Draco frowned when he could hear yelling in the corridor as he headed towards the transfiguration classroom.

"-too good for us, Harry!" He could hear Ron Weasley yell. "Stuck up now that you been seen with Malfoy!"

Draco slowed his steps and turned the corner to see Weasley's red face as he stood toe to toe with Potter. Granger was behind Weasley and had a hand around his wrist, holding him back as she hissed something.

"I would think it was the other way around," Potter drawled as other students watched from the sidelines. "Stepping out of the shadow, Ron?"

Weasley growled and threw the first punch as Potter slipped back and Granger yelled out. Weasley shrugged off his girlfriend and launched himself at Potter and they went down in a tangle of limbs as students jeered and shouted. Draco winced as Weasley landed a few blows due to his greater weight and height even if Potter got a few good hits in himself.

Weasley soon had Potter pinned to the ground and the other boy was just trying to deflect the blows. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan jumped forward and pulled Weasley off Potter just as McGonagall appeared.

"Enough!" McGonagall snapped and silence fell.

Draco stepped closer as Potter slowly pulled himself to his feet. He was sure that he would have a black eye while blood dripped down his chin from his nose. From the slightly hunched way that he stood, Weasley had landed some good blows.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall demanded.

"Harry started it!" Weasley snapped. "He threw a punch at me!"

Whispers started up around the hall at Weasley's words. Draco looked at Potter sharply but he just crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing. He hadn't realised how much Potter had fallen out with his friends as he focused on Granger. The girl had her lips thinned and was glaring at her boyfriend.

"Ron-" Granger went to say.

"He had it coming," Potter cut her off as he looked at the professor.

"We do not fight in the hallways, Mr Potter." McGonagall snapped. "Go to the Headmaster."

Potter nodded and picked up his bag from the floor and walked off without a word. McGonagall's lips thinned even more before turning on Weasley.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor for fighting, Mr Weasley." McGonagall stated and Weasley opened his mouth. "And a week of detentions."

"But-" Weasley went to say and Granger elbowed him. "Yes, professor."

"Everyone, file into the classroom," McGonagall ordered. "Mr Weasley, go to the hospital wing."

Draco gave Weasley a smirk as the boy walked past him and the red head glared back.

"Fucking Death Eater," Weasley hissed at him and Draco sneered.

"That the best you can do?" Draco countered.

"Faggot," Weasley uttered under his breath. "This is all your bloody fault!"

"Mr Weasley!" McGonagall snapped. "Hospital wing, now."

Weasley gave him one last glare before stalking off and Draco tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

"He has problems," Greg muttered from beside him. "I wonder what happened to break up that trio?"

"Yeah, Granger isn't good enough to fight over," Vincent added. "I know I wouldn't want to get into those pants."

"I bet she would be a squealer," Greg said with a smirk.

"That is a disturbing thought," Draco drawled with a shiver.

"That other Weasley might be worth it," Greg said with a laugh. "Maybe that's the problem. Potter's trying to get into her pants. He does spend a lot of time around her."

Draco didn't say anything as they walked into the classroom while his friends discussed the up and down sides of the girls in their year.

xXx

Draco's fingers skipped over the keys of the piano as the notes sang out and he smiled. With a little fixing up, and dragging Severus in to help him, the piano was playable again. Even with his lack of skill. He paused and glanced over when he heard a guitar to see Potter standing there. He stopped playing as Potter settled on a desk and plucked out a few cords. He hadn't expected to see the other boy.

"Keep going," Potter requested softly.

Draco turned back the piano and started on the song that he'd been learning and Potter added his instrument to the mix. He didn't have the music before him but he proved that he didn't need it as Draco struggled through. He would stop and start as he read the sheet music and Potter would strum along. He found it was easier as Potter played and he picked up the song quickly. They continued on like that for the next hour before Draco stopped.

Potter kept going and Draco turned his attention to him. The bruises on his face looked nasty and he could see other marks on his arms and his knuckles were red. The expression on his face was in contrast to the bad boy look that he had going. He had his eyes closed as he followed along to the tune that he was playing and Draco drank in the image.

Potter finished the song and blinked his eyes open. His left eye was swollen but his green eyes were still sharp.

"They didn't expel you," Draco commented and Potter gave him a smirk.

"I'm still here," Potter remarked, dryly. "Like a bad penny, always turning back up."

Potter looked at the guitar and plucked at a few strings, a different sound on the air.

"I apologise," Draco said and Potter paused. "For the other day. I shouldn't have done that."

Potter nodded without looking up as those notes sang out in the unused room. Normally Potter's inattention to his apology would have stroked his temper but he didn't seem to mind in that moment. Potter then sighed and placed his hand over the strings and the sound stopped suddenly and he looked up. Draco sucked in a breath at the raw look in his eyes.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Potter questioned. "You were quick to say that I am throwing my life away. Just what do you want?"

"My father's death," Draco blurted out then paused once the words were out there.

"Aiming high," Potter commented, mildly.

"I need you to aim higher," Draco hissed.

Potter stared at him for a long minute before giving him a grin that had his stomach flipping.

"Very well," Potter announced as he stood from the desk. "You have a deal."

Potter nodded sharply and walked out of the room without another word.

xXx

Draco paused in the hallway when he heard the notes of a piano playing. The song sounded vaguely familiar as he crept closer then quirked a smile when he heard swearing. It looked like Potter was trying his hand at a different instrument. Draco slipped into the room and looked over at the other boy. He had a pencil behind his ear and a book open as he tapped away on the keys. He glanced over when Draco closed the distance.

"I ordered in a book," Potter said as he nodded to the book. "Some of what I know transfers over."

"Thinking of learning?" Draco asked as he perched himself on one of the desks. "I would think improving your marks would be time better spent."

"You sound like McGonagall," Potter intoned. "I got that lecture yesterday; 'If you keep this up, Mr Potter! You will be repeating this year.'"

Draco snorted then felt his gut clench when he realised that Potter wouldn't get the chance to redo his sixth year. The chance that he'll be able to start his seventh was still in doubt. Draco looked at Potter sharply at those thoughts as the other man tapped away on the keys. Was this why he wasn't focusing on his school work? Potter then glanced at him then paused.

"What's that look for, Malfoy?" Potter asked. "I thought you would be happy that I might fall a year behind."

"You know something is coming," Draco blurted out then blushed when Potter raised an eyebrow.

"Of course," Potter replied. "Dumbledore wants to see me more often and is talking about how Tom Riddle became all powerful. That I am the only one to kill him and…well the list goes on."

"He's dying," Draco said softly.

"Yes, he is," Potter confirmed and looked down at the keys. "He has that feeling around him. A smell of death."

Draco shivered at Potter's words and looked at him carefully.

"Why did you take up Legilimency with Severus?" Draco asked, instead of touching on Dumbledore's mortally.

"I thought it would help," Potter sighed and turned on the bench seat to look at him head on. "I broke into the restricted area and read through the books there. Snape says that the barrier that I've placed is better but I don't have the mind for that type of magic. That didn't sit right with me."

"Are you still having lessons with him?"

"Lessons…detentions," Potter laughed and tapped a finger on one of the keys. "I think he decides which one, depending on how his day has gone."

Draco chuckled, that sounded like his godfather. Potter turned back around on the bench and started to play the piano again and Draco just watched him. He could feel a calm come over him even when he hit the wrong keys. Potter would just keep going before starting over again. He seemed to have a natural talent for music. Potter let the last note of the song hang before folding up the book and closed the lid of the piano. He held the book out to Draco and he took it in his hand.

"Are you giving me homework?" Draco asked in amusement.

"If you want to think of it that way," Potter said as he stood up.

Draco frowned when Potter limped towards the door.

"What's wrong with your leg?" Draco asked and Potter paused.

"A lucky shot," Potter said over his shoulder.

Potter kept going and Draco just watched him.

xXx

Draco and Severus looked at the cupboard before Draco looked back down at his book. The spell should have worked and yet it hadn't. Severus lowered his wand with a frown and looked down at the book in confusion. They both started when the door banged open and Potter walked in. He paused when he saw both of them before closing the door firmly behind him.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Severus demanded.

"That spell won't work," Potter announced as he walked over and held up a book in his hand. "It's not the connection spell. It's the runes caved into the wood."

"You won't put any effort into potions and yet this…" Severus grumbled and took the book from the Gryffindor's hand.

"Not that I really want to help with your Slytherin plan," Potter remarked. "Page three thirty-two."

Severus flicked through the book in interest and Draco leaned closer. It was a book of advanced runes.

"You don't even take Runes as a class," Draco pointed out.

"Spend enough time around Hermione and you pick these things up," Potter remarked as he walked behind the cupboard and tapped the back before standing beside it. "The magic that has gone into this cupboard is quite interesting. It's a layering of spell work with the runes to tie it all together. However, since someone scratched the wood here, it ruined the holding spell which broke the connection."

Severus and Draco stared at Potter and he glanced up at them.

"What?" Potter questioned and Draco laughed. "Problem?"

"I feel like I should give you a detention for not applying this thinking to your studies," Severus drawled and Draco laughed again.

"That would be a reward for him," Draco added with a smirk.

"And here I was thinking that I could help my Slytherin friends," Potter said sarcastically. "In that case, I shall leave so that you can carry on with your evil plan."

Potter gave them a wave over his shoulder as he walked towards the door.

"Just remember this the next time that you point your wands at me," Potter called from the door with a smirk.

Draco snorted as Potter gave them another wave before disappearing from the room.

"I find myself starting to like him," Severus remarked. "Then hating myself for it."

"Ha!" Draco barked. "I can understand that feeling."

Severus looked him over and Draco shifted at the glint in his godfather's eyes.

"I won't ask," Severus drawled. "I'm not sure that I need to know the details."

Draco gave his godfather a smile as the older man focused on the book in his hands. Severus then shut it and cursed when he looked at the cover.

"Bloody Potter," Severus swore. "He stole this from the restricted section. That means that I'll have to face Madam Pince when I return it."