A/N: I wanted to let everyone know that I have gone back and corrected all of the spelling errors I could find. That includes the one that was pointed out by Artemis-Chan, which took me forever to find.

Chapter Five: Classes Begin

Draco was smiling as he had Colin escort him to his Defense class. The mousy-haired boy was extremely nervous yet continued to hold on to his perpetual smile. There was a loud thump behind them. Colin screamed and ran off down the hallway. Moments later, Peeves the Poltergeist appeared, glanced at Draco, then decided the first year would be much more fun. He took off after Colin.

"Poor Colin," Draco said half-heartedly. He shrugged his shoulders and continued walking to the classroom. He turned the corner. And stopped.

It was as though Kreacher had taken a youth potion and shaved. Whatever the creature was in front of him it was clearly the same type as Sirius Black's servant. That it had the same face he had seen outside the window of the train was no surprise. And it was holding a finger in front of its lips to tell Draco to be quiet. When Draco nodded, it lowered its hand and spoke in a whisper.

"Draco Malfoy must not be alone."

"You know me?" Draco asked, also in a whisper.

It nodded. "Dobby knows all about Draco Malfoy."

"An' ya still wan' to 'elp. I mean, and you still what to help me?"

Dobby smiled and nodded hid head vigorously. "But Draco Malfoy must promise not to tell. No one is supposed to know Dobby is helping him."

Dobby waited, until Draco realized why he was waiting.

"Right. I promise. It's better if no one knows, anyway."

Dobby gave him a wide grin then motioned for Draco to follow quietly. They came to a corner near the defense class, and Dobby had Draco lean against the wall. He signaled for Draco to be quiet, then vanished into thin air. Draco's surprise notwithstanding, it was only a few seconds before he understood why. Two men were somewhere down the next hallway, and they were talking. As long as no other sound was made, Draco could hear them. One was Sirius Black. The other was referred to as Peter. A good guess was that it was the new defense teacher. And he was laughing.

"Right there on the platform? That must have been funny. It explains the two Howlers Malfoy received this morning."

"Two? You mean SHE . . ."

A pause. Pettigrew asked, "What is it?"

"That cunning shrew. She's playing the same game I am. I'm willing to wager anything that little Casper will tell her everything once he gets home."

Pettigrew laughed. "Sirius, did you expect anything else? Bellatrix likes to control everything she touches. It's the way she is."

Draco had to smile. That explained Casper perfectly.

"Too true," Black admitted.

"If I may ask, Sirius. What are you doing about Draco Malfoy? I have heard things."

Black laughed. "That's the beautiful part. Now that he's thwarted You-Know-Who a second time, we're all fairly sure he's not in league with him. Not that it means he's a golden boy. I told that gullible fool that the incident at the station was probably related to him. And I know he believed me."

Draco almost laughed. If he was right about Dobby, then what Black had told him really was the truth. That didn't stop him from feeling angry, though, about Black's attempt to use him.

"But it happened after Harry passed through the barrier?"

"And Neville was already on the train. But there was no danger there. The barrier had to be a protective measure. And if Malfoy believes he was the reason, that could make him malleable to our plans. "

"But the barrier. Who?"

Another pause. Then Black spoke in a softer voice. The only words Draco could pick out were "Dumbledore" and "amused". Then Black's voice returned to normal as he pointed out that it was almost time for Pettigrew's class and that he needed to pick up his two charges.

Draco's anger at Black's lie fled as he remembered about Casper. As quick as he dared, he rushed back to the infirmary. As he entered, he saw Madam Pomfrey giving both boys a final inspection.

"Sirius Black is coming," Draco said anxiously. "I need to talk to Casper. In private."

Madam Pomfrey looked him in the eye. "No."

"Bloody Hell. Fine. Casper, when ya get home, yer gonna blab to yer Mum. Right?"

Casper answered, "Huh?"

Fancy voice, Draco told himself with a curse. "When you get home you're going to tell your mother everything that happened. Right."

Casper instantly became nervous. "Uh . . ."

"Look, when she asks about being friends with Billy Boy, tell her you thought it would be a good idea."

"A good idea?"

"Yeah. So you can spy on the Potters. In case they're planning something."

"But . . . she won't believe me. She knows I'm not that clever."

"Casper," Madam Pomfrey suggested, "tell her that it was Draco's idea." She turned to Draco. "It was clever of you to notice that not everyone is altruistic." She smiled at Draco's frown. "Not everyone is all goodness and light."

"And I'm clever, too," William said. "I'm telling my Dad I thought it up all on my own."

Casper smiled at the idea. The smile faded when Sirius Black entered the infirmary. Black looked directly at Draco.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Can't walk around by myself."

"I thought you had an escort?"

"We ran into Peeves, and he took off."

Black looked unamused. "How unlucky."

Draco smirked. "Not for me. Peeves took off after him. And I came back here to wait." He smiled because he knew exactly what Sirius Black was thinking.

Sirius Black personally opened the classroom door for Draco. He followed the boy in, walking past him to speak to Professor Pettigrew. Pettigrew nodded his head and a happier Sirius Black left with two ten-year-olds in tow.

With most of the seats taken, Draco ended up in the back corner next to Dean Thomas. His first question was what did I miss which was answered with "nothing".

"For the benefit of Mister Malfoy, I will start my introductory speech from the beginning," the Professor said. "My name is Peter Pettigrew, and I will be the first to admit that I never expected to be a teacher." He smiled. "There. Now we're all on the same page. To continue, I do not have as much field experience as your previous teacher. My specialty is, I regret to say, paperwork. As Deputy Minister for Internal Security, my task is to monitor who does what, both the good and the bad, as well as the results, whether it is a prison term in Azkaban or a letter of commendation for exemplary action."

Draco expressed little surprise when the professor gave a pointed look at Longbottom and Potter.

"As a result of my duties, however, I have a very good knowledge of which spells that the Dark Wizards are fond of. And I do know what spells should be used for defense. As you are only in your second year, please be content with the fact that you will be learning mostly shielding and disarming spells." He paused. "I seem to have run out of things to say. Are there any questions?"

When Hermione raised her hand, Pettigrew smiled. "Miss Granger, I was warned about you. If nothing else, you will be keeping me on my toes. What is your first question?"

Hermione stood up, then gave Draco a cautious look before she turned back to the teacher. "Sir, Harry Potter mentioned that you were there, the night HE disappeared."

"Ah," Pettigrew said with a sigh. "I was wondering how long it would take before that subject came up."

Pettigrew paused, as if remembering, but he suddenly had Draco's full attention. Draco had known that someone had pulled him out of the wreckage of his home, but he had never thought he would actually meet the man.

Pettigrew started by clearing his throat. "Most of you with wizarding backgrounds already know most of the story." He nodded toward Hermione. "And some of the more industrious of you will find out, now that you know what you are looking for. I will save the rest of you the trouble.

"It will have been Eleven years this Halloween. The war with He Who Must Not Be Named was going badly, although our side did have its share of successes. The Dark Lord had changed his tactics of random violence and instead began to target specific people. The Bones were his victims, and the Prewetts. Then a spy revealed that HIS next targets would be the Potters. That is when they decided to go into hiding, and they chose to use the Fidelius Charm. Does anyone here know what that is? Harry?"

Potter stood up. There was a smugness in his voice. "The Fidelius Charm is a very complicated spell which places a secret inside of a person: The Secret Keeper. No one can know what that secret is unless the Secret Keeper tells them. And if the Secret Keeper dies, everyone in turn becomes a secret keeper."

"Very good, Harry. You know your family history." Pettigrew paused again. "And I am about to tell you something that, so far, I have only told my first class, and before that only select members of the Ministry. James said it would be fine as the spell had been cancelled long ago. The Potters chose to make their location a secret, and chose as their Secret Keeper . . . Harry?"

"My godfather, Sirius Black."

Pettigrew shook his head. "Everyone who knew us, even then, knew that Sirius Black and James Potter were best mates, almost brothers. He was the obvious choice. And he knew it. So he devised his own scheme. I was made the Secret Keeper and Sirius Black merely pretended it was he, and went into hiding."

Several students were surprised but none were more surprised than Potter. "You, Uncle . . . Professor?"

Pettigrew gave a sad laugh. "I was never a brave man. I even told James and Sirius that I was the worst kind of coward. If I were a braver man, I would never have . . . let us say that things would have been different.

"It was Halloween night. I had always acted without thought of the consequences. That is why, when I spotted the Death Eaters, I chose the worst place to hide. A nearby abandoned warehouse." He shook his head. "They must have been close to when they received the summons, because when I slipped into the warehouse I saw a dozen or more masked figures. And as I watched, another two or three more apparated in. To make matters worse, I was seen at once by those closest to the door. I honestly thought I was dead." The sad laugh came again. "Do you know, all I had to do was keep walking down that street and nothing would have happened."

Draco was enthralled. The man admitted that he was little more than a stupid coward, and was now proving it. As the man continued, Draco tried to picture in his mind what he was hearing. How Pettigrew found himself in the midst of the Death Eaters, and was brought face to face with the Dark Lord himself. How he tried to save his life by lying, by claiming he had come to serve and that his proof was the location of Sirius Black. Pettigrew admitted that his mind was filled with fantasies. That they would surprise Black but it would really be Black surprising them. That Sirius Black was smart enough to know the impossible and have the Ministry prepared for an ambush of their own. Closer to reality was the thought that he could convince the Dark Lord to let him verify that Sirius Black was where he thought the man would be.

Voldemort had other plans, although the Professor never said his name. He welcomed Pettigrew and promised him wealth and power if he were telling the truth, and a painful death that would come slowly if he were lying. Then fate played a hand. Voldemort told Pettigrew that they would visit Sirius Black together. But first, he would show him what happened to those who were disloyal. They apparated to a location that Pettigrew did not know. A small bungalow off a back road.

"I watched as the Dark Lord cast a spell, causing the front door to explode into a thousand pieces. Then Lucius Malfoy's voice could be heard shouting."

Draco, in the back of the room mouthed the words, "Save them."

"A bright green light filled the windows. Lucius Malfoy was dead. The killing curse. I waited in fear, knowing what would happen next. A second flash of light." His voice broke as he said the name, "Lily Malfoy."

Pettigrew wiped his eyes as he apologized. "And then the unexpected happened. Not a flash of light, but a great noise like an explosion, except that everything fell inward." He paused for effect. "I never saw the Dark Lord again. I never knew what happened to him. But as I stood there staring at the pile of rubble, I heard a noise." Pettigrew looked to the back row. "It was you, Mister Malfoy. You were crying for all you were worth. And that was when I did the only brave thing I've ever done. I climbed through all of that rubble, and brought you out."

Pettigrew shrugged his shoulders. "I told everyone what I did. Harry, I begged your father to forgive me. But they made me a hero, instead. They tried to find a place for me and that was when they discovered my true skills. I am a born bureaucrat. And until today, I have been happily filing parchments for the Ministry." He smiled shyly. "The truth is they insisted on promoting me, the man who tricked the Dark Lord, so I happily tell other people to file the parchments."

He cleared his throat. "I think that is all we have time for today, Unless there are any other questions, we can all sneak out of class early?" He smiled when no one raised a hand and called the class dismissed.

"Lucky break for him," Dean Thomas said as they left the classroom. "Draco?"

"Sorry. I was thinking. What did you say?"

Dean caught Draco's tone. "Look, I know he was talking about your parents, about the night they died. How do you talk about that?"

Draco tried to smile. "I guess the best thing is to make a bad joke and talk about something else."

"Such as?"

Draco did smile. "Good point. Did you know that I'm the reason that Potter's here? If that Dark Lord had decided not to waste his time on baby Draco . . . my life would have been a lot better."

Dean grinned widely. "Harry went the other way. He never even heard you."

Draco shrugged. "Maybe I can repeat it later on."

"Don't," Hermione told him. "Harry's shook up enough as it is."

Both Dean and Draco looked at her for an explanation.

"Harry discovered exactly how close his family came to dying. Or do either of you believe that Professor Pettigrew would have managed to escape on his own?"

Draco looked at Dean. "I know it's not proper, but hearing that does make me feel better."

It was hard for Draco, hearing in such detail the events of his parents' death. Once back in the Gryffindor Tower, he sat in a chair as far away from everyone as possible and proceeded to open one of his books. It didn't matter which one. It was only excuse to be left alone. He was so obvious that no one even bothered to ask if he was going to have lunch.

Being alone in the tower, Draco went to his dorm and pulled out his diary. He thought it might help him if he wrote down what he heard. He returned to the common room. He then sat at a table for most of an hour with the book open and a quill in his hand. The entranceway opened and someone rushed in. The flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye said it was a Weasley, and a short one (by comparison).

"Wotcha, Ginny."

"Watch what?" Ginny asked from behind him as she paused.

"Sorry, I was trying to say Hi. I forgot myself."

A giggle. "Fred told me you like to use a fancy voice at school."

Draco turned when he heard the easy tone of her voice. "Sorry, I . . . I said I was sorry already. Well, never mind that. I was curious. All the other first years stare, and nothing else. Don't you think there's something wrong with me?"

"You're a friend of the twins. Of course there's something wrong with you." She was laughing again. Then she twisted her head slightly. "Is that a school book?"

Draco hastily closed the book. "It's, um, personal."

Ginny's eyes held the same glint that Fred's or George's did when they were planning something. "Could I see?"

"NO." More calmly, Draco added, "I told you it was personal."

"It's a diary. Isn't it? You're keeping a diary." She walked over to the table. "What were you writing about?"

Draco looked at the table. He told her he was writing about his parents. He mentioned that the new Defense teacher was there the day they died. As he wiped his eye, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Ginny's voice held a sense of fear as she said she was sorry. She gave a nervous giggle and said she knew diaries were personal but she never thought how personal they could be.

"You don't keep a diary?" Draco asked. As he looked up and smiled, he had a thought. "Would you like to?" Then he was forced to explain. His godmother gave him a couple of used books. One was a school text. But the other was a fancy diary for some posh who never used it. Since he already had one of his own, she was more than welcome to it. As long as she didn't mind the fact that someone else's name was on the cover.

A minute later, Draco was handing the book to Ginny. She laughed when she read the name on it, and told Draco she'd claim it was her secret identity. As the entranceway opened up for the first returning students, Ginny thanked him and said that her first entry would be about this wonderful boy she just met. She ran up the stairs to her dorm and Draco sat back down at his table. Talking to someone, just talking, made him feel better. But now he had a different problem. He finally felt like eating and it was almost time for him to go to his next class. He asked Ron Weasley to escort him.

As they walked, Ron mentioned how Fred and George talked about him over the summer holiday. Draco said he had heard. That they showed up for his birthday party. When he laughed, he had to explain about Hermione and the hose. And Ron also gave him a warning. Fred and George had told their father that Draco's house was a muggle version of their own. Draco might find himself invited to spend part of his holiday just so his father to discuss things. "Dad's mad about muggles, you know. He thinks they're fascinating."

It was Friday. The last class was over for the week and there was enough time before dinner to pay a visit. As though they had never left off for the summer, Justin was already there when Draco and Hermione arrived at Hagrid's hut. Hot tea was already waiting for them.

Hagrid insisted on hearing all about their summer holidays. Draco's birthday and the surrounding events took up most of the time. They all promised to visit again the next day to tell him everything else. Hagrid smiled as he told them that everything else had to include why Justin and Draco had their detentions tonight.

Justin groaned. He had been assigned to Argus Filch. And he was already informed that he would be cleaning every trophy in the trophy case. By hand. Draco smiled wanly. He had the mixed fortune of visiting Professor Pettigrew. Who knew what he would be doing. Hermione helped their moods by telling them that they deserved it. Maybe next time they would take their responsibilities seriously.

Dinner was more lively than usual, as the weekend was here, but Draco felt none of the joy. He seemed worried about what was going to happen. At least Justin knew what to expect. When it was almost quarter to eight, Hermione escorted him to Pettigrew's office. To be fair, she did try to reassure him that it could be an informative evening. He might want to test Draco on how much he knows. She whispered that he could show him a few of those spells that Professor Snape had been teaching him. Draco groaned inwardly at the thought of another school lesson but he put on his best smile and told Hermione she could be right.

"Good, you're on time," Professor Pettigrew said when they arrived. Hermione excused herself, saying she was tired from Quidditch practice that morning. Pettigrew thanked Hermione as he ushered Draco inside. "Those are the bookcases. And these are the boxes. All twelve of them. I haven't had a chance to unpack properly and I am grateful for the help." He smiled pleasantly. "Even if it isn't voluntary. Unpack all of the books and place them on the shelves, starting at the top left. And I want them alphabetical according to the author." He paused. "Yes. That should be boring and tedious enough to qualify as a punishment."

Draco emptied each box, sorting them as he went. It took him over an hour but he had twelve piles of books. One by one he began to take them and put them on the shelves. Occasionally, he would glance over at the Professor who was at his desk going through a stack of homework parchments. As Draco finished the second shelf, Pettigrew called to him.

"Why don't we both take a break. I could use a good cup of tea."

Draco obediently sat in the appointed chair and took a proffered cup after the professor made it appear. He even smiled when Pettigrew pointed to a tray of crackers. As Draco took his first bite, Pettigrew sighed.

"You should know that Bellatrix Black is an old friend of mine. Ever since the . . . incident with her husband."

"You know her, Sir?"

"Very well, I should think. She asked me to look in on Casper for her when she found out he was in the infirmary. You know what her reaction was when I told her what I had seen and what Casper had told me."

Draco sat there, half eaten cracker in his hand. Her reaction had been the Howler. "I should apologize, I suppose, if she'll let me."

Pettigrew smiled. He leaned forward as though to reveal a great secret. "You don't have to. She had a long talk with her son when he arrived home, and talked to me again that night. She was impressed by your scheme to have Casper try to spy on the Potters. And I agree with her."

"But . . ." Draco was confused. "I thought you were friends with them? Harry Potter almost called you Uncle during our first class."

"I am. And I am friends with Bellatrix as well. I will be the first to admit that James is excellent at what he does; He is a top-ranked Auror. But he does let his suspicions, and his feelings, take hold of him at times. And that isn't always good. He never trusted Bella, and he would jump at the chance to prove me wrong about her. Casper being friends with William Potter will give his mother a chance to learn if James is planning anything untoward. Also, I personally hope, it may make James see Bella in a more favourable light." Pettigrew laughed. "And it might even help Casper to grow up a little bit. The way he let Bella dress him. He must have been a sight to see."

Draco had to laugh as well. The professor had let him know that he wasn't the only one who thought Casper was too tightly tied to his mother's apron strings.

"She won't yell at me, then?" he dared to ask.

Pettigrew told him with a grin, "she even admitted that there might be hope for you. With the emphasis on 'might'."

Draco's mood was lighter when he went back to his task. The professor struck him as a decent man. He may be a close friend of the James Potter, but he did not let that blind him to the man's faults. And the man was also a friend of his godmother. That was a second reason to like him. As Draco worked, he also thought about the first defense class. And as he thought, something began to trouble him, as if something was wrong. At one point, when he was down to four dozen books, he dared to ask.

"Professor? Why did you tell everyone that story? About my parents."

"You finally thought to ask? It was because of you, and what you did last term. Everyone is talking about how the Dark Lord has shown himself. And no few parents of some of my students have already made inquiries about what my plans are. I'm sorry if I caused you any pain by reminding you of bad memories, but I wanted every student to know, and I hope they tell their parents, that I am not a great hero. I merely happened to be there. I was only a witness. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"I suppose so."

"You obviously don't. Many wizarding families believe that I helped bring about the fall of the Dark Lord. That I was the reason he went after your parents." Neither made any pretense of working by this point. "I wanted to make clear that I was not responsible for what happened that night. I stumbled upon a meeting of his followers, the Death Eaters. It was clear to me, and I had hoped it was clear to every one of my students, that HE had already planned the destruction of the Malfoys. That meeting was so that his followers would know what he was planning. So that they would know not to show any disloyalty to their master. I meant what I said, that I was only a spectator." He walked over and put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "And let me add, a spectator who managed to pull you out of the wreckage that was your house before it completely collapsed. I saved your life, Draco. And that makes me feel responsible for you."

Another voice spoke at that point, a cold voice filled with venom.

"Come . . . Come to me . . . Let me rip you . . . Let me tear you . . . Let me kill you . . ."

"WHOT?" Draco shouted in fear.

Pettigrew looked surprised. "I said that I . . ."

"No," Draco was looking around frantically, trying to find the source. "That voice . . . it said . . ." He stared at the professor. "Didn't you hear it?"

Pettigrew looked concerned. "I heard nothing, Draco. Tell me, what did the voice say?"

"It . . . It said it wanted to kill me." Draco tried to keep the fear out of his voice and knew he failed.

Pettigrew gave him a kind smile, the type of smile you give to a small child. "It's late. And you do have an active imagination." He ushered Draco to the door. "Perhaps I should take you back to Gryffindor."

"I'm not making this up," Draco insisted, but he let the professor guide him out of his office.

"I know." A pause. "Draco. When I talked to Casper (and I didn't tell Bellatrix about this), he mentioned that, when you were on the train, you claimed you saw a face. And that the face was on the outside of the train."

Draco knew, now, that it was Dobby. And he also knew, although he didn't know why, that Dobby was trying to help him. "That was just my imagination, Sir. Really."

Pettigrew gave him the kind smile again. "Exactly. As was hearing the voice. Now, I know that Professor Snape was giving you special lessons last year (to make sure you were his best student) and I also know that you had a special lesson yesterday. Perhaps, and just perhaps, you are trying to do too much. When we get you back to your house, get some rest. And spend the weekend relaxing. That's an order from one of your teachers. Have some fun."

Draco nodded. Telling him that Dobby was his imagination was not a good idea. At least that was what his afterthought told him. But the voice had seemed so real, so full of menace.

When Pettigrew said he would talk to Professor Snape about the private lessons, Draco only nodded his head. He would wait until he had the chance to talk to Hermione and Justin. He knew they would believe him.