Hey! This is my first fic. I'm WARNING now! :::::THIS WILL BECOME SLASH IN A NEAR FUTURE::::: You have been warned…I don't want flames later on, complaining 'cause it's gross, ok? 'Cause I DID warn! Oh yeah, rated PG- 13 for slash and language!

Summary: Harry and Draco both end up going to a muggle school…How, you ask?…read!

This is AU, since I started to write this before OOTP came out, and didn't include any of the events in Harry's 5th year…instead, I replaced them with my own ideas.

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except the plot, and the really pathetic names (you'll see) later on in the story. Everything that has to do with the magical world of Harry Potter belongs to the goddess of literature, J.K. Rowling.

**The title of this chapter was taken from the song "Blurry" by Puddle of Mudd. You might be able to see a slight connection between a scene (featuring Harry) and some of the lyrics in the song.**

~Thoughts

~Emphasized

*****…***** Are flashbacks and when they end (duh. I explain it in the story, but just to make sure…)

Ashtrona Hills

-Chapter 7-

Blurry

It was 4 in the morning and he hadn't had a wink of sleep. Then again, how was he supposed to? When he'd gone to Potter's house earlier today he'd seriously expected Potter to be gone…or for him to be sick…hell, he'd even expected Voldemort to be teaching Potter to tap dance on the kitchen counter; anything instead of what had actually been going on!

As he stared up at the ceiling, he kept thinking about everything…the look Potter had given him standing out the most. Potter had been crying, and that seemed to make the situation all the more depressing.

Potter wasn't supposed to cry! He was…well, truth be told, he was the bleeding hero of the wizarding world! Not some lost little boy!

And he wasn't supposed to live in an abusive home either…he was supposed to be some pampered little prince!

He remembered the way Cindy had reacted after he'd started to pull her away from the street Potter lived on…she'd been insisting what had been wrong with Harry, and if he was alright.

Draco started to roll his eyes, then a thought popped into his head. How does Cindy know that I was at Potter's house? How did she know where he lived?

He sat up in bed. What if she's been following me? What if she knows about Potter's relatives?

That thought made Draco lay back down. Why do I even care if she knows about Potter's relatives? It's not my problem, he thought with a snort.

Which led to another trail of thoughts. Why am I even worrying over this? Like I said before, this isn't my problem. I can't believe I'm actually losing precious hours of sleep over this!

He turned on his side. Stupid Potter…I shouldn't worry myself over you. I don't care what the fuck happens to you! It's your problem, I say.

Quit trying to appease your mind with that thought, Malfoy, a voice, that sounded eerily similar to Potter's, spoke in his head. You know you care. Just give it up, get off your arse, and come help me!

Draco sat up again. What the fuck is happening to me? I'm going bonkers!

If you worry yourself over it so much that you can't sleep, you obviously care, said the voice again. Why don't you think about that?

He laid back down again and covered his head with his pillow. Bloody Potter…

***

He whimpered.

It was so, so dark. Not even a single ray of light entered the tiny space he currently called home. He would normally say he was used to it, but he hadn't been in here in so long…it'd felt good being away from here, and up a story. At least he had a bed, and covers…and light.

You'd think that after being locked up in a cupboard for 10 years of your life, you'd get used to being in the dark.

Well, he sure as hell didn't. He positively hated the dark. It was so cold and sad…much like his life. Everything about it was cold and sad.

Sure…Ron and Hermione were spots of light in his life. So were Sirius and Hagrid…and Dumbledore.

But he was already 15 years old, and out of all of those years he'd been alive, he'd only managed to come across 5 spots of light.

5 spots of light.

How pathetic was that?

And after all of those years of solitude in the cupboard under the stairs, he'd finally come up for air…

Only to be placed in the bloody cupboard once again. And for what? For being a freak. A lying freak, at that.

He sighed, trying to squish his legs further into his body, his arms aiding the process. This cupboard really was getting rather small.

Stupid Malfoy, he thought. Why couldn't he just go along? Sure, maybe he didn't understand what was going on, but couldn't he have said "yes" to this one thing?! It's not like I ask him to agree with me much!

He tried to squirm around a bit more, but it hurt his body too much.

And to my humiliation, he had to come over at the most…inconvenient…of moments today. Oh, he'll definitely get a kick out of that one, won't he? I can see the headlines now: "Baby Potter crying over small bruise, caused by relatives!" Then again…it's not such a small bruise, he thought, touching it and wincing in pain.

Why is it always me? He couldn't help thinking bitterly, as his eyes started to mist over with tears. Am I really that bad? Did I do something wrong? What did I do? I'll do anything, if somebody will help me. Please? He begged, looking up towards where he knew the ceiling would be (if he could actually see it). Can somebody, please, just take it all away?

His vision blurred slightly, and he closed his eyes, hoping sleep would welcome him for tonight.

***

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS??!!"

The yell made Professor McGonagall jump slightly in her seat…she had a feeling this wasn't going to go very well.

"Sirius, I understand what this must be to you. We're all quite saddened by what is currently going on in Privet Drive. But you must calm down, for-" Dumbledore's serene voice was very rudely interrupted.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! ARE YOU BLOODY MAD?! HOW CAN YOU JUST STAND THERE LIKE – LIKE –LIKE NOTHING! THIS IS HARRY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! HARRY JAMES POTTER, AND I WILL NOT – I REPEAT – WILL NOT CALM DOWN!!!" Sirius' angry voice reverberated off the walls surrounding Professor Dumbledore's office, the portraits of old Headmasters and Headmistresses staring down at the offender in shock.

Professor McGonagall stared at the current Headmaster, as if waiting for him to turn into the creepy old man he usually turned into whenever something angered him terribly, but instead, he gave Sirius a gentle and understanding smile.

"Yelling won't get us any closer to figuring out what's been happening," he said lightly. "I sent another crew of Charms Analysis Specialists today to see if they'll be able to find anything. They're quite efficient, if I say so myself. The team chosen includes some of the members of the crew that helped figure out the magic around the Riddle House, after Lord Voldemort used it as one of his lairs during his reign…and it was very powerful magic, may I remind you. We're hoping they'll be able to come up with something."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, his face still red from his agitation. "But that's not enough, Professor," he sighed. "I won't be able to rest properly until I know what's happened…until I know Harry's safe."

Dumbledore began to fiddle with his beard, a habit he'd picked up whenever he was nervous (though his emotions still weren't entirely clear on his face). "I know what you are going through. Ha-"

Once again, Sirius interrupted him. "I'm sorry sir, but you don't understand…not at all! Harry's…to me, he's…Harry's…well, Harry! He's my best friend's son and my godson, and I can't bear the thought that something terrible could happen to him. He's just a kid…sometimes I even think of him as my own kid! Nothing can happen to Harry…I won't allow it! Nothing!"

For the second time in his life (the day James and Lily had died being the first), Sirius Black looked defeated.

***

"Did you hear something?" A whispered voice.

"What d'you mean?" Another whisper.

"Like…ooh, listen!" Said the first voice.

"Yeah…wow, he's got some set of lungs on him for us to hear him all the way down here!"

Suddenly, the owner of the second voice gave off a loud squeal and jumped back against a wall.

"What's the matter with you?! It's past curfew…we'll get into trouble if we're caught!"

"A-a…a SPIDER!" Said speaker #2, the last word coming out like a strangled yell.

"RON! Quit acting like such a wimp! Just…step on it, or something."

"Oh…it's crawling towards me!! ARGH!!!" Ron gave off a loud shriek and grabbed his companion by the shoulders, using them as a shield between his body and the dreaded insect. He then began edging along, his back still pressed to the wall.

"Ron…RON!! Get – off – ME!!" There was a smack linking each word.

"Hermione!! It's…aah!!" Ron windmilled his arms for a second, then he fell backwards into the empty space that had been a wall.

Hermione looked up nervously at Professor McGonagall, who'd just exited the Headmaster's office. Apparently, among the entire ruckus concerning spiders, the Gargoyle had stepped aside and Ron had managed to fall right through the door to the spiraling staircase.

"Um…Professor! I…uh…I mean, we – Ron and I – we thought we saw-" Hermione began shakily, gesticulating wildly.

"Ms. Granger, I know why you're here." The Head of Gryffindor House said, smiling despite the obvious infringement of school rules.

"So…er, Snuffles really is up there?" Ron said from McGonagall's feet, rubbing the back of his head slightly.

The Professor barely restrained her laughter. "Yes," she said a bit tight-lipped to keep from grinning at the red head. "He's up there…and you can go up and see him. But knock before you enter." Then, as an afterthought she said, "and don't stay too long…you're not supposed to be out past curfew! Go straight to bed as soon as you finish!"

With that said, she walked off towards her rooms, leaving a bewildered pair of teens to stare at her back.

***

The wind was crazy today…it looked like a harsh storm might be approaching. His hair was whipping around his face, and he could feel slight droplets of water falling onto his face.

He hated wet weather…it completely ruined his meticulous look!

Oh, how I loathe Potter, Draco thought. Look what the bastard's making me do! I'm getting wet, for crying out loud! ME…WET!

He was still whining about the fact that somewhere deep down…if one searched really hard…they'd find that he actually had a conscience. And said conscience apparently wouldn't allow Draco to sleep properly until he did something about Potter.

He was even supposed to be at school at the moment, but pushed that problem aside. Like I need to go to a muggle school…what's the difference, anyway?

Besides, he wasn't even going to take very long.

All I'm going to do is go over there, check if I was dreaming (which is most likely the case) and then go home, he insisted to himself. Nothing more…just prove to myself that Potter can't possibly be an abused child.

He nodded his head, and continued forward, pushing against the violent winds.

As he neared Potter's house, he saw a car pull out of the driveway and head off into the opposite direction from which he was going.

Was that Potter's family? He wondered, then came close enough to realize that indeed, it had been. Great…he thought…they left. So I came all this way for nothing!

He was about to turn back around when he heard a loud thumping noise. He turned his head one way, then the other. What the hell?

He shrugged his shoulders, then took a step.

Thump!

Ok…I definitely heard that! He started to look for the source of the sound, but still couldn't spot anything.

Thump! Thump!

Is it…yes, from around here. He began to step closer to the house, very slowly, with his head positioned to the side and his neck bent slightly.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! THUMP!

They came quicker and louder, as if somebody was hitting something frantically, losing composure the more they needed to hit.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Draco pressed his ear to the door and knew…just knew…that Potter was making that sound. If I could just get in!

He looked around, trying to spot a key or perhaps even a wand (though that was only wishful thinking)…anything he could use to open the door.

Then he felt a sudden pressure…something pushing against him. Whoa…I know I've felt…wait, is that magic?

Suddenly, the front door to the Dursley's household flew open, smacking Draco square in the face with such a force it knocked him onto his rear-end.

At that exact moment, it started to rain…fat drops smacking callously against his upturned face. Well, isn't life a bitch?

He got up, bitterly brushing his slacks off (not that it mattered, as they were plastered to his legs), then stepped into the house.

Funny…that thumping noise…where'd it go?

Draco walked into the house with trepidation, as though he expected a mad hippogriff to come ripping through the hallways, ready to attack him. He checked the area, looking for any sign of Potter.

There aren't any pictures of him, Draco mused, looking around at the many photographs depicting the fat boy he knew to be Potter's cousin.

His eyes roamed the room he'd just stepped into (the living room), and fell on a modest door, which appeared to be a closet.

Then he heard a frustrated sigh that most definitely didn't come from him. Yes! About time…

He walked towards the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

From the inside, Potter seemed to have heard the doorknob moving because a faint "is it time for me to do the dishes?" reached Draco's ears.

Dishes…?

"Potter, how in bloody hell do you get this damn thing open? Do you know where the key is?"

"Malfoy?! How'd you…? When'd you…? What are you doing here?!" Potter said, sounding like it was the last voice he'd expected to hear.

"What do you think, Potter? That I was skipping through the neighborhood and decided to join your lovely family for dinner?" he rolled his eyes. Potter's so thick…

"I…er…"

"Where's the key to the door, Potter?!" He couldn't take much more…he felt himself beginning to get really annoyed.

"I…don't know. I think my uncle has it."

Draco gave a frustrated growl and kicked the wall…this day couldn't possibly get any worse.

"What the - ? DAD!!! DAD…SOMEBODY BROKE INTO THE HOUSE!!!!"

Draco could hit himself. Of course…I had to say it, didn't I?

***

"It's funny how Draco seriously thinks he can sneak off unnoticed. How he thinks nobody's watching him…guarding him. He recently left, and I know he was heading towards Potter's house, not school.

And Potter…I'm not even getting into that. He's so pathetic…it's incredible. The funny thing about that is that no one in the wizarding world's noticed…or nobody cares. Whichever it is, it's hilarious.

Dumbledore has no clue what he's doing. He actually thinks that he'll be able to piece the puzzle together by handing the case over to Charms Analysis Specialists…which is a mighty fine try, I'll give him that. He picked some damn good workers there. However, as you know, it won't do any good. By the time they figure out which spell it is we're using, you'll be back to your full strength (not to mention you'll be more powerful than you've ever been), and Potter will be long gone. Of course, as I said before, there's no need for me to repeat that to you, as you already know. It was your master plan, after all.

Malfoy Sr. is still unheard of. Draco thinks him dead, so he obviously hasn't tried to contact him…and I'd know, as I see him daily. I think he would've possibly reported something of this magnitude…it would be his ticket to freedom from Sunny Ray's, and he hates it here. My suspicions on the fact that Malfoy spilled to Potter, however, remain in place. Though, his magical aura has faded from around Potter's house, so I expect he hasn't been around there since the lone day he paid him a visit.

I'm a complete shadow in the background. Neither Potter nor Draco suspect me of anything…though, I wouldn't expect Potter to. I've given no clues to the fact that I'm a witch and still have Draco, especially, fooled. Malfoy Sr. probably never thought that the place his son would land after his feeble attempt at protecting him would ironically be the place where a Death Eater spy has been placed for years. But I digress…what matters is that all is going according to plan.

Before anyone knows what's hit them, Potter will be out, you'll be in, and the world will be under your control.

I'll be owling my next report in about 2 weeks (since using too many owl would lead to others noticing something off)."

"Excellent," Voldemort said, as Wormtail finished reading off the latest report.

He thought for a moment. "Wormtail, I have an assignment for you…one that you better not screw up," he said, the last bit in a harsh tone. "I want you near #4 Privet Drive…day and night. I want to see what those nitwits from the Ministry have to say about the spell."

"Y-yes, my Lord," Wormtail replied, bowing low.

Voldemort smirked. Finally…a spell that can be placed right under Dumbledore's nose without even having him be able to decipher it's magic. Hell, it couldn't even be traced…and it wasn't in any spell book Hogwarts was bound to have. Or Dumbledore, for that matter.

Things were going great.

***

"Does it always have to be so bloody dark in here?"

"Yes."

"Ugh…and it's so crowded!"

"You don't have to tell me."

"I can feel bugs crawling around…how filthy!"

"Again…I'm aware of that."

"And-"

"I know, Malfoy!" Harry finally hissed. "It's dark, it's filthy, it's crowded, it's uncomfortable, it's boring, and it's not fit for your standards. You've been repeating it for the past half hour…it's driving me mad!!!"

Malfoy smirked. "You missed one."

Harry rolled his eyes. "And it's all my fault. Yes, yes…whatever. You were the one who chose to come over here. I didn't ask you to."

"You might as well have! It's because of you that I developed a damn conscience in the first place!"

"Well now, I suppose that is my fault. You're a human…sorry for being such a monster and making you act in a compassionate manner." Harry rolled his eyes for the second time, sarcasm dripping off his voice.

"I loathe you, Potter." Malfoy spat.

"You've said that already, too."

Malfoy growled lowly.

They'd been arguing for the better part of an hour. After the Dursleys had come home to a rather…unexpected…scene they'd decided to lock Malfoy up in the cupboard with Harry, as punishment for breaking into the house. It hadn't helped that, in explaining to Harry's relatives why he was there to begin with, he'd mentioned the fact that he'd seen Vernon smacking Harry around non-too-lightly.

So now they were stuck together.

Completely alone.

In Potter's house.

In the tight, little cupboard under the stairs that Malfoy had learned to be Harry's room an hour ago.

The pleasures just keep on adding, don't they? Harry thought acerbically.

Malfoy made the attempt to stretch.

"OW!!! Malfoy…bleeding hell…remember I'm injured, you prat!" Harry said, trying to soothe the pain that started to throb in his left leg.

"BOY! I told the both of you to keep quiet! Don't make me take you out of there…!" Vernon threatened.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry replied, glaring at Malfoy all the while.

Malfoy sighed. "Does it always have to be so dar–"

"Don't even dare to finish that, Malfoy!" Harry interrupted.

It didn't help Harry's mood much when Malfoy started snickering. "You're so easy to rile up Potter! It's terribly amusing."

"Yeah, well…you'd be pretty riled up too if you'd been through everything I've endured this summer." Harry muttered.

Malfoy looked up. "I had no idea your family was this bad. I thought you were the same pampered prince you are at Hogwarts."

Harry glared for what had to be the millionth time that night. "I am not a pampered prince. Here…at Hogwarts…I'm not a pampered prince anywhere. You're the brat whose father spoils rotten!" He said spitefully.

"So what if my father spoils me? At least I have parents, and I'm not beaten or starved!" Malfoy replied.

Harry looked at his hands and squirmed slightly, a very uncomfortable feeling creeping into him.

For his part, Malfoy actually looked somewhat ashamed about what he'd said. "Potter –" he began, but was interrupted by the other boy again.

"Look, Malfoy, just ignore it, ok? It doesn't matter."

"But-"

"It doesn't matter. Now drop it and leave me alone."

Harry crawled towards the lumpy cushion they were supposed to share as a bed, and laid on his side, curling in on himself for warmth.

Malfoy looked at him.

This was going to be a long night.

***

Author's Notes: First of all, I must say…I hate this chapter! I dunno why, but…grr! It was so hard to get out, and I don't even know if it's very good (mind you, I'm not at all sure about myself). I just really hope ya'll liked this!!

Second…I'm sooooo sorry this took so long! I've been really busy with school lately…not to mention that my university's been asking me to do a bunch of stuff. And Pre-Cal…oh, Pre-Cal. It's supposed to get easier when it goes into the algebra part, but I hate algebra with a passion! And my mom's bugging me about getting A's. It's been rather wacko for me.

Other than that my brother came the week after Easter and I didn't get connected while he was here…I hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving!

My Internet is currently not working. STUPID AOL!!!!!!! AND TIME WARNER CABLE!!!! Grrrr…I should've listened to the people who told me to get Roadrunner, or something else. And AOL said they couldn't fix it for 9 days…so, if you're reading this, it's obviously been 9 days since I originally wrote this. How annoying.

To add to my dilemma…I'm moving again! Can you believe it? The story goes on! Hahaha…amazing. Anyway, this doesn't affect me as much, since I'm going to Wyoming either way for college, but my parents are moving. Far. And that's part of the reason why I haven't been doing anything Internet-wise lately. They're moving to Malaysia! My dad got a job offer in the Petronas Towers, and he took it, of course! This is incredible…completely new culture. Imagine that, a Venezuela-American in Malaysia. Seriously, that's just weird…totally new. Oh well…it sounds fun. I can't wait till I go there for vacations! (Kuala Lumpur looks so groovy! Hehe…)

Well, this time I'm going to reply individually…even though both my Internet (stupid AOL!!!!) and fanfcition.net have been absolute assholes lately. Really, they have been! Or am I the only one ff.net's been bugging lately, going all slow and never loading? Well, the main page does, but if I click on a link…nothing. I'm not sure if that's just an AOL side effect, but oh well.  When it works, I'm happy.

Here we go:

wolfen-alysha-draco-dragon: Than you so much! Yeah, I suppose he does know…definitely.

deb-sampson: Oooh, the best? Really? Wow…eeks, now I'm all nervous! I hope you liked this one! And thanks for reviewing Breakable! ^_^

pips: I'm so happy you think it's good…I hope I updated relatively fast! (sorry!!!)

Lyonessheart: Yeah, tell me about it. Poor Harry…and there Draco was, thinking Harry lived in some palace, being treated like a king, or something. Well…now he knows. And I hope that the spell thing was kinda cleared out in the Voldemort scene in this chapter? Either way, I'll get to explaining the whole spell afterwards…when they figure out what it is.

shadow-seraph: Hahaha…thanks!

KentouKurige: Yey! I got a picky person liking my fic! I totally know what you mean…I'm really picky too. I'm not even sure that I would've read my own story if I'd come across it…so thank you! ^_^

Kittie Kat: Woo-hoo!!! I got a long review!! *does little dance* I've always heard other authors say they loved long reviews, but I had no idea how cool it was until now! Thanks so much for complementing me on my story! I'm not sure if I get that a lot, but I get it enough to be ecstatic about it. Hahaha…though I must say, that was quite the hint! (Well…I can give pretty big hints too, so eh ~_^) About that Draco thing with the lie, I hope I sort of explained it in this chapter. He didn't really understand what was going on…and this is Draco…he didn't really care about Harry's facial expressions. Hell, the only reason he knew he was crying was because of the actual wetness on his face! And it is an honor that you reviewed my story! Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter too! I'll go read your stories sometime. ^_^ Can you tell I liked your review? Look how long the reply is! Hehe…

Voice: Thanks!!! You have no idea how much it means to me that you tell me I'm talented…now you're gonna make me cry! (I made someone cry…aaahh!!!)

Son of twilight: Yes…thankfully, all those things now belong in the past! But here comes the future, and it seems to me like it's pretty packed…Malaysia! Oh well…it sounds fun! I'm so happy you like my story…and I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks!

Malfoy's Kitten: I did, as soon as I could!! I hope you liked it!!

Dracos wench: Thanks…I'm happy you loved it! ^_^ I hope you liked this one, too!

FlamingWorldsEnd: Eeks…sorry I took so long! But I'm just a person doing something fun, taking it at my own pace. Remember, I'm in that very frustrating time in your life when you prepare for college (aaahhh!!!! O_O), and I've been pulling my hairs out lately! Thanks for reviewing, though!

Trinity Potter-Malfoy: Ooers!! I have a great catchy plot? Thank you so much! I'm so happy you like my story…thank you!! ^_^

I don't think I forgot anyone, but in the off chance that I did, sorry! Please review again…it'll really make my day!!! ^_^