Heya. Kalariona again. Next chapter ahoy!

Thank you, thank you for your reviews. I am so grateful. I hope this chapter meets standards for everyone and I hope my language is clear enough. As I'm from England, I'm trying not to use too much British slang!

Anyway, please review as usual. I really appreciate it. Its what keeps me writing this.

As usual, I do now own Harry Potter, although I wish I did. Draco Malfoy in that same statement! The things they would get up to if I did!

DARKNESS OR LIGHT. WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?

Chapter 3 First Night back

Now Draco had always believed that fate did not exist. Nothing was set in stone and destiny could be changed. In his youth, his father had told him the story of the Dark Lord Voldemort. The Wizard who had the whole of the Magical Community shaking at his feet. The one who could change the world. He had also heard the story of one Harry Potter. The boy who, as a small child, had destroyed the greatest Wizard who ever lived. Draco had been fascinated by the story, listening intently and absorbing all of the amazing facts of the Boy Who Lived, determined to meet him He even told his dad such!

His dad had been less than amused with Draco's obsession and banned all books with information on the Boy Who Lived into his home, presenting instead, books on the Dark Arts and The History of Voldemort (The bridged version!) Mentioning the name of Harry Potter in the Malfoy home became a punishable offence. Draco was taught to hate him. Problem was, Draco didn't hate him. He managed to sneak books and other information on the Boy Who Lived into his home, usually by Owl order direct to one of the House Elves in the kitchen, usually Dobby. They understood the need for secrecy for they always slipped the books into his bed at night. He was desperate to meet him, talk with him, become friends with him no matter what his father thought. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The day in the robe shop, a few weeks before the first term of Hogwarts, he met a small, skinny boy with messy black hair and glasses. Draco wasn't interested in making friends with just anyone, but this boy intrigued him. Maybe it was how he looked so frail and lost, or maybe it was the glowing emerald green eyes behind the black lenses. Whatever it was, Draco engaged him in conversation, but tried not to seem to interested. The boy didn't have much to say on any subject, until Draco had pointed out of the window at Hagrid. He realised he probably sounded smarmy but couldn't help himself, after all, he had been raised to look down on others less fortunate than himself. Mudbloods and Half bloods being a prime example. When the boy had left, rather in a hurry, Draco felt that he had missed something important and had spent the rest of the holidays in a petulant mood.

When finally, term started and he reached Kings Cross Station to board the Hogwarts Express, his mood had cleared. He was in the same year as Harry Potter! He would finally get to meet and talk with him. As the train sped over the countryside, he decided to go for a wander around to see if he could find the boy with the famous scar, His two labelled 'bodyguards' in tow. What he found was the same boy he had spoken to a few weeks earlier with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Draco could have kicked himself. When speaking to the boy before, his fringe had been hiding the identifying mark. After brushing himself down, he entered the carriage of the Boy Who Lived, his heart beating fast. What he found was a Weasley!

Ronald Weasley, youngest son of Arthur Weasley who worked in the misuse of Muggle Artefacts in the Ministry of Magic. Someone whom his father hated very much. He was willing to overlook Weasley just to have a civil conversation with Harry Potter, but as soon as Weasley had laughed at Draco's name, he decided to throw it right back.

This had been a very bad move, since Harry had already become friends with Weasley which threw Draco's chance out of the window. Blushing and angry, he was annoyed at himself and Weasley and left the compartment soon afterwards. Ever since, there had been harsh words, fights and Hexes between them. Harry became 'Potter' spat out in revulsion. He grew to hate The Boy Who Lived like his father wanted, living only to torment him. He hated Weasley for turning Potter against him and he hated Granger because she always seemed to outsmart him.

His father had warned him about Potter, explaining that a friendship between them would never happen. That it was fate for them to hate each other, but even after everything that had happened, Draco still didn't believe it!

Fate didn't exist!

**

"Draco? Wake up. We'll be there shortly."

The grinning face of Blaise Zabini peered into the compartment where Draco was sitting, staring out of the window, lost in thought. It was dark outside and all that could be seen in the window was Draco's reflection.

"Bugger off!" Draco sighed, sitting up and stretching. "I wasn't asleep."

"Uh-huh. Like I believe that!" Blaise grinned. "Come on. Hurry up." The grinning face disappeared and Draco stared around the carriage. Pansy was sitting opposite him, a frown on her face, only, she always had a frown on her face so this wasn't anything new.

"Parkinson. Why aren't you moving?" Draco stood up and walked over to the sliding doors.

"I'm thinking." Pansy didn't move or look up.

"Don't think too hard. You might blow something." He smirked. "Thinking about the Weasel? You were getting pretty close!"

"Can I ask you something?" Pansy actually looked up then, acting like she never heard Draco's last comment.

"Shoot!" He turned from the doors and stood in front of Pansy.

"Well, uh...." Pansy went quiet for a minute, then began wringing her hands. "Do you think its possible to spend four years, hating someone with a passion, then wake up one morning and find out that he is all you can think about?"

Draco looked at her in shock. "You really do like the Weasel! I was only joking. I can't believe you like that penniless moron!" Pansy looked back at him evilly.

"It's not Weasley idiot. It's....well...." She fell silent again.

"Come on. Spit it out."

"Potter!" She whispered. Draco's heart stopped and the smile froze on his face.

"No..." His voice stuttered out until he was just staring at her. Potter? She liked Potter?

"What's wrong Draco?" Pansy actually sounded concerned. She reached up and touched his face. "You look shocked. It can't be that I like a Gryffindor. Lots of people in our house have crushes on the Gryffindor's. Is it because it's Harry Potter?" Draco snapped out of his trance and grabbed at the hand on his cheek.

"No Parkinson. You can't have him!"

Pansy stared at him in surprise and a little annoyance. "What do you mean, I can't have him? What right do you have to dictate my life?"

Draco spluttered. What did he mean? He just reacted without thinking. "I mean....I mean, he's the Golden Boy of Gryffindor. Do you know how much competition you will be going up against? He'll never give you a second glance. He hates Slytherins. Won't give any of us the time of day." Without realising it, he began squeezing Pansy's wrist until she squealed.

"Draco, let go. You're hurting me." She wrenched her wrist from Draco's hand and glared at him. "I don't care. I'm going to try, and he will give me the time of day. He's already been more than civil to me today. If I continue to be nice and try to get on with him and his friends, he might look at me! I like Potter and I am going to try my best!"

Before Draco could retaliate, the door opened again and Blaise's head peered in again.

"Harry Potter huh Parkinson? Good choice. I do admit that he does have one cute arse!" Blaise's head disappeared again, leaving Draco once again open mouthed and Pansy smirking in triumph."

"I knew I wasn't the only one." She crowed triumphantly. "Now if you will excuse me!" With that, Pansy got up from her seat and the left the compartment. Draco slumped down on his seat again, his head in his hands.

"God, is everyone going mad? Am I going mad? What's with me? Why am I getting all defensive over Harry bloody Potter?" Draco felt his hands begin to shake and his body went cold. "I hate him! I hate him!"

**

"Hey Harry."

Harry looked up from his small plate of chicken drumsticks and chips into the smiling face of Seamus Finnegan.

"Hi." He gave a half smile. "How were your holidays?" Harry was really tired and was having trouble keeping his eyes open to survive through the great feast.. He managed to focus enough to take in what Seamus was saying to him. Seamus had settled into Ron's vacated seat opposite him and swiped a few Harry's chips from his plate and put them into the bread roll in his hand.

"Great. I didn't go anywhere this year, instead, all of the family decided to come over. Dean came to visit as well." Seamus took a bite from the roll, chewing and swallowing before he continued. "How about you? Go away anywhere?"

"Nah. I stayed at home practically the whole holidays. I did stay at Hermione's during the last week though."

"What about Ron?"

"He went to Romania."

"Oh." Seamus went silent for a moment, then started up again. "Was he okay with you staying with Hermione?" Harry looked up at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? Of course he was." Seamus stared at him for a bit longer, then turned away, mumbling.

"Ron fancies Hermione!" He jumped when Harry replied to his statement, obviously not expecting an answer.

"I know he does, but we are just friends and Ron knows this and trusts us." Harry pushed away his uneaten plate of food, but it was pushed back to him as Hermione sat down next to him.

"Eat!" She frowned at him. "Do I have to sit with you every mealtime, just to make you eat?"

"No." Harry grumbled, picking up a drumstick and nibbling on it, casting his eyes around the Great Hall. His glance fell on the Slytherin table and he started when he saw, not one but three gazes on him. Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini and not surprisingly, Draco Malfoy. Blaise was giving him an appraising look, Pansy was nervously looking from himself to her plate. Malfoy was just plain staring, which was strange on its own! Malfoy always glared, smirked or scowled. There was no emotion on his face at all, but his eyes did not move from Harry's, making him slightly uncomfortable. He looked back at his plate, noting that without realising it, he had eaten three of the drumsticks. Hermione was beaming at him.

"There you are! I knew you could eat them." Harry grunted in affirmation, then stood up.

"I'm going to bed 'Mione. Tell Ron would you?"

"Okay Harry." Hermione reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Try to sleep, but come and get me if you have problems." Harry nodded and she rubbed her thumb over his pulse point. "Goodnight." She released him and Harry left the great hall, making his way to the Gryffindor tower, yawning. Why had Malfoy been staring at him like that? He hadn't heard anything from the Slytherin yet, strangely enough. He usually got accosted by Malfoy on the train to Hogwarts but he never came into the carriage this time. Ron mentioned that he had seen him while laying on the floor with Pansy Parkinson, then he had left, looking for Harry. He fingered the green snake under his robes. Ron had told him that the snakes would glow when clicked together properly, but the other person had to be wearing the necklace at the time. Harry loved the gift, but felt for sure that he wouldn't be giving away the other half of the necklace to anyone. Yawning again he reached the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Password?" Came the familiar question. Harry replied clearly.

"Insatiable." The portrait opened and he clamed through the hole into the Gryffindor common room. As usual, the fire was crackling in the grate, but the unusual thing was that Ron was sitting on one of the red squashy armchairs, staring into it.. "Ron? I thought you were speaking to Professor Dumbledore!"

"I was." Ron wouldn't turn around and look at him, making Harry slightly uneasy. "He had something to tell me."

"Well, what was it?"

"I'm....I'm a Prefect! He made me and Lavender Prefects for Gryffindor. Why? I was expecting you and Hermione to be a prefect, not me! I'm sorry Harry!"

"Sorry?" Harry asked him in surprise. "Why are you sorry? I'm not. I'm happy for you Ron. I'm actually glad not to be one, nor did I expect to be. I'm not sure about Hermione though."

"You're okay with this?" Ron finally looked up at Harry's grinning face, then gave a wane smile back. "Thanks Harry."

"No problem, but I expect you to let me wander the halls at night!" Harry replied, only half serious. He did have a tendency to walk around a lot more than he used to, needing the silence. Ron nodded at him.

"Sure, but you'll be wandering with me, that way, you'll be under protection and have an excuse." Harry laughed at this, then began to walk up the staircase.

"I'm going to bed Ron. I'm tired. You coming?" Ron got up from his seat and followed Harry up the stairs into their dormitory. The two boys pulled their pyjamas from their trunks , put them on and then crawled into bed. "Home!" Harry whispered, muffling it in his pillow, then raised his head slightly to call goodnight to Ron, who replied with a yawn. Both were asleep within a few minutes, not hearing the other three come to bed.

**

Harry woke about four hours later, shaking from the same dream as before. He also felt a presence of a familiar person in his dorm room, but couldn't see or hear anyone. He picked up his glasses and his wand from his bedside table, put on his glasses and cast the light spell, making the end of his wand glow.

"Malfoy. I know its you. Come out!" Silence answered him. The feeling of a presence faded until it was gone altogether. Harry sat still for a few more moments, then sighed in exasperation. This was pissing him off. Why was he still having that dream and now sensing Malfoy when there was no way he was in the room? He would have to speak to Dumbledore in the morning. "Nox." He whispered, shutting off his glowing wand. He placed it back on the table, took off his glasses and also replaced them, then re-curled under the covers.

Floors below him, Draco Malfoy also woke up in the same situation as before, cursing in frustration before going for his shower!

Was that okay? Before anyone asks, this is definitely a Harry/Draco story. I'm setting it up in a specific way. I was also trying to portray Draco properly so everyone understood his character in this story.

By the way, should I write Blaise as a boy or girl?

Thank you for reading it. Please review. I'm now going to have my dinner, consisting of spicy Chicken Curry, home made! (Yum!)

Bye

Rie

xx