A/N: Hey. Newest chapter to this story. Hope you like it. Thanks for the reviews. Review if you would like me to write more. :D Love to all.

The World Hidden Away From Him

Draco Malfoy had feigned illness for the past week after the bar fight between Potter and Zabini. It was so he didn't have to see Blaise or Pansy or anyone else for that matter. He sat on his bed in his boxers and flipped through a few books of Dark Magic. He'd tried a few spells but they really hadn't quite worked the way they were supposed to. Simple things like making plants grow fangs and become carnivorous. His mother's small houseplant had sprouted a mouth but after it had done so it wouldn't stop singing opera…at all. No matter what Draco did. And let's just face the facts. The plant couldn't sing…for shit. Eventually Lucius had put the plant in Draco's room until Draco had been pushed to the edge and cut off its head. The good news was, it no longer made a sound. The bad news was that his room smelled like death for days afterwards.

Draco sighed and laid on his stomach. Could his days get any more boring? He didn't think so, but only time would tell.

"So," Narcissa said from his doorway. He looked up and smiled.

"Hi mum," he muttered.

"You don't look very sick," his mother remarked, looking her son up and down. "No flush, or sweat. You're not feverish or green from nausea."

"Yes. I'm starting to feel better," Draco lied.

"Or you never were sick to begin with," Narcissa drawled, coming into the room. "You know, for a talented young wizard such as yourself you could've at least made it look good."

Draco looked at her sheepishly and rolled onto his back. She sat next to him giggling.

"What have you been hiding from?" she asked.

"I haven't been hiding," Draco said. Narcissa raised her eyebrows at him.

"Really? And that's why you haven't taken any of your friends' calls or come down to at least greet them?" she asked.

"I haven't been feeling good. I didn't know if the disease could be catching," Draco replied. She smiled at him slyly and brushed his blonde hair away from his forehead and out of his eyes.

"Please. You haven't got any sort of disease," Narcissa teased. "You are so dramatic, just like your father. I take it the outside world was too much to take in all at once?"

"No," Draco said ruefully. "It's my friends that are too much."

At this statement, Narcissa became very interested.

"What do you mean?" she asked thoughtfully. Draco sighed.

"Well, when I went out with Pansy, we ran into Harry Potter-"

"Harry Potter?" Narcissa asked, her eyes growing wider in her surprise.

"Yes," Draco continued, although he was trying to see whether or not Narcissa was going to get angry.

"Well, did he say anything insulting to you?" she asked.

"No. He was actually very polite," Draco replied.

"Despite who you are? You did tell him your name didn't you?" Narcissa questioned, her eyebrows raised.

"Yes mother, I told him my name. He didn't really seem to care. But anyway. Pansy was the one that wanted to go say 'hello'. So we went over and I introduced myself. Pansy got upset at me because I wasn't rude to his friends and him. She got us kicked out of the restaurant. Then Blaise took me to this small pub and we ran into Potter and his friends again. Blaise picked a fight with him straight off and we had to leave. To be honest I think Potter would've sent Blaise straight to hell. He's no dainty girl if you get my meaning mother."

"I can't say that I've ever seen Harry Potter in person," Narcissa replied. "It does sound like we may need to get you better friends though. It seems to me like they're trying to start trouble for you."

"That's why I needed time," Draco muttered. "Time away from every one. I haven't seen Crabbe and Goyle for a while but I don't even want to talk to them. It's so hard to start a decent conversation with either of them. They always turn it into a sort of crude sexual innuendo. They can make anything sound dirty."

"Yes well, the only reason you are friends with them is because their parents come from the same background as your father," his mother replied.

"Death Eaters?" Draco inquired.

"Precisely," Narcissa said. "That's the only reason Lucius saw them as fit to be around you. But even your father can be wrong."

"Isn't he wrong most of the time?" Draco asked, his eyebrow cocked.

Narcissa chuckled.

"He likes to think he knows everything, but he hasn't got the first clue about what it's like being a Death Eater's son. I still think he should've let you go to Hogwarts but he wanted to keep you sheltered. And what good did it do you? You've been hiding in your room for a week now," Narcissa sighed. "And we're going to a meeting tonight. No children allowed. I hate leaving you alone…"

"I'll be fine mum," Draco replied. "There's plenty I can do in the Manor."

"Yes. I suppose…" she said. "So what's this Potter character like?"

Draco stared at his mother puzzled.

"You really want to know?" Draco asked. She nodded.

"He's very nice," Draco said quietly. "The way father's always talking about him, you'd think he'd be horrid. He was a bit skeptical about me when we were first introduced but he wasn't cold towards me long. I hate to say this, but I can't hate him."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Narcissa said, smiling warmly down at her son. "You don't know him well enough to hate him or befriend him. Lucius has only met the boy himself about three times throughout this lifetime. You can't hate something you've never tried before…"

"You're actually saying it's alright for me to be civil to him?" Draco asked with surprise.

"It's more than alright as long as he's civil to you. Then you can decide whether to love him or hate him. But not a moment before," she replied. She leaned forward and kissed the tip of her son's nose.

"If it helps, I can't hate the boy either. I've never met him. It's just not logical," Narcissa whispered. "But we'll pretend we do to make your father happy."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draco heard the front doors shut as he came out of the restroom. He sighed, listening to the utterly quiet house. He could vaguely hear the sound of a clock ticking off down the hall. What was he going to do for the rest of the night? He had nobody to talk to and for the first time in the week, he wanted company. He sauntered into his room and lazily flopped down on his large four poster bed.

"You're sad," he muttered to himself. He then chuckled and let out a sigh rolling onto his back. "What to do. What to do."

Suddenly there was a faint tapping noise against his window. He sat bolt upright and hurried to his balcony where he recognized Pansy's eagle owl. She was just like Draco's only female and a tad bit smaller and less flashy. Draco had bred his owl with hers to make little baby eagle owls. Pansy and he had then sold them to an owelry.

He was suddenly very aware that Pansy's owl was pecking roughly at his shin.

"Ouch!" he snapped, bending down and snatching his letter from her leg. "What's the matter with you huh?"

The owl stared up at him expressionlessly as he glared back down at her. He then unfolded the letter.

Draco,

I must say I'm a bit confused. I mean, I know we weren't exactly getting along the other day but is that really a reason to not talk to me at all? I understand that you're ill and all that but even when you are, you usually find time for me. I won't make you talk to any body that you don't want to talk to. I just thought you might want to be able to put a face to Potter's name. After all, he is supposed to be your sworn enemy. How can you even think of befriending him? I could see it in your eyes. I'm surprised you didn't try to invite yourself to sit with them. But I'm not writing to argue with you. I'm merely saying that I think this is rather childish. Write me back! Or better yet, floo me. I'm sure father won't mind. I'm not so sure about your father though. He may not want you leaving the house tonight.

Pansy

Draco crumbled up the letter and threw it into the darkest corner of his room. The owl looked slightly baffled by this and he glared down at her again.

"Go on then," he snapped, waving her away with his hands. "There's nothing here for her! Go home!"

At this, the owl stuck her head out and bit his finger roughly. He let out a startled yelp and attempted to rip his finger from her beak but she held on tight.

"Damn you!" Draco growled, pulling out his wand. At this the owl let out a startled hoot and flew out of the window. "Yeah that's right!" Draco yelled. "Fly away you stupid feather poof! Go on! Like the scared chicken you are!"

The sound of laughter met his ears. Then the sound of clapping. He looked down on his back lawn and found the figures of two young men standing below him.

"Bravo, Malfoy!" one of them said. They were both wearing hoods, their faces hidden from him.

"Who's down there?" Draco demanded.

At this one of them reached up and brought his hood down so that Draco could get a better look.

"Potter?" Draco asked, staring down at the smug grin on Harry's face.

"The one and only. Quite literally," Harry said, his voice carrying up towards Draco, who was wrapping his bleeding finger into a handkerchief he kept in his pocket.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked. His tone wasn't demanding or rude. "And how did you get onto the premises?"

"There's some holes in your father's magic," Weasley said. "We found our way in quite easily."

"That's comforting." Draco muttered.

"As to your first question," Harry said. "What are you doing tonight Malfoy?"

Draco's jaw dropped at this question.

"Seriously?" he asked.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Yes," Ron said. "We know your parents aren't home. Are you hospitable or are you going to make us stand here all night?"

"I haven't decided," Draco drawled. The two boys stood patiently as Draco made up his mind. "I guess if you wanted to you could come up… But I don't think I should let you go through the house. My father's very particular about who comes here, and to be quite frank, he hates you Potter. And I'm sure that automatically means that he hates you too, Weasley. So if you two can find a way to get up into my room then yes, you can come in."

"That seems like an awful lot of work," Ron muttered to Harry. "Why don't you just come down here Malfoy?"

"I don't really feel like it," Draco said, his face long with boredom. They saw him reach over and grasp something in his left hand. "Here." He threw his broom down to Harry who reached up and caught it in his right hand with lightning quickness. He was quite surprised when he saw the way the teenage legend handled the broom. In a matter of seconds Potter was throwing it down to Ron who caught it a little more clumsily and hopped on it, sucking in air as the shaft met his crotch. He turned a bit red and placed one hand over his boys cringing. Harry shook his head and returned his attention to Draco.

"He always does that," he replied with a grin. "He handles brooms all wrong."

"I can see that," Draco remarked as Ron slowly hopped off the broom, bent forward slightly, still holding his private area. "That probably means he handles women all wrong as well." Harry snickered.

"Witty," Harry replied. Draco smirked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"I bloody hate brooms," Ron whispered.

"And they probably hate you too," Harry said clapping him on the back. Draco had turned and entered his room again.

"So this is where you spend most of your time?" Harry asked, looking around with interest, even though he didn't seem the least bit surprised at what met his eyes.

"Pretty much. It's either this or with my father…But I prefer it here," Draco added.

"So how do you feel about sneaking out and coming with us tonight?" Weasley asked. Draco still wasn't quite sure what he thought about Ronald Weasley. He was a tad bit unfriendly, overly defensive, and a bit too bulky for Draco's liking. He looked like he could pack a punch. Now that he thought of it, both Potter and Weasley looked like they could knock somebody flat.

"I don't know," Draco said slowly. "My last couple of experiences with going out on the town have been dismal failures. And to be honest I'm afraid we'll run into one of my friends and it'll get back to my father that I was seen with you. And if that happens I won't see the light of day ever again…"

"So your dad will keep you locked up for awhile," Ron said casually. "Big deal. We all get in trouble. I remember this one time that I came home hammered and my mum let me have it. I wasn't allowed to go outside for the rest of the summer…"

"Yeah… that was a drag," Harry murmured. They both laughed.

"No… My father will kill me," Draco said, with his eyebrows raised. That stopped both Harry and Ronald from laughing.

"Figuratively speaking?" Ron asked.

"Or literally?" Harry added. Both were staring at Draco intently, their eyes wide.

"Probably literally," Draco murmured. "The reason he didn't let me come to Hogwarts is because you go there, Potter."

Harry was quiet for a long time.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," Draco said. "He was afraid I'd try and befriend you and we'd go skipping off into the sunset together holding hands or something."

"Well that's the saddest thing I've ever heard," Ron said absent-mindedly. "How mad can you get? Mr. Malfoy sounds like he's a bit off his rocker." Weasley sat down on Draco's bed.

"So why don't you hate me then, Malfoy?" Harry asked. Draco smiled and shrugged.

"I guess I'm just a nice guy," he replied. "I don't think you and I necessarily have to be enemies. But we can't openly be friends either if that's what you're thinking."

"Is it true that Lucius Malfoy doesn't let you out of the house at all?" Ron asked. "Because nobody has even the slightest clues as to what you look like. And I was just wondering if that's why you're so quiet."

"He didn't like me to go out. He was afraid the outside world would corrupt me if I saw it too soon. So yes, he kept me hidden just so I wouldn't become accustomed to certain ideals and ways of life outside of the Malfoy Manor."

"That seems a bit paranoid," Harry replied, sitting down next to Ron. "So how long are they expected to be gone for?"

"Probably the rest of the evening," Draco murmured. "You guys could probably hang out here until about…" Draco glanced up at his clock and sighed. "Maybe… Eleven o'clock?"

"Sounds good to me," Ron replied. "Although Hermione's probably going to wonder where we are."

"Has she left yet?" Harry asked. Ron glanced at the clock himself and shook his head.

"We could probably still catch her," he said.

"You want to invite the half breed girl here?" Draco asked. He didn't mean it in a racist way at all. He merely wanted to know.

"Her name is Hermione," Ron replied, stressing the syllables of his friend's name.

"Yes," Draco drawled. "Hermione. If you'd like to invite her it's fine with me. You could floo her or something like that."

"Really?" Ron asked quite surprised.

"I don't see why not. I guess we might as well have a party while we're at it," Draco remarked sarcastically. Harry and Ron looked at each other their eyes glinting.

"No," Draco commented quickly. "I didn't mean it literally. You can only invite her and that's it. Understand? You shouldn't be here at all. I can't begin to even imagine what my father would say if he'd known a mudblood had come into the house! He'd have my head. He usually punishes me just for making eye contact with one!"

Of course Draco was mumbling to himself more than to Harry Potter and his sidekick, but they heard every word.

"Easy Malfoy," Ronald growled at him. "She's not a different species. She's as much a witch as your mother!"

"I didn't say she wasn't," Draco said with a cock of one eyebrow. "Although technically she's muggle. The fact that she was born with magical blood is a fluke. Unless someone in her family is a wizard as well. If that's the case it was so long ago that she probably wouldn't even know."

"It doesn't matter," Ron snapped. "She's just the same as you! Maybe better!"

"I doubt that Weasley," Draco sneered. "The things I can do with a bit of wood would knock your knitted socks off."

Ron looked down to see that his ankles were exposed, the socks his mother had made peeking out from under he slightly short pant legs, the visible R's standing for Ronald winking at Draco. Ron turned a bright shade of pink and tried to cover this.

"No need to be embarrassed," Draco said with a smirk. "I really didn't mean to insult you Weasley. "

"Yeah well, you didn't." Ron said glaring at him.

"It looks like I did," Draco said matter-of-factly.

Harry rolled his eyes and walked to Draco's fireplace.

"Hermione Granger!" he barked at the emerald green flames. They came to a lively roar as the three boys waited. Finally Hermione's face appeared.

"Harry!" she said quite surprised. Her eyes widened even more when she saw who her two best mates were standing next to.

"Er… Hi Malfoy," Hermione replied with a polite nod and smile.

"Hello," Draco said nodding back.

"What's going on?" she whispered, as if, if she did this, Draco wouldn't be able to hear her.

"We just stopped by. What do you say to coming and hanging out at the Double M tonight?" Harry asked.

"The Double what?" Draco asked.

"That's what the kids at Hogwarts call your Manor," Ron replied from Draco's right. "Sometimes they have contests to see who can get the closest to the front gate. If you touch it, you get paid quite a bit of money. Of course nobody's gotten brave enough to try it."

"Of course not," Draco said. "My father would know the second that the Manor was breached. He's no fool."

"I've always wondered what it would be like to see Lucius Malfoy standing on your front porch in a bath robe bellowing, 'Off with his head!" Whilst cursing a bunch of teenage boys off of his property!" Ron snickered to himself as Draco rolled his eyes.

"He wouldn't miss," Draco replied with a smirk. He then turned his attention to Hermione who was in the flames looking quite amused with the conversation.

"So you want to come or what?" Draco asked.

"I suppose so. I'll be there in a bit," she muttered. "I have to get ready."

"I'm sure you look fine love," Draco replied.

Hermione giggled.

"He's a regular flirt isn't he?" she asked Harry.

"It would appear so," Harry replied chuckling. Ron was glaring at Draco in a feral way.

"Still, I've got to get ready," Hermione replied in a tone of finality. "Where do I go when I'm ready to come?"

"Just yell, Malfoy Manor, Draco's room," the blonde replied. "See you in a bit."