Well, here's chapter three! I know it's kinda mundane, but the content is there because I felt it had to be. Without further delay, enjoy the chapter!

Oh, I've gotta do the disclaimer…

Disclaimer: If you haven't gotten the message by now, you should be ashamed. I do not own Harry Potter.

Okay, now enjoy the fic.

"Speech"
//Parseltongue//
XXXXXXXX scene change

Harry quickly finished off his lunch, then he ran to the Owlery to send his reply. He still had ten minutes until his next class; plenty of time to complete this task. After a quick sprint up a final set of stairs, he found himself entering the home of the Hogwarts owls.

"Hedwig," he called softly, not wanting to awaken any of the others.

Silently, a snowy owl glided down from her roost in the topmost rafter. She landed on his shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately, hooting softly. Harry fingered the collar around her neck; a sky blue leather band studded with silver rhinestones.

"Do you like the new collar, girl?"

She hooted the affirmative and took flight, landing on the windowsill. Harry laughed quietly and sat down beside her, then took some parchment, a quill, and an inkwell out of his bag. Checking his watch, he quickly scribbled down a note.

Malfoy,

If possible, meet me tonight at ten in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Notify me if this is inconvenient.

-H

P.S. For your information, I would be ashamed of anyone but me who went to meet their rival alone.

Harry rolled up the parchment and tied it to Hedwig's leg.

"Give this to Draco Malfoy tonight at dinner, okay?"

The owl hooted once more and flew up to her former roost to await the time to do her job.

Harry quickly gathered his things and left, running down the stairs. He made a sharp left turn at a tapestry and, after going through a long, hidden corridor, came out on the third floor. He sprinted through the halls, barely making it to Charms on time.

XXXXXXXX

The rest of Harry's day passed in a blur. He thought he remembered something about glamour charms, but that was about it. His last class, History of Magic, did nothing to help his stupor. He was completely in his own world by the time dinner arrived. Ron and Hermione shared a glance, but decided to leave him alone.

The newly united Trio looked up as Ginny sat in front of them, though Harry's view of the Slytherin table remained unobstructed. After giving her greetings to Ron and Hermione, she turned her attention to Harry.

"Harry, I heard-" she cut herself off when she noticed the other's lack of attention.

"Harry?" still receiving no response, she grew red in the face with annoyance.

"HARRY!" she shouted, though not loud enough to gain attention. She watched as he jumped visibly, then began looking around in confusion.

"Huh, what? Oh! Ginny…when did you get here?"

Ignoring his question, said girl returned to her original train of conversation. "I heard what you did earlier today. Any particular reason you decided to ask Malfoy and not someone else?"

Harry shrugged. "He's the leader. It wouldn't be politically correct to ask anyone else."

Above them, Hedwig soared into the Hall. She circled once, then landed in front of Draco. He took the parchment off her leg and scanned it quickly. When he reached the end, he chuckled softly and looked up, gray meeting emerald in a locked gaze. After a minute of this, they nodded and looked away simultaneously. Harry turned to his friends and saw their confused expressions. He shrugged.

"He'll be there," he elaborated.

They watched as Hedwig took wing again before landing in front of Harry. She head-butted him in greeting and looked pointedly at his plate. He grinned and offered it to the owl, who then began to eat the choice bits of pork chop. When she had eaten her fill, she drank some pumpkin juice and left. Harry turned and saw his best friends still staring at him, this time in amusement.

"You do realize you spoil that owl, right mate?"

XXXXXXXX

At nine-thirty, one Harry Potter could be found pacing the Gryffindor common room with three of his closest friends watching with amusedly concerned expressions.

"Why are you so worried, Harry? It's only Malfoy."

Harry rounded on Ron. "Exactly! It's Malfoy! One wrong word and he'll never listen to me again. And if he doesn't listen, none of the Slytherins will."

Harry looked at the clock again. It now read nine forty-five.

"You know what? I'm just gonna go now."

He scooped up his invisibility cloak and walked out the door, slipping the cloak on as he went. Five minutes later, he was in front of the tapestry.

After the longest ten minutes of his life, Harry spotted three figures approaching him. He grinned when he spotted Draco's white-blonde hair. Closer inspection revealed that the two with him were Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson.

"See, Draco? Told you this was just another of the Golden Trio's plots."

Suddenly realizing he was still concealed by the cloak, Harry slipped it off quickly.

"It is not, as you say Zabini, a plot."

He smirked at the three startled faces in front of him, though Draco quickly hid his. He nodded his head in greeting.

"Potter."

"Malfoy. Zabini. Parkinson." Harry greeted each Slytherin in turn, bowing shallowly when he came to Pansy.

Draco and Blaise raised their eyebrows slightly, though the blonde hastily returned to business. "I've decided that I may take you up on your…offer, but I need some more information before I make a final decision."

Harry nodded. "I thought as much. We should have this conversation in a more secure area, though."

With the Slytherins' consent, Harry paced in front of the wall opposite the tapestry. A door handle appeared after the third time. Turning around, Harry faced his companions again.

"Would it be alright with you all if I posted a sentry? This door shouldn't reveal itself to anyone else, but you can't be too careful."

Draco bristled. "I'd assumed from the wording in you're note that you'd come alone."

Harry shrugged. "I came without human company, if that's what you mean. So, will you let me or not?"

"Fine," Draco spat.

Harry smirked and let out a stream of hisses. He watched as Aurum slowly slithered down his arm, finally poking her head out of his sleeve. When he looked up again, he was met with a humorous sight. Blaise's eyes were wide open; he seemed to be in shock. Draco's were glazed over, and Pansy was practically drooling.

"So, I take it that means you lot like Parseltongue?"

This one question had the desired effect of snapping them out of their stupor. Before they could be embarrassed, Harry continued as though there had been no interruption.

"This is Aurum. She is who I wanted to guard the door, not one of my other friends."

//The one in the middle smells nice.//

Harry blushed furiously. //Aurum! Would you mind not saying things like that, especially about Malfoy?//

//Sorry. Will they let me taste them?//

"She wants to know if she can…taste you," Harry reluctantly translated. Draco snapped out of his hiss-induced trance and looked to his friends. When he received the affirmative, he nodded his consent.

They watched, this time with fascination, since they were expecting it, as Harry began hissing again. Aurum let herself be placed on the floor, then she made her way over to the three Slytherins. She went up Blaise's leg first, tongue flickering continuously. Finally, when she was level with his chest, she began hissing. Harry laughed when she was finished.

"What's so funny, Potter?"

"Sorry, Zabini. I know it's rude to laugh, but I couldn't help it. Aurum says that you taste of darkness that is constrained within you. However, there is also power, cunning, and a temper to match Ron's. I was just thinking about all the arguments you two are gonna have now that you're paired up."

Blaise blinked in surprise, but Draco's curiosity had been awakened.

"She got all of that just from tasting him?"

"Oh, yes. All snakes are able to read people like that, but Aurum is more perceptive than most."

The Aesculapian slithered back down Zabini's body, then bypassed Draco for the moment in favor of Pansy. The girl shuddered as the cold scales hit her flesh, but she didn't make a move to remove the snake. After a few minutes, Aurum told Harry what she tasted.

"She says that you taste like a very caring person," he began. "Evidently, you have Hermione's thirst for knowledge, though you constrain it much better than she does. You're also very loyal."

"How come there wasn't as much on me as there was on Blaise?" Pansy inquired, though it almost sounded like she was whining.

"Aurum's only telling me what you keep hidden, not what I can see for myself."

"Well, you'll be told everything about Draco in that case."

Harry shrugged. "We'll see."

During this conversation, the snake was meticulously examining said blonde. She finally turned to Harry and began hissing in earnest. When she finished, Harry returned his attention to the Slytherin.

"Do you want to know everything she told me, or would you prefer a summary?"

Draco took a minute to consider his choices before replying. "I have a feeling that a summary would be the best option."

"Well, you're basically a combination of both Zabini and Parkinson. You have a ton of darkness and power within you, though you hold it in very well. To your true friends," Harry glanced at Pansy and Blaise, "you are very loyal, protective, and caring. You also care very much for all the Slytherins who are loyal to you, and would do anything to protect them."

The three Serpents blinked, surprised at such an in-depth description. Finally, Draco was able to gather his scattered wits.

"I don't think we came here for a personality analysis, Potter," he said scathingly. Harry grinned.

"All you had to do was say no." Before Draco could retort, he continued. "However, I agree that we're wasting time."

Harry turned the knob and swung the door open. He gestured to the Slytherins.

"After you."

The three Serpents cautiously crossed the threshold. Harry followed, shutting the door behind him.

Author's Notes: There's chapter three! This is most likely the last update until late November or December. I hate it, but school has to come first. Like last time, I'm still taking animagus suggestions for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Pansy, and Blaise. With the new votes, here are the results at this point:

Harry: panther (3x), tiger, lion (4x), snake (4x), phoenix, both snake and lion

Ron: snake, worm, rat (2x), rabbit (3x), weasel (5x), fox

Hermione: otter (2x), eagle, cat (5x), owl (5x), rabbit

Draco: white Bengal tiger (2x), snow leopard (3x), dragon (2x), snake (2x), bear, skunk (2x), panther (2x), ferret

Pansy: lizard, dog

Blaise: small dragon, niffler, eagle

As you can see, Pansy and Blaise don't have many suggestions at the moment. What is suggested for each character doesn't have to be on this list; it can be something original. Just remember to explain your reasoning if you can.

Thanks to the following people who reviewed chapter 2:

Njferrell
Draco's Girl08
Vinnie Valentine
Laii-chan
koorimechick
CosmoMontana
SwarmOfFanGirls
StunningSpellRocks2345