Hello everyone! Long time, no see. Actually, very long time, no see. Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I have all sorts of excuses for it (mainly that I've been writing my own fantasy novel and I've fallen in love with it, which makes it hard to walk away from), but I want you to know that I have never forgotten about this story. It's been constantly on my mind, I just haven't found the time until recently to really devote to it. I intended to come back to it once I finished my novel, but I've gotten so much positive feedback and pleas for me to continue lately that I decided to put aside time in the past two weeks to dedicate to The Second Malfoy. This is the fruit of my labor. Sorry this chapter isn't as long as others, but I think I've done an admirable job, considering how long I was away from this project. Let me know what you think!

Chapter Seven:

Punishment

Ron paced back and forth nervously in front of Professor McGonagall's office, biting his nails and wracking his brain for some understanding of what had just happened. Draco had been teasing him atop a broomstick, brandishing Neville's Remembrall about like a madman, and suddenly Harry had spoken up in Ron's defense. This was an insult to Draco, who had been under the impression that Ron and Harry were something akin to mortal enemies, and a shouting match ensued, the likes of which few had ever heard before.

Ron hadn't known just how much anger Harry had been harboring for his twin. He had rather felt that Harry was more hateful of him. But the words that Potter threw at Draco—the most memorable insult being, "Why don't you grow up and start acting like a real brother should?"—revealed just how much Draco really had gotten under his skin. Ron would never forget how Harry's face had lost all its color, how his brows had knitted themselves close together with consternation, and how his fists clenched so tightly around his broom until his knuckles were pearly white. Harry Potter had been in a rage.

It would have been fine if that had been all that happened, but it wasn't. The more Harry shouted the more determined Draco had been to see to it that Ron's entire group of friends be punished. "You want to play it that way?" he had asked with a snarling sort of tone. "Fine!" Then he pelted the Remembrall as hard as he could downward, aiming right for Hermione, who was taken by so much surprise that she was frozen to the spot.

Harry's reaction had been automatic. Mounting the broom in his grasp, he took off with amazing speed, snatching the Remembrall out of the air at the last second, coming so close to where Ron and Hermione were standing that their robes had actually fluttered in the wake of his flight. Just as he landed, however, Professor McGonagall had come from the interior of the castle, striding with the air of someone who was absolutely livid and beckoned Harry to come with her. Draco, who had already touched onto the ground before Harry had even snatched the Remembrall from the air, grinned malevolently as he watched them leave. He turned to Goyle and said, "He'll be out of Hogwarts by the end of the night, thank Merlin. He's the worst thing to ever happen to this school."

Giving Draco the deadliest of glares, Ron had turned on his heels and followed behind Professor McGonagall and Harry, determined to right this dreadful wrong. Hermione had begged him not to go, saying that Madam Hooch would realize his absence, but he didn't care. Harry didn't deserve expulsion; all he had done was save Hermione from Ron's stupid brother. If anything, Draco needed punishing, and that was just what Ron intended to tell McGonagall.

Now he found himself outside of her office, unsure of whether he should knock and interrupt their meeting, or if he should wait until they were done. What if he had already been expelled by the time he made it to her office? What if he was, even now, on his way home? Could they really expel him that fast?

Certainly Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. Even with his limited exposure to the headmaster, Ron felt like he was the sort of man who was perfectly capable of seeing reason. Surely if Ron went to his office and explained, Dumbledore would intervene and Harry would be allowed to stay? Finally satisfied that he had a course of action, Ron began to bolt down the hallway, only to skid right into Professor McGonagall as she rounded the corner.

"Oh! Mr. Malfoy, what is your hurry?" she asked.

"You didn't expel him, did you?" Ron blurted out with no preamble whatsoever.

"To whom are you referring?"

"To Harry!" Ron exclaimed. A light twinkle in McGonagall's eye suggested that she was rather amused at Ron's worry.

"Oh, not today, Mr. Malfoy. He's still your classmate, even though he nearly ran over Miss Granger." McGonagall's face suddenly became more stern than usual, which had to have been no easy feat.

Ron breathed a momentary sigh of relief, allowing the news of Harry's continued education at Hogwarts to calm him ever so slightly. "Good," he said. "Please don't give him detention or anything like that. It's really not his fault."

"It is up to me to hand out punishments, Mr. Malfoy, not you," McGonagall reminded in a voice that indicated her status of authority over her student. Ron brushed it aside, not caring if his gall got him in any trouble at the moment. As it was, he would gladly accept punishment for his brazenness over Harry receiving a detention for Draco's ongoing grudge against Ron.

"You have to believe me," he said. "He was only on his broom, because Draco was teasing me and threw Neville's Remembrall at Hermione! Harry was trying to protect her…he was trying to protect us, actually." He felt thoroughly guilty as he remembered Harry in that moment. It was like he was a completely different person, defending Ron so bravely that it put all other Gryffindors to shame. The way he had swooped in to save Hermione was absolutely spectacular. And here Ron had been this whole time, taunting him and treating him like he was burdensome. It made sense for him to have been so hateful for Ron's disappointment at being placed in Gryffindor; Harry fit the house perfectly.

"Your brother?" McGonagall asked in surprise. "You're telling me that you would rather I punish Draco for this over Harry?"

"Well," Ron said, thinking hard about the situation. "I don't really want anyone to be punished. I'm just saying that Draco was being a bully and was trying to hurt Hermione. Harry saved her."

Professor McGonagall thought his words over for a moment, her lips becoming thin as a frown tugged at her features. Ron wasn't sure whether she felt troubled over what he told her or worried that it would create further fights between the Malfoys, Harry, Hermione, and Neville.

"Very well," she finally said. "I'll speak with Professor Snape over the matter and he can determine a proper punishment from there."

Ron's stomach writhed as he imaged what Snape's reaction would be. The man hated Harry and wasn't too fond of Ron, so chances were he'd just ignore the matter and Draco would get off scot-free. However, there was still the slim possibility that he wouldn't be able to overlook what had happened. There were several witnesses who were willing to attest that Draco had tried to hurt Hermione, had bullied Ron, had laughed at Neville behind his back, and had provoked Harry into action. If Draco was punished, the repercussions on Ron would be severe.

It would be worth it in the end, though. If punished, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy would learn just how cruel Draco had been to Ron, and then maybe—just maybe—they could finally move on. Ron didn't relish the idea of watching Draco get another howler, but he admitted ruefully to himself that it might have been just what Draco needed.

"Thanks, Professor," Ron said numbly. He started to leave, but she placed a hand delicately on his arm and he stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, and incidentally," she said, "I didn't give Potter a detention."

"Really?"

"No. I made him Seeker for the Gryffindor team."

Ron's jaw dropped and he stared at Professor McGonagall in utter disbelief. First years never made the house teams! Was this some kind of a joke? Here Ron had been, worrying to death over Harry, only to find out that he hadn't been in danger of expulsion after all. He had actually been rewarded by becoming a member of the Quidditch team.

"But don't tell anyone just yet," she added, registering Ron's shock and cracking an oddly uncharacteristic grin, which was followed by a truly terrifying wink.

Is it just me, Ron thought as he left McGonagall and started heading up to the seventh floor, or has everyone gone completely nutters today?

When he finally got through the portrait hole and into the common room, Ron wasn't surprised to see the majority of his house enjoying their afternoon within. The only people not present were the other first years, who Ron supposed were still outside, either waiting for Madam Hooch or commencing the lesson. Scanning the space for Harry, he was disappointed to see him nowhere in sight. Surely he didn't go back to the grounds?

"Malfoy!" Fred hailed from across the room. He had a deck of exploding snap cards in his hands which he held up for Ron to see—an invitation to play.

Shoving his way through the room urgently, Ron pushed past a group of chatty fourth years to get to the twins and Lee Jordan. "You guys haven't seen Harry, have you?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, he went up to his dorm. Why?" George was looking at him suspiciously, though it wasn't laced with the same sort of malice he had formerly bestowed upon his friend. Ron waved the question away and started to turn around, when an excited Oliver Wood (who Ron knew was the Gryffindor quidditch captain) forced his way in their direction, blocking Ron's path. He had a fresh piece of parchment in his hand and a wild look in his eyes indicating pure excitement.

"Quidditch practice begins Saturday evening," he announced to the twins while pinning the parchment to the notice board next to where Fred and George were seated. "Six o'clock."

"So, what? Are we practicing without a Seeker then?" Fred asked.

"No, we got a new-" he started, stopping as soon as he saw Ron was present. Ron immediately knew what he was thinking and rolled his eyes in frustration.

"I already know," he said. "And if you think I'm going to run off and tell the Slytherins, don't. They all hate me anyway, and honestly, I'm not too fond of them either." Turning on his heel, Ron marched away angrily. Behind his back, he could hear Fred and George defending him to Oliver, who kept eerily silent.

He took the stairs up to their dormitory two at a time, wracking his brain for just what he would say to Harry as soon as they were together. Now that he knew for a fact that Harry was alright and still enrolled at the school, he had no idea what to do. Would Harry forgive him for everything? Would he finally be able to look past everything that had happened between them? Or was his defense of Ron a one-time thing, reserved only for when Draco was bullying him?

Swallowing his fear of the unknown and his pride, Ron pushed the door to their room open. Perched in the window, Harry was peering out at the world beyond. He had to have been deep in contemplation, because he didn't turn to see who had arrived. Instead, his eyes were transfixed by the swaying of the trees in Forbidden Forest.

"Harry?" Ron asked unsteadily.

Harry flinched as though mildly surprised by the interruption in his thoughts and turned to look at Ron blankly. Suddenly realizing who was standing at the door, Harry jumped up awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head nervously, ruffling the already messy hair in anxiety. "Erm…hey, Ron," he greeted. Two small pink patches graced his cheeks; a sign that he was just as uncomfortable as Ron.

"Hi," Ron said back. They stared at one another for several moments, each unsure of just what to say to the other, but knowing that this moment would be crucial.

"I'm sorry," they eventually said in unison. Ron had more to say and began babbling his apologies, but Harry did too, and before they knew it, they were talking over each other and nothing was coherent.

"You go," Ron prompted.

"No, it's okay, you can start."

"Er…okay," Ron agreed, although he really didn't want to be the first to apologize. There was too much to say, and he feared that if he started talking, he might never stop. Despite this, he plowed on. "Look, I feel terrible about, well, everything. About being such a prat to you, when you really just needed a friend. When I needed a friend, actually. I was just upset, because I've always heard about how great Slytherin is. I wanted to be there too, because that's where my Mum and Dad were. But then I got put into Gryffindor and Draco was in Slytherin. I felt like the hat was saying I was weak. Gryffindor is the rival house to Slytherin and I just always assumed that the worst sort of people end up here. Now I know I'm wrong."

"It's not just your fault," Harry argued. "I could have been nicer. I didn't understand, because I thought your brother was…" Harry seemed to search desperately for the right word, coming up short.

"Being a total git," Ron supplied. Harry looked ashamed at having been thinking just that, but Ron waved it off. "Don't worry. It's not like it's a secret."

Harry smirked at that and then continued. "I just assumed that since you were so eager to follow him on the train and then got so upset over the whole Gryffindor thing, it meant that you were just like him."

"I don't think I am. And I didn't think he was like that either. He didn't used to be." Ron sighed at the utter emptiness he now felt regarding Draco. What had happened to turn his brother into the nightmare he had become? Why was he so keen to keep his slowly growing band of Slytherin friends over his own brother? Feeling distressed, Ron slowly trudged over to his bed, sitting upon the edge and staring down at his hands. Harry followed suit, taking his seat on his own bed, across from Ron.

Harry thought his words over carefully before continuing. "Then you started avoiding Hermione. I didn't understand it at first, because you seemed to get along well enough here in the tower, but when we were out in the castle, it was like you were invisible to each other. Well, that's not true…she kept staring at you all sadly and I realized that you were the one ignoring her."

Ron groaned. "She was staring at me? I asked her not to be so obvious!"

Smirking again, Harry said, "Well, that wasn't the point. I didn't realize until last Friday why you were avoiding her. I just thought you were being mean for no reason. Then when Hermione finally told me, I was even angrier with you, because I couldn't believe that you would do that to her."

"So that's why you didn't want to be nice to me when I became friends with Fred and George and tried to be nice to you, then?"

"Sort of," Harry admitted. "I was stupid. I didn't understand what you must have been feeling."

"Yeah, I suppose not. You don't have a brother, so how could you? We used to be best friends, Draco and me." Ron sat for a moment, reflecting on how much had changed between them. Nothing had been the same ever since Draco had walked into the compartment on the train and saw Ron with Harry and Hermione. If Ron would have known in the moment what was bound to happen, he realized with a pang, he probably would have just stayed there with Harry, Hermione, and Neville. It would have just been easier in the long run.

Harry looked like he wanted to say more, but suddenly the door swung open again, and they saw with mild surprise that Hermione was on the other side. "There you are!" she said, though neither of them really knew who she was referring to. Her eyes shifted back and forth between Ron and Harry anxiously. Deciding to employ a little tact, she asked, "Are you in very much trouble, then, Harry?"

"None at all, I don't think," he said. "I've just been made Seeker of the Gryffindor quidditch team, whatever that means."

"The quidditch team?" Hermione asked, totally bewildered.

"Oh yeah, McGonagall told me about that. Congratulations."

Suddenly Harry had all the appearance of someone who was about to become dreadfully ill. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I've never even played quidditch before. Today was my first time on a broomstick ever! What if I'm terrible?"

"Well, at least you're getting something for breaking the rules," Hermione said in an almost bossy tone that somewhat grated on Ron's nerves. Harry was affronted and probably would have said something nasty in reply to her if he wasn't so queasy.

"He saved you from getting hit by the Remembrall!" Ron said heatedly. "If not for him, you'd be in the hospital wing with Neville!" I hope he's alright, Ron thought, suddenly remembering his friend with the broken arm. Was Madame Pomfrey done with him yet, or would he be in there for the rest of the night? Ron made a mental note to visit with Neville as soon as his business with Harry was all sorted out.

"Well, alright," Hermione conceded. "It is rather unfair that you're being punished by playing on the quidditch team while Draco gets away with how he acted. Sorry." She looked at Ron, but he could tell that she really wasn't all that apologetic. There was a certain bitterness there that hadn't been there before. It was apparently easy enough to live with the idea that Draco was ashamed of his brother, but the moment that he acted out against Neville, her, Ron, and Harry, Draco was deemed absolutely unforgiveable.

"Draco didn't get away with it. I told Professor McGonagall the truth and she's going to talk to Snape about it." Harry and Hermione's heads snapped to attention. Ron squirmed under their scrutinizing stares, feeling like the most horrid traitor to his brother, but realizing that he had to have been something of a savior to the two first years next to him.

Harry let out a long sigh after few moments of staring earnestly at Ron. "Sorry that you had to do that, mate."

Butterflies filled his stomach at the sentiment. Harry Potter just called me "mate," he realized. Trying not to seem too exhilarated, Ron shrugged and said, "Maybe if he gets in trouble for all of this, he might start acting like my brother again."

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione said out of nowhere, flinging her arms around him and squeezing him in a tight hug that Ron was certain she thought was reassuring. Instead, his lungs deflated with the pressure and he found it hard to catch another breath.

"Her…mio…ne!" he begged. Across from him, Harry laughed at how utterly ridiculous Ron and Hermione looked. After a couple of agonizing seconds, Hermione realized she was squeezing him to death and mercifully let go. "Merlin, could you hug tighter?"

"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly as a furious blush crept over her face.

"Come on, guys," Ron eventually beckoned after his breathing returned to normal. "I reckon Neville's going to need some company until dinner."

Obediently, Harry and Hermione followed. For some reason, it felt very natural as they left the dormitory, a trio of friends. As if this was the way it was always supposed to have been. He and Harry, Ron realized, were never meant to be enemies. They didn't work that way. It was just as natural to forgive him as it had been to befriend Hermione his very first day at Hogwarts.

Walking toward the infirmary, Ron couldn't help but feel whole. Not completely, of course. The absence of Draco in his life was a hole that was hard to fill. But there was a certain finality to befriending Harry that made him feel like a piece of Ron that had been missing had finally been found.

Neville had been alright, but Madame Pomfrey ended up shoving them out of the hospital wing after only fifteen minutes of visitation. "Mr. Longbottom needs to recover. He'll be back in Gryffindor tower tonight! Now, off to dinner, the lot of you!" she ordered, shooing them away like they were a pack of pesky cats. Somewhat dejected (they had been in the middle of telling Neville all about the fight between Ron, Draco, and Harry, leaving out the horrible things Draco had said about Neville for fear of hurting his feelings), they ended up arriving in the Great Hall early for dinner.

"The tables haven't even been set," Ron complained loudly as his stomach gave a great growl. "I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes.

They ended up waiting for nearly an hour for the start of supper, but the time wasn't spent wasted. Ron and Harry caught up on all that they had missed out on, explaining the things they didn't already know about their lives.

"I live with my Aunt and Uncle Dursley. Aunt Petunia was my Mum's sister and she's absolutely horrible…"

"I was born before Draco, but I was much smaller and was instantly put under and Incubation Charm, because I was sickly. Draco was just fine…"

"Aunt Petunia used to blame me for everything that ever went wrong, and they would punish me if I even mentioned anything about magic or my imagination…"

"I never met a Muggleborn until Hermione. My Dad doesn't really like them, and neither does my Mum really. I don't think they understand, though. I think there were less Muggleborns when they were at school, otherwise they'd know just how good they are…"

Hermione ended up spending most of the time behind her copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, having already known about each of her friends, though she did end up interjecting an odd comment here and there. She was really good about asking questions that neither Harry nor Ron would have ever thought to ask and that ended up leading them into new areas of conversation.

"Where did you grow up, Harry?"

"What was Draco like when you were really little, Ron?"

"What did you think when you were accepted to Hogwarts? What did your aunt and uncle do?"

By the end of it, Ron and Harry were as well acquainted as they would have been if Draco had never gotten in the way. Little by little, the Great Hall filled with people from all four houses, and before they knew it they were sitting in a sea of students. For the first time ever, Ron forgot to look obsessively over at the Slytherin table for his brother's bright blonde mop of hair. He was having too much fun to focus too much on the train wreck that was his relationship with Draco.

But Draco wasn't. They were in the middle of talking about their favorite classes (Ron was happy to see that Harry had the same opinion on Transfiguration as he did) when a shadow was cast by someone standing behind them. Ron, Harry, and Hermione turned around together and were a bit surprised to find Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle looking disgustingly haughty and contemptuous. Draco's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he realized that Ron was actually having a good time with Harry Potter.

"Having a last meal, Potter?" he snarled. "When are you getting the train back to your disgusting Muggle family?"

Even though Ron had heard nothing good about Harry's family, he couldn't stop himself from jumping up and saying, "Stop it, Draco!"

Draco sniggered and said, "I suppose now that Potter saved your little Mudblood girlfriend, you two are best friends?"

Ron didn't know why he did it. He supposed that there was only so much abuse he could take and that in the moment, Draco had reached his threshold. Or maybe it was because he knew it was the right thing to do. Whatever the reason, he launched himself forward, tackling his brother to the ground and hitting him mercilessly, not caring where he hit him, just that for a moment, Draco would experience the kind of pain that he put Ron through every day. Crabbe and Goyle worked hard to rip them apart (mainly by punching Ron's head and sides), but he fought through the pain. All around them, the great hall exploded in a flurry of movement and shouts, the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables the rowdiest of all as they cheered on Ron and Draco.

"MR. MALFOY!" a familiar voice shouted. A Shield Charm rose up between the two of them, and in the heat of the moment, Ron punched it and was thrown back, up into the air and onto the Gryffindor table. Professor McGonagall was quickly by his side, her face completely livid while Professor Snape pulled Draco from the ground. Ron was happy to see that Draco's lip was cut open, his eye bright red as a bruise rapidly formed. "My office. NOW." McGonagall said, beckoning Snape to follow, and they all trudged together out of the great hall, leaving behind them a stunned Harry and Hermione, and an enraged Crabbe and Goyle.

Once within McGonagall's office, she ordered them to sit and took her place behind her desk, her fists clenched on the back of her chair. Snape strode to stand beside her, though he didn't look nearly as furious as McGonagall. In fact, he had all the appearance of someone who was politely bored and impassive.

"What on earth were you thinking?!" McGonagall snapped. She glared daggers at Ron, but he refused to squirm with discomfort or show any sort of remorse. His blood was still boiling with anger in his veins and his breathing was still labored with rage from the insult that Draco had hurled at Hermione. From next to him, Draco let out a sniffle, clearly terrified.

"He called Hermione a…he made of the fact that she's…Muggleborn." Ron locked his eyes on McGonagall's not wavering as he added, "I'm sick of it. I'm tired of being bullied by him, so I took it into my own hands."

Snape smirked and for a moment, Ron was certain he saw an ounce of respect in his eyes. But then he said, "Malfoy, you are at a school where there are several teachers who would be happy to intervene if there is any bullying going on. You could have told one of us, instead of beating your brother to a pulp. Certainly you contain some sort of intelligence, though one would never suspect it."

Ron looked to McGonagall, hoping that she would bristle from the way Snape was insulting an eleven year old student, but she seemed thoroughly unfazed. "What you have done is inexcusable. I don't care how much he's bullied you, nothing gives a student the right to 'take it into their own hands.'" Ron's jaw jutted as she used his own words against him, but he didn't argue. "I think a week's worth of detentions with me is in order for your brutality."

"As for you, Mr. Malfoy," Snape added, glancing down at Draco, whose lip was now quivering. "It has come to my attention that you flew upon a broomstick earlier today when you were ordered not to and that you tried to injure another student by throwing an object at her. You will receive detention with me on Monday night."

Ron's jaw dropped in outrage. Draco was getting one detention for what he had done earlier, and he was getting a full week's worth?! But Draco had hurt more people! He had laughed about Neville, had been cruel to Ron, had fought with Harry, and had tried to hurt Hermione! Shouldn't that be worth at least the same amount of detentions as Ron was receiving?

Next to him, Draco slumped in his chair with relief and gave Ron the smuggest look he could muster with his injured face. Ron glowered back, and as they were released from McGonagall's office, he practically ran to get away from him.

"Bet you thought you'd get me in trouble," Draco said triumphantly. He was running to keep up with Ron gleefully.

"Go away," Ron snarled.

"Why should I? You're my brother and I can do whatever I want. You're the one who will get in trouble for it."

Ron snapped to attention, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Draco. "You're right. We are brothers, but I don't feel like I even know you anymore. I don't want to be near you, as a matter of fact. You're the worst person I've ever met and I just want the old Draco back! The one who was nice and cared for me. The one who talked me into getting an owl in Diagon Alley, who told me it was fine that I got a unicorn wand, and made me feel like it was okay to be me! Let me know when he comes back. Until then, stay away from me."

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes, but Ron turned and continued as quickly as he could, searching for the secret passageway that Fred and George had shown him that led up to the seventh floor. All he wanted was to go to bed. Draco followed in his wake, though, laughing at how ridiculous he had been, about how Hermione wasn't worth his time, about how Harry was probably befriending him as a last resort. The beating of his heart hammering in his ears blocked out the majority of what Draco was saying, but he was so distraught that when he came to a locked door, he unthinkingly lifted his wand up. "Alohomora!" he said, hoping that he could dart through the door quickly and leave Draco out in the corridor.

He slipped within, but Draco used his foot and leg to create a wedge big enough to fit his body in. He was so determined to continue making Ron's life a living hell that he was equally unaware of what they were doing.

"Leave me alone!" Ron snapped to him once the door was firmly shut behind him.

"Make me!" Draco pestered. "If you do, you'll only get more detentions."

Growling with frustration, Ron turned to trot down the corridor, but was halted in his tracks by the most terrifying sight he had ever seen. Towering high above them, the tops of its three heads brushing the ceiling and fangs bared ominously was a massive three-headed dog. The hair on the back of its necks stood on end and its piercing yellow eyes narrowed at the two intruders. Rushing forward, the dog launched itself at the two helpless boys, jaws open wide.

Draco was frozen with terror, but Ron wasn't. In a matter of milliseconds, he had flung the door open, shoved Draco out and ran from the forbidden corridor as fast as he could, slamming the door on the way and pulling Draco by the arm to the tapestry that he knew concealed the staircase to the seventh floor. They ran up the steps two at a time, their differences forgotten in a moment of blind panic.

"What…was…that?" Ron asked as soon as they reached the highest floor of the castle.

"A…three-headed…dog," Draco panted in reply.

"Do you…think so?" Ron asked sarcastically. Draco leaned against a wall and shot Ron a deadly look. "Why in the name of Merlin…is a thing like that…in the school?!"

Draco took a few seconds for his breath to return before saying, "It was on a trap door. I think they're using it as a guard dog."

Ron had no idea what they could possibly want to hide within Hogwarts, but he honestly wasn't all that curious to find out. He and Draco had nearly died. Ron suddenly wished he could complain to someone about it, but he knew that it was no good. They had been warned at the start of term feast, and although he had been too distraught at the time to listen to Dumbledore's speech too closely, the words, "…for those who do not wish to die a most painful death," had been hard too ignore.

"We should have never gone in there," Ron said, shaking his head at how utterly stupid he had been.

"I only went in there because of you!" Draco snapped, suddenly looking very defensive.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have gone in there if you wouldn't have been distracting me and bullying me!" It was true. Though he was still prone to getting lost every now and then, he had been in a part of the castle that he had used quite a few times. He should have known that the locked door was the one he wasn't supposed to enter, but his mind had been so full of the taunts and insults that Draco had been throwing his way that he had been momentarily blinded by anger.

"Stop being friends with Muggleborns and maybe I'll stop bullying you," Draco said darkly.

Shaking his head with disbelief, Ron said, "I'm going to bed."

Once in the security of his dormitory, Ron's mind reeled with the events of the day. Harry and he had finally become friends, but a new rift had formed between the Malfoy twins. Ron had actually beaten up his brother. If he were to go back in time to the summer and tell himself that he would actually get physically violent with Draco, he would have never believed it. And yet it had happened. They had gotten detention, and then almost died from the three-headed guard dog in the third floor corridor.

And it still hadn't changed Draco. He was determined to be hateful toward Hermione, Harry, and Neville, even in the face of death. As he fell into a fitful sleep, Ron wondered with despair if he would ever actually be on good terms with Draco ever again.

So, what did you think? How did you like Draco and Ron stumbling across Fluffy? I was originally going to do it differently by following the plot in the book with the duel, but I felt this worked better, especially since Draco has a bigger problem with Ron than he does with Harry. Anyway, reviews are great and make me happy, so you should give them. I'll update soon…I hope.