Disclaimer: Oh NO not again. Yeah all of them, save for Danielle and Kiryo and their respective families, are not ours. Happy?

Author's Note: This chapter was written at 6.30 in the morning, so be warned. And did you get the mild hints of slash? This fic is seriously AU, so if you're not happy with it, none of our business.

~ ~ ~ You're Flippin' Mad! ~ ~ ~
Chapter Four: I'll Get You

I mentally Avada-Kedavra-ed myself for such an excellent display of the Malfoy wit and charisma. I could envisage the generations of Malfoys just turning in their graves. Especially Grandaunt Francine, who would have exclaimed, "Blasphemous!", bless her half-Veela heart. And I didn't just stare, did I?

From the Malfoy Code of Conduct: "Rule 296: Malfoys do not stare, gape or widen their eyes in shock."

And they don't stand in Diagon Alley looking like a fish, I added with a involuntary wince. Just who was that guy?

Besides, nobody ever bumped into Danielle Malfoy and got out of it unscathed. Not after I got my hands on them anyway. A simple Crucio would have done nicely, given my current mood and disposition. But oh nevermind, here was something much better to look at: the latest brooms! I stood in front of the window display, ogling at the Firebolts.

"Excuse me, do you have the time?" A voice broke through my broom-induced stupor. It had been fifteen minutes already! I hurriedly told the tall wizard the time and walked away from the shop, scanning the crowds for any signs of platinum blonde. The hair was certainly a plus when it came to finding a Malfoy in a crowd.

Where was Mother? I started to panic. She had not been kidding when she told me to keep to her closely. I rounded yet another corner and found myself face to face with a bespectacled boy. Hmm, black hair too? Green eyes? Could this be...

"Oh you..." The boy furrowed his eyebrows and looked me over. (Well, that happened often.) "You must be Dan! Come with me."

It was not Harry Potter, boy-who-lived, was it? My mind was still reeling in shock from this possible meeting with the Boy-Who-Lived, which gave him a chance to grab hold of my right hand, leading me to Flourish and Blotts'. He didn't let go when we arrived, but instead continued to walked me up the stairs to the second level. What did he think he was doing, even if he was indeed Harry Potter? And how did he know my name?

The second level was so quiet you could hear a three-headed dog snore. He motioned for me to go closer to him as he crept stealthily towards a dark and clearly deserted corner. I was apprehensive, but followed him anyway. He stopped short before a row which said "Parenting for Magical Folk", turning back to grin at me with a mischeivous glint in his eyes. What on earth was happening? I wondered.

But before I could say anything he jumped into the light and shouted-

"Drakie!" I heard the unmistakable soft "plop" of a book dropping.

"Ahhh! Harry James Potter! How absolutely Slytherin of you!"

I took a step from behind the selves and walked towards them tentatively. Draco tore his gaze away from Harry Potter (I knew it! It was really him!) and turned his attention towards me. He placed a thick volume (My Dad and My Daddy, fifth edition.) back onto the shelf, giving me a Look as he approached me, or more likely, reproached.

"Danielle Malfoy, do you know how worried Aunt was about you? She has been frantically running around Diagon Alley trying to look for you -hey listen!- while you where probably gawking at some shop display!" He pursed his lips while throwing me a Glare.

I frowned, thinking of the half-wit who bumped into me. Who ruined my day and Draco's good impression of me. I'll get him, I promised myself. All five-foot-nine of him, with his unkempt hair and matching black jeans. His blue shirt, with the top few buttons casually unbuttoned, and his -

Why was I even thinking about him? I shook those thoughts off and refocussed my mind.

"Where's mother, anyway? And I was lost, okay? The least you could do was to show some concern after that terribly traumatising experience," I drawled, not intending to.

"Aunt is at Bertie Bott's, she thought you'd be there buying candy," Draco turned back to the shelf and drew out a slim, leather-bound book. "Harry will bring you there."

"Come on Dan," Harry once again held my hand, leading outside the bookstore, jostling his way through the crowd, which was clearly doing last-minute shopping for textbooks. "Don't worry about Drake, he's just upset at the fact that I'd agreed to spend the summer with Hermione instead of him, and he's jealous. Now he's left with only a week with me."

My jaw would have dropped, if not for the fact that it was still part of my anatomy. Drake - and Harry? I knew of people like Drake and Harry; I was widely read. I just didn't think that they would be together. I always thought they were mortal enemies, given the way Drake spoke of Harry to Lucius during dinner.

They looked quite cute together, I decided. Too bad for the female population at Hogwarts.

Come to think of it, he was always sneaking off to Harry's this summer. No wonder he tried to keep my mouth shut with those novels, Uncle Lucius would have disowned Draco if he knew of his rendez-vous with Harry. Uncle Lucius thought Harry was no better than a house-elf. It was an old family vendetta, I vaguely recalled Draco telling me about it. Sort of like Romeo and Juliet, the muggle play.

My mind was full of these thoughts as Harry walked me to the candy store, rattling on about how Hogwarts was like. I absent-mindedly nodded every few sentences, feeling an unexplained sense of gloom. I terminated my life-long crush on my cousin there and then.

We neared Bertie Botts. Mother, who had hitherto been talking to an acquaintance (I could tell by the way she looked disapprovingly at his clothes but didn't say anything about it), saw me from behind the displays and dismissed the man. In a politically correct, Malfoy way, of course.

"Danielle Malfoy!" She shrieked at me for the second time that day, as she was walking out.

Several passers-by, hearing the name, looked on with curiosity. I developed a sudden interest in the cobblestones, and wished they would open a hole in the ground to swallow me up that instant. Harry patted me reassuringly on the back, whispering before Mother reached us, "I'm going back to Draco. Wouldn't want to be caught in the cross-fire, yeah."

He left my side, greeting Mother politely as he passed her. Harry threw a last glance at me, winked, and walked back to Florish and Blotts.

I sighed and met my impending earful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I laid in bed at night, thinking of the sights and sounds of the day that just passed. One voice rang inexorably through my head.

"Watch it!"

If not for him, I would not have wasted so much time pottering around Diagon Alley, or incurred Mother's wrath. I swore to get even, and thought of all the pleasantly morbid spells I could perform on him.

Did that git go to Hogwarts?

Yay! I'm finally done with this chapter. So you can stop hurrying me, luZ. =D

-- jinx.