Unofficial Portkey Archive

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted across the green hill a week later in Defensive and Offensive Dark Magic Training.

"Protego!" Draco yelled out, effectively shielding himself from the spell and sending it rocketing back to Harry, who ducked quickly.

"Come on, Potter! You can do better than that!" Draco taunted, a sneer on his face.

Harry scowled back before looking down at the three observers, Hermione, Ginny, and Lupin, and giving them a quick wink.

"In your stances!" Lupin called up.

Draco and Harry took fighting positions and when Lupin shouted "GO!" Harry executed his plan.

"Stupefy! Expelliarmus!"

Draco easily dodged the first spell but in the process, put himself right in line with the Disarming Spell. He was knocked off his feet and landed face first in the grass as his wand went flying. A cheer went up from the two girls and he heard Lupin's praises to Harry.

"Well done, Harry! Excellent job!"

With an annoyed grunt, Draco pushed himself off the ground, shaking dirt out of his blonde hair. As he stood fully upright, Lupin came up to him and held his wand out. Draco snatched it away in annoyance, glaring at his Professor.

"Good job yourself, Draco," Lupin said quietly. "But you have to be more careful next time. This was only a practice, but in a real battle, something like that could seriously harm you or kill you. Be watchful at all times."

Draco snarled. "Yes, Professor."

He angrily begin to stomp back to the castle, oblivious to the way Ginny was staring at him. Her brown eyes were studying his every move and she couldn't help but smile softly when she saw him slip his wand in the holster she had given him for Christmas. Despite her anger at him for ignoring her so much lately, she still found herself loving him and wishing with all of her heart that he would look at her in the same way she looked at him. She wished to be able to hold him and call him hers. She wanted to be with him in the same way Harry and Hermione were with each other. But so far, no such luck was in store for her. If she had hoped Christmas would resolve some things, it hadn't, and Draco still had his icy exterior fully in place.

Ginny glanced to the side and saw Harry and Hermione hugging one another, completely happy in each other's embrace. Sadness filled her and Ginny sighed deeply, hanging her head before slowly beginning her own walk back to the castle. Her bright red hair blew wildly in the breeze and she was so deep in thought she hadn't noticed that Draco had stopped to watch her, his own wistful smile gracing his face.

Just when he felt like calling out to Ginny, in hopes to repair some of the damage he had caused, he was interrupted by Harry.

"Oy, Draco! Hang on a minute!" he called.

Draco groaned loudly in annoyance and fixed his gray eyes on Harry, glaring at him hatefully for disrupting his thoughts.

"What, Potter?"

Harry narrowed his eyes and looked like he was going to retort but Hermione, who was next to him, tugged on his arm and shook her head.

"Don't start, Harry. You two will never be able to work together if all you do is fight."

"Listen to the bookworm, Potter. At least she's good for something," Draco snapped.

Hermione bit back her own comment as Harry closed his eyes in distress, gritting his teeth and remembering the original reason why he had stopped Draco.

"You said you wanted me to teach you about Parseltongue," Harry finally said, opening his eyes. "Tonight, after dinner, I think we should meet."

Draco raised an eyebrow and just gave Harry a hard look. "What makes you think I need help from you?"

Harry sighed. "Nice one, Malfoy. You are the one that asked me to teach you so don't get all huffy with me. I am the only other Parselmouth around, so you're learning from me. Like you said, I'm not sure Voldemort is really up for it, unless you despise me that much." Harry smirked at his last remark.

"Ha, very funny, Potter," Draco commented dryly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So, are you up to being in a room alone with me for about an hour, God forbid it's any longer," Harry replied snidely.

Hermione gave him a warning look but Harry ignored, clearly enjoying messing with Draco far too much.

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, I doubt an hour will really traumatize me."

Harry nodded. "Good. I'll see you then, Malfoy."

Him and Hermione began their walk back, Draco following behind them at a distance. Hermione was very put off by the way Harry had acted toward Draco and she tugged angrily on his arm.

"What was that Harry?" She whispered fiercely. "Do you really feel the need to rile him up so much? I thought the two of you were starting to get along better? Certainly not the best of friends but tolerant of one another! How are we ever going to win if……"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted, "please, I know I was getting testy back there but sometimes Malfoy can go too far with me. Saying that stuff about you and everything. I'll tolerate him but only so far."

Hermione sighed deeply, knowing she was fighting a losing battle. "Just try, ok Harry? I can't keep stressing enough how important it is that the two of you get along. Be nice to him when you're alone with him today, ok? And for goodness sake, call him Draco."

Harry chuckled softly and gave her a quick kiss on the side of her head. "Alright, Hermione, I promise I will do all of that. I'm sorry for acting like a prat earlier…it's just…sometimes…."

"I know, Harry, I know," Hermione replied softly, remembering all too well the bad blood that existed between Harry and Draco. And as much as she wanted it to, she knew it wouldn't be erased within a few months. She would just have to wait patiently and hope for the best.

…………………………..

When Draco was done eating his dinner, he hopped off the bench and headed for the Entrance Hall. Once there, he leaned against the one wall and crossed his arms, waiting impatiently for Harry to get done and get this lesson over with.

Draco knew he needed help and had asked Harry for it, but he was still disgruntle about the whole ordeal. It had been a big enough blow to learn he was a Parselmouth but to know the only one he could go to for help was Harry Potter was even worse. The animosity between him and Potter was so huge that Draco had doubts they would even become remotely close. But it was being grinded into his head so often that he had to become friends with the other three to make things work and win the War that he found himself trying at times. It went against every way he had been raised though.

Draco growled, hating that he still felt he needed to follow the ways of his father. He despised that man and didn't think he deserved the respect to be called a father.

Draco shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts and looked up in time to see Harry making his way down the staircase toward him.

Harry nodded his head. "Draco."

The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Harry."

Harry laughed slightly as he came to a stop in front of Draco. "It seems you did learn my name at some point in time."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course I did, I just preferred to call you Potter…or Pot-Head…whichever."

Harry grimaced as Draco smirked at him, knowing he'd won that round of banter. The two stood in silence for a few seconds before Draco motioned toward the staircase opposite the one Harry had come down from.

"So, are we going to start this lesson or just stand here all day? I mean, I know you like staring at me but….." He trailed off, an arrogant smile playing on his face.

Harry snorted in disbelief, not even feeling like responding to that comment.

"Come on, Ferret Boy. Let's get you trained up."

Draco snarled in annoyance as Harry walked up the stairs, chuckling softly to himself. Reluctantly, Draco followed after him, wondering the whole time what he was getting himself into by agreeing to take lessons from Harry Potter.

They climbed all the way to the third floor and once there, Harry turned to the right and begin walking down a long corridor. Large doors and a few scattered paintings and tapestries were all that surrounded the two. Draco was quick to notice that a couple of the mysterious Passim Mirrors were hung on the wall, shimmering quietly in their gold framing. He kept his eyes on them as Harry stopped at one of the doors and pulled a key out of his pocket.

Draco managed to wrench his eyes from the mirror and turned to watch Harry insert the key in the door and fumble with it a bit before the lock clicked open. Harry then shoved the door open with his hand and a faint streak of yellow light shot out to dance across the carpeted surface of the corridor. Draco followed Harry into the room, trying his best to continue ignoring the tempting glow of the Passim Mirror.

As they stepped into the room and shut the door, the two boys studied the fairly large but cramped room. It had obviously been a classroom at some point because desks and chairs were piled everywhere. Several were overturned and a thick layer of dust was on them. The wall opposite the door was just one long window, also covered with dust and grime, which was why so little light was filtering through. Cobwebs were everywhere and Harry swore he'd just seen a very large spider crawl out from under one of the desks and scuttle into the corner.

Definitely not a place to show Ron, Harry thought with slight amusement.

Draco made a disgusted noise next to him and kicked at some dust on the floor. He then glared at Harry out of the corner of his eye.

"Please tell me why, out of all the rooms in this castle, you chose this one."

Harry snorted. "You think this was my choice? Bloody hell no! Snape gave me the keys to this room."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Snape? Why did you go to Snape about this?"

Harry shrugged. "He was the only teacher I could find. He wasn't very happy but he finally relented. Bat. No wonder he has a key to this place, looks like somewhere he'd like to live, just his type of atmosphere."

Draco had to cough to cover up his laughter because he didn't want Harry thinking he suddenly thought he was funny. Yes, Professor Snape was his favorite teacher at Hogwarts but it didn't mean he refrained from making fun of the stubborn arse.

"Well, let's make ourselves comfortable," Harry said blandly.

With a couple flicks of his wand, the desks and chairs slid against the wall, the dust disappeared, and the dying sunlight was pouring in through the windows. Draco lit the candles lining the walls and conjured up some more on the large desk on the right side of the room. Harry then pulled two chairs into the center of the room and sat himself in one of them.

"Take a seat," he said, waving his hand at the other one.

Draco grunted before making his way to the chair and slouching into it. The two stared at each other for a few minutes as if sizing the other up. Finally Harry sighed and leaned forward.

"Alright, Mal…Draco. What do you want to know about being a Parselmouth?"

The blonde boy gave him a funny look. "What do you mean 'What do I want to know?' Everything. Tell me everything. You've lived with this for a few years now and you know what it's like to cope with it. I know about Parseltongue, I don't need a history lesson, just…..give me some information about it."

Harry eyed Draco, trying to think of how to respond. He shifted a little uncomfortably in his chair before speaking. "Look, Draco, it's not that easy to explain really. You want me to give you information on experience but the thing is, you have to do that on your own. I can tell you a bit about it but not too much more."

Harry looked down at his hands for a second before continuing. "I have to admit this is strange, we've never gotten along before and to suddenly be sitting here with you is just….odd. I can't say I don't dislike you because I do. There's a lot between us that can't be erased within a few months but I know we have to try, which is why I agreed to help you with this."

"Don't get sentimental with me, Potter," Draco warned, but with not a lot of harshness in his voice.

Harry laughed. "Oh don't worry about that, I'm just telling you like it is."

Draco nodded, starting to see Harry in a new light. Maybe he's not as bad as I thought he was, he wondered.

"So," Harry interrupted into his thoughts, "what can I tell you about Parseltongue? Well, you will not be able to speak it unless you are faced with a real snake or you can somehow convince yourself that you are facing a real snake when in truth you aren't."

Draco seemed surprised by this information. "Really? You can't just….start speaking Parseltongue out of nowhere?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I've tried and can never do it. It seems to be almost like an….automatic thing. A language that only shows itself when needed."

"How many times have you needed it, Potter?" Draco asked in curiosity.

"A fair few," he replied tightly. "And if I have to call you Draco, call me Harry, not Potter."

Draco smirked. "Fair enough, Harry."

Harry muttered incoherently under his breath before just shaking his head and continuing with the original reason why him and Draco were in the same room together. For about two hours, all they did was sit there and discuss being Parselmouths and ways for Draco to deal with it better. By the end, both felt like an understanding had developed between them and even the beginning of a thin layer of friendship. If anyone else had walked into the room, they would have been shocked to see the two biggest sworn enemies of Hogwarts talking and laughing together.

Unbeknownst to Harry and Draco, they were slowly starting to unlock the Key that was so vital to the Four Heirs winning the war against Voldemort.

After laughing for a few minutes in response to something Draco had said, Harry looked down at his watch and his eyes widened when he saw the time.

"Bloody hell, its after nine o'clock and I still have some studying to do tonight."

Draco rolled his eyes. "When did you become such a good pupil?" He paused. "Wait, don't answer that, I can do so myself. Hermione."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well, she has rubbed off on me slightly."

"And I don't need to know how much," Draco said, winking.

Harry glared at him in response. "Sod off, Malfoy."

"Ooohh, back to last names now, are we? Well ok, Potter." Draco smirked at him.

Harry chose to ignore him and stood up. "Come on, we need to get back. I think I've told you enough about this subject."

Draco nodded, standing up as well and flicking the candles out with a wave of his wand. Harry pushed the chairs out of the center of the room and turned back around to face Draco. A sudden thought popped into his head and he quickly addressed the other boy before he could leave the room.

"Wait a second, Draco. There's something I wanted to say to you."

Draco gave him a curious look and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Harry stepped up to him so the two were almost nose to nose. Draco's gray eyes widened and he took a quick step backwards but Harry didn't back down and followed him, his green eyes boring into him.

"What's with you, Potter?" Draco said, a hint of anger lacing into his voice. "I didn't do anything that horrible to you recently."

Harry didn't even blink. "There's one thing I forgot to mention to you, Malfoy. I'm bringing it up as a duty to my best friend. I've noticed what's been going on with you and Ginny recently, and don't give me that look because you know something's been going on too."

Draco had gotten the weirdest look on his face when Harry had mentioned Ginny, a mixture between disgust, hopefulness, and confusion. He couldn't understand what would make Harry bring this subject up. It wasn't like Draco was very obvious with anything, he'd been taught from a very young age how to hide his emotions. So how could his feelings for Ginny be read? What were his feelings for Ginny?

Before he could ponder that question further, Harry continued speaking. "I'm not here to tell you to stay away from Ginny because I know that she sees something in you and it's not right for me to dictate either of your lives. But I am warning you not to hurt her. She cares for you a lot and I think you may too but I know what you can do, Draco. Don't hurt her, she's like my little sister and you can guarantee both Ron and I will make your life hell if you break her heart."

Draco had no doubts that Harry was being serious and he couldn't help but be a little frightened of him. From the look in Harry's eyes, he could almost see why he was considered a wizard that should be feared. Draco though, as always, acted like it didn't bother him.

"Whatever, Potter," he said nonchalantly. "I don't know what you're talking about but ok."

He shrugged and started walking for the door. "Don't forget what I said, Draco," Harry called out after him.

Draco ignored him and left the room, hearing Harry sigh and walk out behind him. Harry locked the door before turning to him again, looking like he wanted to say something else.

Draco held up his hand. "I heard you the first time, Potter, no need to repeat. I think I understood the threat, you can be pretty scary you know."

Harry couldn't help but smile a little at that comment. "It's nice to know I can intimidate you."

"Don't get used to it," Draco responded sarcastically.

Harry laughed and started making his way down the corridor. When Draco didn't follow him, he stopped and saw him staring at something on the one wall.

"Aren't you coming?"

Draco waved his distractedly, still staring at the wall. "No, I'll be there in a little bit."

Harry gave him a strange look but thought nothing of it and continued on to the West End Tower. Draco saw him leave out of the corner of his eye but his main focus was on the swirling Passim Mirror in front of him.

The silvery gray liquid was captivating and Draco found himself thinking of his plan again, the plan he had been devising since the first day at Illustris. Once training was completed, the plan would be ready to be put into action.

Soon, he thought, walking away from the mirror, soon they will know.

.................

Author's Note: Oh my! I am so so so sorry for taking FOREVER with this update! I lost the original beginnings of this chapter when my last laptop crashed on me and I was so upset about it, I could barely write. Then college got really hectic and I just finished up my finals last week. I feel horrible about leaving you guys hanging for so long but I just couldn't write. Now I'm on break so I'll be able to write a bit more often. Thank you for putting up with me and I appreciate all the recent reviews I've gotten, thanks so much for supporting this fic and staying with it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, not too much happened but I'm trying to show more of the advancement in Harry and Draco's friendship. Please review and I will try and get the next chapter up asap! Again, I am soo sorry for making you guys wait!
Much Love,
PhoenixFirebolt