Epitome of a Soldier - What it is to be Necessary

Hi everyone :)

*does the review dance* Everyone dance with me :D And listen to my replies as you do:

whitewaterlily
My aim is always to make people happy, so I'm very pleased to hear that the new chapter brought some cheer into your otherwise somewhat crappy day XD

Kuromei
Another person whose day was made by a new chapter from me :D So happy :) *hugs Kruomei-chan*

Blood Lust 777
*throws a peanut at Pansy* I don't think any of us like her at the moment XD

Snivelly
Harry is cute in every way so of course he'll have cute friends to be even cuter with XD
I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter ^_^ And it's good to hear I have you for the long haul. *sets up an extra cushy arm-chair for you*

polka dot
Yeah, I've always imagined Neville would probably stay the same as he was in First Year without Harry there to make him feel braver to and drag him out of his shell.

DTDY
I think everyone approves of Draco in the last chapter ^_^

thrnbrooke
Glad to hear it :)

MewMew2
You're very welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

dana_aeryn
Ooo, a sort of double review there XD I'm happy to hear that both stories are going down well with you ^_^

Enough from me, on with the show :)

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31st October 1997: Late Afternoon

"Your first Hallowe'en." Draco declared suddenly, a smile on his face and sounding almost like a proud parent. "And we get to spend it together."

Harry glanced up from the book he was reading on his bed for the briefest of moments before returning to it. Inside, he thought that Draco was just a little too obsessive in the whole making note of every single one of Harry's firsts but it obviously brought the blond some sort of joy so the dark haired youth said nothing about it. Perhaps it was because it was so hard to annoy the saviour, just as it was hard to get him to feel anything to an intense degree.

Draco came around to Harry's bed then, climbing onto it and then looping his arms around the stoic young man's shoulders loosely, resting part of his weight on the slight back. "Makes me want to dress us up in matching costumes." He admitted, a grin clear in his voice.

"Is that not an American practice?" Harry murmured, his eyes not straying from his book.

"Not exclusively." The blond murmured in reply as he brought a hand up to run through the strands of dark hair. "And you'd make a glorious princess to my prince."

"I am a boy."

The Malfoy chuckled and pressed a moist kiss to the soft skin just underneath the other youth's ear causing Harry to shiver slightly. "I know you are, love, but I don't think the teachers would be very accepting of a prince and his catamite."

Harry paused completely then and simply stared ahead of himself for a few moments in silence before eventually replying: "I cannot be a catamite when I am still a virgin."

More chuckles escaped Draco then and he buried his face against the back of the dark haired youth's neck in order to smother his laughs. "You obviously don't get the concept of dressing up and role-playing." He snickered and Harry simply ignored him as he was totally lost with the conversation anyway. Slowly, the Malfoy on his back calmed himself and an easy silence fell over the two. That is, until, Draco once again felt the need to speak: "Harry?"

"Yes?"

"What do you know about sex? And don't just give me a dictionary definition, I want to know what you really know about it."

Harry set his book down on his knee, knowing that this wasn't going to be a conversation that would be over with in a short amount of time. "I, admittedly, know very little about it. Of all the things I dreamed of when I was asleep, sexual relations were not among them."

"Do you know the mechanics of it? Like, do you know how a man and a woman have sex together?" Draco enquired, to which Harry gave a small nod. "What about when two men have sex? Do you know how that's done?"

"I have a vague idea." Harry paused his speech for a moment then and looked at the blond very carefully before he spoke again. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Will we, one day, have sex?"

A grin crossed Draco's face then, a grin full of anticipation and amusement. "I think, Harry," he said in a leering sort of manner. "That us having sex some day is one of the only things in life which is a certainty."

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2nd November 1997: Midday

That day, at that point, had been fair for Harry. Morning lessons had gone well and he had the rest of the day to himself, though would no doubt be kept company by Draco who also had a free afternoon. There was only one thing which was keeping it from being a great day really; people. Because it was now a well known fact that Harry Potter was friends with Gryffindor's Hermione Granger and had spoken to Neville Longbottom, people seemed to think his friendship was up for grabs with anyone. He'd had random people, people he didn't even recognise, greet him enthusiastically by his first name as though they had been life-long friends. It was strange and rather bothersome as well and he had gone from giving a polite nod at the greetings to just totally ignoring them. No one seemed to get the idea though and continued to act all chummy with him.

None of it did well for improving the young saviour's general opinion of people. If anything, it confirmed to him that most were shallow, fake, and would do anything to get even the slightest touch of fame. There were of course exceptions (Draco and Hermione for example), but he was rather convinced that the majority of the population were that way.

"Harry Potter?"

At the sound of his name from an unfamiliar female voice, Harry paused his thoughts and turned to look over his shoulder. Just behind him, he saw three girls, one from Ravenclaw and the other two from Gryffindor. They all had massive grins on their faces and appeared to be unnervingly eager about something. Harry looked them all over but said nothing, not that saying anything was necessary as he was about to find out.

"We just wanted to introduce ourselves." One of the Gryffindor girls, who looked exactly like the Ravenclaw girl implying that they were twins, told him enthusiastically. "I'm Pavarti."

"And I'm her twin sister Padma." The Ravenclaw said straight after.

"And I'm Lavender." The second Gryffindor beamed. "If you have any questions about life at Hogwarts, don't hesitate to ask us."

Harry looked them all over once again before turning. "I will bear that in mind." Was all he murmured as he began to walk away, despite the fact he would have much rather pointed out to them that such an offer would've been more useful back in September. The words he did speak however, seemed to be enough for the three girls who all gave rather girlish squeals of delight much to the young saviour's confusion.

"What did they want?" The voice of Draco suddenly spoke and Harry glanced to the side where his best friend had suddenly appeared and was leaning against the side of an alcove.

"To introduce themselves." Harry replied as the blond fell into step with him. "And to offer their knowledge of Hogwarts."

"And they squealed because...?"

"I said I would keep it in mind. I do not understand it."

"They fancy you, that's all." The Malfoy stated dismissively.

"They do not know me." The dark haired youth pointed out.

"They know you're Harry Potter and they can see your face; that'll be enough to attract the attention of ninety percent of the British Wizarding population."

"But to hold such feelings is pointless for them, they will come to nothing."

"And they're all no doubt aware of that but people have their dreams and it won't stop them from idolising you. Those girls are just using the fact you're in school to their advantage." Draco explained. "They most likely don't expect to get anywhere with you but they obviously have fun in trying." Here, he paused and scowled. "Just as long as they don't try too hard."

Harry frowned a little as well, though it was more one of confusion than annoyance. "Have you ever had this...Fancy, for me?"

Draco held back a snigger at the not completely correct use of the term and managed to keep his voice steady when he gave his answer. "Of course I did otherwise I'd never have initiated that first kiss. Naturally, I still fancy you now, even more so than before considering I know you better."

"So this fancy for a person increases the more you get to know them?"

"It can, but other times getting to know someone can make the feelings go away. People often say you should never meet your idols because you build up such a great picture of them in your head that they don't or never could live up to. The same can be said of someone you fancy; get to know them and you may realise that they're not the sort of person you thought they were."

"Do you think people's fancy of me will fade if they got to know me?"

"It's possible, I doubt many people understand just how different you are from the newspapers alone. That's only a good thing as far as I'm concerned though," Draco said as he took Harry's hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss the knuckles. "It just means I don't have worry about anyone stealing you away from me."

"No one could ever do such a thing." Harry murmured quietly but sincerely.

"And you don't know how happy that makes me." The blond replied with a most beautiful smile.

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7th November 1997: Midday

The mid-point of another fair day. Harry wondered to himself idly if it was a bad thing that he was starting to wish for something to do, other than the repetitive cycle his life had become. Although he didn't quite miss the summer of action and danger and Dark Lord killing, he was finding himself growing increasingly bored. He had considered confiding in Draco but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to explain exactly what it was he was feeling. Until he had figured it out himself, it would no doubt be best to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Afternoon, Harry." Hermione's voice suddenly came from behind the stoic youth.

Harry didn't stop but he turn to look over his shoulder as he spoke his reply to his friend's greeting. "Good afternoon, Hermione."

"Have a good Divination class?"

"It simply helped to confirm what I had already concluded; divination is not something which can be mastered or induced, it is simply something that happens for reasons currently unknown to mankind."

"You actually think it happens at all?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not; there are convincing arguments for both possibilities. Not everything can be explained away with books and logic."

Hermione seemed a little put out by that comment but said nothing on it, simply giving a light frown before changing the subject. "There's actually something more significant that I was hoping to ask you."

"Oh?" Was all Harry said to that.

"Yes, well, you see, there's a book which has just been released that I want to buy and I tried to owl Flourish and Blotts to order a copy but they wrote back that all of them have been reserved and they won't have any more in stock for several weeks. So, I was planning on going to Hogsmeade tomorrow to see if they have any copies in the book shop there and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me? Draco's welcome to come too if he wants."

Harry thought on the offer for a moment. He had yet to venture into Hogsmeade despite the fact he'd always had the permission to go and had been constantly encouraged to do so by Sirius and Remus. The need had never risen however and Draco had never mentioned it and so they had never bothered. The young saviour had nothing against the idea however and it would certainly be something different to do for a change.

"Very well." He murmured. "Draco and I will be happy to accompany you."

"Uh, don't you need to ask Draco first?" Hermione inquired.

"Draco will come willingly when I tell him I have already set my mind on doing as you have requested."

Hermione smiled brightly at that. "Harry, you're wonderful!" She enthused as she leaned forward and pecked a quick kiss onto his cheek. Before Harry could even properly react to that, the girl had turned and was dashing off back down the corridor.

Harry watched her go and unconsciously brought a hand up to rub the spot where his cheek at been kissed. It had been a display of affection which had been...A bit of a shock really. It obviously hadn't been a romantic gesture, more platonic than anything, but it had still been a surprise just as the first time Draco had kissed him had been. Had it been unpleasant? In all honesty, he wasn't completely sure. Would he want it to happen again? Once more, he wasn't completely sure. He wasn't sure of much at that moment, the kiss had seemed to completely scramble his mind.

In somewhat of a trance-like state, Harry turned around, planning to head towards the Great Hall once again. However, his pathway was no longer clear and was instead blocked by the large figure of Gryffindor's Ronald Weasley. The expression on the red head's face was like pure murder and Harry could only guess at what had made the young man so angry.

"Yes?" Harry asked in his usual monotone.

"I thought I'd already warned you to leave Hermione alone, Potter?"

"Yes, you have, but considering that was not what Hermione told me herself, I chose to ignore your words as they were obviously misguided."

"Well then I'll tell you again; stay away from Hermione. And this time I suggest you don't ignore me, if you know what's good for you."

If Harry was one for displaying any sort of emotion, he may have blinked in confusion then. Instead, he simply continued to look at the other young man before he spoke: "Is your hostility a result of your jealousy or have I done inadvertently done something to offend you?"

"Jealousy? Why would I be jealous of a freak like you?" The Weasley sneered nastily.

"Perhaps because I hold a position you, yourself, wish to hold. I am Hermione's friend and she is mine, we call the other by their first name and we are comfortable together in intimate quarters. What I have with Hermione is what you desire to have with her, is it not?" Harry enquired as he slowly approached the Gryffindor. "You wish to have her address you by your first name and you wish to do the same in return, you wish to call her a friend and have her call you the same, you wish to be the one whose cheek she kisses."

The fist which flew towards him then registered in Harry's mind before it connected but not soon enough to allow him time to react. A sense of deja vu occurred to him at the violent contact as he was reminded of when Draco had done the exact same thing to him. As had happened back then, the stoic youth made no sign that the blow had hurt as his head snapped to the side sharply. However, unlike last time, pain blossomed at the contact and the stony act was much harder to maintain. Several gasps came from somewhere nearby, no doubt other students who had stopped to see the sight of their saviour being punched by a seemingly random Gryffindor and, as it turned out, they were not the only ones to see it.

"Mr Weasley!" The voice of Professor McGonagall suddenly rang out through the corridor loudly. Harry turned his gaze but not his head in the woman's direction and saw her rapid approach. "What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing? Explain yourself at once!"

The ginger haired Gryffindor began to flounder immediately and it was clear he had no idea what to say or how to justify his actions. After all, the punch couldn't really be justified in any other way than admitting that he had simply lost his temper and that would hardly go over well with the headmistress. The Weasley had hit Harry with only the very slightest verbal provocation which hadn't even been intended to rile him up. Considering exactly who Harry was didn't make the situation any better.

As Ron continued to struggle to find something to say and as the small crowd which had gathered whispered amoung themselves, Harry thought over the situation. He knew that, technically, the Gryffindor deserved whatever punishment he was about to be assigned. He hadn't meant to anger Weasley and a punch in the face was a totally disproportionate reaction to what had actually been said. But still, the Slytherin felt responsible on a level and so, before he could even really think about it, he was speaking words in the Weasley's defense:

"It was my fault." He murmured and that effectively stopped all noise. "I am the one who provoked Mr Weasley into violence."

"Mr Potter?" McGonagall said with a light frown.

Harry said nothing and continued to stare blankly across to Ron who was looking at him with something akin to disbelief.

"You can't possibly expect me to believe that you spoke with the intention of provoking Mr Weasley." The headmistress insisted as her frown deeped.

"Are you accusing me of lying?" He asked in his usual monotone as he turned his gaze onto the headmistress.

She was, and what was more, everyone, absolutely everyone, standing in that crowd knew that Harry was lying. But none of them said anything. Who was to challenge the word of the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Defeat-The-Dark-Lord after all? The saviour had his reasons and, in their opinion, who were they to judge?

McGonagall sighed heavily, clearly disappointed with the situation for countless reasons. "Very well." She consented primly. "Fifty points will be deducted from each of you and you will both serve detention with Mr Filch tonight, beginning at seven o'clock sharp and I hope it will teach you both to think a bit before you let your emotions run away with you. Understand?"

"Yes." Harry answered.

"Yeah." Ron muttered, glaring off to the side.

The headmistress said no more, simply gracing both young men with a withering stare before turning and stalking away. With that, the crowd slowly but surely began to disperse and walk away. Without word or glance to the ginger haired Gryffindor beside him, Harry turned and started towards the Great Hall again. He felt the stare of the other follow him the entire way but that was the last thing on his mind. No, at that moment, he was far more preoccupied with the question of how he was going to calm Draco when he told the Malfoy about what had happened and his assigned detention.

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7th November 1997: Night

The day had passed, Draco had yelled and cursed and the time for Harry to serve his first detention ever had arrived. Ron Weasley had joined him and then Filch had set them their task; clean as many floors as possible for three hours without the use of magic. While the Gryffindor had muttered complaints under his breath, Harry had simply got on with things though he soon found that physical labour was nothing to be sniffed at. He had never really had to do anything physically strenuous before and so it wasn't long before he started to suffer the affects of being down on his hands and knees on cold floors for prolonged lengths of time.
Although Filch had spoken no demand for silence, the task was carried out in it, neither boy saying anything. Though, curiously, Harry did notice that the red haired young man kept on glancing over to him almost constantly which eventually got a little tiring. It was apparent that there was something Ron wanted to say and yet he wasn't saying it. It was only when their three hours were coming to an end and their release was imminent that the Slytherin decided to finally call the Gryffindor on the strange behaviour.

"Why do you continue to glance in my direction?" Harry enquired, not bothering to look to the one he was talking to since it was something he rarely did anyway, let alone for someone who he didn't get on well with.

"I don't." The Gryffindor shot back defensively.

That was fine with Harry. He had provided an opening for the Weasley to voice what was bothering him and he had chosen to ignore it. Harry wasn't going to force the issue. Thankfully, it was at that moment that Filch appeared again and basically told them to get back to their dorm rooms before he gave them detention for being out after curfew, something the dark haired youth thought was rather unnecessary. The caretaker seemed to hate everyone and everything except his cat however so the cold words were no real surprise. The man left them again just as quickly as he had joined them and the two teenagers immediately stood and began to try and loosen their aching joints and their pained backs.

As Harry gingerly tried to ease the pain in his back by stretching slightly and twisting his waist, his eyes once again moved onto the sight of his fellow detentionee. The Weasley was doing much the same as he was but had a scowl like thunder on his face and his cheeks were slightly red, perhaps from anger or perhaps from the embarrassment which lingered from Harry calling him on his staring. Whatever was going on in the Gryffindor's mind, one thing was certain; he wasn't going to speak before they parted. So, Harry felt the need to take it upon himself. He wasn't out to make enemies and he saw little point in allowing his position with the Weasley to deteriorate further simply because of silence. Therefore, he spoke the words which needed to be said to make the red haired young man realise that Harry was no threat to him.

"You have my word that Hermione and I are nothing more than friends," he said quietly, as always not looking at the one he was addressing. "And not only because no one means more to me than Draco. Hermione is a wonderful person and I can understand why you are attracted to her, but I do not feel such things towards her myself." He turned to go then, heading away from where Ron still stood.

"Potter," Weasley spoke and the dark haired youth paused accordingly. "Why did you lie?"

Harry stared ahead of himself for a few moments, acting as though he hadn't even heard the question. But then, finally, he spoke his answer: "My reasons are my own." And without further word, he left the Gryffindor standing there in favour of heading back to the dungeons.

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8th November 1997: Morning

The next day began and brought the beginning of the weekend along with it, much to the delight of the entire Hogwarts population. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the majority of the students were up and about but there were still some who were sleeping in. There was no great surprise in the fact that Harry, Draco and Hermione were three of those up and walking around and not only because they were going to Hogsmeade together.

Draco's acceptance of his trip into the village with Harry and Hermione had come easily though also reluctantly. Despite the handshake the Slytherin and the Gryffindor had shared, old feelings obviously died hard for the Malfoy. He still didn't particularly like Hermione but it was no longer for the simple reason that she was Muggle-born. No, Draco just didn't like her as a person, he thought she was a bossy little Gryffindor know-it-all, but he kept his feelings to himself. He and Harry had already had a bit of a falling out because of the girl and it was obvious the dark haired youth would take the girl's side if the Malfoy was to refuse to spend time with her simply because he didn't like her. After all, it was clear that Harry wasn't overly keen on the other Seventh Year Slytherins but he put up with their presence because Draco was still on rather friendly terms with all of them, with the possible exception of Parkinson.

At that moment however, Draco's was somewhere other than with Harry. The two had agreed that it would probably be best if Harry went to go and meet Hermione at the Gryffindor Tower by himself. While everyone knew the blond had fought for the Light in the war, there were still many hard feelings towards him and strolling so casually into Gryffindor territory would only cause problems. So, Harry went to meet the girl by himself as most people adored him despite his sorting into Slytherin.

Having successfully met, Hermione and Harry had already made their way to the school's entrance where they would meet with Draco who was yet to arrive. So, they stood together, the girl calmly chatting about their latest Potions assignment while the young man listened and nodded his head whenever was appropriate. The conversation eventually had to stop however with the approach of Remus and Sirius.

Despite having both men as his teachers, Harry was satisfied with the amount of time he had spent with them since the beginning of the school year. They all had their own work to do and so there had literally only been two or three out-of-class discussions between them, the type where they asked him how everything was going and whether he was making friends. Harry knew the men asked because they cared about him and they wanted to see him grow and be "normal" but he also couldn't help but loathe such conversations, because he wasn't "normal" and he probably never would be and that was something neither Remus or, especially, Sirius seemed to be able to accept.

"Morning there, Harry, Hermione." Sirius greeted them cheerfully as he strolled up to the two teenagers with Remus at his side.

"Going somewhere Harry?" Remus asked with warm enthusiasm, noting that the dark haired youth was dressed in a warm, winter cloak.

"Hogsmeade." Was the simple answer to that, spoken in a monotone as green eyes remained fixed on the view through the open doorway.

"Just the two of you?" Sirius queried, sounding both surprised and hopeful, something that puzzled both of the teenagers slightly.

Just then, as if taking his cue from Sirius' words, Draco came strolling up to them. "Sorry I'm late." He said as he reached them, slipping an arm around Harry's waist comfortably. "I got side-tracked by Crabbe and Goyle on the way here."

"It's all right, we were just talking with Professor Black and Professor Lupin." Hermione assured the blond. Both she and Harry noticed how Sirius' hope faded with Draco's arrival as had the enthusiasm Remus had shown before.

"Oh please Hermione, no need to be so formal," Sirius grinned to her. "Outside of class, feel free to call us by our first names. Any friend of Harry's is a friend of ours after all."

"Somehow I very much doubt that." Harry murmured to that before he turned away from his two guardians. "We had best be going again."

"Harry..." Remus began, taking a step towards him.

"Good day Remus," Harry interrupted him neutrally as he and his two friends began to walk away. "Good day Sirius." They didn't wait for a reply before they picked up their pace and left the two men behind.

"Do they not approve of you and Draco?" Hermione asked gently.

"Whether they do or not is irrelevant." The dark haired youth answered.

The Gryffindor girl glanced to Draco who simply gave her a shrug in reply. Sighing lightly, Hermione allowed the subject to drop and their journey out of the school was continued in a slightly tense silence.

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14th November 1997: Morning

Harry had been woken that morning by and bright and cheerful Draco who had proceeded with his slightly annoying habit of declaring whenever the dark haired boy experienced/did something for the first time. For it was the day of Hogwarts' first official Quidditch match and so would be the first time Harry saw an actual, real life game. And, in Draco's mind, it was all the better as the match was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. In Harry's mind, it made things slightly better but still, on the whole, he saw it as a pointless activity. Nevertheless, as always he put the Malfoy's happiness before his own and so there he sat at the very front of the Slytherin stands, Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him and Parkinson and Bulstrode sitting just behind him.

The common opinion before the match would be that Slytherin would lose if only because of their major disadvantage. Where as Gryffindor's team only had one new player to replace a Seventh Year who had graduated, on the Slytherin team, Draco was the only continuing player and the rest were all new and mostly from the Fifth Year. Apparently, Death Eaters enjoyed Quidditch and the entire team had been made up of them (or at least the children of them), and so when they had dropped out of Hogwarts (from either shame or being expelled) it left the House of Snakes without a team. However, now that the game was actually being played, Slytherin were doing extremely well, having just equalised with Gryffindor. It appeared that the new blood was exactly what the team needed, or perhaps it was the determination they all felt to show the school they were still a threat and not so easily dismissed.

If the screams, cheers and gasps were anything to go by, it was an exciting match, not that Harry would have known otherwise. He was finding himself extremely bored at that moment and his interest was only slightly peeked when he heard a name he recognised, which was either Draco's or Ron Weasley's.

The presence of the ginger haired Gryffindor had practically disappeared from Harry's life just as suddenly as it became part of it. Of course, the Weasley was still present in class but he now seemed to make a point of steering well clear of the Wizarding world's saviour. Harry hadn't heard a word from the youth let alone had any interaction with him and so he assumed that he had finally got the message and realised there was no need for jealousy...

A sudden startled cry from the pitch caught Harry's attention and he lifted his gaze from where it had fallen to staring at his shoes. He looked just in time to catch the sight of a Gryffindor Chaser steady themselves on a broom as a bludger, which had obviously been what the Chaser had had to dodge, hurtled straight at the stand Harry was sitting on. The Slytherin crowd screamed and scattered as the bludger came flying towards them all and before Harry could react himself, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder which yanked him to the side. He, Crabbe, Goyle, Bulstrode, and Parkinson all stumbled away in a rather haphazard manner in order to avoid the rogue bludger. Harry was just about regaining his balance and footing when he felt a very definite pressure on his back which tipped him over. Before anyone could properly react, the saviour of the Wizarding world went tumbling over the side of the stand and began a free-fall towards the ground several dozen feet below.

He thought he heard a scream of his name but he wasn't sure. He thought he saw the bludger whizz dangerously close to his head but he may have been mistaken. There was no way he could miss or mistake the definite sensation of a hand wrapping around his wrist though and he focussed his gaze to see Ron Weasley above him. The ginger haired Gryffindor kept a strong hold on Harry and pulled the saviour up until he was firmly on the broom, in front of the rider and clutched to the firm chest with a firm arm around his waist. Harry held onto Ron's Quidditch robes as though his life depended on it, something he was glad of when the broom suddenly lurched.

"What the hell is wrong with that bludger?" The Weasley seethed angrily as he tried to dodge the ball while also keeping a firm hold of the smaller young man in his arms.

"It has been tampered with." Harry revealed (though how he knew was anyone's guess), his quiet voice only just reaching Ron over the sound of rushing air. "It needs to be destroyed."

"Got'cha." The Quidditch player assured before he made a very sharp turn which made Harry cling to him even more. They flew a little further up and a little closer to the Gryffindor stands where, just as they were reaching Hermione, Ron shouted out: "Destroy the bludger!"

Whether Hermione heard or not, neither of the young men knew and they had no time to linger and make sure. They had to keep moving less the hexed bludger catch them and cause some serious damage. Although, a small part of Harry was thinking that a broken arm might be preferable to all the dodging, darting and weaving the broom was doing. He was starting to feel quite queasy, not to mention his heart was racing a mile a minute as he was completely petrified. Once again, they were so high up and moving so erratically and the only thing stopping them from falling to the ground was a slim length of wood which the dark haired youth wasn't even straddling but instead sitting astride.

They started to head towards the ground at such a speed that Harry feared something was wrong. He glanced up and Ron's face and saw a look of determination so perhaps that meant the Gryffindor had a plan in his mind. It was no doubt a brilliant, awe-inspiring plan which would have saved them, but it never came to pass as, quite suddenly, the broom tipped dangerously underneath them as the end was roughly hit by the bludger. Ron cursed loudly as both he and Harry fell from the broom and went falling the five or six feet left towards the ground.

Harry felt the breath rush from his lungs as he hit the ground and it left his body in a harsh gasp. He found he couldn't quite bring himself to regain his breath then and he could only lay there, struggling, all too aware that it was only a matter of time before the bludger, which was obviously hexed to follow him, found its target. Indeed, not a moment later and the sight of the brown ball hurtling towards him entered the corner of the dark haired youth's vision. His limbs like lead, he couldn't make himself move and so he simply relaxed, hoping that the bludger hit him somewhere reasonably insignificant like a leg or an arm rather than his chest of his head.

However, once again, he was saved though this time by no one as surprising as Ron Weasley. Harry's sight was suddenly blocked by a back covered in the green of Slytherin's Quidditch robes and he knew who it was even before his gaze reached the head and he saw the silver-blond hair. Draco stood in front of him protectively, a borrowed Beater bat in his hand which he used to give the bludger a hearty whack, sending it shooting away where moments later it was hit with a spell from someone and it stopped dead before simply dropping to the ground lifelessly. Within seconds, the Malfoy had chucked away the bat, turned around and fallen to his knees beside Harry.

"Are you hurt?" He asked somewhat frantically as he slipped a hand underneath Harry's neck.

Still not having quite regained his breath, Harry simply shook his head in a sign that he was fine or at least would be in a moment or two. Draco didn't seem at all reassured by that but passed no more comment. He slowly helped the gasping hero to sit up, just in time for them to be joined by the ginger haired Gryffindor who had saved the dark haired Slytherin from more serious damage.

"You okay?" Ron asked, sounding rather breathless himself as he looked down on Harry with a concerned gaze.

"Yes." Harry just about managed to speak, his breath returning to him slowly.

"Here, let me give you a hand." The Gryffindor offered and he held out a hand for Harry to take so he could be helped up.

Before Harry could even think to take it though, Draco was already picking him up, one arm supporting the smaller male's back while the others supported his form underneath the knees. "You're help is appreciated Weasley, but don't go over-stepping your bounds." The Malfoy said coldly and without further word, turned and started to carry Harry off of the pitch, ignoring the now fuming Gryffindor they left behind.

"That was unnecessary." Harry murmured quietly as he was carried along. "As is you carrying me; I am quite able to walk."

"You landed heavily on your back, you might've hurt yourself without knowing, better to be safe than sorry." Was all Draco said to that before he went off in a rant: "None of this should have happened anyway. Bloody Gryffindors playing pranks no doubt. And what a fat lot of good Crabbe and Goyle were, they're supposed to keeping an eye out for you when I'm not around and they barely reacted to the accident..."

Draco carried on talking but Harry gradually tuned his voice out. He allowed himself to continue to be carried away by Draco as he turned his gaze up to the section of the Slytherin stands he had been standing in. Even from the distance, he could just about make out the other four Seventh Year Slytherins. As he stared up at them, there was only one real thought running through his head, that Draco had been wrong and his fall had been no accident or the result of a prank; one of the four Seventh Year Slytherins had pushed him.