Story: The Serpentines

Rating: PG-13 (Might change later on)

Disclaimer: Characters belong to JK Rowling. :'( And I make no profit off of this, yadda yadda yadda...

Warnings: AU, HPDM Slash (Eventually!), Non-magic, WiP

Summary: When Harry Potter makes the cut for the nationwide sensation, The Serpentines, he's in for the ride of his life, no thanks to his new band mate, Draco Malfoy. Unfortunately for Harry, he's not as made for being a musician as he thought he was. But he'll be damned if he lets Draco know that, especially when he thinks the other man's got a hidden agenda.

Notes and such: I really wanted to get this out on Christmas (like a Christmas present for you guys!), or at least during the weekend! Sadly, my internet went completely bonkers and would not connect until today. : ( Oh well… So how did your guys' Christmas go? If you celebrate it, that is. I finally got Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII! It kept me entertained while I waited for my internet to work. Now I'm addicted! So if I don't end up posting the next chapter this coming weekend, you all know why… Haha! Well I hope you guys like this chapter! I said there'd be more of Astoria and Blaise, but there wasn't really until the end. I actually re-wrote this chapter a couple of times, and did a lot of deleting and adding. Blah, I'm blabbing too much! Enjoy (Especially the part breakfast part, which I loved the most, just because it's kind of the beginning of stuff. Even though it's really short...)!

Draco Malfoy turned out to be the best distraction that Harry would have never thought of.

Even though he was supposed to be more mobile around the stage, he found that it wasn't as easy as he had been thinking. Figuring that once he got over the initial shock of the crowd and his stage fright, Harry had planned to walk around to make himself seem less…boring.

That didn't happen though. Every time Harry worked up the courage to look away from his fingers that were plucking along on his bass he would have another panic attack. His stomach would fall and his palms would get sweaty and he would begin to question why he was up there in the first place, instead of running off to somewhere more secluded.

But when he would glance over at Malfoy, he couldn't help but watch. He wasn't the leader of the band for nothing. Even before, when Harry would watch their performances on the television, all he could do was stare, entranced by this character that Malfoy put out there. He truly was another person, and it was fascinating.

Of course, Harry knew better than to think that was the real Malfoy. People always wonder what their favorite singers or actors are like behind the scenes, when they're not performing. It's nice to imagine that they have the same attitude and ideas that they do during a show, or on camera, but it's not reality. Reality is Draco Malfoy scoffing at Harry when he accidentally screwed up his part, or Malfoy blatantly ignoring Harry when he asked a supposedly stupid question.

Malfoy was generally not a nice person. But that didn't make him less interesting.

This was why Harry found his eyes traveling back to the blond man, with his arms gesticulating wildly along with his singing. He was a very good showman, and the crowd was eating it up. Every flick of his wrist and twist of his lips had the girls in the front swooning and crying out his name. The people were like animals in a frenzy over a big, juicy piece of meat that they couldn't quite reach.

It wasn't that long ago that Harry was in their position. Now, he was living a dream, and he wasn't going to let some silly phobia ruin it for him. He would overcome this, even if it meant staring at Malfoy the whole time.

"Bull. Shit."

"Honest, Pans! It was this big guy up front, he was just very scary! It was my first show, I didn't know what would happen, if he'd manage to climb on stage or something and beat me, I don't know!" He pondered sniffling pathetically for dramatic effect, but decided against it.

"Potter's Incident" was quickly becoming the conversation topic of every backstage clique. It seemed each group was trying to decide what really happened, and why. None of his band mates talked about it, though. Well, not to his face, at least.

However, when the show had ended and they had been escorted to their waiting room they had been in when they arrived, Pansy stormed in with a murderous glare in her eyes. Harry had been more scared of that look than what she actually had to say. At first, she thought that just staring at Harry would make him spill the beans, but after a few minutes of complete silence, she went off.

"What were you doing up there?! Do you have any idea what could have happened if you hadn't been forced back out there by Draco? You don't, I know you don't. You may be new, Potter, but you better pray you're a fast learner, because if that happens again, I can guarantee it will be the last time. If you can't handle the stage, get out of the band, do you understand?"

Harry had just nodded meekly, his face ablaze with embarrassment. It wasn't like he had intended for any of that to happen. If things had gone down his way, he'd have been rocking out before Malfoy even got to the stage. Unfortunately they're called "fantasies" for a reason…

"Listen Harry," Pansy had formerly been pacing the length of the floor while yelling at Harry, but had now taken residence in between him and Astoria. She no longer had that glint in her eyes, but had adopted a sympathetic look across her face. Harry wasn't sure which he preferred more, they both looked pretty scary on her face. "I understand this was your first show in front of so many people, and we should have built you up to it but if you have problems, you need to tell us."

Astoria and Blaise were nodding in agreement, but Malfoy had long since occupied himself with something else. Probably admiring his face. Annoyance momentarily flickered inside of Harry as he watched Malfoy. He was the one who had been asking for answers earlier, throwing his whole "I'm better than you, so don't ruin my work" speech at Harry, and yet when Harry was here giving answers, he was too good to even pay attention. Stupid Malfoy, I hope something happens to him, and we'll see how he likes it when he's ignored.

Sighing, he nodded his head as well. Pansy had taken to rubbing her hand across his back, and such coddling from someone who wasn't Astoria or Hermione really unnerved him. Or it could just be because it's Pansy. Either way, he felt like he needed to get out of this room. "When are we leaving?"

"10:48," Astoria answered after she had pulled out her cell phone. She immediately began texting, finishing quickly before announcing, "We should get going."

She stood up, her dress flopping lightly at the sudden movement. Blaise followed suit, and they both disappeared into an adjoined room. Pansy and Malfoy were staring intently at their phone. Harry suddenly felt very left out. He didn't know where Astoria and Blaise went, and he wasn't sure if they should follow, but he didn't have a nifty cell phone like Pansy and Malfoy. Thankfully, Pansy seemed to sense his distress and motioned for him and Malfoy to get up. They obliged her, and she ushered them into the same room as Blaise and Astoria.

When Harry walked into the room he practically turned and ran. They're naked! Malfoy walked in and proceeded to unbutton the coat he had worn during the show, hanging it on a hanger before moving onto his shirt. Blaise had already done the same, and was only wearing his boxers now, while Astoria was slipping into her jeans, her lacy bra showing as bright as the sun on a bright summer day.

Was this normal? Surely they all felt indecent enough to try and cover themselves up, right?

Apparently not.

"No need to be modest, Potter. We're going to be living on a bus for Heaven's sake. It's not like we're never going to see you in your knickers."

"Come off it, Malfoy. Not everyone feels the need to flaunt their bodies around like you." Stupid, stupid, stupid. That didn't even make sense!

Harry suddenly had everyone's attention. Amused smiles were being thrown his way and it took nearly all of his effort to stare back at them and their nearly naked bodies. Malfoy's expression soured into one of annoyance that was constantly shown around Harry.

"Are you calling me promiscuous?"

"That's really not how I—"

"Listen, Potter," Malfoy interrupted, his finger pointed menacingly in Harry's face. "Just because I'm comfortable with myself in my own skin doesn't mean I'm 'flaunting' it. Don't make pitiful excuses, just because you can't bear to reveal yourself in front of a couple of people. People whom you're going to be spending years with, mind you, if you can even last that long."

"He's got a point, Harry." Astoria hung up her dress in several different pieces before standing beside him.

Rolling his eyes, his fingers went up towards the buttons on his coat as he attempted to swiftly remove his clothes. Harry was not a very coordinated, suave person, and as such ended up fumbling awkwardly with the buttons.

Astoria giggled. "You look like you could use some help there, Harry."

Before he could reply, thin, long, white fingers made their way into his vision. Giving an irritated huff, Harry lifted his head up, intent on telling Astoria he was fine. Seeing Malfoy's eyes boring directly into his own was not what he expected, however. Those agile fingers worked deftly along the buttons, sliding the coat off his shoulder and letting it fall to the ground when they had finished.

Or at least Harry had thought they were finished.

Malfoy's face looked hesitant at first; as if he was making a decision he was unsure about. Slowly, his fingers slid from Harry's shoulders, to the top button of the formal shirt he wore underneath the coat. It was unbuttoned one by one, all the while Harry stood rigid. What was he supposed to do in this kind of situation? Should he try and talk to Malfoy? That seemed too wrong for the situation.

But he felt like he would explode if he didn't say or do something. There was this twisting in his gut, like someone had released a capsule inside of him and the contents were bubbling up. Those bubbles just happened to form words when they got past Harry's lips.

"I can undress myself, Malfoy!"

The change that went through Malfoy was instant and intriguing. The blond went from cautious to annoyed in a second, flat. Normally cool gray eyes had swirled into that stormy color that Harry was used t seeing right before Malfoy clenched his fists tightly, an action that Harry was sure prevented Malfoy from recklessly abusing him. He was thankful for that little miracle.

"Then next time stop acting like a huffy adolescent when you can't unbutton yourself, and maybe I won't need to assist you."

"I never asked for your help!"

"Please, everyone could see you were about to rip your clothes off. I didn't do it for your sake; I wanted to make sure we didn't have to spend any more money on your outfit just because you're lumbering fool."

Harry practically growled, his mind thinking up different ways he could attack Malfoy with his fists. His hand twitched in anticipation.

"Come on, Potter. Get out of those clothes and get on the bus. We haven't got all day to be waiting around for you," The blond disdainfully looked Harry up and down.

Before he could retort, Malfoy wandered out of the room, leaving Harry half naked and angry.

Shifting on the small, squishy couch, Harry fished his phone out of his back pocket. He flipped it open with ease, not even needing to apply much pressure with his thumb. It was so old and cheap that it barely even functioned anymore, and it felt pointless to carry it around. It was times like these, that Harry wished he was more up-to-date with technology.

He didn't have a tiny music player, or a snazzy cell phone, and he didn't know anything about many video games. In fact, he led a pretty boring life, aside from being musically inclined.

That would be his first mission once they went back to Harry's home in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, he needed to find something else to occupy his time…

Astoria was laying across from Harry on the adjacent couch, her feet resting on Blaise's lap as he idly flipped through the channels on the television. Is this what it was going to be like every day? It all seemed so boring; not at all like the extravagant lifestyle Harry had heard so much about.

"Is this what you guys do all day?"

Prying her eyes away from her cell phone that was clutched in her hands, Astoria gave Harry a sympathetic nod. "Unfortunately, yeah. We'll all probably go to sleep in a little while, since it passes the time quicker."

"We're going to sleep while the bus is moving?" Harry was already feeling a little nauseated from the bumping and swaying motion of the bus, and he wasn't sure if he could sleep while it was going on. But it was late, and the day had been an extremely tiring one.

"You get used to it after a while," she replied flippantly.

Realizing he didn't actually know where anything in the bus was, he decided he should take a small tour, without the tour guide of course since everyone seemed occupied already. They had offered to show him around the bus and give him a ride to the arena, but Harry had chosen to arrive early with Hermione instead.

"You look like you're thinking too hard. Don't want to burst a brain cell, not that there's probably many left in that head of yours anyways," came a drawl from his side.

Looking around, he noticed he had walked all the way towards the end of the bus where a small room was located. There was a table in the middle with cup holders indented into the wood, which seemed to be used for eating. It was attached to a wall that was half mirror, and on either side was plush seating, the same material that was used to make the couches in the front of the bus. Harry could see his reflection staring back at him, looking just as tired and worn out as he felt. Maybe he should take a look around the bus tomorrow morning.

He was too drained to really even think of anything to say to Malfoy, so Harry just turned back and continued walking the other way. He passed a couple rows of cupboards and cabinets before he arrived in an area that contained what looked like bunk beds. He pulled back the curtain to find a small bed, with bright pink sheets and a couple of fluffy looking pillows. Must be Malfoy's bed, he snorted humorously.

Looking around the outside of the beds, he noticed that the bed opposite of what he jokingly said was Malfoy's, had Harry's name scribbled on a piece of paper. It was the top bunk, and when he pulled back the curtain he saw that the bed was empty in comparison to the pink on he'd seen. It only had one pillow and a white bedspread.

He felt like it was too early to go to bed, though. Everyone else was awake, albeit they actually had things to keep them occupied.

They wouldn't do things to him in the middle of the night, would they? He didn't want to wake up with a sharpie moustache, or makeup…

Well, he was tired, and that was a risk he was willing to take.

Harry was grateful to find that the next morning did not bring a face of makeup or drawings. Feeling refreshed and awake, a just-showered Harry made his way over to the miniature kitchen. The cupboards were well-stocked with food, and he settled for a bowl of cereal.

Pouring cereal quietly was not a very possible task for Harry to do on a moving bus, and he ended up spilling flakes of bran all over the counter and floor when the bus went over a particularly large bump in the road. "Shit," he mumbled, kneeling down to gather the cereal in his hand.

"Pour me a bowl, will you?" came the deep, hoarse voice from behind him.

He turned to see Malfoy sitting on the edge of the bunk beneath Harry's, hunched over as his elbows rested on his knees and his head buried in his hands. He released a deep sigh before lifting his head to stare at Harry. His generally crisp and clear eyes looked misty, as though he wasn't all there. Harry would have asked if he was alright, but Malfoy quickly stood up, and walked down the hallway towards the tiny bathroom. Shrugging, Harry went back to preparing his and Malfoy's breakfast. Since Malfoy had decided to take a shower Harry figured he would be in there for at least ten minutes, and decided to add some fruit to their cereal.

When Malfoy returned from the bathroom looking normal, but at the same time still exhausted, Harry offered him his breakfast. He accepted it silently, sitting down across from Harry at the small dining area next to the kitchen. They ate wordlessly for a few minutes, before Malfoy decided to strike up conversation.

"How did you sleep last night?"

"Fine, although it was hard to get to sleep at first with all the movement," Harry shrugged.

Nodding, Draco scooped another spoonful of bran into his mouth. "What time is it?"

"About eight."

"Astoria and Blaise generally sleep in until ten or eleven. Do you always wake up this early?"

"Yes, this is usually when I wake up. Are you an early riser?"

Malfoy nodded again, and Harry felt the conversation die momentarily, if you could even call it a conversation. He was familiar with idle chit-chat, and he was sure that this was going to be a reoccurring thing for him and Malfoy. Digging into his cereal once more, he finished it in a few bites, the chat with Malfoy not picking up again. However, the blond did snatch his bowl from him when he had finished and proceeded to wash both of their dishes. He muttered something about Harry making the cereal, and it being polite that Malfoy be the one to wash it afterwards, and Harry didn't question it.

With no one else awake except for Malfoy, Harry was once again at a loss of what to do in his spare time.

62…

63…

64…

"Harry, don't look so glum!"

"Oof," Harry suddenly found himself with a lapful of Astoria. The bubbly blond girl was smiling at him brightly that Harry wondered why she was so happy. "I'm not being glum, I'm just so bored!" It was true, he had practically cried from boredom, but had taken up counting how many signs the bus passed. It was not a very exciting game.

Patting his head lightly, she slid off his lap and opted for sitting beside him on the couch. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is what it's going to be like almost every day for the next few months." The sympathy radiating off of her was almost tangible.

"What do you do?" Harry sighed.

"Well lots of things."

Harry was expecting her to continue but according to her there was no explanation necessary. "Such as?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before answering him. "Throughout the course of the tour, we'll usually have written a lot of songs. Sometimes we just all get inspired and gather together to collaborate. On a daily basis though, it's hard to say. Every day's different, and today seems to be a particularly slow one."

"I know I'm not feeling very inspired right now. How can you do this for months?"

"Oh, you get used to it," She waved her hand nonchalantly. Harry didn't think he could get used to this. How long had it been since he'd even been in a vehicle for—Harry checked the clock on the television—eleven and a half hours? He could barely stand it today, let alone for months.

But you knew all this when you signed that contract.

Shaking his head, he released another sigh and ran a hand through his hair, his fingernails lightly scratching against his scalp.

"This is so nice," Astoria breathed out softly. She reclined back, her hands resting behind her head as a bumpy pillow. Her eyes had been closed, but she peeked one light hazel eye at Harry and elaborated on her proclamation when she saw Harry's confused look. "There's no arguing or fighting going on at all!"

This did nothing to cure Harry's wonder, and he felt him asking the obvious. "Was there arguing or fighting going on before?"

"All the time," she exclaimed, unexpectedly becoming very animated. "If it wasn't Millicent and Draco, it was Millicent and Blaise. There was always some kind of argument going on, and this bus used to be a very angry place. For months they'd just go at it, back and forth, back and forth. It never ended!" Her hands were up in the air as though she was upset. "I was sick of it, you know? Who wants to be stuck with people for 18 hours a day when all they do is get angry and yell the whole time?"

Harry nodded, feigning that he understood regardless of the fact that he was still completely lost. She seemed to take this time to pause in her story, and Harry felt it wise to clear up some questions. "So Blaise, Malfoy, and Millicent used to always fight?" She nodded solemnly. "Why?"

"I'm sure you heard rumors about why Millicent left the band," she asked, though it was more like an accepted statement. "Well, it was complete rubbish, mostly. She didn't leave because of some romantic affair between her and Pansy. She was actually pretty obsessed with Pansy, secretly of course, and one time we all got really drunk together, even Pansy let loose which doesn't happen often. It was a big night because our last record had gone Platinum in The States. Well Millicent had already been having trouble in the band; she was just so ungrateful and rude. We were all getting tired of her negativity, especially Draco. Well, she had more to drink than all of us at the time, and she started getting a little more than friendly with Pansy.

"I'm sure you've noticed, but Pansy's very professional and she's more like a mother to us than a manager. Can you imagine having one of your children try and make out with you?" Harry gave her a disgusted look and she nodded, satisfied. "That's how Pansy felt. She was so upset that Millicent had tried to cross that line, especially with her, and she refused to speak with Millicent unless it was absolutely necessary. Millicent was so angry that Pansy had refused her in front of everyone so harshly that she was just such a bad person after that. She complained about everything and picked fights with everyone over the smallest things. One time she threw a fit and tossed a bowl of almonds at an employee who was working for us backstage because they weren't salted."

During her story Astoria had leaned in closer to Harry, and in return Harry had leaned in as well. The last part of the story had been whispered and Harry wondered if they looked like those little children who would tell each other secrets, huddled up together so nobody could hear. But it wasn't that situation, because everyone else already knew what Astoria was telling him, so they didn't have to worry about their "secrets" spilling out from their little gossip bubble.

"Things really hit the fan though when Millicent hit Draco," she paused a second for what Harry assumed was dramatic effect. Playing along, he gasped and widened his eyes comically. "I know! Everyone was shocked. I mean, Blaise and Draco wrestled a lot, but they're guys, that's expected. He had a bruise on his face for weeks afterwards, he bruises easily and he's actually pretty fragile, though he won't admit it." Harry chuckled at that statement, Astoria giggling with him. "Anyways, after that the fighting just stopped altogether, and instead we all sort of gave her the silent treatment. We only talked to her when we needed to, and Draco ignored her during the shows. She never went to any interviews with us, and then she tried to sue us."

Harry gasped sincerely at that. The story that had started off so silly and taboo had quickly become very intense.

"'Tried,' being the key word. She threatened all of us, Pansy for sexual harassment, the rest of us for mental abuse, and specifically Draco, for physical abuse. It was all rubbish, everyone knew that. We all came to the decision that she needed to leave the band. She was fired from the group, and that's where you come in!"

Blinking repeatedly at the sudden conclusion of that story, Harry processed it all for a minute. So these guys had actually been through a lot this past year. He'd been an avid fan, and prided himself on being so thorough with his knowledge of the band, meanwhile all that had been going on behind the scenes. Not just behind the scenes though, since they had brought all that drama into their appearances, even though nobody thought much of it.

"Please don't disappoint us, Harry."

He had been so wrapped up in his mind that he had actually forgotten Astoria sitting right next to him. Her brown-green eyes were gazing up at him sadly, though there was a hesitant smile on her lips. Oddly, he felt as though he was staring at a puppy, hopeful but expecting the worst. He nodded resolutely and Astoria's smile became genuinely happy.

Something stirred inside of him and Harry felt good.

He was doing the right thing, by being here with these people. He was helping them, and helping himself. All this anger and sorrow that had been brought upon by Millicent when she had been in the band had affected them so deeply that Harry felt it his duty to wipe it all gone. Like old food that had dried on a plate for days, it was hard to get off at first but if you were persistent and scrubbed hard enough, it would go away.

Just because I feel bad about updating it late, I thought I'd give you guys a little preview of what's in the next chapter!

Panting heavily, Harry pushed forward, a driving force forming in his stomach which was twisting almost painfully from the sheer adrenaline. His hips swayed mechanically with the speed of his movements though in the dark they were not even noticeable. He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, muffling his erratic breathing. They needed to be quiet, and he couldn't just be inhaling and exhaling so obviously. A noise sounded from the side of the room but Harry paid it no mind. He was almost there, so close!

"Ahhh!" He exclaimed loudly when he felt Malfoy's hand squeeze his shoulder tightly. He stopped moving, and his body sagged as he panted openly. There was no use holding it in anymore, after all.

So review and let me know what you thought! Especially since you've read all this way.. it'd be a shame not to review.... ; )