Tsuyuno:  I'm sorry you don't like the part when Draco cuts himself but it's a big part of the story.  You've been warned for upcoming chapters.  If this upsets you, maybe you shouldn't read it.

*Kristen*:  I've added more!  I think everyone knows what it feels like to be down every once in a while.  I felt like that just yesterday, though I don't cut myself.  On purpose, anyway.

Skysong:  I felt the need to write something a little darker.  I wanted to get out of my slump writing the same dramatic fluff and add a darker tone to it.  I hope I did it well enough.

Demon Rising:  I am SO sorry about forgetting your cookie.  *tosses a bag of cookies*  Here.  I hope this makes up for it.

Tinetinytina:  You don't have to apologize for asking questions.  I was just pointing out that you're full of them.  *grins* 

Bunny-kuo:  *whistles*  I wish my mirror whistled at me, too.  You know, Draco is so sexy that the mirror couldn't resist.  Feel free to borrow my quotes.  It makes me happy.

Tine:  Actually, I do like Eminem.  I think he is amazing with words.  As far as the messages he sends, I don't agree with him, but as far as a lyricist, I think he has talent.  I hope this isn't a Mary Sue, either, but I don't know what really constitutes as one.  Just because she's a new girl, I don't think it automatically makes it Mary Sue.  I'll check out you Harry/Draco story as soon as I get the time.

Anyone else who read and/or reviewed, thank you for taking the time.  I hope you like the updates.

Have a very Merry Christmas.  Keep Harry and Draco in your heart.

Disclaimer:  I am not JK Rowling and I do not own Harry Potter or the world within.  If I did, Draco and Harry would have been snogging 99% of Chamber of Secrets.  As they were not, nor was Alan Rickman naked, you can clearly tell I have no control over the HP universe.  As is, I am not making money off this story, and it would be of no use to sue me.  I am poorer than the Weasleys.

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Falling Chapter Four

"Firs' years this way," called Hagrid. It was with a great deal of reluctance that Kali parted from them after explaining that, as a new student, she was expected to ride across the lake. Harry snickered and they all bid her farewell. Kali, obviously, did not want to be the only seventh year in the boats and only Hermione showed any sort of sympathy.

"Kali's nice," said Harry, as he climbed in a carriage after Hermione, with Ron coming in last. "I hope she's in Gryffindor with us."

"I don't think you two should be friends. She's a bigger pig than you are," retorted Hermione.

"I'm sure she'd take that as a compliment. Honestly, I don't know what your problem is with talk about shagging. We're seventeen. It should really be expected unless we were some sort of asexual group."

"And we all know that you aren't."

"No, I'm not. I'm a healthy, average, seventeen-year-old boy and if I want to talk about sex, than bloody hell, I'm going to talk about sex."

"And you do. Frequently."

"Not that frequently. The shock value is starting to wear off. People are becoming accustomed to it. I may soon have to become chaste and virginal to surprise people."

"It would surprise me, that's for sure."

"Thanks, Hermione. I always knew I could count on you."

She smirked at him before her gaze was cast from Harry, and to the right, momentarily landing on Ron. Her brows furrowed as she caught sight of him staring out the window and Harry, watching Hermione, also shifted his focus to Ron.

"Hey, Ron," he said. "You're being awfully quiet. Is there something wrong?" There was no answer. Harry stared at him for a moment longer before poking Ron in the side, causing him to jump.

"What? Huh?" Ron caught sight of his two best friends staring intently at him and it was then that he realized he had drifted off. They had been talking about something or another hadn't they? Now what was it? With Harry, it was usually Cho, Quidditch, or sex. He decided not to guess. "Sorry. I must not have been paying attention. What was it that you wanted?"

"Are you okay, Ron?" asked Hermione. He shrugged and nodded. "Oh, well, we were just talking about how crude Harry and Kali are."

"I'm not crude. Hermione was calling me crude and I was defending myself."

"And you were being awfully quiet."

"And staring out the window," added Harry, trying to hide a grin. "You looked forlorn. Gotten a crush on a certain black-haired seventh year?" Ron didn't answer at first. "I meant besides me."

"Oh, yes, because everyone wants a piece of Potter," joked Ron, cracking a smile. "Honestly, Harry, someone should tie you down."

"Please do," said Harry, smirking. Ron and Hermione promptly smacked him in the chest. "Come on. You all know I'm not serious. At least you should know me well enough to know that I'm not serious."

"We do know," said Hermione. "It's just that it sometimes gets annoying hearing you talk about who your latest wet dream was about. Nocturnal emissions are not my preferred subject of conversation. And to think that I thought it was bad when you'd gone on and on about Quidditch."

Harry snorted at this. "Poor Hermione. You really should look into making more female friends. We seem to be driving you crazy with a testosterone overload."

"Not the both of you. It's just you, Harry. Ron knows how to control his little soldiers."

"Thank you, Hermione," said Ron, casting a sideways glance at Harry.

"You're welcome."

"Am I really that bad?"

"There's a reason I spend all of my time in the library, and it's not entirely because I obsess over my grades."

The scowl Harry wore on his face became even more prominent when Ron began to laugh. "If I'm really that bad then I promise I'll look into reforming myself. A twelve-step program or something. I suppose I'm on a quest to find myself, because anyone who causes Hermione to spend that much time in the library should be stopped."

"Amen," concurred Ron. "There's always Kali. She didn't seem like she'd spend her time batting her eyes at the boys and fawning over Trelawney's class. In fact, Kali seemed rather cool. You do more estrogen influences."

"I think you're both right," said Hermione as they pulled up to the school. Climbing out of the carriage, she just caught sight of Draco Malfoy walking toward the doors in a ring of third year Slytherins. Peeves was following him, taunting him in song until Professor McGonagall came out and started to shoo the pesky poltergeist away with threats of reporting him to the Bloody Baron. Peeves then left Malfoy alone.

"What do you think this year's going to be like with Malfoy?" asked Harry, once inside where things were dry as opposed to the pouring rain outside.

"Hopefully he'll keep to himself and we won't have to deal with him," said Ron. "Now that he doesn't have his rich daddy to hide behind anymore."

"Ron," scolded Hermione. "Don't talk about that. The last thing we should be doing is encouraging gossip about Malfoy. If you were in his position, you wouldn't want people to whisper and point about the trauma you had gone through, so don't do it to Malfoy, either."

Neither Ron nor Harry answered but Hermione could see them rolling their eyes at her. She dismissed their behavior as childish (and therefore not even worth acknowledgment) as they entered the Great Hall. Seamus Finnigan waved them over to where they were sitting with the other Gryffindors in their year. With them was Ginny, who was situated under Neville's arm, thus provoking a glare out of Ron, and Colin Creevy, thoroughly engrossed in conversation with a fifth year on the other side of him. Harry was happy to see that his camera was nowhere in sight. Since last year, Colin's muse for his photographs had moved away from Harry and he was forever thankful for that. Without the flashing bulb in his face, Harry found that he rather liked the boy.

When the first years entered, Harry quickly picked out Kali and he poked Ron in the side before pointing to the front. He smiled when Ron started to ogle and he made it a point of getting Hermione's attention as well. Upon seeing Ron's reaction, they exchanged secret smiles and turned their attention to the Sorting.

Hermione and Harry bobbed their heads along with the Sorting Hat's song but Ron's attention was still focused on Kali, who stood in the back shifting as if she felt very out of place. Her gaze constantly drifted to the staff table and then to the Gryffindor table out of the corner of her eye. Ron grinned.

"I'd like to make a first announcement before the Sorting," said Dumbledore before McGonagall could go into her usual speech. "This year, we have a new student among out midst. She is a transfer student from an American school, Chivington, and she will be joining the ranks of the seventh years. Since you should have been sorted years ago, I insist that you go first."

"Strauser, Mikailah," called McGonagall and Kali walked up to the stool, her face feeling very hot. Compared to the first years, she looked awkward and a bit queasy. Her gaze fell to the staff table again as if looking for reassurance before sitting and the Sorting Hat was placed on her head.

"Strauser, did they say?" the Sorting Hat whispered in Kali's ear with a chuckle. "Well, yes, you do have a great deal of your mother in you, but there's a bit of your father as well. Cunning and sly, but bravery and intellect as well. Loyalty, no doubt, but where to put you? Slytherin would help you on your way, indeed. . ."

"Just put me where I belong," she almost scolded, and the Sorting Hat chuckled again.

"Well if you're going to be impatient . . . GRYFFINDOR!"

Kali could feel the blood draining from her face, and she smirked but glared at the hat as she placed it back on the stool before running over to the Gryffindor table while the Sorting continued. Harry and Hermione congratulated her from across the table as she sat down next to Ron and gave him a grin. He clapped her on the back and as he did so, she could feel her face going flush again.

"That was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life," she confessed.

"Well you survived it beautifully if that makes you feel any better," said Harry. "No one died at least and that is saying something when you go to a school like Hogwarts."

"Especially when Harry's around," added Hermione. Kali gave a short laugh.

The Sorting ended and Dumbledore gave a few words before the plates filled and they began eating. Kali soon learned that Ron and Harry were not big conversationalists when hungry and so she politely cut up her food and ate while the two boys shoved food into their overeager mouths. Hermione gave her the basic rundown of the school, most of which Kali knew from her father, and Hermione then promised to show her around for the first few days of school to make sure she got to her classes. Anything they didn't have together could easily be taken care of by Ron or Harry.

After the usual reminders about the forest and banned items, an introduction of Ron and Hermione as Head Boy and Girl, Kali was ready to leave the Great Hall with most of the other students. The big meal had made them all rather lazy, but Hermione and Ron were up ahead with the Gryffindor Prefect and the first years in preparation of giving them a tour. Once the first years were settled in, Ron and Hermione would be with Dumbledore to be shown to their personal rooms leaving Kali with Harry for most of the night until bed.

"So, Hermione tells me that you wanted to shag Ron," Kali started. Not exactly eloquent, but she wanted answers.

Harry gave a brief snort as they walked to the common room. "Get straight to the point there, don't you." Kali nodded. "It was a joke. At least I meant it as a joke. No offense to Ron but I could never. . .well, he's my best friend. He was my first real friend, in fact, and even if I did have something for him, I could never go through with it. Besides, Ron isn't like that."

"I see. I was just curious."

"Well you know what they say about curiosity. . ."

"That it's good and all people would be, too, if they knew what was good for them?"

"No, but I prefer that one. I'm curious by nature as well."

"Fabulous. I suspect you and I will make great friends."

"I have no objections with that," he said. "Watch out for that step. In my fourth year I got my foot stuck in it and there was a rather - er - sticky situation where in I almost got caught out of bed after hours."

Kali laughed. "You bend the rules. I like that."

Harry nodded. "Just give me a week and I'll have you bending the rules with the best of us."

"You won't need even a week for that, Potter. You aren't the only one who likes to sneak out in the middle of the night for the pure thrill of it."

"Well that's always nice to know but if you're going to decide to sneak out, you had better know about certain things around this school. You know, the stuff your parents don't tell you. First off, Peeves will get you in trouble if you come across him no matter what. He's best to be avoided unless you happen to make friends with the Bloody Baron. Filch is our caretaker and he has this cat, Mrs. Norris, that I swear can't be a cat because that thing is satanic. It stalks out the place and reports back to Filch. Another person you want to avoid at night is Professor Snape."

"Snape?" she asked, alarmed. "Why would I want to avoid Snape and what's he doing out at night?"

"You've heard of him?"

"I've heard of all the teachers," she said quickly, waving her hand. "Continue."

"Well, Snape is our Potions professor. He's an insufferable, slimy git. He hates all Gryffindors, me especially, and will take points away from our house at any chance he gets. Snape's also Head of Slytherin so he always favors them, Malfoy especially. He'll take any chance to get me in trouble, or any Gryffindor at that. It's like he never sleeps because he's always stalking the halls at night, probably trying to get me into trouble."

"Well if he doesn't sleep at night, when does he sleep?"

"How should I know? The point is you want to stay as far away from Snape as possible. There's also two things I need to show you once we get back to the common room. I think I can trust you. You're going to love it."

"Okay," she said slowly as they stopped before a portrait of a very fat lady in a pink dress.

"You're back, are you?" she said to Harry.

"Yep. This is Kali Strauser. She's new this year."

"Not Drusilla Strauser's daughter!" the fat lady exclaimed and Kali stumbled back at this.

"Er - yes."

"Oh your mother was simply delightful! Not the best taste in men, though. Always dating one of those Slytherin boys-"

"Heh," said Kali weakly.

"Now what did Ron say the password was?" Harry mumbled.

"Wasn't a nicer girl than your mum," continued the fat lady, "except maybe for Lily Evans, but they were the sweetest girls you could find. Best friends, you know."

Harry had stopped mumbling to himself about the password, his mother's name catching him off-guard, and now both Kali and Harry were staring at the fat lady talking about how sweet Lily and Drusilla had been. Neville and Ginny stepped between them.

"Pixie Dust," said Ginny.

"Right you are!" said the fat lady swinging back to let them in. Harry and Kali rushed in before she decided she wanted to go on some more about their mothers.

"Thanks, Gin," said Harry. "I thought we were going to be stuck out there all night."

Ginny blushed. "It's no problem." She then went back to her conversation on Herbology with Neville.

"Looks like our mums were friends," said Harry once Kali had taken a look around the common room and collapsed onto a crimson sofa by the fireplace.

"It appears so. Maybe we could talk about this some other night? I'm really tired."

"Sure. Yeah. Okay," said Harry as he then he bid Kali goodnight and she disappeared up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

~*~

"Come in," said Dumbledore, Hermione pushed the door open for both her and Ron to enter through. "Ah, yes. Miss Granger and Mister Weasley. I assume the first years are in their dormitories and you know the duties required of you this year from the letters you both received over the summer."

"Yes, sir," said Hermione. Ron merely nodded.

"Right then. Well then there's nothing left to do but to show you to your rooms. If you will, follow me."

They followed Dumbledore out of his office and down the winding staircase. Passing the gargoyle, they wandered down the halls of Hogwarts in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Hermione's room came first and then Ron's. Both were informed that they had their own baths and that their rooms were connected to the Gryffindor common room with entrances from the halls and common room.

Once the headmaster left and Hermione had disappeared into her room, Ron muttered his password, "Butterbeer", and slipped into his private room. To his right, there was a fireplace with two plushy crimson chairs on either side of a sofa before it. Between the sofa and fireplace was a table made from ebony. Also to his right was a portrait of a young woman with a violet parasol that he knew led to the common room. Across from the entrance was the entrance to the bathroom and right beside it, a king sized four poster bed with scarlet curtains and scarlet and gold bed sheets. A large bookcase and two more chairs were to his right and there were various tables situated around the room. Hanging from the ceiling was a gilded, wrought iron chandelier. There must have been twenty scarlet candles situated in the rings from Ron's quick assessment and he noticed that each and every one was currently alight. There was no space for doubt that this was a Gryffindor's room. The atmosphere was cozy and Ron sighed.

With nothing better to do, Ron began to unpack and explore the space that was solely his simultaneously. He found that he liked having his own separate room and that perhaps working until his eyes were bloodshot on school assignments the year before yielded more positive results other than his mother's sheer joy and pride. His original intentions had been to win his mother over and shine a little brighter than his brothers. Well, Percy and Bill had both been Head Boy before but it felt good to finally do something that felt like an achievement. If he could do especially well this year, maybe he'd do well on his N.E.W.T.s as well. The prospect was promising.

Once all of his things were away, Ron dressed for bed and climbed between the sheets. He tossed and turned for some time before snatching up one of his Potions textbooks and sat himself before the fire. Snape was going to be impossible no matter what, but Ron fully intended on not giving Snape a reason to be insufferable. He was sure that Neville would take care of that on his own. It was somewhere around a medi-potion to stop the bleeding on fatal wounds, Blessure Fatale, that he started to fall asleep.

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If you liked something, do feel free to tell me so in a review.

If you didn't like something, feel free to e-mail me at angeldlsm00@hotmail.com

Flames will keep me warm in my heat-less bedroom.

*mwah*