Right – chapter 3. Woohoo! I promise that I will update F&W soon, but I'd rather take my time and get it (slightly) right than mess the whole thing up by rushing. Plus – I'm having fun with this ;)

Also, I've just read 2 of Dooki's fab stories so if I'm a bit weird (or Draco does weird things) blame it on her influence!!

This is going to be from Draco's point of view really (although not in first person) so any slights on people's character or perverted comments are him and not me – ok… OK?
Don't tell me off if you don't like what you hear, I warned you!!

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It was coming up for eight o'clock and the sun had just become visible over the top of the lake. The first beams were lighting up the sky and streaks of oranges, reds and pinks seeped through the misty clouds, tinting their many shades of grey with a purple hue. The vibrant arrival of day was reflected in the great lake, the colours and shapes distorted by millions of tiny ripples created by the gentle November breezes.

Draco Malfoy smiled to himself at the beautiful sight; he had always had the ability to wake himself up at any given time without an alarm, and last night he'd decided that he wanted to see the sunrise. So, sure enough, at seven thirty his eyes had popped open. After adjusting to the gloom, Draco had rummaged around in his bedside cabinet for a while, eventually producing a couple of potions which he guzzled greedily.
He then cast a warming charm on the whole windowsill and settled in to wait for the sun to come up. It had been worth it…

Being best friends with the head boy (Blaise Zabini) certainly had its advantages. The position meant that Blaise was allowed his own room, free from the nosiness and bother of fellow students. But Zabini, instead of revelling in his new found freedom, had asked Snape if the dorm could be extended for his good friend Draco Malfoy.
Dumbledore thought it was a wonderfully kind thing to offer and of course agreed immediately, even though he had refused every single one of Lucius Malfoy's requests for a separate room for his son regardless of what he had offered (or threatened).

In reality, kindness had little to do with it. Blaise knew that he and Draco always looked out for each other, and it would be much easier to avoid those still desperate to drag the two of them into their 'Junior Death Eater' plans if they were both away from them.

Malfoy and Zabini enjoyed the other's company; they shared a similar sense of humour, ideas on everyday life and pastimes.
Both boys loved their mothers (who had encouraged their friendship and had become friends themselves once Lucius had been put into the wizarding prison Azkaban) they were admired and looked up to by their fellow students (although that would likely change as soon as the other Slytherins realised neither of them wanted anything to do with The Dark Lord) and they also shared a love for sweet things.

In fact they were so similar in nature that if it wasn't for their looks, they could easily pass as brothers.
Blaise was slightly shorter than Draco, but he was broader, with strong wide shoulders and impressively muscled arms. His skin was as dark as Malfoy's was pale, and his black, slightly slanted eyes were framed by short, thick and curly lashes unlike the extensive, straight ones surrounding Draco's stormy grey eyes.
They were both considered very attractive by the women (and some men) who saw them… Malfoy had a long thin face and sharp, elegant features (which you could almost call pointy as long as he wasn't around to hear you say so) whereas Zabini had inherited his mother's button nose and his biological father's wide, square jaw line (His mother had been married eight times now and always insisted he call her new husbands 'father'. He didn't mind too much; they all knew how much his mother doted on her son, which meant they were extra nice to him. Plus, they never seemed to last too long, in fact she was currently on the prowl for husband number nine.)

So, the room had been extended so the two close friends could stay together, and now it was a very nice space to stay in – almost like a studio apartment. At one end there were two large leather armchairs nestled by the marbled fireplace, which would soon be lit by the house elves (it was tiny but enough to keep the chill out).
A small mahogany desk sat nearby with a rickety chair, and next to it was a tiny bookcase which was already packed full of books (some of which were hiding certain magazines). The whole room was decorated in neutral creams and chocolates, with bronze highlights scattered around. Even the luxuriously thick curtains and bed linen matched the theme.

At the far end were two large four-poster beds, one on each side of the room; Draco had put up several thick wooden screens around them to make it feel like they each had a room to themselves. Blaise had also cast several spells that he had been taught by his mother onto each 'bedroom' giving them complete privacy (something a teenage boy is most grateful for, especially in his bed!)
Although anything that happened inside the space was kept private, Blaise had made sure the people in there could hear what was going on outside. (Neither of them particularly wanted to be burnt to a crisp simply because they didn't hear the fire-alarm banshee, nor miss out on a great party because no one could contact them!)

In between the two make shift bedrooms was the door to their bathroom, which was decorated in warm greys and silver, with thick rugs to cover the slate tiles and oh-so soft towels and bathrobes. There was a walk in bath (a smaller version of that in the prefects' bathroom) a separate shower cubicle and two sinks. Fortunately, the corner which held the toilet had been walled in and was its own divided area (with a handy window for ventilation!)

Draco's bed was situated nearest the large bay window as Blaise didn't like the view; Zabini would never admit to it, but he wasn't particularly keen on heights, and the Head boy's room and Head girl's room were situated in spindly little turrets jutting out of the castle.
Theirs overlooked the great lake (far, far below them – that side of the castle was situated on a cliff edge) and the girl's view spanned some of the large grounds and the closest parts of the forbidden forest. Presumably this was so they could spy out the land and make sure no naughty students were sneaking out at night, but it was unlikely that Blaise would be taking advantage of the tower's positioning.

Yes, being best friends with Zabini was a very good thing indeed, not that Draco was without merit. He was academically the smarter of the two boys (although Blaise was by no means stupid) and often helped Blaise with a tricky bit of potions or arithmancy homework. He also was the one who talked their way out of detentions on the rare occasion that they got caught doing one of the many things they shouldn't be doing.

Things that Draco always seemed to come up with to entertain them, things such as sneaking into the kitchens for alcohol late at night, which generally led to things like poker games in a disused classroom or things like moving the various suits of armour into suggestive poses and leaving them outside Trelawney's room.
They had once wedged the statue of Lachlan the Lanky in front of the Gryffindor common room the night before a Hogsmeade trip, so everyone was stuck in there until the teachers finally found them. They had also charmed Professor Binn's door handle so it gave everyone who touched it a shock and turned their hair green.
Draco had convinced Blaise, Pansy and Daphne that it would be fun to streak through the corridors with no clothes on… Although that only happened the once, had been fuelled by a very successful theft of alcohol from the kitchens and thankfully hadn't resulted in them been caught. (Also, thankfully, Malfoy hadn't been quite drunk enough to ask Crabbe or Goyle to join them.)

The reason Draco was in such a good mood today was due to the events of last night, which he sat and thought about as the sun came up...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco had been thrilled at beating that moron Weasley in the duels. The spider thing had back-fired a little, but at least Snape's spell had worked well. Draco had been in the library Thursday night and overheard Granger (the bushy haired mudblood) reminding Weasley (the ginger tosser) that he needed to practice his non-verbal spells as he just couldn't get the hang of them. Now that had proved to be some very handy information indeed and had won Malfoy the match.

So, now that he had got into the semi-finals and didn't have to worry about anything for the whole weekend, Draco had been thinking about what they could do to waste a bit of time.
The latest scheme he and Blaise had decided on, was to send a few Aresto Momentum spells up at the astronomy tower – Draco had concrete proof that Ernie Macmillan would be there with Hannah Abbot that night, and the plan was to leave them stuck there to be found in the morning (along with any other unfortunate couples that happened to be up there.)

Zabini's weekend rounds always took him a good few hours and meant that he would be delayed until quite late (giving time for Ernie and Hannah to get a bit steamy), so Draco decided to go and practice some Quiddich. Everyone else from his house was busy, secretly planning a huge party for the Slytherin 'duel winner'… Well, they thought it was secret, but as usual, Draco knew about it.
It was to be held much later that night – Slytherin parties normally didn't start until everyone else was safely tucked up in bed – so Malfoy figured he could get in a good few hours on the pitch. (The only other team that usually practiced on Saturdays were the Gryffindorks but they'd all be holed up in their miserable excuse for a common room having a party – probably with jelly and ice-cream knowing their mental ages.)

So that he could get limbered up before flying, Draco jogged a long route which wound all around the school grounds - the lush green grass was always neatly trimmed and a joy to run on. About halfway through his warm-up, he heard footsteps crunching on the gravel pathways near the Herbology buildings.
At first he just assumed it was Professor Sprout or some complete nerd who wanted to work on a Saturday night but suddenly from the nearest greenhouse, a female voice said loudly,
"Neville, are you here?"

Malfoy didn't recognise the voice, but he certainly knew the name it had spoken. So, Longbottom was meeting some girl…
Draco crept around the greenhouse to where thick bushes walled in most of the back wall; he made a small parting to see through and knelt down. From here he could see in but was very unlikely to be spotted; he cast a spell so that he could hear what was going on inside and then settled down to wait...

He hadn't teased Longbottom for a while now – nor anyone really. It was too much effort when he could be doing something much more fun and worthwhile with Blaise. Maybe he'd just grown out of that phase where he felt the need to prove he was better than everybody. If people were too stupid to realise his greatness… well, more fool them.

However, there was no reason to let perfectly good information go unheard, if nothing else it might be a bit of gossip he could pass on to Pansy and watch how quickly it got round the school.

Draco smirked when he saw none other than little Ginny Weasley (not so little anymore) inside with Longbottom. It was a revelation; he knew that there were many boys who wanted to get their crummy little hands on the girl Weasel – Merlin only knew why…
Well, yes; now that he got a proper look at her, she had a great pair of tits, a small waist and a shapely arse, but good lords above – she was a Weasley. You couldn't even have a grope from behind and pretend she was someone else, because all that garish hair would be in your face reminding you.

Not to mention that rumour had it (courtesy of Pansy of course) that she'd turned frigid as an icicle. The girl had dated no-one since last year, despite having offers. Hell, she'd even been asked to Hogsmeade by Macmillan before he'd turned to Abbott. Ok, he was a complete loser of a Hufflepuff, but he was a pureblood with no discernable traits (other than being a complete loser of a Hufflepuff of course, but she was a goody-goody Gryff.)
Maybe that was why she was with Longbottom – he'd never pluck up the courage to even kiss a girl, let alone give her one… Yeah, he must be the safe option.

Just as Draco had made his mind up to leave (watching the couple do nothing was really boring) the two started talking about the duelling competition.
So, Longbottom was scared of him eh? Interesting - although he'd always been a wimpy lump of a boy, so it wasn't exactly surprising.

Suddenly, the weasel girl almost shouted "Neville Longbottom. You have, with no help from anyone, reached the quarterfinals of the school wizarding duels. Stop being so worried and pull yourself together. I believe in you, now show me what spells you're going to beat your next opponent with…"

Twice in one week – he couldn't believe it, first info on Weaselby now on Longbottom.
Draco sat back down and, after transfiguring a leaf into some parchment and a blade of grass into a quill (in a manner that would have impressed even McGonagall herself); he started to take notes on the many different spells he saw being performed…

A while later, Draco walked through the now dark and misty pathways up to his allotted meeting point, (a handy alcove not far from the astronomy tower) and whistled a happy little tune to himself.
"Good evening Blaise – and what a simply perfect evening it is."
Blaise stepped out from the shadows with raised eyebrows; Draco gave him a mirthless grin and turned towards the path which led to their destination.

Zabini, still managing to keep up despite Draco's fast pace, asked a question. "You can't truly be that excited about freezing a few couples in the act can you? You weren't even this happy when we laced Mrs Norris' milk and she went nuts and wrecked Filches office – tonight's plan doesn't even involve alcohol…"

"You know me too well my friend. No, amusing as this is going to be – I have a much better reason for my good mood."

Draco added nothing further and the two teenagers walked in silence for a moment. Zabini was the first to crack. "Fine, you win. Spill…"

Draco (after a customary smirk) explained everything that he had seen and heard, ending where he had left the couple, settling down to what looked like a junk food picnic.
"So naturally I'm going to find out the counter curse to every single one of his spells – just in case of course…"

Blaise nodded, looking impressed. After a brief pause he said, "So… Longbottom's getting some. Who'd have thought it possible?"

"Nah, Pansy said that Weasley Junior is off men, remember? I reckon she's using the nerd 'cause she knows she won't have to put out with him."

Blaise was sceptical. "Hmm, why all of a sudden though? She was playing tonsil hockey all over the school with that twat Thomas for ages and must have done something right – he was mooning over her for months. Then at the end of the year she was all loved up with Spotty Potty.
No, I reckon the nob-head chucked her and she's been making do with that loser Longbottom all year – that's why she's been turning blokes down... She's just too ashamed of him to tell anyone."

"It's a theory I guess." Draco mused as he slipped through an archway and crossed one of the many courtyards. "But what's she got to be ashamed of – she's just as much of an embarrassment as he is."

Blaise pursed his full lips as he thought. "Being dumped by her 'boy wonder' I guess… But you know, she's not that bad… I mean other than the whole blood traitor stuff – and all that shit's hit the fan now we know Voldie's a fraud… bloody half-blood liar." He frowned at the reminder of all the rubbish they'd been told about pure-blood supremacy coming from someone with a muggle father.

"You still believe in pure-blood and stuff though don't you?" Draco asked, sounding very concerned.

"Of course mate – don't be stupid. But maybe it doesn't have to be quite as strict as it was before... I mean that Weasley bird - well, she is a pure-blood… and she's hot. Just needs some guidance to get over all those funny ideas her dad has." He seemed hesitant for a moment but ploughed ahead anyway.
"And Snape, you know, he's not completely pure-blooded – but he's alright, yeah?"

Draco shrugged, uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading. "Snape's cool an all - and Millie's ok I guess… but I don't think anything could convince me to lower myself to Weasley's level, ever. She's just too… too Gryffindor.
Plus, can you imagine having to be associated with her idiot of a brother? No way…
Why this sudden change of heart anyway? You fancy stealing her away from nerdy Neville? I think she'd be too scared to hook up with a big bad Slytherin like you…"

Blaise shook his head vehemently. "No way! I mean she's fit an all, but I couldn't be doing with all the fuss - too feisty." (Blaise was very laid back when it came to his relationships with women, to pair him with someone like Ginny Weasley gave him a headache.)
"And you're an idiot yourself if you think she'd be scared of me… remember that bat-bogey hex she hit you with in Umbridge's office? Ok she was with her friends and all but still; she got into the Slug-club hexing some other student with the same thing. The broad's got balls…"

Malfoy turned his head and scowled at Zabini. No-one was meant to mention the bat-bogie incident ever again… "She's ginger man, and freckly – I can't believe we're even having this conversation – why'd you start all this Weaslette appreciation shit anyway? Not getting any action?"

Blaise threw his friend a rather nasty look. "You started the damned conversation – and as it happens, I met a very interesting piece of arse earlier today…"

Now it was Draco's turn to be intrigued; all thoughts of the littlest Weasley gone, he drawled. "Pray elaborate – details Zabini, details."

As they were now seconds from the pillars where they were going to hide, Blaise insisted that they follow through with the plans and retire to their room before continuing, (Draco agreed immediately when Blaise revealed that he had several bottles of very good mead hidden about his person).

So, once their mischief for the night had been accomplished, and they were safely tucked away with several glasses of the heady, elf brewed mead already consumed by each, Zabini, black eyes twinkling, told of his latest quarry.

"Chloe Middleton... she's new mate, sixth year. Really different you know, refreshing." Seeing the dubious look on Draco's face he added, "Nothing like loony Lovegood though… Statuesque figure; big lush lips, She's not classically beautiful but certainly has a very attractive face. She's got a look about her, like she'd be a total experience to be with…"

Draco nodded in approval of his friend's description; he preferred a shorter girl himself but Blaise seemed to like the tall girls, one of the few areas where they disagreed – however it was handy as they didn't have to step on each other's toes.
"Middleton… I've not heard of them. Pure-blood?"

"Her father's grandfather was a muggle. That's where the surname is from – she's distantly related to the Gamp family somehow though. But get this - she's been living on this tiny island in the middle of nowhere. It was some sort of weird experimental commune that was set up ten years ago...
She's totally clueless about stuff, it's cute – I mean not clueless like a mudblood or anything, it was a wizarding commune – but like, she'd never been in a school with houses before; there were about ten kids in her whole school, so she didn't have a clue what to expect. How weird is that?"
Blaise almost knocked the bottle over with his wild hand movements, but managed to grab a hold of it before it hit the floor (most impressive considering the amount they'd drunk already) and poured them both another drink.

Draco laughed at his roommate. "Merlin's balls. I didn't ask for a bloody essay. How long were you talking to this girl for? Did you even get your rounds done?"

Blaise waved off Malfoy's scorn and knocked back his glass of mead (which Draco quickly replaced). "Not long actually, she's just really easy to talk to. I was in a meeting with Snape and McGonagall when Dumbledore sent a message to say Chloe had to be escorted to his office to be sorted. Granger was going to do it but I intervened. Pissed the book-worm right off too!"

Draco smirked and slid down in his chair a little. Stretching his legs out in front of the fire he asked. "So what house did she end up in?"

Zabini sighed and fidgeted slightly, a very un-Blaise-like movement. He downed his glass and poured another before answering. "Wish I knew, not Slytherin though, or else I'd have been summoned to take her to the common room."
He hesitated a moment, causing Draco to get an uneasy feeling in his chest (which was nothing to do with the amount of mead he'd had either).

"This is where things turn nasty - I thought I'd hang around for a bit; sorting doesn't take long, but some unfortunate turned up asking after 'her cousin Chloe'. Anyway I had no desire to talk to either of them at that point so I scarpered, - it almost put me right off the whole thing you know… but... but I still might give Chloe a shot. I don't know. Man." Blaise seemed very worked up over a girl he'd only briefly spoken to. It wasn't like him at all.

Draco straightened and gave him a stony look. "Who is her cousin?"

Blaise mumbled something into his glass, so Draco, intrigued and worried for his friend, told Zabini to come clean or he'd ask Pansy to investigate the girl.

Glaring furiously, Blaise finally told Malfoy what he wanted to know. "Maria Attleby – satisfied? A Bloody Gryff. Like as not Chloe's gone there too." He threw the now almost empty bottle of mead into the fire where it smashed into several pieces. The last dregs of alcohol splashed into the coals, causing the fire to flare up and set Draco's socks alight.

By now both boys were rather drunk, so Malfoy screamed bloody murder and Zabini ran around like a headless chicken, finally coming to his senses a little and spraying soda water over Draco's feet.
Unfortunately for Draco, Blaise was a little to over-enthusiastic and ended up soaking his friend.

"I'm wet." Malfoy stated the obvious. He pulled his singed and sodden socks off and flung one straight into Zabini's face. He then broke into a fit of very unmanly giggles. Blaise lasted about ten seconds before he too was cackling like a witch.

This went on for some time, but about the point when both boys were rolling on the floor with tears of mirth streaming from their eyes, there was a knock on the door. Blaise managed to haul himself to his feet and, still chuckling quietly to himself, opened the door.

Pansy stood in front of him, dolled up to the nines. "What were you two doing? I could hear you from the end of the corridor." She noticed that, for some reason, Zabini was tightly grasping the nozzle of an empty crystal soda-siphon which presumably had once held sparkling water (or gin and tonic knowing the boys...)
"Actually, don't tell me – I don't want to know."

She slipped past Blaise and took in the scene; Draco seemed composed, although he was lounging on the floor with no socks on and totally soaked trousers. There was an empty bottle of alcohol on the table, another broken bottle in the fire and there was a nasty smell in the air, rather like burnt hair.

Without blinking an eyelash, Pansy whipped out her wand and cleaned up the sorry mess. Then she Accio'd the boys some more suitable clothes and told them to hurry up and get changed.
"It's going to be another one of those nights, I can tell. Come on 'Party Boy' – let's not disappoint the minions."

Draco pouted from his position on the floor. "I thought it was meant to be a surprise."

"You already knew about it, and it's not like I'm not jumping out from a cake again, it's not even your birthday. Come on… Just, remember to act surprised or Nott might cry." Pansy shuddered at the thought.

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The party had been a huge success; Draco knew so because he had to take two of his special hang-over potions this morning before he could face getting out of bed. (Snape, while not very happy at the thought of his Godson drinking so much, kept Draco provided with his very best hang-over remedy. At least that way the boy wouldn't lounge in bed all day and waste his time at Hogwarts).

Malfoy had a vague recollection of doing karaoke to cheer Pansy up (she was unhappy at losing to that 'cow-faced piece of muggle-born trash' as she put it) and unfortunately had some strange tune and the words 'At first I was afraid, I was petrified' stuck in his head… hopefully that was not what he had been singing as he tried not to announce that he was capable of being scared...
Could he, in fact, even sing? Draco decided that Pansy had a lot to answer for and she would be the one obliterating everyone's memory if it turned out he'd done anything vaguely embarrassing.

Still, as the party was winding down Blaise had disappeared somewhere with Daphne Greengrass, so hopefully that would get his mind off that new girl… A Gryffindor indeed!

After the sun had completed its journey to the sky and it was full daylight, Draco decided that it was time to get ready for breakfast. The food on Sunday mornings certainly surpassed the rest of the week; the house elves excelled at big greasy fry-ups and he couldn't wait to get his fill of eggs, bacon, mushrooms, beans, toast, black pudding, sausages, tomatoes and anything else they were serving.

Thinking of all the food he was soon to consume hurried Malfoy up; he got washed and dressed in record time. As he laced up his Italian Wyvern-leather boots he debated whether or not to wake Blaise… Daphne could still be in there with him, but she might well want breakfast too.

In the end he settled with calling out to Blaise that he was off to breakfast. As there was a permanent form of the imperturbable charm cast on both rooms, Draco didn't expect a reply, so he was quite shocked when Zabini poked his head out and asked him to wait.

Malfoy sat by the still cold fireplace and made a half-hearted attempt at reading a book, but his mind wasn't really focusing properly yet. When Blaise returned from his own shower (almost as fast as Draco had been) he looked much less messy than he had before entering the bathroom.

"Leaving Daphne to it are you?" Draco asked as they walked out of the door.

Blaise looked confused. "She's not here mate."

"Oh you sly dog, kicked her out so you could get a bit of sleep eh?"

Blaise stopped Draco. "I wasn't with Daphne last night. I came back alone – before you by the way. You and Parkinson blundered into the room at about three-thirty and unknowingly gave me a rendition of 'New York, New York' before you finally told her to bugger off and let you sleep."

Draco asked the most important question which sprang to mind. "Was I any good?"

Blaise laughed, "Malfoy you are the vainest person I know! Yes, you have a wonderful rich baritone voice. Pansy was also surprisingly good and managed to harmonise for a quite while before breaking down in laughter."

"That's ok then." Satisfied that all was well in the world, Draco continued walking. "So how come you wandered off with Greengrass if you weren't planning on making out with her?"

"I wanted to talk to her that's all. Get a girl's opinion on stuff. Jellyfish."
The last word was directed at the portrait of Lewis, a jolly fat man surrounded by dogs, who guarded a passage to the ground floor.

"About what? And what's wrong with Pansy – that's who we normally ask about stuff."

Blaise didn't answer straight away; they had to navigate a few trick steps and make a hasty jump as the staircase decided to move just before they got off. By that time they were nearly at the great hall so Malfoy decided to wait until Zabini was ready to talk to him – he always did in the end.

The great hall was still fairly empty but, as was customary at the weekends, the food was already set out on the tables and piping hot. Students pretty much had the weekends to themselves and breakfast was an open affair; on Sundays it stretched from seven until eleven. Malfoy assumed that the house elves were allowed any food that was left over - not that he cared about wastage, he was just curious in case he ever slept in late and needed to find some food.'

When they had eaten their fill, Zabini said to Malfoy. "Let's go to Hogsmeade. We'll have a drink in the hog's head and talk there."

Draco nodded, knowing that Zabini wanted to talk where no one else could hear. The both rose and walked out of the great hall. Just as they got to the grand front doors, someone called out. "Blaise – Blaise Zabini!"

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Yeah so this was getting really long. I know I said the in-betweenie chapters would be shorter but this isn't really! Haven't really got a fully developed plot yet (just basic ideas...) but hopefully it should all work out ok. I hope there's enough going on here – and sorry if it seems like a bit of a cliff hanger – I know some people don't like them!