Third Place - Action/Adventure

The next few days proved that Harry and Terry were inseparable. Harry firmly doubted that he could ever meet another person that he hated more than Draco Malfoy. Each meal time, Harry sat with Terry at the Ravenclaw table and sometimes Blaise joined them while at other times he stayed and listened to Malfoy�s words. Thankfully the first-year Slytherins had three lessons with the Ravenclaws and they were Charms, Transfiguration and Astronomy. Potions and Herbology was with the Gryffindors and History of Magic was with the Hufflepuffs.

Whenever he and Terry weren�t in the same lessons, they met up immediately afterwards and Harry was pleased to have Terry as a friend. A notice that was pinned to the board outside of the Great Hall made them both groan though, Harry had his first flying lesson on Thursday and he would be with the Gryffindors. He had rather hoped that the Slytherins and Ravenclaws would be put together once more if just so that he wasn�t the only one making a fool out of himself when he tried to fly... Terry had never tried before either.

"Excellent, I wonder whether anyone will notice if I skip that lesson and join you for yours. I can�t say I have always wanted to make a fool of myself in front of Malfoy anyway, but then there are those lovely Gryffindors who would be kind enough to remind me of my embarrassment every single time I saw them," he grumbled and Terry grinned beside him.

"You don�t know you�ll make a fool of yourself, vampires have a fantastic grip on balance remember... and at least you can land on your feet if you fall," he pointed out and Harry grinned, that would be rather amusing. "Besides, Malfoys always talking about how good he is at quidditch, but I bet that�s all it was; talk."

Harry nodded his agreement. Malfoy did talk about flying a lot, Harry was quite positive that if he heard the stupid blonde complain about first years not getting onto the quidditch teams once more, he�d scream. He hated people who boasted about their accomplishments and then denied their weaknesses anyway, and Malfoy was definitely one of those people. Everyone from Wizarding families talked about quidditch a lot, and Harry was rather thankful that Terry had never been on a broom either.

He still couldn�t get over the fact that witches and wizards did fly on brooms.

They would probably say they dance around naked on a full moon as they cackled over a boiling cauldron with their black cats sat on the sticks.

By Thursday morning, both Harry and Terry had read all the books they could find on flying and knew the theory of it... but knew just as well that this was something they couldn�t master by a book. They looked across at the Gryffindor table when they heard a shout and rolled their eyes when they saw Draco Malfoy stood in front of Neville Longbottom and Ronald Weasley with a small glowing red ball in his hands. McGonagall was by them in a flash and was questioning them and then Malfoy dropped the ball back on the table and skulked away with a glare.

"He�s such a prick," Harry muttered as he turned back to his toast and Terry nodded silently. They were both anxious about this day as Terry�s lesson would be in the morning and Harry�s in the afternoon.

He watched as his friend left and then made his way back down to the Slytherin common room, he knew he was going to be late for Herbology but he needed to write to his fathers first.

He checked his weapons were still strapped to his wrists and ankles as he moved through the dungeons and then he gave the password and stepped into the now empty common room. He found his snake fast asleep on the end of his bed and Harry grinned as he crawled on next to him and ran two gentle fingers down his head. When Shack didn�t wake up at that, he kicked his feet over the edge of the bed again and sat down to write to his fathers.

Da, Pa

How are you? Still alive I take it? Things are going okay here, if not a bit slowly. I have my first flying lesson this afternoon and I get to make a fool of myself in front of the bitch Draco Malfoy. I swear I�m going to have to do something about that fool, he is sooo irritating! He spends half the time trying to make friends with me and then when I refuse he spends the rest of his time insulting me. He even tried to call me a sorry little orphan, which I obviously set him straight about.

Snape and I seem to have sorted things out anyway, he�s promised to leave you two out of his petty insults and I�ve promised to hold my tongue and stop showing him up. I don�t mind that he still has the odd snap in lessons because I know its something he has to do. Quirrell is really a mystery Da, he reeks of the arts and I swear he is evil personified behind those stupid little stutters of his. I meant to ask whether you sensed it when you came to visit the other day but I, obviously, had other things on my mind.

Lessons are really interesting though, I really like Transfiguration and Potions... and I know I would love Defence if I could actually concentrate through that stench. I told Dumbledore about it, of course. He said to watch my back and that he would have Quirrell watched, but he seemed to think it was perhaps something the dickhead brushed up against when he was in Romania. I suppose it is possible.

How many assassination attempts this week? I�ve not seen or heard from anyone here so I guess those guards are doing their jobs. I made a friend called Terry Boot, he�s in Ravenclaw and he�s a shapeshifter, before you start, yes I have been cautious and I�ve gone everywhere with my weapons but even Blaise agrees with me when I say he means no harm. Perhaps you could meet him when next you visit.

When will that be by the way? It�s been nearly a full week since I saw you two now.

How are Aunt Cerelias and the others? I�d better go now or I�ll be late for Herbology.

Love
Harry

There. He folded the parchment up and placed the quill back on the table before he called Rowan over to him. The eagle flew in through the window and landed on his shoulder and Harry tied his letter to his claw before he watched him fly back out again. When he turned around, he saw that Shack was awake.

�Morning lazy... Are you coming to Herbology with me today?� he hissed as he moved to his snake�s side, Shack had spent the most part of the week exploring the castle and getting to know his home and so Harry had seen little of him. He did find it amusing to talk to Harry when others could hear though; he seemed to think it hilarious how everyone just suddenly went quiet and stared at them in fear and curiosity... it irritated Harry to no end.

�Yesss, I think I will.� Was the sleepy reply he received and Harry rolled his eyes as he reached over and uncurled his friend. He guided him around his chest and then looked around the room once more before slipping back into the common room. �I don�t supposse you have got any miccceeee in one of thosssse pocketssss have you? � Shack asked after a minute and Harry giggled as the snake started pocking his head in Harry�s pockets and down his t-shirt.

�No I don�t, you�re bloody big enough to hunt for yoursssself anyway!� Harry hissed in reply and then rolled his eyes at the irritated hiss he received in reply. He pushed his way out of the main doors and headed across the grounds to the greenhouse. He could just make out the lines of first year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that were having their flying lessons but from what he could see, they were just standing besides the stick-things.

"Nice of you to join us Mr. Potter-Corvus," Harry turned his attention back to the greenhouse and smiled sheepishly when he saw the Slytherin and Gryffindors stood in front of the plump little witch who was called Professor Sprout.

"Sorry professor," he muttered as he slipped in besides Blaise and shut the door to the greenhouse behind him. Shack was resting nicely around his chest again and Harry pointedly ignored the nervous stares he was receiving as he waited for the professor to start, or continue, her lesson.

He listened half-heartedly when Sprout started talking again and instead he tried to peer out of the glass to see the Ravenclaws but it didn�t help much that every time his attention wavered, Blaise would nudge him to make him listen.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?" Sprout called loudly and Harry looked up at the mass of soft, springy tendrils that she the professor held in a glass box so that it couldn�t get out. He raised his hand along with Hermione and stuck his tongue out at her childishly as he was picked. Amusement flashed in his eyes when she sniffed indignantly and then glared at him mockingly.

"Its called Devil Snare ma�am," he said and smiled when she nodded for him to continue. "Devils snare uses its creepers and tendrils to ensnare everyone who touches it. It binds their arms and legs until it eventually chokes them. The harder a person struggles, the faster and tighter it binds them, if they relax then it will kill them slowly instead," he said with amusement and Sprout nodded again.

"Excellent! Take 10 points for Slytherin. Now, can anyone tell me how one can drive the Devil�s snare away from its victims?" she asked, "Miss. Granger,"

"The Devils Snare prefers a dark, damp environment and shrinks away from fire. So a well placed spell such as the Bluebell Flame will drive it away from its victims," she replied and managed to sound like a text book as she did so. She never once removed her smug grin away from Harry and he laughed before shaking his head. He turned his attention back to the window then and stepped away from Blaise so that he could think in peace in his thoughts.

He was, admittedly, looking forward to learning how to fly. Even if he did make a fool of himself, it would be easy enough to shut Draco bloody Malfoy up so he shouldn�t let it worry him so much. He watched as Shack uncoiled himself from his chest and slithered down and onto the table but then something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He peered up and then grinned when he saw Terry on the broom, gripping onto the handle for dear life. The shapeshifter could always turn himself into a bird if he fell, but then again that would be giving his secret away.

Tonight proved to be amusing anyway, he, Blaise and Terry would finally be getting back at the irritating students, mostly Malfoy, and they would release their first prank. They had spent nearly a week planning it now and had managed to get what was needed from the potions storeroom between them. The other students who hadn�t annoyed them wouldn�t be pranked, simply because they didn�t want to make anymore enemies than they already had.

Ronald Weasley was one, now that was a pompous ass of a Gryffindor if he ever saw one. But then again, he was a pure-blooded wizard and so he probably thought he had the right to be an idiot. Unlike Malfoy though, Weasley made friends with half-bloods and muggleborns so at least he wasn�t totally lost yet. Harry snickered at the thought; he seriously couldn�t wait until supper now.

Several screams distracted him and Harry turned to see the class were all rushing to the other side of the greenhouse. He frowned and stepped forward; trying to see what the hell they were doing now. Sprout was telling him to move to the side but Harry just rolled his eyes when he saw Shack... they couldn�t have been screaming because of him.

�Ahhhh to you too, bloody sssstupid humanssss. Wake me up and then sssscreeeam why don�t you� came another hiss from behind some of the plants and Harry peered around the leaves of a rather large one and saw a beautiful python.

�Ohhh sssstop your complaining, thatssss what humanssss do� Shack grumbled as he slithered closer

�Sssshhhussssh you great lizzzard of a sssserpent. I wassss not sssspeaking to you. If you don�t mind, I have to find my way to another ssssleeping placcceee now. I heard there wassss a foressst around here,� the python hissed again and Harry rolled his eyes

�There isssss, perhapssss ssshack could sssshow you the way," Harry hissed, before his snake could jump in and snap back for the insult. Mortals and snakes were staring at him now, the python in surprise, shack in frustration and the humans in various degrees of shock. Honestly! They all knew he could speak to the damn snakes!

�A sssspeaker! Interesssting. Perhapssss I sssshould sssstay around a little while longer with you,�

�No you bloody won�t, the sssspeaker isssss mine! Tell him to pisssss off Harry!� Shack snapped and Harry laughed openly. You don�t know how incredibly weird it is to hear a snake say piss off, especially when they barely know what it means. Perhaps Shack had been listening to him speak too much.

�If he wantsss to sssstay then he can ssshack. But perhapssss its bessst if he comesss at a later date. Pleasssee show him to the foressst before the ressst of thessse mortalssss faint or ssssomething, � he replied and then nudged Shack forward and watched with amusement as his Boa led the Python out of the greenhouse and onto the grounds. Only then did he turn his attention back to the class and he smiled brightly.

"You were saying?" he asked the professor politely.

Three thirty and Harry found himself lined up with the other students as they prepared for their first flying lessons. The Gryffindors were lined up opposite the Slytherin�s and Harry, unfortunately, had Draco Malfoy on his right side. Blaise was on his left and Hermione was opposite him. He nodded his hello to the Gryffindor and then straightened up as Madame Hooch, the flying instructor, approached them all. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.

In between each student there was a broomstick and Harry looked down disdainfully at his, it looked like it would fall apart under him before he even got up into the air. It was old and most of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madame Hooch at the front, "and say �UP!�" she said again. Harry blinked over at her and then he shrugged and reached out to do as he was told. Hermione�s had simply rolled over on the ground, Neville Longbottom�s hadn�t moved at all but then again, there had been a shaking in Neville�s voice that simply said he would rather keep two feet on the ground so it was hardly surprising.

"UP!" he instructed and was rather relieved when the stupid twig did as it was told and flew up into his hand at once. Unfortunately Draco�s had done the same, it would have been priceless if the moron hadn�t managed that. Hooch then decided to show them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and she walked up and down the row correcting their grips. It had been rather amusing when she told Malfoy he had been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground. Try to keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forward!" Madame Hooch shouted again and Harry watched the others carefully for a minute before he even attempted it. He mounted the broom and waited for her to blow the whistle but before it had even touched her lips Neville had kicked off and was rising unsteadily. "Come back!"

Neville didn�t seem to hear her as he continued to go upwards, the nose of his broom pointed up at the clouds, Harry could see the scared, white face look down at the ground, saw him gasp and then he slid off his broom. Harry didn�t even think about it, he threw his broom to the floor and shot forward, ignoring Madame Hooch�s shouts as he quickly dove forward just in time for the Gryffindor to fall into his arms.

Harry made a strangled noise in the back of his throat but forced a smile as Neville blinked up at him, white faced and terrified. The great lump had managed to land funny and so now Harry had pulled something in his arm. Madame Hooch was by their side in seconds and Harry put the Gryffindor onto his own two feet before moving back into line, rolling his sore shoulder around and still grumbling under his breath.

Nobody said anything for a minute as Neville�s legs seemed to give out from under him and he promptly fainted to the ground. Hooch stood over him, as white faced as he was as she checked for any injuries. After a minute she turned back to the rest of the class and glared at them forcefully.

"50 points to Slytherin for your handy catch there Mr. Corvus. None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing. Leave the damn brooms where they are or you�ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say Quidditch!" with that said she conjured a stretcher for Neville and walked back to the castle. No sooner where they out of earshot than Malfoy burst out laughing.

"Did you see his face, the fat git?" he said and Harry growled in the back of his throat as many of the other Slytherins started laughing with him. He seriously couldn�t see what was funny about that... and he was a bloody Corvus!

"Shut up Malfoy!" snapped one of the Gryffindors, Parvati Patil if Harry remembered correctly.

"Ohhh, are you sticking up for your boyfriend?" sneered Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy�s little Slytherin follower. "Never thought you�d like fat little cry babies, Parvati," she said again and Harry shook his head in disgust but then watched as Draco Malfoy shot out of line and across the grass.

"Look! Its that stupid thing Longbottom�s gran sent him." He said and Harry watched as the round ball thing glittered in his hand as he held it up.

"Give it here, Malfoy," he said firmly as he met the grey eyes of his housemate. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch but Harry paid little attention to them.

"I think I�ll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect, how about up a tree?" he said and smiled nastily. Harry snarled and clenched his hands into fists at his side as his fangs grew with his anger.

"Give in here!" he hissed, but Malfoy had already leapt onto his broomstick and had taken off. He hadn�t been lying, he really could fly well. Shit! Harry grabbed his broom as he listened to the taunts of the blonde but several of the Gryffindors and Blaise stepped forward to try and stop him. Harry ignored them, he was pissed off and it was about time he did something to shut the stupid blonde up now.

He kicked against the floor and rose up into the air, the wind whipped through his hair and his robes as he steadied his broom and then he smirked coldly as he realised that this was something he could do without being taught. It was easy... it was fucking fantastic! He pulled the broomstick up sharper and ignored the screams and gasps of the girls back on the ground as he turned his broomstick to face the stunned Malfoy.

"Give it here or I�ll knock you off the broom. And I promise you now that there will be no one to catch you!" he snarled and Malfoy tried to sneer but he did look worried and Harry grinned viciously. He leant forward and grasped the broom tightly with both hands. It shot forward like a javelin and Malfoy barely managed to get out of the way in time. Harry made a sharp turn and then faced Malfoy once more.

"Give it up mortal, there�s no Crabbe and Gargoyle up here to save you this time... I�m feeling a little hungry too. Didn�t your daddy warn you about messing with the Corvus clan, you fool!" he hissed again and Malfoy paled, he seemed to be deciding what to do. If he gave it to Harry now then he would make a fool of himself, and yet if he didn�t give it to him then the vampire was likely to make a fool out of him anyway.

"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted eventually and then he threw the glass ball high into the air and it streaked back to the ground. Harry snarled and shot past him, pausing enough to smack the end of his broom in the blonde�s face as he turned and shot towards the castle. He saw the ball rise, as if in slow motion, and then it started to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down.

He sliced through the air as he gathered speed in his steep dive and raced the ball. The wind whistled in his ears and he could hear the screams of people watching but he paid no attention as he closed his eyes briefly and grinned at the exhilaration running through him. He had never felt quite so free, not even when he was playing his hunting game or fighting with his fathers.

He stretched out his hand and snatched the glass ball as he was about a foot from the ground, he pulled his broom straight forcefully and then managed to even it out so that he could jump down and land safely on his two feet with the Remembrall clutched tightly in one hand, and his broom in the other.

"HARRY POTTER-CORVUS"

Harry looked up impassively as Madame Hooch stormed across the grounds looking absolutely furious. Her yellow hawks eyes were literally glowing and Harry rolled his eyes but steeled himself for some anger. He barely had time to straighten his robes before she grabbed the collar of his shirt and started to drag him inside. He rolled his eyes again and dropped the broomstick; he caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle�s triumphant smirks and vowed that he would get them back.

Madame Hooch finally let go of him when they were inside the castle and Harry followed her as she took him deep inside the dungeons still muttering under her breath. He caught bits of her grumbling and refrained from laughing out loud.

"Never in all my year-"

"-Broke your neck-"

"-Foolish boy!"

Those were just some of them as she knocked loudly on the door to Professor Snape�s office. Harry cringed slightly when the Potions Master�s voice could be heard, calling them to enter and Madame Hooch pushed the door open forcefully and glared until Harry walked past her and was stood in front of Snape�s desk. He sighed, for some reason he could tell that this was going to be one hell of a long day.

"Snape � I�ve found you a seeker," Hooch said after a minute and Harry blinked over at her... a seeker? What the pissing hell was one of those? Did he even want to know? Snape�s expression went from irritation to curiosity all at once and he stared at Harry for a minute before turning back to Hooch with an arched eyebrow.

"Are you serious Rolanda?" he asked dryly.

"Absolutely," hooch said excitedly. "The boy�s a natural. I�ve never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick Corvus?" she asked with a wicked grin and a gleam in her eye. Well, it certainly didn�t look like he was going to be expelled anyway, and so Harry pushed the thought of calling his fathers away for now and nodded silently. "He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive, didn�t even scratch himself... Charlie Weasley couldn�t have done it!"

"Ever seen a game of quidditch Potter?" Snape asked as he studied Harry once more. Harry rolled his eyes and didn�t even bother to correct the name as he shook his head without a sound.

"He is just about the right build for a seeker too. Light, agile, flexible... he�ll have to get himself a decent broom though," Hooch said again

"I shall speak to the Headmaster and see if we can�t bend the first-year rule. We�ve had the best quidditch team for seven years now, let�s not allow our winning streak to break" Snape said thoughtfully and Harry stared at him, he had never seen the man when he wasn�t scowling or sneering, it was certainly an improvement.

"I want to hear that you have been training hard, Corvus, or I may change my mind about punishing you. Your father, James Potter, would be proud of you... he was an excellent quidditch player himself," Hooch said again with a grin and then she was gone. Harry rolled his eyes and turned back to his head out house with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Perhaps now you can tell me what the hell that was all about?"

When Harry sauntered into the Great Hall, he couldn�t keep the smug grin from his face as he made his way passed his house-mates, purposely ignoring them as he did so, and took his near regular seat at the Ravenclaw Table next to Terry.

The Shapeshifter had watched his friend since the Vampire had first set foot inside the hall and was curious to know exactly why he was acting how he was. Of course he�d heard rumours about what happened during the Gryffindor/Slytherin Flying lesson but he hadn�t heard it all obviously. The way he�d heard Malfoy talking about it, one would think that Harry was about to get expelled.

Blaise managed to catch up to his young Master and proceeded to walk in step with him as they walked towards Terry at the latter�s house table. "May I ask just what, Madam Hooch did with you after that lesson?" The elder Vampire whispered loud enough so Harry could hear but low enough so no one else could. His charge just grinned and held up his index finger indicating the need to wait for another minute... or until they reached their seats.

By now the pair, or rather, Harry, had attracted the attention of a good portion of the hall�s inhabitants, everyone wanting to know what happened... what the truth was and some just watching them with an air of smug satisfaction. Namely: Ronald Weasley.

When they reached Terry, the Shapeshifter shuffled over to make room, folded his arms over his chest and raised an expectant eyebrow. No words were needed save the answer expected from Harry but the silence became too much for the trio and after roughly ten seconds of waiting, they promptly burst out laughing.

When they managed to calm themselves down to a level that left them semi-coherent, Harry relayed his tale to Terry and Blaise; quietly, of course. "... and she grabs me by the collar and drags me off into the castle! Malfoy seemed inexplicably pleased I might add, but that�s been dealt with accordingly." His grin was self-satisfied and not at all telling. Terry rolled his eyes in response and Blaise shook his head as if these events were a regular occurrence in his life.

"Anyway, she takes me down to see Snape in his office, we go inside, close the door behind us and she then says to him..." He paused dramatically for effect, much to the annoyance of his two friends. "�Snape... I�ve found you a Seeker.�" He then sat back, arms folded, his grin now going back to smug and superior.

"Seriously...?" The Ravenclaw said after a shocked half-minute and Harry nodded. He watched the Shapeshifter slump back in his seat with something akin to amusement. "We�ve got no chance of the cup this year, have we?" This, apparently, was all it took for Harry and soon after, Blaise, to burst into yet more peel of laughter.

A voice cleared behind them and they each turned around, in the Vampires� case, to see who they�d known to be there for well over a minute and in Terry�s case, just to see who was there. But when he did see, he blinked once in confusion, a second time in yet more confusion and a third time to moisten his suddenly dry eyes.

"Um... hi..." The Shapeshifter said to the girl stood in the isle. She was Gryffindor, he noted after glancing at the insignia on her robes... He�d never quite caught her name though. He knew Harry knew her, if not personally then academically. She was smart, he also knew that. Extremely smart.

"Hello." She smiled a little shakily as if she wasn�t at all sure she should be where she was but the resolve shining in her eyes showed just why the hat placed her in Gryffindor. "I�m Hermione Granger." She offered her hand and the Ravenclaw saw no reason not to take it, so take and shake it he did.

"Terry Boot." He smiled, watching as she moved from him to Blaise who, after receiving a near undetectable nod, took and shook the hand.

"Blaise Zabini." The Slytherin too offered a smile but both Terry and Hermione could see that he would wait until he got more information so he wouldn�t judge the newcomer unfairly. It was then that both Blaise and Terry watched as the first year Gryffindor extended her hand to the heir to the Corvus Clan throne.

"Harry Potter-Corvus." Harry took the hand but instead of shaking, he pulled it towards his mouth, offered her a grin that clearly showed his elongated fangs, and kissed the knuckles of the hand he had a hold of. Another look at her face showed a light blush working its way over her cheeks. He hadn�t introduced himself properly on the train after all. When he released her hand, she straightened herself up and cleared her throat, trying to regain what composure she had just lost.

"Well... um... yes." She eyes Harry�s amused expression and mock-scowled before rolling her eyes; passed embarrassment forgotten. "I just wanted to say thank you, for catching Neville when you did. Well, Neville wanted to say thank you but couldn�t work up the bottle to do so, so I�m here." She grinned in a �what can you do� manner.

Harry looked in the direction of the Gryffindor table and saw a red-faced Neville Longbottom looking back at him. The young Vampire chuckled, threw the Gryffindor a wink and blew him a kiss for good measure. Beside him, both Blaise and Terry rolled their eyes and still stood near him, Hermione rolled her own.

"You�re incorrigible." She muttered.

"I�m eleven!" He countered.

"You�re a flirt." She retorted, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I�m a Vampire!" He said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"You�re insatiable!" She raised an eyebrow.

"I�m a Corvus!" At this, Blaise snorted but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

"You�re such a Slytherin!" She fumed, obviously annoyed, but having fun with it too.

"You�re a Gryffindor!" He grinned, his teeth flashing.

"Are you two done?" Terry asked, quite obviously amused.

"I don�t know � are we?" Harry replied as he lifted an eyebrow and turned back to Hermione. She looked at him and then threw her arms up in frustration and laughed.

"Well, I just wanted to thank you anyway," she said as she shook her head. She turned to leave but Harry captured her hand and pulled her back, in one smooth motion, she twirled around and landed softly on his knee. Harry encircled his arm around her waist and grinned.

"Perhaps you should stay here, where we have the best view of the show," he whispered in her ear and Hermione twisted around to look at him, but when she saw the gleam in his eyes, she couldn�t help but agree. She was about to move off his knee when she noticed that everyone had gone silent and so she followed their stares to the doors and her jaw dropped open.

Draco Malfoy was stood in the doorway wearing a very short red and white chequered skirt that barely covered his thighs and a light pink shirt with the right side tucked in and the left side hanging out. The top few buttons were left open to reveal the top of his chest and his blonde hair had been lengthened and was tied into pig tails on either side of his head.

You could have heard a pin drop as the Slytherin moved across the hall to stand in front of Neville Longbottom and then he giggled, flicked some fair over his shoulder and kicked his leg out behind him.

"I just wanted to apologise so profusely for calling you such childish names and using such foul language. I�m such a naughty, artificial pureblood," he said in a high pitch voice and then he giggled again and pressed a kiss to Neville�s cheek. Before anyone could even begin to realise what they were seeing, Draco turned to Ron and threw his arms around the redheads neck, sobbing on his shoulder as he kissed his cheek again and again.

"I�m so sorry I wouldn�t let you kiss me! I love you so so much, my love, my passion, my beauty. Say you will forgive me, say you will be mine!" he cried and Ron jumped back with a strangled yell. Draco dropped to his knees, clawing at Weasleys robes with his hands as he looked up pleadingly. "Please, my darling, my love... please! Kiss me! Say you�ll kiss me!"

That�s it, the four friends couldn�t hold their laughter in any longer and as one they burst out laughing, clutching at their sides as they stared over at the Gryffindor table. Suddenly Draco blinked and glanced around, seemingly to access the current situation he was in now. He stepped back from Ron in disgust and wiped his hands, as if diseased, against his robes... it was only then that he noticed the skirt.

He screamed in pure fury and humiliation and that set everyone else off, there wasn�t a single person who wasn�t laughing in the hall, with the exception of Snape and Draco of course, but then again even Snape�s eyes were glittering with amusement. Draco looked around the hall and his eyes filled with tears but when they fell on the four at the Ravenclaw table, they hardened instantly with hate and he took his wand out and pointed it at Harry, shaking with anger.

"I challenge you to a duel, Potter," he snarled as he stalked closer, nobody else could hear as they were too busy laughing and Harry looked up with a cold smirk.

"Time and place?" he sneered and then his features softened mockingly as he added, "my beauty, my passion, my love..."

"Midnight, trophy room," Draco managed to snarl out through clenched teeth and then he just stayed, staring into Harry�s eyes with pure loathing before he turned on his heel and ran from the room.

"Oh Draco! I love the knickers... French lace! So kinky!" Harry shouted after him and heard another scream of rage over the fresh laughter of the students.



The Heir of Corvus I: The Philosopher�s Stone - Chapter 9

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