken from JK Rowling's Sorcerer's Stone in this book. This is to convey the same story she wrote, but from another character's POV. The quotes taken directly from the book have three quotation marks (instead of two) around them to signify she wrote them and that I am citing them. Because I am transforming pieces of her work into something new this falls under the Fair Use Act. Additionally, JK Rowling has stated that she is okay with noncommercial fan fiction. All direct quotes, the Harry Potter storyline, and the characters all belong to JK Rowling.

Draco had never met a person he hated as much as Harry Potter. Harry was always the center of attention, always being swooned over for no reason, and it really peeved off Draco. To Draco, this was a boy who showed average magical potential, with a scrawny disposition, and no discernible personality. He really couldn't figure out what it was about him that others seemed to love, so he chalked it up to pity.

The other students may not have fully agreed with Draco, but any student or teacher could tell that while Draco was an ambitious child who worked hard in all of his endeavors, the same could not be said about Harry. Harry was a fine, somewhat introverted, student who was able to complete the bare minimum, but did not strive to be the best in school, unlike Hermione or Draco. It was actually quite funny, some of the similarities between Hermione and Draco, but telling Draco that would have bought anyone a pass to the hospital wing.

Wednesday night Draco and his friends saw the notice about flying classes starting on Thursday. Although he was aching to get back on a broom, Draco had a feeling that class would be a bit basic for his liking. Draco had been flying since he was four years old, and he had been practicing quidditch ever since he was six.

It was not uncommon for children of magical families to be taught how to fly at a young age, and the majority of his friends were decent fliers, but no one loved flying like Draco. Draco practically lived on his broom his whole childhood. Things were not always great at Malfoy Manor, but Draco had the ability to fly away and pretend that all his troubles were behind him.

Draco loved to tell the stories of flying adventures. They were all exaggerated of course, as any eleven year old would have, and he was not the only one. That morning at breakfast, the young witches and wizards swapped stories of evading muggles in helicopters, racing airplanes, and dodging lightning bolts during storms. The muggle-borns listened wide eyed, and fretted about being so behind.

Draco and several of the other first years complained loudly about how first years are never allowed on house teams.

"But Draco," said Pansy, "the way you tell it you're magnificent. You should try-out and they'll just have to take you."

"Don't even bother," a loud voice cracked. It was Marcus Flint, 5th year, captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. "I can tell you right now that we are not taking first years, no matter how good they are. Sorry Malfoy tradition is tradition," he spoke in a falsely patronizing voice.

"Well there you have it," Draco mumbled. "There's no point to even trying."

"Cheer up Draco," said Pansy. "At least all first years are in the same boat."

Draco turned to Daphne. She took a bite out of her sausage and saw him staring at her out of the corner of her eye, "Nuh-uh," she said. "You already have one cheerleader. I have no intention of listening to your pity party."

Blaise burst out laughing, and Draco glared at them. Suddenly the owls swooped in again ready to deliver the post. Niklaus landed right next to Draco, another package tied to his leg. Their routine went about as usual. Draco tossed aside the paper, only for Blaise to pick it up and check for anything important. The Slytherins passed around the box of sweets to share, and Draco read his letter.

Draco was thankful for the treats, but was half convinced his mother was trying to make him the size of Crabbe and Goyle. Narcissa had written her usual words of encouragement to Draco, but Draco was sincerely pleased to see that his father had finally written back about Gringotts at the end of the parchment.

Draco,

It is an interesting situation to say the least. I will tell you that the item they were looking for was not stolen because it was taken out of the vault earlier that day and brought to Hogwarts. Now in exchange for that piece of information I want you to drop the subject and focus on your studies.

Lucius Malfoy

"Get a load of this," Draco whispered, and his three, not useless, friends leaned in while Crabbe and Goyle fought each other for the last licorice wand.

Pansy let out an audible gasp. "It's here in the castle?" She asked.

"That doesn't seem safe," said Blaise with a frown.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Daphne. "We are completely safe with Dumbledore here."

Draco scoffed, and Blaise looked just as doubtful.

"You may not like him," said Daphne. "But that doesn't change that he is a powerful wizard who is feared by many."

Malfoy stood up suddenly.

"Where are you off too?" Asked Daphne.

"I'm in the mood for some hell-raising," shrugged Draco and he stalked off towards the Gryffindor table.

"Befriend the Potter boy," the words from his father rang in Draco's head. Truth be told, Draco had no idea what he was planning on doing as he walked up to the Gryffindor table: Extend an olive branch? Create more problems? He knew that he should make amends with Harry and try to befriend him, so that is what he finally decided to do at the last second.

"'It's a Remembrall!'" Draco heard Neville shout "'Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh . . .you've forgotten something . . .'"

Draco took the Remembrall from Neville's hand and the red smoke faded instantly. "Quite an interesting find Nev-" Draco said, handing it back, but he was interrupted by Harry and Ron jumping up on their feet.

Professor McGonagall saw the confrontation begin and was by their side in an instant. "'What's going on?'" she asked.

"'Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor.'" Draco felt his stomach drop. Of course they were trying to get him in trouble. Even though he had just been trying to make conversation. Even though he had his arm extended, literally holding the Remebrall out to hand it back to Neville.

It's useless Draco thought to himself. These idiots hate me and they would never want to be my friend, so why even bother. Malfoy dropped it hard onto the table.

"Just looking," Draco murmured and turned to walk away. He saw that Crabbe and Goyle were right behind him. They must have come to his aide after seeing Harry and Ron jump up. Maybe they are not completely useless Draco thought to himself as he walked back to his table.

"What the hell was that?" Asked Blaise who was cracking up at the exchange that had just transpired.

Draco slumped down in his seat. "My dad wanted me to befriend Potter, okay?" Draco mumbled.

"They are never going to like you," Blaise laughed, shaking his head. "Don't even bother trying. Snakes and lions don't mix."

"I didn't even want him as a friend anyways," Draco insisted through a bruised ego. "I was only doing it to please my family."

"That's not what your face says," retorted Blaise.

"Just shut up okay?" said Draco.

"Draco why don't you tell them about the time you saved my little sister Astoria from hitting the ground after falling 500 feet off her broom," said Daphne, changing the subject and trying to diffuse the tension.

"That is an interesting story," said Draco, his face lighting up. "But you are remembering wrong. It was more like 1,000 feet."

Daphne laughed and shook her head as Draco told his story. He was followed by Blaise who told an even grander flying story, and the two continued to try to one up each other, with Pansy hanging onto every word.

Around three the Slytherin first years marched out to the grounds a half hour early. They sat and chatted by the old tattered broomsticks. The school broomsticks were notorious for not working properly. They were hard to turn and protested flying very high. Draco was used to using a nice broomstick, and now that the time had come, he was a little worried of looking like a fool on the cheap pile of sticks the school called a broom.

At three thirty the Gryffindors finally arrived with Madam Hooch. She was a serious looking woman with short grey hair and a short temperament. "'Well, what are you all waiting for?'" she barked. "'Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up.'"

"'Stick out your right hand over your broom,'" yelled Madam Hooch, "'and say 'Up!'"

Every student obeyed, but only Draco and Harry managed to levitate their broom to their hand on the first try. The others struggled to command their broom, and shouting "UP" over and over.

When each student had finally either levitated their broom, or had given up and picked it up while Madam Hooch wasn't looking, they finally moved on. Madam Hooch told them all to mount their broom and walked around fixing their grip.

As she passed by Draco she had to correct him as well, which made the tips of his ears turn bright red. Harry and Ron grinned at this, which prompted Draco to snarl back in their direction.

"'Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard,'" Shouted Madam Hooch. "'Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three —two —'"

Suddenly Neville, or crying toad boy as Draco preferred, kicked up off the ground and flew several feet in the air.

"Come back, boy!" Screamed Madam Hooch to no avail.

The Slytherins laughed hysterically as Neville flew at least 25 feet in the air, and then lost his balance and fell off the broom with a large BAM. However, the broomstick did not come down, and drifted off and out of sight.

"Let's take a lesson from Longbottom," laughed Draco. "If we all lose our brooms maybe the school will invest in decent ones."

The Slytherins laughed, and the Gryffindors formed a circle around Madam Hooch who was tending to a sniffling Neville.

Draco heard the murmurs of the crowd saying that Neville had broken his wrist. Still angry from what happened this morning, Draco smiled gleefully at the boy's misfortune.

Madam Hooch helped Neville get up, and the two of them walked towards the castle. "'None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear.'"

"'Did you see his face, the great lump?'" Draco laughed, and the other Slytherins joined in.

"'Shut up, Malfoy,'" snapped a Gryffindor named Parvati Patil.

"'Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?'" said Pansy. "'Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati.'"

"'Look!'" shouted Malfoy, as he spotted the Remembrall from earlier gleaming in the glass. "'It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him.'"

Harry tried to run for it, but Draco was faster and snatched it up, ready to get back at the Gryffindors for what transpired earlier that morning.

"'Give that here, Malfoy,'" said Harry in a low serious voice. Everyone was dead silent as they watched the exchange transpire.

"No," said Draco. "'I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about —up a tree?'"

"'Give it here!'" Harry yelled, and both him and Daphne leapt to grab Draco. Harry in an attempt to tackle the remembrall out of his hand, and Daphne in an attempt to stop Draco from what he was about to do, jumping on his broom and flying off.

"He's going to get himself expelled," Daphne mumbled to herself, rubbing circles into her temples as Draco flew off.

Despite the amount of exaggeration Draco had added to his flying stories, he really was great at flying. Harry looked shocked and a bit anxious as he saw Draco effortlessly hovering above a tree.

"'Come and get it, Potter!'" Draco taunted.

Harry grabbed his broom and mounted it.

"'No!'" shouted Hermione Granger. "'Madam Hooch told us not to move —you'll get us all into trouble.'" But Harry was already in the air by the time she finished her sentence.

To Draco's utter surprise, Harry kicked off and easily flew up to face him. "Shit," Draco thought. "How is he doing this? He's never flown before."

Flying was not an easy task, and typically took people a while to get used to. When Draco had first mounted his broom at four years old, he went flying head first into a tree to his mother's horror. Narcissa had sprinted over to him, only for Draco to jump up unharmed and mount his broom again, completely unfazed.

Draco shook it off thinking to himself, "Of course he is better than you were when you started, you were four."

"'Give it here,'" shouted Harry, "'or I'll knock you off that broom!'"

"'Oh, yeah?'" Snarled Draco, but underneath he was worried.

Harry hurdled forward, trying to keep his word, but again Draco was faster and jumped out of the way just in time.

At this point both Gryffindor and Slytherin were each clapping and cheering for their respective classmates.

"'No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy,'" Harry called, but Draco liked his odds on a broom.

"'Catch it if you can, then!'" Shouted Draco and he threw the ball up into the air, and returned himself safely to the ground. The Remembrall came soaring back down, but Harry didn't let it fall to the ground. Instead, he went flying after it stretched out his hand and caught it a couple feet above the ground. He managed to pull his broom straight before hitting the ground, and toppled off unharmed. The Gryffindors shrieks of horror turned to whoops and hollers of excitement.

"'HARRY POTTER!'" Someone shouted at the top of their lungs. The entire class turned to see Professor McGonagall bounding towards them.

"'Never — in all my time at Hogwarts —'"Professor McGonagall managed to choke out. Her eyes were madly furious, "'— how dare you — might have broken your neck —'"

"'It wasn't his fault, Professor —'" Parvati squeaked

"'Be quiet, Miss Patil —'" Gasped Professor McGonagall, who was clearly still in shock.

"But Malfoy —" Ron cut in.

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now." Said Professor McGonagall in her stern voice.

Draco and his friends laughed triumphantly. Harry may have caught the Remembrall, but it was Draco who had the last laugh as he held his head high, convinced that Potter would be on the train home tonight.

Madam Hooch ended the lesson early after the many events that transpired, so Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Daphne, and Blaise made themselves comfortable under a large oak tree.

"A Hogwarts without potter," murmured Draco as he laid back coolly with his eyes shut, hands behind his head. "Let's get Weasley next."

Daphne laughed, "Admit that you'll be disappointed if he leaves Draco. Who will you mess with when he's gone?"

Draco opened his eyes and sat up scanning the courtyard. "Granger," he said and then leaned back again.

"No you won't," teased Blaise. "You think she's cute."

"Ugh- As if Zabini!" Shouted Draco.

Pansy's eyes bugged out of her head at that. "What that frizzy haired freak? Yeah right," she scoffed nervously.

"I don't know Draco," Daphne grinned along with Blaise. "You talk about her an awful lot... although you talk about Potter even more... Something you're not telling us Malfoy?"

"That's disgusting Greengrass, you may be a girl, but fortunately I'm a feminist and will not hesitate to hex you."

"Oi, Crabbe, Goyle!" Draco shouted. "These three are nauseating. Let's go."

"He's going to start hating us if you guys keep that up," Pansy moaned pitifully.

"No he's not," laughed Blaise. "It might piss him off that we are the first people to ever tease or challenge him, but deep down he likes it."

"Crabbe and Goyle might do anything he says," agreed Daphne. "But that makes them his entourage, not his friends."

At dinner Draco was still butt-hurt over Blaise and Daphne's teasing, so instead of eating with them he stalked over to the Gryffindor table with Crabbe and Goyle to create more problems.

"'Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?'" said Draco, deeply disappointed to see Harry still at Hogwarts.

"'You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you,'' Harry retorted with such confidence Draco was sure Harry would not be expelled any time soon. This peeved Draco even more. Had anyone else broken the rules... well, been caught breaking the rules... they would have been sent home, but not the precious Harry Potter.

"'I'd take you on anytime on my own,'" said Malfoy with an air of fake confidence. "'Tonight, if you 's duel. Wands only — no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?'"

"'Of course he has,'" said Ron, butting in before Harry had the chance to speak. "'I'm his second, who's yours?'"

Draco looked carefully at Crabbe and Goyle, contemplating who would make a better second. Goyle was more in shape, but this was a wizard's duel, no contact. "'Crabbe,'" Draco decided. "'Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked.'"

The three of them sauntered off. "Yeah! Wizards duel!" Goyle shouted and high-fived Crabbe.

"No you idiots, listen here," Draco murmured, when they were out of earshot of Harry and Ron. "I have a better idea."

"No wizards duel?" Asked Crabbe glumly.

"Just follow me," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

The trio strutted down the hallway into the caretaker Flich's office.

"What are ya lot doin' in here?" Shouted, Filch angrily.

"We have some important information," said Draco, trying to contain how intimidated he was. "We overheard two Gryffindor students saying that they were going to break into the Trophy Room tonight."

"Oh yeah?" Barked Filch. "How do I know yer not tryin' to distract me so yer lot can sneak around the castle."

"We're telling the truth!" Pressed Draco. "These two can back me up."

Crabbe and Goyle nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ye better be tellin' the truth boys, or it will be ye three who will be punished," said Filch eying them suspiciously.

"I understand sir," said Draco completely unfazed, and the three of them made their way to their common room, as curfew was soon approaching.

Draco sat on a couch in front of the roaring Slytherin common room fire, between Pansy and Daphne. Blaise near them in an adjacent chair. The four of them worked on their homework while chatting mindlessly. The little dispute from earlier that day was long forgotten.

"I still can't believe you ratted," said Daphne.

Draco shrugged silently as he took notes from his potions book.

"Not the coolest move I have to say," responded Blaise. "But admittedly effective for getting them in trouble."

"Do you think they'll actually go through with it?" Asked Pansy.

"Who knows," said Draco, clearly done with the conversation at this point.

"Daffodil I'm bored," Draco moaned, putting his head on top of the book in Daphne's lap, and sticking his feet and legs onto Pansy's lap.

Daphne laughed, "Draco, bloody hell, you're dramatic. And by the way, Daffodil is the stupidest nickname I have ever heard. It is longer than my actual name."

"If you didn't want to be bored, you should have actually shown up to the duel," said Blaise, looking at the clock. The time read 12:15. "I'm sure they have been caught by now, unless they managed to sneak away from Filch."

Draco sat up quickly. "Don't worry, we're not going to be bored for long."

"You were the only one complaining about being bored Malfoy," said Blaise, but Draco ignored him.

Draco grabbed a book from the book shelf, opened up to a particular page, and proudly shoved the thing into Pansy's hands.

"A disillusionment charm?" Asked Pansy, clearly confused.

"We are going to use this spell to find the thing that Hogwarts is hiding. The thing that was almost stolen during the Gringotts break in," said Draco excitedly.

"What, why? Wha-" Daphne protested, but Blaise cut her off.

"Okay, I'm in," he said, shrugging at Daphne's incredulous look.

"Why not?" Replied Draco. "We can make sure it's well protected, become school heroes and whatnot."

"We don't even know where to find it Draco," continued Daphne.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet. You are much smarter than that Greengrass" said Blaise lazily flipping through his Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

Daphne closed her eyes and thought for a second, "the third floor corridor" she said. "The one Dumbledore said was off limits."

Blaise nodded his head. "We just need to pick a good time to go. The disillusionment charm is a good place to start, but it doesn't make you invisible. It blends you into your surroundings like a chameleon. Therefore, if we are not careful someone could still see us."

"I know, I know!" Pansy chimed in, excited to contribute something of value. "Halloween, when the students and teachers are distracted by the banquet."

"Nice going, Parkinson," said Blaise with a smile. "welcome to the team."