A/N: Okay, I've decided to forget about what I said about only updating when I have 5 reviews, cos that's not gonna happen now. I can only update on weekends though because I'm always really busy on the weekdays with schoolwork and stuff. Also, I have to keep on going into hospital because I have a bad knee, so that takes up a lot of my time too, but I promise I will update as much as possible. BTW. Thank you so much, everyone that reviewed and I'll remember all the advice you all gave me for the other chapters. (Plus don't worry Draco will soon have some friends but remember it will take people a while to trust him)

Disclaimer: All the characters and places belong to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 2: The Dream

Draco ran down the dark windowless hallway. Doors covered most of the walls surrounding him, but every one he tried to open was locked. Panic rose inside of him, this was the end; there was no way he could get out.

He heard steady footsteps behind him, but he didn't dare turn around, he was scared of what he might see. He gave up trying to open doors and sped down the seemingly endless hallway.

After what seemed like forever he reached the door at the end of the hallway, but just like all the others, it was locked. The situation was becoming desperate. Draco took hold of his wand and said one of the few spells he knew. "Alohomora."

There was a small click. Draco grabbed the handle and opened the door, expecting to see yet another long hallway, but what he found was much worse. Towering above him, around ten feet tall, was a huge growling dog. It was the strangest dog Draco had ever seen, not only was it too big for the room it was in, but it also had three heads.

The footsteps were drawing nearer. Draco didn't know which to choose, which was worse, being eaten by a giant dog or being cursed.

Before Draco had time to decide, the footsteps had stopped and someone was stood right behind him.

"Avada Kadevra." Roared Lucius Malfoy. There was a flash of green light. The last thing he saw was a small trap door underneath the three-headed dogs feet…

Draco sat up straight, his sheets clinging to him. He and the whole of his bed were covered in a cold sweat. He looked around; everyone else in the room was sat up in bed staring at him.

"Thanks a bunch, Malfoy, we were asleep until you started yelling and everything." Ron stated glaring. "'No dad, don't kill me Dad.'"

Everyone laughed at Ron's imitation, except Harry who gave Ron a look that plainly said 'That's mean.'

Dumbledore was stood in his office looking through a large, oddly shaped telescope. A loud tapping came from his door.

"Come in." he called without looking up from the telescope. Professor McGonagall walked into the room; her face seemed more serious and stiff than it usually did. Her look turned to concern as she saw what Dumbledore was doing.

"Albus, I don't think you'll be able to see much through that telescope." She said as though she was scared for his sanity.

"Why's that Minerva?" Dumbedore asked. He seemed not to have noticed the tone in her voice.

"Well, it's daylight."

Dumbledore looked up from the telescope to look at the sky and a look of surprise formed on his face "So it is. I didn't notice."

"Are you feeling alright Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Should I fetch Madame Pomfrey?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "No, I'm quite alright Minerva, I've just been wondering if we made the right decision, concerning the boy."

"Well that's what I came to see you about actually, now that I've seen the poor boys reaction. He must be so scared, he knows as well as we do, maybe even better, how Lucius reacts to things like this."

"Yes, but it's possible that we might be able to shield him from that."

"Well we can while he is in school, but what about the summer holidays? He can't avoid Lucius then, can he?"

"Well no, not unless things go the way I planned." Dumbledore replied smiling.

Professor McGonagall knew that it was useless asking what these plans were, she had tried many times over the summer holidays, but each time she asked Dumbledore seemed to go temporarily death.

"Well you ought to go now Minerva, breakfast is due to start in ten minutes and you still need to collect the Gryffindor timetables from the staff room."

Draco entered the half full great hall, still badly shaken from his dream. He was annoyed but oddly grateful at the same time that Harry had been silently sympathetic towards him at what Ron had said. Part of him didn't want the sympathy of someone who was supposed to be his enemy, yet another part of him was glad that there was at least someone that didn't look down on him and understood that he was also a human that has feelings.

Draco sat as far away from the rest of the Gryffindors as possible. He looked longingly at the Slytherin table. 'Things would be so much easier if I was sat over there' he thought 'Sure, I don't really want to be in Slytherin but, wait, did I really just think that!' As Draco came back to his scenes he noticed that Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering and pointing at him. He looked away quickly.

"Mr. Malfoy, here is your timetable." Professor McGonagall said from behind him, handing him a small piece of parchment. "The name next to each lesson is the name of the person you will be working with in that subject for the rest of the year."

Draco looked down at his timetable, and groaned as he saw that in every subject he was pared with Harry, Ron or Hermione.

He looked down the list of subjects for that day.

MONDAY

9.00-10.00am: Potions (Harry Potter)

10.10-11.10am: Transfiguration (Hermione Granger)

11.10-11.40am: Break

11.40am-12.40pm Charms (Ronald Weasley)

12.40-1.40pm: Lunch

1.40-3.40pm: Double Defence Against the Dark Arts (Hermione Granger)

Further up the table Draco heard Ron saying loudly, "I can't believe I have to be his partner in Charms! I hate that slimy little git. Hermione, I feel really sorry for you, you have to put up with him in two lessons!"

Draco felt a strong urge to punch Ron but before he had time to even stand up to walk over to him, the owls arrived with the mornings post. Draco gulped as his large eagle owl landed in front of him, a letter addressed in his fathers writing clutched in its beak. He took the letter, his hand shaking, and opened it. The letter was shorter than Draco had expected.

Draco

Be at the lake in the school grounds at 4.00pm today. Make sure you are there, I will know if your not.

Your Father

Panic rushed through him. Why did his father want him to be at the lake at four o'clock? Was he going to meet him there? No, he wouldn't dare, would he? 'No.' Draco thought, his father would never come up to the castle; he was too scared of Dumbledore. He felt slightly relieved, but not entirely, even if his father couldn't come to the castle he could still hurt him.

At nine o'clock that morning the Gryffindors and Slytherins filed into the Potions classroom and took their seats, Draco was sat alone. The door burst open, making everyone jump.

"Why, may I ask, are you not all sat by your assigned partners?" Snape spat as he entered the room. Most of the class groaned and moved to sit by their partners. Draco hated to admit to himself that he was glad that he had someone to sit by and covered it by glaring at Harry as he sat down next to him.

"Put away your wands, you will never use them in this lesson anyway, and take out your quills. As this lesson is just an introduction to Potions we will only be writing."

The class groaned again. To Draco, the lesson seemed much longer than an hour. He, like everyone else had been keen to start learning magic straight away. Snape took every opportunity he could to take points from Draco; he even took away five points because Draco's quill was scratching too loud.

Once Potions had finished, the Gryffindors and Slytherins set off towards the Transfiguration classroom, hoping that it would be more interesting than Potions had been.

It turned out that Transfiguration was just as boring as Potions. The whole lesson was spent looking at theory.

Just minutes before the lesson finished Professor McGonagall said to the class, "For homework could you please write an essay with your partners on the theory that we have covered in this lesson. It's due in next Monday. Off you go then."

Draco was now sure that his day couldn't get any worse. On top of having to work with Harry, Ron and Hermione in all his lessons and the letter he had received that morning he now had to spend ages doing an essay with Hermione Granger.

Three-forty finally came, well that was everyone but Dracos view on it. Draco would have quite happily let the days lessons carry on forever rather than face whatever was coming at four o'clock. As the bell rang Dracos stomach gave a horrible lurch.

"Um, Draco." Hermione said timidly to him, as though scared that he might bite her head off.

"It's Malfoy to you, Mudblood." Draco said to her glaring. He instantly regretted saying it, he didn't want people to hate him forever. 'From now on I'm to stop calling her that, she's one of the few people that isn't constantly horrible to me.'

"Okay, right, sorry Dra… Malfoy. I just wanted to say that I think we should start that Transfiguration homework today, you know, to get it over and done with."

"Right, what time?" Draco asked. He really didn't want to start the homework that day, but he thought it was better to just do it than start an argument.

"Um, is four o'clock okay?"

"No, I have to be somewhere at that time. I'll meet you in the library at four-thirty." Draco said, and surprised himself by smiling at her.

Hermione smiled back and said, "Okay."

Draco looked down at his digital watch. It read '3:59pm'. He had never told his father that he owned a digital watch. He knew that he would find it too muggle like. His mother had bought it for him; she didn't care about how muggle like things were. Draco sometimes suspected that his father had forced her into marrying him. She had told him the one time that she thought he, Draco, was a fool for following in his fathers footsteps. He couldn't help agreeing with her at times.

Draco was sat at the side of the lake, waiting. He didn't know what to expect. He suddenly heard a loud screech from overhead. He looked up and saw his large eagle owl hovering over him, a letter clutched in its beak. It dropped the letter onto Dracos lap and flew through one of the castle windows, which Draco suspected was the owlry.

Draco let out a sigh of relief as he saw that the letter was from his father. At least he now knew that his father wasn't coming to the school to attack him. Draco ripped off the envelope and began reading the letter.

A/N: So did you all like this chapter?