Author Notes: This chapter has been entirely rewritten. I think I've rewritten this bloody chapter three times, this being my third. I just didn't like the other chapters I wrote. Anyway, I think I'll put up the other first chapters at the end, in case you wanted to see what it originally was. You see, I was actually going to follow the story of the fifth book but now I really don't want to because it really wouldn't work, as someone so kindly pointed out in their review. I'm also going to cut down on some other things because of what that same reviewer wrote. I think my story will be a lot better this way.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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******Harry's POV******

I can't believe I just...

            I looked at the small, grimy mirror again, still unable to believe it. The small metal stud in my ear glittered in the light, reflecting off the mirror and into my eyes. I closed my eyes against the light, turning away from the mirror. My hand went up to the top of my ear, unable to resist fingering the stud, as if they too needed confirmation that I had gotten my ear pierced. Fred and George grinned widely, the latter holding a thin metal spike.

            "Stop fingering it!" said Fred, moving my hand away. "You're just going to make it hurt more."

            It was true, my ear throbbed every time I touched it, but I just couldn't resist. My hand was going for it again when I heard a door open downstairs and a shrill voice rang throughout the dilapidated house. Fred and George paled.

            "Shit!" George cried, hiding the metal spike in a drawer. "If she finds out we pierced Harry's ear we're dead!"

            The voice sounded again, beckoning them to her. Fred grabbed a hat off his dresser and shoved it in my hand.

            "Wear this," he said. "Don't let her see it!"

            The twins gave one last fleeting glance at me before running down the stairs to their mother. I gazed into the mirror again, barely resisting the urge to finger the stud. I shoved the hat on and joined the others downstairs.

~~~~~~

I had hidden the piercing from the Weasley's the rest of the day. I received much gratitude from Fred and George for keeping it a secret, though I had almost slipped up once or twice. The urge to poke it was just too great, but the hat reminded me not to.

            I lay in bed now, the hat resting on a bedpost. Ron was snoring loudly close to me, but I couldn't see him in the dark. I couldn't see anything. But that can be attributed to the fact that I didn't have my glasses on. I closed my eyes, and opened them a second later. There was no difference. I sighed. I hated nights like these; where I couldn't sleep and I was left alone to my thoughts. Unfortunately, this happened often. I thought now of Voldemort, and I felt a twinge of uneasiness in my stomach. I hadn't heard anything about him since he was resurrected two months ago, and it unnerved me. He was biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. He was planning something, but what?

            "What are you thinking?" I muttered inaudibly. "Where are you?"

            I heard Ron stir, but I knew he wouldn't wake. Sure enough, he started snoring again, the sound filling the room. I rolled over onto the side without the piercing, my ear was still to tender to sleep on it. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to drift off to sleep.

            Where are you?

            I felt myself losing consciousness, but just before I yielded to slumber I heard a voice speak inside my head:

            Everywhere.

******Draco's POV******

I rose groggily from my bed, wishing that I had closed my drapes the previous night. My room was located in the eastern side of my house, where there was the most sun in the morning. The black drapes always shut out any light in the morning, but I had been too weary to close them that night. I crossed to the window to shut the drapes and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I stopped, gazing at myself in the mirror. I don't consider myself vain, but dammit I looked good! I've always liked how I looked in the morning, when my hair was au natural.

            I crossed to the mirror, looking at my reflection. I ran a hand through my hair and watched as it flopped back into place between my eyes. I smiled. Draco, I said to myself, you're gorgeous. I took my eyes away from my reflection for a second, looking at my various gel bottles. I pushed them angrily off my bureau and watched as they all fell into the garbage conveniently placed beside the bureau. I never liked gelling my hair back, but father did. And what father wants, father gets. I growled.

            "Fuck him," I muttered. I was fifteen now, he can't control me anymore. I'm going to do what I want now. I'm not a little boy anymore. If I want floppy hair, I'm going to have floppy hair.

            I laughed at myself and how ridiculous I sounded in my head. I was fighting for my rights to wear my hair the way I wanted to. I laughed again. God it felt good to laugh. I thought of all the times I had wanted to laugh, genuinely laugh, but found myself unable to do so because of my father's shadow. His shadow had been cast over me since I was born and I couldn't do anything without thinking of him and what he would do. Ever since I was born, he had been modeling me into his image. I wasn't allowed to be my own person. Well no more. I banged my bureau with my fist, causing a tear to slide down my cheek. I hadn't realized I had been crying.

            I was suddenly disgusted with myself. Crying was a sign of weakness, and I was not weak. Maybe my father wasn't really all bad. After all, without him I'd probably be like Potter and the other Gryffindor scum: weak. But I wasn't going to let him control me any more either.

            I stood in silence for a moment. Then sighing, I crossed to the window, closed the drapes and went back to bed.

~~~~~~

He had taken it surprisingly well. My father, that is. He had been quite irate when he saw that I hadn't gelled my hair back and I didn't mean too. I told him I wasn't going to be controlled anymore, that I was my own person. I had expected to be punished for disobeying him, but he didn't do anything. He just looked at me with an unfamiliar gleam in his grey eyes, nodded, muttered 'very well', and left.

            "What did he mean?" I muttered to myself.

            "You don't realize it, do you?"

            I jumped slightly at the sound of Damon's voice. So lost in my thoughts as I was, I had entirely forgotten that she was in the room. I twisted around on the couch, so I could get a better look at her. "What don't I realize?"

            She took her eyes off her solitaire game. "He's afraid of you."

            "What?" I sputtered. "That's absurd!"

            "I know it is," she smiled, placing a two of clubs on the ace. "I don't actually believe it. But I know what I saw in his eyes when he said 'very well'. It was fear."

            "But why would he be afraid of me?" I said. It didn't make sense. Why would my own father be afraid of me?

            "I don't know," she said, looking at me in such a way that I knew she wasn't lying. "But I think my father, your uncle, knows why. You should ask him."

            I thought about it, utterly confused. I still couldn't believe that my father was scared of anything, especially me. I eventually came to the conclusion that I would ask my uncle. I had to understand it.

******~Unknown~******

There he is. I eyed the raven-haired boy intently, resisting the impulse to make a snide comment. That would require me making my presence known, something I was not willing to do. He was completely oblivious to me, yet I was fully aware of him. A coppery taste filled my mouth as I bit my lip. My intent was to create some kind of distraction for my mind that seemed so keen on Potter. Focus. That was the problem. It's not that I didn't have it, I had too much of it. I needed focus for what I would do, but too much of it might cause me fail. And there was no way I was going to lose that bet.

No way in hell.

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IMPORTANT!!!!!! The next chapter of this story needs to be rewritten, so don't read it! I haven't rewritten it yet and if you read it now it probably won't make any sense. So just wait a little bit until I rewrite it. You'll know that it's been rewritten when I give the chapter a name. Right now it's gonna say 'don't read'. When I take that off you'll know that the chapter has been rewritten. Thank you.

End Notes: So that's the chapter. Seeing as I didn't mention it before, this story isn't going to be all fun'n'games. I'm giving a somewhat serious approach to this story cuz frankly I'm not very good at humour. I'm good at keeping things light, but not slapstick funny. So that's that.

BTW: Please review, it would be greatly appreciated.