Chapter 3- You fancy HIM??

Harry let out air through his lower lip and it blew his tousled bangs off his forehead. He didn't have double Potions, but he did have double Defense Against the Dark Arts and he had just found out from Seamus Finnigan that Professor Snape, Headmaster of Slytherin, was teaching both for the meantime.

Snape had finally gotten what he wanted. In more ways than one, Harry thought bitterly. The two boys who had tortured Severus Snape when he attended Hogwarts, Sirius Black and James Potter, were dead. Would this pattern continue to Remus Lupin? If Harry had anyone left, it would be him.

Harry was devastated by his loss of the previous year but he also felt embarrassed. Those who knew would make eye contact and then twist their face into that of a heartbroken rabbit and look at the floor. Harry didn't need it. Well, he had to admit it, he needed Ron and Hermione, and the love of the Weasleys.

After the mild temperament of Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures, heading down to the dungeons for Snape's Potions was like the shock of ice cold water poured on one's head.

When Harry got in, Malfoy was taking a seat at one of the three-seaters towards the wall, and Crabbe and Goyle were bumbling over to join him.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Malfoy snapped. As Gladys stepped into the room, Malfoy took her hand and led her towards his seat.

"Gentlemanly behavior. Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Five points for Slytherin." Snape declared with a slight smirk on his sallow face. Gladys beamed, she was more radiant than ever, even in the gloom of the dungeons.

"I wonder if Crabbe and Goyle are clever enough to feel that slap in the face," Ron whispered to Harry with a straight face. Harry sniggered in spite of himself.

"Mr. Potter. What do you find so funny? You will not be sitting with Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley today, but with the polite Mr. Malfoy and the lovely Miss Violet."

Harry was shocked. And then angry, or was he pleased? He honestly couldn't tell. He hesitantly took his place next to Gladys. She gave him a narrowed-eyed, contemplative look, but it wasn't contemptuous. As for Malfoy, he snarled at Harry and began writing down the ingredients on the board with his quill a little too hard; he even made a hole in the paper.

Gladys was standing chatting with Pansy Parkinson in the hall. Harry found her mesmerizing. He noticed Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, best friends and Gryffindors, walk by and turn up their noses. Harry found that his immediate response was- "they're just jealous!"- now the most desired girl was not Cho Chang of Ravenclaw whom the proud lions could relate to, now it was a SLYTHERIN!

"So, do you fancy him?" Pansy asked knowingly.

"Him? Oh do you mean the band? Yes, I love them!"

"What?!" Pansy asked, the knowing look wiped from her face.

"Oh! Well HIM is sort of a pop/Goth/metal band in America. They're very good. The lead singer is… what is it in Germany? Über fine." Pansy, not to appear ignorant, gathered her wits about her and retained her smug expression.

"Oh, yes. Muggle, American music, isn't it?" Gladys appeared wounded, and that was a rare case on her face-

"Well, actually that's the interesting thing. The lead singer of HIM, his father is a warlock!" Pansy looked taken aback, then touched Gladys' shoulder with a smirk.

"That means he's a mudblood then, dear." Dear? Dear?!

"What's that?"

"Well a mudblood has dirty blood, not pure blood like us. Part muggle!"

"But I live with muggles," Gladys put in, "their ways are inferior but they aren't so bad. They have some wonderful performing arts."

"I see."

This conversation gave Harry hope that finally a Slytherin wouldn't call Hermione a mudblood or hiss as they walked by.

"What I meant was," Pansy continued with attempted patience, "do you fancy Draco Malfoy!"

"Oh!" Gladys laughed prettily, "Wow! Well, I guess so, he's smart and nice and too bad to look at either!" Pansy did a sickening yay-we're-friends-face and grabbed Gladys' hand as they scurried to their next class. Well maybe not scurried, more like glided for Gladys Violet. Harry ran to catch up with Ron and tell him what he'd heard.