I'm baaaaack! This really prompt update thing probably won't last, but hopefully, I can use my cushion of extra chapters to at least keep a frequent update schedule.

This chapter is dedicated to AlineDaryen, whose consistent reviews have made me smile. Thanks!

Draco took a politely sized bite of roast chicken, and glared in the direction of the Gryffindor table. "Would you look at that nasty Weasley? He's an embarrassment to all purebloods everywhere." Blaise glanced over, saw Ron Weasley stuffing his face with three foods at once, and shuddered.

"They really ought to make table manners a required class for the Wizarding Academy of Necessary Deportment Skills." Blaise grimaced, while Draco smiled. The boys had met at the academy, called WANDS, at the age of six.

All purebloods were required to attend the academy, but it was up to the parents which classes their offspring attended. Each class had a fee, therefore, the Weasleys only enrolled their children in the least expensive mandatory classes—Secrecy, which taught young witches and wizards how to lie to muggles about magic, and Basic Education, which covered such mundane topics as Geography, Mathematics, and Literacy.

The idea behind the academy was to standardize the educational playing field for all purebloods. The problem was the lax requirements. Parents who cared about their children enrolled them in every class they could afford at WANDS, while parents like the Weasleys felt that letting their children grow up feckless and wild was a decent (and money saving) option.

"Well," replied Draco, "At least it meant we could avoid him at WANDS." Draco really felt relieved that his parents had insisted he be in a different Secrecy and Basic Education class than the Weasel. Merlin only knows how much damage his education would have suffered had Draco been with the Weasel in his formative years. Simply look at Neville Longbottom. The boy could have been intelligent had his classed progressed as Draco's had. Instead, it was constantly held up for the Weasel's academic incompetence.

Draco glanced idly at the head table. Professor Snape was glaring at Harry…Headmaster Dumbledore was casting a spell to turn his food purple…that awful Hagrid person had picked up an entire roast turkey and was gnawing at it…the timid defense professor glanced nervously at the Gryffindor table…and suddenly, Draco was aware of a small disruption. The bushy haired girl sitting next to Harry was looking at him with concern as the boy clutched at his scar. Draco abandoned his inspection of the teachers to look worriedly in Harry's direction, only relaxing when the boy seemed to be over whatever pain was bothering him. The rest of the meal passed without incident, and it was finally time to head to the common room.

The first years chattered excitedly as the prefects lead them down toward the Slytherin Common room. They had heard wonderful stories about the place throughout their childhoods from parents and relatives. The students whose parents had been in other houses were wondering aloud what the differences would be between that house and the Slytherin house. Draco was silent, letting the pleasant chatter wash over him. When they arrived at the stretch of wall that was to be the entrance, the Prefects gathered the group close to whisper the password. They entered the room, and sat on the couches to await their head of House. Severus Snape swept in, and glanced at the students impressively.

"Look around. You see before you a room filled with potential. Each and every one of you have been given the honor of being in the greatest House of Hogwarts. This is the House that has won the Hogwarts House Cup more times than any other house in the past Century," he paused for effect "combined. This is the House that has produced peerless wizards, who daily push the limits of magic. This is the House that was formed by Salazar Slytherin for the witches and wizards of the oldest and most noble of bloods. However, this is the House most hated amongst the others. This is the House that is suspected during wrongdoings at the school.

"You, as representatives of Slytherin, must work to avoid these negative connotations. You must band together with your cohorts to protect one another from the antipathy displayed by other Houses. I ask only that you respect the rules of Hogwarts, and the privileges that come from being a member of this illustrious House will continue to be yours to cherish. Any rule-breaking will lose House points. This is unacceptable. I expect nothing but the best from each and every one of you." With this, Snape turned to sweep from the dungeon, then grimaced, and turned back to the gaping first years, and smug upperclassmen.

"Dumbledore wishes to do something to promote inter-House unity within the school. He mentioned some ridiculous 'secret pen-pal' program. Apparently, this program is mandatory, and will count as part of your extra-curricular grade. Everyone grab a quill from the basket and write a nickname. The nickname will be tied to your magical signature, and you will be paired with someone from another House with whom you are required to correspond throughout the year. Meeting this person is not mandatory, but should you desire to do so, you may." Snape scowled, and held out a basket of quills and slips of parchments

There was a brief scramble for quills, and a dull muttering filled the room, friends consulting one another on nicknames, complaints about added assignments, and the like. Draco turned to Blaise. "What have you chosen?"

"I don't really know…I'm going with…erm…" Blaise pulled out the silver necklace that had been glinting against his dark skin "Spider…you know, because of what everyone calls my mum…I know it's stupid, but this whole assignment is stupid. I can't imagine forcing us to correspond with some Hufflepuff, or worse, a Gryffindor, will make us a more united school. What name are you going with?"

"Dragon, probably. I know it's unoriginal, but I don't really care." Draco sighed, signing the slip of parchment with a flourish. He watched lazily as Snape collected the quills and parchments with a flick of his wand, then left the common room. By now, Draco was exhausted, and thoroughly looking forward to getting into bed and forgetting this whole fiasco with the boy from the robe shop ever occurred, even if only for a few hours.

Draco,

I received with great satisfaction your first letter from school. Though it was no surprise to hear you have become Slytherin, it pleases me greatly. Your mother has made arrangements for your room to be redecorated in either green or black, with silver accents. She wishes I tell you to owl her with your preference.

On the topic of Harry Potter, I realize that he is perhaps a much sought-after companion, but my sources say that our company's boss is nearly ready to resume his position. Therefore, despite any potential prestige gains that could be made through an alliance with Potter, I advise you to treat the boy as you would treat a Weasley (at least, for the time being). Who knows who could be observing your actions? In all respects, protect yourself and our family from any doubt that could arise once company's sabbatical is over.

Finally, I will close with this advice: Make as many alliances as you can while in school. You never know who will prove useful in the world outside Hogwarts.

Your mother sends her love. I am eager to hear about your classes, so write again soon.

Father

Draco folded up the letter. He knew he should begin his next letter to his father, telling him that Potions was quickly becoming his favorite topic, and that McGonagall was biased against him based off her prejudices from being allied with Dumbledore, but Draco couldn't muster the will. Draco was having an awful week. First, he'd tried to impress Harry by putting down the Longbottom boy, then he'd tried to arrange a meeting (in the guise of a duel) to talk, but the Longbottom affair had made Harry hate him more, and the duel was ruined by the Weasley's determination to be a "second," and by Crabbe telling Filch about the duel.

As Draco put the last bite of toast into his mouth, he shoved his letter into his bag, and made his way to his classes. In his second class, Charms, Flitwick pulled a basket of letters from under his desk. He flicked his wand, and the letters went speeding to each member of the class.

"This is your first letter from your penpal!" Squeaked Flitwick enthusiastically. "I'm so excited about this program, that I'm going to give you fifteen minutes right now to read your letters and write a reply!" the tiny wizard beamed around at the unenthusiastic students. Draco opened his letter and regarded the untidy scrawl.

Dear 'Dragon'

First of all, I think this is a silly assignment. There are so many things about magic that I could be learning, but I'm stuck writing a stupid letter. No offence to you, of course.

Draco snorted. At least he and his pen-pal had something in common. He read on.

Anyways, umm, I'm supposed to tell you about myself. I'm a first year, which is obvious, because they were pairing first years with first years. I'm not supposed to give away my identity, so I won't give a physical description. I like flying, Exploding Snap, and Chocolate Frogs. I don't care for Bertie Botts. That's really all I can think to say to you, unknown person.

Sincerely,

Thunder

Draco snorted again. "Thunder?" Really? Draco supposed he couldn't really give his pen-pal grief for his nickname. No one had really put much thought into their names. Draco pulled out a quill and began his response.

Thunder,

I'm glad you agree this assignment is a waste of time. I don't know what I would have done if my partner was overly enthusiastic about this project. Following the format of your letter, I'll tell you about myself. I like flying, too, but I prefer Chess to Snap, and I like Honeydukes Chocolate better than the frogs. My favorite subject is Potions, even if the class itself is overly simplistic. I want to play Quidditch for my House one day. Umm, I've just been told that I have to ask a question about you, so…If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?

Sincerely

Dragon

That silly assignment out of the way, Draco glanced at his watch. Only seven minutes had elapsed, leaving him time to write a quick response to his father's letter. Draco pulled out a fresh roll of parchment, and began his letter.

Yes, I know. There was no mention of the penpal thing in JKR's version, but I figure I have to find SOME ways to be original, or the story will be boring. Hopefully, I can keep things fun. Please review and let me know what you think!

C