Thanks to reviewers:-


L'Arriere-monde – hey, sorry the updates are few and far between but I am in the middle of exams – I'm also trying to think of the best way to go about this story so I don't run out of steam like most of my others

MustIBeAMalfoy - aw YAY I'm on a favourites list – u hav no idea how happy this has made me. I know, I know, longer chapters and they will be soon. We all love bad draco and in answer to your question – harry is one of those kids that everyone likes but he doesn't actually WANT to be popular – don't you hate those kids?

super-sailor-saturn39 - I too am interested in where this is going to go – lol

Coty Wiley – omg your review was so lovely xxx

CelestialDrgn – thank u, draco indeed does not give a 'fig'!

mojo-jojo241 – I shall indeedy continue

HonEySky – glad I made you smile – I don't like when draco makes nasty comments and harry like cries – I'd rather he didn't give a shit

Reese Craven – again, thankyou. I know it took sooooo long for them to meet

Rstarbreeze, TheTigersFire & december jewel – I will continue, I am as you can well see

silverblue-eyes – thanks for the review and also for pointing out my dumbness – I got sidetracked evidently and I have now changed that – I'm not that bright!!!!

Cassiopeia46 – I know I know the chapters are really short but they will get longer soon – I promise

5. The dragon, the raven and the english project

By the time Harry had finished Draco's tour of the school he had missed two lessons and cutting it pretty close to make it to the last one before lunch.

"So, that's the school. Got any questions?"

"No, 'cept where do I go for English?"

Harry frowned. "What teacher do you have?"

"McGonagall."

"You're kidding." "No...why?"

"I got the same."

"Oh." 'Shit,' thought Draco.

"Shit," said Harry out loud.

"Hey, I resent that."

"I'm sure you do. But, frankly, you're pissing me off a bit and I don't fancy spending the next half hour with you."

"I'm not that keen on you either, mate."

Harry groaned in mock hurt and clasped his hands to his heart. "You cut me real deep Draco, real deep."

Draco glared at the raven-haired boy. "Are you always so...sarcastic?"

"I dunno, are you always so obnoxious?"

Draco opened his mouth to reply but was cut off when Harry looked at his watch a swore loudly.

"Well thanks to that, we're late. Come on."

The two boys ran through the halls, Harry running noticably faster and easier than Draco, before bursting through a door into a full classroom.

"Ah, Mr Potter, how good of you to join us," remarked the teacher in a broad Scottish accent.

"Sorry, Mrs McGonagall. I had to show round a new student," Harry replied, jerking his head at the blond boy behind him.

"New student?"

"Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself breathlessly.

"I'm Mrs McGonagall. Sit down you two."

They both looked at the classroom. There were only two desks left and they were right next to each other.

"What? Mrs Mc-"protested Harry.

"Mr Potter, you and Mr Malfoy will go and sit down now before you both get detention."

Glaring daggers at each other, the boys stalked to the back and sat down.

Harry looked at his two best friends, sitting diagonally in front of him and Draco.

Harry had known the tall, gangly, freckled red-head, Ron Weasley, since they entered the first grade and had bonded over a particularly large bug found under a table. Ron came from a very large family of tall, gangly, freckled red-heads. His five elder brothers – Bill, Charlie, Percy and the twins Fred and George – had all attended Hogwarts High previously, and his younger sister, Ginny, was in the year below them.

The other, Hermione Granger, was a pretty if not somewhat bushy haired girl, the daughter of two dentists and predicted valedictorian of the class. Ron and Harry had first appealed to Hermione for help on a very nasty Chemistry essay, set, of course, by Snape, on the halogen gases. She has granted them this help and the two boys had found out that, on top of being incredibly intelligent, which everybody knew, Hermione was also very kind and quite funny when she let herself go.

"'Mione, switch with me," Harry mouthed.

Hermione shook her head slightly and turned back to look at what the teacher was writing on the blackboard.

Ron turned round and grinned. "Tough luck mate," he mouthed back.

Harry flipped his middle finger at Ron and flopped back into his chair.

"Now," rang Mrs McGonagall's voice from the front of the class. "Back to what I was saying before we were interrupted," she continued, looking pointedly at Harry and Draco, "I should expect these reports in by the end of this semester and they shall count for a third of your final grade. Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy, I had already seperated the class into pairs before you two came in, so, it seems you two will have to partner with each other. You can ask another student to tell you what the project is about."

While the teacher proceeded to carry on with her lesson, Harry and Draco were seething.

"This is all your fault you know," Draco whispered furiously at Harry.

"My fault? How?"

"If you hadn't taken every opportunity to make a rude comment about me we wouldn't have been late."

"What? If you hadn't stopped me to ask me about classes-"

"I was supposed to! I didn't know where to go!" Harry shook his head and flopped back into his chair, looking at the piece of paper Hermione had slipped on to his desk with an apologetic smile.

"This is what we have to do," Harry muttered to Draco.

"A book report on one of the following. War and Peace, Lord of the Flies, A Passage to India...this is a load of bollocks."

"Most sense you've made all day."

"Shut up."

"Look, I dunno how smart you are but I can't afford to flunk this course so we have to do well in this project. Which means we'll have to work together."

"Brilliant."

"I'm about as happy about this as you are, but it's what we have to do."

"When do you want to work on it?"

"Come to my house after school today and we'll start talking about it."

"Your house?"

"You got a better idea?"

"Why not mine?"

"Two main reasons. Firstly, I have basketball practice after school. Secondly, you happen to be living with the one guy who truly hates me."

Draco chose to ignore the secondly. "Jock?"

"You'd better believe it."

Yet another short and pants chapter but this gives them an excuse to spend loads of time together and the next chapter is back at Harry's – who knows what could happen????

Continue reading and reviewing – I have 27 so far – very happy!!!