Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.

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A/N: Ta-da! New chapter! I told you I wouldn't make you wait too long. D: Although, you're lucky because I was getting really distracted while trying to write this. I think I told quite a few of you guys this.

Anyways, thanks for the wonderful reviews, everyone!

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Pretend World
By: xScenex

Chapter Six

--Chapter Break--

The laughter and chatter that greeted his ears was one at a boisterously loud level, but the cheery atmosphere immediately caught up on him. He smiled broadly, giving Carey - who clung onto his arm with a horrified expression on her face - another push.

"Smile for the camera," he whispered just as they officially stepped onto the dance floor.

Right on cue, numerous pairs of eyes swiveled to them as they interrupted the pace of movement; the eyes lingered, curious to who the newcomers were.

Harry didn't break a step as he spun Carey into dancing position and took one hand in his while guiding the other onto his shoulder. Shortly afterwards, his other hand firmly pressed against her waist, pushing her into the movement of the dance.

Her facial expression never changed once. This amused Harry and he grinned, taking a step to the left and spinning her one-hundred and eighty degrees in a counterclockwise motion.

"I told you that you wouldn't have to worry about dancing," he laughed lightly. He was surprised to find himself in such a good mood, but he blamed it on the amusement of torturing his 'little sister' into something she seemed mortally afraid of that wasn't Voldemort. He'd never had the chance to do anything like it in his life, and it was a whole new experience; one he wouldn't be left out of if the chance was given.

Carey closed her eyes in an almost pained expression, "Everyone's staring."

"Of course," the grin was evident in his voice. His own eyes flickered from face to familiar face, and although a huge sadness filled his heart, he couldn't help but smile at each individual who caught his eye. This was his reunion with the damned.

A few seconds passed as he examined the other students, and he realized that he was completely older than his old House mates and friends. The thought of seeing his friends left a desperate hope inside of him and he scanned the crowd with eagerness.

And through the haze of fabric and sparkly jewelry, he caught sight of two dancing partners who seemed to be having the time of their life.

It was Hermione, with her foreign date, Viktor Krum.

Harry felt himself smile before he turned his attention back to Carey, who seemed to be looking anywhere but him. Her face was flushed red and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

As the song slowed to an end, Harry let go of her, calmly and smoothly as to not jolt her into any surprise. She already looked dazed and a bit disoriented.

"I think it's time to head for the punch bowl," he told her, mock concerned. "You look like you might have dehydrated during the song."

She glared murderously at him but it was in vain, as the look sent Harry into a frenzy of chuckles. He realized then just how young she really was - and it boggled his mind to think that he was almost like her a few years back.

"Good Lord, I think I've just had a flash back," he laughed while taking the girls hand and guiding her to where he spotted a crystal clear bowl with red liquid in it. "You remind me so much of me."

She coughed, as if reminding him of something. "Well, technically…"

He shot her a look of amusement. "You even have my smart attitude."

She made an exasperated noise as they reached the punch bowl, where she immediately reached for a glass and filled it up. Harry took that time to take a good look at his surroundings.

He noted that he wasn't sure if things were exactly the same in his world, because he remembered quiet clearly that he had sat and sulked over a lost date. So he took in what he could, preserving the delicate and ornate decorations and the flow in which the crowd seemed to move, although there were a few upturns in the wave as a couple would whisk by in either quick dance, or in a hurry to get off the floor.

Two pairs he saw causing distraught at the further end of the floor were none other than the Weasley Twin's and their dates. That was something to be expected.

He grinned as a seventh year couple huffed in annoyance as Fred and Angelina waltzed by in hysterical laughter. Harry nearly forgot about how much fun the twins were.

"What are you so happy about?" Carey interrupted his musing as she took a sip of the punch. "I don't see anything so amusing."

"Well," he pointed out in false accusation, "you're still alive. I, on the other hand, never thought I'd see my friends and class-mates again after those last devastating moments of my old life. It's nice to see some old faces in the crowd."

She looked mortified but Harry pushed her away from those feelings. "It's fine, I'm only joking. Well, partially anyway."

There was a small stretch of silence as a random student stumbled over to the table to grab a cup of punch before, without a glance at Harry or his counter-part, they walked right away.

Carey didn't miss a second after he was out of range of hearing, "Harry, who were you friends with before? What house were you in?"

He leaned casually against the table before answering, "My two best friends since my first year was Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. I was in Gryffindor House."

The look on her face after he said that concerned him. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and looked away into the pulsing crowd. "Nothing."

"I learned long ago that when a girl says there's nothing wrong that they're lying. Especially when they wont look at you," he teased lightly.

She didn't smile or even say anything in ascent. He sighed, "I think we should sit down and talk then."

Without an answer from her, he walked away towards where the tables had been pushed back to allow space for the dance floor. Eyes still followed him as he passed by but he had learned to block that kind of thing out. He took up the first available seat, although a few sixth year girls stood mere yards away, eyeing him like he was candy.

That made him uncomfortable. Carey took her time to get to him, but luckily, the girls hadn't made a move to talk to him. When she sat down in the seat across from him and he smiled pleasantly - and noticeably - at her, they shared a sulky glance and moved a bit further away.

"What are we talking about again?" she asked sullenly.

"Carey," he said, his mind focusing back onto the real deal. "Back there, why did you get so quiet when I told you who my friends were?"

"It just doesn't seem right," she whispered quietly. Harry was confused until she said the next part in an almost distressed voice, "I never had any friends. And you were put into a good House - I was shoved into Hufflepuff, of all places!"

He nearly gaped. She was in Hufflepuff? But… that didn't make any sense.

"You're a Hufflepuff?" He queried, much to her annoyance.

"Yeah, I am. You can make fun of me now." Her reply was sarcastic and full of envy.

He was baffled, "But there's nothing wrong with that House! I'm just shocked - I thought we were supposed to be just like one another."

"Well, obviously we're not so much alike as you thought," she snapped and Harry saw that there were unshed tears in her eyes.

He contemplated the situation, and came to the conclusion that the fact that she had no friends ran a deep hurt through her heart. He remembered just how it was with him before he'd gone to Hogwarts. He decided that she wasn't actually mad at him, as he was afraid of.

Not quite sure of what to do in a situation like the one at hand, but willing to try and help, he reached out and clasped Carey's small hands in his. "Carey, it's good to have differences. If we were exactly alike, that could cause some problems. Don't be ashamed that you're in Hufflepuff - some great Wizards and Witches come from that House. And if you think," he stated before taking a deep breath. "Hufflepuff is the House for loyalty. Nothing gives you more respect than that."

The girl looked away from his bright, energetic eyes. Harry hated that, but he wasn't going to force her to stare at him. She sniffed slightly before pulling her hands away from his.

"It's just so odd. If I had been put into Gryffindor, would I have had the same friends as you?"

"Well." That was a head-scratcher. "I can't say that they would have been - there were certain circumstances that led me to meeting Ron and Hermione."

"Like what?" she asked quietly. He couldn't discern the emotions in her tone.

"Well," he said, casually flicking hair out of his eyes. He wasn't really comfortable saying what he was in his world, but he'd have to tell her eventually. "Those circumstances involved me being the savior of the wizarding world and a popular icon to follow around for those who wanted fame."

Her reaction wasn't as bad as he thought… okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. She stood up so quickly that her chair tipped over and clattered noisily to the floor. Her dress robes billowed about as she stepped backwards from him, surprise etched all over her face.

"Y-You were… you're… My god… It's there, too," she whispered, pointing at his forehead.

Despite his want to remain calm, he felt a small flush of annoyance creeping onto his cheeks. Some of the nearby occupants of the ball had stopped to stare at them and Harry idly wondered what they were thinking.

"Yes, I have the scar - please don't point. I had enough of that growing up."

"But that means… this isn't making sense!" she ground out and stepped the rest of the way towards the table before she lent over the tabletop to examine Harry better.

"Of course not, this is life," he grinned at her halfheartedly.

"So you're just like Malfoy… aren't you?" she whispered.

Taken aback by disgust and revulsion, he snapped, "No, I'm nothing like that damn Slytherin!"

"Slytherin?" the girl gaped in horror. "He's in Slytherin?"

"You mean he's not?"

"Of course not! He'd be killed there!"

Silence. "What house is he in?" was the feeble question from Harry.

"He's in Ravenclaw," she said in confusion. "How is it that he turned into a Slytherin? He's nothing like them…"

Harry shook his head slowly, "Mine was."

"Wow…" The girl said in revulsion. "That's hard to picture…"

"It's hard for me to picture him in any other house but Slytherin," was Harry's retort. He was completely surprised to find that Malfoy wasn't in his old House… but what Carey said did make sense. He'd be mauled alive in that House if he really was The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"There's a few things I'm definitely going to have to look into," he muttered in a light voice. Sighing heavily, his cheerful mood slowly turning into everything but that, he looked around. "We should be having fun - I think this conversation would be best saved for a later…"

Harry lost his train of thought when the crowd parted momentarily and he got a glance of someone he had nearly forgotten about. Eyes wide in revulsion and horror, Harry stood up quicker than thought possible.

"Harry?" he vaguely heard Carey call out to him, but his eyes were trained on the person on the other side of the room.

None other than the image of Mad-Eye Moody reflected ease as the figure sat on one of the benches, tapping a foot to the tune of the music. But Harry knew by instinct and by experience that that wasn't the real Moody.

"Shit, I forgot about him," he mumbled. He shot a glance at Carey. "Hey, I have to go check something out. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The girl gave him an frustrated look. "So you're just going to leave me here like this? I didn't even want to come to this ball!"

Harry thought for a second before he took her hand and led her into the dance floor again. Before she could protest, he sought out someone - anyone. And his target just so happened to be passing by.

He reached out a tapped on the shoulder of a red-headed boy who turned around in what he supposed was supposed to be a casual manner, but his face faltered from nonchalant to surprised.

"Excuse me," Harry breathed out, trying to keep emotion out of his voice as he spoke to Fred Weasley. "Would you mind dancing with her for a moment? See, I have to go attend something, but I don't want to leave her on her own, and she's too shy to ask someone to dance herself."

Fred looked Carey up and down before he grinned, "Alright," he said airily. "I'll dance with her."

Harry sent him a grin before turning to Carey and winking, "Behave yourself."

Her face, he noticed as he slipped off into the mob of students, was a bright red that could rival her dance partners hair.

But, as amused as he felt, he couldn't help but feel a deep dread in his bones. Call it instinct, but he had a gut feeling. A Crouch just wasn't someone on the good side of things, especially one who was a Death Eater.

He pushed his way through the crowd, trying his best not to disturb anyone as a quick tune picked up. The only problem he had now was finding a direct way towards where the man sat, but suddenly, his mind flicked to a problem at hand.

What would he do once he got to the man? His instincts told him to expose him for what he was worth, but once again, that would draw up too many questions on his behalf. He'd be too obvious.

But he couldn't let Crouch Jr. sit there, tricking everyone with the Moody image.

Groaning in frustration, Harry turned around. He just couldn't do anything yet. He'd have to wait for the opportune moment.

He stepped off the dance floor to the left and turned back the way he came, fuming to himself. He vaguely caught the eye of the Headmaster in the distance, but it was evident that the man didn't mind him being there, as he just smiled and if Harry new better, his eyes were now a blender of sparkles. Stupid old man, he mused to himself halfheartedly.

He walked along the line of tables, keeping his mind off of the horrors that hid in the castle, disguised and even fooling Dumbledore. He would find a way to expose him before the last task if it was the last thing he did.

As he walked, he noticed a small group of people sitting at a table near the far end, away from the dancing. Two girls, two boys; each sulking respectively in their own seats. This caused he to stop suddenly as his eyes met their faces.

Ron Weasley, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, and… Draco Malfoy, of all people, sat there together. Harry never thought he'd see anything so… well, odd. Ron and Malfoy? Sitting together? But if he was the savior, then maybe it was possible?

Nonetheless, the idea completely threw Harry off balance. He gaped for a few seconds before Padma caught his eye. She looked over at Ron, he was sulking and looking angrily at someone - Harry could only guess it to be Hermione in the distance, or Krum. When Ron didn't pay any mind to her, she looked eagerly to Harry.

Sighing heavily, he looked around himself just to make sure he hadn't overlooked someone over his shoulder. He saw no one - not that he knew he would - and turned back to the table.

He didn't really feel like talking to the girls, but he was eager to say hi to Ron. It was just so odd seeing his friend so… well, young. The last time he had talked to the boy was right before he left with the order to the last battle… right before he had found himself in Carey's world.

He smiled slightly, and hesitantly made his way over to the table. Only the girls saw him coming up to the table, but they made faces of pout when he actually sat down in a backwards chair.

Folding his arms over the back of it and resting his chin on his arms, he smiled pleasantly at them. "Hello ladies."

"Hello," they said in exact voices, each showing distress at being ignored.

He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "And how are you two doing this evening?"

Without answering, they both glanced at the redhead and the blonde beside them. Harry smiled. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you just up and danced with someone else. There seems to be a few lonely Durmstrang boy's over that way," he pointed out to them.

Padma turned to look at Ron, who's face was darkened with shadows of anger. She huffed, "Are you going to ask me to dance or not?"

"No," came an automatic reply. Harry suppressed the urge to laugh at how serious he sounded.

"Fine. Parvati?"

The other looked up and nodded in agreement to the unspoken words, "Let's go."

They stared at Harry for a second but when he gave no indication of leaving with them, they sulked off to the crowd.

There was a minute of silence while Harry studied the two boys. Ron looked the same as he always had, besides the young factor. The same hair, freckles, and gangly height.

Malfoy on the other hand was different. He no longer held a smirk of indifference on his face, but looked serious. His hair wasn't even gelled back, Harry scoffed. Instead, it fell down over his face in blonde wisps. Just that itself made a dramatic change.

Under the scrutiny he must have felt, Malfoy turned his gaze onto Harry. Their eyes met, and as unnerving as it must have been, he defiantly held his gaze.

"Hi there," Harry eventually spoke, breaking the intense silence between them. "I'm Harry."

The look on the other boys face was undefined, but he nodded his head slowly, "Draco."

Harry tried to give him a friendly grin, but he knew it was in vain. He was still overly cautious around the boy. "Looks like you two are having loads of fun over here," he said lightly, jerking his head towards Ron. "So I thought I'd come and join the mini party."

Malfoy looked utterly annoyed. He looked Harry over, scrutinizing him. He hardly noticed when Ron turned his focus onto him.

"Who are you?" he asked in slight surprise, having missed most of the introduction.

"Harry," he replied smoothly. "And you?"

He looked almost distrustful, "Ron Weasley."

Harry nodded and smiled again, lowering his gaze to the floor. "Some ball, huh?"

"Yeah," came their replies in unison. Harry laughed lightly and cracked an eye open. They were once again staring sullenly away from one another. But Ron was still talking. "I've never seen you around. Are you one of those Durmstrang's?"

"No," He grinned while sitting up once more. He adjusted the collar to his dress robes. "I just decided to join the fun."

"You're not from Hogwarts though. We would have seen you," Malfoy interrupted. Harry looked to him with a hard look and the other boy quickly looked away.

"Of course you haven't seen me," he stated slowly. "You see, I just got here. A bit of a coincidence, really, but my sister is schooled here and I decided to join her because the lack of my own magical education."

"Your sister?" Ron questioned curiously.

"Carey Potter," Harry said airily.

Both gave him an odd look, "I can kind of see it. You two have the same eyes," Ron stated in surprise. "But she's nothing like you otherwise."

To Harry's immense amusement, Malfoy hit Ron upside the head. If he'd ever done anything like that in his world, Malfoy would be hexed meat. Ron gaped in surprise. "What was that for?"

The other boy cracked a smile, and shook his head. Now Harry had seen everything. He must have had an odd look on his face because Malfoy asked him what was wrong with him.

"Nothing," he nearly laughed. His eyes danced with the mirth, but he contained himself. "I'm just amused by how you act. Since I've been in a muggle orphanage, as the adults keep calling, and I haven't really been around many wizards. In fact, you're the only ones besides my sister that I've seen and I guess you're just like anyone else." The lie came smoothly, but he hated telling it to his old friend - even if it was a alternate version.

"Well, what else did you expect?" Ron asked ridiculously.

"I thought," Harry said with a broad grin, "That maybe you'd have warts all over your faces, and be standing bent over a cauldron while talking about which child you'd eat next. I thought you'd be sinisterly evil."

He looked horrified. "We don't eat children!"

Malfoy actually laughed. "He's joking, Ron."

Said boy gave him a ludicrous look. "You're bloody crazy."

"Tell me something I haven't already heard," he grinned again. Ron just sputtered in agitation while Malfoy grinned.

Harry vaguely thought of how much of a difference it made when he smiled. He looked much better - not like a stuck up pure-blood. But it was unnerving to an extent, growing up with someone as your enemy and then suddenly seeing them as your best friends best friend.

It was hard to trust such a dramatic change in life, but hey.

Maybe he would get along with the people in that world, even if there was a Malfoy on speaking terms. Although, if his Ron ever saw what was happening, he'd have a heart attack.

--Chapter End--

A/N: I didn't want to leave that there, but this is already longer than most of my other updates, and I'm uber tired. I thought about dropping the finish on this and waiting until tomorrow, but I know I promised to give this to you guys by today. D: So yeah. Hope you enjoyed, especially since the ending is a bit off. I had no idea how to end it, so I just gave it a try… maybe I should re-write the chapter. - Min