Hogwarts Express

Track Change

Track Alpha

            “Really?” Harry repeated in disbelief. “I guess I always figured it was natural.”

            Draco let out a derisive snort. “Hardly. You’re not extremely observant, Potter, to say the
least.”

            The door to the classroom opened, and Snape stood framed in the doorway. Both boys
turned expectantly to look at him, and a single one of his eyebrows rose.

            Harry and Draco were sitting on either sides of the same desk, Draco with his crossed
arms resting on the desk, Harry with his elbows, chin in hands. They looked strangely
comfortable for being bitter rivals on opposite sides of the same war, and... were they wearing
each other’s house ties?

            “I am not going to ask,” Snape drawled, making them exchange confused glances.

            “Does this mean detention’s over? Sir?” Harry ventured at last.

            “Not completely,” Snape crossed to sit himself behind the teacher’s desk at the front of
the room. “Have you two discovered anything?”

            Harry looked horror stricken. “I thought we were just supposed to be not fighting!”

            Snape gave him a cold look. “Use your brain, Potter. Do you not agree that it would be
helpful had you two discovered any reason why someone would be attempting to imitate Mr.
Malfoy?”

            Draco frowned. “Well, I don’t think it’s for Potter, sir.”

            Both other inhabitants of the room looked at him expectantly, so Draco continued.

            “I’ve had an interesting conversation with Potter, sir. I can see no way, from what I have
learned of him, that someone would be attempting to reach him via myself. We are vastly
different in many respects - including heritage and upbringing - but also vastly similar in other
areas, and so not prime candidates in either case. Yes, I would agree that we are both honourary
figureheads of opposing forces, but I would not say that we would be good targets to take each
other out.” Draco shrugged lazily.

            “Why not?” Snape frowned. “You don’t think that someone may be using this as a way to
make Potter hate yourself more completely so that he’ll attempt to kill you? Or the other way
around, perhaps?”

            “I don’t think the other way around works,” Harry pointed out thoughtfully. “I haven’t
seen a copy of me wandering about the school. I don’t think anyone has, or they would have
noticed. And I wouldn’t kill Malfoy. Sir.”

            Snape leaned back in the chair, fingers steepled. “Is that so.”

            Harry nodded. “I don’t want to kill anyone. And some imposter making Malfoy seem...
different... towards me isn’t going to make me change that. Sir.”

            Snape nodded thoughtfully, then looked at the two of them carefully. “That means we
have a quandary.”

            The two boys looked at each other, then back at the Potions Master.

            “I think we need to talk.”