Title: A Declaration of War

Author: slytherin-nette

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hana Yori Dango or any of the characters and events you recognize from both fandoms in this story. Everything written is purely for entertainment.

Full Summary: All Harriet Jamie Potter wanted was a quiet, simple life. She never wanted to attend Salazar Slytherin's Pureblood Academy of Magic that year and anger the S-4. She especially never wanted the attention of its obnoxious leader, Draco Lucius Malfoy. A Hana Yori Dango Adaptation. AU.

Genre: Romance/Humor

Pairings: DM/femHP, BZ/femHP, many others.

Note/Warnings: Alternate Universe. This story is an ADAPTATION of the JDrama / Manga, HANA YORI DANGO, and will be very similar in plot and circumstances. Harry is BORN a girl in this story but rest assured that I do my best to write her VERY MUCH in tune with her canon character otherwise. For those who are familiar with Hana Yori Dango, you can PM me and I will send you a character guide as to how each character from the HP universe is assigned their role in this story according to the Hana Yori Dango universe. :D

A/N: I know what you're all thinking. Where in Merlin's name did this story come from? It just popped into my head one day after I wrote 'The Pigtail Theory' and I just had to try writing it. It's not as emotionally heavy as Phoenix Tears so you guys might like it! :D Whether I continue or not is based on reader reception, of course. Hope you all enjoy the first chapter!

Chapter 1 – Purebloods, Pansies, and the Serpent Four

Tattered black shoes stopped and scuffled uncertainly just at the entrance of a large, luxurious crystal castle that morning, followed by the sound of its owner's heavy sigh.

Well…This is it.

Emerald green eyes peered out hesitantly from behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses.

My first day at Salazar Slytherin's Pureblood Academy of Magic.

Feeling a sickening feeling at the pit of her stomach, Harriet Jamie Potter squelched back the nervousness that was itching up her throat and took another deep, careful breath of fresh air. She self-consciously adjusted the stuffy, green and white school uniform adorning her small frame and made sure her wizard's robes were properly aligned before finally walking slowly towards the school.

After several steps, she stopped again just at the very foot of the entrance to the beautiful castle and watched as one by one, large, luxurious carriages stopped by the castle doors. Alighting themselves from the carriages were some of the most distinguished, aristocratic young witches and wizards Harry had ever seen – each one with their own private house-elf to carry their bags for them.

Her amazement clearly written in her wide-eyed expression, Harry continued to watch as more and more students began arriving at the school, their forms adorned with some of the most expensive jewelry and designer robes known to witch and wizard. As she neared them, she noted with a hint of nervousness that not one of the students' faces seemed welcoming, nor did they seem willing to talk.

Merlin…That girl's bag looks more expensive than all my belongings combined…What am I even doing here? None of those students look friendly – was that carriage made out of diamond?

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat again, Harry took another deep breath and steeled herself, hoisting the strap of her bag over her shoulder. When she finally got to the entrance – feeling rather foolish since she was the only student who seemed to have arrived without a carriage and without a servant – she stopped again and unconsciously grabbed at the locket around her neck.

Oh Dad…I don't know what I'm doing here…I was never like you.

Harry's eyes dimmed slightly at the thought of her father but she didn't linger too long on him, however, and her attention was again drawn to the majestic, crystal castle in front of her. Without a doubt, Salazar Slytherin's Pureblood Academy of Magic – or SSPAM as most referred to it – was the most beautiful establishment she had ever seen and just the thought of entering made her cringe.

Oh Dad…Mom…I don't know if I can do this…I'm not like these students. Harry thought again as one particularly snotty-looking girl walked by her, pausing to give dirty shoes a disdainful sneer. Hesitating and self-consciously stepping away again, Harry flicked her eyes back up at the castle.

She knew her father, the late but esteemed pureblooded aristocrat James Aidan Potter, had attended SSPAM and had often spoke of his school to her with such pride and fondness. In those last few days before he and Harry's mother, Lily Anne Potter, had died, he had regaled Harry with stories of his life at SSPAM and how proud he would be when Harry managed to get a scholarship invitation.

Harry had been one of the top students in her magical preparatory school, Hogwarts Intermediary School for Magic, when she had graduated – second only to one of her muggleborn best friends, Hermione Isabel Granger. Since James had been the graduating valedictorian of SSPAM during his time and was one of SSPAM's best alumni and since SSPAM offered entry into their school based only on family referrals and bloodline, it was Harry who got the scholarship instead of Hermione.

The brunette had been very disappointed but eventually got over it when she learned that she and Harry's other best friend – Ron Weasley – would be attending Magical University of Godric Gryffindor (MUGG) – together that year. It was Harry who was put out at being separated from them.

She hadn't been separated from her two best friends since she began her wizarding schooling and just the thought of going to this new exclusive academy without knowing anyone made her extremely nervous. Since her father had come from such a traditional pureblood family, her name was still pretty much known among elite circles but scorned because of their affiliation with muggleborns.

Harry's mother was a muggleborn witch –the most beautiful woman she knew – and when James had fallen in love with Lily, the Potter household threatened to cut him off from being the heir. He didn't want the title and eventually, ran away soon after to marry Lily and eventually have Harriet.

Now, however, without their guidance, Harry didn't know where she was going to begin.

When her parents had died, Harry had been only eleven years old.

She had been living with her best friend's family since then – her godparents Molly and Arthur Weasley – and has been striving to make it on her own by pushing herself through part-time jobs. It wasn't that the Weasleys couldn't take care of her or anything, they were the nicest family she had ever got the pleasure of knowing. It was just that, well, Molly and Arthur Weasley had seven kids of their own to worry about and Harry certainly didn't want to add to their financial troubles anymore.

Despite the small fortune her father had left for her in a small Gringott's vault, she could no longer support herself for her education without proper guardianship so she also studied hard to maintain her scholarship at Hogwarts back then. And now, since she knew her father would have wanted her to go to SSPAM, she accepted SSPAM's scholarship given to her over MUGG's own offer.

Besides, she couldn't deny that she also wanted to graduate from the academy her father did.

It gave her a sense of pride and nostalgia somehow…knowing her father once roamed this castle back when he had been a student. That thought alone was enough to comfort her loneliness.

Holding back a sigh, Harry raised her bottle of water to her lips, wincing sheepishly moments later when she had inadvertently spilled some on her newly bought SSPAM uniform. She cursed under her breath and wiped the water away, inwardly irritated at herself. Mrs. Weasley had warned her dozens of times that this was the only uniform she had since the silk fabrics had been so expensive.

As she thought of this, she couldn't help smiling as she remembered the events that morning.

FLASHBACK

"Now Harriet…Once you get there later, the first thing I want you to ask is where all the fire exits are. It never hurts to always accustom yourself to your new environments. Is that clear?"

Molly Weasley's voice echoed clearly in the Weasley kitchen that morning, followed by the unmistakable sounds of Fred and George Weasley sniggering loudly to themselves.

"Harry's eighteen-years-old, Mum! She can take care of herself whether or not she knows where all the fire exits are…Geez; sometimes you treat us all as if we were still eleven!" Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the Weasley children and the only girl, declared with a pointed look.

A little embarrassed by all the teasing grins she was receiving from the rest of the Weasleys around the table – including her best friends, Ron and Hermione – Harry managed a weak laugh. She looked up and met Mrs. Weasley's adamant glare with a grateful but reassuring smile of her own.

"I'll be okay Mrs. Weasley…My dad has a map of the entire school from his time, I'll use it to know my way around." She told them all but even before Molly could reply, Fred and George were on her again. This time, they both threw Harry identical teasing smirks and winked suggestively at her.

"On the other hand, you could always flutter your pretty little lashes up at one of those rich male pureblood heirs there and have them escort you around school…eh, Harry?" Fred kidded with a wide grin at her and even before Harry could answer him with an angry retort, George followed it up.

"Fred's right, Har! Hey, how about dating one of those rich jerks for us? We're in the need for a little money right now, we could use the help! We figure oh…say…about 500,000 galleons should do the trick. What do you say, Harry?" He kidded again, laughing when he was answered by Harry growling at him and throwing a piece of bread at him from across the table. The rest of the family laughed at this while Mrs. Weasley just threw her sons another disgruntled look of disapproval.

Mr. Weasley, however, seemed amused at his sons' antics and reached over to bonk George's head lightly in mild admonishment. "Oh you two…Don't influence Harry like that. You know that we'll be happy with whoever she ends up dating, whether he's from SSPAM or not—" He was interrupted when Ginny turned to Harry with twinkling blue eyes and giggled, jostling her excitedly by the arm.

"Oh Merlin, you're going to be meeting all those hot, rich pureblood heirs there, Harriet! Oooh! I'm so jealous! Maybe you could introduce me to some of them, huh? Please, please!" She stopped jostling Harry's arm and winced when Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed at her daughter in warning.

"Ginevra Weasley, I believe I have raised my daughter with more self-respect than that! We Weasleys may not be rich but we certainly do not act in such an undignified manner!" She scolded angrily, causing Ginny to quiet down and the rest of her brothers to snigger quietly at her flushed face.

Caught up in the middle of all these conversations, Harry just turned to Ginny and managed to offer the other girl a small, helpless smile and half shrug. "I'm sorry Gin but I hardly think I'll be making a lot of new friends at SSPAM…I'll be too focused on keeping my scholarship to think of that—"

It was Ginny's turn to roll her eyes at her this time but before she could say anything, Ron suddenly spoke up for the first time that morning, drawing Harriet's attention to his sad smile. He put down his forkful of pancakes and looked up at her, his blue eyes filled with a lingering nostalgia.

"If it helps, Har…Hermione and I will miss you in school…It's kind of…weird…knowing that we're not going to same magical college together now. We've been together all throughout intermediary school." He mused with a soft sigh and Harry smiled sadly at him, nodding in agreement.

"I know, Ron…And I'll miss you and 'Mione too but—"

Beside Ron, Hermione sniffed to herself and gave Harry a mildly indignant glare. "Don't you DARE start ignoring us once you've met new friends there, Harriet Jamie Potter! I don't care how prestigious the people there may be, we're still your best friends above anyone else!" She reprimanded lightly, causing both Harry and Ron to laugh when they heard the cracking in her voice.

Reaching over the table, Harry clasped Hermione's hand and gave the limb a gentle squeeze.

"You have my word…You know you guys will always be my best friends. And besides…" She rolled her eyes at the both of them and threw them a wry grin. "It's not as if we won't be seeing each other, Ron! We'll still be coming home to the same house every night and Hermione, you and I will still be seeing each other every afternoon at the Three Broomsticks!" She smiled at the look of embarrassment on Hermione's face. Ron grinned at her in agreement, ducking his head sheepishly.

At the mention of his wholly-owned pub, Bill Weasley – easily the most handsome and the oldest of the Weasley children – grinned at them from where he sat and nodded emphatically.

"That's right, Harry. You and Hermione had better be there every afternoon! You two are my best waitresses; business would be hard to keep up without you two…Especially since I'll be in Egypt again the next few months on assignment." He looked worried at this but Ron gave him a smile.

"Oh don't worry, Harry and 'Mione will definitely take care of the place! Right, girls?"

Harry and Hermione both rolled their eyes at him when Ron turned back to his breakfast, happily eating through his tall pile of pancakes. As Harry finally turned away from them and began to pack her bag for school that morning, Hermione looked up and gave her one last, wistful smile.

"Still…It'd be kind of lonely without you, Harry…I mean…" She looked down to hide her eyes and waited until the rest of the Weasleys began talking amongst themselves again before she spoke.

"Now who's going to protect me from all those bullies in school…?" She pretended to glare at Harry in admonishment but the other girl just smiled sadly at her, unable to say anything in response.

Beside them, Ginny giggled to herself again and gave Hermione a wry smile. "I still remember how Harry here punched that stupid jerk when he was calling you names for being muggleborn, Hermione…I'd never seen any girl punch a guy that hard before. Poor boy looked as though he was going to cry." She and Hermione both ended up laughing softly, causing Harry to blush at the memory.

"Well…He deserved it. No one makes fun of my friends." She offered firmly and Ron and Hermione both would have said something at that had Mr. Weasley spoken up again, directing all three teenagers' attention to his proud, beaming smile at the very head of the large wooden table.

"Harry! Are you ready, m'dear? Not feeling nervous, are you?" Harry opened her mouth to answer him but Mr. Weasley continued, his voice cheerful as he gave her a proud smile. "Just so you know, Molly and I are extremely proud that you've been accepted into such a prestigious school as SSPAM! We only expect that you'll make the most out of your education there, is that clear?" He paused and tried to give her a stern glare but she just smiled at him, knowing he wasn't really angry.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley—"

"Furthermore!" He cleared his throat and shared a look with his wife before he continued speaking. "As your legal guardians, we took the liberty of paying for your uniform this year. So—"

Harry paled at that and she looked down quickly at her expensive, silk-tailored SSPAM uniform before snapping her head back up at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's beaming faces. She reddened in embarrassment and tried to shake her head at them in dismay. "N—no, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, you didn't have to do that! I was going to pay for it myself, you d—didn't have to spend for me—"

Mrs. Weasley sniffed and shook her head, finally standing up from her chair just as the rest of the Weasleys around the table began to gather their things and get ready for school.

"Nonsense, my child…Don't be ridiculous! Arthur and I were only happy to buy your uniform for you. We do consider you as our daughter too, you know…It's only right."

She scolded as she walked over to each of her children and handed them each their lunch one by one. When she got to Harriet, the corners of her lips tugged upwards into a small smile and she reached down, gently adjusting the collar and buttons of Harry's green and white SSPAM uniform.

Harry was blushing the entire time she did this and looked down at the floor, too embarrassed by the gesture to meet their eyes. Molly and Arthur shared a smile at this, however, and finally Molly handed Harry her lunch, tilting the younger girl's chin up so she could look into her warm smile.

"Just take care of it, my child…I'm afraid SSPAM uniforms are so horribly expensive that we only had enough money to buy you just one. We will just have to wash it everyday—" She was cut right in the middle of her sentence when Harry finally looked up and threw her arms around Molly in warm gratitude, her bright green eyes shining with warm as she hugged the older woman tightly.

"Th—thank you, Mrs. Weasley…M—Mr. Weasley…" The minute she had let go of Molly, she turned and hugged Arthur instead, to which he responded to with a chuckle before patting her back.

"You're very welcome, my child. Only the best for our beloved, Harry. Now go on now and scat before you're late for your first day of school! Can't have that, now." He turned her around and pointed her in the direction of the doorway where Ron and Hermione already stood waiting for her.

Turning back around again and giving both her adoptive parents one last look, Harry took the lunchbox from Molly's offered hands and gave her a genuine, beautiful smile. When both Molly and Arthur smiled back and nodded, Harriet finally turned and bounded out towards the front door.

END OF FLASHBACK

Her fingers tightening gently around the small lunch box she still held in her hand, Harry smiled again and took one last deep breath of air, steeling herself as she approached the entrance.

"Well…Here goes nothing. Pray that I don't embarrass you, Dad."

She bit her lip after she heard her own whisper and finally, stepped towards the large, crystalline entrance in growing anticipation. Around her, she felt the unwelcoming stares and disapproving looks she was receiving from the students nearby but she refused to meet their gazes, keeping her head high and her bright green eyes trained solely on the entrance in front of her.

As soon as she had stepped through and found herself facing a series of long winding, exquisitely decorated hallways, Harry gulped again and adjusted her bag strap over her shoulder. She pulled her father's magical marauder's map out of her pocket and glanced down briefly, her eyebrows fusing together as she tried to work out where her locker and first class were located in the castle.

Once she found the correct hallway, she bit her lip again and began walking down the semi-deserted corridors, now more fully aware than ever of the smirks she was receiving from the students nearby when they caught sight of her tattered school bag and scruffy, secondhand black shoes.

Fighting to keep the embarrassed flush on her face, Harry finally sighed when she found what she was looking for and reached out to open her newly cleaned magical locker. The castle bell for 8:30 classes rang sharply just as she was unloading her things and she turned around just as she heard someone opening the locker right beside hers, causing her to glance up and peer around in question.

Unfortunately, she seemed to have turned around a little too fast and she ended up accidentally knocking her locker door outwards to lightly hit the student beside her, immediately causing Harry to wince in dismay and rattle out a string of horrified apologies.

"O—oh, Merlin! I—I'm so sorry, th—that was my fault! I d—didn't mean to—" She stopped talking and finally peered around her locker doors, her eyes widening when she was met with the equally sheepish look of a black-haired girl about her age, her smile mildly timid as she looked at her.

Harry stepped back a couple of feet and slowly closed her locker door to catch a full glimpse of her, noting to herself that the girl was very pretty with short black hair just a little past her chin, thin, aristocratic eyebrows and a perfectly symmetrical nose. Her make-up had been flawlessly applied, highlighting her blue eyes even more and at her appearance, Harry felt like the grungiest person alive.

Feeling a little intimidated by this, Harry swallowed again but managed a friendly smile at the other girl. "H—hi…I'm so sorry about that, I was just a little nervous. I'm new here, you see… And I'm—" The other girl cut her off with a soft, feminine laugh and she shook her head in reassurance.

"Don't worry about it, no harm done…I'm actually new here as well. I just transferred from Beauxbatons Academy for girls…My name's Pansy Parkinson. And…You are?" She peered curiously at her, causing Harriet to blush again when she realized how bad she must have looked compared to her.

"I—I'm…Harriet Potter…Or rather, just…Harry…for short. I'm new here…I—I just graduated from Hogwarts Intermediary and this is my first year here at SSPAM. A—are you a first year too?" She asked but even before Pansy had answered, she caught sight of the 2nd year badge on her robes.

Shaking her head, Pansy turned back to her locker and began unloading her things.

"No, I'm actually a second year…I spent my first year at Beauxbatons. But wait a minute, I hope you don't mind my asking…Er…Hogwarts…? Not a lot of students from SSPAM attended Hogwarts, most attended Durmstrang—" She stopped when Harry blushed again but gave her a small, wry smile.

"I'm actually here on scholarship…I'm not as rich as everyone else." She admitted with a rueful grin, to which Pansy responded to by staring at her in shock for several seconds of awkward silence. For a minute, Harry was almost afraid she was going to make fun of her for that but to her relief, Pansy finally blinked out of her trance and nodded in understanding, giving her a shy smile.

"Oh…Well then, I hope we can still be friends, Harry." She smiled warmly at the other girl again and just as both she and Harry had finally magically sealed their lockers and were about to turn around, a large shout out of nowhere suddenly distracted them, making both girls jump up in shock.

Harry barely had any time to turn around before a tall, dark-haired first year suddenly began careening down the hallway towards them, his horrified face and the loud, panicked shouts that were issuing from his lips causing all the other students around them to gasp and pale immediately in fear.

"IT'S THE DARK MARK! IT'S THE DARK MARK! NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM FROM CLASS 1-A HAS RECEIVED THE DARK MARK! EVERYONE STAY AWAY FROM HIM! HE'S THE S-4'S NEW TARGET!"

He ran right past Harry and Pansy's horrified forms and turned sharply at the end of the corridor, his loud shouts continuing to echo from all around the large castle. When his screams had faded, everyone else began whispering loudly to themselves in hushed panic, their expressions and tense forms causing Harry to fuse her eyebrows together and turn to give Pansy a questioning look.

"Pansy…What's happening? What's the Dark Mark…? Do you know what that means?" She whispered under her breath at the other girl. She was surprised, however, to see that Pansy apparently did seem to know what it meant and was now trembling with shaky, fearful shivers.

Looking around cautiously as though to make sure they weren't being listened to or followed, Pansy hastily pulled Harry aside and grasped her firmly by her arm, leading the other girl down the corridor as they followed the other students. Once they reached the end of the hallway and began making their way through the forming crowd to the large, quad at the very center of the castle, Pansy finally leaned in closer to Harry and began whispering to her in a rushed, very timid tone of voice.

"Harry…I may be a transferee here and may not know much yet about this school but I for certainly know all about the Dark Mark…And the S-4…" She whispered to the younger girl, her eyes not on Harry's thoroughly confused expression but on the developing scene not too far away.

Following her eyes, Harry's eyebrows fused together again when she was met with the sight of a dark-haired, slightly chubby boy kneeling right in the middle of a crowd of jeering students. The students were gathered around him in what appeared to be a private sitting room situated at the very top of a marble staircase that led from the very end of the quad.

It was lavishly decorated – adorned with some of the most expensive furniture Harry had ever seen – and was distinctly separated from the rest of the quad area, cased in with its own private walls. The private sitting room had big, crystalline windows, however, and allowed the other students outside to see the scene happening, as well as the four large high-backed chairs that were situated at the very end of the room just as the head of the circle of students. Looking over the other students that were beginning to gather around them, Harry managed to make out the scene in front of her

The dark-haired, slightly chubby boy kneeling in the middle of the crowd was trembling nervously as he tried to kneel down and gather his scattered books back into his arms – only to wince in humiliation moments later when the students circled around him jeered louder and began pelting him with several different kinds of hexes and jinxes from all directions. The boy cowered away at this and tried to shield himself with his hands, looking quite pathetic in the middle of the large circle.

Horribly disgusted at seeing such blatant bullying, Harry was almost going to help him when someone nearer the scene beat her to it. One of the male students – a second year with dark, curly blonde hair – stepped into the circle, directing his glare at the four high-backed chairs right in front.

"You S-4 are disgusting scum!"

Harry was unable to see the four students seated on the chairs but somehow sensed they were smirking right back at the boy who had spoken as they watched him pointedly walking over to the cowering chubby student and, despite the gasps of the watching crowd, knelt down to help the chubby student gather the scattered books and belongings on the floor back into his bag.

The crowd stayed completely silent at this for a long, agonizing moment, watching tensely as the curly-haired blonde continued to help the other student with his things. After what seemed like an hour of hushed murmurs, a soft, silky drawl suddenly broke the silence, drawing everyone else's attention to the very front of the room. Harry blinked and flicked her gaze over to the four high-backed chairs again, watching closely as one of the students in the middle seemed to speak up.

"…You dare defy me…Goldstein…?"

The boy who had been addressed by the speaker as 'Goldstein' flicked his eyes back up again and glared at the other boy who had spoken, his eyes narrowing in disgust as he stood back up.

"I don't care who you are, Malfoy and I don't care if you ARE the leader of S-4! You S-4 jerks think you're so bloody great! You can't treat other people this way just because you're richer than everyone else and your fathers own the school! You're scum! I'm not afraid of you!" His angry voice echoed clearly amidst everyone else's silence, followed by more barely audible gasps all around them.

As all this was happening, Harry didn't even realize she had been holding her breath and she shakily took in another inhale of oxygen, watching as the one who had spoken seemed to chuckle softly at Goldstein's choice of words. From where Harry was standing with Pansy, she was unable to see anything about the four seated students and could only watch on with growing confusion as the boy Goldstein had addressed as the leader drummed his perfectly manicured hands onto his armrest.

"…We shall see…"

Then, without saying anything else, he chuckled again and finally stood up slowly from his seat, followed quickly by the other three boys seated beside him. As he stood up, Harry was able to make out the leader's striking color of silver blonde hair right before he had turned around, finally allowing both Harry and Pansy a glimpse of his shockingly elegant and extremely handsome features.

He didn't say anything, however, and spared no one in the crowd a glance as he smirked and sauntered past Goldstein and the other cowering student huddled in the middle of the crowd, pausing for just the briefest of moments to flick his cold, silver eyes down and level Goldstein with a sneer.

"Watch your back, Goldstein."

One of the three equally handsome boys behind him grinned roguishly at this and reached down, playfully ruffling Goldstein and the chubby boy's hair with a mild, mocking laugh.

"Bad move, ol chap… You know Draco's never in a good mood at this time of the year. Don't piss him off even more… Just some advice." One of them mentioned – a handsome and strikingly dressed dark blonde who looked back up and gave all the watching girls a flirtatious smile and wink.

All the girls sighed and giggled at this, watching as the large crowd of students around the entire area parted automatically in fear as the four boys passed them and made their way to the quad exit. Just as they managed to get near enough for Harry to get a complete glimpse of all their aristocratic faces, she blushed slightly at the sight of the boy behind the leader and turned to Pansy.

"Who…Who are those jerks?"

Pansy paled at her words again and shushed her sharply, looking around again to make sure no one had heard them. Then, after checking again to make sure no one was within hearing range, she followed Harry's eyes and stared at the four boys with a strange, unreadable gleam in her eyes.

"They…Are the S-4, Harry…They basically rule this entire school." She whispered breathlessly, unaware of the way Harry had raised an eyebrow at this and narrowed her eyes in utter dislike.

"Rule the school…? Why, who are they?"

Pansy pulled her gaze away from the four boys and stared at her in utter disbelief.

"Why…? B—because…They literally own SSPAM, Harry! They're the sons of the four richest, pureblooded families in all of Europe!" She paused for a minute and turned back to watch them just as they neared the exit, gesturing Harry in the direction of the one at the very back of the group.

"You see that guy…? Tallest one…Handsome, Bulgarian features…Very athletic…?"

When Harry nodded curiously at her words, Pansy turned to whisper to her again.

"That's Viktor Mikhail Krum…He's from one of the very oldest and most traditional pureblooded lines in Europe. His family owns a chain of Quidditch teams, from what I know…They sponsor all of the Quidditch matches. They also own the company that manufactures the Firebolts and Nimbus models, from what I heard last." She paused for a minute, ignoring the look of pure shock on Harry's face and gestured the younger girl once more to the boy walking just a couple of steps in front of Krum.

"The one in front of him…Is Theodore Damon Nott…He's the biggest playboy in the S-4, so I'm warning you now that he's bad news…His family, on the other hand, runs a chain of illegal businesses all around Europe and America. His father is the leader of an underground, syndicate group called the Death Eaters. No one's actually seen them at work but they apparently make billions every year from dealing with the black and underground markets." Pansy's eyes glazed over slightly as they ran over Theodore's handsome features and thoroughly toned frame but Harry soon questioned her again.

"What kind of illegal businesses do they—"

She hadn't even finished her question when Pansy grabbed her by the arm again, dragging her over to the end of the room to catch a final glimpse of the S-4 before they left.

"The silent, brooding one with the handsome, Italian features is Blaise Elliot Zabini…He's the son of the Minister of Magic so you can imagine all the pressure on him. I heard his family also owns an entire string of manufacturing companies – Bertie Bott's, Chocolate Frogs, Wand Makers, you name it! The Zabinis probably own more than half of Magical London these days with all their businesses." Pansy mused softly but Harry barely heard her, her green eyes focused intently on Blaise's blank, downcast eyes and utterly silent form as he followed his friends past the crowd to the quad exit.

Unlike Viktor and Theodore behind him, who were taking their own sweet time flirting with all the girls who approached them, Blaise looked as though he barely saw anyone else there and was lost in his own inner musings. His face was devoid of any lingering emotion, something Harry certainly did not fail to notice and she continued to stare curiously at him, unaware of the blush rising in her cheeks.

She was brought back to reality by Pansy soon enough though, and this time, the other girl's voice took on a definite, dreamy voice as she finally gestured Harry towards the silver-blonde leading the group, allowing her once more a glimpse of the boy's handsome features. The boy was sneering and impatiently shoving past all the students – guy or girl alike – to make his way over to the exit.

"The silver blonde at the very front is none other than Draco Lucius Malfoy…" Pansy sighed after she had spoken and her eyes suddenly glazed over, much to Harry's exasperation. "He's the leader of S-4…And with good reason, I must say." She paused again and waited until all the S-4 had finally left the Quad and disappeared from their sight before turning to meet a confused Harry again.

"Why—"

Pansy giggled softly and pulled her aside, leading her out towards the exit as well.

"His family owns Gringotts Wizarding Bank, you see…As well as MMC – Malfoy Multinational Conglomerates, the largest Conglomerate in Europe. I think they've recently acquired most of the banking institutions around England and are looking to buy out more around the world." She sighed again once they had returned to their lockers and began to gather their wand and books for first class.

Harry was having a little trouble taking all of her words in and shook her head to herself in amazement, closing her locker again and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I don't understand…How do you know all of these things if you've just transferred here, Pansy? Do you know them…?" She asked, failing to notice the way Pansy's shoulders stiffened at her words as she turned back around.

"Of course not, Harry! I just…keep myself updated on elite Wizarding society, that's all." She answered but Harry was obviously still confused as she followed Pansy down the hallway again.

"Why do they call themselves the S-4?"

Pansy snorted at her question and looked at her as though she was crazy. "Isn't it obvious, Harry? S-4 stands for Serpent Four…It's because all of their family crests have serpents on them. Together, their families have donated VERY LAVISH amounts of money to this school so they virtually can do anything they want in here without getting into trouble. Bit of a monarchy if you ask me."

"And the Dark Mark…?"

The other girl stiffened again at this and looked slightly nervous as she answered.

"I know all about that because even the girls at Beauxbatons used to talk about it…It's apparently the mark S-4 brands you with if you've angered them somehow and they want you to pay the price. You get it once you open your locker and a snake comes out to bite you…The mark stays on your arm for days until the S-4's anger has been quelled and all the bullying stops. Also, since the S-4 are all second years, they particularly like to pick on the first years too… A bit scary, isn't it?"

As she listened more and more to Pansy's lucid explanation of the S-4 and all of the other students they had bullied and given the dark mark, Harry found herself slowly growing more and more irritated and rather disgusted at the obviously different culture of S-4 and SSPAM. She couldn't believe that an educational institution as prestigious as this one would allow the S-4 to treat other students that way – even if their families did donate generous amounts of money to the school and its teachers.

Goldstein was right…The S-4 are nothing but disgusting pigs…I don't like them one bit.

Trying her best to hide the look of revulsion on her face, Harry merely nodded at Pansy's words and sighed, knowing her disinterest was probably showing in her eyes anyway. As they turned a corner and said their goodbyes to each other to separate to their classes, Pansy blushed again and gestured sharply to their right, causing Harry to turn around slightly and follow her wide-eyed stare.

"Why, what's—"

Harry cut herself off in midsentence and froze dead in her tracks.

Despite her newly found disgust for them and their actions, even she couldn't hide her extreme nervousness when she caught sight of the S-4 sauntering down the hallway in their direction, their handsome faces set into smirks as all the students scattered quickly to make a path for them.

As they passed by the corner where Harriet and Pansy were standing, Malfoy took that opportunity to narrow his eyes and kick irritably at a nearby trashcan, causing both Harry and Pansy to wince when they heard the trashcan clanging noisily along the marble castle floors. Krum and Nott both laughed in amusement at this, shaking their heads and clapping Malfoy on the back before the three walked off, their loud, drawling voices echoing down the long corridor as they walked away.

Ignoring Pansy's nervous stammering beside her, Harry rolled her eyes to herself in disgust at Malfoy's behavior and shook her head. She had just placed her books onto a nearby table and was about to lean down to pick the discarded trash can back up but she stopped and froze up again when she realized that Blaise Zabini was not too far away from her and headed towards the trashcan as well.

Noticing the handsome boy's remaining presence for the first time, Harry stood back against the wall and watched with soft green eyes as Zabini seemed to have stayed behind his friends after Malfoy's little stunt and bent down slowly, reaching a perfectly groomed hand over to the trash can. Then, to Harry's further surprise, the Zabini Heir picked it up and placed it carefully back onto its proper place at the very corner of the corridor, pausing to make sure to place its lid neatly back on.

Once he had finished and had turned back around, his intense, blue eyes met Harry's for the briefest moment and she froze up again, well aware of the growing blush on her pale cheeks. Zabini didn't say anything, however, nor did he show any form of reaction on his serene, handsome face as he just stared blankly at her, blinking once as he let his eyes survey her stiff form from head to toe.

Both Harry and Pansy stood shock still as he did this, unsure of how to act in his presence.

Then, as though nothing had happened, he turned away again, shoved his other hand into the pocket of his robes and sauntered down the corridor after the rest of the S-4, never noticing that Harry's thoroughly dazed, emerald green eyes lingered intently on his lean frame as he walked away.

Just as Zabini turned the corner and disappeared from their line of sight, Harry looked back at Pansy once more, barely able to register the other girl's whispers at what had happened. As she said her goodbyes to Pansy again and began heading down the corridor towards her first classroom for that morning, the image of Blaise Zabini's deep set, penetrating blue eyes continued to plague her mind.

A/N: No, this is NOT a Blaise/femHarry fic. This is still a Draco/femHarry fic, don't worry everyone! ^_^ Like I said, I'm just patterning the story after the events of Hana Yori Dango so the storyline dictates as such that Harry likes Blaise first. We'll see how things progress later on, ne? ^_^

Btw. Since this is AU, I made it as such that Harry and Co. go home after school every day. The world is such that a witch/wizard first attends an Intermediary Magical School (sort of like HS), then Magical College. Just to clarify things so people don't get confused. Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter!

Do you think I should continue this story? TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, MMKAY? PLEASE REVIEW!

CHEERS! ^_^