Disclaimer: Characters and whatnot belong to J.K. Rowling, and I bow down to her powers. The lyrics at the beginning belong to The Cure, and I am none of them, nor am I any part of Story of the Year, which owns the lyrics at the bottom of this fanfiction. -Blinks- So, yeah, ha, you can't sue me.

Warning: Slash. Pretty boys kissing and stuff.

Author's Note: This started out as a roleplay, with the amazing and talented Shannon(MagickBeing), my Lucky Charm-Cuddles- and continues as such. Part of it will be converted into story form and posted every week or two, depending not only on time, but reviews. Hint, hint. Also; this is pretty much our version of HBP. It might be less detailed, but if you've read it, you'll get it.

Out of This World

By SecondHand & MagickBeing

Chapter One: Obliging Conversation

When we look back at it all, as I know we will...
- Out of This World, The Cure

Harry made his way through the large group of students on the Hogwart's Express.

He had said goodbye to Ron, and Hermione, who had to report to the other Prefects, and to Ginny who had went off to be with her friends, Dean included, only to found that it was next to impossible to find a decent place to sit his stuff and his arse. All of the compartments seemed to be filled with new faces that he'd never seen, gawking fan girls that just couldn't get enough of his scar, mean looking boys that looked as if they wanted to beat him in the head with a bludger, or the compartments were just all out impossible to reach through the massive sets of people, standing around and doing absolutely nothing. It was starting to annoy Harry.

So he flung himself at the first empty compartment he saw, throwing his trunk above the seats, and sitting with a loud sigh in the chair. That's when he heard the distinct sound of someone clearing his or her throat. He looked up slowly, about to tell the person he was sorry and that he must have missed them in his attempt to get into a decent compartment, but then he saw whom it was.

Draco Malfoy.

.xxXxxXxxXxx.

Much to Draco's delight, he had been able to find an empty compartment.

Of course, having his two counterparts, Crabbe and Goyle, around to push people out of the way had helped considerably. The one, long hall of the train had been unusually full. Draco took the seat the furthest from the door, leaving Crabbe and Goyle to stand there in silence for a long while before asking him where the food trolley was.

In reply, Draco lifted the corner of his mouth in distaste and sent the two dunderheads out in search for it, leaving him in the compartment in silence. Stretching slightly, Draco made himself comfortable, his gaze fixed on the blur of trees outside the window. His thoughts travelled to his father, who at that very moment was probably beginning his trial in the charges brought against him; charges that accused him of being involved with Voldemort. Needless to say, Draco was in a very sullen mood when someone, rather rudely, burst inside the small enclosure.

He watched in silence as a certain dark hairedGryffindor slammed the compartment door behind himself, the glass vibrating violently at the action, and tossed his trunk on the shelves above him. It was when Harry plopped down on the seat next to him, sighing dejectedly, that he decided to make his presence known. Softly, he cleared his throat. Slowly, Harry turned, his eyes meeting Draco's. He quickly jumped up from his seat, staring down at Draco with a look of pure loathing.

.xxXxxXxxXxx.

"Bloody hell. You, of all people, it's you," Harry snarled, standing up.

Draco stared in silence, forcing his expression to remain calm.

"You've got to be kidding me. Where the hell are your cheeky Slytherin friends, and why aren't they in here with you?" He rambled, throwing a sneer at the amazingly calm face of the blond. "Better yet why the hell aren't you off badgering other students that are 'lesser than you' in your Prefect duties?"

Harry asked all of this in a rush, not attempting to move near the door of the compartment to leave, not wanting to be bombarded by the large groups of people that were now peering into the uncurtained window of the compartment, no doubt waiting to see if they fought.

At his remarks, Draco lifted an eyebrow, surveying Harry with a calm, cold gaze of his own.

Since when did Potter have the right to burst into his compartment, and demand to know what he was doing? And even worse, Draco thought with distaste, his gaze shifting to the compartment windows, he brought his fan club!

Draco looked back at Harry, and when he finally spoke, his voice was dangerously low.

"What I do with my own time, Potter, is none of your concern."

Harry ignore this, and shifted his eyes to the crowd covered window, not wanting to be there any longer.

"Fucking Hell," he snarled, glaring at the people gathered outside of the window.

There was no way he was going out into that.

His green eyes slipped back to the blond, as he moved back to sit, this time in the bench across from Draco.

Draco said nothing as Harry did this, painfully aware of the looks the crowd were giving him and Harry outside of the compartment.

"How long until your large friends come and kick me out?" Harry asked, wondering if Crabbe and Goyle could even get into the compartment trough the prying eyes. He was sure that Ron and Hermione were done with their Prefect things..

Prefect.

"Malfoy," he started, very calmly. It was apparent that he was going to be stuck in the compartment with the prat for a while, so he figured that he might as well try to remain calm.

"Why aren't you with the Prefects?" he asked, somewhat slowly. "It's not like you to pass up a chance to badger the 'little ones'."

Draco's lips twisted into a smirk as he listened to Harry's ramblings, eyeing him carefully. He became aware of the fact that he had the upper hand of the situation, as did Harry, and his smirk grew.

"I'm not a Prefect this year, Potter," Draco replied calmly, ignoring the Gyffindor's first question. "As if you need to know."

Harry turned his head slightly, trying to ignore the students outside of the door, and trying his damnedest to keep from lashing out at them.

Not a Prefect? He thought to himself, really...?

"Why?" He asked, knowing that the question would more than likely go unanswered.

He settled himself into the seat, lifting his knees to his chest. Tearing his eyes away from the glass siding, he looked at the blond, calculating him. No use, he wasn't cracking. His eyes slipped out the opposing window, the trees passing by in a blur. The silence was so loud that it sounded like chattering mouths.

Wait.

It was.

He looked back at the windowed door, where people were still pressing their faces firmly against the glass, others jumping up and standing on tippy toes to see past their friends heads.

Draco watched Harry with a blank expression, ignoring the soft why that he had uttered a few minutes before. He knew that this would be the perfect time to get back at Harry for securing his father's place in Azkaban, but the Gryffindor's company intrigued part of him.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Harry hissed as he stood suddenly, yanking the curtain down over the window.

"Bloody hell! You'd think we were caged animals." He said sitting back down, remembering when he had went to the Zoo at age eleven.

Draco smirked at the mention of caged animals and said, "While some of us do belong in cages, Potter, I agree."

Harry, ignoring the comment about caged animals, let his head fall back against the wall with a thud, the chattering filling his ears.

"They really are pathetic.." Draco continued, trailing off, his gaze switching back to the window. The curtains were rippling and lifting in the corners, as if blown by an imaginary wind.

His smirk melted into a scowl. "I think someone's trying to bewitch the curtains."

"Fucking Hell," Harry hissed. "Do they not have life's elsewhere?"

"Honestly," he said, standing once more, his hand on the handle of the door. He yanked it hard, and let it hit the wall beside him. His voice rang out as he warded the crowed off with words, trying to keep the cursing to a minimum. Gods knew that if he said too much the world would say he had 'tainted his image.'

Finally the crowd departed, leaving only a few brave souls. Harry glared, and stepped back into the compartment, closing the door behind him.

"Better," he stated, smiling; Malfoy wasn't in the lead now. He could get out..

Which didn't explain why Harry just sat back down, and continued to look out the window, knowing he could leave at anytime.

Draco had watched Harry's quick, hasty movements in silence, smirking at the rather colourful words Harry had let slip while telling the other students to bugger off and mind their own business. Draco lifted an eyebrow as Harry slid into the seat across from him again, silently asking why he hadn't left.

Out loud, however, he drawled, "So where are your pets, Potter? The Mudblood and Weasel.. scrounging about for scraps?"

Harry shifted his eyes back to Draco.

"Prefects Malfoy, Prefects," He stated, as if the blond were dim.

"You, of all people know that they all have to meet at the start of the year on the train to Hogwarts," he shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable against the wooden bench.

"Though I don't know why Prefects hadn't come to shoo away the nosy students," Harry said offhandedly, pushing strands of black hair off of his face, out of his eyes. He was thoroughly annoyed.

"Yes, well, it doesn't look as if they were doing a very good job," sneered Draco, looking out the window.

"It's not just up to Ron and Hermione to do it, prat." Harry stated, busying himself with inspecting his fingernails. But seeing as they were short and almost nonexistent, it was pointless.

He looked up at the blond's hands and noticed that his were damn near perfect. He sneered, thinking, ponce, and moved his eyes up the blond's body. Everything about him seemed to be in place and as close to perfect as possible. Everything aside from his attitude, that is.

Harry had the extreme urge to mess up the longer, blond locks, and give Malfoy a more rugged makeover. He found himself smirking at the possibility of Malfoy shrieking like a girl, like he had three years ago with Buckbeak.

Priceless.

He wondered if Malfoy had changed any over those three years.

Glancing over at Harry, Draco lifted an eyebrow at the look Harry was giving him. It was a bit unnerving. Gryffindor's shouldn't smirk, thought Draco with disgust. He, however, pretended to ignore it, and studied Harry in silence. Harry's hair was the usual mess, his green eyes surveying Draco from beneath those retched, wiry-framed glasses, and his frame was entirely to thin. He gave Harry a cold look of his own, before his gaze shifted to the window.

Watching the scenery rush by, Draco tucked a leg beneath him, noticing that it was getting darker, and fast. He leaned his head against the wall behind him, studying the dark, ugly clouds that moved to cover the moon. Biting back a sigh, feeling a bit dozy, Draco glanced at Harry again.

Harry's smirked faded as the candles in the compartment lit up by themselves, the darkness outside seeming to have censored them.

Great. Alone in a dark compartment with Malfoy, with nobody to find them-- Ron and Hermione had probably long given up on searching for Harry, and had went to sit together, and Crabbe and Goyle were, more then likely, just to stupid to figure out which compartment belonged to their leader. And with the curtain down, and him having to yell at people, there was no way out. Not only that, but the blond sitting across from him, kept tossing him looks, and it was starting to bother Harry.

"Keep looking, I might do a trick," Harry said through his teeth.

The corner of Draco's mouth curled into a smirk, and he said, "My, my, Potter... I had no idea."

He surveyed Harry with a long, calculating glance, straightening up a bit where he sat, and sneered, "Temper, temper."

"You had no idea what?" He asked, his annoyance rising again, his eyes staring hard at the blond boy in front of him.

Noticing how he had straightened, he asked, "What's the problem Malfoy, afraid someone will come in and see you slouched?"

Draco scowled, and turned back to gaze out the window, seeming intent on studying the darkness, as the blur of trees could barely be seen now.

Harry brought both of his knees up to his chest, shifting a bit more where he sat.

After a few minutes of silence, he casually asked, "So, why aren't you a Prefect this year?"

Draco turned to look at him, his eyes glinting beneath the flickering light of the candles.

In a tone entirely to soft to belong to a Malfoy, though it still held a certain edge, he asked, "Will you stop with your bloody questions if I answer one?"

Harry surveyed him for a moment, still annoyed. Finally, he said, "Yes, just tell me why you aren't a Prefect this year, and I'll be quiet."

Draco scowled at Harry's obvious annoyance, though his scowl soon melted, and he thought about how truthful he wanted to be with Harry. After all, Harry was.. well, Potter. His scowl melted, and he thought about how truthful he wanted to be with Harry. After all, Harry was.. well, Harry. His eyes unusually murky, he softly replied with, "I had other things on my mind." He looked away, correcting himself, "Well, have."

Harry took in the sudden change in the boy's demeanour. His scowl softened and he had looked almost troubled for a moment. This threw Harry completely off. What the hell?

"Wit--" he stopped, knowing that he had received his one question, and if he spoke anymore about it, he'd be leaving the compartment with no eyebrows or something.

So he settled for, "Oh," and turned his eyes to look back out the window, fresh rain hitting the glass hard.

Draco smirked slightly at Harry's obvious inward battle. Seriously, that boy wore his emotions on his sleeve.

Draco shifted on the bench, moving his leg out from beneath him and stretching slightly. He looked out the window and then back at Harry, saying, "We should probably be changing into our robes soon. I'm sure we're almost there."

Harry nodded at the other boy, the sudden civilised nature of the small conversation making his mind spin a bit. He stood, not looking at the blond anymore and pulled his trunk down toward him. He carefully opened it to get his robes, and removed his jacket, placing it back down into the trunk and closed the lid. Sliding it back to where it was, his long, thin arms struggled to get into the robes. When he finally managed to get them on, he nodded at the blond, and sat back down, his eyes avoiding him at all cost as he felt a bit out of place.

Draco had watched Harry change in silence, finding his slightly flustered mood amusing, and when Harry took his seat, snickering, Draco softly said, "You know Potter, it helps to be smarter then the thing you're wearing."

Then, making it a point to ignore the glare given from Harry, he stood, reaching above Harry to the left for his own trunk. It didn't take him long to find his robes, as they were folded neatly on the top, and he slid the trunk back into place, sliding the robes on with surprising ease. He smirked at the memory of Harry struggling with his own robes, and sat back down, his gaze falling on Harry once more.

Harry scowled at the blond, and tried not to look as he put his robes on. Scratch that, elegantly put his robes on. Once again, perfect.

"Well, just shh." Harry said, rather immaturely, folding his arms across his chest, huffing, which caused Draco to smirk.

Harry shook his head, sighing, his hands coming up to rub his eyes.

While Harry was doing this, Draco shifted in his seat again, sliding one leg onto the bench as he turned his body, leaning slightly against the compartment wall. Bending said leg up, he propped an arm onto his knee, looking at Harry in silence. For some reason, that day, looking was something he couldn't stop doing.

It was then, oblivious to Draco's movements, that for the first time since he'd arrived on the train, Sirius stepped into his mind. It was so sudden that he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and the opening them to get the image out. No use. Sirius' image danced in front of his face. Then, in stepped Bellatrix Lestrange, then Lucius Malfoy, stopping at Draco. Vicious cycle, Harry thought, and kept angry flashes from the blond. After all, he didn't choose his family.

Draco's smirk vanished when Harry gasped suddenly, squeezing his eyes shut. Lifting an eyebrow, he shifted in his seat again. Softly, he murmured, "Potter?"

When Harry didn't answer, Draco moved, nudging Harry's leg with his boot.

"Potter?"

.xxXxxXxxXxx.

Harry's eyes shot toward the blond as he moved and nudged him. He just looked at him for a moment, his hand still on his head as if it hurt to look, as if the dim light provided from the compartment candles were blinding.

"Oh," he said again. For some reason, he was about to give the blond an explanation, when the train lurched forward, bringing him back to earth.

"We're here," he said slowly, standing and steadying himself on his shaking feet. He nodded to the blond and wasted no time getting out of the compartment.

What was he thinking? Starting to explain to Malfoy for his sudden change.. and why was he letting himself get worked up over Sirius again? He was gone. Nothing Harry could do about it.

He shook his head as he approached Ron and Hermione and feigned a story about how terrible his trip had been. When, he knew, in fact, that it could have been much worse. His eyes deliberately avoided Malfoy as he walked by the blond and his cronies.

.xxXxxXxxXxx.

Draco had been surprised when Harry's eyes had suddenly shot open and he looked as if he was going to say something, but of course, he didn't allow himself to show it. He was almost relieved when the train lurched forward, signalling its arrival to Hogwarts, and watched in silence as Harry scurried out of the compartment as fast as he could.

Smirking, Draco followed, finding Crabbe and Goyle somewhere down the train near the exit. They had chocolate smudged on their hands and faces, and Draco's lip curled at the mere sight. Those two were truly disgusting sometimes. Withdrawing his wand from his robes, he cast a quick cleaning spell and turned to the exit, where students were rushing out of the cramped hall. He made for the door, tossing over his shoulder, "Come on."

It was dark outside, and it was beginning to sprinkle again, the dark clouds that he had seen earlier, looming over Hogwarts and its students. The clouds let out a low rumble.

His gaze shifted from the sky to the students who were rushing to get in the safety of the carriages, and grimaced at the horse-like animals standing in front of them. He unknowingly searched for a dark haired Gryffindor, who was saying something to his friends.

We both take the hardest punches
And collect black eyes just to prove it
Still we pass by just like strangers
And we speak just like the closest enemies.
- In the Shadows, Story of the Year