Nothing much happened the rest of the day. I was glad of the respite from the raring emotions of the day. July 31st was a quiet day, despite the way it started. And I had never been happier of the rest and relaxation. It gave me time to think about what my mother had said. I had been lonely when I grew up, the only friends I had ever had were two hideous gorillas that had been forced to be friends with me from having to come around to Malfoy Manor with their fathers. Gregory and Vincent had rapidly become Crabbe and Goyle, just like their fathers. It was easier than attempting to tell them apart. They were only cousins but were almost carbon copies. It was difficult to tell them apart, unless of course you'd grown up with them as I had. Crabbe had darker eyes than Goyle, just a shade or two darker and that was the only way I could tell them apart. I did better than most people did. I had never really had many friends.

The only pet I'd ever had was Sal, my pet Fire Salamander. Salazar had been named for me by my father. It had always been known that I would be a Slytherin. Sal was a beautiful black male Fire Salamander. His spots were of the darkest orange-red and he was 17cm long, nine centimetres of which was his tail. He used to sit on my shoulder when I was a little boy. But then when he was four years old he died. That was the summer before I went to Hogwarts. I had never quite got over it.

I went to bed early that night, the days excitement and the tears had left me both physically and emotionally drained.

The room was dark and I felt like I was alone until a soft noise from the direction of the floor told me otherwise. I looked down and saw the top of a dark head. It was at that moment that I realised that I was completely and utterly naked. So it was that type of dream. I could cope with that. I smiled and ran my fingers through the hair of the person kneeling in front of me. I whispered soft words of encouragement as I realised what they were supposed to be doing while they were down there. I shuddered slightly as their hands gently touched my penis, and then watched as they leaned forward, lightly brushing their tongue over me. I moaned softly and shuddered again. They shifted and started to lift their head. I looked down, ready to offer more encouragement. I looked down and saw the face of…

"POTTER!" I sat bolt upright in my bed and breathed heavily. Potter? Harry-fucking-Potter? I shook my head, not believing what I had seen and sighed. I had never had bad eyesight. I must be right. It had to be Harry-fucking-Potter. Harry-excuse-me-while-I-save-the-world-Potter. What the hell was I doing dreaming about Harry Potter? Especially in that sort of situation. I rolled over onto my front to contemplate falling back to sleep and then rolled back on to my back as they became rapidly too painful. I stared down the covers at a rather inappropriate bulge. "It just gets better and better. Not only did I dream about Potter…I enjoyed dreaming Potter." I groaned and leapt out of bed, crumpling to the floor as my feet hit the ground faster than I had expected. I stood up rapidly and walked to the en suite bathroom. It appeared that a cold shower was in order.

I stepped under the ice cold spray and felt the water sluice over my chest and my penis noticeably begin to shrink. I rolled my eyes as I remembered how vivid the dream had been. It had been like Potter had really been there with me, touching me, tasting me…I groaned as I placed my hands on the tiled wall in front of me. Thinking seemed to have become a destructive and dangerous past time. I closed my eyes and raised my face to the spray, feeling the ice cold water pour over my hair and down my back. I soaped myself up quickly, attempting to scrub off all remnants of the dream and then turned the water off as the bubbles slid down my skin to pool on the floor at my feet. I stepped out of the shower and towelled myself dry quickly, as the water had left goose-bumps over my skin. I was obviously going ever so slightly mad. I was obviously going completely insane. I walked into my bedroom and looked at the clock. Half past six. I might as well get ready. I wouldn't be getting any more sleep that morning.

I walked to my wardrobe and opened it calmly. Today I was going shopping for my school supplies in Diagon Alley. I looked through the robes. Black, black with silver, black with white, black with red, black with green, black with gold…I like black ok? I picked out a plain black set of robes and a pair of loose black cotton trousers to wear underneath. I pulled the robes quickly over my head, closing the door to the wardrobe quickly and checked my appearance in the mirror. I looked in the mirror at my reflection and began to smile. The smile turned to hysterical cackling as I nearly wept with the effort of being quiet. I didn't want everybody knowing I was already awake. I didn't need the inquisition that would surely follow.

"What a fool! I've put my bloody robes on backwards. I really must be going insane." I laughed quietly again and turned them round easily. I dried my hair quickly, coming it through so that it settled properly. It had grown quite a lot over the summer but I sort of liked it. It was shoulder length and still neat, curling around the nape of my neck softly. I walked back to my bedside table, putting my wand in my pocket. I knew magic wasn't allowed outside of school but father had put up wards. Not particularly strong wards, but strong enough that magical signatures were blocked so that anyone performing magic inside the wards could do so safely, without any worry about retribution. It made it easier for me, that was for certain. I looked around the room and walked to my jewellery box. I don't have much jewellery, just a few family heirlooms.

I lifted the lid and pulled out a fine silver chain. At the bottom of the chain sat my favourite pendant: a silver dragon with its wings spread, its tail coiled around an emerald, its head pointing up towards my chin. It was incredible. But it shouldn't have been mine. The chain was too fine to be meant for a man. Too fine even to be meant for a young boy. The chain, and therefore the pendant, had been meant for a Malfoy daughter. Lyra. She should have been wearing the pendant. Not me. But right now, I wouldn't give it up for anyone.

I left my room quietly, walking downstairs and instantly being set upon by three house elves.

"Good morning Master Draco. Was it breakfast you'd be wanting?" Frinky, who seemed to have appointed himself as the head of the house elves smiled at me. He, out of all of them, was the most bearable.

"Yes please. Just something small, thank you. I'm going out today to get my things for school."

"But Master Draco, your mother has ordered your books as usual and they should be here tomorrow."

"Oh, I know. I just have some extra things I want to buy. Don't worry, mother knows I'm going out."

"Well, if the mistress knows then we shall be going to get your breakfast Master Draco. It won't be a moment Sir." I shook my head bemusedly as the three elves apparated back to the kitchens. It had never stopped amusing me when the house elves called me 'Sir'. Of course, my mother didn't really know that I was going out. She didn't even know that I had things I wanted to buy. But I did and hell and my mother be damned I was going to buy everything I wanted.

I ate a quick breakfast of pancakes and then took the Floo system to the Three Broomsticks. It made life easier. That was until I stepped into Diagon Alley and someone walked straight into me. I scowled, ready to give the person an earful. The words caught in my throat as myself and the perpetrator made eye contact. My grey eyes clashed with bright sparkling green. Fate, it seemed, was still playing games with me.

Today, of all days, Harry Potter was in Diagon Alley.