THE FRIENDSHIP OF RIVALRY

Notes:

Disclaimer - I do not own the setting of Harry Potter or any of the characters; those are the property of J.K. Rowling. I have however added a few new names, given that this story is centered on the time after Harry and Draco have graduated. The plot is entirely mine.

This story is a male x male slash so please don't read it if you don't like to read these types of fanfics.

Key:

"Thoughts"/"Telepathy" - Yeah I know it's weird. I intended to make telepathy bold, but it would probably confuse everyone if I were to change it now since not many read the pre-text.

"Speech"

~Parseltongue~

This chapter might seem a bit confusing, but I am admittedly going for a deranged and obsessive character type here, so I am trying to fit the way of thinking, to the behavior of the character.

Chapter 17: Unknown enemies (?)

The spider made its way through the Slytherin dorms. He waited for someone to open the door and wasn't very surprised when the students turned out to be Jean and Theo. The two never seemed to sleep and the animagus wondered which prank or trap they had set and where. He made a mental note to be extra careful when he walked around the next day.

He dodged their feet and scurried out before the door closed again. It was thrilling to know that he could evade anything and everything in his animagus form since nobody thought twice about seeing a spider crawling around. He had a free pass to go where he wanted when he wanted to and he knew he could even sneak into the headmistress' office if he was so inclined.

Fortunately for her, he knew that she would never partake in any underhanded schemes like Dumbledore would have. It was actually sad to know that he had missed that chance by two years. But it didn't matter anymore; his family would finally be able to make a name for themselves with the newest developments once he informed them. His friends had laughed when he received his form, but he had soon proven to them that the form was very necessary. Nowadays they only stared at him in awe at the fact that he could get in almost anywhere he wanted.

He made his way to the Owlery and took on his student form. His father would be very happy to hear about what he had just learned. Not only would they be able to get back at the Ministry, but they would also be able to use Harry Potter to do it. With the Minister being charged, they would easily be able to make use of the chaos that will ensue once the news got out.

With the letter written, the student made his way to a small barn owl. "Here Shea, take this to my father will you? Make sure you use the secret route, I don't want anyone other than my father to read it." The owl cooed softly as he attached the letter to her leg and he stroked her head one last time before she took off.

The restlessness he had been feeling for the past couple of weeks, gave way and he allowed himself to smile evilly at the turn of events. The sound of shuffling footsteps minutes later shocked him out of the happy high he had fallen into and he quickly took his animagus form once again.

He made sure to crawl into a crack before the owls saw him and he peeked out as he heard the shuffling come closer. As always, Filch had a nose like a bloodhound and the animagus was sure that he was able to detect any and all students that decided to wander around after hours.

The thought spooked him a bit, but he shrugged it off. No, Filch just had the ability to be at the right place at the right time or in the minds of the students, the wrong place at the wrong time. It would have been great if they could have gotten Filch on their side, but the idea was chucked out before it could form much further.

Not only would they not be able to trust him, but he would probably run to the headmistress almost immediately and that would not do. The student watched as Filch exited the Owlery again and he made a point of keeping close to the man just in case the birds spotted him before he got out.

Once they were away from the Owlery, the student swiftly made his way to the Hufflepuff dorms. It felt great to be a snake amongst a bunch of badgers. He made sure that nobody knew that he should have been in Slytherin and that the hat put him in Hufflepuff instead. At first, he did it just because he didn't want the stigma of being placed in Slytherin and the hat immediately refused to put him in Gryffindor while claiming that he also wasn't smart enough to be placed into Ravenclaw either. He hadn't really wanted to agree, but one could only defy the hat once before it placed you in a house whether you liked it or not. The only house the hat had left open to him, was Hufflepuff.

He was angry about it for a while, but then he realized that no one really paid any attention to the students of Hufflepuff. He was able to easily spy on the other houses and they all thought that he was just being protective. Nobody saw the evil glint in his eyes as he gathered the secrets of those around him.

It was only a matter of time before he had enough blackmail to turn the entire school, or at least his entire house, against his intended targets. All he had to do was to wait for whatever plans his father would make and he would be sure to perform his part to perfection.

He was a little worried and apprehensive that Draco Malfoy was clearly on Harry Potter's side. He hadn't expected that, but he was sure that Draco was just doing it because he had his own underhanded plans. The student wasn't planning on going against his idol. He grinned mentally as an idea started to form. Maybe he could get Draco to help him bring Potter down? He'd seen the lust in the man's eyes when Potter had spoken about the ritual and the student realized that Draco probably wanted to get his hands on the information.

Everyone knew that Draco had been crushing on Potter for years and he might just help them if they promised him, Potter, in return. It would be a heavy blow to not be able to get back at the 'savior', but being a slave to his worst enemy would have to do.

The idea swam around in the head of the animagus and he decided that the plan actually had value. He was sure that his family would agree and Draco might even allow them to practice a few spells on Potter in compensation.

He thought about it for a bit as he snuck into his dorms and changed back. Firstly he would have to keep an eye on Draco to see if he could be trusted. He didn't want to make any moves that could land his group in any trouble. And secondly, he didn't want to get in the way of his idol if Draco was plotting to bring Potter down. They would just have to learn about his plans before they did anything to mess it up.

It wouldn't be easy, but both he and his father could easily see that it would be a lot better if they had the Malfoys working with them instead of against them. Who knew? Maybe he could become Draco's new best friend since Blaise and Pansy were now happily married and living in Australia.

He hadn't bothered to worry about the information at first, but the student decided that it was probably one of the reasons Draco became an Auror. It would be plausible to think that Draco would go undercover to get revenge on his rival. The blonde's friends probably didn't see the genius of the plan that Draco was secretly concocting and as such, the animagus wondered if Draco had even told his friends anything.

The animagus also had to think about what would happen on the off chance that Draco was actually trying to convert Potter to the darker side of magic. The thought gave the boy chills just thinking about it.

No one on the dark side had actually believed in the prophecy as much as they were supposed to. In all honesty, they had just wanted their world to change. Important family values were being lost because the Ministry seemed to put more stock into integrating muggleborns than upholding the history of the purebloods and the nobility simply refused to accept it.

The boy stalked around in his room a bit. If they could get Potter on their side as well, then maybe they would be able to impact the world on a much larger scale. The animagus hated to admit it, but Potter was a really powerful Wizard, and someone that powerful would be better utilized as either a mindless slave or an ally.

The student quickly showered and then climbed into bed. As much as he wanted to contact his friends, he couldn't do that until the next morning. From the sound of things, Potter and Draco were going to reveal themselves soon, it worried him a bit, but he also saw it as an opportunity.

Potter would get lulled into a sense of false security now that the 'mission' was done. The only thing the hidden animagus had to do now was to wait for the two to reveal themselves before his plan could be implemented. If he had to be honest with himself, he knew that Potter would need to be persuaded and the only way they could urge him to talk to them, would be to kidnap one of his closest family or friends.

All he had to do was to take one of the most important people in Potter's life and the man would come running whenever they needed him. Draco would be out of that equation of course. He wouldn't even dare to try and kidnap his idol. Although… that could end up being extremely interesting if he didn't already know that he would come out on the losing end in that fight.

If Draco weren't on their side, as much as he didn't want to believe that such a thing was possible, then maybe they would keep The Boy Who Lived as a trophy slave; it would actually be a shame if they just outright killed him. The man would be very useful later on and the student couldn't wait to see how they could use his fame and power.

He was sure that Draco would be pleased to have Harry Potter as a slave though, so he refused to think to use him like that until it was absolutely necessary and if Draco didn't conform to their plans, well he could think of numerous ways in which he could persuade the man to help them.

Sorry for the short chapter, can't really say much more unless I want to completely reveal the character, which will be OC.