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Underneath His Skin	By : LoveAndHeartbreak Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9628 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
“Underneath His Skin”

Chapter 2

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Harry woke up to the early sunlight that shined through his window. He glanced down at himself and realized that he was still in his yesterday’s clothes. He sat up and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. Then he blindly looked around and was about to wake Ron up, but he remembered that he has his own room now. He looked around again and noticed that there was no clock in the room… or at least he couldn’t see one. He placed his glasses back on and skimmed the room again… no clock. Then, a tick came from the ceiling. He looked straight up and saw numbers floating in a fancy font: 6:30 am. Harry smiled and walked to his closet, which consisted of his school robes, his trunk, and a few towels. He grabbed what he needed and strode off into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

*^*^*^*

“Harry!”

Harry walked down the staircase and into the common room and was greeted by Hermione, Ron and Neville.

“Good morning guys,” Harry said, stepping off the last step.

“We thought we could walk together to breakfast this morning,” Neville said.

“Sounds great. I was afraid that you all left without me,” Harry confessed, raking his hand through his dark hair.

“No way! We can’t have you wondering the halls by yourself, it’s a high risk for someone of your famous stature to be alone in this big place,” Ron joked.

Harry laughed and playfully agreed by giving Ron a high-five.

“Yeah yeah, shall we go now? I’m hungry,” Hermione grumbled.

Harry flinched at her change in personality this morning, but he decided not to be mixed in girls’ stuff, so he left it alone. They walked down two flights of stairs before making a right and entering the first door. They walked into the near crowded Great Hall, and made their way to their table. Harry made a quick glance towards the Slytherins and saw that Draco wasn’t there. He felt disappointed, but he took his seat and reached for the French toast, hoping it would distract his mind. Just then, owls flew in from the top windows, which were obviously dropping off the morning mail. Harry saw Hedwig fly in and she gracefully flew down towards him. He smiled at her as she dropped the envelope onto his lap. He curiously opened it and saw that it was a list of his classes. Ron anxiously opened his, and smiled at the results.

“Harry, what class do you have first?!” He quickly asked.

“Divination,” Harry forced himself to say.

“Me too, let me see real quick,”

Ron immediately snatched the paper away, relieving Harry of the temporary torment of reading the list. He took a bite of his bacon before taking a big gulp of his orange juice.

“SHUT IT, PARKINSON!”

Everyone in the Great Hall turned their attention to Draco, who had just stormed his way through the open doors. He looked furious, obviously at the following Pansy Parkinson. Crabbe and Goyle could only walk on Draco’s left side while Pansy occupied his entire right.

“But Draco, I just saying that-“

“I said SHUT IT!” Draco gave Pansy a dangerous look, and she immediately backed a few steps away.

Harry watched in amusement as Draco took control of the entire situation and the room. Pansy finally turned and walked out of the Great Hall, her eyes were red from fighting back tears.

“Whoa, must be a domestic thing, considering Draco’s reputation with the ladies,” Ron whispered.

Harry let out a small smile, but continued to watch the flustered blonde take his seat next to Blaise. Crabbe and Goyle sat on the other side of Draco, completely unfazed with the incident. Harry chuckled and drank the rest of his juice.

After the first bell rang for the classes to start, Harry stood up and waited for Ron to shove a biscuit in his mouth before he too stood up.

“Ready for the delusional Trelawney?” Ron muffled through the biscuit.

“Why so early in the morning? I can’t stand that class!” Harry angrily admitted.

Ginny hurriedly joined them as they exited the Great Hall.

“Well, at least we’re learning about the Auras,” Ginny calmly added.

Harry wasn’t sure if he should react to that statement, but he was relieved when Ron cut in.

“Oh sure, Auras, how can one resist!? Ginny, you know how much Harry and I hate Divination! It’s pathetic, boring, and a waste of time! You know how many times Trelawney foresaw Harry’s so-called dreadful future? It’s rubbish!”

“Thank you, Ron!” Hermione sighed, running up to his side.

“Well… if she saw all of those bad omens… maybe it was true to begin with. I mean, he has had a lot of bad events in his life, considering Voldemort and all,” Ginny remarked.

“I think we all know that, Ginny. By the way, Trelawney may have seen bad omens, but I personally think she should’ve seen exactly what would happen… To better prepare us… you know?” Ron countered.

Ginny just grumbled as they reached the staircase to the Divination tower. Harry was about to start climbing the stairs when he accidently bumped into a tall, blonde student, who was apparently going to the same classroom.

“Watch where you’re going, Potter!”

Harry’s green eyes made close contact with silver eyes.

“Malfoy?” Harry was surprised to see the Slytherin standing there before him.

“What bloody hell are YOU doing here?!” Ron exclaimed.

Malfoy looked offended by Ron’s question.

“Blame that twit Dumbledore! I suggested taking an advanced class, but NO, he said that I was late for signing up for the advanced classes and that I should take Divination to make up for lost credit… Wait a minute, why I am I explaining myself to you? Stay out of my business. Goyle!”

Goyle quickly handed Draco his black, leather book bag, and the blonde stormed up the steps. Crabbe and Goyle left the staircase without saying a word.

“Oh great, as if things couldn’t get any worse,” Ron groaned as he started walking up the stairs.

“I can’t believe this. Malfoy, of all people, I would rather have Voldemort with us,” Ginny teased.

“Hell no! That… that THING would destroy us all! Besides, I think he’d hate the subject just as much as we do,” Ron chuckled, picturing the Dark Wizard sitting in the classroom and throwing a fit about staring at a cloudy Crystal Ball.

“I see you find that amusing, Harry,” Hermione chortled.

Harry realized that he had a big smile on his face. He tried to lessen its impact, but the butterflies in his stomach kept him grinning widely.

“Oh, yeah. Just imagining the half-dead being reading how much time he had left,” He quickly lied while still grinning.

Ron and Ginny laughed while Hermione gave Harry a big smile. They quieted down as soon as they entered the classroom, hoping that the rest of the students were in as much dismay as they were. However, much to their surprise, they heard some girls giggling wildly from a far distance. When they turned the corner, they saw Draco surrounded by two brunette Ravenclaw, and two blonde Hufflepuff girls. Hermione and Ginny both dropped their jaws as Draco leaned dangerously close to one of the brunettes, whispering something in her ear. Ron had a look of disgust as he stalked to an empty long desk. Harry quickly joined him, looking at the display that Draco was putting on. Hermione crossed her arms and cleared her throat, which was loud enough for the girls to stop giggling and reluctantly turn their attention to her. Ginny blushed and rushed to the desk behind Ron and Harry.

“I believe seating arrangements are in order,” Hermione’s voice was stern.

Draco gave her an evil grin.

“Look around Ms. Granger… what do you see?” He asked in a mockingly professional manner.

Hermione quickly scanned the room, and then turned directly back to Draco.

“I see a half empty classroom, mainly because of you distracting most of the girls from their arranged seats,” Hermione retorted.

“Hmmm, that’s not what I see,”

Hermione parted her lips in confusion; not sure of what Draco was getting at.

“It’s true that there are seating arrangements… but, I’m the only Slytherin here. You don’t think that Trelawney would want me separated from my dear class mates, now do you?”

Draco trailed his eyes down one of the girl’s body as he finished his sentence. The girl nervously giggled and quickly covered her face with her hands. Hermione’s eyes narrowed at him.

“Besides, I like it here,” He continued, slowly looking back up at Hermione, “care to join?”

He let out an evil grin, and Ron quickly jumped from his seat and was about to run after Draco, but Ginny and Harry were somehow able to stop him before he even left the desk. Hermione looked outraged at Draco’s words.

“How dare you! You filthy, pathetic little pig!” She shouted at him.

“Oh calm down you Mudblood, I wouldn’t be caught dead around you! I wouldn’t let you come near me even if you wanted to! Pathetic broad,” Draco argued, wrapping his arms around the two girls that sat beside him.

The girls seemed impressed with Draco’s words, and they didn’t seem to be bothered by his total disrespect towards Hermione. Ron tried to go after Draco again, but Hermione calmed him down and made him sit back in his seat.

“Forget it, he’s not worth the fight, Ron,” She calmly said.

“But he insulted you, he has no right!” The redhead struggled against her hold.

“Ron, listen to me. Malfoy is too pathetic to be acknowledged. Just ignore him,”

Harry gave Ron an apologetic smile and looked back towards Draco. The two brunette girls were stroking the blonde’s hair, and the Hufflepuff girls were anxiously talking about something that Draco didn’t seem interested in. Harry snickered, watching the Slytherin ignore the chatting girls before him. That’s when Draco’s silver eyes darted up and met Harry’s. The brunette felt his cheeks start to get warm, and he quickly turned away to avoid letting Draco see the blush form.

The classroom slowly filled up, and the commencing bell for class finally rung throughout the school. Professor Trelawney swiftly entered the room, looking about the classroom until her eyes rested on Draco and the gathering girls, which grew almost twice its size since the dispute earlier.

“Mr. Malfoy,” She called out.

“Yes, Professor?” His voice was stoic.

“I’m glad you have made yourself comfortable, but I’m afraid that you will all have to go to your assigned House seats now,”

The Ravenclaw girls stood up and went for the desks that sat behind the Gryffindors, while the Hufflepuff girls rose from their comfort zone and walked down to the front desks. Trelawney looked back at Draco, who had the last four desks all to him self.

“Are you the only Slytherin here?” She asked.

Draco nodded while resting against his chair.

“Well then, I think you can manage there by yourself,” Trelawney stated before turning her attention to the supply cabinet.

The guys in the classroom chuckled at Draco’s misfortune, but the Slytherin blonde just gave them an evil glare, causing them to turn away quietly. Harry kept his gaze on Draco a few seconds longer, pushing the small memory into his Mind Journal.

“Okay, we are going to learn Auras this week,” She announced.

Ginny let out an excited smile, while Hermione plopped her head into the palm of her hand.

“Let me see… Mr. Malfoy, why don’t you come down here,” She said, setting up an end table with an open textbook.

Draco groaned and rose from his seat. Snickers by the boys could be heard again and Draco spun around and gave them his dangerous stare to quiet them down again. Harry was the only one grinning at the display, as the room got quiet. Draco casually stood in front of the class, grinning at the fact that he was now the center of attention. Harry made another quick mental note of him and felt it rush into his cloak pocket.

“Okay now… I need a volunteer,”

Before Trelawney could scan the room, every girl, except for Hermione and Ginny, threw their hands up in the air. Draco snickered and crossed his arms, amused at the class’s reaction.

“Uh, let’s see… Harry! Mr. Potter, come up here,”

The girls groaned at the professor’s choice, while Harry remained stunned in his seat. He wasn’t sure if he heard her right at all, and he quickly looked at Ron, who had a look of concern in his eyes. Harry turned back to Trelawney, who gestured him to come forward. He sighed and rose from his seat. Draco narrowed his eyes and snorted as Harry slowly approached him. The classroom seemed to fill up with both tension and excitement, as the students watched the two rivals come face to face before their very eyes. Harry avoided making eye contact with Draco as he approached the center of the room, which was dreadfully silent, until Trelawney started speaking in her usual, anxious manner.

“Okay. Harry, have you seen an Aura before?”

Harry wasn’t sure what an aura was, so he shook his head, hoping that she couldn’t sense how clueless he was about the subject.

“That’s okay! Some wizards have the gift of sight, and others do not. BUT! We will find out if you do Harry. All you have to do is separate the images you’re seeing right now, and concentrate on what lies inside the object,”

Harry arched an eyebrow and slowly turned to Ron, who had a very baffled look on his face. Harry shared his expression, and he turned to face Draco again, who looked very agitated with the situation he was in.

“The most effective way to do this, is to clear your mind,” Trelawney explained.

Harry wasn’t sure how to do that, but he pretended to ‘clear his mind’ by not thinking of anything… except for how masculine Draco looked right now. Harry took a mental note of Draco’s physical appearance; his broad shoulders, and his obvious height difference. He wasn’t much taller he was, maybe just an inch taller? Harry realized how safe Draco made him feel, just by being near him like this gave Harry a comforting feeling. Before he could finish his personal description on Draco, Trelawney interrupted with another exhilarated tone.

“Try closing your eyes,”

Harry flinched at her words, close my eyes?!

“Closing your eyes helps clear the mind, surely you must know that since you do know the Patronus charm,”

The class was filled with chuckles, but Harry only glared at Draco, who snickered louder than everyone else. After the class quieted down, he took a deep breath and straightened his stance, still not sure if he should close his eyes or stall the lesson until class was over. He most certainly wasn’t comfortable about having to close his eyes in front of his so-called rival.

What if he jumps me? What if he decides to use this opportunity to attack me? Is he capable of attacking people while they’re vulnerable like this? I really wouldn’t want to find out…

Draco flipped his bangs out of his eyes, and Harry almost lost it. He felt the strong urge to jump Draco and snog him right in there in front of everybody… but instead, he closed his eyes and tried to get the image of Draco out of his mind… but not before pushing the memory into his journal.

“Good, good. Now, don’t think of anything, just concentrate on the energy around you, feel the energy,”

Harry almost laughed at Trelawney’s words. He heard the small laughter break out in the room too, with Draco being the loudest. Harry resisted the urge to smile as he stopped thinking all together. He tried to ‘feel’ the energy around himself… however; all he could feel was the cool air breezing by through the open windows, and his cloak brushing against his skin. After a minute or so went by, Trelawney instructed him to open his eyes. Harry wasn’t sure of what he would see, but he slowly opened them and found himself locking eyes with Draco. The students leaned in, as if a fight might break out between the Slytherin and Gryffindor. However, the two boys just continued to stare at each other.

“What do you see?” Trelawney asked.

Harry felt his heart race and his palms began to sweat.

“I see,” He could feel his body about to tremble, so he turned away to face Trelawney, “Nothing,”

The class broke out into laughter, and Draco dropped his arms down to his sides, grinning widely at the result. Trelawney waved her hands in the air to quiet everyone down. Harry turned back to Ron, whose face was red by laughing so hard, and Hermione covered her face with her hands, laughing hysterically. Smiling at the display, Harry turned back to Draco, who had a very curious look on his face. Harry arched an eyebrow at his expression, that’s new…

“Okay, now. Malfoy, why don’t you give it a try?” Trelawney suggested.

Draco kept his stance, and only his eyes turned to the professor. Harry started to grow even more nervous, he wasn’t sure if he could take much more of this mild torment. Secretly he was satisfied with being able to see Draco up close like this, but at the same time, his heart was pounding so fast and so loud that he thought everyone in the room could hear it. He had to get away; he had to leave… But his body wouldn’t move, it felt safe standing there in front of Draco…

“Now, just clear your mind-“

“It’s yellow,” Draco answered.

Everyone gasped at the Slytherin’s words, as if he had said an evil charm or curse. Harry curiously looked down at himself, only to receive chuckles from the blonde.

“You can’t see it because it is you. Not only that, you obviously can’t see auras, so don’t even try,” Draco sneered.

Harry glared at him.

“How do we know that you’re not lying?”

Everyone shifted in their seats, waiting for Draco’s response. The blonde grinned and shook his head.

“I’m not going to try and convince you. You’re too carefree to know about this stuff. Not to mention, I can’t make you see what I can see. So I won’t bother to waste my precious time,”

Harry heard murmurs throughout the classroom, but he kept his eyes on Draco. The Slytherin crossed his arms, and his expression changed into amusement. Before Harry could think of something else to say, the class bell rang, and everyone jumped from their seats. Harry watched Draco stalk off to retrieve his bag, before Ron gently placed his hand onto Harry’s shoulder.

“C’mon, mate. Let’s get to Arithmancy.”

Harry was finally able to move from again. He slowly turned away from Draco and trailed off after Hermione and Ginny.

----^^----^^----^^----^^----

Harry was glad when lunch finally came around. He walked beside Hermione to the Great Hall, where Ron was waiting by the entrance.

“Oi! Look, chocolate frogs! I haven’t had one of these in over a month now!” Ron held the moving frog by its hind leg.

Harry made a side smile while Hermione shoved Ron into the Great Hall. Before Harry could follow their lead, Malfoy brushed by him, causing Harry to stagger forward.

“Out of the way, Yellow!” Draco mocked.

Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and two Slytherin girls laughed at Draco’s words. Harry glowered at them as he hurried away to his friends. Ron shoved another chocolate frog into his mouth as Harry slumped into his seat. Ron looked toward his brunette friend, and saw how irritated he looked.

“You alrite, Harry?”

After placing random food onto his plate, Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves down. Ron quickly swallowed the chocolate frog.

“Um, Harry, you alrite?” He asked again.

Harry sighed.

“Yeah. I’m okay. Just still worked up from this morning,” He lied, smiling sheepishly.

Ron nodded.

“I understand,”

Before Harry could begin eating, a familiar voice came from ahead.

“Harry,” Harry looked up and saw Ginny leaning in from across the table.

He immediately leaned back, baffled at her close range.

“Um… yeah?” He asked.

“Er… Margret wants to know if you’re seeing anyone,” She blushed while asking the question.

Harry glowed inside.

“Um… obviously not,” He answered, letting out a small smile.

“Okay,” Ginny hurried off.

Harry turned to Ron, who had a mild suspicious look on his face, but it soon faded away when he gazed passed Harry’s head. Harry creased his eyebrows together before turning around to see Ginny walk up with a taller brunette girl from Ravenclaw. Harry stood up, inwardly stunned at the girl’s gentle features. Her hair was long and straight, resting loosely against her shoulders, and she had bright green eyes that contrasted well against her light skin tone. Harry nervously smiled as he tried to think of what exactly he would say to her.

“Hello, Harry,” She greeted.

“He-hello,” He stammered.

Margret blushed and giggled at Harry’s reaction. Harry knew he had to say something else before the situation gets any more awkward.

“Um… want to join us?” He asked.

“Sure!” She let out.

Harry smiled broadly at his personal success as Margret and Ginny sat down across from him. Ron quickly drank from his goblet before speaking to the Ravenclaw girl.

“Hi! My name is Ron,”

“Nice to meet you,” Margret greeted warmly.

“I… I’m sorry if this sounds… horrible but, I don’t remember seeing you around,” Harry confessed.

Margret laughed.

“I know; I’ve mainly kept to myself. I don’t have many friends; say for Ginny and Luna. They’re pretty much my closest friends,” She explained.

“Understandable,” Ron cut in.

Harry smirked, realizing that he wasn’t the only one who had stayed hidden from the general crowd… or at least he tried. He glanced over towards Draco, who was also looking directly at him with a very amused smirk on his face. Harry quickly turned away and raked his hand through his hair to distract his nerves.

“I’m guessing you don’t play Quidditch?” Ron assumed.

Harry threw him a questionable look.

“No, sadly I don’t. I prefer to relax and watch the game. You know, be a spectator,” Margret explained.

“So you’re a big fan of Harry? I mean, with Quidditch?”

Harry started to feel uneasy with Ron’s interrogation process. However, Margret just smiled.

“Actually, I am,” She answered, looking at Harry.

He smiled and felt a heavy blush come across his face.

“Well, I better get back. I was supposed to help Professor Flitwick with the new supplies. Nice to meet you, Harry,” Margret calmly left the table.

Harry watched her leave and looked at Ginny, who seemed a bit uneasy at the moment.

“She’s pretty looking. Not as pretty as Cho, but I give her props for being so nice,” Ron stated.

Harry nodded in agreement and went back to eating his lunch. Ginny noisily got up and walked out of the Great Hall, without saying anything or looking back. Harry had to force the piece of meat down his throat as he watched her leave, realizing her troubled feelings.

There’s nothing I can do about that…

The bell rang again and everyone stood up to head to their next class. Harry was almost running, happy with the fact that his next professor was Hagrid. Ron was calling out for him to slow down, but Harry only quickened his pace. When he finally reached the outdoors, he decided to slow down and wait for the others. Ron and Hermione emerged from the doorway, almost out of breath from running through the crowd.

“I forgot how in shape you are, Harry,” Hermione admitted.

Harry let out an amused laugh.

“There’s Hagrid,” Ron pointed out.

Harry turned around and saw the tall, massive man wonder out of his cabin. Several students were already forming around the half-giant when the trio finally reached him. They saw more students arriving and Harry decided to use the remaining time to talk to Hagrid.

“Professor,”

Hargid turned around and saw the familiar teen running up to him.

“Harry! It’s very nice to see you again. So, how’s life trea’in ya’?” He asked with an amused tone.

“It’s getting better I think. It feels nice to not worry about certain things anymore,” Harry confessed.

“Ah, I know what yer mean. I was hoping that these last couple of years at Hogwarts would be smooth sailing for ya’,”

“It is so far, even thought it’s only the first day,”

“Keep yer chin up Harry, I trust everything will be fine,” Hagrid gave Harry an encouraging smile.

Just then, Ron could be heard yelling from a distance behind Harry.

“Stay away from her!”

Harry quickly turned around and saw Ron stepping between Draco and Hermione.

“You should tell her that,” Draco stated, gesturing toward Hermione.

Harry walked back over to his friends, while Hagrid tried to distract the rest of the class.

“Okay, looks like we’re all here-“ The half-giant announced as he turned to the rest of the students.

“Back off, Malfoy,” Harry’s voice was firm as it always when he confronted Draco.

Draco just grinned at the display of the two boys defending Hermione, and he looked back at Crabbe and Goyle, who looked pretty amused themselves. Harry wasn’t sure of what to expect, but he waited. Draco then snorted and casually walked away, leaving the trio in their bothersome state.

“-And here are the Fire Crabs,” Hagrid finished.

He pulled on a large cart that was hidden in the edge of the forest. It contained small metal kennels, which wiggled after the cart stopped moving. Everyone slowly backed away, except for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. The cages wiggled some more as Hagrid easily lifted one up. A small growl emerged from the kennel, and some of the students took a few more steps back. The cage opened and a small, tortoise-like creature emerged from the open cage. The frightened students leaned in closer, and most of the girls started to gush over the peaceful looking animal, which resembled nothing like a crab. Hagrid gently placed the Fire Crab onto the ground so everyone could get a closer look at it. It’s turtle head looked amongst the surrounding people, and Harry noticed that the shell was glistening, like tiny jewels were embedded in it.

“Professor, what are those jewel-like things on its shell?” He asked.

“Exactly as they look, they’re jewels,” Hagrid answered.

The girls gushed louder at the fact that the small creature actually contained jewels; Harry figured it was the same reaction that diamonds usually get.

“Fire Crabs are usually found in Fiji, however, they are becoming quite scarce from many people using their shell as a cauldron. I figured that it would be nice fer us to raise these young ones ‘ere until the end of this semester. Now, apparently they are babies, but they can cause serious damage with their ability to shoot fire,”

Hagrid grabbed another cage.

“You all can have your own Fire Crab, I have plenty for everyone here. So line up, come claim your Fire Crab,”

The girls hurriedly made their way to the cart, and Harry had to quickly ran to pick up the un-caged Fire Crab before it ended up being trampled on.

“Thank ya, Harry,” Hagrid gently took the Fire Crab and placed it back into the kennel.

After everyone claimed their creature, Hagrid had everyone write their name on the kennel. Some of the girls asked if they could name the animal, and Hagrid agreed that it would be a good idea.

“Remember, these crabs are endangered. They would most definitely need a good handler,”

Harry carefully took out his Fire Crab, which was hardly any bigger than his hand. It let out a soft humming sound, which caught everyone’s attention. Everyone got quiet and the tortoise continued it’s soft humming. Before Hagrid could explain its behavior, another soft humming was heard from across the group. Everyone turned in that direction and saw Draco’s tortoise was humming a tune as well. The two creatures continued on humming which blended nicely together, filling the open air with a melody that was both soothing and enchanting. No one moved or said a word until the two tortoises slowly stopped humming. Hagrid started to clap and the other students slowly followed. Both Harry and Draco raised an eyebrow, not sure on how to take in the fact that their tortoises had just interacted with each other.

“Well now. It likes these two tortoises have discovered their singing partner,”

“Singing partner?!” Both Harry and Draco drawled out.

“Yes. It is a very rare sight, but it does resemble a very close partnership. Some times, a Fire Crab can be physically attracted to another by the pattern on its shell. This is usually temporary though, cause as soon as they feel like they need a nice, stable mate, they will hum a melody, just as Harry’s tortoise did. If there’s another tortoise out there that likes the melody, it will hum back. This is the Fire Crab’s way of testing its true capability with another,”

Harry looked down at his tortoise; which rested peacefully inside its shell.

“Excuse me, Professor, I thought these were babies. Aren’t they a bit young to be looking for a mate?” A Slytherin girl asked.

“Yes, correct. However, these creatures are very unpredictable. I suppose that they are aware of being an endangered species, so they must be finding a mate sooner than usual,”

The girls gasped with excitement, hoping that their Fire Crab would hum too. Harry glanced at Draco, who was gently stroking the tortoise’s head. He took in the sight before him, and had it pushed into his journal.

That’s something you don’t see everyday.

After Hagrid taught everyone how to feed the animal, the distant bell rang and everyone reluctantly placed their Fire Crabs back into their kennels, and made their way back to the castle. Ron immediately started to rant on about the events of the day so far.

“Blimey! First Divination, now the Fire Crabs?! What’s next, a duel in D.A.D.A?!”

“Ron, don’t jinx him. You okay Harry? You look distracted,” Hermione had to quicken her pace to keep up with him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just looking forward to our next class,”

Defense Against The Dark Arts class didn’t seem very long. Harry happily reunited with Remus, expressing his thoughts about having him as his professor again. Remus agreed with him, and after a few minutes of going over the day’s lesson, the students broke out into groups. Harry was able to practice the Incarcerous charm on Ron with great success. Ron tried to conjure the same charm, only to have the ropes tie up the person next to Harry. Draco was able to tie up both Crabbe and Goyle with one shot, obviously showing off his natural talent. After D.A.D.A, Harry and Ron slowly followed the crowd to their last class of the day – Potions.

“At least Snape would be the last thing on our mind,” Ron grimaced.

“I’d rather not have him on my mind at all,” Harry complained.

They turned the corner and saw Hermione, Ginny, and Neville anxiously waiting for them at the doorway. The two boys rushed over and noticed Neville’s paled face.

“What’s wrong, Neville?” Ron asked.

“Snape,” Harry retorted.

Neville nodded.

“C’mon, we’ll go in together. I doubt he’ll bother you, knowing that Malfoy is in there grabbing all of the attention,” Hermione assured the trembling boy.

“Yeah, I think that’s the only time you can appreciate the damn git’s existence,” Ron added.

The group of friends laughed and walked inside. Sure enough, Draco was amusing Snape with his stories about his father and the ministry. Harry was aware that after Voldemort had died, Lucius Malfoy became head of the ministry, mainly because he was able to clear his name from the Death Eater position he was formally in. The truth is well known, however, money can sure change things around, especially when you’re part of the Malfoy family. The Gryffindors walked by and made their way quietly to their seats that sat in the mid-row section across from the Slytherin’s. Harry decided to sit next to Neville in order to keep him calm throughout the class. Snape let out a small grin as Draco ended his story, and heedlessly walked up the chalkboard. The room was quiet as he waved his wand in the air and the chalkboard revealed the essential ingredients to a potion called, the Indifference Potion. Harry eyed the name and had a good idea of what the potion might do.

“Now, who here knows what this rare potion does?” Snape drawled out in a low voice.

Hermione and several Slytherin students raised their hand. Snape intentionally focused his attention to the Slytherin side of the room as he scanned through the crowd.

“Mr. Zabini, do tell,” The greasy haired professor called out.

“It makes the drinker feel indifferent about everything, usually until the drinker sleeps it off,”

“Correct, 10 points for Slytherin,”

Harry watched in disgust as the Slytherins writhe about in content.

“Mr. Longbottom!”

Neville flinched at Snape calling out his name. The Professor motioned the terrified boy to approach the floor, but Harry couldn’t stand to see Neville scared like this, so he rose from his seat and insisted that he demonstrate the potion instead.

“Sit down, Potter! 5 points from Gryffindor,” Snape snapped.

Harry quickly sat down and Neville took in a deep breath before he hurriedly stepped to the middle of the room. With another wave of Snape’s wand, a cauldron appeared in front of Neville. The boy backed away from the boiling content, which made the Slytherins snicker at his obvious fear. Professor Snape easily scooped some of the content into a vile, which turned from a transparent substance into a thick, metallic grey liquid. Neville gulped as Snape handed him the potion. Harry shifted his eyes to Ron, who seemed fearful for the nervous Neville. He then glanced at Draco, who appeared amused with the event taking place. After a quick hesitation, Neville downed the content. The whole room grew quiet, except for the boiling cauldron that still sat in the middle of the room. Neville quickly swallowed and opened his eyes. He then glanced around and seemed more relaxed than before, much to the Slytherins’ dismay. Snape grinned and told Neville to take his seat. The once scared boy now looked carefree of the situation as he strode back to his seat. Harry saw how calm Neville was after he sat down and looked about the room.

“Now, gather the ingredients,” Snape ordered.

Everyone jumped from their seats and walked to the supply cabinets. After 45 minutes of chopping roots, dipping water every five minutes, stirring counter-clock wise three times every 10 minutes, adding the pixie wings, adding dry Rose petals, AND watching it turn transparent, class was just about over. Some groups got a fail because the potion turned dark green, rather than transparent.

“Did you stir three times every ten minutes? I think not,” Snape would affirm the failed potion, and walk away.

When he reached Neville and Harry’ cauldron, he scorned at their success, and he gave them an A for Acceptable. Neville didn’t react to this; he didn’t react to anything during his time in Snape’s class. After Snape dismissed everyone, Harry let Neville walk ahead, fully aware of the fact that Neville didn’t need an escort anymore.

“Neville, you okay?” Ginny asked.

“I’m fine,” Neville assured her with a quick smile.

They all left the dungeon and saw the sun was setting. The hallway was near crowded with students heading to the Great Hall and Ron let out a huge sigh of relief.

“We survived our first day back at Hogwarts. It wasn’t as bad as I thought from this morning, although I would much prefer not having that Slytherin git in most of our classes. You noticed he’s not in our Arithmancy and Charms class?”

“Would you rather have me in there too?”

Harry and his friends turned around to see Draco and his own little snickering Slytherin group approaching them. Ron scrunched his face at the idea of having Malfoy in every one of his classes.

“No! It’s bad enough we have to deal with your sorry arse existence,” He opposed.

“My, my, aren’t we the cranky one this evening?” The blonde was slowly walking by, keeping his eyes on the angry redheaded boy.

“Dumb twit, I’m surprised you even survived for as long as you did today!” Ron countered with a scorn look on his face.

“I know. Aren’t I lucky the one? Think about it, who’s the one complaining about how much their life sucks, while the other is happily striding about the halls?” Draco grinned to his friends after he finished.

“Damn Malfoys. You’re all good for nothing low-lives,”

The hallway got quiet, and the surrounding crowd stood still, looking over the apparent dispute between the Slytherin’s and Griffydor’s. Draco’s smile quickly faded and he stepped closer to Ron.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me!”

“Yeah, I did. I just want to see if you have the guts to say it again,” Draco’s voice was low and dangerous.

Hermione tugged at Ron’s shirt, urging him to back away.

“Ron, stop it. Remember what I said earlier?” She whispered.

Ron shoved her hand away, completely transfixed on the angry blonde that stood before him. The background crowd started to let out low murmurs, which caught Draco’s attention. He took in a deep breath and swiftly turned away, walking down the corridor. Harry exhaled too, but all too soon.

“I said, your whole damn family is nothing but a bunch of pathetic, good for nothing low-lives who taint this world with your damn existence!” Ron shouted across the hallway.

Harry has never seen Ron act like this before, and frankly, it scared him. Hermione and Ginny gasped at Ron’s choice of words, and Neville just stood behind Harry, unfazed. Draco stopped in his tracks and his friends quickly backed away from him, certain of his next move. Ron took out his wand and got ready to defend himself. Harry slowly reached for his wand as well while carefully watching Draco, who kept his back to them. Hermione started to shout,

“Ron, STOP IT!”

Ron shoved her away again.

“Get back!” Harry shouted, and the crowd quickly backed away from the upcoming duel.

Draco still didn’t move, but when he did, he kept walking forward. His friends gave each other confused looks, but they slowly peeled themselves off of the wall and followed him. Ron smiled and put his wand back into his pocket.

“See!? I told you so!”

As the crowd began to cheer, Harry started to calm down, but then he saw Draco whirl back around and, wordlessly, cast a curse towards the distracted Ron. Harry reacted; he dove in front of the oncoming attack and countered with one that randomly came to his mind. He didn’t have to speak it; the green burst of light just flashed from his wand and it flew directly towards Draco. The curses looked like they hit each other, but after a split second delay, the curses kept flying to the targets. Neither one of the boys had time to move or counter the attack. The green bursts of light hit the boys directly in the chest, causing them to violently fly backwards. The crowd watched in horror as Harry and Draco landed face down onto the stone floor. Neither one could move. Harry could hear the distant sounds of Hermione crying out his name as his numb body went cold, and Draco tried to roll over, but his body remained still. He heard the distant sound of screams and cries, one of them was Pansy, while another was seemingly closer; Blaise. Within seconds, the motionless boys slowly fell into darkness, feeling nothing but cold and emptiness.

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Underneath His Skin