Author's Note: Sorry it took me long to post the new chapter. Kinda hung-over the holidays like the rest of the people at home. And to think I have to finish my Accounting presentation in two days! Waah! I'm sooo messed up! Well, anyway, enjoy the chapter, okie? Don't forget to read and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!
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He didn't want to think about it. Not when confusing emotions filled every corner of his being and electrifying sensations etched deeply at the back of his mind. For now, he could only see, smell, taste, hear and feel the creature he had just been with inside the compartment The creature with the long, flaxen hair and the most beautiful crystalline eyes who turned into an equally attractive Slytherin boy he knew he should hate.
"Harry, there you are!"
The said Gryffindor turned abruptly to find his red-haired friend approach him. He moved himself to shield the door to Malfoy's compartment and masked his features to what could have been his best attempt to smile despite his nervousness. Thankfully enough, his friend readily accepted it with a grin of his own. "Hey, Ron. What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you that same question, mate," Ron answered. "We've been waiting for you out there in the front but you didn't come so Hermione thought maybe you missed the train after Fred and George talked to you."
"I just got lost, that's all. I was looking for you guys and got a little sidetracked", Harry replied.
"Oh, what did you see?" Ron asked curiously, his grin widening.
"Well, I saw the Parvati twins flirting with a couple of Ravenclaw boys", not to mention I snogged
Malfoy in the compartment I'm standing in front of, Harry added to himself.
"Well anyway, at least you didn't get left behind." Ron smiled sheepishly at Harry and scratched his head. "Ginny was worrying about you, too, mate. She asked me to tell you that she wants to talk to you at dinner tonight." He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "I'm glad she's dating you and not some other guy. At least, I know she's in good hands."
Oh, for Merlin's sake, do the Fates hate him so much!
Harry mentally kicked himself. He had forgotten about Ginevra Weasley! How could he! In all the days of his reclusion, he had admitted to himself about his preferences and had vowed to himself that he would tell everyone. But now that Ron said those words, Harry found himself torn at telling and not telling because he was afraid to lose his friendship with Ron and the loving care he got with the other Weasleys.
He had no doubt Hermione would understand and she could make Ron understand but, it wouldn't be the same, would it?
He shifted uncomfortably. Oh, Ron if only you knew. The vision of Draco Malfoy filled his head again.
This time his heart began to pound with dread. Knowing Malfoy, he could never pass up the chance to humiliate Harry and destroy his life and this was the best opportunity to do it. By then, Ginny would hate him, Ron would most probably kill him, and Hermione would be disappointed with him.
"Harry, what's the matter? You look awfully pale. Maybe we should get going to our compartment, eh?"
"Nothing a good slab of chocolate can cure, I'm sure", said the trolley lady with her cart of sweets.
"I'd like one Chocolate Frog, please", said Ron. He said his thanks and handed it to Harry. "Here you go, Harry. Eat up."
"Well, isn't that sweet? I thought I'd never see the day."
The two turned around to find Blaise Zabini in front of them. Behind him were the usual group of Slytherins: Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.
Of all the rotten luck.
"Got tired of your little Mudblood, Weasley? Is that why you're into Potter, now?" said Zabini, smirking.
"I didn't know you were a poof, Potter. Tell me, does anybody else know?" Pansy teased. Behind her, Crabbe and Goyle laughed.
Harry's heart skipped a bit and his breath froze. Malfoy was just behind that door and he could come out any second. Now his life will shatter into pieces even before it could have a chance to begin.
"How did you get out of Azkaban, Zabini? I thought every last Death Eater was given the Kiss last Tuesday." Ron smirked. "Since Malferret's not here, I'm guessing he just got what he deserved. He and that wretched family of his."
Pansy hissed at him and was about to say something when the door behind Harry opened. He was shoved aside by the blonde boy who walked gracefully towards Ron, his silver eyes blazing furiously.
"As you can see, Weasel, I am perfectly fine and, just in case you were worried about my family's welfare, I should say they are wretchedly perfect", Malfoy stressed heavily on wretched, Harry noted.
Ron seemed to gape at Malfoy like a fish but he recovered almost instantly and glared at the blonde who looked calmly at him despite the fire in his molten silver eyes.
"What? Got nothing to say, Weasel? That can be expected for one with half a brain."
"Takes one to know one, Malfoy," Ron growled.
"But you do know that it doesn't take even an ounce of my intelligence to be able to tell that", Malfoy drawled.
"That's enough, Malfoy."
This time Harry spoke up for Ron's defense. It doesn't matter to him anymore if the whole school knows about his little rendezvous with Malfoy as long as he didn't have to see Ron struggle in verbal battles with him.
Malfoy looked in his eyes and, once more, Harry saw the pretty angel who had been with him for a couple of minutes.
The silver eyes softened tremendously, and with a breath of exasperation, the blonde said, "I'm getting tired with this game. It's not much fun when you're opponent can't say anything back." He turned towards his compartment and said, "Sleeping is more fun than talking with you, Weasel. Maybe you should go have a talk with your Mudblood girlfriend. She could teach you how to talk properly."
With a hidden, parting look at Harry, which the Gryffindor caught, he vanished through the compartment's doors with his entourage following behind. The door slid shut and the two Gryffindors stood alone in the way.
Harry turned to Ron who was still burning with rage and said, "you should calm down, Ron. He's not worth it."
'Not worth it, am I?' said a voice in the depths of his mind. Odd, he could have sworn it was Malfoy's voice he had just heard.
"Yeah, you're right, Harry. We should just go." Ron found his smile. "Thanks for sticking up for me, mate."
"You're welcome", said Harry, though he wasn't sure whether he deserved his thanks. He didn't do anything. He just looked at Malfoy and he stopped. It could have been a coincidence though. Maybe he was just tired after all. But who was he to know what goes on in his pretty head—wait, did Harry just think Malfoy pretty!
Dammit, he's so screwed.
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Draco smirked to himself as he heard a pair of footsteps fade away in the distance.
"So, Dray, how are you feeling?" Blaise asked worriedly.
"I'm feeling better. Just a little uncomfortable with heightened senses but, otherwise, perfect", he replied with a true smile only his friends could see.
Yes, contrary to popular belief, Draco has friends and it is composed of the little group in his compartment.
"I could make you a numbing potion, if you'd like", Gregory suggested.
Yes, contrary to another popular belief, Vincent and Gregory are intelligent. They specialize in different areas and prefer to speak only in Slytherin company which contributed to the appalling misconception that they are as dumb as a box of rocks.
"That's all right, I don't need it, yet…"
"Key word being yet", Pansy pointed out.
"How astute of you, Pans, but really, I don't feel anything but a slight itch on my back, that's all", he reassured them.
One of the few things Draco had been thankful of was that he was put into Slytherin. In Slytherin, there is loyalty. No one will abandon you for the reason that you are homosexual or even slightly inhuman. The house is always there to protect its members.
Unlike houses like Gryffindor, they would abandon you the moment they see an imperfection as exemplified by the boy-who-lived-and destroyed-Voldemort throughout his years in Hogwarts.
His little group knew about these changes long, long ago, during first year but there was no change as drastic as the one Potter saw. His senses were heightened, yes, but his appearance was untouched until now.
Speaking of which, he had to tell his mother about this occurrence. Surely it would warrant an explanation from her. An explanation she kept from him since before his first year, telling him it was not yet the time for him to know whatever it was he was supposed to know.
"So, what was Potter doing right outside your door?" Vincent asked casually. "Was he bothering you?"
"No, in fact, I'd say he helped me a while back there", Draco answered, attempting to mask the slight break in his voice.
"Oh? And pray tell, how did the Gryffndork help you?" Blaise asked, sneering at him.
"He saw me, ah, change form, without my knowing", he answered, hoping that his casual tone would reassure them.
But, it didn't work.
"You changed form? How?" Pansy asked urgently. "And how was Potter involved in all of this?"
"I'll explain first before you ask questions, okay?" Draco began, earning nods of consent from all his friends. "Remember the letter mother gave me a while ago? Well, as you know, I came out of our compartment to read it alone and while I was reading it, she told me that I should not hesitate to tell her if anything changed in me.
"All of you know that my mother is hiding something of significance to this situation I'm in. But anyway, I was deep in thought and I couldn't understand why she became worried about me so much during the past few days that I didn't notice Potter was looking at me. He was staring at me like he'd seen me for the first time and when he realized it was I, he said that I don't look the same.
"Of course, I was surprised when I saw myself in the mirror and he and I got into a fight--"
"Seriously, Dray, when have you not been?" Pansy asked with an unladylike snort. Draco paid her no mind and continued, "-- and then, well, he did something that somehow changed me back to normal. After that, Weasley and you guys came in, and here we are."
"What did Potter do that made you change back?" Pansy asked, thoughtfully. "Maybe if we ask him, he could help us prevent it from happening again. It would be bad if this gets out, you know. Who knows what will happen?"
"Well, he could be experimented on", Gregory suggested.
"Or accused of using Dark Magic and killed on sight," Vincent added.
"Or, on a more comfortable note, get his reputation ruined and have Potter and his friends laughing and making fun of him", Blaise finished.
"Thank you, guys, for boosting my confidence and giving me your loving support", said Draco, sarcastically.
"You know this is procedure, Dray", Pansy comforted. "Find all possibilities and deal with it accordingly. That's what we should do," she stated with a hard nod.
"I know, but right now I'm thinking the whole school would know about this. I mean, we're dealing with Potter and his friends here. For all we know, he could've blabbed everything to Weasley and Granger, and with that piece of information, how can they not pass up the chance to humiliate me?" Draco replied hopelessly.
"I'm still wondering what Potter did to get you back to normal, though", Pansy remarked thoughtfully.
This time, all the Slytherins looked at Draco, who was blushing to the roots of his blonde hair.
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In another compartment, Harry fidgeted nervously for the eleventh time as the nervousness consumed him little by little. What he wished right now was to get everything over with before his nerves got the better of him and drive him insane!
"Harry, are you really alright?" Hermione asked for the third time. "You do look pale. Did something wrong happen?"
"Malfoy happened, Mione, that's what", Ron answered vehemently.
Hermione nodded in understanding. "What did he say this time?"
Harry considered telling her what really happened but decided against it. Ron was there and so was Ginny, and said girl was looking at him with worry and anticipation.
"I'm really not in the mood to talk about him, Hermione", the male Gryffindor replied apologetically.
"Who would be?" Ron stated.
"Anyway, we're almost at school. I'm sure all you need is a little dinner at the feast and a good night's rest", said the brown-haired girl.
"I hope so."
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Author's note: And so ends another chapter. Sorry about the delay. Lots of things to do and Prelim Exams coming up fast. My next update could take a while because of my first ever Accounting Exam next week. Lethe needs to STUDY, STUDY and STUDY SOME MORE!
Please don't forget to review and please check out my other story, CAPTIVE. I don't know if it's any good so I need reviews on that one, too. It's a Hunter X Hunter fic but I won't say anything more on the matter. I have to keep the suspense. Hehe :b I haven't loaded it up yet, by the way... I kinda lost the file...