Chapter 3

AN: Are ya confused yet? I must admit, I am and I'm writing the thing! If there is any confusion, just keep reading and eventually, it'll be cleared up

"There you are, Ron!" Harry Potter came running over to Ron and Draco, both shocked by the sudden appearance of 'The Boy Who Lived'. Harry spotted Draco (or who he thought was Draco) and spat, "What do you want Malfoy?"

Suddenly taken aback, Ron quickly stuttered, "No need to be rude, Harry. I'm your best mate!" and then coughed due to Draco shoving him in the ribs, but it was too late.

"My best mate?! Are you mad, Malfoy? You've had nothing but hate for me since the day I met you!" Harry was very confused by this…Ron and Draco talking quietly together? Malfoy saying that he was Harry's "best mate"? Ron hitting Malfoy in the ribs and he didn't do anything back? 'What is going on here?'

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Ron laughing. "He's just joking, Pott…Harry." He corrected himself quickly and then continued, "Why don't we go to class?...what is our next class?"

"Potions," Harry replied, still confused. He stared at Malfoy…there was something strange about him…

"Alright then, Harry. Let's go!" Draco jumped to Harry's side and drug him away by the arm. Harry didn't see it, but Draco looked back and did his best to get Ron to leave by shooting him a dirty look.

Harry removed his arm from Draco's grasp and said, "Ron, you're acting slightly…off…today."

Draco didn't stop to chat; he needed to find Hermione. "Where's Hermione?" he asked, a bit too hastily.

"She's in the Library, why?" With this, Draco took off running, not waiting for Harry. As he rounded the corner to the Library, Draco had no idea what he was going to say to Hermione or how he was going to explain it. "Ron? RON!? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!" Harry bellowed behind him. Draco ignored him…he was on a mission.

"Where are you going in such a hurry, young man?" Madam Pince, the librarian, scowled at Draco as he nearly ran through the doors. Draco simply ignored her too. 'Where is she? I've never really talked with Hermione let alone ask for her help…' He searched the rows of books for Hermione Granger, the Mudblood he despised. He had no choice but to find her and ask for her…help…Draco cringed at this thought. He didn't need help from anyone usually, but this time he did.

Suddenly, Hermione appeared behind one of the bookcases, sitting on the floor in an enormous pile of oversized books. "Granger!" Draco stopped and walked over to her.

"Granger?" Hermione looked up at the person she thought was Ronald Weasley…a secret crush of hers, "You've never said that to me, Ron." She looked a bit hurt.

Draco regretted that comment immediately. He needed her help, not her hurt and not willing to help. He smiled, "Sorry. Thought that might… get your attention." Hermione looked perplexed still, but her face relaxed and she smiled too.

"It's alright. I suppose it did, didn't it?" She looked down at the large book in her lap and turned a page. "I've just been reading about…"

Draco interrupted her, "Sorry, Hermione, but I need your help with something right now. It's very important."

Hermione looked up once again from her book and said, "Go on then, what is it?" Just as Draco was about to go into the whole story of what happened, Harry came running up to him and bent over, breathing heavily. "What's gotten into…you, Ron? You nearly…killed a couple of…first years!"

"Sorry, mate," Draco quickly apologized, "Didn't mean to. I needed Hermione's help with something."

"We've got Potions!" Harry panted.

"Just let me talk to Hermione," Draco said, "It's very….important."

Ron's POV

Ron watched as Draco and his best friend, Harry left him behind. He'd never felt so abandoned, so helpless. He looked around as if the answer was somewhere on the walls when he heard a voice. "Draco!" He turned to face probably the worst person to see at a time like this…Pansy Parkinson.

She was walking towards him now with a slight grin on her face. "Drakie-poo, I've found us a nice spot to 'study' in." She put the word 'study' in quotations with her fingers.

'I'm done for,' thought Ron. "Well, Pansy, I'm a bit busy now, you see…"

Pansy didn't wait to hear what Ron had to say, "But Draco, you promised!" and with that, she grabbed his hand and led him down the opposite way that Harry and Draco had left earlier. "It's perfect. No one goes in there…"

Ron didn't know what to expect from Pansy Parkinson. He'd never spoken to her or anyone that had really known her. He had no idea what kind of relationship she was in with Draco and was, unfortunately, stuck in his body. "Here we are!" Pansy had led him to a wall. She let go of his hand and walked in front of the wall three times with her eyes closed. Suddenly, there appeared a door with a large handle on it. 'The Room of Requirement!' Pansy looked at Ron and smiled, "Shall we?"

Ron gulped.