DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. 'Sides, you'd get more blood out of a turnip then you would money out of me! HA!
AUTHORS NOTE: Hey ya, peoples. I am obviously the author. That is all.
SUMMARY: Harry feels like he's in hell, Draco's living through a nightmare. Can they help each other before it's too late to save either one?
FROM THE LAST CH. "That might have been every girl's worst nightmare." Ron looked even more bewildered by his friend's cryptic response, so Harry clarified. "I do believe that Ginny just became her mother."
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Tainting the Innocent
Chapter Five
As Harry walked down the corridor alone, he grumbled about how much he hated Mondays. All of his classes-Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts-were doubles, and all of them with Slytherin. They also had one of the thrice-weekly DA meetings today, which seemed too much, but was thankfully not Harry's decision to make. Occasionally, the officers of the DA would consult Harry, since he had founded the club, but he was no longer responsible for the entire thing. Gryffindor had elected Brannon Harquin, Ravenclaw Cho Chang, Pugsley Thistlewood was from Hufflepuff, and Trent Burmsdale led Slytherin. There had been an intense argument among the original members on whether or not to allow Slytherins, but Harry had used his unwanted executive power and overruled them. He said, and Dumbledore agreed, that the main objective of the DA was to lessen the rift between the different Houses, and that denying membership to Slytherins went against that purpose. There had been plenty of grumbling, but it seemed to be working out all right.
He stopped suddenly, and let out a deep sigh. He would much rather be cutting through the air on his broom then on his way to a meeting. He didn't like to be surrounded by all of those people. Some reporter for the Daily Prophet had gotten his hands on a summary of the prophecy involving Harry and Voldemort. He sold this story to every major newspaper in the wizarding world, and now everyone new that a sixteen year old boy was their only hope for salvation. No pressure, of course. Schoolmates claim that he is "just Harry", but he can see it in their eyes that they expected the moon from him. Even the Slytherins have started treating him with a certain amount of respect.
His friends tried to pretend they don't feel the same as everyone else, but even Ron and Hermione have started treating Harry as if he were a precious commodity. They had been angry with him at first, once they learned that he had kept parts of the prophecy from them, but now they tried to make sure he was guarded at all times. Even when by himself, like now, he still never seemed to be truly alone.
Oddly enough, the only person who had yet to change how he treated The Boy Who Lived was Draco Malfoy. He was just as much of an ass as before, as if he couldn't be bothered to give a damn. This small bit of stability in Harry's world was refreshing, even if the constant antagonism was annoying. It had gotten to where the normalcy of their clashes was almost something worth looking forward to.
Harry continued on to the DA meeting lost in thought, reluctance slowing his step. He was still one floor away from the Room of Requirement when he heard angry muttering coming from behind him. He turned and saw a very cross Malfoy stomping down the corridor in a very un-Malfoyish way.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, ferret?" The blonde was startled into a hop and gave an undignified squeak. He quickly regained his icy demeanor, however, and glared as Harry bent over with laughter. "Malfoy, please, do that noise again!"
"I most certainly will not…Why the hell are you laughing," he asked imperiously then forced through gritted teeth, "it was not funny!"
"Yes," Harry said, finally calming down. "Yes, actually, it was."
"Just shut up," he retorted wittily.
"Ooo, ouch," Harry responded.
Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and let loose a mighty sigh. "I don't even know why I came here. I knew I'd encounter your stupidity one way or another." He looked quite put upon. "I'm much too nice for my own good," he finished with a disgruntled huff.
"Riiiight, you're the nicest bloke I know, Drakey ol' buddy ol' pal."
"I know you did not just dare to call me 'Drakey'." Malfoy looked like he would like nothing more than to jab his wand in Harry's eye. "Because if I am mistaken, you will pay."
"Oh no, Drakey, I'm afwaid," Harry said in a squeaky falsetto. His face then shifted from vapid to dangerous as he went nose to nose with the Slytherin. "Don't threaten me, Malfoy. I can take you without breaking a sweat."
"Really? Even without your little fan club to back you up?"
"I'm not the one who's almost always shadowed by hired muscle. Do they even like you, or are they willing to put up with anyone as long as the pay's good?"
Malfoy smirked. "I could say the same about that mudblood and the Weasel. Must make them pretty popular, being all chummy with the Harry Potter." He saw that he had hit a mark and went for blood. "I'll bet that none of your so called friends actually care a fig about you, they're just in it for the kicks." Before he'd even finished, Harry shoved hard, causing him to bounce off the opposite wall. Shocked, Draco just stood there for a moment, but then laid into his rival vigorously. They crashed to the floor, fists and feet bashing into one another. Both started bleeding from various cuts and scrapes, but were too intent on causing as much damage as possible to notice.
They rolled around on the floor until Harry came up on top, ready to throw a mighty punch straight into the other boy's nose. Suddenly, Draco twisted, throwing Harry off balance, and flipped him to the floor face first, straddling his back with a hand holding down his head. The both of them were breathing heavily, blood dripping down their faces and onto the floor.
"Say 'uncle', Potty," Draco taunted.
"Go to hell, you bastard!" With that, Harry swung an elbow and caught Malfoy in the side of the head. Their fight continued for a few minutes more until both boys fell apart, too exhausted to even properly insult one another. After a few moments spent catching their breath, Draco sat up and wiped the blood out of his eyes.
"Where in the world did a goody-two-shoes like you learn to fight?"
Harry let out a bark of bitter laughter. "My cousin Dudley. That fat ass is probably bigger than Crabbe and Goyle combined."
Malfoy let out an appreciative whistle. "He a wizard?"
Raising an irritated eyebrow, and then wincing in pain from a cut right above it, Harry growled, "What if he is; planning on hiring another bodyguard?" He shook his head in disgust. "No, just a really big bastard."
Snorting with painful laughter, Malfoy slapped the cold stone floor. "You mean to tell me that you, the marvelous Golden Boy, used to get your ass kicked by a muggle! Oh, that's wonderfully rich."
"A very big, very strong, and very mean muggle, yes," Harry snapped defensively. "How'd a pampered little rich boy who leads two Incredible Hulks around by their noses learn to fight, huh?"
That quieted Draco's laughter immediately. His eyes clouded over briefly before his face assumed the usual sneer. "None of your business, Potter." He got to his feet slowly, pain obvious in every movement of his body. "Forget Pansy, and forget that blasted meeting. I'm going to my dormitory for a nice long soak. Get dead, Potter." With that he began limping towards the stairs.
"Don't forget the bubbles, Drakey," Harry called after him in the high voice. He too worked his way into a standing position, figuring he'd better hurry to the DA before Ron and Hermione had a conniption. Dragging himself along while using the wall for support, it seemed to take forever for him to arrive at the appropriate door. He paused, hand on the knob, to take a deep breath in preparation for the scene to come, then opened the door and stepped in.
Hermione gasped at the same time Ginny squealed. "Blimey, mate! What happened," Ron shouted, rushing over to support his friend. Several of the Gryffindor DA members pulled out their wands and prepared to storm the hallway in search of the culprit(s) who dared to attack their housemate. Harry waved them back, and gasped at the pain caused by a bruise on his shoulder.
"Don't bother, he looks worse than I do."
"Harry," Hermione began, obviously ready for a lecture.
"It's really no big deal, I just ran into Malfoy."
"Oh," Ron replied. "Is that all? Got him good, didn't ya, mate?" The both of them shared a grin.
"Ugh," Hermione exclaimed in disgust. "Boys!"
2ND AUTHORS NOTE: I realize that I have been lax in my acknowledgements, and so I must thank MadamZep for helping me with whatever HP details I can't remember. Emmykins, you are a font of unusual and momentarily useful knowledge. It's wonderful to have a Potterhead for a best friend. You should read some of her fanfics; they're excellent! Especially the series she refuses to post. Well, I guess you can't read those, but I got to! HA!
