Not my best chapter, I'll admit that much, but it's necessary. Just so you know, the next chapters will be the ones i'm rewriting or simply writing so it might take a while for them to be posted.

Reviews are welcome ^^

Harry woke up to find that he was lying in a foreign bed, in an unknown room. The hangings around him were green and the furniture was made of dark wood. The green and silver theme of the room informed his he was in the Slytherin dorms. For a moment, the raven haired boy felt panicky as he wondered why on Earth he was in a Slytherin room of all places. Then he remembered how he had fainted due to his broken ribs. Calmer, he sat up and patted his side testily. He couldn't feel any pain. Someone must have healed him, meaning they saw his tattoo. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and was about to get up when the door opened. Malfoy was standing in the doorway, his schoolbag slung on his shoulder. Harry had another moment of utter astonishment and maybe a small amount of horror as he realized that he'd been sleeping in his sworn enemy's bed. But Malfoy had helped him, he admonished himself, and being civil once in a while couldn't hurt, could it?

"Er, hi." said Harry tentatively.

The blond looked at him as if he had just said something incredibly stupid.

"Yes, hello Potter." he replied after a moment of silence. "It seems your ribs healed on their own after you passed out." said the blond as he dropped his bag near the table facing the bed.

Harry sighed in relief. It was a mystery how he had been healed but at least no one had seen his mark.

"Right. How long was I out?" asked the raven haired boy.

"All day. Classes have just ended." said the blond his back turned to him as he rummaged in the wardrobe.

"Oh." said Harry staring at his rival. "Am I…Am I in trouble?"

"No idea. Professor Snape came by and said you were to go and see the Headmaster as soon as you woke up. And for the meantime you're not supposed to go anywhere near the Gryffindor common room."

Malfoy finally closed his wardrobe and turned around to face him. They fell silent as their gazes met. Harry turned away first.

"Right. Well, I'd better go see Dumbledore then." he said getting up.

He stepped forward and nearly fell down. In fact, he would have fallen if Malfoy hadn't caught him around the waist.

"What are you doing, Potter?" asked the blond his eyes narrowing.

"I was trying to walk." replied Harry impatiently. "I just lost my balance because I walked as if I had four legs instead of two."

The Slytherin released him and he took a few tentative steps towards the door. Seeing that he was able to walk properly, now that he had rectified his movement, he opened the door…and froze. It seemed the whole house had assembled there, and they all turned to him when they heard the door opening. Briefly, Harry felt the urge to slam the door shut and go back to bed, but that was obviously not happening…

"Potter, are you going to stand in the doorway forever?" said an irate voice in his back.

Harry mumbled a response and walked in the common room. He didn't walk very far before he was nearly knocked down by Evan and Nicolas. Lisa was there as well, it seemed she was just too shy to jump in his arms like the boys had done.

"Are you feeling better now, Harry?" asked Nicolas.

"Yeah, loads. But it would help if you didn't shove me on Malfoy, I feel a slightly threatening aura emanating from him." said Harry grinning at his friends.

They returned his smile.

"You didn't get hurt did you Lisa?" asked the raven haired boy, looking at the blond girl.

The girl blushed and shook her head violently.

"Oh, that's good then." said Harry relieved. "I can't believe that bastard would attack you." he added in a growl, his eyes becoming beastly.

The room tensed noticeably. Harry quickly realized and forced himself to relax, reassuring his three young friends with a brief grin. Then before things turned to the worse, Harry announced it was time for him to go to Dumbledore's office. After saying his goodbyes to the three first years and thanking Malfoy who replied with a curt nod, Harry left the dungeons and climbed all the way up to the seventh floor. His footsteps got considerably slower as he approached the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office. He stopped in front of the gargoyle and sighed deeply. He stood there not daring to take another step when Dumbledore's voice made him jump.

"You may enter, Harry."

The raven haired boy looked around wildly. Seeing that, as he had suspected, there was nobody there, he assumed it was some kind of spell. The gargoyle slid aside, revealing the staircase leading to Dumbledore's office. Harry sighed again and climbed the stairs. The Headmaster was apparently waiting for him, seated at his desk. On the left side of the room was Fawkes' perch and the phoenix trilled softly in greeting when Harry entered. The weirdest part of it all was that Harry actually understood the phoenix's greeting. He didn't have time to dwell on it, though, as the headmaster addressed him almost immediately.

"Take a seat my dear boy." said the elder man motioning towards the chair in front of him. "Now, I have witnessed the incident you were part of this morning."

Harry felt his heart clench. He had attacked Ron; he had nearly killed the boy. He was going to be expelled, he was sure of it.

"Now, it seems that you reacted along instincts that you do not know how to control. Of course, I cannot ignore the incident but most of the staff agreed that Mister Weasley was also at fault. Mister Weasley will serve detention for a week. As for you Harry, I am afraid that I cannot let you stay in Gryffindor." Harry closed his eyes. "Your housemates have become quite hostile towards you I'm afraid." the old wizard sighed. "I think it would be best to stay in the Slytherin dormitories as you seem to have made friends there, if I trust the protectiveness you showed towards the younger students this morning." Dumbledore was smiling and his bright blue eyes were glinting.

Harry gaped.

"Y-you're not expelling me?" he asked in disbelief.

"No. After all, no harm was done and I do believe that it was beyond your control." said the old man. "Now, it would be best for you to go back to the Slytherin Common Room."

Harry nodded and left the headmaster's office in a daze. His feet brought him back to the green and silver Common Room without him even realizing it. It was only upon seeing the crack in the wall that the situation finally became clear to him. He hadn't been expelled and he was going to stay in Slytherin. The raven haired boy didn't really know what to think about that last point. The year before he would have found it horrible, but now…Now, he didn't know what to think of it. He shrugged; he would have to see how it went…It should be alright, after all, Evan, Nicolas and Lisa would be there.

He looked at the crack realizing he didn't know the password. He stood there in uncertainty for a while. He suddenly remembered hearing Malfoy say the password before.

"Pureblood." he said and to his relief the crack opened.

He took a tentative step inside. With a deep breath he entered the Common Room. Many students looked at him in surprise; they had obviously not been awaiting his return. Harry looked around him uncertainly. He was relieved to see Malfoy. Not because it was Malfoy, obviously, he hated the prick…He was just relieved to see a familiar face. He cleared his throat.

"Erm, I, er…It looks like I'll be staying for a while." he said trying not to sound to uncertain.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, silently asking for an explanation.

"The headmaster believes that it could be dangerous for everyone if I went back to Gryffindor." he shrugged. "So I'm afraid you'll have to bear with me for a while."

He hadn't expected the smiles and welcoming expressions that appeared on the Slytherins' faces. Before he could react he was knocked over by three over excited first years. He fell on the floor laughing with Lisa, Evan and Nicolas hugging and laughing along with him. Harry couldn't remember feeling this happy in a while.

Harry slipped out of his bed as moonlight streamed into the room. He caught sight of the green tie resting on the chair near his desk and smiled fondly. The Slytherins had helped him transfigure his tie and uniform to the Slytherin colors the day after he had been told by the Headmaster to stay with them. He had been in Slytherin house for a week now, and he could say that he was glad he had been sent there. All the students of the snake house had adopted him as one of their own and even the teachers and other houses now saw him as a Slytherin.

He had to admit he hadn't expected to be welcomed so warmly, but even though some of the older students weren't too keen on suddenly becoming friendly with him, most of the younger ones were over-joyed to be so close to the Famous Harry Potter Who Had Become A Blood-Thirsty Monster. Well, only the first part really, because no one seemed to think of him as some monstrous being that should be feared by all, rather some gave the impression that they didn't the difference between a wolf and a puppy…

He put on the Invisibility cloak and grabbed his map from his bedside table. He sneaked out of the room soundlessly. As it was nearing twelve o' clock on a Thursday night, he was pretty sure there would be no one in the common room. His assumptions were right and he got into the corridor without trouble. He murmured 'Lumos' and the tip of his wand glowed with a white light. He looked at his map and murmured the sentence to unlock it.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Black lines appeared on the parchment. Harry peered at the dots showing people. The 'Argus Filch' and 'Mrs Norris' dots were currently moving around the second floor. Satisfied, Harry tucked the map in his robes and set off towards the entrance. He was soon running to his heart's content in the Forbidden Forest. It was amazing how good it felt to run without restraint. He ran around the forest for a long time before he finally collapsed in a clearing. He lied on the ground panting heavily and simply enjoying the smell of the forest and the night wind ruffling his fur. His ears twitched as the sound of hooves approached the clearing. He was up on his paws in an instant, ready to attack if need was. A unicorn appeared, its golden hooves nearly flying above the earth in its speed. The white horse whose forehead was adorned with a golden horn, stopped a little distance away from the black wolf.

"Greetings youngling." neighed the unicorn.

Harry was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected the unicorn to talk to him, much less to understand it.

"Greetings." he replied with a deep rumble.

"It is rare to see your kind, nowadays." continued the unicorn with a graceful shake of its mane.

"Which kind may that be?" enquired the wolf with a curious bark.

"Do you not know what you are?"

"No."

Once again the sound of hooves filled the air. This time, however, they seemed heavier and more numerous. The wolf sniffed the air. Centaurs, he realised.

"I must go." snorted the unicorn urgently.

"Wait. Tell me what I am?" barked the wolf as the white horse turned away.

"Athrù." came the reply before the unicorn galloped away.

Deciding that he didn't need more excitement for the night, Harry followed the unicorn's example and left the clearing, putting as much distance as he could between him and the centaurs. He managed to avoid an encounter with them and ran back to the castle. He shifted back to his human form before slipping inside covered by the Invisibility cloak. Once he was back in the warmth of his bed he allowed his thoughts to wander to the unicorn's words. She had said he was an Athrù, whatever that was. At least now he had a clue, he thought as he slowly drifted into sleep.