Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley huddled together in an unused room, deep in the dungeons, the silver invisibility cloak tossed casually onto the floor below them. All three of them were huddled together, not bothering to whisper, unaware of a silver haired Slytherin crouching in the shadows.
"What I want to know," Hermione was saying, "Is how he got the position of Head Boy." She looked solemnly at Harry and Ron. "His grades weren't exactly tops. Even you're above him in Transfiguration, Ron."
Ron ignored Hermione's unintentional insult, and frowned. "I think Snape talked Dumbledore into it."
"But why would Snape want the son of a Death Eater in a position of such high power? It's kind of stupid, when you think about it." Harry said seriously. "Surely he'll be able to find a way of getting information about our side…"
"Maybe Snape got a little bribery." Ron said, smirking.
"From who, his father?" Hermione asked. Ron sighed
loudly.
"No, Herm, from Malfoy himself."
"You think he paid him?" she asked, frowning.
"No!" Ron replied, exasperated. "I mean, you know, sucking up?" At this, Harry snorted, and doubled over, laughing.
"You can't be serious!" he gasped, in between laughs. Ron nodded seriously. "Sick."
Hermione looked at the two of them confusedly, and Ron, upon seeing this, sighed deeply, and then pretended to shove his wand in and out of his mouth. "Oh," Hermione gasped, in surprise. "That… that… sick!" she said, her eyes wide with shock.
Ron nodded, and then grinned over at Harry. "That little ferret probably…"
"I probably what, Weasel?" Draco asked, dangerously,
emerging from the shadows. Hermione gasped, and backed up to the wall, her hand
over her mouth.
"Oh," Ron replied, nonchalantly, "Just that you probably enjoyed it." Hermione sank to the floor, horror and amusement written plainly on her face. Harry stepped up, standing slightly behind Ron, as Draco glared menacingly.
"Weasel, do you really think that saying 'you probably enjoyed it' is a good way to make a move on me?" Draco asked, silkily.
Ron's ears reddened, and he sneered at the slightly shorter boy. "I wouldn't know, Malfoy" he spat, "Why don't you tell me, as you seem to have experience in this kind of thing." Two spots of colour appeared on Draco's cheeks, and he was clenching his fists tightly, but Ron didn't stop. "I almost feel sorry for your mother, having to live with a Death Eater for a husband and a Fag for a son." He sneered.
This last remark was too much for the blonde boy, and he
lunged at Ron, his wand seemingly forgotten. Ron, who was taken by surprise,
sported a broken nose, thanks to Draco's first and rather forceful punch. Ron
however, was not one to be dispirited by a broken, bleeding nose.
Hermione gasped together with Harry, as they rushed over to the fallen boy. He was unconscious, and a puddle of blood was seeping out from around his head. "Oh god," Ron murmured, "He isn't dead, is he?"
Hermione glared at the red haired boy, and knelt down at Draco's side putting her hand to his chest. "He's breathing. I think you just knocked him out." Harry breathed a sigh of relief, but Ron still looked worried.
"What about all that blood?" he asked Hermione. She frowned and gently turned him over, to reveal a deep gash on the back of his neck.
"He'll be fine. I can heal that easily." She muttered as she carefully placed her wand on the cut. First, the blood stopped flowing, then it began to shrink, and soon, it was a thin, silver scar. She rolled him over carefully, and placed her wand on his chest. "Enervate," she said.
Draco opened his eyes groggily, and sat up, wincing in pain. "What the hell happened?" he asked sharply, feeling the back of his head, where a large bump had formed.
Harry stood up, and touched a spot on the wall where a
piece of rock protruded from it. "You hit this, I think." He told him.
Draco got up, a little too quickly, wavering for a second before leaning against the wall to keep from falling over. Hermione rushed over to help him, but he growled at her.
"Keep away from me, Mudblood." He snarled. Hermione backed away, looking hurt, but Ron turned on him, his broken nose swollen and purple.
"You idiot." He hissed, eyes blazing, "She healed your worthless arse, and this is how you treat her?" his eyes glittered with hatred as he said this. Angered and in pain, he snatched his wand up off the floor, and shouted "Fera Humanus Mutar" and for the first time in his life, he preformed the Animal/Human Transfiguration correctly.
Before them stood Draco Malfoy, the sleek, white ferret.