A/N: Re-uploaded for your enjoyment! Please review.
As the post came, the next morning, Ron got a scarlet envelope, delivered by a rather uncoordinated owl. I thought nothing of it… until it started screaming at him. Then the surprise came from the sudden loud noise. A screaming envelope wasn't that far out in the magical world.
Nothing else as exciting happened until lunch… Harry was late to Herbology because our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lockheart, had a talk to him about something. Personally, I wasn't so fond of the neatly manicured teacher. Something about him seemed off, his arrogance untrue. Unlike Draco's…Draco's arrogance was intoxicating, his confidence swallowing me up, even though his hands were no longer comforting. I hurriedly pulled my thoughts away from there, a blush forming across my pale cheeks.
After lunch, most of the school ventured outside, to the overcast courtyard for our break. The weather was still warm enough that heading outdoors didn't require coats and scarves, though I knew soon enough the grounds would be blanketed in snow. Hermione sat down on a stone step and buried here nose in Voyages with Vampires again. Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch, so I sat, and watched a first year stare wondrously at Harry. He was holding a camera.
"All right, Harry? I'm – I'm Colin Creevy." He said a bit breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. Do you think… would it be all right if… I can have a picture?" He asked, raising the camera and looking hopeful.
"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.
"So I can prove I've met you." Said Colin Creevy eagerly, edging further forwards. I frowned at him as he almost stepped on me, sitting on the step below Harry. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you, after he killed your parents and how he disappeared after that, and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead, and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures will even move." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement before continuing. I sighed and rolled my eyes – it was my second year here and I was still forgotten. Oh yes, Harry Potter this, Harry Potter that. No one remembered his forgotten sister. Though if he always got the attention I was seeing today, from the Creevy boy, I wasn't all that perturbed by it.
"It's brilliant here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic until I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, see, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you, maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?" He stopped for another breath, and I wondered whether he'd finished yet.
"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" Loudly, Draco's voice echoed around the courtyard. I stood, and walked over to him.
"Draco, please don't start." I pleaded quietly. His eyes flickered to me, flashing, before back to Harry.
"Everyone queue up!" Draco shouted. "Harry Potter is giving out signed photos!"
"No, I'm not." Harry retorted, his fists clenching. "Shut up, Malfoy."
"Ooh, be careful now Potter." Draco smirked, pulling me close. "Don't want to upset your precious sister. She hates it when I get angry."
I tried to pull away, but Draco turned me around, wrapping his arms around my waist. I pressed my body back into him, acquiescing to him, hoping he'd loosen his grip on me. His arms were tight enough as to hurt. I heard Hermione gasp and Ron curse at his display – exactly the reaction Draco would be after.
"You're just jealous." Colin piped up, in Harry's defence, after Draco had let me go. Ron caught me as I stumbled on a step and fell.
"Jealous?" said Draco incredulously. He didn't need to shout anymore; half the courtyard was listening intently to the show. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."
Crabbe and Goyle, who'd moved to flank Draco, began sniggering stupidly. Although, since I didn't think they did anything cleverly, it wasn't much of a change.
"Eat slugs, Malfoy." Ron said angrily. Crabbe stopped laughing and started rubbing his fists menacingly.
"Be careful, Weasley." Draco sneered, rounding on him. "You don't want to start any trouble to your mummy will have to come and take you away from school." He put on a shrill, piercing voice. "If you put another toe out of line…"
A knot of Slytherin fifth years nearby laughed loudly at this.
"Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter." Draco smirked. "It'd be worth more then his family's whole house."
Ron pulled out his broken and spell-o-taped wand, but Hermione shut her book with a click and hissed at us to look out.
"What's all this?" Gilderoy Lockheart was striding towards them, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?"
Harry started to speak but he was cut short as Lockheart flung an arm around his shoulders. "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!" he thundered jovially. I noticed Draco slide smirking into the crowd. He noticed me noticing and winking, he blew me a mocking kiss as he disappeared from sight.
The rest of the week passed not nearly so memorably, but I was glad all the same when Saturday came around. I took my time getting dressed, and made my way into the common room. Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't there, but Colin was. He flung himself at me, raising his camera, so I escaped down to breakfast, thinking they might be there. Peeking in through the doors, I didn't see the trio, so I turned around to go search the courtyard we favoured, when Draco walked in from the grounds, wearing Quidditch robes and carrying a sleek looking broomstick. The rest of his team followed him in, howling and laughing – probably at whatever first year they'd just beaten up, or hung from a tree. I tried to slip away discreetly, but Draco caught my arm. He pulled me along with him, down towards the Slytherin common room, ignoring my protests.
"Come on, Amy. We just want to play a little game. It's only the first weekend, you can't have that much homework yet." He cajoled callously, pulling me along, deeper into the dungeons.
Eventually we reached the Slytherin common room, and he pulled me through into it, onto a leather couch next to where he seated himself, an arm around my shoulders. Green light filtered through the windows, which appeared to be underwater. Most of Draco's teammates dispersed, but a few of the younger ones stayed, joined by a few other second-year and third-year Slytherins I didn't recognize. I looked around suspiciously, at the circle they had made on the couches.
"What are we playing?" I asked, trying to keep my nerves out of my voice. The Slytherins all smirked simultaneously – it was creepy. Draco answered me.
"Oh, I thought we could play a nice little game of Truth or Dare. Get to know each other better. But…" He paused.
"But?" I prompted.
"I thought to make it a little more, interesting. If you back out of a question or dare, you lose an item of clothing."
The Slytherins, most of whom were male, started hooting and laughing. I paled. The two or three other girls in the group grinned wickedly, clearly not against this idea.
"Strip Truth or Dare?"
"Mmhmm." Draco smirked at me. My thoughts went to my arm, my Mark. I couldn't afford anyone seeing that.
I couldn't back out of anything.
Harrys POV
After Ron had stopped spewing slugs, we made our way back to the castle. As we entered the Entrance Hall, the few who had left lunch early were streaming past us into the grounds. I scanned the small crowd for Amy, but she wasn't there. I frowned; I really should be spending some more time with her. Maybe she wouldn't follow Malfoy around as much then. Neville was within our sights though, and we made our way over to him.
"Hey, Neville, have you seen Amy?" I asked him. He thought for a moment.
"Yea, yea I have actually. She seemed to be looking for you guys, at breakfast."
Ron spluttered, and I looked quickly to see if he was having another slug attack, reaching for him. Thankfully, he was okay, other than staring at Neville.
"She was at breakfast?" He asked incredulously. Come to think about it, I did think that wasn't exactly normal for her. Neville shook his head.
"No, no she was looking for you guys, and she looked in the Great Hall during breakfast. But then Malfoy came and he and the Slytherin Quidditch team dragged her off, down the hallway where they always come from. Their common room must me down there. And is Malfoy on the team? He was in Quidditch robes."
I felt a cold hand stroke down my spine. "Yea, he is. He bought his way in." I heard myself reply to Neville, but my thoughts were with Amy. She was in the Slytherin common room? I was worried. She had been with him at Diagon Alley, during the holidays, and I had seen the livid purple bruise spreading across her cheekbone, and the edges of them at her neckline. I didn't think it was just accident, like she'd told Fred and George.
Neville had wandered off, and I quietly muttered my thoughts to Ron and Hermione. They looked as shocked as I felt.
"She told me she had fallen over." Hermione interjected, when I mentioned the bruises.
"I doubt that. She was probably lying to protect him."
"That slimy git." Ron muttered. He looked about to continue, but Hermione cut him off.
"Shouldn't we check the common room? In case she's back?"
'Good idea." Ron said, following me as I began to run up the stairs towards Gryffindor tower.