A/N Oh… my… god. That's just… amazing. My faith in human kind has been restored. I turned on the computer, just about 24 hours after posting, and I have reviews. Lots of them. Strangely, some of them were for the first chapter instead of this one, but still. They were reviews. Nice reviews, cookies worthy reviews. WOW. I never thought that would happen. And loads more of them were signed. If you sign your review I'll read your stories. But there were just loads. So many… so quickly…

So I have to say: THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Responses are at the end.

And to questions about a possible Harry/Blaise ship developing, I say don't worry. This is Harry/Draco, even if it takes a while. H/D all the way!!!

I don't have any food this time round; since I gave out all my cookies, so feed me with your awesome reviewing power.

Simply Slytherin

Chapter Three: The Levels I Will Go To

Harry ran to Potions so fast he actually got there early, and realised that he had just run to Potions. The worse subject ever. As the Slytherins started to arrive, Harry suddenly felt that that conversation with Hermione and Ron seemed much more inviting.

'Do mine eyes deceive me?' said Pansy. 'Is Potter actually on time for Potions?'

'Malfoy fancies you, you know.' Millicent whispered. 'He thinks he's straight though. So please humour him.'

Harry was about to reply when Blaise sidled up to Harry, trying to be seductive. Harry wondered whether there was something wrong.

'Hey Potter. Did you have a good night's sleep then?'

Harry grinned slightly. 'It was alright Zabini. Can I assume that I won't have to use my wand this conversation then?'

'Use your wand if you want to Potter.' Blaise practically purred. Harry and Pansy edged away from him slightly.

'Riiiiiight. OK then Blaise.' Said Harry lightly.

Blaise opened his mouth when he was interrupted by the sound of running feet.

'Oh shit, they found me.' Muttered Harry, who then turned to Crabbe and Goyle and attempted to hide behind them.

Unfortunately, he was too slow.

'Harry James Potter! Get back here right now!' yelled Hermione, advancing with her wand drawn.

'Er… hi, Hermione…' said Harry, backing away, his own wand drawn. 'I was just going to Potions. Our lesson. With a teacher, you know…'

He trailed off as he saw the expression on her face. 'Harry…'

'Hermione?'

'Harry, we've been over this-'

The door magically opening, letting the students file in saved Harry. He quickly slipped in as Ron arrived, distracting Hermione from yelling at her other best friend.

He walked in quickly and found himself sitting down next to Pansy without really meaning to. He blushed slightly at his mistake and stood up to move.

'Oh for God's sake Potter, we're not that bad are we?'

Harry turned around in shock at Pansy voice. 'I'm sorry?'

'Slytherins.' Said Pansy with a smirk. 'We're not so bad are we that you can't even sit next to one for more than a second can you?'

Harry blinked. 'Excuse me?'

'Sit down, Potter. Here. You need help with your potions, everyone knows that, and I want to hear all about what ever it was that went on last night in the boys dorm of our wing. Apparently, you know all about it, though I can't think why, you being a Gryffindor and all…'

She trailed off; this time her face had more of a smile to it than a smirk.

Harry couldn't help but grin, sitting down as Ron and Hermione finally entered the classroom.

'Harry! What are you doing over there? I need to talk to you, now!' said Hermione.

'Yeah, mate, we need some explanations. And why are you sat over there? With her?' added Ron.

'Potter's sitting here this lesson,' announced Pansy sharply, and quite loudly Harry thought, which caused him to blush slightly.

'Ooh, why?' said Parvati.

'Are you two going out?!' squealed Lavender. 'That is so sweet!'

'No! Pansy just agreed to help me with our assignment.' Said Harry quickly.

'As long as he tells me exactly what happened last night.' Added Pansy smugly. Hermione looked outraged.

'You're telling her before you tell me?' she exclaimed.

Harry looked awkward, but Pansy simply leaned forward across Harry and said, in a voice that suddenly seemed much huskier than was necessary, 'Sure he is. You never help him with his potions, do you?'

Hermione looked like she had a good comeback, but the waiting classroom never heard it as at that moment Snape entered the classroom with the usual bang and flourish of his robes.

'Sit down immediately Miss Granger or I will take points from-' Snape began, but paused when he looked up and saw the slightly changed seating arrangement.

'Potter? What are you doing on that side of my classroom? And why in seven hells are you sitting next to Parkinson?'

Harry shuffled slightly, but before he murmured out an answer Pansy said in ringing tones,

'What's wrong Professor? Harry has every right to sit next to me if he wants to. And he does, right Harry?'

Harry was surprised to realise that he was more shocked to hear Pansy utter his first name than what she was actually saying, and to Snape at that. He nodded at Snape when he shot him a bizarre look. However, it was as Snape turned away that the real shock came to Harry, as Pansy went on to say,

'Anyway sir, why shouldn't Harry sit next to me? There's nothing wrong with either of us. In fact sir, we're doing what many members of the faculty including the Sorting Hat and even the headmaster suggested; we're enforcing house ties. Isn't this something we're meant to be doing, sir?'

Harry had to try incredibly hard not to burst out laughing at Pansy's tone, but was slightly alarmed when she, without breaking her challenging eye-contact with Snape, leaned against Harry and sighed loudly. He sniggered but it wasn't heard over Pansy's final comment of,

'Don't let me delay the lesson any longer, Professor, please.'

Snape tried to glare, but it didn't bother Harry in the slightest as he wasn't looking at Snape to notice. He was staring at Pansy and trying to communicate silently with her as to whether they could move apart yet. Pansy simply grinned, shook her head slightly, flicking her eyes toward Hermione, Parvati & Lavender, Draco & Blaise and finally Snape, all of whom had varying looks of shock, admiration and jealousy.

When she finally stood up at the end of Snape's lecture on that day's Potions to get the ingredients she leaned over to whisper in his ear,

'Keep it up Potter, we're doing great. They're already totally jealous and all I did was use your first name. Now set up the cauldron and when I get back you can tell me all about last night and whatever you got up to in the boys wing of the Slytherin dorms, hmm?'

Harry couldn't prevent the smirk, nor did he want to.

Draco had got to Potions late, for the first time in his life. Well, not actually late, but not his usual three minute earliness that never seemed as if he were impatient, or eager for the lesson, or the idea that he had nowhere else to be. Arriving the right amount of time before the lesson in fact had almost turned into an art to Draco, though he had never bothered with McGonagall.

It had been McGonagall that had kept him back in Transfigurations though, and had given Draco extra homework, which meant he had to spend his lunch break in the library. He had snuck into the restricted section looking for information on the benefits of Animagi rather than self-Transfiguration, when one of the books he had picked up started screaming. Madame Pince had given him an earful and a detention, and also meaning that Draco was only just in Potions before the Weasel. Phew, wouldn't want to seem, well, Weasel-ish.

And then he had seen the newest seating arrangement.

He would edit it out later but Draco had felt something in him hurt to see Pansy simpering over Potter. It just didn't seem right. Pansy was ugly in Draco's opinion, and ugly should not be with anyone like Potter.

Definitely not.

Wait a second- he didn't think Potter was ugly?

Did he fancy Potter?

No. Definitely not. It was perfectly possible to think someone wasn't ugly, while still hating everything about said person. He surely did not fancy Potter. Not at all.

While musing on this topic, Draco managed to miss Snape's entrance. In fact he only looked up when Blaise who had sat next to him it seemed stood to get ingredients. Draco turned to get his Potions set and saw Pansy was leaning against Potter. Leaning against him. In fact, the girl had practically been sitting in his lap, before she stood off him to get ingredients. Draco noticed that that little bitch even bent over to whisper in Harry's ear before going, giving the boy an eyeful as well.

And whatever she said did not make Harry shove her over. Instead of reacting outraged, the boy actually smirked. Draco thought the world had stopped, until Blaise had nudged him.

'You're looking at him again.' He muttered. 'I knew you fancied him.'

'Blaise!' Draco snapped. 'For the last time, I do not, have not ever and will not ever fancy Harry fucking Potter, so just drop it ok?'

Blaise raised and eyebrow as he started to chop what appeared to be a spleen into cubes.

'I didn't even mention Potter, actually, but its good to know that you like him so much you can't stop thinking about him.'

Hermione was seething inside. Harry had snuck out in the middle of the night to the Slytherin dorms, and wouldn't even tell her what he had been doing. He had been found in the boys' dorm for god's sake! And to top it off, now he was sitting next to that bitch Pansy. She was all over him for God's sake, and he was obviously enjoying it.

To make matters worse, Ron didn't seem to understand her point of view at all.

After voicing his views to Ron he had replied in that annoyingly irritable way that Ron had,

'I know! He didn't even invite me to come with him. I mean, we're best friends, but suddenly he's sneaking around without us. What if he decides that he can save the world on his own now too?'

Ron, Hermione decided, had serious self esteem issues. She mentioned this, but Ron barely seemed to hear her.

'Of course I don't have issues! And where did he get the password to the Slytherin dorms anyway? He could have told me. I would have kept it secret. I would have traded it for the passwords for the Ravenclaw dorms, that's nearly as valuable. I mean, what we could do…. But he didn't bother! I know I'm a heavy sleeper, but it's not that hard to wake me up. I'm always up for a spot of rule breaking after curfew-'

It was at this point that Hermione got up to fetch ingredients for their potion, leaving Ron rambling to himself. He didn't even seem to notice that she was no longer there.

'So what I heard is that Harry broke into the Slytherin dorms to rape Malfoy because the sexual tension between had just reached its boiling point, but Malfoy-'

'No, that's not right.' Interrupted Lavender. 'What I heard is that Harry and Malfoy have been secret lovers for a while now, but Snape heard Malfoy screaming and came and caught them at it.'

'I suppose that makes more sense.' Parvati mused. 'Otherwise, Malfoy would certainly be in a far worse state if Harry really had raped him. But when did their relationship start, hmm?' She turned to Lavender as she said this, neither noticing as she poured twice as much dragon scale power into their potion as necessary.

'I was talking about that exact thing earlier with Hannah, and she reckons that they got together way back in fourth year. Cos Harry kept disappearing on Hogsmeade trips, and when he came back he was always much happier. Sometimes of course he looked worried, and so he would if he thought someone knew he was dating Malfoy, but his entire posture was much better, y'know?'

Parvati nodded thoughtfully as Lavender tipped the diced asparagus leaves into the cauldron. The potion bubbled up and changed to a bright pink colour.

'What a nice colour for a potion!' exclaimed Lavender, failing to notice that it was in fact supposed to be a deep blood red.

'Yeah, that's true. But that would mean that Harry was cheating on Cho last year! Harry would never do that!'

'Well, Ginny Weasley reckons they broke up for a while because they didn't see eye to eye on the whole Umbridge thing, and how Harry was spending so much time in detention and studying and the DA that Malfoy felt he wasn't being treated right.'

'Well, my sister told me-' Parvati continued, but at that moment she poured the salamander blood and the entire potion blew up in her face, leaving her covering in orange goo. Lavender screamed as the goo started eating away at her clothing. This had a very bad effect as it meant that everyone looked around at them and their rapidly decreasing robes, but nobody bothered to help them.

Snape's day had gone steadily down hill since he realised that he did not in fact have any idea either where the chamber of secrets was or how to get in. He realised that he would have to ask Potter, and the thought was awful.

Snape knew how Potter's mind would work. He could shout at Potter for as long as he liked and Harry would never tell him. He could feed him Versiteserum, but that was illegal in this case and he would surly lose his job. He only had one option left.

He would have to be nice to Potter.

Even the idea of this made him cringe. He was having a huge internal battle just to let himself consider such a course of action. This was Potter he was thinking about. It was simply wrong to be nice to the sod. He was just like his father, just like him, and treated like a little hero by all of those around him.

But that voice in the back of his mind that had been happy and blissful all morning was suddenly steel edged. Basilisk it insisted and Snape had to agree. Even being nice to Potter would be worth Basilisk.

It was with mixed emotions therefore that he entered his seventh year class that day. He quickly began his lecture, only to find That Potter was sitting next to Parkinson.

Parkinson. A Slytherin. Did Potter suddenly have an obsession with Slytherins? Something here was evidently wrong.

After being mentally stupefied by Parkinson's reaction, Snape quickly gathered himself and began the lesson. After his lecture he carefully walked around criticising the Gryffindors and praising the Slytherins. As he approached Potter and Parkinson's potion he hit a mental dilemma, so he simply passed them by without comment.

It was about this time that Parvati and Lavender blew up their cauldron.

Blaise didn't bother to help Parvati or Lavender as their clothes evaporated easily. They were Gryffindors after all. Of course this didn't stop him from admiring the view as the girls were slowly but steadily stripped of their clothes. Unfortunately Snape managed to stop the goo that was supposed to be blood red and silky before their underwear was destroyed, but Blaise was still granted the view available, and came to the conclusion that Parvati was kinkier than he had thought. Well, that was something to remember for later.

Neville coincidently had some of the goop land in his cauldron. Miraculously for the worried Neville it had in fact perfectly corrected his thin, blue potion.

Seamus was desperately attempting to salvage his and Dean's assignment, as Dean simply looked on unabashedly at Lavender, who was failing miserably at her attempts to cover herself up. Pansy was trying to read the size on Parvati's bra, Harry was trying to keep a straight face as Snape tried both to address the girls and not to look at them standing in the middle of his classroom, practically naked. He seemed affronted that anything frilly would even dare to show itself to him, in his dungeons no less.

Crabbe, strangely, was not watching the girls at all. He was using the distraction, along with Goyle, to replace his potion with Millicent and Daphne's potion which had worked far better than their own.

This, Blaise concluded, was what he was good at. Watching a scene unfold in front of him, noticing and taking in every detail available for analysis later.

He sighed happily and let the chaos unfold.

The class was dismissed early with a final shout from Snape, and everyone scrambled out of the dungeons as fast as possible. Draco was no exception as he headed for lunch. He was starving, and to make matters worse he was surrounded by idiots.

All the straight guys were talking on an on about Lavender and Parvati. They just wouldn't stop-

Oh. Crap.

Draco stopped walking suddenly as he realised what his body was telling him. The group of people around him continued on to lunch.

His on thoughts were echoing around his head. He needed to go somewhere he could think; somewhere he could hear his thoughts.

He headed out to the Quidditch Pitch.

Well, Harry thought, as he swooped through the air. Obviously he wasn't quite as gay as he had thought he was. Harry didn't even like Parvati or Lavender, but he had to admit that they did have very nice underwear if not personalities.

Harry liked practising at lunchtime. The Pitch couldn't be booked then and it was open to anyone that wanted to be there, but generally Harry was the only one who would just go out to simply be in the air.

As he soared upwards Harry noticed a blond head poke out of the bleachers. Malfoy. It had to be him. No one else could have hair that shone so brightly. And the bastard had re-gelled it since breakfast! That was it; he was going to tell him. He was going to tell him right now....

Harry turned his broom downwards in an almost vertical dive and sighed as the adrenaline took over his body.

Snape sighed. His dungeon had been invaded by frilly ladies underwear, and he was not amused. This day just kept getting worse and worse. And he still hadn't managed to talk to Potter about the chamber.

Snape paused, wondering briefly what the actual chamber was like. As a Slytherin he would be honoured to step inside any part of it, but to reap the reward of Basilisk that was offered to him......

Snape pulled out his wand and performed a spell to locate Potter. Hmm, the Quidditch Pitch. Well, Snape would just have to find him.

The words rattled around Draco's head, confusing him greatly. Ok, so he hadn't said them out loud, but he had meant them in every other way.

All the straight guys.

Not him.

All the straight guys.

He wasn't a straight guy.

He wasn't entranced by the two Gryffindor girls.

All he had really noticed was how well the colour of Parvati's bra had matched her skin.

He hadn't been remotely interested in what had been in the bra. Just the colouring, the stitching, the lace.

Draco's heart sank. He was more interested in how the bra had been made than what was under it. He was definitely not straight. Straight guys just didn't think like that.

Why did he have to be different? Of course, there seemed to be more and more gay people around these days, but that wasn't the point. He was a Malfoy. He was supposed to get married to a rich pure-blooded girl and have an heir and a life of leisure. He wasn't supposed to get all confused because two girls couldn't brew a Potion right.

But straight guys did not react like that to two girls like that basically stripping off in a lesson. His reaction was not straight in the slightest.

But he hadn't acted gay either. Oh sure, there was the 'evidence' that Blaise referred to like his hair and his broomstick and his pickiness about food, but that was just upbringing. Homosexuality was not just upbringing.

He hadn't been attracted to girls, but he wasn't attracted to guys either. Wait. Did that mean he lacked sexuality or something? Would he never have sex? Would he never want sex? Did this mean he would never fall in love? And how could he have an heir if he couldn't bring himself to have sex? His marriage would surely collapse without a healthy sex life, but how often could he force himself to sleep with a wife that he felt no desire for, let alone loved?

Draco's worried thoughts were interrupted by Harry Potter landing right next to him.

His hair was even more wild than usual, his eyes unnaturally bright and his chest suddenly seemed far broader than Draco had ever realised. As he reached up and wiped sweat off his brow a part of Draco melted.

Was this what it was like to be gay?

'Wow.' Draco said unintentionally.

'It's not that hard when you know how.' Harry said. 'I'm sorry to come over like this, but there is something I really have to say to you. It been bugging me for a while now.'

Draco nodded dumbly.

'It's your hair. I really like it, it's really shiny and stuff. I wish my hair would behave like yours sometimes....'

He likes my hair.

'....but you have got to stop gelling it to your head. It makes you look like a huge, human light bulb, and I'm sure that wasn't the look you were going for.'

Draco didn't move as Harry remounted his broom and flew away. He was still there, speechless with just three thoughts playing again and again and again in his head when Professor Snape found him.

He was gay.

Harry Potter didn't hate him.

And he had to find out what a light bulb was.

A/N I would like to add my biggest apologies for the lateness of this chapter, and my special thanks to those who reviewed even when my fic wasn't at the top of the list. Even more thanks go to Wacko the Sane, who updates far more often than I, and therefore serves as a guilty reminder that I am meant to be writing whenever she updates her story. So, go read her fic!! It's Hermione/Snape, but actually seems to have a plot, unlike some fics I could mention coughminecough. Read it right after you have reviewed this awfully late chapter.

Review thanks:

Virginia Riddle-Malfoy: Thanks, I love the duck jokes too! I thought about your hilarious suggestion, and hope that this is good enough for you. As you can see we are one step closer to Draco finally getting some sense too… maybe next chapter?

hi-low: Thanks for the review!

lasaireigh: I love them too! You left this on the first chapter, so I hope you enjoy this one and the other one as well.

Anny Pervert Snape: Chocolate cookies it is, and very good they are too. Hope this is soon enough for you. And I love your name… heh heh

Sheree: I hope you can read this chapter! FanFiction does do some weird thing, but I hope it's worth it! And as you can see, its Harry/Draco together forever in this fic. Or you will see soon…

spunky slytherin: I try, so thank you. And I totally agree on the screaming… heh heh LOL. And I think there should be more stories with both gryffs and slyths. Such a good combination, don't you think?

CloverRock: I have plans for Seamus!! Well, as much as any of this is planned anyway….

Veggie's Boo: Coming right up, and seeing as I got two reviews (even if they are exactly the same!) from you I think I can stretch to a glass of milk. I hope full is fine, coz that's what I have at the mo. I'm not planning on a resorting as I don't want the gryffs to become all evil in my fic. But there will be plenty of romance. It will be bad, but it will be there. The bridge WILL be there. (Kelly's Heroes).

Sandalino Silio Leif: Thanks! And I am, just slightly slowly…

silver115: Harry/Draco are the only ships for Harry and Draco, but other people will also have ships, coz I pair everyone off. Is that what you meant? As for the number… blushes I was hoping for 20 new reviews, but if I only get a few then I wouldn't complain. And I went to read your stories, and I found I was on YOUR fav stories! I'm really flattered, really I am.

athenakitty: Eventually…. But not for a little time yet.

saFire flamE: Thank you! And I will, I promise!

Grimy Grunhilda Grunt: Thanks for the reviews! And I like writing Snape's weird moods, as you can tell from this chapter.

Wacko the Sane: God I'm so jealous. But of course you can have cookies, as you are a much more reliable updated than I. Not rushing yet, don't worry, and I just can't get enough of those jokes!

WhyteRoze-28: Yeah that's a good idea….