Harry woke to the sound of voices twittering anxiously. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, glancing to the other side of the room. Draco was sitting up in his bed, his eyes fixed on the wall across from him.

"You might as well open the door before they break it down." Harry could hear the anxiety he was trying to hide under his usual sneering tone.

As Harry pulled open the door a ball of wavy brown hair streaked into him, nearly knocking him over. He took several steps back into the room as Hermione clung to him.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "We've missed you so much!"

Ron and Ginny followed Hermione into the room. Harry noticed as Ron glanced towards Draco, an angry look on his face. He pulled away from Hermione and turned towards his friends.

"Hermione, Ginny, Ron. There's someone I would like you to meet." He met their confused stares with a confident grin and gestured towards Draco, who was resolutely ignoring them. "This is Draco. He's been staying at my house for the past couple of weeks, and he's a really great guy. I think you should get to know him."

At the sound of his name Draco swivelled his head towards the occupants of his room. He met the confused stares of Hermione and both Weasleys with a passive one of his own.

Hermione stared at Draco, her mouth open in shock, for a moment before walking towards him. He cringed away from her.

"Hello, Draco." She stretched her hand out towards him. "Harry's right. I would like to get to know you."

Tentatively, Draco took her hand with his own and shook it. A small smile appeared on his lips. "I think I would like to get to know you, too."

Something flickered in Ron's eyes. Before he could say anything, a voice called up the stairs.

"'Ermione! Ginny! Mrs. Weasley ees asking for your 'elp!"

Ron and Ginny spoke at once.

"Phlegm!"

"Fleur!"

Harry chuckled as he looked at his friend's faces. Both Ginny and Hermione had scrunched up their faces in frustration. Ron, however, had a dreamy look spread across his.

"Fleur Delacour," Hermione explained, turning away from Draco. "She and Bill are engaged, and she's been staying here to 'get to know the family'. But she's been so frustrating!" She sighed. "Come on Ginny, we'd better get down before she comes up here herself." With a last glance at Harry, the two girls left the room.

As the door closed behind them, Ron bolted across the room, an angry look in his eyes. He threw himself onto Draco's bed and pinned the boy to the wall behind him.

"Listen," he snarled, "Harry might trust you but I don't. You say one thing, just one thing to Hermione, or to my sister, that I don't like, and I'll curse you into a thousand pieces. Got it?"

Draco squirmed, his eyes bulging. Harry barrelled after Ron.

"Get off of him!" Harry shouted. Ron didn't listen as his friend pulled at him "I mean it Ron, get off!"

"Not until he promises he won't hurt Hermione!" Ron yelled back.

"I won't, okay?" Draco gasped. "I won't do anything to her. Or to your family. I promise!"

Ron let go of Draco but didn't back away. "How do I know you're serious?" he asked suspiciously. "How do I know you're any different than you've always been?"

Draco met Ron's stare with one of his own. "I'm here aren't I?" his voice seethed with a mixture of anger and fear. He rubbed his arm where Ron had grabbed it, wincing.

Ron's eyes widened as he grabbed at Draco again and ripped his sleeve down "Then what the bloody hell is that?" he yelled, pinning Draco against the wall with his shoulder. "You're one of them! You pretending to be Harry's friend so you can get close and kill him? Waiting to get Hermione too, since she's not a pure blood like you? Or is it all of us you're after, a bunch of blood traitors to prove yourself to You-Know-Who?" Draco kicked and struggled to get away, but Ron had too strong a hold on him.

"Ron! Stop, now!" Harry shouted, "Get off of him! You have no idea-"

Draco got in a good kick as Harry finally managed to pull Ron off. The two boys collapsed to the floor wrestling as Draco sank back into the bed. He yanked his sleeve back down, screwing up his face in pain as blood started to trickle down his arm.

Below him Harry had pinned Ron to the floor and was shouting at him. "-could never understand! Stop being an idiot and give him half a chance!"

Draco shook his head. "Harry, he's your friend! Don't fight over me!"

Harry let go of Ron's flailing arms and turned to Draco. "No, he has no right to treat you like that." He looked back at Ron. "At least give him the chance to explain things, when he's ready, before you jump all over him!"

Ron nodded gruffly at Harry. "Fine, but it had better be one hell of an explanation." He sat up as Harry moved off of him.

Just at that moment Hermione burst through the door, waving a pile of sealed envelopes.

"Our O.W.L.S!" she shouted. "They've just arrived!" she glanced around the room. "What happened?" she asked, concern in her voice. "Draco, is that blood?"

Harry swiveled around and grabbed Draco's arm. "Get your mother," he hissed to Ron as he saw the blood trickling onto his fingers.

Draco cringed as Harry pulled his sleeve back up, exposing his Mark to Hermione. He looked at the girl imploringly. "It's not what you think," he muttered.

Hermione paused for a moment, fear flickering in her eyes, before she sat down next to Draco.

"Those cuts look deep," she mused. "The stitches were a good idea, but it's going to take a while for them to heal. You must have lost a lot of blood. How are you feeling?"

Draco smiled weakly at her. "The cuts hurt. I felt really sick and weak yesterday, but Mrs. Weasley gave me a blood replenishing potion last night. I feel alright now."

Hermione's hands were shaking as she checked the cuts. "It looks like only this one is open. The rest seem to be healing better. Maybe the stitches weren't as good on this one."

"That was the first one I did," Harry said. "I don't think I pulled it tight enough."

Hermione ran her fingers gently over the other cuts. "I think these ones are okay-"

Mrs. Weasley burst into the room, Ron, Ginny and Fleur trailing behind her. Draco grimaced as they all glanced down at his arm.

"Let me get a look at that," Mrs. Weasley said as she gently shooed Harry and Hermione away. "I didn't get the chance to take a good look last night." She looked up at the rest of the room. "Why don't you all head downstairs? Breakfast is almost ready."

Harry backed out of the room slowly and followed his friends to the kitchen. They sat down around the table as Fleur busied herself finishing the breakfast.

Finally Ginny broke the silence. "Well, I didn't see that coming."

Ron snickered and Harry shot him a dirty look. "Those cuts," he said, "he tried to cut it off. Just- let him explain before you start thinking things. There's more to it than you know."

Fleur cleared her throat. "Oo would like some breakfast?"

Mrs. Weasley came into the kitchen as Harry reached for his second piece of toast, followed closely by Draco. The edge of a fresh bandage peeked out from beneath his sleeve. His right hand was clutching four sealed envelopes.

"The O.W.L.S.!" Hermione shrieked. "I forgot all about them!" She dropped her fork and reached for her envelope. Draco quickly passed two others to Harry and Ron before sitting down next to Harry, his own clutched in his hand.

"On three?" Hermione asked breathlessly, looking around the table. "One, two, three!"

Four sets of fingers ripped their envelopes open and nervously unfolded the papers inside. Harry gazed down at his, feeling quite satisfied. He had received five Exceptionals, and even an Outstanding in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He had failed both Divination and History of Magic; but he had expected as much. With a twinge he realized that he did not have the required mark to continue Potions. He glanced at Draco's paper next to him and gave a low whistle.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades:

Fail Grades:

Outstanding (O)

Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A)

Troll (T)

DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY HAS ACHIEVED:

Ancient Runes

O

Astronomy

E

Care of Magical Creatures

A

Charms

O

Defence Against the Dark Arts

O

Herbology

E

History of Magic

E

Potions

O

Transfiguration

O

"Wow," he said, "I always thought Snape was just favouring you. You should seriously think about Ravenclaw."

"Well I'm not going to Hufflepuff," Draco smirked, some of his old confidence returning.

"You're actually disappointed, aren't you?" Ron's voice echoed from across the table. Harry looked at Hermione as she bit her lip.

"Nine Outstandings and one Exceeds Expectations in Defence Against the Dark Arts!" Ron exclaimed, motioning wildly to Hermione's paper. "And she's actually disappointed!"