A/N: Huge thankyou to Oblivion and Ivory Tower for their encouraging reviews.

I just realised that my email account is full and is bounce-bounce-bouncing from here to the moon and back. If you try to talk to me that way it won't work.

Oh, and forgive me if my sarcasm comes into play. Sometimes I just cannot help myself (I suspect that I'm a slytherin at heart... perhaps that's why I have a soft spot for Draco and Snape.) Oh and for the record, I like Harry, Ron and especially Hermione. But Draco doesn't, and when I'm writing from his point of view I can't very well see them in a good light. At least for now.

Still don't own Draco and Co. Damn.

Summary of events so far (just imagine a cheesy voiceover): When we last saw Draco he was in a bit of a fix. In potions class he was required to create a Revelio Potion, breaking any concealing charms. This would normally not be a big deal. Except Draco has a secret. He has mysterious bruising on his arms, hidden by a concealing charm. Will Draco's secret be revealed? Or wil he be able to find a way out?

Ohhh, Dramatic.

----

Sacrifices

Part Four - Mistakes, Mudbloods and Worthiness

Draco shifted uneasily. He brewed his potion in silence. What could he do? He knew that as soon as he finished he would have to drink it. Then what? People would see. Perhaps his secret wouldn't come out. Perhaps he would be able to make up some sort of cover story. That he simply got in a fight. It wasn't hard to believe. Afterall, almost everyone outside of Slytherin (and a few inside, no doubt) had thought about giving him a a few well-placed bruises. But anyone who knew the slightest thing about bruises would be able to tell that they didn't all occur at the one time. Whilst some were still an angry blue or purple, others were yellowed and fading. It didn't take a genius to figure that they didn't come about from a single incident. What could he say then? 'Oh, um, I got into a fight, and instead of using magic, I decided to just let them keep hitting me. Then I went back the next night. And the night after that. And the night after that..." Oh God, this wasn't good. Not good at all. What would his father do if he let people fine out? What would -

Draco jerked his head up as the sound of an explosion hit his ears. He turned to his left and saw Longbottom, his face charred and his desk covered in charcoal. He sneered, but couldn't be bothered thinking up a smart-arse remark.

"Detention, 10 points from Gryffindor. You'd better have that cleaned up before end of class, Longbottom, or it'll be 50" Snape remarked smoothly, not even glancing up from the book he was reading. Longbottom looked devastated as he began wiping down his table, earning sympathetic expressions from Ron, Harry and Hermione.

Draco made a point of leering at that fool Longbottom, before diverting his attention back to his own potion. And back to thinking about all the ways his father could punish him for revealing 'family matters' in public. Meanwhile, Longbottom had finished cleaning up his desk in remarkable time (funny, the things you can do when you're terrified) but still hadn't even attempted to clean himself up. Snape still had his head buried in his book and didn't notice Longbottom's trembling fingers held in the air. Potter did, however, and cleared his throat in an attempt to rouse the Professor's attention.

"Five points, Potter" Drawled Snape and Harry blinked in shock. Nevertheless, Snape did indeed look up, so all was not lost, he supposed.

"Yes Longbottom?"

"Professor, Sir, will I brew up another potion?" he asked meekly, lowering his hands and wringing them together under the desk. Snapes eyes drifted down and a smirk appeared at the corners of his mouth as he became aware of exactly how nervous the boy was.

"No, Neville, I think you've done quite enough damage for one day. There's always tomorrow, after all" he replied, the smirk leaving his face and being replaced by a dangerous snarl. Longbottom gulped nervously, and underneath the table his knuckles were white with tension. He didn't even notice. Snape did, however, and turned back to his book with an air of satisfaction. 'Gryffindors' he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Draco's eyes lit up as comprehension dawned. All he'd have to do is mess up the potion! He could just add a few more drops here and there, add an extra ingredient, remove another. Surely it wouldn't still work, then. Not if he managed to make a lot of 'mistakes'. Obviously, it would be suspicious. Potions was, after all, his best subject, and this was a pretty easy potion. Hell, even Weasley managed to get it right. But surely it wouldn't be as suspicious as his arms appearing with bruises of all the colours of the rainbow. Of course not. He nodded, suddenly sure of himself, and a heavy weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. His muscles relaxed, releasing the tension he hadn't even realised they contained. Then he grabbed the various bottles on the table and started adding them haphazardly to his flask. He was going to get through it ok, he thought to himself in dizzy relief. And I'm never going to be so stupid again, he added. From now on, if he had bruises, he was wearing long robes, concealing charm or not. He wasn't going to risk being put into this situation again. He recieved a few inquiring glances from nearby Slytherins and when he looked torward the Gryffindors his noticed that Hermione had already finished, and was watching him with an incredulous expression on her face. "See something green, mudblood?" he asked and Hermione narrowed her eyes and looked quickly away. Ron was flushed red with anger and the hand holding his flask was shaking with tension. "I wouldn't hold that flask quite so tightly, Weasley, you might break it. After all, we wouldn't want your father to have to take up another job to pay for it, would we?" Draco drawled calmly, his lnfamous smirk once again reappearing. Ron abruptly put down his flask and looked to be about to get up when Hermione's vice-like grip on his shoulder stopped him.

"It's not worth it, Ron." She said softly, then turned her gaze to Malfoy. She seemed contrastingly calm next to Ron, who was still trembling and red-faced with anger. "You're not worth it, Malfoy" She said in a cool, detatched, yet unnervingly effective tone. Several Slytherins and Gryffindors looked at her in suprise. Malfoy tried to keep his expression impassive, but unbeknownst even to Hermione, the words had sent a jolt to his system. 'You're not worth it, Malfoy' his father's voice told him with glee. 'Not worth it. Not at all. Even a filthy mudblood recognises scum when they see it'. He tried desperately to hold onto his blank expression. He managed. He turned back to his potion and continued mixing his potion, albeit with less vigour. He made sure he at least looked like he was being careful. He didn't want to attract anymore attention. He should have thought of that in the first place, he thought, and mentally scolded himself for his recklessness. Now it would look even more suspicious when his potion suddenly went wrong. Both the Slytherins and a handfull of Gryffindors had seen him mixing his potion in an almost intentionally random way. 'Draco strikes again' he thought miserably.

Snape hadn't said a word throughout the little spat with Hermione and the faithful sidekicks. Yet he had heard every word, and usually he would have punished all three. But he had also heard Draco refer to her as a 'mudblood'. If he punished one, he would have to punish Draco as well, probably moreso than the others. So instead he pretended ignorance, keeping his eyes glued to the book, and flicking a page when he thought it appropriate. He finally looked up when the Granger girl had finished her little retort and was suprised when he saw a flash of pain cross Draco's features before the stoic expression returned and Draco went back to mixing his potion. Snape furrowed his brow slightly. Shouldn't Malfoy have finished is potion by now? Practically everyone in the class had, even some of the thicker students (except for Crabbe and Goyle, who were still looking at their books with confusion, Goyle scratching his head in an almost Simian way which made Snape want to grimace and smirk at the same time.) so why on earth hadn't Malfoy finished his? The crease in his brow furrowed even more, before he shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and directed his attention back to the book. He realised he had lost his place when he had been pretending to read whilst listening to the little fray between Malfoy and Granger. He curled a lip, then shut the book with a loud thud. All eyes in the classroom focused on him (many with a nervousness that made Snape want to laugh) and he stood up in what he hoped was a daunting pose. He needn't have worried. It was. All the Gryffindors unconsciously held their breath, while the Slytherins looked slightly in awe of him.

"That's it. I want you all to drink your potions. Is there anyone who isn't ready?" he asked, directing a questioning glance to Malfoy. Malfoy looked back and inclined is head, a motion encouraging the Professor to continue. "Very well" Snape said, "Off you go."

The class did as was asked. For most, nothing happened. Hermione, Ron and Harry included. However, a couple of students quickly moved their hands to their faces, as concealing charms were removed and pimples, warts and moles were revealed. Pansy Parkinson was one of them and a few Gryffindor girls stifled giggles behind their hands when they saw the huge pimple standing on the tip of her nose. Her hands (which now revealed fingernails bitten to the quick) moved protectively over it, and Pansy asked to be excused. Snape rolled his eyes before motioning her away with the flick of his wrist, and a couple of girls and a Slytherin boy discreetly followed.

For Malfoy, it seemed that nothing was going to happen. His bruises hadn't returned, thankfully, and so far there hadn't been any symptoms of adverse side effects. Malfoy breathed a sigh of relief, but it quickly turned into a groan as seering pain shot throgh his head. He moaned and slumped on the table. He could vaguely hear hushed whispers and Professor Snape's voice. He sounded urgent, but Draco couldn't make out exactly what he was saying. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the pain stopped. He lifted his head from the desk and looked about him. Concerned expressions turned to smirks, and Draco could hear Ron Weasley and Harry Potter begin to laugh. Snape, who was gazing at something just above his head, said nothing, but looked confused. Then he returned his eyes to Draco's.

"Malfoy" he said carefully "You used too much Rabbititus"

"Huh?" asked Draco, and glared at Ron as he began to laugh uncontrollably. He moved his hands up to his head and sucked in a hiss of breath. Oh Merlin, no. He shoved the potion bottles off the tray they were sitting on and stared into thw mirror-like surface.

"Oh shit. Oh Merlin"

He had Bunny ears. Pink, fluffy bunny ears

"Malfoy, to the hospital wing" Snape said wearily, shaking his head as he returned to his desk. "Class dismissed. Oh and Weasley - 20 points from Gryffindor"

Malfoy trudged down to the hospital wing feeling the amused glances from everyone he passed. 'Wait till father hears about this' he thought with a groan.

----

:sighs: Y'know I actually intended this chapter to finish on a rather dark note. But I just couldn't help myself. Has the bunny ears thing been done before? I'm sure I read something like it once, but I just can't remember. It's late and my memory goes on hiatus when I get tired. Anyhow, if it has, just call me Queen of Recycled Ideas (and tell me so I can give credit) and if not, well, there you go.

The next chapter will be posted as soon as I get more reviews. :Nods: yes, I'm aware that's blackmail, but I'm really interested in what people did/didn't like so I know how to improve. I think in the next chapter Snape will start to get suspicious of Draco's little 'mistake' and who knows, there might even be some one-on-one snape/draco scenes. I've got no intention of making this slash, by the way. I read it, but don't write it.

Anyhow, tell me how I did.