A/N: OH MY GOD! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! It was soo good! Is it just me, or is that the BEST book ever?! Ok, I'll try not to ramble so much (the death - :'( - so sad) but I just wanted to say that I'm not changing this story to adapt OotP. There's no point, and this is nearly finished anyway.

I wanna say thank you to The Elfin Child, who is pretty much the only reviewer I have now :D you're still reading this, so cheers! ~rowanx

Harry awoke on Saturday morning with a sickened feeling in the pit of his stomach. He could remember disturbing dreams. Green, and blue this time, lights from jinxes and curses were crossing his path and blocking the way. He'd had to dive and twist over them to get to what he was looking for. Except, when he'd managed to get past the rays, there was nothing there. He'd remembered a feeling of frustration. He'd gone all that way to find absolutely nothing at all.

                Before he'd had a chance to ponder over whether his dream has meant anything or not, he heard a light tapping at the window. Turning his head, he saw Hedwig standing patiently on the ledge outside the window. Harry stood up and yawned. He walked over to the window and let Hedwig in, stroking her back as she nibbled his ear. He took the letter that was attached to her leg and opened it up.

                Potter –

                Meet me in the library. Now.

               

 – Malfoy

Harry frowned. What on earth would Draco want to see him about? And how had he got Hedwig to carry the message? Perhaps he didn't want Harry's roommates to recognise Draco's owl, carrying Harry a message. Harry looked around. Well he needn't have bothered; all of his friends were fast asleep in their beds apart from Ron, who was nowhere to be seen. Harry got dressed quickly and left the room. Hedwig flew outside. Seamus, Neville and Dean threw their bedcovers off and silently followed Harry from the room.

In the library Harry looked around, for the first time ever, searching for his enemy. He spotted him at a table by the dark arts section and frowned slightly. He walked over and sat down. Malfoy looked up from the book he'd been reading and put it down on the table when he saw Harry was there.

                When Malfoy didn't say anything, Harry decided to. "So? What did you want to see me about?"

                "Today's Saturday," Malfoy said.

                Harry pressed down the feeling of immense horror that was boiling up in him. He felt ashamed. Heroes weren't meant to get afraid. "What's your point, Malfoy?" he asked, sounding as though he couldn't care less.

                "What do you plan to do today?"

                Harry blinked. "Huh?" Why did Malfoy care – why was he asking?

                Malfoy smiled. "You understand English, Potter?"

                "Yes," Harry said angrily. "It's just you never seem to have cared before what I was doing unless it involved me, death, and a lot of pain…" Harry stopped abruptly. Malfoy held Harry's gaze and didn't blink. He drummed his fingers softly on the table. "So that's why you were asking," Harry said quietly. "You think I'm going to die tonight, don't you?" Malfoy didn't say anything. Harry frowned. "How are you so sure? I know Voldemort's –"

                "Best not to say his name in public, Potter."

                "– more powerful now," Harry said, continuing as though Malfoy hadn't interrupted him, "But he's still crazy and I still have the no-wand thing don't I?"

                Malfoy breathed in. "Maybe you're right Potter," he said, surprising them both, "But I still say, if you're alive tomorrow, I'll kiss the ground you walk on."

                Harry frowned and stood up. "Look, what did you want to talk to me about, Malfoy? 'Cause if all you wanted to do was remind me that my early death may be coming up, then I have better things I could be doing."

                Malfoy stood as well. "So then why did you meet me here?"

                "Because I thought that maybe for once you might have something worth while to say."

                Malfoy clicked his tongue. "Just so happens I do have something worth while to say," he said, mocking Harry. Harry frowned and crossed his arms. "Dumbledore asked me if I knew any short cuts into the Malfoy Mansion. I do. Dumbledore asked me to tell you them. I don't plan on doing that…"

                "Why??" Harry asked in astonishment. "I thought you were helping us!" he said angrily.

                Malfoy didn't rise to Harry's anger. In a quiet voice he said, "I am going to help you." He came around the edge of the table so that he was closer to Harry. "Just not in the way you wanted." Harry sat down, Malfoy next to him. "Look, Voldemort expects you to turn up with his lovely loyal puppy dog daughter tonight, right? And that's where he attacks, except you think you have the upper arm because you know the attacks coming." Malfoy held up a hand to stop Harry from interrupting. "Ok, Potter, maybe you have a bit of an upper arm, but not much of one. I want you to think about what would happen if instead of you waiting for Voldemort to attack you, you attacked him first."

                Harry narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" he demanded quietly.

                "I'm talking about the brains you have but are too stupid to use!" Malfoy hissed quietly. "If we leave school now, go to the mansion now, Voldemort won't be ready for you!"

                "But, Dumbledore said…"

                "Fuck Dumbledore," Malfoy said.

                Harry frowned. "Watch it Malfoy."

                Malfoy sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You know, for someone who comes top in a lot of their classes you don't seem to be catching on to this very quickly."

                "I am catching on and I know what you are saying, but Dumbledore…"

                "Look, is this little thing between you and Dumbledore or you and Voldemort?" Harry remained quiet. Malfoy frowned. "Oh come on Potter! I want the bastard dead as much as you do! I know what wanting revenge feels like! Do you think the mudblood would have wanted you to…"

                Harry held out his hand and suddenly Malfoy had been slammed onto the floor. A few people in the library turned and gasped. "Don't you fucking talk about her like that Malfoy," Harry said dangerously quiet.

                He put his hand back to his side and slowly Malfoy got up, still evidently in pain. "Stupid asshole," he muttered, before turning to leave.

                Harry sat down again and the small crowd dispersed, disappointed at not getting a fight. Harry counted slowly to ten before he ran out of the library, hating Malfoy for always being right. When he'd caught up with him he put a hand on his shoulder. Malfoy turned around and moved back a bit, apparently surprised at the connection. After a moment's worth of glaring, Harry said, "You're right."

                Malfoy smiled, but not in a pleasant way. "Good boy," he muttered.

                Harry glared. "Look, are you going to help me out with the mansion plans or not?"

                "Help?" repeated Malfoy. His smile vanished. "I'm not going to just help you. I'm going with you."

Dean, Seamus and Neville sat up as they heard Ron approaching. They grinned. "Alright?" called Seamus, propping himself up onto his elbows.

                "Yep," Ron answered, and extended his hand. In it was a broom – one unlike any the boys had seen before in their life. With silent appreciation they all gathered around Ron, admiring the broom. It was a Takilees 5000, the latest model of a broomstick yet, going as fast as the rider wills it to and cutting corners so finely you would have thought it was bendy.

                Ron grinned. "Harry is sure to love this."

                "I hope it gets him in a better mood," said Neville glumly, "After costing us a fortune…"

                "He'll love it," Ron said defiantly. "Quidditch is the only sure thing he can rely on. The only thing he's sure won't cause him pain."

                Seamus, Neville and Dean remained quiet. They had never heard Ron talk about Harry like this. Seamus coughed to break the mood. "So, um, was there a queue at all in the Quidditch shop?"

                "Nope," Ron replied. "I don't expect many people could afford it."

                "Hey guys." The boys turned to see Lavender and Parvati walking towards them.

                "A little late, aren't we?" said Seamus.

                "Probably spending loads of time doing their make up," Dean muttered.

                Parvati glared at him. "We were in the library, for your information."

                "On a Saturday?" Ron exclaimed. "What were you doing in there?"

                "Returning a book," Parvati said coolly.

                Lavender bit her lip. "Um, Ron, we saw Harry in there."

                Ron looked only mildly interested. "Yeah? So?"

                "He was sitting with – with Malfoy."

                Ron frowned and grew still. "What were they doing?" asked Seamus. "Fighting again?"

                "No," Lavender said shaking her head. "They were talking."

                "Angrily?" Dean tried.

                "Civilly."

                "Woah," said Seamus. "that's weird."

                A worried look had spread across Ron's face. Only Lavender and Neville had noticed. "Ron, you alright?" asked Neville.

                "They're planning something," Ron whispered. He sped up to the castle and with one glance at each other, the others ran after him.

After searching the library, the great hall, the dormitory, the common room, the library again, Hagrid's hut, and the quidditch field, Ron came to the conclusion that Harry wasn't in the castle. "Shit," he said, after they'd got to the common room and had yet again found nothing.

                "Ron, where is he?" asked Lavender worriedly.

                "I don't know," Ron lied.

                "Yes you do," she said challengingly.

                He gave her such a terrifying look that Lavender shut up immediately. "Yes, I do have some idea of where he is but it's got nothing to do with you, alright?" he snapped.

                "Why hasn't it got anything to do with us?" asked Dean. "We're Harry's friends as well as you. We're just as worried about him as you are."

                Ron rubbed his forehead. "Look, I haven't got time for this. I have to find Dumbledore." He turned to leave the common room.

                "It's got something to do with you-know-who, hasn't it?" Neville called out loudly. Ron turned round and said nothing. "Look Ron, if Harry's gone after him, we have to go help him, not just run to Dumbledore." Everyone fell silent. No one had heard Neville speak so defiantly before. Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Neville cut across him. "Ron, my parents were tortured by You-Know-Who's death eaters. They're still alive, but at times it feels like they're not. They barely recognise me."

                Ron gasped in horror. "Oh my god," said Lavender. "Neville I'm so sorry."

                Neville shrugged. "We've all been affected by him at some stage or another. This isn't just about Harry, it's about all of us, and he's not going to do it alone."

                "True," Ron said eventually. "He's got Malfoy."

                There was a pause, before Seamus said, "Malfoy? What does Malfoy have to do with anything? Why the hell would Harry need Malfoy's help?"

                Ron looked awkward. He had to tell them now. There was no way he couldn't. And the original plan was that Dumbledore and the rest of them would be there as back up, to go in if Harry got hurt, and he didn't have that now. Neville was right; Harry was going to need their help.

                "Fine," Ron said reluctantly, giving in, "I'll tell you."

A/N: I apologise loads for the crappy chapter, but I promise the next one should be good. I mean, it WILL be good!! lol. And I know this chapter was pretty short, but I had to leave it like this, 'cause the next chapter's gonna be pretty important and stufffffffffff. Should be quite good. lol. Don't have much faith in myself, do I?! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE ~rowanx